[nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology

Sun May 17 01:07:01 UTC 2009

Mussie:

I will be getting my free DBC soon from my state's telecommunication
equipment division.  I will play around with it and find out if it is any
good for me.  I must say I have never been a fan of HumanWare technology in
the first place.  The best programming I have encountered so far is
HandyTech's--the menus and commands are so neat and crisp.  

Curious, who do you converse with at a distance using the DBC?  I am trying
to imagine that, but I can't think of any situation where that would be a
benefit to me.  All of my friends and colleagues thyat I work with in person
all sign, be they hearing sighted, hearing blind, deaf, or DB.  I have never
maintained a relationship in person with a nonsigner.  Over the years, all
of the nonsigning people I become friends with have learned ASL.  All our
hearing relatives sign.  Anyone who doesn't learn how to sign usually is
just not serious about cultivating the relationship.  

So long conversations and at a distance of many feet, I don't know.  All I
seem to need is short exchanges--to order food, to ask for an item, get
directions or information, ask the price, and the like--and those exchanges
are always at close range, on the counter, on a railing, or just standing
up, etc.  so for those situations, the SBC is great for me.  What I would
love is a lighter, more sleek version, and it would still be cheaper because
it has only one function.

Anyway, I look forward to getting the new DBC.  I've played with it several
times at conferences and at Seabeck last summer, but it should be
interesting how it works on a daily basis.

John
-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Mussie
Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:57 PM
To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology

FYI John, the DBC has a safety tither that can attach to the DBC companion, 
with the vibrating unit remaining in your pocket or whereever else you want 
to keep it to prevent theft of the Smart phone (the DBC companion).
I agree that the SBC is a very reliable device. However, with speech input 
and multiple options and the potential to revolutionarize communication, the

DBC is a great solution. There are several drawbacks, of course, that 
HumanWare is likely to address (as with most new tech, there is always a 
bug). I wish the DBC was a single-unit, but that is wishful thinking. Plus, 
the major advantage might be the ability to communicate at a distance, which

the SBC lacks and is likely to lack forever unless there is a significant 
design leap to incorporate Bluetooth tech, which I doubt will happen. I love

being able to talk with folks using the DBC from many feet away, and I 
especially like the idea of having my conversation spoken as I type to speed

the communication process and encourage folks who may be novices to tech to 
try their best. I do not know if I can turn off speech presently (I have not

had the opportunity to explore the DBC more thoroughly).
Mussie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
To: "'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List'" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:36 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology

> 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
>
>
>
>
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Checked by AVG. 
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5:53 PM