Well, I'm really sorry to learn of your more recent problems and do appreciate why you wanted to be away from the PC. Sounded at first as though you were tied with the connection as I didn't realise it was radio.
OK, keep us posted as and when you can and well done! Keep up that good work! <Smiles>
-- Carol carol.pearson@xxxxxxxxxxxx----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns" <cairnsplace@xxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:46 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Accessible Internet Radio
Hi AllRight, here is the latest on the accessibility of Internet radio. I've been messing around for over a day and have come up against some problems that I'll share with you now so you know the score.Firstly, we picked the Intempo Internet radio from Argos at £119.99. As it happened, it was one of the only choices of five they had in stock, but it was my first pick anyway.The Intempo came with wireless capability, and an ethernet port. More importantly, it had 99 presets and a remote control to allow you to key in those presets directly. When Ian turned it on, he told us that the display came up with the welcome logo, and then found the network. Of course it came up with Sky, and asked for our security key. Now in answer to Marie's question, you have to use the dial to spin it round for each letter or number you want to key in, then select it. This is totally useless for us by the way.Once it accepted the security key and proceeded to log onto our network, it asked whether we wanted Windows Media Player or stations. We selected the latter. Then it wanted to know if we wanted genre or locations, and we again chose the latter. There was a massive list of countries, with Afghanistan at the top of the alphabetical list. Ian chose the Netherlands, and found Sky Radio, which came on after a few minutes of waiting. If you turned off the radio and turned it back on again, it defaulted to the last station we were listening to, so that was helpful.But after initially listening to the station, we started to notice it cutting off altogether for maybe 30 seconds or so, then coming back on. Then whatever was playing began to jump like the arm on a record being moved over it at random.Senior Ian checked that this was not happening on Sky Radio using the Internet on the PC, and it stayed completely steady. So we tried the radio directly using the RJ45, and got the same results. We turned all the PCs off and just had the radio running, with the same outcome.We decided today that we would have to try another radio in case the Intempo had a fault. We knew it couldn't be our connection to the Internet because everything else has been working normally. So the only other radio Argos had was a Bush at £89.99. They couldn't give us another Intempo as it was the only one they had, but were happy about refunding us our money.When we brought the Bush home and Ian went through the same procedure, the exact same thing started to occur. This radio has 10 presets and is wireless only.So now we have a dilemma. For some unknown reason, both radios, bearing in mind they are different models altogether, do the same thing when they are connected to a radio station, whatever that station happens to be. We tried Capital FM and the BBC, but it still did the same with both sets.I have to be honest and say that these radios are completely inaccessible for a non-sighted person to navigate. Even if you remember that the radio asks you for genre or locations, and you manage to remember how many times to go up and down the massive list in each category, you are on a hiding to nothing because you don't know any of the stations available. We knew this when we started out, so aren't so much frustrated about that. What we had planned to do is pick a few of our favourites and store them into the presets. But if the radios don't have fast enough processors, and keep dropping out or jumping, I don't know what the pleasure is in all honesty.Carol asked why it would not be simpler to just use a PC. I just wanted an Internet radio to be able to move it anywhere away from the computer without having it switched on all the time. For example, lying in bed and listening to something without being tied to a laptop would have been nice.Now guys, the positive thing is that I am currently talking to TNAUK about their talking Internet radio. I can't say anything else at the moment, but I'm in the process of bending their ear and arm (smile). When I know more, I'll certainly post it because I've no intention of being involved in any trial and then not compiling some sort of evaluation review that be for all to read.If anyone has any ideas why these radios do this, I would be fascinated to know. I wonder if the processors aren't as fast, so therefore have smaller memory buffers. But how they sell on that basis, I don't know.Any comments welcome, on or off list. Jackie ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
