Re: Announcing WinBT 2.0 - a free, open source Windows braille translator
- From: "inthane" <inthaneelf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:50:23 -0700
Jamal,
I hate to say it, but the lady does have a point, you wrote loads of
information on what was going on and what has been done, and how it was
done, but I have no clue as to what this thing does, nor can I find such
information handily linked to for me?
could you give me/us a short run down on what this thing does,
elf
. Moderator, Blind Access Help.
. Owner: Alacorn Computer Enterprises
"own the might and majesty of an alacorn"
www.alacorncomputer.com
. proprietor: Inthane's Grab Bag
for blind computer users and Programmers!
http://grabbag.alacorncomputer.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jamal Mazrui" <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "programmingblind" <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Program-l"
<program-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "'Uaccess-L'"
<uaccess-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 5:33 PM
Subject: Announcing WinBT 2.0 - a free, open source Windows braille
translator
Now available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/wbtsetup.exe
WinBT 2.0 is an updated distribution of the NFBTrans braille translator
(BT), and the associated WinTrans graphical user interface (GUI). The
original programmers are no longer active in the project, and the
wintrans-bt.org web site is discontinued. Maintenance of NFBTrans has
been led by Steve Jacobson as Vice President of the NFB in Computer
Science. He recruited additional programmers, and improved the default
configuration settings of NFBTrans.
The original author of WinTrans chose not to reveal his or her identity,
using the name "Anonymous John" instead. Since several years had elapsed
since then (2003), we tried to find the author in case he or she now
wished to be publicly acknowledged. Ultimately, we found him via Tom
Dimeo, who had introduced WinTrans to the world in a podcast of the Main
Menu program by ACB Radio (an audio tutorial included in this
distribution). The two of them communicated about this new effort, and
George McCoy has now authorized us to disclose that he is the one who
authored WinTrans.
Recent discussion about improving NFBTrans has occurred on the email list
called "ProgrammingBlind," to which one can subscribe through the web site
http://FreeLists.org
The NFBTrans code was ported and recompiled by Tyler Littlefield, using
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008, a free Express Edition of which is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2008-editions/express
The new build resulted in a 32-bit rather than 16-bit executable, thus
allowing it to run under 64-bit Windows, which, unlike prior Windows
versions, does not run 16-bit programs. The Visual Studio solution file,
NFBTrans.sln, contains compiler configuration information that allows a
developer to easily recompile the C code. Anyone who finds ways of
improving the code, configuration settings, or documentation is
encouraged to contribute such improvements back to the community.
The WinTrans source code, WinTrans.bas, was recompiled by Jamal Mazrui
using PowerBASIC 10.0, a commercial compiler available at
http://powerbasic.com
He also improved the WinTrans installer using Inno Setup 5, which is
freely available at
http://InnoSetup.org
The script file, wbtsetup.iss, gives InnoSetup instructions for building
the installer, wbtsetup.exe. It creates a desktop shortcut for launching
the WinBT dialog, with an optional hotkey assignment, Alt+Control+B (for
braille translator). The installer also creates a WinBT program group in
the Windows Start/Programs menu with options for launching the program,
reading the documentation, playing an audio tutorial, or uninstalling the
program. By default, the documentation is opened at the end of the
installation process, and the audio tutorial may optionally be played then
as well. The program may also be launched by entering "WinBT" in the
Windows Start/Run dialog (capitalization does not matter).
The original distribution files for NFBTrans and WinTrans, nfbtr774.zip
and winbt.zip (renamed from winbt.exe), are included in the WinBT program
directory. Also included there is the first public release of the
WinTrans 1.0 source code in the PowerBASIC language, contained in
WinTrans.zip. By default, the program directory is located at
C:\WinBT
The WinBT installer, wbtsetup.exe, may be downloaded at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/wbtsetup.exe
A zip archive containing the same files is available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/wbtsetup.zip
This documentation is also available online at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/WinBT.htm
The updated distribution can give a new life to WinTrans and NFBTrans.
The installer makes the braille translator friendly to install, use, and
learn. The documentation gives developers information about recompiling
the source code, thus opening a possible path to improvements contributed
by the open source community. The original WinTrans and NFBTrans archives
are also included, so that anyone can start from there instead if
preferred.
WinBT 2.0 has resulted from constructive collaboration among various
parties for the common good of blind people. Although imperfections
undoubtedly remain, there is clear progress that is worth sharing. We
hope these contributions extend the value of NFBTrans and related
technologies to users of electronic braille!
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