🚀 go-pugleaf

                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1101

                          Monday, December 19, 1994

Today's Topics:


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              Re: OsCaR versus Omnipage Professional Version 5
                                keyboard idea
             Blind German student seeks contact for her research
              Comments on issue #1095 of the Blind News Digest
                          Adaptive computing help!
                          sharp looking watches!!!
                             Talking Newspapers
                               CHESS MACHINES?
                             on-line newspapers
                              car for the blind
                             Seeking employment
               Looking for catalog of gifts for blind children
                              Re:Good Townsd+++
                                 Big Cursor
                               Braille Spanish


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Subject: Re: OsCaR versus Omnipage Professional Version 5
From: ncbi@iol.ie (National Council for the Blind)
Organization: Ireland On-Line



Hi, Tim Gunning in Dublin, Ireland here.

We at the National Council for the Blind of Ireland have been working on
the problems associated with reading devices for the visually impaired
in Ireland.  Our experiences over the past 6 years have led us to a PC
based solution (286 or higher, 2MB RAM or more) using RECOGNITA 2 as
the OCR engine and the scanner of your choice.

The product has full Multi-lingual capabilities, can read fax or poor
quality dot matrix print as options and returns accuracy of 99.8% on
any reasonable original. The skew tolerance is of the order of 5
degrees.

Recognita have produced a front end for the blind and can operate under
windows or DOS or in batch mode.

Email me at ncbi@iol.ie for more info.

Tim Gunning

DAVID ANDREWS (da0011@epfl2.epflbalto.org)
wrote: : Index Number: 34663

: > From: LBTLM@cc.newcastle.edu.au
: >
: >
: > I work in a university based Adaptive Technology Centre.  The
: > centre, which has been open since May this year, aims to assist
: > students with a disability attain access to course and research
: > material in appropriate formats.  Currently we are utilising an IBM
: > PC and HP ScanJet IIp with Arkenstone Reader II software in
: > conjunction with ARTIC speech (Business Vision 3.08) and Duxbury WP
: > brailling software, to generate braille transcripts of printed
: > material.
: >
: > In the near future we will be upgrading our equipment in an effort
: > to provide a faster, more efficient service for our students.  In
: > particular, we are interested in procurring new OCR software, with
: > the aim of providing the most accurate recognition possible.  We
: > are considering mainstream software packages in addition to those
: > designed for use by people with a vision impairment.  The new OCR
: > software will run on a Pentium 90MHz machine.  A new speech
: > synthesis system (possibly DEC-TALK with VOCAL-EYES) will be
: > purchased for use with this machine.
: >
: [Portion of quote deleted]
: >
: > I would be very interested in finding out how much, if at all, the
: > OSCAR sotware differs in recognition accuracy and performance from
: > the OMNIPAGE Professional V5 software.
: >
: > I would be extremely appreciative if anyone who has had experiences
: > using either, or better still, both of these products, could offer
: > an opinion as to their accuracy, ease of use, and usefulness in
: > terms of compatibility with other related pieces of software and
: > hardware.  If anyone has had a particularly positive experience
: > with any other OCR system (for IBM), I would be really interested
: > to hear about that also!

: I am currently in the process of doing a comparative review of the
: OsCaR, Arkenstone an Open Book Unbound, and Kurzweil Reading
: AdvantEdge, the three systems adapted for use by blind persons.
: The lord willing and the creek don't rise, the reviews will be in
: the Braille Monitor for January, 1995.

: OsCaR is based on OmniPage, I presume version 5, but i don't know
: for sure.  They just did an upgrade, and I will get it early next
: week.  The three menntioned systems are easy for a blind person to
: use with speech synthesis.  OmniPage is Windows-based and wouldn't
: work with your VE system.  While there are Windows screen review
: programs, and VE is expected to come out with one soon, the
: interfaces can be difficult to use.

: The Arkenstone system reportedly handles skewed pages of up to 15
: degrees and is quite accurate.

: Anyway, you will have to wait for January for the
: final word.

: David Andrews, Director
: International Braille and Technology Center
: for the Blind
: National Federation of the Blind




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Subject: keyboard idea
From: dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil (J. Dashiell)

Those membrane keyboards I think are ideal for
environments where lots of grit and dust are
falling onto computer equipment.  However they will
need all the contact places on them brailled if braille users are
to use them in future.  I don't mean putting dymo tape on the membrane either
since this would compromise the keyboard's effectiveness but actually having bra
ille on
the membrane itself.  If your finger is on a letter or symbol
and you press where that letter or symbol is on the membrane
then that key should register as being hit.
Now if sighted people could learn a little braille, they'd be able to
type in the dark with a system like that even if they
hunt and peck.

jude <dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil>




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Subject: Blind German student seeks contact for her research
From: miles-paul@asco.ks.open.de (Miles-Paul)
Organization: ISL e.V.

Seek contacts with blind students

A blind student from Germany is seeking contact with blind students at
Univerities in the United States and Services for blind students at
Universities in order to get a picture about the support they get during
their studies.

She will stay for several months near Orlando in Florida and is primarily
looking for contacts in this area, whom she can interview for her master
thesis.

Forward your information please to Preis@NFASK2-FASK.UNI-MAINZ.DE her name
is Marianne Preis.

Thank you for your help in advance and best wishes

Ottmar Miles-Paul


************************************************************
ISL e.V., Werner-Hilpert-Str. 8, D-34117 Kassel - Germany
Tel. +49 561/713811 - Miles-Paul@ASCO.ks.open.de
## CrossPoint v3.0 R ##




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Subject: Comments on issue #1095 of the Blind News Digest
From: jharris@u.washington.edu (Jeff Harris)


I just finished reading issue #1095 of the Blind News Digest which was
comprised entirely by a response by Bernie of the Internet Book Store to
something apparently written by George of Computerized Books for the
Blind.  First of all, I'd certainly like to see the publication to which
this response was written.  :)  Whew!

Unfortunately, I felt the response was just a bit too vendictive for it to
have been as as effective as it might have been.  It seemed a little less
than completely professional.  But, Bernie was correct in his claims
about E-ditions and the Internet Book Store.  When I saw the information
about the Internet Book Store in one of the previous issues of the Blind
News Digest, I sent for the information as it suggested.  Following the
directions outlined in the information I received, I requested the free
book and software.  All of this came as promised, in about 30 seconds.
:)

I downloaded and installed the software and book.  It works as
described.  I feel this is a superior method for accessing printed
material electronically.

There are two major problems with the Internet Book Store in my opinion.
First, there are far too few titles available.  I'm not exactly sure how
many titles are available...I think I saw something about 100 mentioned
by Bernie, but in my search of topics, I only found a couple of books of
interest.  There needs to be a dramatic increase in the number of
available books to make the Internet Book Store truely useful to the
print disabled.

Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, I found the customer service
to be severely lacking.  On more than one occasion, I've tried sending
mail to their "comments" address with comments and questions, asking for
a response.  It took many days to get a response to my first
inquiries...I'm still waiting for a response to my latest inquiries which
I sent over a week ago.  I've even tried leaving messages on their voice
mail.  I've never received a return call from them.

As I said, I was (and still am) quite favorably impressed with this
program.  I believe it's got potential beyond our greatest expectations.
I am very enthusiastic about what this might provide and mean for us in
the future if they are able to address the issues I mentioned above.

I would encourage all of you to investigate this for yourselves.  Perhaps
with a little support, these issues will be addressed and this enterprise
will prove to be fruitful for all!

Jeff
jharris@u.washington.edu




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Subject: Adaptive computing help!
From: MHUGHES@mecn.mass.edu

Would like to share with others using voice synthesizers
as to how they were able to configure for internet.
I need to find a way to have highlighted lightbar speak so I
can type in word to search for at question mark prompts.
Thanx, Marianne Hughes



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Subject: sharp looking watches!!!
From: dperez@eis.calstate.edu (David)
Organization: California Technology Project of The Calif State Univ


Two or three years ago my father bought me a great looking saeco braille
watch. Well, it got picked up one day when I was studying in the library
and, I don't think the person ever knew it opened up. It was real nice.

Recently, my girlfriend bought me one from Braille Institute in Ca it was
a Maxyaids watch and she knew full well that the top did not close well,
evidently all Maxy aids watches have that problem so I heard from braille.
We returned it because I decided it wasn't wise to ware it like that. But
I want to find a fine braille watch. I don't want it to have MAXYAIDS
emblazened across the front. I just want a normal looking nice saeco or
other brand maker watch.

Do you know which manufacturors make braille watches.  I want to stay
away from these specialized companies. I just haven't been able to find
another nice one like the one I had.

Please help
Rusty
 -- I refuse to disclaim anything!
Anything and everything I say is a product of  everything and everyone I
have ever been  associated with
David (Rusty) Perez (dperez@ctp.org)
"If there's no bottom in your eyes, they hold more."
--Hazel Motes



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Subject: Talking Newspapers
From: da0011@epfl2.epflbalto.org (DAVID ANDREWS)


> From: CFBJ33@mgvax.ulst.ac.uk (Eric Cameron)
>
> request for information
>
> can anyone supply me with telephone nos. for on-line talking newspapers in
> minnesota, new mexico and los angeles.
>
> i am interested in evaluating the sound quality and degree of interactivity
> that is currently provided by such services, with the view to piloting one in
> the uk.
>
Most of the talking newspapers won't let you directly on
as they require an ID and password code.
In New Mecico, call Mike Santullo at 505-841-8844.
You can reach the developer of the system that
most people use, Telephone Computer Systems by calling
Brian Wilson at 612-788-9555.
He has put in systems in New Mexico, Minnesota,
California, Kansas, New Jersey, and Washington d.c.

We here at the National Federation of the Blind have develo-ped the
first system in the U.S. using synthesized speech.
We get a feed directly from the newspaper, process it,
and put it online.  We currently offer USA Today.
You can call Dr. Harold Snider at 410-659-9314
for details.
David Andrews, Drector
International Braille and Technology Center
for the Blind
National Federztion of the Blind




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Subject: CHESS MACHINES?
From: chris.smart@canrem.com (Chris Smart)
Organization: CRS Online  (Toronto, Ontario)


Hi.  I am blind, and looking for a good talking chess machine.  I mean,
where can I order some sort of portable chess computer that talks, plays
at a variety of difficulty levels, etc.

Please email any information to me at:
Internet:  chris.smart@canrem.com
Rime:  private routed mail to ->crs
Thanks in advance,
Chris.

... They're all beautiful when the lights go out.
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12



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Subject: on-line newspapers
From: hyde_david@oslmac.osl.or.gov (HYDE David)

In response the the quiry about how to get in touch with themn, fot ehe
Los Angeles paper, call 916-424-2226.  I do not have the numbers for
the papers in Miniapolis or Albuquerqueque.  There is also U.S. News
and World Report in Washington D.C. and Baltimore.  You can get in
touch with them by calling the National Center for the Blind at
415-659-9314.



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Subject: car for the blind
From: hyde_david@oslmac.osl.or.gov (HYDE David)

I first heard about these in the late 50's.  As far as I know, it is
still vaperware.



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Subject: Seeking employment
From: kford@netcom.com (Kelly Ford)


                                KELLY FORD
                        Internet: KFORD@NETCOM.COM

OBJECTIVE:  To use my skills, knowledge and experience to make the world
more accessible for all.

EDUCATION

   B.A. - Journalism and Mass Communications, University of
   Wisconsin-Madison (1989)

QUALIFICATIONS

   Software Support - Four years as principal support person for database
   packages and system utilities running in DOS, Windows and the Macintosh,
   averaging 20-30 contacts per week on eight  supported applications.

   Information and Referral - Staff an I&R service on technology and
   disability that averages 75 phone and mail inquiries per week.  Develop
   new information products in response to consumer needs.

   Internet/Telecommunications - Three years experience on the staff, two
   as assistant system operator and librarian, for the disabilities section
   of a national on-line service.  Responsible for the construction and
   maintenance of a FTP site and Gopher server.

   Technology Evaluation - Serve on a team that routinely evaluates
   consumer electronics for accessibility.

   Conference Coordination - Coordinated all aspects of three highly
   successful three-day conferences held annually.  Regularly setup and
   staff exhibits at national conferences, both individually and as a team.

   Computer Skills - Proficient with applications running under DOS,
   Windows, OS/2, Unix and the Macintosh and all screen reading technology
   necessary to access these operating systems.  Excellent
   instructor/trainer in the use of standard and assistive software.

   Alternative Formats Production - Four years experience preparing braille
   and ASCII versions of materials ranging from simple handouts to complex
   product catalogs.  Strong knowledge of Duxbury and MegaDots braille
   translation software.

   Technology Policy Review - Serve on campus committee working to make
   campus computing policies and environments more accessible.  Assisted in
   the creation of a comprehensive resource list for campus computing labs.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

   Technology Consultant (1992 to Present)
   Trace R&D Center, Madison, Wisconsin (1989 to 1994)
   Computers to Help People, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, (1991 to 1994)
   Daily Cardinal, Madison, Wisconsin (1988 to 1990)

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

   GEnie Information Services, Rockville, Maryland (1990 to 1993))
   Chancellor's Committee for Disabled Persons on Campus, Madison,
   Wisconsin (1986 to 1994)


Kelly Ford

KFORD@NETCOM.COM

Looking for someone to join your organization?  Check the URL
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/kf/kford/resume.txt to see if I might be that
person.





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Subject: Looking for catalog of gifts for blind children
From: richman@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu (Mike Richman)

Anyone know of a catalog for gifts for blind children?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Richman
mrichman@uoknor.edu



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Subject: Re:Good Townsd+++
From: kbacus@tenet.edu (Kathleen Marie Bacus)

        Hi Bill,

Question: Have you heard of any towns in the U.S. that are easy for Blind
persons live?  Such as good transportation,  E\easy acess to Social
groups and community services etc.

I'd like to hear from you.

                        Gerald Bacus




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Subject: Big Cursor
From: mcoppin@sendit.NoDak.edu (Mark Coppin)

Does anyone know of a utility that will enlarge the cursor or arrow for
the Macintosh. We work with students that just aren't able to locate the
small cursor on the screen. I have found one utility but it doesn't work
with system 7.

Mark Coppin



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Subject: Braille Spanish
From: dday@nikita.bham.wednet.edu (DEBBIE DAY)

My 11 year old son, Timothy, has become obsessed with learning foreign
languages.  This summer he managed to teach himself beginning conversation
in 5 different languages--he used audio tapes which were complete in
themselves and needed no accompanying translation book.  This worked
very well for him.  He quickly and easily picks up these languages.

Recently  he joined a small group of children learning Spanish from a
private instructor in her home.  Up until now the class structure worked
well, as it was done verbally but now they will begin to read and write
Spanish.  I'm at a loss as to translating Spanish to braille.

Normally I use MegaDots for translating English print into braille for
him.  Can MegaDots be used with Spanish too?

Is there some correspondence course available to elementary kids to learn
braille foreign language codes?  Can someone recommend any books that
are available for this?

How did those of you who learned foreign language in high school/college
do it?  (Tim is homeschooled)

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
                Debbie Day
                DDay@nikita.bham.wednet.edu



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                 End of Issue # 1101 of the Blind News Digest

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