I believe that Humanware has at least attempted to provide a way for reasonable upgrades. Yes, it is a lot of money and a discussion of why it seems to me is not going to get anyone anywhere. Remember that all of the companies in this field play their upgrade plans close to the vest. They have to. So, if I purchased a product in May, and suddenly at the end of June I discover that the latest and greatest product is going to rock, yes I'm frustrated. Companies should, in my opinion, take this into account. No, they can't tell you that a major upgrade is coming prior to making a general announcement, but perhaps if, say, a person purchased a Braillenote in the second quarter of 2005, they could receive a bit more of a break when it comes to an upgrade. After all, if I were interested in purchasing a Braillenote in May, and I knew the Mpower was going to be shipping in July, I know I would have waited to make this purchase. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. So, there are probably folks out there who received their Braillenotes in the spring only to discover that they will never have the functionality of the newer units unless they plunk down another $2000 US. And yet, this happens in other situations as well. I wish I could think of a good way around it, but I honestly cannot.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of James Aldrich Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 2:28 PM To: Braillenote List Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Current or "Out of Date" Hello all, I don't consider my BN out of date! Yes, I had to pay to upgrade it but I am still using the same unit I purchased some four years ago. This will change once I upgrade to the M-power and the only thing left of my original unit will be the braille display! At least, I never had to buy new units each time there were improvements. That would have been prohibitive! A friend of mine bought the competition unit. It was two weeks later when their new product came on the market. He couldn't do much of anything but trade up! He was rather put out and didn't do much of anything about it! At least Humanware found a way to allow us to use what we purchased as long as humanly possible! It is really up to you or me whether we upgrade or not! I think they have a good deal going here so I intend to upgrade my BN 32 to the M-power when that is possible! Jim At 05:34 AM 07/28/2005 , you wrote: >The concept of current vs "out of date" equipment is a hard one to get >your head around let alone your emotions. ANything you can buy in the >computer field is already out of date by the time it has gone into >production and been put on the market for you to buy. You can't be on the >cutting edge of technology unless you are there making the cuts, and then >someone else is ahead of you doing something else. The computer I bought >in January for $1100.00 was selling for $600 in May. Did they cheat me by >not telling me the price was going to go down and there was going to be >something faster and bigger and maybe even better in five months? Not at >all. That's the nature of the field the nature of technology in these >marvelous times. > >The alternative would be for what you buy to stay the best in its field >for your needs. When you pay a price for technology, that price would be >the same price no matter what, there would be no new models, no >improvements,no changes. If that is the case, you'd be happy with what you >bought and what you paid for it. Well, you have what you paid for at the >time you paid it That is what was there then. The fact that it didn't go >out of date for a year or a month or a week is just a matter of chronology >in the field of tecnology. You just pick a point along the continuum of >development, agree on a price you're going to play at and jump in with >both hands and both feet and enjoy your choice. Even in the blindness >market it's pretty safe to say those buying equipment today are going to >have something that is out of date within a year give or take siz months. >The units we had in June ane were great. They didn't all of a sudden >become less so because there's a new model year now.There is just > a new model year and it's got even more to offer those who want the new > features. That's called progress and we have always paid for it in all > areas. Improving a product and keeping as close to state of the art as > can be done is what keeps a company competitive. Progress, improvement, > development, and growth are what we demand because they are what makes it > better for us as a group, and what keeps a company alive as a provider. > We can't have it both ways. > >I for one will enjoy listening to everyone telling about their experiences >with the new capabilities of the new products and look forward to the >time I'm ready to jump in along the continuum again. > >___ >To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit >http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
