iSee - Using various technologies from a blind persons perspective.

This accessible power bank solves 3 questions for me:

Is the power bank charging?

How much charge is left in the power bank?

Is the devices Ive plugged in to the power bank charging?

Through audio tones and vibrations, the Energrid Accessible portable Power Bank answers all of these 3 questions/issues.

A fantastic product.

Available from:

https://www.atguys.com

In this demo, I show you how to select the various Mac OS accessibility options so that you can use your preferred access options at the Login Prompt.

Note - this demo was done on the current beta of Mac OS Catalina at the time of recording Feb 18 2020.

As I said in the demo, I havne't looked at the Login options for quite a while, it used to be just VoiceOver, but now it is all the Accessibility options.

In this demo, I show you how to split VoiceOver Speech away from System Sound so that if your recording you don't get VoiceOver being part of the recording.

Another situation could be, if your listening to a Zoom Webinar for example, you can more easally take notes when you have separate sound sources between the webinar and you listening to VoiceOver.

After I did my Scanjig demo, I learned that apparently they were no longer being produced, so I am assuming because I was able to buy mine through Amazon, that the units were sitting in a warehouse somewhere and being sold whilst stocks last as it were.

Consequently, I thought I should do a demo of a current stand which is still being produced: the Belkin portable  Tablet Stage Stand which you can use with your iPhone, iPad etc via apps for OcR, video magnification, Zoom conferencing or what ever you would like to use a great solid portable fold up stand for.

In the demo, I do refer to the Belkin Portable as the Belkin mini as this is what a lot of people refer to it as: i.e. in relation to the full size Belkin Tablet Stage Stand which I mention in the demo.

https://www.belkin.com/us/p/p-b2b118/

Canute Chat and demo.

 

D - Hi Eden, and welcome to the podcast to talk and demo the Canute.

 

E - Thanks David.  The Canute is basically a 9 line by 40 cell Braille reader.  It has very crisp Braille.

 

D - have you ever felt the Orbit Reader 20 Braille?

 

E - Yes.

This Braille is better.

 

D - How big is the actual unit? 9 lines of Braille sounds quite large.

 

E - a bit wider than a braille book, depth almost like a cassette player, and is an inch or so high.  The Braille lines are spaced a bit further apart like on a Braille Page, but not too much, you can get used to it.

I was concerned about the refresh rate for the 9 lines which takes about  10 seconds, but am quite used to this now.

 

D - What are the controls on the unit?

 

E - so a bit of a description.

On the front of the unit, there are 3 buttons from left to right they are Back, Menu, and Forward with their associated labels on the top face of the unit in Braille.

On the right hand side, the power chord is wright next to the Power button (on the left), and if you are not careful, when you pick up the unit with the chord attached, you can bump the Power button.

The left hand side has an HDMI port to view content on a screen, head phone jack (not yet used), full sized SD card slot where you put your sD card with your books, above this is 2 USB ports for using UsB sticks (you still need the SD card if you want bookmarks), and a UsB B port (not yet functional).

On the top of the unit, on the top left hand side, is the Help context menu, and below this you have 9 buttons labelled 1 to 9 (shaped as a triangle)and then a 0 button (shaped as a square): these buttons are used for bookmarking, and in the menu.

When you turn the unit on, it can take up to 50 seconds for it to start up, at one stage, everything goes quiet, you think there is something wrong, and then the Braille page you have been working on appears.

It does not have any onboard translation, reading both BRF and PEF files.

Works with various Braille translation software produced files.

 

D - So does that mean you could download any BRF book, and have the unit read it?

 

E - Absolutely yes.

I got it mainly for Braille music.  I was thinking about using it for general reading, but I’m concerned on how noisy the Braille display actually is, and annoying people around me.

Another point, it ways 6 to 7 pounds, so it is quite heavy.  Then again, it feels extremely well made.

Besides the noise of the Braille displays, I’m still concerned about bumping the power button when I don’t mean to.

 

D - So what do you actually get in the Box besides the actual unit?

 

E - you get a power chord (although I got two as I think the other one is for Europe), you get a quick start page in Braille and in print.  However, the full manual is online, and it is only 4 pages: it is a very simple device, it does what it is designed to do. 

 

D - when you turn the unit on, how much help does the Help button give you?

 

E - the Help button is for contextual help depending on what you are doing, and is quite useful.  I found I didn’t need to use it at all as the unit is so easy to use.

 

D - you mentioned the Menu button, besides accessing Bookmarks, what else can you do in the menu?

E - you can as you say go to bookmarks, the system menu, go to page number. Each Bookmark gives you a line of braille where that bookmark was set.

 

D - I’m assuming as since you can not  edit, there is no auto cursoring buttons above each of the actual Braille cells?

 

E - No.

The unit is for reading only.

The developer has said they will be working with NVDA and Google to see if they can get some drivers developed, but I honestly don’t know how this would work out: I can’t imagine using the unit for fast navigation with a screen reader.

I think people need to except the unit for what it it is, a multi line Braille reader.

 

D - I’m assuming that when you are  reading, your moving forward or back 9 lines (page)at a time?

 

E - Yes.

One thing I wish they could add would be for you to just go forward or back perhaps one line to get the rest of the line you were reading and didn’t fit within the 9 lines being displayed.

I’m still impressed by the refresh rate, quality of the Braille, build quality of the unit, and the fact there were no promises made beyond what the unit was designed to do: read a Braille file.

 

D - So let’s say your reading Harry Potter, can you move to the beginning of the book or skip through the book?

 

E - Yes.

You can jump to the beginning, but this is where Bookmarks become so important, as they are your navigation markers for the book.

 

D - Ok, do we want to do the crash test as it were and turn the unit on?

 

E - Yes.

When you first turn it on, it displays “please wait” on the first line, makes quite a bit of noise, clears then any previous displayed Braille, goes quiet as far as the display is concerned, and then finally shows the document in this case of what I was working on last.  Takes up to 50 seconds, but I’ve found this time can very.

Now I’m on my document with very crisp Braille.

 

D - So if I was a new user, what would pressing the Help button give me?

 

E - it shows you in Braille contextual help of what you can do as as this point I’m in my document and it explains how to navigate.

If I press the Help button again, I return to my document being displayed on the unit with all lines being refreshed.

 

D - So how long does it take to change between the current 9 lines and the next 9 lines?

 

E - Let’s try it.

Takes about 9 or so seconds with each line making a noise as it pops up with the Braille.

 

D - So that clicking sound I was hearing was each line popping up?

 

E - Yes.

I find putting the unit on something soft tends to deaden the sound a bit.

 

D - Did it take a while not reaching for the panning button on a single line Braille display since you could read 9 lines?

 

E - No.

I’ve always disliked panning on single line Braille displays.

With my QBraille, I can use auto scroll, but sometimes you want to be reading at your own pace, this allows you to do that.

 

D - Is the unit battery operated?

 

E - Sadly no.

Having a battery inside would add more weight, and I don’t think it is the sort of thing you drop in your bag and flick out at a moments notice again due to size and weight.

I think we are a bit spoiled with all the portable solutions we currently have on the market.

 

D - What type of support have you gotten from where you purchased the unit with any issues you may have had?

 

E - I haven’t had any issues.

Usually when I get a new device, I can work out fairly quickly if anything is going wrong, this system has been excellent.

All of my questions were answered before I purchased the unit.

The only thing I wish the unit would have come with would have been some type of case.

 

D - Yes, that is a lot of Braille cells to keep clean.

When you have been reading your music Braille, how have you found reading on the 9 lines?

 

E - it has been very good.

I mess around playing the piano and harp.

I can actually use two lines to read the correct music notation on different lines which I couldn’t really do on a single line Braille display.

 

D - I was thinking about that USB B port you mentioned, I wonder if this is for connecting the unit to a PC so you can transfer files across.

 

E - It doesn’t work at the moment.

It could be used for that purpose.

This is very early days, and what it does, is very good.

Compared to the Orbit Reader 20 cells, this is an overall cheaper Braille display cels wise.

 

D - Yes agree.  It isn’t that hard any way to stick files on a SD card or UsB stick and use them on the unit.

 

E - Yes.

You do need some basic computer skills to copy the files on to a Sd card or USB stick.  However, you could always get someone else to put the files on to a Sd card etc for you.

 

D - So any final thoughts? Who is the Canute best for?

 

E - Good for:

musicians, maths, programmers, and reading/literacy.

 

D - So Eden, can you turn it off, I just want to hear what it does?

 

E - Yes.

Its now saying please wait, making a chunk chunk sound, and now I think it’s done.

I fond I have to wait for a minute or so to make sure its off.

Main hint is not to press the Power button again, as it’ll turn back on, and you’ll have to turn it off again.

 

D - Great.  Thanks for the chat, I think we covered a fair bit.

If people wanted to get in contact with you, is Twitter the best?

 

E - Yes.

Twitter would be good.

It is a bit long, My Twitter address is:

Linnea710420.

 

D - Thanks for that, and thank you for coming on to the program.

 

E - you are  welcome.

This is the first demo of flying the Tello Edu Drone using Swift Playgrounds, the Tello Space Template, and VoiceOver.

As with my Dash Robot series, the Tello apps remain inaccessible to VoiceOver users, hence Swift Playgrounds.

Note - Swift Playgrounds only runs on an iPad.  In this initial demo, I am already inside the Tello Space Template going through the first instruction set, you download the template inside Swift Playgrounds and its free.

Enjoy the demo, more to come!!!!

In this demo, I show you how easy it is to customise your own VoiceOver gestures in iOS 13.

In the demo, to start off with when I am showing you my custom gestures, my Home button function is already set to 2 finger swipe left to save a bit of time whilst I go through the other 3 custom VoiceOver gestures.

In this demo, I show you how easy it is to navigate the menu driven self voicing Guide Connect software from Dolphin Systems using a physical Remote Control.

This software is excellent for folks who don't want the complexity of learning the computer, application, and screen reader, all they need to know is how to navigate and use Guide Connects simple menu driven structure.

Besides using the Remote Control, you can also use a mouse, touch screen (such as a Surface Pro) or the keyboard or any combination of the whole lot grin.

 

Enjoy

I know the Scanjig has been around for quite a while, but this is the first time I've played with one in

Australia.

 

Allows papers to be scanned via portrait mode or when tilted, allows books to be also scanned (not recommended for tablets in this mode).

 

About the size and thickness of an oldish scanner (eg Canon LIDE 200), made of white plastic, easy to assemble, and fits comfortably in a computer bag.

 

I used the Scanjig with my iPhone via the Seeing AI app with the Document Channel, and once placed on the stand, started the process of scanning straightaway once it was in the correct position (as I explain in the demo).

 

I purchased this Scanjig from Amazon for about $75 US.

 

For more info and a manual, you can go to:

http://www.scanjig.com

QwerkyWriter S Typewriter Podcasting Notes

 

Product name: QwerkyWriter S Typewriter

 

Manufacturer: Qwerky Toys

 

Website: http://www.qwerkywriter.com

 

Email: [email protected]

 

The Qwerkywriter S Typewriter was inspired by the old fashion manual mechanical typewriters with the first version (the Qwerkywriter) being available in 2015.

 

The QwerkyWriter S Typewriter was available in 2018.

 

Overall Physical Description

The Qwerkywriter S Typewriter is 33CM wide. 18CM depth.  Front hight (on which sits all of the keyboard keys)) 2.5cm at the front sloping up by 3 degrees so that the back row of keys is higher than the front row of keys.  

There is a good gap between the actual keys and the raised back section of the keyboard.

the raised back section (4CM) contains the paper/rest/stand for a phone or tablet), Return Lever on left, paper roller with the paper feed knobs at each end, and 3 spaced paper guards.

 

All key hight from the chassis approximately 1cm giving good travel and excellent mechanical feedback.

All keys are well spaced from each other and between rows.

 

5 rubber round feet, one at each bottom corner, and 1 in the middle at the bottom front edge.

 

When you first touch the Qwerkywriter S Typewriter, you immediately get the feel of all of the high raised well spaced keys, the Return Lever , and the paper feed roller with the chunky paper feed knobs.

 

Main Features

The chassis of the keyboard is mat black powdered coated scratch resistant aluminium - giving a high quality and solid feel.

The top of the keyboard on which the actual keys sit, is moulded from the front edge to the back edge of the actual keyboard area.  The top of the unit where the keys sit extends slightly beyond the left and right edges of the chassis, giving good physical definition.

 

Integrated tablet stand at back top edge - fits most smart phone and tablets such as the iPad or Surface pro as long as they are less than 1.55CMS thick.

The integrated stand extends the full width at the top back of the keyboard with a raised section in the middle, in the old days, this would have supported the paper.

 

Cast metal programmable Return Lever top left hand side - defaults to the Enter key or up to 16 characters or shortcut commands such as cut, copy or paste.

The Return Lever is connected  to the chassis on the left just behind the paper roller which has the paper feed knobs at each end.

Return Lever feels like a dog leg as it comes out, bends slightly to the left, and then straitens out.

The Return Lever extends from just behind the paper roller and ends up to the left of the top 2 rows of the keyboard. i.e. just to the left of the Escape key on the top row which also contains the Function keys from F11 to F12 etc, and the Accent key on the next row down from the top which also contains the numbers from 1 to 0 etc.

Press the FN key + Return Lever to enter macro programming, enter up to 15 characters, short-cut key or press Enter key to set back to default Enter key function.  FN + Return Lever again to end macro programming.

The Return Lever itself, feels very very high gloss and smooth to the touch, compared to the mat finish on the chassis.

To the right of the Return Lever is the small USB Bluetooth toggle button.

This button is on the chassis just behind the paper roller which has the page feed knobs at each end.

There are small LED indicators to the right of the UsB Bluetooth toggle button, and just to the left of the right paper feed knob.  These LED indicators feel like small tactile markers.

 

Dual scroll knob encoders (the paper feed knobs)

These knobs feel like old fashion typewriter paper feed knobs which have horizontal tractor  wheel style treads with an indent in the middle.

The Right knob is set to Vertical Windows Scroll and the left knob is set to volume.

For the volume knob, turning the knob away from you if sitting in front of the keyboard, turns the volume up, and turning it back towards you, turns the volume down.

The function of the knobs can be reversed via FN+W: i.e. volume now on right and vertical window scroll on left.

Knobs click when rotated like old manual Typewriter paper feed knobs, again, giving good solid mechanical feedback.

In iOS 13, Vertical Window Scroll with the right page feed knob (default) can be enabled via the Accessibility option (Assistive Touch - see manual).

 

Main Keyboard keys.  Typewriter inspired Keycaps - 2 piece keycaps have great stability, response, and automotive grade electroplating.  Cherry MX “clicky” switches.

Main keys are round with a full finger tip indent.

Flat rectangular Backspace key, Left/Right Shift keys, Caps Lock, and Enter key.  Long flat Space Bar.

Tab key is round and indented like the main keys.

Tactile marker on F and J at front of keys.

The Tab key and the Backspace key are red, whilst all other keys are black with white characters with the silver electroplating around each key.

Other FN key functions include:

FN+F1 - volume down

FN+F2 - volume up

FN+F3 - previous track

FN+F4 - play/pause

FN+F5 - next track

FN+F12 - Home button on iOS

Keyboard sleep settings:

FN+8 - set keyboard sleep timer to 10 minutes

FN+9 - set keyboard sleep timer to 20 minutes

FN+10 - set keyboard sleep timer to 30 minutes

FN+11 - disable keyboard sleep timer (not recommended)

Notes - keyboard still honours multimedia function key settings on Windows, Mac, and iOS.

The FN+F12 for the Home button in iOS, not only does the Home button function, but does twice for the App Switcher, and if you have VoiceOver setup as an accessibility shortcut, pressing FN+F12 (Home button) 3 times will toggle VoiceOver on or off from the keyboard.

If you hold down FN+F12, this will also invoke Siri on iOS.

The Qwerkywriter S Typewriter also supports NKRO via FN+Page Down or FN+Page Up for older computers.  NKRO allows the keyboard to not miss any keys that are typed, especially for fast typists.

 

Bluetooth connectivity - connects up to 3 Bluetooth devices.

Bluetooth Connect rectangular  pairing button at rear to the right of the USB port if facing front of the keyboard.

To pair a device in slot 1 for example - press FN+1, press Bluetooth Connect button for pairing, and connect with devices Bluetooth settings.

FN + 1, 2 or 3 to pair and access the 3 devices when connected.

FN key is to the right of the Space bar.

 

Micro USB port - to both charge and connect to a computer.

At the rear To the left of the Bluetooth connect button if facing the front of the keyboard.

The accompanying UsB cable can only be inserted in the correct orientation in to the USB port with the two connectors on the UsB connector facing up.

If keyboard is UsB connected to a computer or UsB power, the battery is disconnected and the keyboard can be USB or Bluetooth Connected.

If not connected to a computer or power, keyboard must be on for the battery to engage via the power rocker switch located at the back right hand side of the keyboard just below and back of the right 

Page feed knob.

Note - if the rocker is flicked forward the keyboard is on and if flicked back the keyboard is off.

If not on power, keyboard needs to be on for Bluetooth connection.

The internal battery is at the bottom rear edge of the keyboard, 2-3 hours to fully charge, and lasts for 2-3 weeks of regular use. The battery can be changed if required.

If connected to USB power, it is safe to leave the keyboard connected as this will not affect the battery.

 

The wait of the keyboard is 1.36 kilograms - rather than feeling heavy when sitting down and typing on your lap, gives a feeling of solidness, and stability.

 

When connected to a Windows computer

The keys to the right of F12 from left to right are Pause, Print Screen, and Forward Delete.

Remember the Tab key is not rectangular as found on a standard computer keyboard, but is round like most of the keys on the keyboard.

The Backslash key is above the Enter key and below the Backspace key.

The 3 keys to the left of the Space Bar from left to right are Control, Alt, and Windows.

The two keys to the right of the Space Bar from left to right are the FN key, and Right Alt.

There is no upside down capital T cursor cross with space on either side of the Up Arrow key.  However, to the Left of the Up Arrow is the Right Shift Key, and to the right of the Up Arrow key is the End Key.

Going from the bottom right side of the keyboard up Right Arrow, End, PageDown, PageUp, Home, and Forward Delete key.

The rectangular BackSpace key is immediately to the left of the Home key.

Note - there is no Insert key on this keyboard.

 

When connected to Mac OS or iOS

The keys to the right of F12 from left to right are F13, F15, and Forward Delete key.

Remember the Tab key is not rectangular as found on a standard computer keyboard, but is round like most of the keys on the keyboard.

The Backslash key is above the Enter key and below the Backspace key.

the 3 keys to the left of the Space Bar from left to right are Control, Option, and Command.

The two keys to the right of the Space Bar from left to right are the FN key, and Right Option.

There is no upside down capital T cursor cross with space on either side of the Up Arrow key.  However, to the Left of the Up Arrow is the Right Shift Key, and to the right of the Up Arrow key is the End Key.

Going from the bottom right side of the keyboard up Right Arrow, End, PageDown, PageUp, Home, and Forward Delete key.

The rectangular BackSpace key is immediately to the left of the Home key.

Note - there is no Insert key on this keyboard.

 

Accessories

A carry bag, dust cover, replacement keycaps, replacement battery or UsB cable  can be purchased through  Qwerky` Toys.

 

Screen Reader Performance

Both Narrator and Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) on Windows worked as expected using the Caps Lock key as the main command key for both screen readers.

 

VoiceOver on iOS and Mac OS worked as expected.  Sometimes on a 3rd party connected keyboard, the Control and Option keys (which are the main command keys for VoiceOver) can be a key apart or on either side of the Space Bar.  However, VoiceOver can also use the Caps Lock key as its main command key as well.

Note - both VoiceOver on iOS or Mac OS use the Control+Option keys as the main VoiceOver keyboard shortcut as well as the Caps Lock key.

 

Final Thoughts

After typing on the Qwerkywriter S Typewriter, going back to my usual laptop or Bluetooth keyboard, just feels wrong, and squashy.

This will be my keyboard to use on my UsB connected Surface Pro and my Bluetooth connected iPhone, iPad Pro, and MacBook Pro.

It really does remind me of typing on my IBM PS2 keyboard in the mid 1990’s.

When checking with Qwerky Toys as to how well the Qwerkywriter S travels in a computer bag without the keys popping off, they said that the keyboard is fairly rugged and should be fine when being carried around in a computer bag.

 

David Woodbridge January 2020