I explained that earlier, the person I'm working with knows more about the 
programming side of things than I do.

On 16 Nov 2013, at 9:47 am, Gordon Smith <[email protected]> wrote:

> You repeatedly use the word “We”.  I take it from that then that you’re a 
> designer of these things.  Is that correct?  Again , I’m not in any way 
> attempting to diminish the value of this project.  Quite the contrary.  That 
> is why this group exists, to discuss technologies such as this.  Also, I am 
> not disinterested in the project as a long-term aim.  My own situation is 
> just too difficult at the moment for me to be able to commit to doing things 
> properly and I’d prefer not to take on another project just now if I cannot 
> dedicate the resources to do the thing right.  I certainly wish the 
> developers luck in what they are doing.  The concept is certainly a very 
> interesting one.
> 
> I can certainly appreciate the argument against building commercial or even 
> multi-machine devices.  i can see where you’re coming from in terms of cost.  
> Yes, you’re right in as much as that it would definitely make the project 
> less attractive if the costs were to spiral out of control by making it a 
> commercial venture.  I can see also why constructing the things could be 
> problematic in terms of technical constraints.  I am not sure exactly what 
> these systems use but if the aim of the game were to make ends meet, the 
> practicalities would most likely be such that it couldn’t be done without 
> significant cost increases as well as design difficulties.
> 
> For a start, if you’re going to use these things as a commercial proposition, 
> you’d need to resolve the issues of either having an in-built SD or CF card 
> reader, a CD drive, HDMI interface, or any combination of the three.  Woopse! 
>  There goes your cost, right up through the ceiling.  So yes, it is best to 
> keep the thing out of the realm of commercial entities.  So, OK, let’s 
> discuss the thing on a totally non-commercial basis.  DAISY is a great medium 
> and if a player or even better a recorder can be developed which costs the 
> user next to nothing, then more power to the developers.  Obviously there are 
> going to be limits.  That’s only to be expected but it doesn’t have to put 
> the carbosh on things.  The project does definitely have its merits, and it’s 
> definitely worth pursuing.  Indeed, we here at Techno Chat would very much 
> welcome the opportunity to do an audio feature with somebody closely involved 
> with the project.
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> <--- Gordon Smith --->
> 
> <[email protected]>
> 
> Information Technology Accessibility Consultant;
> Providing Help & Support To Young People LivingWith Visual Impairment, plus 
> Braille Transcription services.
> 
> On 11 Nov 2013, at 14:59, Dane Trethowan <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Okay, well its not a personal observation actually and it really doesn't have 
> much to do with the list to be honest so perhaps I can try and make things a 
> little clearer.
> 
> I'm not being personally shunned, what I have found is a... well.. very odd 
> type of attitude.
> 
> I've explained the concept of the "Pi Player" and explained that the system 
> is in multiple parts, for example you have the Raspberry Pi computer at the 
> player's center and other parts plugging into this - the speaker, the dongle 
> for the remote control, the memory stick for the content etc -.
> 
> I appreciate the discussion particularly on this list surrounding the "Pi 
> Player" and similar subjects however its a shame that other people have 
> suggested that the whole idea is utterly useless and worthless because of the 
> nature of the "Pi Player's" design of having multiple components so perhaps 
> "Shunned" was a too stronger term to be used here.
> 
> Now I admit, we'd really love to build everything into a case like a 
> Plextalk, a Victor Reader stream etc and we are looking at options to do this 
> now that 3D printing is becoming move viable however if we start building 
> custom boxes and making custom designs then the whole cost of the thing sky 
> rockets dramatically when the central point of this project is to provide a 
> low cost Daisy solution to those who want it, people have the choice of 
> putting it together themselves or - if need be - we can send out all the 
> parts required so all the user need do is plug everything in and switch on.
> 
> There's no way that the "Pi Player" will ever take the place of the 
> commercially available products but remember that most of those products are 
> at least 3 times the price of one of our "Daisy Pi" configurations which can 
> be built from off-the-shelf hardware and most of us have a budget we have to 
> live by.
> 
> 
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**********

Dane Trethowan
Skype: grtdane12
Phone US (213) 438-9741
Phone U.K. 01245 79 0598
Phone Australia (03) 9005 8589
Mobile: +61400494862
Fax +61397437954




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