Dumb question here. If you set up a wireless connection between a home
PC and the BN, is that when you can set up a network and do file
transfers and that kind of stuff via a network?
Jean
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Aldrich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Braillenote List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Braillenote] My M-power Observations thus far
Hello!
One needs to use active sync when connecting directly to a PC. I'd
rather use Flash cards or work through a network to move files between
M-power and PC or visaversa. Many on this list are experienced with
active sync so they can help you with that. There are many options
for moving files between PC and BN M-power.
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "will" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "Braillenote List" <[email protected]
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 18:53:15 +0100
Subject: Re: [Braillenote] My M-power Observations thus far
hi jim
Very comprehensive, thanks
Can i connect the m power to the pc and transfer files to and from the
BN m
power that way?
regards, will
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Aldrich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[email protected]
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 6:35 PM
Subject: [Braillenote] My M-power Observations thus far
Hello all,
Here are my M-power observations since I received it on Friday,
September
2nd. I'm writing this with the M-power so anyone wishing to
evaluate how
this EMAIL may look once it reaches the list can feel free to
analyze how
well this works as they wish. Just don't analyze my poor writing
(grin
smile)! I hope what I say will ease some of the concerns about this
product on this list.
My wife Dar thought the M-power was lighter when she first saw it
out of
the box. We both were impressed with the newer braille display.
The
intensity of how the dots come up can be adjusted in the braille
display
menu. I haven't seen much difference in the settings of the display
so I
keep it on the default of 5. One can hardly tell whether the
display is
functioning or not. One doesn't notice the thump thump on this
newer
display as the dots change position as one does with the older
displays.
Of course, new is always better than the old but this truly is a
sharp
display. It is a pleasure to read with it. It is a far better
display
than the immediate competition, there is no contest! The M-power
display
may not have the wear and tear of the older displays because of its
smooth
operation but time will tell.
I think the speech is clearer perhaps better pronunciation. The
speech
voice is much the same as it was but I think the M-power speaks
more
clearly. It may or may not make a difference to anyone depending on
hearing loss. I'm more pleased with the speech on my M-power than
my 32
BT even though I still say the speech on my older unit is quite
good! Ear
buds and headphones work so much better on the M-power. One doesn't
need
to drastically set the volume higher for headphones. I rarely set
the
volume between the speaker and headphones with the M-power.
I charged the battery twice since I received this unit. The battery
gage
went to a hundred percent both times and stayed at a hundred percent
once
I disconnected the AC adapter. It went down to 99 percent soon
after the
charger was disconnected and the battery seems to last quite a while
between charges thus far. On the second time of charging, I noticed
that
the gage was at 94 percent after two hours. I left the M Power
plugged in
much longer and once I got home from church, it was at 96 percent.
The
percentage was the same when I disconnected the adapter. I kept it
plugged in till the gage reached 100 percent. I think the gage may
have
calibrated this time around which accounted for how long the battery
took
to charge. I didn't get much notice once the battery reached zero
percent. I'll know more in time about the battery life but I'm not
complaining thus far.
Kathy Williams take note! I downloaded 133 messages with both BN
units. I
left the messages on the server. The BN 32 BT took 6 minutes and
16.6
seconds according to the M-power stopwatch to download all 133
messages.
The M-power took 2 minutes 7.18 seconds according to the BN BT
stopwatch
to download the same mail. Emptying the trash and clearing database
space
is a snap! One barely has a chance to breathe and the process is
done!
This unit is quick! I'm keeping messages on the server for a while
longer
so I hope to update you on how much quicker the M-power is than my
older
BN BT. Of course, one must consider the limited disk space and the
processor speed when comparing the two units ability to download
EMAIL. I
like the way the M-power turns wireless on automatically when one
wishes
to go on the web or download EMAIL. One still must turn wireless
off
after being on the web or downloading EMAIL. I neglected to say I'm
on a
wireless DSL connection here.
Being able to listen to streaming audio on a portable device is
truly
nice! I would say the M-power works well on the "free streams". ACB
Radio
was the first stream I tried. It was a snap to get to and listen.
I also
listened to a MONTANA Radio Station stream, and some other streams
on Bill
Sparks dot com as well as radio-locator dot com. I tried to get
into the
XM Radio site, listen at XM Radio dot com. I got into their web
site okay
but when I tried to receive a stream, I was told by their site in no
uncertain terms that I needed to update my web browzer since my
present
browzer couldn't support the new features in their player. I got
such a
kick out of what I heard, I tried it again! One can get their site
as I
described it above and one must write it together, or one can go to
wwwddxmradioddcom and select "listen now". One can get a three day
trial
on their programming otherwise one pays $7 a month to get the stream
or
close to $14 a month if one has one of their receivers.
WSM Radio is another site which became a "pay site" so doubt it is
available to the M-power. This is why I say the M-power probably
works
best on the "free streams".
Passing files from my PC to the M-power is so much faster now
through the
network. I was able to get both MP3 and wav files to my M-power and
play
them with no difficulty. I was pleasantly surprised to find how
quickly I
was able to copy these files and play them with no difficulty
whatsoever.
I may have found one file that wouldn't play but it wouldn't play on
my PC
either. The playback on the wav file player is very good. I'll
have more
to say about it later. I went to Voice of the Nation's Blind dot
org to
listen to a particular file. I could hear one file from that site
with no
problem but I couldn't hear the file I wished to listen to. I kept
hearing something about unfamiliar media so couldn't hear what I
wanted to
hear. This morning, I was able to hear the introduction of the May
Humanware Newsletter on the humanware site. I'll listen to more of
it
when I have time. I can see that I have a wonderful world of
streaming
audio waiting for me when I wish to hear new info
rmation or music. I'm looking forward to being a part of this new
world
with my M-power.
The most disappointing feature to me on the M-power is the Memo
Recorder.
Perhaps I don't understand digital recording very well! This is the
first
digital recorder I have used at length. The memo recorder plays
back wav
files very nicely provided they were recorded or created elsewhere.
Based
on how my unit operates, this memo recorder is good for voice only
whether
it is on the low quality settings or the high quality settings. One
can
record their audio memos if they aren't too far from the microphone.
One
doesn't have to hold the M-power or external microphone to their
face
though. The default factory setting for recording with the internal
microphone is level 12. When I attempt to record at this setting,
my
recording is faint and the recording is weak with a fuzzy distorted
sound
as if I were talking through wax paper. The speech is not
intelligible
and the speech is intermittent! Level ten seems to give me the best
recording quality but I hear a degree of white noise and
a slight frying sound in the background of my recording. Speech
from the
notetaker comes in very well for obvious reasons if I happen to
leave my
unit in record and attempt to operate other functions with my
M-power.
The memo recorder in my unit is adequate for memos and I might send
voice
attachments in an EMAIL or two, but I don't think it would record
music
very well especially that piano recital. There are other devices on
the
market which would better serve such a purpose. I think a $20 to
$40
cassette recorder could do as well or better for a recital than
would my
particular M-power unit. There might be some kind of component
breakdown
inhibiting my unit from recording properly, I really don't know! To
my
knowledge, the memo recorder isn't stereo either. I could be wrong
about
this conclusion though. I can safely say my unit doesn't support
levels
11 through 15 with the internal microphone. I placed the level with
an
external microphone to 35. I couldn't hear anything
at all from that attempt to record. I could hear the external
microphone
when I set the record level to a lower setting. I may need to check
the
battery in the microphone perhaps. The playback is fine with my
memo
recorder but I question whether the record feature is working
properly in
my unit. I'll be happy to send anyone interested attachments when
recording at level 10, 11 and 12. This should show what I'm talking
about.
Web braille seems to be working better on the M-power. I can now
reach
the listing of braille books at the end of the web page. I can
again get
into the list to download volumes once again. My older BN BT was
able to
get that page as well so maybe NLS fixed the problem, I really don't
know!
I haven't downloaded any books lately so that is for another EMAIL.
I haven't interfaced my M-power with my Juliet braille embosser but
I hope
to accomplish that soon! I haven't tried the bluetooth feature so
that is
something I'll look forward to.
I'll be happy to try web sites when I can to see how accessible they
will
be for the M-power if that would be helpful to anyone.
As I wrote this EMAIL, I noticed the speech cut out for no apparent
reason. I turned the speech to on request to off and back on again
and
everything was fine. This happened three times while I wrote this
post.
Thanks for reading!
Jim Aldrich
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