[blindlaw] Portable devices

Fri Mar 9 18:00:13 UTC 2012

I have an iPhone, and for the basics (e-mail, texts, web) it is
fantastic.  However, the thought of using it to compose/edit long
documents or conduct in depth research, etc, makes me cringe.  The
technique of moving your finger over text, which is often placed on
the screen in not easily findable or in a coherent order is very
cumbersome.  I may not be using it too it's fullest capacity, and I
have never used an iPad, so I don't know if navigating that device is
any different, but in terms of ease-of-use and speed, my laptop is
way, way more effective.

Paul Sullivan

On 3/9/12, Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com> wrote:
> Thank you.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
>
> On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 09:15:08 -0800, Aser Tolentino wrote:
>
>>There are a few accessible apps that can read PDFs, not least of which is
>> Apple's own iBooks. The
> Kindle app's interface is accessible, but books are not; this is the case
> with many ebook and PDF
> viewers. I also ran into an app called VoiceReader, which can import PDF's
> and allow you to navigate the
> text fairly well; it can also generate its own text-to-speech independent of
> the operating system screen
> reader much like the GhostReader program on the Mac.
>
>>Respectfully,
>>Aser Tolentino, Esq.
>
>>On Mar 9, 2012, at 8:24 AM, "Daniel K. Beitz" <dbeitz at wiennergould.com>
>> wrote:
>
>>> The advantage of apple over the laptop is that it reads iBook's and
>>> presumably amazon books as well.  Other devices and programs can read
>>> books
>>> in epub format, but not protected formats.
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------
>>> Daniel K. Beitz
>>> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
>>> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
>>> Rochester, MI  48307
>>> Phone:  (248) 841-9405
>>> Fax:  (248) 652-2729
>>> dbeitz at wiennergould.com
>>> This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email
>>> messages
>>> attached
>>> to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged.
>>> If
>>> you are
>>> not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering
>>> this
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>>> to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure,
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>>> in
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>>> please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or
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>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
>>> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 11:05 AM
>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>>>
>>> Could you comment on handling PDF documents on the apple devices and also
>>> reviewing text files, searching, and marking your place and such?  I know
>>> these were issues in older Apple devices but have been addressed to some
>>> extent on newer devices.
>>>
>>> When looking at devices specifically developed for the blind, one should
>>> look at the BookPort Plus from the American Printing House for the Blind
>>> which has some WI-FI capability as well as the similar device sold by
>>> Freedom Scientific, the PlexTalk Pocket or whatever it is called.  I am
>>> not
>>> certain that a small laptop is still not the best solution for dealing
>>> with
>>> a wide variety of information, but I know that the Apple devices are very
>>> nice.  I did not have a good experience using a Netbook, but some have
>>> and
>>> they are getting better.  HP and Toshiba make some small laptops that are
>>> not much bigger than Netbooks and because they have small screens and no
>>> CD-Rom drives, they have good battery life and are light weight.  The
>>> Apple
>>> devices also have the advantage of working with a bluetooth keyboard and
>>> can
>>> be paired to braille displays, which is something the devices for the
>>> blind
>>> such as the Stream and the BookSense can't do.  The choice just isn't
>>> that
>>> simple, though.  It depends a lot on one's personal patterns of work such
>>> as
>>> the kinds of documents reviewed, whether one strictly reads or one does
>>> editing, to what degree one needs to access the internet and so forth.
>>> Something like the I Phone and some I pads let you access the internet
>>> through the 4G networks from anywhere you have network coverage while
>>> other
>>> devices can only access the internet with Wi-Fi coverage.  The Booksense
>>> and
>>> the Stream must get their information through a connection to a computer.
>>> How else can I confuse the issue?
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>> On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 07:50:38 -0500, Daniel K. Beitz wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have a book sense, and it was nice.  But devices like this are very
>>>> expensive for the benefits you get, and don't offer anything close to
>>>> the
>>>> functionality of an iPod touch.  I use an IPad for my personal reading
>>> needs
>>>> now because it has a better speaker, and can read any audio format plus
>>>> any
>>>> book on the Itunes library is also accessible.  The iPhone has a decent
>>>> speaker as well, better than book sense.  The apple portable products
>>>> are
>>>> worth learning.
>>>
>>>> -------------------------------------------
>>>> Daniel K. Beitz
>>>> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
>>>> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
>>>> Rochester, MI  48307
>>>> Phone:  (248) 841-9405
>>>> Fax:  (248) 652-2729
>>>> dbeitz at wiennergould.com
>>>> This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email
>>>> messages
>>>> attached
>>>> to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged.
>>>> If
>>>> you are
>>>> not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering
>>> this
>>>> email
>>>> to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure,
>>>> copying,
>>>> or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or
>>>> attached to
>>>> this email is strictly prohibited.  Should you receive this
>>>> communication
>>> in
>>>> error,
>>>> please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or
>>>> by
>>>> telephoning
>>>> us at (248) 841-9400.
>>>
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Andrew Webb
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 11:10 PM
>>>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>>>
>>>> Randy,
>>>
>>>> Thanks much.  Yes, someone did mention this to me, I believe it is the
>>>> Book
>>>> Sense.  I will look into it.
>>>
>>>> Otherwise, people are jut telling me to get an iPod Touch or an iPhone.
>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Andrew
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Farber, Randy
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 9:53 PM
>>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>>>
>>>> Andrew
>>>
>>>>    I have heard that HIMS makes a similar device.  It is slightly more
>>>> expensive than the Victor Reader Stream, but apparently does more.
>>>
>>>> Randy
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Andrew Webb
>>>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 8:27 PM
>>>> To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
>>>> Subject: [blindlaw] Portable devices
>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>> I would like to identify a highly portable and compact electronic device
>>>> that might be ideal for storing and reviewing data on the go.  The piece
>>> I'm
>>>> envisioning is one that I could easily carry along and pull out just
>>>> about
>>>> anywhere, whether that's on the bus/train, working around the house,
>>> sitting
>>>> at the coffee shop, attending kids' soccer practice, etc.  I could use
>>>> it
>>> to
>>>> download materials including cases, statutes, and assorted other
>>>> documents
>>>> in a variety of digital formats.  I'd like to be able to easily arrange
>>>> my
>>>> downloads into files for quick retrieval and review, and to be able to
>>>> highlight/bookmark salient portions of text.
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>> Could I ask if, based either on personal experience or worldly wisdom,
>>>> anyone can suggest a device along these lines?  It has come to my
>>>> attention
>>>> that the Victor Reader Stream  might be an apt choice, but I wondered if
>>>> there might be some other good possibilities out there.
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>> Many thanks in advance!
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>
>>>> Andrew Webb
>>>
>>>>
>>>
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