Hello emin. Charles here. I'll reply to your message to me this week,
God willing given my weakened condition. But for now regarding the need
or at least the sentiment for an optacon III (that's just nomenclature
for next generation optacon after the optacon II): the things which
people mention they do with their optacons don't require an optacon III
to do them. The R1X and II work fine. I don't have my notes with e
right now, but even if an optacon III beyond the prototype could be
developed and sold for under a thousand dollars, I doubt people would
snap them up -- even people on the list who are already optacon users.
although the technology developed here is essentially optacon-like, it
is not at all backward compatible with the optacon II and the R1X
models. Not at all. I think people really just want some assurance
that their optacons will work and be there as long as they are wanted,
and this doesn't extend to needing or paying for an optacon III.
Aside from being computer compatible, and with room for development, and
a few other lesser details like a slightly bigger display and many more
tactile-actuators than the 144 pins of the R1C/D, and a smaller
footprint, the only real big advantages of the pre-pprototype technology
here is that one can build the vibrotactile displays easily and for far
less cost. Even so, a thousand mamoolian is beyond many blind people
because they do not have a whole lot of readily disposable income.
P.S. In the interest of full disclosure I acknowledge that I am not
photon-dependent.
Charles
On 2020-09-20 5:37 a.m., David Plumlee (Redacted sender knobman for
DMARC) wrote:
I certainly hope that an Optacon III comes on the market someday. Not only
have I enjoyed contact with the letters on the page, I have also enjoyed the
ability to move that camera anywhere on the item of interest somewhat like a
sighted person can move a mouse around the screen. That ability allowed me
to read schematic diagrams in books and magazines about electronics -
something which no OCR machine currently available on earth would do for me.
Using that ability, I dictated a few schematics onto cassettes in the format
used for years in "Braille Technical Press" and "Technical Files Magazine"
which were available in years past. I have also been able to read some
displays on consumer and music electronics - again, something which the
current OCR units won't do, mainly because they are not made so that they can
be easily positioned on the screen of the device of interest. If someone
were going to add some kind of speech to a device reading printed items, one
neat function would
be some kind of camera-like device which could be positioned over the
screen for speech readout. In "days of old" when LCDs first came into
existence, the characters were not as flexible as they are on modern
displays, so such a readout would be a bit more difficult these days.
Oh yes, I use the speech-output systems anytime that approach is the best for
the reading need at hand; but I'll certainly grab an Optacon when it is the
best way to read that item; and I'll give thanks for the Optacon's
availability!
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Emin Demirci
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2020 10:41 AM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time
Being
Dear listers,
Obviously, for some time here the people have been talking about the Optacon
III. Since I am new on this list I don’t know what you mean by Optacon III. I
mean, what properties do you expect this Optacon to have?
When I think about the legacy of this valuable device I always think about
the term marginal utility in economics. The people who are familiar with
economics explain this term with the first sip of beer when you are thirsty.
The enthusiasm decreases with the number of sips.
We were terribly thirsty for reading with no other solution than a reading
person to us when the Optacon came to our lives. Not only that it gave the
possibility to actually touch the text and feel it. More than 10 thousand
Optacons were sold at nearly the price of a car in 10 or 15 years until the
TSI stopped manufacturing it. The number is not small because only 150
thousand Perkins Braillers have been sold since 1947, that is what I read
somewhere some years ago. Therefore, the number of the sold Optacons can not
be considered very small. In other words, if it was cheaper it could have
been sold to more people.
Anyhow, that’s not the point that I want to discuss here.
Certainly, in the past 50 years we have seen tremendous developments in the
recognition of the camera, micro-processors, software analysing and
converting the print (OCR), output techniques (first mechanical displays,
Piezzo electric displays, nowadays cheap Orbit cells etc.) Remember,
synthetic speech didn’t exist then at all. If we are talking about touching
the actual print I am also considering the feasibility of the Moon alphabet
for an output method for instance.
The current reading solutions other than the Optacon gives you the impression
that you are driving the car from the backseat. They are worse than somebody
reading to you because at least you can ask him/her certain things about the
text. You can still do this if they ever work at all.
Shortly, we are still more or less at the same position like 50 odd years ago
when the times of grabbing a newspaper, book, filling up a form, signing a
document handed over to us etc. The libraries and bookstores are still far
from us. I can say that current reading solutions with all attractive
capabilities create a fake feeling of independence.
It is truly understandable why the people on this list talk about a new
generation of the Optacon because only they know the joy of touching the
actual text on paper. They could do almost everything they want with this
unique technology. Unfortunately, those who don't know about the beauty of
freedom this way also don't know what is missing in their life.
Charles wrote that a few years ago somebody in England put some Optacons to
sell, but they weren’t got sold out. It seems disappointing, but when one
considers the differences between today’s technological level, needs and
expectations with those of 50 years ago.
Thinking about some withdrawals like numbing of the finger etc. And the price
which is compared to its alternatives whatsoever. Anyway, I can explain this
situation again with marginal utility. I am 100% sure if Optacon III comes
out with current technological developments, smaller and cheaper the Optacon
user army here on this list is ready to publisize it around the World. If the
prototype is ready I have contacts with some electronics manufacturers in
Turkey for its mass production. I think one is the World book famine day in
January we can start a big campaign for that.
Any comment is appreciated.
Greetings
Emin
2020-09-12 10:54 GMT+03:00, CHARLES POND <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
Mary asks if we have hope for an optacon III?� Well, from an avvidto view the list archives, go to:
optacon user: with but a few dozen optacon users worldwide, and all of
us over 52 and likely many in their 60s an older, what is the need for
an optacon III?� I recall some years ago George Bell from
Technovision in Britain had put on the list a lot of nicely
refurbished optacons and accessories for sale.� If I recall
correctly, despite the sentimental clamor from listers for optacon
this and that, they didn't exactly fly out the door in spite of
George's best efforts to have made them available.� George indicated
that if he couldn't manage to sell them he would have to take a terrible
financial loss, indeed.
Likely, people confuse their personal zeal for their optacons with a
projected need for them by others.� So, would an optacon III
sell?� I think not.
Charles in Ottawa
On 2020-08-09 3:44 a.m., Mary Lorefice wrote:
Good morning optaconers.to view the list archives, go to:
I'll stick around for a while to see what happens. Should we give up
hope for an Optacon III?
MaryL
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