Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006

  • From: Mike Freeman <k7uij@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 14:32:13 -0400 (EDT)

I agree. But someone said what annoyed him/her was the buzzing. And one 
could tactilly tell what was going on.

Mike

On Mon, 1 May 2006, Teresa Arroyo wrote:

> Mike,
>
> The buzing can molest others around, but if taken away how would we know
> that we are on print and that the Optacon is actually working? The sound
> helps to know what is going on.
>
> Teresa
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:42 PM
> Subject: Re: Two Weeks of Surveys, update Pril 30, 2006
>
>
>> Catherine:
>>
>> Just a comment (not a negative one): in trying to design a new Optacon
>> to read displays as program guides on a TV screen, one problem which
>> would be kinda tough to surmount is that most of these displays scroll.
>> I see no way to easily get around this while retaining the ability to
>> physically scana the display. And then there's the problem of
>> making a choice based upon the screen. The present Optacon has no
>> knowledge, say, of a highlight bar and it would be awkward at best to
>> scan the screen, fiddle with the remote, scan the screen some more, etc.
>> etc. etc. But I sure understand the desire to be able to do this. I
>> can't even set my VCR's tape speed. <G>
>>
>> On the matter of the buzzing, while I don't have any direct experience,
>> when Dean Blazie was looking into manufacturing an Optacon replacement,
>> he claimed that if one replaced the square wave used to drive the
>> vibrating pins with a sine wave, most (if not all) of the noise of the
>> array went away.
>>
>> Mike Freeman
>>
>> On Sun, 30 Apr 2006, Catherine Thomas wrote:
>>
>>> Currently, we have 64 responses to our first survey and ten responses to
>>> our second survey. Five of the responses from current users (or users
>>> with
>>> broken Optacons) actually came in as a result of the second survey.
>>> Of the 74 respondents less than five had no interest in sharing their
>>> experiences to raise funds or assist new potential Optacon users.
>>> Most of the respondents hope for a new Optacon. Less than five are
>>> satisfied with the Optacon as-is and have no special wish for an
>>> improvement.
>>> Among the most commonly expressed wishes from current Optacon users are
>>> the following:
>>> 1. to quiet down or eliminate the buxxing.
>>> 2. To keep the tactile array similar in size and intensity to the
>>> Optacon r1d. All respondents so far who described experiences with the
>>> Optacon 2, say they prefer the larger more adjustable array on the r1d.
>>> 3. Many current users mentioned replaceable batteries and a
>>> modular camera as improvements they would want to retain.
>>> 4. Many users would like to read more of their computer screens
>>> using the Optacon as a supplement to their screen-readers. They mentioned
>>> crashes when speech or Braille software did not work. They also mentioned
>>> reading the initial screens for one reason or another while the computer
>>> is loading.
>>> 5. The most common new feature wished for is the ability to read
>>> various types of displays. NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT PRINT DOCUMENTS AND
>>> THEREFORE COULD NOT BE SCANNED. The particular concerns are all the new
>>> menu-driven displays--from DVD and VCR displays to tv screens and cell
>>> phones.
>>> Note to those who may not know: These days those who have sight and have
>>> cable or satelite television have access right on the tv screen to an
>>> electronic tv guide which lets them know what is on every channel.
>>>
>>> FACTS AND MYTHS
>>>
>>> Here are some interesting facts about the Optacon which may surprise some
>>> users.
>>>
>>> 1. An authorized Optacon instructor who responded to the survey
>>> informs us that several students who could not learn braille because they
>>> were diabetic, were able to learn and use the Optacon.
>>> 2. Some users of the Optacon do not read braille.
>>> 3. Some Optacon users do have a little vision. The device is by no
>>> means unique to the totally blind.
>>> 4. From our new survey we learn that almost all the respondents so
>>> far do know what print looks like. Orienting people to print may be less
>>> of a factor in developing new training than we had first supposed.
>>> 5. Another group who just might benefit from the Optacon are
>>> people with dyslexia. Very little research has been done in this area but
>>> it seems that using the hand-held camera might bypass the problems in the
>>> visual circuits that make print so hard for dyslexics to read and write.
>>> Thank you to the respondent who mentioned this.
>>> 6. A number of respondent mentioned how the Optacon makes their
>>> other devices more effective. The most common examples relate to
>>> scanners.
>>> Optacon users can choose the pages they wish to scan. They can also
>>> orient
>>> the pages on the scanner surfaces correctly. Most ;important, they can
>>> determine if the page contains columns or other complex layouts and set
>>> the scanner so that they get the best possible scan.
>>> 7. Although a few scanner users were satisfied with the results
>>> they got, the majority use the Optacon to check the actual print to
>>> correct errors.
>>> 8. In the original survey, to the question "For what tasks do you
>>> never use the Optacon?" just about all the respondents who answered this
>>> question said that they don't use the Optacon to read ful-length novels
>>> or
>>> long documents.
>>> GET THE FACTS, LISTERS. YOU'LL SEE THEM HERE AS THE DAYS GO BY AND WE GET
>>> MORE RESPONSES.
>>>
>>> Keep posting to all the lists and magazines. Send in your own surveys if
>>> you haven't already done so.
>>> THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR HARD WORK GETTING THE SURVEYS MOVING.
>>> Welcome to the new listers who have joined us within the past two weeks.
>>> If we can all work together, we can save the Optacon. There are no
>>> guarantees but if we do save it remember, you read it here first.
>>> Catherine
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> -Catherine Thomas
>>> braille@xxxxxxxxx                     /
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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