[optacon-l] Re: optacon research
- From: "H & C Arnold" <4carolyna@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 14:14:02 -0500
Interesting about the talking Optacon that actually talked. The Stereotoner
did not talk. One had to learn a sound pattern of character design to use
it, but it was possible for it to translate printed material.
In God We Trust,
Carolyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Dotson" <nickdotson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 12:50 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: optacon research
It was a prototype, and I was at TSI on behalf of the FL DBS Director at the
time Don Wedewer, now passed away... I was a Rehab Teacher for Adult Blind
and enthralled with technology.
I can't remember allot of the physical detail, but it was hooked to the
Optacon--I don't remember the physical details. There was speech output,
and you had to set the thresholding control to a slightly thicker line for
the OCR part to do its job properly All of us who looked at it were pretty
good Optacon user's, and there were people who were mentors and heroes to me
like Tim Cranmer and Fred Gissoni. I also met Noel Runyan, and Richard
Oehm. I never got over my hero worship at these blind guys who didn't seem
much older than I, but had enough different that they went into real
engineering while I was just an EX-redneck ex-hippie idealist doing Human
Services.
I was so confident I really pushed the envelope with the system harder than
did Msrs. Cranmer and Gisoni and one of them teased me by saying "Ah the
young; they do learn quickly."
Because I often used the Optacon for 8 hours a day reading memos, case
files, and other documents, and read obsessively and voraciously at
home--mail, catalogs, magazines and books/manuals, I was around 150WPM at
the time. I think we got the Talking Optacon up to somewhere close to
200WPM.
The voice was probably something like a Prose 3000 synthesizer. It
certainly sounded better than most of the phonemic synthesizers I was used
to at the time--pree PC, pre DECTalk, Pre ProVert, Etc. Etc. Etc.
Nick
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Debby Franson
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 12:24 AM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: optacon research
Hi Nick!
I have never heard of a talking optacon until I read this post. How big was
it? How did it work? Did you have a choice to read with all speech or
tactally? I'm trying to imagine this thing.
Debby
At 04:06 AM 12/30/2011, Nick Dotson wrote
>I Had the honor and privilege to have had a chance to work with the
>Talking Optacon a bit at TSI. It was wonderful.
>
>Nick
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>On Behalf Of Robert Feinstein
>Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 1:46 AM
>To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [optacon-l] Re: optacon research
>
>I'd like to comment on Marie's post. I agree that the Optacon gives us
>something that a scanner cannot give us. I also think that for long
>texts, or long newsletters, without pictures, the scanner enables us to
>rad much more and with more ease. I think the scanner and optacon make
>a beautiful marriage.
>
>Bob
>
>On Thu, 29 Dec 2011, Marie Rudys wrote:
>
> > A shame that happened. I like to learn. Without my Optacon, I
> > would have been lost in the world during the 1990's and now. When
> > my computer goes down, so does the scanner; without my Optacon, how
> > could I
>sort my mail out?
> > When I learned it in 1994, I realized a longtime dream of wanting to
> > read print for myself. I learned in four months all the lowercase
> > letters; I already knew my uppercase ones from little on. What a
> > freedom the Optacon gives us that no scanner, however good it is,
> > can give you. To be able to read away from the computer is a kind
> > of freedom for me. I will continue to use that skill as long as
possible.
> >
> > Marie
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Eric Clegg" <eclegg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:27 PM
> > Subject: [optacon-l] Re: optacon research
> >
> >
> > >I agree whole heartedly with Nick.
> > >
> > > Most blind people would rather take the easy way out rather that
> > > put in lots of effort into learning.
> > >
> > > I remember in the third grade in a boarding school in Canada being
> > > told by a very wise teacher that there was no royal road to
> > > learning.
> > >
> > > The same thing has happened with the amateur radio service being
> > > dumbed down and taking away the Morse code requirement.
> > >
> > > Hey a speed of five words per minute is nothing!
> > >
> > > Hurray for the Optacon and for Morse code.
> > >
> > > Happy New Year to everyone.
> > >
> > > Eric Clegg, KU3I
> > > Braille Specialist
> > >
> > >
> > > to view the list archives, go to:
> > >
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> > >
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> > >
> >
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> >
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> >
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>
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--
mailto:<the.bee@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
--
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours
forth foolishness.
Proverbs 15:2 NKJV
"Teach me, and I will hold my tongue
; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
Job 6:24 NKJV
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