Teletraining

This week, I had a few sesssions on the telephone with LS users helping them with their settings. If you are having trouble with your settings, feel free to email me. I can send you my config file, then go through the settings with you.

New LightSpeed GUI update

Got the new update today. Lots of changes! The spedometer is gone, which I kind of liked the way it looked, but it really didn't do much but sit there and look pretty.

Under the sensitivities button, there are three tabs: Basic Thresholds, Single-Key Thresholds, and Combination Rule.

Basic Thresholds is the same as the old spedometer settings, but instead of a spedometer, there is a Pressure View. When you press a key, the top number is the pressure number you've applied to the key, and it stays there until you press again. That way, you don't have to keep your eye on the red needle.

Single-Key Thresholds is new. This is a threshold for pressing one key only, like if you end up with "be be be be be" from touching the -B key accidentally. You would set the threshold number higher so that when you brush the key by itself it will not register. But the threshold in the Basic area will not change when you change these numbers under Single.

Combination Rule: Very new! No more percentages. There is an upper keyboard and lower keyboard in the software setting interface. You are not limited to just two-key combinations; you can do three and four keys. I'm going to use -PBLT as an example, where you have dragged the L. On the top keyboard, choose PB T, and the bottom keyboard, choose L. You would then set the number at the bottom (which should default to your basic threshold) to a higher number so that when you hit all those keys in combination, the L has a higher threshold and won't register, and you'll get PB T. (BTW: If you're on digitalCAT, you can take care of this in your Dictionaries Window with the Misstroke Options) You cannot use keys in combination from both the right and left side of the keyboard. You have to stick to one side.

Combination rule also works for droppped letters in a stroke. If you are setting a threshold in combination that you drop, then you would set the threshold LOWER than the basic threshold. An example of this might be -PB D, where you drop the P and mean for it to be there. So you would set the - B D in the top keyboard, and choose -P in the bottom keyboard. You would then set the sensitivity LOWER, so that when you hit those three keys in one stroke, the P won't drop.

The new config file is called config.xml. When you load the update, it will overwrite your config.ini, even if you have renamed it something like "Greta_config" or something other than config. When I say overwrite, it will not overwrite your values you have set for your sensitivities.

Under Anti-Stacking options (the third button with the little arrows going around) has a new check box at the bottom called, Use "fast" key processing. Johnny explained this to me briefly. It is more something for him to use with his prototypes and nothing we need to use. I clicked it, and at least it didn't hurt, but I noticed no differece. It is something to do with when you save your settings and it does something faster.

Hope this helps! I'm always so excited with the new stuff on my LS.

LightSpeed and Support

There is a LightSpeed section on www.depoman.com that is very helpful, a neat kind of users group. We have helped each other on there with our common problems. But if you have a problem (stacking, missing strokes comes to mind), in addition to posting here, please, please call support and let them know what's going on.

If we don't tell them what the problem is, they won't know and can't help us. If only one LS user calls with, say, dropped strokes, support will think the problem is particular to that person because no one else said anything. Plus, the cost of support is paid when you buy your writer, so you might as well use it!!!

Config.ini

The Configuration file.

When you save your settings, whether they be the config or the sensitivities of the LS writer, it is saved to a file with a .ini extension. The default file is called config.ini.

Here is how I suggest naming your config files. When you save changes, name your file
config[date]A. If you save again on the same day, use B. [date] is the date you save your config. This way, if you make a change that does not work out well for you, you can go back to a previous save. Periodically, you can delete out the old saved config files.

Pink LightSpeed!

The PINK LightSpeed at the NCRA Midyear in Boston! Thanks to Candis Bradshaw for sharing her pictures of the conference.

Standing on the left is Johnny Jackson, on the right is Carmen Santone, and sitting at the LightSpeed is Ed Varallo. The other two people in the picture are unnamed students.