WELCOME!

                

Welcome to BrailleNote PBWorks, a comprehensive resource on the BrailleNote family of portable computers from HumanWare. From its descriptions to its "secrets," you can find everything about the BrailleNote on this website. So feel free to read through detailed articles, listen to informative podcasts and learn about this amazing portable system that revolutionized how people with visual impairments live and play today.

What is BrailleNote?

BrailleNote is a portable computer produced by HumanWare, a company that helps people with disabilities work effectively in today's world by making special devices. BrailleNote is a small PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with either Braille or a QWERTY computer keyboard, a choice of 18 or 32-cell braille display (or just with speech) and comes with state-of-the-art hardware to facilitate rapidly changing possibilities for connecting to the outside world, such as USB, Secure Digital and Bluetooth support. This portable computer is powered by Windows CE, an operating system from Microsoft that is somewhat similar to modern desktop versions of Windows such as Windows XP and Vista. This operating system also powers the majority of PDA's and cell phones in the form of Windows Mobile. In addition to Windows CE as its underlying system, BrailleNote runs a specific suite, or a collection of programs called KeySoft.

So what can BrailleNote do?

Despite its size, BrailleNote has many uses and functions, including:

• A powerful word processing application that handles not only native document format, but mainstream file formats such as Rich Text and Microsoft Word files.
• A planner application that supports creation, modification and synchronization of appointments, including recurring events. This program includes a handy alarm feature.
• An address list that can store, retrieve and synchronize contacts.
• An email client that supports secure POP3 accounts and allows sending and receiving attachments.
• A media player that plays a variety of audio, video and playlist formats (including streaming audio) and allows a user to record voice memos.
• A book reading program that allows users to read electronic braille and text books, as well as DAISY talking books from Bookshare and RFB&D (User Authorization Key is required), as well as audio books from Audible and NIMAS books from NLS (National Library service); Audible and NIMAS require KeySoft 8.0.
• A scientific calculator that handles basic arithmetic, algebraic, trigonometric and statistical functions.                      
• An instant messaging program that allows people using XMPP enabled services, such as Google Talk to communicate with each other (KeySoft 8.0 and later).              

And others. Besides these built-in programs, BrailleNote's capabilities can be "expanded" with the following items (sold separately):

• A GPS program that allows users to navigate streets using a BrailleNote and a GPS receiver (sold by Sendero Group). In KeySoft 8.0, a user can try out this program for ninety days (for more information, go to www.SenderoGroup.com).
• A handy           Concise Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus that allows looking up words under cursor with a hotkey and selecting synonyms and antonyms about a given word (sold by HumanWare).
• A Nemeth Tutorial program that allows users to learn Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (sold by HumanWare)

And many more. These applications are explained in the "BrailleNote Tour" section, and using these applications for effective use are found under "Support Hotline." An audio description of these features are covered in "Podcast Radio."

For new users who have just begun using his or her BrailleNote, or for those who want to find out what BrailleNote is how it works, there is a page that lists five most commonly asked questions and answers about BrailleNote. Press ENTER on Top Five Questions and Answers about BrailleNote link and you'll get answers to questions such as "What is keySoft" and "technical specification of the BrailleNote."

How to navigate this website

To navigate this page and get information about BrailleNote:

If you are using a BrailleNote, press SPACE to move through links, or press the first letter of the link. When you find the link, press ENTER. To move back to the previous page, press ENTER with B (READ+LEFT ARROW).

If you are using a screen reader, press TAB to move through the page until locating the link that you want to go to. Press ENTER to enter the link. Alternatively use the Links list feature on your screen reader (e.g. JAWS Key+F7 for JAWS for Windows) to locate the link that you want. To move back, press Alt+TAB or BACKSPACE.

Main Menu

Here is the list of available sections of this website. Just press ENTER on the name of the link for the desired section.

• BrailleNote Tour: Basics- if you are new to BrailleNote and want to learn what you can expect from BrailleNote, check out this introductory page on BrailleNote family of products. This page introduces you to BrailleNote and talks about topics such as technical specifications, applications in BrailleNote and so forth.
• Help Desk: if you want to learn more about using this web site, go to the "Help Desk" link.
• Apex Corner: Are you excited about this new product from HumanWare? Check out Apex Corner page to find out more. This page hosts audio presentations and useful information about BrailleNote Apex from HumanWare.
• Mission Backstage: Behind the Scenes- if you want to learn more technical information and inner workings of the BrailleNote, check out a vast amount of resources at "Mission Backstage" link.
• News Center: To stay up to date with news on BrailleNote and KeySoft, take a look at News Center. This page lists important announcements from HumanWare on new KeySoft releases and items of interest from BrailleNote user community.
• Podcast Radio: if you want to listen to podcasts about BrailleNote's features, or if you want to listen to demonstrations of topics such as upgrading BrailleNote check out the "Podcast Radio" site. The author of this website created the podcasts for new and existing BrailleNote users in mind.
• Support Hotline: if you (or your friend, a student, or a classmate) have any issues with BrailleNote, or if you want to unleash the power and "secrets" of BrailleNote, go to the "Support Hotline" link. This section hosts numerous articles on BrailleNote's features, notes on issues encountered on the BrailleNote and explanations of vague terms such as "subnet mask" and "USB functions." This section also describes useful "secrets" that can be "unlocked" to help you use your BrailleNote effectively and efficiently.
• Program Library: If you are looking for programs that run (at least works) on the BrailleNote, check out these programs from Program Library.
• Web Terminal: the Internet is a place where you can connect with other people. You'll find links for sites that talk about BrailleNote, links to other users' sites and other "connections" to the outside world.

Featured Items

The "Featured Items" section lists recently added articles, as well as notes of interest. Items in parentheses indicate where the item will be found.

Let us now take a look at the articles that made it to the headlines:

• Connecting to the Internet via ActiveSync  - Did you know that you can share a computer's Internet connection with a BrailleNote? Find out more in this article. (General Connectivity)
• Upgrading KeySoft - A detailed tutorial on upgrading KeySoft for various BrailleNote models.
• Creating a playlist - want to learn how you can create your own playlist? Check out this article on how it can be done. (Media Features)
• Tips on setting up a home wireless network for BrailleNote- if you need some tips on setting up your wireless network so that a BrailleNote can connect to the Internet, choose this link to learn more. (General Connectivity)
• Working with fractions: Did you know that BrailleNote's calculator can handle fractions? Find out more in this tutorial article. (Support Hotline under Calculator)
• Setting decimal precision: If you wondered how to change how many decimal places BrailleNote displays, click this link to find out how. (Support Hotline under Calculator)
• Supported Bluetooth services: Are you wondering what Bluetooth services does BrailleNote support? Find out more. (Support Hotline under General Connectivity)

* If you would like to view comparison informatino between BrailleNote, Braille Sense and PAC Mate series, go to blindness PDA comparisons.

Contact Information

If you have any suggestions or comments, or if you want to send me feedback about this website, email me at joseph_lee22590@yahoo.com or joseph.lee22590@gmail.com.

DISCLAIMER AND SPECIAL NOTES:

The author of this website is not in any way connected to HumanWare. This website is a place where existing users of BrailleNote, as well as potential users can learn information about BrailleNote. Also, please note that some instructions posted on this site (especially instructions marked with cautionary warning messages) should be followed as exactly as shown on the appropriate articles; using these instructions at the wrong time, especially instructions on Resets may result in damage to the software and/or hardware and could possibly void the warranty. Use it at your own risk! The author is not responsible for damaged software or equipment due to misuse of the instructions.

Special note: Information in this website may change without notice. If there are any questions or clarification about features or if there are issues with BrailleNote, I (the author) encourage the persons involved to contact HumanWare Technical Support for more help.

Copyright Notice: BrailleNote, BrailleNote mPower, BrailleNote Apex, BrailleNote PK, BrailleNote Classic and KeySoft are owned by HumanWare Group. Windows CE and Windows Mobile are owned by Microsoft Corporation. Sendero GPS is copyrighted by Sendero Group. All products mentioned on this website are trademark or trademarks of owners of these products.

About the author

I am Joseph S. Lee, the administrator of the BrailleNote PBWorks website. I am currently a college student, majoring in computer science at University of California, Riverside. My interests are assistive technology in general, as well as trends in cell phones and computer hardware in connection with devices such as BrailleNote. I use a BrailleNote Apex running the latest KeySoft release, and I use it for multiple things, including reading, schoolwork and even writing few PBWorks articles and programs which I hope to eventually run it on the BrailleNote. 

Thanks for visiting this site. I hope you'll enjoy browsing and learning about BrailleNote family of products.

Author: Joseph Lee

Updated: September 3, 2010

Website version: 7.1.249 (Beta 2)