Hi all,

Here's an interesting tidbit from Humanware.  Jonathan Mosen has given
his permission publicly for this response to be cross posted.




HUMANWARE'S RESPONSE TO THE PAPER "BRAILLENOTE OR PAC MATE - A SIDE BY SIDE
COMPARISON"

Introduction

The 2005 CSUN Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities
featured a paper and oral presentation entitled "BrailleNote or PAC Mate - a
Side by Side Comparison." The paper was presented by J. R. Westmoreland,
however marketing staff from Freedom Scientific, manufacturers of the PAC
Mate, were actively involved in the presentation, including assisting with
the distribution of literature.

Many who attended the presentation and read the paper, feel that the title
is somewhat misleading. In essence, the Paper is a justification of why one
particular user chose to buy a PAC Mate. In this regard, the Paper is a
useful contribution to informed market choice, however it is not, as it
claims, a thorough or objective side by side comparison of the products.
Subsequent to the presentation, HumanWare, manufacturers of the BrailleNote,
has been approached by readers of the Westmoreland/FS paper and attendees at
the session who wish to receive a balancing perspective on some of the
issues raised.

This paper, prepared by HumanWare, offers some advantages of the BrailleNote
that we feel customers should consider when deciding which device is right
for them.

Overview of Philosophy, Purpose, and Design

Getting the Job Done

The BrailleNote is designed around the key objectives of efficiency and ease
of use. The Westmoreland paper implies that the PAC Mate is somehow a better
interface for blind people to use, merely by virtue of the fact that it
offers the same graphical user interface as that used by sighted people.
This is analogous to saying that blind people should use print, because it
is "mainstream". HumanWare believes that the user interface of any product
should be optimised for the person using that product. In the real world
where time is of the essence, what counts is how efficiently and easily one
can get the job done. On the job or in the classroom, an employer or teacher
doesn't care about how a document is prepared, but that it is prepared to a
given standard and on time. This is why so many professionals in many walks
of life, and students with large course loads, elect to use a BrailleNote.
Rather than simply bolting access onto a product for the sighted, HumanWare
has consulted extensively with blind people to create an environment which
is efficient and intuitive, but is based on mainstream technology.
BrailleNote was in fact the first PDA for the blind to be based on
Microsoft's Windows CE operating system. Yet we offer this access in a way
that is optimised specifically for the users of the product.

An example is making an appointment or entering a contact. On Pocket PC,
this is an arduous process involving interaction with various graphical
controls. In some cases, the user can start typing immediately, in others
they must call up a context menu, and in other still they must press ENTER
before inputting data. Pressing ENTER at the wrong time could activate the
OK button and cause the user to be taken out of the data entry process
before their data entry is complete. On BrailleNote, performing these
essential tasks is a simple question and answer process that allows you to
concentrate on what information to enter, as opposed to how to enter it.

File management with a PAC Mate BX is unwieldy compared with the
BrailleNote. If one wishes to move a file from the built-in storage of the
BrailleNote to a compact flash card, one can choose the file from any file
list in KeySoft, press backspace with M, choose the destination drive, then
choose the destination folder. Alternatively, a user can access the File
Manager, press m for move, and choose the file's new destination from there.
To move a file on the PAC Mate BX, one must select the file(s) you want to
move, open the context menu, arrow to move a file and press DOT 8, press F2
to access the menu bar and select Storage Card, arrow to the folder you want
to store the file(s) in and open it, press F2 again and select Edit, and
paste.

Users who have tried both the PAC Mate and BrailleNote, and who prefer to
use Braille input, also report that the PAC Mate is much more cumbersome to
use. While much is often made of the fact that if you know JAWS, you know
how to use a PAC Mate, in fact on a Braille keyboard, the interface is so
different that it creates a significant learning curve. Many functions on
the PAC Mate BX series require two keystrokes, known as layered commands,
thus diminishing efficiency. Even fundamental tasks such as changing the
rate and pitch of the voice require more than a single key press.

Similarly, independent studies have found the BrailleNote to be extremely
efficient for reading Braille, thanks to the use of the thumb keys for
navigation. The thumb keys, whose functions are programmable to suit the
user's Braille reading style, allow the user to scroll through a document
without taking their reading fingers off the Braille display. This gives
clear benefits in Braille reading speed, thus increasing productivity.

Getting Help is Easy

BrailleNote is highly regarded for its context sensitive help, available
from anywhere with a single key press. PAC Mate offers different key presses
for help depending on the kind of help one requires, almost making it
necessary for a help key to exist to help you find which help you need at
any given time.

Stay on the Cutting Edge

HumanWare is conscious that due to economies of scale and the cost of
Braille technology, blindness products will always cost more than similar
products designed for the sighted. For this reason, the blind community
expects products to last longer, and to do more. HumanWare has continually
provided upgrade paths since the release of the BrailleNote in 2000, to
ensure that users remain on the cutting edge. This has extended to hardware,
application software, and even operating system upgrades. Customers should
look carefully at the history of company's upgrade offerings when making the
considerable investment required in a product such as a BrailleNote or PAC
Mate. Not only should the initial purchase price be considered, but
companies' track records should be explored to determine how long that
investment is likely to be able to be kept on the cutting edge.

Powerful Applications

Pocket PC is an environment designed to be used as a companion to a laptop,
hence the offering of very limited applications such as Pocket Word. While
few sighted students would write an entire academic essay on a PDA for
example, blind students would expect to be given the tools to do this on
their PDA.

What causes BrailleNote to remain the leading product in its field is that
it does not attempt to replace the laptop. Instead, it focuses on its core
functions of efficient and easy information management. For those who need
wider connectivity, HumanWare offers the Brailliant Braille display which
can be used with any regular notebook computer. This offers the power of
screen reading and Braille in a Bluetooth and USB-capable form, while not
being constrained by the limitations of Pocket PC. For a similar price to
the cost of a PAC Mate with Windows CE applications, you can have access to
full Windows applications in an attractive package with wireless Braille
output.

If you're Serious about Braille.


HumanWare has taken great care to ensure that Braille is more than just an
adjunct to speech. BrailleNote includes the industry standard Duxbury
Braille translator, and extensive testing is made to ensure that all spoken
prompts and messages have an appropriate Braille equivalent. Although
Freedom Scientific are continuing to improve their Braille in the PAC Mate
using their proprietary Braille translator, many diehard Braille users have
reported that the BrailleNote outperforms the PAC Mate in terms of being
able to use the Braille with speech completely disabled.

On a BrailleNote, it is far less likely that a user will send material to a
sighted computer user that is unreadable. This is because the e-mail system
has transparent handling of contracted Braille. For example, if a
BrailleNote user has nominated contracted Braille as their preferred writing
grade, they do not need to concern themselves with remembering to translate
the message back into computer Braille before sending it. A PAC Mate user
must remember to do this, or their e-mail message will be unreadable by
sighted computer users, creating a most unprofessional impression.
Attachments are similarly more efficiently handled by a BrailleNote. A user
can produce a well formatted document in BrailleNote's word processor, then
decide to e-mail it to a sighted colleague. The BrailleNote will
automatically handle the back translation at the time the document is
attached to the e-mail, and at that point, allow the user to select from a
range of formats that the document can be sent in, including MS Word,
WordPerfect, Rich Text Format, and ASCII text. A PAC Mate user must remember
to manually back translate a contracted Braille file before trying to attach
it.

Industrial Strength Word processing

Because the BrailleNote was designed from the ground up with blind people in
mind, the Word Processor contains blindness specific features, such as the
ability to specify text that is only to be printed, or only to be embossed,
all in the one document. It is not necessary to back translate a file before
printing. All of these features add to the efficiency and ease of use of the
BrailleNote, allowing users to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

Data Integrity

Your data is important to you, which is why the BrailleNote was designed
with a disk on chip to store    that data securely, even in the event that
the unit is not powered on for some weeks. PAC Mate users have a finite
period after the unit runs flat before which time all data in their units
will be erased. Resetting a BrailleNote does not result in the loss of all
user data and programmes, unlike the PAC Mate.

Comments on Size

Blind people who need to function in today's connected world often have to
carry a lot of technology with them. For this reason, the weight and size of
a device is a significant factor to consider. As the Westmoreland paper
correctly points out, BrailleNotes are lighter than PAC Mates. One reason,
but not the only reason for this is that BrailleNotes contain 32 cells. The
decision to release a product with 32 cells was taken after asking Braille
users about the ideal length that represents a compromise between size and
functionality. Our research showed that a 40 cell display was difficult to
use in some public situations, such as crowded busses and planes. 32 cells
is more ergonomic, while still providing a good length for smooth,
comfortable reading.

The BrailleNote's cells are extremely lightweight, making additional weight
savings.

Finally, the BrailleNote is a fully integrated unit. The detachable
mechanism on the PAC Mate causes the entire unit to be more bulky and
cumbersome to carry around.

The unique design of the BrailleNote means that users can purchase a
BrailleNote with an 18 cell Braille display if they do not have the means to
purchase a 32 cell unit, and add the additional 14 cells at a later time
while keeping all of the other components.

For those for whom size is the most important factor, HumanWare offers the
smallest PDA for the blind with an integrated Braille display, BrailleNote
PK. With a state of the art X-scale processor, built-in Bluetooth, USB and
high fidelity stereo sound, BrailleNote PK also has an extremely quiet
keyboard, ideal for meeting situations.

Browsing the Web

Browsing the Web on the BrailleNote provides a highly intuitive user
experience. It is not necessary to enter a special mode to obtain a list of
links as is required on the PAC Mate, since a KeyWeb user need only press
the initial letter of the link to jump straight to it.

When HumanWare designed the web browser for the BrailleNote, we received
feedback from blind people who found that the concept of having to be in a
special mode just to enter forms caused confusion. There is no special forms
mode on the BrailleNote.

We've also received feedback from users that pages that will not work on a
PAC Mate will work in the web browser using KeySoft 6.11. For example,
BrailleNote users are able to manage their finances with privacy and dignity
using the Bank of America web site while reporting that they were unable to
do this with the PAC Mate.

Other Miscellaneous Observations

The Westmoreland paper fails to mention one of the most useful features of
the BrailleNote's Media Player. The Media Player will remember your place in
the last file you were listening to, and resume at that position when you
restart the Media Player. This is a particularly useful feature when reading
a long audio book, and can be very powerful for students.

In his paper, Mr, Westmoreland makes a couple of comments about security as
it relates to BrailleNote PK. The first relates to the displaying of WEP
keys in Braille. This was initially done because WEP strings are often
lengthy and can require user verification when being entered, however we do
take on board this feedback and will change this behaviour for the next
KeySoft release. His other security issue relates to Bluetooth. The turning
off of discoverability has not been included at this point, because
BrailleNote PK is not offering any services for other Bluetooth devices to
connect to at this time. BrailleNote PK can however connect to other
services, such as modems, ActiveSync and keyboards.

We were concerned to note that Mr Westmoreland wrote and spoke about the PAC
Mate's GPS package, which despite having been announced in June 2004 was not
shipping at the time of the paper's publication. BrailleNote GPS has been
designed specifically for the needs of blind people, and is a mature product
at 3.1. With the use of BrailleNote PK and a Bluetooth GPS receiver, users
have a highly portable and powerful option that takes our unique needs as
blind people into account.

Conclusion

No single product can meet the needs of every user. However, we believe that
if you need a product that allows you to perform the functions most commonly
required on a regular basis with efficiency and power, designed specifically
for blind people, the BrailleNote is a product well worth considering.
Frill, bells and whistles cannot substitute for core functionality that will
allow a blind person to participate in terms of equality in a competitive
sighted world.

For further information about the BrailleNote family of products, visit the
HumanWare web site at http://www.humanware.com

--
                        Ann K. Parsons
email:  [log in to unmask]
WEB SITE:  http://home.eznet.net/~akp
"All that is gold does not glitter.
Not all those who wander are lost."  JRRT