Googling for PAC Mate

rmann at rmisp.net rmann at rmisp.net
Sat Apr 26 11:29:02 EDT 2003


You say you want to use a one-handed type keyboard instead of braille?  If
I was going to purchase a notetaker I don't know if I would want to learn
a new system .  I've used braille for a good part of my life.



On Sat, 26 Apr 2003, William Loughborough wrote:

> At 09:20 AM 4/26/2003 -0400, Buddy Brannan wrote:
> >I'll dig up a couple
>
> Once I discovered it's "PAC Mate" and not Packmate I learned a lot more
> than I wanted to know about the unit. Anyway it's original issue price of
> $2595 (+over $100 for a modem) although it strikes one as pricey, probably
> isn't at all out of line considering the "nicheness" of the market and the
> aggravation of having had to reverse engineer a bunch of M$ stuff.
>
> Of course one could make an embedded system using some of the currently
> available machinery and either undertaking (scratch or retrofit) would be a
> lot more major than anyone going into it would care to admit to. Since I
> think that this would be a good idea I'll try to get something started.
> Politically, I think I will start from a point of view that this is a
> project for the future and will opt for a one hand chording keyboard
> instead of a two hand braille approach. The learning curve to become
> proficient with such a device is more like a month than a year and then it
> can fit in a pocket and potentially have tactile feedback as well. It could
> also dramatically widen the market for true miniaturization because the
> size bottlenecks of QWERTY keyboard (you can shrink the keys but not the
> fingers!) and visual display (although retinal projection will become tiny
> shortly) are addressed by a seven-button chording input and tactile output.
>
> I'll report back in a couple months on my feasibility study about getting
> the project started - I already know it can be done and firmly believe that
> Linux is the way to go. If that sounds like too slow I apologize, but
> that's how things work - get backing, get tech support, get hardware, build
> it and they will come.
>
> --
> Love.
>
> It's Bad Luck to be Superstitious!
>
>
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