Following a history of the project and a public demo of the Braillenote Touch
by Greg Stilson, units were available for hands-on exploration. Because, like
many on this list I have quite a good knowledge of using Humanware kit I was
able to find my way round it very easily. The launch event was at Canada House
in Trafalgar Square London. the venue was chosen because of Humanware’s
Canadian links and because much of the dev work was done in Montreal Canada.
On 26 Apr 2016, at 20:04, john gallagher <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
hi ian where was the demo was it at the sight village in edinbrurgh very
interesting as jackie and paul say but, my fear is to spend such an amount on
something like this how long would it work with some of the apps. really will
be like a braille note on a tablet. and if you need to have the most up to
date android experience for very little now you can acquire a tablet for
?150. though because keysoft is the over lay it will always work okay. i will
have to have a look at one but maybe for me i will wait for the orbit 20 and
use it with my iphone and laptop. you never know though if sheff wednesday
win the play offs i could have a good bet on them and then buy one.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ian Macrae <ian.macrae@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tuesday, 26 April 2016 7.54 pm
Subject: [access-uk] Re: THOUGHT FOLLOWING BRAILLENOTE TOUCH LAUNCH
chi
No, it's a suite of apps which Humanware and before them Pulsedata have been
running for yonks.
On 26 Apr 2016, at 18.13, rajmund <brajmund2000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:0was On 26 Apr 2016, at 6.08 pm, Ian Macrae
Hello,
Isn't keySoft just a redesigned talkBack?
Sent from my iPhone 5S
<ian.macrae@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
0was
0was I asked the questions about Kitkat and more recent apps. The reason
given for going with KitKat was that it had their preferred level of
accessibility. They also said that Google was concerned to continue
supporting older OS versions because of the numbers of their customers
who're still working with devices running them. There was an estimate that
around fifty per cent of all Android users are still using KitKat and older
versions. Humanware will be putting on its website a page recommending apps
on the grounds of accessibility. But there was also a general Caveat emptor
warning about buying apps from the Play store as many will not have been
optimised for accessibility.
On 26 Apr 2016, at 17.12, paul leake <paul.leake@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Interesting Ian. How did you hear of the launch and where was it?
I wonder if the silent keyboard write as fast as the in-case one, it'd be
interesting to test this. Also my concern is that the use of kitcat
means that we're behind before we start the race" as my guess is that
they won't develop the operating system beyond that and in five years
time where will that leave the product? What are your thoughts about this
question?
Yes, it does look interesting and I intend to get a demo to put it
through its paces!
Kind regards,
Paul
paul.leake@xxxxxxxxxxxx
1twitter: @paulleake1
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Macrae" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender
"ian$macrae1" for DMARC)
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date sent: Tue, 26 Apr 2016 16.34.56 60100
Subject: [access-uk] THOUGHT FOLLOWING BRAILLENOTE TOUCH LAUNCH
Just back from the Humanware event. the launch was a smoothly and
professionally run event with Humanware as usual showing that it cares
about its customers. I went to it not exactly a sceptic but certain
requiring persuasion. I cam away from it not converted but definitely
impressed. this is exactly what it claims to be an android tablet with
Braille fully integrated. Any concerns about Android accessibility or
usability are dealt with by the fact that the tablet is operated using
Humanware's proprietary Keysoft suite of apps as an overlay. In other
words, if you know the commands and conventions of using keysoft you can
run the Braillenote Touch as a tablet. In order to operate in a more
demanding environment Keysoft has had several elements upgraded. So you
might say that what it is is a Tablet disguised as a Humanware note
taker. The demo strongly indicated that everything you would want to do
on the tablet from writing and sending an email to searching for and wat
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-n0was g a You
0wasTube videos can be effectively done using the Keysoft apps. One thing
that's different from previous Humanware products is that if you create a
document in Keyword, the word processor app, it is presented in
Microsoft docx format. But the real kicker is the method for inputting
Braille. If you briefly rest your fingers on the touch screen behind the
Braille display it gives a short vibration. This means it has recognised
your fingers and the positions they are in. You can then begin inputting
Braille directly on to the screen which appears on the Braille line.
What I found interesting was that even things like dot 8 for enter and 7
for backspace performed these actual functions. The device can also be
supplied with a smart case which also contains a full Humanware Braille
keyboard.
I have to say, being a hopeless gadget boy, when I saw and used it I
immediately wanted one. Trouble is that I can do all of these things
accessibly on my iPad and iPhone optionally using my Braille device via
bluetooth. The difference of course is that the Keysoft first letter
selection method of navigation means that if you land on a web page and
have no idea what it looks like or where anything is, you can immediately
find the search button by pressing the Braille $ letter so.
It comes in two versions, 18 and 40 cell displays. the former is 2995
and the latter 3995 which gives some indication of how much the price is
loaded by the cost of the Braille cells and tech. If I was starting all
over and didn't have any other devices I would give it serious
consideration. But its real potential lies with learners inparticular
who are coming new to Braille but who also want a tablet. ** To leave
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