I am writing to you to say that the longer I use the BrailleNote the more uses I find for it.  The first comment to make is that every claim made for it has been made good.  It is light, even taking my arthritic wrists into account; quiet enough to be used during a lecture; the voice is as clear an artificial voice as I have heard; the speed of the speech has a wide range as does the volume, and can be turned off; the braille display is clear without being hard on the tips of the fingers and there is a choice of the grade of braille.  It follows that the machine can run on either a battery or on mains electricity.   

The prompts are simple and adequate.  It is easy to gain access to the "help" menus; and one is returned to that point in one's work: no bothering about finding the place each time.  Whether it is the address book, e-mail with a built in filing system, internet, access to sites offering books and a wordprocessing system adapted to the needs of blind people; and patches for languages other than one's mother tongue.  This list is not definitive.  It is a list of what particularly pleases me.  

Writing is so convenient that more and more I find myself jotting down information, writing myself little notes.  My choice was for a Perkins touch, although a qwerty keyboard is available they tell me.  The knowledge of computers required is soon gained.  My authority for saying this that I grew when telephones were something of a novelty.  Of course I have made mistakes that a wider knowledge would have averted, but have done no damage to any software.  The BrailleNote supports the leisurely lifestyle I adopt.  I can read and write in English and in French.  I do not anticipate making any use of, for example, the capacity to print addresses or transcribe hard-copy braille, as well as in black on white....but who knows?