Jared Rimer’s Technology blog and podcast

Hi all.
ok firstly skype must say except for the aditional niggles they have really got the quit skype down to a tea.
On v3.8 it would lock sometiemes crash itself and the system.
in 4 there was lague.
in 4.1 despite what I said yesterday it quits like it should.
I am also happy that you can leave most of the visual brouser stuff out the install.
in fact if I chose to I could leave extras out which means I can’t actually load extras, and I should probably keep this open.
next java 6.14 is out on softwarepatch although they are so behind these days that I have taken to getting my updates offline.
Skype seems to have it right, with some things.
1. keyboard nav is all in one menu choice.
2. all options read and sojme have advanced modes.
skype interface for me at least is good, I like the extra things.
not sure about sending files as I havn’t bothered with this.
am a bit angered at the fact the abbout box does not work still and that now the quit box is now hosed unless I use navigation modes.
Winamp.
most of the updates are for inmod which I think are overdue I use bassmod because its worked.
Thankfully there are no incompatible plugins.

Hi.
skype4.1 is out with msaa support.
Have not bothered much with this bar set options.
quitting is a bit more harder than it should be from systray as you need to use your vertual curser because the systrey menu is just inaccessible now.
if not bad things happen to the system.
at least this one.
still I can’t see any change although the extended navigation keys are in one item in accessibility now.
all options are accessible in the options page and some have advanced groupings.
now thats an improvement.
I don’t use ims, prefuring to use msn messenger, however if they would just fix abbout and the systray box then
It would be good, also send files.
firefox 3.5 is out and judging from what I hear has a good writeup.
3.0 users update to 3.0.11 then 3.5.
realtech demi and hidef drivers v2.7 are out.
ms mouse and keyboard intellipoint and intellitype driver v7.0 is out.

Hi.
Just confirmed this from another list.
this only will apply if you have only 1 account you want to use or don’t have a shared system.
if you have used control userpasswords2 from the run box and have unchecked the users must log in box, after updating.
You may find your system again will ask you to login.
for whatever reason the new assistant update rechecks that box.
uncheck it again in the usual way.
sorry about this but since I only have 1 account on each system I just havn’t bothered.
on the other 2 systems I leave it on for expantion of those systems should the need arrise.

howeverfor my system I do not.

and other things?
well the article on the touchscreen was quite good.
interesting, is all I can say.
It does push accessability to the limit, I mean being to interact with the system at such a low level without extra commands and extra lingo to have things is interesting, no vertual cursers of weird stupid jaws commands.
as long as you can read whatever you want not sure if I would have it as my primary interface but still.
avg 8.5.375 is out now.
also there is a dotnet assistant update for 3.5 family and sp2.

Hi all.
this is a forewarded message about java.
excuse the non edits.
java 6.14 is out.
they seem to have done away with the activex system which in a way I am happy with, because really on things over ie6 it was getting real crazy.
however I have no idea why they put the online installer up at 10mb when the offline is like 15 only.
I got the offline ofcause.
now when you install java you just click the install button no extras and its loaded.
zone alarm may complain a few times but that should be ok.
in other news updates from software patch.
suggest that xp and vista have kernal, spooler service, rcp remote, iis active directory and microsoft search have issues.
If you have been having issues with ie8, then some things are fixed.
loads of memmory corruption issues have been fixed in loads of components, dns updates to have been added.
If you have had issues with drag drop and some other things then this update also addresses 2 non critical user bugs.
so this update should further stabelise things.
dolphin 11.02 products are out, a user on the list reports issues with the update, remember to reboot twice, if the drivers can not be found, turn off the system for an hour then turn it back on.
No official responce to this is out and no pen intercepter updates are released yet but they should be soon.
a reminder that sam 2.50 is out, uninstall sam before upgrading it as every driver is its own process and delete the acapella driver folders in root and application data of the user sam and hal are installed on.
This version does not create the extra folder for acapella.
Its also a bit smarter with detections.

>Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:28:02 +1200
>To: dolphinusers@yahoogroups.com
>From: shaun everiss
>Subject: java
>
>Hi.
>it looks like sun has upgraded its installers for java.
>unless someone can varify this they have abandoned activex controls for actual downloads.
>I suggest that everyone read http://technology.jaredrimer.net where I have my article on what to do with java, the online installer is 10mb the offline one is like 5 mb extra over that so 15mb.
>I have not seen any issue however since I have downloaded the offline for myself I don’t even touch the web interfaces.
>Looks like sun is ie8 complient though.
>in fact page links suggest that one should upgrade to ie8 although java will still update.
>If you get the offline installer not sure about online you just have to click one button to install.
>

Hi.
all important.
acrobat 7x-9x have updates for security errors.
I encourage you to go to www.uscert.gov and subscribe to the announcement email there as this is where I get my updates from.

Hi.
ie8 has its first security update now.
office xp to 2007 have updates, word, excell and outlook as well as the junk filter for that.
In addition outlook 2007 has help for it which is an optional download of 17mb.
so you could have around 8-14 updates.
saying that though I have noticed again windows update is overloading again, I was in early this morning so although slow got my updates the third system overloaded once and I had to rescan but its all done now.

Hi.
8 updates maybe more are out.
office updates, ie6-7 not sure about 8, activ ex kill bits, and a load of unlabled security updates for windows.
itunes 8.2 quicktime 7.61 or something like that check softwarepatch if you care.

On the subject of a safe storage drive, yeah I have a 1tb western digital mybook which I use for secondary backup storage and a western digital elements 640gb drive for day to day use.
Hmmm fire.
didn’t think of that one, still no chance of a flood at least a standard one at least where I live as its on a slope.

Note, this next section applies to dolphin products only.
if you are not using a dolphin product then you may skip this.
Updating to sam 2.50
Receantly hal has been having issues with finding sam, and other things.
Sam 2.5 has extra things like driver disable and can detect what you have at first install.
1. make sure you have hidden files off in control folder.
to do this.
go to my computer
push alt v for view. or alt t for tools folder options should be at the end of these lists.
or go start run type control push enter.
push f for folder options or until that icon is hilighted and push enter.
push control tab to the view tab.
push tab once.
scrole down to hidden files and folders.
select show hidden files.
then semake sure that hide known types is off.
then curser down from that and make sure hide system files is off.
note this is to insure things are accessible to the user.
note! if you are using a shared system with only one account or a system that kids play with you should hide hidden files and protected files again because now every system file is exposed.
If you are a network admin then you have an account for such and know what you are about.
If you are a user on a network then your admin probably will have to help you so it doesn’t matter, the admin can do this.

Ok with that out the way.
find and locate the acapella.lic folder in the c drive or the root of the drive sam is on.
delete that folder.
note though that you must close hal, run nvda and uninstall sam first from add remove.
If you are assisting someone and you are not blind then don’t bother with nvda.
www.nvaccess.org is where you get nvda from v06p3.2 is the latest stable binary.
I suggest you get the portable version its handy and can be stored anywhere.

Ok locate the application data folder in either the documents and settings or users/ username folder of the system you are using xp or vista, the folders differ.
find your user name and open that folder.
anyway find application folder and open it.
delete the acapella folder in that folder.
close all those windows.
open the c drive
open program files
open dolphin
delete the sam folder.
now you are ready to instal sam 2.50.
Note if you are doing this you should have got the software already from yourdolphin.com.
At this point if you have not got the software then you either need to use nvda, jaws or sight, but then if you know where to go you should have guessed you should have the software ready.
If not, reinstall your old version of sam, you will have to redo these procedures again after you get sam.
if you are an admin or have not got the software and hopefully things will work for you or you can have another system or whatever.
go to www.yourdolphin.com
tab to text only
and push enter.
tab to support and push enter.
tab to updates and pages and push enter.
push control tab till the list of products comes up.
select sam, tab once to continue and hit enter.
control tab to list resolts and push enter.
control tab to a point where you here something other than sam download.
tab once.
you should have the right file.
push enter.
push control tab to download sam (version) and push enter, where version is the number ie 2.50.
save this file to a place you can get it or run the program.
you may get a security message on running things push alt r.
you will get a simple winzip file with 2 icons.
push enter the setup button is selected for you.
realspeak will start
select your language.
push enter.
follow the wizzard.
when the system prompts for reboot, do so.
sam comes up.
Ok, so i’m getting errors.
yeah it seems if you upgrade from sam 2.18 that you will get missing files, you can fix this either by updating to sam 2.5 from 2.18 but a clean install is so much cleaner.
Hal can’t find sam.
ok, well sam is loading everything right now.
although sam does have a nice autodetect on it now.
using nvda, hal 5.2 at least for me did not recognise the checkboxes in sam, open configure sam as you usually do.
if you have a braille display select it from the list, you may deselect vertual braille.
if you are not using a duch tts or terminal citrix server unselect those to.
in fact if you are not using the versions of hal with eloquence or realspeak in them you can deselect all those.
you can also deselect all braille displays you don’t use if not already unselected.
you can also deselect everything else you don’t use, ie acapella, eloquence and realspeak.

ok select sapi4 if you want it.
hit configure.
select the first engine.
push ok.
if you don’t use sapi4 skip this step.
if you sue sapi5 select it hit configure.
select the first voice, or any voice but the first voice is usually the system voice.
hit ok.
restart the system.
sam will work.

Hi.
here is an article from me in a long time about something called a brainport.
Has vertual reality come at last?…
I got this in my inbox, and found it, at least, interesting, so I’m passing it on. On at least one bit of technology, the expected price is not as high as I figured it would be.

Before last month, Erik Weihenmayer, 40, had never seen his young daughter.

But through technology once limited to the imagination of science fiction
writers, Weihenmayer, born sight-impaired, now catches glimpses of people
and things he previously had only been able to touch or hear.

The technology is called BrainPort, and this weekend it will be one of
several jaw-dropping devices on display in Miami at the No Barriers
Festival, an international gathering of physically limited athletes, wounded
soldiers, disabled kids and hopeful parents, and the scientists and doctors
who develop the technology that lets them match the able-bodied step for
step.

”I can’t tell you how amazing and surreal it has been,” Weihenmayer, of
Colorado, says of his BrainPort — one of just three prototypes in
existence. ”This sort of technology is not just ahead of the curve, it’s
miles ahead of anything we’ve seen before,” said Weihenmayer, president of
No Barriers USA, which created the festival.

Weihenmayer, who has been completely blind since age 13, is not seeing in
high resolution or color, but the images are clear enough to make out words,
reach out and pet the dog or see the silhouette of his 8-year-old daughter
Emma and engage in simple pleasures like playing tic-tac-toe or rolling a
ball back and forth with her.

Along with the BrainPort, the festival’s Innovation Village and symposiums
will showcase advanced GPS devices for the blind and ‘’smart” prosthetic
limbs that read and react to brain signals like real nerve endings — the
latter being the creation of MIT professor and festival co-chair Hugh Herr,
who has used them in recent years to resume his rock-climbing hobby. Also on
hand: Molly the ”amputee” pony.

More than the ”wow” factor, experts say, the technology behind the devices
is changing the meaning of ”disabled” and redefining “able-bodied.”

‘There was a time not that long ago when most people might see someone like
me — a paraplegic in a wheelchair — and automatically assume `disabled,’
” says Harry Horgan, a sailor and founder of Shake-a-Leg Miami, the
nonprofit aquatic and sailing center in Coconut Grove that is hosting No
Barriers.

The BrainPort dates to the 1960s, when neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita began
working to develop an artificial sight generator. By the time Bach-y-Rita
died in November 2006, Wicab — his Middleton, Wis., company — had
developed the BrainPort.

”One of Paul’s favorite expressions . . . was that you don’t see with your
eyes, you see with your brain,” says Wicab President Robert Beckman. “Paul
also liked to say that if your eyes or any other sensor are damaged, you can
use an alternate sensor, because the brain is not hard-wired.”

A second BrainPort prototype will be given to another test subject next
week. When the device is cleared for wider use — likely in the next few
months following presumed FDA approval, Beckman says — it will cost about
$10,000.

For all the hope and buzz the BrainPort may generate, some No Barriers
attendees are otherwise preoccupied. ”I’m really looking forward to the
hand cycle,” says Juan Carlos Gil, 27, a sailor and champion hand cyclist
who was born with cerebral palsy and has limited use of his legs.

Gil, who volunteers at Shake-A-Leg Miami, is referring to a new type of
cycle that with the flip of a switch can stand upright.

That’s important, Gil says, because traditional hand cycles have such wide
bases they can’t fit through doorways and other narrow spaces. “So you have
to rely on other people to carry your cycle outdoors and then help you out
and help you into your cycle. This is another step toward independence for
us.”

Technology has redefined what it means to be `disabled’
Devices that allow the blind to ’see’ and prosthetic limbs that react to
brain signals will be on display at this weekend’s No Barriers Festival.
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
Miami Herald Staff
Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
Erik Weihenmayer lost his sight at age 13, but thanks to a BrainPort vision
device, he has had partial vision restored.
Courtesy of Serac Adventure Films

‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
a.. ‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
b.. Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband

a.. Photos

The festival, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, includes
symposiums, clinics, demonstrations and a regatta at various locations
throughout Miami-Dade. Most activities, including an Innovation Village
offered Friday through Sunday, will take place at Shake-A-Leg Miami, 2620
South Bayshore Dr. in Coconut Grove.

For information or a detailed schedule, call Shake-A-Leg Miami at
305-858-5550 or visit www.nobarriersusa.org.

BY JAMES H. BURNETT III
jburnett@MiamiHerald.com
Full Story
1.. 1
2.. 2
3.. Next »
a.. recommend
b.. email
c.. print
d.. share
e.. buzz up!

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the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We
encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you
refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are
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Comments (2)

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Comments: 2 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first
Least-recommended first

a..
randymax8 wrote on 06/04/2009 09:54:49 AM:
yeah sure, as long as you can pay the bills

Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
b..
meijerpb wrote on 06/04/2009 04:31:14 AM:
Thank for the article, and indeed the title is spot on. It will be good -
once device safety has been established - to see the Brainport tongue
display technology move out of the lab and into the hands of blind users.
Different people have different needs, preferences and interests, and
healthy competition is in the end good for quality.

Best regards,

Peter Meijer

Seeing with Sound - The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com

Before last month, Erik Weihenmayer, 40, had never seen his young daughter.

But through technology once limited to the imagination of science fiction
writers, Weihenmayer, born sight-impaired, now catches glimpses of people
and things he previously had only been able to touch or hear.

The technology is called BrainPort, and this weekend it will be one of
several jaw-dropping devices on display in Miami at the No Barriers
Festival, an international gathering of physically limited athletes, wounded
soldiers, disabled kids and hopeful parents, and the scientists and doctors
who develop the technology that lets them match the able-bodied step for
step.

”I can’t tell you how amazing and surreal it has been,” Weihenmayer, of
Colorado, says of his BrainPort — one of just three prototypes in
existence. ”This sort of technology is not just ahead of the curve, it’s
miles ahead of anything we’ve seen before,” said Weihenmayer, president of
No Barriers USA, which created the festival.

Weihenmayer, who has been completely blind since age 13, is not seeing in
high resolution or color, but the images are clear enough to make out words,
reach out and pet the dog or see the silhouette of his 8-year-old daughter
Emma and engage in simple pleasures like playing tic-tac-toe or rolling a
ball back and forth with her.

Along with the BrainPort, the festival’s Innovation Village and symposiums
will showcase advanced GPS devices for the blind and ‘’smart” prosthetic
limbs that read and react to brain signals like real nerve endings — the
latter being the creation of MIT professor and festival co-chair Hugh Herr,
who has used them in recent years to resume his rock-climbing hobby. Also on
hand: Molly the ”amputee” pony.

More than the ”wow” factor, experts say, the technology behind the devices
is changing the meaning of ”disabled” and redefining “able-bodied.”

‘There was a time not that long ago when most people might see someone like
me — a paraplegic in a wheelchair — and automatically assume `disabled,’
” says Harry Horgan, a sailor and founder of Shake-a-Leg Miami, the
nonprofit aquatic and sailing center in Coconut Grove that is hosting No
Barriers.

The BrainPort dates to the 1960s, when neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita began
working to develop an artificial sight generator. By the time Bach-y-Rita
died in November 2006, Wicab — his Middleton, Wis., company — had
developed the BrainPort.

”One of Paul’s favorite expressions . . . was that you don’t see with your
eyes, you see with your brain,” says Wicab President Robert Beckman. “Paul
also liked to say that if your eyes or any other sensor are damaged, you can
use an alternate sensor, because the brain is not hard-wired.”

A second BrainPort prototype will be given to another test subject next
week. When the device is cleared for wider use — likely in the next few
months following presumed FDA approval, Beckman says — it will cost about
$10,000.

For all the hope and buzz the BrainPort may generate, some No Barriers
attendees are otherwise preoccupied. ”I’m really looking forward to the
hand cycle,” says Juan Carlos Gil, 27, a sailor and champion hand cyclist
who was born with cerebral palsy and has limited use of his legs.

Gil, who volunteers at Shake-A-Leg Miami, is referring to a new type of
cycle that with the flip of a switch can stand upright.

That’s important, Gil says, because traditional hand cycles have such wide
bases they can’t fit through doorways and other narrow spaces. “So you have
to rely on other people to carry your cycle outdoors and then help you out
and help you into your cycle. This is another step toward independence for
us.”

Technology has redefined what it means to be `disabled’
Devices that allow the blind to ’see’ and prosthetic limbs that react to
brain signals will be on display at this weekend’s No Barriers Festival.
‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
Miami Herald Staff
Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband
Erik Weihenmayer lost his sight at age 13, but thanks to a BrainPort vision
device, he has had partial vision restored.
Courtesy of Serac Adventure Films

‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
Researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis are using hi-tech gaming
equipment that encourages disabled to exercise.
a.. ‘Exergaming’ provides hi-tech tools for disabled
b.. Erik Weihenmayer: Blind adventurer, father, husband

a.. Photos

The festival, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, includes
symposiums, clinics, demonstrations and a regatta at various locations
throughout Miami-Dade. Most activities, including an Innovation Village
offered Friday through Sunday, will take place at Shake-A-Leg Miami, 2620
South Bayshore Dr. in Coconut Grove.

For information or a detailed schedule, call Shake-A-Leg Miami at
305-858-5550 or visit www.nobarriersusa.org.

BY JAMES H. BURNETT III
jburnett@MiamiHerald.com
Full Story
1.. 1
2.. 2
3.. Next »
a.. recommend
b.. email
c.. print
d.. share
e.. buzz up!

Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share
information, experiences and observations about what’s in the news. Some of
the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We
encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you
refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are
off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of
MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Comments (2)

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register

Comments: 2 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first
Least-recommended first

a..
randymax8 wrote on 06/04/2009 09:54:49 AM:
yeah sure, as long as you can pay the bills

Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
b..
meijerpb wrote on 06/04/2009 04:31:14 AM:
Thank for the article, and indeed the title is spot on. It will be good -
once device safety has been established - to see the Brainport tongue
display technology move out of the lab and into the hands of blind users.
Different people have different needs, preferences and interests, and
healthy competition is in the end good for quality.

Hi all.
just to add on to my last article, softwarepatch have removed all the extranious updates from their list, there are a smaller list of updates so maybe they did something wrong in the last one.
realtech drivers for the dmi and hd audio 2.18 and 2.21 for vista and xp are out.
also are updates for itunes 8 java 6.13 all the ie 6-8 versions and vista sp2.
as well as adobe 7 and 8.14 updates.
adobe acrobat 99.1 has an update to.
firefox 3.10 is out to if anyone cares.
www.blindsea.com no longer stores the nokia software update.
http://nds1.nokia.com/files/support/global/phones/software/NokiaSoftwareUpdaterSetup_en.exe
is where you should get that.
on the latest version of nokia pc suite it 7.126 softwareupdates do not install right it downloads then crashes so download the updater file from the net dirctly on the link above interestingly it will install hmm looks like ie8 has issues right now.
Interestingly no actual security updates are for this thing right now only compatibility data.
later all