RE: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for the Blind
- From: "Smart Eze" <smart.eze@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:51:26 +0200
OK. Hope this is not too off topic.
The Optacon was a portable electronic device that permitted blind people to
read printed material. It consisted of a main electronics unit connected by
a thin cable to a lens module.
The main electronics unit contained a tactile array platform, on which you
placed your index finger. When you moved the lens module across a printed
line, the image underneath was transmitted through the connecting cable to
the main electronics unit.
You felt the image of a printed letter moving under your index finger
across the tactile array from right to left. The tactile array contained a
matrix of tiny metal rods, which vibrated to form a magnified tactile
representation of the image viewed by the lens.
I hope this gives you an idea of the Optacon reading device for the blind of
the time.
Best regards, Smart
-----Original Message-----
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Harmony Neil
Sent: 20 October 2010 19:24
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for
the Blind
It was used for reading print. I'm not entirely sure, but maybe someone else
might be able to explain how it worked.
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Yadiel Sotomayor
Sent: 20 October 2010 18:17
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for
the Blind
I re-ask: what is the obticon or whatever it is spelled? How does it worked,
what it was used for and so forth.
From: Bissett, Tom <mailto:tom.bissett@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 11:31 AM
To: 'jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for
the Blind
I do think the personal computer is the best thing for blind people but the
opticon was a marvelous tool because you could actually see what the print
looked like. With the opticon I could read diagrams and even hand writing
although that was always a challenge because hand writing styles vary so
greatly and you had to figure out how the person made their letters but it
could be done. The opticon did cover ground that the personal computer has
not yet touched.
Tom Bissett
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From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Harmony Neil
Sent: October 20, 2010 11:08 AM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for
the Blind
Agree with the last post. The optigan would probably be a very slow way of
reading printed material, although I can read raised print, but I've always
used some sort of computer and most of that time except when I was only
learning to touch type has been with a screen reader. I do however do the
thing of tapping the spacebar twice between sentences or enter twice between
paragraphs sometimes.
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Alan Dicey
Sent: 20 October 2010 15:56
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for the
Blind
Dear Cy,
I respectfully disagree with you!
I am sure the Personal Computer was the greatest thing invented to assist
the Blind so far!
It will read anything also!
And it allows Blind to perform work as fast if not faster than Sighted
people.
With Best Regards,
Alan
Miami, Florida
Alan Dicey, President
United States Braille Chess Association - USBCA
"Yes, Blind or Visually Impaired People Can, and Do, Play Chess!!!"
United States Braille Chess Association Home Page:
http://AmericanBlindChess.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Cy <mailto:cyselfridge@xxxxxxxxxxx> Selfridge
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 10:37 AM
Subject: RE: One or two spaces
The Optacon was the single greatest invention of all times for a blind
person.
It is the only device which would allow a blind person to read almost
anything printed.
Cy, The anasazi
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Dave Durber
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 6:32 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: One or two spaces
As an Optacon user, (Remember that useful gadget), to read books, I notice
that the amount of space between sentences still seems to be the equivalent
of two spaces.
There is a feature in Word that will create the equivalent amount of space
between sentences as if you had pressed the SPACE BAR twice.
You can have word do the same thing between paragraphs but with the
equivalent amount of space between paragraphs as if you had pressed the
ENTER key twice.
I have not used these functions personally, this is because I have no trust
in a Microsoft product to do always what it claims to do. Oh, dear me,
untrusting cynic that I am.
So, being as I am becoming an old fuddy duddy,, I will go on tapping the
SPACE BAR twice between sentences and tapping the ENTER key twice to put a
blank line to insert a blank line between paragraphs and before and after
headings.
HTH
Sincerely:
Dave Durber
----- Original Message -----
From: CrisMunoz54 <mailto:crismunoz54@xxxxxxxxx>
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 5:36 PM
Subject: RE: One or two spaces
Two spaces are from the days of the typewriter. Go one space. It'll look
better.
_____
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Adrian Spratt
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 2:33 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: One or two spaces
Hi, John. Just to save anyone a duplication of effort, this Wikipedia link
is to the same article as the one given to us by G.W. Cox.
_____
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of john R. Vaughn
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 4:57 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: One or two spaces
Adrian and list, interesting issue of whether to single or double space
after the terminal punctuation for a sentence and the beginning of the next
sentence. Believe it or not, the link below is from wicipedia on the matter
and I found this from doing a google search.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_spacing#History
As for me, always a double space bar between sentences, I am going to try
the one space bar and and have sighted folks tell me if the MS Word program
does infact do some sort of variable spacing to clearly indicate the end of
one sentence and another.
John
_____
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Adrian Spratt
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 2:04 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: please help
Hi, Richard.
You couch your argument in terms of blind computer users making sure their
work looks as polished as our sighted colleagues. I agree with this concept,
but you do it a disservice by flatly asserting that double spaces meet that
objective. I was persuaded to switch to single spaces while using word
processors by several sighted people who observed too much space at the ends
of my sentences and by a man who has published the two standard texts on
typesetting and typeset conventions.
There may be special circumstances, such as the tab issue brought up by Ted
Lisle, but the Wikipedia entry to which G.W. Cox sent a link lays out the
history and current general preference.
This is one of those questions that is very hard for us to grasp because the
impact is purely visual. Unsupported, strongly worded assertions don't help.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Richard P. Kelly
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 10:14 AM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: please help
Greetings all,
Proper formatting of a print document still calls for two spaces at the end
of a sentence, after a colon, and perhaps elsewhere. This remains true even
with mono spaced or proportionally spaced fonts. New word processors often
assure proper style is used if auto correct and grammar checking is on.
Still, we want what we print to look as polished as what our sighted
colleagues produce; if not better!
Cordially, Richard P. Kelly rpkelly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
rich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.new-visions-network.com
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Lisle, Ted (CHFS DMS)
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 6:50 AM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: please help
Now that's interesting. I Have seen one space from time to time, but never
knew why. I sometimes long for the days of Pica and Elite, when laying out a
document. In the immortal words of Edith Bunker, "You knew where you were
then." However, I've managed to figure out which font-size combinations are
functional equivalents of the old Pica, 10-space-per-horozontal-inch,
format, and that's what I use. Vertical spacing will have to look after
itself.
Ted
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Adrian Spratt
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 6:37 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: please help
I preface this suggestion by acknowledging there's a debate about whether
there should be one or two spaces after the end of a sentence. Despite my
pre-computer typing training, I have been convinced that modern print fonts
mean that two spaces are no longer desirable. So the way I solve the problem
you describe is to search for two spaces and replace with one space. If you
think there might be an odd number of spaces, say three, then search for
that number first and replace with a single space. Then search for all
instances of a double space and replace with that single space.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Hina
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 6:24 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: please help
hi,
i am writing a lots of reports and i did figure out formatting issues, but i
am not sure how will i know if there are extra spaces between words,
sentenses and paragraphs without reading word by word which is so time
consuming? for sighted people, microsoft word highlights but is there any
way to know with jaws? microsoft's spell checke option says that there is
extra space and suppose to change it to make corrections, but they still
remain and is there a way to deal with this issue with jaws?
i would be very thankful for your help.
hina.
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