Just wanted to make a few comments. this is Robert in Brooklyn. I had one of my optacons made to work only on electricity by Richard and it works beautifully. I have been using it quite a bit, and getting back to my former optacon using self. I am convinced that we who use the optacon are truly lucky because we have a really excellent idea not only of what print is like, but how things are arranged on a page, or how a check is laid out, etc. I find that when I get mail, I read at least half a page with the optacon, and then use my sara reading machine. That way, I keep in practice, and take advantage of both systems. I received a check today, and it said "only valid with two authorized signatures". I could read where it said "authorized signature" and it said it twice, and I could feel that the check had been signed two times. This really was incredible for me to be able to do. Is this piece of information important, probably not, but I truly got a kick out of knowing it. I think that if the optacon had been marketed by explaining what one could read, instead of concentrating on speed of reading, it might have done better. I had no idea of what print was like, but thanks to the optacon, I know my letters, numbers, and can read things that are underlined, and even a bit of italics, although that is very slow and difficult for me, and I don't usually spend the time to try to decipher it. But regular, clear print, I can say I am doing quite well. By the way, I tried to use other fingers besides my index, but can't make anything out. I also discovered that I was keeping my letters a bit too large, and making them smaller, so they take up less room on my finger, enables me to read better. Do many of you use your optacons on a daily basis? Do you think it would be harder to manage without an optacon? Are you glad you learned it? Do you use it in conjunction with a scanner or reading machine? Did you know print before getting your optacon, or did you have to learn the letters like I did? Warmest regards, Robert in Brooklyn PS: I remember one question from the optacon manual: What time is it when an elephant sits on an optacon? time to get a new optacon. When I was learning to use the optacon, that took me about 8 minutes to read. (sad smile) to view the list archives, go to: www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l 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.