I agree. But someone said what annoyed him/her was the buzzing. And one could tactilly tell what was going on. Mike On Mon, 1 May 2006, Teresa Arroyo wrote: > Mike, > > The buzing can molest others around, but if taken away how would we know > that we are on print and that the Optacon is actually working? The sound > helps to know what is going on. > > Teresa > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij@xxxxxxxxx> > To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:42 PM > Subject: Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006 > > >> 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 / >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: >>> >>> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the >>> quotes) in the message subject. >>> >>> Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a >>> message to: >>> >>> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the >>> quotes) in the message subject. >>> >>> >> >> To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: >> >> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the >> quotes) in the message subject. >> >> Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message >> to: >> >> optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the >> quotes) in the message subject. >> >> > > > > To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: > > optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the > quotes) in the message subject. > > Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: > > optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the > quotes) in the message subject. > > To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.