[bksvol-discuss] Re: Braille Note or Pack Mate
- From: "Kaitlyn Hill" <Kaitlyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 20:29:28 -0700
Hello Sharon,
This was an interesting article. The more I look at my needs, not being an
avid Braille reader some of the ultra light laptops may serve me better.
Thanks again :)
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sharon Jackson
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 5:03 AM
To: Bookshare
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Braille Note or Pack Mate
Hello,
I have been following the discussion about the Braille Note versus Pack Mate
and thought others would enjoy reading the article, "Braille Note or Pack
Mate" from the July-August issue of the Braille Monitor.
The Braille Monitor
July 2005
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BrailleNote or PAC Mate:
A Matter of Personal Preference
by Danika Rockett
Jim Gashel, NFB executive director of strategic initiatives, is enthusiatic
about his PAC Mate, which he uses with his cell phone to download email on
his way to the office in the morning, Mark Riccobono, NFB manager of
education services, is equally committed to his Braille
Mate.<http://www.nfb.org/bm/bm05/bm0507/bm050716.jpg>
Jim Gashel (right), NFB executive director of strategic initiatives, is
enthusiastic about his PAC Mate, which he uses with his cell phone to
download email on his way to the office in the morning. Mark Riccobono
(left), NFB manager of education services, is equally committed to his
BrailleNote
From the Editor: On May 1, 2005, Danika Taylor, NFB copyeditor,
married Don Rockett. When she returned from her honeymoon, she sat down to
talk with several electronic notetaker users about the features they liked
and did not like in the units they had chosen. Here is the result of those
conversations. It is not a careful review by the International Braille and
Technology Center (IBTC) staff, but it does contain interesting information
and views. This is what she says:
The decision to spend upwards of five thousand dollars on a
device that can fit in the palm of a hand and allow blind people to read,
write, keep track of appointments, and even do email on the go should not be
taken lightly. For most of us contemplating the purchase of a Braille
notetaker, the sticker shock involved in the process is also accompanied by
the equally unsettling lists of technical specifications and claims and
counterclaims which those who sell these devices make.
In this article we turn directly to the experience of several
longtime Federationists who use their notetakers every day. Their
observations are based not on theoretical or technical data but on the
reality of living day in and day out with a particular notetaker.
If you would like to explore your personal notetaker needs with
the experts at the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind
(IBTC), they invite you to do so. They can be reached at the technology
answer line: (410) 659-9314, option 5 on the automated greeting.
Humanware's BrailleNote and Freedom Scientific's PAC Mate are two of the
most popular Braille notetakers. For various reasons some users prefer one
machine to the other, but just what is the difference between these two
seemingly similar products?
We might begin with physical characteristics, for herein lie the
most obvious differences. The BrailleNote is smaller in height and width
than the PAC Mate but slightly thicker. To be specific, the BrailleNote is
9.9 by 6.1 by 2 inches, and the PAC Mate is 11 by 6.81 by 1.93 inches. To be
sure, these differences are slight, and as J.R. Westmoreland said in his
2005 CSUN (California State University at Northridge) conference paper
titled "BrailleNote or PAC Mate: A Side-by-Side Comparison," the difference
in size is a "minor factor navigating in tight areas." A smaller
BrailleNote, the BrailleNote PK, is a mere 6.8 by 3.6 by 1.3 inches, but it
comes with only an 18-cell display option, and at around $5,000 the smaller
dimensions might not be worth the cost for many users.
The weight of each product varies a bit depending on the model
and the size of the refreshable Braille display. The 20-cell PAC Mate weighs
3 pounds, 9 ounces, whereas the 18-cell BrailleNote weighs 2.2 pounds;
likewise, the 40-cell PAC Mate weighs 4 pounds, while the 32-cell
BrailleNote weighs 2.9 pounds. Therefore, although the PAC Mate weighs more
than the BrailleNote, the larger size of the PAC Mate's Braille display may
be an important consideration for some users.
Both machines have wireless network access support, the option
of a QWERTY keyboard, and similar external connections and hardware slots.
Of course these details vary slightly from model to model. J.R. Westmoreland
praises the PAC Mate's support of CF cards. "The BrailleNote," he says, "has
a limited number of cards that are supported. The PAC Mate, on the other
hand, not only supports these cards but many other cards that have drivers
for Pocket PC."
We could go on and on about the characteristics of each machine,
but in the end the question of which is better comes down to personal
preference. Diehard advocates exist for most notetakers on the market,
depending on the individual user's needs.
Adrienne Asch, Henry R. Luce Professor in Biology, Ethics, and
the Politics of Human Reproduction at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, is
a BrailleNote user. However, she is certainly not a diehard advocate. "The
BrailleNote has many fine features," she says. "But it has a few major
problems, at least from my point of view."
Footnotes, or rather the lack thereof, are among Dr. Asch's
complaints. "The BrailleNote will not permit the writing of footnotes or
endnotes in Microsoft Word documents," she says. Therefore any articles she
writes requiring footnotes or endnotes--and she is a prolific academic
scholar--must be written, or at least finished, on the computer using a
Braille display or speech, which can be inconvenient and is certainly
inefficient.
The BrailleNote "will also not display footnotes or endnotes in
Word documents sent to me," she continues. "This means that I must open the
file on a laptop or desktop computer and convert it to ASCII format. If I
don't have computer access, I simply cannot read the footnotes or endnotes."
These complaints are important, but they demonstrate how much personal needs
and preferences determine which notetaker to buy. A person who does not
regularly use footnotes or endnotes may not be bothered by the fact that no
device using Pocket PC can identify footnotes and endnotes at all.
Another problem for Dr. Asch involves formatting. "Although the
manual claims that documents can be prepared in Braille and then formatted
for printing, that claim is only partly accurate," she says. "If one wishes
to create italicized, bolded, or underlined material in a printed document,
one cannot use the format menu within the Braille document to do so. One
must manually do this formatting from within the translated file."
She also faults the BrailleNote for reading fewer and fewer of
the many documents she wants it to display. "More and more email attachments
are in formats, whether advanced versions of Microsoft Word, RTF, or some
other format that the BrailleNote will not display," she complains. "Again,
the only solution is to take the file to a standard laptop or desktop,
convert it to an ASCII text file, and then return the newly formatted file
to the BrailleNote. This conversion means a loss of formatting, meaning that
I cannot edit the document in the same format in which it was sent to me.
The device is no longer a reliable method of reading documents prepared in
electronic form that are given to me at meetings, conferences, and the like.
I will soon find that I must travel with a laptop, if only to convert the
documents I am given, in order to do my actual reading on the BrailleNote. I
had hoped with the newest software upgrade, 6.11, that I would have solved
the problem of unreadable documents; I have not solved it. When I send
examples of unreadable documents to Humanware's technical support staff,
they generally tell me that they too cannot read them on their machines, but
they have no suggestions or solutions."
Mark Riccobono, National Federation of the Blind manager of
education programs, is a satisfied BrailleNote user. In fact he liked the
BrailleNote so much that he recently upgraded to the smaller BrailleNote PK.
He says that the PK is similar to the previous models, other than the size
(it is currently the smallest notetaker on the market) and the USB port.
Unlike Adrienne Asch, Mark Riccobono is not bothered by the
BrailleNote's inability to deal with footnotes or endnotes. It isn't that he
doesn't use them, but he considers his BrailleNote more of a supplement to
his PC than a stand-alone computer, so he doesn't mind transferring
documents for editing. One feature he enjoys is the PK's portability and
power. "I can carry around my contacts and synchronize them with Microsoft
Outlook," he says. "I am on the road a lot, and if I meet someone, it is
easy to enter the information into my PK. Then, when I get to the office, I
simply synchronize the information with Outlook, and it is there. Also the
calendar feature is a major advantage because it too synchronizes with
Outlook. And I can work on documents while I am commuting, then transfer
them to my PC when I get to work. Basically I treat my PK like a PDA, not
like a PC replacement."
He admits, however, that formatting causes the occasional
frustration. "Transferring from a Word document causes it to appear in a
different format, which destroys the formatting, so I have to go back and
correct it. That is definitely frustrating sometimes, especially when I am
in a hurry. But I don't worry about it too much because I use my PC most of
the time."
Another disadvantage of the PK is its lack of audio streaming
ability. While the PAC Mate has the ability to stream audio from the
Internet, the PK does not. Anyone who knows Riccobono knows he is an avid
baseball fan, and the feature he would most like to see added to the PK is
the ability to stream audio, especially baseball broadcasts. Like Dr.
Asch's, his complaints are a matter of personal preference. Not every user
will consider streaming audio to be a priority when making a purchasing
decision.
As for audio quality, though, Chad Allen, government programs
specialist (intern) for the National Federation of the Blind, loves the fact
that his BrailleNote PK has stereo quality audio for his enjoyment while
listening to the many MP3s he has downloaded onto the device. Allen also
praises the built-in Bluetooth technology feature on the PK. "I use my Nokia
6620 model cell phone to surf the Internet on my PK," he says. "I use the
Mobile Speak software and my cell phone as a modem, and I have another
Internet-surfing option anywhere I go." The BrailleNote PK comes with
Bluetooth technology installed, whereas this technology must be purchased
separately for other notetaking devices. Again, for those who are less
computer savvy or are not interested in the capacity to surf the Internet at
a moment's notice, this technology does not factor heavily into the
decision-making process.
Allen, a Jaws user, mentions that Freedom Scientific does not
support the use of Jaws with competing notetakers such as Humanware's
BrailleNote PK. "I didn't know this when I purchased the device. I assumed I
could use the Jaws screen reader on a PC with my PK doubling as a
refreshable Braille Display, but it didn't work. I was disappointed because
I had to purchase and install a new screen reader, but overall the PK is a
great notetaker, and I am very satisfied with it."
Eric Duffy is an NFB leader in Ohio. He is technologically
sophisticated and spends a significant amount of time helping other blind
people solve technology problems. This is what he says about his decision to
use the PAC Mate: "I was a Braille 'n Speak user beginning in the late
eighties. I then got a Braille Lite not long after it came out. Both of
these devices were good-quality notetakers, but they are not even in the
same league with the PAC Mate. It is far more than a note taker. The
capacity and versatility of the PAC Mate exceed that of the Braille 'n Speak
and Braille Lite, first developed by Blazie Engineering and now supported,
at least minimally, by Freedom Scientific.
"The BrailleNote was the first product in what most of us think
of as the modern class of notetakers for the blind. I had heard about the
BrailleNote before it hit the market, and I began to use one as soon as I
could get my hands on a loaner unit. I liked some things about it but before
buying decided to wait to try the new product from Freedom Scientific that
was soon to be released. I really wanted to compare the BrailleNote and PAC
Mate and make an informed choice about which product would best meet my
needs. I have chosen the PAC Mate. Here are my thoughts about both products.
"The BrailleNote is still a proprietary product, which is to say
that the Keysoft user interface and suite of applications is developed and
supported by the manufacturer of the BrailleNote, Humanware. So
off-the-shelf products cannot be used with the BrailleNote.
"I like the fact that the PAC Mate runs on a
WindowsRMobile-based technology. This is the same system that sighted
consumers use to operate their PDAs. Programs released for PDAs in the
general market can more easily be adapted for the PAC Mate.
"I use the PAC Mate every day for word processing, email, and
more. I like the fact that I can synchronize email as well as contacts and
files between the PAC Mate and my PC. Using the PAC Mate, I can write email
messages using contracted Braille and with a key stroke have the message
translated to computer Braille and sent. I can work in Pocket Word using
contracted Braille and have the file easily translated into print.
"I am pleased with the connectivity of the PAC Mate. Because of
it I am no longer tied to my computer to be productive. I can send files to
my computer or through email using my wireless network or Active Sync. It is
also possible to beam files from one Pac Mate to another or for that matter
send them to a laptop or a PDA. I can have instant access to information in
contracted Braille as long as the producer of the file can beam it to me or
put it on a flash drive.
"I have learned by painful experience that, if I want to be
absolutely certain that I do not lose the data I am working with, I must
store it in internal flash. When storing information in main memory, one
runs the risk of losing it when the PAC Mate crashes, which it does more
frequently than I would like, or if it is necessary to perform a hard reset.
Information can also be lost if the battery gets too low. In theory, because
the PAC Mate has an internal battery, one can wait up to seventy-two hours
after the battery dies before recharging the unit without losing data, but
theory and reality are very different, and users have learned the hard way
not to let the battery lose its charge completely.
"Freedom Scientific strongly recommends that one use Active Sync
or Sprite Backup to be sure that data and settings are not lost. Sprite
Backup involves saving data to a flash card, and Active Sync enables a
backup directly to a PC.
"I very much like the fact that the Braille display can be
detached from the PAC Mate. If I am having a problem with my display, I can
return it for service without having to send the Pac Mate back. Of course
the reverse is true as well. If I am having a problem with the PAC Mate, I
can use the display with my PC while the main unit is being repaired. I
don't enjoy having to pay extra for Bluetooth cards, WiFi cards, and other
peripherals, But again, if I have a faulty card, I can replace it without
having to send the entire unit in for service.
"It does seem to me that the BrailleNote is most useful for
those who do not need or want to connect to other devices. The operating
system is simple, and the learning curve is easy. Freedom Scientific markets
the Pac Mate by saying that, if you know JAWS and if you know Windows, you
know how to use the PAC Mate. Although I don't fully agree with that
statement, knowing these programs certainly shortens the learning curve for
new PAC Mate users, yet there is still a good bit to master.
"I do have two serious concerns about the PAC Mate. The first is
that Pocket Word is not as functional as it could and should be. In fact it
is really better to work in FSEdit, the word-processing program developed by
Freedom Scientific. When told about problems that crop up for users who are
trying to edit files in Pocket Word, Freedom staff respond by saying that
the problem is Microsoft's. The same response occurs when problems with
other programs are mentioned. I believe that, if a program has been
installed on the PAC Mate by Freedom Scientific, any problems that arise are
its responsibility. This is especially true because Freedom promotes the PAC
Mate by saying it works with Word and other programs it has not created.
"It also advertises the PAC Mate as a machine that can support
many off-the-shelf programs and devices. Freedom Scientific recommends a Web
site called <www.pacmategear.com> as the place to find and order up-to-date
information about programs and devices that run on the PAC Mate--that is,
until a problem develops. Then <www.pacmategear.com> is strictly unofficial.
It seems to me that Freedom cannot expect to have it both ways; either it
advertises that the site carries programs and equipment that are compatible
with the PAC Mate and Freedom supports and will trouble-shoot them, or the
company should not try to expand the attractiveness of its product by
nominally affiliating itself with programs and hardware it disavows when
trouble strikes.
"Another ongoing issue is the fact that Freedom announced its
intent to release a global positioning system (GPS) program for the PAC Mate
over a year ago and began accepting orders and payment for it. When pressed
to divulge what is going on with the GPS, which is still not available,
Freedom just says that it is waiting for Destonator, the publisher of the
software platform for the GPS system, to make the software changes necessary
to run on the PAC Mate. The cynic in me suspects that Freedom announced the
GPS system in June of 2004 knowing that it would not be ready for months but
eager to stay competitive with the BrailleNote, which already had a
functioning GPS system. All software producers exhibit unconstructive
optimism about when new products will be available, but accepting orders and
billing for the programs months or years ahead of delivery strikes me as
unfair. My advice to potential notetaker users is to be sure that the
products and features they find attractive and plan to order really are
already available or will be so in the very near future."
There you have the thoughts and experiences of several
BrailleNote and PAC Mate users. When all is said and done, a number of
notetaking devices are on the market. Cost will usually be a factor in
deciding which one to purchase because many of these devices cost several
thousand dollars. Potential buyers must consider how they intend to use the
notetaker in order to determine which features are necessities and which are
just added bonuses. Visiting the Web sites of companies that build or sell
notetaking devices can provide lots of information, like specs, prices, and
features of different machines, but talking with current users is always a
great way to get sensible, useful information about the various models
currently on the market. Remember also that the staff of the International
Braille and Technology Center of the Jernigan Institute answer questions
about notetakers every day. Their expertise and assistance are never more
than a phone call or email away.
In short, no electronic notetaker is right for everyone. If you
are considering buying one of these little marvels, take the time to work
with each device you are considering. Think about how you will use the
notetaker, and try using each to undertake the tasks you are likely to ask
your notetaker to perform. You will not avoid all the headaches in this way,
but you will certainly cut down on them.
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