Any Lightspeed Users Out There?

[Janet]

I just made the switch to the Lightspeed writer. I looked through the groups here to see if there was a Lightspeed users group and didn't find one, so I just started one up. I hope that you'll join me if you are a current LS user or would like to learn more about it.

Check it out in the Group listings.

Thanks!

Janet

[Janet]

I'm really looking forward to the convention. I stayed at the Gaylord in Dallas, and it was beautiful!

Hopefully, my children won't get burnt to a crisp this time. My daughter got scorched in Phoenix, and my son got deep fried in Dallas while I was at the seminars. They had sunscreen, but went in the pool too often. Hopefully, we've all learned from it.

[Greta Duckett, CCR, RPR, CRR]

Thanks, Allison, for the warranty information. I misunderstood.

[Erica Abbott]

I am not Greta, but I'm going to reply to it anyway:P I am waiting for the new ones to come out (and have been, impatiently, for a while now...) instead of buying a refurb. My reasons are:
1) You still have to pay a restocking fee if you don't like the refurb. And I think this is still quite high
2) After, I believe, three months on a refurb you have to actually buy a service contract for, like, another $300. WIth a new one, the contract is for a year.
3) I am not sure how it goes with getting a credit for the next generation of the LS if you just buy a refurb. It obviously won't be $2500, but I don't know if they give you one at all. Greta can probably answer that.
4) I am a lover of keypads. I don't ever want to write on hard plastic again. That being said, I think the new LS is tweaked exactly how I want it!! The new overlay is a hard rubber type. Also, the chrome part (which many people have said they don't like) is gone. The refurbs are going to have hard plastic keys and that chrome piece.
4) I know it has not changed enough to be considered a new generation, but they had to have made improvements for some reason. Therefore, I am only assuming it was to make it better. Who wouldn't want the slightly better one with a few tweaks to start off with, seems how we all know how technology goes!

Anyway... hope this helps. lol. I CANNOT wait for them to come out in August. YAY!

[Greta Duckett, CCR, RPR, CRR]

The one-piece key overlay was to cure a problem with light. The sensors work with light refraction, which measures the pressure applied to the keys. In very bright light, the light could seep into the cracks around the keys and cause problems. I only had this happen one time when I was at a conference by huge south-facing bay windows with the Alabama sun (even in winter it's bright!) shining on me for hours. After I got out of the direct light, things returned to normal.

I'm told we'll have the prototypes at the NCRA convention in D.C.

[Veronica Kubat]

I have a question. I have a Gemini and love it. But that aside, why don't these people let you give them a deposit on an older one and use it for a month or two? The restocking fee is just a way to gain revenue on a failed sale. A good business practice, and a simple one and, I think, which is essential on equipment of this sort which you will be using for years, is to be able to try it out for a small fee ($100 is reasonable) and a big refundable deposit. That is the only way to be sure you can use it and not have issues with it. But over three-hundred bucks for restocking?! That makes no sense. Especially since there are no moving parts on the thing to be damaged. If they have refurbished ones available to sell, they definitely have older ones to try.

[Greta Duckett, CCR, RPR, CRR]

Veronica,
This is my take on it; not an official Stenovations statement:

The $300 is a restocking fee. These are not loaners or tryouts.
Stenovations does not lease the writer. You're buying the writer with a 90-day return policy. If you return it, the $300 covers the 90 days, which would be $100/month, which I think is reasonable. If someone sends one back, Stenovations can only sell that as a refurb (which entails some service work to recalibrate the keys and clean her up), and they're selling those for $1800, which makes their total income from the two sales 2100, 400 less than the original selling price.

Just my 2 cents.

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

Greta,
That sounds totally reasonable to me.
Marge

[Janet]

I think it's totally reasonable for Stenovations to charge a restocking fee. They are willing to take the machines back & give you back the majority of your purchase price. I think that is a good business practice, personally.

I don't know if the other vendors will do that or not, but when I upgraded to the Mira, my Stentura 8000 LX was just under two years old. What they gave me for the trade-in was insulting. I never should have done it, but didn't want to go through the hassle of selling it myself.

[Karen Heggi]

I have been a court reporter for 28 years and just started using LS last July, so I've been on it about a year. I love the ability to carry it around easily (I also bought a tiny laptop for it). It's also very comfortable to use...no more neck, back problems at the end of the day. However, I have done everything I can to make it tran better. I am a CRR, but my translation is not as good as it was on my old Stenoram Ultra. I have stacking problems, as well as words transposing, "you did" instead of "did you." I have talked to John Sims and every tech support person at Stenovations, and we have not been able to resolve this problem. I work in court, provide realtime to judges, have a large workload, and I would be so VERY, VERY appreciative if anyone has any advice for me. You can email me directly at [e-mail]. Thank you!

[Karen Heggi]

Barb,
Thanks for the info. I'm a CRR and write realtime for judges. I don't have any conflicts, and I feel when I have gone to the expense of upgrading my system, I shouldn't have to compromise the quality of my writing, if that makes sense. I'm on DigitalCat, which I would think would be the most compatible software with LS. I read what a few other people have written, and it sounds like there is a new LS in the works. Maybe that will be my answer. I also have a problem with the final 'G'. I get translations like "belong to go" instead of "belonging to," "going to go" when it should be just "going to." Still, the stacking is my most frustrating problem, especially since I get stacks with speaker IDs, commas, and periods. And this is AFTER hours and hours of tech support and tweaking the settings!

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Karen,
I feel for you. I'm a Mira user looking for something new. The LS and the Gemini are in my sights right now. I've finally worked out 99.5% of the stacking/sensitivity issues on my Mira. I'm a CRR too and resent having to make "conflicts" because of a machine. I thought the Mira was the only machine out there with stacking issues. I have waited years to retake the 2-voice RMR test just because of stacking problems! Well, I do have some homework to do, and I hope you get your LS issues resolved.

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

Karen, you say you bought a tiny laptop for your LS. How much RAM does it have? I'm telling you, there is a huge correlation between RAM and a good translation. If you can translate your raw steno on another computer, you may see a difference.