Ah, thanks a lot for the information about Windows CE and the BrailleNote series of note takers.
 
In addition to the list you provide, I'd also mention the line of smartphones running the Symbian OS that work with the Talks screen reader from Nuance or Mobile Speak from code Factory. This is my PDA of choice at the moment. You can download applications for these platforms, but they aren't all going to be screen reader friendly. I don't use a braille display at the moment, but I believe there is some limited support for braille displays.
 
There are also  versions of Talks and Mobile Speak that run on the Windows Mobile platform.
 
Although they're going to be a bit bigger, there's also a whole slew of netbooks that will run your favorite Windows or Linux based screen reader.
 
--
Christopher
[log in to unmask]

 

 

From: David Chittenden [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 3:02 AM
To: Christopher Chaltain
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] FW: [Missouri-l] Fw: [Nfb-announce] HumanWare Launches the BrailleNoteApex

Hello,

Windows CE is not Pocket PC. It is a nuts and bolts interface which is used in everything from various consumer electronics and AV equipment to auto computer control circuitry. Keysoft is the user interface and the only program suite which can run on the device except for the Sendero GPS engine.

The PACMate is a Windows Mobile Pocket PC device. This means it, like all other Pocket PC devices, must meet certain specifications set by Microsoft. The platform is open and can run third party applications. What Freedom Scientific did was write a proprietary screen reader for their specific configuration of a Pocket PC device. Not all programs for Pocket PC devices are accessible to Pocket Jaws just as not all programs which can run on a Windows computer are accessible for any of the screen readers.

If you would prefer a completely off-the-shelf Pocket PC, you can purchase Code Factory's Mobile Speak Pocket and load it on the Pocket PC of your choice. Then, if you have one of the 22 Bluetooth braille displays or braille display/keyboard combinations, you can have functionality which is quite similar to that of the PACMate as long as your display/keyboard is within 10 - 15 feet (3 - 5 metres) of the Pocket PC.

The IPhone is the first full PDA smart phone which has a revolutionary built-in touch-screen manipulated screen reader in every unit. If it supported Bluetooth keyboards and braille displays, it would quite readily fill many of the needs of a large number of blind people who use PDAs. As it stands currently, a large number of blind people are intimidated by the concepts of such a revolutionary device. That said, there are several hundred blind people who have switched to the IPhone and use it daily as their primary or only PDA.

Unlike the Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices, the IPhone only permits apps (programs) which have been approved by Apple. Some people say this is good because it allows Apple to ensure the integrity of the IPhone. Others say that this is Apple being too invasive and proprietary. Pocket PC, on the other hand, allows any programs which people write for it. The programs do not need to be approved by Microsoft.

David Chittenden, MS, CRC, MRCAA


Christopher Chaltain wrote:

I don't use the BrailleNote, and I'm not particularly interested in the BrailleNote Apex, but this post confuses me. The announce says that the Apex runs Windows CE 6.0, which is just as proprietary as the OS that runs on the PacMate, so how is the Apex more proprietary than the PacMate? Is the Apex locked down, like the iPhone,  so that you can't install other Windows CE applications on it? The announce also says that the Apex runs KeySoft, which is their productivity suite, so how are they not telling us that the Apex runs their proprietary software? Again, how is this different from the PacMate, which runs JAWS and other FS proprietary software?
 

--
Christopher
[log in to unmask]

 

 

From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Harry Brown
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] FW: [Missouri-l] Fw: [Nfb-announce] HumanWare Launches the BrailleNoteApex

Now, let's see here.
Humanware wants folks to buy the Braille note Apex.
what they're not telling you all is, the braille note is proprietary, and uses proprietary software.
I think I'll go for a pacmate, because at least it is not proprietary, and will work with any windows software!
Harry
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]" moz-do-not-send="true">Peter Altschul
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]" moz-do-not-send="true">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:04 AM
Subject: [VICUG-L] FW: [Missouri-l] Fw: [Nfb-announce] HumanWare Launches the BrailleNoteApex

----- Original Message -----
From: "HumanWare" <[log in to unmask]>; <by way of David Andrews
<[log in to unmask]>>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 10:26 PM
Subject: [Nfb-announce] HumanWare Launches the BrailleNote Apex




<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/r>
HumanWare logo. The power is in your hands



BrailleNote Apex - The thinnest, lightest notetaker available.


(a larger text-only version is available at
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/y>http://www.humanware.
ca/web/en/newsletter/77-t.htm)



HumanWare Launches the BrailleNote Apex - Shipping December 1st, 2009

Longueuil, November 11, 2009 -- HumanWare has
launched the BrailleNote Apex, the thinnest and
lightest notetaker especially for professionals and students who are blind.

Powerful and sleek at just 2 cm (0.78") thick and
weighing only 812 grams (1.8 lbs), the
BrailleNote Apex is designed for portability and
functionality. Intelligent ergonomics have always
been the benchmark of HumanWare products, and the
BrailleNote Apex performs with comfort and
agility. A comfortable full-size Braille keyboard
makes notetaking quick and easy, while
HumanWare's signature thumb keys make extensive reading effortless.
Student in a classroom using a BrailleNote Apex BT


"As a proud supporter of Braille literacy,
HumanWare is committed to developing products
that help blind people to fully participate in
the quickly evolving, digital world around them.
Because we believe that communication is the key
to success, we strive to put every opportunity in
the hands of our customers with Braille products
that meet their needs every day. The BrailleNote
Apex puts the power of digital communication at
everyone's fingertips," says Gilles Pepin, CEO of HumanWare.

Added horsepower and multiple storage options
define the BrailleNote Apex's productivity with
its 8 GB of internal memory and support for high
capacity SDHC cards, along with 4 high-speed USB
2.0 ports, built-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth.

The advanced technology is driven by the new
Windows CE 6.0 operating system which enables the
expansion of KeySoft, a comprehensive,
user-friendly suite of productivity applications
with feature-rich content that is 100%
accessible. This powerful software combination
will facilitate future enhancements and ongoing
improvements in response to user requests.

Almost ten years after the introduction of the
BrailleNote, the revolutionary BrailleNote Apex
is the ninth notetaking device in a line of
products that has been helping people who are
blind to be a vital part of the global information age since 2000.

For the latest news and information about
BrailleNote products, subscribe to the
BrailleNote Newswire at
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/j>www.humanware.com.
And for more details about the BrailleNote Apex,
visit
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/t>www.humanware.com/ape
x.

About HumanWare

HumanWare
(<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/i>www.humanware.com)
is the global leader in assistive technologies
for the print disabled. HumanWare provides
products to people who are blind or have low
vision and students with learning disabilities.
HumanWare offers a collection of innovative
products, including BrailleNote, the leading
productivity device for the blind in education,
business and for personal use; the Victor Reader
product line, the world's leading digital
audiobook players; the SmartView family of
handheld and desktop electronic magnifiers; and
myReader2, HumanWare's unique "auto-reader."


See the product at:

November 11 2009

QAC Sight Village London
Kensington Town Hall, Hornton St, W8 7NX
November 11 2009, 10am - 4.30pm

November 12-15, 2009

The Biennial Getting In Touch With Literacy
Conference at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa, California


Hear about the Apex in the next couple of days:

November 13th

ACB Radio, an internet radio station sponsored by
the American Council of the Blind, will air a
2-hour live special program featuring Matthew
Janasauskas, HumanWare's Director of Technical Support on Friday, November
13

Time: 9:00 PM. EST. Listeners will have an
opportunity to call and ask individual questions
regarding the BrailleNote Apex. To listen, please
visit
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/d>http://www.acbradio.o
rg/mainstream

November 16th

Accessible World Tek Talk will presents the Apex Braillenote, November 16,
2009
Time: 5:00 PM PST, 6:00 PM MST, 7:00 PM CST, and 8:00 PM EST
and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 1:00 GMT

Select The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room at:
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/h>http://www.accessible
world.org
Enter your first and last names on the sign-in screen.

November 24th

HumanWare has scheduled an Apex introduction webinar on Tuesday, November
24th

Time: 7 PM. EST on
<http://hcamarketing.cmail3.com/t/y/l/ujykhr/hludepi/k>http://accessibleeven
t.com/



For more information about these or other
HumanWare products, please contact us:

Canada
call toll free: 1-888-723-7273
Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]

UK/Europe
Tel: +44 1933 415 800
Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]

Australia/Asia
Tel: +61 2 9686 2600
Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]

U.S.A
call toll free 1-800-722-3393 or (925) 680-7100
Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]

Media contact:
Nicolas Lagace
Tel.: (450) 463-1717
E-mail: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]



C2009 HumanWare.
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