[nfb-talk] Talking menus.

Tue Apr 24 17:44:35 CDT 2007

Hi all:  I just looked at their web site and was disappointed that there
wasn't more information there.  I have written a note to one of the people
listed in contact information and asked 5 different questions.  Here's what
I said:

I am Michael D. Barber with the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa.  I
saw an article about your company and had some specific questions about
these menus that talk.

1.  What does it cost for a restaurant to have this service and how much do
each of the units cost?
2.  Are the menus complete or are we getting just an overview of the
information on the menu?
3.  Are the buttons tactile in  nature so a blind person could feel them?
4.  How are the units updated when that need arises?
5.  Do you use synthetic speech or is it a human voice or a digitally
created voice?

I would like to have answers to these questions and eagerly await your
reply.

Thank you.

Cordially,
Michael D. Barber, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
3000 Grand Avenue
Apt. 817
Des Moines, IA  50312
(515) 284-1569 

We'll see what they say in their reply.
\Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:45 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Talking menus.

Moreover, we don't know that the menus would be anywhere near complete. 
This whole business strikes me more as a gimmick rather than something
useful. If a menu isn't available in braille, I'd rather use a reader so
that I may better ascertain my choices.

Mike

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Steve Jacobson
  To: NFB Talk Mailing List
  Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:55 AM
  Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Talking menus.

  there are many unanswered questions here, though.  First, what does 
each unit cost.  Second, how would they be updated?  Third, and perhaps 
this is first, how
  would the buttons for categories be accessed?  We cant assume any more 
that a "button" is somthing you can feel.  I'm not saying this cannot 
work, only that we
  need to know much more to judge how effective this approach and this 
specific model would be.

  On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:00:51 -0600, dmgina wrote:

  >Now that will be grate.
  >Won't help those who are wishing to keep up with Brailing?
  >I wonder how long it will take for this to get across country.
  >Thanks for sharing.

  >--Dar
  >Every saint has a future,
  >Every sinner has a past
  >----- Original Message ----- 
  >From: "Alan Wheeler" <awheeler at neb.rr.com>
  >To: "'NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
  >Cc: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
  >Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 3:46 AM
  >Subject: [nfb-talk] Talking menus.

  >>>>PR Newswire
  >>>>Wednesday, April 18, 2007
  >>>>
  >>>>Menus That Talk(TM) - Restaurant Menus Get Table Smarts
  >>>>
  >>>>Miami company introduces portable electronic menus that speak; 
uniquely
  >>>>serves the special needs of the visually impaired, elderly and
  >>>>non-English
  >>
  >> speaking guests
  >>>>
  >>>>    MIAMI, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylannas Inc. announces the 
launch
  >>>> of
  >> an electronic restaurant menu system, Menus That Talk(TM), a 
portable,
  >> compact
  >> device, approximately the size of a DVD case, that speaks to
  >>>>restaurant guests, describing selected food items from the 
hand-held
  >>>unit's illuminated buttons.   A lighted array of buttons displays 
major
  >> menu categories
  >> like DRINKS,
  >>>>APPETIZERS and SEAFOOD. Guests simply press a button corresponding 
to a
  >> category and hear brief descriptions of cuisine, wine suggestions, 
sides
  >> and
  >> prices. At the touch of a button, Menus That Talk describes what's 
for
  >>>>dinner.
  >>>>    No habla ingles? No problem: Just press the language button 
for  >>
  >> Spanish or another language. No more squinting in dim light or 
turning
  >> page
  >> after
  >> page of complex printed menus. No more awkward conferences with 
busy
  >>>>waiters.
  >>>>    Ready to order? A Service button pages your waiter. For the 
visually
  >> disabled, the buttons are also imprinted in Braille. Guests who 
can't see
  >> the
  >> button names and don't use Braille can browse the menu simply by 
tapping
  >> buttons to hear categories. Another tap brings up the details.
  >>    In noisy restaurants or for the hearing-impaired, Menus That 
Talk
  >> features a detachable hand-held earphone. The earphone also 
interfaces
  >> with
  >> Tele-coil
  >> equipped hearing-aids.
  >>>>    Menus That Talk(TM) serves the needs and comforts of all 
restaurant
  >> patrons with its simple layout, ease of use and ability to deliver 
voice
  >> anywhere
  >> in the restaurant. Benefits for the restaurants include
  >>>>streamlining menu selections, reducing server assistance time and
  >>>>bringing
  >> the menu to a larger, appreciative audience.
  >>>>    "Menus should be able to communicate without being a 
challenge," said
  >> President and CEO Susan Perry. "We're making a restaurant's entire 
menu
  >> available
  >> to all its customers, and we're making it a pleasurable
  >>>>experience."
  >>>>    The idea originated in an Olive Garden restaurant where Ms. 
Perry was
  >> having lunch with her niece Jessica, a pretty 24-year-old with 
advanced
  >> macular
  >> degeneration who cannot read a menu from any distance. Jessica 
asked her
  >> aunt to please read the menu to her. Susan had forgotten to
  >>>>bring her reading glasses. They laughed about it, but Susan 
thought, "Why
  >> shouldn't menus be able to talk?"
  >>>>    Menus That Talk(TM) premieres to the public at the National
  >>>> Restaurant
  >> Association show in Chicago, May 19-22, 2007.
  >>>>    More:
  >> http://www.menusthattalk.com
  >>
  >>

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

  >> _______________________________________________
  >> nfb-talk mailing list
  >> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
  >> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
  >>

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

  >No virus found in this incoming message.
  >Checked by AVG Free Edition.
  >Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.7/771 - Release Date: 
4/21/2007
  >11:56 AM

  >_______________________________________________
  >nfb-talk mailing list
  >nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
  >http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk

  _______________________________________________
  nfb-talk mailing list
  nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
  http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk