[Reader-users] Determining The Correct Tilt: Was RE:my mom'sletter

Gary Wunder gwunder at earthlink.net
Mon Nov 5 12:38:25 CST 2007 

$150 from the NFB'S Independence Market - 410.659.9314.

Gary


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Meredith" <cmered at microsoft.com>
To: "Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader user list" 
<reader-users at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Reader-users] Determining The Correct Tilt: Was RE:my 
mom'sletter


>I didn't know there was such an animal as a stand for this device.  Where 
>might I find it, and how much might it set me back?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Pam Drake
> Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:14 PM
> To: 'Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader user list'
> Subject: Re: [Reader-users] Determining The Correct Tilt: Was RE: my 
> mom'sletter
>
> Mike,
>
> Thanks for the very detailed instructions.  Without a sighted person 
> easily
> available to verify my camera position it really helps to have the extra
> verbal input, especially for one who refers to the word "straight" as the
> eight-letter S-word".  Sorry if that offended anybody, but that concept 
> just
> is very hard for me.  So is centering, but you have given me a reference 
> to
> work on.
>
>
>
> Oh yes, the parts of the machine are very easy to identify.  I even had 
> the
> two pieces come apart the day I first tried the ill-fated battery change; 
> so
> I know how important it is to make sure the camera and PDA are snugly
> attached and the Velcro securely fastened.
>
> So I gather from your information that my definition of "tilt" isn't
> accurate.  That's good to know.  I tend to take things very literally at
> times, and that can of course cause mistakes.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Pam
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 7:41 AM
> To: Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader user list
> Subject: Re: [Reader-users] Determining The Correct Tilt: Was RE: my mom's
> letter
>
> Pam:
>
> You're making this harder than it need be.
>
> First, as elementary as it sounds, please be aware that the camera is the
> oblongish projection from the PDA. The camera lens is the
> glass/plastic/feeling disk that you feel through the opening in the part 
> of
> the case that holds the camera. Hence, when you "point the camera" at
> something, you are aiming this disk -- the lens -- at it.
>
> Second, you want the camera placed such that the center of the lens is
> pointing straight down toward the reading material and such that it is
> centered on the material (such as a piece of paper or page from a book),
> i.e., the edges of the paper are  equidistant in the horizontal plane from
> the center of the lens. You can learn to find this point by putting the
> Reader on the surface and sliding it till there is an equal amount of 
> paper
> to the left, right, top and bottom from the lens. Now bring the camera up
> *flat* till it is 16/18 inches above the reading surface. In the Field of
> View Report, what you want to hear is "All Four Edges Visible". Don't 
> worry
> about how much the camera is rotated with respect to the page; while this 
> is
> useful in that the closer the camera is aligned to the page (either 0
> degrees or 90 degrees off -- the software will adjust for the rotation and
> will say the picture is "upside down"
> if the camera is rotated 180 degrees with respect to the page), the better
> the image, the difference is slight and isn't nearly as critical as 
> whether
> you have all four edges of the paper visible or not. The software will
> compensate for the rotation. You also want the printed image to take up
> somewhere around 50% of the total area seen by the camera; if the camera 
> is
> too far away from the reading surface, the image may not be sufficiently
> distinct to get good recognition; if the camera is too close, it  won't 
> see
> the entire surface. I've taken images with as little as 20% of the camera
> image consisting of print but this is not ideal.
>
> Third, if you can't quite get all four edges visible, take the picture
> anyway; you may be surprised. However, you won't be guaranteed that the
> Reader will see all the print that is there.
>
> All this takes far longer to talk about then to do. Don't obsess over it;
> just practice, practice, practice. And then practice some more.
> You'll get the hang of it. If you truly don't have the hand coordination 
> or
> steadiness to master the thing; the Reader stand works wonderfully. I 
> bought
> the Reader before there *was* a stand so if I wanted to use it, I perforce
> had to get at least decent at positioning it over the printed material.
> There are many who are better at it than am I; however, I'm "good enough 
> for
> government work" -- which is where I work. (grin)
>
> I will say this; after you get good with the Reader, you'll have a much
> better understanding of what it is like to look directly at something as
> opposed to viewing at an angle.
>
> Never fear; I'm quite certain you'll get it. But, as I say, less 
> obsessing,
> more practicing. (huge grin)
>
> Warmly,
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Pam Drake
>  To: 'Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader user list'
>  Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 1:00 AM
>  Subject: [Reader-users] Determining The Correct Tilt: Was RE: my mom's
> letter
>
>
>  I am trying to determine how to recognize and perfect the tilt.  I'm
>  imagining it as a kind of downward slant, placing the camera at the 
> proper
>  height, but closer to the paper than the pda.  Is this assumption 
> correct?
>  Can anyone possibly describe what position I'm trying to find?  Is it a
>  steep angle?  Shannon first told me of this privately in a phone
>  conversation, and I think I have the idea, but wanted to run my idea by
> the
>  list to get any further clarification from anyone.  My spatial judgment 
> is
>  somewhat off, so the more possible illustrations I can get of this idea,
> the
>  better.
>
>  Thanks, as always.
>
>  Pam
>
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org
>  [mailto:reader-users-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shannon!
>  Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 1:52 PM
>  To: Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader user list
>  Subject: [Reader-users] my mom's letter
>
>  Hi James,
>  I most definitely shall keep the letter, not only to show what the reader
>  can do, but also to help me learn to be a better picture taker.  I was
>  getting 2 and a half thirds of the letter, but no matter what I did, I
> could
>  not get it all.  So when my husband came home, I turned the view finder 
> on
>  so he could see and we practiced the tilt of the camera.  IN my case, I
> was
>  holding it high enough, but my tilt was wrong.  This is probably the
>  hardest, (though not really hard), thing about the Reader, is getting 
> that
>  camera tilt right, especially if you absolutely must, or want to, read 
> the
>  full page.
>  I've got the letter saved on my cf card and the original print letter,
> just
>  in case I need to practice the tilt some more.
>  Shannon
>  Don't question the gifts you have been given; just do what you can to 
> pass
>  the gifts along.
>
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