How do I contact the AFB Tech lab with feedback?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]>,"the-facts-machine"
<[email protected]
Date sent: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:41:49 -0400
Subject: AccessNote AFB's New Notetaker for your IOS Device
BlankThis is the announcement, it is not released yet.
"A person cannot survive as a true Spartan fan unless he is a bit of a
masochist and a very large optimist."
Steve
Lansing, MI
AccessNote: AFB's New Note Taker for Your iOS Device
Darren Burton and Ricky Kirkendall
The AFB Tech lab is excited to announce that AFB will soon be releasing
AccessNote, a note taker for your iPhone or other iOS device. AFB Tech,
in
conjunction
with FloCo Apps, LLC, has designed what is expected to be a
groundbreaking
productivity tool for people with vision loss, and developers plan for
its
launch
at the App Store later this summer.
AccessNote is a powerful and efficient note taker that takes advantage
of
the tremendous built-in accessibility of your iPhone, iPod Touch, or
iPad.
To
allow for much greater typing speed, increase accuracy, and permit
keyboard
commands, AccessNote is designed to be used with the Apple Wireless
Keyboard
(QWERTY) as well as wireless braille keyboards and displays. AccessNote
will
be completely compatible with VoiceOver and the iOS screen reader. It
can
be used without a keyboard, but a keyboard adds efficiency.
Description of AccessNote
Although there is not yet a final price point, AccessNote will be priced
under $30, and it will have many of the features found in traditional
note
takers
and accessible PDAs. AccessNote creates notes in the .TXT file format,
and
it can also import .TXT files from e-mail or Dropbox accounts. It is
designed
with a clean, simple interface that uses standard iOS design techniques,
so
its layout will be familiar to iOS device users.
The home screen is titled All Notes, which is the heading at the top of
the
screen. The next element is the "Add" button (for adding a new note)
followed
by the Search field. Next is the user's list of files and notes, which
includes a table index for quickly scrolling through notes. Finally,
there
are three
buttons at the bottom of the home screen: "Settings," "Favorites," and
"Help." Once the user is in a note, the screen includes a "Back" button
to
go back
to the All Notes screen as well as a "Review" button for going into a
read-only mode.
Some of the features designed into AccessNote include:
list of 7 items
• Compatibility with the Apple Wireless Keyboard and wireless braille
displays.
• Fast and efficient navigation.
• Powerful search features.
• Automatic saving and syncing with Dropbox files.
• Customized keyboard commands.
• A review feature.
• Options for larger text.
list end
Compatibility with the Apple Wireless Keyboard
Although typing on an iOS touchscreen is certainly accessible, it is not
nearly as efficient as using a traditional QWERTY keyboard, a primary
reason
for
designing AccessNote for use with the
Apple Wireless Keyboard
(available from Apple for $69). Another reason is due to how well the
Apple
Wireless Keyboard works with VoiceOver to control an iOS device. There
are
keyboard commands for nearly all of VoiceOver's gestures, including
swiping/flicking, using the rotor, and reading text. AccessNote will also
be
compatible
with wireless refreshable braille displays. So far, AccessNote has been
tested with the
BraillePen12 from Aroga,
which also has many commands for controlling an iOS device.
Fast and Efficient Navigation
Using the Apple Wireless Keyboard, users have several options for
navigating
a note. These options include navigating and reading by character, word,
line,
paragraph, page, or note. Users can also jump to a particular word or
phrase
with the Find feature, and users can also quickly jump to the top or
bottom
of a note. These navigation features also work on the device itself
using
standard and custom VoiceOver gestures, and most of the commands are
available
on wireless braille displays.
Powerful Search Features
AccessNote has two powerful features for searching notes: Search and
Find.
Search (found on the All Notes screen) is a global search tool used for
searching
for text throughout all of the user's files, and it can also search for
file
names. Find is used to search for text within the current note that is
open..
To activate the Find feature, users can use the Option + F command for
the
keyboard or a "double-tap and hold" gesture for use on the iOS device
itself.
Automatic Saving and Syncing with Dropbox Files
To avoid any data loss, all edits are automatically saved when typing in
a
note. AccessNote also syncs automatically with the user's Dropbox
account,
so
you have all your files all of the time.
Customized Keyboard Commands
The AFB Tech lab was able to create a handful of customized keyboard
commands for the Apple Wireless Keyboard. These commands include:
list of 6 items
• Option + C to create a new note.
• Option + R to rename a note.
• Option + F to search for text within a note.
• Option + P to search for a previous note.
• Option + O to move to the next note.
• Option + M to mark a note as a favorite.
list end
Although these custom commands have not yet been added for the wireless
braille displays, this could come in a future update.
The Review Feature
In case users simply want to read their notes (for example, when
studying
for an exam), there is a convenient "Review" button at the top of each
note..
When
using the Review feature, AccessNote is in a read-only mode, and thus,
users
don't have to worry about making any unwanted edits. There are also
"tilt"
gestures available when using the Review feature. Simply tilt the iOS
device
to the right to quickly switch to the next note or tilt it to the left
to
switch to the previous note.
Options for Larger Text
In Settings there is an option to choose the default text size. The
available sizes are 14 point, 18 point, and 22 point font. AccessNote
will
also work
with the Zoom feature built into iOS, but Zoom cannot be used at the
same
time as VoiceOver.
Your Feedback Matters
AFB Tech is very excited about AccessNote and has high hopes for its
release. Because Apple's iOS devices are very powerful, AFB Tech wants
to
take advantage
of that to allow students and professionals to use the same mainstream
device that their sighted peers are using. The developers, of course,
will
be looking
for feedback from those who purchase and use AccessNote, and they are
anxious to hear your reactions to the new note taker.
This of course turns the tables on the AFB Tech lab rats. For years,
those
in the AFB Tech product evaluation lab have been evaluating products
designed
by others and have never been known to pull any punches, so please let
the
lab have it if it has missed the mark. It is ready for the good, the
bad,
and
the ugly.
The AFB Tech lab appreciates the feedback received from readers using
the
AccessWorld app, which was the first iOS app AFB Tech developed in
conjunction
with FloCo Apps, LLC. The developers added several ideas provided by the
readers to the AccessWorld app and hope to do the same for AccessNote
upon
its
highly anticipated release.
Stay tuned to AccessWorld and the AFB Blog for announcements of
AccessNote's
official release date.
"A person cannot survive as a true Spartan fan unless he is a bit of a
masochist and a very large optimist."
Steve
Lansing, MI
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