Second graders become third graders and so on., You don't know how long they will be using that braille note, so getting the newest product available is usually the most cost effective thing to do. Who knows when updates to the older models will stop.
Other than the upgrade advantage, the MPower is a smart choice because it opens files much much faster. Even young children at times want to open somewhat large files. You don't want them to have any time disadvantage they don't have to have, because often being blind does make you do a lot of things more slowly than other people. I am not very impatient as a rule, I have a rather slow computer by today's standards, but the MPowers speed advantage is very significant and will make a difference in a classroom environment. The presence of USB ports is likely to make a world of difference when it comes to sharing information and devices with other people. In school that will make a big difference. Floppy drives, which are available for the classic BrailleNotes can use disks, but floppy disks are becoming very rare. A USB port can provide access to the many types of drives available encluding thumb drives, devices that imitate standard USB storage when connected to a computer or BrailleNote--I have gotten files from a camera and an MP3 player for instance, A USB hard drive, or floppy disk drive. It also provides a much faster and much easier to plug in connection to Activesync. I really hated having to use activesync with a serial cable, and it often dropped connection before I got everything transfered. You also have the SD card slot, which is currently the cheepest way to get more storage space. It already will make a difference that there is so much more built in storage on the MPower, and the upgrade method for the MPower does not cause keysoft to take valuable storage space from your flash disk, since MPowers reflash the keysoft system disk instead. I won't make a case for radio, MP3 playlists, or games that your second grader might enjoy, because those are just toys, and you could probably find cheeper ones. <grin> On the other hand, why shouldn't there be something fun or blind kids, too. Sarah Van Oosterwijck Assistive Technology Trainer http://home.earthlink.net/~netentity ----- Original Message ----- From: Michelle Wilson To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 12:25 PM Subject: [Braillenote] mPower Can anyone tell me what the major advantages of an mPower over a Braillenote BT32 would be for a 2nd grader? Thanks! Michelle ___ 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 -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.22/238 - Release Date: 1/23/2006 ___ 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
