2018-06-08 05:02:48

Actually what you'd be looking for in a serial cable for the BNS2000 is what Jack said, but it was used on Apple IIc+ and IIgs computers, and on older Macs.

2018-06-09 12:33:08 (edited by Hrvoje 2018-06-09 12:35:04)

I was a BNS user since 1998 until 2006 when I've put it to everlasting sleep. My favorite games were Simon and Deano.
And BNS was the first device that introduced me to programming. First I've played a lot with BrailleTerm's macro language, and later I've found BASIC interpreter with which I've programmed 3 small applications: System checker that was some kind of system information app, Voice Profiles for creating unlimited number of voice profiles (BNS had only 6 slots for that), and my favorite was Fastword game. Good memories! Unfortunately I've lost all the floppy disks where I had my programs coded in BASIC, and my computer doesn't have a floppy disk drive, so I can't share them, although I'd really like to see the code that I wrote in 2003-2004 again *sad*.

2018-06-09 15:37:53

Yeah, The BNS was amazing. I do think the pac mate was cool, because it was unmodified win CE, which was nice, but the BNS was so ahead of it's time. That was like the closest to a computer experience you could get accept actually having a dos machine back then, and the battery life was great. Those were what I started out on, then went to the BrailleNote Classic, then the m-power, then the apex, then the touch, and now I'm on a brailleSense polaris.

Power is not the responsibility of freedom, but it is actually the responsibility of being responsible, it's self, because someone who is irresponsible is enslaved by their own weaknesses.

2018-06-13 22:36:49

I had a Braille Lite 40, but I had always wanted to get my hands on a Braille 'n Speak to try out some of the games which had sound. You could, of course, play most of the games without enabling sound on the Braille Lite, but there was that pesky famous bug which would crash a Braille Lite if you tried to use sound effects in most of the games. Simon did work for some reason though, as did Click, at least I think that's what that game was called. I remember that you had to press your cursor routing buttons at a specific time when the clicking sound was loudest, or maybe it was space? I seem to remember a game in which there was a sound that gradually got louder, and you would have to press a key at a specific time, but there was also something where dots would go across the Braille display and you had to press cursor routing buttons at the right time. Was that the same game or not? Now I'm confused...

Anyway, I've always liked a lot of the games that Dan made as well. One of my favorites was the hockey game. It's funny that we never got a hockey game for Windows, come to think of it. At least Hack and Gotcha have already been ported. I used to love Gotcha in particular.

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just holding half the amount it can potentially hold.

2018-06-14 01:09:42

@turtlepower17 Dan is a brilliant person. He was going for his CS degree when I was still in high school and we'd have great discussions (sometimes I wonder how he put up with me though.) He was the inspiration for me to pursue a Computer Science degree. I still remember how thrilled he was when I told him it's what I was going for. smile "Just like your old man!" he said.

You said his game, Hack, has been ported to Windows? Where can I find it?

2018-06-14 05:52:07

Hack and Gotcha are available on the Audiogames Archive. I also have made a prototype demo of an Arcade windows port. It's going to be a pretty authentic rendition of it since I'm actually using my braille-n-speak's recorded input. As such, the only thing slowing me down is the fact that the game is actually pretty buggy on my end, and will force-lose on me even when I press the right keys at the right time. The BNS must not like the game, at least my particular bns2000. I have no serial cables for the 640 so I can't try it on there. As such I wanted to make the game based off the original, and since the obstacles never changed I'm trying to find out what they all are as I code. But you can expect something from this hopefully soon. Level 1 is fully implemented, level 2 is being, uh, worked on.

2018-06-14 21:27:28

Cool, I'll be looking forward to that. I don't remember Arcade very well, so it will be neat to have a Windows port.

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just holding half the amount it can potentially hold.

2018-06-15 00:58:03

Hack isn't working...it just shows a window titled hack (which doesn't even close when I press ALT+F4.) Any ideas? I'm using NVDA.

2018-06-17 15:46:42

Because it is like in the original device, n to new game, x to quit, I forgot the keys so... probably they are in the manual.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!