[optacon-l] Re: Optacon Podcasts
- From: Mallard <mallard@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2012 22:41:44 +0100
Fran,
I thought I remembered you started using an Optacon in 1st grade...
Unfortunately, we in Lombardy weren't so lucky. Our region didn't do
anything about the Optacon.
I also had my first Optacon in 1977, and my grand-mother paid for it
with all her savings... It cost three million lie at the time, but in
the following years, with the lira-dollar exchange rate going crazy, it
came to something like twelve millions (I wrote these numbers in letters
to make them stand out more).
I was already an adult when I had my first Optacon, but I took to it
immediately, and hadreached33 words per minute after one week.
I hope my two optacons never die on me. I have an old R1D, which was
given to me by IBM when I left, and an Optacon II, which was a Christmas
present from my husband. I much prefer the R1D as far as resolution
goes, but I had to remove the battery, so it's not very handy to carry
around when I need to use it without connecting it to the mains.
Btw, I totally agree with David about what the possible New Optacon
should be: an Optacon, without interpreting software. But there was
discussion about a possible molular device, with separate modules
providing audio or braille. In this case, I think, the open software
side of the project would come in.
I wouldn't be interested in such features, that's for sure...
Ciao,
Ollie
Il 04/11/2012 22.27, Fran ha scritto:
> Hi Ollie,
> I totally agree with you. I think the sighted are generally more impressed
> by the optacon than many blind people are. I see how amazed and fascinated
> the sighted get when I show them the optacon, or simply by hearing about it.
>
> Oh forget Italian politicians! LOL Well actually, I don't know who was
> responsible for bringing the optacon to Italy in the 70s, but they did an
> excellent job here! I was introduced to the optacon in 1977 when I started
> 1st grade, and I'd guess all Italian blind kids were exposed to it in those
> years. I don't know if other countries enjoyed this privilege.
>
> Ciao ciao!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mallard" <mallard@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 10:19 PM
> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon Podcasts
>
>
>> Yes, Fran, I agree.
>> Maybe one of our problems is that we keep thinking only in terms of the
>> blind and visually impaired community, while I think we should aim at
>> communicating a lot more with the sighted world.
>>
>> The "authorities" David mentioned in his message threw a number of
>> precious Optacons into the trash bin, because they dind't probably
>> understand their value to a blind person.
>>
>> Using an Optacon means allowing a blind person to fulfill tasks that
>> they couldn't cary out otherwise. This means being able to get better
>> jobs, earning higher salaries, paying higher taxes, and not being a
>> burden on the community.
>>
>> If our authorities could be made to understand this (I'm pretty hopeless
>> as regards Italian politicians, by the way...), we would aready have
>> gone quite a long way.
>>
>> Badly expressed, probably, but hopefully clear enough...
>> Ciao,
>> Ollie
>>
>> Il 04/11/2012 21.30, Fran ha scritto:
>>> Catherine, I don't agree. I think videos might have a tremendous impact,
>>> especially on parents or teachers of blind kids. Then of course, the
>>> fact a
>>> blind person cannot see a video doesn't mean the video wouldn't work for
>>> them either.
>>>
>>> Fran
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Catherine Thomas" <braille@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 9:05 PM
>>> Subject: [optacon-l] Optacon Podcasts
>>>
>>>
>>>> There have been a couple of podcasts made to do with the Optacon. Our
>>>> own
>>>> Mary Emerson is featured in one of these. For totally blind users,
>>>> videos
>>>> wouldn't have much appeal. For those with some sight, the Optacon
>>>> doesn't
>>>> have much appeal.
>>>>
>>>> For those interested in the podcasts, I'm sure Mary can turn them up. I
>>>> have a copy of the tape that was made someplace.
>>>> Catherine
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> -Catherine Thomas
>>>> braille@xxxxxxxxx /
>>>>
>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
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>> delle firme digitali 7657 (20121104) __________
>>
>> Il messaggio è stato controllato da ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>
>> www.nod32.it
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