[nabs-l] perl reader Vs. KNFB Reader

[Sean Whalen]

George,

 

KNFB reader is by far the most portable option, though you are correct, it
does require a cell phone to run on. And, while I don't think it is quite as
terrible as Kirt's experience would indicate, I don't think the reader has
progressed to the point where it is a viable option to scan in any volume. I
had success with handouts when I used a trial license, but it was not 100%
accurate. I would say it is passable for handouts, but no better at this
point. I have had people tell me that they have scanned and read entire
books with the reader, but I think they must have both a ton of extra time
on their hands and a high tolerance for errors in their text. Who knows
though, maybe I just suck at using the thing.

 

The Pearl is a stand-alone camera which requires a laptop or desktop running
Open Book to OCR the scans. The camera is very compact and nice, but the
tethering of it to such an over-priced piece of crap OCR program is a
dealbreaker, at least for me.

 

Ashley mentioned the EyePal. Despite having such a stupid name, it is a
reasonably portable camera. It is very very similar to the Pearl, but it
does not come with restrictions as to what OCR programs you can use to
convert. I believe it comes with its own software, but you can do the
conversion with the OCR engine of your choice. However, like the Pearl, it
is probably not a great option for in-class use, as it must be hooked up to
a computer.

 

Sean