Donna,
I am absorbing way too much on a Sunday. (smiles)
Oh I agree about having to use the SD card for the Edge.
This brings up a question. Is there such a thing as a dumb braille
display these days? One that is strictly a display? That I want to stay
away from.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/29/2018 10:21 AM, Donna Goodin wrote:
Hi ET,
Well, others have answered your first question. 😊
Like I said, the two things I most care about are word processor and file
manager. All the social media stuff and all that that the Braille Sense
devices have has little appeal, as I do that from my phone or Mac. I guess the
three things that bug me most about the Edge are: the gross under utilization
of the function keys, the bulky size--admittedly I am probably spoiled by the
VU--and the fact that you have to use an SD card to transfer files.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 29, 2018, at 11:53 AM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com> wrote:
Donna,
Who actually develops the Focus line of products? Can you tell what little I
know? (smiles)
What I do like about the Edge is its not loaded down. I have a Brailesense
Plus (dead now) and I barely used its features. Having a Mac, I can do heavy
work there, and an iPhone, for quick access to basic things. I read a lot of
braille books on the Edge, and want to use the display for backup if something
happens to my hearing. That is why the concept of access to multiple Bluetooth
devices is so attractive now.
While I am focused on the Focus 5th (smiles at self here), I will take a
closer look at the other brands. If I had understood that new VUs is not
happening, I wold have spent more time with the other displays but will have
another opportunity.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/29/2018 9:33 AM, Donna Goodin wrote:
Yep. Their last truly innovative product was the PacMate. That's been a brick
for a long time now, and they haven't done anything since then--except eat
other companies.
One thing I would suggest as a factor for consideration is the notetaker
component. I really like having a display that functions as an independent
notetaker. I use that feature a lot, either just to jot down notes, or to read
books when I don't want to be tied to a phone or a computer. I would never
again purchase a braille display that didn't have a built-in word processor. I
don't care about having a calendar and all that because I do all that on my
phone. But having a word processor is non-negotiable for me.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 29, 2018, at 11:27 AM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com> wrote:
Donna,
This is actually a concern I have. It goes back to the time when Freedom
Scientific came to life and took over what, 3 companies, including Blazie? But
we do not have many choices in the AT field. Yes I will certainly share my
experiences.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/29/2018 9:10 AM, Donna Goodin wrote:
ET,
I'll be curious about your impressions of the Focus 5. VFO is what used to be
Freedom Scientific. Time was when I was a huge fan of theirs, but that hasn't
been the case for over ten years now. If you check out the new Focus, please
do share your impressions with the list.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 29, 2018, at 11:08 AM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com> wrote:
Mary,
I suppose I am out of touch with the AT business so am not up to snuff on
who markets what. VFO for example is new to me.
I briefly looked at a display last week that has a touch screen. I don't
remember what brand that one is but I passed on it. But who knows, maybe I will
keep an open mind. The Focus 5th is now of interest, got the user guide so will
look at it.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/28/2018 6:16 PM, Mary Otten wrote:
Baum USA was the distributor for the United States. So if you live in the US,
you are out of luck unless you’re willing to buy a used display from someone. I
assume the same might be true for Europe, but I wouldn’t want to say that for
sure. This whole thing is sad, but it really depends on whether somebody is
willing to pump more money into that company in order to make it viable. If I
were buying up display now, I would not buy a baum display, no matter how good
they are.
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 28, 2018, at 5:59 PM, Donna Goodin <doniado...@me.com
<mailto:doniado...@me.com>> wrote:
ET,
So far as I know. I bought directly from them. For best info on this I suggest you
email David Bradburn. The only email I have for him is dbradb...@baumusa.com
<mailto:dbradb...@baumusa.com>. Alternatively, you could reach out to him on
the VU list. I believe he still reads it.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 28, 2018, at 4:40 PM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com
<mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>> wrote:
Donna,
You mean, Baum USA was the only vendor? That changes things. That is indeed
unfortunate. I will look into the new Focus and learn more. Appreciate your
input.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com <mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/28/2018 10:50 AM, Donna Goodin wrote:
ET,
You cannot purchase them new. You would have to find someone who wants to sell
theres, which is why I suggested the VU list.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 28, 2018, at 11:42 AM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com
<mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>> wrote:
Mary and Jason,
Good question on availability. I will need to look into that.
The new Focus sounds interesting. In general how well has the Focus line
held up? That auto scroll feature is intriguing. I may see if I can get one to
look at.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com <mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/28/2018 9:35 AM, Mary Otten wrote:
Can you even still purchase a v u? I didn’t think baum USA, which is now out of
business, even had any stock left. It’s a great display with a big learning
curve. I would really seriously look at the new generation focus if I were you.
It has multiple devices capability and will have some notetaking capability
later this year. A friend of mine just got one and says it’s very well-built,
and he really likes it a lot.
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 28, 2018, at 9:31 AM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com
<mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>> wrote:
Donna,
Good feedback. When I first got the Edge I was impressed with it. But I
think HIMS moves on rather too quickly and legacy products pile up. I think
the last update is from 2015.
There is no end to the learning curve so since you anticipated my desire to
join a VU list, I just joined! Thanks for that.
I do like the multiple Bluetooth concept. I found the user guide too so will
go through it over the next week or so.
Perhaps someone will take over Baum. If that happens, lets hope it does not
decrease in quality of product and support.
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com <mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
On 4/28/2018 5:59 AM, Donna Goodin wrote:
Hey ET,
I currently own both those displays--I replaced my Edge with the VU, and was
never able to sell my Edge.
This is a really hard question to answer. Erik is right, the bankruptcy issue
with Baum has real nightmare potential. Currently David Bradburn is providing
some repair support, but he's doing it as a side-gig. The only tech support is
the VU list. It's a lot of knowledgeable and very helpful folks, but that's
not the same as getting tech support from the company.
That said, the VU is the best display I've ever owned. The Braille Edge
frankly doesn't even come close. I'm not sure what happened with the Edge. It
has lots of coolness potential, but it's like HIMS started to develop it and
then just stopped. It has all these function keys, for example, but most of
them don't do much. The apps are also very limited. It has a sort of minimal
word processor and file manager, and a calculator, but it's all kind of like
something you'd find on an old flip phone.
The VU has a nice word processor with separate file manager, a PDF reader, and
an Excel spreadsheet viewer. And as Erik pointed out, can connect to multiple
bluetooth devices.
The VU also has by far the nicer form factor. It's funny, when the Edge came
out it felt relatively small, but it is very heavy and blocky compared to the
VU, which is small, and light, and sleek.
The VU has a significantly higher learning curve, but I wouldn't imagine that
that would be an issue for you.
One last thing to think about is that with the Edge, you transfer files onto it
with an SD card, which is pretty dated. With the VU, you can transfer either
via USB drive or you can connect it directly to a PC, and it functions as a
stand-alone drive. Unfortunately, that feature does not work on the Mac.
So, that's the sum of my wisdom on the subject. The VU is by far the better display,
but it depends on whether you want to get involved with the Baum situation. Were it
me, I'd probably still go for the VU, it's just that much better. But I can
certainly understand someone not wanting to take that risk. If you want to try and
track down a VU, I'd suggest joining the list and asking there. The URL to subscribe
is: varioultra-reque...@freelists.org
<mailto:varioultra-reque...@freelists.org>. Put Subscribe in the subject line.
If you have any other questions, I'm happy to try and answer them.
Cheers,
Donna
On Apr 27, 2018, at 5:41 PM, E.T. <ancient.ali...@icloud.com
<mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>> wrote:
I have the opportunity to replace my Braille Edge. Donna, I hope you will
chime in.
I can choose just about anything but will limit my choice to either another
Edge or the Vario Ultra 40. Given that Baum is in bankruptcy, the question is
then what about tech support. Is the Vario Ultra still a good bet?
From E.T.'s Keyboard...
ancient.ali...@icloud.com <mailto:ancient.ali...@icloud.com>
Many believe that we have been visited
in the past. What if it were true?
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: mk...@ucla.edu
<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: mk...@ucla.edu
<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: mk...@ucla.edu
<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: mk...@ucla.edu
<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: mk...@ucla.edu
<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at:
mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
<mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at:
mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at:
mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at:
mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at:
mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
