Voice of the Diabetic

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A FEW NOTES ON BUYING A COMPUTER

by Curtis Chong

Photo: portrait. Caption:

Curtis Chong.

(This article first appeared

in the January 2001 edition of the BRAILLE MONITOR, published by the National

Federation of the Blind)

From the MONITOR Editor:

Every year thousands of people ask the staff of the NFB Technology Department

for advice in buying just the right computer. Recently Curtis Chong, NFB Director

of Technology, compiled his advice into one short handout. We thought that everyone

would be interested in reading it. Here it is:

The International Braille

and Technology Center for the Blind (IBTC), operated by the National Federation

of the Blind, receives thousands of calls each year from blind people who want

to buy a computer. Most of our callers want a computer to write letters, keep

records, send and receive e-mail, and surf the Web. Some people want to use

their computers as reading machines, which can scan and speak printed material.

While most people will want voice output from their computers, others would

prefer screen magnification. People who need to read highly technical material

or who are deaf-blind might prefer reading their computer screens using refreshable-Braille

technology. As a totally blind computer user I find that voice output works

well for me. Many of my friends with enough vision to read print prefer to have

both voice output (to save on eyestrain and dramatically increase reading speed)

and screen magnification (to provide visual verification when desired).

If you cannot read your

computer screen because of your vision, in addition to the basic computer you

will need to add software called screen-access technology. You should start

by purchasing a computer that runs the Windows operating system. The following

specifications can be used as a guide to determine which built-in features you

should get for your new system: at least 128 megabytes of RAM (random access

memory), at least 8 gigabytes of hard-disk space, an internal 56K modem with

V.90 capability, no less than a 500-megahertz processor speed (nothing slower

is sold these days), and a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live card. While almost

any video card will work with screen-access technology for the blind, the blind

person using speech output should bear in mind that the more sophisticated,

three-dimensional card used for video games is not necessary.

Why do you need the Sound

Blaster Live? You will need a multi-channel sound card that will allow screen-access

technology and other Windows applications to generate sounds at the same time.

Without a multi-channel sound card, sounds generated by Real Audio or by your

Windows operating system often conflict with your screen-access program's ability

to talk to you through your computer's speakers, and one or the other will generate

an error message. In our experience the Sound Blaster Live works well as a multi-channel

sound card. However, you can acquire another multi-channel sound card if you

wish.

As for software, I would

first recommend the Windows 98 Second Edition operating system and (some months

after it has been released) Windows Millennium. E-mail and Web-browsing software

(Outlook Express and Internet Explorer, respectively) come free with the Windows

operating system, but you get only a fairly simplified free word processor (WordPad

for Windows). While you can use WordPad to write letters and other simple documents,

you may want to consider buying Microsoft Office if you are interested in spell-checking

your material. A word processor that works fairly well with screen-access technology

is Microsoft Word. Some computer dealers will try to bundle a package called

Microsoft Works with your system. While we cannot say for certain that Microsoft

Works is not compatible with screen-access technology for the blind, we can

say that our experience with it is limited and that we are more confident in

the ability of Microsoft Office to work with access technology than Microsoft

Works.

The next software item

that must be given serious consideration is a screen-access program. Most blind

people would prefer to acquire one which converts the information on the screen

into speech. Others will want screen-magnification software, and many will want

a combination of speech output and screen magnification. See the end of this

article for information about how to contact the appropriate screen-access technology

vendor.

If you want your computer

to be able to read and speak printed material, you will need to buy a piece

of hardware called a scanner (for about $200) and a software product which actually

speaks the text on the page. You should be prepared to spend at least a thousand

dollars to acquire the blind-friendly systems--especially if you do not consider

yourself a relatively sophisticated user of Windows. There are two noteworthy

products to consider: Open Book from Freedom Scientific and Kurzweil 1000 from

the Kurzweil Educational Group of Lernout and Hauspie. Both of these programs

come with their own speech and can thus operate without screen-access technology.

In addition to the staff

of the International Braille and Technology Center, the National Federation

of the Blind has thousands of members willing and able to answer your questions.

I urge you to call the president of the NFB affiliate in your state and introduce

yourself to him or her. If you do not know how to reach your NFB state affiliate

president, call the NFB's general information staff in Baltimore; telephone:

(410) 659-9314 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, weekdays).

Now for those who want

large print. We are not experts on low-vision software but have heard good things

about Zoomtext from a company called AI Squared. This software is particularly

helpful if you want to use screen magnification as your primary means of reading

information displayed on the computer screen. For those who want speech output

most of the time but need some visual verification every once in a while, the

combination of JAWS for Windows and the MAGic magnification software (available

from Freedom Scientific) seems to work well. There are many other possibilities,

so you would be wise to start networking with other blind people. Again, call

our NFB state presidents to meet people already using computer systems you'd

like to have yourself. Sometimes people new to using computers hire someone

to build them a computer. This can include lessons which teach the buyer how

to get started once the computer is assembled and ready for use. Such experts

often know how to buy good basic equipment during sales or at a reduced rate

on Internet Web sites. If you know some blind computer experts, I would suggest

you ask what fee they would charge for assembling a system in addition to the

cost of the computer parts. Remember that sighted experts may help to build

a computer but are unlikely to know how to instruct you to use keyboard commands

instead of the mouse. Again, I highly recommend locating local blind computer

users to help you through the frustrating early days of learning to use your

new system.

At present the average

cost for a full system can be broken down like this:

$1,200 Intel-based computer

with Windows operating system.

$1,000 Reading Software

(Optical Character Recognition software) will let you use your commercial scanner.

First, it scans any typeset print you've placed on the scanner; then it will

recognize the document and read it aloud to you.

$ 800 Screen-Access Technology,

such as Jaws for Windows, Window-Eyes, Window Bridge 2000, or outSPOKEN for

Windows will see your computer screen and articulate what is there.

$ 200 A typical commercial

scanner. $ 200 A typical commercial color printer.

$ 300 Estimated: state

tax, an electrical power surge protector, computer supplies (printer paper,

disks, and computer application programs), computer user manuals in Braille

or on cassette, Internet service provider fees, ($100 to $200 per year), and

other such incidentals.

$3,500 Best estimate (October,

2000).

Screen Access Technology,

Top Four Vendors

While JAWS for Windows

from Freedom Scientific appears to be the best known screen access program for

the blind, we should call to your attention three other programs. Each program

has its own unique set of features. The decision as to which screen-access program

to buy is based partly on the features which are important to you and partly

on the amount of money you have to spend. You should consult with the screen-access

vendor to obtain the most current information about features and prices.

JAWS for Windows by Henter-Joyce,

a division of Freedom Scientific, 11800 31st Court North, St. Petersburg, Florida

33716-1805. Telephone: (800) 444-4443, (727) 803-8000; Fax: (727) 803-8001;

e-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.freedomscientific.com. JAWS for Windows

($795) provides speech and Braille access to Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows

Millennium. Another version of JAWS for Windows ($1,495) provides access to

Windows NT and Windows 2000. JAWS for Windows is shipped with the Eloquence

software speech synthesizer, meaning that it can generate speech through your

computer's sound card.

Window-Eyes by GW Micro,

725 Airport North Office Park, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825. Telephone (219) 489-3671.

Fax: (219) 489-2608. BBS: (219) 489-5281. Website: Http://www.gwmicro.com. Window-Eyes

($495) provides speech access to Windows 95 and Windows 98 and, in the future,

Braille access to these operating systems and Windows Millennium.

Window Bridge 2000 by Syntha-Voice

Computers, Inc., 800 Queenston Road, Suite 304, Stoney Creek, Ontario L8G 1A7,

CANADA. Telephone: (905) 662-0565. Fax: (905) 662-0568. BBS: (905) 662-0569.

Website: http://www.synthavoice.on.ca. Window Bridge 2000 ($695) provides speech

and Braille access to Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium. This was

the first program that allowed access to Microsoft Windows.

OutSPOKEN for Windows by

the Alva Access Group, Inc., 5801 Christie Avenue, Suite 475, Emeryville, California

94608. Telephone: (510) 923-6280. Website: http://www.aagi.com. OutSPOKEN ($595)

provides speech- and Braille-access to Windows 95 and Windows 98.

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