Don't write home without it
Written: Jan 22 '01 (Updated Jan 22 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Portable, durable, useful
Cons: Mysterious data loss appears possible
The Bottom Line: Buy one, but transfer the data daily if you can.
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| lgelb's Full Review: AlphaSmart 3000 |
I got an AlphaSmart 3000 for my husband, the not terribly computer literate writer, who rides a lot of mass transit. It is everything he wants except that the keyboard has no backlight in low light situations and once, during a train ride, an entire long weekend's worth of work was lost. We tried all the recovery techniques in the manual and nothing worked. However, undeterred, he is downstairs at this moment writing on it as I use the iMac. We have had no difficulties since Thanksgiving, the long weekend in question.
I later bought the matching case, a soft case that he puts inside his backpack for extra protection.
The USB cable permitting him to transfer his handiwork back to the Mac is vital, and I have to admit it's fascinating to watch the streams of text type themselves into a WordPerfect screen on the computer...sort of like a player piano. Of course, the text will go into any text app that I know of. And if you don't have a Mac (gasp), they sell a PC cable. Our Mac doesn't support the protocol that would enable us to "beam" data from the AlphaSmart to the Mac, but we got the optional pod in case we ever upgrade to one that does--it's only $10 or $20.
For a no-frill writer on the road, this keyboard has no peer. I checked out countless Web pages on alternatives before I ordered this, and we're both glad I did.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 229
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Epinions.com ID:
lgelb
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Member: Laurie Gelb
Location: Wilmington, DE
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Biopharmaceutical/health care/Internet researcher, consultant and speaker
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