I agree with the post below. I said I wouldn't purchase another BrailleNote when HW without notice, wouldn't renew my service contract for my transplanted EmPower. But, I wanted Sendero's GPS, so I bought a PK. I really like my PK, and I'm disappointed that there isn't going to be an upgrade plan for it. The reason I am posting my thoughts here, is not to complain; I hope someone from HW will read enough comments from some of us and find some way to accommodate their whole customer base in their business model.
Have a good day all. --Earlene -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cheree Heppe Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 10:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Braillenote] customer viability in the face of planned obsolescence Cheree Heppe here: Listening to the ACB Radio presentation on the new Humanware product, the APEX, last night made me worry. The plan, as I understand it, is to offer two more upgrades, SMA's or whatever they're supposed to be, for existing MPower and PK Braillenote devices. After these two final SMA's, no more will be forthcoming and these MPower and PK devices will become legacy technology to force transition to, and purchase of, the next generation. How long will it be until the next generation, multi-thousand dollar productivity Braille input/output device with eight gigs of hard drive and no mention of improved Word support will also become obsolete? Forced obsolescence and similar tactics make me less and less willing to even try to acquire such devices. Those of us blind people who work find it hard enough to buy equipment on our own or leverage such purchases by jollying along our employers or the various rehab agencies with the latest benefits of the latest and greatest. They buy these because why? Do they really think we are achieving parity? And the ones who don't work because they can't leverage the technology, maybe, well, they don't count at all. Then, thousands of dollars and a learning curve or two later, maybe in two or three or four years, we go through the same song and dance, the same financial strictures to upgrade because our gadgetry is obsolete? Why not develop modular design to allow plug in upgrades of drives, firmware and other replaceables around a re-usable refreshable Braille matrix. Would a modular design, preserving a refreshable Braille display and machine matrix as the base for changing firmware and such perhaps reduce the cost and increase the flexibility and longevity of these specialized devices? We can chase Microsoft and computer design and have a hope of staying current with it because the cost is low enough, tailored for the mass market. Braille technology represents niche usage. Most blind people willing and capable of using refreshable Braille should have the real choice to use this valuable technology. What solution could be realistically sought to fit the expense and usage more closely to the user population? I use a PK and like it. I don't wish to change. I like the small, quiet Braille input keyboard and the PK's small size. So, I'm going to be using a legacy Braille device before long, it seems. I can keep current with mainstream technology, but some must still feel that our Braille is still second class. Regards, Cheree Heppe ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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 ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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
