[nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improvinga Blind Person's Productivity on Computers

Fri May 16 18:31:51 UTC 2014

hi,

These creative techniques are interesting.
Would there be any creative ways to let a blind person know if router lights 
are green or red?
Bryan Schulz

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rasmussen, Lloyd via nfbcs" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 10:55 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improvinga Blind Person's 
Productivity on Computers

> It's all about having a number of tools to choose from, some of which are 
> unconventional.  No one technique works for everything.  Some techniques 
> only work if you have practiced with them and know what to expect.  A 
> light probe is definitely a good tool for what you are describing.
>
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Staff Engineer
> National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
> Library of Congress   202-707-0535
> http://www.loc.gov/nls
> The preceding opinions are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of 
> the Library of Congress, NLS.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Heim via 
> nfbcs
> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 11:51 AM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's 
> Productivity on Computers
>
> Anybody know how this radio technique compares to using a light indicator? 
> I have a light indicator that beeps at different frequencies depending on 
> how much light it sees. You can find individual lines of text on the 
> screen by putting it right on the screen and moving it around until it 
> indicates some light. I've used this technique to find out how many 
> options there are on a grub boot menu, for example. And I can tell if I'm 
> actually moving between them too.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 05/16/14 10:23, Gary Wunder via nfbcs wrote:
>> Louis, I know you are a busy man, but wouldn't this be fantastic for
>> the Monitor--how to read things using objects never intended to be
>> used for reading.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Louis Maher
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 7:06 PM
>> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers
>>
>> Thank you Doug.
>>
>> When I was in college, I would hold a transistor radio next to a 
>> computer.
>> You could tell when the machine was in a loop because it had a steady 
>> tone.
>> The more statements in the loop, the lower the frequency of the loop
>> noise because there were fewer cycles per second with long loops
>> rather than short loops.
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Louis Maher
>> Phone 713-444-7838
>> E-mail ljmaher at swbell.net
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gary Wunder
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 5:45 PM
>> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers
>>
>> This is fascinating and exemplifies thinking out of the box as much as
>> anything I've seen recently. I remember touching the transformer of a
>> transmitter to tune for minimum current and listening for fan speed to
>> determine the appropriate load on the tubes. I had thought such things
>> were out of the question, but I can see I am wrong.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Doug Lee
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 5:02 PM
>> To: Louis Maher via nfbcs
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers
>>
>> This is not so much a tip as a general concept, but...
>>
>> I have for years been somewhat famous for my use of telephone pickup
>> coils as a means of monitoring otherwise obscure computer and other
>> electronic activity. Recently, while dealing with a most bothersome
>> and disabling mess on my laptop, I learned how to use a mixture of
>> this tactic and some memorization, fueled by initial sighted
>> assistance in a few places, to wind my way independently through a
>> system recovery process. I posted an audio demonstration of this
>> process at
>>
>> http://www.dlee.org/lt2.mp3
>>
>> This 26-minute audio file covers the following concepts:
>>
>> - Use of FaceTime and Skype with video for remote assistance with
>>    screens (brief discussion).
>>
>> - The general principal of the coil-and-amp monitoring approach.
>>
>> - A summary of things you can do with this in Windows.
>>
>> - A demonstration of the items mentioned (most of the file).
>>
>> The demo shows how I could use the coil sounds to
>>
>> - Known when to hit F8 to interrupt the boot process and whether it 
>> worked.
>>
>> - Learn some specific types of machine activity on your particular
>>    computer, such as normal versus abnormal boot sequences.
>>
>> - Detect the arrival of expected user prompt screens in a process.
>>
>> - Log in safely regardless of whether the input boxes are
>>    prepopulated.
>>
>> - Verify whether a DOS-style command prompt has appeared when wanted.
>>
>> - Determine whether a specific file exists.
>>
>> - Determine whether a file copy or rename succeeded.
>>
>> Of course, such computer use with absolutely zero access to printed
>> output has its limits; and though not planned (and not edited later),
>> the demo concludes with a demonstration of this fact as well. :-)
>>
>> I mention this in the recording but will also say it here: Sounds from
>> one computer will not necessarily equal those from another; you have
>> to learn what to expect from a specific machine by listening at times
>> when you know what is happening. Also, it should go without saying
>> that a reader is a safer assistant in many speechless cases than a
>> coil of wire; but I present my experiences for those who often find
>> readers lacking, as well as, of course, for those who are just curious
>> to hear what sorts of squeaks, squawks, and old-style sci fi noises
>> can emanate from such a direct audio translation of a computer-generated 
>> EM field.
>>
>> Do with all this as you like. :-)
>>
>> On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 04:26:39PM -0500, NFBCS mailing list wrote:
>> Thanks Gary.  That is what I am looking for.
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Louis Maher
>> Phone 713-444-7838
>> E-mail ljmaher at swbell.net
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gary Wunder
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 9:03 AM
>> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers
>>
>> To go directly to a website without first going to your home page, use
>> the run command and type the name of your website: www.nfb.org
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Louis Maher
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2014 5:33 AM
>> To: NFB in computer science; 'Discussion of the Graphical User
>> Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List'; Orca List
>> Subject: [nfbcs] Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> During the summer NFB national convention in Orlando Florida, the NFB
>> in Computer Science will hold a meeting.  In this meeting, we will
>> have about a
>> 30 minute discussion on "Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's
>> Productivity on Computers".  I have attached an initial list of these 
>> tips.
>> I would invite others to add their own tips to this list.  Better yet,
>> others could present their tips in person during the meeting, and
>> receive their own one-minute of fame.
>>
>> I have separated this list into Windows, iOS, and Linux.  Please send
>> me your suggestions.  We are looking for an appropriate web location
>> to display this list.
>>
>> I have also pasted the current list after my signature.
>>
>> Thanks for your consideration.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Louis Maher
>> Phone 713-444-7838
>> E-mail ljmaher at swbell.net
>> ----
>> Practical Tips for Improving a Blind Person's Productivity on
>> Computers
>> ----
>> Windows Computers
>>
>> Place a shortcut to the favorites on your desktop.
>> Go to C:\Users\userID\Favorites, click the right mouse button, and
>> select send to, and select desktop.  You can then access your
>> favorites with Windows Explorer.
>>
>>
>> If you have a Braille display, Control+alt+tab allows you to feel and
>> hear the window you are on.  Good for selecting another Window in high
>> noise environments.
>>
>> If you are using JAWS, JAWS key + f10 shows all your sessions in
>> alphabetic order.  To go to a session, arrow down to your choice, and hit 
>> enter.
>>
>>
>> To save attachments in an Outlook message: arrow up to the top line in
>> the body of the text message, shift + tab to the attachment box, hit
>> control + a to select all the attachments, hit control + c to copy all
>> the attachments into the clipboard, in Windows Explorer, move to
>> wherever you want the files to be stored, and hit control + v.
>>
>> If you have a file, and you want to Copy its path into the clipboard,
>> select the file in Windows Explorer, hit shift + applications, and hit
>> the "copy as path" option.
>>
>> For adobe, when controls disappear, you can still use the keystrokes
>> like
>> control+shift+s for save as, and control+p for print.
>>
>> To reliably start the Surface Pro Two with Windows 8.1: push the power
>> button for half a second, count to fifteen seconds, hit windows +
>> enter to bring up narrator, hit tab to get to the password field, fill
>> in the password and hit enter.  I have JAWS set to load automatically
>> after the login process.  JAWS does not come up for me reliably in the 
>> login dialog.
>> Windows + enter starts and stops Narrator.  Narrator is much improved
>> in Windows 8.  Start the surface Pro Two with narrator.
>>
>> To put the Surface Pro Two to sleep, exit JAWS, start Narrator
>> (windows + enter), go to the desktop (windows + m), alt + f4, and pick
>> the sleep option.  Use Narrator for the wake-up process.
>>
>> Map a SharePoint Website to a Disk Drive
>>
>> To establish a link to a SharePoint site through Windows Explorer, go
>> to the SharePoint website, hit alt+d for the address field, starting
>> from the end of the address, delete all  of the address until you get
>> to the website just above the SharePoint site in question, hit  enter
>> which opens the website containing a link to your SharePoint page, tab
>> down until you  are on your SharePoint link, click the right mouse
>> button (which is the context menu), hit  the copy shortcut option, hit
>> Windows + e to go to Windows Explorer, hit shift + tab to  bring you
>> to the left side of the screen (in tree view) and land on computer
>> (which is my  PC in Windows 8), click the right mouse button, arrow
>> down to Map Network drive, hit enter,  paste the SharePoint shortcut
>> name into the folder field, hit shift + tab and select a  drive, tab to 
>> "reconnect at startup and check it, tab to finish.
>>
>> Now when you want to read or add documents to your SharePoint site,
>> hit Windows + e for  Windows Explorer, hit shift + tab to go to the
>> tree view, arrow down to the appropriate  disk drive, and your
>> SharePoint documentation will appear in a Windows Explorer dialog.
>> You can open, copy, and delete files just like any Windows Explorer 
>> dialog.
>> ----
>> iOS Machines
>>
>> Read Anna Dresner's book, "Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 7,
>> An Introduction for Blind Users" from the National Braille Press
>> (npb.org) as an introduction to the iPhone.
>>
>> For the focus 14: chord k turns keyboard help on, chord b turns help off.
>> This 14 cell Braille display works well with the iPhone.
>>
>> -----
>> Linux Machines
>>
>
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