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Permission to reproduce article from Smartphone & Pocket
PC magazine. PAC Mate: A Pocket PC for the BlindThis Braille-enabled Windows Mobile device makes life easier for blind users.By Jason Farrar The Pocket PC comes in many forms and brands, each designed to meet the specific needs of its owner. But for people with little or no useful vision, most models are useless. Their mobile computer must have a physical keyboard and some method of Braille or speech output to tell them what's displayed onscreen. Enter the PAC Mate™ - the first true Pocket PC for the blind. This is a true Windows Mobile® device with all the same core applications and sporting a nice array of hardware accessories and customization schemes. This review takes a look at some of these features in detail, and describes the differences between this device and a traditional Pocket PC. A big leap in computing technology for the blindMost of us who know someone who is blind, have probably seen them using a Braille Writer or Slate and Stylus. The latter is the equivalent of a pen and paper and involves punching out Braille letters dot-by-dot; it took time, but it was very portable. The Braille Writer, or "Brailler," is a sort of manual typewriter with six keys and a space bar, which simultaneously punches out the dots for you; it was much faster, but it was noisy, very bulky and very heavy. Getting Braille paper was also expensive because it was much heavier than normal print paper, (about 100-pound index.) Slates bent and had to be replaced frequently, and Braillers were prone to carriage and feeder problems and needed to be sent in for expensive repairs which could take 2 to 4 weeks. In both cases, it was possible to write or type on the paper crooked, and there was no such thing as Braille Wite-Out®. These problems continued even when the Electric Brailler, (much like an electric typewriter), was invented. The 1980s brought many computer advances on the scene, one of them being the ability for a blind person to use computer and special software to hear, through synthetic speech, what was on the screen. When this method was perfected, the first "notetakers" began to appear - devices that had no screens and were the size and weight of a large speakerphone. But the big leap came when refreshable Braille came on the scene. Now, a blind person could read the content of the computer screen in Braille, on a special device called a Braille display, with small pins that electronically pushed themselves up through a screened surface and formed the dots that made up the Braille alphabet that the blind person "read" with his or her fingers. Now, a user could focus on some part of the screen, and the information on the Braille display would change to show that information. As they grew more portable, they were incorporated into notetakers, so a blind person could choose to "read" their work using speech or Braille - to the great relief of teachers and co-workers and to the delight of the deaf-blind community that had no access until the advent of refreshable Braille. The first Windows Mobile notetaker for the blind PAC Mate from Freedom Scientific is the first "notetaker" based on Windows Mobile 2003 software and running a Pocket PC version of JAWS® (Job Access with Speech), a leading "screen reader" originally developed for Windows PCs. Screen readers are programs that "read" what's being displayed on the screen, translate it to audible speech, and play it through the computer's speaker. PAC Mate also has an optional Braille display that can be removed and connected via USB to a full PC for reading the screen. The PAC Mate BX series devices come with an 8-key Brailler-style keyboard. The QX series devices have a standard QWERTY keyboard. Both the BX and QX series offer models with attachable Braille pin displays. Like earlier Braille notetakers, PAC Mates do not have screens. Like most current Pocket PCs, they have a USB connection port and an infrared port. They have separate microphone and headset jacks with dual channel sound, allowing you to listen to speech and audio files simultaneously. In addition, they have two CompactFlash™ slots, which offer enhanced expandability. PAC Mate is a true Pocket PC and comes with the standard suite of mobile applications, including Pocket versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Inbox). PowerPoint Mobile is not included in this version of the software, and I have yet to find a database application for PAC Mate that works well with Access. The software package includes Jawbreaker and Solitaire. Unfortunately, Solitaire (and most graphically oriented games) are unplayable on the PAC Mate because it's too visual for the screen reader software to recognize. The PAC Mate also comes standard with Notes, which you can use to record voice memos, and has Windows Media Player 9 built into it, which allows you to listen to music and play videos. It's true that there is no screen to display the video, but many blind people enjoy listening to the sound tracks of videos, if the dialogue is comprehensive enough. As with other Pocket PCs, PAC Mate comes with a user-installable version of ActiveSync, a desktop PC program that lets you sync PAC Mate date with your PC. Custom software and other features PAC Mate comes with a few additional software programs specific to the device. Many of these customize the functioning of the device so it has the "look and feel" of popular notetaker devices, making the transition to PAC Mate easier. These programs also have functions that send text and other information to special Braille or regular printers, via cabled or network connections; as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, or infrared wireless. (With the right third-party software, the IR port can be used to control various remote controls for home electronics.) The Today screen is perfectly "readable" and perhaps is the greatest asset to the blind since it helps a blind person stay organized more easily than with a thick and space-consuming Braille planner. Finally, the fact that PAC Mate is based on the standard Pocket PC software and has two CF card expansion slots means that you can buy and install standard Pocket PC software or standard CF card accessories to add file storage, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability, an Ethernet connector port, and more. There's even an FM radio adapter available in the CF card format. The only catch is that not all of them will be accessible - that is, not all will have information that the screen reader can recognize. Many applications do work, and others can be made to work by tinkering with the screen reader. However, some are just plain unworkable, so it's important to try before you buy. With PAC Mate, the blind now have access to the capabilities of the Pocket PC. I'm grateful to Freedom Scientific for making portable computing a reality in my life! Using PAC Mate in my daily life Thirty years ago, I was born with a toxic condition that left me totally blind. It also left me with intractable epilepsy, which didn't become noticeable until I was in grade school. After my seizures were diagnosed, treatment was started allowing me to continue school. However, in addition to my blindness, my seizures caused severe memory problems and interfered with my studies. I barely made it through high school, after which I took a 5-year hiatus from my studies to concentrate on getting my seizures under control before I entered college to major in Jazz Studies. I took all of the classes related to my major first, but eventually had to deal with the general education requirements. These took place in an actual classroom with actual homework, and this scared me to death. I had to face the problems I experienced in high school all over again. Then I received my PAC Mate, a device I had learned about at a conference on technology for the disabled. I had tried other similar devices before without much success and was a bit skeptical. But I knew that PAC Mate was more than a simple notetaker; it was a full fledged Pocket PC. I was hopeful that I might have found a solution to my problems. And indeed I did! The Today screen was a God-send, giving me a quick summary of the things I need to do. And the Notes application was perfect for taking class notes. In addition, I could finally go online to do class research, and save it to use in assignments. And I was able to print out documents on my Braille printer or e-mail assignments to my instructors. I could record lectures and make voice memos using Notes. I was even able to store my textbooks as eBooks on a CF card and refer to them in class. The Calendar and Tasks applications reminded me about the things I needed to do. This was especially important for someone who needs help remembering the small things, like "read the mail," "take out the trash," turn off the lights," etc. I could control my TV and stereo with PAC Mate's infrared capability, access my school and home Wi-Fi networks to browse the Web, and control the functions of my cell phone, I even use GPS to help me find my way around unfamiliar parts of the city I live in. Since almost all navigation programs give audible turn-by-turn directions, PAC Mate would tell me where I was headed and warn me of obstacles. I'll always be blind, and my seizures and memory problems will probably never entirely go away. But thanks to PAC Mate, I'm doing quite well. My ultimate goal is to be a music instructor, to produce and record my own music, and to share it with others. Right now I'm attending school, and my degree in Jazz Studies is getting closer every day. I am learning to read Braille music and completing my general education classes with excellent grades. To a very large degree, I have PAC Mate to thank for my successes. Finding out more about PAC MateAs mentioned earlier in the article, PAC Mate is available in the QX series (with QWERTY keyboard) or the BX series (with an 8-key Braille keyboard), with or without a Braille pin display. You can purchase PAC Mate or find out more about the device on the Freedom Scientific Web site (http://www.freedomscientific.com/). You can also learn more about software produced specifically for PAC Mate and accessories compatible with the device. Another site worth visiting is PAC Mate Gear (http://www.pacmategear.com/). This general support site developed and maintained by PAC Mate users. It has links to tips and tricks about the device, an FAQ, a hardware compatibility list, software downloads for the device (commercial and freeware), stories from a number of PAC Mate users, and more. At the bottom of the home page is a link to the PAC Mate user community (http://www.pacmategear.com/UserCommunity.shtml), a group of mailing lists where users can ask questions, get assistance, exchange ideas, and more. Finally, remember that because PAC Mate is based on the standard Pocket PC operating system, many programs and accessories developed for the Pocket PC will work with PAC Mate. PocketPCmag.com and other Pocket PC Web sites are great sources of information about third party products for the Pocket PC. Copyright © 2004
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