Blazie Technologies are thrilled to announce an exciting update, available for all users with a BT Speak under a warranty or maintenance contract. This update brings awesome new capabilities to BT Speak, including Smart Help, an AI-based assistant that answers questions about using your device in real time. Google Drive now lets you open documents instantly without downloading them first, and BT Code adds new lessons, musical functions, and coding challenges to further your Python learning. You’ll also find continued improvements to YouTube Stream and other system enhancements.
Quick Instructions for Updating Your BT Speak
- Ensure that your BT Speak is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Your battery level should be at 40% or higher.
- Type O-Chord for the Options menu.
- Type M for the BT Speak Management menu.
- Type U to Check for Software Updates.
- Your BT Speak should tell you that a new update is available and will ask if you’d like to install it. Press the letter Y to begin the installation.
The BT Speak will download and install the update.
Once BT Speak restarts, you will be able to start enjoying the new update.
Smart Help
Meet Smart Help, an AI-powered assistant that answers your questions about BT Speak and guides you step by step through the system from wherever you are.
Smart Help can be activated from nearly anywhere, with the exception of Speech Controls Mode and Review Mode. You can ask practical questions such as “What are the commands to navigate a markdown document?”, “How do I set up my Thunderbird email account?”, or even “How much does my BT Speak weigh?”. Use of Smart Help requires an active Wi-Fi connection and a current maintenance contract.
Using Smart Help
To open Smart Help, press H-Chord with dot 8. You will hear the prompt, “How can I help?”. Type your BT Speak-related question and press Enter (dot 8). The response appears as a read-only file, which you can review using standard file navigation commands.
Context-Aware Navigation
Smart Help also provides context-specific navigation when appropriate. When a question involves moving to another part of the system, Smart Help generates step-by-step routing instructions based on your current location. For example, if you are in the Settings menu and ask how to get to Firefox, the response will begin with the navigation steps needed to reach it from where you are. If Smart Help cannot determine your current location, it will provide guidance starting from the Blazie editor.
Help Us Improve Smart Help
Smart Help also lets you report answers that are incomplete or inaccurate. After reviewing a response, press Z-Chord and BT Speak will ask, “Was this answer helpful?”. Press N (for No), then dot 8 (Enter). You will be asked whether you would like to provide feedback. Press Y to open a multi-line input dialog, where you can enter notes for our support team to review. When you exit Smart Help, you will hear “Exit”.
Current Knowledge Scope
Smart Help is trained on the BT Speak manual through the 4th edition, which means it does not yet include BT Code or other features introduced after that release. We will continue expanding its knowledge over time.
Tips for success:
When asking questions, more detail usually leads to better results. For example, “How do I navigate a markdown document by heading level?” produces a more specific answer than “How do I navigate a markdown document?”.
If an answer seems inaccurate, try rephrasing the question or adding more context.
Google Drive: open files for reading or editing
This update includes a new Google Drive feature that lets you open a variety of files for reading or editing without having to download them first.
The app downloads the document to a temporary file, so there’s no persistent storage involved. If it’s a file with an .odt or .docx extension, it translates those files into plain text so you can work with it in the editor. PDF and .gdoc files opened in a read-only session. Any files that you edit are translated back to the original file type and are automatically re-uploaded via Google Drive’s update feature.
This feature is explained in the Google Drive help topic in a new heading titled Opening Files for Reading or Editing (under Managing Files).
BT Code: new lessons and additional challenge activities
Lessons
Two new lessons have been added to BT Code! The theme of this month’s lessons is “controlling variables”.
Lesson 14 builds on earlier work with functions by introducing variable scope. Students learn how global and local variables work, where they can be used, and how scope affects program behaviour. The lesson 14 challenge activity will have you writing programs that turn messages into musical melodies.
Lesson 15 introduces Python’s None value and other “falsy” values, showing how these important tools are used to control program flow. The Lesson 15 challenge will have your users digging for treasure.
Upgraded Music Features
The music library now includes a new settings feature that gives you greater control over how note sequences are played. You can set the tempo in beats per minute, choose a playback style such as normal, staccato, or legato, and enable swing for a more expressive musical feel.
Supplemental Challenges
We’ve added two new supplemental coding challenges for Lessons 11 and 13, designed to help you gain confidence with lists and functions, two of the most important building blocks in Python.
In Lesson 11, you’ll program a classic version of Battleship. The game you create is just the beginning, with plenty of opportunities to push yourself further by adding features such as two-player gameplay, sounds and melodies, scoring, multiple ships, and more.
Lesson 13 now includes a challenge where you’ll build Bulls and Cows, the classic logic puzzle in which players must crack a four-letter code. Your program guides players with clues and reinforces core Python problem-solving and reasoning skills.
YouTube Stream Improvements
- We fixed a bug in the last update which occasionally prevented some videos from playing. All YouTube videos should now play as expected.
- When a video begins playing, you are immediately taken to the Now Playing screen. This is the same Now Playing screen that opens when you listen to a podcast. This gives you many additional playback options. See the Now Playing help topic for specific commands.
A much more powerful Calculator
The calculator has received a substantial upgrade, bringing it fully into feature parity with the calculator on the original Blazie Engineering product line. This update dramatically expands the available function set, making the calculator a far more powerful tool for everyday math, science, education, and professional use.
The calculator now includes a broad collection of aggregate, mathematical, rounding, trigonometric, unit conversion, environmental, and base-conversion functions, restoring the depth and flexibility longtime Blazie aficionados expect while providing a richer experience for new users.
In addition to expanding functionality, the calculator has been internally modernized. All computation is now handled within a single, self-contained engine, eliminating reliance on external tools and improving consistency, reliability, and predictability of results.
Several behavioural bugs have been fixed along the way:
- Results that begin with a non-digit, such as negative decimals, are now correctly stored in the last variable, and repeating the previous result with control R now behaves as expected
- Assignment to last is also more consistent and predictable overall
For users who want to dive deeper, the calculator now includes many new functions, such as:
- Aggregate functions including sum, average, standard deviation, median, minimum, maximum, and mode
- Expanded mathematical functions including logarithms, antilogarithms, roots, trigonometric helpers, and factorials
- Integer and rounding utilities such as truncation, division, modulus, reciprocals, and rounding
- Extensive unit conversions for temperature, distance, volume, and weight
- Environmental calculations such as wind chill using the NOAA formula
- Base conversions between decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary
The calculator also includes a new degrees/radians toggle, access with CTRL+T (dots 2-3-4-5-7-8), and the trigonometric functions have been updated to make their calculations based on this setting. Consequently, we have removed the degree-specific variations of these functions as they are no longer required.
A complete list of functions and usage details is available in the Calculator help topic.
Concluding Remarks
Your feedback is always welcome and is essential for providing enhancements and improvements to BT Speak. Feel free to email feedback to [email protected] or by calling us at (772) 214-1616.