Hi Alex.
Anyone that has been on this list for a micro second or longer
knows your outstanding capabilities!
On a guess they will be lining up to tap into your amazing
knowledge base and sensational ability for foresight!
I'll happily take on the role as your Manager!
Peter.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Hall" <[email protected]
To: "Joe Orozco" <[email protected]>,"'BN List'"
<[email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 20:45:22 -0500
Subject: Re: [Braillenote] No SDK for Keysoft
I gave the wrong impression, then. My main motivation for
getting into
computers was to help improve the product I have used just about
every day
for almost exactly seven years now, however I am not under the
impression
that hw is my only choice, or that it is even possible. Ever
since ks7.2, I
have been less impressed with hw, and that has only continued,
mainly
because of their poor PR. I want to do anything with my computer
knowledge
that will help assistive tech in general, but part of my wanting
to get into
the notetaker circle is that there are already many people
producing set and
script files for jaws and other screen readers, making accessible
programs
and websites, producing podcasts on how to use products, and so
on. The
major area, in my view, that has not yet been helped by the
private sector
is the notetaker nitch, mainly because no development tools are
available
(excepting Win Mobile for Pac Mate). HW could be the first to
offer such a
powerful set of tools, yet they refuse with no explanation. I
know I am not
owed any explanation by them, but it would still be good to hear
a
well-written email explaining why they do not want to offer an
SDK. So far,
all explanations have been rumors, with one exception that I
think I
remember.
Have a great day,
Alex
New email address: [email protected]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Orozco" <[email protected]
To: "'BN List'" <[email protected]
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 20:32
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]
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