[nfbwatlk] Trekker

Wed Aug 29 02:24:05 UTC 2012

Hi,
I've had problems with Humanware regarding my old BrailleNote.  I paid what 
I consider to be big bucks to have a new battery put in and upgrades/updates 
made and the battery still will not hold it's power for very long at all and 
sometimes the unit resets itself, reloading KeySoft.  So now I just use it 
as a braille display for my regular computer; it seems to handle that okay. 
But I cannot take it with me and use it away from my computer hardly at all. 
And Humanware doesn't seem to know what the problem(s) is/are and I'm not 
spending any more money on it.

At least FS got my braille display for work back to me in pretty good time 
when it needed to be fixed.  So, though neither  of those companies is the 
greatest for us, FS is certainly not alone in poor service and charging a 
lot.
Thanks
Lauren

advice from my cats: "meow when you feel like it."
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.
-- Ralph Nichols
Visit us at catliness.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dean Martineau" <dean at topdotenterprises.com>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 6:20 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Trekker

> First, don't get me started on Humanware.  People tend to vilify Freedom
> Scientific, but I don't consider them anywhere near the least desirable
> organization marketing to the blind!
>
> The Trekker is old technology, and expensive.  I have all the problems of
> outdated databases on the iPhone, but the difference is that I paid
> somewhere between nothing and $5.00 for the app.  Keeping up with all the
> changes in restaurants is hard, but I think the iPhone maps app has a 
> better
> chance at doing it than Trekker ever will.  I'm sure it's physically a 
> nice
> package.
>
> And I agree with Mike that even the best GPS has limitations.
>
> Dean
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 5:33 PM
> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Trekker
>
> I'll believe the iOS 6 features only after playing with them. And one 
> thing
> that bugs me about Apple is they don't produce a "What's New" or "Change
> Log" file for each new iOS version. Ah well.
>
> I actually like AroundMe for points of interest and Ariadne GPS (that's 
> the
> daughter of King Minos -- Eloquence mispronounces the name) 
> fororientation.
> I still believe nothing beats a good human guide or the old all-purpose 
> rule
> Z: ASK. And GPS apps don't tell you a blessed thing about terrain.
>
> But I agree with you that GPS units have possibilities -- I'm just not as
> gaga over them as are many people.
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jim Portillo
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 4:43 PM
> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Trekker
>
> Well, sure.  I agree regarding the car, and we realistically know that it
> won't happen any time soon.
>
> However, I recently heard from someone that IOS 6 and VoiceOver will work
> with or connect well with maps.  So, the IPhone is going to leave the
> Trekker in the dust.
> Unfortunately, I spoke to some HumanWare folks today, and they were pretty
> casual about the whole thing.  Disappointing, as I think there's great
> potential for the Trekker.  I'll still use it and learn its ins and outs,
> but You can imagine my disappointment when I went off to find a different
> restaurant, only needing a long white cane and the Trekker, only to find 
> out
> that the restaurant didn't exist because of a two-year-old outdated map.
> GRRR.
>
> This GPS stuff is great though, as it's getting me out exploring again,
> which is something I'd gotten lazy at doing.
> JP
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 4:30 PM
> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Trekker
>
> Agreed. But there are so few of us that it becomes problematic how often 
> we
> can expect maps to be updated as a practical matter. I share your concern
> and feel that, in fact, a blind-drivable car will not become a practical
> reality until there's a universal mapping service that updates its 
> knowledge
> base say, at least once an hour!
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jim Portillo
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 3:13 PM
> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Trekker
>
> Well, I've spoken to the HumanWare folks, and I guess the last time they
> updated a map was two years ago.  That fits with my current experience.
>
> I do think that if HumanWare is going to be competitive and want a product
> that is going to be comparable to other GPS systems, they better get on 
> the
> ball.  Things like TomTom and Garman and others update very frequently, 
> and
> we as blind GPS users have that same want to be updated.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of PUBLIC RADIO 113
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 2:56 PM
> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Trekker
>
> Jim:
>
> That might be a question for the manufacturer.  I am about to take 
> delivery
> of one, and they claim that they update the maps fairly regularly.
>
> --
> Paul Van Dyck
>
> www.publicradio113.weebly.com
>
> OR
>
> www.kboo.fm/soundsofawareness
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