Hi, I see your point. As for assistive tech in general, I do have that one as my final research area. But as it is, I (and others) would like to start contributing to small things before moving onto big things. I plan to teach computer science to future students, but as it turns out, the best way to teach it is via trials and errors (I learned this rule during my C++ class). As for the petition, if we phrase it right, we can hit a jackpot - the text of the petition should be simplified so that even a newbie can understand it. Cheers, Joseph
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joe Orozco Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 5:32 PM To: 'BN List' Subject: RE: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft Well, let's be a little reasonable guys. It seems a bit risky to base your studies on the presumption that you will work for a specific company, especially with one where you already know the operating system is a closed one. It seems your genius should be built to help improve assistive technology as a whole rather than the features of a single product. A petition is unlikely, since most people will probably not know what SDK stands for, let alone how to use it to add features to the device. I follow Alex and Joseph diligently, because your input is always solid, but I am a little surprised at the both of you for putting all your eggs in one basket. Joe Orozco "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."--Max Lucado -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alex Hall Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 8:23 PM To: Joseph Lee; 'BN List' Subject: Re: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft 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] > > > ___ > Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. > If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a > copy to the list as well. > > 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 > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.426 / Virus Database: 270.14.91/2542 - Release Date: 12/04/09 > 07:32:00 > ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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 __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4661 (20091204) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4661 (20091204) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.426 / Virus Database: 270.14.91/2542 - Release Date: 12/04/09 19:34:00 ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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
