Hi Listers:
First of all, I give Rusty a 2 thumbs up for what he stated! It is
true, based upon the fact we live in a country where the right to
give our opinion is granted to us via the first amendment. If HW
staff members don't like what has been stated, to damn bad! Maybe it
is time they find out that their product(s) falls short in some
areas. So, based upon what Rusty said, I am in total agreement with
him and maybe its time people stop feeling so secure in the knowledge
that the BrailleNote is this great and wonderful machine that has no
problems what so ever. It is clear to me via this list where many
persons are complaining about bugs in the current update of
KeySoft. Is that not a short coming on the part of the BrailleNote
and Hw as the producer of the brailleNote? The BrailleNote is great
or I wouldn't have one, however, in its own right, the pacmate is
good for those who use it and it serves their needs. So, stop
getting your knickers in a twist and look at the statement for what
it is stating. Remember, the first amendment allows free speech and
if you don't like free speech, find a place that doesn't have free
speech and live there. I applaud Rusty for his willingness to share
his thoughts and feelings with us. Just because some one does not
like what he has said, does not give them the right to bash him or
otherwise complain. We are all free to express our thoughts and
feelings and if I recall, when we joined this list, we agreed not to
be rude or otherwise hurtful to others for their opinions.
Now understand this is my opinion and I will not make anymore comment
about this subject. I will not respond to any of your comments and I
really don't care what you think of me or my comment. It is time you
all grow up!
At 07:36 AM 9/15/2006, you wrote:
Dear Andy,
First off, please forgive me for offending your "finer feelings." As I was
the one who posted the note from the FS list, it was certainly not my
intention to offend you personally.
If, however, you were offended on behalf of HumanWare, then I'm glad it
touched a nurve. This may get me some sensure, but I'll write it.
For many people, the purchase of a piece of technology such as the
BrailleNote is a long term investment in their future and maybe one which
must last them for the better part of a deccade. It is a huge gamble! They
are betting that this piece of technology will help them interact and keep
up with their sighted counterparts for its functional lifetime. If it takes
a bit of offensive behavior to get developers and company executives to sit
up and take notice, to remind them that the competition is innovating and
creating, then so be it! Sometimes a polite suggestion is good. Sometimes a
wake up call is in order. As has been said earlier, broader capability with
the IR port has been asked for for many years.
I've said this before; I LOVE my BrailleNote. As I understand it, it's
hardware seems to be more robust than that of others. That doesn't keep me
from wishing that it was more versitile and able to keep up with current
standards. Unfortunately, right now, it seems that the competition has
cornered the market on timely innovation and encorporation of the
capabilities of the OS and available hardware.
I applaud Humanware for it's encorporation of new connectivity and storage
technology, but in terms of the IR port, I've never used it, even though
I've paid for it, so it would be nice to see some broad capability built in
for this. Data exchange, programmability, these kinds of things which
sighted people are able to do with their handhelds would be great on the BN.
I know, I know, many deafblind folks have purchased a speaker and an FM
radio, and can't use it! Broader capability with the IR and even the BT
hardware would help us all. This should be studied. Surely some one kept the
specs around for the hardware built in to the machines. If these things are
absolutely not possible, then HW should come right out and say it.
I'll say it again; if this was an afront to anyone's loyalty to HW then
good! We shouldn't be purchasing and keeping technology based on loyalty.
Our ability to fit in to a sighted world and to keep up with our sighted
peers is paramount, and it is the reason for which accessible technology
companies exist. We should be loudly demanding innovations which will allow
us to fill our changing needs. If these demands are not met, ANY
accessibility company should be in constant fear of the competition and
constantly strive to keep ahead.
Often when the PackMate is mentioned favorably here, the poster runs the
risk of being flamed. But we are involved in a competition to create a
product which helps blind folks be as successful as possible at navigating a
sighted world, so if it takes a note saying, "look what those guys are up
to," to get people to take notice, then I've succeeded.
I'll shut up now. :-)
Rusty
____________________
Skype: rustyperez
Yahoo and AIM: reliroo
Check out my blog at
http://rusty-perez.blogspot.com
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of andy riden
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 6:41 PM
To: Braillenote List
Subject: RE: [Braillenote] Wouldn't this be neat!!!
Hi guys,
I would prefer it if I didn't have to read any posts that sound like
adverts for Freedom Scientific, if that's ok. Feature suggestions are good,
but please have some consideration for my finer feelings! thanks.
Technically, it may or may not be possible to use the BrailleNote to record
and playback the information that Infra-Red remote controls send - it
basically depends whether we can put the chip that controls the IR interface
into a mode that lets us do exactly what we want, rather than just
transmitting and receiving using the IrDA protocols.
regards,
Andy.
----
Andrew Riden
Software Development Engineer
HumanWare Ltd.
11 Mary Muller Drive,
Christchurch,
New Zealand.
DDI +64 3 940 2264
Fax +64 3 384 4933
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Internet: www.humanware.com
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