[nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets
Taylor Arndt
taylorarndt99 at gmail.com
Sat Jul 29 05:06:21 UTC 2017
The BrailleNote apex is I believe better than the other one because the touch has issues physical keyboard not typing what you wanted to type.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jul 29, 2017, at 12:14 AM, Nicole Torcolini via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Elizabeth,
>
> I have the entire thread, and I agree that all of this is good
> information. In my opinion, it really depends on what you want. If you like
> the Apex, have you considered sending it in to be repaired? I still have the
> Apex that was bought for me in 2011 when I was in college, and I am not
> going to give it up; I will probably buy another one when it finally gives
> out. I like it for many of the reasons that some people do not like it. It
> is simple and easy to use. It is not doing a million and one things in the
> background that take up memory while I am trying to do something. With the
> second most recent update, it hardly ever crashes--unless I do something
> stupid in the GPS. Although it could probably carry a computer
> virus--especially in an email--I doubt that it is hackable. I can type in
> Braille on it, read books, listen to music, and do several other things. It
> is not my primary device; I do not do anything internet related on it unless
> I am in a pinch.
> When I work from home, I use it as a Braille display for my work
> laptop. I know that it is possible to control the iPhone with it, but I
> don't--both because I don't mind using the touch screen on the iPhone and
> because the iPhone processes the Braille input too fast, making words that I
> did not mean to write. If I want to send an email or post something on
> social media, I write it on the Apex and send it to the iPhone via email.
> I think that, either way you cut the cake, you are going to end up
> carrying more than one device--unless you get something like the BrailleNote
> Touch, which I am sure has its own down falls. The questions to consider are
> on which device can you accomplish each task most easily, and can those
> devices communicate?
>
> HTH,
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Mann via
> nfbcs
> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 8:15 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Cc: Ryan Mann
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets
>
> What operating system do you use on your raspberry pie? How hard is it for a
> blind person to attach parts to a raspberry pie?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jul 28, 2017, at 8:10 PM, Amanda Lacy via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>>
>> I use a laptop with a Braille display when I need Braille.
>> For more portability I'd use a Rasperry Pi and a Braille display.
>>
>>> On 7/28/17, Sabra Ewing via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> I am having the same experience as Brian. I hate it and it equates to
>>> me not writing at all. in my case, people were talking about how
>>> great the interface was in hell it is the best way to go, and now I
>>> am disappointed that I listened to them. I wish I had just kept my apex
> until it died.
>>>
>>> Sabra Ewing
>>>
>>>> On Jul 28, 2017, at 3:07 PM, Martin, Vincent F via nfbcs
>>>> <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> What you outlined is exactly why I still use my Braille Note Apex
>>>> for many things. I just can't the the use out of voice over on the
>>>> IPHONE that I need with my Braille display.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brian
>>>> Buhrow via nfbcs
>>>> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 1:57 PM
>>>> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Cc: Brian Buhrow <buhrow at nfbcal.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets
>>>>
>>>> Hello Liz. I had the same thought last year and bought a Hims
>>>> Smart Beetle, Him's 14 cell offering which only acts as a braille
>>>> terminal to a screen reader. My thought was that I could connect it
>>>> to my iPhone and use the iPhone as a note taker, message center,
>>>> etc. I found the experience to be most disappointing. The Hims
>>>> Smart Beetle is a solidly built device which exhibits stability,
>>>> long battery life and a good feel under the fingers.
>>>> (I purchased it with the advice of other braille display users who
>>>> told me the Focus 14 had a number of reliability issues.) the problem
> is iOS.
>>>> Braille support under iOS is very good, but it's very clear that the
>>>> developers of iOS are not braille users and there are a lot of
>>>> places where braille support just doesn't work. In fact, when I
>>>> started experiencing these issues, I polled other braille display
>>>> users who were using iOS capable devices and discovered that no one
>>>> else that I spoke with was trying to use their braille display as a
>>>> primary interface to their iOS device. Specifically, all of them
>>>> had note takers that they occasionlally interfaced with iOS to dash
>>>> off a quick text message or e-mail. No one thought using iOS as the
>>>> primary note storage device was a good idea.
>>>> Sadly, after a year of trying to make it work, I must conclude that
>>>> they're right. The problem is that the iPhone really wants you to
>>>> interact using the touch screen. So, yu can get into a lot of
>>>> situations where the braille controls just don't get you where you
>>>> want to go and you have to pick up the phone and navigate using the
>>>> touch screen. Also, because the phone is a multi-tasking device, it
>>>> sometimes wanders off, processing something other than what you're
>>>> writing, causing keystrokes to be missed or mis-interpreted. Other
>>>> folks I talked to said they didn't have this problem, but when I
>>>> questioned them more closely, it turned out they didn't use their phones
> for composition in any real way.
>>>> As I said earlier, like you, I like the idea of having one primary
>>>> note taking device and the phone seems like the perfect tool to do that.
>>>> However, given that you're a reporter and I imagine that there are a
>>>> lot of times when you just need your technology to get out of the
>>>> way and let you capture the story, quickly and efficiently, without
>>>> fuss or fanfare, I think the iPhone in conjunction with a braille
>>>> display is not the right answer. There are too many moving parts
>>>> and I think you'll find yourself trying to make the technology work
>>>> for you when you should just be writing.
>>>> If you get something that's capable of driving the iPhone, as well
>>>> as acting as a note taker, i.e. the Hims Braille Edge or the Vario
>>>> Aultra, then you can experiment with moving in the direction you're
>>>> thinking about without committing yourself in one fell swoop. The
>>>> Focus 14 and the Hims Smart Beetle don't give you that choice.
>>>> I'd love to be proven wrong and told that it's just operator error
>>>> on my part, but since my admittedly unscientific polling of folks on
>>>> the issue yielded no other pioneers, I suspect there's a reason.
>>>> Anyway, that's just my two cents. Let us know what you decide to use.
>>>> And, happy shopping!
>>>>
>>>> P.S. If you can wait a couple months, the Orbit Reader 20 from APH
>>>> and Orbits Research looks like just the thing for you. priced at
>>>> $450, it's a combination note taker and braille terminal. So, you
>>>> can use it as a stand alone note taking device or as a display for a
>>>> screen reader, including VoiceOver on iPhone. I bought one of the
>>>> few units available at the convention, and the braille is good and
>>>> it's responsive as a note taker. I've not tried attaching it to my
>>>> iPhone yet. Curtis Chong, who also bought one of the units, did
>>>> attach it to his phone and he reports that it works.
>>>>
>>>> -Brian
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 28, 8:20am, Elizabeth Campbell via nfbcs wrote:
>>>> } Subject: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets }
>>>> Greetings all, } } } } I need to replace my BrailleNote Apex that
>>>> I've had for about six years.
>>>> }
>>>> } I've used it out in the field quite a bit,and it's crashing at
>>>> inopportune } times.
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> } I had opportunities to look at various Braille displays and at the
>>>> El } Braille at the NFB convention. I'm writing a proposal
>>>> requesting that my } employer help with purchasing some new equipment.
>>>> }
>>>> } I'm wondering if the best option would be to get a small Braille
>>>> display } such as the Focus 14 and use it in conjunction with either
>>>> my iPhone or a } Windows-based tablet.
>>>> }
>>>> } I'm not sure if I need a note taker as I need a device for taking
>>>> notes, } posting to social media and recording when I'm out in the
> field.
>>>> }
>>>> } On the other hand, I like the idea of having one device to carry
>>>> instead of } several.
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> } Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> } Best regards.
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> } Liz Campbell
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> }
>>>> } _______________________________________________
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>>>> rg
>>>>> -- End of excerpt from Elizabeth Campbell via nfbcs
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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