[gui-talk] Still hassling with my laptop keyboard

Sat Jan 2 05:08:00 UTC 2010

Geetha,
I understand. Let me just say that there isn't anything the matter with my 
desktop computer. The purchase of this laptop was just as an accessory to 
use in a leisurely way when I didn't feel like sitting at my desk. I have no 
need of aclamating myself to it by what you'd call "immersion" if you were 
discussing language learning. I have a lot to do, all of it involving my 
computer, and I simply can't afford the time and frustration or, as some on 
this list might prefer to say, the negative productivity impact of such a 
commitment. I admire your tenaciousness and success of some years ago, but 
it sounds as if the transition was undertaken under some duress, and so 
you're to be admired for your gumption. But I'm under no duress at all, and 
I simply will not put myself through anything like that. It's a matter of 
choice and the value of my time. I hope I've made myself clear. Meantime, 
thanks for what I'm sure you intended as encouragement.

Joel
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Geetha Shamanna" <geetha at millernorbert.de>
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 5:40 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Still hassling with my laptop keyboard

Joel,

When I switched to using a laptop in 2002, mastering the keyboard was
initially difficult. However, since I had no access to a desktop or an
external keyboard once I purchased the laptop, the process was a lot faster.
I have never longed for a desktop since.

It might be a good idea for you to switch to using the laptop altogether
rather than practising on it for an hour or so daily. This way, although
things will be painfully slow to begin with, you will get accustomed to the
laptop keyboard a lot faster.

Geetha

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joel Deutsch" <jdeutsch at dslextreme.com>
To: "GUI-Talk" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 1:44 AM
Subject: [gui-talk] Still hassling with my laptop keyboard

Hi listers,

Okay, please come clean. I know some of us are totally blind and some are
partial. I'm partial, myself, but I have no central vision thus can't read
at all with my eyes. Only with Jaws, recorded literature, and so forth. So
in dealing with this new machine of mine, which I'd hoped would be a handy
tool, I'm at a loss.

I thought I'd be able to get the hang of the keyboard with some effort. it's
an Acer with a number key pad so I don't have to learn the Jaws laptop key
commands.

but still there's no space between the keys and the sections of keys as I'm
accustomed to on a normal keyboard, and no matter how patiently I sit and
turn on Jaws Keyboard Help to explore and get the lay of the land, so to
speak, I just am finding it nearly impossible to operate the machine.

Please bear in mind that I'm a pretty damn good touch typist, plus a Jaws
user from way back with the current release. Ordinary stuff like that is not
impeding me. But try as I might, my fingers just can't figure out where keys
are, except in small, lucky instances and a few keys I happen to have taught
myself by now. I don't think this is gonna work.

I know I can get a USB keyboard to plug into this laptop, then set the
computer within earshot and sit back with only the keyboard on my lap. But
this ain't what I'd daydreamed about. I guess I didn't anticipate
realistically how tough this would be to do blind.

Please just tell the truth, guys. I think a number of you are using laptops,
at least as your secondary computers. How many of you actually use your
laptops (mine's an Acer PC, for what that matters) normally, and how many
use an auxiliary keyboard? Am I in a very low-skill class, sort of, if I
can't figure out how to type on something like this the way sighted people
do with their own laptops?

Ug. Bummed out. thanks for any helpful feedback.
and Happy New Year.

Joel

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