[nfbcs] Notetakers vs. netbooks

[Gary Wunder]

Hello Tracy. I think one of the reasons people are not moving in large 
numbers to netbooks and away from notetakers for the blind is that 
integrated braille support, no matter what screen reader you seem to use, is 
not nearly as good as with a document stored on a notetaker. I can deliver 
remarks at a reasonable rate of speed with a document which has been sent to 
the BrailleNote, but I certainly can't make that claim using Jaws for 
Windows even on a display which is twice as long. I think you also have to 
address the question of how much setup time you want once you get somewhere 
and decide to take a note, check your calendar, or look in your telephone 
list.

Some of the notetakers have pretty impressive times when you look at how 
long they will run from a fully charged battery. I think the BrailleNote 
advertises something like 21 hours. Most laptops I've seen are stretching it 
if they say three hours but since netbooks don't have any motorized hard 
drive, my guess is that their battery life is considerably longer.

Lastly, as we found with the KNFB Reader classic, people don't like to carry 
around multiple chargers to support one unit. If you're braille display can 
be adequately powered by the USB port, then this isn't an issue, but if it 
runs from its own internal battery, then you have another plug to find in a 
hotel or a classroom.

Warmest Regards,

Gary
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 1:07 PM
Subject: [nfbcs] Notetakers vs. netbooks


> Is there a good reason, other than a built-in braille display, to buy a
> notetaker instead of a netbook?
> The weight of the netbook seems about the same as that of many notetakers,
> and it runs off-the-shelf software.  Of course, one would have to add the
> extra weight and space of a braille display, which could be a drawback.
> Someone told me that netbooks have trouble running speech, but another
> person said she'd had no problems.  The netbooks I saw online look to be
> more powerful than my old laptop, and smaller.
> And a netbook is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a notetaker, even one
> without braille.  So what are the drawbacks?  Why aren't most blind guys
> buying netbooks instead of notetakers?
> Just curious, and wondering if I should replace my old laptop with
> something new and snazzy.
> Tracy
>
>
>
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