Fly Pentop computer

http://www.leapfrog.com/

We've had meetings with our library staff where we've gathered input on what future projects or technologies they'd like to see brought to the library. One thing that we heard several times was "I'd like it to be easier to type up meeting notes."

There are several products on the market that would help. Tablet PC's don't always work well and are bulky and expensive to carry around. The Logitech io2 Digital Pen retails for $150 and only got a so-so review from Consumer Reports.

The Fly Fusion Pentop from Leapfrog retails for $80. The paper you need to use it with costs $8 per notebook. It appears that you can do a lot more than just digital transcription with this pen. Becauase it's marketed towards teens, it also does things like provide a calculator, and plays mp3's and games. With a reletively low cost, this might be a fun tool to check out.

Bringin' it back old school.....

CafeScribe has a solution to the impersonal world of ebooks - scratch n' sniff smelly stickers that smell like old musty books.

According to CafeScribe, "In a survey of 600 college students 43% identified smell –- either new book smell or old -- as the thing they most love about books as physical objects. A majority (62%) also preferred purchasing used textbooks over new or electronic textbooks, despite the fact that e-textbooks are generally a third less expensive than used textbooks."

If only someone would make a scratch n' sniff sticker of old sweaty gym socks so I could pretend I'm exercising while I'm vacumming my house.