First, I would echo both what Tai and Jeanette have said. When Baum USA was
operating, it is my opinion that their technical support was second to no one
in the industry. Now, this list is supportive but repairs are uncertain. The
last I saw published to this list about Baum's status suggested there may be an
investor, which I suppose means Baum should emerge reorganized in some way. I
wouldn't want to speculate on what that might mean for American buyers. What I
mean is that many repairs could be done in Boston when there was a Baum USA and
it may be necessary, if there is a reorganized company to send units to Germany
or somewhere else. With Baum USA they too needed to send some units for repair
but they did a good job of tracking for us in such cases and that seems likely
to be lost with whatever transition there may be.
I operate Maryland's Assistive Technology Act program and I have two of them in
use, the 20 cell and the 40 cell. I absolutely love the varios, both of them.
The 40 was purchased for my use and I am now using the 20 in addition. Right
now I am using the 40 connected with my computer, and the 20 goes everywhere
with me paired with my phone and as a note taker, document holder for meetings
out of office. The 40 is portable enough to do this and is what I used for all
uses until about two weeks ago.
Our program provides units for individuals to borrow for 30 days and these
loans can be extended if the person contacts us. The varios are powerful full
featured units, but most will agree with me, I think that there is a pretty
great learning curve for them. If someone wants to borrow one because they are
considering purchasing a used VU, I'd happily lend the 20 out for them to use.
Mostly, when people learn of the uncertain status, they look to seek a
different display or note taker. As of this moment, the display is compatible
with my iPhone, works as it should when connected to a computer and serves as a
great note taking tool when out at meetings. If I needed too and the price was
right, I would buy an vario ultra, 20 or 40. The caution though is that IOS 11
got off to a rocky start for users of braille displays, it took Baum quite a
while to work though those issues and solve them; to my knowledge, there is no
one making those fixes in the future; therefore, depending on the use you have
in mind, a functioning unit may be rendered less useful because it does not
keep up with changes that are ultimately brought about by others like Apple.
Jim McCarthy
-----Original Message-----
From: varioultra-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:varioultra-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
On Behalf Of Jeanette Kutash
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 10:54 AM
To: varioultra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [varioultra] Re: Status of Baum
If you are in the market for a VU see if there is anyone who has a barely used
but recently updated display for sale. It is a great display and you might be
surprised at what you find.
Jeanette
-----Original Message-----
From: varioultra-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:varioultra-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
On Behalf Of E.T.
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 10:49 AM
To: varioultra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [varioultra] Status of Baum
Howdy folks,
Just signed up here. I am in the market for a braille display so would be
interested in where Baum stands in their bankruptcy situation.
I understand that its not possible to buy a new display (as well as getting
support) but want to confirm before I scratch this off my list.
Thanks.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
Ancient.Aliens@xxxxxxxxxx
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
