Hi, I migh have agreed with this last year, but I've been doing
training for nearly 8 months now, and it's exposed me to a fare
variety of blind people, many of whom have either never seen a
computer, or who used a computer in another life but now are
completely intimidated.
Fact of the matter is, people who like myself, were born blind, raised
blind, tought to addapt from birth and embued with a sense of self-
confidence are the minority, not the majority. The lion share of
blind people, people you never meet on line, people you never meet
period unless you have a job like mine that thrusts you upon them,
have lost their sight after living a life with sight. They often have
some other condition, such as loss of other senses, diebetese, motor
problems, development problems and a host of other things caused by or
related to their blindness. They have to re-learn to live their lives
from the ground up. Some basic things like feeding and dressing are
available right out of the box, but travelling, cooking, cleaning,
maintanance of property, organization, reading and writing, all have
to be re-learned. It demolishes whatever sense of place in the world
they once had, smashes their self-confidence, makes them angry and
impatient, and comes with a whole lot of other bagage depending on
what their situation is. Friends and family abandon them. They lose
their job. It can be a real mess. Evry one is different. I'm not
saying every one who goes blind has all this extra shit to deal with,
but they all have some of it.
It isn't rong to make things dumbed down, big, bulky, mindless, and so
on. It's undesireable for some one like me, but many of my clients
need that buffer or they get intimidated and throw in the towel. Then
at some point they learn, develop, work, and graduate to where they
want something nicer, better, more in line with the rest of the world,
and they trade in their victor stream for an i-pod, their talking
watch for a tactile one, their focus 44 for a braille connect.
It takes years though. This stuff doesn't happen over night.
Best,
erik burggraaf
Certified Technician
Assistive Computing LTD Support and training
Sales department: 888-828-2445
Support and Training: 888-255-5194
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website coming soon
On 18-Nov-08, at 1:46 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote:
Why on earth would anyone buy such a device when the macs themselves
are accessible right out of the box? I'd, just like Jacob, rather,
much rather buy a macbook of some kind and get the same
functionality and more. Making specialised products "for the blind"
usually means making things as simple and feature poor as possible.
I'll probably get flamed for saying the next thing but... I hae the
feeling that of late, manufacturers and dealers of blindness related
products seem to think that blind people are stupid and not capable
of chewing bubblegum and walking at the same time, so give 'em
something that's the least complicated and lacks a good
implementation of even the most basic features, and while we're at
it, let's reinvent the wheel yet again only much much simpler.
Ok off my soap box now...
/Krister
18 nov 2008 kl. 04.53 skrev Alex Jurgensen:
Hi,
Keep the questions flowing.
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
On 17-Nov-08, at 7:44 PM, Jacob Schmude wrote:
More questions. First, I take it this will be Apple-branded
hardware then, as that is the only way to currently satisfy their
licensing conditions? Second, how are you planning to keep it
under $500 with a built-in braille display? Currently there's not
a way to buy even a regular braille display for $500. If you know
where to get one at such a price do tell, please. Who, or what,
are you referring to when you say the driving force behind this?
Yep, I've got loads of questions :).
On Nov 17, 2008, at 22:35, Alex Jurgensen wrote:
Hi,
Jacob,
Just to let you know, the driveing force is completely compliant
with Apple's Licence, so I would be allowed to sell the product
legally. The main feature is the size, which make it fit inside a
pocket quite easily. Another advantage is the built-in Braille
display. Yes, we plan for a mini Querty Keyborad once the Braille
input is out on the main stream.
Thanks for listening,
aelx,
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
On 17-Nov-08, at 7:29 PM, Jacob Schmude wrote:
Depends. You going to offer a qwerty version? I absolutely hate
braille input.
Getting more serious though, this would be considered a Mac
clone, and would need to be authorized by Apple. Yes, you can
get OS X running on your own PCs. But you are not allowed to
sell such a thing, at least not according to Apple's licensing.
This is being questioned as I write this in the United States
Courts, but don't expect an answer any time soon--this will be
one long court battle between Apple and another company called
Psystar at least assuming they don't settle out of court. I
wouldn't get my hopes up, the company with the most and best
lawyers usually wins these battles here.
Would I buy it? Unless there were significant advantages in
doing so I would not, but would buy a Mac laptop instead. Such
advantages might be a much longer battery life, for example
which would certainly be possible due to the lack of a screen.
To be honest though I'm a bit biased, in all cases I refuse to
buy blindness products when a mainstream product is available
that will accomplish the same functions. Since I don't care for
braille input I would probably go straight for a laptop unless,
as I said, there were compelling advantages to such a device.
I don't think you would be able to keep that name for it, however.
On Nov 17, 2008, at 22:15, Alex Jurgensen wrote:
Hi,
Would you buy this?
EyeMac -- The next generation of sleek notetakers
The EyeMac features aluminum housing, weighing in at under a
pound. This sleek and shiny notetaker is based on the state of
the art technology, featuring wireless and bluetooth. The six-
key input provides Braille users the ability to legally access
the world's most user friendly and advanced operating system.
Built on the foundation of Mac OS X, the EyeMac is the bleeding
edge in affordable portable computing technology. Costing
around $500 us, the EyeMac is an easy pick for the user with a
tight budget. Its portability make it ideal for not only end
users but the professional who needs a lightweight, portable
solution. The EyeMac measures less than 20 CM long by seven CM
wide, and about 3 cm high. Durable, powerful! Take full
advantage of the world wide web. The EyeMac Pro has wireless
anywhere capability. Need a Braille display? EyeMac Plus models
feature built-in Braille displays that make reading Braille
text messages and documents a breeze. The EyeMac is built on a
actively developed Operating System, that features a well
documented programming guide that will ensure your EyeMac can
be customized with the applications that best suit your needs.
Designed for ease of use, this revolutionary device will change
your portability experience.
Project status: Planning
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
