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
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