[nabs-l] Note takers

Thu Oct 21 23:34:58 UTC 2010

Agreed.  My Apex is wonderful and very quick to accomplish tasks.  
It has built in wireless ethernet, bluetooth, and ports to hook 
it up to a laptop.  The best thing is, with new and improved 
versions of KeySoft, the software that runs the Apex, is 
improving every time of it's frequent release.  I have, however, 
also used a BrailleSense, and they use elements similar to a 
computer, static boxes, dialogs, etc, as displayed on the left 
hand characters of the braille display.  I have never used a 
PacMate, however, I've heard great things about it.

Danni

P.S.  Sorry if you didn't understand some of my typing errors in 
the previous message.  I type too fast on my apex at times 
(smile).

Danni

----- Original Message -----
From: Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:30:56 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Note takers

Dear Listers,
  Even with the netbooks and braille displays out there, I still 
use
my notetaker.  (I just got an apex and I love it, although 
switching
over from the PAC Mate has been kind of hard)  I know laptops 
with
braille displays are cheaper.  But, for me, having a notetaker as
opposed to a computer in school/church/wherever is a godsend.  I 
can,
for instance, whip out my Apex and put someone's phone number in 
my
contact list without waiting 1-3 minutes for my computer to start 
and
get a file somewhere open.  It's so nice to have instant access 
to
everything, without having to wait for the laptop to load up, 
jaws to
start, and then having to open such and such application to do my
thing.  It's so much easier to turn on a machine, usee 1 or maybe 
2
keystrokes, and be right where I need to be within seconds.  
That's
why I still have my notetaker because a computer just can't do 
that.
  All the best,
Kirt

On 10/21/10, Danielle Montour <hypoplexer at gmail.com> wrote:
 Hi all,
 I am a BrailleNote Apy user, the latest
 notetaker.  Although the Apex has great potential, there's some
 work to be done on it.  It's a good don't get me wrong, don't 
get
 me wrong, it just has room for improvement.  Here is a 
comparison
 between the BrailleNote Apex and BrailleSense Plus.

 HTH

 Danni

 Courtesy: Alex Hall.

  Here is a look at the BrailleNote Apex and its closest
 competitor, the Braille Sense Plus (from GW Micro).  I do not
 know enough about the Pac Mate Omni (Freedom scientific) to
 include it in this comparison.

   chinin Internal Storage: the BSP has 8 gigabytes of storage.
 The Apex has 8 gigabytes as well.
   chinin RAM: The BSP has 128 megabytes of RAM, as does the 
Apex.
 However, the Apex has an additional 126 megabytes of storage for
 operating system and temporary files, whereas the BSP has 64
 megabytes for this purpose.
   chinin Processor: the BSP's processor, type unknown, runs at
 400 megahertz.  The FreeScale IMX31 processor in the Apex runs 
at
 520megahertz.  Both the BSP and the Apex processors are 32-29t
 versions.
   chinin
   chinin Underlying Windows CE The BSP runs on CE 5.0.  While
 this is an improvement over the BrailleNote mPower's CE 4.2, it
 is not as good as the Apex's CE 6.0, which allows for many new
 features to be introduced, namely better RAM management and tens
 of thousands of processes to run concurrently; CE 5 still has a
 32 process limit.
   chinin USB: the BSP has 2 (1?) USB master port(s) for storage
 devices, printers, keyboards, and so on.  The Apex has 3 USB
 master ports for these purposes.  The BSP has one mini USB port,
 used to connect it to a computer to connect to ActiveSync or use
 as a removable disk.  The Apex also has one mini USB port, 
though
 it cannot act as a removable device.  Unlike the BSP, though, it
 can synchronize its contacts, calendar, and other items with
 Microsoft Windows computers.
   chinin Other Storage Options: The BSP has both an SD card 
slot,
 which supports SDHC cards as well as standard SD cards, and a
 compactflash card slot.  It can also use its bluetooth to
 transfer files between itself and any other bluetooth device
 supporting object exchange.  The Apex has an SD card slot
 supporting regular and high-capacity (HC) cards.  It does not,
 however, have a compactflash card slot, nor does it support
 bluetooth object exchange, though Humanware could add this 
option
 to Keysoft with little trouble thanks to the new Windows CE 6
 bluetooth stack.
   chinin Audio: Both devices have built in stereo speakers,
 stereo headphone jacks, external mono microphone jacks, and a
 mono internal microphone.  The Apex also supports bluetooth 
audio
 devices, the BSP does not.  Both devices can create recordings
 via either microphone, with adjustable microphone gains and
 quality levels, however the BSP can record in MP3 format or WAV
 format, whereas the Apex only supports the larger WAV format
 (maybe).  The Apex contains an FM radio internally and uses
 anything plugged into the headphone jack as an antenna.  The
 radio can be recorded as though it were another input source for
 the recorder.  The BSP also has a radio which works in the same
 way, but it cannot be recorded.
   chinin Wireless Communication Both devices contain both an
 internal BstG wifi card and an internal bluetooth 2.1 card.
   chinin Battery Both devices have about the same battery life,
 and both contain a removable battery.  The Apex has a way to
 charge the battery outside of the computer itself, the BSP does
 not.
   chinin Jacks and Ports BSP: two master USB, one slave (mini)
 USB, cable ethernet, VGA, SDSTSDHC slot, compactflash slot, mono
 microphone, stereo headphone, AC power port.  Apex: 3 master 
USB,
 1 slave (mini) USB, cable ethernet, VGA, SDSTSDHC slot, mono
 microphone, stereo headphone, AC power port.  Basically, they 
are
 the same except that the Apex has one more master USB port than
 the BSP, and the BSP has a compactflash card slot whereas the
 Apex does not.
   chinin Visual Output The BSP can print what is spoken or
 brailled to a monitor through its VGA port, or through its
 built-in LcD display.  The Apex can also print to a monitor with
 its VGA port, or through use of a Windows program called 
KeyView.
 This means that the Apex can connect to a Windows computer via
 USB or bluetooth (or through serial using a serial-USB
 converter).  KeyView will then display the Apex's text on the
 computer's screen.
   chinin Microsoft Word 2007 Neither device currently supports
 the disdocx (Word 2007) format.  Humanware has promised that the
 Apex will handle disdocx files in the near future, providing a
 free upgrade to all Apex owners so they can have this support 
for
 free when it is released.  GW Micro has not commented on Word
 2007 support, though another device of theirs, a digital book
 reader called the Book Sense, does support Word 2007, so it is
 likely that the BSP will support this format in the near future
 as well.
   chinin Internet Communication: Both devices have a web 
browser,
 an email program, and an instant messenger.  The BSP's browser
 cannot handle cookies like the Apex can, but that is the only
 major difference between the two.  The email programs are pretty
 well matched, except for one under-the-hood difference: the Apex
 stores all emails in a database, making it difficult to copy a
 message somewhere else for storage; copying the text is easy
 enough, but copying the message headers along with the text is
 all but impossible without going through a lot of tedious steps.
 The BSP stores its messages as diseml files, allowing users to
 not only copy entire emails to different locations, but to view
 these messages on other Windows computers.  The BSP also allows
 users to view HTML-encoded messages as web pages; the Apex, as
 far as I know will not let you do this, though it may be the 
case
 that it is, in fact, possible.  The instant messenger on the BSP
 only supports Windows Live (formerly known as MSN) Messenger,
 though this is a very popular network.  The Apex supports all
 XMPP networks, which include, but are not limited to, Google
 Talk, IC-HAT, and Jabber.  The Apex, essentially, supports a
 range of less popular networks, whereas the BSP supports only 
one
 network, but that one network is very widely used compared to 
the
 networks supported by the Apex.
   chinin Braille Codes and Languages The Apex supports 6 and 8
 dot computer braille, grade 1, grade 2, and UEB, plus it has
 computer Braille tables for English, French, Spanish, and 
Italian
 and it can speak in those languages.  The BSP supports only
 English computer braille (6 or 8 dot unknown), grade 1, and 
grade
 2.  However, the BSP will let you write in any grade, even in a
 text document or on a web page; the Apex allows only computer
 braille in text documents and web page forms.
   chinin Braille Scrolling and Navigation The BSP has four keys,
 two on either side of the Braille display for moving the 
Braille,
 for navigation, as well as four function keys for quickly
 switching tasks, closing programs, and performing other basic
 tasks.  The Apex has four thumb keys on its front, where the
 thumbs naturally rest while reading Braille.  These keys act 
like
 the scroll keys on the BSP, except they are more conveniently
 placed.  The Apex also has a scroll wheel, which lets you 
quickly
 scroll through lists and files.  The wheel also has a button in
 the center to act as an enter key, and four buttons arount the
 outside edge to act as hotkeys for commonly used keystrokes, 
such
 as calling up the help prompt for the given situation on the
 Apex.
   chinin Multi-Tasking The BSP can run 7 programs at once; you
 could leave your wordprocessor open while you quickly switch to
 your email to read something, then leave the email open to go 
the
 the file manager to copy a couple files...  For this reason, the
 BSP contains task manager, which is a large part of the
 functionality of the four function keys.  The Apex cannot, as 
far
 as I know, do this.  You can leave a media file playing in the
 background or do other things on the Apex while you wait for 
your
 machine to connect to a wireless networo, but you cannot let 
your
 email download in the background while you read a book.  The
 Apex, though, now (thanks to CE6) has the ability to do a lot of
 multi-tasking, far exceeding the BSP's limit of 7 applications 
at
 once, though such functionality is not yet implemented in
 Keysoft, much like bluetooth object exchange could easily be
 supported but is not yet there.
   chinin External Media Controls Tge Apex has only one media 
key:
 the record button.  The BSP has buttons on its front, where the
 Apex's toumb keys are, for skipping tracks, recording, playing,
 pausing, and so forth, not to mention its media switch, which
 lets you select a mode for your media keys: media, DAISY, and FM
 radio.  While both machines support playing media, playing DAISY
 files, and an FM radio, only the BSP has external buttons to
 facilitate easy manipulation of media.
   chinin Synthesizers: The Apex comes with two speech
 synthesizers: Keynote Gold, which supports only one voice, and
 Eloquence, with five voices to choose from.  The BSP only has
 Eloquence with its selection of
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "RJ Sandefur" <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com
 To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:36:18 -0400
 Subject: [nabs-l] Note takers

 I use a braille 'n speak which I've had for ten years now, and
 its on its last leg.  What types of note takers do you guys use,
 How much does it caust, and does it live up to what is 
advertised
 concerning it? I'm not shure wheather or not to get a packmate, 
a
 braille note, or a braille sence.  I'm on disability, due to 
some
 other disabililities I have.  I'm also in a distance learning
 Seminary, going for my doctorate degree in theology.  I'm not
 shure how I can purchose a note taker, due to the fact, I have
 alot of bills to pay.  Would my local lions club be able to
 assist me in this reguard? RJ
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