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In light of the iOS 18 improvements to Braille Screen Input, I tried getting back into it on my iPhone 15 Pro that still runs iOS 17.5.1 release. The problem I have always had with BSI is that my fingers and it somehow never went together well. I normally have no trouble using touch screens, but BSI somehow always alluded me. And it all starts with the fact that the calibration gesture itself seems to fail me more often than it works. And it doesn’t seem to remember well the last way I used BSI, judging from the many dots that get mis-interpreted by my touches once it gets re-engaged. So, is there something I may be missing? Or a special trick to get the finger calibration to work?

#blind #VoiceOver #iOS #Braille #BSI #BrailleScreenInput

#blind #ios #braille #voiceover #BrailleScreenInput #bsi
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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I'm not sure whether this is helpful, but different people seem to have different levels of success with table top vs screen away mode. Personally, I always use screen away mode and have my phone locked to that mode and orientation. I find table top almost impossible to use, but I think others feel the same way about screen away. I hold the phone landscape, screen facing away from me, usually at about stomach level, hands to either edge of the phone, gently holding the phone between my thumb and little finger on each hand but mostly supporting it against my body.
in reply to Jamie Teh

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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My elbows come out to the side a bit. This leaves the other three fingers of each hand in a pretty straight line from top to bottom (which of course is really side to side on the phone because it's in landscape).
in reply to Jamie Teh

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@jcsteh Interesting. Which model do you have? Is it a big form factor or a smaller one?
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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Smaller. It's an SE. I think I'd find it harder on a larger form factor.
in reply to Jamie Teh

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@jcsteh Having asked that, I have so far only tried table top mode, since the one time I tried screen-away mode, I almost dropped my phone. ;-)
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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Yeah, I imagine the trouble with screen away on a larger form factor is that it makes it harder to support the phone without splaying your fingers so far that you can't type braille properly. I think you could get away with supporting the phone braced between your two palms, but it doesn't feel quite as secure to me as being able to support it with my thumb and little finger. Also, my two hands have to move closer together, which increases the chance of VO misrecognising things, though I think that would be less of a problem on a bigger screen.
in reply to Jamie Teh

Sean Randall
Sean Randall
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@jcsteh I find I grip harder on the 12 pro I have here compared with my SE. I far prefer the smaller handset without a doubt, but it's not too bad on the bigger one with a bit of adjustment.
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Sean Randall

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@cachondo I just tried the thumb + little finger support on my SE in portrait just to see if I could do it and I can, but it's far less comfortable.
@Sean Randall
in reply to Sean Randall

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@cachondo @jcsteh I guess I will have to try it some more, then. I have a really good incentive besides iOS 18 to finally get the hang of it, though, because the implementation of German in the HableOne has been so buggy in recent updates that it is unusable for many things now. So for quick entry, BSI should definitely be my way to go. By the way, Sean, great demo of BSI on the DoubleTap podcast the other day!
@Jamie Teh @Sean Randall
in reply to Marco Zehe

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
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@jcsteh Away mode is definitely my preferred method. I hold it much as Jamie does, though I often support it with just my hands. I'll press the back of the phone to my body for longer sessions, but I find it more comfortable to let my hands extend away from me a bit. I like tabletop mode on my iPad. As to calibration, the key is to do it fast. You want to touch the first 3 dots, then the second 3, in the time you'd take to do a double tap gesture.
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Alex Hall

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall Actually, yeah, supporting it with just my hands (no thumb + little finger) seems to be much easier if I'm holding the phone away from my body a bit. Interesting.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Alex Hall

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@alexhall @jcsteh Thanks, Alex, I will keep that in mind. I may have done it too slowly.
@Alex Hall @Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall I will tell you that when braille screen input first came out, I happened to have some spare time and literally spent an hour or so just training with it. I feel that was time well spent, but it did take some focused effort to get good at it.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Jamie Teh

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall If it helps any, I first trained with it lying on my back, not because I thought that was a particularly smart thing to do, but because i was lazing around on my bed, haha. However, I'm realising that did allow me to figure things out and get efficient at it without having to worry about dropping my phone at the same time.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Marco Zehe

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@jcsteh @alexhall Especially now that iOS, with the introduction of RTFC for German, has a working Grade 2 back translator finally.
@Alex Hall @Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall Yeah, I do remember you mentioning the German backtranslator wasn't good previously.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Jamie Teh

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall Surely there has to be some money around somewhere to fund someone to fix that in liblouis. :)
@Alex Hall
in reply to Jamie Teh

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@jcsteh @alexhall The problem is that unlike UEB, German grade 2 forward translation is ambiguous, even after some rule adjustments. So the back translator RTFC uses consists of a huge self-built library of words which will be looked up when analysing the full abbreviated word. The author realised long ago that pure rule-based back translation cannot account for all ambiguous cases, and a dictionary was the better way. There is someone in the Liblouis project who claims they have a solution for German back translation, but they’ve claimed this for years, and nothing came of it yet.
@Alex Hall @Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
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@jcsteh That's unfortunate. Have any updated codes been proposed, similar to how American contracted (grade 2) braille was replaced by UEB to remove ambiguities? I doubt our grade 2 had as many problems as German, but there were some. Whether UEB's love of multi-cell symbols is an improvement is a different conversation. :)
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Alex Hall

Marco Zehe
Marco Zehe
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@alexhall @jcsteh There were a few rule adjustments to get rid of some ambiguity, but not nearly enough. Guess German itself is complex in a different way so having only unambiguous grade 2 is close to impossible.
@Alex Hall @Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
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@alexhall UK and US English prior to UEB was also a bit ambiguous, though. Maybe not quite as ambiguous I guess. I think you could use the dictionary approach in liblouis as is to some extent, but it'd be a bit ugly.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Marco Zehe

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
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@jcsteh I think the introduction of BSI is one of the most impactful changes Apple ever introduced, at least for me. I never got good at the regular on-screen keyboard, and dictation required me to speak aloud and is bad at anything that's not common words. When BSI came along, I could suddenly text, post on social media, reply to emails, and more, all far faster than I could ever manage before on my phone. I can't recommend it highly enough for braille users.
@Jamie Teh
in reply to Marco Zehe

WestphalDenn
WestphalDenn
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For me it helped to choose a Layout. Tabletop or screen away mode. Locking the phone to that mode makes it easier. Then try to use it and recalibrate if it seems off. After a couple of days that shouldn't be needed anymore and it starts to be comfortable.
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