I also have good memories of the Braille 'n Speak and the Braille Lite.
Besides them crashing and losing all of my data multiple times, I loved using
them in class. I was extremely disappointed when I tried out the Pac mate. It
seemed to me like FS took a step backwards.
Once I have the budget for it, I look forward to working with a MacBook
Air. The newer models definitely sound like a huge step up from the previous
iteration. One thing that I really liked about the Braille 'n Speak and
Braille Lite models were that instant on feature. It made it a breeze to keep
up with real live. I'm glad to see that the Air is taking Mac in this
direction. Another hooray for Apple and accessibility.
Justin
On Nov 11, 2010, at 4:45 PM, Doug Lawlor wrote:
> I used a Braille and speak in about 1988 or so. The thing seemed
> revolutionary at the time. It was so small for what it did and the battery
> life was so good. I also liked the instant on feature. I saw nothing else
> that had those features at the time for the price. Doug
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 2010-11-11, at 5:36 PM, Austin Seraphin <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I just wanted to chime in on this thread. I went from using a netbook to a
>> MacBook Air, and definitely notice the difference. Admittedly, for me, my
>> netbook had a rather nonstandard configuration. It came with a Windows XP
>> partition, and a second blank partition presumably for media files and the
>> like. I just installed Arch Linux on the second partition and made a sweet
>> dual boot setup with a minimum of fuss. I could even access the Windows
>> partition from Linux, from which I did most of my work. I put together a
>> good enough environment, but Mac just kills it! For me, it feels like owning
>> two computers in one, since I can do a lot of cool Unix stuff on it as well,
>> including using ssh to control my other linux servers. Just so cool!
>>
>> That won't matter to most. Most will care about the hardware differences.
>> The macBook feels a lot more solid because of its unibody frame. You can
>> tell. You get what you pay for. The Air also uses flash for everything. When
>> they say "Instant On," they mean it! It also sounds better. The netbook, at
>> least the Asus I have, has its speakers on the bottom, whereas the Air has
>> them under the keyboard. I think the unibody frame also acts as a sort of
>> resonance chamber or something, it seems to help the sound instead of
>> hindering it. Oh and of course, unlike a Windows or Linux netbook, you can
>> actually use the trackpad! Don't get me wrong, I loved the setup I created,
>> and still have to find some ways of doing some things on the Mac, but for me
>> the Air just seemed like a no-brainer!
>>
>> As for comparing the Air to notetakers, I never really got into reading
>> braille displays, so it didn't really bother me. I just got a sweet case and
>> now have the whole notetaking thing covered too. I just have to find the
>> best ways to take the notes! I like MacJournal for journaling and blogging.
>> TextEdit works for quick things. I know little of Pages, but will want to.
>> Either way, for me, the MacBook Air seems like the perfect computer and
>> notetaker. I still have a place in my heart for the Braille 'n Speak though.
>>
>> - Austin
>>
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