Training makes sense. After all, webinars happen all the time, so why not sessions on a regular schedule?
Chris, I agree. In fact, I can confidently say two things about my apex: 1. It was a mistake to upgrade to it, as hw has failed to deliver on what they said the apex would eventually be able to do. 2. I will never buy a BrailleNote again, and I hesitate to buy any blindness notetaker at all. More likely I will get a braile display and pair it with my computer and iPod. Currently, I use my apex as a braille terminal, book reader, and the occasional wordprocessor, and that's it. I only use the book reader because I like keynote gold and because I have already loaded a bunch of books onto it, but I could as easily switch to the iPod and will probably do so once this batch of books is done. That leaves only the terminal (which would be covered by a dedicated braille display) and wordprocessing. HIMS' new Braille Edge has basic functions built into it like a wordprocessor and a calculator, so I could have the advantage of typing a calculation into the calculator directly, and using the notetaking part of the display, as well as all the benefits of my iPod (which is $250 but more powerful than my $6,200 apex). I think emailing Gil is a great idea, and I will do so today. As I always say, I hope hw will prove me wrong and release a new bn or keysoft upgrade that blows us all away. However, they have failed to do anything of the kind for years, and I don't see that changing. On 3/26/12, Jasmine Kotsay <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > When I was talkingab extra training in my earlier post, I didn't > mean that there wasn't any training at all. I had good training, > but I meant that it would be great for HW to offer training as > well. > > "Blindness is not what defines me, yet there are many things > that do." > Jasmine Kotsay, 2007 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Joseph Lee <[email protected] > To: josh gregory <[email protected]>, [email protected] > Date sent: Sat, 24 Mar 2012 13:07:13 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Braille Note Apex - can it keep up and > willHumanwarerise to the challenge > > Hi folks, > I think you might want to talk to Tech Support staff at HW. I'm > glad you've brought those concerns. > As for training, we actually do have some provisions for it - not > by HW, but training by users for others. And we already have a > website for doing this "indirectly" via podcasts. > The number one thing I'd like to stress would be opening up the > doors for third-party program development, which would open the > doops to below suggestions. As for sites, this is the operating > system in control, not KeySoft unless HW introduces a way to > change how BN identifies itself to web serervers. > Hope this helps. > Cheers, > Joseph > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: josh gregory <[email protected] > To: Jasmine Kotsay <[email protected] > Date sent: Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:56:38 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Braille Note Apex - can it keep up and > willHumanwarerise to the challenge > > Not a bad ending line, Jasmine! :) And to Vaun: Send directly to > them, > putting it on here is like shouting into space, you'll never get > a > direct answer, lol. Sorry, but to quote my good friend Chris > Nusbaum, > "it needs to be said." There's a lot of truth to it, too. > Regards, > Josh > > On 3/24/12, Jasmine Kotsay <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > I agree. There should be training sessions for the BN. I'm > still pretty new at the BN, and it would have been great to be > able to go to extra training. And I agree with the rest of what > you said as well. > There are many other things I would like to be able to do with > the BrailleNote Apex, such as read full websites. > > "Blindness is not what defines me, yet there are many things > that do." > Jasmine Kotsay, 2007 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Vaughan Roles <[email protected] > To: braillenote <[email protected] > Date sent: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:42:48 +1100 > Subject: [Braillenote] Braille Note Apex - can it keep up and > will Humanwarerise to the challenge > > Hi list, > > I ask you all to read this post and, if you have comments, make > them > so those at Humanware see that I am not the only one with these > views. > > I have been using a Braille Note Apex now for just over a year. > What > the unit does, it does really well. It's an excellent note > taker, > gives a great braille reading experience and has an easy to use > calendar. The contacts app is great if you use it exclusively > for > keeping track of your contacts, but if you want to synchronize > between > devices it can be a little clunkey. > > I work as a criminal lawyer and use the braille note every day > in > court. I don't use it because its my ideal device, but it is, > until > the last round of American tech shows, the best available unit. > I > carry an iPhone to access the net and look up law. If I had the > choice, I would do all this from the braille note. > > The braille note would blow the competition away if it had:- > > 1. Imap email access; > 2. some way to attach a portable reading solution to it. This, > respectfully, is critical to students and professionals alike. > Anyone > who buys the Braille Note is buying portability. It is not > enough to > be able to type notes - you also need to be able to read on the > go. > 3. A platform where full sites render instead of mobile sites. > 4. The ability to do footnoting and have this transfer into > either > word 2003 or, preferably, word 2007 and 2010 files. > > Another huge advantage for time poor people such as myself would > be a > regular series of training sessions. Freedom Scientific do this > really > well with Jaws - Humanware could emulate this for the Apex. > > I hear many people say it is already easy to use and can be > learnt > quickly. That's true, but if that were the test for whether or > not > companies should run training for end users, why does Apple have > so > many training sessions for their products? The training sessions > should be focused on specific applications within the Braille > Note > family and follow a pattern. E.g. getting started, using the > word > processer, advanced word processing - I think you get the drift. > > I think Humanware makes great products, but unless features are > updated quickly on the Braille Note Apex, there is a danger that > the > Braille Sense U2 from Hims or the other note takers announced at > the > tech shows will start taking significant market share. This > would be a > pity given Humanware's undisputed commitment to Braille over the > last > 20 years. > > Finally, can someone tell me if Humanware monitor this list or > should > I send these suggestions to the R and D team in Canada? > > Vaughan > -- > Vaughan Roles > Ph: 0425211038 > > ___ > 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 > > > > > -- > Sent via gmail.com > Email: [email protected] > Skype: joshgregory93 > twitter: JoshG93 > > ___ > 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 > > -- Have a great day, Alex (msg sent from GMail website) [email protected]; http://www.facebook.com/mehgcap ___ 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
