I aggree, presentations are a good idea. We plan to send at least
informational messages to as many of the blindness-related institutions as
possible. To get an idea of the current goals of the project have a look at
the GoFundMe video on the Loadstone website. This is a brief summary of
what's needed at the present time.
Is your site about your hike still up? This would be a very good testimonial
to link to.
Not needing a data plan is one of the top goals of Loadstone. Hear in Canada
we pay some of the worst rates in the world for cellular data. For this
reason my pay as you go phone plan has no data. This means I needed a GPS
app that didn't require data while on the move. None of the other apps
seemed to do this.
Accuracy is also very important. Loadstone sets the phone's hardware to use
the best accuracy it possibly can. The trade off is a slightly higher
battery usage but for pedestrian use I think it's well worth it. I've been
able to do a side by side comparison with Loadstone and apple maps running
on two different phones and the difference was quite surprising, sometimes
half a block or more. Maybe for sighted people driving this works but not so
well for blind pedestrians.
On Tue, 15 Aug 2017, Mike Hanson wrote:
I gave a presentation over the phone to the Perkins School for the
Blind in Massachusetts today about my hike of the Appalachian Trail
and was able to give Loadstone something of a plug. Presentations
might be a way I can ask for donations on Loadstone’s behalf. Is
there anything in particular you would like me to say? Is there
anything in particularly you would like me to avoid saying?
One unique strength of Loadstone in my opinion is that it does not
require a data plan. This is important for two reasons. First, you
can use Loadstone where you don’t get a cell phone signal, as opposed
to GPS apps that come standard on an IPhone in my experience. I have
used Loadstone when I needed to get up at night while camping. I
activated it and went from there. I have also used it to mark hunting
stands and fishing spots and other points of interest that are well
out of cell phone coverage on my Nokia N82 and N95. Although I don’t
have either of these phones, I am confident that I will be able to do
the same things with my IPhone.
Second, you can use Loadstone if you don’t want a phone contract but
want its GPS capabilities. I don’t know why someone would have an
IPhone just to use Loadstone but that is an option.
Loadstone is the only GPS app that does not require a data plan and is
accessible to blind users in my experience. I have heard of blind
people using Gaya GPS. That program is, at best, marginally
accessible in my opinion.
Loadstone does not seem to require much more of a user than other GPS
programs. You need to create checkpoint lists but the tradeoff is
often greater accuracy than you might get with, say Google or Apple
maps in my experience. Those programs can often leave you across a
parking lot from your intended destination. You can get much closer
than that by saving a location with Loadstone. That is well worth the
tradeoff!
Mike Hanson
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