[nabs-l] notetakers: are they worth buying anymore?

[Kirt Manwaring]

Chris,
  I still say absolutely.  At least for me.  And here's why.
  Notetakers are great for taking notes!  That was kind of corny, but
think about it.  When you know a notetaker, and you're comfortable
with it, jotting down a quick note is easier, in my experience, than
it is on an I-anything or a computer.  Notetakers are fantastic at
storing phone nu mbers/dates/quick memos and I think, when you know
what you're doing, you can do all that with lots of efficiency and
speed.  Right now my Apex is broken and I miss it because keeping a
planner or jotting down quick reminders I know I'll see later just
isn't as convenient on a computer.  Even laptops aren't quite as fast
for writing down something quick; you have to wait for them to start
up, open the word-processor (or calendar software, or whatever), write
whatever it is you're writing, then save the darn thing.  With a
Notetaker, if you're savvy enough, you can do that all in a few
keystrokes,without the start-up time.
  I will, however, say this.  If the iPod touch or iPhone had a decent
word processing app that worked ok with voiceover (which there really
isn't yet), and if I could get a low-cost braille display with a
built-in braille keyboard, I'd maybe consider the iOS products as
serving the same purpose and decide notetakers were redundant.  For
that to happen, iOS would also need a few more integrated braille
keystrokes and some of the bugs with interaction between iOS and
braille displays would need to be ironed out.  It's a possibility but,
for now, I'm getting my apex fixed (thank the lord it's still under
warrantee), and holding onto it.
  Best,
Kirt

On 7/24/11, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I don't have a set opinion on this matter as of yet, but I'd like
> to initiate the discussion.  I'm noticing a trend in the
> blindness technology field: PC's can do most everything a
> notetaker (BrailleNote, BrailleSense, PacMate, etc.) can do, with
> some obvious changes and differences, and in some cases can do
> and support more than the notetaker.  This is also true with the
> ever-improving accessible smartphones and tablets: the iPhone,
> iPad, iPod Touch, (the semiaccessible) Android phones, the KNFB
> Reader, etc.  Yes, the notetakers have built-in Braille displays,
> but you can also install a stand-alone Braille display on a
> computer to display what's on the screen, or you could just buy a
> screen reader (text-to-speech, not text-to-Braille) as a
> replacement for the Braille display...  that is, if you think it
> is in fact a replacement for refreshable Braille.  That's another
> question for all of you in this discussion.  So, here's the
> question: with all the advancements and capabilities of a
> computer and screen readers or stand-alone refreshable Braille
> displays, is it worth it, in your opinion, to buy a notetaker
> anymore? What, given all the things a PC can do, is the real
> purpose of the notetakers now? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
>
> Chris
>
> "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
>
> The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps visually impaired youth in
> Maryland have the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click
> on this link to learn more and to contribute:
> www.icanfoundation.info or like us on Facebook at I C.A.N.
> Foundation.
>
> Sent from my BrailleNote
>
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