Hello everyone,
Since Joseph had to leave early, the chat continued for a bit.
Therefore, Joseph asked me to post a brief summary of Session 1
of the BrailleNote chat. So, while I would strongly encourage
people to listen to the recording, below I will outline the
topics that were discussed, along with a brief description of
each (Joseph or Alex may post more detailed summaries later).
We covered a number of topics, including:
Word 2007/2010 support: HumanWare have been promising 2007
support for a long time now and 2010 is on the way. With the
release of the Apex, with it's improved hardware and upgraded
version of Windows CE, the possibility of improved word support
is greater than ever. HumanWare have stated in the past that
they will release a free upgrade for Apex users to include
improved Word support. The question now is, when? (listen to
recording for more information)
SDK: Another big topic that's been lerking around for a while now
on the list and was guaranteed to come up. A lot of programmers,
such as Joseph Lee and Alex Hall, would love to be able to write
programs for the Apex. However, in order to build the
applications into the interface, KeySoft, a Software Development
Kit (SDK) is needed. Unfortunately, HumanWare has not released
this and therefore only HumanWare can develop utilities and
applications for the BrailleNote. We discussed the possibility
of having an apps store system, rather like apple, which would
then give HumanWare some control over the apps but would still
give developers a chance to develop apps for KEYSoft. (listen to
recording for more information)
KeySoft: This one may seem a little vague. Following on from the
SDK discussion, we were discussing the possibility of making
KeySoft an open platform (this means it would be easier to
develop and install third-party apps) or even dropping KeySoft
altogether for a different interface. However, this seems rather
unlikely with the release of the Apex (which still uses KeySoft)
plus the fact that KeySoft is unique to HumanWare and the
braillenote family of products. (listen to recording for more
information)
VOIP/Skype: We discussed the possibility of implementing a Skype
client into KeySoft. While it seems that with the expanded
memory and improved hardware of the Apex, voice chat through apps
such as Skype could be possible. However, the quality would not
be particularly good quality. The other point is that while it
would be a nice feature to have, it is not essential and
therefore is probably not very high on HumanWare's priority list.
Connection Issues And Writing HTML: I mentioned briefly at the
end of the session about some issues that I was having where the
Apex would freeze if the ac adapter was not plugged in while
going online and how it is impossible to write HTML on the
BrailleNote Apex at this time. (listen to recording for more
information)
That was the end of the recorded session, but at the end we
briefly discussed the microphone and speakers on the Apex: The
Apex seems to have a much better microphone and speakers. The
Apex's microphone seems to have a lot less interference and the
Apex has sterio speakers. I played a recording I did of me
typing and compared to the mPower, it sounds a lot better.
At this time, the recording has been uploaded to the PBWorks site
(http://www.braillenote.pbworks.com) but it has not been added to
the podcast radio section; you must click on "pages and files"
(or something like that) to reach the file until it is
categorised.
Remember that this is only from session 1 of the 2 BrailleNote
chat sessions that will be held today. Session two will be held
at 4PM Pacific, 5PM Mountain, 6PM Central, 7PM Eastern and 11PM
GMT (midnight UK time). Due to the fact that I am in the UK, I
will be unable to attend the second session and therefore will
not be able to offer KeyChat during the second session.
That's about all for now; another reminder email will be sent
before the start of the second session and then more summaries
will be posted.
Robert Cummings (message sent from BrailleNote Apex)
---
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