Hi All,

Yea, we can even call our system "Soft Jaws."

Jay Dailey

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: richard Van Driel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: Braillenote List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Thu, 08 Apr 2004 01:01:34 +1200
>Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Another idea for future upgrades:

>yeh Josh, and you could be president.
>Just be sure and let me have a ride in the corprate jet ok?

>Richard

>> ----- Original Message -----
>>From: Josh Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>To: Braillenote List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 15:38:32 -0400
>>Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Another idea for future upgrades:

>>hey! cool! I'd buy a pacnote.  When will they go on sale!!?
>>That was kind of funny.  But it sounds neat.  but let's make some changes.
>>We'll combine all three companies. ...  Freedom scientific, pulsedata, and
>>gw--micro.


>>Josh

>>you wrote:

>>Okay, I have a solution to your problem.  Let's merge pulsedata and freedom
>>scientific and call it pulse scientific.  They could combine their
>>notetakers
>>and call it the pacnote.

>>Then we would have all the advantages of both devices along with all their
>>combined shortcomings.

>>Would this suit anyone?  I doubt it.

>><grin

>>Thanks,
>>Bob

>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>From: richard Van Driel <
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>>To: Braillenote List <
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>>Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2004 04:38:41 +1200
>>>Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Another idea for future upgrades:

>>>Hi Kirstyn,
>>>I know what you mean!
>>>When I first got my braille note, it was the best thing going.
>>>I tried the braillelite, and found the speech atrocious.
>>>I have a hearing impairment, which basically means that, the device with
>>the clearest speech is going to get a high score, if it is just as good as
>>the
>>other device with poorer speech.
>>>I will be taking a class on the pacmate in may, (I hope) but I already know
>>that the speech is a little less clear for me because, 1 the speaker is
>>smaller
>>and, 2 the amp doesn't put out as much power as the bn.
>>>What prompted me to get the bn was the fact that I could use the braille
>>display and/or speech.
>>>I taught a class in my church, and being able to use the braille display
>>without speech was a great help there, letting me hear my students and keep
>>track
>>of my lesson without having to mess around with neckloops and earphones.
>>>But I like what I've seen of the Pacmate, in that it just seems more
>>versatile.
>>>What I don't understand, is why pdi keeps harping on the (oh so nasty)
>>graphical interface.
>>>For those of us who use Windows with Jaws, we get along ok with that nasty
>>old gui!
>>>Why does pdi not concentrate on making gui easier for blind people to use
>>by adapting their product to handle commands so that we can use it with the
>>minimum
>>of roundabouts?
>>>I think many things might be automated, so that what might be a roundabout
>>could be done with one menu option or keystroke.
>>>>From what I have read on the pm list for example, there's quite a little
>>roundabout to disconnecting when online.
>>>There is no such problem with the bn, so why not incorporate that same
>>quick way in whatever you use for your system, whether that's pocket pc or
>>Linux
>>or whatever?
>>>One thing that's becoming obvious to me is that Keysoft is out of date and
>>way too proprietorial and inflexible for users who need to modify it.
>>>The Windows ce we use is the same, but even so, it has already built in
>>some of the things that would make the bn more versatile.
>>>The results are sometimes a problem, since we are denied access to the
>>Windows Ce itself, we can't fix some things that, I would assume are handled
>>quite
>>well on regular pdas.
>>>For example, why is there not a way to erase or control the "history file
>>on the ks disk that we heard about some time ago?
>>>It's a windows bile, not a keysoft file, and according to Pdi, the only way
>>to get rid of it temporarily is to do a hard reset.
>>>IF you don't, it eventually takes up all the space on the ks disk.
>>>Furthermore, Ks doesn't use this folder or file or whatever it is.
>>>Ok, so here's my question.
>>>How is this file or whatever handled on a regular pda? What is done so that
>>you don't lose all your memory just from this one thing on a regular pda?
>>>I seriously don't believe that Ipaq or any of the other pda manufacturers
>>or, for that matter, Microsoft would market something with that glaring a
>>defect
>>for long.
>>>No, there is a way this is handled on a normal pda.
>>>Why not take advantage of this Pdi,
>>>Also, why create a trash folder etc, when this is already built into
>>Windows?
>>>Why have a very limited media player if the capacity is already there to
>>have a full one in Ce?
>>>And why have a suite of software that, according to your own admission, is
>>really hard to make wireless compatible when Windows Ce gives you that
>>capacity?
>>>Use a suite that lets us fully have access to Windows capability and make
>>it flexible enough that a user can get programs he wants or needs to work
>>with
>>it.
>>>I don't give a darn if it's a gui or not, all I ask is that it be easy to
>>use and as consistent as possible.
>>>The reality is that most applications that people use nowdays are, in some
>>way graphical, and that people want their technology to keep up.
>>>Make the bn more versatile by,
>>>1 making it possible to script for it (as is done on Pacmate) so that
>>people can add programs.
>>>2 use all of the possibilities of the Windows Ce system, making as much of
>>it as possible available to the user.
>>>3 At least make it possible for users to use some of the stuff available
>>for the pda, such as pocket excel and the latest Pocket word, if not for
>>use,
>>then for translation so that we won't have all the problems with that that
>>we now have.
>>>Use proprietary software only where the regular software doesn't work.
>>>Pm did this with the Windows version of the calculator, and create a much
>>better calculator with more functions.
>>>Because it uses Pocket Pc, it can accept programs that work with regular
>>pdas and because Jaws is a script capable program, scripts can be written so
>>that
>>things that might not work normally on the Pacmate can and do.
>>>That is what the Pacmategear site is all about.
>>>Remember, there are people who use the bn in school and college, and it's
>>important to have as much flexibility as possible.
>>>As for buying a laptop, Kirstyn already answered that one, and besides even
>>though laptops have gotten smaller, in comparison to the bn or pm, they are
>>still delicate and rather bulky, when you consider the case and all, and I
>>think they are also heavier.
>>>WHY drag around a laptop when most pdas could handle what you want to do?
>>>Only one reason, we can't see to use it.
>>>But, if Pacmate can handle all these things, and still be accessible to the
>>people for whom it is designed, then, surely, the bn could and if the reason
>>it can't is because of outdated hardware and software, then obviously, it's
>>time for more than just a new planner, although that is good, and a more
>>advanced
>>sync, it's time to update and upgrade and use that which will make the unit
>>more flexible, Gui or not.
>>>Thanks for listening to my ramblings! (lol)

>>>Richard     ----- Original Message -----
>>>>From: "Kirstyn" <
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>>To: Braillenote List <
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>>Date: Sat,  3 Apr 2004 11:56:05 +0000 (UTC)
>>>>Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Another idea for future upgrades:

>>>>Hi Jim,

>>>>    I hope fervently that PDI does not agree with your attitude.  The BN
>>users--or I should say, the former BN users--who are now on the PACMate list
>>did exactly what you are telling us to do now just to get us to shut up.
>>They sold their BN and got a PAC Mate.  The difference between them and
>>those
>>who, like me, are still hoping to see the BrailleNote keep pace, is that--we
>>are still hoping, while they decided not to and just switched.  What PDI and
>>users like you, Jim, should do is not to tell more users to switch or treat
>>those who have as though they made the wrong decision, but to show us that
>>in time, we will shake off the feeling of wanting to switch because the
>>BrailleNote is still keeping abreast.
>>>>    Stop challenging BrailleNote users to sell their BrailleNote and get a
>>PACMate because if it is not yet obvious to you, this is counterproductive
>>for PDI.  Instead, use your fingers to type a post for PDI, urging them to
>>get their act together and find better ways of facing the competition and
>>prevent
>>their customers from taking the expensive leap of getting a PM.  This is not
>>about ranting.  This is about telling PDI that we are willing to hang on to
>>our BrailleNotes, but not forever.  I'm tired of reading posts from Jonathan
>>Mosen or whoever assuring us that this and that request will be taken into
>>consideration for a future upgrade.  Anyone can say that, and who in his
>>right mind will say otherwise? But I want to see action.
>>>>    I do not want to see a version 5.2 with just one KeySoft application
>>being improved and the long-standing urgent problems linger.  5.0 was
>>released
>>in late August 2003, 5.1 was released in March 2004.  I am disappointed to
>>see that in about seven months time during which PDI was expected to develop
>>an upgrade, we got only a new planner system and a word count feature that
>>only solves the inconvenience of using the spell checker to get the number
>>of
>>words--I was able to check the number of sentences and lines with my
>>BrailleLite.  Meanwhile, in the same amount of time, other PDA users got
>>more speed
>>and more memory, and discovered more third-party applications that work well
>>with their product.
>>>>    We waited longer for 5.0 and got a bit more, but I still feel it was a
>>half-baked upgrade.  We got a stopwatch that could not be used as a
>>countdown
>>timer.  We got a media player that plays only MP3 files with certain
>>limitations to sample rates.  We got a better translator that does not agree
>>with
>>the speech and so words that appear right in Braille are translated
>>incorrectly to text and read wrong with speech.  We got KeySync but it only
>>works for
>>contacts and calendar, not email, and still the speed of synchronization or
>>the choking on large files was not addressed.  Add to that the lingering
>>problems
>>with KeyMail and KeyWeb, and the File Manager that lacks some useful
>>functions that Richard posted a rehash of a suggestion that I have seen from
>>other
>>users before but sadly, still no response--concrete response--from PDI.
>>>>    Like I said, they are way too slow in playing catch-up.  And with a
>>post like yours, users are beginning to think that PDI will never catch up
>>so
>>you are advising us to shut up and get a PACMate.  Do you realize that in
>>your desire to defend the BrailleNote, the faster you are causing it to
>>plunge
>>downhill?
>>>>    Another misinformation about the PACMate.  You do not lose data as
>>soon as the battery goes flat.  The Lithium Polymer battery used by newer PM
>>units,
>>or the Lithium Ion used on the version 1.xx units, will guarantee that if
>>the battery goes flat, you will retain your data in 72 hours--that's three
>>days.
>> I do not suppose any wise user will wait for three days before charging the
>>battery.  You say, "What if I'm out of town and forgot my charger?" As it
>>is obvious, that's user error and irresponsibility, not the product's fault.
>>>>    PM users also save files to cf cards and they do not lose these files
>>when the batteries go flat, even if the cards are plugged in.  With the
>>BrailleNote,
>>you may lose the files in your cf card if you had been working on a large
>>file saved to a cf card.  The problem with large files getting truncated or
>>wiped
>>clean--which I still experience with 5.1 and .rtf files--is not linked to
>>where you have the file; whether it's in the Flash Disk or compact flash
>>card,
>>you can still lose it.  Like I said in my other post, if you overwrite your
>>bacup of the email database with one you did not know was already corrupted,
>>you'll lose that, too, even if it's on the cf card.
>>>>    No, I did not write those last two paragraphs merely to compare the PM
>>and the BN.  My purpose? To show you and PDI that you cannot claim the
>>BrailleNote
>>is still leading just because of the battery and losing of data, since this
>>is no longer an urgent issue with the PACMate.  So stop focusing on what you
>>think the competition cannot do and hail that the BrailleNote can do that.
>>Start looking on what the BrailleNote cannot do, and that the competition
>>can,
>>and do something about it, and please, at least for our money's worth, do it
>>fast while we're still holding on to our BrailleNotes.

>>>>Sincerely,
>>>>Kirstyn

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