I'm replying to this post as I feel it is one of the most useful on this thread, and the convenience of having Grade 2 input and a Braille display all in a neat unit is, for some, a great convenience.
Yes, sure, the cost is high, and downright prohibitive for some; but surely we can not quarel with those who actually do spend their money this way, rather than patching together a portable kit with one of the new cheap laptops at its heart. I did use a BrailleLite curtacy of Access to work some years ago and it was one of the nicest notetakers I ever had the pleasure of using. I regard such notetakers as beyond my means these days, but as I say, I won't pick an arguement with anyone who does fork out for them. Much of the Access Tech industry depends on Government funding in one way or another, and redistributers here in the UK would be out of business if that weren't so. So it is good that alternatives like the NC 10 are coming along now, and much more compact Braille displays too. Remember too that Window-Eyes - oh yes, W-E - I thought folks had forgotten about the program that is, after all, the main subject of this list - can be put on portable devices without restriction, but no need to mention other products, I feel. So, and if anyone's still reading this, please, let's have some give and take and respect the choices people make, and have less personal abuse while we're at it. Ray. E. wrote: Your points are all well taken. I suggest that off the shelf products and specially developed notetakers may be different products. Thus the discussion is valuable, if comparing is possible understanding their differences. One of these differences is the availability of Grade Two braille input. The Braille Sense and Humanware notetakers do allow somebody to input using Grade Two braille. This input option may be faster for somebody with good braille writing skills who needs to take down verbatum transcripts or who wants to input notes rapidly. In this case, the notetaker user is paying for the braille translation software in the notetaker. Off the shelf and notetakers are sometimes actually different products, as in this case. They each have advantages and disadvantages depending on the needs of an individual. This is a useful discussion if framed in something other than either or terms. I would personally like a braille display which contained a braille translator if possible but did not have the weight of either the braille sense or other notetakers. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. All GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo, and can be searched through and sorted using the search form at the bottom of the page. If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to [email protected] and include leave gw-info in the body of the message.
