[Pibe-division] any sugggestions Sara Rooz

[Smith, Pauline L]

I have a used Pacmate that I purchased last year.  The seller allowed me to pay in installments, which is the only way I could afford such equipment.  It has had its problems.  The state rehabilitation system bought me an earlier version of the Pacmate 6 months after I got this job in 2007.  It had to be repaired less than a year after I got it and went out again less than a year later.  Since it was not under warranty anymore and I could not afford to have it repaired, it sits.  The program where I teach would like to get a BrailleNote Apex, but cannot afford it.  We have an old VoiceNote that the former computer teacher purchased used.

I aggree with Sara and others that companies should offer the option of getting instruction manuals in hard copy print or Braille.  Many people learn easier if they have hard copy instructions in front of them.  I am one of those.  I can do very basic things with the PacMate.  I have not mastered anything like using email or the Internet.

Pauline


________________________________
From: pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of EricGuillory at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 2:53 PM
To: pibe-division at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] any sugggestions Sara Rooz

Hi Sara,

I am always happy to learn of the experiences of other professionals and consumers of blindness products. I'm sure the PAC-Mate is a  fine product, particularly the Omni--which has sought to make noted improvements over the earliest versions of the machine. I believe that user preference is key to purchasing decisions and fully concur that both parties, Freedom and HumanWare, could do significantly better with their help documentation, particularly in providing a hardcopy braille alternative. And, while I appreciate the context-sensitive help afforded by the BrailleNote, I also appreciate individual preference. Fortunately, the Apex has made strides in correcting some of the earlier, very frustrating, internet woes of which you made note. I also like that it has a user-replaceable, highly affordable, battery. But, ultimately,  believe that the more choices we and our students are given, the better off we are as consumers. Company complacency can be problematic for us. But, if fair competition exists, all companies will have to fight for market share--which is how it should be.

Please send some of those cooler New York temperatures our way!

EG




In a message dated 9/20/2011 1:17:53 P.M. Central Daylight Time, sararooz at gmail.com writes:
Dear Eric:

Thanks for providing the pricing for the braillenote from Humanware and your experience about users learning the braillenote and pacmate omni.

I will just say that I did go down to the technology center of the nfb and did sample all the note takers on the market. My main consideration to purchasing a note taker for my own personal and professional use was price,   customer support And technical support. The pacmate Omni from Freedom Scientific was the most affordable and I have been extremely happy  with the technical support if any question arises regarding my product. I used the Braille lite for sixteen years, prior to purchasing a new note taker. I was happy dealing with Freedom Scientific when issues arose with my Braille lite.  Regarding the learning curve, I was able to master how to use the mobile applications of Microsoft word and excel and  the pacmate omni's word processing  and calculator as well as how to read books I downloaded onto the unit.

 The main issue I realize is that all documentation of any manufacturer of assistive technology is that to learn any product one must learn how to use the product from the help file on the product or go online and use the documentation provided on the manufacturer's website. Another blind consumer and I have felt that this practice inhibits a learner to learn how to use the assistive technology product and its capabilities. This observation applies  for both the Pacmate Omni from Freedom Scientific  and the braillenote from Humanware. Humanware offers documentation for the braille note in a text format or pdf format which is inaccessible with a screen reader such as Jaws for Windows. Freedom Scientific allows the user of a product to go online at their website  documentation to be read continuously or by each topic.

The best solution is for  manufacturers provide braille hard copies of basic commands of their assistive technology.

 I have discussed this issue with the manufacturer Freedom Scientific and have been told that an owner of a product can print into braille user documentation. As a result, I have printed the appendix of all the commands and have found it easier to learn the pacmate omni.
The braillenote does contain some problems though.  I have also been told by a consumer of the braillenote that when this product is used as a braille display for a computer the note taker freezes. Consequently, the note taker and computer have to be restarted. A blind  friend of mine used a voicenote from Humanware and found it hard to connect to many sites on the internet and download emails and read emails as well as emails with attachments. Ultimately, my friend has stopped using this product and has learned how to use Jaws for Windows to type and use the internet and read email. I do hope that humanware has been open to correcting the ability to display sites using the internet and downloading emails and reading emails whether the emails contain attachments or not. I also have heard that many customers and teachers of students that use the braillenote are not happy with the technical supportand the long timje for a unit to be repaired and shipped back to the customer  from Humanware.
Sara Rooz
Certified Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired in New York



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