[nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle

marty martythekid at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 6 19:51:15 CDT 2006 

lol, its a guy thing.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kaye Kipp" <kkipp123 at msn.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle


> Good lord.  Eue.
>
> Kaye
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 11:00 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle
>
>
>> The problem I see with *any* talking sign technology is that it is only
>> as good as those who maintain it. This is true whether the technology is
>> infrared (Sound Transit) or RF tagging (Harry Hart). It seems to me that
>> people are far more likely to maintain printed signage than they are
>> audible signage -- if only because they read print. Mr. Hart's
>> technology is potentially less of a problem to maintain but even with
>> it, someone is going to have to maintain the messages. And I don't know
>> about you but I don't *want* to here advertisements for the stores I am
>> passing. Perhaps it's a guy thing but I want to buy X and nothing else
>> and I want no distractions. (grin)
>>
>> And all of this has the fundamental drawback that one needs to know the
>> signage is there in order to use it. Yes, I know; theoretically, one is
>> expected to wave the receiver about to determine if anything useful is
>> blatting at him/her. But that's theory. In practice, with cane or dog,
>> one only has one hand left and one is often carrying something. And
>> sound is serial; information comes in bit by bit by bit. With sight, one
>> can take in several things at once. So visual signage is far easier to
>> deal with than is audible signage or Braille signage. That's why ADA's
>> guidelines on signage are so relaxed; one needs to know where the
>> signage is in order to use it, negating its fundamental purpose.
>>
>> speaking of waving things about:
>>
>> A man from Katmandu
>> Found a rather large mouse in his stew.
>> Said the waiter: "Don't shout
>> And wave it about
>> Or the rest will be wanting one, too!"
>>
>> Mike Freeman
>>
>> On Wed, 6 Sep 2006, marty wrote:
>>
>>> Hay guys,
>>>   You know I don't know about all the rest of you folks but I grew up on
>>> star treck, and this stuff is straight out of the series. Why not have a
>>> small receiver that is placed in the ear, that will pick up the signal
>>> from
>>> said signs, and go from there. If it can help some folks, why have a fit
>>> about it? No admitteddely, this technology will not be available every
>>> where, yet if it could be of some assistance, then why  not? but the
>>> system
>>> that Mr. Heart has out is a more user friendly system, just in the size
>>> of
>>> the receiver,  its about the size of a lighter, and with some of this
>>> blue
>>> tooth technology, things will be useable without the entire world 
>>> knowing
>>> anything about what help it gives, to anyone, not just the blind, and
>>> that
>>> was what it was designed for, and supported by the local store owners 
>>> who
>>> advirtize there.Folks lets face it, these people are working on
>>> improveing
>>> their carma, so they are going to do what they think will help, its up 
>>> to
>>> us
>>> to choose what we are going to do whith it. No it will never replace the
>>> common sence of just asking, not to mention, basic good mobility skills,
>>> which are good anywhere.Its education and choice, and what , and how its
>>> used.
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Jim Portillo" s<jp100 at earthlink.net>
>>> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 10:00 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle
>>>
>>>
>>>> Oh, are you talking about Harry Hart?
>>>>> From what I understand, he's gotten some money for that, but I'm not
>>>>> sure
>>>> how much or for how many.
>>>> Jim
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
>>>> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 9:33 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Actually, there is a fellow working on such a system in Seattle using
>>>>> the same technology as the RF ID tags used on merchandise. Don't know
>>>>> how far he's gotten, though. Although I'm not enamered of talking
>>>>> signs,
>>>>> the idea had some traction as regular merchants could use the system 
>>>>> as
>>>>> you describe and text could be scrolled onto the little handheld
>>>>> receivers. Speech synthesis would be used for the blind. My chief
>>>>> concern there was maintainability of the system; someone would always
>>>>> have to update it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, 1 Sep 2006, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Mike,
>>>>>> Did you ever wander around Woodland Park back in the days when you
>>>>>> could
>>>>>> buy
>>>>>> an Elephant Key and put it into the box positioned by each exhibit?
>>>>>> The
>>>>>> box
>>>>>> would begin to tell you everything you never wanted to know about 
>>>>>> what
>>>>>> was
>>>>>> supposed to be in there.  Of course they might have moved the 
>>>>>> original
>>>>>> occupant and put something else in, or the box refused to work at 
>>>>>> all.
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> suspect that those little problems were what finally did the project
>>>>>> in.
>>>>>> Still, I have a point here, it seems to me that talking signs could
>>>>>> have
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> very broad appeal.  Think of old uncle Fuddy Duddy arriving in our
>>>>>> Fair
>>>>>> City.  As he rolls off the box car, he can trot into town and rent a
>>>>>> unit
>>>>>> for the day.  As he pan handles his way up one street and down 
>>>>>> another
>>>>>> he
>>>>>> will be aware of all of the local attractions.
>>>>>> But really, such a system could be underwritten by the local
>>>>>> merchants.
>>>>>> Not
>>>>>> that they would want to have old uncle Duddy dropping in, but it 
>>>>>> would
>>>>>> be
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> way of advertising under the guise of providing a public service. 
>>>>>> And
>>>>>> at
>>>>>> it's finest, such a system might even include a little screen so
>>>>>> sighted
>>>>>> folks could stand mesmerized by the sight of all the local shops and
>>>>>> their
>>>>>> mounds of merchandise, along with a road map taking them right up to
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> front door.  Eventually the blind might have to fight just to have
>>>>>> such
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> system audio described.
>>>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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