[optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
- From: "Antonio Quatraro" <a.quatraro@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 20:52:14 +0100
apologizes if I join your very interesting discussion.
I also used to work with optacon, and I just wonder whether somebody has
ever thougth about making a short video illustrating the many advantages of
this wonderful equipment.
Films often are more convincent aht our explanations
Cheers
Antonio
----- Original Message -----
From: "David" <elephant@xxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 8:34 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
> Right. And people want things on their computer. Even when I talked to the
> authorities here about some other equipment, they simply returned one
> question to me: Can't you do that with your computer? Well, I tried to
> tell
> them the benefit of not having to run around with a backpack of 6 pounds,
> so
> as to bring my computer for whatever activity I wanted to do. And, I
> guess,
> that would be one of the really heavy arguments for a new Optacon. It's
> prtability and flexibility.
>
> Locally, there no longer exist a school for the blind. Meaning that all
> kids
> have to go to plain school, being taught Braille from teachers who only
> have
> had a couple of weeks of Braille training themselves. All the rest, is put
> on computers, and whatever is not, the blind child has little or no chance
> of learning. Think what a great tool the Optacon would have been, even
> just
> for learning to recognize simple drawings from your peers, or to read
> simple
> maps of your local surroundings. Or, what about the time I had signed a
> piece of paper, not realizing the pen was out of ink. Be you young or old,
> but there is a load of occasions, where the Optacon is sovereign in its
> simplicity. But to convince paying authorities or organizations, is a
> nightmare. Add on to it, that when the Optacon was still being
> manufactured
> and paid for, the local requirement over here, was no less than 50 hours.
> Even with a small salary, fifty hours turned into a good chunk of money.
> This was to be added on to the price of the unit. The end result, was that
> only really inthusiastic persons, and people who could come up with steady
> arguments for their need for the equipment, would get it. And,
> unfortunately, the Optacon calls for a bit of work, if you are to get
> effective use of it. Sometimes, i have been wondering, if the vibrating
> array is one of the learning curves to climb. Just imagine, if your
> Braille
> display on the computer was a vibrating one. Maybe a new model of the
> Optacon should have been made with a more static kind of a displaying
> array?
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mallard" <mallard@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 8:05 PM
> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
>
>
>> Well... At least in David's case it was "The Authorities"... Here in
>> Italy it was the organisations for the blind that got in teh way of
>> spreading the Optacon, although not everywhere in the country.
>> Here the National Health Service pays (or should I say paid???) for many
>> aids for the disabled, totally or partially. There was a list of
>> approved aids, including braille diaplsys, watches, thermometers, you
>> name it... But the Optacon was never included, because the organisations
>> for the blind were afraid it would "kill" braille.
>> Right... So, what did they do to protect braille onlya few years later?
>> Nothing of nothing. They promoted audio all along, with the result that
>> now even children can hardly read or write braille.
>>
>> This makes me mad, and I keep raising my voice against such shame, but
>> apparently I'm one of few - once again Cassandra...
>> Nevermind eh... I'm used to it by now...
>> Ciao,
>> Ollie
>> to view the list archives, go to:
>>
>> www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l
>>
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>>
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>>
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>>
>
> to view the list archives, go to:
>
> www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l
>
> 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
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>
> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the
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>
to view the list archives, go to:
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