I have never been timed for speed, but when I was really using the opticon a lot I did read whole books with it, and was able to actually enjoy the flow of a novel, which would only be possible if one were reading at a reasonable speed. Also, the opticon is great for skimming through stuff like manuals and catalogues, and skimming is really the technique taught by all those speed reading courses you see advertised on TV. Gord ----- Original Message ----- From: "Deborah Kent Stein" <dkent5817@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 7:29 PM Subject: Re: a couple of observations Hi Bob and listers, I think the figure of 80 words a minute is quite conservative. I was timed at 102 words a minute at a point when I was doing a lot of Optacon reading and was in good practice. I heard at ASB in Philadelphia, where I trained, that one of their students finished the program reading 126 words a minute. Even 126 words a minute doesn't sound like much compared to the reading speeds we can reach with Braille or audio materials. But as we all know, speed isn't the real issue with the Optacon anyway - it's immediate access that matters. Debbie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Feinstein" <harlynn@xxxxxxxxx> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 5:28 PM Subject: Re: a couple of observations >I am in no way trying to start an argument, but I was told by someone at > TSI that, due to the engineering of the Optacon, the fastest speeds one > could hope to attain would be in the area of 80 words per minute, and that > would be pretty rare. I would be interested in what speeds have been > attained by Optacon users who were timed. > > Bob > > > 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. 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.