I'm going to live dangerously...

...And dictate this blog post directly into blogger.com.

Usually I dictate into a word file so that I don't accidentally publish the post prior to its completion.

I know this is a big risk, putting the entire reputation of this blog at stake.

Seriously, however, I've been spending time checking out alternatives for assistive devices for quadriplegics and others with hand and arm impairment. I found many products with a huge price range, depending on the technology ( low or high). A lot of time I have found that the price has nothing to do with what I get out of a product. It has a lot more to do with what I put into learning and training.

I put together a board on the site Pinterest called Assistive Tech Lust.

Feel free to take a look at it, comment on any of the products you see, repin/ like , or whatever. I'm thinking of putting together 0ther boards and if you have any ideas for what might be helpful let me know below in the comments or over on Pinterest.

And look at that- I managed to dictate the whole post without saying publish post.

Microsoft Surface: Cerebral Palsy Touchscreen Therapy Demo

Speech Recognition on Netbooks

Nothing appeals more to me than a small laptop that will do voice recognition. After all, mounting it on my wheelchair is easier, lifting it up and down is easier and carrying it along is easier. But the smaller the laptop with specs that will do voice recognition, the higher the price.

I suppose that's why I've been curious about pulling off voice recognition on a netbook.

Having said that, necessity forced me into buying a net book this weekend. My One and Only computer and laptop is making odd noises that resemble hard drive issues, so I rolled over to my local Radio Shack and spoke to my tech guy. When I saw that he had refurbished and display model netbooks and heard the prices, I realized that it was the best way for me to go until I can get a laptop with the right specs for voice recognition.

I decided to get the display model HP Mini 210 at a discount so I'll have a computer around in case all else fails. My plan was to use the netbook with a mouthstick until I can get a new laptop, but I was also curious about whether speech recognition would work at all on it.

I tried out the Windows 7 speech recognition in Windows Starter. Even with the built in mic and at 1 GB RAM, it caught some of what I said, especially the navigation commands. It opened and closed programs and windows fairly easily and went up and down web pages in Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. This alone is useful and falls into the "better than nothing" category in terms of saving energy. I then added a headset microphone which helped a bit. More RAM would probably help too. But as far as dictating writing goes, it looks somewhat bleak. Even my attempt to dictate "Dear Mr. Smith" into an email fell flat.

I don't have a copy of Dragon 11, which claims to work on netbooks. I still haven't seen a review of how it works on a netbook, but if anyone has, let me know.

If you can type with an assistive device and need portability, a net book is remarkably fast considering the specs. The HP mini 210 is fine for viewing videos, word processing, email, surfing the net and social media. I suppose it's also an indication of how far my laptop is gone that the mini boots faster and is less aggravating to use, even with a mouthstick and pecking at it, than my laptop is with voice recognition some days.

And my cat is very happy. He can actually fit in my lap with the netbook - and he hates speech recognition because it interrupts his naps. Now if he would only stop playing with the assistive device....

Will the real assistive technology stand up?

I was just over at Planet of the Blind which is both a blog and a place as far as I'm concerned. I go there to read poetry some days. I also visit to hear the thoughts of author and professor Stephen Kuusisto. His blog writing has been hampered lately, as has apparently all his other writing, because of computer issues.

Today he writes about PC and Mac fails with assistive technology needs for the blind and visually impaired. It's a piece worth reading. It's a disgrace that computers still lack access for people with disabilities, despite their claims that onboard software offers accessibility solutions.

The new Windows 7 system is supposed to have its own screen reading software built in, along with screen magnification. "Huzzah!" thought I. "Let's give it a go!"

Well of course it turns out that the W7 "narrator" is just a stunt or a gimmick--it's not a fully functional screen reading program like Jaws (which though pricey does afford full functional access to most major Microsoft programs). So guess what? Blind people will still have to fork out the hefty price for Jaws or its competitors in order to effectively use the pc.

If you're a visually impaired person this is all familiar enough


On top of this, computers present compatibility issues with assistive software and operating systems. So what about Macs....

Given all the problems with Windows 7 and the Dell laptop and Jaws I began to think about switching to the new Mac. Apple has been touting (or is that "tooting"?) about its new "Voice Over" screen reading program that's built into the OS 10 operating system. IN effect they're bragging about how seamless and accessible the new Mac is for blind people.

So of course I tried it out with a loaner Mac from the university. What I discovered is that Voice Over doesn't work with Mac's version of Microsoft Office, the very productivity tool one needs to work at the University of Iowa. It doesn't work with the Mac version of "Outlook" which is called "Entourage" nor does it work with the Mac version of "Word". I spent hours last night combing through Apple's unfriendly assistive technology website trying to gain information about why Voice Over couldn't work with these essential tools. Lo and Behold, buried on a web page about programs that "do" work one finds by process of elimination that Voice Over won't currently function with these all important programs.

Go on over and read the rest- about the effect all of this has had on Steve's ability to get work done and the amount of time he's had to waste trying to get information, much less a solution to these issues.

Dueling iPod Touches

It was a busy week around here.

My youngest nephew is reading the Iliad on his iPod touch. Every now and then he shakes his head and says "Another guy is going to make a speech!"

I asked him if it was okay to write about his summer reading on my blog. He shrugged and said "Sure."

He uses his iPod touch as an assistive device too. We compare apps. He tells me about free games. I tell him about free apps like Evernote so he can sync notes to his computer. Today he mentioned that he found some educational apps. I was all excited about that, but calmly told him to write them down if any were useful.

He used his iPod touch to take notes. I reminded him about Evernote and he gave me the same look he had on his face when the guy made too many speeches. He just used the app called Notes.

Fine by me.

He's going into high school. (Can you believe that? Of course you can. I'm the one who remembers him sitting in my lap in my wheelchair.) He toured the place yesterday. It's so big they call it a campus. It has a pool, performing arts center and fitness center and three floors of hallways to get lost in. I got lost in high school my first day with just one floor. No basement even. But he's got a map and says his older brother showed him where everything is.

Guess there isn't an app for that - yet.

We are both using many of the same free apps, such as Stanza and Kindle (for reading books), Dragon Search and Dragon Dictation (voice apps), wi-fi finder and battery magic.

Here are some more Back to School apps I found. Just happened to notice Evernote is on there.

Oh, don't give me that look....

Dr. Bob Segalman and Speech to Speech

Dr. Bob Segalman, who has CP, uses IntelliKeys to run Speech to Speech, a free relay service for people with speech disabilities.



Speech to Speech is a free national phone relay service available in the US. It provides communication assistants for those with speech disabilities for phone calls and doesn't require typing or registration. You can find out more here.

Access-orizing the iPod touch: voice control apps

I've written before about how I use an iPod touch as an assistive device.

Recently I've added a few voice recognition apps by Dragon, including Dragon Search and Dragon Dictation. Both are free. Below is a video showing how Dragon Dictation works.



I've found Dragon Dictation to be very accurate. You can paste your text to most applications, which allows you to take notes, send email, texts, and leave messages on Twitter or facebook.

Dragon Search has a moving bar which includes twitter, wiki, YouTube, music and google. This video compares it to Google Search, another free voice controlled app.



I have both apps on mine, but you can decide for yourself since it doesn't cost anything to experiment with free apps. I've found very little need to use anything but my voice now that I have these three apps.

When it comes to accessories, however, it takes a bit of thought to get all this to work on the iPod touch. If you have an iPhone, you have a built in mic, but the iPod touch doesn't. And if you plug a mic in, you lose the sound since you have to use the headphone port. So in order to use these apps on an iPod touch and still be able to hear the iPod, you'll need to use a corded headset with a microphone. If you buy a 3G iPod touch with 32GB or 64GB, you get that headset with it. Otherwise, you can pick a set up.

You can also use a bluetooth headset and use a plug in mic. You'll need to have the 3.1 software upgrade for your iPod if you have a 2G iPod touch - or a bluetooth adapter- to use bluetooth. Make sure you purchase a bluetooth headset that works with iPods, which run the A2DP spec. I suggest you read reviews on the headset you plan to purchase. It's important to understand that this type of bluetooth limits the headset functions, at least according to the reviews I read. People report that they can work some of the buttons, such as volume, but not advance to songs. More importantly, the microphone in the bluetooth headsets doesn't work, which is why you'll need a separate plug in mic. I bought one for about four dollars on amazon, but this company sells mics that cost a bit more and may be of better quality. (I have no affiliation to them, nor have I tried their products.) Hopefully future software updates will enable bluetooth headsets to act as both a headset and mic, which would be a lot less cumbersome, especially for those of us with disabilities.

In any event, this technology has the capability of providing me with a greater degree of independence, so I don't mind investing some time into figuring out how to make it work. I hope this helps someone out there too.

Halo: A Robotic Arm for People with Disabilities

via YouTube:
Computer Science doctoral candidate Katherine Tsui demonstrates "Halo", a prototype robotic arm that she has designed at the UMass Lowell Robotics Lab to help people with physical disabilities reach for objects on a table or shelf. Halo uses tiny webcams mounted over the arm and on the gripper to display the desired object on a flat screen monitor. The operator simply touches the screen to select the object, and the arm then autonomously retrieves the object and brings it to the operator. The project is funded through a research grant awarded to Prof. Holly Yanco from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

New Mac OS, Snow Leopard, includes features for blind users

Just a FYI:

According to a NY Times article, Snow Leopard has some features for blind users, so it might be worth checking out:

There’s an impressive trove of tools for blind Mac users, including one that turns a Mac laptop’s trackpad into a touchable map of the screen; the Mac speaks each onscreen element as you touch it.

Free wireless broadband across the US....

..will be subject to a vote by the FCC on December 18th. The plan would provide for free access across the country, with providers selling higher levels of coverage.

What would Benjamin Franklin think?

The other night I was reading a book on my Kindle when lightning struck nearby. As the noise died down, I thought of the image of Benjamin Franklin standing with his kite.

What would the guy who came up with the idea of lending books, who played around with electricity, think of technology that allows us to instantly download a book in seconds?

For me, a Kindle falls under the category of assistive technology since it allows me to turn pages and read. I've even learned to convert documents I need to read so that I can avoid hard paper copies.

Those reams of papers young Franklin carried through the streets of Philadelphia to show what a hard working young lad he was would probably be replaced now by a series of links emailed to his boss - or could be easily contained on a device like the Kindle.

A few people have told me that they wouldn't feel the same reading a book if it wasn't three dimensional, held in their hands so they could feel it. They say books have a smell to them and a character that nothing can replace.

They have a point. I'm a book lover myself. I wouldn't argue with any of that. But the technology of being able to access a book almost immediately is phenomenal. I can see Franklin's specs falling off the edge of his nose now as he watched a book appear on the screen, ready to read in seconds.

I'll admit I sometimes go into bookstores in town and check out the used books on the shelves. They have character with their crinkled covers, their earmarked pages, their coffee spills. I used to enjoy buying used paperbacks and finding notes in them. (I once found a grocery list in a sci fi novel that read 'Teleport yourself to 7 11 and get some milk". I never figured out if it was a personal reminder or the bookworm's spouse who wrote it.)

But then I come home and turn on my Kindle which holds 40 ebooks (many that are legally available for free) , the first chapters of the best sellers on the NY Times list, and realize that life is about trade-offs. Nostalgia might be compelling sometimes, but if Benjamin Franklin could have used a Kindle, I bet he would have.

And there's nothing I like better than assistive technology that is designed for use by everyone, along the lines of universal design, that gets rid of "separate and stigmatizing solutions".

[If you are considering using the Kindle as an assistive device and/ or would like to read more about the Kindle and/or obtaining ebooks, please click the label below for more posts and my review, for which I received no compensation- it tells the good and the bad about the device and its features.]