This is to announce that the re-release of Stream 2.0 is now available for download. The new version is 2.0.6 and can be downloaded from:
http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/vr_stream_software
There you will find 3 choices for the English version 2.0 with Samantha, Tom, or Daniel text-to-speech voices. The Release Notes for 2.0.6 are the same as for the original version 2.0.3 and are also available on the above page. The Release Notes explain how to install the software and list in detail all new features and improvements. Briefly,to install follow these steps:
- Download the software zip file from the above link
- Unzip the single UPG upgrade file from the zip file. You do not need special unzip software. Simply press Enter to open the zip file and you can then select the UPG file.
- Copy this UPG file to the root of your Stream SD card.
- Disconnect the Stream from the computer, connect it to AC power and turn it on.
- The Stream will automatically start the update process which takes about 1 minute during which time it will announce intermittent "please Wait" messages. The Stream will power off when the new software is installed.
- You may then remove the UPG file from the SD card.
After the new software is installed, the Release Notes document will also be available in a HumanWare sub-folder of your Text Bookshelf so you may read the Release Notes with your Stream. It is in html format on the Stream so you can navigate it by any of heading levels 1, 2, or 3.
This version corrects the issues with NISO e-text talking book formats where Fast Forward was causing the Stream to shutdown and where page navigation was not working. Examples of NISO e-text books are the Stream built-in User Guide, NFB newspapers, and Bookshare.org books.
Following are important points regarding this new version 2.0.6 release.
1. Audible Bookmarks
For future improvements, Audible has changed their playback engine and this new engine is included in Version 2.0. It does not affect how you listen or navigate in Audible books but it required a change to the way Stream identifies Audible books in the Stream's bookmark database. This will result in the loss of reading position and bookmarks saved in version 1.2. Prior to installing you may wish to note the elapsed reading time position in your Audible books so after installing you can then use the Go To Time function to quickly return to your reading position. Subsequent Audible book reading positions and bookmarks will be maintained.
2. INFO key Announcement of SD Space Remaining
After the original 2.0.3 release , we received reports that SD space remaining does not report correctly on all cards. We investigated this and found that some cards have incorrect value for total space usage but it is not clear why. It is related to Windows and/or Linux not updating this value after adding or removing files. We left the feature in as it seems to report accurately in most cases. It is not specific to any brand of card or size of card. We were able to correct one card by reformatting and re-transferring the files but it is not clear this is always the solution. Also, if the space used has an incorrect value it does not appear there is any other problem with the data on the card. We will investigate an alternative method to reporting SD space for a future release.
3. Recording Audio Bookmarks
In Stream 2.0 there is a bug whereby audio bookmarks can only be recorded by pressing and holding the Record key while you voice your recording. The single press at start of recording and second press at end of recording does not work. . This will be corrected on the next version. For recording audio notes, both methods still work.
We appreciate your patience over the past two weeks while we addressed the NISO text book playback issues and we hope you will enjoy the many new features and improvements in version 2.0.6.
Thank you,
The HumanWare Team
