[bookport] Re: Progress and the Book Port
- From: Josh Kennedy <jkenn337@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 00:00:48 -0500
yes but I also love my compact flash cards so don't take that slot away.
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: "David Tanner" <david-tanner@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 5:50 PM
Subject: [bookport] Re: Progress and the Book Port
I would say stay away from a hard disk if at all possible, much more chance
of mechanical problems. Stick with memory cards. I am not opposed to
flash memory cards of any size, and I wish they wouldpush the limit on
memory cards as they possibly can while they are working on it. I saw a
message the other day that there is now a 12 gigabyte memory card already
on the market for the amazing low price of $7,200. Two years from now it
will cost $150 and everybody will be running out to the store to buy one.
But, it would be nice if APH would consider adding a slot for SD memory
cards since they do seem to be becoming much more popular.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 3:36 PM
Subject: [bookport] Re: Progress and the Book Port
: Bruce:
:
: While your post is of good intention and I won't take much time to
: belabor the points you make, I feel that you mischaracterize those of us
: who are less into "wish-lists" than are some others on the list.
:
: For example, I would not be opposed to having a HD in the Book Port --
: when one costs $10 and takes 5 ma to operate. Moreover, I think it may
: well be debatable whether APH should go the HD route with solid-state
: memory becoming ever cheaper.
:
: And I tend to feel that rampant featuritis is a bad thing from hard
: experience. The Blazie note-takers are a prime example. There are still
: a few bugs even in the latest firmware -- bugs which I would have
: ordered squashed at the cost of foregoing a few features *until* said
: bugs were squashed. How many times have we heard blind users of
: screen-reading software, note-takers and the like *pleading* with
: manufacturers to squash bugs rather than add features? How easily this
: can be done is a matter for another time and place.
:
: If a higher-powered processor can be put on board the Book Port that
: will allow more functionality for *the* *same* *price,* well and good.
: But until that time, I think it better to keep the primary purpose of
: the Book Port in mind. right in line with this is the work on handling
: 4-gig Flash cards. Also -- one hopes -- squashing that D+E+F bug. And it
: would be nice to have several levels of RESET so that one didn't zap the
: clock while resetting things unlesss absolutely necessary.
:
: So I'm not opposed to "progress". Rahter, I would like progress focused.
:
: Different strokes ...
:
: Mike
:
: On Fri, 9 Dec 2005, Bruce Toews wrote:
:
: > 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
: >
: >
:
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