Re: Type N Speak Info Needed
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heather albright
I would second you might consider a computer for the blind. She can use narrator or NVDA if she does not want to purchase jaws. I worked with an elderly gentleman who was given an apple ipad mini. So he was able to face time with his family, take notes, listen to his music and get reminders for his meds. I trained him on it. He does basic things with it I think it was a 32gb model. You might consider an ipod she could do everything with it as well. But the latest ipadd is only 2.50 for a 32 gb. I think the ipods are 194. SO it is all a matter of how you think she will warm up to these items. Cheers Heather
From: David Goldfield
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2020 7:24 PM To: main@TechTalk.groups.io Subject: Re: [TechTalk] Type N Speak Info Needed
Mike, I feel very conflicted with what I'm about to say as I loved working for Blazie Engineering and its products and was extremely loyal to them. Back in the 1990s people were very used to more robotic voices. Yes, even back then customers wanted to see a better voice in the Blazie product line but they still accepted the voice that came with it. I think that, once this lady hears modern speech she may have a challenging time adapting to the TNS's voice. In all honesty it might be better finding a refurbished VoiceNote from Humanware or getting her a laptop from Computers for the Blind. Their laptops come with JAWS which is free for the first year. If she's new to computers you could purchase Leasey Total, which is designed for people who want or need a simple, menu-driven interface for their computer. My other concern is the lack of support for the TNS. Who will assist her if she runs into a problem? Not many people know the commands to use it and I don't know if Freedom Scientific provides technical support for it these days, although you could ask them. It won't be able to go online with today's technology. In order to back up her documents she will either need the external disk drive accessory which was made for it or a computer. I normally wouldn't talk somebody out of purchasing a refurbished Blazie Engineering product. There are many people who would love to purchase a Braille 'n Speak, Type 'n Speak or Braille Lite. For people who know how to use it and who can support themselves and who are willing to pay for it I think that's fabulous, in the same way that many people would love to buy old Apple 2 computers or other similar products. I just don't know if I'd recommend it for a woman who has little experience with blindness assistive technology considering the lack of support. At least if she buys an older Humanware product she can likely get help from Humanware if she has questions or problems. Even buying a refurbished Pac Mate might be a better choice. With a Windows laptop she can easily get support from a variety of sources. Others may disagree with me and that's OK but I just wanted to add my perspective to this before she commits to using it.
David Goldfield, Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist JAWS Certified, 2019 WWW.DavidGoldfield.org On 2/26/2020 8:04 PM, Mike B wrote:
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