I don't want to be a kill-joy, but these devices don't meet the needs
of most blind people in the real world.
Those lucky enough to get state rehab or an employer to pay for stuff
like this, that's cool.
But many of my blind brothers and sisters un-employed and just
getting by have trouble just getting groceries at the end of the month.l
it's a sad state of afairs in 2008 when the average bum can go in a
public library, and access information, or the average wage earner
can buy a full blown PDA for the fraction of what one of these
devices cost, and have the world at their finger-tips, but enabling
technology is out of the reach for many of us.
Someone is getting stinking rich from this sort of thing.
YOu know, I'm a home owner, and do reasonably well for a blind man in
a world not made for us, but 6 grand for this kind of thing is nothing noble.
Yes, a hand-shake and a nod of encouragement for the company who
atleast makes a passing gesture to make things afordable to those who
don't have piles of money, by doing the rent to own thing, and all
that for the software, and very nice that it's a hundred bucks
cheaper than the competition.
And for all those who will jump up and bark about well, we have to
charge more because we can't make millions of them and the whole
marketing business thing, yeh, well, some of that is true.
But these companies make a killing from our need and knowing many
will get picked up by the government.
How do you explain $50 dollar labeling guns made of cheap plastic
that break after a few uses, and labeling paper that costs 3 dollars
a sheet it seems that the adaptive logo on anything no matter how
crappy it is give license to charge a small fortune for it.
But whether it's gwmicro, fs, or dolphin, or anybody, I will never
clap my hands and cheer on these kinds of devices, because they don't
reflect meeting needs of blind folks in the real world, only the top
of the pile.
Neither am I saying things should all be free, people got to work and
eat, and people respect things they have to pay for.
But something is wrong when a significant part of the blind and
disabled population can't do basic tasks like writing or taking
notes, in a convenient way without laying down 6 grand.
I know my rant won't make any diference, the money changing lending
tables are alive and well in the temple of accessibility and the
sheep are brought to slotter.
Maybe I'll get excited when i see a note-taker in the $200 to $300
range, where most of the blind population could actually think about
owning one.
At 08:10 PM 9/27/2008, you wrote:
"The Braille Sense Plus, selling for $6,000, is basically a personal
digital assistant. A bulky, clumsy-looking PDA."
Wow, This person must have not seen the Personal PDA for blind in
the last 80's? I would say the Thing is Smaller, Lighter, then your
average Lunch Box you carry to work each day.
Matt.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2008 8:03 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: GW Micro featured by Indy Star
The following story can be found
at:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/BUSINESS10/809270400/1110/BUSINESS10
Assistive technology can help improve lives
As a technology columnist, I often get caught up in the gee-wizardry
of gadgets.
I go gaga over touch-screen surfaces, storage capacity, crisp
pictures and blinking lights. I rave about features and functions
that, to be honest, only speed up tasks that I could just as easily
do the old-fashioned way.
There's a difference between toys and tools, however -- especially
when it comes to technology.
And on Friday, I got some great examples of that during a stroll
through the inaugural Statewide Assistive Technology Conference at
the Indiana Convention Center. It was hosted by the Indiana
Assistive Technology Act Project, known as INDATA (www.eastersealstech.com).
Dozens of companies were there to demonstrate their products to
customers with disabilities.
Assistive technology includes devices that help people with
disabilities perform everyday tasks, such as communicating or using
a computer.
These devices aren't cheap, though. We're talking hundreds or often
thousands of dollars.
Take the not-even-a-month-old EyeMax System from Pittsburgh-based
DynaVox Technologies. For $15,000, the price of a new car, someone
who is unable to move can use this device to verbally communicate
with others using only his or her eyes.
It's an amazing piece of technology that I've been told has been
around for five years, but only recently became reliable.
Understanding the concept is easy: Stare at a phrase or letter after
letter to spell out a word on what's basically a laptop-sized
touch-screen computer. Then stare at "speak" and the words will
emerge from a speaker embedded in the EyeMax System.
Actually putting that concept into practice, however, wasn't so
easy, although I imagine it will get easier with time. DynaVox sales
consultant Doug Trent warned me about the learning curve.
I felt like I was learning to use "the force."
Across the aisle, Fort Wayne-based GW Micro was demonstrating some
of its products for people who are visually impaired.
The Sense View Duo, which sells for about $1,000, is a souped-up
magnifying glass that takes digital pictures of faraway objects,
like billboards, and allows users to zoom in on them. It also lets
you do cool stuff like flip the contrast so black letters on a white
background become white letters on a black background -- a popular
feature among those who have macular degeneration.
One of the cheapest products on GW Micro's table was the
screen-reading application Window-Eyes.
It matches each keystroke with a verbal description. So, type the
letter "a" and you'll hear "a." If you type the capital letter "A,"
the pitch of the voice will rise as an indicator. Also, the
application will read back a previously typed paragraph. Scrolling
through a Web page will produce the same effect.
"It's important as a blind person to be able to go letter by letter,
word by word," said Douglas Geoffray, vice president of product
development and support.
As the name indicates, Window-Eyes only works with Microsoft
Windows, not a Mac or Linux. It sells for $895 -- expensive to me,
but a bargain compared to the Braille readers that go for $4,000 to $10,000.
Braille readers resemble tiny moving keyboards that display in
Braille words as a user scrolls across a computer screen.
The coolest assistive tech gadget that GW Micro was selling Friday
had a Braille reader attached to it.
The Braille Sense Plus, selling for $6,000, is basically a personal
digital assistant. A bulky, clumsy-looking PDA. It stores addresses
and appointments, lets users send e-mail, using MSN Messenger,
browse the Web, and even has GPS that's tailored to the blind.
Sales manager Jeremy Curry compared it an iPhone.
With all the toy-like features to go gaga over, I guess he's got a point.
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your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending
your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it.
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and can be searched through and sorted using the search
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For backing tracks, audio restoration, jingles and audio adds,
low-priced tutoring and much more go to
www.affordablestudioservices.com
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sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and
your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending
your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it.
All GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo, and can be
searched through and sorted using the search
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