If you build it, I will buy! -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alex Parks Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 7:10 PM To: BN Mailing List 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 ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
