[blindlaw] Portable devices

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Fri Mar 9 17:27:27 UTC 2012 

Thank you.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson


On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 09:15:08 -0800, Aser Tolentino wrote:

>There are a few accessible apps that can read PDFs, not least of which is Apple's own iBooks. The 
Kindle app's interface is accessible, but books are not; this is the case with many ebook and PDF 
viewers. I also ran into an app called VoiceReader, which can import PDF's and allow you to navigate the 
text fairly well; it can also generate its own text-to-speech independent of the operating system screen 
reader much like the GhostReader program on the Mac.

>Respectfully,
>Aser Tolentino, Esq.

>On Mar 9, 2012, at 8:24 AM, "Daniel K. Beitz" <dbeitz at wiennergould.com> wrote:

>> The advantage of apple over the laptop is that it reads iBook's and
>> presumably amazon books as well.  Other devices and programs can read books
>> in epub format, but not protected formats.  
>> 
>> -------------------------------------------
>> Daniel K. Beitz
>> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
>> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
>> Rochester, MI  48307
>> Phone:  (248) 841-9405
>> Fax:  (248) 652-2729
>> dbeitz at wiennergould.com
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>> attached
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>> not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this
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>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
>> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 11:05 AM
>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>> 
>> Could you comment on handling PDF documents on the apple devices and also
>> reviewing text files, searching, and marking your place and such?  I know
>> these were issues in older Apple devices but have been addressed to some
>> extent on newer devices.  
>> 
>> When looking at devices specifically developed for the blind, one should
>> look at the BookPort Plus from the American Printing House for the Blind
>> which has some WI-FI capability as well as the similar device sold by
>> Freedom Scientific, the PlexTalk Pocket or whatever it is called.  I am not
>> certain that a small laptop is still not the best solution for dealing with
>> a wide variety of information, but I know that the Apple devices are very
>> nice.  I did not have a good experience using a Netbook, but some have and
>> they are getting better.  HP and Toshiba make some small laptops that are
>> not much bigger than Netbooks and because they have small screens and no
>> CD-Rom drives, they have good battery life and are light weight.  The Apple
>> devices also have the advantage of working with a bluetooth keyboard and can
>> be paired to braille displays, which is something the devices for the blind
>> such as the Stream and the BookSense can't do.  The choice just isn't that
>> simple, though.  It depends a lot on one's personal patterns of work such as
>> the kinds of documents reviewed, whether one strictly reads or one does
>> editing, to what degree one needs to access the internet and so forth.
>> Something like the I Phone and some I pads let you access the internet
>> through the 4G networks from anywhere you have network coverage while other
>> devices can only access the internet with Wi-Fi coverage.  The Booksense and
>> the Stream must get their information through a connection to a computer.
>> How else can I confuse the issue?
>> 
>> Best regards,
>> 
>> Steve Jacobson
>> 
>> On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 07:50:38 -0500, Daniel K. Beitz wrote:
>> 
>>> I have a book sense, and it was nice.  But devices like this are very
>>> expensive for the benefits you get, and don't offer anything close to the
>>> functionality of an iPod touch.  I use an IPad for my personal reading
>> needs
>>> now because it has a better speaker, and can read any audio format plus any
>>> book on the Itunes library is also accessible.  The iPhone has a decent
>>> speaker as well, better than book sense.  The apple portable products are
>>> worth learning.
>> 
>>> -------------------------------------------
>>> Daniel K. Beitz
>>> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
>>> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
>>> Rochester, MI  48307
>>> Phone:  (248) 841-9405
>>> Fax:  (248) 652-2729
>>> dbeitz at wiennergould.com
>>> This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages
>>> attached
>>> to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged.  If
>>> you are
>>> not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering
>> this
>>> email
>>> to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure,
>>> copying,
>>> or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or
>>> attached to
>>> this email is strictly prohibited.  Should you receive this communication
>> in
>>> error,
>>> please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by
>>> telephoning
>>> us at (248) 841-9400.
>> 
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Andrew Webb
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 11:10 PM
>>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>> 
>>> Randy,
>> 
>>> Thanks much.  Yes, someone did mention this to me, I believe it is the Book
>>> Sense.  I will look into it.
>> 
>>> Otherwise, people are jut telling me to get an iPod Touch or an iPhone.
>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Andrew
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Farber, Randy
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 9:53 PM
>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>> 
>>> Andrew
>> 
>>>    I have heard that HIMS makes a similar device.  It is slightly more
>>> expensive than the Victor Reader Stream, but apparently does more.
>> 
>>> Randy 
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Andrew Webb
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 8:27 PM
>>> To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
>>> Subject: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>> 
>>> Hello all,
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>>> I would like to identify a highly portable and compact electronic device
>>> that might be ideal for storing and reviewing data on the go.  The piece
>> I'm
>>> envisioning is one that I could easily carry along and pull out just about
>>> anywhere, whether that's on the bus/train, working around the house,
>> sitting
>>> at the coffee shop, attending kids' soccer practice, etc.  I could use it
>> to
>>> download materials including cases, statutes, and assorted other documents
>>> in a variety of digital formats.  I'd like to be able to easily arrange my
>>> downloads into files for quick retrieval and review, and to be able to
>>> highlight/bookmark salient portions of text.
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>>> Could I ask if, based either on personal experience or worldly wisdom,
>>> anyone can suggest a device along these lines?  It has come to my attention
>>> that the Victor Reader Stream  might be an apt choice, but I wondered if
>>> there might be some other good possibilities out there.
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>>> Many thanks in advance!
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>>> Regards
>> 
>>> Andrew Webb
>> 
>>> 
>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> 
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