[bookport] Re: the holidays and bookport
- From: "Angie Matney" <armatney@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:31:54 -0500
Hi Mike,
I agree, to a point. But just a few years ago, people were saying we didn't
need our blindness PDA's to play music
either. Now, that is a standard feature of the MPower, the PacMate and the
Braille Sense. Personally, I could care less
about a spell checker, because once that file is on my PC, I can handle it from
there. And since you must have a PC to
use a BP (except for those wonderful library programs that lend them to
patrons), This seems reasonable. But I'm sure
that the "Book Port" we use in a few years will have a spell checker and
perhaps a built-in digital camera for immediate
OCR.
I also see nothing wrong with wishing to have one gadget that does a lot. But I
hope others out there will remember that
one of the most attractive features of the Book Port is its price tag. I want
my BP to do all that a $400 piece of
equipment can do. I can't quite aford a Plextalk just yet, so I'd really,
really like it if my BP did everything a Plextalk would
do! But I know this isn't likely. I don't want the BP to turn into a more
powerful but more expensive piece of access
technology that is out of reach for many people. The BP has grown tremendously
in capability since I purchased mine a
year and a half ago, and I haven't had to pay for an upgrade. I'm glad APH
implements features in such a way as not to
comptromise the existing product.
Just some ramblings from my sleep-deprived brain.
On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 12:59:33 -0500 (EST), Mike Freeman wrote:
><<SOAPBOX ON>>
>I'm sorry ... I've tried to hold my tongue, but ...
>IMO the Book Port is for *reading*. Recording memos is a great adjunct
>but is secondary to Book Port's primary purpose. Likewise with the
>note-taking capability. Hence, I see no reason for the spell-check or
>for a myriad of recording formats to be supported. If you want
>spell-check, use a computer or Braille Note. If you want hi-fi
>recording, use a PTR-1.
>All the extra features add extra battery drain (ask Apple about battery
>life problems with their latest I-pod!).
>Itseems to me that APH engineers should "keep it simple, stupid";
>simplicity means fewer software glitches and better battery-life. Let's
>use the Book Port for the purposes for which it was designed and leave
>the fancy stuff to others. And yes, I know; some of the other devices
>aren't accessible. But that's not APH's problem!
><<SOAPBOX OFF>>
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