National Library Service Plans Next-Gen Audiobooks

The New York Times (as carried here by CNET, registration-free) is reporting on what seems like an overdue update planned by the adminstrators of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which -- thanks to a copyright exemption -- can provide audiobooks without paying royalties. The Library Service will switch from 4-track tape players to audio devices based on flash memory. The article does not mention what sort of codec might be chosen, but does mention a couple of reasons (fragility, and diffculty for use by the blind) to not simply use CDs bearing some compressed audio format. The amount of listenable audio that can be squeezed into readily available pocket-sized storage these days is incredible, at least if you consider listenable things like the 32kbps recordings of old radio shows that the Sherlock Holmes Society of London makes available. (I wonder why small hard drives weren't chosen, though; they seem to bear up pretty well.)

Comments

Re:thats great because

[Porn Whitelist]

and yet you can apparently read and write...

You must be new here - this is slashdot - literacy is optional.

Back on-topic - Forget audio books, I'm still waiting for the swimsuit calanders for the blind (though how they'll fit that on a flash card is beyond me).

I can understand why they want flash cards instead of mini hard drives. Mini hard drive capacity is going up rapidly, so there's no profit to make, say, a 128mb mini hard drive, and a 60gig hard drive is overkill.

Additionally, flash cards are getting dirt cheap. Remember those 8 and 16 meg flash cards? Try to find one - even a 128meg card is dirt cheap, and can only get cheaper.