Hello Sherri,
For Christmas, I bought my sighted wife a Garman GPS unit and she loves it.
And although there are several GPS options out there for the blind, they are
quite prohibitive due to their price and/or levels of complication of use.
True, Humanware has come out with the Trekker Breeze, but it cost around
$800 and does not offer the flexibility of an off the shelf GPS. The Garman
GPS I purchased for my wife was $150 and came with text to speech as well as
a whole host of other useful features.
So, here is my suggestion: There is software from Rock Box that can be
installed on various digital recorders and mp3 players; why not apply this
technology to an off the shelf GPS unit? The Rock Box software speaks menus
and other important aspects of the device on which it is installed. By
creating Rock Box like software for GPS units, more people would be able to
afford to purchase one. And when I hear my wife or kids use the Garman, it
sounds like its interface is very simple, thus making it easy to learn how
to use.
Please consider this suggestion.
Mauricio
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherrie" <[email protected]>
To: "Blind-computing" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 12:59 PM
Subject: [Blind-Computing] Need suggestions for assistive technology
I received the following from a friend and was wondering if anyone
had any suggestions I could offer. I am not sure exactly what to
tell this person.I need advice about what is not available or could
be improved...
Here is the letter I received:
How do you feel about contributing some ideas about handling
technology? A friend is working on his computer science degree. One
class this semester requires
that he improves current hardware or software, or designs new
hardware or software in some way. He was trying to figure out a
niche market to address. I
suggested doing something to help the visually impaired with
computers, cell phones, etc. Is there something that you find
particularly difficult or frustrating
with any of your computer or digital equipment? If you could design
something "perfect" for a blind user, what would it be? How would it
be different
from what you currently have or use? Feel free to offer as many
suggestions as you like. I'm not sure the extent of his project, but
I'm sure he'll try
to do something immediately usable.
Visit the JAWS Users List home page at:
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Visit the JAWS Users List home page at:
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Visit the Blind Computing home page at:
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Address for the list archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To post to this group, send email to
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To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to
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For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject
or body of a blank message to:
[email protected]
Use the following address in order to contact the management team
[email protected]
If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the
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[email protected]
