search.cpan.org forces me to pick vauge category names

At search.cpan.org you can also enter your own text and match that against "All", "Distributions", "Modules" and "Authors" categories (by selecting the category you want from the drop-down box).

For example, searching "Distributions" that match "PDL" presents you with these candidates.

(I haven't ever used kobesearch, so I don't really know if this post of mine is at all useful to you.)

Cheers,
Rob