what do you think you are doing? Try using some of the features
you want to remove. People use the modem for dial-up
connections, a good example here is me. People also use the PC
card slot with an adaptor to work with CF cards. Try looking at
the BN from a country person's point of view.
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Parks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: BN Mailing List <[email protected]
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 20:09:44 -0500
Subject: [Braillenote] A Smaller Braillenote
Sarah:
Are you familiar with a BookPort? It is a small device, about
4x6x1 inches, that can play some media formats, as well as read
files such as brf, doc, txt, html, DAISY, and so on in a
synthesized voice. It allows the user to type in Braille. (It
has six rows of three keys, each a small, round, rubber key).
These types of keys can be used for BT models. I am honestly not
sure about QT; I just always figured that if you needed
Braille/speech, you could write Braille. Sorry to all you QT
users out there.
My friend has a Dell PDA (as I mentioned) with bluetooth, WIFI,
SD, CF, 64 MB rAM, 128 MB flash memory, a 624 megahertz X-Scale
processor (faster than the MPower), a built-in
speaker/microphone, and more. It is a bit less than the size of
a BookPort. Those BP keys I mentioned would fit on its surface
in the standard configuration that the BN family (excluding the
PK) has, with a spacebar in its usual spot with maybe three
contacts for the motherboard. (This would avoid the problem I
have with my MPower--the spacebar insists on getting stuck in the
down position on one side, rendering the whole unit unusable).
The frame could be widened to the PK's size to fit the Braille
display, but a voice-only version of this shouldn't have to be
much bigger than the PDA I was describing, allowing for the
features of the next several paragraphs.
Anyway, instead of the big thumb keys, just put in two joysticks.
Two, instead of one, so that many more functions can come from
the combinations--press both down, press one in and move the
other...
As far as Braille displays go, just use two 16 or 18 cell
displays, stacked. This would make it as wide as the PK, but
with as much or more display than the 32 cell displays. (Not to
mention the option of displaying two documents for note
taking...)
For media slots, the SD, CF, and USB hosts are fine. Just take
away the PCMCIA slot, as most WIFI cards are CF or SD, and, in my
experience, no basic electronics store sells PC cards anymore.
You could take out the 56K modem and replace it with DSL, or just
skip the whole thing. A new WIFI chip is the size of a dime, and
I imagine conventional transceivers are not much bigger, so they
could easily fit.
The speakers (Yes, two. When listening to audio with my MPower,
its a bit annoying to have all stereo effects cut off) and
microphone wouldn't be a problem.
As much as I hate to do this, compare the BN to the Braille Sense
by GW Micro. It is hardly bigger than an MPower, yet has PS/2,
ethernet, two CF slots, a built-in LCD display, a built-in
microphone, a VGA port, a 32-cell display, a multi-tasking
operating system (up to 7 tasks) with 64 MB RAM/ROM... While it
is still big, it fits much more into a space not much bigger than
an MPower, though I like the BN's MUCH more than any other
blindness PDA.
Well there. In a nutshell, the Braille PDA whose hardware,
software, and basic design I have been revising for the last
three or four years. I have an incomplete outline of what I have
so "creatively" named "The Ultimate BrailleNote". It has all the
hardware, its placement, and some of the software to be put into
this dream machine, and I've even measured everything to see if
it would fit.
Well, you asked how I would shrink a BN, and there it is. Sorry
it was so long, but there was no easier or less painful way to
explain.
Have a great day,
Alex
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