Very helpful and explains more. Thanks. I'll add this to my file.
"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right." Henry Ford.
Carolyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adrian Spratt via Jfw" <[email protected]>
To: "The Jaws for Windows support list." <[email protected]>
Cc: "Adrian Spratt" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 6:18 PM
Subject: RE: Scanners.
I think there are several loose ends here, and I'll leave one or two
dangling, but here goes:
Scanning involves both hardware and software. The hardware is typically a
flatbed device that takes up a lot of room. I use the Hovercam, which has
a tiny footprint and can easily be moved out of the way. It consists of a
small base, a tallish stand, and a piece you pull out from the stand and
raise above the desk surface. When purchased from IRTI, an adaptive
products company in California, it comes with a mat that you unfold and
lay out when you're ready to scan. The mat has raised lines that show you
where to position the Hovercam and where to place the paper.
OCR (optical character recognition) software converts images on paper to
digital text. You can obtain OCR software from a variety of places. IRTI
has its own software, and its tech support staff will take you by phone,
at no extra cost and no matter how much time it takes, through the setup
process and associate the software with the Hovercam. The software you
mention is FS's OpenBook. There are others.
The software you'd need to copy photographs, etc., is different. One
example is Photoshop, which I believe is owned by Adobe. But this software
is not OCR software. I don't know if both can be run on the same system,
but I imagine they can. It just gets more expensive.
Going back to the Hovercam, although it can't do automatic feeding, you
can pile a stack of pages neatly on the mat, scan the top page, remove
that page, scan the next, and so on. The photographing of each page is
done in literally a moment (a second or less). When you finish
photographing the stack, you press a single key to start the recognition
process, where the OCR software takes over and converts the pictures into
text. This takes longer than scanning, but it's still fast.
As I finish, I realize I'm promoting IRTI's combination of software and
the Hovercam, which I don't really mean to. For anyone needing to conserve
space, the combination is ideal and IRTI makes the process simple.
Obviously, other options also work. In fact, you have lots of choices, and
they aren't all dependent on adaptive product suppliers. But by explaining
my experience, I hope I get across the concepts involved.
One last point. There is no need of sighted assistance in the OCR process.
I do it all the time on my own. Even the setup process can be done without
sighted assistance, but at least for me, the help I got at that stage save
me a lot of time.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jfw [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Carolyn
Arnold via Jfw
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 5:30 PM
To: The Jaws for Windows support list.
Cc: Carolyn Arnold
Subject: Re: Scanners.
Mitchell and others, That does get me started.
So, if I get a scanner, what does that involve? Is there hardware that is
involved there? I am not that savvy about operating systems and the like,
just, if it works and I can do it, I use it or learn it.
"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right." Henry
Ford.
Carolyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michal Nowicki via Jfw" <[email protected]>
To: "'The Jaws for Windows support list.'" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Michal Nowicki" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 4:18 PM
Subject: RE: Scanners.
Carolyn,
I am by no means an expert on scanners, but whatever you get, you need to
understand that scanning requires both hardware (the scanner) and
software
(a computer program that makes use of the scanner). OpenBook is not a
scanner. Instead, it is scanning and OCR software that works with many
scanners.
If I understand your post correctly, you are considering purchasing an
all-in-one printer, fax, and scanner. While such products work great for
sighted individuals, I'm not sure how many of them, if any, can be
operated
nonvisually. For example, I know that some all-in-one devices have an
inaccessible touch screen, and it is not possible to control them from a
computer. That said, it may be better for you to buy two or three pieces
of
equipment if, of course, you can afford it. I also recommend scanners
with
an automatic feeder.
I hope this helps, and I'm sorry I cannot provide specific advice (e.g.
with regards to device models).
Michal
-----Original Message-----
From: Jfw [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Carolyn
Arnold
via Jfw
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 2:49 PM
To: The Jaws for Windows support list.
Cc: Carolyn Arnold
Subject: Scanners.
When I get my new computer at the end of the year or beginning of next, I
intend to get a printer with fax and scanning capability.
So, I'm wondering, as a totally blind user of JAWS, is there a special
scanner I have to get for it to be accessible? Are some scanners out
there
more accessible than others?
What is Open Book? I have heard of it. Would I be limited to getting that
or
something like that?
Thanks.
"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right." Henry
Ford.
Carolyn
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
<http://lists.the-jdh.com/pipermail/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com/attachments/201506
25/3bf180e6/attachment.html>
_______________________________________________
Jfw mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
_______________________________________________
Jfw mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
_______________________________________________
Jfw mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
_______________________________________________
Jfw mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
_______________________________________________
Jfw mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
