[Electronics-talk] Re Braille Sense Plus

[Mike Freeman]

Elizabeth:

Actually, I misinterpreted your question. I thought you merely meant that 
you wanted an application that would place books in the appropriate folders. 
Were this the case, you wouldn't need a special application. In fact, the 
only reason for special applications is in cases such as with the VRStream 
wherein specific types of files go in specific, fixed folders. Since this 
isn't the case with the Braille Sense Plus, I saw no need.

However, I think I can put things to rest although I cannot speak to 
accessibility of RFB&D books. In order for NLS books to be playable, there 
would have to be modification to the Braille Sense Plus firmware to handle 
the AMR+ Wideband compression technique; until this is done and HIMS (the 
overseas maker of the BS Plus) negotiates an agreement with NLS, you will 
have *no* possibility of playing NLS books. Same would go for the 
BrailleNote.

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 3:21 PM
Subject: [Electronics-talk] Re Braille Sense Plus


> Mike,
>
> You have asked me why I would want any adaptation made to the Braille 
> Sense Plus for it to read NLS or RFB&D digital books.
>
> You wondered why I couldn't just download these into the notetaker just as 
> I would do any other file, treating the notetaker drive as an ordinary 
> drive.
>
> Here is my response to your question, based on my exploration of that 
> product earlier this year.
>
> GW Micro's Braille Sense Plus, which comes with either a Perkins-type or a 
> QWERTY keyboard, each  with a 30-cell Braille display and an 8 gigabyte 
> data storage memory, may be able to receive downloads from NLS, or even 
> RFB&D, for ultimate transfer and unzipping into a digital playback 
> machine, such as the one provided by NLS, or the Victor Reader Stream.
>
> In that regard, it wouldn't differ from a laptop or a netbook computer.
>
> But neither NLS nor RFB&D have licensed GW Micro to play back digital 
> books on the Braille Sense Plus itself.
>
> When I checked with these two libraries earlier this year, I learned that 
> I could not get User Authorization Keys for this notetaker.
>
> I, for one, don't want to carry an arsenal of gadgets around with me when 
> I travel.  If I pay a premium price for a notetaker designed for the 
> blind, rather than buying a netbook and loading it with speech software, I 
> want the biggest bang for my buck.
>
> And at $6,000 a pop, I think the Braille Sense Plus should provide access 
> to the mainstream libraries used by blind consumers.
>
> This notetaker does have UAK's for other libraries, it appears, and also 
> offers AM/FM radio among its many tempting features.
>
> Braille can be written on either the Perkins or the QWERTY keyboard, the 
> Perkins version has a little screen that allows sighted co-workers or 
> deaf-blind friends to read what's been written, translation from Braille 
> to print is advertised to be seamless, e-mail can be sent and received by 
> either device without an additional modem, both can be connected to a 
> monitor via USB port, and the notetakers are streamlined, light weight, 
> and elegant.
>
> For many reasons, I would prefer the Braille Sense Plus over the Braille 
> Lite or the Pacmate Omni, but I think the inability to read digital books 
> on the Braille Sense Plus is a major deficit, for the money.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
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