Victer Reader Stream New Software to download

The Stream now has a new software version 1.1.15 available for users free of charge. This includes some really good new features including audable.com support, xml and html heading navigation, jump to percentage in text files, auto creation of folders on SD cards, bookmark usability improvements, dedicated jump by line on FW and FF keys, corrected bugs and a fix for high quality headphones.

The update process is simple so if you’re a user of the product go and grab the new software.

Sendero GPS 4.0 for Braillenote

This is in every way now the most powerful GPS tool for the blind. Check out the link above for the full list of new features and improvements.

Sendero GPS V4.0 Changes, June 27, 2007
After 15 months of development, Sendero has implemented 50 new features in version 4 in addition to many other improvements under the hood. This is the eighth and better than ever GPS version released over the past seven years.

** Highlights: Of the many features described in this document, here are the
top eight areas of improvement:

• New maps and POIs.
• New and improved address matching.
• Reorganized Help menus with active commands that work from within the Help menu.
• Ability to create and follow GPS log files for the GPS Replay feature.
• Task switching in and out of GPS.
• Improved heading so GPS fluctuations are smoothed out.
• Greatly improved routes for both calculation of routes and for waypoint and turn announcements including the new two-quick-turns feature.
• New Commercial and User POI subcategories including better editing of user points.


General Software Changes:

• GPS Replay: GPS Replay is a wonderful teaching and diagnostic tool for the BrailleNote GPS user. It allows the user to record and replay the exact positions during a GPS walk or ride. This provides the user the opportunity to review that session with an orientation and mobility specialist or to share it with another user or tech support person.

Victor Reader Stream

HumanWare is proud to introduce its most compact, most powerful DAISY book and music player to date, the Victor Reader Stream.
As the newest member of the family of Victor Reader digital talking book players, the Stream offers the same powerful and simple to use user interface made popular by the Victor Reader Classic+ and Wave players used by thousands worldwide. The Victor Reader Stream can play various electronic book formats, including DAISY, Bookshare, text, wav, MP3 and OGG Vorbis audio files. As well, the ability to play the popular commercial books from Audible.com will be added by September. The player also provides integrated text-to-speech for reading books in text format, such as those from Bookshare. It uses a removable SD flash memory card to store books, music as well as electronic text, and can even record voice notes.
"The VR Stream benefits from our many years of expertise learned through developing and marketing tens of thousands of our Victor Reader digital talking book players all over the world," says Gerry Chevalier, Product Manager. "No other DAISY player has offered so much in such a small device."
The Stream offers the most advanced DAISY functions, as well as navigation capabilities for all kinds of books, from textbooks to fiction. Students will definitely appreciate Victor Reader Stream for quickly and effectively consulting their school books, making voice notes or recording their teacher during class. This tool is indispensable for people who are required to use reference books as a regular part of their job.
"This new player was designed to meet the needs of the increasing number of on-the-go blind and low vision students and professionals," said Gerry Chevalier. "Its small size and flexible SD card storage allow our customers to take their entire book and music library with them anywhere, anytime."
The best news of all... priced at only $329, the Stream is your best buy for DAISY players, offering so much performance and functionality at such a low price.

KeySoft 7.5 soon to be released

HumanWare will be releasing KeySoft 7.5 this August, making your BrailleNote more useful and efficient. Whether you have a BrailleNote or VoiceNote mPower, a BrailleNote PK, or a BrailleNote or VoiceNote Classic, there will be a version of KeySoft 7.5 for you.
What's in KeySoft 7.5?
Improved SD card and USB Drive support (mPower only)
Secure Digital (SD) cards are a simple and cost effective type of media that is ideal for exchanging files and documents between blind and sighted individuals using devices such as BrailleNotes, PC's, PDA's and smart phones. KeySoft 7.5 supports a much broader range of models and sizes of SD cards and USB drives and provides improved speed and performance in accessing and saving information.
SSL Email Encryption
A number of major internet service providers have announced that they will begin requiring this new security standard to be used when sending and receiving email via their networks. KeySoft 7.5 delivers full SSL support as a part of its improved KeyMail application.
RFB&D AudioPlus DAISY Books (mPower and PK)
KeySoft 7.5 includes fully integrated support for the special AudioPlus formatted books provided by RFB&D to its members in the United States. AudioPlus books on CD from RFB&D are restricted to RFB&D members who must reside in the United States because of copyright restrictions imposed by the publishers of the books. The enhanced KeyBook application will automatically recognize an RFB&D AudioPlus book and will now prompt the user to enter their personal identification number to access the book.
Bookshare Support for Institutional Accounts
The existing support for unpacking electronic books from Bookshare.org has been enhanced to include full support for both individual and institutional Bookshare.org accounts. The KeyBook application will recognize a text, braille, or DAISY book from Bookshare.org. KeySoft 7.5 efficiently provides everything necessary to wirelessly access the Bookshare.org web site, download the text, braille or DAISY electronic book and unpack and read the book, without having to use a PC.
Built-in Playlist Support for Media Player (mPower only)
New with KeySoft 7.5 is the ability to select multiple files in any file list and have them automatically queued and played in KeySoft's built-in media player application. Select your favorite music tracks or chapters of an audio book and let KeySoft 7.5 play them for you automatically. It's like having your own personal DJ!
Multilingual Foreign Languages Now Available
Multi-lingual speech and braille support is now available for the entire BrailleNote family of products running KeySoft 7.5 or later, at no additional cost. Languages offered are Spanish, French, German and Italian. Documents, web pages and email messages can all be read in their original language with the correct speech pronunciation. Documents and email messages can be composed, read and spell checked in multiple languages and quickly changed on the fly.
Unified English Braille.
KeySoft 7.5 gives you the option of using Unified English Braille (UEB). UEB is a new braille code for English that has been developed over a period of more than 10 years by representatives from English-speaking countries, including the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand. This exciting development provides braille users with more straightforward access to the textual world. Email addresses, web addresses, mathematics and all sorts of signs and symbols can be written and read directly without resorting to computer braille. Because it has been designed with computers in mind, braille to text translation, when printing or emailing a document that you have written in braille, is much more accurate.
Upgrade to the Duxbury Braille Translator
KeySoft 7.5 incorporates the latest version of the Duxbury braille translators to provide better-then-ever translation both from print to braille and braille to print.
New Visual Display Application (KeyView)
KeySoft 7.5 delivers a completely new visual display application for the PC called KeyView. KeyView eliminates the need to use the older and more complex method of Windows HyperTerminal. It is fully accessible and is also Windows Vista compatible. Using KeyView, a sighted teacher, parent or colleague can view in real time the work being done on the BrailleNote, including the braille on the braille display and an immediate translation from braille to text. This provides a transparent interface between the print and braille reader.
Outlook Synchronization Improvements
The KeySync PC application has been improved to provide greater accessibility for screen reader users and has a number of significant stability enhancements. KeySync allows a professional or student who is on the move to have a fully synchronized calendar and contact list always available. Changes made on the BrailleNote or the PC are synchronized with a quick connection.

HumanWare Moving Forward
HumanWare listens to its customers worldwide and works to meet the urgent needs of every segment of our market, which includes the professional consumer and educational sectors. KeySoft 7.5 addresses important braille codes and tables necessary for our international market as well as urgent technical enhancements to meet the rapidly changing requirements of Internet Service Providers. The new Oxford Concise Dictionary and Thesaurus which was released in January 2007 and the Nemeth Tutorial, released in May 2007, offer productivity with newly developed KeySoft extensions. A new version of GPS is scheduled for this summer. We continue to work diligently with Microsoft to improve MS Word conversion.
Get Ready!
Don't miss KeySoft 7.5 - Make sure you have a current Software Maintenance Agreement so you can download your copy of KeySoft 7.5 as soon as it is released. KeySoft 7.5 from HumanWare will change the way you work, learn and play.

Buy a Feature in Sendero GPS 4 for the BrailleNote

This was just posted by Mike May on the GPS Talk Users mailing list.

A sign up form will be available on Sendero in the next week.

Buy a Feature

Also known as innovation through understanding, this program is an opportunity for Sendero GPS users to influence the features, which will be included in versions 4.0. There are far more features than we have time to include in a new release. This Buy A Feature program involves users in the difficult process of evaluating trade offs and prioritizing features important to them individually and perhaps more globally. Here is how it works.

At the LAX Marriott Suite 1718, CSUN, Thursday, March 22, 9-11 AM, the first Sendero Buy a Feature meeting will be held in conjunction with the Sendero on-line chat. Space is limited to 10 on the chat site and 10 people in person. In an effort to have a cross section of beginner and advanced users, Sendero will determine the selection of participants. Please indicate Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced skill when you sign up. Each participant who contributes the entire time, will receive a $25 Sendero gift certificate.

Each participant will be allocated an equal number of points. Each potential feature will be valued according to our estimate of how much time and effort it will take to implement. The total number of points will represent the amount of development time available before version 4.0 is released for final testing. The points allocated to each participant will be a function of the total available points divided by the number of participants.

A list of annotated features will be distributed. Participants will have the opportunity to hear a description of each feature including discussion among the group and then given an opportunity to spend their feature points for their favorite features. Participants may lobby others to invest in his or her favorite feature.

After all the features have been discussed, participants will review their notes to prioritize their favorite features. Each priority list will be given to Sendero. A discussion will then ensue as features are purchased. Once a feature is purchased, participants can move on to the purchase of other features until all their points are spent.

Sendero Group development will give serious consideration to the priorities determined from these sessions. Which features end up being included in Sendero GPS version 4.0 will be a function of the real amount of time and complexity associated with implementing all features. The Buy A Feature event will certainly help determine which features are included in Sendero GPS Version 4.0.

New Trekker/Maestro Build Available

Hot off the presses this one.

The Maestro 2.02 and Trekker 3.0 build 5089 replaces the build 5085 launched last
December.
Fixes and improvements in the Build 5089
• Date Time controls support localized date presentation formats.
• In Owner Information, multi-line edit is supported. (English version only).
• Route Creation: Trekker saves route names using special characters found
in the city or POI name. Special
Characters \/:*?"<>|;.& are now replaced by a space.
• Memory limitation message popping up inadequately has been removed.
• iBlue 737 GPS receiver is now supported in the Bluetooth Manager list.