Dear Milestone customer

We are very pleased to inform you about firmware 4.47. It is the most powerful update since Milestone exists and it levels up both units - Milestone 312 and Milestone 212. Bones offers this substantial firmware for free.
Please be aware that Bones keeps updating firmware 4.47. At the moment, version 7 is available. Such versions only include little improvements and some fixes but no new features. An overview of these little improvements of each version follows on the next line, afterwards the main information about 4.47 and the installation description follow. 


Version 4.47.7:

Audio: The recording volume via integrated microphone will be increased with Milestones of serial number 600000 or higher. These devices have a slightly lower recording volume by default than earlier devices. Firmware 4.47.7 levels up that difference. Milestones with lower serial numbers will not experience any modification by installing 4.47.7.


Version 4.47.6:

This version was built to incorporate the exclusive stopwatch for the Special Edition of Milestone 312. Standard Milestones will not experience any modification by installing 4.47.6.


Update 4.47.5:

Books: The Bookshelf has been extended by a book deletion function. Direct deletion in the Bookshelf is done by pressing the delete combination with „Mode and „Play. Please be aware that except for Audible books, Milestone does only delete books that are stored in a separate folder. Attention: If there are voice messages or other files in the book folder you have chosen, all the content will be erased.

Alarm: A malfunction caused by the combination of an active timer and the keyboard lock has been fixed. Previously, a locking of the keyboard while the timer of Alarm was active caused a software problem. 

Audio, Milestone 212: Indication of reading position in the Information service of Audio has been added for Milestone 212. Consequently, requesting the played and remaining time is available as known from Milestone 312.

In general: Reliability to start charging process and computer connection with Milestone in power off mode has been increased. Units that have problems with the last firmware showed difficulties to start up if connected to a computer or connected to a charger. Consequently, charging of battery failed and the unit continuously played the start melody. Firmware 4.47.5 guarantees a reliable behavior to start those processes in power off mode.


Update 4.47.4:

General: Sporadical interruptions of playback in Books and Audio are solved.

Books: Resume position in NLS books works precise now.

Books: Inability of jumping backwards on level 3 & 4 is solved.

Books: Detection of nonstandard DAISY books by the Bookshelf has improved.

Audio: Better compatibility to nonstandard MP4 files.

Only for Milestone 312: Possibility to activate a signal before Milestone powers off. Therefore edit the entry „enable_feature offsound in the CONFIG file of Milestones internalmemory. Enter a value between 1 and 200 seconds to activate the feature. „0 is the default value and it disables the feature.
If you enter „30 Milestone will play a signal 30 seconds before the Milestone powers off. It enables the customer to push a button within this period to keepMilestone powered.


Update 4.47.3:

Battery charging: Charging Milestone‘s battery has been overworked to improve the handling of exhaustively discharged batteries. There was a risk that a protection module of the battery became active when the battery was very low and that resulted in difficulties to re-charge the battery. That leaded in a recurring playback of the starting sound.


Update 4.47.2:

Audio: Deleting in one direction has been reworked. Now, Milestone deletes properly the active file and all following files of the chosen direction. Previously, Milestone deleted accidentally another file of the opposite direction.

Audio: Processing of files with substantial ID3v2 tags (for instance, music in MP3 with a cover picture) has been improved. This results in a faster playback start by using the „Play“ button and quicker jumps between the files by using the arrow buttons.

Books: DAISY compatibility has been improved. Milestone has not played the content of some books but only said „end of book“.
Attention: After the update please delete special files created by Milestone in the folder of the problematic book. You recognize them by the ending „.312“. Alternatively, you can delete the book and copy it again to the SD memory card to achieve the same result.

Books: Milestone plays picture titles and text of EPUB books with UTF8 encoding correct now.

Books: The setting that enables or disables playback of footnotes, marginalia and producer notes handles footnotes properly as of now.


Update 4.47.1: 

Books: Incompatibility to AA books from Audible is solved.

Books: Compatibility to EPUB book names with special characters improved.


Information about new features and highlights of firmware 4.47 and installation description:

There are many new new audio & book formats and features available. In each application you can find new additions. Some of the highlights are: Reading of Word DOC files, playback of videos, playback of music from your iTunes library, possibility to connect Milestone with the external Milestone CD drive for data transfer, new formats in the book application like EPUB, DAISY 3.0 etc., new book features like adjustable time jumps, adjustable wake up sounds for Alarm and much more.
For more details please read the release notes below.


Installation: 
1) Charge battery if Milestone‘s battery level is low.
2) Download the firmware. Please be aware that in the Support area exist 2 links to download the firmware. For standard Milestone 212 and Milestone 312 please use the first link. For Milestone 212 and Milestone 312 with ME-Version (Russian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic) installed, please use the second download.
3) Unzip the downloaded package. Copy the 4 files to the root directory of an SD memory card.
4) Insert the SD card into active Milestone 312 or Milestone 212. The update starts immediately. So, don‘t be surprised by the acoustic output of the unit. The firmware contains 4 parts and will restart the unit several times. Do not remove the SD memory card  during the update process. Just wait until Milestone becomes silent again.

Attention: The 6 default alarm sounds will be set to the initial volume level by updating Milestone. In the support area of www.bones.ch you can download lower volume levels of the alarm sounds.

Release notes, Firmware 4.47 on Milestone 312:
The following list combines the most important news that firmware 4.47 brings for Milestone 312. For Milestone 212, please see the extra list below.

1) In general.

Possibility to attach external Milestone CD Drive: 
Connect Milestone via USB to the Milestone CD Drive and copy CD content to Milestone‘s SD memory card without a computer. Both is possible:
-Copy data CDs like DAISY CDs to Milestone.
-Copy music CDs to Milestone. After copying the content, it is converted into MP3 or WAV.

Audible folder is faded out: 
The Audible folder on the internal memory is a fixed folder, which you cannot erase. It contains the needed file to be able to register for Audible books. With the new firmware that is different according to our strategy to build an open device with minimal restrictions. As of now, Milestone automatically fades out the Audible folder. However, via computer the folder is still accessible. In case you want to delete the folder you can deactivate the Audible functionality in the CONFIG file on the internal memory and afterwards erase the folder.
Attention: If you have content in the folder "Audible" please copy it to another folder to still have access on Milestone after the update.

Select time until Milestone powers off:
Milestone usually powers off after 10 minutes of inactivity. From now on you decide how long Milestone shall stay active. You have the possibility to adjust that value in the CONFIG file of the internal memory. Choose a value between 5 to 60 minutes.

Update safety increased:
After a successful update of the new firmware, safety for any kind of update process is much higher. Worst case, Milestone can switch to an alternative firmware to rescue a corrupted firmware. 


2) Application Audio.

Reading of Word DOC files:
Play your Microsoft Word DOC files on Milestone in the Audio application. Copy the DOC file to Milestone and open it in the Audio application. Press "Play" and Milestone will create immediately a TXT out of it. This process is signalized with a short ticking. Milestone fades out the DOC file as soon as a TXT version of it is available. However, the DOC is still exists in the memory and can be used via USB. If you delete the TXT version you can find the DOC file again on Milestone.
 Attention: DOCX is not supported.

Playback your iTunes music on Milestone:
Play M4A music from your iTunes library on Milestone as of now. So, even downloaded music is playable.

Play videos on your Milestone:
Milestone plays the audio stream of videos in standard MP4 and M4V. Please note that opening such a video file needs initialization time before playback starts. This process is signaled by a ticking sound.

Bookmarks in Audio:
Insert up to 12 so called Audiomarks in the Audio application to remember an important position in any kind of file. Inserting such a mark works the same way as in the Book application: Push and hold "Rec" during 2 seconds while playback of a file. In the Locals Settings you can find those marks listed in the position Audiomark. Select with the arrow buttons through the Audiomarks and start reading. Deleting an Audiomark can be done in the Local Settings as well. Just press the erase shortcut "Mode" and "Play".

Play time and remaining time of each file is announced:
In the Information Service of the Audio application the played time and the remaining time for each individual file is announced.

Erase folders:
As of now you can erase folders, which are not needed anymore, directly on Milestone. Select the folder you would like to erase. While holding down “Mode”, press the “Play” button. After 3 seconds confirm erasing by pressing “Play” again. Finally, let go of the “Mode” button.

Force automatic playback of next file:
Voice messages always stop playback after the message ends. All other files automatically jump to next file automatically. CONTINUE.NO forces a stop of playback when a file ends. As of now, CONTINUE.YES is available as well. If you place any file with name „CONTINUE.YES“ in a folder, it will force a continuous playback of all files therein, regardless if they are voice records or normal audio files.
For example your Line-In recordings are played continuously.
Attention: Please make sure that there is no file extension placed behind CONTINUE.YES.


3) Application Books.

Full compatibility to DAISY 2.02 text and audio, DAISY 3 text and audio:
Milestone now plays all DAISY 2 and DAISY 3 standards. For instance, books from BookShare and many other libraries are provided.
By the way, on Milestone you do not have to wait with reading until a new book is initialized. You may know this pause from other players. With Milestone just press "Play" and the reading starts immediately.

Play unprotected EPUB 2.0.1 books on Milestone:
EPUB or Electronic PUBlication is an open standard for text based e-books and now it is possible to play it with Milestone.

Variable time jumps in Books:
Time jumps in the Book application have been defined for 2 minutes before. This value now is variable. In the Local Settings of the application Books you have the possibility to adjust the time jumps between 10 seconds to 60 minutes.


4) Application Alarm.

Choose between 6 sounds to get up in the morning:
Alarm has a new setting possibility to choose your desired wake up sound. Besides the 6 default sounds you can update further wake up sounds from www.bones.ch .


5) Application Agenda.

Power on Milestone without starting sound:
In the Local Settings of Agenda and Alarm you have the possibility to activate a silent start. This setting is valid if an Agenda event or the Alarm signal powers on Milestone. Only the event or alarm is played, - no starting sound and no application announcement appears. The setting is valid for both Alarm and Agenda. Please note that this setting does not have influence on normal powering on with "Play" button.

Monday to Friday events available:
An additional parameter can be found in the setting Repeat. Choose "Monday to Friday events" to create events that appear while working days, but not during the weekend.

Add loud beeps to your voice message events:
Sometimes, it may happen that you miss a voice message event because Milestone is not next to you and the announcement not very loud. As of now, you can add a loud beep to the voice message to make sure you hear such an appointment. You find this setting in the the Local Settings of the application Agenda.

Event previews can be stopped:
Event previews do start by a push on "Play". So far, it was not possible to stop that announcement. As of now, just press "Play" again while the event preview is played and it immediately stops.

PAVIP, Public Transportation system: 
The new firmware has the whole PAVIP Transport software built in. PAVIP Transport is a system to interact with public transportation vehicles via Milestone. Typical functions are the announcement of vehicles while they are approaching, the possibility to activate a sound signal which helps finding the door entry of the desired vehicle, the possibility to request the all stops until the final stop during the journey and so on.
Needed for PAVIP is the PAVIP Radio Transceiver Add-On. This is a little cap that is placed on top of Milestone. Currently, PAVIP is installed in the Swiss City Sanct Gallen. If you would like to give it a try, please contact the Swiss Blind Union at www.sbv-fsa.ch or Bones Switzerland www.bones.ch .

7) Most important resolved BUGS:
-Compatibility of USB connection improved - no problems with new computers anymore.
-Update files work with all card sizes now.
-Erasing sound does not appear anymore when pressing erase button combination and no file is present.
-No more distorted recordings after radio playback.
-WMA implementation improved: Mono files are played at correct speed, scrolling is possible and resume is correct



Release notes, Firmware 4.47 on Milestone 212:
The following list combines the most important news that firmware 4.47 brings for Milestone 212.

1) In general.

Possibility to attach external Milestone CD Drive: 
Connect Milestone via USB to the Milestone CD Drive and copy CD content to Milestone‘s SD memory card without a computer. Both is possible:
-Copy data CDs like DAISY CDs to Milestone.
-Copy music CDs to Milestone. After copying the content, it is converted into MP3 or WAV.

Audible folder is faded out: 
The Audible folder on the SD memory card is a fixed folder, which you cannot erase. It contains the needed file to be able to register for Audible books. With the new firmware that is different according to our strategy to build an open device with minimal restrictions. As of now, Milestone automatically fades out the Audible folder. However, via computer the folder is still accessible. 
Attention: If you have content in the folder "Audible" please copy it to another folder to still have access on Milestone after the update.

Update safety increased:
After a successful update of the new firmware, safety for any kind of update process is much higher. Worst case, Milestone can switch to an alternative firmware to rescue a corrupted firmware. 


2) Application Audio.

Reading of Word DOC files:
Play your Microsoft Word DOC files on Milestone in the Audio application. Copy the DOC file to Milestone and open it in the Audio application. Press "Play" and Milestone will create immediately a TXT out of it. This process is signalized with a short ticking. Milestone fades out the DOC file as soon as a TXT version of it is available. However, the DOC still exists in the memory and can be used via USB. If you delete the TXT version you can find the DOC file again on Milestone.
 Attention: DOCX is not supported.

Playback your iTunes music on Milestone:
Play M4A music from your iTunes library on Milestone as of now. So, even downloaded music is playable.

Play videos on your Milestone:
Milestone plays the audio stream of videos in standard MP4 and M4V. Please note that opening such a video file needs initialization time before playback starts. This process is signaled by a ticking sound.

Play time and remaining time of each file is announced:
In the Information Service of the Audio application the played time and the remaining time for each individual file is announced.

Erase folders:
As of now you can erase folders, which are not needed anymore, directly on Milestone. Select the folder you would like to erase. While holding down “Mode”, press the “Play” button. After 3 seconds confirm erasing by pressing “Play” again. Finally, let go of the “Mode” button.

Force automatic playback of next file:
Voice messages always stop playback after the message ends. All other files automatically jump to next file automatically. CONTINUE.NO forces a stop of playback when a file ends. As of now, CONTINUE.YES is available as well. If you place any file with name „CONTINUE.YES“ in a folder, it will force a continuous playback of all files therein, regardless if they are voice records or normal audio files.
For example your Line-In recordings are played continuously.
Attention: Please make sure that there is no file extension placed behind CONTINUE.YES.


3) Application Books.

Full compatibility to DAISY 2.02 text and audio, DAISY 3 text and audio:
Milestone now plays all DAISY 2 and DAISY 3 standards. For instance, books from BookShare and many other libraries are provided.
By the way, on Milestone you do not have to wait with reading until a new book is initialized. You may know this pause from other players. With Milestone just press "Play" and the reading starts immediately.

Play EPUB books on Milestone:
EPUB or Electronic PUBlication is an open standard for text based e-books and now it is possible to play it with Milestone.


4) PAVIP, Public Transportation system: 
The new firmware has the whole PAVIP Transport software built in. PAVIP Transport is a system to interact with public transportation vehicles via Milestone. Typical functions are the announcement of vehicles while they are approaching, the possibility to activate a sound signal which helps finding the door entry of the desired vehicle, the possibility to request the all stops until the final stop during the journey and so on.
Needed for PAVIP is the PAVIP Radio Transceiver Add-On. This is a little cap that is placed on top of Milestone. Currently, PAVIP is installed in the Swiss City Sanct Gallen. If you would like to give it a try, please contact the Swiss Blind Union at www.sbv-fsa.ch or Bones Switzerland www.bones.ch .


5) Most important resolved BUGS:
-Compatibility of USB connection improved - no problems with new computers anymore.
-Update files work with all card sizes now.
-Erasing sound does not appear anymore when pressing erase button combination and no file is present.
-WMA implementation is improved: Mono files are played at correct speed, scrolling is possible and resume is correct.

Enjoy the new firmware.

Best regards,
Your Bones Team