[Nfbmo] I-Phone could take the win out of KNFB Reader.
DanFlasar at aol.com
DanFlasar at aol.com
Tue Jun 29 18:21:10 UTC 2010
This does not take into account the costs of the development of the
hardware/software that made the reader
possible. Remember the first KNFB reader? A palm Pilot combined with an
SLR camera? It was bulky but
it worked. Now it's software embedded in a phone. But it took a lot of
time and money to get there and
that money has to be recouped - like any product. There was nothing
comparable to it.
I'm sure the Apple application will be cool, but will the producers of
the app provide support for it? Upgrades and fixes? There are further
plans for the NFB Reader that may be more blind-friendly than those of
the i-Phone apps. Given that there are a lot of people around the world
working on text-to-speech and OCR
applications, some within the open source world, there is a lot of
cross-fertilization going on - including
people who have looked at the work Kurzweil has done with the K1000
software and Arkenstone and starting
from there. Also, as with any new application, there are a lot of quirks
and issues that need to be worked
out with the product use. Can the new app handle all fonts and manage
graphics and the structure of the
page? That's a problem even K1000 and Arkenstone have issues with.
At PowerUP, I learned that a lot of single-use adaptive devices can be
easily adapted for use in an
i_phone or for that matter, and i-Pod Touch, that cost degrees of magnitude
less than the stand-alone device. Interestingly, the agencies that fund
these devices for schools and personal use won't buy an
iPod or iPhone, opting instead for the more costly single-use offering,
because the iPhone, like computers
in it's first appearance, could be used for games and entertainment.
In essence, we are seeing the web offering a more dynamic, less
gradual business plan than the trad-
itional one of agencies paying for adaptive technology. It's happening
all across the business spectrum and
who knows where it will go? There is no need to ascribe negative motives
to those who developed a tech-
nology under an older business plan.
And by the way, there is no reason why this application can't be used
with an iPod - why would you
need to connect to a phone data plan when the iPod Touch has wireless
capability? There already is a great
text-to-speech application for the Touch that I hear works great. In
essence, the applications discussed
here are stand-alone and have no need of being in a cellphone network.
Cool stuff!
Dan
In a message dated 6/29/2010 12:22:17 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
goodfolks at charter.net writes:
You're certainly right, Shelia, remember when the KNFB Reader came out
with
a price-tag of $3,300 or more. And then they reduced the price to $2,800
and
now I believe the price is down to around $1,500. En lite of the fact that
I
heard an engineer at Kurzweil headquarters in 1988 say that the company
could sell it's current product, the Kurzweil Personal Reader for $2,500
which at the time the low-end unit with hand scanner was selling for
$7,000
and the top-of-the-line model for $12,00.00 and still make a profit, and
since many blind folks consider the prices for Jaws and Window Eyes
prohibitive the fact that the KNFB reader/phone sells for $1,500 plus
makes
this Apple application infinitely more affordable and the fact that the
KNFB
Reader/phone is priced nearly four times the price of the Apple I-Phone.
And
let's not use the argument that the KNFB Reader is not used in a
main-stream
product, because it is. The problem for me is that it appears that an
organization of and for the blind has the appearance of making money off
the
blind when they give every appearance of acting in the best interests of
the
blind.
Fred Olver
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shelia Wright" <sbwright95 at att.net>
To: "'NFB of Missouri Mailing List'" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] I-Phone could take the win out of KNFB Reader.
>I am all for options and for affordability. If the Apple's OCR program is
> comparable or even better than the KNFB Reader that is great. However,
the
> fact that the NFB and Kurzweill has developed the technology through
many
> years of work, has in and of itself led to making it possible.
>
> The tone of the posts that the KNFB Reader is a rip off is a bit niave
and
> annoying given the years of work I have witnessed. Bravo for the work
> Apple
> is doing; Bravo that technology is advancing and becoming more
affordable;
> Bravo to the pioneers who led the way!
>
> Shelia Wright
>
>
>
> --Original Message-----
> From: nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
> Of Bryan Schulz
> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 9:25 AM
> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] I-Phone could take the win out of KNFB Reader.
>
> hi,
>
> any chance these phones have an option for not having to pay 30-60 bucks
a
> month?
>
> Bryan Schulz
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fred Olver" <goodfolks at charter.net>
> To: <Blindad at babel-fish.us>; <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: <msb-alumni at googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 7:17 AM
> Subject: [Nfbmo] I-Phone could take the win out of KNFB Reader.
>
>
>> the I phone will have an OCR app soon. thus no need to pay two grand
>> for
>
>> the kurzweil reader , phone , and talks or moble speak. the 3 g as
well
>> as the new 4g phone will work with this OCR software. and the I phone
>> has
>
>> it's own speech software which is FREE. So go and listen to the file
>> below and see for yourself.
>>
>> SayText is an app designed especially for the visually impaired and by
>> the
>
>> way, it's free! In a few words to describe it's use, you need to place
>> the
>
>> iPhone on the center of a document. There's a big button for starting
the
>> tool, tap it. ?Slowly elevate the i Phohne upwards from the document
>> until
>
>> you hear a beep sound - this indicates, that the document is now fully
in
>> frame and the camera will shoot automatically, when the picture is
stable
>> / focused. ?Now only thing you have to do, is to wait for a few seconds.
>> (You can tap the screen to hear the OCR progress, e.g. OCR 35%). ?When
>> the
>
>> OCR is ready you can start the voiceover to read the document out loud.
>> The app should come to Appstore in a week or so. There is a website for
>> SayText:
>> http://www.docscannerapp.com/saytext/
>>
>> There's also a video, where Mr. Heikki Ekola, a totally blind person
uses
>> it. He's representing the Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired -
>> You can find the video here:
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlWJF27IdX4
>>
>> This video is also at the SayText homepage.
>> http://www.docscannerapp.com/saytext/
>>
>>
>> Fred Olver
>>
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