stick to compact flash cards and if you must, possibly sd cards, but I have
no reason to use sd cards. compact flash works good for me.
Josh
I like most of your suggestions, but I would be concerned about putting in a microdrive because I think it would make it much more likely to have problems and a need for expensive repairs.
One of the nice things about BookPort is that there really isn't any moving parts to damage. You would probably want some kind of maintenance agreement if you started getting into adding something like a drive that could be more easily damaged.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Ring" <ring.richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 3:45 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
:
:
