Fine Reader 11 installation process

I have been using FineReader Pro for several years. The install interface for FineReader 11 is different from what I recall, so I thought I would write this out in case it might help other people who use it with screen readers. I don’t know how this would compare using Window Eyes.

It runs the self-extract process and then opens a setup menu with five options: install, view user’s guide, explore CD, ... I can’t remember the fourth, and exit. These are not read as you tab through, but tab does move you through and read current line command will tell you which one focus is on. Pressing enter will activate it. The install process is fairly straightforward. If you choose custom, you may want to know this.

It brings up a treeview with choices to select. Press space on the one you want and a menu comes up allowing you to choose how you want it installed—this is much like what you get on the Office options when you install from CD and it gives you the choice to install to hard drive, install on first use, etc. After you select from the menu (by pressing enter), you are back in the treeview and then press next. There is no indicator to show what is selected.

tips on buying a laptop

I ended up not upgrading the computer so fast. That turned out to be a good thing. I hope to keep both the te chies and the non-techies on board here--it is a challenge to talk to both groups in one post, but we will see how I do.

People often ask me for recommendations on buying a computer, and in particular whether I'm happy with my Netbook and whether I think it can do X, Y, or Z. Often they've heard that a Netbook is only good for surfing the Net and checking email, that it runs too slowly, etc. I posted a review of my new machine on Amazon, and I hope it has been beneficial. My experience with Netbooks has been extremely positive. I previously ran very expensive laptops with 3GB of memory, 3GHZ processor, etc. Basically I ran desktop-replacement machines so that I could edit audio and scan and OCR books on the laptop. I wanted the same performance out of my Netbook. I have always gotten it.

So what did I buy? This paragraph will satisfy the techies... I got the next generation of the Asus: the EEE-1015PX-PU17. It has an Atom N570 processor, which is faster than the N550 in the machine I last posted about. It also has the DDR3 memory. It comes with 1GB installed and I upgraded to 2GB. I am not certain whether other brands have expansion options for memory, and this has been important for me.

For the non-techies, whether things like the processor and amount of memory really affect your experience depend a lot on how you use the computer. Are you the type of person who has 12 windows open at once and likes to load up YouTube videos or play games with lots of multimedia? If that is the case, you likely want a machine with a dual core processor and plenty of memory. I am not convinced that the processor speed (1.5 vs. 1.66GHZ) makes a huge difference, but I took the better option for myself in case it does.) You also could get in the habit of closing unnecessary windows when you aren't using them. (Do you really pay attention to *ALL* those windows? I'm practicing this myself, as a veteran 15-window geek.) On the other hand, if you primarily check your email and Facebook and use your machine to run MS Office on the go, you really will not find it slow at all--the extra memory may make a bit of difference, but Office has other reasons for running slow.

dual core Netbooks

If you use a Netbook and have been thinking of upgrading it, or if you think they're so cute but don't know that they would really do all the things you want to do on your laptop, it is finally here: the dual core Netbook. This is the upgrade to the Netbook I am using, which is a model of the Asus 1005Ha. This one is the ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM-PU17. It has the new dual core Atom N550 processor and 1GB of DDR3 memory. This is important. The former models had DDR2 memory, which is slower. Like other models of the Asus Netbooks, the memory can be swapped out for 2GB of DDR3. There is a link on the Amazon page to purchase them together along with a case. I have not seen this particular case--I have a different one and like it quite a bit. I won't be buying a new one. This machine comes with Windows 7 and a 250GB hard drive. It promises to be fun times!

In case it isn't too obvious, I'll be upgrading my computer in the next couple of weeks. I'll also be upgrading my scanning/OCR software. Excitement abounds!

more on the power of choice

When I first began using computers seriously, I was a college student in the early 1990s. At that time, there were four competing products providing access to the IBM-compatible PC. This was before Windows; and it took some time for anything to be developed for the Mac at all. When Windows was introduced, some of those screen readers went out of production; and in time two products emerged as the leading competitors.

Much later, with the introduction of Linux, people began to think seriously about open source projects and to insist that access technology should not cost so much--in some cases even more than one might pay for the computer itself. People also began to insist that options be available to enable access to non-Windows systems such as Linux and Mac. The result of all of this is that today at least five screen readers exist for the Windows PC, some free or low cost with minimal or mid-range features and some more expensive with very advanced features. Screen readers also exist for Unix; and Apple has built a screen access package called Voiceover into its current systems.

Many people are propponents of the Mac because of its built-in access. I cannot comment on Voiceover in comparison with Windows access since I haven't used it personally. I may be able to find some reviews. My personal opinion is that cost is only one factor among many that should be considered when evaluating te chnology. I admit that I speak from the perspective of a highly advanced user; and a low-end program could save me money but disable me from accomplishing some of my tasks. In that case the money saved would not be an advantage at all.

The power of choice is one of our strengths in America. We must preserve it and advise each other well.

How much technology do we need?

As I listen to the buzz in the blind community about new technology, I find myself in an interesting position. I am old enough to remember when I did without most of this stuff; and I am young enough to think that this stuff is fascinating. ... And I wonder just what we really need and why.

There was a time when technology for blind people was developed out of necessity. It was developed in order to give us access to print and to allow us to communicate with others. In time, companies began to develop competing products--because it is important for us to have choices. Now we have all kinds of products and all kinds of choices... Products that were once heralded as "the PDA for the blind" are now preserved as "notetakers," and additional products are available to make mainstream PDAs accessible. It is conceivable that a person might have a notetaker (a device that allows for word processing, web surfing, email, calendar maintenance, etc.) as well as a laptop, a cell phone with PDA capabilities, and another specialized device designed to store books in audio format. Oh, yes, and an IPOD. Exactly how many devices does one need to carry?

When notetakers became fashionable in the early 1990s, I balked at using one. I had become accustomed to taking notes on paper; and though I was young and quite capable of adapting to new technology, I didn't see the need to carry a device when I was comfortable with what I was using. My rehabilitation counselor bought me a notetaker anyway. I later used a laptop for notes--and books--on the go. I was a much better typist than I was a braillist; and the laptop proved handy when I began spending long days on campus. After many years, I was pleasantly surprised to find other sighted students using laptops as well.

I still carry my laptop when I spend long hours away from home--and so do many other people. However, I continue to resist the urge to purchase most other gadgets that are popular in the blindness community. For one thing, nothing made me happier than lightening my laptop to two and a half pounds. Why would I want to start adding to my load again? I carry only two other devices: a tiny Olympus digital recorder and a little cell phone with word processing and Internet capability. My phone, like my computer, has software on it that reads text out loud to me. I suppose if I want to read books or listen to music, I can load them on my laptop or on a Flash card and access them via my phone.

My friends and acquaintances make the choices that are best for them. I do my best to advocate for the availability of options when it comes to technology. After all, not all of us like for things to work the same way. That is the amazing thing about living in this time: that we have so many options we never had before! Those who wish are able to use the IPhone, and it is relatively low-cost. Some are apparently able to use Google Android, though it requires a little help in the set-up process. Those who prefer, at this point, are still able to stick with Windows Mobile on their phones, though we have to pay for software to access it. A similar, though slightly more complicated, situation exists with regard to computers. More on that in the next post.

External Hard Drive News

Since I do a lot of work with audio, I use external hard drives as storage solutions. I have a 500GB My Passport drive from Western Digital that has served me well for about 18 months. I don't use the back-up and sync software on it--I'm not certain that it is accessible, and if I'm going to use such software, I would like to choose my own solution.

I am not alone in my preference. When Western Digital released its new 500GB and larger drives, they began including automatic back-up software which could not be removed. Users complained; so they next release a removal tool. This still did not satisfy users (and the tool was not accessible to users with disabilities).

WD has finally released drives without any software included. If you use large external hard drives, the release of the Western Digital Elements SE 1TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive will be a piece of great news to you. It contains no bloatware, which means you pick your own back-up solution or use it as a storage solution without back-up software. There is a 500GB option drive, also without bloatware.

Elements drives appear to be similar in size to the Passport drives; and they are getting great reviews. Passport reviews, sadly, have dropped tremendously since the addition of the automatic back-up software which requires removal using WD's proprietary tool. I shall post soon, when I have the new drive in my hands--I have been in desperate need, and this news has been what I have been waiting for.

reflections on scanners and optical character recognition

I'll be writing in Scholar, Disciple shortly about my use of scanners and optical character recognition software in my graduate school coursework. This technology is some of the most amazing stuff I've ever seen! It is also one of the technologies that has come the farthest in my lifetime.

I first put my hands on a reading machine in the mid-1980s. The public library in my town got a "Kurzweil reading machine"--the hope was probably to attract blind patrons to use the library. The reading machine sat on the floor and was so big that I could pull a chair up to it like a desk--truly a massive piece of technology!

A few years later, a new desktop model was developed called the Kurzweil Personal Reader. In time this gave way to the Reading Edge, which weighed "only" 30 pounds. One of these machines came into my possession in 1994. My life was forever changed. No more relying on human beings who sometimes didn't show up to read my homework to me. I could read at my own (very fast) pace for as long as I needed to. I could choose not to read and take my own responsibility for failure instead of failing because someone else didn't show up to read to me. And I could roll the machine on a luggage cart into the library to scan journal articles, save them onto a disk, and pop them into a computer for later viewing! I imagine that other students must have wondered what on earth I was hauling around at break-neck speed--I had a dog guide who was quite a sprinter at the time. I really did not care. I could read almost anything, and I did read almost anything in the psychology or special education sections of the library.

The poor old scanner did its job faithfully for some 12 years, only being serviced once. In 2006, it suddenly called for help once more--just at the time when I was about to enter seminary. I had it serviced but also decided I needed to have a second scanning solution on hand. It would not do to be stopped in my tracks in the middle of a graduate school program that required me to read a minimum of 400 or 500 pages a week.

I had one requirement for a new scanner: it must be a book-edge scanner, meaning the glass must reach the edge of the machine. Most scanners are made for scanning pictures, not books. The beds are flat, but there is machine all the way around the glass. When scanning books on these machines, it is necessary to hold the book down very flat in order to capture as much text as possible; and often text close to the margin is cut off.

I was able to locate a fairly new scanner, the OpticBook 3600. This was a commercial book-edge scanner that would work with any optical character recognition software.

Two major OCR solutions are available for users who are blind. Both provide spoken output so that the user can read as the material is scanned. I opted not to purchase either of these programs. Instead, I purchased a commercial program called FineReader Professional. I had evaluated a demonstration version and found that it worked with my screen reader; and I supposed that since I would be reading my books in MicroSoft Word, I did not need the extra synthesized speech feature that comes with Kurzweil or OpenBook. I did not know how prophetic my choice would be.

technology and change

I have been hearing a lot of general discontent lately about the changing state of technology. It ranges from the impact of changes in the Windows operating system on accessibility issues to the advent of touch screens to the fact that a person can no longer go into a cell phone store and buy a simple phone that just makes outgoing calls. The grumbling comes from people with disabilities and people without disabilities, people who are young and people who are old. The crux of the matter seems to be that we want new features in the same familiar design, not too complex to use and not too difficult to find. Surely that's not too difficult to accomplish, is it...?

The real problem seems to be that we must create more work for ourselves... We don't really know how to be satisfied without being driven forward at breakneck speed. And so we keep going forward, ever faster. And at the same time we are desperate for time to relax, crying out for simplicity. We want more features in the tiniest possible piece of technology, buttons that can be felt but please don't take up so much space or make this too heavy... And oh, yes, do make it aesthetically pleasing! In fact, make it available in ten different colors!

Thinking about all these changes brings me to contemplate how grateful I am to have been born at a time when I could be cognizant of the amazing changes that have taken place in the field of technology. I am often amazed afresh at the impact this has had on my life. One particular incident stands out in my mind as testimony to the impact of the explosion of technological progress over the last 20 years.

I recall sitting in the car with my family one day during my senior year of high school on the way home from some outing... My sister was bemoaning the fact that her friend down the street had received an entertainment system for Christmas to put in her bedroom. Our family didn't have money for extra things like this. I had a stereo in my room that I had purchased with money that I had saved, and my sister had a little boombox; and we all went into the living room to watch TV. Mom remarked that it would be interesting to think of the things we would tell our kids someday when they whined--things like, "When I was your age, we only had one VCR."


My niece is 15 years old now. Perhaps she has seen a VCR... I'm not really sure. It wouldn't mean much to her if her mom said she only had one VCR when she was her age. My niece has a DVD player, a TV, an IPOD... Even CDs wern't in common use in 1989. We had no idea what was coming!

My first exposure to a computer came in 1984. It was an Apple 2E; and a floppy disk had to be inserted with the operating system on it in order to run the machine before turning it on. The disk really was floppy. Later, when I started using an PC with DOS, which was the precursor to Windows, those floppy disks were still in use; but there was an additional drive that was smaller and took a more durable disk. My desktop computer still has one of these small "floppy" drives; and I still have a few "floppy" disks. I am not geeky enough to keep an old PC with a real floppy drive--those spaces in my desktop are now taken up with DVD drives. I very reluctantly taught myself to use Windows in 2000. It was a change borne out of necessity. My old computer worked just fine; but the local Internet provider stopped providing dialup access that was compatible with DOS programs.

What all of this experience has taught me is that I must maintain an openness to what is new., even while I might have my own preferences. Those who have joy in life are those who know how to keep up with it as well as to rest. It is a challenging balance to maintain: neither to be driven by the need to keep up nor held back by the fear of moving ahead.

A First Look

Technology seems to be moving forward at breakneck speed... I am composing this post on a rather "outdated" computer: an Asus Netbook running Windows XP home. I haven't found it necessary to upgrade it yet. My need to access information and communicate in writing with sighted people meant that I was introduced to technology at a very young age. Often the technology was very new, and learning to use it required me to stretch my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The result is that now I am able to learn to use new technology when I need to, even when it is less than adequately accessible. I have also developed skills for troubleshooting when things don't work; and those skills have come in handy at times when my family and friends have needed some help. Finally, I enjoy exploring new technologies when I have the opportunity; and I have learned to make critical decisions about when and why to upgrade equipment.





All of these things have contributed to my decision to start this blog. There is, of course, much more to my background than this; but this is a small start. I have found that people often value tips concerning the use of technology and reviews of products that may be useful. These are things I will provide here. Much of my effort will be focused on accessibility of technology for people with disabilities; however, I will also provide information of general interest on certain topics that may be especially helpful.