Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006

From: Mike Freeman <k7uij@xxxxxxxxx>
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 12:42:41 -0400 (EDT)
Catherine:

Just a comment (not a negative one): in trying to design a new Optacon 
to read displays as program guides on a TV screen, one problem which 
would be kinda tough to surmount is that most of these displays scroll. 
I see no way to easily get around this while retaining the ability to 
physically scana the display. And then there's the problem of 
making a choice based upon the screen. The present Optacon has no 
knowledge, say, of a highlight bar and it would be awkward at best to 
scan the screen, fiddle with the remote, scan the screen some more, etc. 
etc. etc. But I sure understand the desire to be able to do this. I 
can't even set my VCR's tape speed. <G>

On the matter of the buzzing, while I don't have any direct experience, 
when Dean Blazie was looking into manufacturing an Optacon replacement, 
he claimed that if one replaced the square wave used to drive the 
vibrating pins with a sine wave, most (if not all) of the noise of the 
array went away.

Mike Freeman

On Sun, 30 Apr 2006, Catherine Thomas wrote:

> Currently, we have 64 responses to our first survey and ten responses to
> our second survey. Five of the responses from current users (or users with
> broken Optacons) actually came in as a result of the second survey.
> Of the 74 respondents less than five had no interest in sharing their
> experiences to raise funds or assist new potential Optacon users.
> Most of the respondents hope for a new Optacon. Less than five are
> satisfied with the Optacon as-is and have no special wish for an
> improvement.
> Among the most commonly expressed wishes from current Optacon users are
> the following:
>       1. to quiet down or eliminate the buxxing.
>       2. To keep the tactile array similar in size and intensity to the
> Optacon r1d. All respondents so far who described experiences with the
> Optacon 2, say they prefer the larger more adjustable array on the r1d.
>       3. Many current users mentioned replaceable batteries and a
> modular camera as improvements they would want to retain.
>       4. Many users would like to read more of their computer screens
> using the Optacon as a supplement to their screen-readers. They mentioned
> crashes when speech or Braille software did not work. They also mentioned
> reading the initial screens for one reason or another while the computer
> is loading.
>       5. The most common new feature wished for is the ability to read
> various types of displays. NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT PRINT DOCUMENTS AND
> THEREFORE COULD NOT BE SCANNED. The particular concerns are all the new
> menu-driven displays--from DVD and VCR displays to tv screens and cell
> phones.
> Note to those who may not know: These days those who have sight and have
> cable or satelite television have access right on the tv screen to an
> electronic tv guide which lets them know what is on every channel.
>
> FACTS AND MYTHS
>
> Here are some interesting facts about the Optacon which may surprise some
> users.
>
>       1. An authorized Optacon instructor who responded to the survey
> informs us that several students who could not learn braille because they
> were diabetic, were able to learn and use the Optacon.
>       2. Some users of the Optacon do not read braille.
>       3. Some Optacon users do have a little vision. The device is by no
> means unique to the totally blind.
>       4. From our new survey we learn that almost all the respondents so
> far do know what print looks like. Orienting people to print may be less
> of a factor in developing new training than we had first supposed.
>       5. Another group who just might benefit from the Optacon are
> people with dyslexia. Very little research has been done in this area but
> it seems that using the hand-held camera might bypass the problems in the
> visual circuits that make print so hard for dyslexics to read and write.
> Thank you to the respondent who mentioned this.
>       6. A number of respondent mentioned how the Optacon makes their
> other devices more effective. The most common examples relate to scanners.
> Optacon users can choose the pages they wish to scan. They can also orient
> the pages on the scanner surfaces correctly. Most ;important, they can
> determine if the page contains columns or other complex layouts and set
> the scanner so that they get the best possible scan.
>       7. Although a few scanner users were satisfied with the results
> they got, the majority use the Optacon to check the actual print to
> correct errors.
>       8. In the original survey, to the question "For what tasks do you
> never use the Optacon?" just about all the respondents who answered this
> question said that they don't use the Optacon to read ful-length novels or
> long documents.
> GET THE FACTS, LISTERS. YOU'LL SEE THEM HERE AS THE DAYS GO BY AND WE GET
> MORE RESPONSES.
>
> Keep posting to all the lists and magazines. Send in your own surveys if
> you haven't already done so.
> THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR HARD WORK GETTING THE SURVEYS MOVING.
> Welcome to the new listers who have joined us within the past two weeks.
> If we can all work together, we can save the Optacon. There are no
> guarantees but if we do save it remember, you read it here first.
> Catherine
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -Catherine Thomas
> braille@xxxxxxxxx                     /
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Follow-Ups:
- Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006
  - From: Teresa Arroyo
Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006

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