apologies for not updating for a while but like everyone ive been ill but ive managed to write some information about the eyegaze ipad i need. and other equipment that i need with it.
floor stand and ipad with eyegaze
so here the reason why i need the floor stand. the wheels have had it you can no longer push the floor mount as the wheel locks are jammed on and locked the wheels. we estimate the new floor stand and things we need go with it will cost £200.00
also i need touch chat hd with word power for ipad its £299.99. im currently using the 30 day trial. but i need this app for the ipad as the 30 day trial end on 11 february 2024. after then im left with no voice. so that extremely urgent too.
also i need an eyegaze ipad. as i cant do headtracking due to osteoarthritis . we estimate the device will cost £6000.00 and the mount plate will cost approximately £200
I watch there youtube channel for a few years. The hiru can work with
ipad
windows
android
But what im most interested in is it works with my ipad. When covid happened everyone was having to keep there distance so how do you operate a lift, how do you tell it what floor you want to go to.
well to my surprise irisbond made a video where the lift using the hiru took you to the floor you wanted. you just looked at the panel and made sure you were correctly lined up with the eyes outline on the sscreen. looked at the number you wanted which took the lift and you to that floor.
it was amazing to watch.
td pilot you just got shown the td talk which is a keyboard ,td snap which is an icon picture communication program and then shown house mate and how with house mate you can turn tv,lights, cd player, and other things on and off. the ir for ipad is sold separately weather you have the skyle, td pilot or the hiru from irisbond.
the skyle you provid your own ipad pro 12.9” 4th generation ipad. the hiru has either a bundle or you provide your own ipad and im sure the smallest ipad a few years ago you could use with the hiru was 10” from therapy box but they took that information down as far as i no it isnt back on there website at the moment.
so i looked and the starter guide is full of information from how to set up hot corner short cuts to how to add your communication program in to the floating asstive touch menu something the td pilot instructions never mentioned as far as i remember anyway.
and this time i wont have an audience watching me like a hawk which really puts you off
it will be just me and a few freiends no one else!
I have a Steam Deck and while its a great handheld console for me the biggest issues are it takes a lot of tinkering to make it run xbox app ,games etc but for me its to heavy. I cant hold it as long as i need to after a few minutes i either have to put it down before i drop it or just put it away.
also i dont like the touch pads on the steam deck they take up a lot of space pushing up the joystick and the ab xy buttons. i found it fair easier to get my Asus rog Ally and use the steam deck app on that i come with the ally and i notice the weight difference straight away i could play my games for longer.
i have a lot of games. As steam deck has nearly all computers and consoles operating systems covered , so you find games that were on the xbox 360 which aren’t on xbox one there . I ancient of the oogla on my xbox360 but its not available on my xbox one and it much easier to buy it on the steam deck then it is to get the 360 out plug in and play the game then pack everything back up after 5 minutes or hours .
the steam deck app vs the steam deck console
as i said before i start using the steam deck app on my computer, but i wanted to have the handheld as i need play my games in bed while im ill.
but the problem like i said was the steam deck handheld is to heavy for me to hold . yes it was a good investment at the time but after several near misses where it nearly hit the floor. i knew i had to go back to having steam deck on the computer.
Not the best way to play the games library on the steam deck but it works. The app is identical in everyway to the steam deck handheld console as far as i can see except one
No fiddling in konsole mode to get games to work. because the stem deck app im running is on windows then my windows games i brought on steam deck dont need tweeking to get them to run they run. you just need setup how your controller is going to work.
so when The Asus Rog Ally was announced i knew i had to buy one it solved everthing it cost just slightly more than my steam deck.
The steam deck cost £650 where as the Asus Rog Ally would cost £699. both the steam deck handheld i had for christmas second hand off ebay ( if its second hand u can clam the goodies that come with the 512gb steam deck)
so basically the windows handheld running Steam deck app is the best solution for me. i can if i want have it automatically load steam os when i turn the ally on. but i also have my xbox app (3 months free game pass ultimate) i also have playstation plus, gog, ea,epic games ,ubisoft to name a few. these can work on the steam deck too
if i had to choose between the Steam Deck hand held console and the Asus Rog Ally. Then the Ally would be the one id get. because i can play all my games on one console and its not heavy.
i love it its not as heavy as the steam deck not complicated to set up xbox as the steam deck. i love my ally for those reasons alone. if u want to try the steam deck app for games to it comes with it. i feel its so much easier i thought the steam deck would be good but i cant get xbox app to work, and i wanted spend my time playing games not having to enter lines of code to talk it into runing xbox .
i love the asus rog ally because of it easy of use, just turn it on sign in to your xbox account and you can play any games in the xbox and microsoft store or gog.com ,ea, epic , rockstar , amazon etc
u can add emulation to by using big box (emudeck is coming soon if ur a member of there patron group u get early access if you pay but it coming out soon)
if your games run on windows then they should be fine
if you read about the sd card problem dont worry dont let that stop u buying asus rog ally there working on a fix so dont be. every new console , handheld etc has problems when released there are a lot of youtube reviewers who had early access to the ally and they mentioned problems some of which are long gone. and the youtubers have updated those reviews
there are still a few problems getting sorted like the sd card reader might stop working, but there a fix on its way and mine is fine i had myine on 28 june 2023 and im extremely happy with my ally. you will love it to. i can’t promise that u wont hit a problem because that would be unfair and im not going say that there aren’t problems cus that would not be fair either. all i will say is buy it try it have fun.
we got the speech device for just over a month the freedom its given me is astounding. unlike the other device its louder and far clearer. I’m far more confident with this device i am far happier with the support team. For those of you who know me I stuck to Toby churchill like glue because of there amazing personal support even when they stated selling the dynavox range. i agree to help with publicity.
then tobii churchill was brought by ablia . and dynavox part was brought by tobii. (yeah i no confusing) tobii changed its name to tobii dynavox and toby churchill became ablia .
some where in the middle i ended up using dynavox compass on an ipad mini. which then changed to a dynavox t10. but still under ablia at this point.
Dynavox T10
I had tried the dynavox mestro but didnt get on with it so the dynavox t 10 was my last try . It was on Android 4 there wasnt much in way of accessibility features . so i had a head mouse to use with it but to calibrate the zono head mouse you need a windows pc. ( so the instructions said) it didnt seem to calibrate very well.
but on days when my hands went off line it was great i used the zono on the pc i think the most and sent the t 10 back to The Sequel Trust
So I have no speech aid also no speech therapist. so we have a hudge proble. The Sequel Trust wanted to help but can’t without a report from a speech threpist.
so we contacted Smart box who loaned us a few devices. but i still need my own
we manage to fundraise for one but it was stolen. so for comparison i got grid vpp which is the reps version of grid the public can buy. it was also what the then speech therapist recommended i use. so i got the software but no hardware.
and that when we thought we ask the dr again and take it to the top. So we did then covid 19 hit all appointments etc got put back or cancelled people died. eventually i got yes you have got an appointment with a c t. . then i got told i don’t fit the criteria. then i was told yes you do have an appointment. confused so were we.
The problem
in the meantime my ot retired, so i was not only getting use to that idea, and getting use to the new ot who i really like. but im getting my head round the idea my godmother died of covid 19 related problems and my uncle had just had a stroke so with family in australia,, new zeland , new york etc and no one can even be near each other it was hard for everybody .
The td pilot Device Sucks!
so the night before i’m nervous i don’t no weather to stick to pick the Tobii Dynovx TD Pilot or go with the Liberator Accent 100 or the hiru and oskal bundle .
So i asked users and experts. watch you tube etc day of the appointment i still didnt no what to do i knew what i wanted it to help me with but still didnt no which device could do everything i need. So we discussed it we said we couldnt cope with 3 reps doing demos, but could manage 2 reps. in my head that meant tobii dynavox and liberator or hiru ipad bundle
following appointment a c t booked the tobii dynavox rep to bring two device . The T D Pilot and the i13 ( i think it was the i-13 cant be sure as it never left the bag. so the rep got the t d pilot out. relised he forgot the floorstand. So we put it on a box. now its at this point things were getting confusing in my head
firstly i wad tried on td snap but not the one we were trying to port my compass pages to so im not sure. i was uncomfortable so we switched to a drawing app , should of know then this was a bad idea a very bad idea. i couldn’t work the reps program not nly that but the reps mobile went off on the t d pilot and he said” i didn’t no it could do that” which then made me think if there loaning these out are all the reps unaware it does this.
i then get told “if your ordering the t d pilot i will cancelled your loan as there no point” i’m in a no coping or thinking mode by now. I ask can i try something else got told no if you do we have to start all over again.
this confused me completely i thought A c T ment go to the bottom of the list and start from the beginning or just redo paperwork. couldn’t decide which and panicked. A C T ordered the t d pilot. which came last september before claire left.
problems start
1 the td pilot cant be removed from the floor stand
2if the td pilot is own it talks to its self ,
3 td pilot wont stay still when in pause mode
4 it will unpause its self
5 any movement what so ever and it stats talking to its self ( we have blackout curtains)
6 Can’t use it on my power chair because tobii dynavox want it sticking out longer then my are even though julie calibrated it on her knee ( with help from my partner when the quick start guide cards were missing info)
7 cant use any of my apps ( claire forgot to write down i could as we discussed the risks) but as claire left julie only has my word she said that and can’t contact claire that annoying)
8 how u supposed practice if u cant use apps other then what it came with .
9 had to ring apple for help it locked me totally out, they have never worked with tobii dynavox ( they just sell the apps tobii dynavox make) they never heard of tobii dynavox, they never heard of the td pilot. the td pilot a c t loan me isnt even listed on apples product database no serial number , no mft number, no mac number nothing.
10 a c t said they can remote in if need. they can’t only apple are allowed do that. im even locked out of the td snap app and that one they want me use. which i dont like but dynavox compass which i could use no longer egsist. so im stuck
this is after 3 days talking to apple technicians to give me back to the td pilot.
then apple ask me to synchronise the ipad with computer there romote loged in so can see im doing it. i turn on the computer ask them that i need there permission to unplug the eyegaze. so they agree. and the minute the td pilot conects to the pc and starts syncing to apple itunes the phone line to apple tec support goes dead. not only that but the ipad changes its name twice. so i let it sync and im left with a ipad that changes identity so i syc on a different computer we re plug in the eyegaze and put the td pilot back in the bag. that was last year. havent been able to use it since.
We tried explaining to A C T birmgham. but were getting no where. all we’re getting is they wont change the device. so i stuck with a td pilot i cant use . just cus she seen me press one button she wont change it
So my suggestion is try as many devices before you decide which is the best device to last you five years . cus i can’t get on with the td pilot , you might but i can’t
so the td pilot went back to act so were back to trying devices
currently im using a accent 100 thats going really well but i cant get my head around nuvoice ( yes that spelt right)
we tried liberator ipad which was great it came with touch chat and it was fine except our loan device kept over heating to the point it was hot enough to cook ur breakfast on it.
so we decide to go for touch chat and use it on my ipad till we decided what to do next
we tried go a windows 11 accent with nuvoice but ive hit a big problem it automatically load’s nuvoice which i didn’t expect and i can’t understand windows 11 no matter how much help im getting for that or nuvoice, we manage get by but i feel that im constantly bothering everyone to help me with the little things.
so were looking at the hiru for my ipad because
1 i can figure out touch chat it easy but powerful
2 my ipad is always with me so it makes sense to put the eyegaze on that
3 we might need find an ir senseer as i dont remember if the hriu has it built in or not
so u may be thinking what about the accent 1000
well i use that for day time i can turn tv on and of also i can turn the heating on or off too which gives me more independence
hopefully the ipad with hiru can do this too
and the hiru is more accurate doesn’t run away and select apps on its own like the tdpilot did. ( td pilot is about 4 years old approximately at time of writing and ipad was on ios 14 i think)
so im really looking forward to buying the hiru and oskal to fit my ipad
its the big day ive been waiing for this appointment with A.C.T. Birmingham since before 2022. im very nervous i dont no what were doing today . i get to meet the team and my o.t is there to help to.
we discuss my lockups and speach problems and then i ask “ i now there normally Three demo’s but i think its a bit much we can manage two.
so a.c.t book tobii dynavox. to come and demonstrate there devices. ( we relised later when its too late that they not bookd liberator demonstration mine u that might be because i just finished the loan of the accent 800 )
so a.c.t. went and there returning in a few weeks with the tobii dynavox rep who is bringing the td pilot and the i-13.
demo day
well after a extremely long wait the day has arrived. i couldn’t sleep last night. i was worried about the decision i was going to make
so every turns up. i finally get to use the tobii dynavox td pilot. but the i-13 stays in the bag the whole time. which cus they relised it too. the rep goes
so i go and talk to claire in other room , i say am unsure and ask if i can put my apps on it she says yes as long as i understand that might cause problems.
last night i was asking my friends there opinions which do i choose accent 1000 with look bumdle or the td pilot with td smap ( i dont like td snap) , td talk and td copilot which is for calibration.
i reallly domt like td snap
Another early day. every one here the tobii rep sets up the td pilot. still got same issues it even stops working. so while that get sorted i clare can we go in other room i explain im still not sure and try show her what i mean on the tobii dynavox i 12 but its doing a windows update
getting frustrated as it cursors isnt staying paused its annoying me. the rep shows me so things then has to go.
i mention im not sure the td pilot is the right device for me and get told “ we going need start all over agian ( not sure if that means paperwork or i go to the bottom of the list.
So in a panick i pick the td pilot. ( because i didn’t understand what she ment by starting all over again. did she mean just the paper work or going to the bottom of the waiting list which i couldn’t cope, with the idea of that)
So we have the td pilot and the floor stand delivered. claire ask my partner to help her put the stand together while jule tries to set up the td pilot on her lap in the living room .apparently this is usually done in advance.
it decided to leave the td pilot on the floor stand as there apparently not enough room for me to move around with the td pilot around the house , but claire and julie couldnt get the floor stand through the bedroom door without tilting the floor stand.
so claire sets it at the correct hight for bedtime. they dont leave the mount plate for it with us so were stuck with the rehadapt mount plate which isnt the best best plate to have the td pilot
julie came with neil while dynavox did some training i was told not to use the td pilot unless i cou move or talk. an i can’t put any of my own apps on it either.
she said any problems get intouch with the manufacturer or A c t.
1st night
which is what we had to do apparently the td pilot doesn’t exist on the apple product database the only tobii dynavox items are apps in the app store keyboard keeps disappearing ( it done it 10 times tonight all ready they say unplug the eyegaze which tobii dynavox your not aloud do.
the weekend spent with apple tec suport
so the td pilot turning its self off and on , talikng to
well it turned its selft on and it talked to is self all night any thing that came past the bedroom window ( we have black out curtains)
cars turned it on,
it was on all night
it does this every night and every day.
after 4 days we turned the td pilot off it.
march 29th 2023
We love libby
we loaned a liberator Accent 800 last year before a.c.t came over to discuss my new device. but unfortunately that had to go back before we could demonstrate i could use it. it went back due to getting very hot very quickly.
that was a big shame as we only had under a week mabe a bit more with it . so my head wasn’t getting how things work.
5 months on
we decided to try again as luck would have it i spoke to a friend from 30 years ago . we got chating about how i would have loved his class but i wasn’t offered it as the college didnt let me do that course .
we both agreed i would have enjoyed his classes so we decided to bounce idea off each other for an update he was planning possibly online course or even go back to where it all began.
i manage get to loan the Accent 1000 from liberator the software i was use to was on it but so was the programme that got me so interested in it 30 years ago.
Discussing Discovery
You may be thinking im talking about a tv program , im not. this program is a cool communication program that helps people who struggle to communicate or have no means of communication
The Accent 1000 with out look eygaze camera ( currently loaning)
so as myself and Tony are boucing ideas off each other we are also reminiscing about our time at Portland College . we both agreed i would have enjoyed his class and not hated being there so much.
Tony had a extremely bad stroke which meant he lost his speech ect. this must be so difficult because as the shoe is on the other foot so to speak.
you loose your speech and your at a loss how to communicate with everyone around you, also people’s attitudes change and you get spoken to like your a young child. or worse spoken about like you’re invisible. the problem is hospitals don’t understand the problem from the patients perspective, they know it from a medical perspective.
and this is where both Tony and i agree is the most frustrating part , if you bring your communications device in which is a lot of money and the hospital isnt that happy you do that , you then get asked all about your equipment
how much does it cost, can you demo it to us etc and before you know it your the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. they nolonger ask how are you feeling today, have you got any piain etc but you get ask what voices can that thing do can it tell jokes, how do you work it.
I’m not saying nurses and doctors and hospital staff can’t express an interest in my voice device . what i am saying is
hello im your patient im not here to demonstrate my speech aid to you. i dont mind but i only show you once if i want to. im not a museum exhibit. i am your patient.
So im loaning a Accent 1000 and we asked to loan the eyegaze bar as well. the eyegaze bar came on the 30 thof march. And didn’t work. so we emailed liberator tec support and they collected the eyegaze bar today ( 31st march) now that was quick.
Liberator tec support are extremely quick the staff at liberator are extremely friendly they pride themselves on getting to no the person first,. they remind me of my old friends from toby churchill, who would go out of there way to come to personally see you just to check the device and have a chat. ( mick and vernon i miss you)
i get the same warm friendly feeling with mark , and the rest of the staff from liberator.
A.c.t
Act came over just as we had had to send the accent 800 back. and we didnt have long with it to say yes it was the right device. i also was desperately wanting to try tobii dynavox td pilot. tobii dynavox wouldn’t loan it me until i saw a c t. so when my appointment came act booked the rep to demo it yeah it was ok but when you have 12 sets of eyes watching you your nerves eventually get to you, also the rep said i may as well cancel your place on the loan list if your having one
now the nervous really kicked in id been waiting a year for this moment. i wasnt sure. Act wanted a decision there and then ifront of the tobii rep. i said i wasnt sure. got told if your not sure we will have to start all over again.
Starting all over again did they mean paper work or go to bottom of the queue i panick and made the wrong decision. i picked the td pilot.
ive regretted ever since
TD Pilot problems
it locked me out and apple contact apple. its not listed on there product database. apple remote in and reset ask me to back the device up to the computer ( rep had to break case to disconnect camera) we explan we couldn’t unless apple gave me the ok to unplug the camera and they new that id need permission to do that. so i got permission to unplug the camera ( if anything went wrong it was apple tec support fault not ours) so we then had a rest non apple look alike ipad pro 5th generation that need connecting and backing up to the computer
so plug in usb wire and link to itunes it started backing up then disconnected from the remote in with apple. i was stuck this was saturday id been taling to apple tec support since friday night so had to do this all over again sunday. it changed its name twice as well . lucky the tec guy too my details and loged in that it was a tobii dynavox td pilot from act it disconnected apple again at same point id been on line since friday. i was tired. i email tobii dynavox got no answer for 4 weeks except to ask me fill in a survey. at the end of the 5th week i had an emai7 asking me what did i think of the help they gave me to sove my problem . i just replied i never got any help to solve my problem and still havent we put the td pilot in its bag. and there it stayed till last weekend when i need to do the monthly connection to the net for updates
i couldnt get it to turn on, then when it was turned on i couldnt log in to my td snap account ( snap core first )
nothing was working. so back in the bag it went
im also not allow use it if i can talk or move, its not allowed out the bedroom or off the floor stand. so i cant practice at all unless i cant move or talk. when you the pause the cursor it wont stay paused, if it see any movement from the bedroom window it thinks its me and begins to talk we have blackout curtains and it still see movement from outside. it talked to its self all night just wont shut up so it went back in its bag . disapearing keyboard .we have nothing to do with it i do a seperate post listing all the problems but you get the idea
i don’t recommend the tobii dynavox td pilot to anyone.
So back to the Aceent and discovery i went. no waiting days for help there help is instant. apologies as well and there so understanding. i love you liberator
Well i’m so gllad its not just me . we orderd my AYA NEO AIR PC Gaming Handheld or thought we did . but we didnt after waiting and waiting we re checked the order to find we had orderd Ayn Odin with superdock.
you think that when your told in an email that the device you had orderd doesnt have a discount . byt even tho peny told me that in an email it didn’t register .
so we been waiting Three weeks for the wrong console . i re read the email penny sent and understand what she ment so ive just cancelled it we had 16 days to do it so im just in time. Thankforly the other one can be order via a uk site .
AYA NEO AIR PC Gaming Handheld is Aurora white it can play all my console games. so i cant wait.
update
aya neo air console has died so had a very polite email saayimg
“ on investigation our engineers have found a fault. please finll in your details for collection and modle and order number so we can collect it”
so the review is going to tell the story of the faulty aya neo air
if you love hand held gaming but prefer carts. just like the game boy, game gear, and others. then the evercade is for you.
I got my first evercade when it came out . it was the premium pack with 10 game carts.
these carts come in a hard case with a full colour glossy manual that tells you all about the games on that cartridge, hints and tips.
im a bit behind on my collection right now im on cart 23.
My favourite games so far
romeow and juliecat
which is sort of colums type game where you have to use up all the puzzle pieces to collect points while keeping juliecat happy with music and protecting her . it is a very hard game. because you cant change the puzzle pieces direction. it really addictive.
other gamesyou will recognise are
Worms, Dizzy, Zool , sensible soccer , the list is long but there something for everyone. you can get the games for £18. which isnt bad considering that normally you pay about £60 for 1 game. There anything from 2 to 10 games per cart for the evercade hand hald which isnt bad as your collection soon grows.
the handheld i have is the white and red collectible edition , there is a black and red collectible edition these both came with a limited edition coin signed certificate. then later on Evercade brought out the purple and grey version this came with a certificate and a keyring. i don’t own this one yet . my partner calls it the evercade minion. as i love minions.
Evercade vs console
Evercade then brought out the evercade vs founders edition i don’t own that either. but its black and red and connects to your tv via hdmi. It come with a poster , keyring, hard case, and depending on your pack you can get 4 games with it . it also had your name on the certificate so your a founder and 2 black controllers. Ive seen the controllers on ebay for £ 20 – £50 and the console for £ 400.
There is a white and red version. which i seen for £80. this just comes with one game and one controller.
the best is you can plug in your evercade handheld into the evercade vs. also the evercade vs has 2 cart slots so you can play a 12 and a 12 cart. but it gets better when you have two carts in the vs you can unlock a secret game, not all carts combos do this. i don’t think. but as i don’t have a evercade vs for this review i cant tell you. and i don’t no if it specifically to do with if you use the white/red , back/red or purple and grey hand held or not. The evercade vs has wifi built in so it updates for you.
More Evercade goodies
The coolest thing then happened Evercade Fans brought out a magazine called Evercade Evolution currently £7.99 in printed format and £ 6.99 in Kindle format. ( price change so there only a rough guide) I’m unsure if the magazine is available in other ebook formats because i get mine from amazon.co.uk . currently a waiting the next issue . its full of goodies reviews, q and a letters ect in the same style as the booklet you get with your game carts.
My only problem ( not read anyone else had it happen)
you can plug in your handheld to the tv hdmi socket via the recommended cable but i don’t no what happened but when i did that i lost all my game saves. I used the official evercade hdmi cable for my handheld linked it to my tv. played happily for several hours . Save my progress regularly, turn off my handheld correctly , un plugged the hdmi correct, charged up my evercade and go ready to play romeo and juliecat in hand held mode, all my saves were gone. i cried this game is hard for me to play so i was really upset to discover that all the progress i had made ( got to level 4) on a really difficult game had some how been lost.
yeah ok its level 4 but this game is very difficult. ive not dare plug in my handheld to the hdmi cable since. Not sure if its my unit or what but just wanted let you no.
System update
with my evercade hand held i had to do a systems update, which i was nervous about, it went ok , you download the update and run it plug in the evercade turn it on making sure there no cart in the handheld and follow the instructions which are really easy .
i was only nervous because the first time it couldn’t find my evercade also i think my experience with the hdmi and loosing my game saves didn’t help, but i shouldn’t have worried.
since the update there are more saving slots and a new interface. the interface matches the evercade vs interface which took some getting use to as i don’t own a evercade vs.
It just been announced that the red/white , the black/red/ and the purple/grey handheld evercade have been retired.
but don’t panic. the new evercade hand held is out at end of the year ( 2022) it call the Evercade Exp. Pre orders have sold out.
i will write more on the Evercade EXP when i know more but for now. all I can say is the pre order units are white, and the non pre order units are black . it has wifi built in , plays all 300 + games from both the original Evercade handheld and the Evercade vs.
Sian's World 
