[nabs-l] Note takers
Danielle Montour
hypoplexer at gmail.com
Fri Oct 22 03:10:31 UTC 2010
Yes.
----- 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 22:19:31 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Note takers
Has any one used the braille sense? RJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicole B. Torcolini" <ntorcolini at wavecable.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Note takers
It really depends on what you are going to use it for. As a
college
student, I have both a laptop and an MPower BrailleNote, and I
would find
it very hard to choose one or he other. However, I realize that
this is
not possible for some people. Here are my thoughts on my bn
verses my
laptop:
BN:
Pros
1. Turns on and off in less than a second
2. built in speech and Braille display
3. Braille input
4. portable
5. don't have to worry about Jaws quitting on me
6. don't have to use headphones
7. not vulnerable to viruses (may not be true for other
notetakers)
Cons:
1. does not support certain file types
2. bad at formatting
3. slow internet and problems with some websites
4. no third party software unless it is a web application or a
z game
Laptop:
Pros
1. fast internet
2. faster processor
3. can download third party programs
4. works with more file types
5. other people can work with me on it
Cons:
1. bigger and harder to transport; does not have built in
carrying case
2. particular model is slightly easier to damage than
BrailleNote
(computers have spinning hard drives where as the bn uses flash
memory)
3. takes more than a minute to power on
4. requires Jaws, which can fail
5. no Braille display
6. need head phones if going to use in class
7. can get viruses
That's all that I can think of at the moment, but I will write
more if I
think of more. If you want something with functionality similar
to that of
the Braille n Speak, then a bn, pm, or bs would be fine, but, if
you need
the functionality of a computer, I would recommend getting a
laptop.
Nicole
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kerri Kosten" <kerrik2006 at gmail.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Note takers
Hi Curt and All:
First, for those who have the Pacmate what made you switch to
the
Braille Note whether it be Apex or one of the other ones?
Here is my delemma.
I had the option of getting a notetaker about five years ago in
2006.
At that time, I didn't know how to research very well and wasn't
as
into technology as I am now.
Having used Jaws and liking it, and seeing that pocket Jaws was
on the
Pacmate and it ran windows which was the same OS I was using, I
just
stupidly decided on the Pacmate without doing much other
research or
comparing the pacmate to other notetakers. Also, because I was
so into
computers at that time, I got the QX pacmate thinking the laptop
style
keyboard would be better for me.
When I first got the Pacmate it was nice and I played with it
all he
time. But, now I hardly use it. First of all, the internet on
it is
terrible...very very very slow. It takes forever for a webpage
to
load. Also, the Pacmate doesn't have an internal wi-fi card so
you
have to use one of those compact flash cards which are pretty
much
obselete now. The Pacmate only has a mini usb port so to
connect
anything to USB you have to use an external object. All I find
I use
it for now is reading BRF books from NLS or Bookshare and taking
notes
in class. The Pacmate doesn't even have bluetooth! It also
doesn't
have sd card slots...only ones for those obselete compact flash
cards.
I look at more modern notetakers like the Apex and get excited
and
think...I should look into modernizing and get one of those.
But, then
I think...I have the pacmate (even though I hate it) that does
have a
braille display, I have a netbook, I have a laptop, I have an
Iphone,
and I want to get an Ipad...that essentially all do the same
thing. I
think...would I really use a newer more modern notetaker enough
to
justify the $6000 price when I have all these other devices?
But, then if I had a notetaker that I could just whip open and
take
notes portably, or write contact info down quickly, and could
have
more functionality I wonder if I'd use it more?
What do you think I should do...stick with what I have or look
into
modernizing and getting a better notetaker?
How is the Internet browsing on the apex? Is it very slow and
sluggish
or is it fast like wireless internet on laptops and netbooks is?
Thanks,
Kerri
On 10/21/10, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
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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