Hi, Beth,
I have one problem with this--money. A number of years ago there were two
such laptops. One cost $15.000 and the other cost $10,00. Today I suspect
that such a beast would cost around $7,000 or so. Here is the problem
though. Neither of those laptops got beyond a 486 processor. If you had
spent $10,000 back in 1993 for the Notex, for example, you would today have
a very large sum of money tied up in a piece of equipment that is virtually
useless now. I do have both a laptop (and I have the first model from
Beyond Sight) and a Braille Note. I don't really use them for quite the
same things. I take a notetaker everywhere with me. I would not want to do
that with a laptop. If I am going to be away for several days or more, I
will take both. I'd much rather use something with full blown Windows for
full-sized Windows programs, including K1000. I love a notetaker for all
you can do portably with Braille. I have had a notetaker of one kind of
another since 1990. Although I still have my BLT 40, it will become a
back-up unit now. There are things you can do with a dedicated Braille
device that would be awakard with a laptop. For example, if I am in a
church choir, I use a braille device for the words. I read Braille all the
time when I am traveling--a much simpler task with a dedicated device. If I
really want to read Braille while using full-blown Windows, I can hook it
up to the laptop, but I don't have a need for that at this time.
After I bought the laptop, I had Window Eyes untied so that I can use it on
any computer I want to. Ultimately, Window Eyes cost me less that way. I
first saw Ray Kurzweil's first reading machine in the '70s. It was huge and
cost $50,000. Now I have it on my desktop and laptop. I am still amazed
that I can take that in a briefcase size case at a fraction of the cost
wherever I want to. I really think I have the best of both worlds now with
a lptop and a Braille Note.
Evelyn
At 02:27 AM 3/22/05 -0500, you wrote:
Hi again. I suggest putting on the drawing board a BN laptop, with a
built-in Braille keyboard and the ability to plug in a QWERTY one, also a
processor with the speed of today's laptops, with CD and disc drives and
with the intuitive BN methods of operation. To my knowledge, Beyond Sight's
Laptalk is the only laptop built for the blind and a screen reader must be
used. Thanks. Beth
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