Bob, The Opticon is (was) the ultimate solution for anyone who could use it. Too bad it went down the tubes. Cy, The Anasazi From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob W Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 10:35 AM To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Dave. I'm afraid I missed that particular piece of equipment but it really sounds interesting. In the early eighties there were two approaches to interpreting visual data: the hardware solution (including the frank audio data, the IBM talking terminal and, to my mind the ultimate solution, the optacon. Then there were the software solutions exemplified by jaws (Hentor-Joyce) and Window-eyes (gwmicro) and the artic speech programs. Sometimes I wish the hardware guys would have won the battles. We wouldn't have to push websites and software developers to be accessible. Captias would be no problem. And a myriad other problems could have been solved if we truly found a hardware solution. But we didn't. and they are still problems. Bob "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." Aristotle ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Durber <mailto:d.durber@xxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 10:30 AM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Back in the 1980's, I remember a friend using a piece of equipment, called "Frank AudioData" It was a full size keyboard with built-in speech. It had two sliders. One slider, ran along the top of the keyboard which moved the AudioData's cursor left and right across the line. It used tones to indicate space characters and other characters as you moved the slider. The vertical slider ran down the left side of the keyboard and was used to move the AudioData's cursor up and down by a line. As you moved the slider down the screen, it used ascending tones. As you moved the slider up the screen it used descending tones. On top of the two sliders, there was a button which you press to move the PC/application cursor to the location of the AudioData's cursor. In addition, there were volume and pitch controls. There may have been a control for increasing and decreasing the speed of the voice, but I cannot remember if there was or was not. Sincerely: Dave durber ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob W <mailto:rwiley45@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 10:35 PM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Yeah, I remember those beauties. You had speech from the moment you turned the power on. They weren't very versatile but they were quite a work horse. Don't remember what they were called. I always wished someone would build something like that for pcs. Bob "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." Aristotle ----- Original Message ----- From: George Marshall <mailto:marshall.geoma4@xxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 10:39 AM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Tom: I am surprised IBM didn't give you one of there terminals with speech. I also programmed on IBM 360,370 and 9000's. I think about 1982 IBM developed a terminal with speech, had a numeric like pad attached with a cord used to control reading of the screen. George R. Marshall marshall.geoma4@xxxxxxxxx ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Lange <mailto:trlange@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:51 PM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Hi, I wish I'd known about JAWS back in the Eighties, it might have made life easier for me in some respects. I did mainframe programming for IBM from 1978 to 1994 in a VM environment, programming using the APL programming language up until around 1987 or so. After that I programmed using Rexx, which was very English-like. I didn't know about screen reading solutions for the PC until 1994, so all through that time I was at IBM, I used an Optacon to read the screen. That was actually pretty cool, if a bit inefficient. Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob W <mailto:rwiley45@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 8:20 AM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING Hi Prakash. I am retired now, but was a mainframe programmer from the early seventies to the late 1990s. I used jaws from the early 80s to my retirement. I don't think I could have done programming without it. What you are proposing--going from a visual programmer to a nonvisual programmer--is a daunting, but not impossible, challenge. I suspect that you do not know Braille. Knowledge of Braille and an 80-cell display would be a great tool to have in your arsenal. You don't need to learn literary Braille, or even grade two Braille (though this might be helpful. But, I would suggest that you emphasize learning computer Braille, which in some ways is superior to literary Braille. As I said earlier, your challenges may seem daunting, but they can also be fun, and they may enhance your creativity. Good luck, and when you run into problems, this list is a great place to seek answers. Bob A learning experience is one of those things that says, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' Douglas Adams ----- Original Message ----- From: john.falter <mailto:john.falter@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:04 PM Subject: Re: JFW/PROGRAMMING I programmed in assembly language and Cobol for 8 years using JAWS.. ----- Original Message ----- From: PRAKASH P <mailto:P.Prakash@xxxxxxx> To: JFW@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: PRAKASH P <mailto:P.Prakash@xxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 10:42 AM Subject: JFW/PROGRAMMING I HAVE RECENTLY COME TO A POINT WHERE I CANNOT DO ANYTHING VISUALLY ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN. I HAVE BEEN USING zOOMtEXT AUDIO EFFECTIVELY UNTIL NOW. But now I am told JFW is the way to go. Can someone give me a good view/opinion of how effective/efficient would it b to do programming for a living with or without JFW. I have 20 years of programming experience with MS environments being the latest. I am able to read all ctooll tip based text and the program text itself but not sure if I can compete with The visually enhanced set. I know I have much learning to do but I would like a seasoned person to give a sense of whats possible. I am a good learner if not a speedy one. I am trying to figure out if I should or should not give up on serious implementation responsibilities. Thanks for any and all input I can get. Prakash Prakash This email and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and may be confidential and/or privileged. 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