[gps-talkusers] Re: feeling free to wander
- From: "Kim Lookingbill" <seadolphink@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:21:26 -0500
Hi Tony: - The KNFB reader is a fabulous reading tool (Oh just forget who
makes it), it makes all print material very accessible to you. The
original, which came out several years ago; my husband, who's very skeptical
about new tech products, when we went to see the product demo said "remember
we're just going to see the hottest new tech gadget; we're absolutely not
going to buy one". . . but by the end of the evening when everyone was
digging through the hostess freezer to see what it couldn't read, we were
all quite impressed, my husband even pulled out a old lottery ticket which
the knfb reader had no trouble translating. . . well, we walked out of the
demo with a purchase order, and haven't regretted it to this day. We now
have a knfb mobile which runs on the "N82" nokia phone because the original
knofb reader is no longer being upgraded. Its just as great, and much more
portable being in a very slim cell phone. Matter-of-fact for Valentine's
Day we went to the Embassy Suites Hotel and had a blast reading every
printed item in the suite which usally wasn't accessible to a visually
impaired person without asking someone to read. For example there was a
real small hang tag on the bathroom door knob which basically told you they
practice being "green". . . this meant: use the towel once and hang it up
and the maids will leave it to be used again. . . if you wanted a new towel
you needed to throw it on the floor in a pile. . . but without this you
wouldn't know the hotel's preferences. It was especially cool when I was
able to browse through the hotel's notebook of services on the desk and know
exactly what we wanted to order off the dinner room service menu, instead of
having to call and asking what do you have? Yes, it may seem expensive at
first, but it'll be the best money you've ever have spent for your
independence; especially if you want to read your mail, travel and want to
know what everyone else is reading, or want to have access to print material
you found impossible unless asking someone to read it to you. The KNFB
reader will also read your paper money as well (if its US currency). We
were so attached to our original KNFB reader that we decided to keep it
instead of providing it as a trade-in for a better discount. Yes, the n82
is capable of running GPS systems, but we haven't gotten that far yet. I'm
still running my Sendero GPS from my braillenote MPower. I have the GPS
WaveFinder on my cell phone but do not find it as reliable at least in our
area.
Kim Lookingbill
kim@xxxxxxxxxxxx (email or MSN Messenger)
Blast From The Past
Sundays, 16 to 19 UTC
http://interactive.acbradio.org <http://interactive.acbradio.org/>
-----Original Message-----
From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
tbrowngriffin@xxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 4:21 PM
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: feeling free to wander
Hi Mike
great story, what is a KNFB?
thanks
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: alice dampman <alicedh@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 5:01 pm
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: feeling free to wander
Hi, Mike,
What a great story!
Do you use the cell phone that the KNFB reader is on? What is the
provider?
Thanks.
Alice
alicedh@xxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael May" <MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "GPS-talkusers-freelists.org" <GPS-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 10:45 AM
Subject: [gps-talkusers] feeling free to wander
>I have often espoused that the real value of GPS is not its ability
> to provide a route to a destination but the fact that it allows you
> to "get unlost." This means that you can comfortably become lost
> because you have the tool to find your way back.
>
> I am reminded of this tremendous benefit when I am in a completely
> unfamiliar situation20and wish to explore. To make the challenge even
> greater, put yourself in another country where a different language is >
spoken.
>
> I am in Barcelona Spain, staying in a hotel on a major avenue called
> La Rambla. It is fun to stroll up and down but if you want to find
> local food for reasonable prices, you need to explore away from La
> Rambla. It only takes a few blocks before you leave the wide streets
> and find yourself in narrow alleys. It feels like some sort of
> Halloween Maize as you meander further and further into the heart of
> the old city.
>
> Thank goodness the new high sensitivity GPS receivers pick up signals
> in these narrow places. You do have to pay attention to the data to
> make sure the little streets, which are close to each other, don't
> get misreported. By double checking the announcement of the street
> you are on constantly, you can figure this out.
>
> It is amazing that these very small restaurants, shops and bars are
> in the GPS database. The system reports them to you as you go along
> including which side of the street they are on. Be ready to duck into
> a doorway if a car comes along. There isn't much clearance on some of
> these streets.
>
> Besides using my GPS information on my search=2 0for a lunch place, I
> was sniffing and listening, occasionally ducking into a door only to
> decide it didn't sound right, didn't have a good feel. Wonderfully,
> smoking laws in Spain have gotten much stricter so you don't have to
> worry about that as much as you did a few years ago.
>
> I heard a couple of British ladies mentioning that they were looking
> for a certain restaurant and I offered to help them out. I got them
> to the correct street and we found their restaurant. It was too loud
> for me so I kept exploring and picked one called Quo Vadis. It is
> that last 20 to 50 feet to the destination that is difficult. I knew
> I was close and I even knew which side of the street the restaurant
> was on. I asked for sighted assistance to find the actual door. They
> didn't see it at first but when I insisted that it was close by, they
> kept looking and finally found it.
>
> The waiter was pretty blown away when I used the KNFB Reader to read
> the menu. I was trying to get him to read it to me but he kept asking
> what I wanted and he was too busy to take the time to read me the
> choices. There was an English and a Spanish section of the menu. If
> there had been a WiFi connection, I could have used the KNFB Reader's
> abi lity to translate but there wasn't and I was afraid of the
> possible cost of using the Internet through my phone provider.
>
> When I was finished with a leisurely lunch, I set my hotel as my
> destination and followed the pedestrian route created on my GPS to
> take me back, quite easy. This was a far cry from the first time I
> came to Barcelona in the 80s.
> The cool thing is that you don't have to be a super traveler to enjoy
> this kind of independence. It is the combination of tools, which
> makes this all come together.
>
> Now I just have to wait for the late Spanish dinner hour tonight to
> go out again for another adventure before heading home tomorrow.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael G. May
>
> CEO Sendero Group
>
> "The GPS company:" Featuring Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote as well
> as Sense Nav and the new Mobile Geo for Windows Mobile devices. Also
> distributing Trekker, Victor Stream, KNFB Mobile Reader, Talks,
> Mobile Speak, Tiger embossers, Miniguide and ID Mate
>
> Crashing Through, a book about Mike May, by Robert Kurson, available
> at http://www.CrashingThrough.com
>
> MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.SenderoGroup.com
>
> 1-888-757-6810, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007
> Sendero Group, LLC
> 429 F Street, Davis, CA 95616, USA
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.2/1964 - Release Date: 02/21/09
11:05:00
_____
Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the web. Get
<http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000035> the
Radio Toolbar!
Other related posts:
