I don't know about Evan, but the opticon would be useless for me and a
lot of other blind people too. I tried one out in 1989 when I was in
rehab and couldn't make out much at all with it. It was considered
obsolete even then and I don't think they are being made anymore. It is
something you have to learn and the learning is painstaking. To me all I
could feel with it was an unpleasant vibration on my fingers. I
understand that if you stick with it then eventually those vibrations
will begin to feel like letters, but that it takes lots of practice. I
think the advent of synthetic voices killed it. I suppose the rehab
teachers were not even thinking about using it to proofread. At least
back in 1989 the Internet did not exist and Bookshare was even further
into the future.
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
On 6/4/2020 10:35 PM, Judy wrote:
Hi Evan,
You could print out pages and use the Opticon with them, couldn't you? My brother did that with my mom's Opticon, I think. But otherwise, it's an image pdf intended for sighted volunteers. I was addressing the part of Valerie's message that asked regarding other sighted volunteers. smile.
Judy
On June 4, 2020 9:05:52 PM CDT, Evan Reese <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Judy,
I’m not sure that having an image pdf would do me any good. Unless
I am mistaken, (and I’m sure someone here will tell me if I am), I
would have to have that image OCRed before I can read it. I can do
that, but it may well introduce errors of its own and may not tell
me what I want to know.
Evan
*From:* Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:27 PM
*To:* bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other deranged
perfectionists
So this got sent without the text it was supposed to have, which was:
Finding out there is an option that is free is always nice, isn't
it? *grin*
On June 4, 2020 8:24:41 PM CDT, Judy <cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
*grin*
Judy
On June 4, 2020 8:16:44 PM CDT, Evan Reese
<mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Oh well, I didn’t know that.
So I guess my advice to buy the book is kaput. <smile>
Evan
*From:* Judy <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Thursday, June 04, 2020 9:01 PM
*To:* bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for other
deranged perfectionists
Hi Valerie,
Every wish list book scanned by staff has a pdf available
from staff that contains a scanned image of every page.
Send an email to volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, tell them you
are proofreading a wish list book that you'd like to have
the PDF for, and list the title and the author. They will
send you a link that lets you view the PDF online, and
that will let you download the PDF as well.
Judy
On June 4, 2020 7:46:44 PM CDT,
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
In recent weeks I have picked up a couple of books off
the wish list on checkout. One of them is a YA book
set in Hawaii with a lot of dialect. I have put a ton
of work into it already, realizing that the scanning
had not only stripped most of the italics, but had
inferred traditional words in place of dialect words.
I guess my question is more often for sighted
volunteers, but how often do people feel the need to
have confirmation from the physical print in trying to
achieve high accuracy? I'm debating about the
necessity of paying $6.50 to have the Kindle copy
available to continue making corrections. The first
chapter was available as a peek and it made me realize
how much was missing or improperly handled in the
scan. Money is tight, and I hate to spend the money,
but I've also already invested so much in getting this
to where it is now that I almost feel compelled.
Everyone's thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Valerie
