[optacon-l] Re: Optacon Versus PDA
- From: "CH ARNOLD" <4carolyna@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:48:46 -0400
Dan, could a digital Optacon hold in one position, as in the case of using
the Optacon to copy a list, or as in my former work, refer to patient
appointment sheet?
(GIFT) - God is forever true,
Carolyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Tevelde" <dan.tevelde@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 5:20 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] Optacon Versus PDA
I'm enjoying this discussion but I think there is some confusion about where
a new optacon should go.
I don't see how an electro-mechanical device could be justified if all it
did was convert light into pixels on a tactile array. Even if a
sufficiently cheap tactile array could be developed, it would be hard to
find some non-digital camera which would evaluate light an contrast, and
then convert it into the corresponding pixels. I would think this would be
slow and impractical. Such a device would need to be sent to a company
which would provide maintenance and firmware upgrades.
I think a digital camera solution would be much faster, cheaper, and with a
higher degree of resolution. The trend in computing is toward many types of
tablets and phones. In fact, phones and tablets are almost identical in
terms of their size, shape, and overall footprint. To say that the iPhone
has been overhyped is simply not true. I admit the Braille interface could
be better but this keeps changing all the time. Android phones and tablets
are getting better Braille support. In addition, people with hearing loss
are using iPhones with Braille displays though there are many challenges. I
mention this because the tablet would have to be the nucleus of any type of
optacon. The camera could be used to take a picture if a person needed to
save an image. Perhaps some kind of moving camera peripheral could be
developed for someone who would want to read print under their fingers on a
hard surface such as a page in a book or newspaper, or a surface like a box
or bottle where there might be writing or images. An image in real-time
could be either saved or just read without any further action. The
experience would be tactile even though the process to acquire the image
would be digital. Using a tablet as the nucleus of a new optacon would also
add the advantage that software and firmware could be updated by the end
user. Because tablets already have speech chips it would also be easy to
install a screenreader which already exists onto the tablet if that is what
the end user wanted to do. As far as converting information into various
types of Braille, that might be possible but I don't know how practical. I
heard a demo of the TopBraille on the internet and I thought the whole
process was laughable. The device was loud and slow. A better approach
might be for the end user to use an existing Braille display since the
process of converting text to Braille using a tablet already works.
I mention all of this just to point out that know matter what type of
tactile array would be developed, the process of operating it would be
digital and accomplished by a tablet since tablets already have the
capability to acquire text and images with an ever-growing rate of
resolution. The end user might need to carry around multiple devices, but
sighted people are already doing this anyway. A portable Braille keyboard
with a display and a tablet don't take up much space. I'm using my iPhone
and Braille display to write e-mails, and sometimes posting to Twitter or
Facebook. The addition of an optacon-like device as a peripheral, wouldn't
take up that much more space in my backpack. There doesn't need to be a one
size fits all optacon. I'm just pointing out that the direction assistive
technology is taking is for smaller mainstream devices and Braille displays
or other peripherals. This has also shrunk the notetaker market but that is
an entirely different issue. I'm just pointing out that people need to
evaluate all of the available options and not be Luddites.
Dan
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
to:
optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the
quotes) in the message subject.
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 to:
optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes)
in the message subject.
Other related posts:
