By now you've probably heard that Kindles have come down in price, to around $180 for a 3G-enabled device, or less for a wireless-only device. I'm *sure* it has *nothing* to do with competition faced by the introduction of the iPad. (Hah!)

I just read a short article saying that engineers in China are testing a color e-ink technology. At present, e-ink - the technology used on Kindle and Sony e-books - is only available in grayscale. Color will surely improve its usability. Also in testing is the touchscreen technology we've come to enjoy with our smartphones and similar devices. All this *may* become available by Christmas of this year. Here's hoping.

I'm also eager to post a link to multiple links to free book download sites. Remember that you can set up your Amazon Kindle options to email yourself pdfs to a specified @free.kindle.com address, allowing you to transfer the documents for free when you attach the Kindle to the computer.

I apologize for the brevity and lack of editing in this post, but I'm a little short of time and anxious not to forget these thoughts!

I just finished This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, by Marilyn Johnson. I chose it because I read Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library, by Don Borchet, last year, enjoying the behind-the-scenes look at a local library, and wishing I could join the librarian ranks... the fun parts, at least!

While I rolled my eyes at Johnson's liberal leanings in her book, it was nonetheless an interesting layman's perspective of "library 2.0," and all that libraries offer beyond the casual use I personally enjoy. I'm enthused enough to look further into some of her web-based references, which I'll park here for my easy access:

Libraries

• New York Public Library
• American Kennel Club
• Darien Library
• Westchester Library System
• WorldCat.org (combines library catalogs worldwide; FYI - there's an iPhone/Droid app)

Library-related blogs (in no particular order)

• Feel-good Librarian
• Swiss Army Librarian
• The Effing Librarian
• Miss Information
• The Obnoxious Librarian from Hades
• Shhhh!!
• The Society for Librarians Who Say Motherfucker
• Info Babe
• InfoFetishist
• Information Wants to Be Free
• Tame the Web
• Free Range Librarian
• librarian.net
• Librarian in Black
• Librarians Matter
• If I Ran the Universe
• Lower East Side Librarian
• Awful Library Books

Other links:

• Wolfram|Alpha ("knowledge engine"; check out the YouTube video)
• Easy Travel to Other Planetsby Ted Mooney (author's reference to "information sickness")
• Bokomaten (like a book ATM; 9-minute YouTube demonstration)
• St. John's University - Master's in Global Development and Social Justice
• Archee Mcphee (in case you, too, need a Nancy Pearl action figure)
• Second Life