I agree. My goal for years, and my main reason for going into my field of
study, was to work for HW writing programs for the bn, and it has always
been my hope that an SDK would one day be available that would let me start
writing programs. Imagine having more games available than just z-games;
keysoft-specific card games, Battleship, and more... and those would just be
the practice programs coming from the people starting to use the SDK. Then
we get a timer instead of just a stopwatch, maybe, depending on how deep
into keysoft we can get, things like creating a keybase database from a csv
file instead of having to create the database ahead of time, and other
improvements we have long wanted but never gotten. I am not talking about
huge changes like fixing Word support (that has to come from Microsoft), but
many other options, aside from the few I have put here, would be possible,
and all it would take is someone, or a few people, with this SDK writing,
testing, and releasing the programs. Best of all, if the person did not want
to, they would not have to charge anything; at the very least, they could
charge much less than the $200 per upgrade we currently pay for. I can
imagine each card game costing $5 or $10, for example, and that cost would
only be there to cover the initial cost of the SDK that the programmer had
to pay.
All this opportunity, though, will never happen since hw refuses to allow
its products to be expanded by the very people who use them on a daily
basis. I, for one, would sign any petition put forth to ask hw to offer an
SDK. Even if it was offered with the understanding that use of any programs
made using it that cause damage would not be covered by tech support/repair,
I would be fine with that. There is very little you can do to a bn that
re-installing keysoft will not fix, and I would expect the SDK to have an
emulator for testing your program before you ever put it onto an actual bn
product. HW, please reconsider your stance on this important issue!
Have a great day,
Alex
New email address: [email protected]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]>
To: "'Alex Hall'" <[email protected]>; "'BN List'"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 20:12
Subject: RE: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
WHAT!!! NO WAY!!! We need something more drastic than this...
This is illogical: how can a product grow and exhibit potential when the
very way of doing it is closed? We have people who are willing to do it
and
sacrifice time and effort for it. I am shocked by this revelation. Folks,
we
need another petition... NO individualized and open SDK, no potential for
BrailleNote for future engineers!
For me (and for possibly others), the prospect of programmability of
BrailleNote has been the driving force behind some of us taking computer
science as our college major. The reason why I decided to specialize in
assistive technology and embedded system all came forth because of
BrailleNote. If a very device was used as an inspiration, I view that it
needs further enlightenment via an easy to access, open programming
environment where professionals and students can showcase their
engineering
talent. Also, the overall perception and experience of using KeySoft can
be
improved if useful third-party programs from professionals and students
(who
are dedicated to BN) are released. I do understand the company's message
that it needs to protect things from competetors. However, for things like
this, I view that availability of the KeySoft SDK would be a far better
solution for our future.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Joseph
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alex Hall
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:52 PM
To: BN List
Subject: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
Hi all,
Just so everyone knows: I just talked with tech support through email,
asking about pricing and availability of an SDK for keysoft, like the one
that Sendero Group uses. They said that the SDK cannot be lisenced to
individuals (the way they put it was "no public SDK"), and there are no
plans, as far as my rep is aware, to change that. Tech support was
apparently unmoved by my point that so many little things that users would
like could be solved this way, like metric converters, extensions to
keyplus, or a countdown timer. So, sadly, no SDK for private use, and no
plans to ever offer one. Sorry to all that would like to get ahold of
one...
including myself!
Have a great day,
Alex
New email address: [email protected]
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