Well, I have two Braille Notes now. I originally bought the 18 cell and love it, but when we had some extra money available, my husband bought me a Braille Note 32 which I use more for work and I love that too.
I don't think that a day has gone by since January 23, 2001 that I have not use one or the other. I travel more with the 18-cell because it is lighter and easier to use if I am in a bus, car, plane. I use the 32-cell at work, or when I connect to the computer and use it as a terminal. I keep approximately 70-100 books stored on the unit, anything from technical manuals for work to pleasure reading novels. I take notes in meetings, track my appointments, sync my planner and address book (or did until this week with a new computer where things are not quite working right). My only complaint is HumanWare Customer support which I don't need often and my biggest complaint is regarding this recent upgrade (I don't have it yet so cannot comment on how I like it) but in the past have been more than thrilled with the upgrades I have installed on either of my units. My only visit to an exhibit hall has paid off in equipment I cannot live without and I am glad I have the ability to still have use of one BN even if the other is down--so far I have never had real down time except to upgrade the BN 18-cell and I already had the 32-cell by then. By the way, I use Braille exclusively in the work setting but here at home I often let the BN read to me while I do other things like catch up on mending, tasks that are not noisy but where reading Braille would be impossible. Despite not having the upgrade and my annoyance about how I was treated last year when I was trying to assure my upgrade status and correct errors, some of which I still believe were not mine, I can't say enough good things about the product itself. I seldom leave home without one. I have had some funny looks when I take it to the grocery store so my list is available, or even more so when I took it to the hardware store where we were buying stuff for home reconstruction but I don't care. I cannot imagine how I got along for so many years without a Braille Note in my life. Rose Combs [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jean Menzies Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 7:59 AM To: Braille Note list Subject: [Braillenote] introduction I've recently joined this list as an observer and potential buyer of a BrailleNote down the road. I'm looking into some possible funding, but in the meantime, I'm just going to be observing the list to see what people are saying about BrailleNote in all its configurations. I may have a question from time to time, and please understand I'm not a user and have never actually used this equipment. So, what I ask may seem stupid to some. If I opt for a BrailleNote 18, how difficult is it down the road to upgrade to the 32? I'm considering the BrailleNote because I have heard from so many of its superior responsiveness for fast, accurate braille input. Would those of you with the braille keyboard agree? I want the braille experience, and BrailleNote seems to be to be built around braille, whereas the PacMate is built around speech access with braille tacked on. Is that a fair assessment? So that's it for now. I just thought I'd speak up and say I'm here observing. Thanks to anyone who is willing to share their thoughts and experiences. Jean ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
