[nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology
Maurice Mines
minesm at me.com
Sat May 16 02:57:38 UTC 2009
hi you wil need a usb blututh resever if you have the old
braillesence buton the plus it is biltin.hth Maurice
On May 15, 2009, at 10:46 AM, Mike Sivill wrote:
> The Braille Sense has a built in small screen and the option to have
> it
> flipped so that you can type and the sighted person can see it
> right there.
> I'm not sure if you can connect with a bluetooth keyboard but you
> might be
> able to do that.
> Mike
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf
> Of Haben Girma
> Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 9:17 AM
> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology
>
>
> John, you've really drawn out the virtues of the SBC. It does really
> seem like the best item out there so far.
>
> My dilemma is that I already have a PAC Mate and don't think I have
> the
> shoulder strength to carry around both my PAC Mate and an SBC. I
> like to
> take my PAC Mate everywhere so that I can read books while riding
> buses,
> subways, planes, and when I'm waiting for a friend to arrive
> somewhere.
> The PAC Mate's keyboard is comfortable to use and I could just
> instruct
> people to type on it. Unlike the SBC, though, I wouldn't be able to
> read
> what they were typing until after they finished, thereby prolonging
> the
> interaction, which might not be desirable in certain settings (i.e. a
> long line). I also feel like the SBC's small keyboard discourages
> people, to a small extent, from communicating with the DB person. I've
> heard that the keyboard is uncomfortable to use, making it a sort of
> obstacle people desiring to communicate with a DB person would have to
> overcome. You mention that you primarily use it for brief and quick
> encounters.
>
> It would be great if Freedom Scientific would create a device like the
> PAC Mate where the braille keyboard could be optionally maneuvered
> from
> in front of the keyboard to behind the keyboard. The brailel display
> on
> the PAC Mate is detachable, so another option would be to have the
> braille display communicate with the main part of the PAC Mate
> wirelessly, or through a reasonably lengthed cord.
>
> So, I'm wondering whether most people in the public would rather
> communicate with me on my PAC Mate or on a cell phone connected to my
> PAC Mate. Typing on the cell phone has the disadvantage that such
> conversations could only be slow. There's also the risk you mention of
> someone wanting to steal the cell phone. My PAC Mate, on the other
> hand,
> has a nice keyboard that would be easy to type on. The question is:
> Would people feel comfortable not seeing what they were typing (the
> PAC
> Mate doesn't have a visual screen), and would it really be faster with
> the PAC Mate when I wouldn't be able to read what they typed until
> after
> they finished and passed the machine back to me?
>
> Haben
>
>
> John Lee Clark wrote:
>> Haben:
>>
>> There are three other options I know of.
>>
>> One is to use a cell phone and a Braille display that connects
>> wirelessly
> to
>> it via Bluetooth. You hand the other person the cell phone, which
>> you've
>> already set to the notes program. I've done this before with my
>> Nokia
> cell
>> phone and my Braille Wave. There are two disadvantages to this,
>> however:
>> One, the cell phone may be a desirable, famililar item the other
>> person
>> would be tempted to steal from you; and two, it requires some time
>> to set
>> things up--turning on both devices, waiting for the cell phone to
>> boot up,
>> then setting up the notes program . . . Whereas with the Screen
>> Braille
>> Communicator, you can just turn it on and it's ready to go right
>> away.
>>
>> Another option is the Tabli, which you can connect to a HandyTech
>> device
>> such as the Braille Wave. The Tabli has a Qwerty board that
>> connects to
> the
>> Braille Wave through one cord, and a screen, which is separate,
>> connecting
>> to it through another cord. The screen will show in text whatever is
> going
>> on in Braille. Turning on the Wave, you go to File, then New
>> File. Then
>> whatever you type on the Wave will show. Whatever the other person
>> types
> on
>> the Qwerty board will show up both on the screen and on your Braille
>> display. However, you have four separate things to assemble here:
>> Wave,
>> Qwerty board, a cord, and the screen. Worse still, the screen has
>> two
>> triangles on its back that makes sit stand up on an angle. This
>> makes
>> packing it hard, with these two large triangles pointing, and they
>> cannot
> be
>> removed. This requires a surface, on which everything can rest. The
> Screen
>> Braille Communicator has a huge advantage over this because it's
>> just one
>> piece--I know it has different parts, but still it's functionally one
>> piece--and you don't need a surface, and you can use it while
>> standing on
>> the middle of a sidewalk, asking someone for directions or whatever.
>>
>> Finally, there is the DeafBlind Communicator. This option is
>> almost like
>> the first one I listed, with the cell phone replaced by a small
>> pager-like
>> device with a keyboard and a screen. Since this item is not a cell
>> phone
>> and is not a familiar commercial object, I don't think it'd be a
>> target
> for
>> theft. And I believe it turns on right away, leaving only your
>> setting
>> things up on the mPower display. However, the DBC is far more
>> expensive
>> than the SBC.
>>
>> What I use depends on the situation. I use the SBC most often for
>> communicating with waiters, cashiers, salespersons, et al. Most of
>> the
>> conversations are brief, often only one turn, in which I order
>> something
> or
>> ask for something, and that's all that's needed. For others, the
>> SBC is
>> mainly an opportunity to communicate with me if they want to or need
>> to--such as letting me know that they're out of something or to let
>> me
> know
>> what time tomorrow the barber has an opening. So the Qwerty keyboard
>> doesn't get much use. It's nice that I can just turn it on,
>> anywhere, and
>> it doesn't require a table or anything. It's easy to pack or just
>> carry
>> alone.
>>
>> On more extended trips on which I want the Wave with me anyway, for
> reading
>> and texting with my wife or others, I don't need the SBC. But the
>> main
>> reason I am bringing the Wave and the cell phone is not to
>> communicate
> with
>> people, though that is a bonus.
>>
>> Traveling out of the state, I usually bring both Wave/cell and SBC.
>>
>> I often go out with nothing but my cane. I can just ask for a pen
>> and
> paper
>> and write. That works most of the time. If the other person needs
>> to
> tell
>> me something or ask something, it's easy to do print on palm. The
> alphabet
>> glove is also extremely reliable.
>>
>> Around here, I am well known, and often Ii just walk in the place and
>> everything will be ready for me without my writing anything at
>> all. At
> some
>> places, it's a simple gesture that will do. For example, at D.
>> Bryan's, I
>> always get either a cheeseburger or a chicken cranberry almond
>> wrap. I
> sign
>> hamburger for the one and sign chicken for the other. Most places
>> here
> have
>> Braille menus, and sosme of them have print alongside the Braille,
>> so you
>> just point to the item and the waiter can see what it is. At several
>> restaurants and stores here, people can sign or at least fingerspell.
>>
>> Yes, I wish there was a better version of the SBC--one piece, just
>> switch
> on
>> and go. It's nice that some companies are adding stuff to their
>> existing
>> displays, but I really want a device like the SBC with just one
>> purpose.
>> But for now, the SBC is better than a lot of stuff for many kinds of
>> situations.
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>> Checked by AVG.
>> Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.12.11/2089 - Release Date:
> 4/30/2009
>> 5:53 PM
>>
>>
>>
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