[access-uk] Re: Keyboard woes
- From: "Adrian Higginbotham" <adrian.higginbotham@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:42:25 +0100
Hi catherine - I se from their website that they do offer a referb service with
prices range between £20 and £50 so might be worth giving them a call to see
what they would charge for replacing the cable., also they supply a carry case
and ps2 to usb adaptor (which you could get from a number of places). Switching
to USB make improve things a bit as many machines nowadays have USB ports on
the front so lees need to stretch the wire around the back as with ps2, less
fiddling for you, usb is easier to orientate than ps2 etc.
Their number is. 0845 230 3265.
Speech input options are available but to be robust and reliable you need
something to handle the interfacing of the input software and your
screenreader, specicly something like j-say which is good but would cost you
more than a replacement keyboard although wuld I believe (but you'd need to
check) let you move between between machines pretty seamlessley.
Adrian Higginbotham
Accessibility content manager
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency - BECTA
Tel: Direct dial 024 7679 7333 - Becta switchboard 02476-416994.
Email: Adrian.Higginbotham@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Web: http://www.becta.org.uk/
BECTA, Millburn Hill Road, Science Park, Coventry, CV4 7JJ
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Catherine Turner
Sent: 10 July 2007 13:11
To: Access-UK
Subject: [access-uk] Keyboard woes
Hi all,
I use a Maltron single handed keyboard because I can only use my right hand.
I've been using this for 9 years and am very satisfied with it and can type as
fast as I ever did with two hands. So I don't really want to use/learn another
way of inputting but am now having a problem.
I think this keyboard has a loose connection inside the wire somewhere. I
press keys and nothing happens; I move the wire then something does happen.
The laptop's own keyboard works fine so it's not a problem with slow response
from the computer. I've had this problem before with one of these keyboards
and a friend fixed it for me. However after the repair it didn't last long and
I don't have anyone around who could do that now. I've only had this
particular keyboard for just over a year and am having this problem again.
I do travel with my keyboard a lot, and disconnect/disconnect it daily to move
my laptop between different rooms. I think keyboards and/or ps2 connections
are not really designed for frequent moving/disconnecting/connecting so this is
probably why I always get these problems. But I need to be able to work in
different rooms and at different computers so there's no way around this moving
business.
But these keyboards cost £300 and I can't afford/don't want to invest in
another one if it's only going to last a year. For several reasons, including
the fact that I don't have enough work to be eligible for Access To Work, it's
not possible to have a keyboard at every computer I ever use.
I've e-mailed Maltron to see if there's a wireless version of the keyboard but
last I knew there wasn't and I haven't found anything on their website about
wireless.
So...has anyone got any suggestions as to how I could safely transport my
keyboard? I do think the problem is in the wire rather than at the PS2 end
because it's the wire I have to fiddle with to get it to work, and it seems to
be failing fast.
Or - which I guess is more realistic - I suppose I'm going to have to consider
another way of inputting. 9 years ago I used to use an ergobraille notetaker -
don't know whether anyone knew of these; but the braille keyboard on them was
arranged in such a way that I found it easy/fast to use with one hand. If
anyone was aware of these - is there such a thing as something similarly shaped
which one could use as input wirelessly? I expect not...
What voice recognition options are there for JAWS users?
Any ideas welcome...
Catherine
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