i believe that the booklet would be a good idea.
Sent from my BRAILLENOTE Apex
----- Original Message -----
From: Joseph Lee <[email protected]
To: braille-note email list <[email protected]
Date sent: Thu, 19 May 2011 18:01:10 -0700
Subject: [Braillenote] Few updates, thoughts and a proposal
Hi folks,
In the midst of studying for classes and digesting the news
coming
from the other side of the fence, I thought I'd just give few
opinions, updates and a proposal:
Updates:
* New site: I'm almost there with registering the site (the
problem is
paying for the domain). Once the registration happens, I'll
write to
the list on what we should do next - writing the site content.
Few thoughts and clarifications:
* QT input mode under braille terminal (applies to Apex under
Ks9.1):
The QT mode came, as other features were, based on suggestions on
entering text using QWERTY input and controlling the computer
using
familiar QT commands. As you may know, as of KeySoft 9.10.1031,
it
works properly only under JAWS thanks to a driver component from
HW.
Window-Eyes and other desktop screen reader users, as well as
embedded
computer users cannot use this mode since this mode requires
special
driver to alert the screen reader of the fact that QT commands
are
possible on a braille display. This may require two components,
but
possibly under one driver file: detection of QT keyboard under
the
screen reader, and exposing the qT command structure to the
screen
reader so that it can take advantage of its capabilities. This
would
be an "ideal" solution, but could take time. However, with the
demand
of returning to Perkins mode being a priority (according to the
listers), a short-term solution proposed by users would be a
toggle
command to switch between QWERTY and Perkins controller mode on a
BN
Apex QT to solve this issue.
* A telephone inside a computer: Speaking of embedded computers,
iPhone (and other devices from Apple), Android devices and even
other
phones are actually computers in their own right. In simple
terms, an
embedded system is an ordinary (sort of a normal) electronic
gadget
that has some sort of computing components inside, such as
processors,
storage memory and other peripherals. In this sense, a phone
like
iPhone is an embedded system; in addition to appearing as a
phone, it
also has computer chips such as RAM (random-access Memory),
connectivity radios such as wireless and Bluetooth and so forth.
When users talk about connecting a BrailleNote to a device (say,
iPhone), they are talking about connecting the BN to a computer
(a
specialized computer, in fact) so that the braille display can be
used
to read what the phone displays on a screen using braille
characters.
In this sense, they are applying a "normal" braille terminal mode
-
connecting to a desktop or laptop computer so that the screen
reader
can display information in braille using the braille display - in
a
mobile context - connecting to a mobile computer/phone so that
the
phone's screen reader (VoiceOver for iOS devices) can display
what is
happening on an iPhone, for example. And, since mobile
phones/computers does not use cables, we (the users) use wireless
means of controlling a phone from our BrailleNote via Bluetooth.
Hope this makes sense to you.
* Recent messages on Apex and its usefulness: I, too, use my Apex
BT
for a variety of tasks, including reading books, writing
documents and
recording memos. But there are things that I too would like to
see on
it, mostly to improve its usefulness and to open the door for
user
innovations such as programs being written for it.
Personally, I wouldn't judge a product just because of company's
attitude towards its creation. I think the way to gauge a
product is
company's willingness to understand users' needs and enthusiasm
of the
users themselves, such as through forums, solving problems and
assisting others who are having issues.
Proposal:
While writing some articles on PBworks site and as I investigate
books
on iOS development and writing better software, I thought we
could
write a booklet or two on solving common problems, useful tips
and
recommendations from users on using their BrailleNote more
effectively. My idea is: perhaps, the users can colaborate on
this
project (with user submitted materials) and organize this
information
as a "cookbook" - a list of "recipes" (problems and solutions,
tips
and suggestions) categorized according to tasks such as word
processing and connectivity, similar to what we already have on
the BN
PBWorks site. If this booklet project is successful, then I can
envision this being useful for newbies by providing additional
material on top of user guide.
That's all I can say at the moment. If you have any comments on
this
post, just let the list know.
Cheers,
JL
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