[Ohio-talk] Fwd: IOS 8

Sun Feb 8 14:57:09 UTC 2015

A great email and excellent info provided by Jennifer.

On 2/7/15, Kaiti Shelton via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I'm not sure how many of you have already seen this article or are using
> some of the improved features in IOS 8, but I was just sent this article
> today and thought it would be useful to share. I'm using the first
> improvement Jennifer talks about to write this email and am very pleased
> with the results I am getting from it. My only complaint stems from not
> being familiar with UEB yet,  although I have not made a great effort to
> update myself on it since I've got school and all my bookshare books are
> still in grade 2. Overal, I'm glad to see this feature and think it is
> pretty useful. It will also get braille out into the mainstream society a
> bit more, which is never a bad thing. ".
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Brunhilde Merk-Adam <bkmabma at yahoo.com>
>> Date: February 7, 2015 at 1:37:20 PM EST
>> To: undisclosed-recipients:;
>> Subject: IOS 8
>>
>>
>> Braille Moves Forward in iOS 8
>>
>> Submitted by amason on Wed, 09/17/2014 - 14:18
>> Blog Date:
>> Wednesday, September 17, 2014
>> By Jennifer Dunnam
>>
>> In the latest version of Apple's iOS, four Braille-related developments
>> not only greatly improve the experience of using Braille with mobile
>> devices, but also serve as a model for how the use of Braille can be
>> integrated into today's digital technology. Three of these improvements
>> relate to the interaction of iDevices with external refreshable Braille
>> devices. The fourth does not require a Braille device at all—we'll start
>> our review there.
>>
>> Braille Screen Input
>>
>> The ability to type in Braille for text entry on                       an
>> iOS touchscreen has been available for some time via third party
>> applications. Now, this feature is integrated into the operating system
>> and, for those who know how to type Braille, can provide the most
>> efficient on-screen method of text entry currently available. Not only can
>> Braille be typed directly to create text messages, social media posts, web
>> searches, notes, email, and more, but it is even possible to enter the
>> device's unlock passcode using Braille input—a much more secure, silent
>> option than having the speech report the passcode while the user finds and
>> executes the numbers.
>>
>> The Braille screen input feature is enabled by adding it to the rotor,
>> under the VoiceOver settings. To invoke Braille screen input, simply
>> switch to it via the rotor; to exit, turn the rotor to a different value.
>>
>> Braille entry is done in landscape mode. By                       tilting
>> the device, the screen can be used either in table top mode, or facing
>> away from the user so that the fingers can be positioned naturally in
>> front of it. There is an explore mode to help the user ensure that the
>> fingers are oriented correctly. This user has found the "screen away" mode
>> on an iPhone the easiest to achieve quick and accurate results, but likely
>> a bit more practice with the table top mode would yield better results.
>>
>> With the screen facing away, the index, middle and ring fingers are placed
>> evenly along the left and right edges of the screen. The index fingers
>> invoke dots 1 (left hand) and 4 (right hand); the middle fingers dots 2
>> and 5, and the ring fingers dots 3 and 6. In tabletop mode, the six
>> fingers are basically lined up horizontally to activate dots 3, 2, 1, 4,
>> 5, 6. In either mode, one finger swiped to the right invokes a space, and
>> two fingers swiped to the right starts a new line. One finger swiped to
>> the left makes a delete/backspace.
>>
>> The Braille can be typed in any available language on the iOS. Obviously,
>> without a Braille display, the nonvisual output of the Braille entry is
>> speech only.
>>
>> Continuous Reading
>>
>> Previously, when reading in Braille on an iOS device with a refreshable
>> Braille display, multiple keystrokes were necessary in order to move to
>> the next page of a document. Now, when a panning key is pressed at the
>> bottom of a page, it simply scrolls to the next page. This makes for a
>> much smoother reading experience in apps like iBooks, Kindle, and
>> particularly in Voice Dream where turning pages was especially cumbersome.
>> The feature can be turned on or off in VoiceOver's Braille settings.
>>
>> Number Issue Fixed
>>
>> In previous iOS versions, often, when a phone number or other string of
>> numbers was encountered during reading, the Braille output was basically
>> gibberish, requiring the user to listen to the speech to determine what it
>> said. Now these numbers display clearly, increasing the reliability of
>> Braille as the primary output method.
>>
>> Automatic Translation
>>
>> In previous blog posts, we have mentioned problems with six-key Braille
>> input and Apple's prior attempt to address the problems. In short, the
>> automatic translation from Braille to print required the user to type
>> quickly to avoid unwanted translation results, and editing in Braille was
>> also very cumbersome for this reason. Apple's first attempt to address
>> this issue made it possible to toggle off automatic translation and type
>> more slowly without generating unintended results, but this attempt
>> introduced a new problem—no Braille showed on the display until the user
>> spaced away from the word being typed.
>>
>> A fix is incorporated into iOS 8, and although it is not perfect, it is
>> better. Now, when "automatic translation" is turned off in VoiceOver
>> Braille settings under "Braille display input", the user can type in
>> contracted Braille at whatever pace and view the word on the display while
>> it is being typed. The word in progress is shown on a line by itself and
>> is preceded by a full Braille cell. The word is not actually incorporated
>> into the text field until the space, tab, or space with dots 45 is pressed
>> (note that "enter" does not activate the word). If you know during the
>> typing of the word that you have made an error, you can backspace and
>> correct the error without risking the introduction of unwanted junk. For
>> example, if, during the process of typing the word "lake," you discover
>> that you've accidentally typed an l                       where you meant
>> to type a k, you can simply backspace over the l and type dots 13 for the
>> k, and go on.
>>
>> Things become less ideal, however, if you wish to edit words that were
>> already incorporated into the main text that you are typing. If you type
>> the rest of a sentence and then discover your error in the word "lake" a
>> few moments back, you can use a cursor routing button to place your cursor
>> after the l to backspace over it. However, if you simply type the k at
>> this point, you'll get the contracted meaning of dots 13, which is
>> "knowledge." To get just a plain k, type a Braille grade 1 indicator (dots
>> 56) before typing the k. Also, when editing previously typed words, it is
>> best not to type contractions.
>>
>> Although there are still items on the wish list for improvements to
>> Braille in iOS, this new release represents significant progress toward
>> the seamless use of Braille in digital communications.
>>
>>
>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-talk mailing list
> Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Ohio-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/adcohen823%40gmail.com
>