Hi folks,
Throughout the weekend, I've enjoyed reading numerous interesting
posts WITHOUT responding to any of them. Whoever it was, thanks
for telling us that Bluetooth headsets do work with BrailleNote
with an audio adapter (something that I should write on my wiki
site). While reading some messages about BrailleNote falling
behind some other products, it gave me an urge to write the
following post:
* Some Korean users of both BrailleNote and Braille Sense told me
(in Korean) that both devices exhibit slower responses when used
for extended time. This is because of some memory issues with
Windows CE's memory manager (both for BrailleNote's CE 4.2 and
Braille Sense's CE 5.0). So in terms of slower response, there's
no difference there.
* I believe that BrailleNote is the device (apart from PM series)
that has a lot of potentials. The "easter eggs" that I and
others have talked about are just a fraction of features offered
by BrailleNote. Besides, just like any other devices, more and
more potentials of this device, such as using Bluetooth headsets
with an audio adapter and new "hidden" commands are being
discovered every day. So because of that, even though the
BrailleNote family may seem falling behind on the outside, in the
inside, it still has potential to compete today.
* Also, because of the operating system involved, BrailleNote is
classified as PC companion devices. Technically PK fits this
role, but mPower sometimes acts on this role as well (technically
a handheld computer). This means that not all features that we
want to see cannot be implemented (due to internal limitations;
in other words, even though the users want to see more and more
suggestions, because of how the operating system works, it cannot
be integrated easily). As for the deeper meaning of this
statement, consult the previous posts that I (and others) have
sent to the list regarding this topic (it could be found on the
archives).
Now, few answers:
* The other way of using subfolders is to press RIGHT ARROW
(SPACE with dots 5-6) at the name of the folder. Then KeySoft
should display, "subdirectories of (folder name)". The BT
equivalent to what Terri gave us is SPACE with T.
* I made a podcast as to what Antonio has described, with few
additional comments. ,go to www.blind-geek-zone.net, go to Audio
and search my name. There should be several audio files and one
of them should be called "Support Information Mode." As to how
this mode works as well as few more details about what the
commands mean, I'll try my best to write it as a separate post.
* As to the question of learning a product, I feel that it
depends on a person's skill, willingness and how this person was
used to using a computer. If the people are comfortable with
textual interface, then I think BrailleNote would be easier. If
someone prefers few graphics with some braille symbols, then
Braille Sense would be suitable. If a person has heart for
Pocket PC devices and to run other programs, then PAC Mate would
be the way to go (at least in my opinion). Also, all three
systems have flaws (all being embedded systems and run under
different versions of Windows CE) and advantages, and it is up to
the person who is learning it to try things out. And, for a
hint, all three systems run under Windows CE 5.2 or lower (none
of them has CE 6.0 technology yet).
* As to the reply technique, there is actually a story that
caused this change to happen. Before, if you reply to a message
on this list, the whole list will get it. But because of a
member (who is not here now) with his "behavior," it was changed
to current mode.
I have one more thing to say, but I'll say it when KeySoft 8.0 is
released - about "potential hacks" that we can use due to the new
features of KeySoft 8.0. Just to give you a hint, I can envision
being able to "fool" BrailleNote (like last time) to open
standard zip files (those that does not require password).
That's all I have today. Hope this post was useful.
Cheers,
Joseph
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