Hi, folks: I got my first notetaker, in 1998. I'd never used a computer; the
only cursor (curser) I knew about was my dad, when he was angry! I was hired by
a guy, as a telemarketter, who said I needed a computer. I called my
counselorr, and was sent for evaluation.
At the end of my evaluation, the choice was between two notetakers: the
BLT2000, and a notetaker, which you guys from Australia and New Zealand might
have known, the Aria, by Robotron.
The aria did not have a Braille display, but it had a wonderful voice, and was
great fun to use. However, it had some drawbacks. For one thing, there was
only one guy, in the U.S., who handled it, and he was the vendor, "tech
support", and everything else, except the repair-person. The repairs were done
here, in the States, but people I talked to said that the guy, who owned the
repair place, was kind of nasty.
On the other hand the Braille Lite had a terrible voice, but it had a Braille
display, and the company was located in Maryland, just a few hours away from
Pittsburgh. Because of the Braille display, and the ese of getting tech
support and repair, should that be necessary, I chose the Braille Lite. I
really liked the Aria, but I think I made the right decision.
When Blazie merged with Henter-Joyce and TSI, I was not happy; didn'between,
and still don't, think it was good for blind folks. I won't go into why on the
list.
By that time, though, the BrailleNote was out. I read some very favorable
reviews on it, and continued to hear nothing but wonderful things. When it was
announced that the BrailleNote's new upgrade would let people get on the
Internet, and do E-mail, I decided to really look at it. When Ed Smith, from
PDI-HumanWare, demonstrated it, I was there. I loved the Braille display,
loved the clear speech, and said, "This is for me!".
I got my BN on May 4, 2003, and have been happily using it, ever since.
With the BN, I can get E-mail, surf the Net, read books, and do just about
anything I could do with a full-service PC. When I had surgery a few months
back, and missed a month of work, I was pretty much able to keep up from home.
The crisp Braille, the clear speech, the modem, and the great amount of memory
make the BN an invaluable tool for me. Oh, by the way, I know more about
computers now; I don't think that the serial (cereal) port is where the Oatmeal
is delivered! Progress, eh? God bless. Bob and Maxy-wax
