Dear List,
I'm going to add my two cents' worth about HumanWare's quality of service
and I will also tell why I'm staying with the BN.
HW's quality of service has gone down. I've bought HW products since 1995
and, until my latest BN, I've never had any trouble with the units.
When I first received my BN, I noticed some of the cells had dots which
weren't as high as others although the braille was readable. The cells got
worse and worse until I finally sent the BN in for repair. When I got it
back, I noticed the bad cells had been fixed but other cells had some dots
which weren't as high as others. The braille is readable, but how long will
the cells last until I must send it in again? My warranty is due to expire
soon and I don't know if I should buy an extended contract or not. I was
told by HW that people may not receive a letter reminding them their
warranty is about to expire. I think that's terrible!
So why am I sticking with the BN? I tried using a mini laptop with a
braille display connected to it and I didn't like it. There's no stability
and a docking station is required if I want to use usb peripherals or
CD/DVD's. A full-size laptop is too heavy to lug around. The gui
environment doesn't have the same ease of use as Keysoft. Braille files
can't be read on a PC except by plugging in a braille display. The BN
provides what I need: Word processing, the media player, calendar and
calculator. I don't use Keymail or Keyweb very much because I prefer using
my desktop PC for the internet. I don't use the recorder, the radio or
games. I've got lots of recorders and radios and the games are too hard, so
they're not even fun to play! I can't stand Word, and I don't get too many
Word files. I only use the calculator for basic everyday math.
HumanWare needs to step up its quality of service and it does need to pay
more attention to improving the BN. I can't understand why they didn't get
the BN to work with NLS digital talking books unless it is because they want
us to spend more money and buy another product to handle this service.
I don't approve of their latest product for the deaf blind because it relies
on the use of a cell phone. What happens when the cell phone quits working
or the model is no longer being manufactured?
Before I bought my latest mPower, I looked into buying another notetaker,
but I decided not to because the unit didn't have a QWERTY keyboard and I
don't like working with a Windows-like environment. Buying FS notetakers is
out of the question for me. And the BraillePlus doesn't support a braille
display and it would mean having all of the hassles of a minilaptop.
To conclude: HumanWare needs to listen to its customers and put out a
better quality product. I don't care how many bells and whistles are on it!
I can't afford to send the BN in for repair again and again.
The braille display I recently bought has very limited notetaker
capabilities, but I'm not required to send it in for servicing for two
years! That's right, two years! Besides that, the battery can be changed
by the user. I would be much happier if HW had the same quality of service!
Terri Amateur Radio call sign KF6CA.
___
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