[Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: The Braille Monitor and the last Cassette Edition

[David Andrews]

>
>Hello folks. I particularly need your help in 
>spreading this message. Please see that it gets 
>to chapter meetings and affiliate gatherings. We 
>do not want people to do without the Braille 
>Monitor so please make what follows widely known.
>
>
>
>At the convention and in the August/September 
>Braille Monitor we announced that the December 
>issue 2011 will be the last one produced on 
>cassette. There are, of course, optional ways 
>for cassette readers to continue to get the 
>Monitor. If you have access to the Internet, the 
>Monitor can be read or downloaded in Microsoft 
>Word, as an audio MP3 file, or as a Daisy 
>recording, meaning that it can be easily 
>navigated by article. If you want to read the 
>magazine in print or Braille, we continue to provide it in these formats.
>
>Starting with the January issue, however, the 
>Monitor will also be available on NFB-NEWSLINE®. 
>Just access NEWSLINE using any of the options 
>available, and the Monitor will appear in the magazines section.
>
>             If you prefer reading by listening 
> to high-quality human narration, we can still 
> ship the Monitor to you by mail, but instead of 
> a cassette tape, you will receive a USB drive. 
> These are sometimes called thumb drives or 
> memory sticks. The digital player provided by 
> the National Library Service has two slots for 
> playing recorded material. The most familiar 
> one is on the front of the unit. It accepts the 
> special cartridge used by the Library. The 
> second slot is found on the right side of the 
> unit near the headphone jack, and, unless you 
> have removed it or it has become dislodged, the 
> slot is covered by a protective rubber pad. 
> Removing this pad reveals an indentation in the 
> unit where the USB drive is inserted. It will 
> go into the unit in only one direction, so, if 
> you encounter resistance, flip the drive over 
> and try inserting it again. The main cartridge 
> slot used to play books from the Library must 
> be empty before you insert the memory stick in 
> the right side of the player. If the main slot 
> has a cartridge in it, the digital player will ignore the USB drive.
>
>Once the USB drive has been inserted, the player 
>should function just as it does when you are 
>reading a book. Pressing the rewind or advance 
>keys moves back or ahead by five seconds. 
>Pressing the previous element or next element 
>keys moves from article to article or, in some 
>cases, moves to the next section in an article 
>in which divisions are present. If you remove 
>the USB drive to use the player for other 
>material, when you again insert it, reading 
>should resume from the place you stopped reading.
>
>The USB drive will be every bit as functional as 
>the cassettes we have been providing. The audio 
>quality should be improved, along with the 
>navigation, and the drive should last many 
>years. If you think you will want to refer to an 
>issue again, you are welcome to keep the drive, 
>but, because they cost more than cassettes and 
>can be used hundreds of times, readers willing 
>to return the USB drives are requested to use 
>the return address label that will be sent along 
>with your drive. This will save money that we can use for other programs.
>
>Current cassette readers who wish to continue 
>receiving the Monitor after December must 
>contact Marsha Dyer. She can handle subscription 
>requests for print, Braille, email, or USB 
>drive. Call her at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2344. If 
>you do not reach her directly, please leave your 
>information on the Publications line voicemail. 
>Please be assured that all voicemail messages 
>will be received, and your information will be 
>updated prior to each month's issue being mailed 
>out. She can also receive your request by email 
>when you write her at <mdyer at nfb.org> or by 
>postal mail at 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan 
>Place, Baltimore, MD 21230. Be sure Marsha has 
>your first and last name (if leaving her a 
>voicemail, please spell both), your address, and 
>the format in which you want to receive the 
>Monitor. If you currently receive the Monitor in 
>another format, you need do nothing; your 
>subscription will continue. But please 
>understand that, if you are currently a cassette 
>reader, doing nothing will mean you will stop 
>receiving the Monitor, so please think about the 
>new options and let us know how to keep you informed.
>
>
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