Hi all,
I'm afraid this message may seem a bit sharp, and for that, I
appologize. However, as a firm believer in the BrailleNote and PDI's
philosophy in the development of products for the blind, I feel that I
have a right to make my disappointment and my concerns known. What
concerns me is that if the GPS doesn't work with the PK, and if the PK
is running version 6.1, then is it going to be compatible with the
regular sized BN's and VN? You say the regular sized BN's and VN's
will have wireless compatibility, if that's the case, then it should
work with bluetooth GPS receivers, right? Since the existing
equipment has a serial port, I suspect that we'll still be able to use
the Earthmate receivers? However would like some confirmation on this.
Mary's right, this is of concern to us. If you're going to upgrade,
would seem to me that communication with one's developers is crucial.
This, especially when Freedom Scientific has just come out with an
announcement about their new GPS module for the Pacmate. It's not
Visuaid, it's some other company and it's mainstream to keep the price
down, so they say. However, if PDI isn't on the band wagon about this
they sure as heck ought to be. The FS GPS does work with Bluetooth.
<sigh> Is it only we trainers who keep membership on both lists so we
know what l'deuce is going on here? As an Assistive Technology
trainer, it's my job to keep current with everything that's going on
in the field, and believe me, it takes hours per day of reading email
lists. However, I do it because I believe the blind community needs
to know that they have choices in the equipment they buy!
Now if the manufacturers of this stuff can't even communicate with
their own developers so that they will be ready to release comparable
products... Visuaid's just announced their own GPS system too. It's
not just FS. Visuaid's product works with Bluetooth too. C'mon,
guys, what's email for, eh? What's conference calling for, eh?
What's plain old snailmail for, eh? What's face to face meeting for,
eh?
Ann P.
--
Ann K. Parsons
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WEB SITE: http://home.eznet.net/~akp
"All that is gold does not glitter.
Not all those who wander are lost." JRRT
