Judy: I believe I still have them, but am unable to afford to get them repaired right now. I'm sure they probably could be resuscitated. The technology and assistance I have is adequate for my current needs. Thanks for asking though. It's great to see that there are many on this list who still have working Optacons. ----- Original Message ----- From: "JBliss Judy" <judy@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 11:39 PM Subject: [optacon-l] Re: hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams Dear Steve, Thanks for the welcome. Good luck on your retirement; what a "fun" economy for retirement. I'm still working, but semi-retired and am going to take social security next year at 64. About your Optacons... I wonder if anyone can resusitate (did I spell that correctly?)them,or did you give them up in '04? Judy A. ----- Original Message --------------- Subject: [optacon-l] Re: hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams From: "Steve Britt" <swimmer953@xxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 18:48:27 -0600 To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >Hi, Judy. Glad to have you with us. >I'm a programmer/analyst for the State of Illinois, and will be retiring >soon. >I had Optacon training in 1977 at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, and I >used an Optacon until roughly 2004 when the batteries died on both my R1D >and Optacon II. Both at home and at work, I use a braille display, Jaws and >Openbook. > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "JBliss Judy" <judy@xxxxxxxxxx> >To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 2:50 PM >Subject: [optacon-l] hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams > > >Dear friends of the Optacon, > >I was an Optacon teacher for many years at Telesensory, and mourned the end >of the product. Even after the introduction of the Optacon II in >partnership with Canon, where we were able to provide PC-based independent >reading practice lessons in several languages, even Japanese, and won >several design awards, the sales never reached a level where the Optacon >could be efficiently manufactured at a modest cost, and the company that >bought Telesensory's technology never continued the product. I agree that >scanners just do not do it! > >Were you trained at Telesensory in California? I worked with many students >and it's hard to remember after all these years. We had an Optacon >teacher's reunion last year and it was great to see what people were doing, >although we've lost several teachers over the years. > >I'm still in the access technology field. I was the Telesensory training >manager and then in charge of technical support and service center support >for many years - started in 1976 at TSI, but laid off in 2001, before the >bankruptcy and acquisition by InSiPhil. I then worked for Jim Bliss, who >co-founded TSI from 2001 to 2005 at his new company JBliss Imaging, which I >took over from him (he retired with multiple myloma), and re-named it >JBliss >Low Vision Systems, since we have a full line of products with speech and >enlargement for scanning (updating his original VIP), e-mail and internet >(PnC E-mail and PnC Net), developed with a NSF grant and evaluated through >the Western Region VA in Palo Alto, CA, and a variety of low vision >products >that we represent from other manufacturers. Our newest product is a >mini-PC >that the user connects to their TV (or to a monitor, or just speakers, for >a >blind user), and it provides scanning, e-mail and internet access with a >dialup, dsl/ca > ble or USB wireless connection. > >I just recently joined the listserv, hoping to hear from Optacon users, to >see what everyone is doing these days. Hope to hear from you. > >Best regards and Happy New Year! > >Judy Adams > > > >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. > 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.