[bksvol-discuss] Re: PackMate?

  • From: "Allison Mervis" <allisonfm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:37:54 -0400

Not necessarily. If you save your data in internal flash or on a flash card, you won't lose it. You also get a free copy of the Sprite backup utility, so you never actually have to lose anything.
Allison

----- Original Message ----- From: "Paula and James Muysenberg" <outofsightlife@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 1:54 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: PackMate?


Yes, Access World have several good articles, comparing braille PDA's.
They not only discussed the various features, but how well those advertised
features actually work.

   As far as battery life, unless this has changed, you can lose all your
data, if the Pacmate battery goes flat.

Paula

----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Jackson" <dolly1025@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 6:58 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: PackMate?


If you want other opinions about the various notetakers, I would try the
Accessworld journal from American Foundation for the Blind.

Sharon
----- Original Message ----- From: "Sarah Van Oosterwijck" <curiousentity@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 11:23 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: PackMate?


> Which option to use always depends on what you want to do. If you > don't
> care about having a braille display I would certainly go with the
> sub-compact laptop, because they can do more than any notetaker and are
> cheeper than anything but a Voice Note classic. The number one reason
to 
> consider a nottaker instead of a laptop would be battery life.  Any
> notetaker will get at least 25 hours of battery life.  I think I heard
the
> PackMate gets even more, whereas a laptop will only give you a few > ours.
> The other problem they might cause you is annoyance do to the lack of
> keys. Screen readers use so many hotkeys that a laptop keyboard just
can't
> provide them all, and I have found the alternatives used for laptop
layout 
> to be kind of annoying.
>
> The PackMate can do a lot of things, but they can have some of the
> keyboard issues that laptops have.  If you get one you should get one
with 
> a qwerty keyboard because the key combinations necessary on the braille
> model can get ridiculous and hard to remember.  You can run some Pocket
PC
> software, but only if someone has created scripts for it, so don't
expect
> to use software just out of the box. If you want a very small and
feature
> packed device with a display it is probably a very good option for > you,
> but be prepared for bugginess because even it's fans say it isn't the
most 
> stable product on the market.
>
> If you really want a braille display at the lowest price possible, then
I
> would check out the Braille Sense notetaker sold by GW-Micro. It is
just
> under 5,000 dollars instead of over 6,000 for a model with a 32 cell
> display. It also has a built in DAISY player that can use both text > and
> audio. That and it's price are what might make it a better option than
> the braille note. It's stability and simplicity may also be of > interest
> to you.
>
> The braille note M-Power is much easier to learn and use than the
> PackMate and it is designed as it is to make it a stable product. At
this
> point who knows just how stable it is, though. It also has more
features
> than the Braille Sense. The word processor is far more advanced and it
> can download and unpack bookshare files. It is supposed to have a > DAISY
> player in the future, but I wasn't given any possible dates for that so
> who knows when. Reading braille files is quite nice, though. I like > the
> arrangement of the front thumb keys to advance the display. I find it
> more ergonomic than the other notetakers available.
>
> These are just some general things to think about. For actual feature
> comparisons it would be best to investigate each option thoroughly by
> looking at their respective web sites. I also know there are a few > more
> things out there, but I don't know much about them if they aren't as
> strenuously marketed.
>
> Sarah Van Oosterwijck
> Assistive Technology Trainer
> http://home.earthlink.net/~netentity
>
> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Kaitlyn Hill" <Kaitlyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 7:15 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] PackMate?
>
>
>> Hi Barbra and all,
>>
>> <<FSEDIT on the PackMate tends to screw up the format and of the
document 
>> and Pocket Word on the PackMate will work only with files 100KB or
>> smaller.>>
>>
>> So are there many PackMate users out there? I have been kind of poking
>> around trying to decide on a transportable reader for digital files. I
>> have
>> not heard a lot of good things about the PackMate for the money. The
>> Bookcurrier I listened to the voice available and not real excited
about 
>> it.
>> I am also considering getting a subcompact notebook. I am seeing some
out 
>> there between 2 and 3 lbs. My thought on the notebook would be I could
>> run
>> standard software, Word, K1000, etc.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Barbara J
>> Wagreich
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 1:34 PM
>> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Cc: Barbara J Wagreich
>> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Guidelines for prep of books for
>> submission?
>>
>> Hi Listers:
>>
>> Thanks for the feedback!  I appreciate it.
>>
>> Some additional questions:
>>
>> 1) should the print page number be on the  same line as the form feed
or 
>> on a separate line?
>>
>> 2) What should I do about hyphenated words?  This usually happens if
the 
>> last workd on an ink-print page is split between the  current page and
>> the
>> next page?  Will the Bookshare stripper program fix this  or should I
fix 
>> the hyphenated words (join them together) before I submit the book?
>>
>> 3)  The present book I'm doing is in text mode because it's easier for
me
>> to edit it in text mode. The parahraps are not indented but there is >> a
>> blank line between each paragraph. will the braille translation
program
>> be able to identify the paragraphs?
>>
>> 4) I'm wondering wht formats could be edited on a Braillenote (Keysoft
>> 6.11) without spoiling the format (meaning when I transfer the edited
>> files back to the PC, the format wof the book will not be affected).
>> FSEDIT on the PacMate tends to screw up the format and of the document
>> and
>> Pocket Word on the PacMate will work only with files 100KB or smaller.
>>
>> 5) Are there any written guidelines? if so, where would I find them?
>>
>> Thanks for your feedback on these questions!
>>
>> Barbara Wagreich
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
>> Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.10/73 - Release Date:
8/15/2005 
>>
>>
>
>
>









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