I don't find the argument that the BS 32 Plus is a PDA and not a
computer very helpful, because it could also be used to justify all
sorts of limitations that don't exist. For example, would it make
sense to say that the BS 32 cannot have more than twenty files in
a folder, that it can't have a spell checker, that it can't
translate between computer braille and Grade 2, that it can't play
daisy books, that it can't browse the web, that it can't convert zip
files to their constituents or create zip files in the first place,
that it can't play audio files, and so on and so on?
So for me, to say that the BS is a PDA really doesn't illuminate the
discussion If on the other hand you say that the BS uses Windows CE
5.0 and that that OS allows only thirty-two processes to run
simultaneously, and so certain database applications, spreadsheet
programs or other apps cannot run at the same time as others, or
cannot run at all, then that's really helpful, if you have a clue
about how many processes a program uses to do what it does.
The Braille 'n Speak for about $1,000 was a Pda, if you like, and it
could do many of the things the BS does. Should we say that because
it was "only a PDA" you couldn't run a spreadsheet on it? No, we
can't, because for ten years now I've run a spreadsheet on first the
Braille 'n Speak 640 and then on the Braille 'n Speak 2000. It's a
third-party program that works just fine. Okay, the spreadsheet has
only sixteen columns by 64 rows. But that's enough to track a budget
for a small office, do payroll calculations, project tax liability,
track investments, keep a checkbook (although another third-party
program was written for that) and manage surprising amounts of data
in accessible fashion. A spreadsheet that size is like a restroom on
an airplane: cramped but functional. And when the developer added
the feature allowing one spreadsheet to link to and retrieve data
from a specified cell in another sheet, the practical size of the
master spreadsheet greatly increased.
Compared to the Braille 'n Speak, of course, the BS is enormously
more powerful, enormously faster and more capable. Let's hope that
HIMS and GW Micro, with our help, will push those capabilities much,
much farther than is so far the case. After all, to say "Well, the
BS is only a PDA, and therefore it can't ..." is like saying "Well,
you know he or she is blind, and therefore can't be expected to be
able to ...".
If we take the same approach to our tech products that we take to
our own lives -- believing that more is possible and finding ways to
prove ourselves right -- surprisingly good things might happen.
Steve
At 10:25 PM 8/13/2009, you wrote:
I'd also like to be able to save records to a text file sorted on one or
more fields.
But as I keep saying, we're dealing here with what is essentially a PDA
and IMO shouldn't therefore expect to have all the bells and whistles
one would have using a full-up PC.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Antonio M. Guimaraes" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 9:01 AM
Subject: [GWN] Impromements: The database manager
Hello all, especially the GW Micro team,
I am writing to suggest an improvement to the Braille Sense Database
Manager.
Currently when creating a database one can only upend a new field. There
should be an option to insert new field at current location.
This would allow more flexibility with the database.
For example the fields
First name
Last name
address
City
State
Zip
Home Phone
Cell phone
Work phone
Fax
could be changed to have inserts and now read
First name
Middle initial
Last name
address 1
Address 2
City
State
Zip
Home Phone
Cell phone
Google voice
Work phone
Fax
Any thoughts?
Antonio Guimaraes
If an infinite number of rednecks riding in an infinite number of pickup
trucks fire an infinite number of shotgun rounds at an infinite number
of highway signs, they will eventually produce all the world's great
literary works in Braille.
Shop online and support the NFB of RI at no additional cost to you.
http://www.givebackamerica.com/charity.php?b=169
Givebackamerica.org, America's Online Charity Shopping Mall
__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
signature database 4334 (20090814) __________
The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
http://www.eset.com
