[access-uk] Re: Sherlock Talking Label Identifier
- From: "Jackie Cairns" <cairnsplace@xxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:22:29 -0000
Hi Wendy
I don't want to be unkind to the manufacturers or suppliers of Sherlock and any
of these talking identifiers. But having played with Sherlock for some time
today, I'm ready to scream to be honest, or he will be screaming if I throw him
against the nearest wall (smile). Perhaps it's completely me, in which case,
no problem. But I can't stand the messing about that's required to work these
labelling systems. I just went into the kitchen and stuck a few labels on jars
etc. Then I had to go through the noise and hassle of scanning them, and I
would have just been far quicker taking the lids off and smelling the contents.
Sorry but that's how I've always got by. I quite like the Talking Tins
because you can't just unscrew a lid and see what's inside without using an
opener to permanently remove the top. Only once have I ever opened a tin and
chucked what I thought was a can of baked beans into my hot pot, only to
discover when we came to eat it that it was, in fact, fruit cocktail. Mind
you, it went down a treat so it didn't matter (smile).
I appreciate those who cannot access Braille need alternative methods, but I'm
not sure these products are all they are cracked up to be either. I sold my
Voila days after I got it because it was just one product I knew I would never
ever use, and I think Sherlock will go to a good home too, if I'm being honest.
It's easy enough to use, but not for me.
Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: Wendy Sharpe
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:59 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sherlock Talking Label Identifier
Hi Jackie
I did buy a Voila second-hand, and did manage to crack scanning the labels in
time, but I found the labels rather fiddly and haven't used it much. I do so
agree with you about braille. It is far quicker for everything you need to
access in a hurry.
I use old RNIB calendar sheets cut in half and braille on the other side,
then attach them to tins with an elastic band. In this way you can use the
labels many times. Just take them off the tins as you use them, and put them
on another tin when you buy the same product again.
I use the RNIB narrow self-adhesive labels to put on CD's and other things.
I suppose talking labelling systems are ok for people who can't use braille,
but they are rather expensive. I gather that the Voila can run out of
recording time, so if you record too many labels it won't work. I wonder
whether Sherlock will have the same problem.
Wendy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Jackie Cairns
Sent: 11 December 2007 14:43
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sherlock Talking Label Identifier
Hi Carol
The labels are easily scanned once recorded. The non-adhesive ones are like
small discs that have a hole in them where you could attach string or a tie. I
would have preferred to see a magnet on these so you could clamp them to a tin
or the freezer door. You get ten of those in a bag, and several more
self-adhesive labels that you can stick on jars etc. I haven't tried peeling
one off and re-using it yet though.
I'm not sure of the whole concept of talking identifiers yet. I didn't like
Voila because the labels were very tiny, and I never got the knack of swiping
them with the end of the unit because it kept shutting off before I cracked it.
The Sherlock is, to me, better than that, but I don't know if I would have
bought it though. I use my ever faithful Dymo gun to label CDs, and plastic
sheets that you can cut to identify larger items. I use the Talking Tins for
the obvious, and I keep documentation in a proper filing system that I can
access no bother. Just not sure anything could ever be as quick for me to
access as Braille. It's the greatest skill I probably ever mastered as a child
and still love using to this day.
Anyone else used speech identifiers and want to add something?
Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: Carol Pearson
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:26 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sherlock Talking Label Identifier
Glad to know you've got Old Sherlock going ... and you're finding it better
than the Voiler. Are the labels re-useable? Are they easily scanned once
recorded?
I'm thinking about this item and wonder how useful the labels would be,
say, on spice jars which aren't that easily labelled.
Any further comments most welcome, Jackie.
--
Carol
carol.pearson@xxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: Jackie Cairns
To: Access UK Mailing List
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 1:27 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Sherlock Talking Label Identifier
I have now got old Sherlock going, and I have to say it isn't exactly
rocket science to work it, particularly thanks to the PDF manual Steve sent my
way.
When you first pick up old Sherlock, as I've sort of named him, it feels
a bit like the Colorino detector with its speaker and two buttons on the front.
There are some non-adhesive labels you can use, and some that you can peel off
the backing and attach to an item for identification. The speech and
indications leave the Voila for dead, as do the labels themselves, which are
better to get a grip of without flying to the ground unheard. I wish the
non-adhesive labels had been magnetic so that I could have put them on tins of
beans and spaghetti etc, but it's certainly an interesting concept for anyone
wanting to identify items in this way.
Jackie
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