I remember. I don't think I ever wanted anything so much in my life.
Bye for now,
Carolyn
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Debby Franson
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 11:58 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: a question regarding the ergonomic design and
mechanics of the optacon III
Hi Carolyn!
I'm like you in that I wanted an Optacon ever since I knew about them.
That's a technology I took to right off. I have been an optacon user for about
34 years.
Debby
At 08:29 PM 12/22/2016, Carolyn Arnold wrote
I got overwhelmed by the different gestures for an iPhone - way too
many for me to want to bother with. However, I have never had problems
with an Optacon. I wanted one more than I ever wanted any thing in my
life, and am so thankful to have had one for 42 years now, of course not the
original one.
Bye for now,
Carolyn
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bruce Noblick
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2016 7:56 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: a question regarding the ergonomic design and
mechanics of the optacon III
Hello Debby,
I have an iPhone and an Android Tablet. Most of the iPhone gestures
are fairly logical but some of the Android gestures for Talkback are
awkward for me. For example, the two part gestures like up and left,
down and right or whatever combination you use. I end up cutting the
corners. I have to go up, stop then go right to prevent this and I
don't often get the gestures to work. I even sometimes have trouble
with the double tap gesture on both devices with more of a problem on the
Android tablet.
You sound like you are very articulate with accessibility issues and I
try to be as well so it embarrasses me a bit to admit how much trouble
I have with this interface. I almost wonder if part of my problem is
that I didn't learn to write when I was young. I think I could easily
do a diagonal swipe or a curved one but those two part gestures like
those that access the local and global context menus rarely work for me.
Any way, I am hoping that we both can overcome our awkwardness with
these devices because there is (in my case) a certain amount of
frustration that goes along with not being able to do what should be simple
gestures.
Sorry for veering off topic.
Enjoy the day,
Bruce
On 12/21/2016 12:26 AM, Debby Franson wrote:
Hi Chuck!optacon mode.
I can't seem to get used to a touch interface. I have an iPad,
Android Galaxy, I think it's called and an iPod Touch, and I find
them all frustrating.
Debby
At 07:14 PM 12/14/2016, C. Pond wrote
Personally, if I had my druthers, I would like just a simple,
small, straightforward, uncomplicated optacon without these extras.
However, although I have done no formal studies, it just seems by
all accounts that such a preferable device would not take serious flight.
So, it seems that an optacon must be a modular part of an access
device, with the default mode being the nice and straightforward
they work fine as they are.
I wouldn't say things are speeing up; I'm simply working with what
I have, when I can, until more favourable winds blow. I meet soon
with a certain bank to take steps in finally setting up a
legal/financial accountable entity to receive money to take the
optacon/braille display to the finish line. Production and sales
is a different matter, of which I know basically nothing.
The main technical challenge is reducing the power consumption, and
making the power pack smaller than its at least 6 D-cell batteries
minimum. There is a completely suitable alternative energy
solution which I have developed for such things as transportation,
but at this point there might be legal issues which prevent me from
dropping it very simply into the optacon and easily doing away with
the portable power problem m. Although several materials are being
studied to improve the displays' efficiency (which would not be
noticed by the user), these efforts and strategies are to reduce
power consumption, and even if they don't happen, I'm not worried
about the displays;
directly and with far, far less resource fuss.
The basic optacon software itself is straightforward, and it could
be programmed or written to be run on anything really: a tablet, a
smartphone, a handheld computer. I'm thinking that rather than
using an off-the-shelf, small motherboard and with the braille
display and optacon as its peripherals--in addition to the board as
a standard computer--why tie the purchaser to one's version of the
computer, when one cann simply use a prefered tablet or whatever.
I have not yet tried to program the basic optacon functions in
Android or use them with a tablet or smartphone. I have bypassed
any operating system, and programmed two boards using C++ and the
required assembler. I kind of wonder about the need for these
portable O/S platforms, when well-designed software can drive the
computer boar
standard laptop but with the power and portability of a laptop.Of course, if there ends up being one module as the braille
display, its keyboard, another for the basic optacon, and then one
fits in their prefered portable computing device for its own
accessible use, this raises the issue of streamlined ergonomics--the form
factor.
The use of a touch tablet, however, would open up some interesting
possibilities, not to mention making the device more in line with
consumer products and more easily updated.
In and of themselves, the braille display and standard notetaking
functions, and the optacon, do not require a standard computer
mother board or even a tablet or smartphone, although they are
useful and convenient. Something like the French "Essytime" (it is
called something like that), which is a braille display built
directly into a standard portable computer with a perkins keyboard,
and so their accessible computer, not needing a built-in display as
a lid, and with no qwerty keyboard, is quite portable and smaller
than the
package.The French use a standard computer motherboard, so it can be easily
updated and consumer compatible save for the braille display.
Several decades ago now, I took the design of Smith-Kettlewell's
"Note-A-Braille", refined it, added to it, and gradually migrated
it from a hardware bench device to mostly software using C++; it
was a test project for academic purposes, not an intended product,
So, the braille display module and its software / optacon combo can
easily be done without the need for a standard computer as part of
the consumer
So, back to the modular approach: the software for the notetaker,
the braille display module and perkins keyboard which contains the
notetaker software (its board is like a small cracker) and advanced
optacon bells and whistles, the autonymous optacon module and its
nifty camera...and then
what: must there be an obligatory computer so it will sell because
one would have the full use of a fully accessible computer? It is
becoming too convoluted for my personal comfort. All of this stuff
so that our irreplaceable optacon will have a market? Yes, one
could use the braille/optacon combo as a peripheral for whichever
computer they have and this as it should be of course, but this
again raises the ergonomics issue.--does it?
Personally, if I had my way, why not just a simple, nicely updated
and straightforward optacon and that would be that. It appears
that reality requires a more encompassing solution.
Chuck
-----Original Message-----
From: Debby Franson
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 3:34 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: a question regarding the ergonomic design
and mechanics of the optacon III
Hi Chuck!
I'm glad your progress is speeding up. That's exciting.
I agree with you about tacking on the smart display would probably
make a clunkier design, being the worst of the options.
Could a cover be made to put on to cover the "fat domino" space,
similar to the cover that is placed over the spot on the optacon II
when the battery pack is removed? That cover would protect whatever
the opening leaves exposed and keep dust out.
I agree that one versital unit would be best.
Debby
At 02:13 AM 12/12/2016, C. Pond wrote
An optacon III ergonomic mechanical question if I may in order to
make it marketable, accompanied by a pre-amble for its context:
As things stand now, the optacon III’s display has evolved
from a
rmeree
dumb display (a mere vibrotactile output device which feels
something like a fat domino)) to a stand-alone display into which
the nifty camera and power and whatever can be plugged. This way,
the camera and the smart-display can be mechanically connected to
form a crude one-handed optacon with room for improvement, or they
can be used each in one hand as we traditionally have done.
Although I am still really concerned about the power monster, and
I’m working with tuflon and a few other
r
experimental strategies to reduce power consumption, I’m not
worriedd
about a vibrotactile display. We have a two-handed optacon---even
in its basic formâ€Ã¢€Âand since Mr. Noel Runyan recommended a
none-handedoption, we
now have that as well. So be it. Having said these things, it is
my “senseâ€Ã‚ or belief that a simple up-to-date small
optacon
simply willll
not sell, take wings and fly. no matter the zeal of present optacon
users. I could be wrong, given proper education of blind
people, especially children, but that is how it looks
realistically from this user’s vantage. If no new optacon
users come along, ten
syears from noww
will show a very different optacon-user landscape compared to today.
Therefore, from this line of reasoning, I have combined the basic
optacon III with a small, standard computer (around the size of a
Braille Sense U2 32-cell model; smaller than a Braille Lite 40)
and a built-in 32-cell braille display (which unfortunately and to
my chagrin and sincere regret and wish for the contrary is
proprietary at this time, and this goes against Every sentiment
and wish within me to have it so!). The braille display can be
built by hand for a few hundred dollars, and likely would be less
costly if produced by automation and in numbers greater than 99
per batch. At this point, the optacon III’s
ns
display fits nicely behind the spacebar and between dots 1 and 4
of the device’s perkin
n
s keyboard. So, along one long edge at the front is the 32-cell
display (built with banks of 4 braille cells per bank, smaller
than bimorph-based cells), and the optacon III’s display is
right at
the back edge,,
between dots 1 and 4, and therefore in the middle of the edge.
The device has as many useful functions as any hand-held computer
with a robust braille display and good accessibility. However, if
the optacon III’s vibrotactile display is built into the
hand-held
computer withh
its inexpensive and robust braille display, several questions come
to mind for which I do need feedback.
1. Although the smart display could be made mechanically to slide
in and out of its place, like the old PCMCIA cards, when the
display is removed and connected to its camera, a rectangle-like
void about the size of a fat domino would be left in the hand-held
computer with its braille display. So, what to do in order to
prevent this mechanical oddity or use the empty display space?
2. Is there a better way to design the mechanics of the device?
The only reason why I’m evolving toward solidifying the
optacon
sIII’s
‰„¢s
design as part of an encompassing system is that on its own, a new
optacon likely would not sell, so other things must be added.
Likely enough, most people would use the braille display and
computer more often than the optacon III’s vibrotactile display.
dThe only two reasons I can see forr
being able to detach the optacon III’s display from the
hand-held
in the first place.d
computer are:
1. To connect it to its camera for one-handed use.
2. To use it as a stand-alone, small, versatile optacon.
Otherwise, and if a stand-alone optacon would indeed sell, this
stuff about a hand-held computer with a built-in braille display
would not be an issue.
If the smart display were merely tacked onto one end or the other
of the hand-held computer, that would solve nothing and would make
ergonomic design and use even worse.
I doubt a market exists for two optacon III versions: a one-handed
optacon and a two-handed optacon, and also not likely for a
simple, stand-alone optacon III. If I had my way, I would build
the detachable optacon III into an encompassing system, and find a
good use for that fat domino void, or find a way so it
doesn’t happen
.
message to:.
So, please, any thoughts and suggestions? No doubt the mechanicalto view the list archives, go to:
solution for this is simple and straightforward.
Chuck
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