[nabs-l] Question about technology

[David Andrews]

There are many moving parts which have to be carefully manufactured 
as they must be durable enough to be activated hundreds of thousands 
of times, without failure.

There are a couple potential technologies on the horizon, which may 
be less expensive, but nothing in the foreseeable future.

Dave

A cheaper refreshable braille technology has been worked on for 30 
years or longer, and nothing has emerged to replace piezoelectric cells.

Dave

At 11:40 PM 4/23/2011, you wrote:
>Why are the displays, so expensive?
>Blessings, Joshua
>
>On 4/23/11, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> > Not exactly sure, but I think that they are going to run just 
> about the same
> > ($200 for no display, $400 for 18 cell display, $600 for 32 cell display)
> > regardless of where you get one.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Joshua Lester" <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu>
> > To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> > <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 8:26 PM
> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Question about technology
> >
> >
> >> Where can I get a good deal on an Apex?
> >> Thanks, Joshua
> >>
> >> On 4/23/11, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> Joshua,
> >>>   The PAC Mate is a little bit behind the Apex in terms of the latest
> >>> up-to-date technology.  That, however, shouldn't stop you if you are
> >>> more comfortable with it.
> >>>   However, I will say that if you liked the Braillenote you saw, it's
> >>> a fair bet you'll like the Apex.  The design's the same, basically
> >>> everything you could do on the old braillenote you do the same way on
> >>> the Apex, the Apex just has more bells and whistles.
> >>>   Personally, if it were me, I'd get the Apex because the PAC Mate is
> >>> no longer being updated by Freedom Scientific and it's a bulkier
> >>> machine.  I used a PAC Mate for like 5 years, I loved it, and I still
> >>> miss it sometimes.  But my Apex can do more, the braille display is
> >>> just as good as it was on the PAC mate, and it's easier to carry
> >>> around.  But, as I said, if you really like the PAC mate better after
> >>> looking at both machines, get the Pac Mate.
> >>>   All the best,
> >>> Kirt
> >>>
> >>> On 4/23/11, trising <trising at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >>>> I absolutely love my Pacmate BX440. If I could only have one piece of
> >>>> technology, this is the one i would have. I can take minutes
> >>>> as the Secretary for the NFB of Michigan. I can also read books. I can
> >>>> also
> >>>> edit minutes and other documents. I am very partial to
> >>>> having Braille under my fingertips for accuracy as a Secretary, so I
> >>>> very
> >>>> much prefer having Braille rather than just Jaws. This all
> >>>> depends on what you are used to and what you are familiar with.
> >>>>
> >>>> Terri Wilcox