Hi, Actually, I understand where Sammie is coming from. To some, BN would be the "only computer" machine availible, while for others, we have a PC with BN as a companion device. The whole point of this FAQ series and the survey was to find out the level of understanding of listers on current trends, as well as to clarify points raised on certain messages from user perspective. We may say that BN is a computer - in fact, it is if we look at tech specs and investigate how it does its work. But in terms of usability and interface, it is not. As some of us said, BN could not possibly qualify as a fully-fledged computer mostly because it does not do what a typical PC would perform, such as advanced graphics and hardware resources - in fact, anything that we think a computer can do (from sighted perspective), BN cannot perform. Not that it does not have a microprocessor or cannot perform tremendous number of advanced calculations - the processor inside the BrailleNote series can perform advanced calculations; only that the interface used on these devices make it seem as though we cannot perform things such as giving you a superb unit converter or allow a cellular modem to work out of the box. For these kinds of tasks, some of us say that it is doable provided that if there is commitment from HW, hence the words, "Apex exhibits potential." Any embedded system that exhibit computational behavior, such as those with microprocessors and can be programmed would be considered a computer. If we examine a BrailleNote from this angle, we can safely conclude that BN is in fact a computer - a specialized computer that performs such and such task. But the problem is, "what if we take account the features or interfaces that this computer system exhibit?" If this question is considered, some would say that it's just a special PDA or a notetaker for the blind. PDA's themselves are computers in a sense - having the ability to be programmed - whether to fix bugs or add user suggestions, and if we examine various notetakers, we can say that it is a specialized computer system using different interface strategies to perform tasks. In this context, we can say that BN is just a specialized computer. Further, if we examine this, we arrive at this question, "what can we do to improve the usability of this computer system?" I heard there is a specialized study in computer science called human-computer interaction - where people study ways in improving usability or interaction of a computer system with humans i.e. users. In my opinion, the best way to improve user experience is if we users ourselves do something about it - adding useful suggestions, finding detailed bugs and giving back to user community. Hope it does not offend anyone... If there were misinformation, I apologize. Cheers, Joseph
-----Original Message----- From: Nicole B. Torcolini at Home [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 7:49 PM To: sammie clay Subject: Re: Computer or Not? was Re: [Braillenote] FAQ 4 (technical): What isand what is not possiblewith a BrailleNote? Sammie, Please excuse me, but, although it may not have been intended as so, I found part of your message to be quite offensive. Nicole ----- Original Message ----- From: "sammie clay" <[email protected]> To: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 7:33 PM Subject: RE: Computer or Not? was Re: [Braillenote] FAQ 4 (technical): What isand what is not possiblewith a BrailleNote? > > Hello, > I don't know what the writer's reasons are for objecting to calling the > Bn or Apex a computer, but I know what my reason is. In the past, > whenever I've complained about something my device won't do, Someone on > the list tells me to get a computer. After I explain that I don't have a > computer and don't know how to use one, someone then reminds me that the > BN is made to compliment a computer and I should not expect it to perform > as a personal desk top, laptop, or notebook computer. I realize that by > definition, the BN is a computer, but until it can do for a visually > impaired or totally blind person what a PC does for the sighted world, > it's still just a very expensive device that can't even do what a cell > phone can do. > It can't describe the picture in the E-mail I receive; it can't read PDF > or HTML files without help from the sporadic working of > the internet; it has difficulty navigating dialogue boxes; it's limited in > the size and amount of attachments it can send; I haven't been able to > download music with mine (listen to music, but not download it to a card; > currently it can't download my requests from the National Library Service; > and many other things a PC or cell phone does. I personally would > appreciate all you "GEEKS" who use a PC with your PDA to stop telling us > what these devices can do. Why not spend your time trying to create > devices which will do what you say our BN's can do and sell them to us > much cheaper than we buy our "ALMOST" computers for now. > That's my opinion of the BN being a computer, and I agree with the > writer! > > Sammie D. Clay > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected] > To: "'Nicole B. Torcolini at Home'" > <[email protected]>,<[email protected] > Date sent: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:11:59 -0800 > Subject: RE: Computer or Not? was Re: [Braillenote] FAQ 4 (technical): > What isand what is not possiblewith a BrailleNote? > > 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 > ___ 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
