Computers
Are a Miracle that
Any
Blind Person Can Afford
by
Robert Langford Ph.D.
Twelve
years ago, my curiosity got the better of me and I joined other blind
people who were using and enjoying computers. I had heard that these
"magic boxes" could read aloud what one typed, print it out,
and even check for misspellings and correct them. I was intrigued! (I
had never been a good speller!) I asked all kinds of questions of the
blind people I knew who were using computers. I shopped around to find
the best price. That price was three times what you would pay today. I
made the trip to Office Depot, gave them a lot of dollars for a work
station, and then waited. Then when the computer arrived at my door I
brought it in and proceeded to assemble it. Why is it that instructions
never seem to be understandable? First out of the shipping container was
the CPU, shaped like a big box. Where to put it? I decided on the second
shelf. Then, right in front in the place of honor went the keyboard. To
the side I proudly placed the monitor. A second table held the printer.
Voila! I was ready to strike keys.
Ah,
there was another dimension. The voice. This required the removal of the
CPU cover and the installation of the interfacing board. Then a friend
struck keys and told the autoexec file where to find my computer’s new
voice. Finally, a reboot and the voice announced that it was ready. What
a wonderful feeling. Here at last was the magic box, ready to work for
me in my own home.
It
did take many hours of listening to my training tutorials on several
audio cassettes. There were several telephone calls in search of answers
to perplexing problems. My new computer did cause many frustrating
moments, but in the end, it revolutionized my life. After being blind
for almost 50 years I was able to read and spell check what I had
written. What a wonderful gift. For 50 years I had used a typewriter and
had the all-too-familiar experience of being in the middle of a letter
and having a telephone or doorbell ring. Then I would have to start all
over again.
Now
using the computer’s “voice,” I could figure out where I had left
off typing and move on from that point. When my document was just the
way I wanted it, a single keystroke would send it on to the printer for
a perfect printing. I was impressed. All my investment of money and time
seemed well worth it.
Soon
I was keeping track of my tax and insurance records for myself. This was
very satisfying. A genealogy program caught my attention and my parents,
wife, brother, and kids joined their place in the family tree. Ten years
later 900 entries tell me more about my ancestors than I sometimes want
to know. A big plus came
when a bookkeeping program found its place on my hard drive. Now I can
check my balance to the penny against the bank statement. This is a big
chore, which used to take many Braille entries, simplified. Now I can
make a deposit by mail, write a check and mail it, or search for a check
that I thought I wrote last year. This newly perfected bookkeeping skill
has placed me in demand for the treasurer’s job with the local chapter
of the American Council of the Blind and for my Lions Club. I may be the
only blind treasurer of a Lions Club in the world.
E-mail
is a big source of pleasure because it is quick and easy; it makes
staying in touch with family and friends a breeze. The difficulties in
getting a letter created and mailed no longer exist. You can receive a
note and read it yourself, then answer with a few quick keystrokes and
go on to other pressing business. Last week one of my sons was in New
Zealand and we exchanged daily notes by e-mail. Another son was in
Israel and his e-mail messages kept me posted about our plans to attend
a Dallas Cowboys game when he returns. Also taken care of this morning
were the final arrangements for a cousins’ gathering which will take
place in two weeks here in Dallas. I am the one keeping everyone aware
of plans and the time for our first meeting here at the Langfords’
home.
Amazing
and wonderful is this quick and easy tool for communication. Eight years
ago distressing news reached me about working computers being hauled to
the dump. New models made older ones obsolete. This did not seem right
since the old ones would still do all the things that blind people
wanted them to do. Because I was the president and CEO of the Texas
Center for the Physically Impaired, I could decide that these computers
deserved a better fate, and my board agreed. So, we added refurbishing
donated computers to our regular services. We enlisted volunteers to
make the computers ready to go again. Since that time, we have shipped
almost 400 computers to visually impaired people all over the world.
When the Windows-based Pentium computers leave Dallas they are in good
working order and ready for a new blind user. The cost, now $50, is just
enough to cover our expenses for parts, packing, handling and
transporting the machine to its new user. Users assume the
responsibility of procuring software, such as a screen-reader and
synthesizer or a screen enlargement program, that will allow them to
access the information displayed on the computer’s screen.
We
provide initial freeware, shareware, or demos to allow a new user to
have access from the start and to give our computer buyers an idea of
the options they may choose among. We have obtained computer training
tutorials to assist new computer users. Soon we expect to be able to
announce a new service: computer tutorials in Spanish! We are very
excited about this new direction we’re going in.
Another
aspect of our services worth mentioning is our sponsorship of computer
training centers in Vina del Mar, Chile and three more in Peru. Our
computers and instructors make it possible for blind Chileans and
Peruvians to know the freedom and independence of using computers. My
wife and I attended the dedication of these centers, where local
officials and media, including newspaper and radio reporters and TV
cameramen celebrated with us the advent of a new era for blind and
visually impaired people in Chile and Peru. It is my hope to continue
for many years offering any blind person who wants it the opportunity to
obtain a computer at a reasonable price. Computers have brought me a
kind of satisfaction and independence which I could hardly have imagined
when I bought my first computer a dozen years ago, and I love making
these same possibilities a reality for other people who are blind.
[NOTE: Friendship Force has assisted in this project and provided
shipping for some computers. However, FFD does not "give away"
computers to anyone who asks. We fund this project to give the visually
impaired attending selected schools for the blind in other countries a
chance for a better life.]
The
Texas Center for the Physically Impaired has provided more than 400
refurbished computers to blind and disabled people all over the world,
and the cost is only $50. These are Windows-based Pentium computers
provided with monitor, keyboard, a six-cassette tutorial and a demo copy
of Window-Eyes 4.1.
Those
associated with a school for the blind may get more information about this
opportunity by contacting:
Bob
Langford
Texas
Center for the Physically Impaired
e-mail
boblang@airmail.net
http.//handicapability.org
