[laptop-accessibility] XO keyboard

[Jim Gettys]

Note, however, that the large keys are intended to also be used as
sliders; making them have lots of dots for everyone isn't necessary
optimal for all concerned.  

Simple (cheap) solutions that are available even in developing world
countries (the incidence of blindness is even higher there than in the
developed world) may be preferable to modifying the membrane.

Experiments and brainstorming are in order...
                                - Jim




On Sat, 2008-01-05 at 12:28 -0500, gabey8 at aol.com wrote:
> Highmarks! That's the thing I was drawing a blank on last night, when
> I was trying to remember the name of it! I've seen that used before --
> I have a few deaf-blind friends who've had high-marks dots applied to
> the controls of their microwave oven, stove, etc, to make them
> tactile.
> 
> If the high-marks will cooperate by adhering to the membrane, that
> might be a good idea.
> 
> Whatever is added, it has to stick to the membrane, be large enough to
> be tactile, and be SMALL enough not to be knocked askew when the XO
> case is closed.
> 
> In the days before home row keys got little tactile dots on them as a
> matter of course, one of my friends took a braille label maker and
> labelled the F and J keys. On keys as narrow as the ones on the top of
> the XO keyboard, maybe a braille label trimmed down to just one dot,
> applied over each of the keys, would stay put. I was surprised at how
> much those labels can withstand -- we signed my friend's cast with
> braille labels after his ankle surgery, and those labels stayed put
> until the cast was off. :-) If the adhesive could survive being on a
> cast, I would hope it would remain in place on some keyboard function
> keys that probably won't get as much heavy use as the letter and
> number keys.
> 
> How do those ideas sound as a short-term solution (until the keyboard
> membrane itself can be adapted)?
> 
> 
> 
> ----
> Visit http://gabey8.blogspot.com today. :-)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Gorse <mgorse at mgorse.dhs.org>
> To: jg at laptop.org; Discussion of accessibility on the OLPC
> <accessibility at lists.laptop.org>
> Cc: Walter Bender <walter at laptop.org>
> Sent: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 10:46 am
> Subject: Re: [laptop-accessibility] XO keyboard
> 
> Thanks; filed as ticket 5859.
> 
> 
> 
> Donna, it's a good question what would work as far as markers go.  I have 
> 
> some dots lying around the house somewhere (they're called Highmarks or 
> 
> something similar), but I didn't think to look for them last night and try 
> 
> to mark the XO.  It would be good to figure out what works, though, since 
> 
> it would help with existing hardware.  And I use a screen reader (although 
> 
> I can't do anything with the current XO image).
> 
> 
> 
> -- Mike Gorse / AIM:linvortex / http://mgorse.freeshell.org --
> 
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-- 
Jim Gettys
One Laptop Per Child