[optacon-l] Re: optacon / Braille PDA combination
- From: "Nick Dotson" <nickdotson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 14:32:38 -0500
Oui, D'acord!
Most of the few braille user's there in the demographic of legally blind
potential user's may not have any interest in using an Optacon-like
device--especially if they're used to OCR for volume reading of print.
Optacon user's comfortable with the use of a camera moved across the
material they're interpolating with the Optacon get useful feedback about
the format of the material being examined by the movement of their tracking
hand, and the loss of contact with the material using a digital camera held
above the material, and the need to factor in ambient light may prove
problematic.
I could continue but the previously cited potential problem sources should
be sufficient to illustrate my perspective.
I for one can't imagine that the ability to play games on, listen to FM
radio, (toy aspects of the braille note I depend upon for note taking at
work) seem likely to radically affect the choices of a potential purchaser
of a $6,000 device. (smile)
If I want/need a time wasting toy, maybe I'll bite the bullet and purchase a
flat screen "smart?" cell phone. But having spent a large portion of my 61
years climbing learning curves for new promising tools, I've reached a place
where I'm more selective on what I expend limited energy and funds on.
Shop Smiths, Kitchen Magicians, and even my beloved Leatherman can be
useful--but none can be as efficacious as a specific tool for a specific
job...
Nick
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Catherine Thomas
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2013 12:51 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: optacon / braille PDA combination
Charles,
We've all been down this road many times. In response to questions about a
device that "does it all", no thanks. That being said, if there is any sort
of new Optacon technology that continues to show print in real time without
pre-interpretation, I'd be interested. If there were an inexpensive way to
produce a braille dislay that was affordable for individuals a lot of people
and many organizations would be interested but it would not have to be in
the same device as the Optacon. Audio of any sort and scanning of any sort
added to such a device would make it unworkable and, for those of us with
hearing loss, probably not very useful.
Knowing that our engineers, programmers, and software experts would be
delighted to help with any promising new design for an Optacon, I urge you
to continue your explorations. Knowing that an affordable braille display
would benefit many people, I urge you to continue work in this direction
with the assistance of those organizations that have worked on this
technology for years without success so that you don't duplicate efforts
that have already been tried.
In case somebody tries to persuade you that an all-in-one device is where
it's at today, look at the iphone, ipads, ipods, etc. that seem to be
upgraded every five minutes because they really don't do what is wanted.
The above of course is my opinion but I think most of the listers agree.
The less complex the device, the better chance it has of doing at least one
thing well. Optacon? Braille? Either one would be of great benfit to users.
Best of luck to you and your sponsors. Technical help is available for you.
Just ask.
Catherine
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-Catherine Thomas
braille@xxxxxxxxx /
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