Hi Vivien The Alva BC640 only has a very basic Notes function, so don't expect anything too wild there! (smile). But it does come up as a removable drive, and you can do things like assign part of the display to another device so you have two Braille displays in use effectively. Not something I must admit I do, but it is feasible. The Alva is superior to the Focus range though, it has an awesome feel. It works too with the Mac. Kind Regards, Jackie Cairns J&M Work-Ability jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.work-ability.co.uk -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Vivien Palcic Sent: 21 May 2011 02:47 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fw: [vip-l] Feedback wanted re Braille Apex and/or other Braille displays Hi Jackie, Thanks so much for your reply. I've actually approached the Australian distributors of the Alva BC640/680 about the possibility of getting hold of one to try out, and/or the Focus displays from Freedom Scientific, which they also distribute here. I'm yet to hear back from them, but I was wondering if the notetaker on the Alva handles DOC files or just TXT files? And can it be used to read files someone has sent you - eg via email or on a USB drive etc? As far as I know, the BrailleSense notetakers have no Australian distributor, though it was a fair while back when I checked this, so it's worth following up again. Kind regards Vivien ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 9:49 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fw: [vip-l] Feedback wanted re Braille Apex and/or other Braille displays > Hi Vivien > > I can recommend the BrailleSense Plus 32 or BrailleSense OnHand. The > BrailleSense Plus has the features of the Apex, and 32 Braille cells > with a very responsive keyboard. It supports DOC and DOCX files, and > you can surf the web and use its Email client. There is also SenseNav > which is the GPS solution that may be purchased in addition. The > BrailleSense OnHand is slightly smaller but with 18 Braille cells and > a built-in GPS receiver. > But, again, you would need to purchase the maps additionally. > > Regarding Braille displays, then I highly recommend the Alva BC640 or > BC680 series. They are beautiful USB and Bluetooth displays, and the > BC640 can be bought with a built-in basic note-taker. > > I hope that gives you some food for thought. > > > Kind Regards, > > Jackie Cairns > J&M Work-Ability > > jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > www.work-ability.co.uk > -----Original Message----- > From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On > Behalf Of Vivien Palcic > Sent: 20 May 2011 13:54 > To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [access-uk] Fw: [vip-l] Feedback wanted re Braille Apex > and/or other Braille displays > > Hi list, > > I'm forwarding the below message, which I originally posted to the > vip-l list. I will also add that since then I've had the opportunity > to try out a > Brailliant2 40, albeit for only a couple of days, but I nevertheless > enjoyed using it. I would appreciate any feedback from this list. > > Regards > Vivien > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Vivien Palcic" <vivienpalcic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <vip-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Monday, April 18, 2011 6:53 PM > Subject: [vip-l] Feedback wanted re Braille Apex and/or other Braille > displays > > >> Hi list, >> >> I sent my poor old BrailleNote Classic off to HumanWare in Sydney a >> few weeks ago, and I've received news that the repair costs are well >> in excess of what I would consider worthwile going ahead with; and as >> I am well and truly past the minimum waiting period for eligibility >> to apply for our Lotteries grant here in WA (the last one was indeed >> for the old BrailleNote Classic), I'm going to apply for a new >> Braille display, either a BrailleNote Apex or perhaps one of the >> Braille displays which isn't a notetaker/PDA, just a display. I would >> like some feedback from users of either. I did have a look at an Apex >> last year when the Association for the Blind had one on loan, but I >> believe the most recent Keysoft 9.1 update has led to significant >> improvement >> - eg handling of Word files, so I'd be interested in people's >> experiences, good or bad. One of the things I like most about the >> BrailleNote, which I'm sure most users of the device would agree >> with, is the very user-friendly interface, along with the >> portability. Being able to sit outside on a nice day and read some >> article which someone emailed me or carry on with writing my own >> emails etc, is something I always enjoyed about the device, and I do >> like the slimmer, lighter design of the Apex. The user-replaceable >> battery is also a most welcome feature. On the other hand, there are >> features I wouldn't see myself using - eg Keychat. (I prefer to >> actually chat with my voice, otherwise i'd rather just email.) >> {smile} But then again, there is plenty I don't use on the Windows >> PC. If I do go down the Apex path, that then obviously opens up the >> opportunity for the GPS too, which I would possibly be looking at >> later on. I am interested in the 32-cell model, or if I opt for one >> of the other displays such as the BrailleConnect or Brailliant (both >> made by Baum), I'd possibly even go for the 40-cell model, but either >> way, I'm not considering any less than 32 cells. I was using the BN >> Classic extensively as a display for my Windows XP machine, both with >> JAWS and NVDA, and although I uninstalled JAWS a few months ago and >> am just using NVDA now, I'd be interested in people's experiences >> with their Braille display with other screenreaders too, including VoiceOver on the Mac. >> >> Regards >> Vivien >> >> *** >> >> Disclaimer: vip-l is a free community service. 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