Hello! The biggest real limitation of the Sense notetakers is that they don't recognize cookies of any kind! I wish they did! One cannot submit a Schwans order from the Schwans site as an example.
Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Hall" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 8:56 AM Subject: Re: [GWN] Braille Sense and its limits I agree, but simple things that most wordprocessors have, like a word count, and adding a couple functions to programs like the Database Manager do not seem outside the realm of possibility for this device; if you can add a database field at the end, just load all fields into an array or stack/queue and allow insertion of a new element/node. Word count code is simple. I can see big things, like enabling dhtml, being long processes that may couse many problems, but small additions and modifications to programs already in place seem reasonable. I also agree that a notetaker is not a pc replacement, but I know people who have only a notetaker; it can already do a lot, and many use it as their primary machine, even if they have a pc, because it allows them to work in Braille and have a clean, easy interface instead of using a computer keyboard and relying on a screenreader that may not read applications. Have a great day, Alex New email address: [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: Joseph Lee To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 1:07 AM Subject: [GWN] Braille Sense and its limits Hi folks, Nice to see a steady flow of suggestions about Braille sense. Some of them included foreign language support, word count and so forth. Although they were good ones, one needs to consider if it is worth it to put it on a device that has technical limits. Not that I am saying that BS family has outward limits, but in terms of specs and OS, it does have limits. First, as mike said, Braille Sense is a PDA. In other words, Braille Sense is meant to be PC companion, not a PC replacement (although I've seen some people mistaken it for such). In other words, not all things that can be done on a computer cannot be done under Braille Sense. For instance, not all websites that a Windows XP machine can handle cannot be navigated using Braille Sense. On the hardware side, the line between PC and PDA is becoming less differentiated - at least when BS is concerned. Braille Sense has one of the good processors for mobile devices, as well as sufficient memory to run applications and store useful data. But in terms of software side, it is not. Braille Sense runs under Windows CE - not regular Wihndows, folks. Windows CE is a completely different OS architecture than Windows NT family. Thus, it has limits, such as 32 MB of virtual memory and 32 process limit (this is the reason why BS would only allow seven programs maximum). As for virtual memory, I need solid evidence of things such as browser crashing or other slow downs before explaining what exactly it is and its limits (if demands requires me to, but right now I am going through summer school in college). Also, as I have stressed on another list, writing code for embedded devices such as Braille Sense carries different requirements. One needs to be careful about memory usage, processor architecture and so forth. Just because we imagine things in our heads and pray that it will appear out of nowhere does not mean that it will happen soon - one needs to plan, compose, debug, recompile and release the software (if stable enough) numerous times before a suggestion or feature request will work properly. Also, it seems that the manual is wrong about type of USB port. Braille Sense does NOT have USB OTG (On-the-go) technology at all. All it has are one USB host and one USB client, that's all. If it had OTG port, theoretically Braille Sense can work with two USB client devices at once - one on BS's own uSB host port, another one on the USB client port with a dedicated adapter. As to what USB OTG standard is, I'll compose the article in question when there is enough demand. For those who have seen me on other lists, you would know what OTG is and my article style. Cheers, Joseph P.S. Alex, do you agree with me on this one?
