Interestingly enough, the aforementioned program Dasher was written by a developer on the OLPC team.<br><br>I plan on using my XO with my deaf grandmother. It will be a lot easier and faster to type to her than for her to try to read my lips and mishear me. Her eyes are starting to fail her to be honest. The XO can display text large and with high contrast, all that I need to talk with her.
<br><br>Seth<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 16, 2007 5:22 PM, Paula Gordon <<a href="mailto:dbaPlanB@dca.net">dbaPlanB@dca.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Thank you, Peter,<br>I am open to the possibility of attaching a USB keyboard or preferably<br>something smaller, like a joystick, to the XO, if my father is not able to<br>manipulate the keyboard and screen-side controls. But I am hoping that he'll
<br>be able to maneuver it as-is, since his vision is fine, and he can work the<br>small buttons on the TV remote. I read somewhere that an attempt was being<br>made to design program controls that didn't necessitate holding down two or
<br>more keys at a time. Also, one of the factors I considered when springing<br>for the XO was the self-contained nature of the XO and its shock-, water-<br>and dust-resistant case, and adding peripherals would compromise that. And
<br>too many controller-type objects around could get confusing. Since he spends<br>most of the day in a recliner, reclined, I think something he can hold in<br>his lap or on his chest with one hand while the other works the keyboard
<br>would work well. But we'll see. Having just ordered it, I don't expect to<br>receive my XO until late January or February.<br><div class="Ih2E3d"><br>>>If you are seeking a computer for him in the very short term, <<
<br></div>To be honest, my father is just an excuse for me to get one! I think he<br>would enjoy exploring the Web and that it would be a nice<br>alternative/adjunct to the TV, but it's not like he's been agitating for a
<br>computer. I don't want to bring in more equipment that I have to research<br>and learn how to use first, and then switch that out for the XO. I need to<br>keep it simple -- for my sake most of all. If my father doesn't show
<br>interest in it, then I'll pass it over to my mother, who loves to play<br>computer games. She presents a different set of 'abilities.' If she doesn't<br>fall in love with it (or break it), then I'll get to play with it more
<br>often. It will be interesting to compare our learning processes as all three<br>of us get acquainted with the machine.<br><br>Thank you very much for the information about the alternative systems,<br>though. Although I am not at all familiar with the systems you mention
<br>(aside from UNIX and Linux), I will look into them out of curiousity.<br><br>Many regards,<br><div class="Ih2E3d">Paula<br><br>Paula Gordon<br>Wilmington, DE<br></div><div class="Ih2E3d"><a href="http://www.dbaPlanB.com" target="_blank">
www.dbaPlanB.com</a><br><br><br>-----Original Message-----<br></div><div class="Ih2E3d">From: <a href="mailto:Peter.Korn@sun.com">Peter.Korn@sun.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:Peter.Korn@sun.com">Peter.Korn@sun.com</a>]<br>
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 1:50 PM<br>To: <a href="mailto:paula@dbaPlanB.com">paula@dbaPlanB.com</a>; Discussion of accessibility on the OLPC<br>Subject: Re: [laptop-accessibility] neophyte with an interest in<br>accessibilityfor old folks
<br><br><br></div><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">Hi Paula,<br><br>I very much hope to see the XO become a good option for this use<br>(speaking as a non-OLPC employee). Depending upon your father's needs,<br>this may take a shorter or longer amount of time. In particular, with
<br>the keyboard designed for a child's hands, his decreased manual<br>dexterity will at a minimum likely benefit greatly from an<br>external/additional input device - whether it is a full keyboard, or a<br>specialized keyboard like the IntelliKeys family, or a single switch
<br>interface, or a head tracker.<br><br>If you are seeking a computer for him in the very short term, you may<br>want to look at other options, including open source UNIX options (using<br>many similar underlying components to the XO - namely X Windows & GNOME
<br>& Linux). There are a number of relatively inexpensive laptops (<$400)<br>which will run things like Ubuntu 7.10 which might be a very interesting<br>option for him - and on which AT tools for folks with physical
<br>impairments like GOK and Dasher work very nicely. GOK can be driven<br>from a single switch device (essentially a USB mouse button, but costing<br>significantly more and coming in a wide range of sizes and styles - see
<br><a href="http://www.enablemart.com/Catalog/Switches" target="_blank">http://www.enablemart.com/Catalog/Switches</a> for a catalog of them; and<br>get one either with USB built in, or a USB converter box). Dasher is<br>
optimally used from an (x,y) tracking device (e.g. a head mouse, though<br>a standard mouse will also work). GOK can also be driven by [head]<br>mouse (and Dasher also by switch). GOK & Dasher are core parts of<br>GNOME; have been for several years now...
<br><br><br>Regards,<br><br><br>Peter Korn<br>Accessibility Architect,<br>Sun Microsystems, Inc.<br><br><br>> Greetings,<br>> I just ordered an XO this evening (G1G1), and started looking around this<br>> site and the support wiki. I'm a layman in terms of computers and
<br>> networking, and have no formal education or experience with the disabled.<br>My<br>> informal experience is that I care for my elderly parents and have been<br>> educating myself online about mental decline and physical accessibility
<br>> issues and have subsequently done quite a few adaptations in their home.<br>><br>> My big idea for the XO is to give my father access to the Internet. He's<br>81,<br>> mobility impaired, has decreased manual dexterity and some short-term
<br>memory<br>> loss. His cognitive function is still good, though, so I am hoping that he<br>> will be able to operate a laptop that has intuitive controls even if he's<br>> not able to remember how it works. Essentially, he'll have to figure out
<br>how<br>> to use it each time, until the knowledge seeps into his long-term memory.<br>He<br>> has been using computers for years, at work and at home since the early<br>> 1980s, but he hasn't been able to sit at a desk or follow multistep
<br>command<br>> paths for about 10 years.<br>><br>> Is this an area of interest for developers and users here? Using the XO<br>> laptop to improve quality of life for the elderly population? If so, and<br>if<br>
> there's anything specific you'd like me to keep track of, please let me<br>> know. I'll be learning how to use the laptop along with him.<br>><br>> Now I'll go back to lurking.<br>> Regards,
<br>> Paula<br>><br>> Paula Gordon<br>> Wilmington, DE<br>><br>><br>> _______________________________________________<br>> accessibility mailing list<br>> <a href="mailto:accessibility@lists.laptop.org">
accessibility@lists.laptop.org</a><br>> <a href="http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/accessibility" target="_blank">http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/accessibility</a><br><br>.<br><br><br><br>_______________________________________________
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</a><br></div></div></blockquote></div><br>