[icon-discuss] Re: will Facebook ever be included in the Braille Plus features?
- From: "Allison" <sweet_sarcasm@xxxxxxx>
- To: "Icon Discuss" <icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:50:09 -0700
Hi Larry and others,
Larry, thanks for asking about which professional features I'd like to see
on the Braille+/Icon.
The thing I'd most like is better wireless connectivity. I still can't get
my Braille+ to go online at most airports or hotels. This means I have to
take both my Braille+ and laptop with me on business trips. I'd rather not
have to
take both every time.
I'd also like some way to handle Excel files. My coworkers seem to love
those and I tend to struggle through them with a regular computer. Having a
Braille+ interface for Excel files would be incredibly helpful.
If we're doing social networking sites I'd rather see a more
business-focused one like linkedin. True some businesses use Facebook, but
I don't think it's used for professional purposes as much as one might
think.
I'd like my Braille+ contacts to sync with my cell phone and Outlook
Express. I don't use MS Outlook if I can avoid it. I know MS Outlook is
kind of the "in thing," but interaction with other e-mail programs would be
great. And being able to sync with my cell phone for both calendar and
contacts would be nice.
Instant messaging capabilities would be helpful as well because my sighted
coworkers all
use Yahoo IM and it's not that accessible. I've been working around that by
using Windows Live, but even that likely doesn't work as well as an AT
interface for IM might.
GPS sounds great, but other items you mentioned like a color detector aren't
as important to me. This is because I bought a color identifier from APH
and it doesn't
work well enough for me to use on things like business clothes. One would
think that being able to distinguish between such subtle color differences
like pink and coral wouldn't be important, but believe me that if you're
a woman they're definitely necessary. I know this from personal experience.
I once wore a pink top with coral slacks out to an event with my coworkers
and it was rather
embarrassing. My color detector told me they were both pink, so I believed
it. Not good. For those who don't know, coral is kind of orange-ish and it
doesn't look good when worn with pink. So I
don't have much faith that color identification technology will ever be
useful to most of us who need to use it in a professional context.
Thos are all the suggestions I can think up right now. I know that it may
sound a bit unnecessary for me to focus so heavily on the Braille+ as a tool
for business, but I think that would be a great direction for it to go. I
really love my unit in so many ways that I'd eventually like to use it in
place of other hardware and software that I currently use. Moreover, my
experience is that the other note-taker/PDA companies in the assistive tech
field focus a great deal on the student population. That's a great thing
because we definitely need effective tools for education, but I feel that
those of us who use these technologies in the working world sometimes get
overlooked. Not only that, but with the economy as it is and so many people
having difficulty finding jobs, I think that more and more blind folks are
going to be searching for technologies that will better enable them to
compete in a world with sighted coworkers.
So there's my opinions for what they're worth.
Best,
Allison
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Skutchan" <blindcooltech@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <sweet_sarcasm@xxxxxxx>; "Icon Discuss" <icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 2:48 AM
Subject: Re: [icon-discuss] Re: will Facebook ever be included in the
Braille Plus features?
What are some directions you'd like to see this product move toward?
Have you got some specific ideas in mind?
I can tell you in the mediam range road, we all know and want the unit to
include GPS and cell phone capabilities, but we'd love to hear your (and
others) thoughts.
Also on the road map are better internet browser, many Bookshelf features,
seemless sinchronization of contacts and appointments (don't have to do
anything to make it happen,) math equation editor, more powerful word
processing, speed enhancements, spreadsheet, database, and with a USB
camera, scanning bar codes, reading text, and identifying colors and
light, but integration with some of the social networks are both
educationally and professionally valuable to many users, too.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allison" <sweet_sarcasm@xxxxxxx>
To: "Icon Discuss" <icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 3:43 AM
Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: will Facebook ever be included in the Braille
Plus features?
Personally, I'd rather new Braille+ features focus on things I can use
professionally. Facebook is fun and occasionally useful, but not really
the direction I'm hoping this technology heads.
Allison
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Mulcahy" <marc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <morrowmediakc@xxxxxxxxx>; <icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 6:32 AM
Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: will Facebook ever be included in the Braille
Plus features?
I've been thinking about this. I don't know how much we can get at
through
the FaceBook API, but it sure would be neat.
-----Original Message-----
From: icon-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:icon-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Kimberly Morrow, PhD.
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 6:21 AM
To: icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [icon-discuss] will Facebook ever be included in the
Braille Plus features?
One application I use a lot with the Web is Facebook. It
serves a totally different purpose than Twitter, and I enjoy
both networks. Question: Will an application for Facebook,
similar to Twitter, ever be included in the Braille Plus?
Thanks,
Kim
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For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon
and Braille +, Visit the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
Visit the APH FAQ page at
http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
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For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and
Braille +, Visit
the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
Visit the APH FAQ page at
http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender
only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is
related to LevelStar or APH then consider sending your message to
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Icon Discuss Mailing List
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To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe in the
subject line to:
icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To post to this list, send your message to:
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille
+, Visit
the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
Visit the APH FAQ page at
http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only.
If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to
LevelStar or APH then consider sending your message to
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Icon Discuss Mailing List
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
//www.freelists.org/list/icon-discuss
To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe in the
subject line to:
icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To post to this list, send your message to:
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille +,
Visit
the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
Visit the APH FAQ page at
http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
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