Low Vision Computing

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Why lowvisioncomputing.com

I tried the "standard" solutions, and they were garbage. Screen magnifiers on a laptop and screen readers don't let me work like a normal person.

So I came up with a better solution, or rather, a series of solutions.

(A) Scenarios for users who don't have or don't want a computer (see Standalone Smart TV).

(B) Single user setups with: 1 Screen, 2 Screens, 3 Screens, depending on the user's needs, workflow, and budget.

(C) Two users working together with 4 screens and 2 users; or for space-constrained workers who still need to work together, the 100 inch video wall;

(D) Finding and testing a game Microsoft Simulator 2020 that meets the needs of low-vision users for digital interactive entertainment.

(E) Throwing a Scanner and Tablet into the mix.

(F) Notes on how to get the most out of the Operating System visual display capablilities, how to learn to Touch Type, and how to use the operating systems' Audio Screen Readers, how to Train Your Guide Dog should you ever need one, etc.

You won't get this from the organizations that make it their business to help people with low vision. They could have developed such systems, but won't, because it's not part of their business model.

They lend out laptops that the user has to scroll back and forth because, when problems arise, it's easy to say "have somebody drop it off." You can't do that with a big screen tv and separate computer and peripherals.

That requires computer technicians who can go into the home and diagnose computer problems, some as mundane as dead batteries in TV remotes, mice, or keyboards, or bad cabling, bad software or OS updates, etc.

So while there are better solutions available, service providers don't have the expertise to send workers into client's homes to do on-site trouble-shooting, so they continue to push an inferior solution that requires the client to adapt to the organization's needs, rather than adapting their organization to the client's needs.

It's like in the days before knee surgery to remove torn knee joint cartilage, where the only options as the person went increasingly lame were a cane, then a crutch, then a walker.

They will continue to push their "crutches" because that's what they know, even though it's not in their client's best interest, because it's in their organization's best interest.

Second-level care is where innovative ideas go to die from a combination of loneliness, inertia, and being rightly seen by them as a threat to their business model, their way of doing things.

After a decade being sidelined because of my eyes, smart TVs got big enough and with high-enough resolution that it was possible to do things much better.

But Nobody Was Trying To Do Better.

And since I'm a nobody, the job fell to me by default. Just a case of the right person with the right skillset at the right time, and a need to make it happen.

Others need not go through what I went through to get to this point, so I'm sharing it with the world.

You don't need a craptop with a screen magnifier, and you don't even need me. There are plenty of retailers who will happily sell you what you need, as well as set it up and service it. Or you can get family, friends, or neighbours to help. It's really not that complicated.

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Copyright © 2022, 2023 by Barbra Hudson.
Email: barbra@lowvisioncomputing.com

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