Mike: I totally agree. Here in Italy the people who managed to effectively use an Optacon are relatively few. Most of them are computer programmers, who used it at work, but then very rarely also used to read books, for instance. I thought much of this difficulty in learning depended on the fact that the local Association of the Blind never supported or promoted use of the Optacon, and quite a few of the instructors didn't believe in its potential anyway. apparently, there's more to it, as the situation seems to be the same all over the world... However, I found your suggeston about travelling easily or otherwise very interesting. I must check that out among people I know... by the way, I travel easily... Olga To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.