With all of the technology blogs which just reprint press releases without comment, it's refreshing to see a new voice adding their opinion. Corry Ballard has launched Access4 Us, a new blog focusing on assistive technology and product reviews. In his "A Week With" feature he plans to spend an entire week trying out a piece of assistive technology and then writing a review on his findings. Ballard is an adaptive technology specialist for the Badger Association, a Wisconsin nonprofit. We wish him success with his new project.
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Hopefully others will follow him. We need reviews for AT products badly. This could be like cnet for the blind.
darknexus Monday, 22-Feb-2010 8:10 PM ET:
There used to be publications that put out reviews for AT products. The problem was that, eventually, they began to be skewed towards one vendor or another, or to support one particular agenda. That still happens, some of the reviews in the Braille Monitor demonstrate this. With that out of the way, I think this first review of the Icon was pretty good, though it focused only on the software side and not at all on the hardware. Questions like how long was the battery life on average weren't even addressed, and I think these questions are just as important as the features. I know, for example, that the Icon averages roughly 6 hours on battery and this would play into my decision to purchase one or not (in my case not, since my Netbook already gets longer battery life than that). I agree though, hopefully more people follow this example. I have a blog but I just don't use it, maybe I should use it a bit more.
Cory.Ballard Tuesday, 23-Feb-2010 10:45 AM ET:
darknexus, You are totally correct. I did leave out some important info about the hardware especially concerning the battery life. I have taken a note of your concerns and will make sure to add that info both to the icon review and all future reviews. thanks for the suggestions. On the topic of leaning twoards one vender or another, I want to make it clear to all the readers and venders that I will not publish a review that is not 100% honest. If the product has downfalls, I will expose them. I will try to publish something positive about most products but the truth will always be important to me. Anyways, lets get back to our day to day.
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
