[nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head

Mark Tardif markspark at roadrunner.com
Thu Mar 30 20:47:09 UTC 2017


Sorry, but with all due respect, I disagree with you.  I think this is just 
an issue that we will not agree on, and that's okay.  But I will say that as 
far as being able to travel and cross streets safely and figure out traffic 
lights, I was doing that decades ago, both in small towns and in big cities 
because of excellent mobility training and listening for trusted cues, like 
paralell and perpendicular traffic and using the white cane properly.  So I 
guess that's where I'm going to leave it, because I simply find it 
distasteful to be told that not having a certain piece of high technology is 
irresponsible.



Mark Tardif
Nuclear arms will not hold you.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jack Heim via nfb-talk
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2017 10:14 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Cc: Jack Heim
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head

Well, not having a smart phone is taking a small risk with your safety.
That's just a fact.   It is probably not even as big of a risk as not
wearing a seatbelt but still it's a risk.  If you get lost, you are much
more likely to make a mistake like crossing against the lights. A few
years ago in my home town, a blind guy got killed when he crossed in the
middle of a block instead of at the corner.  Nobody can explain why he
did that but he was probably lost. He was facing north when he thought
he was facing east or something. It happens to all of us.

I am not saying blind people should be forced to have smart phones or
anything like that. This is America and we don't believe in telling
people how to live their lives (well, mostly). I don't think you should
have to have a smart phone. But it is a little bit irresponsible not to.
I don't think that should be controversial.





On 03/29/2017 06:14 PM, Mark Tardif via nfb-talk wrote:
> A couple of things, and what I'm going to say is a matter of opinion and
> reflects individual values.  First of all, I do not agree that not
> having a smart phone makes you irresponsible.  It's a matter of personal
> choice, depending on what you are looking for.  I will agree that having
> a cell phone, whatever that model is, makes it far easier to conduct
> business and to get along these days.  I bought my first cell phone in
> 1998 and can't imagine not having one now.  Many of us don't even have
> land lines now, we can call from almost anywhere using our own phones.
> Fantastic!  But I still know some people who choose not to have cell
> phones, a matter of choice for their own reasons.  Obviously, a smart
> phone allows you to do awesome stuff, but what I am looking for in a
> phone is the ability to make clear quick phone calls and sometimes
> text.  My phone also has other important features, like a calculator, a
> tip calculator, an alarm clock, a camera, and other features.  And it's
> really not important to me that from dawn to dusk I am constantly using
> that one device to do all kinds of other things. Alternative techniques
> are also available.  I rather enjoy downloading BARD books using my
> computer and transfering them onto thumb drives.  And in a strange way,
> having to feel around on a flat screen and then rotate your wrist or tap
> just seems really primitive to me.  And certainly concerning elevators,
> we certainly are going backwards back to the days of getting sighted
> assistance when we find everything flat on the panel.  I'm sorry, but
> that's just how I see this.  End of lecture, LOL.
>
>
>
> Mark Tardif
> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
> -----Original Message----- From: Jack Heim via nfb-talk
> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 12:47 PM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Jack Heim
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head
>
> Years ago, I went into the Apple Store to ask about the accessibility of
> the iphone.  I had heard a lot about it but wanted to see formyself. I
> went in there and nobody knew how to start voiceover. But one of the
> "geniuses" tried to demonstrate Siri and the map function. He pushed the
> home button and said, "Where am I?" to the phone. No answer. Tried
> again, "Where am I?" Still no answer. He just kep trying and trying,
> frantically asking, "Where am I?" I literally left him there, asking the
> phone where he was. I was like, "Ah, I'll just be going now." He didn't
> exactly look like a genius at that moment. It really was hilarious but
> now I know he probably just couldn't get a GPS signal inside the mall.
>
>
> On 03/29/2017 11:10 AM, Loren Wakefield via nfb-talk wrote:
>> I guess it depends on how much you want to be with your peers in
>> capabilities.  Yes, it is frustrating at first.  However, there is a
>> logic
>> to it.  And there is no way I'm going back to a phone I can't do anything
>> with.
>>
>> Loren
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mark
>> Tardif
>> via nfb-talk
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 10:09 PM
>> To: kaye zimpher; NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Cc: Mark Tardif
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head
>>
>> I had an iphone for about a day, and for various reasons I was just
>> disgusted.  First of all, the person who sold it to me at the store
>> didn't
>> even realize that Boice Over was a standard feature, and I kept
>> coralling my
>> sighted neighbor and getting on the phone with Verizon to work through
>> problems, and I finally just disgustedly asked them to help me
>> reprogram my
>> old phone.  Never regretted it, either.  Never surrender!!!
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Tardif
>> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: kaye zimpher via nfb-talk
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 9:32 PM
>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Cc: kaye zimpher
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head
>>
>> Oh, but you shall surrender, and once you do, you will wonder why you
>> never
>> did before. lol All kidding aside, I was very much against the touch
>> screens
>> when I got my first Iphone. I could barely make a call, and in truth, the
>> darn thing sat on my desk for almost a year before I really got in to it.
>> Once I did though, I could not live without it. That phone does
>> everything!
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mark Tardif via nfb-talk" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> To: <jsoro620 at gmail.com>; "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: "Mark Tardif" <markspark at roadrunner.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 8:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head
>>
>>
>>> I'm still a stuborn probably soon to be lone soldier against the touch
>>> screen hordes coming to conquer and spread their tyranny.  Even if I am
>>> the last man down, I will never surrender!!!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Mark Tardif
>>> Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Joe via nfb-talk
>>> Sent: Monday, March 27, 2017 8:47 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list ;
>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Joe
>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] A Double Tap to the Touch Screen Devil's Head
>>>
>>> In the battle between touch screens and tactile buttons, the touch
>>> screen
>>> is
>>> quickly becoming the reigning champion. It's not that I can't see the
>>> advantages of touch screens. Less moving parts means less maintenance
>>> and
>>> all that, but dammit, it used to be I only had to worry about touch
>>> screens
>>> where warming food was concerned. Slap a tactile dot here, a Braille
>>> label
>>> there, and I could conquer the basic operations of a microwave.
>>>
>>> Once while on travel for work I met the enemy at a fancy hotel. I
>>> strolled
>>> from the hotel registration desk to the bank of elevators as if I was a
>>> frequent guest of the swanky resort. I even hit the bank of elevators on
>>> my
>>> first try like the super blind traveler that I was, but then the
>>> elevator
>>> doors whispered open. I walked in and reached for the familiar panel of
>>> buttons with accompanying Braille numbers. Only, the travel gods felt I
>>> had
>>> enjoyed enough arrogance for one day, because instead of neat rows of
>>> buttons, my fingers skated across a smooth panel.
>>>
>>> Read and comment on the rest of the article here:
>>>
>>> http://joeorozco.com/blog_a_double_tap_to_the_touch_screen_devils_head
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> --
>>> Musings of a Work in Progress:
>>> www.JoeOrozco.com/
>>>
>>> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>>>
>>>
>>>
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