I sent this as an email to support@mybeatbuddy.com, but my email has been problems lately and I am not quite sure if it got through or not… so I figured I would post more directly on the forum!
Hello BeatBuddy team!
My name is Clement Chou, and I am one of the people who preordered the
BeatBuddy. I am looking forward t getting my hands on what looks to be
an amazing product and give it a spin, and all the videos have me more
excited than I already was when I preordered! I would however like to
point out and suggest a couple of things, if I may.
From what I’ve gathered from posts on the forum and my own reading of
the manual, much of the organization process andcreating custom
playlists is done through the BB manager software as well as loading
additional songs. I am a totally blind computer user, and rely on a
peace of technology known as a Screen reader to read aloud what is
displayed on screen if it is comprised of plain text. However, with
the manager software for the BeatBuddy, due to it having a graphical
user interface, my screen reading software essentially doesn’t read
anything aloud. I am wondering if a work around is possible, since the
manager software seems to be key to getting all I can out of my
BeatBuddy… and I would hate to miss out on much of the functionality
simply because the software needed to download, import, export etc
wasn’t accessible! I use a free program called NVDA to read my screen,
and it can be found at:
www.nvda-project.org
It’s freely available for download and use, and I simply wanted to
request at least an attempt at making the software more accessible for
those of us who are blind or visually impaired who still wish to use
this wonderful product. I don’t suggest replacing the current
interface since it had to take a lot of work to get it all to
function, and to most sighted users it is probably more easily
managed. But I’m wondering whether there could be a second selectable
interface which discards the GUI for conventional windows UI controls.
For managing and working with folders, copy and pasting etc, there
could in theory be a standard windows tree view or folder view similar
to the one found in Windows Explorer. For working with the beats
themselves, changing tempo, rearranging parts, there could be use of
combo boxes, sliders, check boxes, etc. I’m not a programmer, so don’t
know how long it would take or how difficult it would be, but I would
appreciate it if this could be looked into. Not only as a benefit to
me, but to all the other blind and visually impaired buyers who are
definitely going to get a positive word from me about this product!
One more request… currently, nothing that is displayed on the peddle
itself is read aloud, but that’s something I and most other people
probably wouldn’t want… would hate to have song names and such read
out during a gig! I am wondering though if simple beeps and or clicks
could be optionally enabled so that we know when we are scrolling
through folders and beats approximately where we are"? and lastly, I’m
not sure if this is already a feature… but if audible feedback is
not an option, it would at least help to have folder and beat lists,
as well as menus, not wrap back around to the top when we’ve reached
the last option in the current list or menu and pressed the down
button again.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this email, and I hope
something can be implemented, at least with the software… as not
only would it ensure that I get the bang for my buck but also make
this even more of a benefitial tool for any blind or visually impaired
musician to make as part of their gig or recording gear. I am looking
forward to hearing back from you… and to receiving my own BeatBuddy
in the next few days!
Warm Regards,
clement Chou