[optacon-l] Was: "Optacon List Archives" Now: Optacon Alternatives using current technologies and funding methodologies
- From: "Nick Dotson" <nickdotson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 17:41:28 -0600
Ollie:
I did not say it was "impossible", note I mentioned the "world village
construction set" project... Rather, as was necessary in the vineyards of
organization of the Labor and Civil Rights movements here in the good ole
U.S-of-A, movement organizers had to Levin the "pie in the sky by and by"
optimism of movement members with accurate expectations of the vicissitudes
they would face so they could accurate gage the requisite strength they
would have to summon up for the struggle.
I'm just saying in a world of reduced expectations and the level of public
and private resources for projects as essential as food and health care, a
low incidence demographic such as the totally blind who would be willing and
able to learn to use such esoteric technologies as those represented by We
Optacon User's have an almost Sisyphean educational and motivational
struggle to garner the human and economic resources such an effort would
require...
Nick
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Mallard
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 4:11 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
Hello Nick,
Look the Arduino Project. You'll find that open hardware isn't all that
impossible.
Ok, open sourcing software is definitely easier, last but not least, for the
fact that there's been open source software for decades now.
Open hardware is a newer field, but this isn't a good enough reason not to
plow it...
I see what you mean though. It takes time, and commitment, and experience,
and enthusiasm.
But if we'r the first to believe it's impossible, why should other (I mean
sighted developers) want to get involved?
Anyway, if someone ever thinks of making an Optacon replacement, even just
one prototype, I want to tst it!
Ciao,
Ollie
Il 04/11/2012 20.47, Nick Dotson ha scritto:
> It is easier to "open source" software than hardware. Witness the "Global
> Village Construction Set" pertaining to open sourcing the 100 basic tools
> necessary to support a 1990's level of technological civilization.
>
> Nick
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of David
> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 12:16 PM
> To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
>
> Hmm, Well. Puts things in a bit of a perspective. Ecconomically, if there
> was 12000 units manufactured, and I bet quite a few of them have retired,
> there might not be more than maybe a thousand left with active users.
> Something I really regret, since I have been an active user for 25 years,
> these days. And what's more, I have used the Optacon for quite a few
things
> more than what it normally would have been used for. It thrills me to see,
> that several other users here, have been using their units for extended
> activities as well.
>
> Getting hold of "stashed-away" units, might prove a bit of a challenge.
> Specially so, due to the fact that the manufacturing was discontinued
about
> 15 years ago. Locally here, it was the authorities that paid for the
> Optacon, and all training programs. That meant, that whenever you no
longer
> did need your Optacon, or did not want it anymore, you had to return it to
> the authorities. And what did they do with the units returned? Last time I
> called them (about 10 years ago), they told me that they simply through
the
> units in the trassh bin. My question was why, and they told me, they had
no
> program for refurbishing the units, did not want to send them out of the
> country for repairs, and had no money set aside for the purpose. Legally,
I
> am not even allowed to send my unit out of the country for repair,
although
> I doubt they even will have it filed any longer, due to them reckon the
> Optacon as an obsolete assisting technology. Well, I won't be speaking for
> all other countries, but I know of a couple of places where similar
> situations will have to be dealt with. In fact, even if I did not want my
> Optacon any longer, I am legally not permitted to sell or give it away,
even
> to other users locally, that could have benefitted. I am, by the power of
> the local laws, obliged to return it to the authorities - only to see them
> drop it in the trash bin. Well, that is the hard side of the story.
>
> Now, for the dreamy side of the world, it is quite interesting that the
> discussion came up right now. Only a couple of days ago, it crossed my
mind,
> why we haven't seen more activity lately, when comes to re-invent the
> Optacon. For one thing, there is the matter of time. Many of the old users
> who firstly embraced the technologic break-through of the Optacon - way
back
> in the early 70's - will not be among us any longer. And even if they are,
> they will be quite grown-up people by now, meaning that they hardly will
be
> too active users any longer. Forgive me, list members, if anyone of you
fall
> into this category, and feel that I am a bit off-tracked here. But I just
> know a few cases personally, where this is the case.
>
> The fact of main-stream products becoming quite cheap and accessible, is
> another factor that plays its role in here. Many a user of the Optacon in
> the 70's and 80's, never got anything further but to read their phone
bills,
> a letter or two every month, and maybe a few recipes. All of this, they
can
> quickly, effortlessly and easily do by means of their computer and
scanner,
> these days. I doubt we will have an easy task in convincing them, that
they
> need to do the interpretation themselves, and even do their reading with
> "yet another unit".
>
> Well, then there is the change in the flow of information. I do hold, that
> today there is a fair amount of information, for which we did use our
> Optacons back in the 80's - but for which we hardly would bother bringing
> out the unit today. How many of you, do actually sit down and read fliers
> and newspaper advertisments with the Optacon, since most of it will be
> available on your computer, directly from the net. Or, what about the
phone
> directory, that we used to get from the phone company, every once a year.
> Over here, they haven't even bothered to distribute it, the last few
years.
> Why? sSimply because it is all there, right on the net. And honestly, why
> would I use half an hour on fooling around with small print in the phone
> directory, when I can get my friends three phone numbers from the net, in
> thirty seconds?
>
> So, to convince the authorities to even consider paying for any new
> Optacon-like technology, I would have to come up with pretty good
arguments.
>
> And, even in places where the authorities do not pay, my guess is, that it
> often would have been cherity organizations, who paid for the Optacon. And
> they likely, will demand a certain kind of reasons, again to start giving
> out units.
>
> Am I saying all of this to discourage further development? Absolutely NO!
> All I want to point out, is that likely there will be quite a few
challenges
> in getting these units paid for. This fact, added on to the fact of very
few
> users, will call for any new technology to be reasonably priced. Taking
into
> consideration, the low prices on electronic equipment these days - when
you
> can get an MP3-player for something under ten US dollars on places like
> EBay, there might just exist a reasonable chance for an affordable price
on
> a new Optacon-model. Reality, though, has taught me a fairly different
> story. Even the more recent attempts to come up with hand-held - or
> stand-alone - readers for the blind, have dearly failed in being offered
for
> affordable prices. A few years ago, I read about a hand-held equipment,
> which supposedly is not much bigger than a computer mouse, and which would
> be used for reading of plain text. It is called TopBraille. I got
> inthusiastic about the idea, and contacted the local dealer. They were
quite
> helpful, in informing me that the price was - ONLY 3000 US Dollars. Sorry,
> guys, but forget about asking this - out of a plain normal household
budget.
>
> And, definitely so, since it was an "interpretting unit", meaning that it
> held a piece of OCR built-in. This way, it cannot be used for diagrams,
> drawings, shape recognition - and all the other fun we have with our dear
> Optacon units. Yet another "helpful" piece of technology for assisting
blind
> people in their reading activity, was recently introduced on the market.
At
> the moment, I don't recall its exact name, but wonder if it was something
> like EasyReader. Again, the blind community was asking the price, and
ended
> up shocked - when learning it to cost something like 2500 dollars. And,
> again, it was an "interpretting unit".
>
> If we want a replacement for the Optacon, I would say, let us at least
> demand it to be like the Optacon. With modern technology and electronics,
> maybe even with a new invention for a more quiet operation. But let us
stick
> to a none-interpretting piece of equipment - leaving all interpretation to
> the human brain. No electronics or software, will ever be able to
out-range
> that master-piece of creation, after all.
>
> Now, we could have wished for the good old Optacon to simply be put back
> into production. After all, it has had 4 decades on proving its
durability.
> And its functionality. I wonder, though, if there is certain patents, that
> will block such a dream. Besides, modern technology, might be a good
thing.
> Just imagine if your Optacon could be running for 50 hours, on one charge.
> Or, if the vibrating display could please be made less noisy. That would
> even mean, that you can sit in the living room, doing your reading,
without
> disturbing the rest of the household, in their TV watching. And, what if
it
> could be made half the size and weight. I don't think any of this is
> unrealistic ideas, long as you make full use of modern technology. Just
look
> at a cell phone, or a computer, developing through the same 4 decades - or
> even less.
>
> The ideas of making the project open-sourced, and maybe even partially run
> it on an idealistic basis - I really embrace. Unfortunately, none of the
> attempts seen inside the blind world, has been applying any such ideas. As
> shown above, we over and over again, are presented with nice products,
that
> are way over-priced. What I could have thought of, as a solution here, is
if
> we could have got some university students interested. Maybe they could do
> the invention as a project, being part of their graduation. That way, we
> would have low costs, in developing and testing the model. As with many
> other projects, it is the developing of a product, that is the real hungry
> ecconomic Caterpillar. Looking on all the other more or less useless stuff
> students are trying to develop, this would at least make some real sense.
> Besides, it would bring those students a far way into the thinking proces
of
> making things and technologies accessible. Anyone know a group of
students,
> looking for an engineering progject? Just make sure, they are prepared to
> work with test-persons, even overseas. Likely you will need that, so as to
> get enough users, and test the equipment in use with as many activities as
> possible.
>
> OK, a few thoughts, more wil have to come later.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "cpond" <cpond@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 5:01 PM
> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
>
>
>> About twelve thousand optacons were manufactured.
>>
>> Charles
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Natalie
>> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 10:22 AM
>> To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Optacon List Archives
>>
>> As someone pointed out, with the economy the way it is, the probability
of
>> new research and development is pretty limited, but I wonder if there's a
>> way of finding other Optacons that people have just stashed away and
>> forgotten. Does anybody know how many of both versions were originally
>> produced? Maybe we could find some way of advertising for the ones that
>> still exist. I remember I found five that were just hanging around in
the
>> background and were given to me. At least they could be used for parts
if
>> they no longer
>> work. The people repairing them for us can certainly find a use for
them.
>>
>> Natalie
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Catherine Thomas" <braille@xxxxxxxxx>
>> To: "optacon list" <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 10:09 AM
>> Subject: [optacon-l] Optacon List Archives
>>
>>
>>> The optacon-l list has an archives of all previous posts. Those new to
>>> the list might enjoy browsing. You will find the answers to many
>>> questions, many ideas for uses of the Optacon, and also information on
>>> research and many other topics. Here is the archive site.
>>> to view the list archives, go to:
>>>
>>> www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l
>>>
>>>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>>> -Catherine Thomas
>>> braille@xxxxxxxxx /
>>>
>>>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
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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
> 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
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>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
signature database 7658 (20121104) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
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>
>
>
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