[nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets
Elizabeth Campbell
batescampbell at gmail.com
Sun Jul 30 13:23:37 UTC 2017
Hello all,
I wanted to thank you for your helpful messages as I do research to see what
wil best fit my needs.
I will let you know what I decide to do regarding getting a display or a
notetaker.
What are your thoughts on the El Braille? In some ways, I liked the unit
that I saw at the convention because of its portability and the ability to
use cellular data when wifi isn't available, but I think it is a rather
hefty price to pay for what appears to be a Windows 10 tablet docked with
the Focus 14.
Best regards
Liz
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nicole Torcolini
via nfbcs
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 11:15 PM
To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets
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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