HIMS has just released a new version of their firmware for the Braille Edge 40. The upgrade includes additional braille tables including Danish and Hebrew, the ability to read and edit TXT, RTF, DOC, and DOCX files in contracted braille, ability to save text in TXT format, and automatic battery warning when the unit has 10% of battery life left. See below for the entire list of new features and instructions on how to upgrade your unit.
Changes for Braille EDGE v1.1
Changed Reset and Power on/off sequences
To power the Braille EDGE on/off, press and hold the “Power” button for 1 second.
To soft reset the Braille EDGE, press and release the Reset button.
To hard reset the Braille EDGE, Use a sharp object to press the button inside the pinhole toward the right end of the rear panel. When the Braille display pins are in their “Off” position, press and hold the Power button until the pins retract.
NOTE: Powering the unit on and off no longer results in the loss of settings, thus there is no more need for separate Power and Sleep Mode sequences.
Support reading of DOC, DOCX and RTF files
You can now use the built-in “Notepad” to create and edit Braille and text documents, as well as read BRF, RTF, DOC or DOCX files.
While you cannot save an RTF, DOC, or DOCX file, you may edit the text and save your document as a TXT file using the “Save As” function in the Notepad’s “File” menu.
Support for reading text documents in contracted Braille
You can now read and edit TXT, DOC, DOCX and RTF documents in contracted grade 2 Braille.
Choose your preferred document grade using the “Set Notepad grade” option in the Braille EDGE “Options” menu.
Additional languages supported
Added support for Danish, Turkish and Hebrew tables.
Braille EDGE now supports 17 languages: Arabic, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, UK English and US English.
Added Terminal Clipboard Function
When in the “Terminal for Screen Reader”, use “Space-enter-I” to activate the Terminal Clipboard.
The Terminal Clipboard allows you to type and edit text using the Braille EDGE, then press “Enter” to send it as a block to the connected computer, phone or tablet. This is useful when using a screen reader like VoiceOver which translates as you type, sometimes creating unintended text.
Additions to Options
Inserted option to “Automatically disconnect Bluetooth at 10%”. When the power level drops to 10% while using Braille EDGE with a screen reader via Bluetooth, it disconnects automatically and produces a low battery alarm message. This is to prevent complete discharge of the battery and loss of Bluetooth pairing information.
Removed the “Backup” option as all options are now saved automatically.
Inserted “Set Notepad Grade” option as described above.
** Use the following steps to update the Braille EDGE 40:
1) Download the firmware from the following link:
hims-inc.com/Upgrade/BE40/BrailleEDGE40_130809.zip
2) Extract the zip file. The zip file should contain 1 file with a .bin extension
3) Copy the .bin file to the root “the top-most directory” of an SD card
4) Connect the SD card to the Braille EDGE and connect the Braille EDGE to AC power
5) Press and hold the F8 key
6) While holding F8, press and release “Reset”
7) Continue to hold F8 until the unit announces “Start System Update”
8) The unit will update and reboot. Please check the “Information” to ensure you’re running software v1.1
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For the past three years Alena has been a feature writer for the online magazine Matilda Ziegler. She has also been a contractor for the Oregon Commission for the Blind, helping blind adults learn to use adaptive technology. She is studying to be a teacher of the visually impaired at Portland State. You might also recognize her from the Serotalk podcast Triple Click Home.
