Hi Colleen,
Well, that's expected due to hardware and operating systems -
mostly hardware though.
Cheers,
Joseph
----- Original Message -----
From: Colleen Roth <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date sent: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:50:04 -0800
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: opinions needed
Hi Alex,
The Braille Sense Original works better than the Bhl Note Classic
when using the Web Browser on large websites, in my opinion.
Colleen Roth
----- Original Message -----
From: Sarah May <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 2009/06/21 02:31:56
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Hi Alex,
I have a Braille Sense original. I find that when the unit is
trying to download a site in the web browser that is large,
either it takes forever or it will lock up and freeze the unit on
me. So you using that as an example, and you said that you don't
know if it happens or not, it does on the older unit of the
Braille Sense. I'm not sure if the problem has been fixed with
the Braille Sense Plus.
Sarah
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Hall <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 2009/06/20 22:10:45
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
I have done so, but nothing beats hands-on. Still, I ask the
list these questions because there is plenty that the manual
will
not say. For example, it will not tell you that you can do it
you as
instead of the standard way, or that sometimes the web browser
will lock up on large sites (no idea if it does or not, it is
just an example), and so on.
Have a great day,
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tessa" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]
Date sent: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:52:21 com0400
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Alex,
No one here has one either, I downloaded the manual and read it
end to end
when I first considered buying one. Later I talked to a vender
and asked him
to put me in touch with someone who had used the bsp.
I suggest you read the manual.
Tessa
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Hall" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
So pressing Enter on a message will automatically open it, then
you can delete it read the next one, or tab or shift-tab out of
the body and to the other fields. Believe me, I would like
nothing more than to see this thing live, but no one has them
around here so I cannot. We are lucky to have an extra
Braillenote, and that is all the schools buy.
Have a great day,
Alex
ar ----- Original Message -----
arFrom: "don bishop" <[email protected]
arTo: <[email protected]
arDate sent: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:20:47 com0700
arSubject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
arAlex,
arA slight correction and maybe even a clarification.
Admittedly,
the
aremail program really does need some work. But, when you scroll
through
ara list of messages you can have the subject, date, or sender as
the
arfield shown. Also, You can have each message opened if you tab
to that.
arIn other words, if you tab to the open message item, the
message
will
arbe opened. If you delete it, then the next message will be
opened. You
arcan still tab to the from, date, or subject field if you like.
arIf you're on the subject field, for example, and wish to open
the
armessage, just press enter and the message will open.
arSome of these items are a bit awkward to describe, and I'd
really
arsuggest you try to see a unit yourself and experiment to see
just
what
aryou can and cannot do.
arI honestly think a description of how to perform some of these
tasks
arisn't nearly as helpful as seeing a live demo.
arJust my thoughts.
arDon
----- Original Message -----
arFrom: "Alex Hall" <[email protected]
arTo: <[email protected]
arSent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 11:21 AM
arSubject: RE: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Hmmm... The bn already cannot check multiple accounts at once
or
filter, so that is no change. Tabbing will get frustrating as I
am
constantly emailing, though with only one account; I get around
150
messages a day, easily. You cannot simply press enter to open
the
message? What about what someone mentioned, about using the
scroll
keys in place of tab and shift-tab? Is that possible here? If
so, it
seems that doing that would be no different from spacing through
the
email info like I already do on the bn.
Have a great day,
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Turner" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]
Date sent: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:01:28 com0700
Subject: RE: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Not to mention that Humanware shows no signs of catching up to
the 21st
century with their units.
Alex, I have not used the unit in all of the areas that your
questions
addressed, but in spite of a few irritations with the e-mail
program, the
other things are very easy to live with.
I always do final editing on a computer, so the limits of the
word processer
don't bother me.
About e-mails. If you use e-mail a ton, this is the one area you
may get a
bit tired of, especially if you have more than one e-mail
account.
1. You have to check e-mail for each account separately.
2. You can not create a filter to sort the e-mail from the
different
accounts into a separate mail box. So, for example, if you get
30 messages
from one account, then get 30 more from another account, they are
sorted by
the date stamp by default. So, the messages will be all mixed up
so the
first couple might be from account A, the next ten might be from
account b,
and so forth.
3. You cannot read the subject, date and sender information at
once, you
have to tab from the subject field, to the date field, to the
from field.
One more tab opens the message.
4. This is, in some ways, the most irritating part of the
e-mail. You do
not have a sent folder, nor a trash folder. Once you delete a
message, it
is gone.
If you have, or want, GPS, IT IS STILL NOT UPDATED TO THE LATEST
Sendero
release, which means it does not have as many features as the
latest version
on the BrailleNotes.
All that being said, I would still choose the Braille Sense Plus
over a
BrailleNote. For devices with an onboard braille display, I do
think it is
the best.
I hope the e-mail program gets updated soon, as that is the area
most
lacking in my opinion.
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Hall [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 6:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
I think the bsp is better because it seems to lock up less
online, it has
8gb of internal storage compared to the bn's 120mb, it has MSN
Messenger,
the company supports their products much better, it has built-in
wifi, I do
not have to send my unit back for several weeks just to get a new
battery,
it has an lcd display so sighted partners and teachers can see
what I am
doing without me emailing them or using Keyview, it has a mode
that lets it
act as a mass storage device for a pc, so I do not have to fight
with Active
Sync just to put some files on it from my pc, it has media
keys... I could
go on, but you get the idea.
Have a great day,
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: estin <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:14:36 +1200
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Alex This is Estin what made you decide to change units.
Also how much is a braille sense plus now.
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Hall <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:25:56 com0400
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Thank you. I know all my questions were negative, but that is
the
point; I hear all the praise about the unit on reviews and
podcasts,
but never anything bad, as one would expect. I wanted the "dark
side", if such a thing exists for the BSP, FROM THE ACTUAL,
real-life
user before I go about making the switch. I have used a bn since
2002, so moving to a new unit is a huge deal, plus, of course, it
costs a lot. I am not worried about getting used to the
intercace,
since I also have used Windows since 200 or so, but it seems like
some
things would be more annothing, like having to tab a whole bunch
of
times just to get to, say, the OKAY BUTTON.
Have a great day,
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: Joe Giovanelli <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:15:37 com0800
Subject: Re: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Hi, Alex,
There's no way I can reply to all of your questions.
I don't think this unit supports video files.
It does play MP 3, Daisy, Wav and some others.
It reads HTML PERFECTLY WELL.
It handles forms found on the Internet very well. There is no,
separate forms mode. You are just presented with the edit box.
The keyboard on the Braille Sense is the best keyboard I have
seen, and that includes your Braille Note. I have heard about
only
problem with the keyboard from only one person. I've logged lots
of
hours on the unit and it works as well as the day I got it.
The battery is easy to change.
I have not timed how long the battery will last under varying
conditions. I usually get a day's work from the unit.
There definitely are translation problems from ASCII TO Braille
and vice versa and the errors are not consststent. If I want to
have
a document look good, I use ASCII VIA A USB KEYBOARD.
All your questions are negative. This unit has some definite
good qualities. The word processor works well. It does what the
manual says it does. Formatting is not complete. There isn't a
shortcut key for centering.
There is a hot key for tabbing forward but you do need a
combination key for shift-tab.
Forget about printing unless you happen to have a printer which
supports PCL 3; IT MUST BE HP COMPATIBLE. The serial port
cannot be used for a printer connection. This printing thing is
my
biggest gripe about this unit.
We don't see too many releases. We won't see a release just for
bug fixes. A release will fix these, but it will also contain
major
feature additions.
I'm writing this in Braille; the e-mail will first be translated
into Ascii, so you may see a couple of translation errors.
I should say that the wireless LAN WORKS VERY WELL. I have never
had a drop-out.
In general, data is not lost during a reset unless it has not
been saved. All settings will be lost but if these are backed up
properly, they are easily restored.
I'll let others answer your other questions. I hope this was
helpful.
Joe G.
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Hall <[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, Jun 19, 2009 13:44:36
Subject: [GWN] BSP: OPINIONS NEEDED
Hi all,
For those of you using the Braille Sense Plus, I would like to
ask
you a small favor: could you respond with all the bad things
(missing features, bugs, data corruption, and so on) that you
have
found with your unit? I am closer now to being able to get one
of
these to replace my BN, BUT I want to know the "real story"
behind
the BSP's operation in daily life before I
proceed.
Note that I am a student going into either software design or
web
programming, I am not sure which yet, with two years of school
remaining. I know the technical specs, but no one in my state
has
one that I can look at and use first-hand; I have only your
responses and the reviews and podcasts around the Internet to
guide
me. I would like to know the following, and sorry it is such a
long list, but then again, it is a lot of money.
1. How annoying constantly pressing the tab and shift-tab key
combos gets?
2. How often can you do things with a shortcut key to avoid
tabbing five times?
3. What can the wordprocessor not handle?
4. What problems do you find when browsing the Internet?
5. How often does the unit lock up, resulting in a reset and
therefore a loss of data?
6. What problems still exist with the email program, even after
the firmware updates?
7. What external device compatibility issues, if any, have you
found?
8. Can Bluetooth do object exchange, and is it stable?
9. Can you browse networks?
10. How is printing as far as formatting, printer support, font
changes, retaining page setup (such as centered lines, line
spacing, etc)?
11. How is the Braille display after months of use?
12. Is Wifi stable, or does it often drop connections, connect
to
networks it cannot actually see, you get the idea?
13. Can it take SDHC CARDS?
14. Does the DSL JACK ALWAYS WORK PROPERLY?
15. How is battery, with and without wifi, bluetooth, and so
on?
16. Can you turn on and off speech and braille independently?
17. If you came from a BN, HOW IS THE Braille display
scrolling?
18. How does it handle translation to and from grade 2?
19. Can one use computer braille languages other than English?
20. How does the LCD DISPLAY WORK IN REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS? It
is
a good concept, but is it easy to display what you want, to turn
it
off, and so on?
21. How easy is it to buy and install a new battery?
22. If you are a student, what problems have you found in
classes,
such as unsupported files, trouble with emails, and the like?
23. For GWM STAFF: ANY PLANS TO INCORPORATE Nemeth, UEB, OR
other
useful codes?
24. What media file size cannot be played? If you play a 150mb
DVS
movie, for example, will it work / will the system bog down any?
25. How does the unit react to high heat and/or humidity? Cold?
26. How are new lines represented? On the BN, THEY CAN BE A ONE
or
two cell intentation on the display, or an ed sign followed
by
a people. I always set it to indent one cell, since there is no
other
reason for the display to ever indent in text, so any indent is
a
new line and it feels more like a Brailled document and makes
more
sense, to me at least.
27. Is there a limit to the number attachments in an email? The
BN
will not send more than 7, I believe.
28. Technical: what Javascript does the unit support? For
example,
the BN SUPPORTS ONLOAD, ONUNLOAD, AND ONCLICK, BUT NOT ONCHANGE,
onfocus, onkeypress, and the rest.
29. How is filling out fields on the BSP?
30. Have you run into issues where keys would stick or in any
other way not work?
31. What version of JS DOES THE BROWSER HAVE? Will it support
dhtml (the innerHTML METHOD ON OBJECTS)?
32. Overall, how do you like your unit for what you do with it?
Please tell me anything you do not like about the unit, even if
I
did not cover it?
You can reply off-list to avoid Raul's or Jeremy's wrath (JK
guys).
Thanks in advance for any responses.
Have a great day,
Alex
__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of
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Sarah M. E. May
E-Mail: [email protected]
Advice From A Horse
Take life's hurdles in stride. Loosen the reins; be free
spirited. Keep the burrs from under your saddle; carry your
friends when they need it. Keep
