Hi Damien,
Its pretty safe to say that no one goes it alone. Most people including
myself learned to use their iPhone or a different operating system like
Linux by asking around to various blind groups who use the technology,
ask for a blind user nearby for some hands on training, or read any
documentation on the subject.If you picked up your iPhone or installed
Linux without asking for any help then its no wonder you got frustrated
and gave up, because what you need in a situation like that is hands on
support when you are dealing with something new. Plus it also doesn't
hurt to be patient and realize you aren't going to learn something
totally new in a few days.
For example, when I lost my sight and voc Rehab purchased Jaws for me I
didn't know how to use it. However, I listened to the audio tapes that
came with it, followed along with the tutorials, and voc rehab paid to
have someone train me hands on to use the software as well as teach me
how to use Windows without a mouse.
Years later when I got into using Linux I subscribed to lists like the
Speakup mailing list, the Orca mailing list, the Blinux mailing list,
and I learned from asking questions, reading tutorials, and having some
blind Linux users talk me through problems over the phone and via
e-mail. After a while I knew what I was doing and am a happy Linux user
because of it. I certainly didn't learn to use Linux and the various
access technologies all on my own. I had plenty of help along the way.
Same goes for the iPhone. I was initially hesitent to try one, but a
sighted family member of mine had one and showed me how to use it. Once
I had someone right there to show me how to use it I thought it wasn't
very complicated. I wasn't put in the position of trying to figure it
all out on my own. That's what made a world of difference for me.
Now, there are cases like Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 where
I essentially taught myself, but I did that through trial and error. I
did it by experimenting and looking around at this and that. However, I
already knew the basics of how to use my screen reader, knew the basic
Windows keyboard commands, etc so for me it wasn't as large a leap from
jumping from Windows to Linux had been. However, if I did have problems
I wouldn't have hesitated to go to the Window-Eyes list, the NVDA list,
etc to ask for help.
So in answer to your question we don't know everything to start with. We
ask for help, we get hands on training from a friend or family member,
we read tutorials, or whatever it takes until we know how to do it. Its
a slow process that takes time and patients. Weather its an iPhone, a
new OS like Linux, or upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8 there is a
learning curve involved that will take you and everyone else time to get
use to. The only way to handle it is through practice and training.
Cheers!
On 4/21/2012 3:38 PM, Damien Pendleton wrote:
Hi Charles,
But how on earth do you know all this to start with? It's like you
don't just go on a PC for the first time and know how to do
everything. That's why I struggle so much with operating systems other
than Windows, and even specifically XP or below. I tried Linux and
wanted to throw it out the window. I tried Mac and felt like calling
it a muck because I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I can't get
to grips with Vista or 7 because of their new interfaces, likely 8 is
even worse for it.
As for the touch screen stuff, some of those moves are news to me.
Even the so-called basic ones like single and double tapping are hard
to do, because, for me especially, my other fingers get in the way for
a start, and then there's the fact that I end up tapping the wrong bit
for the second tap because my hands are often unsteady, hence the
reason it takes me so long to access things.
I know, a lot of you think it's just a lack of patience, and maybe it
is, but that's because I'm used to 17 years of accessing a computer at
lightning speed. For example, I can quite comfortably go into run and
type a command line about as quickly as it would take to access an
item on a jam packed desktop. For example, if you have to go to the
desktop and press s five times for Super Liam, depending of course on
how quick you are and how well you are at judging when you're in the
right place, I've most likely used Run, and loaded and retrieved my
emails a second before the game starts. So to get an IPhone and take
five minutes to access an app where on a PC it takes me a few seconds
at most, or to dial a phone number when I can dial it in three seconds
on my Nokia, is extremely annoying.
Regards,
Damien.
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