[infotech] Re: Fw: Intel Makes an E-reader for the Visually Impaired
- From: "tony sweeney" <deirton711@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <infotech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:16:57 -0000
Hi Flor,
It's often the case people with other agendas!
Now if I were evvaluating the product I would want to know the definite
advantages of the Intel Reader over say the KNFB reader.
Price of course is important but certainly not totally as if it is going to do
the business for you in what you want to do in life then I could live with the
price provided I could borrow the money from "the poor cash-strapped banks"!
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: Flor Lynch
To: infotech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:26 AM
Subject: [infotech] Re: Fw: Intel Makes an E-reader for the Visually Impaired
Hi Tony,
Mike has a lot of people agreeing with his standpoint, even though he
may have commercial motives as well - he does, after all, run System
Access and its spinoffs. I confess that I didn't see the price details
when i first read the article. Humanware, however, have pretty good
company in exploiting the 'if you can't afford it, your 'rehab agency
will purchase our software for you' phenomenon.
----- Original Message -----
From: "tony sweeney" <deirton711@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <infotech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 1:07 PM
Subject: [infotech] Fw: Intel Makes an E-reader for the Visually
Impaired
Hi All,
Should be very interested in what Infotech makes of the newly-launched
in US the Intel Reader.
www.humanware.com/intelreader
See below forwarded to the vicsireland list.
Tony.
This is an interesting arguement against the highly priced intel reader:
http://blog.serotek.com/2009/11/what-i-think-about-intel-reader.html
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What I think About the Intel Reader
Yesterday marked the release of a product which, according to Intel,
would revolutionize the way the blind and others with reading
disabilities accessed printed materials. During those few fleeting
moments between hearing of the announcement and reading the actual press
release, I had high hopes that a mainstream company would demonstrate
its dedication to accessibility and innovation at an affordable price.
And with backing from companies and organizations such as Humanware,
Lighthouse International and the Council for Exceptional Children, I
felt certain that the device I was going to read about would be very
impressive indeed.
The Intel Reader, a device about the size of a paperback and weighing
approximately 1 pound, is equipped with a camera and text-to-speech
allowing print documents such as newspapers, menus, and signs to be
converted in to a readable form by the blind and others with print
disabilities. With the addition of a capturing station, sold separately,
the device can be used to scan and convert more lengthy materials such
as textbooks and novels. It can also read existing etexts in Daisy
format as well as play standard MP3 and Wav files. This feature set
reads quite a bit like other mainstream and custom-built solutions on
the market. In fact, the only jaw-dropping aspect of this product is its
price. The device itself can be had for a mere $1499, and you'll pay an
extra $399 for the privilege of using the capturing station.
After the initial shock, I and many others in the blind community began
looking more closely at the information available about the device, just
to ensure that we hadn't overlooked anything truly awe-inspiring. After
all, for its price, there had to be something which set the device apart
from existing solutions such as the KNFB Reader for performing OCR on
documents on the go, the forthcoming free e-reader from Kurzweil to read
existing Daisy documents, off-the-shelf solutions like a PC, scanner,
and ABBYY FineReader for more involved projects like scanning textbooks,
or even the $259 Amazon Kindle, which isn't currently accessible but
could be made so with a little effort and encouragement from the
community.
As we learned more about the Intel Reader, there was plenty to make this
device unique. First, while most portable scanning solutions like the
KNFB reader for mobile phones or a scanner/Netbook combo are equipped
with wi-fi access, the Intel Reader can't make that claim. In this
article from VentureBeat it is stated that wi-fi is absent from the
product because web-connected devices aren't allowed in some classrooms.
Far be it from us to suggest including wi-fi and leaving it up to school
IT professionals to handle whether or not to grant wi-fi access, as they
must do for all other wi-fi-equipped mainstream devices.
In addition to having no wi-fi capabilities, the device is also unable
to handle HTML content natively. Rather, a user must first convert the
HtML document to plain text before it can be read. This doesn't bode
well for a device whose major goal is purportedly to take the hassle out
of reading for the blind and print-disabled.
Given that this device appears to boast no significant features setting
it apart in a positive way from existing solutions, we must ask why the
device was created in the first place. Ben Foss, the Intel
representative spear-heading the project, has a lot to say on this. Foss
states in a press conference: "A metaphor for this are the ramps that
make buildings wheelchair accessible. This reader is like a ramp."
Unfortunately, this particular metaphor is far from apt. While
wheelchair ramps are an example of smart universal design principles in
action because they're just as useful to a walking mother with a
stroller as they are to a person in a wheelchair, the Intel reader has
been manufactured and marketed exclusively for the blind and
print-disabled without a thought for universal design. Foss goes on to
acknowledge that the price is not cheap, but guess what, folks? It's ok.
You see, the device contains several custom components. Never mind that
the essential components are a 5-megapixel camera, flash memory, and
Intel's own low-cost Atom processor which can all be had for under $250
as parts. Are you questioning the price yet? No, don't do that. Intel
can explain. Braille reading devices can cost upwards of $10000, so
$1500 is really easy to swallow in comparison to that, isn't it? Never
mind that comparing Braille displays and text-to-speech readers makes
little sense.
In essence, Intel is unapologetically asking us to accept this device's
hefty price tag for no other reason than that it was designed
specifically for the blind. Are we going to accept being blatantly
charged a premium because of our blindness, especially by a company who
claims to have a philanthropic bent? Remember Intel's Classmate PC,
whose aim was to provide a low-cost and rugged netbook to students,
especially those in developing countries? How can we take initiatives
like that seriously when with this device Intel clearly shows it isn't
interested in providing low-cost solutions to the blind students in its
own back yard?
Still, Intel didn't create this device in a vacuum. "Intel has done its
homework on the device,", says Dorrie Rush, who serves as the marketing
director for Lighthouse International. This signifies that Intel
received input from blind and print-disabled individuals as it designed
the product. So why is it that no one from these groups questioned
Intel's decision to reinvent the wheel, and in a completely lackluster
way at that. Why did no one from these groups encourage Intel to combine
existing components to create an innovative and affordable product that
could be beneficial to all?
No matter how stunning a product Intel created, it still needed the
backing of influential groups within the blind community in order to be
taken seriously. For Humanware, who is among the companies distributing
the product, partnering with one of the most lucrative and well-known
mainstream companies was a huge accomplishment. Did Humanware leverage
this relationship to educate Intel so that at least one mainstream
company would design its products with accessibility in mind from the
ground up? No! It did not! Humanware thanked Intel for producing yet
another overpriced, sub par blind ghetto product, and jumped on the
chance to convince millions of blind and print-disabled people that they
need look no further than this bulky and expensive device to further
their independence. When a mainstream company like Intel employs such
tactics it is shameful. But from Humanware, a company who should by all
rights have the interests of blind consumers at heart, these actions are
nothing less than despicable.
Because of Intel's status and high visibility, its new product rated
mentions in mainstream publications as well as those which are more
blindness-oriented. In this somewhat flippant article from Engadget, the
authors posit that a device like the Intel reader could be created for
under $500, and I suspect they're right. But the interesting reading
isn't so much the article itself, but the comments. One post says in
part: "Sure, you could build something that did something similar for
less money, but would you then be able to give it to a nearly blind
person to use all day, everyday? Completely implausible for $500." This
same poster goes on to say: "besides, the target audience for this
device is disabled -- it should be paid for by 3rd parties because it
meets the requirements to be classed as an aide for the disabled."
And there you have it -- everything that we despise about this product's
existence all wrapped up in a smug, condescending little package and
tied with a bow. Essentially, this poster believes that nothing which
wasn't created specifically for the blind could possibly work well in a
day-to-day situation. Not only that, but there are apparently an
abundance of tax dollars to go around for purchasing overpriced devices.
And luckily, the blind person need not ever make a decision as a
consumer since there's a benevolent 3rd-party agency to take care of
such things, rendering the process of making choices for oneself
unnecessary.
So, are we, as a community, going to let this stand? Are we going to
throw our support behind Intel, who spent countless hours and research
funds to offer us a third-rate product which is priced out of our reach?
Are we going to put our hard-earned money in the pockets of Humanware,
who squandered their one chance to truly shape the direction of
accessibility in mainstream technology in favor of making a quick
profit? Do we want to continue accepting the pronouncement that blind
ghetto products are not only necessary, but worthy of our everlasting
gratitude? Or are we going to tear down those ghetto walls and demand
our rightful place as the smart and savvy consumers that we are!
And before you say that you're only one consumer, that your voice will
never be heard, I will tell you that you're wrong. You can make a choice
to be educated about what you buy before you make a decision. And once
you embrace the power to choose, you'll want to share that power., and
you won't want to stop with just one person. You'll tell every blind
person you know to stop and think before choosing a product which has no
claim to fame other than being designed for the blind. You'll tell the
blindness agencies and school systems who already struggle with tight
budgets to stop and investigate before accepting the party line and
purchasing something which does half as much at twice the price. And to
those companies who are banking on your willingness to accept anything
less than the best just because it's been given the stamp of
accessibility, the sound of your wallet slamming shut an the realization
that you are actually "a consumer" with a functional brain and an
opinion will convey your point quite eloquently indeed!
Posted by Mike Calvo at 6:59 PM
Darragh
Websites: www.digitaldarragh.com www.lalrecordings.com
-----Original Message-----
>From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Flor Lynch
Sent: 10 November 2009 16:01
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Intel Makes an E-reader for the Visually Impaired
Close
Intel Makes an E-reader for the Visually Impaired Intel has created a
mobile device called Intel Reader. It scans print and then reads it out
loud.
Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Monday, November 09, 2009 09:20 PM PST
On Tuesday, Intel will start selling a nifty new e-reader that can snap
pictures of books and newspapers and then read them back to people who
have a hard time reading the printed page.
Called the Intel Reader, the US$1,499 device assists people who are
blind, dyslexic or have weak vision, said Ben Foss, the director of
access technology with Intel's Digital Health Group, who came up with
the idea for the reader. "It's designed to give them independence and
access to reading."
Intel estimates that there are as many as 55 million people in the U.S.
who could use its device. Foss says that the Reader will give many of
them a new freedom to read books, magazines and newspapers that would
otherwise be inaccessible. Users simply hold the Reader a few feet above
the paper they want to read; it snaps a photo, and within seconds
converts the page to text, which it can then display in a large font or
read out loud.
"We're excited by this and we think it will really make a difference for
millions of people with disabilities," said James Wendorf, executive
director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, speaking at a
Monday press conference where the device was unveiled.
Sold by resellers such as CTL, Howard Technology Solutions and
HumanWare, the paperback-sized device combines a 5-megapixel camera with
a Linux-powered, optical character-recognition system and software that
converts text into the spoken word. With 2GB of storage, it can store
about 600 snapshots of scanned pages -- at two pages per snapshot that
would represent a 1,200-page paperback novel.
The device can play back scanned items, but it also supports MP3s, WAV
files, text files and the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System)
format, used to publish books for people with reading problems. The
battery can power about four hours of playback between charges.
The reader has a special user interface designed for people who have a
hard time reading, and it can play back audio at varying speeds. Foss
likes to hear playback at the almost comically high-pitched speed of 200
words per minutes, which he likens to speed-reading.
Intel also makes a briefcase-sized docking station that can hold and
power the reader while it's being used to scan a large number of pages.
The company will introduce a U.K. version of the Reader in a few days
and plans to roll it out in other countries as well, Foss said.
The device represents a sleeker alternative to more cumbersome reading
aides such as text magnifiers, which cost around $3,000 each, and
Braille readers, which can cost between $7,000 and $10,000, Foss said.
With Amazon's Kindle, the e-reader market has taken off in recent years,
but until now, nobody has built one for people with diminished eyesight
that can scan and replay anything on paper, said Dorrie Rush, director
of marketing with Lighthouse International, a nonprofit group that helps
people suffering from vision loss.
Rush, who has lost vision because of an eye disorder called Stargardt's
disease, can barely read the headlines from the New York Times while
holding the paper about 4 inches from her face. She has tried out
Intel's device and she loves it. "Intel has really done their homework
and created something that does good and looks good."
Intel's Foss has a personal connection to the project. Diagnosed with
dyslexia in elementary school, he spent hours during his college years
faxing papers to his mother, who would then read them back to him over
the phone.
Now he hopes that the device he helped create will help other students
in his shoes. "Ultimately we're trying to give people access to hope and
to self-respect."
1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.
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