Hi Don,
On 4 Aug 2004 at 15:19, Don Bishop <[email protected]> spoke, thus:
> I was definitely being sarcastic. I've been on this list for over 3 years
> and maybe that's just too long. But, time and time again, I hear people
> wishing the bn could do all sorts of things which are really beyond the
> capability of a notetaker or pda. They seem to think it should be able to
> be a replacement for their pc and it isn't.
That depends on the features in question. I don't suggest that you are
wrong, necessarily, but the point of my last message was to emphasise the
need to concentrate on fixing existing bugs that are - time and time again
and without any real justification - popping up again and again on this
list. It is too much for me that if anyone searched the archives they
would probably find at least ten copies of the answer they are seeking. I
have that archive, right here, easily accessible as a mail folder which I
imported from the MBOX which is downloadable from the list page. I am
seeing the same stuff, over and over again: PackMate vs Braillenote, why
the translator doesn't work like x, why the email program isn't doing y,
why this and that error occurred when saving a document.
Given the recent discussion about the incidental file erasures and the so-
called "Email overload", these are problems which I can see a number of
ways of fixing, and which don't require any change of hardware at all.
They require only a change of software and a change of attitude, and
possibly a change of release cycles. It is these sort of fixes, if
anything, that need attention now rather than later, and certainly before
implementing any new features (when the SDK becomes available, that will
be the community's responsibility).
> The bn is a great device and getting even better, but a pc it will never
> be, certainly not with the current hardware configuration.
A handheld is never a PC, whatever its configuration. But, and I say this
with some regret, I can see myself alone with the competition and
surviving without a PC and simply cannot see the same for the BrailleNote.
Why? Because the email program is, from where I am, useless. The
competition has the industry, mainstream advantage. Yes, I agree with you
that the BrailleNote is an excellent device and generally does what it
does do well, exceptionally well. I am looking forward to all the new
features, as well as some fixes. But there are much-needed improvements
in programs that are already there. Those improvements must come first!
> But, this keeps coming up time and time again, and I really do wonder
> sometimes if people really do realize just what the capabilities and
> limitations are of the device they're purchasing.
>From a technical viewpoint, the BrailleNote is a small computer. It has a
CPU, some storage modules, controllers for operating various devices, and
so on. Theoretically, that little BrailleNote can do anything, albeit
slowly. People out there have taken the trouble to port a version of UNIX
to varying numbers of handhelds, and use them for doing everything from
web browsing to developing programs. I aint kidding you here. There are
two things you see differently: first, PulseData has already decided what
you can and cannot do. Secondly, the operating system you are running and
mainstream programs are not visible to you directly. The first point is a
matter of PulseData releasing its SDK and being better at squashing bugs.
The latter is a serious impairment. This impairment justifies people's
requests for media players, instant messaging programs, and everything
else that a normal handheld owner can already do. So, yes - a handheld is
a handheld. But no - it can do more than PulseData decides it can do. We
are going off-topic for the message I sent, I don't want another Packmate
Vs BrailleNote discussion (yawn). I just wanted to make it clear that
PulseData's decisions have a big impact on its users, not the case for
other devices, and that as such these problems must be addressed now. It
is not enough that we be expected to use buggy software whose three or
four releases should have fixed most, if not all, outstanding problems in
them, particularly those which have been talked about often or which
appear to be critical or grave.
[...]
> Sorry I even mentioned it.
No problem, here's a new twist for you if you haven't had it already. And
I'm pleased you were just being sarcastic!
Cheers,
Sabahattin
--
Thought for the day:
Advertising (n): the science of arresting the human
intelligence for long enough to get money from it.
-- Stephen Leacock.
Sabahattin Gucukoglu
Phone: +44 20 7,502-1615
Mobile: +44 7986 053399
http://www.sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/
Email/MSN: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
