02-11-2012, 10:06 AM | #16 | |
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That's a good point. I *think* she would need assistance getting the book, putting it in place and possibly turning pages. That's why I wondered about a stand and touchscreen - I imagined it might minimalise the dexterity normally involved in reading. However I've not spent enough time around this lady yet to answer all the fine points - some to'ing and fro'ing will be required. That's good though, that's what I need, that's why I came here. Thanks for the stand suggestion. I think that would be ideal if she were spending some quality time out of bed but, from what I can gather, she spends the vast majority of her time in bed. Apparently the accommodation she's in doesn't allow attachments to be fixed to walls(which is an insult as it's a care home apparently for people with special needs). So I was hoping for a floor stand that would hang over the bed. Here's the best of what I've bookmarked so far: http://www.standforstuff.com/ http://www.laptopdesk.net/tower-ipad-mount.html http://www.laptopdesk.net/mantis-ipad-stand.html Some other options that could be used in conjunction with a bedside table: http://www.handeholder.com/m5/10006-...ing-clamp.html http://www.handeholder.com/m5/10005-...lamp-2-5.html] The only problem with all these is lack of control for a bed-bound person - once it's positioned over the bed, it's there till the carer comes round. I'll ask her about audio books - who knows, maybe she's never thought of it! Thanks, David. |
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02-11-2012, 10:07 AM | #17 |
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02-11-2012, 10:12 AM | #18 | |
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That's a good point - I've seen that on a colleague's I-Phone. do you know which E-Readers do this, or is there a generic term for this functionality so I know to avoid it. I suppose if all the reading were done from a stand it wouldn't be a problem, but I just don't know if that'll be the case yet. Another one for my list of questions next time I see her. Trouble is she won't know the answer to half of them until she gets the thing to try out. Fun, fun, fun. Thanks, David. |
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02-11-2012, 10:17 AM | #19 |
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For Kindle there are ready to use products for persons with disabilities, such as PageBot; it supports various kinds of buttons (very large easy to press ones or even mouth controlled).
Only downside to such a solution is the price... the pagebot does not modify kindle hardware but rather it's a mount with a mechanic that presses the button on the kinde for you when you press the pagebots buttons. Other projects such as Frankenkindle hook such buttons up directly with the Kindle hardware itself which should be a less complicated solution - but requires some electronics knowledge |
02-11-2012, 10:19 AM | #20 | |
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That's interesting - a lot of people seem to be against touchscreen which I'm surprised at. I thought it would be better for arthritic users, but apparently not always. Please could you elaborate on "ability to read the book" - is this what text-to-speech does? For some reason I'd thought text-to-speech just worked on menus and basic operations, not actually reading out the book itself. If so, doesn't it sound a bit weird reading a book, without the right intonation etc? Still impressive though. Thanks, David. |
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02-11-2012, 10:24 AM | #21 |
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For touchscreen you need a bit of fine control - tap in the wrong place or tap twice and the device won't do what you want. Buttons give you more tactile feedback which makes it harder to press the wrong button or press a button twice by accident. But that doesn't help if buttons make your hands hurt of course...
Try both as it depends on the person whether touch or button works better for them. |
02-11-2012, 10:50 AM | #22 | ||
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I don't think I've quite sussed out this multi-quote yet but....
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I'm curious: how are buttons better than touchscreen? Is it just that the touchscreen technology is a bit ropey at the moment so that it's somehow more difficult than pressing a button? I'm quite disappointed as it sounded to me like touchscreen would be better for arthritic users, but the majority of reviewers seem to be saying the opposite. That's not just on here either - thats' from reviews I've read all over the place. The Kindle 3G is a consideration, *but* it has this keyboard which I thought would be a bit of an insult to someone who can't use it, so I was hoping to avoid that if possible. Quote:
international customers involves international copyright laws, tariffs, VAT taxes, currency conversions, etc., only US and Canadian residents are able to purchase NOOK Books on the Barnes & Noble website at this time.". I'd read other reviews that mentioned similar copyright restrictions. Now I'm guessing from what you've said that there's ways around all this. However my main concern is that she will be able to use 3G to download the books when she wants, without any fuss or PC intervention(if possible obviously). So would getting hold of some otherwise-unavailable-in-UK books require PC legwork? Thanks, David. Last edited by Carnyx; 02-11-2012 at 12:10 PM. |
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02-11-2012, 12:13 PM | #23 | |
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This is good first-hand information I'm getting here - thank you. Is the initial messing about require any special knowledge, or is it just a set of steps to follow? Has the T1 got 3G connectivity? Thanks, David. |
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02-11-2012, 12:31 PM | #24 | ||
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I was quite interested in the Nook, because of the touchscreen and possibly the colour version, but the B&N auto-reply saying books unavailable via their website in the UK put me off. I guessed this meant that books wouldn't be downloadable via 3G, but please correct me if I'm wrong on that. That said, a lot of people are saying touchscreen isn't so good, so I'm wondering whether to still go for touchscreen now. Quote:
But thanks very much for checking that out and taking the time to respond - much appreciated. David. Last edited by Carnyx; 02-11-2012 at 12:33 PM. |
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02-11-2012, 12:44 PM | #25 | |
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Very interesting to hear there are bespoke devices and software that enable mouth control or other workarounds. I did come across something that hooked up to the buttons with big bright coloured buttons for turning the page - it was a daft price though. I don't suppose you have a URL do you? As you say it may come down to price as to whether I can cover it all in the end. I'm ashamed to say I have next to no electronics knowledge I'm afraid. I'd probably just end up with singed eyebrows, covered in wires in the corner of the room, crying, and getting electrocuted by my own tears. I'd heard mention of this FrankenKidnle in a couple of places, but I must admit, I thought it was a joke from the name, so I didn't check it out. Will add it to my ever-growing "to do" list. Thanks, David. Last edited by Carnyx; 02-11-2012 at 01:39 PM. |
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02-11-2012, 12:49 PM | #26 | |
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Thanks, David. |
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02-11-2012, 02:17 PM | #27 | |||
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One is, that you have no coordination in hands, but still some strength. In this case touchscreen is not a good choice. You need buttons that are as big and as sturdy as possible. Other type of disability is that the person does have sufficient coordination, but lacks strength. In this case the touch interface is great, because you only need to touch the screen very, very lightly. Quote:
- this thread will be read by other people who might have similar problem as you have and - sometimes there is no way that the person with the problem could operate any reader in "out of box" state due to more severe handicap. If I was solving problem for such person, I would probably take PocketBook reading device, void warranty by taking it apart and solder wires for big, comfortable external buttons for operating the device where tiny switches are normally connected on printed circuit board. I would mount the device on the board and then mount nice, big external buttons on the same board. You can even connect another button for "next page" on cable, so the disabled person could take the most comfortable position while turning pages, holding a kind of wired remote control. You could turn pages by moving a head slightly or blowing into a tube, or something. External USB keyboard is an interesting solution, because you "only" need to jailbreak the device to install some drivers - you do not leave visible traces of modification. And you do not need to modify device hardware in any way. So when the reader dies [from other case then bricking by botched firmware modification ;-) ] you can still claim the warranty. |
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02-11-2012, 02:34 PM | #28 | |
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Geographic restrictions are a carry-over from times when books were printed on paper and it was very impractical for Great Britain resident to import one paper book from USA. So the rights were sold to USA publisher and British publisher. This often means that people in Poland or other non-English-speaking country can't buy such e-book legally anywhere, because USA publisher can only sell to USA and GB publisher can only sell in their designated region. And then publishers complain that people in Russia pirate their works ... sigh ... but this is rant for different thread. |
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02-11-2012, 02:57 PM | #29 | ||||||
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Seriously - thanks for taking so much time to research and reply to this. It's humbling to get free first-hand advice like this off people who know what they're talking about.....<< Cue bill of service >> Thanks Kacir, David. |
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02-11-2012, 03:04 PM | #30 | ||
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Thanks again, David. |
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accessibility, accessible, arthritis, best ereader |
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