News

From Orbit Research: Important Notice: Additional Apps Displayed on Orbit Player and Orbit Speak

Some users have reported seeing additional applications in the Android Apps section of their Orbit Player and Orbit Speak devices.

For clarification, the applications currently available for customer use and supported by Orbit Research are:

  • Amazon Alexa
  • BARD Mobile

Some other applications are loaded for testing purposes during the manufacturing process. Due to an issue with the software that displays available apps, these were also being shown in the list.

This issue will be addressed shortly in an upcoming release. In the meantime, please avoid using these apps.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

From Travis Roth: BrlMultiline NVDA Add-on Seeking Multiline Braille Testers

I’ve been working on–with the help of LLM agents– bringing multiline Braille support to NVDA. For example, multiple elements of a web page, not just the currently focused one. NVDA does support multiline braille displays, but it still sends only the focus element. This is a personal project. my main goal is to make and to explore what multiline Braille can do. I was originally excited by JAWS brining support for multiline braille, but their progress seems to have stalled for the time being.

Some key features include:

  • Flowing a web page in browse mode across elements. E.g., when focus is on a heading the following content is shown below it.
  • Columns view for tables, including panning down rows, and paging across columns.
  • Lists: showing multiple items in lists and indenting nested lists. This works in browse mode as well as lists such as NVDA’s settings dialog and tree views such as File Explorer.
  • Monitoring an object on part of the display, or another display, while working elsewhere.
  • Primitive graphics drawings such as an outline or brightness view for tactile graphics capable displays.

I have used the Monarch display to design and build this. It should work with any multiline display. Though some graphic features may not. This is the reason for asking for any testers out there, as I can’t verify other displays.

I would like for another tester(s) to give BrlMultiline a try. Especially with a Dot Pad, as that is becoming popular. (Note for Dot Pad: NVDA includes a driver, and Dot Inc. has another add-on package available which seems to have a different driver.) If you are interested in multiline braille and especially if you have hardware, check it out here.

From Scott Davert: updated for iOS 27.2, Using a Braille Display on iOS: an Introduction | AppleVis

I’ve updated my guide to using braille displays on iOS. Today (9 November) marks 15 years since its first publication, so it seemed like a fitting day to share the latest version.

Since the update I shared about a year ago, I’ve added more information about QWERTY keyboard use with Braille Access, revised several sections to reflect iOS 27.2, added resources, and clarified some instructions.

I hope the guide continues to be useful. Please feel free to pass it along to anyone who might benefit. A big thank you to everyone whose feedback and questions have helped improve the guide over the years.

Read the guide on AppleVis

From the EBU Braille Working Group: Recording: BBQ 2 – Braille, Brands and Questions with BBTF: the new series of Expert Table Talks

We had a very nice and informative session last Wednesday with Thomas Friehoff. For those of you, who could not attend the meeting about MyKey braille displays with us, we offer all information in the one spot on livingbraille website:

Visit the article BBQ 2 – Braille, Brands and Questions with BBTF: the new series of Expert Table Talks. 

If you wish to follow the talk directly, you can Watch BBQ 2 with Thomas Friehoff on YouTube.

To learn more about using MyKey devices from BBTF, explore the audio tutorials provided directly by BBTF (in German).

We will contact you at the end of November with an offer to meet with us behind yet another table to talk about braille displays.

The best regards from EBU Braille Working Group

From the DAISY Consortium: Celebrating 10 Years of the Marrakesh Treaty

A decade ago, an international treaty came into force to help end the book famine for people with print disabilities.

To mark ten years of the Marrakesh Treaty in action, we have created a series of three articles that look back at the years of advocacy that led to its formation in 2013, examine what has changed during its first decade in force and look forward to what lies ahead in the next ten years.

Marrakesh: From Book Famine to Global Treaty

What did it take to change the international copyright law to improve access to books? Discover the years of determined advocacy, led by the World Blind Union that resulted in the adoption of the historic Marrakesh Treaty in 2013.

Follow the journey From Book Famine to Global Treaty

Marrakesh: Ten Years of Implementation

In the last ten years, more countries have joined the Marrakesh Treaty, and the international exchange of accessible titles has expanded. What has this progress meant for the libraries and their readers? Explore the achievements, success stories and the challenges of translating the provision of the treaty into practice.

Read about the Ten Years of Implementation

Marrakesh: The Next Ten Years

The Marrakesh treaty opened doors around the world for international exchange, but the promise of full access hasn’t reached every reader yet. Many readers are still waiting for the books they need in a format they can use and in their own language. So, what will it take to close this gap? What will the next ten years look like and what needs to happen so everyone can read what they want when they want to? Learn about The Next Ten Years

From Blazie Technologies: Monthly Webinar, Wednesday 4 November at Midnight

Just a friendly reminder that our Blazie Technologies Monthly Webinar is happening Tuesday, November 3, at 7:00 PM Eastern Time!

Join host David Goldfield as we discuss the latest from Blazie Technologies, share helpful information, and answer your questions.

Join the Webinar on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82499642645?pwd=js9M0hIzpbBl5QiqF421vZtaUcSNtj.1

Whether you’re a longtime BT Speak or BT Braille user or simply interested in learning more about our technology, we’d love to have you join us! We look forward to seeing you!

From Charlotte Bateman: Alfie and the Code Bakers is out!

My children’s book, Alfie and the Code Bakers, is officially out!

It’s been quite a journey, but it’s now available to buy in paperback on Amazon, and I’m really hoping people like it!

I’m donating all royalties earned from books sold during the first week to the Braillists Foundation and VICTA.

Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alfie-Code-Bakers-Charlotte-Bateman/dp/1065474008 I’m also hoping to arrange Braille and large print copies for anyone who requests them, although these might take a little longer as I’ll be organising them individually. The eBook should be out in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully an audiobook will follow eventually too!

From the Sao Mai Center for the Blind: SM BungSang for macOS: Fixes and New Options

The latest version of our Braille music translation app fixes issues that prevented it from running on older macOS versions, as well as translation failures and crashes affecting some MusicXML scores.

This release also adds two new options:

  • Combine consecutive hidden rests.
  • Check whether text is marked as system text when applying translation rules defined in the music words dictionary XML file.

Get the update from the App Store, or download the DMG package from the SM BungSang’s main page.

From Orbit Research: Firmware Version B0.xx.00.69r32 / B0.xx.00.69r53 is now available for the Orbit Reader 20

We are pleased to announce the release of firmware version B0.xx.00.69r32 / B0.xx.00.69r53 for the Orbit Reader 20.

The following are the new features and improvements:

  1. Resolved an issue where the Load Language menu option displayed only the default English language instead of also displaying the available language files. (Only apply if the first 4 digit of version are B0.00 or B0.01. Other variants have no such issue.)
  2. Added support for using the panning keys to navigate with Windows Narrator in HID Braille mode.

Notes:

Please note that if the device’s current firmware version is B0.xx.00.69r24 / B0.xx.00.69r36 or an earlier version, following points must be considered:

  1. The device settings will be reset to their defaults after the upgrade.
  2. If localization has been applied, you will also need to re-apply it after the upgrade using the package available on our website at https://www.orbitresearch.com/support/orbit-reader-20-support/#LocalizationPackage

The firmware package can be downloaded from our website’s Support menu.

To identify the proper firmware package for your unit, you will need to check the version number of the firmware currently loaded on your unit. If your unit does not turn on or if you are not able to read the version number from your device, please contact our technical support team at [email protected].

To check the version number of your current firmware package please follow the following steps:

  1. Turn on your unit.
  2. Press the Select + Up key to open the menu.
  3. Scroll down to the item “Ver.” by pressing down the arrow key.
  4. It should display the firmware version number on your Braille display.

Check the first four digits of the version number and click on the respective link in the table on our website to download the appropriate firmware package. Once downloaded, you can install it using the SD card method or using the Windows utility program.

The firmware package is available here – https://www.orbitresearch.com/support/orbit-reader-20-support/orbit-reader-firmware-download/

The Localization package is available here – https://www.orbitresearch.com/support/orbit-reader-20-support/#LocalizationPackage For instructions on upgrading the Orbit Reader 20, please refer to Section 21 of the User Guide available on the website at https://www.orbitresearch.com/support/orbit-reader-20-support/orbit-reader-20-user-guide-downloads/