Hi, As a follow-up: what's your reasoning behind your thoughts? Cheers, Joseph
-----Original Message----- From: Nicole B. Torcolini at Home [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 4:02 PM To: Joseph Lee; [email protected] Subject: Computer or Not? was Re: [Braillenote] FAQ 4 (technical): What is and what is not possiblewith a BrailleNote? Personally, I do not like calling the bn a computer. Yes, it has many of the software and hardware components of a computer, but I still do not consider it a computer. Just throwing that out there. Thoughts? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 3:43 PM Subject: [Braillenote] FAQ 4 (technical): What is and what is not possiblewith a BrailleNote? > Hi folks, > > yet another FAQ post - mostly in connection with words posted on the list > about CE6 and other things: > > 1. Can BrailleNote run programs? > yes and no. BrailleNote will run programs made by HumanWare or ones > Humanware licenses its SDK or development tools - at this time, Sendero > Group is the only one. There are provisions to allow rapid creation of > third-party programs, but the key that is missing is the actual > development > tools that programmers need to write applications that'll run on the > BrailleNote. > > 2. Can a desktop program be run on a BrailleNote? > No. Windows CE devices uses slightly modified programming tools, or API > (Application Programming Interface) different from regular Windows or > desktops. if you attempt to run these programs, you'll get a message > saying, > "program is not a valid win32 application." > > 3. Can VOIP clients be implemented, or possible to be used by a > BrailleNote? > No - for now. There are numerous factors, including licensing, > availibility > and integration strategies involved when coming up with this client or > others. > > 4. Is it possible to work with unsupported devices? > Yes and no. If the unsupported device presents basic features that > BrailleNote can handle e.g. getting power from a USB port, presenting > storage options, etc., then it'll work with the device. If the unsupported > device presents nothing that BrailleNote can utilize, then it'll not > work - > for the time being. The condition here is if a device driver for that > specific device or a family of devices is created, which then allows a > BrailleNote to communicate with that device. However, there are devices > which requires a firmware update, such as possible use of SDXC (Secure > Digital EXtended Capacity) cards which requires flashing (installing) new > firmware. > > 5. Can a user use a cellular connection kit i.e. USB cell modems? > No for the time being. It requires creation of a device driver that allows > a > BrailleNote to recognize that celular modems are just a family of > connectivity devices - much like 56K modems. > > 6. Can one charge a cell phone with the BrailleNote? > Yes (confirmed). > > 7. Can a user change boot priority or other system options? > No. A bootloader is a special program or a function that allows a device > to > start; BrailleNote's bootloader presents options such as formatting system > partitions, performing tests on hardware and so forth. Although one can > access some functionality of bootloader or read the debug message from the > bootloader, there is no way of changing things such as boot priority, > network debugging and others. The most useful way of using the bootloader > (particularly on the mPower) is to upgrade KeySoft via bootloader menu or > viewing technical information that comes out of debug port (which happens > to > be the serial port). > > 8. Can one write program code or HTML files on the BrailleNote? > Yes and no. Yes, since one can use text document (ASCII format) to write > program code or HTML code (be aware of some formatting problems). No, > because there is no way of testing the code - apart from HTML or other web > code, since one can save the file and open it using KeyWeb. > > 9. Can a user do absolutely anything with a BrailleNote? > Conditionally. There are things that users can try out, such as connecting > some devices; but just because BrailleNote is a computer does not mean > it'll > be a computer replacement. > > 10. What are things that Windows CE 6 can bring to keySoft? > It all depends on what HumanWare thinks of it. Surely KeySoft can take > advantage of better memory management. Other potentials include more > secure > Wi-Fi via WPA2 (since CE6 supports it), running more programs and so > forth. > > Hope this helps. if you were unsure of answers given or have any comments, > feel free to let me (and others) know. > Cheers, > Joseph > > > ___ > 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 > ___ 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
