Hi all,
Actually, Richard's original message makes a lot of sense. I have
said this before. <smile> I'm probably one of the people who has
repeated the monthly message. He's right. If you want a unit with
lots of memory and the ability to handle lots of email and to go to
most of the web pages on the net, then you want a laptop or notebook.
If you must spend thousands of dollars, buy a Brailliant. Then you
would have the right tool for the job.
I think that many people do not really understand this concept.
Having their units given to them, as Paul suggests may lead to the
purchase of the wrong tool for the job at hand. However, if you
purchase your BN yourself, then it behooves you to truly understand
what the blessed machine can and can't do. It's like the difference in
guitars. If I wanted an electric guitar, I would buy the best one I
could afford, I would buy all the wow-wow, thingers and reverb stuff
and an amplifier that would do the thing credit. However, if I wanted
an acoustic guitar, I would buy a martin, and then I would learn how
to make it sing!
I admit that waiting for wireless support for the BN is hard because
it is something that is really needed. Waiting for improvements is
always hard. However, there is a difference between waiting for
improvements and expecting your beautiful acoustic guitar to all of a
sudden sprout wires and turn into an Electric guitar with wow-wow and
so on.
Frankly, if I were spending the money, and indeed I did the research
because I didn't want the state to spend the money for something I
couldn't use, I would make it my business to know as much about each
note-taker on the market as I could. Not only that, I would take a
good, solid hard and practical look at my needs as a computer user.
<smile> If I were Paul, e.g., I'd have purchased something else,
maybe.
I chose the BrailleNote for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted the
braille display, and I didn't want something that was detachable.
Second, I chose a BrailleNote because I thought I might be able to
help train others to use both it and the GPS. Third, I needed a
device that would be small and portable and could be taken to
students' houses or wherever with ease.
I didn't need it for email, have a computer, in fact more than one
here. Didn't need it for the web, though I do use it for browsing
occasionally. Might use the modem to download email if I'm away from
home, but I'm not away that often. Fourth, I wanted to read etexts.
I got what I needed. The state paid for it, but I got what I needed
to do the job I needed to have done. Did I see the BrailleNote's
lacks? Sure, I did, but they were outweighed by its pluses.
The problem is that for some, not all, buyers the ability to evaluate
needs and weigh them against the capabilities of a note-taker or
laptop is not there. They can't evaluate because they do not have the
knowledge to do so. That's why there are computer tech trainers.
Unfortunately, the remark about the small size of our market share is
apt. If more people used BrailleNotes, development would go faster,
waiting times would be cut in half. <smiling sardonically> I don't
think that the Triffids are going to land any time soon. So we're
stuck with the economic conundrum the way it is. Don't lose hope,
Paul, things will improve. Hey, if not, you can always sell your BN
to somebody who wants it and buy the tool you really need.
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
