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

Fri Mar 31 14:30:23 UTC 2017

I think it is ridiculous that you are offended by what I said. It's no 
different than if I said it is irresponsible to j-walk or to not wear a 
seat belt. A smart phone is a valuable piece of safety equipment for a 
blind person. Actually, it's a valuable piece of safety equipment for 
anybody. Even a sighted person can have an accident and be unable to 
report their exact location to 911.  A smart phone makes that easy. 
Look, you chose to engage me on this issue. I stated an opinion, you're 
the one who chose to make a big deal out of it, not me.

On 03/30/2017 03:47 PM, Mark Tardif via nfb-talk wrote:
> 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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>>
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