Yes, choice is king. I believe that what people choose should depend upon their needs and their abilities. If you're not particularly technologically inclined, and you don't want to be, then don't go out and purchase a device whose command structure is not intuitive. The Braillenote is, for the most part, a rather intuitive device. I don't think their file management system is all that intuitive, however that's my opinion, not a fact. But the Braillenote makes sense for the most part, and there are lots of other pieces of technology out there that require a lot more work to master. And, if you (or some agency) purchase a device which you don't end up using because it is too much trouble to learn, then someone has wasted a lot of money. And you have wasted a lot of your time. I only have one complaint about the Braillenote and it is that that in my personal experience, they require quite a lot of maintenance. The first Braillenote I ever used had to be fixed three times in less than two years, twice for the same problem. A friend of mine in Maryland has had to return his device four times, including the first unit he was shipped which was dead on arrival. A co-worker of mine is about to send her unit in for the sixth time, and the unit is not even three years old. Another co-worker of mine has sent her unit in at least four times. I know, nobody wants to hear about stuff like this, and I know that many of you have never had trouble with your machines, but I can name many other people who have had nothing but repair problems with the device. Now, when a Braillenote works, it is a useful and powerful tool. However, it has been my experience that they can be quite temperamental. And, frankly, I'm glad that most of you on this list haven't had as many bad experiences with the Braillenote as I have.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mary Ellen Earls Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 12:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Braillenote List Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Recording with the BN family Amen, sister, Amen! This is why I said last week that if you want everything your giant desktop pc does in a portable unit buy one of the mini notebooks with the sentrino processor. No pocket pc on these babies no stripped down quicken no stripped down word and you get your cd/dvd writer you get your streaming in stereo and the whole 9 yards. A Fujitsu cost me about $1100 and I have everything I want. Back to the Braille Note it is an aid to get information to your computer and this is what and all it has been intended to be and yes, I still use my Braille Note on a daily bassis. It is all about choices and thank heavens we have so many now. Mary Ellen Earls Remember! Today is the Tomorrow you thought about yesterday. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ann K. Parsons" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Braillenote List" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 4:05 AM Subject: [Braillenote] Recording with the BN family > Hi all, > > Um, it's because PDI happens to think that Braille Support, ability to > handle large documents, one word processor instead of two, are more > important than the ability to record one's voice. If you want a tape > recorder, go to Walmart and buy one for $20.00. You might also want > to read the competition's user list, it's rather enlightening, to tell > the truth. The BN does use Windows CE. It is just the interface, the > way you interact with the OS that is different. > > <smiling> The BN may not have all the bells and whistles of the > competition, but when it comes to the ability to write a coherent > document in one place, using one program, and when it works seamlessly > with something as innovative as the program from Sendero, and when one > knows that the basics are being looked at first instead of being > add-ons, then I think one begins to understand the true power of the > BN. I've read this list and heard everyone complaining that they want > bells and whistles: recorders, games, support for off-the-shelf > programs. I'm finally at the point where I've got to say this folks. > If you buy a car and it has all the features you could ever want, > electric windows and doors, a DVD player, air conditioning, cruise > control, leather seats, and so on, but if that car has a faulty > distributor or if that car has a cracked engine block, or an oil leak, > you ain't goin' nowhere fast, folks, nowhere nohow no place! On the > other hand, if you buy a car that has wind-up windows and manual doors > and a simple AM/FM radio and a cassette player, and no air > conditioning, but if the engine runs true and the milage is good, you > can drive from New York City to Sacramento if you want to do so! It > may be a plain old blue car, but it will pass the caddy on the side of > the road and keep on goin'. > > 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 > > > ___ > 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 > > ___ 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
