As Braille is my primary literacy tool, the BrailleNote enables me to be literate. In the past I found working with PC's and listening to voice synthesisers drone on and on, tedious and frustrating. At the time, it made me feel quite unmotivated, angry and resentful. I was still doing well in my life, but tasks always took longer as I tried to adjust to listening rather than reading. Since childhood, I have always argued with professionals against using audio-tapes and talking computers for study. At fourteen, I went on strike and refused to work from tapes until my beloved Braille books were restored to me and I was able to read and write again. I have only been using the BrailleNote for a year, but already things have changed radically.

The BrailleNote has completely transformed my entire life. I am now able to read books of every description and what's more, to have a library inside the BrailleNote. The email facility has enabled me to have the library. Countless articles, upcoming events, important information and magazines can now be emailed to me, not to mention correspondence with community and activist groups, friends and overseas contacts. The BrailleNote can also be hooked up to my Rainbow scanner, which is an added dimension as far as accessing information is concerned. Even a simple thing like a shopping list can be printed for my friend so that we can shop together. Study material is also something, which I can get more access to. I am no longer bored during long train trips. The portability of this amazing notetaker has enabled me to edit and finish assignments and other projects very quickly, and reading has also become a pleasure while traveling.

Using the book reader facility is excellent, as this is enables me to go back to the exact place where I left off in the book, if I am interrupted. My BrailleNote even comes to bed with me.

The planner has made me feel more relaxed about making appointments and keeping them. I no longer forget my appointments, and the reliable alarm reminds me an hour before.

Not actually owning a PC, I am amazed at how portable and flexible the BrailleNote is, and how I have not even yearned for a PC yet! I am able to import and export files, ie. provide disks to other people when they are needed, and alternatively I can read disks given to me by others, via the BrailleNote and storage card. The BrailleNote contains a slot whereby a storage card can be inserted for this purpose.

As I belong to various activist collectives, I can now take the BrailleNote anywhere, quickly take minutes of the meetings and then print them or email them straight away, ready for distribution. When I am paneling and presenting radio shows for instance, I can always check the time on the BrailleNote clock, access articles really quickly for reading on air and check the planner for when the next interview is due. I can also, before the show, write up notes about what songs people want to play on air. If I am doing research for a story to be aired on radio and I am on the move, I can just whip out the BrailleNote and jot down important phone numbers.

Employment has become much easier for me because I have the BrailleNote. For instance, when working in a grocery shop I was able to access cafe and grocery price lists straight from the BrailleNote, do mathematical calculations on the calculator while serving customers and provide information to staff, clients and volunteers. When working in Telemarketing, I worked closely with the BrailleNote to provide customers with detailed information, reading it straight onto the phone. I have been doing some work as a herbalist and counselor also. Files can be kept on patients inside the BrailleNote. I recently went on a trip to NSW to do my clinical work and was able to discreetly sit in on patient consultations taking endless notes. Everyone commented on how attractive the BrailleNote looked. The oldest person down to the youngest child felt comfortable.

In conclusion, I would like to finish by saying that I recommend the BrailleNote to anyone who seeks Braille as their primary literacy tool. One of my current projects presently, is to copy my novel that I am writing, from a very thick Braille binder into the BrailleNote. It is a mammoth task, but this will mean that I can edit the novel for publishing. I am sure that there are BrailleNote facilities that I have not even tapped into yet. So as you can see, the BrailleNote provides wonderful opportunities for embarking on many exciting projects simultaneously.