[optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time Being

From: "Judy Jones" <sonshines59@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2020 11:14:17 -0700

Amen to that!

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of petra
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2020 10:41 AM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time
Being

Hello everyone,

Some of you write really strange things on this list. It might be good to
review your post before sending them. And, in my opinion, some of you go on,
and on, and on, and on. I'm exhausted before I finish the post and feel like
you have repeated yourself over and over.

Now that that's off my chest, I'm confused about Charles' recent post about
why we don't need a new Optacon. Wasn't he the person who was doing his very
best to develop such a thing? I am truly sorry that there may not ever be
anything like the Optacon in the coming years. It's uses and the information
it provides are less accessible with the modern technology. I believe that
blind children who don't read directly what is written don't learn how words
are spelled etc. I sometimes wish Talking Book readers would spell certain
words, if not during the reading of the book, at least at the end. When
children are lucky enough to be taught to read grade 2 Braille they also
miss out on the correct spelling of words. I wouldn't sell my last 2
Optacons for any price.

Wishing all of you a wonderful day.

Petra

----- Original Message -----
From: David Plumlee <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender knobman
for DMARC)
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, September 20, 2020 9:37 am
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time
Being

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 wou

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 hm/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"THTH1/2 Well, from an
avvid 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"THTH1/2 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.thth1/2 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.thth1/2 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.thth1/2 So, would an optacon III
sell"thth1/2 I think not.

Charles in Ottawa

On 2020-08-09 3:44 addm., Mary Lorefice wrote:

Good morning optaconers.

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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References:
- [optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time Being
  - From: petra

[optacon-l] Re: Why an optacon III? was Still Here, For The time Being

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