Don,
I think for many the price tag is so high many recognize that it should do
more than it does for the money involved. There may come a time when full
PC capability will be possible in such a small package but I think it is
the desire of many to have as much for the many thousands of dollars one
must spend for such a product without also spending thousands more for a PC
and screen reader. The sighted person can have a PDA with lots of
functionality and a PC for a small fraction of what we have for either a PC
with screen reader or a notetaker. Wanting it to do more for the money
seems reasonable even if it is not quite possible right now.
As long as the need persists though and continues to be expressed the hope
is it will be eventually sufficient to motivate the producers and
developers to provide the market niche talked about regularly here. To
have all I need I use BrailleNote, a notebook and a desktop. This is an
extraordinary investment to say the least. I am not out on the fringe if
you will in terms of expectations. That is so as i have been using
assistive devices in the PC arena for more than 22 years now but even I
with all this experience have found the learning curve higher than I wanted
when learning so many new things with the BrailleNote. It is my first
Braille device so many things are not as intuitive for me as they might be
for others. I understand the concepts just fine but still cannot manage
the directories without having to resort to the help menus much of the
time. At least, every time I need to go more than one level deep in a
folder it becomes a problem. i can figure it out but it is by no means
intuitive for me and it is always time consuming. I wonder how difficult
this is for new users with little experience. Some probably will handle it
better than I do but many others will not do as well.
I think we need to be more patient with those who either thought they were
getting something they were not and for those who do not understand the
concepts as yet so would not fully appreciate the limitations even if they
were spelled out. It is easy to be impatient and annoyed but some people
on this list do a wonderful job of offering help no matter how basic the
question. Some of the younger list members are especially terrific in the
precision of their help and in every instance I have found them right on
the mark.
Patience is a virtue but I think it is only a virtual virtue if you will
for many.
Lisa
