Another Student Weighs in on the Apex

Actually, our first Apex contest winner (see November, 2010), Karen from Marshall High, sent me a couple articles with her impressions of the new Apex accessible PDA a couple of months ago (sorry for the delay posting, Karen). One of the top features that our students want to learn about is how to get online with this cool braille device. Karen gives a nice description of how to use the new built-in wireless feature of the Apex to get surf the Internet. Read her article below:

After using the Apex for almost one month and a half, I have successfully connected to the internet via a wireless connection! I found that when setting up a wireless connection, scanning is the best means of finding your connection's SSID (service set identifier), or the name that identifies the network.  When I scan for example, various wireless connection SSIDs may appear such as 2WIRE740 or Organizer because several people may have wireless connections.  JAWS names the SSID when displaying how much signal strength is available, so when scanning for SSIDs, you must create a connection configuration for the name that matches that of the computer.  Therefore, if you have two bars of signal for the SSID titled Smith, use this SSID when creating a connection configuration on the Apex.  A connection configuration gives the Apex the information it needs for each separate internet connection such as how you connect (dial-up, wireless, etc) and specific information depending on which one is available.  You may need to create several configurations for home, school, etc.  In my case, I use a wireless ethernet connection at home and an ethernet connection at school; ethernet connections happen when you plug in the Apex to an Ethernet cable; the ethernet port is on the rightmost corner of the Apex when the thumb keys are facing you with the keyboard facing up.

A connection configuration is analogous to having different braille codes.  When using English braille for instance, there are certain dot combinations for you and others to understand the code, such as dots 256 to identify a period.  In this example, the SSID is English braille because this is how everyone identifies the type of braille you are using, and the 256 is specific to only this code.  In another example, Nemeth could be an SSID for the Nemeth code, and dot 2 is specific to the number 1.  Just like each code has specific dot combinations, each connection configuration needs specific information to be able to connect.

How do you set up a wireless connection? First, enter the options menu (space with O) and press C for the connectivity menu which consists of several items such as "create a new dial-up or lan connection" and "active connection details" which gives you information about the connection such as signal strength and whether or not you are connected to the network; use this option AFTER you have made a configuration.  Signal under -81 is very low; from -81 to -71 is average signal; between -71 ed -67 is good signal; and excellent reception is between -67 and -57.  From the connectivity menu, there are different ways to create a connection.  You can either choose "create a new dial-up or lan connection" which gives you more flexibility in choosing the type of connection, or "configure a new wireless connection" from the "wireless ethernet" menu if you know you will create a wireless connection.  Choosing either option opens the list of inputs; in this example, I use "create a new dial-up or lan connection." Under "connection configuration name," choose a name for the connection that makes sense to you; my connections for my house and Marshall are called Home and School, respectively.  Under device to use, press space with dots 3,4 to go through the different connection options such as wireless ethernet connection or ethernet network connection.  Going back to the braille example, the options under device to use are like specifying what equipment you are using to make braille such as a slate and stylus or brailler.  Depending on which connection type you use, the options after this step differ.  Assuming you choose wireless ethernet, most of the options can be left the same except for the ones explained below.  Type in your SSID if you know it; if not, you can scan for it, which is explained later.  The options "use WEP" and "use WPA-Psk" are asking you what kind of security your connection has.  According to Ms.  Schindler, WEP is an older security type that is hardly used anymore, so enter no. [Note: although WEP is an older protocol, it is still being used, especially in our schools around the LAUSD, so this may be an option for some Apex users when setting up their wireless connection.] For WPA-PSK, enter yes; the pre-shared key prompt is asking you to enter the password for the connection.  Now, press space with E followed by Y to add the record.

To scan for your SSID, turn on wireless ethernet from the wireless ethernet menu in the connectivity menu, and press S.  Choose the correct one from the list, and press enter to create a configuration as described above.  The difference between creating a connection this way is that only the fields relating to wireless connections are displayed.  Scanning is also helpful after a configuration is created because the Apex tells you whether or not which connections are available depending on where you are.  When at an airport, you could scan for a connection, create a configuration, and be online before you know it.

How do you connect to the internet? From the main menu, press I, and type in the web address.  When prompted for the connection configuration, the one you just created will be the default if only one configuration has been created.  Once you choose the configuration, you will be prompted to wait while the page loads.  Enjoy!