Hi, all.
I usually don't reply to messages via the entire list, but Marvin's very
kind and thoughtful e-mail has prompted me to just say a very sincere thanks
for the support and encouragement.
Using a device like the Braille Note Apex is totally new to me; and, as we
all know, this stuff can get quite daunting at times. Plus, it's always so
hard to know whether you are making wise decisions when purchasing.
It's good to know that you guys are out there, and please know that any
question I ask to the list results either from my not being able to find
something relatively quickly in the documentation, or from my just plain
professorial curiosity sometimes. (grin)
Sincerely,
Dr. Tom Behler from Michigan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marvin - a fellow Lister" <[email protected]>
To: "Tom Behler" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2012 8:16 PM
Subject: re: [Braillenote] Quick update from a relative newby
Hi, Tom. Congratulations on your decision to switch keyboards. I myself
prefer typing in braille, thus I have a braille keyboard on my bn mPower,
but I can fully appreciate someone preferring the querty style. I'm just
glad they have a time within which you can change your mind. I never knew
they did that.
Whether or not anyone else on here would disagree with your choice is
irrelevant. Everyone is entitled to their own free will. Also, in
regards to people answering your questions and being patient with you,
it's another function of free choice. Those of us on this list of many
members who feel they can best answer your question, or are willing to try
to do so are the most likely ones to reply, and those who don't reply
either know that they aren't cut out for it, or are simply counting on the
near certainty that someone else will help where they can't. Sometimes
creative thinking succeeds where documentation, no matter how
well-written, fails. As individuals, we can only do our best to
understand and to teach others, whereas a large group is proportionally
more likely to come up with something original and out of the ordinary the
bigger such a group is.
The bn users site is just an attempt by some of us to supplement the
information in the manual, or to explain stuff not clearly understood from
reading said user guide. And sometimes people discover things totally
hidden from us by omission of information. The "playtime" game is a
perfect example of this. Until someone else on this list discovered it a
few years ago, none of us had any idea there was any other game on our
machines other than what text adventures came on our bn memory. Thanks to
that discovery, which was shared with the rest of us via a post, we all
know now. Our species cooperates when faced with a problem or situation
beyond any single person, which is one of our greatest strengths. Don't
hesitate to use that to your advantage. When you need help,
clarification, understanding, commiseration, etc, go right ahead and try
to find what you're looking for. There's lots of us bn users out there,
so odds are you're likely to get a response to your liking. Sometimes you
won't, but that's just a function of individuals' personality, level of
knowledge, and/or experience.
Sorry for what must seem to be an email comprised of a philosophical
essay. Lol! I'm usually not so verbose, but I want to encourage you to
seek assistance when needed, and to explore when you feel confident of
finding an answer for yourself. Making friends helps, and among us you
might find quite a few. Email is a wonderful way to communicate, but
there's another method which the bn allows you to use as well. If you
haven't already done so, try using keychat to contact people. I think
it's mostly for gmail users, but a few other email carriers might be
possible as well.
I'm not sure how tech-savvy you are, so I'll just say that gmail provides
instant messaging capability a certain way that other instant messaging
clients can't access yet. I think Facebook users can access keychat, but
if I remember rightly, there is some tricky work to be done first. You
would be ok though since you've got a gmail address. Setting up keychat
is easy.
If you'd like to try using it but don't know how, contact me or the List
and we'll help you get started. You don't have to by any means, but it's
available should you wish to use it. Anything new is potentially scary,
but also exciting.
May the Force be with you.
----------------
Marvin
----------------
Email sent from my BrailleNote mPower BT running Keysoft version 8
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