|
|
|
Similar advances and using multiple technologies could be seen in many products at the Conference. Text magnifiers were on display that were extremely compact and light. These could easily be carried in a pocket book for use when shopping. More choices were also available. There has been a computer access system on the market for awhile called the “Eye Gaze” system. For people who are unable to use voice technologies to use computers and are too physically involved to use computer input devices, this system allows you to make entries by focusing on a letter on a keyboard appearing on the screen. This can be combined with word prediction software. So instead of the tedious process of spelling one letter at a time, the word prediction software will pull up a list of 10 or more words that you use most frequently when you have entered a couple of letters. If one of these words is the one you are looking for, you gaze at it and move on to the next word. At this year’s Conference, I noticed there were at least 3 products that were basically “Eye Gaze’ type systems. So now a consumer can look at several products and pick the one whose features most appeal to him. I am seeing this more and more where once there was a single product, now there are competitive products. And each one is trying to add something unique to make their product more appealing. And some of these devices are getting simpler to use. One of these Eye Gaze type systems had a small device that plugged into any USB port. You attach the device on top of the laptop screen, run a software program and it is ready to go. |
||
