I am just a computer-obsessed geek who likes to program. However, I love to make things that help blind computer users. I started out making a couple webpage programs for my bn, then I put them online, now I do Python programming. I have three projects all being worked on, and maybe one day I will package them up and offer them for download (an accessible version of Solitaire, accessible Battleship which sighted users can play as well, and a Screenless Widgets program, which will likely be integrated into the Qwitter client). Unfortunately, none of this can be put onto a notetaker, and that is not through my choice. If I could, I would drop desktop development in an instant and start working on programs for my Apex (imagine being able to play Solitaire on the bn or bs family, just like your sighted peers can do on their computers). Unless and until hw/gwm make some sort of development kit available, desktop software is all I can do.
Joseph: have fun!! I hate recursion, and still avoid it at all costs. Just getting the stupid factorial function to work was a great intro into infinite loops... Just remember to check for your base case BEFORE you call the recursive function! On 8/12/10, Joseph Lee <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi folks, particularly geeks and experts, > I guess the subject line may shock you - not that it's a question, but it is > related to the core thing that we've discussed on this and other lists for a > while: > First, let's discuss these questions: Why did we chose computer science and > computer engineering as our college major? Why did we chose this risky path, > doing calculations and wrestling with a silicon chip for hours at a time? > What makes us - programmers, engineers and geeks - excited about working > with circuits and go into details on how to rescue something from physical > memory if it goes wrong? The answer is just one word: passion. We (the > programmers and engineers on this list and others) chose computer science > because we have a shared passion - to improve livelyhood of people with > disabilities. Although we may have different specialities, we do have a > common cause that unites us together. Although we have different experiences > and work with different programming languages and operating systems, we have > a goal in mind. That goal is the very thing that empowered people such as > Ted Henter, Deane Blazie and other advocates to this day: access to > information and means of doing it for people who are blind or visually > impaired and for people with other disabilities. And what empowered figures > such as steve Jobs, Bill gates and others? To improve access to information > for everyone around the world and to connect to one another via a network of > computers, cables and such - called the Internet. > For engineers who are here, we have a shared cause although using different > technology right now: to help people with blindness or visual impairment > obtain useful information and communicate with mainstream society using a > communication mechanism that we have - called braille. And the very > inspiration that powers us to spend days and nights figuring out logic > problems and learn underhood hacks to our computers is so-called blindness > PDA's, or more commonly called notetakers. In connection to our major, we > chose CS for the following reasons (in my opinion): being able to program a > PDA (or a computer) to improve lives of others, having the foundation from > where we can practice our programming skills so that we can learn more about > theories and operations of a computer system, to educate people on > potentials of their equipment, and to show the sighted world that blindness > does not limit our abilities as skilled programmers who understand ins and > outs of software and hardware architecture. > Now, to the whole concept of programmability (which I know some of you have > seen it on another list): A silicon chip or a dye, more properly called CPU > (central Processing Unit) does not know what it is doing. It's only job is > to get instructions, run it, then fetch more to process. This whole thing is > called a clock cycle. IN order to help the CPu do its job (after all, a > computer is a giant calculator), we need to tell it what to do (and this is > the true power of programming). But programming is not an easy skill: there > are times when something goes wrong which requires several minutes to a day > to fix, time spent on testing new features and so on. And the grand rule is: > you cannot figure out a problem and a fix by yourself unless if there is > outside inspiration. Trust me, when I did my programming assignments, I > received help from other programmers (some of them blind) to get my job done > - which took only few hours. That was a small program (about 10 KB) to > calculate dates when a user wishes to add a number of days. Think about the > scale of Braille Sense family, which an entire ROM image (executables, > drivers and support files) takes up about 40 to 50 MB - now you know why GWM > or HIMS cannot promise a definite release time for new images. > Another thing is that colaboration often results in more stable programs, > and that it may lead to useful suggestions and better code that runs fast > and efficient. What if a programmer worked on an entire suite like Braille > Sense by himself? That'll take months and years, with him losing track of > bugs and fixes to be done. This is the reason why there are multiple > developers working on separate modules of BS suite - to make sure that it > runs smoothly - this is called feature verification or field testing. > You may now wonder why I am bringing this subject up. This was done to > promote two things: that there are people who are willing to invest time and > effort to improve BS users, and that just thinking about something in your > head will not bring it forth in an instant. And remember this: computers > keep changing. The high-end smartphones are now approaching the speed of a > low-end netbooks, and I expect the performance to be on par with netbooks by > 2012. The highest specs as of now include a 1 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 64 > GB of Flash and a full 9.7 inch touchscreen - all using a common framework > for writing third-party programs and it has built-in screen reader (yes, > it's an iPad 3G+Wi-Fi). But why would I bother spending some time reading > about this? Because, in my case, I'm interested in mobile technology, screen > reading algorithms and design, embedded systems and so forth (which is part > of computer science). > A thought to ponder before I run to C++ lecture: Why is it that a common > logic on programmability does not hold for Braille Sense products? If there > is a base logic that says that any computer can be programmed (even to > destroy data), why is it that popular opinion on this list does not treat > this logic as binding i.e. since Braille Sense is a computer, why shouldn't > it be programmed by users themselves for improving lives of fellow men and > women? This is rather a philosophical thought that requires many comments - > I think I have an answer to this perception, but I will not dare say it > since there are differing opinions 9and I do respect opinions from others > and I'll try my best to understand what you are saying). > Gotta go to learn about recursive functions - a function that calls itself, > which I know would be a hint of a possible add-on (Alex, you know the > classic "factorial" example, right?)... > Sincerely, > Joseph S. Lee > University of California, Riverside > Blog: http://joslee22590.blogspot.com > Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000238335674 > > > If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, visit: > > http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv > > -- Have a great day, Alex (msg sent from GMail website) [email protected]; http://www.facebook.com/mehgcap If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, visit: http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv
