[IL-Talk] accessible thermostat

Wed Jan 29 23:12:00 UTC 2020

Hi all,

I have this thermostat and really like it.  A couple of months ago I got an e-mail from the company stating that they were going out of business.  Evidently there was a problem getting the thermostats from China.  I recently saw a notice in the Second Sense newsletter that Blind Mice Mega Mall has it.  I called them to make sure and didn't get a straight answer.  The person I spoke with said he had 200 units and he would see if more would be made available.  Evidently there is a new supplier.  The guy from Blind Mice Mega mall called me back a few days later and said that thermostats would be available for some time whatever that means.  My guess is that the company will need to find a reliable supplier.  I just hope my thermostat keeps working.

With regard to voice activated devices they have their limits.  I have an Alexa-enabled microwave which I like.  It works as long as there is an internet connection.  If the internet goes out Alexa can't send voice input to Amazon to be translated.  I found this out the hard way a couple of weeks ago when there was a Comcast outage.  This is one of the limits of cloud computing.  All the more reason that talking devices should not require an internet connection to work.  I don't have any talking Apple or Google devices but my guess is that the devices need an internet connection to work.

Thanks,
Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: IL-Talk <il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Leslie Hamric via IL-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 11:34 AM
To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Leslie Hamric <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [IL-Talk] accessible thermostat

I got my talking thermostat from them too and it's awesome!

Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher
Board member of National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division

> On Jan 28, 2020, at 10:13 AM, Patti S Chang via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> We got a simple vip 3000 from talkingthermostats.com.
> 
> 
> Patti S. Gregory-Chang Esq.
> Treasurer
> National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
> 773-307-6440
> Pattischang at gmail.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IL-Talk <il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Robert Hansen 
> via IL-Talk
> Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 9:50 PM
> To: nfb il talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Robert Hansen <hansen.robert70 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [IL-Talk] accessible thermostat
> 
> Good evening Federation people. How is everyone doing these days? I 
> hope everyone is getting through January just fine. And that we're all 
> recovered from the holidays. I'm writing this evening because I'm in 
> the process of purchasing a home for myself. I am a first-time home 
> owner. It's exciting and an interesting process. I have a real good 
> real estate agent and team of people that I can work with. When I move 
> into this new place I was thinking about the thermostat. What is a 
> decent enough accessible thermostat that I can purchase at a 
> reasonable price? I don't need the fanciest of the most complex but at 
> least some kind of easy to understand thermostat. It does not have to 
> be a smart thermostat. It doesn't have to connect to the internet for me to have to purchase it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
> 
> Robert Hansen
> hansen.robert70 at gmail.com
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