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Daniel Sieberg of CBS reports about Roger Behm who was blind from birth. This product is called Brainport. This sends electrical impulses to the tongue, using tiny cameras as eyes, essentially creating a picture for blind people. To see this amazing technology @ work, click here and be amazed!

New technology can change the lives for many blind people, but much of it is still too expensive and inaccessible, according to the World Blind Union. The Union is having its annual assembly in Geneva, where new technology and accessibility issues are at the forefront. Even for those that are accessible, costs are prohibitive. As an example, Penny Hartin, CEO of the World Blind Union offered her own Nokia N82 cell phone, on which she had loaded speech and navigation programs. She pointed out, "So, I am now holding in my hand a phone that costs me $1,500. Who pays $1,500 for a cell phone these days? Nobody does." I'll follow this post with another report of technology helping the blind.

Electric and hybrid vehicles may be better for the environment, but the California Legislature says they're bad for the blind. It has passed a bill to ensure that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by visually impaired people about to cross a street. The measure would establish a committee to study the issue and recommend ways the vehicles could make more noise. The state Department of Motor Vehicles says more than 300,000 of the vehicles are on state roads. Officials say they don't keep statistics on pedestrian accidents involving those vehicles. The bill has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not taken a position.

California's Sacramento Bee reported that VSP Vision Care bought eyewear manufacturer Marchon Eyewear, Inc. on Monday "in a deal that combines the nation's largest eye-care benefits provider with one of the world's largest manufacturers of designer eyewear." The $735 million "cash-and-debt" deal creates a $3.3 billion company that substantially adds to VSP Vision Care's designer portfolio. Marchon makes private-label eyewear for companies such as Calvin Klein, Coach, Michael Kors, Sean John, and Nike, and makes its own eyewear collections, including its Airlock and Flexon lines, Ohio's Business First of Columbus adds. VSP gets Marchon's 50-percent ownership in Eye Designs, a custom interior designer for the optical industry. In addition, VSP's Altair Eyewear brand will become a division of Marchon. And, Marchon's OfficeMate Software Solutions subsidiary, an industry software and technology company, will merge with VSP's Eyefinity, a web-based business-management firm. Our office in Matthews is a participating provider for VSP network and also have a large collection of the designer brands mentioned above. New York's Newsday noted that VSP services one in every six Americans with vision-insurance benefits through a network of more than 25,000 doctors, the company said. With more than 55 million members in the United States and Canada, VSP last year had total revenues of $2.6 billion.

The comedy movie Ghost Town revolves around a dentist (Gervais) who just went through a NDE (near-death experience) during routine surgery and who now see dead people who don't stop asking him for help in contacting the living. Here below the latest international trailer of the upcoming comedy Ghost Town Sounds like a must watch!