From support at techno-chat.net Sun Jan 1 10:43:07 2012 From: support at techno-chat.net (Gordon & Lynne) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:43:07 +0000 Subject: Apple Versus Microsoft; [Screen-Readers] In-Reply-To: <0C9BF03EC30A4AEBB4C87B22CACF636E@billgekskmb2yp> References: ac-access.net><561D8422-180F-4C47-8067-E0F5082BAADF@mac-access.net><4EFB713C.608@internode.on.net> <20111228161044.3yhn7se12coow400@webmail.iu.edu><4EFBF33A.50 40700@yahoo.com><4D571FA9-9A6B-4072-83A2-4AE026B40AB7@mac-access.net><4EFC5F30.7050000@ techno-chat.net> <0C9BF03EC30A4AEBB4C87B22CACF636E@billgekskmb2yp> Message-ID: <2A23110A-A6A9-4CCE-8A3F-4952CE3DB648@techno-chat.net> On 30 Dec 2011, at 23:30, Bill Deatherage wrote: Hello Bill ? also, I would like the e-mail address to send a message to the list. I must have deleted the message with that information. thank you for your help in advance. I'm not entirely sure what you mean here; as you already sent a message to the list. If you mean the list server so that you can change your configuration profile, it is here: techno-chat-request at techno-chat.net but if you mean the main list address it is here: techno-chat at techno-chat.net I hope that helps. Tracy From billd at insightbb.com Sun Jan 1 22:54:11 2012 From: billd at insightbb.com (Bill Deatherage) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:54:11 -0500 Subject: Apple Versus Microsoft; [Screen-Readers] References: ac-access.net><561D8422-180F-4C47-8067-E0F5082BAADF@mac-access.net><4EFB713C.608@internode.on.net><20111228161044.3yhn7se12coow400@webmail.iu.edu><4EFBF33A.5040700@yahoo.com><4D571FA9-9A6B-4072-83A2-4AE026B40AB7@mac-access.net><4EFC5F30.7050000@techno-chat.net><0C9BF03EC30A4AEBB4C87B22CACF636E@billgekskmb2yp> <2A23110A-A6A9-4CCE-8A3F-4952CE3DB648@techno-chat.net> Message-ID: <50B3E676F3784DC189FE44013672A6D4@billgekskmb2yp> hello and thanks, what I did was replied to a previous message so I could get the address to send a new message to the list. Thank you again, I enjoy reading the information on the list. Bill Deatherage From gordon at mac-access.net Mon Jan 2 14:16:35 2012 From: gordon at mac-access.net (Gordon Smith) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 14:16:35 +0000 Subject: Jaws For Windows Message-ID: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> Hi all This is my first E-Mail to anybody for a very long time, so I must say it's good to be back. In the hope of securing a teaching position in the not too distant future, it looks like I'm going to have to start learning the ins and outs of Jaws for Windows, as well as refreshing myself in the use of Microsoft Office application, especially Word. Lynne downloaded JFW13 a few days ago, along with NVDA211, but we haven't had the opportunity to try them out as yet. So, to my questions. 1. What's the latest version of Microsoft Office and where do we stand, please, in terms of accessibility with the aforementioned screen-readers, plus GW Micro's Window-Eyes? 2. Does Freedom Scientific sell online to overseas customers, or is it one of those dealership rackets still, as it was when I got my fingers severely burned with them in 2000 when they re-sold my serial number to another customer and also my SMA, and they flatly refused to honour it with a different S/N and SMA. 3. On the assumption that Freedom Scientific does indeed sell internationally online, do they operate any kind of monthly "Lease To Own" programme, similar to that which GW Micro offers? Currently my outright budget wouldn't stretch to the ?1200 USD which Freedom seem to be asking for JFW Professional and that doesn't even cover remote access; shocking. Having spent most of the morning playing around with various aspects of Windows 7 Ultimate Sp1 and Window-Eyes, I'm sorry to have to say that I'm distinctly unimpressed with GW's latest offering. Having become somewhat accustomed to the lack of a "Browse Mode", I find it irksome to say the least when I have to keep continually pressing enter on edit boxes etc. before I can insert or modify data, and then having to re-enable browse mode to find out what a consecutive edit box's data should be. Pressing tab when outside of browse mode now yields only "Edit", and not the content descriptor field any longer. I also find Window-Eyes 7.5.2 unacceptably slow at times when it's loading web content. Indeed, sometimes I fid that it doesn't even finish loading at all, and I have to turn browse ode of and back on again to make it work. Actually that's a bug which has been around forever, but it's much much worse now. Many times I also see problems after entering my password in the log-on window when loading Window-Eyes. Windows itself contuse down the log-on chain at normal speed but the Window-Eyes task often freezes or responds very very slowly. Thus, it takes often up to five minutes to gain access to the desktop and even then I sometimes get "Not Responding" notices regarding the Window-Eyes main executable, or one of the dynamic libraries upon which it relies. I'm also finding GW Micro's so-called "Industry-Leading" technical support extremely poor. Often, they don't even respond at all and when they do, they don't usually provide adequate responses to questions. I have seen opinion expressed in a couple of places on the Internet that Window-Eyes's overall quality has been severely depleted since the so-called innovative and, again, industry-standard scripting mechanism was incorporated into the application. I share that opinion! Were it not for the fact that Window-Eyes 7.0 is not compatible with 64-bit operating systems, and were it not for the fact that it won't run under Windows 7 at all, I would seriously consider reverting. As it is. I'm going to have to really turn full circle, have a serous look at JFW and NVDA, and perhaps also System Access as well. I am aware that there has been some discussion pertaining to screen-readers on list recently, sponsored initially as I understand it by my wife. I have read through the ensuing thread and found some of the comment very interesting. However, the angle I am hoping to discuss is more a practical one, rather than a financial debate. I'm going to try JFW because for one thing, I just cannot figure out how you configure NVDA for Braille output; which I need. Any comment welcome, and did I say it earlier? It's great to be back, finally. Gordon From marrie12 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 18:22:46 2012 From: marrie12 at gmail.com (Sarah Alawami) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 10:22:46 -0800 Subject: Jaws For Windows In-Reply-To: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> References: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <859A125A-E7ED-457E-93F1-FD544807D75D@gmail.com> to answer your question FS is still dealer based and they do not offer any payment plans on anything so I recall. Sorry to be the barer of bad news. I hope someone can be the bareer of good news. lol! On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:16 AM, Gordon Smith wrote: > Hi all > > This is my first E-Mail to anybody for a very long time, so I must say it's good to be back. > > In the hope of securing a teaching position in the not too distant future, it looks like I'm going to have to start learning the ins and outs of Jaws for Windows, as well as refreshing myself in the use of Microsoft Office application, especially Word. > > Lynne downloaded JFW13 a few days ago, along with NVDA211, but we haven't had the opportunity to try them out as yet. So, to my questions. > > 1. What's the latest version of Microsoft Office and where do we stand, please, in terms of accessibility with the aforementioned screen-readers, plus GW Micro's Window-Eyes? > > 2. Does Freedom Scientific sell online to overseas customers, or is it one of those dealership rackets still, as it was when I got my fingers severely burned with them in 2000 when they re-sold my serial number to another customer and also my SMA, and they flatly refused to honour it with a different S/N and SMA. > > 3. On the assumption that Freedom Scientific does indeed sell internationally online, do they operate any kind of monthly "Lease To Own" programme, similar to that which GW Micro offers? Currently my outright budget wouldn't stretch to the ?1200 USD which Freedom seem to be asking for JFW Professional and that doesn't even cover remote access; shocking. > > Having spent most of the morning playing around with various aspects of Windows 7 Ultimate Sp1 and Window-Eyes, I'm sorry to have to say that I'm distinctly unimpressed with GW's latest offering. Having become somewhat accustomed to the lack of a "Browse Mode", I find it irksome to say the least when I have to keep continually pressing enter on edit boxes etc. before I can insert or modify data, and then having to re-enable browse mode to find out what a consecutive edit box's data should be. Pressing tab when outside of browse mode now yields only "Edit", and not the content descriptor field any longer. > > I also find Window-Eyes 7.5.2 unacceptably slow at times when it's loading web content. Indeed, sometimes I fid that it doesn't even finish loading at all, and I have to turn browse ode of and back on again to make it work. Actually that's a bug which has been around forever, but it's much much worse now. Many times I also see problems after entering my password in the log-on window when loading Window-Eyes. Windows itself contuse down the log-on chain at normal speed but the Window-Eyes task often freezes or responds very very slowly. Thus, it takes often up to five minutes to gain access to the desktop and even then I sometimes get "Not Responding" notices regarding the Window-Eyes main executable, or one of the dynamic libraries upon which it relies. > > I'm also finding GW Micro's so-called "Industry-Leading" technical support extremely poor. Often, they don't even respond at all and when they do, they don't usually provide adequate responses to questions. > > I have seen opinion expressed in a couple of places on the Internet that Window-Eyes's overall quality has been severely depleted since the so-called innovative and, again, industry-standard scripting mechanism was incorporated into the application. I share that opinion! Were it not for the fact that Window-Eyes 7.0 is not compatible with 64-bit operating systems, and were it not for the fact that it won't run under Windows 7 at all, I would seriously consider reverting. As it is. I'm going to have to really turn full circle, have a serous look at JFW and NVDA, and perhaps also System Access as well. > > I am aware that there has been some discussion pertaining to screen-readers on list recently, sponsored initially as I understand it by my wife. I have read through the ensuing thread and found some of the comment very interesting. However, the angle I am hoping to discuss is more a practical one, rather than a financial debate. I'm going to try JFW because for one thing, I just cannot figure out how you configure NVDA for Braille output; which I need. > > Any comment welcome, and did I say it earlier? It's great to be back, finally. > > Gordon > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From skhleirpehctcoens7284 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 18:39:40 2012 From: skhleirpehctcoens7284 at gmail.com (Kliphton A.M-SR) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 12:39:40 -0600 Subject: Jaws For Windows In-Reply-To: <859A125A-E7ED-457E-93F1-FD544807D75D@gmail.com> References: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> <859A125A-E7ED-457E-93F1-FD544807D75D@gmail.com> Message-ID: But microsoft office 2010 is fully accessible, I am using all products that fit my needs with very little problem. Those programs are outllook, word, and zcell. I don't have any plans of ever needing power point, but heard it gets the job done also. HTH On Jan 2, 2012, at 12:22 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote: > to answer your question FS is still dealer based and they do not offer any payment plans on anything so I recall. Sorry to be the barer of bad news. I hope someone can be the bareer of good news. lol! > On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:16 AM, Gordon Smith wrote: > >> Hi all >> >> This is my first E-Mail to anybody for a very long time, so I must say it's good to be back. >> >> In the hope of securing a teaching position in the not too distant future, it looks like I'm going to have to start learning the ins and outs of Jaws for Windows, as well as refreshing myself in the use of Microsoft Office application, especially Word. >> >> Lynne downloaded JFW13 a few days ago, along with NVDA211, but we haven't had the opportunity to try them out as yet. So, to my questions. >> >> 1. What's the latest version of Microsoft Office and where do we stand, please, in terms of accessibility with the aforementioned screen-readers, plus GW Micro's Window-Eyes? >> >> 2. Does Freedom Scientific sell online to overseas customers, or is it one of those dealership rackets still, as it was when I got my fingers severely burned with them in 2000 when they re-sold my serial number to another customer and also my SMA, and they flatly refused to honour it with a different S/N and SMA. >> >> 3. On the assumption that Freedom Scientific does indeed sell internationally online, do they operate any kind of monthly "Lease To Own" programme, similar to that which GW Micro offers? Currently my outright budget wouldn't stretch to the ?1200 USD which Freedom seem to be asking for JFW Professional and that doesn't even cover remote access; shocking. >> >> Having spent most of the morning playing around with various aspects of Windows 7 Ultimate Sp1 and Window-Eyes, I'm sorry to have to say that I'm distinctly unimpressed with GW's latest offering. Having become somewhat accustomed to the lack of a "Browse Mode", I find it irksome to say the least when I have to keep continually pressing enter on edit boxes etc. before I can insert or modify data, and then having to re-enable browse mode to find out what a consecutive edit box's data should be. Pressing tab when outside of browse mode now yields only "Edit", and not the content descriptor field any longer. >> >> I also find Window-Eyes 7.5.2 unacceptably slow at times when it's loading web content. Indeed, sometimes I fid that it doesn't even finish loading at all, and I have to turn browse ode of and back on again to make it work. Actually that's a bug which has been around forever, but it's much much worse now. Many times I also see problems after entering my password in the log-on window when loading Window-Eyes. Windows itself contuse down the log-on chain at normal speed but the Window-Eyes task often freezes or responds very very slowly. Thus, it takes often up to five minutes to gain access to the desktop and even then I sometimes get "Not Responding" notices regarding the Window-Eyes main executable, or one of the dynamic libraries upon which it relies. >> >> I'm also finding GW Micro's so-called "Industry-Leading" technical support extremely poor. Often, they don't even respond at all and when they do, they don't usually provide adequate responses to questions. >> >> I have seen opinion expressed in a couple of places on the Internet that Window-Eyes's overall quality has been severely depleted since the so-called innovative and, again, industry-standard scripting mechanism was incorporated into the application. I share that opinion! Were it not for the fact that Window-Eyes 7.0 is not compatible with 64-bit operating systems, and were it not for the fact that it won't run under Windows 7 at all, I would seriously consider reverting. As it is. I'm going to have to really turn full circle, have a serous look at JFW and NVDA, and perhaps also System Access as well. >> >> I am aware that there has been some discussion pertaining to screen-readers on list recently, sponsored initially as I understand it by my wife. I have read through the ensuing thread and found some of the comment very interesting. However, the angle I am hoping to discuss is more a practical one, rather than a financial debate. I'm going to try JFW because for one thing, I just cannot figure out how you configure NVDA for Braille output; which I need. >> >> Any comment welcome, and did I say it earlier? It's great to be back, finally. >> >> Gordon >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Mon Jan 2 22:12:07 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 09:12:07 +1100 Subject: Airfoil For Windows Accessible, Message-ID: <97049CCD-A848-40CC-994F-05051D5C9888@internode.on.net> Subject line says it all, software is now more accessible than it was with a Screen Reader and Windows so here's what you do. Run the software and to select your source type ctrl-o, a "Context Menu" will appear allowing you to select from running applications, sound devices etc. From moopiecurran at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 23:58:32 2012 From: moopiecurran at gmail.com (Courtney Curran) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:58:32 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 Message-ID: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Hi, I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. Thanks, Courtney Sent from my macbook air From billd at insightbb.com Tue Jan 3 00:13:55 2012 From: billd at insightbb.com (William Deatherage) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:13:55 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hello, When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. Sent from my iPhone On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: > Hi, > I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. > Thanks, > Courtney > > > Sent from my macbook air > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 3 00:14:53 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:14:53 +1100 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: howdy! Yep indeed! I hhave one of these docks and they're quite impressive. Obviously you're not going to get performance equal to that of your home stereo system but for a portable its damn good. Okay so how can I describe it, did you ever see one of those Mini stereo boomboxes from the 1980s? I'm not talking about the big huge thigns, I'm talking about the "Mini Stereo" one's, anyway the dock looks pretty much lie one of those, a speaker at each end and the dock in the middle where you plug in your iPod or iPhone. On the top is a handle which can be folded into 3 positions, for carrying, for a stand and tucked away out of sight for when you throw the unit into a bag, case or whatever. There are buttons on the top which control the basic functions, power on/off, play/pause, volume up/down and previous/next track. A remote controller comes with the Dock and I don't know what all the buttons do on that yet, the controller conveniently slides into a cradle at the top rear of the Dock when not in use. On the back of the Dock are 2 sockets, one for input from other MP3 players, radios or whatever and the socket for the charger, takes around 4 hours to charge the battery of the Dock and the iPhone etc can be plugged in and charging at the same time. That's pretty much it! I posted a review of the dock to the list some time ago. On 03/01/2012, at 10:58 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > Hi, > I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. > Thanks, > Courtney > > > Sent from my macbook air > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 3 00:17:08 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:17:08 +1100 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: This is just a personal opinion and nothing more. I've never liked Sony speakers and docks,, I bought some of their speakers and paid far too much for them in my view compared to what I could have bought from say Altec Lansing, Logitech, Creative and so on, just not worth worrying about, most of Sony's stuff has been for the last 30 years just sold for the name and not for any particular attributes such as quality sound, quality build etc. On 03/01/2012, at 11:13 AM, William Deatherage wrote: > Hello, > > When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: > >> Hi, >> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >> Thanks, >> Courtney >> >> >> Sent from my macbook air >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From moopiecurran at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 00:17:26 2012 From: moopiecurran at gmail.com (Courtney Curran) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:17:26 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi, I'll certainly let you know. Another thing good about this system is it's builtin rechargeable battery. So I assume it's pretty easy to carry around. Courtney Sent from my macbook air On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:13 PM, William Deatherage wrote: > Hello, > > When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: > >> Hi, >> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >> Thanks, >> Courtney >> >> >> Sent from my macbook air >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 3 00:18:46 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:18:46 +1100 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: <5CBAED63-86B3-4ABC-ACEC-1D0002FF54E2@internode.on.net> Dead easy though I'd say its a little heavy given its size but that's a trivial point. Battery lasts for about 7 hours of playing time. On 03/01/2012, at 11:17 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > Hi, > I'll certainly let you know. Another thing good about this system is it's builtin rechargeable battery. So I assume it's pretty easy to carry around. > Courtney > > > > Sent from my macbook air > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:13 PM, William Deatherage wrote: > >> Hello, >> >> When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >>> Thanks, >>> Courtney >>> >>> >>> Sent from my macbook air >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From moopiecurran at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 00:20:27 2012 From: moopiecurran at gmail.com (Courtney Curran) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:20:27 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: <4160227B-29CD-4F08-AD37-9D807ACD902A@gmail.com> Hi, Unfortunately, I wasn't born when those boom-boxes were out in the 80's, so I don't really know what they looked like. But thanks for your wonderful description of the unit. I'm looking very forward to receiving mine. Courtney Sent from my macbook air On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:14 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > howdy! > > Yep indeed! I hhave one of these docks and they're quite impressive. Obviously you're not going to get performance equal to that of your home stereo system but for a portable its damn good. > > Okay so how can I describe it, did you ever see one of those Mini stereo boomboxes from the 1980s? I'm not talking about the big huge thigns, I'm talking about the "Mini Stereo" one's, anyway the dock looks pretty much lie one of those, a speaker at each end and the dock in the middle where you plug in your iPod or iPhone. > > On the top is a handle which can be folded into 3 positions, for carrying, for a stand and tucked away out of sight for when you throw the unit into a bag, case or whatever. > > There are buttons on the top which control the basic functions, power on/off, play/pause, volume up/down and previous/next track. > > A remote controller comes with the Dock and I don't know what all the buttons do on that yet, the controller conveniently slides into a cradle at the top rear of the Dock when not in use. > > On the back of the Dock are 2 sockets, one for input from other MP3 players, radios or whatever and the socket for the charger, takes around 4 hours to charge the battery of the Dock and the iPhone etc can be plugged in and charging at the same time. > > That's pretty much it! I posted a review of the dock to the list some time ago. > > > On 03/01/2012, at 10:58 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > >> Hi, >> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >> Thanks, >> Courtney >> >> >> Sent from my macbook air >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From moopiecurran at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 00:21:39 2012 From: moopiecurran at gmail.com (Courtney Curran) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:21:39 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <5CBAED63-86B3-4ABC-ACEC-1D0002FF54E2@internode.on.net> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> <5CBAED63-86B3-4ABC-ACEC-1D0002FF54E2@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <47EA57B7-170D-48E2-B4F9-C0006F2EB6A0@gmail.com> Hi, Will it charge my phone when the dock is on battery power? Thanks, Courtney Sent from my macbook air On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:18 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > Dead easy though I'd say its a little heavy given its size but that's a trivial point. > > Battery lasts for about 7 hours of playing time. > > > On 03/01/2012, at 11:17 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > >> Hi, >> I'll certainly let you know. Another thing good about this system is it's builtin rechargeable battery. So I assume it's pretty easy to carry around. >> Courtney >> >> >> >> Sent from my macbook air >> >> On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:13 PM, William Deatherage wrote: >> >>> Hello, >>> >>> When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: >>> >>>> Hi, >>>> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >>>> Thanks, >>>> Courtney >>>> >>>> >>>> Sent from my macbook air >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From tsiegel at softcon.com Tue Jan 3 00:28:05 2012 From: tsiegel at softcon.com (Travis Siegel) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:28:05 -0500 Subject: Screen-Readers In-Reply-To: <201112301835.pBUIZoB0036985@x.it.okstate.edu> References: <201112301835.pBUIZoB0036985@x.it.okstate.edu> Message-ID: <33668E7F-F54C-43EC-8148-D5A39E5E94AC@softcon.com> Uhh, I must correct one misconception in this email. Ms *did* produce a screen reader years ago. At that time, a few screenreader manufacturers blew their top, threatened all sorts of legal action, and (surprisingly enough) ms caved. They didn't toss their efforts entirely though, they turned it into narrator, which still exists even in the latest version of windows. So, in this case, don't blame ms. This is actually the first (and in my opinion) one of the only times that ms actually tried to do the right thing, then gave in to bad pressure to do the wrong thing, and thus, the visually impaired market was once again left to the mercy of the large screen reader manufacturers. Most things ms does don't make sense to me, and this one is no exception, but at least in this particular instance, ms isn't to blame here. From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 3 00:36:35 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:36:35 +1100 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <47EA57B7-170D-48E2-B4F9-C0006F2EB6A0@gmail.com> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> <5CBAED63-86B3-4ABC-ACEC-1D0002FF54E2@internode.on.net> <47EA57B7-170D-48E2-B4F9-C0006F2EB6A0@gmail.com> Message-ID: <82E001CF-56B6-486A-859A-7431A803D994@internode.on.net> No, I don't think so, you need to have the charger connected. On 03/01/2012, at 11:21 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > Hi, > Will it charge my phone when the dock is on battery power? > Thanks, > Courtney > > > Sent from my macbook air > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:18 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > >> Dead easy though I'd say its a little heavy given its size but that's a trivial point. >> >> Battery lasts for about 7 hours of playing time. >> >> >> On 03/01/2012, at 11:17 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> I'll certainly let you know. Another thing good about this system is it's builtin rechargeable battery. So I assume it's pretty easy to carry around. >>> Courtney >>> >>> >>> >>> Sent from my macbook air >>> >>> On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:13 PM, William Deatherage wrote: >>> >>>> Hello, >>>> >>>> When you get it, would you let us know how you like it? I now have a Sony but I would like something with more base. >>>> >>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>> >>>> On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Courtney Curran wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi, >>>>> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> Courtney >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my macbook air >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ======================================= >>>>> >>>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>>> >>>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>>> >>>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>>>> >>>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>>> >>>>> Or: >>>>> >>>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> --------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From tsiegel at softcon.com Tue Jan 3 01:00:12 2012 From: tsiegel at softcon.com (Travis Siegel) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:00:12 -0500 Subject: Blogging In-Reply-To: <1325210591.87567.YahooMailNeo@web24702.mail.ird.yahoo.com> References: <1325210591.87567.YahooMailNeo@web24702.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: First off, don't waste your money on wp plugins. There's plenty of them out there that are free, and if they're free, there's usually no strings attached, meaning that if it's not perfectly accessible, making it so won't invalidate your license or something equally silly. If you're going to use word press (a lot of folks do) there's no harm in changing things if they don't suit your purposes, because it's all free, and you can pretty much do what you like with it, as long as you release your changes if you make significant ones. I decided for my purposes, wp was too bloated, and way too complex for what I wanted. I would have had no problem using it, as I've been using computers for 25 years, and php for about 5 of those, so changing things to my purposes would not have been hard, but on the same note, if I could change them, I figured it'd be better to start from scratch, and build my own, especially since all I wanted was rather simple things, all of which I could make myself w/o any wp help, and since I've been hand coding my html from the outset (around 1996 or so) I figured it'd be silly for me to start using other stuff now. :) And besides, I like programming, and this was fun. But, with all that said, wp does what it does very well, and if you can use it, then by all means use it. However, I strongly advise you to look around before purchasing any plugins. I've almost always found free or cheaper alternatives to just about every plugin I've seen that was charging lots of money for it's use. Don't waste your money until you're sure there's nothing else available that will do the job. With that said, I'll freely admit, that folks are doing some amazing things with word press, and ocasionaly, even I don't recognize a site as being a wordpress site until I get to the bottom and it says so at the footer, but generally those exceptions are rare. This is why you should carefully consider if you want wp as your web site, because it's so recognizable, a lot of folks that don't like wp will leave your site without looking when they see that little banner. Admittedly, it's probably not a lot of folks, but they are out there. Of course, you'll get a percentage of folks leaving anyhow, so that may not be a concern for you. I didn't need or want the complexity of wp, so didn't use it, but then again, with that complexity comes a lot of power, and a lot of things are done for you, so if simple is what you want, there's not much that's simpler than a properly setup wp site. I know I'm probably not making sense, supporting and tearing down alternatively, but I'm only trying to state all te angles here, so take this for what it's worth. But, I stand by my don't buy wp plugins for tripple digit prices until you've searched, and assured yourself there's nothing equivalent elsewhere to suit your purposes, most of the time, it's just not worth the price. From marrie12 at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 03:04:40 2012 From: marrie12 at gmail.com (Sarah Alawami) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:04:40 -0800 Subject: Blogging In-Reply-To: References: <1325210591.87567.YahooMailNeo@web24702.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <0B4FF4AF-596C-492F-B0DB-200552718E6A@gmail.com> lol. all of the wp pluggins I use are free and the dev is quite willing to work and make thing s work for me. Now let's hope they make wp 3.3 a bit more accessibil. It has some issues and I've been talkign with developers. they want feedback. Take care. On Jan 2, 2012, at 5:00 PM, Travis Siegel wrote: > First off, don't waste your money on wp plugins. There's plenty of them out there that are free, and if they're free, there's usually no strings attached, meaning that if it's not perfectly accessible, making it so won't invalidate your license or something equally silly. > If you're going to use word press (a lot of folks do) there's no harm in changing things if they don't suit your purposes, because it's all free, and you can pretty much do what you like with it, as long as you release your changes if you make significant ones. I decided for my purposes, wp was too bloated, and way too complex for what I wanted. I would have had no problem using it, as I've been using computers for 25 years, and php for about 5 of those, so changing things to my purposes would not have been hard, but on the same note, if I could change them, I figured it'd be better to start from scratch, and build my own, especially since all I wanted was rather simple things, all of which I could make myself w/o any wp help, and since I've been hand coding my html from the outset (around 1996 or so) I figured it'd be silly for me to start using other stuff now. :) > And besides, I like programming, and this was fun. > But, with all that said, wp does what it does very well, and if you can use it, then by all means use it. However, I strongly advise you to look around before purchasing any plugins. I've almost always found free or cheaper alternatives to just about every plugin I've seen that was charging lots of money for it's use. > Don't waste your money until you're sure there's nothing else available that will do the job. > With that said, I'll freely admit, that folks are doing some amazing things with word press, and ocasionaly, even I don't recognize a site as being a wordpress site until I get to the bottom and it says so at the footer, but generally those exceptions are rare. This is why you should carefully consider if you want wp as your web site, because it's so recognizable, a lot of folks that don't like wp will leave your site without looking when they see that little banner. Admittedly, it's probably not a lot of folks, but they are out there. > Of course, you'll get a percentage of folks leaving anyhow, so that may not be a concern for you. > I didn't need or want the complexity of wp, so didn't use it, but then again, with that complexity comes a lot of power, and a lot of things are done for you, so if simple is what you want, there's not much that's simpler than a properly setup wp site. > I know I'm probably not making sense, supporting and tearing down alternatively, but I'm only trying to state all te angles here, so take this for what it's worth. > But, I stand by my don't buy wp plugins for tripple digit prices until you've searched, and assured yourself there's nothing equivalent elsewhere to suit your purposes, most of the time, it's just not worth the price. > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From mstores at indiana.edu Tue Jan 3 16:51:33 2012 From: mstores at indiana.edu (Mary Stores) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:51:33 -0500 Subject: Jaws For Windows In-Reply-To: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> References: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <20120103115133.vs13nhepwg4w0kk0@webmail.iu.edu> Hi Gordon Glad to see you posting again. You asked: > 1. What's the latest version of Microsoft Office and where do we > stand, please, in terms of accessibility with the aforementioned > screen-readers, plus GW Micro's Window-Eyes? I haven't tested Mocrosoft Office anything with WE, but can say that I've used Outlook 2010, word 2010 and have read one PowerPoint so far using JAWS 13. I have not yet tried out the OCR feature. I guess I haven't needed it. I have not run into any problems. I have noticed that jAWS crashes IE9 a lot when on web sites using ARIA markup. WE seems to not support ARIA markup very well still at all. > 2. Does Freedom Scientific sell online to overseas customers, or is > it one of those dealership rackets still, as it was when I got my > fingers severely burned with them in 2000 when they re-sold my serial > number to another customer and also my SMA, and they flatly refused > to honour it with a different S/N and SMA. Yes, it's still a delership racket, I am sorry to say. > 3. On the assumption that Freedom Scientific does indeed sell > internationally online, do they operate any kind of monthly "Lease To > Own" programme, similar to that which GW Micro offers? Currently my > outright budget wouldn't stretch to the ?1200 USD which Freedom seem > to be asking for JFW Professional and that doesn't even cover remote > access; shocking. Unfortunately, FS says " get a loan if you need to." Blah! > Having spent most of the morning playing around with various aspects > of Windows 7 Ultimate Sp1 and Window-Eyes, I'm sorry to have to say > that I'm distinctly unimpressed with GW's latest offering. Having > become somewhat accustomed to the lack of a "Browse Mode", I find it > irksome to say the least when I have to keep continually pressing > enter on edit boxes etc. before I can insert or modify data, and then > having to re-enable browse mode to find out what a consecutive edit > box's data should be. Pressing tab when outside of browse mode now > yields only "Edit", and not the content descriptor field any longer. Well, JAWS has had auto forms mode for quite a while now. Whenever it encounters a form element, if auto forms mode is turned on (which it is by default) you won't have to keep reactivating it. I hope you can find that helpful. Take care, Mary From mstores at indiana.edu Tue Jan 3 17:38:05 2012 From: mstores at indiana.edu (Mary Stores) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:38:05 -0500 Subject: JFW In-Reply-To: <03959254-30E9-49B5-B9B9-59BC42681841@mac-access.net> References: <87E8D8A9-7674-43A8-A1D2-DB7BB2398488@mac-access.net> <369902AEDDDB4AE5A6200F8485B11521@acer4d025c48b8> <03959254-30E9-49B5-B9B9-59BC42681841@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <20120103123805.r640ac4k084s04kk@webmail.iu.edu> Hi lynne, It looks like the Brailliant won't work for 64-bit yet. My Alva satellite, because it's so old, does not either. But below is a link for a driver if you are using 32-bit: http://www.freedomscientific.com/support/JAWS-Driver-Brailliant-BrailleConnect.asp > > > Hello everybody > > OK, Gordon and I, not just myself, are about to try JFW. Given that we're > totally new to the product, is there anything specific we should know? How, > for instance, do we browse the screen? What about Gordon's Blue Tooth > Humanware Brailliant 40 Braille display; will it work? From roger.firman at btinternet.com Tue Jan 3 18:32:50 2012 From: roger.firman at btinternet.com (Roger Firman) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 18:32:50 -0000 Subject: JFW In-Reply-To: <20120103123805.r640ac4k084s04kk@webmail.iu.edu> Message-ID: Dear Mary, Regarding your message, it seems a bit confusing as on the website it looked as if the Brailliant was supported from version 10. Is this for 32-bit only? Just curious to know. Regards, Roger. From lynne at mac-access.net Thu Jan 5 13:24:35 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:24:35 +0000 Subject: Screen-Reader environment files for a programme Message-ID: <1F9FEFAF-9673-436C-B4B1-A7623D82FD78@mac-access.net> Hello everybody Would anybody happen to know if there are screen-reader environments kicking around for OTS DJ Pro Classic version 1.85 or later? I know that some of the JFW files and possibly some of the Window-Eyes scripts are locked and you have to pay for them. I'm not interested in those, only the free ones to get us started. It is a very long time since Gordon played around with OTS DJ Pro Classic, and he says he can't quite remember all the ins and outs of the software. Thank you for any help. Lynne From gordon at mac-access.net Thu Jan 5 17:00:58 2012 From: gordon at mac-access.net (Gordon Smith) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 17:00:58 +0000 Subject: Jaws For Windows In-Reply-To: <20120103115133.vs13nhepwg4w0kk0@webmail.iu.edu> References: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> <20120103115133.vs13nhepwg4w0kk0@webmail.iu.edu> Message-ID: <9516A368-EC99-4164-B903-04A512F0F852@mac-access.net> Hiya Miss Contrary! :) Let me take this PBP, allah Lynne: On 3 Jan 2012, at 16:51, Mary Stores wrote: Glad to see you posting again. It's still very sporadic, but I'm trying. I haven't tested Mocrosoft Office anything with WE, but can say that I've used Outlook 2010, word 2010 and have read one PowerPoint so far using JAWS 13. I have not yet tried out the OCR feature. I guess I haven't needed it. I have not run into any problems. Thank you for that, it's helpful. I'm hoping that I might be able to wangle a license for JFW from a local organisation as I'm hoping to land a teaching position. I have noticed that jAWS crashes IE9 a lot when on web sites using ARIA markup. WE seems to not support ARIA markup very well still at all. Can you point me to such a website please? It could be helpful for testing elsewhere as well. Yes, it's still a delership racket, I am sorry to say. I, too, am very sorry to hear that. The dealership here in the UK is usually alright for selling other products such as the Index Braille embossers but I'd still have to think long and hard before I bought JFW from them again. Unfortunately, FS says " get a loan if you need to." Blah! That's disgusting! I fully understand that development and production cost money. But I honestly think that attitude stinks. Oh, and please, please don't get my other half talking about that because you'd never hear the end of it. She is a fierce socialist. :) Well, JAWS has had auto forms mode for quite a while now. Whenever it encounters a form element, if auto forms mode is turned on (which it is by default) you won't have to keep reactivating it. I hope you can find that helpful. Yes, I have heard that and it's a good thing. I must start learning to use the thing problem and pretty quickly. I also believe that Duxbury works well with JFW too, I see that there are scripts for it. Thank you Mary for your very helpful response. Gordon From gordon at mac-access.net Thu Jan 5 17:01:46 2012 From: gordon at mac-access.net (Gordon Smith) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 17:01:46 +0000 Subject: JFW In-Reply-To: <20120103123805.r640ac4k084s04kk@webmail.iu.edu> References: <87E8D8A9-7674-43A8-A1D2-DB7BB2398488@mac-access.net> <369902AEDDDB4AE5A6200F8485B11521@acer4d025c48b8> <03959254-30E9-49B5-B9B9-59BC42681841@mac-access.net> <20120103123805.r640ac4k084s04kk@webmail.iu.edu> Message-ID: <863C1ED4-E389-472D-8E2F-7583432273DE@mac-access.net> Hi Mary I have a contact who until recently worked for Humanware Europe[s technical support department. Just before he left, Tom very kindly gave me the 64-bit drivers for Windows 7 and all of the HW Braille displays. If anybody would like them they're more than welcome to them. I'm wondering whether JFW would pick that up if you installed them, or does it require dedicated JFW compliant drivers? It's a bit irritating actually because with Window-Eyes, I didn't even have to install a driver at all. All I did was to pair the display as a Bluetooth device, and it was automatically allocated a virtual serial port. Then, I just told Window-Eyes which display to look for and which serial port it was using and, wallah, away we jolly well went! I need to find out how, if at all, you can do the same thing with NVDA. Nobody seems to know ? including the UK distributor of InfoVox 3 which ships on a thumb drive (if you buy the Inkey version), alongside NVDA and Thunder screen-readers. I did have a brief look at NVDA last year, but then other things sort of got in the way. Gordon From mstores at indiana.edu Thu Jan 5 19:51:19 2012 From: mstores at indiana.edu (Mary Stores) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 14:51:19 -0500 Subject: Jaws For Windows In-Reply-To: <9516A368-EC99-4164-B903-04A512F0F852@mac-access.net> References: <3F65973B-6ECD-40F6-8A1B-E5C9198C32CB@mac-access.net> <20120103115133.vs13nhepwg4w0kk0@webmail.iu.edu> <9516A368-EC99-4164-B903-04A512F0F852@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <20120105145119.lrsl8t72v4w8wos4@webmail.iu.edu> Actually, the three web sites I've been to recently have all been sites where people used ARIA markup, and they wanted us to test them. I just realized that. So I cannot give you a link to them yet. I am sorry. It just seems there are a lot of them out there, but apparently only ones I visit. hahaha Quoting Gordon Smith : > Can you point me to such a website please? It could be helpful for > testing elsewhere as well. From grtdane at internode.on.net Thu Jan 5 22:48:16 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 09:48:16 +1100 Subject: Bose Wave II Radio Demo Message-ID: <3D4EE762-1951-47EC-88F1-5A49895E91DB@internode.on.net> Hi! An exclusive offer to fello members of this list . I was asked to knock up a small demo of the Bose Wave II Radio by a friend of mine, that was done and upon playing it back I decided that this demo would be good enough to share with those who may be interested. Tehre are 2 versions available, a MP3 and a FLAC version, the FLAC version will give you the best audio quality however some people may not be able to play it, here are links to download the both files. Find the FLAC version at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10565527/Bose%20Wave%20Radio%20II.flac Find the MP3 version at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10565527/Bose%20Wave%20Radio%20II.mp3 The demo lasts for around 5 minutes. From hopewell at hopewell.org.uk Fri Jan 6 22:40:57 2012 From: hopewell at hopewell.org.uk (Paul Hopewell) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:40:57 +0000 Subject: Anyone using the giffgaff mobile network? Message-ID: <96A7416E-1F2B-43AD-9B04-CD6A62EB022B@hopewell.org.uk> Hello, Are any listers using the giffgaff mobile phone network (see www.giffgaff.com)? I am keen to use this on my iPhone 3GS as it offers 250 talk minutes, unlimited text and unlimited internet data for just ?10 per month. I have a giffgaff SIM card and a giffgaff account but am failing to activate the SIM card because I cannot add any credit to my account. I have tried this with Safari and Google Chrome under VoiceOver on my iMac and with firefox and Internet Explorer using WindowEyes on Windoes. If any lister has succeeded or has found a bypass then please let me know! Many thanks. Paul Hopewell From marrie12 at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 23:05:02 2012 From: marrie12 at gmail.com (Sarah Alawami) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 15:05:02 -0800 Subject: Anyone using the giffgaff mobile network? In-Reply-To: <96A7416E-1F2B-43AD-9B04-CD6A62EB022B@hopewell.org.uk> References: <96A7416E-1F2B-43AD-9B04-CD6A62EB022B@hopewell.org.uk> Message-ID: <73356C66-D068-4575-9C70-CFF1F754373E@gmail.com> If all fails can you call a rep and have them do it for you? Take care. On Jan 6, 2012, at 2:40 PM, Paul Hopewell wrote: > Hello, > Are any listers using the giffgaff mobile phone network (see www.giffgaff.com)? I am keen to use this on my iPhone 3GS as it offers 250 talk minutes, unlimited text and unlimited internet data for just ?10 per month. > > I have a giffgaff SIM card and a giffgaff account but am failing to activate the SIM card because I cannot add any credit to my account. I have tried this with Safari and Google Chrome under VoiceOver on my iMac and with firefox and Internet Explorer using WindowEyes on Windoes. > If any lister has succeeded or has found a bypass then please let me know! > Many thanks. > > Paul Hopewell > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Sat Jan 7 07:48:17 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 18:48:17 +1100 Subject: Taking The Punt On A New Device Message-ID: Hi Everyone and a Happy New Year to you all, new Years greetings seem to be thin on the ground so perhaps that's an indication of what sort of year we're going to have? Well not if I can help it . Anyway to other matters of far more importance. An online seller with whom I do regular business with today offered me a USB FM/AM/DAB/DAB+/TV Tuner USB stick for $25.00 Australian Dollars including delivery to my door. To me this was an offer I couldn't refuse, even if I can't get the beast working under Window-Eyes which I'm sorry to say will be most likely I'm sure then at least I can try another approach or at the very worst! it will make a very nice gift for someone who can make use of it. Now I'm going to give Twitter a mention again because its come to my rescue, no sooner did I mention that I'd bought one of these tuner sticks then I received quite a few messages from people who use Screen reading technology who own these devices, it seems that users of JAWS 13 have no trouble using the Tuner Stick whatever thanks to the OCR technology employed, they can see the channels and therefore click on the one they wish to listen to, record etc so that's neat! The software supplied with the Tuner does not I'm told have any keyboard shortcuts which is a shame and seems to be very poorly written however users of Windows 7 can take full advantage of the tuner by using the Windows Media centre. I also heard of others who have used this Tuner under LYNUX quite successfully, it would appear that LYNUX is the best operating environment for this tuner. Anyway I'll keep the list informed of my progress with this device, should have it this time next week. From grtdane at internode.on.net Mon Jan 9 10:59:53 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 21:59:53 +1100 Subject: Weather station arrived Message-ID: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> Subject line says it all, I've taken a quick look and I hope to describe what I've found. Firstly the person with lack of vision is most likely going to require some help to install the system. The whole kit is nicely packaged in a rather large box. The first thing I noticed was the weather station itself, its a large square box designed to fit on a wall or a desk and the screen is huge, I'd imagine the screen is the size it is so that both indoor and outdoor measurements can be displayed at the same time. The box has 2 sockets, a USB port - for connection to a computer - and a 3.5MM jack, not sure what exactly this is for though I suspect its probably for another external sensor, hope the manual tells us more when we bother to read it . The box takes 2 bAA type batteries which are claimed to last for 2 years. Then there are the sensors for various outdoor weather measurement functions such as wind speed, rainfall, pressure and so on. Each sensor has a wire like a telephone lead coming out of these and the plugs plug into a central wireless unit that's mounted outside along with the sensors, the sensors and station inside communicate wirelessly. The outdoor wireless transmitter takes a further 2 batteries of the same type mentioned before. There are a whole heap of poles and mounting brackets so I'll save them for sorting when Dad comes up, give him something to do . Now to the software I'll be using which is the Cumulus Weather software which is available free of charge, it looks nicely accessible when I had another look at it today though I suspect that a considerable amount of time is going to be spent tweaking the software to exactly match the details of my weather station setup. The user can publish the data from his/her station in a variety of ways, on Twitter for example or devote a whole web page to what your weather is doing in your area. Unfortunately I can go no further with experimentation of the software until my Weather Station is up and running so I'll keep you all informed and with luck this time next week I should have a working product of some description. From lynne at mac-access.net Mon Jan 9 21:43:39 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 21:43:39 +0000 Subject: Weather station arrived In-Reply-To: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> References: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <10991992-6E62-45C6-85BC-C8ECE862E9F2@mac-access.net> Hello Dane What you neglected to say wear which station you have, and if it isn't too impertinent a question, roughly, what price did you pay for it? If you'd rather not answer that's fine. We could actually have quite a lot of use for that within a project that we want to get off the ground later in the year. Of course I'm just hypothesising at the moment; it may never happen. But, well we will see. Lynne On 9 Jan 2012, at 10:59, Dane Trethowan wrote: Subject line says it all, I've taken a quick look and I hope to describe what I've found. Firstly the person with lack of vision is most likely going to require some help to install the system. The whole kit is nicely packaged in a rather large box. The first thing I noticed was the weather station itself, its a large square box designed to fit on a wall or a desk and the screen is huge, I'd imagine the screen is the size it is so that both indoor and outdoor measurements can be displayed at the same time. The box has 2 sockets, a USB port - for connection to a computer - and a 3.5MM jack, not sure what exactly this is for though I suspect its probably for another external sensor, hope the manual tells us more when we bother to read it . The box takes 2 bAA type batteries which are claimed to last for 2 years. Then there are the sensors for various outdoor weather measurement functions such as wind speed, rainfall, pressure and so on. Each sensor has a wire like a telephone lead coming out of these and the plugs plug into a central wireless unit that's mounted outside along with the sensors, the sensors and station inside communicate wirelessly. The outdoor wireless transmitter takes a further 2 batteries of the same type mentioned before. There are a whole heap of poles and mounting brackets so I'll save them for sorting when Dad comes up, give him something to do . Now to the software I'll be using which is the Cumulus Weather software which is available free of charge, it looks nicely accessible when I had another look at it today though I suspect that a considerable amount of time is going to be spent tweaking the software to exactly match the details of my weather station setup. The user can publish the data from his/her station in a variety of ways, on Twitter for example or devote a whole web page to what your weather is doing in your area. Unfortunately I can go no further with experimentation of the software until my Weather Station is up and running so I'll keep you all informed and with luck this time next week I should have a working product of some description. ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Mon Jan 9 22:42:06 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:42:06 +1100 Subject: Weather station arrived In-Reply-To: <10991992-6E62-45C6-85BC-C8ECE862E9F2@mac-access.net> References: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> <10991992-6E62-45C6-85BC-C8ECE862E9F2@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <4F0B6D3E.8030603@internode.on.net> I gave all the details for this kit in my original message on the thread where I listed the station, its specs etc. On 10/01/2012 8:43 AM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello Dane > > What you neglected to say wear which station you have, and if it isn't too impertinent a question, roughly, what price did you pay for it? If you'd rather not answer that's fine. We could actually have quite a lot of use for that within a project that we want to get off the ground later in the year. > > Of course I'm just hypothesising at the moment; it may never happen. But, well we will see. > > Lynne > > > On 9 Jan 2012, at 10:59, Dane Trethowan wrote: > > Subject line says it all, I've taken a quick look and I hope to describe what I've found. > > Firstly the person with lack of vision is most likely going to require some help to install the system. > > The whole kit is nicely packaged in a rather large box. > > The first thing I noticed was the weather station itself, its a large square box designed to fit on a wall or a desk and the screen is huge, I'd imagine the screen is the size it is so that both indoor and outdoor measurements can be displayed at the same time. > > The box has 2 sockets, a USB port - for connection to a computer - and a 3.5MM jack, not sure what exactly this is for though I suspect its probably for another external sensor, hope the manual tells us more when we bother to read it. > > The box takes 2 bAA type batteries which are claimed to last for 2 years. > > Then there are the sensors for various outdoor weather measurement functions such as wind speed, rainfall, pressure and so on. > > Each sensor has a wire like a telephone lead coming out of these and the plugs plug into a central wireless unit that's mounted outside along with the sensors, the sensors and station inside communicate wirelessly. > > The outdoor wireless transmitter takes a further 2 batteries of the same type mentioned before. > > There are a whole heap of poles and mounting brackets so I'll save them for sorting when Dad comes up, give him something to do. > > Now to the software I'll be using which is the Cumulus Weather software which is available free of charge, it looks nicely accessible when I had another look at it today though I suspect that a considerable amount of time is going to be spent tweaking the software to exactly match the details of my weather station setup. > > The user can publish the data from his/her station in a variety of ways, on Twitter for example or devote a whole web page to what your weather is doing in your area. > > Unfortunately I can go no further with experimentation of the software until my Weather Station is up and running so I'll keep you all informed and with luck this time next week I should have a working product of some description. > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From djden at thejazzden.org.uk Mon Jan 9 23:24:59 2012 From: djden at thejazzden.org.uk (Thejazzden) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 23:24:59 +0000 Subject: Weather station arrived In-Reply-To: <4F0B6D3E.8030603@internode.on.net> References: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> <10991992-6E62-45C6-85BC-C8ECE862E9F2@mac-access.net> <4F0B6D3E.8030603@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <9D84F6E2-BD53-49AC-B7FA-F60D11C81452@thejazzden.org.uk> Apart from manufacturer and model, Dane. :) I am seriously looking too but would love to have one with an ultraviolet/Lux sensor to record hours of sunshine. I know some weather stations have provision for extra sensors. As said earlier, the Sanday software you mention looks pretty good. I see that Maplin have a good offer on EBay here in the Uk and there are many others on EBay and also on Amazon. Cost between ?60-130 here depending on what you get - touch screen or normal display, number of sensors, mountings for sensors and wifi transmitter, etc. Glad you started this, Dane, has really awakened my interest. And my birthday's at the end of the month. :) Dennis. Dennis Freedman The best aromatherapy in the UK - www.e-nat.co.uk Sent from my iPhone On 9 Jan 2012, at 22:42, Dane trethowan wrote: > I gave all the details for this kit in my original message on the thread where I listed the station, its specs etc. > > > > On 10/01/2012 8:43 AM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >> Hello Dane >> >> What you neglected to say wear which station you have, and if it isn't too impertinent a question, roughly, what price did you pay for it? If you'd rather not answer that's fine. We could actually have quite a lot of use for that within a project that we want to get off the ground later in the year. >> >> Of course I'm just hypothesising at the moment; it may never happen. But, well we will see. >> >> Lynne >> >> >> On 9 Jan 2012, at 10:59, Dane Trethowan wrote: >> >> Subject line says it all, I've taken a quick look and I hope to describe what I've found. >> >> Firstly the person with lack of vision is most likely going to require some help to install the system. >> >> The whole kit is nicely packaged in a rather large box. >> >> The first thing I noticed was the weather station itself, its a large square box designed to fit on a wall or a desk and the screen is huge, I'd imagine the screen is the size it is so that both indoor and outdoor measurements can be displayed at the same time. >> >> The box has 2 sockets, a USB port - for connection to a computer - and a 3.5MM jack, not sure what exactly this is for though I suspect its probably for another external sensor, hope the manual tells us more when we bother to read it. >> >> The box takes 2 bAA type batteries which are claimed to last for 2 years. >> >> Then there are the sensors for various outdoor weather measurement functions such as wind speed, rainfall, pressure and so on. >> >> Each sensor has a wire like a telephone lead coming out of these and the plugs plug into a central wireless unit that's mounted outside along with the sensors, the sensors and station inside communicate wirelessly. >> >> The outdoor wireless transmitter takes a further 2 batteries of the same type mentioned before. >> >> There are a whole heap of poles and mounting brackets so I'll save them for sorting when Dad comes up, give him something to do. >> >> Now to the software I'll be using which is the Cumulus Weather software which is available free of charge, it looks nicely accessible when I had another look at it today though I suspect that a considerable amount of time is going to be spent tweaking the software to exactly match the details of my weather station setup. >> >> The user can publish the data from his/her station in a variety of ways, on Twitter for example or devote a whole web page to what your weather is doing in your area. >> >> Unfortunately I can go no further with experimentation of the software until my Weather Station is up and running so I'll keep you all informed and with luck this time next week I should have a working product of some description. >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > -- > sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 10 00:00:25 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:25 +1100 Subject: Weather station arrived In-Reply-To: <9D84F6E2-BD53-49AC-B7FA-F60D11C81452@thejazzden.org.uk> References: <61F13E66-62E5-454A-8715-C4538E1F6611@internode.on.net> <10991992-6E62-45C6-85BC-C8ECE862E9F2@mac-access.net> <4F0B6D3E.8030603@internode.on.net> <9D84F6E2-BD53-49AC-B7FA-F60D11C81452@thejazzden.org.uk> Message-ID: <6EF41A71-AAAB-4723-8C81-AC5113504B17@internode.on.net> I'm sure mine is one of the cheaper models, I know someone who has one and his seems to be working okay as demonstrated on the web page and Twitter feeds , so if I can get mine doing what his does through Cumulus then that will do me just fine. I don't think my model has a touch screen, its a huge screen all the same though as I said previously, I think the idea is to allow the displaying of both indoor and outdoor conditions. You can also set alarms to alert you of weather conditions though how this is done I'm not yet sure, I mean I'm not sure whether its done through the Cumulus software, or through the weather station box itself. On 10/01/2012, at 10:24 AM, Thejazzden wrote: > Apart from manufacturer and model, Dane. :) > I am seriously looking too but would love to have one with an ultraviolet/Lux sensor to record hours of sunshine. I know some weather stations have provision for extra sensors. > As said earlier, the Sanday software you mention looks pretty good. > I see that Maplin have a good offer on EBay here in the Uk and there are many others on EBay and also on Amazon. Cost between ?60-130 here depending on what you get - touch screen or normal display, number of sensors, mountings for sensors and wifi transmitter, etc. > Glad you started this, Dane, has really awakened my interest. And my birthday's at the end of the month. :) > Dennis. > > Dennis Freedman > The best aromatherapy in the UK - www.e-nat.co.uk > Sent from my iPhone > > > On 9 Jan 2012, at 22:42, Dane trethowan wrote: > >> I gave all the details for this kit in my original message on the thread where I listed the station, its specs etc. >> >> >> >> On 10/01/2012 8:43 AM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >>> Hello Dane >>> >>> What you neglected to say wear which station you have, and if it isn't too impertinent a question, roughly, what price did you pay for it? If you'd rather not answer that's fine. We could actually have quite a lot of use for that within a project that we want to get off the ground later in the year. >>> >>> Of course I'm just hypothesising at the moment; it may never happen. But, well we will see. >>> >>> Lynne >>> >>> >>> On 9 Jan 2012, at 10:59, Dane Trethowan wrote: >>> >>> Subject line says it all, I've taken a quick look and I hope to describe what I've found. >>> >>> Firstly the person with lack of vision is most likely going to require some help to install the system. >>> >>> The whole kit is nicely packaged in a rather large box. >>> >>> The first thing I noticed was the weather station itself, its a large square box designed to fit on a wall or a desk and the screen is huge, I'd imagine the screen is the size it is so that both indoor and outdoor measurements can be displayed at the same time. >>> >>> The box has 2 sockets, a USB port - for connection to a computer - and a 3.5MM jack, not sure what exactly this is for though I suspect its probably for another external sensor, hope the manual tells us more when we bother to read it. >>> >>> The box takes 2 bAA type batteries which are claimed to last for 2 years. >>> >>> Then there are the sensors for various outdoor weather measurement functions such as wind speed, rainfall, pressure and so on. >>> >>> Each sensor has a wire like a telephone lead coming out of these and the plugs plug into a central wireless unit that's mounted outside along with the sensors, the sensors and station inside communicate wirelessly. >>> >>> The outdoor wireless transmitter takes a further 2 batteries of the same type mentioned before. >>> >>> There are a whole heap of poles and mounting brackets so I'll save them for sorting when Dad comes up, give him something to do. >>> >>> Now to the software I'll be using which is the Cumulus Weather software which is available free of charge, it looks nicely accessible when I had another look at it today though I suspect that a considerable amount of time is going to be spent tweaking the software to exactly match the details of my weather station setup. >>> >>> The user can publish the data from his/her station in a variety of ways, on Twitter for example or devote a whole web page to what your weather is doing in your area. >>> >>> Unfortunately I can go no further with experimentation of the software until my Weather Station is up and running so I'll keep you all informed and with luck this time next week I should have a working product of some description. >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> -- >> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 10 03:44:03 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:44:03 +1100 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> Message-ID: <4F0BB403.7010104@internode.on.net> Has your iPod Dock arrived and if so what do you think of it? Forgot to mention that the Dock has a LCD display in the top right-hand corner. On 3/01/2012 10:58 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: > Hi, > I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. > Thanks, > Courtney > > > Sent from my macbook air > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- -- Dane Trethowan From Melton Victoria Australia skype callto:grtdane12 MSN: grtdane at dane-trethowan.net From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 10 03:52:31 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:52:31 +1100 Subject: Weather Station Finally arrived Message-ID: <4F0BB5FF.10006@internode.on.net> Hi! I've tracked down the original message on the subject of my weather station which contains a full description. Think the original message as set out below was posted towards the end of last year. Subject line says it all, should have this on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. I won't be using the software that comes with the station as I have another quite accessible alternative to use called Cumulus, this software will publish the data from the station to various places including Twitter, Facebook, the web etc, if you follow me @grtdane on Twitter then you'll see that I'm following the progress of my friend's weather station in Queensland, he's set his to publish updates every 15 minutes. Below is a summary of what this kit has to offer, its not the most expensive Weather Station around but for the $85.00 I paid I think it offers great vallue for the buck . You will be able to get almost all of your local weather data within your yard with this weather station. All weather data could be upload to your PC and processed and displayed with Easy Weather software. Functions: 1) USB port for easy connection to your PC 2) All the weather data from the base station and weather history data with user adjustable measuring intervals can be recorded and uploaded to your PC 3) Free PC software for transfer weather data to PC, support Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7 4) Rainfall data (inches or millimeters): 1-hour, 24-hour, one week, one month and total since last reset. 5) Wind chill and Dew point temperature display (?F or ?C) 6)Records min. and max. wind chill and Dew point with time and date stamp 7) Wind speed (mph, m/s, km/h, knots, Beaufort) 8) Wind direction display with LCD compass 9) Weather forecast tendency arrow 10) Weather alarm modes for: a) Temperature b) Humidity c) Wind chill d) Dew point e) Rainfall f) Wind speed g) Air pressure h) Storm warning 11) Forecast icons based on changing barometric pressure 12) Barometric pressure (inHg or hPa) with 0.1hPa resolution 13) Wireless outdoor and indoor humidity (% RH) 14) Records min. and max. humidity with time and date stamp 15) Wireless outdoor and indoor temperature (? F or ?C) 16) Records min. and max. temperature with time and date stamp 17) Time and date manual setting 18) 12 or 24-hour time display 19) Perpetual calendar 20) Time zone setting 21) Time alarm 22) High light LED backlight 23) Wall hanging or free standing 24) Synchronized instant reception 25) Low power consumption (over 2 years battery life for transmitter) Specifications: 1) Outdoor temperature range: -40.0?C to + 65.0?C (-40?F to +149?F) 2) Indoor temperature range: 0?C to + 50.0?C (32?F to +122?F) 3) Humidity range: 10% to 99% (1% resolution) 4) Rain volume display: 0 - 9999mm (show OFL if outside range) Resolution : 0.3mm (if rain volume < 1000mm); 1mm (if rain volume > 1000mm) 5) Wind speed: 0~100mph (show OFL if outside range) 6) Measuring range air pressure: 27.13inHg - 31.89inHg Resolution : 0.01inHg 7) Alarm duration : 120 sec 8) Transmission range up to 100m (330 feet) 9) Power consumption: a) Receiver: 3 x AA alkaline batteries (not included) b) Sensor WH7: 2 x AA alkaline batteries (not included) 10) Transmission frequency: 433MHz Easy weather software on Windows 7 : Package: 1) Receiver (Base station) 2) Four outdoor sensors (thermo-hydro transmitter, wind speed sensor, wind direction sensor, and rain gauge) 3) Mounting kits 4) Software CD 5) USB cable 6) Quality colour Box -- Dane Trethowan From Melton Victoria Australia skype callto:grtdane12 MSN: grtdane at dane-trethowan.net ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated webpages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From moopiecurran at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 03:46:33 2012 From: moopiecurran at gmail.com (Courtney Curran) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 22:46:33 -0500 Subject: altec lansing imt 520 In-Reply-To: <4F0BB403.7010104@internode.on.net> References: <9E24BE28-A50B-4507-8FE2-839FCCBA02AF@gmail.com> <4F0BB403.7010104@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <7582E2DB-7F4B-4959-91BE-AC112687FCAF@gmail.com> Hi, Oops, I forgot to mention it, yes, it arrived. I really like it a lot. Especially the ability to change songs without unlocking the screen. The rechargeable battery is convinient too. It has wonderful sound. I like it a lot. Courtney Sent from my macbook air On Jan 9, 2012, at 10:44 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > Has your iPod Dock arrived and if so what do you think of it? > > Forgot to mention that the Dock has a LCD display in the top right-hand corner. > > > > On 3/01/2012 10:58 AM, Courtney Curran wrote: >> Hi, >> I ordered my Altec Lansing In Motion Kick 520 portable speaker dock for ipod and iPhone on Friday. It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday because of the holiday. I have a question, since I know somebody on the list has one of these docks. About what size and weight is the dock, is it really portable? I'm excited to get it this week. >> Thanks, >> Courtney >> >> >> Sent from my macbook air >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > -- > Dane Trethowan > From Melton Victoria Australia > skype callto:grtdane12 > MSN: grtdane at dane-trethowan.net > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From lynne at mac-access.net Tue Jan 10 16:43:58 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:43:58 +0000 Subject: Talking white cane Message-ID: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> Hello everybody Gordon, my other half, is shortly going to be starting a refresher course in casework with a mobility instructor. We were talking with our social worker yesterday, she's arranging this. But the point I'm making is that she was speaking about a talking ball-cane. I've seen people walking around town with these things, and instead of tapping the cane on the ground as you used to have to do, from what I've seen you just role the ball across the ground in front of you as you walk and the cane seems to tell you whether an obstacle or a curb is imminent in your walk-path. Does anybody know anything about these things please? I'm curious as to how the cane gets its spoken information to the user; surely not through the cane itself or els how would you hear it in heavy traffic, etc.? Gordon is apparently going to be given one of these things so I would be grateful for any information. Lynne From moore.c at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Jan 10 16:56:48 2012 From: moore.c at blueyonder.co.uk (Chris Moore) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:56:48 +0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> Message-ID: Lynne, i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. Chris On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:43, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello everybody > > Gordon, my other half, is shortly going to be starting a refresher course in casework with a mobility instructor. We were talking with our social worker yesterday, she's arranging this. But the point I'm making is that she was speaking about a talking ball-cane. > > I've seen people walking around town with these things, and instead of tapping the cane on the ground as you used to have to do, from what I've seen you just role the ball across the ground in front of you as you walk and the cane seems to tell you whether an obstacle or a curb is imminent in your walk-path. > > Does anybody know anything about these things please? I'm curious as to how the cane gets its spoken information to the user; surely not through the cane itself or els how would you hear it in heavy traffic, etc.? > > Gordon is apparently going to be given one of these things so I would be grateful for any information. > > Lynne > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From martin at x.it.okstate.edu Tue Jan 10 17:41:43 2012 From: martin at x.it.okstate.edu (Martin McCormick) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:41:43 -0600 Subject: Talking white cane Message-ID: <201201101741.q0AHfhSo094179@x.it.okstate.edu> Those are good questions. I have been using the standard white cane since around 1967 and there really are some ways that electronics could enhance it but I haven't heard of anything yet that sounds like what we call a killer application. Here's the problem. The cane is an extension of our hand and transmits a lot of information mechanically back to us about what is just ahead and to the sides as you swing it back and forth. Our ears really need to be fully tuned in to the surroundings such as traffic or work going on so that channel is pretty much occupied all the time and doesn't need any more inputs competing with a busy world. When there is nobody around on a peaceful day, you could stand to hear all sorts of prompts and tones from your cane that could tell you about overhead branches and things off to the sides, but the world can get very noisy and confusing very quickly. I am talking about hardly being able to hear yourself think due to construction or heavy vehicles or even high wind. At that point, you suddenly loose that channel because it is effectively jammed completely by racket. About the only thing that still works is your sense of touch so devices that transmit vibrations to your hands or even other parts of your body such as the neck or back or even the stomach could be used but anything that talks is going to have to be either right in your ear or able to be hugely loud to do any good. I once got to try out a beautifully built device made in New Zealand called Sonic Glasses. It used ultrasound to detect obstacles in your path and it worked as advertised and also was quite expensive due to all that miniaturized electronics, but what I instantly realized was that if you were wearing them, it blocked your hearing slightly by having ear pieces in one's ears, but even more so, the sounds it made could easily cover up oncoming traffic or some other sound you might normally need to hear. It wasn't meant to replace the white cane, but to me, it was more of a distraction most of the time. I remember somewhat hesitantly telling this to the pleasant fellow from New Zealand who was representing the company and who was nice enough to let me try on the device and walk around the building for a few minutes. It was fun to play with, but I didn't see it as a breakthrough. Find out how the cane works under ear-splitting noise that is coming at you from many directions. I almost got hit, one day, when I crossed a street during a very gusty afternoon. The wind was right in my ears and I almost didn't hear a slow car coming up from a less-busy street in to a much busier intersection. It was a white-nuckle moment for both me and the lady who almost hit me. That's when some electronic way of registering that a car was moving in to the path would have been very useful. Martin "Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith" writes: > Hello everybody > > Gordon, my other half, is shortly going to be starting a refresher course > in casework with a mobility instructor. We were talking with our social > worker yesterday, she's arranging this. But the point I'm making is that > she was speaking about a talking ball-cane. > > I've seen people walking around town with these things, and instead of > tapping the cane on the ground as you used to have to do, from what I've > seen you just role the ball across the ground in front of you as you walk > and the cane seems to tell you whether an obstacle or a curb is imminent > in your walk-path. > > Does anybody know anything about these things please? I'm curious as to > how the cane gets its spoken information to the user; surely not through > the cane itself or els how would you hear it in heavy traffic, etc.? From mstores at indiana.edu Tue Jan 10 17:52:38 2012 From: mstores at indiana.edu (Mary Stores) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:52:38 -0500 Subject: Talking white cane In-Reply-To: <201201101741.q0AHfhSo094179@x.it.okstate.edu> References: <201201101741.q0AHfhSo094179@x.it.okstate.edu> Message-ID: <20120110125238.87tgjvc9w48sws8w@webmail.iu.edu> Hello, I really don't have anything to add to Martin's message. I will say I tried out the ... I think it's called the ultracane? It has electronic censors in it, and when there are objects overhead or in front of you, it vibrates different parts of the cane to indicate in which direction there are obstacles. I think I might have liked it if I could get used to the directions and equate them with how I was walking. But I don't know how you would hear anything in traffic like Martin said. Even when I have tried GPS devices, I have found them slightly distracting because I am listening for traffic and the like. Mary Quoting Martin McCormick : > Those are good questions. I have been using the standard white > cane since around 1967 and there really are some ways that > electronics could enhance it but I haven't heard of anything yet > that sounds like what we call a killer application. > > Here's the problem. The cane is an extension of our hand > and transmits a lot of information mechanically back to us about > what is just ahead and to the sides as you swing it back and > forth. > > Our ears really need to be fully tuned in to the > surroundings such as traffic or work going on so that channel is > pretty much occupied all the time and doesn't need any more > inputs competing with a busy world. When there is nobody around > on a peaceful day, you could stand to hear all sorts of prompts > and tones from your cane that could tell you about overhead > branches and things off to the sides, but the world can get very > noisy and confusing very quickly. I am talking about hardly > being able to hear yourself think due to construction or heavy > vehicles or even high wind. At that point, you suddenly loose > that channel because it is effectively jammed completely by > racket. About the only thing that still works is your sense of > touch so devices that transmit vibrations to your hands or even > other parts of your body such as the neck or back or even the > stomach could be used but anything that talks is going to have > to be either right in your ear or able to be hugely loud to do > any good. > From martin at x.it.okstate.edu Tue Jan 10 20:04:31 2012 From: martin at x.it.okstate.edu (Martin McCormick) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:04:31 -0600 Subject: Talking white cane Message-ID: <201201102004.q0AK4VVH094823@x.it.okstate.edu> Making various parts of the handle of the cane vibrate sounds like a very good idea. Your thumb is usually against the top of the handle so if you felt a vibration there, it could mean something just above your head like a tree branch or some sort of overhang that might be trouble. One would hope it would ignore ceilings and things that were detectable but too far away to be in the way. Yes, you've got to hear that traffic more than anything else. One day while walking home, there was construction on the other side of the street from me. It was not any direct concern to me but they were using a concrete saw or maybe a concrete finisher or something similar. Those things sound like a buzz saw and make a steady sound that owns the world right in that area. I was walking along a very busy street with the buzz saw on the other side and thanking every deity whose name I could conger up that I didn't have to cross any streets right there because there was so much noise that I couldn't hear the cars passing not 6 feet from where I was. I could tell, however, when one passed because the sound of the machine would suddenly decrease and not sound so near as a car went between me and the machine, creating a sound shadow. There's no way you could hear traffic at that point to cross safely. At least that noise jamming only lasted a few days. Martin Mary Stores writes: > I really don't have anything to add to Martin's message. I will say I > tried > out the ... I think it's called the ultracane? It has electronic censors > in > it, and when there are objects overhead or in front of you, it vibrates > different parts of the cane to indicate in which direction there are > obstacles. I think I might have liked it if I could get used to the > directions and equate them with how I was walking. > > > > But I don't know how you would hear anything in traffic like Martin said. > Even when I have tried GPS devices, I have found them slightly distracting > because I am listening for traffic and the like. From lynne at mac-access.net Wed Jan 11 11:14:19 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:14:19 +0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> Hello Chris On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: ? i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. ? Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. Lynne From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 11 13:01:55 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:01:55 +1100 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> <5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> Message-ID: I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking cane. I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within would be a problem. I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello Chris > > On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: > > ? i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. > > We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. > > I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. > > ? Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. > > This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. > > This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. > Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. > > Lynne > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From d.griffith at btinternet.com Wed Jan 11 13:17:49 2012 From: d.griffith at btinternet.com (David Griffith) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:17:49 -0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> Message-ID: <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination apart from voice recognition. Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this information. David Griffith -----Original Message----- From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking cane. I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within would be a problem. I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello Chris > > On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: > > . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. > > We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. > > I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. > > . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. > > This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. > > This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. > Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. > > Lynne > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, > virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's > dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 11 23:10:28 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:10:28 +1100 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> Message-ID: <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: > I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit > from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic > street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination > apart from voice recognition. > Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web > support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this > information. > > David Griffith > > > -----Original Message----- > From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net > [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan > Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 > To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! > Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot > > I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? > > No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes > GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where > is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically > enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about > footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. > > Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking > cane. > > I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with > a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for > example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within > would be a problem. > > I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind > Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com > > > On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > >> Hello Chris >> >> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >> >> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white > canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without > tapping, but they don't talk. >> >> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much > impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as > intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear > the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a > vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be > practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch > could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't > comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely > impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because > you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I > guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe > 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also > hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >> >> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure > that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are > probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >> >> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is > the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and > improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice > dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >> >> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding > that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via > Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more > research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this > because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >> >> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it > too. >> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow > you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >> >> Lynne >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus > and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web > pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From d.griffith at btinternet.com Thu Jan 12 00:40:41 2012 From: d.griffith at btinternet.com (David Griffith) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:40:41 +0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> Message-ID: There was a lot of discussion on another list I was on and I cannot remember anybody who had bought it who were satisfied. 2 had sent it back to the RNIB. I should have dome so also but unfortunately I was waiting for the RNIBHi Tech team to get back to me with suggestions as to how the device could be made usable. I waited so long I went beyond the 30 days and then could not send it back. My wife was furious with me. The basic problem is that there is no way of entering any designation without speech input. If the device does not like your voice you are up the proverbial. Other users on a list complain that the recognition would only work indoors without any traffic noise or wind. Several of us, including myself, complained that the device had the infuriating habit of interpreting a GPS command as a a request to play a radio station so you would keep on getting weird and wonderful radio stations coming on as you walked along. In theory you could set up contacts by connecting the device to a web site but this section of the site was inaccessible. I left the RNIB to talk to the company to see if the web site could be made accessible. However it was waiting for this to happen that I went over my 30 day return back date. The RNIB have never got back to me with suggestions as to make this kit usable? Even if by some miracle it recognised the destination I wanted to go to there were problems When giving directions it did not distinguish between roads on the left and right so you could not count roads as you walked over them. The battery life was dreadful and I was constantly having to charge to get any life out of it. The only thing it could reliably do was respond to a where am I command. Some people commented that the phone app version is much better than the hardware kit. . David Griffith d.griffith at btinternet.com On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: > Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. > > I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . > > > On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: > >> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit >> from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic >> street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination >> apart from voice recognition. >> Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web >> support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this >> information. >> >> David Griffith >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net >> [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan >> Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 >> To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! >> Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot >> >> I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? >> >> No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes >> GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where >> is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically >> enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about >> footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. >> >> Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking >> cane. >> >> I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with >> a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for >> example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within >> would be a problem. >> >> I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind >> Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com >> >> >> On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >> >>> Hello Chris >>> >>> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >>> >>> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white >> canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without >> tapping, but they don't talk. >>> >>> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much >> impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as >> intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear >> the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a >> vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be >> practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch >> could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't >> comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely >> impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because >> you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I >> guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe >> 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also >> hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >>> >>> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure >> that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are >> probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >>> >>> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is >> the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and >> improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice >> dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >>> >>> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding >> that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via >> Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more >> research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this >> because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >>> >>> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it >> too. >>> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow >> you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >>> >>> Lynne >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >> either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus >> and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web >> pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >> either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Thu Jan 12 00:45:59 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:45:59 +1100 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <6EE9141A-03BF-4F3B-8024-1C1B2799B146@internode.on.net> Okay well I appreciate your points below. This is exactly the opposite to what I'm hearing from someone I know who uses one of these, thus my original interest in the device. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting you down for what you've said and I'm not doubting your comments nor your experiences. If you don't mind me asking, what other email lists are discussing this and other products? That's the problem with this list, being subscribed to it is sometimes like being subscribed to another world, you only get one point of view on something so its most refreshing to see the below comments on a product. On 12/01/2012, at 11:40 AM, David Griffith wrote: > There was a lot of discussion on another list I was on and I cannot remember anybody who had bought it who were satisfied. 2 had sent it back to the RNIB. I should have dome so also but unfortunately I was waiting for the RNIBHi Tech team to get back to me with suggestions as to how the device could be made usable. I waited so long I went beyond the 30 days and then could not send it back. My wife was furious with me. > > The basic problem is that there is no way of entering any designation without speech input. If the device does not like your voice you are up the proverbial. Other users on a list complain that the recognition would only work indoors without any traffic noise or wind. Several of us, including myself, complained that the device had the infuriating habit of interpreting a GPS command as a a request to play a radio station so you would keep on getting weird and wonderful radio stations coming on as you walked along. > In theory you could set up contacts by connecting the device to a web site but this section of the site was inaccessible. I left the RNIB to talk to the company to see if the web site could be made accessible. However it was waiting for this to happen that I went over my 30 day return back date. The RNIB have never got back to me with suggestions as to make this kit usable? > > Even if by some miracle it recognised the destination I wanted to go to there were problems When giving directions it did not distinguish between roads on the left and right so you could not count roads as you walked over them. The battery life was dreadful and I was constantly having to charge to get any life out of it. > > The only thing it could reliably do was respond to a where am I command. > > Some people commented that the phone app version is much better than the hardware kit. > . > > David Griffith > d.griffith at btinternet.com > > > > On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: > >> Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. >> >> I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . >> >> >> On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: >> >>> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit >>> from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic >>> street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination >>> apart from voice recognition. >>> Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web >>> support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this >>> information. >>> >>> David Griffith >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net >>> [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan >>> Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 >>> To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! >>> Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot >>> >>> I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? >>> >>> No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes >>> GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where >>> is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically >>> enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about >>> footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. >>> >>> Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking >>> cane. >>> >>> I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with >>> a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for >>> example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within >>> would be a problem. >>> >>> I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind >>> Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com >>> >>> >>> On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >>> >>>> Hello Chris >>>> >>>> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >>>> >>>> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white >>> canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without >>> tapping, but they don't talk. >>>> >>>> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much >>> impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as >>> intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear >>> the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a >>> vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be >>> practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch >>> could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't >>> comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely >>> impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because >>> you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I >>> guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe >>> 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also >>> hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >>>> >>>> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure >>> that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are >>> probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >>>> >>>> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is >>> the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and >>> improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice >>> dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >>>> >>>> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding >>> that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via >>> Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more >>> research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this >>> because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >>>> >>>> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it >>> too. >>>> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow >>> you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >>>> >>>> Lynne >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>>> virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >>> either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus >>> and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web >>> pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >>> either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From d.griffith at btinternet.com Thu Jan 12 02:23:43 2012 From: d.griffith at btinternet.com (David Griffith) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:23:43 -0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <6EE9141A-03BF-4F3B-8024-1C1B2799B146@internode.on.net> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net><3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8><1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> <6EE9141A-03BF-4F3B-8024-1C1B2799B146@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <94C361FD025E4E0688AF76A690888064@acer4d025c48b8> The other list was the British computer Association of the blind list . They have an archive so you should be able to track down the discussion if you want to. It may be that there are other happy users but I did not see them spring to its defense there. Someone who did not have the device but who used to work for the RNIB did say that the fact it did not recognise voices was not a reason for rejecting the device outright which seemed peculiar to me. . Other users complained that the YouTube video on the device made by the RNIB was made indoors and consequently did not show it struggling in outdoor conditions. The RNIB made a spirited attempt at defending it on the list but as I say I did not see any actual users. The RNIB stressed it was a budget device with accessible features but was not specifically designed for people without sight. However it did not seem particularly budget for me as It cost , I think with delivery ?230 but The RNIB recommended paying more for a different option if people were not satisfied. I think they were referring to the Trekker as a non budget option which people may get better results from. Certainly other people have posted to that list with positive remarks about the Trekker but it does cost a lot more. I think the crucial thing is whether the device finds your voice acceptable and it stands and falls by this, as there is no other way of inputting a destination. I think this inflexibility is very disappointing. At the very least you should be able to dictate a post code or have some way to select characters and numbers from a list to enter the desired post code. Without a feature like this it tends to falls down pretty near the start. It recognizes that I want to start a new journey, it will recognize that I am in London but invariably struggled with the street name. Nobody in my family could get it to recognise the next street to where I live for example whilst we were testing it. This street was called Shernhall Street. Not common but a completely reasonable test which the device failed on. What happens is that you say the street name and it will make 10 guesses. If it does not guess right you have to try again. I remember trying to get it to recognise Wood Street and it was only after I had gone through 3 lots of 10 guesses that I got to a collection of Wood Streets across London and could finally select the right one. Before getting there it came up with weird suggestions - one that stuck in my mind was that for some reason it always thought I was saying Wardour Street if I said Wood Street . My plan, when buying it, was to use it in North Wales whilst on holiday and if you know anything about Welsh place names you will see how impractical the voice input system is without a alternative system of entering destinations is. So If it could actually recognise what I am saying I would happily put up with its other foibles. It may be that the software is happier with US and or Australian voices rather than UK ones. I also live in London which is noisy, with lots of traffic. If you live in a quiet area it may perform better. n I honestly do not know if the firmware has been updated, To be honest I tossed mine into the back of a cupboard last February and have not touched it since. If better firmware has come out I would certainly give it another go as it is just wasted money at the moment. If you buy it make absolutely sure you can send it back if it struggles to comprehend where you want to go. Also you should be aware that when I last looked the web site had whole parts with access problems and links that took you to weird places you did not want to go to. It looks as if things are working and being read, that is until you want to actually do anything like enter a contact. I spent an hour with RNIB Hi Tech on the phone and they admitted they had not tested the site and agreed that it was not usable by a visually impaired person. They were going to get back to me if the web site improved but I have herd nothing. David Griffith. -----Original Message----- From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan Sent: 12 January 2012 00:46 To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot Okay well I appreciate your points below. This is exactly the opposite to what I'm hearing from someone I know who uses one of these, thus my original interest in the device. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting you down for what you've said and I'm not doubting your comments nor your experiences. If you don't mind me asking, what other email lists are discussing this and other products? That's the problem with this list, being subscribed to it is sometimes like being subscribed to another world, you only get one point of view on something so its most refreshing to see the below comments on a product. On 12/01/2012, at 11:40 AM, David Griffith wrote: > There was a lot of discussion on another list I was on and I cannot remember anybody who had bought it who were satisfied. 2 had sent it back to the RNIB. I should have dome so also but unfortunately I was waiting for the RNIBHi Tech team to get back to me with suggestions as to how the device could be made usable. I waited so long I went beyond the 30 days and then could not send it back. My wife was furious with me. > > The basic problem is that there is no way of entering any designation without speech input. If the device does not like your voice you are up the proverbial. Other users on a list complain that the recognition would only work indoors without any traffic noise or wind. Several of us, including myself, complained that the device had the infuriating habit of interpreting a GPS command as a a request to play a radio station so you would keep on getting weird and wonderful radio stations coming on as you walked along. > In theory you could set up contacts by connecting the device to a web > site but this section of the site was inaccessible. I left the RNIB > to talk to the company to see if the web site could be made > accessible. However it was waiting for this to happen that I went over > my 30 day return back date. The RNIB have never got back to me with > suggestions as to make this kit usable > > Even if by some miracle it recognised the destination I wanted to go to there were problems When giving directions it did not distinguish between roads on the left and right so you could not count roads as you walked over them. The battery life was dreadful and I was constantly having to charge to get any life out of it. > > The only thing it could reliably do was respond to a where am I command. > > Some people commented that the phone app version is much better than the hardware kit. > . > > David Griffith > d.griffith at btinternet.com > > > > On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: > >> Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. >> >> I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . >> >> >> On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: >> >>> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit >>> from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic >>> street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any >>> destination apart from voice recognition. >>> Further problems which I can go into if necessary including >>> inaccessible web support but will not clutter up the list unless >>> people want this information. >>> >>> David Griffith >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net >>> [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane >>> Trethowan >>> Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 >>> To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! >>> Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot >>> >>> I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? >>> >>> No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which >>> includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what >>> you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to >>> direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to >>> believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. >>> >>> Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a >>> talking cane. >>> >>> I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge >>> problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on >>> the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think >>> protecting circuitry within would be a problem. >>> >>> I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on >>> Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com >>> >>> >>> On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >>> >>>> Hello Chris >>>> >>>> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >>>> >>>> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get >>>> white >>> canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier >>> without tapping, but they don't talk. >>>> >>>> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty >>>> much >>> impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as >>> intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed >>> to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said >>> also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency >>> vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a >>> sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the >>> frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that >>> because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to >>> have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd >>> need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I >>> guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe >>> 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >>>> >>>> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much >>>> sure >>> that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking >>> canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >>>> >>>> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids >>>> though is >>> the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote >>> control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt >>> support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >>>> >>>> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are >>>> finding >>> that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same >>> iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I >>> will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write >>> you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >>>> >>>> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into >>>> it >>> too. >>>> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't >>>> allow >>> you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >>>> >>>> Lynne >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, >>>> Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>>> group at >>> either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>> ml> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>> group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >> l> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >> l> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> > > >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, > virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's > dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Thu Jan 12 02:49:37 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:49:37 +1100 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: <94C361FD025E4E0688AF76A690888064@acer4d025c48b8> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net><3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8><1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> <6EE9141A-03BF-4F3B-8024-1C1B2799B146@internode.on.net> <94C361FD025E4E0688AF76A690888064@acer4d025c48b8> Message-ID: <423EDC72-94E5-46FE-9942-C75A134FC7F6@internode.on.net> Thank you for all this and again its food for thought though I'm scratching my head wondring why a so-called professional organisation such as the RNIB would produce a Youtube video on a GPS device indoors? Very odd indeed! I have been in London, no not living there as such but on a holiday and I do appreciate where you're coming from when you speak of noise and I can only conclude that - since my visit 21 years ago - the noise factor has most likely become worse. If a device boasting voice recognition can't work in a noisy environment then there's no hope for it, whether that device be the Captain GPS+, an iPhone or anything else. Noise cancelling software is pretty good these days and very cheap. On 12/01/2012, at 1:23 PM, David Griffith wrote: > The other list was the British computer Association of the blind list . They > have an archive so you should be able to track down the discussion if you > want to. > It may be that there are other happy users but I did not see them spring to > its defense there. Someone who did not have the device but who used to work > for the RNIB did say that the fact it did not recognise voices was not a > reason for rejecting the device outright which seemed peculiar to me. . > Other users complained that the YouTube video on the device made by the RNIB > was made indoors and consequently did not show it struggling in outdoor > conditions. The RNIB made a spirited attempt at defending it on the list > but as I say I did not see any actual users. The RNIB stressed it was a > budget device with accessible features but was not specifically designed > for people without sight. However it did not seem particularly budget for > me as It cost , I think with delivery ?230 but The RNIB recommended paying > more for a different option if people were not satisfied. I think they were > referring to the Trekker as a non budget option which people may get better > results from. Certainly other people have posted to that list with positive > remarks about the Trekker but it does cost a lot more. > > I think the crucial thing is whether the device finds your voice acceptable > and it stands and falls by this, as there is no other way of inputting a > destination. I think this inflexibility is very disappointing. At the very > least you should be able to dictate a post code or have some way to select > characters and numbers from a list to enter the desired post code. Without a > feature like this it tends to falls down pretty near the start. It > recognizes that I want to start a new journey, it will recognize that I am > in London but invariably struggled with the street name. Nobody in my family > could get it to recognise the next street to where I live for example whilst > we were testing it. This street was called Shernhall Street. Not common but > a completely reasonable test which the device failed on. What happens is > that you say the street name and it will make 10 guesses. If it does not > guess right you have to try again. I remember trying to get it to recognise > Wood Street and it was only after I had gone through 3 lots of 10 guesses > that I got to a collection of Wood Streets across London and could finally > select the right one. Before getting there it came up with weird suggestions > - one that stuck in my mind was that for some reason it always thought I was > saying Wardour Street if I said Wood Street . My plan, when buying it, was > to use it in North Wales whilst on holiday and if you know anything about > Welsh place names you will see how impractical the voice input system is > without a alternative system of entering destinations is. > > So If it could actually recognise what I am saying I would happily put up > with its other foibles. It may be that the software is happier with US and > or Australian voices rather than UK ones. I also live in London which is > noisy, with lots of traffic. If you live in a quiet area it may perform > better. n I honestly do not know if the firmware has been updated, To be > honest I tossed mine into the back of a cupboard last February and have not > touched it since. If better firmware has come out I would certainly give it > another go as it is just wasted money at the moment. > If you buy it make absolutely sure you can send it back if it struggles to > comprehend where you want to go. Also you should be aware that when I last > looked the web site had whole parts with access problems and links that took > you to weird places you did not want to go to. It looks as if things are > working and being read, that is until you want to actually do anything like > enter a contact. I spent an hour with RNIB Hi Tech on the phone and they > admitted they had not tested the site and agreed that it was not usable by a > visually impaired person. They were going to get back to me if the web site > improved but I have herd nothing. > > > David Griffith. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net > [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan > Sent: 12 January 2012 00:46 > To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! > Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot > > Okay well I appreciate your points below. > > This is exactly the opposite to what I'm hearing from someone I know who > uses one of these, thus my original interest in the device. > > Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting you down for what you've said and I'm > not doubting your comments nor your experiences. > > If you don't mind me asking, what other email lists are discussing this and > other products? That's the problem with this list, being subscribed to it is > sometimes like being subscribed to another world, you only get one point of > view on something so its most refreshing to see the below comments on a > product. > > > On 12/01/2012, at 11:40 AM, David Griffith wrote: > >> There was a lot of discussion on another list I was on and I cannot > remember anybody who had bought it who were satisfied. 2 had sent it back > to the RNIB. I should have dome so also but unfortunately I was waiting for > the RNIBHi Tech team to get back to me with suggestions as to how the device > could be made usable. I waited so long I went beyond the 30 days and then > could not send it back. My wife was furious with me. >> >> The basic problem is that there is no way of entering any designation > without speech input. If the device does not like your voice you are up the > proverbial. Other users on a list complain that the recognition would only > work indoors without any traffic noise or wind. Several of us, including > myself, complained that the device had the infuriating habit of interpreting > a GPS command as a a request to play a radio station so you would keep on > getting weird and wonderful radio stations coming on as you walked along. >> In theory you could set up contacts by connecting the device to a web >> site but this section of the site was inaccessible. I left the RNIB >> to talk to the company to see if the web site could be made >> accessible. However it was waiting for this to happen that I went over >> my 30 day return back date. The RNIB have never got back to me with >> suggestions as to make this kit usable? >> >> Even if by some miracle it recognised the destination I wanted to go to > there were problems When giving directions it did not distinguish between > roads on the left and right so you could not count roads as you walked over > them. The battery life was dreadful and I was constantly having to charge > to get any life out of it. >> >> The only thing it could reliably do was respond to a where am I command. >> >> Some people commented that the phone app version is much better than the > hardware kit. >> . >> >> David Griffith >> d.griffith at btinternet.com >> >> >> >> On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: >> >>> Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to > judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of > any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in > the U.S. >>> >>> I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . >>> >>> >>> On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: >>> >>>> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus > unit >>>> from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even > basic >>>> street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any >>>> destination apart from voice recognition. >>>> Further problems which I can go into if necessary including >>>> inaccessible web support but will not clutter up the list unless >>>> people want this information. >>>> >>>> David Griffith >>>> >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net >>>> [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane >>>> Trethowan >>>> Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 >>>> To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! >>>> Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot >>>> >>>> I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? >>>> >>>> No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which >>>> includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what >>>> you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to >>>> direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to >>>> believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide > Dogs in Victoria use them. >>>> >>>> Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a >>>> talking cane. >>>> >>>> I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge >>>> problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on >>>> the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think >>>> protecting circuitry within would be a problem. >>>> >>>> I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on >>>> Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com >>>> >>>> >>>> On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hello Chris >>>>> >>>>> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >>>>> >>>>> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get >>>>> white >>>> canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier >>>> without tapping, but they don't talk. >>>>> >>>>> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty >>>>> much >>>> impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as >>>> intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed >>>> to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said >>>> also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency >>>> vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a >>>> sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the >>>> frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that >>>> because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to >>>> have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd >>>> need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I >>>> guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe >>>> 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also > hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >>>>> >>>>> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much >>>>> sure >>>> that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking >>>> canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >>>>> >>>>> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids >>>>> though is >>>> the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote >>>> control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt >>>> support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved > battery life. >>>>> >>>>> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are >>>>> finding >>>> that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same >>>> iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I >>>> will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write >>>> you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last > couple of days. >>>>> >>>>> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into >>>>> it >>>> too. >>>>> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't >>>>> allow >>>> you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I > may. >>>>> >>>>> Lynne >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ======================================= >>>>> >>>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, >>>>> Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>>> >>>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>>> >>>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>>>> group at >>>> either of the following websites: >>>>> >>>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>>> >>>>> Or: >>>>> >>>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>>> >>>> ml> >>>>> >>>>> --------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>>> virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>>> group at either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>> l> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>>> virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group > at either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>> l> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group > at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus > and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web > pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From lynne at mac-access.net Sun Jan 15 12:36:23 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:36:23 +0000 Subject: Phonak Compilot In-Reply-To: References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net> <5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> Message-ID: Hello Dane & all Sorry for the delayed response. Do you happen to know of a distributor within the UK? I know that's asking a lot but this is actually very helpful. If I can find out where to go I will most definitely give this a serious look as opposed to the Trekker Breeze which, by the sounds of things, doesn't have the same functionality. Thank you. Lynne On 11 Jan 2012, at 13:01, Dane Trethowan wrote: I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking cane. I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within would be a problem. I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello Chris > > On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: > > ? i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. > > We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. > > I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. > > ? Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. > > This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. > > This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. > Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. > > Lynne > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From lynne at mac-access.net Sun Jan 15 12:38:47 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:38:47 +0000 Subject: Captain GPS Plus Versus Trekker Breeze In-Reply-To: <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> Message-ID: <3FACE140-A363-45DB-8D1A-5C79C31B8884@mac-access.net> Hello David Again, thank you for your practical information. Maybe this isn't the way to go after all for UK users. Lynne On 11 Jan 2012, at 13:17, David Griffith wrote: I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination apart from voice recognition. Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this information. David Griffith -----Original Message----- From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking cane. I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within would be a problem. I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > Hello Chris > > On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: > > . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without tapping, but they don't talk. > > We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. > > I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. > > . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. > > This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. > > This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it too. > Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. > > Lynne > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, > virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's > dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From lynne at mac-access.net Sun Jan 15 13:16:22 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:16:22 +0000 Subject: Kapten GPS or Trekker Breeze In-Reply-To: <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <6CB5EA53-C19B-4AD0-9071-5535D39362E2@mac-access.net> Hello Dane, David & all Firstly, could we all, (including myself), try to maintain subject line which are current. I'm as guilty as anybody else so please don't take this as a reprimand in any way at all, just a gentle friendly reminder. I have just looked at the technical specs of the UK model as sold by RNIB and I notice several things which don't appear to do the thing any favours. Firstly the battery life seems very short. I'd imagine it's rechargeable bug the 4.5 hours projected battery cycle isn't much use if you're out and about for long periods of time. I also fail to see why you'd need all the other stuff on this; MP3 p player etc. OK; you might want to listen whilst on a buss or train. But surely it'd be better dedicated as a GPS or path-finder device, would it not? Or am I missing the obvious? I too don't want to pre-judge. But looking at the specs of the KaptenGPS, (to give it the correct spelling), set against the Trekker Breeze for example, the Breeze seems to offer better functionality in some respects. yes, it's a very great deal more expensive which is certainly a point in favour of the Kapten GPS. But the programming and route finders on the Breeze would appear to be more sophisticated and, by all accounts, more reliable. Dane's point regarding firmware is, of course, valid. But given that they are using Nuance technologies, basic street name shouldn't be a problem. I also note that much of its functionality on the UK model is geared around inner-city locations such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. No use whatsoever for Gordon I'm afraid; who lives in none of those areas. Again I'm not judging; and I'm trying to find out more about both devices. But it would appear at first glance that the Breeze has the most going for it in terms of his needs. Also I wonder about one thing which could possibly play a part in any decision making process for purchase. I don't know about the Breeze, I'd have to check. But the Kapten GPS seems to employ an external portable speaker or earphones. That could present a problem; I'm not happy at all about the prospect of Gordon walking the scripts wearing earphones and the portable speaker idea could present interesting problems in that kind of usage situation. Again I'm not pre-judging. I need more information than the RNIB give on their pages. But it would be interesting to hear more from David as he's actually used one of those things. David; how accurate is its recognition of locations outside of the big cities? Further info very much appreciated. Lynne On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: > I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit > from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic > street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination > apart from voice recognition. > Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web > support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this > information. > > David Griffith > > > -----Original Message----- > From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net > [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan > Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 > To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! > Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot > > I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? > > No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes > GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where > is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically > enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about > footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. > > Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking > cane. > > I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with > a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for > example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within > would be a problem. > > I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind > Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com > > > On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: > >> Hello Chris >> >> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >> >> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white > canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without > tapping, but they don't talk. >> >> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much > impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as > intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear > the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a > vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be > practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch > could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't > comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely > impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because > you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I > guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe > 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also > hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >> >> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure > that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are > probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >> >> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is > the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and > improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice > dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >> >> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding > that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via > Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more > research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this > because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >> >> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it > too. >> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow > you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >> >> Lynne >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus > and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web > pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From lynne at mac-access.net Sun Jan 15 13:22:47 2012 From: lynne at mac-access.net (Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:22:47 +0000 Subject: Kapten GPS In-Reply-To: References: <73512402-3235-43D8-B587-13EA8A4E4642@mac-access.net><5065D8B9-AFD3-4806-AC86-98DCF5078F57@mac-access.net> <3E04F38266B444629C684D467F864FE3@acer4d025c48b8> <1264440A-173B-4692-BB9D-B0F817A8B6F2@internode.on.net> Message-ID: Hello David This is very informative and helpful; thank you. I think we'll give this device a miss, to be honest. It sounds like there are major problems with it and if you and others have all found the same thing, it sounds like it wouldn't be money well spent. Again, many thanks. Lynne On 12 Jan 2012, at 00:40, David Griffith wrote: There was a lot of discussion on another list I was on and I cannot remember anybody who had bought it who were satisfied. 2 had sent it back to the RNIB. I should have dome so also but unfortunately I was waiting for the RNIBHi Tech team to get back to me with suggestions as to how the device could be made usable. I waited so long I went beyond the 30 days and then could not send it back. My wife was furious with me. The basic problem is that there is no way of entering any designation without speech input. If the device does not like your voice you are up the proverbial. Other users on a list complain that the recognition would only work indoors without any traffic noise or wind. Several of us, including myself, complained that the device had the infuriating habit of interpreting a GPS command as a a request to play a radio station so you would keep on getting weird and wonderful radio stations coming on as you walked along. In theory you could set up contacts by connecting the device to a web site but this section of the site was inaccessible. I left the RNIB to talk to the company to see if the web site could be made accessible. However it was waiting for this to happen that I went over my 30 day return back date. The RNIB have never got back to me with suggestions as to make this kit usable? Even if by some miracle it recognised the destination I wanted to go to there were problems When giving directions it did not distinguish between roads on the left and right so you could not count roads as you walked over them. The battery life was dreadful and I was constantly having to charge to get any life out of it. The only thing it could reliably do was respond to a where am I command. Some people commented that the phone app version is much better than the hardware kit. . David Griffith d.griffith at btinternet.com On 11 Jan 2012, at 23:10, Dane Trethowan wrote: > Always interesting to hear this type of thing, I don't want to be seen to judging the product but I wonder if its a firmware issue? I've not heard of any major problems with the device in Australia and I'm not aware of any in the U.S. > > I'm far from an expert when it comes to GPS devices either . > > > On 12/01/2012, at 12:17 AM, David Griffith wrote: > >> I just thought I would mention that I bought the Captain GPS Plus unit >> from the RNIB. For me it was useless as it could not recognise even basic >> street names like Wood Street and had no method of inputting any destination >> apart from voice recognition. >> Further problems which I can go into if necessary including inaccessible web >> support but will not clutter up the list unless people want this >> information. >> >> David Griffith >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net >> [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan >> Sent: 11 January 2012 13:02 >> To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! >> Subject: Re: Phonak Compilot >> >> I don't know whether the Captain GPS Plus is any help? >> >> No, its not a talking white cane but it is a mobility aid which includes >> GPS, the difference is that you talk to it and tell it what you want, "Where >> is McDonalds"? for example and it is supposed to direct you, specifically >> enhanced for blind people I'm lead to believe giving extra information about >> footpaths and so on, the Guide Dogs in Victoria use them. >> >> Perhaps I'm wrong but that to me is the closest you'll get to a talking >> cane. >> >> I've heard of "Talking Cane" projects but then you have a huge problem with >> a cane and that's sheer brute force, it gets bashed on the footpath for >> example as part of its use so I should think protecting circuitry within >> would be a problem. >> >> I'm sure that you'll find a review of a talking cane or similar on Blind >> Cool Tech at http://www.blindcooltech.com >> >> >> On 11/01/2012, at 10:14 PM, Mrs. Lynnette Annabel Smith wrote: >> >>> Hello Chris >>> >>> On 10 Jan 2012, at 16:56, Chris Moore wrote: >>> >>> . i must admit I have never heard of these either. You can get white >> canes with the roller ball which you use as described earlier without >> tapping, but they don't talk. >>> >>> We've been discussing this here a little and yes, it seems pretty much >> impractical that a white cane could be made to talk and function as >> intended. I mean, in a busy traffic environment how are you supposed to hear >> the cane's instructions or information? As others have said also, perhaps a >> vibration sensor; maybe even a multi-frequency vibration sensor, nay be >> practical. Possibly the user with a sufficiently developed sense of touch >> could distinguish between the frequency of the vibration; I really couldn't >> comment on that because I'm not one of those people. It is surely >> impractical to have an earplug inserted in your ear for this purpose because >> you'd need bidirectional hearing to handle the traffic and other sounds. I >> guess you'd probably need more than that, thinking about it; maybe >> 3-dimensional hearing would be a better description so that you can also >> hear noises and know that they're coming from behind you. >>> >>> I'm going to do some more research into this, but I'm pretty much sure >> that what you and others have said on list is quite right, talking canes are >> probably futuristic and, more probably still, not practical. >>> >>> . Something Gordon might be interested in for his hearing aids though is >> the new Compilot from Phonak. It basically combines a remote control and >> improved iCom all into one, and even has voice prompt support and voice >> dialling and caller ID etc and also has improved battery life. >>> >>> This comes on the top of us buying 2 iComs and 2 TVlinks. We are finding >> that if we try to connect our SL56 and also the iPhone to the same iCom via >> Bluetooth, the first device somehow becomes unpaired. I will do some more >> research in the usual place, and I'll also write you off list about this >> because the situation has changed in the last couple of days. >>> >>> This would replace his iCom, oh and you can plug a FM receiver into it >> too. >>> Yes; you can plug an FM receiver into the iCom; but it then doesn't allow >> you to use the other functions. Again I'll write to you off list if I may. >>> >>> Lynne >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >> either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus >> and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web >> pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at >> either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From blackwell3 at ameritech.net Mon Jan 16 15:16:20 2012 From: blackwell3 at ameritech.net (Clifford Blackwell) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:16:20 -0600 Subject: Samsung Galaxy accessibility Message-ID: Hello all, I am new to this list so I apologize if I'm tredding over previously covered ground. I've seen a long list of new Samsung Galaxy products that appear to be trying to compeat with Apple's iPad and Ipod Touch lines. These Samsungs seem to run on Android 2.3.5 Are there any screen readers that will help to make these devices accessible? I was specifically wondering about Code Factory's Mobile Accessibility. Thanks for your help and insight. Clliford Blackwell From blackwell3 at ameritech.net Mon Jan 16 15:14:59 2012 From: blackwell3 at ameritech.net (Clifford Blackwell) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:14:59 -0600 Subject: Samsung Galaxy accessibility Message-ID: <5A2FA02DEC774BAC83D4A9DAF4AF55EF@fordscomputer> Hello all, I am new to this list so I apologize if I'm tredding over previously covered ground. I've seen a long list of new Samsung Galaxy products that appear to be trying to compeat with Apple's iPad and Ipod Touch lines. These Samsungs seem to run on Android 2.3.5 Are there any screen readers that will help to make these devices accessible? I was specifically wondering about Code Factory's Mobile Accessibility. Thanks for your help and insight. Clliford Blackwell From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 18 01:40:46 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:40:46 +1100 Subject: Printing pictures from a web page Message-ID: <4F16231E.6080201@internode.on.net> Hi! Has anyone ever done this? I just want the picture if possible and not the whole web page. I suppose the trick is - if possible - to extract the source file from the picture of the page and save it separately so you can print from that. -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 18 01:47:54 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:47:54 +1100 Subject: High Repair costs for Adaptive Technology, hmm.. I See What People Mean Message-ID: <4F1624CA.5060109@internode.on.net> yep, I agree with people when they speak of high repair costs when it comes to adaptive technology. I've just had my Mountbatten Brailler serviced and I'm outlaying $452.00 for the procedure so what was done? A battery replacement, a software upgrade plus the labour, I suppose I'm lucky as I've heard of repair bills running into the thousands of dollars. All I can say is that - thanks to the Internet - there will never be an occasion when I pay for a battery replacement again since I've discovered how to do the job myself. The battery is a standard sealed lead acid type which can be purchased at most good electronics shops so that wont be a problem. To get to the battery you "unlatch" the end of the Brailler, remove a bracket which holds the battery in place and discoonect the battery from the terminals, simple enough. My only comment when I saw the bill was, "Well thank God I can pay for the thing". -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 18 03:58:50 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:58:50 +1100 Subject: VPN: Would anyone in the U.S. Be Willing To Give Me A Hand? Message-ID: <4F16437A.8050309@internode.on.net> Hi everyone! Okay, I've gone a considerable way with my VPN setup here and its starting to become a bit of a problem for several reasons. I want to use the VPN facility I have over all my network with all devices and that just isn't practically possible unless I get some special equipment which I'll discuss in a moment. If you'[re thinking of just using VPN with an IOS device then you more or less have the absolute perfect tool at your fngertips, setting up VPN on an IOS device such as iPad, iPhone or iPod touch is a breeze and even better, you can easily witch between multiple configurations. For example, you may have one configuration to connect you to a server in the U.S. whilst another connects you to the U.K.. With the PC or the Mac this can prove to be a bit of a challenge. Witopia, - the VPN service I recommend - have SSL setups for your particular service which can be run with Windows but the problem with these are that they seem completely inaccessible, they rely completely on some form of Java which WE and other Screen Readers I've tried don't seem to like much. I then tried "Hotspot Shield Elite", not a bad service but then comes the problem we're talking about, I can see the country on the web page but how to change it? So then I looked at having the router do the job and it seems that you run into the problem of changing configurations. On the IOS devices this is done with a few taps but with a router you'd have to go into the router's interface and change it from there, no quick way of even changing different router configurations. Witopia recommend what's called the "Cloakbox Pro" for for those people who want to use all their devices on their network through their VPN services and this box naturally allows the changing of country for each device "on-the-fly" but the problem is that Witopia will only ship to a U.S. address so here's the question, would a list member be willing to receive the Cloakbox Pro on my behalf and forward it onto me in australia? Naturally I'd be more than happy to cover any postage fees and give the person a little pocket money to be going on with . If anyone could possibly help etc then perhaps it would be best to get back to me privately so as not to clutter the list though perhaps others may have other helpful suggestions with regard to this. Cheers! -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From allynstansfield at yahoo.co.uk Wed Jan 18 05:11:40 2012 From: allynstansfield at yahoo.co.uk (Allyn Stansfield) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:11:40 +0000 (GMT) Subject: No subject In-Reply-To: <4F16437A.8050309@internode.on.net> References: <4F16437A.8050309@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <1326863500.41813.YahooMailNeo@web24713.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Hi Lynne, ? Can you please send me an off-list email about the free Email Group offer you mentioned the other day please? ? Thanks. ? Regards. ? Allyn Stansfield. From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 18 06:19:51 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:19:51 +1100 Subject: Construction of iPad and iPad II devices Message-ID: <52CC5056-8558-49C4-AC4F-C49644569095@internode.on.net> Hi! I hear some people say that the construction of the iPad II device isn't as solid as the original iPad, I have the original iPad and I think it very well made. I've never seen an iPad II so can't comment but I'd be most interested in anyone's opinion on this as I'm thinking about upgrading from iPad to iPad II so if construction isn't as good then I don't think I'll bother. Sent from Dane's iPhone +613400494862 From hopewell at hopewell.org.uk Wed Jan 18 08:51:44 2012 From: hopewell at hopewell.org.uk (Paul Hopewell) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:51:44 +0000 Subject: Enable / disable screen reader on Android Message-ID: <7E3E0FA6-E788-4A79-87B0-6D1168559A28@hopewell.org.uk> Hello, My sighted wife has recently purchased a Sony Ericson arc S Androd phone. From time to time I need to help her learn how to use it. Is it possiblle to install a screen reader on this phone such as Mobile Speak and set it up so that I as a blind user can turn it on without needing sighted help and my wife can easily turn it off. After my wife has turned it off I will need to turn it on again without sighted help. Basically is there a facility similar to the tripple press of the Home key on an iPhone which toggles VoiceOver on and off. Many thanks. Paul Hopewell From d.griffith at btinternet.com Wed Jan 18 09:35:54 2012 From: d.griffith at btinternet.com (David Griffith) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:35:54 +0000 Subject: Enable / disable screen reader on Android In-Reply-To: <7E3E0FA6-E788-4A79-87B0-6D1168559A28@hopewell.org.uk> References: <7E3E0FA6-E788-4A79-87B0-6D1168559A28@hopewell.org.uk> Message-ID: as far as I am aware this facility will only be available on android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich. I do not have this so cannot test it but I believe that what is needed is to draw a rectangle on the touchscreen. I know that some people have found this difficult and I saw a discussion there was a suggestion that the gesture be amended to drawing the rectangle around the edges of the whole touchscreen. This is not the case at the moment though you have android 4 you could experiment. think you start with the top left corner but cannot really be sure. David Griffith d.griffith at btinternet.com On 18 Jan 2012, at 08:51, Paul Hopewell wrote: > Hello, > My sighted wife has recently purchased a Sony Ericson arc S Androd phone. From time to time I need to help her learn how to use it. Is it possiblle to install a screen reader on this phone such as Mobile Speak and set it up so that I as a blind user can turn it on without needing sighted help and my wife can easily turn it off. After my wife has turned it off I will need to turn it on again without sighted help. > > Basically is there a facility similar to the tripple press of the Home key on an iPhone which toggles VoiceOver on and off. > > Many thanks. > > Paul Hopewell > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From marrie12 at gmail.com Wed Jan 18 15:34:15 2012 From: marrie12 at gmail.com (Sarah Alawami) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:34:15 -0800 Subject: High Repair costs for Adaptive Technology, hmm.. I See What People Mean In-Reply-To: <4F1624CA.5060109@internode.on.net> References: <4F1624CA.5060109@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <9ABAF6A1-816D-4EBF-8401-91760076537C@gmail.com> I do agree. I had to have my blt m20 stuff replaced and each cell of that display was I think about 300 dollars. I mean come on! On Jan 17, 2012, at 5:47 PM, Dane trethowan wrote: > yep, I agree with people when they speak of high repair costs when it comes to adaptive technology. > > I've just had my Mountbatten Brailler serviced and I'm outlaying $452.00 for the procedure so what was done? A battery replacement, a software upgrade plus the labour, I suppose I'm lucky as I've heard of repair bills running into the thousands of dollars. > > All I can say is that - thanks to the Internet - there will never be an occasion when I pay for a battery replacement again since I've discovered how to do the job myself. > > The battery is a standard sealed lead acid type which can be purchased at most good electronics shops so that wont be a problem. > > To get to the battery you "unlatch" the end of the Brailler, remove a bracket which holds the battery in place and discoonect the battery from the terminals, simple enough. > > My only comment when I saw the bill was, "Well thank God I can pay for the thing". > > > -- > sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Wed Jan 18 15:43:58 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:43:58 +1100 Subject: High Repair costs for Adaptive Technology, hmm.. I See What People Mean In-Reply-To: <9ABAF6A1-816D-4EBF-8401-91760076537C@gmail.com> References: <4F1624CA.5060109@internode.on.net> <9ABAF6A1-816D-4EBF-8401-91760076537C@gmail.com> Message-ID: <169CA9B6-B60E-458C-A917-93E1AE4D4DF6@internode.on.net> to add insult to injury the firm who repaired my Mountbatten initially refused to "Hold" my machine for me whilst I paid the repair cost off over a couple of weeks, talk about totally unreasonable. On 19/01/2012, at 2:34 AM, Sarah Alawami wrote: > I do agree. I had to have my blt m20 stuff replaced and each cell of that display was I think about 300 dollars. I mean come on! > On Jan 17, 2012, at 5:47 PM, Dane trethowan wrote: > >> yep, I agree with people when they speak of high repair costs when it comes to adaptive technology. >> >> I've just had my Mountbatten Brailler serviced and I'm outlaying $452.00 for the procedure so what was done? A battery replacement, a software upgrade plus the labour, I suppose I'm lucky as I've heard of repair bills running into the thousands of dollars. >> >> All I can say is that - thanks to the Internet - there will never be an occasion when I pay for a battery replacement again since I've discovered how to do the job myself. >> >> The battery is a standard sealed lead acid type which can be purchased at most good electronics shops so that wont be a problem. >> >> To get to the battery you "unlatch" the end of the Brailler, remove a bracket which holds the battery in place and discoonect the battery from the terminals, simple enough. >> >> My only comment when I saw the bill was, "Well thank God I can pay for the thing". >> >> >> -- >> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From marrie12 at gmail.com Thu Jan 19 06:02:15 2012 From: marrie12 at gmail.com (Sarah Alawami) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:02:15 -0800 Subject: High Repair costs for Adaptive Technology, hmm.. I See What People Mean In-Reply-To: <169CA9B6-B60E-458C-A917-93E1AE4D4DF6@internode.on.net> References: <4F1624CA.5060109@internode.on.net> <9ABAF6A1-816D-4EBF-8401-91760076537C@gmail.com> <169CA9B6-B60E-458C-A917-93E1AE4D4DF6@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <8E471706-28D8-416F-BF57-4BAF1BED41BA@gmail.com> Ouch! Not good. I can't say anymore about this so I'll quit while I'm ahead. but I've been through nightmares myself with non mainstream products shall we say. On Jan 18, 2012, at 7:43 AM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > to add insult to injury the firm who repaired my Mountbatten initially refused to "Hold" my machine for me whilst I paid the repair cost off over a couple of weeks, talk about totally unreasonable. > > > On 19/01/2012, at 2:34 AM, Sarah Alawami wrote: > >> I do agree. I had to have my blt m20 stuff replaced and each cell of that display was I think about 300 dollars. I mean come on! >> On Jan 17, 2012, at 5:47 PM, Dane trethowan wrote: >> >>> yep, I agree with people when they speak of high repair costs when it comes to adaptive technology. >>> >>> I've just had my Mountbatten Brailler serviced and I'm outlaying $452.00 for the procedure so what was done? A battery replacement, a software upgrade plus the labour, I suppose I'm lucky as I've heard of repair bills running into the thousands of dollars. >>> >>> All I can say is that - thanks to the Internet - there will never be an occasion when I pay for a battery replacement again since I've discovered how to do the job myself. >>> >>> The battery is a standard sealed lead acid type which can be purchased at most good electronics shops so that wont be a problem. >>> >>> To get to the battery you "unlatch" the end of the Brailler, remove a bracket which holds the battery in place and discoonect the battery from the terminals, simple enough. >>> >>> My only comment when I saw the bill was, "Well thank God I can pay for the thing". >>> >>> >>> -- >>> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Fri Jan 20 00:06:00 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:06:00 +1100 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern Message-ID: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> Hi! Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my concern below. I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very reasonable price. I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is this true. The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From david.mclean at cox.net Fri Jan 20 01:08:20 2012 From: david.mclean at cox.net (David McLean) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:08:20 -0500 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <8D3953E7-775B-409A-8F63-C1E2D0F38098@cox.net> I'd say probably not. I use it strictly for books and for that it's fine. The Victor Reader supports more formats however, especially with the Softpack. On Jan 19, 2012, at 7:06 PM, Dane trethowan wrote: > Hi! > > Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my concern below. > > I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very reasonable price. > > I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is this true. > > The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. > > I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. > > > -- > sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From blackwell3 at ameritech.net Fri Jan 20 01:57:26 2012 From: blackwell3 at ameritech.net (Clifford Blackwell) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:57:26 -0600 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> Message-ID: <8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it is limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre firmware update, they will expand upon this capability. It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite clunky. Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane trethowan" To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!" Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern > Hi! > > Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my > concern below. > > I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision > australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very > reasonable price. > > I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for > the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ > formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, > is this true. > > The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream > Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if > the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I > submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC > given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on > this. > > I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that > is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes > as well as MP3. > > > -- > sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. > > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus > and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated > web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Fri Jan 20 02:13:24 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:13:24 +1100 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: <8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> <8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> Message-ID: Gee! that's a nice price, I wonder if they'll ship to Australia? guess I'll find out as that's considerably cheaper than I can purchase it for here. anyway getting back to the radio side of things, there's a directory of radio stations being circulated specifically designed for media players on computers and the Plextalk PTR1 to take full advantage of. Its simple in design, each radio station has its own M3U playlist file thus each can be opened in your favourite media player or on the PTR1, so far so good but not so good on the PTR1 perhaps if the radio station you wish to hear is a AAC stream . The directory is comprehensive and is updated frequently which it will need to be given that stream URLS do change frequently, new streams are appearing all the time etc. As for me? Well I'll be purchasing the PTR1 but certainly not exclusively for its streaming functionality as it seems to have some serious shortcomings, a book player and a recorder will do me fine. For radio I'll keep using my trusty Squeezebox Boom as it plays everything that's thrown at it and the Ootunes App on my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Thanks for the information on the Victor Reader Stream software upgrades, I have one of these devices though it hasn't been upgraded for quite some time so it will be worth my investigation. On 20/01/2012, at 12:57 PM, Clifford Blackwell wrote: > I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it is limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre firmware update, they will expand upon this capability. > > It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite clunky. > > Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane trethowan" > To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!" > Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM > Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern > > >> Hi! >> >> Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my concern below. >> >> I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very reasonable price. >> >> I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is this true. >> >> The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. >> >> I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. >> >> >> -- >> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From hanksmith at hanksmith.net Fri Jan 20 02:54:11 2012 From: hanksmith at hanksmith.net (Hank Smith) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:54:11 -0700 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> <8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> Message-ID: <4F18D753.1030603@hanksmith.net> Hello is there a way I could get the directory of stations? thanks Hank On 1/19/2012 7:13 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: > Gee! that's a nice price, I wonder if they'll ship to Australia? guess I'll find out as that's considerably cheaper than I can purchase it for here. > > anyway getting back to the radio side of things, there's a directory of radio stations being circulated specifically designed for media players on computers and the Plextalk PTR1 to take full advantage of. > > Its simple in design, each radio station has its own M3U playlist file thus each can be opened in your favourite media player or on the PTR1, so far so good but not so good on the PTR1 perhaps if the radio station you wish to hear is a AAC stream. > > The directory is comprehensive and is updated frequently which it will need to be given that stream URLS do change frequently, new streams are appearing all the time etc. > > As for me? Well I'll be purchasing the PTR1 but certainly not exclusively for its streaming functionality as it seems to have some serious shortcomings, a book player and a recorder will do me fine. > For radio I'll keep using my trusty Squeezebox Boom as it plays everything that's thrown at it and the Ootunes App on my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. > > Thanks for the information on the Victor Reader Stream software upgrades, I have one of these devices though it hasn't been upgraded for quite some time so it will be worth my investigation. > > > On 20/01/2012, at 12:57 PM, Clifford Blackwell wrote: > >> I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it is limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre firmware update, they will expand upon this capability. >> >> It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite clunky. >> >> Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane trethowan" >> To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!" >> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM >> Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern >> >> >>> Hi! >>> >>> Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my concern below. >>> >>> I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very reasonable price. >>> >>> I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is this true. >>> >>> The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. >>> >>> I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- -- website: http://fivedollarfreedomplan.com/throwawaymoneylcphs5.html personal email: hanksmith at hanksmith.net facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hanksmith5 Klango: hanksmith Skype: hank.smith966 Amateur radio call sign: ke7ief check out my Youtube video of a song I recorded in Nashville Tennessee! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqut5Bi3e7A also you can find my youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/hanksmith2011 From grtdane at internode.on.net Fri Jan 20 04:48:05 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:48:05 +1100 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: <4F18D753.1030603@hanksmith.net> References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net> <8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> <4F18D753.1030603@hanksmith.net> Message-ID: <4F18F205.3050306@internode.on.net> Yep, I'll put a link up shortly, you can read the information within the zip file thus make future arrangements to get updates etc. On 20/01/2012 1:54 PM, Hank Smith wrote: > Hello is there a way I could get the directory of stations? > thanks > Hank > On 1/19/2012 7:13 PM, Dane Trethowan wrote: >> Gee! that's a nice price, I wonder if they'll ship to Australia? >> guess I'll find out as that's considerably cheaper than I can >> purchase it for here. >> >> anyway getting back to the radio side of things, there's a directory >> of radio stations being circulated specifically designed for media >> players on computers and the Plextalk PTR1 to take full advantage of. >> >> Its simple in design, each radio station has its own M3U playlist >> file thus each can be opened in your favourite media player or on the >> PTR1, so far so good but not so good on the PTR1 perhaps if the radio >> station you wish to hear is a AAC stream. >> >> The directory is comprehensive and is updated frequently which it >> will need to be given that stream URLS do change frequently, new >> streams are appearing all the time etc. >> >> As for me? Well I'll be purchasing the PTR1 but certainly not >> exclusively for its streaming functionality as it seems to have some >> serious shortcomings, a book player and a recorder will do me fine. >> For radio I'll keep using my trusty Squeezebox Boom as it plays >> everything that's thrown at it and the Ootunes App on my >> iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. >> >> Thanks for the information on the Victor Reader Stream software >> upgrades, I have one of these devices though it hasn't been upgraded >> for quite some time so it will be worth my investigation. >> >> >> On 20/01/2012, at 12:57 PM, Clifford Blackwell wrote: >> >>> I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it >>> is limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre >>> firmware update, they will expand upon this capability. >>> >>> It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite >>> clunky. >>> >>> Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane >>> trethowan" >>> To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology >>> Enthusiasm!" >>> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM >>> Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern >>> >>> >>>> Hi! >>>> >>>> Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or >>>> deny my concern below. >>>> >>>> I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, >>>> vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me >>>> to be a very reasonable price. >>>> >>>> I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except >>>> for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or >>>> AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the >>>> iTunes store, is this true. >>>> >>>> The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to >>>> stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one >>>> moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for >>>> Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as >>>> many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at >>>> lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. >>>> >>>> I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy >>>> modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with >>>> the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ======================================= >>>> >>>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, >>>> Trojan, virus and worm-free >>>> >>>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>>> dedicated web pages located at >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>>> >>>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>>> group at either of the following websites: >>>> >>>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>>> >>>> Or: >>>> >>>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>>> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------- >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >>> group at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat >> group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From grtdane at internode.on.net Fri Jan 20 08:08:07 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane trethowan) Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:08:07 +1100 Subject: Internet Radio Directory Message-ID: <4F1920E7.2000405@internode.on.net> Hi! This directory is put together by Mr Stephen Jolley in Melbourne Australia and is updated regularly though the edition linked to here is rather old, follow instructions contained within the zip file on how to keep updated, report problems etc. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10565527/AAA%20Stephen%20Jolley%20-%20Australia%20120107.zip -- sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. From grtdane at internode.on.net Sat Jan 21 10:18:03 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:18:03 +1100 Subject: Squeezebox Review Message-ID: <11A05A7A-BCF8-4529-AE65-02C38229F179@internode.on.net> Discussion of Squeezebox player system, Boom controllers and app along with demos http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10565527/Squeezebox%2001.mp3 From d.griffith at btinternet.com Sun Jan 22 21:44:17 2012 From: d.griffith at btinternet.com (David Griffith) Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:44:17 -0000 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net><8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> Message-ID: <8A4569CFC79A419B85DAA6FEB0BC543B@acer4d025c48b8> I have had a Pocket Plextalk since 2008. One died on me a couple of weeks ago and I went straight down to the RNIB for a replacement. I do however use it every day, for several hours today so this is probably why it has given out finally. I hope that the RNIB will be able to repair my old one. I know there are touch screen devices but I like the functionality with very tactile buttons. On a noisy train for example, I do not really need the speech feedback for many functions as I just know the key sequences. . I use it in no particular order for 1. Music - I still like the simple way it will just treat a folder as an album and play it without having to mess with tags or playlist 2. Daisy and audio books. 3. Podcasts - I have abandoned using Juice on my PC or I-Tunes as it is much easier to download and listen to Podcasts on the fly on the Plextalk. Especially if you set up menu shortcuts to update the podcasts feed and delete podcasts you have listened to. 4. Reading of saved web pages such as a law judgment , word documents and eBooks. I find the variety of documents supported on the Plextalk very convenient. I put text books that I have scanned or downloaded onto it and listen to them whilst I am doing the housework or dishes. This makes me feel good as I am getting two jobs done at once! Also if going to a meeting I simply stick the agenda on the Plextalk and do not bother taking a netbook etc. In theory I could use the text input feature of the Plextalk to takes some notes but honestly have not bothered with this. I either record meetings or make some short audio notes afterwards. 5.. Radio - apart from the general choice of web radio stations the sound is better on standard BBC radio 4 etc than my Dab radio. 6. Meeting Room Amplifier - if I am going to a meeting and I cannot hear the speaker I put earphones over my hearing aids, put the Plextalk into record mode and press pause. The Plextalk will then monitor in real time the sound in the room. This effectively acts as an emergency hearing aid boost, as the volume feedback from the Plextalk is so good. It is one of the loudest devices I have ever had which is important to me as a hearing aid user. Depending on environment it provides better sound feedback than my highly expensive portable loop setup. 7. The Plextalk is the best featured and highest quality recorder I have ever used. Allied to the fact that I can access all this without having to mess around with a touch screen and it is unfortunately the case that I am a bit lost without it. This is why I got another one and hope to have a spare. Unfortunately devices like this are probably a thing of the past because of mainstreaming of technology but which in some ways is sad. My sister would never cope, for example, with a touch screen device like a I-Pod but loves her pocket Plextalk. David Griffith -----Original Message----- From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan Sent: 20 January 2012 02:13 To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern Gee! that's a nice price, I wonder if they'll ship to Australia? guess I'll find out as that's considerably cheaper than I can purchase it for here. anyway getting back to the radio side of things, there's a directory of radio stations being circulated specifically designed for media players on computers and the Plextalk PTR1 to take full advantage of. Its simple in design, each radio station has its own M3U playlist file thus each can be opened in your favourite media player or on the PTR1, so far so good but not so good on the PTR1 perhaps if the radio station you wish to hear is a AAC stream . The directory is comprehensive and is updated frequently which it will need to be given that stream URLS do change frequently, new streams are appearing all the time etc. As for me? Well I'll be purchasing the PTR1 but certainly not exclusively for its streaming functionality as it seems to have some serious shortcomings, a book player and a recorder will do me fine. For radio I'll keep using my trusty Squeezebox Boom as it plays everything that's thrown at it and the Ootunes App on my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Thanks for the information on the Victor Reader Stream software upgrades, I have one of these devices though it hasn't been upgraded for quite some time so it will be worth my investigation. On 20/01/2012, at 12:57 PM, Clifford Blackwell wrote: > I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it is limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre firmware update, they will expand upon this capability. > > It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite clunky. > > Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane trethowan" > > To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!" > > Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM > Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern > > >> Hi! >> >> Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny my concern below. >> >> I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very reasonable price. >> >> I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is this true. >> >> The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. >> >> I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy attributes as well as MP3. >> >> >> -- >> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >> >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> > > >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, > virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's > dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- ======================================= The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html Or: you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: --------------------------------------- From grtdane at internode.on.net Sun Jan 22 22:30:04 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:30:04 +1100 Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern In-Reply-To: <8A4569CFC79A419B85DAA6FEB0BC543B@acer4d025c48b8> References: <4F18AFE8.7070807@internode.on.net><8EB7AA64400E4FA19A5DF051A8DA2C95@fordscomputer> <8A4569CFC79A419B85DAA6FEB0BC543B@acer4d025c48b8> Message-ID: <41C873F2-1303-45A7-8B73-2F0E05AFF4DA@internode.on.net> A most informative post and I see where you're coming from regarding the touch screen, I use one here though I know people who would have a lot of trouble using a touch screen particularly on a moving train and buttons have their place. Unfortunately it seems that buttons are gradually being replaced with touch screens. I'm one who has never relied on voice and I think in some cases voice synthesis and voice guidance is a right pain in the bum, as you say when you're listening to music whilst out and about its usually the case that you just want to "Play, pause and stop" and you know where those controls are, after all! when using the old faithful walkman you didn't have a voice to prompt you . Even though I have an iPhone, will be getting an iPod touch before they're no longer available - they're being fazed out by Apple this year - and an iPad I see attractions in the Plextalk Pocket, you've noted a few. I've heard reports of the Plextalk Pocket having terrible battery life? According to email I've been receiving users are only getting around 4 hours instead of the 10 hours claimed? Well you know how it is, one's always hearing things and one has to try things for oneself . On 23/01/2012, at 8:44 AM, David Griffith wrote: > I have had a Pocket Plextalk since 2008. > One died on me a couple of weeks ago and I went straight down to the RNIB > for a replacement. > I do however use it every day, for several hours today so this is probably > why it has given out finally. > I hope that the RNIB will be able to repair my old one. > I know there are touch screen devices but I like the functionality with > very tactile buttons. On a noisy train for example, I do not really need the > speech feedback for many functions as I just know the key sequences. . > I use it in no particular order for > 1. Music - I still like the simple way it will just treat a folder as an > album and play it without having to mess with tags or playlist > 2. Daisy and audio books. > 3. Podcasts - I have abandoned using Juice on my PC or I-Tunes as it is much > easier to download and listen to Podcasts on the fly on the Plextalk. > Especially if you set up menu shortcuts to update the podcasts feed and > delete podcasts you have listened to. > 4. Reading of saved web pages such as a law judgment , word documents and > eBooks. I find the variety of documents supported on the Plextalk very > convenient. I put text books that I have scanned or downloaded onto it and > listen to them whilst I am doing the housework or dishes. This makes me feel > good as I am getting two jobs done at once! Also if going to a meeting I > simply stick the agenda on the Plextalk and do not bother taking a netbook > etc. In theory I could use the text input feature of the Plextalk to takes > some notes but honestly have not bothered with this. I either record > meetings or make some short audio notes afterwards. > 5.. Radio - apart from the general choice of web radio stations the sound > is better on standard BBC radio 4 etc than my Dab radio. > 6. Meeting Room Amplifier - if I am going to a meeting and I cannot hear > the speaker I put earphones over my hearing aids, put the Plextalk into > record mode and press pause. The Plextalk will then monitor in real time the > sound in the room. This effectively acts as an emergency hearing aid boost, > as the volume feedback from the Plextalk is so good. It is one of the > loudest devices I have ever had which is important to me as a hearing aid > user. Depending on environment it provides better sound feedback than my > highly expensive portable loop setup. > 7. The Plextalk is the best featured and highest quality recorder I have > ever used. > Allied to the fact that I can access all this without having to mess around > with a touch screen and it is unfortunately the case that I am a bit lost > without it. This is why I got another one and hope to have a spare. > Unfortunately devices like this are probably a thing of the past because > of mainstreaming of technology but which in some ways is sad. My sister > would never cope, for example, with a touch screen device like a I-Pod but > loves her pocket Plextalk. > > David Griffith > > > -----Original Message----- > From: techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net > [mailto:techno-chat-bounces at techno-chat.net] On Behalf Of Dane Trethowan > Sent: 20 January 2012 02:13 > To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! > Subject: Re: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern > > Gee! that's a nice price, I wonder if they'll ship to Australia? guess I'll > find out as that's considerably cheaper than I can purchase it for here. > > anyway getting back to the radio side of things, there's a directory of > radio stations being circulated specifically designed for media players on > computers and the Plextalk PTR1 to take full advantage of. > > Its simple in design, each radio station has its own M3U playlist file thus > each can be opened in your favourite media player or on the PTR1, so far so > good but not so good on the PTR1 perhaps if the radio station you wish to > hear is a AAC stream . > > The directory is comprehensive and is updated frequently which it will need > to be given that stream URLS do change frequently, new streams are appearing > all the time etc. > > As for me? Well I'll be purchasing the PTR1 but certainly not exclusively > for its streaming functionality as it seems to have some serious > shortcomings, a book player and a recorder will do me fine. > For radio I'll keep using my trusty Squeezebox Boom as it plays everything > that's thrown at it and the Ootunes App on my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. > > Thanks for the information on the Victor Reader Stream software upgrades, I > have one of these devices though it hasn't been upgraded for quite some time > so it will be worth my investigation. > > > On 20/01/2012, at 12:57 PM, Clifford Blackwell wrote: > >> I don't believe thos formats are supported. So far as streams, it is > limited to .mp3 and .wma streams. I'm hoping that in a futre firmware > update, they will expand upon this capability. >> >> It is a nice little machine though the transfer software is quite clunky. >> >> Freedom Scientific in the U.S. is selling the Pocket for $275.00 US. >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dane trethowan" >> >> To: "Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!" >> >> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 6:06 PM >> Subject: Plextalk Pocket PTR1, a huge concern >> >> >>> Hi! >>> >>> Perhaps a list member who owns one of these devices can confirm or deny > my concern below. >>> >>> I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these players, vision > australia are selling them for $400.00 which appears to me to be a very > reasonable price. >>> >>> I've just been going through the specs which look quite okay except for > the fact that the machine doesn't seem to support either AAC or AAC+ > formats, too bad if you want to listen to anything from the iTunes store, is > this true. >>> >>> The specs make a huge point of talking about the PTP1's ability to stream > Podcasts and Internet Radio, I'm not doubting that for one moment but if the > device cant handle AAC then the ability for Internet radio streaming I > submit would be severely hampered as many radio stations stream using AAC > given its very good quality at lower bit rates, anyone anythoughts on this. >>> >>> I like the fact that the recorder can record in multiple Daisy modes, > that is to say you can record using PCM 44.1KHZ Wave with the Daisy > attributes as well as MP3. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> sent from my HP Powerhouse Notebook. >>> >>> >>> >>> ======================================= >>> >>> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >>> virus and worm-free >>> >>> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >>> dedicated web pages located at >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >>> >>> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group > at either of the following websites: >>> >>> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >>> >>> Or: >>> >>> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >>> >>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------- >> >> >> ======================================= >> >> The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, >> virus and worm-free >> >> To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's >> dedicated web pages located at >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: >> >> http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html >> >> Or: >> >> you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: >> >> >> --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus > and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web > pages located at http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at > either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- > > > ======================================= > > The Techno-Chat E-Mail forum is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free > > To modify your subscription options, please visit for forum's dedicated web pages located at > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/techno-chat > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Techno-Chat group at either of the following websites: > > http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/techno-chat/index.html > > Or: > > you may also subscribe to this list via RSS. The feed is at: > > > --------------------------------------- From allynstansfield at yahoo.co.uk Mon Jan 23 18:16:37 2012 From: allynstansfield at yahoo.co.uk (Allyn Stansfield) Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:16:37 +0000 (GMT) Subject: Screenreader.net Vacancy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1327342597.34959.YahooMailNeo@web24701.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Hi everyone, ? Please find attached an advert for a vacancy at screenreader.net.? Please note that although this is initially for a volunteer Trustee position, the intention is that it will turn into a paid management position in due course.? Please contact screenreader.net for further information;? an email address is included in the advert. ? Good luck, ? P.S. Lynne, can you send me a private message about your offer of supplying me with an email group? ? Thanks. ? Allyn Stansfield. From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 24 03:09:00 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:09:00 +1100 Subject: Configuring my new Router on my Network Message-ID: <7DC86A98-D5E2-40D1-91F5-6C56E85D7199@internode.on.net> Hi Everyone! I'm now the proud owner of a Billion BiPAC 7404VNPX ADSL wireless VOIP router and its more complex and more powerful than anything I've worked with before. You can take a look at the specs and other data for this device at Hi! This machine is about the size of my Apple Time Capsule so given that this machine replaced my modem I had to first do some modification to my desk to allow room. The router uses a configuration of 3 antennai for its wireless capabilities and they're in the shape of a triangle, 1 at the rear and 1 on either side. As you'd expect this router has Wireless N facilities though it only seems to transmit/receive on the 2.4GHZ band so its unlike the wireless facility on my Time Capsule and Airport Express which were both able to use 2.4 and 5.8GHZ bands similtaniously though I'm not too worried about this, I'm sure I'll still be able to get the benefit on my network out of the 5.8GHZ spectrum with my Time Capsule and other airport devices some how, that's the nice thing about a good network, so many possibilities it seems and so many options. The router has a 4 port gagabyt switch as part of it as well as 2 phone ports as part of its VOIP offerings. Other interesting points, you can plug in a USB modem for backup purposes should the ADSL line go down. You can use a serial lead to plug into a LINYX machine to correct serious errors with the router should they occur such as corrupted firmware upgrades and so on, I've never heard of such things being done with routers before as I was always under the impression that if a firmware upgrade had become corrupted then that was the end of the device pretty much. There is some sort of automatic wireless setup procedure you can use with the router though I didn't bother to look into this as I prefer to do that sort of thing manually. HTML interface is very easy to get around and very accessible though I had problems with Windows machines and Window-Eyes which seems to be the norm these days, worked well with Internet Explorer and NVDA. Was able to use the interface without problems with my Mac computers and safari. There is one annoying thing about the Billion HTML interface and I've fallen victim to this on both my older Billion Modem and the new router, when you click the "Save Changes" link you must also click on the "Apply" button and the Screen Reader doesn't tell you its appeared so if its not clicked and you "Log Out" to "Restart" then all your changes are lost and you have to start again. From grtdane at internode.on.net Tue Jan 24 09:16:40 2012 From: grtdane at internode.on.net (Dane Trethowan) Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:16:40 +1100 Subject: Weather Station Up and Running Message-ID: <6E7CD823-B8F7-49ED-A930-96AA93DF0811@internode.on.net> Subject line says it all. Dad was able to come down yesterday and we assembled it though the manufacturer Delrin didn't include a mast, so we mounted the station on the back fence for the time being whilst I go hunting for one. I'm able to read the measurements the station puts out though I'm still working out how you publish them but reading the station was the most important thing. I'm using the Cumulus software to do the job though the software that came with my station - Weather Easy - is moderately accessible, Cumulus does far more of course. As to whether I'd buy one of these again? Had I known exactly what I was getting then no, I'd probably save my money and look around for something else, the station looks like something out of a cereal packet and construction takes a fair amount of work, dad worked on it for an hour and a half. Having said that however the station does exactly what it claims it does so really I don't have anything to complain about given that I can track its every measurement, the question is just how long it will last? Never mind, plenty of time to research other options and as I say, its working. From tracy at mac-access.net Tue Jan 24 19:27:14 2012 From: tracy at mac-access.net (Tracy Thompson) Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:27:14 +0000 Subject: Gordon and Lynne Message-ID: Hello grou0 This is just a note to advise that Gordon and Lynne have been indisposed due to Gordon's re-hospitalisation, this time in London. They are en route home as I write and so should be with us again tomorrow. Anybody requiring info feel free to write me off list. Tracy