Hi Listers and Humanware Staff:
I know it was a tremendous effort to get Keysoft 7 released. I am a
software
engineer by profession and am well acquainted with such issues. You and
Humanware did a terrific job!
The comments I'm making here about two aspects of the Keysoft 7 release
are
from the perspective of a deaf-blind BN user: the installation
instructions
and the tutorial. These comments aren't meant to be criticisms of
Humanware
but hopefully to help Humanware make future releases easier for deaf-blind
users to install and to learn in the future.
As with previous versions of Keysoft, the installation instructions for
Keysoft
7 aren't deaf-blind user friendly. I understand that the great majority
of
BN users have hearing and the instructions were written for them. But it
makes
it difficult for us deaf-blind users because we have to enlist the help of
a
hearing person and in my case I had to pay someone to help me walk through
the
installation instructions. the installation instructions contained very
little
tactile information and after reading them through twice, I didn't feel
confident I could successfully do the installation alone. I did call BN
Tech
Support to ask them if the installation was hearing dependent and they
said
they couldn't say for sure, so I decided to pay someone to assist me.
there
was a problem with my product key and we had to call Humanware but that is
not
pertinent here.
let me quote from the installation instructions:
For the installation of the product key on the mPower:
----------------------------
4. You will hear a welcome message. Press ENTER.
5. After a brief pause, you will hear a completion message. Press ENTER
----------------------------
(Comment: I didn't know if anything would be displayed on the braille
display
and didn't want to take a chance.)
For the installation of keysoft 7:
---------------------------------
Hold down dots 4 & 6 on the Braille keyboard (keys J and L on Qwerty
versions)
and press the reset button on the left side of the unit, just behind the
on/off
switch. Keep holding the 4 & 6 dots (J and L on the Qwerty) until the unit
makes
a sound, at which point you can release the held down keys.
You should then hear a rising series of 4 notes something like "diddle lee
dee".
Press dots 1 and 2 (the 2 key on the Qwerty) and you should hear a series
of
tones, completing within 3 to 5 seconds with a similar "diddle lee dee"
series
and then silence.
Press and hold dots 4 & 5 (J & K on Qwerty) and once again press the reset
button on the side of the unit. Keep holding down dots 4 & 5 until you
hear
some sound. The Braille display will show the word "Loading".
At the completion of the beeps (about 10 to 15 minutes), the unit will
reset and
-------------------------
Reference is made to these sounds:
You should then hear a rising series of 4 notes something like "diddle lee
dee".
you should hear a series of tones, completing within 3 to 5 seconds with a
similar "diddle lee dee" series
Keep holding down dots 4 & 5 until you hear
sound. The Braille display will show the word "Loading".
Comments: the hearing person who helped me install keysoft 7 said
afterwards
she didn't know how I would have done these three steps alone because
there
wasn't much tactile information to go by. I also discovered the resets in
the
installation are different from the resets one can do on the BN.
The last reference to sound did give a tactile clue -- the braille display
will
now say "loading." but the other references to what would be spoken or
heard
didn't contain any tactile clues.
It's not easy for us deaf-blind people to enlist the help of someone to
assist
us with the installation, whether it be a friend or a paid person. Many
people
are not computer savvy and are reluctant to help when they can't see what
they
are doing and must rely on the speech on the BN they may not be familiar
with.
I realize it may take a little extra time to include the tactile
information a
deaf-blind person would need to install a Keysoft release by
himself/herself
but it would be worth it for Humanware to make the effort. Perhaps you
could
have a deaf-blind user review the instructions before they are released to
get
feedback and I would be happy to help with this in future Keysoft
releases.
there have been previous inquiries whether the keysoft 7 tutorial was
available
in text format as wellas audio. I understand the tutirrial is only
available
in audio format. I don't know if the tutorial covers material tht is not
speech-related that would be of help to deaf-blind users like Keybase and
playing games, but if it does, it would be of great help to deaf-blind
users.
I would like to point out that we deaf-blind users are paying for features
in
the BrailleNote Classic and mPower that we can't sue (i.e. speech output,
media
player, FM radio). we deaf-blind users pay the same price for the mPower
that
blind people do and we don't ask for a discount for these features we
can't
use. Therefore it would be helpful to have access to materials that blind
users have, such as the audio tutorial and installation instructions that
contain tactile (brailledisplay) clues.
Barbara Wagreich
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