Aww, the braille lite 2000! Oh, the memories of that. Top of file, shomwork.brl, battery low. All in that annoying speech synth. Oh, god... Think I might, seriously, buy a BNS schollar from APH. Call me loony, but I might. Haven't decided yet.
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Tanner" <David.Tanner@xxxxxxxxxxx To: mmccarty@xxxxxxx,icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date sent: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:40:03 -0500Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: Question about the noise level of the
keys
Thanks, but no thanks, I have about 4 BNS 2000s here in my office
if
a client really wants one. I also have a BrailleLite 40 in excellent working condition, and a BrailleNote QT32, and PacMate BX440 and PacMate Omni QX440 and other items.
I am a Braille user, and I still remember getting my first
Braille
'N SPeak two months after the first ones started shipping.
As a blind assistive technology specialist responsible for evaluating clients needs and recommending to clients and theircounselor the product that is most appropriate, and most likely
to
have the least amount of problems and need for repair I have to
be
very careful that what I recommend is capable of doing what they need to do and is not going to constantly have to be gone for extended periods of time for repair. So, no matter how well Ipersonally like Braille Plus, and all of its' wonderful features;
I
have to be honest and say that I do not feel that it is a unit a college or high school student can depend on at this point. Hopefully, that will change in a year or two.
Many of the other devices we look at as being good now started
out
with as many or more problems, and they didn't get recommended
very
much until they improved.
I will also tell you that we do not recommend many notetakers anymore just because there are too many issues with most of them.
We
are leaning heavily toward moving to as portable and lightweight laptop notebooks as possible with a lightweight bluetooth Braille display. If something happens to the computer you are much more likely to get it repaired and back on the job in a far shorter period of time.
David Tanner Rehabilitation Program Specialist 3 Assistive Technology Specialist Assistive Technology Department MN State Services f/t Blind Office- 651-642-0795 Cell- 651-270-2233 Skype name: dtat100
mmccarty@xxxxxxx 4/17/2008 7:21 AM
I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with your Braille+, but I think you'd find tons of other people (including me) who would disagree about the keys on the Braille+. I have had no problementering braille with the unit and have enjoyed the freedom the
unit
offers. Please consider another braille 'n Speak, it works justlike a Perkins and is about as portible. Here's the info from
the
APH Flea Market page:
1-07320-01 Braille 'n Speak Scholar Talking PDA $1249.00 $375.00 1-07317-00 Braille 'n Speak Imagewriter Cable $32.00 $20.00 1-07318-00 Braille 'n Speak Serial Interface Cable $33.00 $15.00
David.Tanner@xxxxxxxxxxx 04/16/08 11:33PMI don't think that the sound is as critical as it is that the design and materials of the Braille keys needs a huge change. It is not possible to type on the Braille Plus nearly as quickly or accurately as on most Braille keyboards. And, I don't know what the Braillekeys now are exactly like, but the Braille keys on the unit that
I
have are mushey, wobbely, and both feel and sound cheap and
poorly
made. I don't think I have seen as poor quality Braille keys on any other Braille device in a long time. And, I cannot believe that this keyboard is going to hold up very well, and is not designed insuch a way to make it possible to type very fast when; as has
been
said before on this list; if you don't press in just the right place the keys won't register correctly or at all.
I had my Braille Plus less than three weeks and had to send it back to APH to have the keyboard adjusted, and it really needed more, but I didn't want to wait an additional 3 weeks to a month for it to go to Colorado to get that done. The bottom line is that the material used to make the keys on the Braille keyboard need to be changed, and something about how the keyboard is designed needs changed. Since I don't know what they are doing below the surface of the unit. The problem is that the current design is not any place close to what it should be when you consider how many people type on a Braille keyboard because of their habits formed back when they were using a Perkins Braillewriter.
David Tanner Rehabilitation Program Specialist 3 Assistive Technology Specialist Assistive Technology Department MN State Services f/t Blind Office- 651-642-0795 Cell- 651-270-2233 Skype name: dtat100
richard@xxxxxxxxxxxx 4/16/2008 9:24 PMHi, It isn't any louder than a standard keyboard. At least, none of the keyboards I've used.
And, as someone else pointed out, the ADA would not allow someone to be that picky.
I took notes on a slate and stylus all the way through a Masters program andnot one professor complained about the noise and the clicking of
a
slate and stylus is way more annoying than the keys on the Braille Plus.
So, go order it and use the 30 day return policy to find all this out for yourself. You won't be sorry you did.
Richard
_____
From: icon-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:icon-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rob Lambert Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:40 PM To: icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: Question about the noise level of the keys
Understand that I have not actually seen the unit myself, but I remember having a professor who forbade laptops (except for me because I was aspecial case) because she thought the keyboard was too noisy -
she
hated the"click click click" sound. Essentailly I didn't want a set of
keys
that would be so loud that they'd annoy a teacher while a student was trying to take notes from a lecture situation.
_____
From: ljgehres@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To: icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: Question about the noise level of the keys Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:38:34 -0700
Hmm, I must be unique as I think the Braille+ keys are quiet, especially compared with the Braille 'n Speak.
----- Original Message ----- From: Rob Lambert <mailto:rml695@xxxxxxxxxxx To: icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3:41 PMSubject: [icon-discuss] Question about the noise level of the
keys
I was curious. Several people on the list noted that the keys on the Braille Plus are noisy, both the rubber and plastic keys. Is the noise level the same on the Icon or is it quieter?
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For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille +, Visit the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages: Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php Visit the APH FAQ page at http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
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