Hi folks,
The following is recommended only for those who really need (or
wish to experiment with) it:
Just a small survey to get your suggestions for generating a
custom sound pack for your BrailleNote. I'm using a well-known
hack that we have, as well as to test a hypothesis regarding
installation archive generation.
Introduction
Imagine being able to have your BrailleNote sound like Windows
XP. Or feel like ybbre using another device by having equivalent
sound heard on your BrailleNote. This is all possible if you
know the sounds associated with Apex events, such as startup and
error sounds.
Known Hacks and Limitations
The CE Object Store (commonly known as RAM Disk, or under
HumanWare's literature, "KeySoft System Disk") holds all system
files for a Windows CE device. However, the information stored
in there will be gone if power is lost or a hardware reset is
performed. To avoid this, CE stores crucial system files on a
folder called Windows, which is the "gateway" to ROM image file
storage. In simple terms, all ROM image files and folders are
stored on a directory known as Windows under the root file system
(in our case, KeySoft System Disk).
However, with other file systems, it has a crucial flaw: We can
in fact "fool" the OS to believe we are using "custom" files
instead of default. This is accomplished by copying files to
Windows folder on the RAM Disk (rather, pointer to the ROM) and
giving them same names as the ones stored in the Flash ROM. The
next time a device reboots, the file system will "use" the newer
files over the ROM-BASED files.
There are several important limitations: first, the "source" file
names (the newer files) must match that of "destination" (ROM
image) files' names. Second, these files will be lost upon Clean
Reset, or any type of reset which involves deletion of RAM
content, restoration of registry and restoration of ROM files.
Third, the timestamp on the newer files must be later than ROM
file timestamps.
In Connection with BrailleNote Apex
With this background in mind, the obvious question is, "is it
possible to change some system files on the BrailleNote?" The
answer is "yes," as proven by some BrailleNote experts few years
ago. This involves copying new files to Windows folder on
KeySoft System Disk, renaming the files to match that of older
files and restarting KeySoft. Alternatively, one would copy the
"new" files, which were already renamed to match that of ROM
image files to Windows folder on Flash Disk and reboot the
device. All they had to do to restore old files was to perform
hard reset (way different from Apex's sense of Hard Reset).
On the Apex, the "overwrite" process was the same, except that
since RAM Disk is not accessible anymore, one must copy the files
to Windows folder on Flash, rename them and reboot the device.
However, with the OS changes, the method of restoring old files
is not as simple as it sounds. Although initialization is
required, it would result in loss of extensions such as GPS and
having to reset user preferences, which can be fixed by
reinstalling the extensions.
Theories and Hypothesis
Based on the background above, one can deduce that it is indeed
possible to change system files on the Apex, with the assumption
that installation files for extensions are present. However,
with the fact that the file system looks at the timestamp, one
can "restore" the old files by simply copying them to Windows
folder on Flash Disk and restarting the device. This, in theory,
should not result in loss of user preferences and/or external
programs.
Taking Manufacturer's Files To Our Advantage
A few months ago, some experts "discovered" that the hwx file
types are just specialized cabinet or xml files. This implies a
useful hypothesis: the delivery method of newer system files
could be as simple as installing a package file - a collection of
files zipped as a cab archive that is then renamed to hwp or hwz
extension. All the user needs to do is install this archive just
like installing any other extensions - inserting the storage
media where the archive resides, restarting KeySoft and
installing the archive.
However, a potential problem exists: how do we even produce a cab
file? One way is using a dedicated archiver program on a computer
to produce a cabinet file. The second method is creating a zip
archive, then renaming the conxtension to cab (which could lead
to compatibility issues when extracting the archive later).
Warnings:
* When performing system file modifications, YOU SHOULD AVOID THE
FOLLOWING FILE TYPES: bin, cpl, dll, exe, and lnk. Overwriting
files with these file types may require complicated steps to
restore your unit to normal operating editions - with potential
loss of data.
* Note that the theories and hypotheses presented above require
testing them to avoid errors - and are based on solid methods
established a few years ago.
So, how does this relate to custom sound packs? Based on above
notes, I can generate a selection of custom sounds to match an OS
or a ^particular device sound, such as:
* Using mPower sounds on an Apex.
* Having the fell of using another PDA by using the sounds of the
said device.
Another warning: The sound modifications (mostly KeySoft sounds)
will work properly only if you use Eloquence as your synthesizer.
It will not work with KeyNote Gold since some sounds are part of
the speech engine.
My apologies (especially at HW) if the information is too
technical. Again, as I say with this kind of posts: DO IT AT
YOUR OWN RISK!!! I'm not responsible for loss of data due to
misuse of these notes.
Footnotes:
* For newbies: Don't worry if you don't understand all those
jargon or advanced procedure outlined above - it is meant for
power users who knows KeySoft from inside out.
* For fellow experts: Has anyone tested renaming the zip archive
as a cab, then to hwp and extracted the files within when the
software restarts? If you have and if it works, then the
generation and delivery method becomes just a matter of using hwp
files (the file structure is simple enough that we can use a cab
archive to emulate this process). Don't try this with hwi - as I
feel it is reserved for ROM image installation.
* If you want to know how I've managed to find out the names of
the ROM image files, contact me off list.
Cheers,
Joseph S. Lee
University of California, Riverside
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