Category: Daily Living
dont you wish big companys would make their products easyier to use? what product would you like to have made easier for the blind to use? an affordable microwave? juicer? food processor?
I definitely would like it if microwaves were accessible, at least to where one can feel the buttons. There are some microwaves where you can feel the buttons, but they are the more expensive ones. I also like the ones that have the knobs, but they don't seem to be sold any more. Also, the newer stove/oven ranges are beginning to become inaccessible due to the use of touch screens and menus.
Another thing is TV boxes. I wish companies would make them more accessible, especially for satelite and cable boxes and remotes. The only thing I can do with mine is type in the channel number and use the volume and channel up and down buttons. Everything else is unusable because it requires you to look at the menus on the screen. I have all kinds of features on my box, including DVR, but it is of no use to me if I can't read the menus or read the buttons on the remote. You cannot even program the box or TV any longer due to having to read the menus, even with the converter boxes that people have to use now for digital TV. I like the old days where rabbit-ear antennas were used and you just plugged them in and the TV automatically picked up the channels. The converter boxes we now have to use make it more complicated.
I wish all household appliances, i.e. washers, dryers, stoves, etc. would have talking menus since they all insist on having those damn touch screens now. Now that some TV shows on the major networks along with some cable networks are being audio described, I wish that cable companies would make their remote controls easier to use or even that the on screen menus were audible so that we could turn on the SAP channel without help and actually benefit from the audio described programs. In fact, I wish all the on screen menus were audible so we could easily record programs and take advantage of the watch on demand feature many cable companies have now where you can watch a program any time if you can't watch when it is being aired live.
I completely agree about the TV remotes and cable boxes. This is why I don't watch much TV. I don't really have the patience to channel surf, having to stop and listen to everything for a minute or two just to try to figure out some semblance of what I'm watching. True, a lot of shows are available online nowadays, and we do have NFB newsline to fill in the gaps, but that service is a bit clunky as well. You have to move through each channel manually, you can't just have the entire guide read out to you at once.
You know some of these things are actually fixed.
Direct TV claims to have a cable box that you can actually connect to your computer.
You can also run these new TV's with your computer, so Jaws or whatever you use does the talking. No, they don't work out of the box.
WalMart has a Microwave with a nob, Kmart as well for about $40 or one that has buttons that ban easily be marked and are extremely feelable.
The button model is around 150, so on the expensive side.
Have an iPhone? Use it to set and control your washing machine from the office.
LolOkay, okay, this wasn't a fix it topic, so let me see.
I really can't think of one now, and I've not tried that cable box yet, but have seen how I could work my TV and home entertainment setup via my laptop or desktop. Let me think. Lol
Wasn't Code Factory supposedly going to come out with some type of TV tuner that you could hook to your laptop? Of course, since it's a specialty product for the blind, I would imagine it would be expensive as hell. I recall reading about it maybe a year ago, maybe even more. But I haven't heard anything about it since.
The project probably got dropped due to Bluetooth products, iPhones, and such devices.
Even lately home entertainment systems have USB ports on them believe it or not.
Sure, you have to purchase all new stuff to make it all happen, or new dated things, but with some shopping a blind person can make a movie setup talk.
Even Jaws has support for DVD's now, but you don't even need a DVD anymore with services like Netflix and such.
I believe with the next iPhone release it will be justlike Samsungs new S4 where you can set your phone up as your remote.
Talking coolness.
OMG, I hope that Iphone remote ap works with AT&T Uverse. Sure, we have netflix but not everything is available via stream yet.
I'd love to be able to use my set-top box. I can schedule recordings via the net but can't yet play them back using the box. I had heard a while back they were working on an Iphone ap so we'll see.
We have an LG washer and dryer and it has tactile buttons that make different sounds so is very user friendly. I got lucky in that the appliances that were built into our house have slightly textured buttons and beeps. We just got a new Samsung dishwasher that has real honest to goodness buttons and they each beep different tones as well. It wasn't even the most expensive model either, probably about $500. It does a great job and is super quiet too. Bonus!
So, what would I like improved? Hmm, I guess I'd like a reasonably priced talking thermometer that scans the forehead. The last two of those I bought cost $40 each and never worked worth a crap.
Oh, ok, I have another one. How about some way to make coke machines and snack machines accessible. I know there's realllly no easy fix for this since they're all filled individually. The last time my mom and I took my gramma to the hospital though we got candy out of one that was so friggen complicated, it even took my sighted mom a minute to figure out. They've got debit card slots now. Go figure! Oh yeah, this one would make change for a 10 even. Anyway, that's about all I can think of. I guess it's really a relatively short list in my case. Yay
I never liked snack machine food, but seeing the latest models will cure you of the habit for sure sighted or not. hahaha
Lol, not the sandwiches and such, I mean the Snickers, Butterfingers, M&M's, Hershey bars, and all the other yummy stuff that tastes the same no matter from where it comes. lol
LOL. Problem with Netflix is not everyone can afford it. AndI agree about vending machines. And braille labeling them isn't necessarily a workable solution since sometimes a company will change te contents of a machine and so the labels would then have to be changed.
I would love it if they could make the touchscreens for those coke machines at some restaurants that they have...the ones that you can get all different flavors accessible..? .beyond that, I've really got nothing because I don't watch much tv...well, here's to hoping for nothing extremely complicated with like a washing machine when I move off to college in about 2 months. :d
snack machines are a bitch to navagate at times. most are transition to touch screen. how about the self check out lines! shouldnt they be blind friendly? those credit card machines at the grocery store located near the register. those are a pain
Yeah, they really need to go back to the card swipers with buttons. Some have them but many do not.
That is why they provide sexy girls behind the registers. You can even hold there hand while you hand them your card.
Accesexable, I say!
BryanP22
, if one can afford cable, one can afford Netflix? If not, you have no problem much.
What do you mean by keys on machines being changed? It is your machine, so won't change at all unless you buy a new one?
I am still trying here. hahaha. Maybe I shop to much, and see to many products? Smile.
If a person does not read braille, you have enough space on the things I'm talking about to put dots. 1 dot start, 2 dots stop, and such. If you were visual you can put arrows, and if your rich you can hire a cook. Understand what I'm saying here. Lol
Love this topic though.
Oops, not a cook, but a live in buddy. Smile.
Um ok, so that sexy checkout girl thing isn't gunna work out so well for me. lmao.
Yall nock your lights out though. lol
I had the same thought about netflix versus cable. Basic netflix is only $7.99 and unless you live in an apartment complex where they offer it free, cable is usually around $30 for the basic package.
It's amusing how all of these things you guys mentioned aren't accessible, yet they have braille on the drive through ATM areas.
Here's a description of the way I think things should be. We shouldn't have to pay for an IPhone and get special apps. We shouldn't have to be able to afford Netflicks. We shouldn't have to be techy or program our TV from a computer. Appliances and TV remotes should have a feature where blind people can activate voice prompts, and sighted people can just not activate that feature. This capability to activate auditory help should be built into these products, and sighted people can just ignore them while blind people who need them can press a button to turn on the help. I'll bet it wouldn't be all that expensive for manufacturers, if they really cared about the public, to build these types of features into their products. Not everyone in the world is extremely gifted in the techy skills area, and some of the suggestions above are too expensive or too much trouble for most individuals.
Oh, those self-checkout lines...I'm surprised I didn't think of that. What's even more stupid about those is that they already talk. They tell you when to scan your products. I'm sure it really wouldn't be that hard to make the whole thing auditory. Same with those stupid touch screen things that you swipe your card through. there's no way to really win with those. If you debit from your card, you either have to have a trustworthy sighted person with you, or you have to hope the employee you tell your pin number to won't remember it, because there's only so many times you can deactivate a card and get a new one sent to you just to be safe. but if you do credit, you then have to sign for it. Not cool, even with a signature guide, which is going to slide on the touch screen.
Yes, I agree about the debit card machines. I like the ones that have the built-in standdard telephone keypad like they have at Walmart so that I can at least enter my pin on my own, although I still have to get the cashier or the shopper assistant to press any options, such as debit or for the EBT food card for me, because all of that is done on the touchpad along with selecting whether or not you want cash back.
I also agree about the self check-out. It does already talk, so it is surprising that they don't already make it accessible.
Another thing that is getting harder is printers. I recently purchased one through my college's bookstore only to discover that all of the buttons are on a small touch pad, even the power button! Sure, the buttons can be labeled, and I am using the printer with my computer so don't use any buttons except the power button, but I still have to memorize where it is at, and I had to experiment around when I first got it to find out where the power button was on the touch pad.
Ah, but you see there are printers that don't have that issue.
Blue, if a person is buying a home theater system they are spending money on it.
Most blind people, and I do know some that don't, have computers and can use them, like the one you typed on.
We have probrams already, so all we need is some tech help getting things to work.
It is the same as getting your new TV setup honestly.
Thanks for the ATM thing, that is one that should be fixed up, but he said in the home, so I didn't think about that.
I personally don't feel it is safe for a blind person to withdraw money in that fashion and I never do it unless I have someone sighted with me to look around and make sure no one is sneaking up to snatch things from me or read and listen over my shoulder.
Sighted people have enough safety issues with these machines.
Ones inside stores, sure, but again, Domestic, you can get the sexy man to do it for you. Smile.
A store is liable for what the employ does, and your bank gives you fraud protection. Trust me, a store doesn't want or need the hassle of paying you back due to fraud after your bank gets on them.
Not only do they lose money, the bank might withdraw and other with them. It just isn't worth it.
Yes, you have to give your pin, but soon as you have your card back in your pocket, your pin is no good without the card.
In America you don't even have to give your pin, you just say credit, unless you are withdrawing cash.
I know, this isn't exactly independent, but it is accessible.
I keep forgetting. The Obama administration passed a law that all products had to be made as accessible as possible.
I have seen the fruits of this law lately, it is just people with older products have to upgrade them, and sure that cost.
No, you shouldn't have to buy an iPhone, but what about your 40 dollar cane? Where are the damn guide rails on sidewalks already? Oh, and for these of us that can read braille, the street signs? Smile.
Ah, yes, that was dumb. That is true about the pin number. It's still too bad that the machines don't talk, though. I was grocery shopping the other day, and after I swipe my card, I almost always use debit. It's just a habit I've picked up, I guess, even though using credit doesn't make much of a difference, since it's a debit card issued from my bank. Anyway, I swiped my card, and the guy behind the register said, "aren't you going to pick whether you want debit or credit?" I told him I needed assistance. I told him I wanted to use debit, then I entered my pin. After a few seconds, he said, "just press that green button there." So you can imagine how it went from there. Each step in the process, I had to prompt him, explaining that I couldn't see the screen. People like that test my patience, and it doesn't happen often, thankfully, but it would be much more convenient if you could just whip out a pair of earbuds, plug them into the machine, and make your transactions as smoothly as everyone else.
Next time hand him your card, or stick it where is voice is and say Credit. Even with a debit card from your bank credit works.
Some banks even reward you for using it and not your pin.
Most advice only to use your pin if you must, like withdrawing cash.
Green button? What green botton sir? hahaha
handing someone else my card? *cringes*
It is a problem when you have other bills besides cable to pay. Besides, I haven't found either Netflix or Hulu to be all that blind friendly.
But BryanP22
, if you don't have cable and you 've just got a TV and some rabbit ears, you don't have this issue at all.
A remote will do basic duty, because all you need is channel 3 7 9, and that is gotten by the numbers on the remote, you need volume up or down, that can be done, you need power on and off.
That is it. You don't need anything I'm talking about at all to make your TV accessible other then a seat.
I really wish they would do like Blue Velvet says and just integrate speech in to most household products. Like with the Iphone we could just tripple click a button to turn it on initially, the Washer/dryer, the dish washer, microwave, and especially those damned flattop stoves which are becoming sadly way too popular. And if the speech wasn't neededd the sighted person could just ignore the feature. I mean is it so hard to input a synthesized voice in to a system?
With the flat top stoves, i wish it would beep to indicate when you have your pot/pan positioned correctly on it. Right now if I want to practice my cooking i have to get assistance from someone, because everything on this oven/stove is touch screen. :(
When I moved in to a new house that had a flat topped stove that baby took some imagination to learn how to cook on it. Smile.
After I got the hang, I liked it. This one had some nobs for the seting of the temps though, if it had been all smooth it would have had to go.
That is the only problem if we can't change things. I wonder is s synth could be built that could stand up to heat a stove produces?
Maybe it have to be some sort of stand alone unit, like a blue tooth speaker, or something.
Ugh. Rabbit ears. I remember those days. Shudder...
things that I wish that are accessible,
home appliances,
transportation, like cars and such,
and everything in the computers, I specially like the bios accessible so I would be able to reformat my machine with out sighted assistance. yes, I'm looking at you. very hard to reformat windows computer. :D
These are all great ideas. The thing is most people who design products don't look at the different categories of consumers. They just look at ways it will benefit consumers, and ways to attract them. They don't usually sit and think hmmm, we need to make it accessible to everyone. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that IPhones were accessible when they first came out, and that makes sense to be the case for just about all products that are first made. Now, that is your job as a consumer to bring up the ideas to the manufacturer or product maker, if you feel that it could make a big difference to you. Depending on the perso and what they are willing to do, you could help them increase sales. That is how you should word it, by saying how it will benefit them as the seller, because they would be more willing to make a change.
Because we have so many types and levels of disabilities, things will most likely always have to be adapted.
My sister's boyfriend and I were having a discussion the other day about the Google car. As convenient as it would be, and as awesome as it would be to be able to drive, I'm not trusting my life to a computer. He was telling me something about a pilotless plane, I can't remember what it was called, but anyway it had barely taken off before it crashed into some trees. There are just so many variables, so many things that can go wrong when technology has, quite literally, taken the wheel. I would assume that there would have to be some kind of manual override in place in case of technological failure, but I seriously doubt that would be accessible to a blind person.
I only brought this up because the Google car is as close to an accessible vehicle as we're seeing at this point, and I really shudder to think about what happens once more of them take to the streets. Luckily, they're going to be so expensive that the average consumer, sighted or not, isn't going to be buying them, not until some other competition comes along that forces Google to lower its prices. Some things are best left to be controlled by humans, and driving is one of them.
Also, I didn't bring up the NFB car because I don't even think it's still being developed. From my understanding, and this is from what I gathered from a rather interesting discussion on one of the NFB email lists, that car was just a prototype, and it was never meant to be manufactured in mass quantities.
*amen!
Tips his hat to the last poster.
Though I go to the NFB conventions and support the NFB, I completely agree with that poster. There are more variables that need to be accounted for, and no matter how careful they are in designing such a car, something is still bound to happen that they didn't think of. I'm comfortable getting around the way I do now, and I've been good at finding the cheapest alternative. If I want a car, I'll get one and have someone drive me around in it. Lol.
Hey! I agree with most of the things posted here-- for one thing, the oven that I had in the last place didn't beep to let me know that the thing was being pre-heated... which is super annoying, especially because then, I'd have to get out my timer, and figure out when it was pre-heated or/and finished cooking ugh... and+ it was a piece of crap applience... I looked at apartments recently with a friend of mine, thank god the dish washer wasn't a tuch screen one!!!! As for the washer and dryer, does anyone have one that they can recommend that isn't a tuch screen? I'm going to need one for the place that I'm moving into, and since a bunch of them are tuch screens nowadays, was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.. (a little off-topic here) but thought I'd ask. I do agree about the self-checkout things at the stores- they already talk as it is, so why not make them even more accessible?? don't really get that... and I agree about the remotes, too... I think that at least the guide should be accessible, so that we know what's on when. (although, I have certain channels that I love to watch and certain shows) so I usually know what's on when because I just memorize the channel number.
Amber
I have an LG washer and dryer. They have buttons and different tones. LG is a pretty expensive brand though, just fyi. Check out Samsung too. I don't know if they make washers and dryers but the dishwasher we got by them is very accessible, again with one-function buttons and differing tones. Good luck.
Sears Brand Kinmore. GE, Maytag, but that cost, and Worlpool. All these brands will have washers with nobs or buttons.
If you are going for front loaders, same brands. The only thing about most front loaders, they'll have buttons over nobs.
If I didn't want to run all over town looking, shopping online at sears is great. The reason why is the descriptions are good, and you can call in to the shopper assist line and ask things like color, size, and anything else you want to know about a product.
Shipping, is free, and if you don't like it, easy returns.
Best Buy, requires a trip to the store. Same with Lowells Or however that is spelled.
Once you know the model number and brand, you can then price shop.
Hope that helps..
Speaking of accessible TV guides, I was reading about how Comcast is finally making an accessible cable box. They don't know when it will be released. It's in the prototype stages now. But I'm hoping it's sometime in the near future. Not only will the guides and menus talk, but on demand will be accessible as well. I think you'll only have access to it if you pay for Xfinity, or however you spell that, if I understood the article correctly. Still, it's a step forward.
Also on the cable boxes check out Directtv's now. You are suppose to be able to pair it with your computer.
JerseyGirl1989 said:
"As for the washer and dryer, does anyone have one that they can recommend that isn't a tuch screen? I'm going to need one for the place that I'm moving into, and since a bunch of them are tuch screens nowadays, was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.. "
hope this isn't too late-bought Maytag Centennial washer and dryer this past May once I had a sighted person help me get down the layout, have found them very easy to work with. Buttons, knobs and dials-nothing "touch". I was really apprehensive when I went looking as I'd been told it was next to impossible to find anything but touch screens but there really was a decent amount of buttoned and knobbed appliances. I will admit that a lot of them had flimsy buttons and knobs, so be sure to check all of that out.
Lately I've been thinking about the fact that every sighter person around me knows which street they're on. They don't seem to be giving it any conscious thought at all, they just read the signs and see lots of familiar landmarks. What easy lives they must lead. If I want to know, my options are memorize routes, fiddle with some device, or ask. Anyone have any workable ideas as to how streets might be made to identify themselves? What about bus stops? And one more thing: I wish they would make sidewalks near parking lots and street crossings safer and more consistant. If the texture of the sidewalk blends into that of a driveway, I will likely veer into the driveway. Would it hurt to consistently put in seams or something? On streets that aren't so busy those corners where one street gradually curves into the other drive me nuts, and at busy intersections there should always be audible walk signals. Once I was on Skype with someone in Australia. She was on a mobile device, so I got to listen to the walk signals they had where she lived - really cool. They're directional, so the sound eminates from the direction you should be walking. I bet that would cut down on veering.
Oops, I meant sighted person, although I suppose they could be called sighters.