Hi, everyone,
My workplace is switching to Office 2016, and the necessary
training has shown some obvious ways that the Apex is outdated-a
little to do with connecting to networks and other devices, and
(not surprising) that worsening online issue in all directions
because of the browser. It's also certain that sometime soon
we'll be changing o"er to some more advanced version of Windows,
and more "issues" are bound to appear. As my boss says, "you
don't want to get even further behind the curve of technology and
be unable to do anything about it." So, while I still have an
open case with my state commission for the blind, I guess it's
logical to move along to a more modern, multi-featured piece of
equipment.
The short version of my reaction to this is that I'm just fine
with the Apex; it does everything I need to do, with few
complications, including more work-related items all the time. I
don't even have many complaints about the browser, which probably
means I'm unnaturally patient, and don't care about a lot of the
social-media contexts that can be so limiting. I'm fascinated by
the versatility of the BrailleNote Touch and impresped with all
of the more up-to-date, inclusive things it can do, but there are
areas, such as downloading and reading books, where it sure seems
to me a case of "if it wasn't broke, why'd you fix it?", compared
to the ease of that process on the Apex. Yes, I know, whole
different "platform" and operating system.
Anyway, it looks like "the Touch" is where I'm headed, so I have
three questions. I'm addressing them to this list because I need
to do a little "comparison shopping", and I know a lot of you
have experience with a wide range of "adaptive equipment"; my
counselor from "the Commission" has almost none. First: is there
a product (from HIMS or somewhere else) that would be similar to
the Apex, but with a newer browser? I doubt it, or we'd be using
it. Second: is there a general website, not promoting any
particular company or manufacturer, where I could find a detailed
comparison of notetakers and similar products, with features and
prices? (Maybe something from AFB?) Full disclosure here: no, I
don't much like the whole touch-screen-based direction things
have gone, partly because it seems so needlessly roundabout.
Having said that, no, I don't know how else you'd access a lot of
these very visual things; yes, it's what people are using, so
there's not much I can do about it; and we do have friends who
are great with all of this, so it has a lot to do with
familiarity. So, question three, which concerns the "BN Touch":
we've been posting the "snapshot tutorials" on our Facebook page
at work, and in all of them, Greg Stilson points out that he's
using the screen to write Braille. Why would he (or any of you)
choose that option when there's a keyboard available?
OK, that's it. I realistically expect that, as Humanware likes
to remind us, there really isn't anything quite like the Touch,
and that's where this will go. And yes, I am aware and
appreciative of the fact that I'll probably have a device
purchased for me because it's a work-related expense, just as I
did the Apex, and that I'm very lucky, because this is an option
many people will never have. Thanks for any help anyone can give
me.
Andy
-------------------------------
BNU: BrailleNote Users - a forum for users of BrailleNote family of products
from Humanware.
Website: www.braillenoteusers.info
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