Yes, braille is utterly indispensible to me as well. However, the newer iOS devices, any Mac, and some Windows screen readers all support braille. While I do not have the money to try this, I have often wanted to get a 12- or 18-cell braille display and use only it and my iPod for a week, just to see how it works out. I use the apex and iPod a lot and love the combination, since I get braille with the power and openness (a relative term when discussing an iOS device) of the iPod.
On 7/28/11, Chris Nusbaum <[email protected]> wrote: > Braille is vital and I love using Braille to operate my BN! Just > asking the question! * Smile! > > Chris > > "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto) > > The I C.A.N. Foundation helps visually impaired youth in > Maryland have the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click > on this link to learn more and to contribute: > www.icanfoundation.info or like us on Facebook at I C.A.N. > Foundation. > > > > Sent from my BrailleNote > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Jasmine Kotsay <[email protected] > To: crazy-shawty aka everything you're muther wanted you to be > but you aintquite turned out like me? > <[email protected]>, [email protected] > Date sent: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:40:25 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Braillenote] notetakers: are they worth buying > anymore? > > Hi Louise, > I totally agree with you! I LOVE Braille, and I'll never quit > using it. I love screen readers, too, but I'll never part with > braille, even if computers and smart phones talk. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: crazy-shawty aka everything you're muther wanted you to be > but you aintquite turned out like me? > <[email protected] > To: Chris Nusbaum <[email protected] > Date sent: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:08:34 +0100 > Subject: Re: [Braillenote] notetakers: are they worth buying > anymore? > > This is a question i have to think about. I really wanted and > apex after > my mpower and got it while i was working. I am made up with it > for what > i use it for just as i was made up with the mpower when i have > that. I > have a computer with nvda because it is the best screen reader > for me. I > use the computer for anything graphical or programs that are only > on the > computer like wavepad but have not got my braillenot paired as a > display > despite trying. > I use my braillenote exclusively for reading books and writing > documents > as it is much more comfortable to write in braille. I also love > the > braillenote's speech keynote gold synthesizer more than my > screenreader > I use my braillenote for websites like facebook and twitter as i > find it > presents them to me in a better way. I would feel lost without > my > braillenote and the ability to read and write braille and have > speech > all in one device. I like the fact it has it own unique menus > and is > accessible no matter what i am using it for. > > As for the question of braille, i will never not use it, it is > great to > have an all in one device you can use in a silent environment > without > needing headphones. A add-on braille display is too much messing > and > connecting to my laptop > > I do not like touch screen devices and have r.s.i and dexterity > problems > through this and a keypad or keyboard suits me. Just because an > iphone > talks, doesn't mean it is accessible to every blind person. > > To summarize, i feel both a braillenote and computer have a place > for > what they do best. I use them both equally for different things > and > maybe the braillenot more as it is so com-packed and light whilst > being > totally accessible and designed for a blind user. > > Louise. > > On 25/07/2011 04:44, Chris Nusbaum wrote: > Hi Alex, > > I totally agree with you! When my friend Josh, who is on this > and the > NABS list, got an iTouch for his birthday recently. I was at > the > birthday party, and when I asked him if he was going to "ditch > the BN > and do everything on the iTouch," he said "probably." To which I > replied, "Well, what about the Braille display? I don't think > you would > want to be stuck somewhere where it isn't easy for you to use > text-to-speech, for whatever reason, and Braille would fix the > problem, > but you're not using your BN anymore, so you don't have the > Braille to > rely on." By the way, screen readers don't read PDF files > either, unless > you have Adobe, and Adobe's annoying in my opinion. They're > always > telling you you need a new update! The reading of Docx files is > just > stupid on HumanWare's part, in my opinion. I mean, come on, the > Victor > Reader Stream's latest version can read Docx files. So if one > HW > product, the Stream, can read these files, then why can't > another, the > BN Apex? > > Chris > > "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities > motto) > > The I C.A.N. Foundation helps visually impaired youth in > Maryland have > the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click on this link > to learn > more and to contribute: www.icanfoundation.info or like us on > Facebook > at I C.A.N. Foundation. > > > > Sent from my BrailleNote > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Alex Hall <[email protected] > To: Chris Nusbaum <[email protected] > Date sent: Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:33:27 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Braillenote] notetakers: are they worth buying > anymore? > > Oh boy, this will get interesting! <smile > > Here are my thoughts. Like you, I do not have an opinion yet, > since I > think there are good cases both for and against specialized > braille > notetakers. However, I think that the notetaker's days are > numbered; > it costs more to buy and maintain, it cannot do as much, and > mainstream solutions just keep getting better while our own > notetakers > still can't read docx or pdf files, in mid 2011. > > Pro Case: > The notetaker is still the easiest to use, not requiring the > purchasing of special software, the underlying accessibility > frameworks to be used, or the myriad commands or gestures needed > (I > realize a case could be made against that last one). Notetakers > are up > and ready to go, no connecting the display or anything. They > are also > designed from the ground up with accessibility in mind; where > else can > you write in three different braille codes in one document, > depending > on the situation? A notetaker, in other words, is designed for a > blind > person to use efficiently and easily, while mainstream devices > that > are accessible are designed with sighted users in mind and then > made > to be accessible after the fact. Yes, they cost more, but so do > screen > readers, and screen reader upgrades, at least for JFW, can cost > more > than BrailleNote upgrades. > > Con Case: > Some of what is in the Pro section is company-specific and so > cannot > be applied to the notetaker or screen reader industries as a > whole. > For instance, JFW upgrades do cost money, as do BrailleNote > upgrades, > but HIMS upgrades are free. The NVDA screen reader is free to > begin > with. As for braille being ready immediately, iOS has this > covered; > turn on the display and unlock your iTouch and the two will pair > within five seconds automatically. > (I will now focus on iOS as it is the only mainstream device I > have > been able to use braille with.) > iOS is very accessible and, aside from some grade 2 translation > problems, I find it very useable. It lacks a good > wordprocessor, but I > can install any number of other apps on it. A dictionary for my > bn > costs $200 from Humanware, but a dictionary app costs nothing > whatsoever and can go online for definitions if I want it to. > There > are countless games, utilities, and other apps on my iPod that > my bn > could never manage, and most of them were free, not hundreds of > dollars. Are they as accessible as Keyword on the bn? Not all > of them, > but many are, provided one does not apply the same useability > model to > the iPod as one would to the bn. That is, the iPod has a screen > I can > touch to do things, whereas the bn relies only on keyboard > input. It > is unfair to call the iPod not as accessible because everything > cannot > be done from a braille or QWERTY keyboard, since the iPod was > not > designed with keyboard use in mind, just as the bn was not > designed > with a touch-sensitive pad in mind. > > The other question was whether braille is important. I consider > braille absolutely essential. I often use the iPod and apex > together, > since each offers different things that the other cannot do, or > cannot > do as well. For instance, I might check my Twitter feed on the > iPod > through the bn's terminal application, then exit the terminal > and send > an email on the bn since I can write faster and not worry about > translation errors. I may then go back into terminal to open a > PDF > document, and jump between reading the PDF in braille on the bn > (via > the iPod) and writing notes on the bn (in it's own > wordprocessor). > However, even if I did not have the apex, and only the iPod, I > would > have gotten a display of some kind. What happens when it is > noisy and > I cannot hear the speech well enough? What about when I have no > headphones with me but am somewhere where a yapping computer is > not > welcomed, such as taking notes in a class or meeting? What about > when > I simply want to see how a word is spelled, or look at the > spacing of > a document, without reading character by character with speech? > Braille is vital in these and other instances, and so I consider > it > vital to whatever mobile computing solution a blind person > decides to > use. My computer at home does not have a display because there > is > rarely a time when one would be useful, since the room where the > computer is set up is quiet and I can use arrows, sound schemes, > and > other means to quickly examine text if I need to. However, my > apex/iPod combo goes everywhere with me when I am out of the > house, > and I most often use the bn, whether I am actually using the > bn's > applications or am using it as a terminal for the iPod. > > On 7/24/11, Chris Nusbaum <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > I don't have a set opinion on this matter as of yet, but I'd > like > to initiate the discussion. I'm noticing a trend in the > blindness technology field: PC's can do most everything a > notetaker (BrailleNote, BrailleSense, PacMate, etc.) can do, > with > some obvious changes and differences, and in some cases can do > and support more than the notetaker. This is also true with the > ever-improving accessible smartphones and tablets: the iPhone, > iPad, iPod Touch, (the semiaccessible) Android phones, the KNFB > Reader, etc. Yes, the notetakers have built-in Braille > displays, > but you can also install a stand-alone Braille display on a > computer to display what's on the screen, or you could just buy > a > screen reader (text-to-speech, not text-to-Braille) as a > replacement for the Braille display... that is, if you think it > is in fact a replacement for refreshable Braille. That's > another > question for all of you in this discussion. So, here's the > question: with all the advancements and capabilities of a > computer and screen readers or stand-alone refreshable Braille > displays, is it worth it, in your opinion, to buy a notetaker > anymore? What, given all the things a PC can do, is the real > purpose of the notetakers now? I'd love to hear your thoughts! > > Chris > > "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities > motto) > > The I C.A.N. Foundation helps visually impaired youth in > Maryland have the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click > on this link to learn more and to contribute: > www.icanfoundation.info or like us on Facebook at I C.A.N. > Foundation. > > Sent from my BrailleNote > > ___ > Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. > If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a > copy to the list as well. > > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [email protected] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote > > > > > -- > Have a great day, > Alex (msg sent from GMail website) > [email protected]; http://www.facebook.com/mehgcap > > ___ > Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. > If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a > copy to the list as well. > > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [email protected] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote > > > > ----- > Scan determined that this mail is virus free. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1390 / Virus Database: 1518/3785 - Release Date: > 07/24/11 > > > > > ----- > Scan determined that this mail is virus free. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1390 / Virus Database: 1518/3787 - Release Date: > 07/25/11 > > > ___ > Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. > If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a > copy to the list as well. > > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [email protected] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote > > > ___ > Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. > If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a > copy to the list as well. > > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [email protected] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote > > -- Have a great day, Alex (msg sent from GMail website) [email protected]; http://www.facebook.com/mehgcap ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [email protected] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
