Category: accessible Devices
Well, another PAC Mate update for us PAC Mate users. Version 6.5 will be released next month with some added support for AIM and Real Speak voices now included in that update. You can switch between Eloquence and Real Speak with a simple command from anywhere. This will be a free update.
I can hardly wait!
I am looking forward to this. For Freedom's sake, it had better be a good one, more stable than recent incarnations. In many ways, FS has fallen far behind the curve in the past two years with the arrival of accessible iPhones and the slim APEX from HumanWare, so I definitely hope this puts them back on top because I do think the Omni still has lots of potential. Above all, I think they need to offer legitimate support for multiple Braille languages, as Blazie notetakers always did. Their Web site seems to hint at this.
hoping as well this makes me change my mind about wanting to sell it.
Yeah, I'm hoping that it will be more stable as well. And I totally agree on the fact that FS has fallen way behind. Their JAS updates seem to be pointless right now, especially the update from Jaws 10 to 11. And now that the iPhone 4 has come out, the 5 megapixel camera might be good grounds for a color identifier and a KNFB reader solution, so that means that we wouldn't need the barcode scanner from Freedom Scientific. Better wake up, Fs!
not sure about the colour identifier but i do believe there is already a bar code scanner and a knfb reader type app for the iPhone . haven't used them yet but others seem to have success with them .. and this is on the iPhone 3Gs with the 3.2 MP camera. so i magine it woudl be better on the iPhone 4
Yes, I think those apps mentioned in post 6 do exist. FS had better hit this one out of the park, or I will probably be looking for a buyer for my Omni.
What FS really needs to do is really upgrade their hardware more than their software. I mean, look at the BrailleNote Apex with its 8 gb of internal flash. I'm sure FS could do that with their Pac Mates. But of course, they want their money, so a lot oftimes, it's not up to us what we want on the Pac Mate.
I have a question. Not trying to start trouble, but why have Fs products if always complaining?
How in the world can they put realspeak voices on the Pacmate, if they are so big? I'm thinking that they probably compress them or something.
Let me ask the opposite. Why complain when you don't have an FS product? Everyone complains about any technology, don't they?
I suppose so.
It seems like FS products are the items that are mostly complained about.
As far as Jaws and the Pac Mate goes, I have never had a problem with either one. I work with both of the products with my job.
The only thing I can say is, to each his own.
Big grin!Have fun!
Other than te PAC Mate crashing every 5 seconds, I don't see any problems either. I would just love for it to have a hardware update and support the stuff that the BrilleNote Apex supports, such as the SHC SD cards, which are several gb in size, as well as built-in WiFi. It would make things so much better because all this updating in technology is making FS fall way behind.
And with the next version of Windows Mobile coming out at the end of this year, I suppose there could be several updates given to the PAC Mate, such as the built-in WiFi that I just mentioned.
just curious why don't you people who are complaining get a netbook, sure you loose the braille display/braille imput but it would solve all the other issues you are complaining about wouldn't it while remaining portable.
I do like JAWS and the PAC Mate; my only complaint is that FS has fallen far behind the curve as compared to many other companies. Humanware, for now at least, has completely outclassed them in the notetaker line. As an Omni owner, I do hope FS regains the lead.
The pacmate omni could do with being a bit slimmer and having more storage space and maybe a bit more ram. I know it's only a notetaker not a computer, but still.
Yes, it would be nice if the Pac Mate had more memory. The flash cards can get pretty expencive after a while.
Yeah, totally agree there. But mainly a hardware update.
I am excited about this. I really hope there are more features as well, such as more ram and such, other than the real speak voices and stuff. I don't even know what we'd use real speak voices for on the PM, although I admit, it would be cool to have them. I'd like them, I just don't know what I'd use them for. I love my PM though and wouldn't trade it for anything. And someone suggested an update to the windows mobile system, while I agree that it might be neat, I've done some research on the latest windows mobile, and it's completely different from 6.0. There's no start menu, no nothing on it like that. It's been completely redesigned, so this would make it hard for FS, in my opinion, unless they want to redesign the whole PM from the ground up.
I don't know if they offer a Braille terminal mode to connect with the iPhone, as HW does with the APEX, but if they don't, they definitely should. Things are moving fast, and sadly it seems that FS is not keeping pace.
the pac mate needs a serious hardware upgrade. it doesn't matter what features they put in to this new software package, the fact remains, it has no USB host, no built in bluetooth and wireless, and it's a lot slower than a lot of the others out there. that will kill it. Saying that, i have wanted to get my hands on a pac mate qx, i like the concept of that.
The PAC Mate is a slow and unstable machine by comparison to what is available today. Loading larger Word documents, streaming, etc. are not really practical, though they are advertised to be possible. They are possible, but barely so by comparison to the standards other tech companies are setting. FS has never been able to duplicate Blazie notetakers' support for Braille in multiple languages, which is also a major black mark on the Omni. I am overall an FS supporter, but a very disappointed one.
It sounds like a progressive update.
They just need to come out with a new model that has wfi and bluetooth built-in, like the brailenote apex and the braille sense from gwmicro.
They say that Windows Mobile 7 will pretty much be touch based, so I'm not sure if the PAC Mate will be able to support that, since it's going to be a whole new design.
Yes, that'll be an interesting challenge for FS to achieve. But judging by recent trends, I think we'll find that a lot more, if not all, phones/PDA's will be touch screen based. So if FS want to keep the PAC Mate on an open platform, then they've got a pretty difficult task ahead of them in my opinion.
Robert
Yeah, they'll have a difficult time doing that, unless they keep the Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1, or 6.5 installed on it. Unless Freedom Scientific can just simply manage to deal with the new Windows Mobile 7 interface. If they can't manage that, FS is pretty much doomed as fr as the PAC Mate.
This will be interesting to follow. With the iPhone, Apex, and other handheld products being very accessible, it is hard to see FS winning this battle. Will be interesting to watch.
I doubt they can really stay with Windows Mobile for too much longer as i've heard that it is already starting to be phased out in preparation for Windows Phone 7. So as stated before, this is going to be a tough one for FS.
Perhaps they could make the PAC Mate Linyx based. I wonder how that would turn out.
Personally, I think the Pac Mate is all but history. With the IPhone revolution, various mobile devices that support Mobile Speak or Talks, and with netbooks becoming cheaper and faster, I have to say that unless FS really starts doing some major upgrades, the pac Mate will soon be a thing of the past. I have a Pac Mate Omni and used it extensively until I just recently got my netbook. Now I don't even use the Pac Mate anymore. The netbook is much lighter, runs a full version of Windows XP upgradable to Windows Seven if I choose, and can do everything my old desktop was capable of. Of course, netbooks aren't made for serious video editing, serious game playing or anything that requires a ton of processing power. But if your like me and only surf the web, stream videos or listen to internet broadcasts, talk on skype and messenger, and play some of the adaptive audio games on occasion, a netbook, at least for me, serves me fine. Only bit of credit I have to give the Pac Mate is the fact that its battery lasts much longer than the netbook. My netbook battery only lasts about four hours. But I can easily get another battery if need be without paying an arm and a leg, the netbook can easily be upgraded, and is much faster than Pac Mate could ever dream of being. So as was stated at the beginning of this post, if FS doesn't wake up and smell the coffee pretty soon, I believe they'll be losing a lot of business as people switch to faster, cheaper and more mainstream technology.
Here, here! I so agree used a packmate, like the concept but I would reather use my netbook do to is ability to bee a faster machine, still have a full copy of windows xp. :)
Yeah. I have to use a pacmate because my laptop is a twenty-five-pound brick, and I can't lug it to classes. I've been waiting for the 6.5 release that should have been done in August. Not only do FS have to wake up, but they need to take a look at the calendar. It's September! I also think that they'd better make a new unit again because I'm running out of space. 128 meg doesn't work too well, and cf cards are old history. I think that they need at least two gigs for a hard drive, and at least one SD slot. Add builtin WIFI and maybe bluetooth, and you've got an OK product. I'd still use my braille plus though. With its sixty gig hard drive, builtin wifi and bluetooth, support for many braille displays, and builtin high quality microphone, it's great!
I think I might just give my PAC Mate back to the commission and get an iPad and a Mac. They're cheaper and they're a lot more stable. The PAC Mate reminds me of back in the days when Windows 98 was considered fast. In other words, the PAC Mate is as slow as molasses. If FS can't get off their lazy asses and do something about this, by-bye PAC Mate. An iPad and a Mac will suit me just fine.
Have they actually put anything new in the 6.5 version of the pacmate, or not really?
The 6.5 version of the PAC Mate, promised in August, has yet to come out. I am starting to wonder if they will even bother with it. As post 31 stated so eloquently, unless FS dramatically improves the performance and speed of the PAC Mate, there will be no market for it at all. An iPhone or iPad, with the new keyboard support, is a much more functional, and far cheaper, option.
And the cool thing about the iPhone now is that it has Braille display support. So that's another good reason to get rid of the Pac Mate.
They supposedly are adding realspeak voices. Big Joke! Those voices aren't going to fit on the teensy little hard drive the size of a dime. They'll need more room for that. As I said, my braille plus's 60gig hard drive would be fine with these voices, and anything else.
Just for grins I updated my pacmate with the 6.5 update, and its not that great, in my honest opinion. The real speak voices are ok, except they're not very high quality. Other than that, there's really not that much to it. I still say that a netbook, IPhone or similar devices are much much better than a pacmate. And they reduced the price of the pacmate, which made me laugh. Its not because the pacmate is such a great device, its because they're desperate for people to buy their old outdated technology. If they would get with the program and do some serious upgrading then maybe there'd be more interest in their products.
Serious upgrading? What do you suggest? Seeing as how windows mobile 6.5 is the last shipping version of the windows mobile professional opperating, what do you propose? I'm not asking this out of rudeness by the way. I'm simpley at the point where, I don't know where any manufacturr of notetakers specifically for the blind can turn to maintain market share. Coming from a tech background, I'll tell you, there are die hard folks who want braille input, and that, my friend is a fact, and is not going away, that why devices like the pac mate and braill note and braille sense are still viable options. Years ago, folks got on the hate the braille note because it's closed off, and key soft is priprietary. Now, folks are all over freedom to "keep up with the times? Heck even code factory has no where to go right now in the windows mobile platform. They are planning to release a screen reader for android. I think if android stays relevant, you'll se mor than just the national braille press designing android based notetakers. Sorry if my E's are missing the key seems to be not functioning on my netbook.
It's out? Can't wait to try it. Not that I'll get anything :), but maybe it's a little better? Maybe?
I've heard rthe Real Speak voices in action and they aren't even that responsive. I've updated my PAC Mate, and yes, it isn't really all that great. This is why I think that FS should switch to a Lynyx-based platform like Android. Windows Mobile itself is so out of date.
Also this reality that moble speak seems to have the company at a place where they have to explore other avinues has really made me think if I want to buy the HTC HD2 phone. Heck I even had that talk with my wife who can see for the most part. Please don't get me started on looking for software that is excessible with moble speak. I am speaking of 3th party apps.
Starfly you're correct: the future of the mobile web is going to be in the apps for sure.
I will defend FS a bit here. I downloaded the update last Friday, and I have noticed an increase in stability. I know it is not much more than a glorified Braille n' Speak compared to the mobile technologies that are out there today, but at least, so far anyway, this is a unit I could bring to a meeting to take notes in Braille without worrying about it crashing or not turning on, which had not been the case for quite some time.
Truethfully on one hand having an app that can do what I could do on the web but a reduced time of accessing the service say like "Facebook" is really nice. On the other hand its a night meer if your platform is headed to the trash bend.
I still use mine, and like others have updated it using their package update facility - it takes longer so start it once you want to take off and go work out or something, but basically I lost nothing in the process.
For those of us who've sunk money into them over the years we still use them. Many people on here are just like their sighted trendy teenage counterparts with cars these days: 'Iiiwww! How can he / she / they drive (fill in the lank ten-year-old vehicle) ... that's sooo embarrassing!' But truth is, the more you have had to spend, the more you have invested in it.
I use a couple additional apps on PAC Mate nobody seems to officially tell you about but they work:
Turbo Contacts Backup - will back up your contacts to an xml file which you can import onto your Windows Phone if you have one.
Also GTimeSync to keep the clock in sync since I don't use ActiveSync anymore to keep contacts and other data backed up.
And if you have a Bookshare, they have now put the FSReader directly into PAC Mate so it's already installed.
The secondary language is really nice for Braille anyway, so you can switch between English / Spanish, or U.S. vs. Contracted, or even on a BX either use their Grade II Input vs. just regular Grade II output. I can't really say anything about the speech because I never even monkey with the speech except to do s chord m to switch it off.
If I could trade my PAC Mate in for a Mac, I would do it in a heart beat.
So would I, but that's really not an option :). I can't update till the weekend because I have to use the device every day, and at night, I have too much homework. Can't wait to see how badly fs has butchered the realspeak voices to get them down to ten meg?
I can't say I'm in any way disappointed in the 6.5 upgrade, especially the realspeak voices. When I saw that they were 11khz, I was expecting something awful. However, I would have estimated the voices to be 16khz instead of 11. Of course, they're not 22khz like the ones on the computer, but if they're really 11khz, they beat all synthesizers I've heard.
They are apparently quite good though not as clear as the iPhone. My best judge of this sort of thing is my wife, who basically can't understand Elooquence that well and not NVDA at all, can't do Real Speak Daniel very well. But I had Samantha on the PAC Mate just to see, and she could understand when I had it read text. So maybe it'll help some for people who aren't that good with speech.
I tried the voices and had no problem.
I am very happy and enjoy my Pac Mate.
While I wouldn't say I'm extremely happy with this notetaker that still only has 128meg hard drives and two cf slots, it is better with the new update.
CF cards are out of date. It's all about the thumb drives.
Though I bought a 16GB CF card off Newegg.com / it's an ultra or something, and it works.
I just keep it in the PAC Mate at all times.
Seems to help considerably: I haven't run out of space, but then again, I'm not loading it with tons of music etc.
Anyway those are out there, plus you can buy SD to CF adapters, which I have two of, and they also assist much.
For those wealthy souls who have the luxury of poking fun at us, fine, but if you sank money into one of these devices awhile back and are still using it, the giant CF cards, plus the SD to CF adapters, really do help, speaking as an ordinary taxpaying citizen who at one time sunk money into getting this thing and am still using it.
If you're like me in any way, I hope the above helps. I haven't given models as the particular model of card I bought may not be out there, but you should still be able to find them on eBay.