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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Hello Joe, yes, I have two months\u2019 hands-on experience with BrailleNote Evolve. I will not restate the findings of the review, which is comprehensive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">If you are going to use it for coding, you may wish to, as you say, either connect a qwerty keyboard, or use computer Braille, which has fewer potential ambiguities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">There is more to this question than writing the code though. The three-year-old processor in the device may have a bearing on whether it will meet your needs. You will
find outcomes to be speedier for many use cases if you use something like a Mantis Q40 to connect to a computer with a more powerful CPU.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">The Mantis Q40 offers local basic note taking without having to buy anything else, which BrailleNote Evolve does not unless you count the BRF editor which has no find
function.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Jonathan Mosen<br>
Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence<br>
National Federation of the Blind <br>
410-659-9314 ex 2233 <br>
<a href="mailto:jmosen@nfb.org"><span style="color:#467886">jmosen@nfb.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
Reminder: Attend <a href="https://nfb.org/convention" target="_blank"><span style="color:#467886">National Convention</span></a>, July 3-8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.<br>
\u201cIt\u2019s the time of year where blind people are the majority.\u201d<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://nfb.org/"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="298" height="133" style="width:3.1041in;height:1.3854in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01DCFFDC.4B38E4A0" alt="National Federation of the Blind logo, Live the life you want tagline, nfb.org"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces@nfbnet.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Joe Orozco via NFBCS<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 19, 2026 10:37 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs@nfbnet.org><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Joe Orozco <jsorozco@gmail.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFBCS] FW: Access On: The BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Does anyone here have hands-on experience with the device? I was tempted by the Perkins model but have hesitated based on unconfirmed reports that things were still buggy. That is, of course, to be expected, not a reflection
on the device itself, but for things like coding, I wonder if it makes more sense to wait for the QWERTY model. Yes, you can currently connect a QWERTY keyboard to it now, but I\u2019d really like to reduce the number of devices I carry around.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Anyway, just some questions for anyone with firsthand experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Actually, if anyone can speak to the Mantis Q40 and whether this would be a more viable and more affordable alternative, that would be great information as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Joe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> NFBCS <<a href="mailto:nfbcs-bounces@nfbnet.org">nfbcs-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Steve Jacobson via NFBCS<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 19, 2026 9:33 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:nfbcs@nfbnet.org">nfbcs@nfbnet.org</a><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Steve Jacobson <<a href="mailto:steve.jacobson@outlook.com">steve.jacobson@outlook.com</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [NFBCS] FW: Access On: The BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This week's Access On features a comprehensive review and demonstration of BrailleNote Evolve, the latest generation of BrailleNote from HumanWare running Windows 11 Pro. here are the segments in the episode, which you
can skip to using the chapter feature of your podcast player or app. Looking ahead to our gaming Access On webinar 0:00:00 What is BrailleNote Evolve 0:02:13 The evolution that led to BrailleNote Evolve 0:06:11 BrailleNote Evolve with JAWS 0:12:22 Hardware
0:15:25 Dimensions and portability 0:24:38 The keyboard 0:28:13 Setup 0:33:02 Starting, and the Main Menu 0:34:44 Testing the microphones 0:40:01 Word, BrailleNote Evolve, and NVDA 0:42:47 Options 0:58:18 Braille Editor 1:10:14 Victor Reader 1:11:54 File Manager
1:16:41 No Braille Terminal 1:18:16 Final thoughts 1:19:45 Andrew Flatres and Rachel Ramos from HumanWare 1:31:18 Closing and contact info 2:02:08
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Listen on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/access-on/id1777481188?i=1000773156189">
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/access-on/id1777481188?i=1000773156189</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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