Well, it will probably cost a little more than $600, but could be easily done for under $1000, and done in fine fashion with an external Qwerty keyboard and the ability to do a lot of basic operation with voice input for $1200 with MobileSpeak Pocket or Pocket Hal. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josh Kennedy" <jkenn337@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 5:09 PM Subject: [bookport] Re: Progress and the Book Port : And also for those people who can't afford a pacmate or braillenote or : voicenote there's always that new mobilespeak pocket that's coming out. You : can get that for $425 and then buy a cheap pocket pc from somewhere and you : got a notetaker that can do all that the pacmate can do and more for only : $680 instead of buying a pacmate or voicenote for thousands of dollars. : : Josh : : he should try out the animal before he bought him. He took the could. The : Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch-land... A RIVER carried : down in its stream two Pots, one made of pounce upon in a whole year. Evil : wishes, like chickens, come home to roost. : ----- Original Message ----- : From: "Richard Ring" <ring.richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> : To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> : Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 4:45 PM : Subject: [bookport] Re: Progress and the Book Port : : : >I am getting quite tired of aspersions being cast at people who don't : > want to turn the Bookport into a Braille 'n Speak. : > There are many changes that would make the Bookport a better unit. : > However unless we completely rebuild the system, it will not meet the : > needs of students who need a real note taking device. One huge group of : > individuals who would never wish to use the Bookport as a primary note : > taker are those who do not use Braille. Unfortunately, the majority of : > those who are blind do not know and use Braille, therefore if such : > individuals were to own a note taker, they would prefer one with a : > qwerty keyboard. That would certainly change the overall portability of : > the device. To compare the Bookport's note taking capabilities to a : > Braille Note or a Pac Mate displays a clear and profound lack of : > knowledge concerning the functionality of these devices. : > Students with whom I work want a notetaker that can read MS-Word : > documents, and they want the ability to save documents in that format. : > They want the ability to create contact lists, and an appointment : > calendar. They want the ability to browse the web, and the ability to : > read html documents. Professionals want the ability to synchronize : > email, appointments and contacts with their PCs, just as sighted : > professionals do with their PDAs. : > Can the Bookport do these things? Should it do these things? And, if : > it does, will APH still offer the device at $400 US? I don't have the : > answers, but as someone who teaches note takers every day, I can tell : > you that none of the individuals I work with would want to go back to a : > Braille 'n Speak! : > Some prefer the Braillenote, some the Pac Mate, but I never receive : > requests from college students to learn how to use the Braille 'n Speak! : > Frankly, the majority of the individuals that I serve don't even know : > computer Braille, although it is not all that difficult to learn. : > Here are some changes that I wouldn't mind seeing, and they have nothing : > to do with note taking. : > I would like to see USB 2.0 support. I would like to see the 256 mb : > limit for audio files done away with. I would like to see an MP3 shuffle : > mode, I wouldn't even mind giving the transfer tool the ability to : > create play lists. I would like support for CF cards of greater than 4 : > GB, and I would like to see support for type II CF cards (microdrives). : > I would also like to see real html support, so that if one had a book in : > html format that book could be read as it was intended. To be read. : > Many books allow the reader to go immediately to an item in a table of : > contents, because each item is a link. Support for this would be an : > excellent improvement. : > I would also like to see an internal hard drive although that would : > probably add a bit to the cost. : > I would also like to see SD card support. : > However, as someone who can make recommendations to clients, I would : > never tell a client that he/she could use the Bookport as a note taker! : > It would be like telling someone a hot dog was a steak! : > Before we add features, let's fix some of the bugs that have been : > reported to this list. Bug fix releases aren't as slick and sexy as : > releases rich in new features, but I'd rather fix the roof on my house : > before I built a recording studio on the second floor, it would just : > make solid sense. : > : > -----Original Message----- : > From: bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx : > [mailto:bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bruce Toews : > Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 2:18 PM : > To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx : > Subject: [bookport] Progress and the Book Port : > : > : > One of the recurring topics on this list is that of feature suggestions : > and why they should or should not be implemented. People have very : > strong : > viewpoints on this issue, and they tend to polarize users into two : > camps, : > two camps which rather vehemently oppose each other. One camp views the : > BP : > as a complete solution as is, and feel very strongly that no changes : > should be implemented, as making such changes would dilute the existing : > features, or add new functionality that opposes the BP's original : > purpose. : > A classic example of this is something I saw on a list for the Book : > Courier, in which one person said that what makes the Book Courier so : > much : > better than the Book Port is the fact that it doesn't have a note-taking : > : > feature, as the Book Port does. : > : > The other camp, the camp to which I personally subscribe, feels that the : > : > Book Port is a great unit, and that great things can be made even : > greater, : > that the truly great products continue to evolve. Anyone who saw the : > Braille 'n Speak evolve before Blazie Engineering was swallowed up by : > Freedom Scientific will know what can be achieved through this sort of : > thinking. The eveolution of the computer, once thought of as only useful : > : > for crunching numbers, is another. People in this second camp believe : > that : > the Book Port, too, can be such an example. : > : > Over the course of its existence, the Braille 'n Speak became more : > powerful, more flexible, more versatile, and it did so while battery : > life : > increased as opposed to decreasing. It outgrew the limitations of just : > being a notetaker, while at the same time staying true to the needs of : > that original purpose. : > : > One of the arguments I hear again and again is that the Book Port is a : > book reader, and it should not be anything else. This is the path taken : > by : > the Book Courier, and there's nothing wrong with it. But APH has seen : > fit : > to expand the usefulness of the unit. It has flown against the : > conventional wisdom which says that, if you want a notetaker, you ahve : > to : > shell out thousands of dollars to do it. This probably irritates some : > of : > the people who have been in the business of either designing, selling, : > or : > procuring the multi-thousand-dollar notetakers, becasue the Book Port is : > : > available for a few hundred dollars, and for it to seriously rival one : > of : > the "big boys" would seriously challenge the conventional wisdom, and : > force those who claim that you need to fork over thousands for a decent : > notetaker to seriously rethink those claims. It's not a lot of fun to : > find : > the book from which you've been preaching for years to be totally : > discredited. The flat-earth hold-outs are still struggling with it. : > Another argument against increased functionality is that increased : > functionality yields increased bugs. My only answer to this is: Nothing : > ventured, nothing gained. : > : > Another argument suggests that the long life of batteries would be : > compromised by increased functionality. I submit that my current : > cellphone : > lasts twenty times longer than did my first on one battery charge, is : > much : > more powerful, is smaller, and much faster. My Braille Lite M20 lasts at : > : > least ten times longer on a charge than the first braille 'n speak, is : > only slightly larger (and this because of the addition of the braille : > display), is much faster, and much more versatile and efficient. People : > seem to forget that technology has come a long way since the original : > technology behind the Book Port was introduced: it's faster, it's : > cheaper, : > it's more efficient, and consumes less, not more, power. : > : > Finally, I suggest that if one likes things the way they are, one is not : > : > obligated to turn in their unit. If you don't want the new progress, : > fine, : > but why stop the rest of us? Is there insecurity among some because they : > : > have always felt at the forefront of technology, but now don't want to : > move on, yet they still want to be at the forefront, so the best way of : > handling that insecurity is to stop the progress so they'll remain at : > the : > forefront without moving? I can relate to this. I wanted to stay with : > Dos. : > I wanted efforts to make Windows speak to be quelled so I could stay at : > the forefront of technology without moving. Eventually, I grew up and : > moved on, and I'm glad I did. : > : > The basis for the Book Port is exciting. But I truly believe that, in : > the : > future, if we can replace some 1990's technology and some 1990's : > thinking : > with some 21st-century technology and thinking, the opportunity exists : > to : > keep the Book Port what it once was: a device which does what it wasn't : > thought could be done, affordably, and efficiently. It's a wonderful, : > fabulous unit. But the talking MP3-players are whizzing past it, or at : > least preparing to. Others are innovating. The Book Courier is sticking : > to : > its roots. The Book Port has the potential to take flight with the rest. : > : > Finally, whether or not any of this happens is not our decision, : > ultimatelhy. It's APH's. I honestly belive that these people know what : > they're doing; they know if an idea is doable; they know what's : > realistic : > and what's not; they know what the Book Port can become and what it : > can't. : > End of lecture. <GRIN> : > : > Brce : > : > -- : > Bruce Toews : > E-mail and MSN/Windows Messenger: DogRiver@xxxxxxxx : > Web Site (including info on my weekly commentaries): http://www.ogts.net : > Info on the Best TV Show of All Time: http://www.cornergas.com : > : > : :