on the cheap and sleazy side (www.cheapandsleazy.net)
By G.D. Warner
Writers and Software and Laptops -- Oh, My!
Get The Equipment You Need, Without Spending Too Much!
There comes a time in every court reporting student's life when they have to make a decision on what I like to call The Good Stuff: Writers, laptops, and software (oh, my! ). I have put this together (by request) to assist my fellow students in navigating through treacherous waters in their search for these vital items.
Warning
Selection of writers and laptops often depend on the software you wish to use ... so make sure you make your selections accordingly!
-o0o-
What to Look For in a Writer
This one is easy: A good price, a good warranty ... and something that still has parts available for it. This last requirement is very important. Case in point:
A few years ago, Stenograph went through what I like to call its Borg Period: a period in which they basically bought out (or "assimilated," staying in that Borg vein) all of their competitors (Xscribe, 1996, among others). They then offered support for the now orphaned writers (they had the parts, after all), and a discount to have these new (albeit unwilling) suckers -- er, customers -- upgrade to Stenograph's latest machines.
Those customers that resisted this offer and kept their old writers were recently informed that support for their machines was soon coming to an end .
"Resistance is futile," indeed ...!
So, when looking for a writer, avoid anything made by Xscribe (models include StenoRAM Ultra, the Vision, and StenoRAM III+).
Xscribe
The Xscribe ....
No comments:
Post a Comment