[access-uk] Re: First impression of penfriend...
- From: "David Russell" <david.russell8@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2009 12:06:26 +0100
Got mine this morning. So far I have just recorded one label and stuck it
onto a bag of chicken. It is still intact and the pen still speaks the info
after two hours.
I did notice the high volume level, but that is my only criticism so far, as
it seems to work fairly well.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Barbara Wilson
Sent: 01 August 2009 11:59
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: First impression of penfriend...
Can't believe someone on this list has missed the Penfriend!
Find me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/barkingbabs
Barbara Wilson
M: 07917710779
T: 02887784046
E: barkingbabs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IM: creativeeyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Skype: creativeeyes
----- Original Message -----
From: william lomas
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2009 11:55 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: First impression of penfriend...
ah you don't know? big smile
It is a new labelling device from the RNIB to let you read food packages
etc. record what you want to hear and when you touch the pen to the adhesive
lable, it reads back what you said use for foods, dvd's, cd's, etc etc
On 1 Aug 2009, at 11:49, Saqib wrote:
Hi. What is a pen friend. Is this a new device?
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry G
To: Access Mailing List
Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2009 11:46 AM
Subject: [access-uk] First impression of penfriend...
Well, mine came this morning and here's my first impressions...
The labelling and reading function works well, it's easy to use,
smaller and lighter than I expected. It picks up the tags and plays the
note quickly, and the sound quality is fine - it does exactly what it says
on the box and I reckon it's an excellent little device.
My concerns...
Mine came with a short fly lead to convert between the standard
headphone jack and the smaller jack socket on the penfriend - someone
mentioned that there had been a manufacturing glitch and the wrong jacks
were fitted to the early batches. It would seem that these mis-manufactured
models have been issued to customers.
I tried the mp3 player function and there are no instructions for
using this feature on the product guide at rnib.org other than telling you
to paste the music to the mp3 folder on the device. That's fine, but there
are no instructions for operating it. Can't remember which, but either the
power or the record button toggles play/stop. Sound quality is not
sparkling, but it's acceptable in a device that doesn't try to be a
dedicated mp3 player. There appears to be no way of moving from file to
file however, so at first glance, it's not really very useable.
My single serious gripe is the volume! The product guide and the tags
on the packaging correctly say that the device defaults to the same volume
each time the machine is switched off and on, and this is rather high. The
real pain, on mine at least, is that it jumps to this high volume each time
a new label is scanned, even though the volume has been turned down, so you
have to reset it on each scan! I'm hoping that there may be firmware
updates that will include a fix for this, but there is no mention of this in
the product information.
Finally, the online product info sheet says the following:
RNIB are developing some associated products that are pre-recorded.
If you wish to listen to RNIB’s pre-recorded information then you will need
to use the download feature. You must have access to the web and connect to
www.rnib.org.uk/penfriend. You will see a list of titles available for
download. These titles are free or are part of any subscription system that
you may have joined with RNIB. Click on any single title to download and
save on to your computer’s hard drive. For example, c:\penfriend\downloads.
After you have downloaded all the titles you are entitled to, connect
PenFriend to the computer using the USB cable. Next, enter or double click
on any title and an audio installer programme will appear, and then just
follow the simple instructions on screen. This programme will automatically
load the audio file onto PenFriend. Repeat the process for the other titles
that you have downloaded. Remember, a copy of all titles is always kept on
your hard drive so there is no need to back up. The audio files will be kept
on the AP4 folder in PenFriend.
Well, the link doesn't exist or is broken.
All the best,
Barry G
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The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
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signature database 4295 (20090731) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
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