[Athen] Daisy Player that can take a beating

[Pratik Patel]

Hello,

 

I agree with ron in that the functionality of the Plextalk player is
significantly better than that provided by the Stream. Keep in mind that the
Victor Stream's hardware was designed more than three years ago and is not
as powerful as the Plextalk.  I also agree that the Booksense is more
complex than it needs to be in its interface.  Some have certainly reported
hardware issues with the Booksense though I did not personally experienced
these issues while I had it for testing.  The Plextalk and the Booksense
have a better industrial design.  The 4th option you have available is the
Bookport plus from the American Printinghouse for the Blind.  This player
started shipping in early march.  It uses identical hardware as the Plextalk
with APH's flavor of the firmware.  Personally if I had to choose from among
all these players, I would go with APH's Bookport Plus.  I owned the first
iteration of the Bookport three or four years ago.  It was very well
designed.  The software was quite intuitive.  From the demos I've heard, the
new player caries that tradition with new hardware.  Plus, APH has a history
of updating the firmware quite frequently to meet the users' demand.  I've
also noticed that GW Micro has updated the Firmware several times since the
release last summer.  At this stage, the Victor Stream would be my last
choice as humanware is known to have significant support issues.

 

Regards,

 

Pratik

 

 

From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Ron Stewart
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:11 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
Subject: Re: [Athen] Daisy Player that can take a beating

 

I have been playing with the PlexTalk PTN1 and I actually like its feature
set over the Stream.  Both are very durable and have a small wrist strap
loop that could be used to tether them down as well though I would worry
about the strength of the security.  For most users the Booksense is
overkill as a DAISY reader and not something that I see checking out on a
regular basis since it is really a mini-PC and overkill for the average
campus use.  Odds on favorite for CD based players is the Victor Classic X+
for durability and the ability to leash it.  As many have heard Gaeir and I
say, " it passed the drop test, and even the throw across the room test".

 

I must stay though in my visit to the RFBD and Humanware websites that
finding these players was almost impossible.  Not a good sign for long term
continuation of the product.  I am used to the lack of user functionality on
the HumanWare site but to find the "new" RFB&D site totally almost totally
unusable for access to the good pragmatic solutions that I have looked for
in the past really was a bummer on a very long day.

 

Ron   

 

From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Kestrell
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 2:05 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] Daisy Player that can take a beating

 

I have a Booksense, and I love it, but even though I only received it at
Christmas and didn't start using it until after New Year's, I have already
had to have it replaced. It has a known issue with the jack where you plug
in the power charger. I have had a similar issue with my laptop--after a
while the contact becomes loose. It was easily exchanged because it is a
known issue, but still, this could be a major hassle for you.

Also, the Booksense is pretty complex--I think one of the other Daisy
players might be much more straightforward to learn.

Kes

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Hausler,Jesse <mailto:jhausler at cahs.colostate.edu>  

To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' <mailto:athen at athenpro.org>


Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:34 AM

Subject: [Athen] Daisy Player that can take a beating

 

Hello,

 

I am looking to purchase a Daisy hardware player that could survive as a
loaner in a library setting.  We have a Victor Classic plus and a few Telex
Scholars and they are finally nearing the end of their days. 

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for a "work horse" daisy player? Or would
the Classic plus still be the one to buy?  We use the Victor Wave and Stream
for direct student loaning, but are looking for something a bit more sturdy
for this purpose. 

 

Thanks,

Jesse Hausler

Assistive Technology Resource Center

Colorado State University

970-491-0625

http://atrc.colostate.edu 


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