Yeah but who cares? Why have a flaming dog barking at all? Do we come across as that pathetic or what? Sorry but this kind of patronising stuff really gets my goat! (smile). Kind Regards, Jackie Cairns -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steve Nutt Sent: 02 August 2012 14:54 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: georgie trial now available, initial opinion Hi, It's because Georgie is named after Margaret, Roger Wilson-Hind's wife's first guide dog. All the best Steve -- Computer Room Services 77 Exeter Close Stevenage Hertfordshire SG1 4PW Tel: 01438-742286 Mob: 07956334938 Fax: 01438-759589 Email: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Web: http://www.comproom.co.uk -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eleanor Burke Sent: 02 August 2012 13:05 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: georgie trial now available, initial opinion I wouldn't mind but my guide dogs, currently Neela, does not bark *smile* so why the barking? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 11:17 AM Subject: [access-uk] Re: georgie trial now available, initial opinion > Hi Mo > > I read your very interesting message on the BCAB list which Colin Howard > posted, presumably on your behalf. > > I'll say here what I said there. Personally I feel it is reinventing the > wheel. I think it is taking advantage of those who perhaps haven't had > the > opportunity to really try out Android or Apple to see whether they can > really master those operating systems. But, as you say, time will tell. > > I'm afraid that the barking made me cringe. Do we really have to have > these > stupid sounds incorporated into "blind" products? > > > Kind Regards, > > Jackie Cairns > > -----Original Message----- > From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf > Of > Mobeen Iqbal > Sent: 02 August 2012 00:02 > To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [access-uk] georgie trial now available, initial opinion > > Hi. > > The georgie developers have finally seen fit to provide a trial on the > google play store, all be it a 14 day trial. I have included a link below, > as well as my initial findings. The following is just my opinion and i do > not intend to start a debate on list, but it would be interesting to see > what others think. > > https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.screenreader.Georgie&featu > re=search_result > > Main app interface: the first criticism i have is the fact that all > navigation has to be acomplished via a touch screen. Trying on a samsung > galaxy pro, i could not click any of the controls via the keyboard even > though they are recognised as buttons. I could also not dial a phone > number > via the keyboard, something i was very very surprised at! > something so simple that's been around for years has been over looked? > this is probably because you have to hover over each item on the screen > with > your finger. on to my next point. it took me a while to figure out that > you > have to hover over a certain icon for 2 seconds or more until a tone is > heard, then lift your finger to activate it. being used to the double tap > system normally used in android, this came as a little qwerk i could've > done > with out, though i can see the logic behind it i guess. > The logic being cut out the need to tap the icon twice and risk hitting > another icon while you're at it. Also, i would've liked the ability to > turn > off the dog barking sound when the app is launched, and every time you > return to the home screen from outside the app. nothing against guide > dogs, > but it could be a bit of an embarrassment in public places! > Also, my phone really started lagging, something its never done with other > applications no matter how many i've had installed at any one time. while > i'm writing this, the phone's completely crashed, i'll go on to the apps > when it reboots. > > On to the apps: > > Now my battery's back in and the thing's booted, by default, you can try > out all the apps in the trial. i liked the fact you can adjust screen > contrast/colours, and also the simplicity of the interface. there needs > to be more user input in to what can be configured/added for the price, > i can see this being aimed at a minority market relating specifically to > the elderly or motor impaired. > > I did not like the fact that the volume rocker is taken over by the > software. there are meant to be 3 pages, each page containing the > various apps in various catagories. The volume rocker, instead of > allowing you to alter the volume of the app in realtime cycles through > the various pages. it also appears to unlock the phone when its been > locked, something which i wasn't too impressed with. on android, its > standard practis that all buttons are locked and the power button plus > jesture is used to unlock. page1 has your standard apps, messaging > dialer etc, page 2 goes on to OCR, colour recognition etc, page 3 is > thankfully nothing rood, its your lifestile apps containing twitter, > audio book services, talking newspapers etc. I would've apreciated it if > the developers had enabled scroling so you could scrole to page 2/3, or > again provided a setting to switch between various modes for various > functions i.e the ability to turn things on and off, or use alternative > jestures for commands. > > I am going to be using the software over the next 2 weeks, so may post > further findings. Also if people request, i may consider doing an audio > demo all be it opinionated giving each app a chance, to save people > installing it. I would also have liked to see tighter integration with > google maps. At the moment, yes you can find out where your nearest bus > stop is, taxi information, but you don't appear to be able to send these > to google maps to navigate to the destination in mind. > > The voice applications also appear, or may rely on the internet. I > haven't tested the application offline yet with no internet connection, > but suspect that because of past experience, the phone will be sending > what ever you say, dictated text messages, numbers, etc to google's > servers then back to your phone. Any android user using this app may > wish they were on some kind of data plan if this is the case. > > I have also tried the colour recogniser application. ironically, a > freely available talking colour application from the android market, > Colour ID, produced better results than their app! Their app just > stated my teashirt colour as black, the colour ID app was kind enough to > be more specific and tell me that it was brownish black, and that the > colour of my door was grey. > > The OCR app appeared to be doing something, though it requires the user > to have the phone level, i.e as if resting flat on a desk before it'll > scan. this could proove to be an issue if reading a sign/business > information that isn't necessarily on a flat surface. oh dear, where's > the gents? i'm getting desperate now! > > You can configure settings remotely for georgie via the web, or sight > and sound can do this for you. i'm not comfortable with this approach. > I'd like to know how secure the remote access app used is? is it > encrypted? how safe is user data? Privacy is at risk, what if they can > read your text messages? one user complained that sight and sound or > someone sent him an unsolicited text message because he posted a bad > review! this could be a error/over reaction or mistake on his part, > but? i've installed this on a handset i'm not bothered about but i'd be > hesitant to install this on a handset i'm using for daily use. > > I would've liked to see inclusion of an email application, as well as a > web browser of some kind. georgie at present won't support this at > present so you'd have to use talkback to surf the web. > > I also couldn't find an option to access the rest of the phone's > settings, though i haven't customised it or atempted to unlock advanced > settings if any are available. apparently you can control what the user > can do on the phone and provide/limit access to certain functions, so > we'll see if in the next few days i unlock this supposed functionality. > An option to access the android market or the app draw would've been > nice, though again this doesn't appear to be their aim. their aim > appears to be make the phone as simple as possible for a basic user, and > that's it. for a hefty price tag! The app also froze, and i received a > force close message on screen informing me that georgie had terminated. > i then had to reactivate it via my home button. that, by the way was > when i tried to access the georgie news option. this option is meant to > provide you with the latest updates from the world of georgie, i have > visions of them providing georgie with his own personal blog! there are > after all pages on facebook for pets. nothing wrong with that of > course... but? anyway back to the point. > > And now on to my final point. the contacts app, call/phone app, > messaging app, colour recogniser app, and even the OCR app using google > goggles all have free alternatives. Google maps are a lot better now and > its becoming easier to find your location, to navigate to places, to > find local places of interest, and its all free! even if you do > pourchase mobile accessibility, at least you can use it outside its own > homescreen if you wish! What would then prompt me to buy this. I would > buy it if i had a really basic android user in mind, though i'd first > try my very hardest to go the free/lower cost root not because i'm > stingy, but a lot of the time people don't have money to burn and also > there are apps out there that do the job. the eyes free shell home > screen is perfectly customisable and allows you to make things as simple > as they could be for someone by adding/removing the apps the user has > access to. Mobile accessibility is basic enough for most people. Also, > if my client just wanted a basic phone, basic second hand and brand new > nokia symbian phones abound on the internet. the haven phone could also > be imported to the UK, and i saw a phone that spoke the numbers dialed > for £15 in tesco the other day. The only reason i would personally spend > any money on this application is the OCR capability, and possibly the > audio book/talking newspaper ability though at that price, do we get a > free subscription to the services in question? perhaps we should? > > the pricing model is also unclear. they state that £150 will get you the > default apps. now as far as i know, that's just the basic apps, dialer, > messaging, contacts, georgie news and help, the phone dialer, and the > call log. mobile accessibility offers all this and more for almost a > third of the price! yes MA isn't perfect but that's not the point, who > is? £25 extra each for the lifestile and communications apps doesn't net > you much. the audio books app, the camera app, again a free alternative > available, OCR, tweet by voice, ask any question by voice anyone ever > heard of freely available jeanie? talking newspapers, podcasts, and lets > not forget the amazing voice blog. If anyone wants to hear me singing in > the shower, please let me know! the potential is amazing isn't it? the > sarcasm is partly intentional, sorry i'll stop it now... > > So, from this hotchpotch email, a conclusion: the app is very over > priced, even code factory who i expected to charge a lot more for their > app haven't charged much at all, its even available stripped down in the > US for free. If users have free alternatives and are only paying for > simplicity which can be achieved with selection of a few choice free/low > paid apps, what will compell people to buy this? now if they'd included > a turn by turn navigation aid like wayfinder for symbian if anyone > remembers that, that would've impressed me. I really hope that the > company does well, though there's still a long way to go. I hope it does > not go the same way as thunder i.e get knocked out by an open source, > free! effort like NVDA. I never really managed to achieve much with the > thunder screen reader, it was rather embarrassing when atempting to demo > it as part of training a few years ago it kept crashing. we couldn't > even get it to read out word documents or the web in a satisfactory > manner. > > As i have already said the opinions i express above are just based on > early findings. A lot could change over the next 2 weeks. I may end up > loving? georgie, though i doubt i'll be paying for it. If i've been > harsh on the developers, it wasn't intentional. the georgie app only has > a 2.2 star rating on the play store, and the majority of the reviews are > from those that are experiencing frustration using the application. some > can't get it to work though this could be user error. i wonder how many > phones they tested this on? > > From a business standpoint, if you set the right price people will buy > your product, set it too high and they'll turn to other sollutions. £300 > with a handset included? a Nokia C5 with talks costs £100, a basic > handset like the sony experia pro with icecream sandwitch which is > totally accessible would only cost £180 at the most. > > finally, i'd like to round things off by quoting a comment from someone > called justin on the eyes-free list with which i agree. i hope you don't > mind me quoting you justin, though i don't know you personally. > > Justin <justinmacleod@xxxxxxxxxxx> Aug 01 10:06PM +0100 > > That's what I think is so scandalous. They are indeed targeting older > people > and those who are less up to speed with computers, those who don't know > better or those that can't, for whatever reason, cope with the free, > cheeper > alternative that actually does more. Why should they have to pay more for > less? > > Anyway, it would be great to hear people's experiences. If i'm wrong > about anything in this email, i'll gladly stand corrected and i'm still > giving georgie a fair chance. People are also welcome to write to me off > list, > > mobeeniqbal@xxxxxxxxx > > is where you'll find me. Its taken the best part of 2 hours to write > this, anyone for a cup of tea? > > Thanks for reading, > > Mo. > > ** 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 > -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. SPAMfighter has removed 459 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len Do you have a slow PC? 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