Hi Ollie and all,
Ollie don't feel alone... I am another Italian Optacon user :) Many people
think I'm fool, but none of them have never told me how to access a math book
with formula and graphs or a sudoku scheme using a scanner or an iPhone...
I really hope that a new Optacon could be produced soon!
PS Ollie, can I contact you off list?
Caterina
--------------------------------------------
Lun 18/2/19, Mallard <mallard@xxxxxxxxx> ha scritto:
Oggetto: [optacon-l] Re: Hi, listers
A: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, "David Moore" <jesusloves1966@xxxxxxxxx>
Data: Lunedì 18 febbraio 2019, 10:17
Hello Dave,
Yes, life is funny indeed!
Here in Italy
I think I'm one of the few people still using an Optacon
regularly.
In the '70's and
'80's, IBM and otehr companies had founded an
organisation that trained blind programmers,
who used Optacons to do
their job.
This would
make you think that those people understood the value of an
Optacon over all other, subsequent, less
direct solutions to access
anything. But
no! They keep telling me that the Optacon is obsolete,
just because the technology is a few decades
old!
And
they maintained it was too expensive, which is probably true
here,
given the unfavourable exchange
between US Dollar and Italian lira at
the
time.
But
then they went and paid just as much, or even more, to buy a
computer, screen reader, speech synth,
scanner and OCR software (all of
which,a
few years ago, wasn't all that cheap). So they would
have needed
a van to transport all that
equipment, while an Optacon was (and is)
superportable!
I use my Optacon for different
languages, including Hebrew and Russian,
for reading printed books, but also ebooks in a
commercial E-reader, to
read my computer
screen when necessary, and any possible packages,
labels, mail... Maps, of course... You name
it...
I've re-discovered the pleasure of reading
with an Optacon with
batteries after I got
my Optacon II back from England, where Dave
Godfrey repaired, and my husband rebuilt my
battery packs.
I don't trust apps that have volunteers to
help. Not even things like Be
My Eyes, for
example. When I need to find things I misplace or that fall
and I can't get my dog to retrieve
them, I make a videocall to my
husband or a
friend, and get help from them.
I wouldn't dream of paying
hundreds of Euros for services that intrude
my privacy...
Ciao,
Ollie
Il 18/02/2019
02:07, David Moore ha scritto:
HeyBob!
I use my Optacon as well, just topractice!
I have the same trouble youdo with different types of formatting. Straight up regular
Just the otherday, I read a pill bottle and read something on my TV
Peopleare paying $200.00 for services like AIRA,
Where they use their phone, and the cameraon the phone, and pay all of that money, just to ask them
Life is pretty funny!                                      Â
David Moore
it's Bob in NY.
From: harlynn@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2019 5:46 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Hi, listers
Hi, Optaconers:
regular
I have been using my optacon on a
basis to keep up my skills.I
find if I don't I lose a greatdeal. right now, I'm reading information
about our paratransit system, and I'mdoing pretty well. I find if I know
the subject, I do better. I often anticipate words, but
them wrong.with fl, fi, tr, the letter s and the number 5 in
I still have trouble
certain contexts. Italics is very hardfor me. but straight, good print
Ireally do pretty well. Very bold print is hard.
archives, go to:
Warmly,
Bob
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