Yes, HIMS now handles Triumph displays and Earl is a part of HIMS, I could have included that info. I did not know someone had taken over the Vario Ultra, though I have to say, I am underwhelmed by that product line. So, I have not gone looking for new info as I personally would never consider one. Perhaps if this new handler makes some software/firmware changes, I will take a look. That is all I will say about Vario displays as I do not want to get into a long string of emails as to why I feel that way, so please, no one ask. It is just my basic reaction to aspects I don't like, though I know others do. Enough said. Later, Richard
"Reality is the leading cause of stress for those who are in touch with it." — Jane Wagner On Oct 20, 2018, at 10:11 AM, Traci Duncan <our4p...@gmail.com<mailto:our4p...@gmail.com>> wrote: Wow! Thank you for that information. I had not heard of the Actolino. It sounds very interesting, minus the audio. That part does not interest me at all. I'm looking forward to reading more on Access World. Traci PS. The Braille Me has the braille above the keyboard. Has anyone used a display like this? Sent from my iPhone On Oct 20, 2018, at 9:42 AM, Mary Otten <motte...@gmail.com<mailto:motte...@gmail.com>> wrote: The Verio ultra list is still up and running, and so far as I know, that new company does not have any US distributor or repair yet. Sent from my iPhone On Oct 20, 2018, at 9:32 AM, Rami Ahmad <blindathle...@gmail.com<mailto:blindathle...@gmail.com>> wrote: for your information, varioUltra and all other baum products are now maintained by another company called visiobraille. they will continue the development and distribution of these products. they can be found at http://visiobraille.de<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fvisiobraille.de&data=02%7C01%7C%7C8c2dee904c8945270f3a08d636af054e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636756522663429607&sdata=G3Gh1uqu%2FkExrRfZuAFtt4EBxXLj8wMGQX9x1qYCkNo%3D&reserved=0> On Oct 20, 2018, at 7:16 PM, Richard Turner <richardturne...@outlook.com<mailto:richardturne...@outlook.com>> wrote: *Note: I removed the section on the Vario Ultra since that company has gone out of business. This article from Access World talks about autoscroll and I would recommend reading the other articles that preceded this one to get good information about a variety of braille displays. Keeping It Portable: Comparing Braille Displays on iOS Devices, Part III Scott Davert In Part I of this series , we took a look at four braille displays that carry out functions related to an external device. However, some people may wish to have an integrated suite of productivity applications for basic tasks such as reading books, taking notes, performing simple calculations, etc., along with that connectivity. This article will look at the internal functions of both the VarioUltra and Actilino as they relate to iOS devices. The Actilino The Actilino is a 16-cell braille display manufactured by Help Tech, formerly known as Handy Tech. Like the VarioUltra, it has a lot of functions beyond being able to connect to external devices. It is shaped like a rectangle, with a tapered edge at the front. Placing the device in front of you, with its downward-sloping edge nearest you, you will find a speaker on the front left, a Micro SD slot (used with internal functions), and a second speaker on the right front side. Starting with the keys closest to you, from left to right, you have the first of two rectangular-shaped Spacebars, a joystick, and the second Spacebar. While the joysticks on both displays are round, the VarioUltra's is almost flush with the display's surface, while the Actilino's has a higher profile, and is thinner. Behind this, you will find a depression that contains 16 cells of braille with a three-way rocker button at each end (these rocker buttons are referred to as "triple-action keys" in the manual). Each button can be pressed upward, downward, or straight down. Behind the 16 cells of braille, and level with the upper part of the rocker buttons, are 16 cursor routing buttons that are raised slightly higher than the depression that contains the cells. Behind the cursor routing buttons, and on an elevated surface, is the Perkins-style keyboard. Like the VarioUltra, these keys are configured with special attention paid to ergonomics. Unlike the VarioUltra, between Dots 1 and 4, you will find an internal microphone. On the back of the Actilino, there is a magnet, though it's not tactilely discernable unless the display is in the case. The magnet ensures the Actilino stays securely within the carrying case. On the left side of the Actilino, the port closest to you is a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The port located behind the headphone jack is used for charging, connecting to USB enabled external devices, and sending and receiving data. Along the right side, closest to you is the round Power button followed by a Type A USB port for plugging in external keyboards. The Actilino is longer, heavier, and wider than the VarioUltra, weighing in at 14 ounces, but that added weight and size translate into added functionality. Connecting to iOS For the first 15 minutes that the Actilino is powered on, Bluetooth is activated. If you have had the device on for more than 15 minutes without using Bluetooth, it switches off to conserve battery. It's not necessary to do anything else on the Actilino before going into Settings > General > Accessibility VoiceOver > Braille on your iOS device. Find the Actilino from the list of displays in range, and double-tap it. The iOS device will come up with a confirmation in the form of a PIN code that should match the one displayed on the Actilino. Press Y on the Actilino, and then double-tap confirm on your iOS device. Unique Features of the Actilino Semi-Automatic Scrolling Help Tech has an entire line of displays that feature Active Tactile Control (ATC) technology, which senses when your fingers reach the end of a line of braille and automatically advances the display. While autoscrolling is certainly an option with other braille devices, none of the options on the market support this functionality with iOS. Furthermore, though other displays have autoscrolling capability, they scroll automatically based on a set duration of time, not when your fingers reach the end of the display. I've found most autoscrolling features to be more trouble than they're worth for this reason, but the ATC technology has changed that. ATC for mobile devices must be enabled separately from ATC used with the display's internal functions. To toggle this feature on, when connected to a mobile device, press Spacebar + Dots 1, 7, and 8. As of firmware version 1.6, you do not get confirmation that Mobile ATC is active until you move your fingers to the end of a line and the braille refreshes. If ATC stops working after a while, it may be necessary to re-enable it as described above. While there is a different setting for Mobile ATC, it is necessary to control its sensitivity from the ATC settings found in the Actilino's internal menu. I found that I had to set this to 7 (which is the highest number) for the most consistent results. I've been reading with a lite touch for many years, so it's possible individuals who read with more of a heavy hand may be able to lower the sensitivity. It's a solid, very unique, and wonderful feature to have on any display, but particularly a smaller one. Multiple Connections The Actilino supports up to three simultaneous Bluetooth connections simultaneously along with one USB connection. To change devices you must cycle through connected devices by pressing Spacebar with Dots 4, 5, and 8. Automatically Connecting If you are reading a book on the Actilino, and one of your connected devices wakes up, the Actilino will automatically jump back to that device. Of course, this will not happen if 15 minutes have elapsed and Bluetooth has switched off. That said, if you wish to read a book on the Actilino, you may find it useful to put your iOS device on the Do Not Disturb setting. You can exit PC mode, which is what the Actilino calls being connected to an external device, by pressing Spacebar + M. It's true that Spacebar + Mon an iOS device mutes speech, and this method still accomplishes this, but you can mute speech without exiting PC mode by adding Dot 7 to the command. Moving Text From the Actilino to an iOS Device If you have composed text in the Editor, you may wish to transfer it to your iOS device. With the Actilino, after copying the text to the keyboard, (instructions can be found in the manual on how to do this), press Spacebar + Dots 1, 5, and 7 to send it to the iOS device. Remember, you must ensure that the braille input mode on your iOS device matches that of the Actilino for the transfer to be successful. I found transferring the same two-page document used for the VarioUltra test to take about 5 minutes with the Actilino. Quiet Keyboard The Actilino's keyboard is the quietest I've ever used, and the most comfortable for me to type on. Braille keyboards are very subjective, of course, so you might have a different experience. I found the keys to have just the right amount of spacing and resistance. People with smaller hands may find that the Spacebars are too far away for them to reach, but that they enjoy the keyboard otherwise. Help Tech has addressed this by adding the option of pressing Dots 7 and 8 together to insert a space. While it took some getting used to, I find that it is a good way to accommodate this need. It also shows that, while the hardware development is complete, the software development is not, as this didn't appear to be an option in earlier firmware releases. Noisy Display By default, there are many musical tones representing different actions, alerts, and messages from the Actilino. These can be disabled individually in the internal menu, and can also be turned off completely. Audio I mentioned in the Actilino's description that there are two speakers and a microphone on board. Though you must pair your iOS device separately for the audio feature, doing so does give you an external device that is slightly louder than the iPhone 7 and earlier models. It also enables you to make phone calls, or use other audio-specific apps, from the Actilino. To enable the Bluetooth audio interface, when the Actilino is powered on, press Spacebar + Dots 2, 5, 7, and 8. The Actilino will emit a series of tones that indicate it is ready to pair with an external device. Go to Settings > Bluetooth and find a device called "POR" with numbers after that. Double tap, and the connection should be established within about two seconds. I found that the audio quality leaves a bit to be desired when piped through the Actilino's internal speakers. However, just like food and braille keyboards, the point could be made that audio quality is subjective. I found that VoiceOver sounded a bit wobbly through the internal speakers, but found it worked well when connected to speakers or headphones through the 3.5 mm jack. Interestingly, the VoiceOver lag, which is present with all Bluetooth devices, seems to be a bit less. Most importantly, I found that audio is not cut off when there is a pause and audio resumes playing. For those using an iPhone 7 or later, this feature may come in handy if you want to use a 3.5 mm plug to connect to an external sound source. I also noticed that the braille display didn't suffer any sort of lag when there were two connections to the same device. During a test FaceTime call, the person on the other end sounded very clear through external speakers, but they reported that my audio sounded a bit "crackly". Hiccups remain with the audio interface. For example, I turned the Actilino off and back on, and even though I re-enabled the audio interface, I found that the connection was no longer stable. I had to forget the Actilino's audio connection to my iPhone and then re-establish it to stabilize the connection. In defense of Help Tech, the Actilino is a relatively new device, appearing on the US market in June of 2017. This may simply be a bug that will be addressed in a future firmware release. Time Keeps On Ticking When powering on the Actilino, you will find the name of the device along with the current time. This can be easier to check than having to wait for your braille display to connect to your iPhone, so while it's a minor detail, I found it helpful. Sometimes, all I need to know is the current time, and this is easily determined on the Actilino. Triple-Action Keys The manual calls these "triple-action keys" because they can be pressed in one of three ways. On iOS, pressing them away from you pans the braille backward, pressing either one toward you pans the braille forward, pressing straight down on the left button will activate the Delete key, and pressing down on the right triple-action key will activate the Enter key. Again, it's possible to remap these functions with iOS 11. The Case The Actilino comes with a case that fits the device well. The case has a magnet inside of it that secures the Actilino. The magnet in the case came unglued in the first one I had, but the Actilino still feels secure even when I'm moving around. When opened, the case provides access to all features and functions, so you can use it on the go. Miscellaneous Battery life varies dramatically depending on how you use the Actilino. If you are always connected with both audio and braille to a Bluetooth device, your battery isn't likely to last very long compared to when the device is functioning only as a standalone notetaker. I have found that battery life, when used mainly with PC mode, is around 25 hours. Unlike the VarioUltra, the Actilino does not see a large decrease in battery life when it is unplugged and turned off. Charging is done through a proprietary plug that has a magnet on one end and a standard type A USB plug on the other. However, the connection doesn't have to be proprietary, the magnetic connector on the Actilino can be pulled off to be a Micro USB plug so that it works with all Micro USB cables. This information is not available in the manual, it was something Triomph kindly provided to me when I asked about it. It's great that Handy Tech has not only designed something that can fit on the device no matter which direction the cable is facing, but they have also given the user the option of removing the proprietary part if desired. You will need a good set of fingernails to do so (and the manufacturer does not recommend removing the proprietary plug), but I managed to remove it and the result works well for me. When comparing user documentation, I found the VarioUltra to have the most readable and complete documentation of the two devices. New features are added in the manual as they become available, and are easy to find. Even the core feature set with the Actilino's documentation lacks some commands such as the one for enabling Mobile ATC. Another example is that the audio interface is located in its own section (4.2), which is far below the section on connecting an iPhone through VoiceOver (section 2.7). Product Information Product: VarioUltra 20 Available from: Baum Retec Price: $2,395 Product: Actilino Available from: Triumph Technologies Price: $2,495 -----Original Message----- From: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> <viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>> On Behalf Of Traci Duncan Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2018 8:21 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> Subject: Auto Scroll with braille display Is auto scroll all it is cracked up to be? Do any braille displays offer this feature on the iPhones? I was just reading about the braille Me, which has auto scroll, but I get a sense it is only for the stand alone book and document reader. Ive not experienced auto scrolling, but it seems to me, this would be the most effective way to read a long document or book 14 or 20 cells at a time. The concept sounds amazing. Braille scrolling beneath my fingers as I read. Makes me think of a ticker tape. For those of you familiar, could you tell me more. Suggest other braille display models. Thank you, Traci -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>. 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