Bay Area Disability Network

Archived Vision Reviews and Recommendations

(also see vision advice)

Fax machine

Low vision cell phone recommendations

JAWS of Victory or Defeat

cane tips in the east bay

where can I get an optacon

Low Vision restaurants

Doctor who specializes in macular degeneration

CD players with big displays/buttons

Ddigital cameras with large screen displays

Tthermostats with large displays

Low Vision microscope

Restaurants in Berkeley with large print

Print enlarger

Talking Blood sugar tester

Does anyone know a good doctor who specializes in macular degeneration?

• Richard Litwin at Herrick in Berkeley is the best - he's been in practice since 1962, and specializes in diseases of the eye. I always worry that I'll call and find out he's retired, but he never seems to leave. (510) 548-6630

• Allan Flach at UCSF is a specialist in most common eye diseases.
  

What restaurants in Berkeley have Braille menus? Large print?

• King Tsin has pretty easy to read menus, and unlike most restaurants, the lights are pretty bright. It's also a quiet place. It's on Solano - near Tulare.

• I like Venezia on University. The menu is printed daily, so sometimes you can ask them to blow it up for you. But I had a staff person actually sit down and read it to me, verbatim.

• Believe it or not, McDonalds. I went to one and complained that I couldn't read the menu (it's posted up behind the counter and backlit). Without missing a beat, the woman at the register handed me a printed copy of the menu. I was pretty impressed (with the service - the food is another story!)

Are there good digital cameras/CD players etc. with large screen displays?

Go to Best Buy or Circuit City and try them out. Don't listen to recommendations - the screens are all different depending on your eye condition. Its best to check them out. Just tell the sales guy that it's going to be awhile. I actually had a really good experience at the Best Buy store in Pinole. The salesman was in his late fifties and had trouble with his near vision so he sort of understood what the issues were. He wasn't that busy so he spent about 45 minutes with me having me try out cameras he thought would be good for me.

I can no longer read the thermostat in my house - do any thermostats have large displays?

I replaced my old thermostat with a programmable one, and when I went to buy it, I found that there are several models with large displays. The one I have displays the temperature in what is probably 72 point font. Its a lot better than the old dial one (plus, I have it set so, when I get up in the morning, the house is already warm). I don't know what brand it is, but I just found it at Orchard Supply. I think it coat about 25 bucks.

My low vision son is taking biology in school , where can we get a microscope that enlarges the image?

There is a microscope that attaches to a computer (I've only seen one that hooks up to a PC). The image is then put on the screen, so you don't have to look through an eye piece. It works GREAT. It's made by Mattel It's called the "QX3+ Computer Microscope" Do a google search to find places that sell it.

I need to find a good print enlarger that I can carry with me

• I don't like the ones that need batteries and all that, cuz the batteries are always dead when you need it. I bought a"Magnabrite" at the Lighthouse for the Blind in SF. Its just a big "dome" of glass that works great.

• Telesensory makes a great portable enlarger - you set it on what you want to read, and it works great. It has all the enlarger features you want (ability to change the size, change background colors,etc.). I had tried their "Pico", but I found the "Olympia" does a better job (though it's not cheap: it costs about $2300) I use it a LOT (I take it with me, and also use it at home) and it's a great device.

I am blind and have diabetes. Where can I get a device to test my blood sugar level that talks? I can't read the displays, even the ones with the largest numbers.

• That National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sells several of them, and I got mine from them. Its pretty good. You can call them at 410-659-9314 (they are located in Maryland)

• I use the Touch N Talk I. It connects to the One Touch Meter, and it works well. I got it from the Lighthouse for the Blind (415 431-1581). You can get it to work in English, Spanish, French and Swedish (I just use the English version).

Low Vision restaurants

In Berkeley, there is an online service that lists restaurants, and has many of their menus in PDF format. It's great! I go to the site, download the menu of the restaurant I want to go to, and either bring it with me (in large print) or just decide what I want. I'd suggest you bring the large menu with you, since they sometimes do change and it's good to be able to pick a couple options. Check it out: http://www.shopinberkeley.com/menus/

Does anyone know where I can still get an optacon?

• A German company is now producing a product called the VideoTIM, which apparently has an American distributor reachable at info@abtim.com. Their website is http://www.abtim.com/home__e_/home__e_.html, where they say, 'You are a specialist in touchable graphics for blind persons and you like the good old OPTACON? We like it too. And we try to be better.' Jane Vincent

Where can you get cane tips in the east bay?

• Johnston's Medical on Shattuck in Berkeley has cane tips. If they don't have you what you want, the other place I'd try is Grandmar in Emeryville -- they're usually willing to order anything you might need.... (or order on line -- Abbey Medical maybe?)
  Anonymous

• The Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley sells canes and cane accessories. Please contact Armando Garcia of CIL's Blind Services Department at 510/841-4776 ext. 123.
  Jan Garrett
  

JAWS of Victory or Defeat

I’m on the verge of buying a new computer, and I’ve always been a Mac user. But now my vision is getting worse, and I’m wondering if I should stick with my Mac, or migrate over to a PC while I still have enough vision to learn it visually. I’ve been told that JAWS is the best system for blind users, but it only works on a PC. Is this true? Is it worth making the switch?

• JAWS of Victory or Defeat I am a Jaws user on a PC. I work in an office with several Mac users who have no sight loss. Mac does have a screen-reading software program, but it is not nearly as user friendly as Jaws, and the speech is very unappealing. I would suggest learning the PC, and moving ovet to Jaws. You will find many more software programs that are already adapted to Jaws and if they are not you can find many scripts that will allow some manipulation of other programs with Jaws. You could also consider usign ZoomText along with using Jaws. ZoomText enlarges the screen shot, and also can provide speech (it is not as good as Jaws), and can be set to many different levles of magnification. You do not use ZoomText along with Jaws at the same time, but you can toggle them off and on to your personal needs. If you contact the Iowa Department of the Blind, they were running a pilot program instructing in all Microsoft programs in conjunction with Jaws, so you can learn Word, Excel, etc. at the same time you learn Jaws, which is much easier, as you areapplying keystorkes with applications. The program is called ASSISt, and the last I had heard the courses could be purchased online. Debbie Bacon

• I'm in the same boat, and though I'm still successfully avoiding dealing with it, I've realized that you have to make the switch. So I've started learning the PC now, even though I'm still hanging on to my old Mac. I've been told it is a LOT easier to learn the PC while you still have vision, instead of trying to learn both JAWS and Windows simultaneously. It's easier to understand JAWS if you can visualize what you're trying to do. So we're in this together.

Low vision cell phone recommendations

A woman I know (who doesn't use computers) asked me to help her find recommendations for cell phones she can use. She has low vision and is looking for a cell phone which has numbers on the larger side or if not on the larger side, has number keys which are in the same sequence as a regular phone in straight lines. Also, if the numbers aren't big enough to be read, the phone will have to have raised keys. She tells me that she is not a Braille reader and doesn't have the sensitivity in her fingers a Braille reader would have. I am going to put her in touch with The Lighthouse too. If anyone has any ideas for cell phone brands or any other ideas, I will pass them along to her. Thank you. Ann Cupolo Freeman, LCSW

• I use a Nokia phone, which has the numbers arranged in the normal layout (with a space between them). Additionally, the “5” key has both a raised dot on it and is concave (all the other buttons are slightly convex). Nokia phones can also be set to “Zoom” to make the text bigger. The Nokia 6600 is the largest screen I’ve seen, but you can only get it with T-Mobile service. And the buttons on the 6600 are arranged in the standard layout, but they are adjoining (no space between them) - for us low vision guys, it’s a lot easier to have buttons that are spaced. I got my phone at the Cingular store. Because the buttons are in such a traditional layout (instead of some of the cool new layouts they have), it’s considered a low end phone, so with my plan the phone itself didn’t cost me anything.

Fax machines for visually impaired

I am looking for a fax machine that
(1) Would not require a dedicated phone line;
(2) Prints clear faxes and copies;
(3) Has display as clear as possible;
(4) Uses an ink cartridge rather than rollercarbon; and
(5) Either has its own answering machine or will clearly be compatible with another machine. Does this machine exist?
Patricia Becker

Answer:
You could try looking at the Canon FaxPhone B95 Inkjet Fax Machine it has a built-in digital answering machine, caller ID display, and it has some modest voice recognition functions so that it can learn and recognize your voice to dial up to 15 frequently called fax numbers. (How well this function works is probably another story) It also has a function to automatically detect telephone or fax calls. I haven't actually used it though so I can't tell you how legible the display is. Try calling around and see if anyone carries this model. James