Hi, To the comment about blind people using a touchscreen. I know a couple of sighted people who don't find it such a good experience, either, so I guess it applies to blind and sighted folks alike.
I'm using a trackpad on my Macbook when doing most of my work, and at first when I heard about it, I thought I wouldn't like it at all. But I'm absolutely loving the experience, and trying the same set of gestures on the iPhone just made me love it even more. I found typing of particular interest, since this is not something you can do on a trackpad. That was most certainly different. A strange experience. I don't have an iPhone, but I have tried an iPhone on numerous occasions. i'd like to have one, though typing is, without a doubt, the most confusing aspect. At least, it is for me. One aspect of a touchscreen that I have always thoroughly enjoyed, on an iPhone or a Macbook, is the concept of being able to touch an item and you'll be moved to the item of interest. It's just incredibly fast. Regards, Nic On Oct 2, 2009, at 3:11 AM, Lynn Schneider wrote: > Hi Jean-Philippe. > I agree with you that typing on the iPhone is not as fast as with a > standard keyboard, but you would be surprised at how proficient you > can become with practice. I have the iPod Touch. I have found that > one of the tricks to becoming really proficient with the touch > screen is learning your applications and where things are on the > screen, specifically the distances between things. Just as you are > very familiar with where things are in your house, such as how far > the furniture is from the walls, etc., you learn to very quickly > judge the distances between the numbers and where your icons are on > the screen. Another important trick is to get the ergonomics > right. I found that when I first started learning to use the touch > screen, I was tensing and contorting my hands in a weird way which > caused my fingers to sort of spasm a little. You have to find a > comfortable position, and learn to relax your hands as much as > possible. Since those like me who have been blind from birth have > never used a touch screen, it is a new thing and will take a > commitment to practice, willingness to learn something totally new > and a fair amount of frustration tolerance initially, but > perseverance through the learning curve can have a very rewarding > outcome. There are easier options out there and I don't think touch > screen technology is appropriate for every blind person, but if you > have a sense of adventure, are openminded about new things and have > the time and willingness to practice, I'd say go for it! > On Sep 30, 2009, at 7:00 PM, Jean-Philippe wrote: > >> Dear all, >> The first thing I saw, sorry, heard, was a demo video on Apple's >> accessibility page. It was really impressive, and I already knew >> that mastering such a revolutionary interface could not be achieved >> in a day. >> Well, never mind, I was excited enough to start calling shop after >> shop in Paris to see if there was one available to try out. And so >> here I was, this very morning, in a phone store in Paris, my hands >> on this new magic toy. >> I was glad I had read part of the instructions before I came, and >> activating voice-over on the iPhone was quite easy, much to the >> astonishment of the vendor. >> I started fiddling and was soon surprised about how quickly I was >> able to make friend with the objects on the object. It's really fun >> to manipulate indeed. >> Unfortunately, it was impossible to take the iPhone for a walk as >> it was stock inside a kind of anti-theft display case and so I >> tried to imagine how I would use the iPhone as I'm currently using >> my Nokia. And that's where I think I found a limitation to this >> wonderful interface. Don't misunderstand me, I absolutely admire >> the technical prowess, but you see, the first thing I need a phone >> for is to phone people. With a physical keyboard, it is actually >> possible to dial a number while walking in the street and holding >> the phone in one hand, same for SMS. The problem with the iPhone is >> that you can't rely on tactile information at all, and I'm afraid >> that using voice-over for something as simple as or typing text >> can only be slower than using a physical keyboard. >> So my bottom line is that the iPhone is probably a wonderful pocket >> computer that can be used as a phone, but I don't see it as the >> ideal tool for actually calling people. >> This sensation I want to share with you only came after 15 minutes >> of playing with the iPhone and I would love to know what someone >> who's been using it for a longer time thinks . >> Cheers, >> JPR >> >> >> >> http://myspace.com/jeanphilipperykiel >> >> >> > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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