I think refreshible dots aren't going to happen. The dot density is too high, and there just isn't any way I can see to get that electro-mechanical process, or any sort of seemingly promising--but never yet manufactured technology like "plasma" or "memory metal" to work. Not and be able to watch the movement of the scanning hand-tracked camera in "real time". Maybe change the frequency of the vibration, or make it user definable, but it ain't broken, don't fix/break it. Nick On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 10:18:04 -0700, Mark Blier wrote: Hi, All, Boy, I sure can't wait until I get my "new" Optacon. When mine died for = good in 2004, I did not know about this list, and had abandoned hope of = regaining that slice of independence. When I found the Optacon list on = Blind Cool Tech, I jumped three feet straight up. =20 I cannot stress enough the importance of holding on to one's privacy as = much as possible by being able to check one's own mail. What really = sticks in my craw is the over-reaction that I get from seeing people who = know *my* private information before I do! There is nothing like being able to spot-check print -- I don't care how = fast or sophisticated the scanners get, or how perfect their results = become. Reading with the Optacon is a totally unique and treasured = experience. I can think of only one sore spot, and that is the vibration. If the = vibration ans its numbing could be eliminated, there would be another = huge reason to crow about the Optacon. Why not replace the vibrating = tactile array with an array of refreshable dots similar to what is = reported on the Video Tim? You'd have dots coming up in the shapes of = the printed characters, and no vibration, and that would automatically = yield a better reading experience. One could read for longer periods of = time, and I bet also faster. I can't wait to puzzle out street maps again. [Sidebar: I would also like to hear from anyone who has used the Video = Tim, and compare experiences with those of Optacon users. My email = address is: mblier@xxxxxxx .] Mark Blier Sierra Vista, Arizona ------------------------------ To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.