n.sowatsky@cs.ucl.ac.uk (Nathan Sowatskey) (11/16/90)
Index Number: 11719 Hi, I am working on a X-Windows interface for partially sighted people. If you have, or anyone you know has, any feelings about what such a product should offer then please send a message to me at the following address: nsowatsk.cs.uc.ac.uk Which is me at University College in London, UK. I look forward to hearing from you all. Nathan Sowatskey
wtm@bunker.uucp (Bill McGarry) (11/16/90)
Index Number: 11720 n.sowatsky@cs.ucl.ac.uk (Nathan Sowatskey) writes: > I am working on a X-Windows interface for partially sighted people. > > If you have, or anyone you know has, any feelings about what such a > product should offer then please send a message to me at the following > address: I believe that teree@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Theresa Anne Getzler) was in the process of writing a research paper, part of which was about X-windows for the visually impaired. Also for your information, here is a copy of article # 5913 from December of 1989, written by: weber@ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.dbp.de (Gerhard Weber) of IfI, Univ. Stuttgart, W-Germany. [Start of quoted article] I have just recently subscribed to misc.handicap. I have read a few messages about an X-window server and that the technology is not available. This message is to make clear, that the technology is already available. Access to window and mouse-based user-interfaces is part of the research, that is done here at the University of Stuttgart, Germany in our research group "Applied computer science for the Blind". Access to graphics has been successfully made with our large braille display (more than 7000 pins), the pin-matrix device. This is, in more usual terms, simply a raster display. There will be very soon one in London, Ontario. The replacement for a mouse are the fingers. We use a sensor system that monitors the position of the fingers. Then a whole suite of tools has been made to describe finger movements and express the corresponding actions for a user-interface. We have made a drawing program, running on a SUN 3/60, that allows the blind user to draw with the fingers and to express gestures in order to avoid moving the hands to a keyboard. Communication is done soley by moving the fingers on the display while reading or pointing. Our current plans are directed towards a more cheaper technology, but with the same capabilities. I found the discussion about X and PM very encouraging. Some people that provide funds still don't think that this work needs to be supported. Gerhard Weber weber@ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.dbp.de Universitaet Stuttgart Insitut fuer Informatik Tel.: +49 (711) 121-1404 Azenbergstr. 12 Fax: +49 (711) 121-1424 D-7000 Stuttgart 1 [end of quoted article]