Laptops for the Disabled?

visionWhiteout asks: "I've been looking around a while for a laptop that would suit my special needs. I have a rare eye disorder known as achromatopsia which makes it nearly impossible to see a laptop screen in bright condititions. The ideal solution is a headset with a small screen near the eye, but the ones that I've seen (mostly on ThinkGeek) are a bit bulky. I'm not sure how many people remember it, but there was an old IBM commercial featuring a small voice activated PC that used a device like this. I was wondering if that, or anything similar has become available that I may have missed. Any other commentary is greatly appreciated."

Maybe

[SpatchMonkey]

Maybe if you get in contact with these people [mit.edu], you could help them with their research and get a free headset out of it? Just a thought.

Re:Hunting down the lowest fare

[renehollan]

-1 maybe, but damn! +5, Funny in my book. Though, you forgot the Ebay "bid on a 'ho" schtick. Kudos.

Laptops and Bright Ambient Light

[renehollan]

This won't help much (sorry), but laptops are hard to see in bright light by the "normal" sighted. So, you're likely going to need a HMD (head mounted display). AFAIK, these are bulky, and sadly, expensive.

Voice-activated wearable?

[buzzbomb]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but wasn't that one of the "futuristic" commercials that tells ya that IBM will be bringing this to you...but not for a few years yet.

Might help...

[Smelly Jeffrey]

I don't know how practical this would end up being, but perhaps instead of spending any great sum of money on specialized equipment, perhaps you could find a way to cut down on the brightness of the surroundings that make seeing the screen hard for you. Perhaps some sort of special shielding built on the laptop, or modded there, like a visor of sorts. Perhaps some sort of tint for the screen of the laptop. I don't know the specifics of your condition. Perhaps you could get some sort of patio umbrella or similar device. In fact, perhaps you could just spend a minute more, to maybe get yourself out of the direct light; I assume you mean sunlight, not just the ominous glow of the florescent glow of the office. I hope this is of help, although it is just a list of money-saving alternatives. Good luck there.

Several options

[Chris Canfield]

Sorry to hear about the condition. If I remember correctly, that IBM computer was a concept machine and not an actual production device

There are some reviews here [wearcam.org]. I've used the bulky but natural "virtual vision" goggles they mention, and yes, it's perfect for camcorders and mangles text. TekGear [tekgear.com] has some more modern displays, all of which look like your eyes are being attacked by a small piece of aluminum. They also carry the "best selling QUGA (?) monocule in the world" [tekgear.com] a one-eyed machine very close to what you describe except that the resolution is low and you look like a call center employee with the microphone stuck in your eye. There are also some in the Imac family, Bizrate has a list [bizrate.com] of several. Liteye [liteye.com] puts out some sufficiently small displays of reasonable image integrity. Once again, still looks funky but in a funkytional sort of way. Plus, they are more of a parts supplier than a solutions provider. MicroOptical [microopticalcorp.com] has several, with their tech briefly reviewed [about.com] by about.com.

If you are looking to purchase one, the two buzzwords to use are head mounted display and wearable display. Hitachi even combined buzz and produced a wearable internet applicance [hitachi.co.jp], though only for the japanese and who knows if it was released.

I hope that gives you some ideas. I also hope some people post here who didn't just pick through google :).

Come again?

[Anonymous Coward]

> I have a rare eye disorder known as achromatopsia
> which makes it nearly impossible to see a laptop
> screen in bright condititions.

Ummm...doesn't everyone have this?

Here are a few links.

[rickjohnson]

Here are a few links for wearable computing vendors that have displays you might want to look at. Xybernaut partnered with IBM to take over the wearable project if I remember correctly.

Xybernaut [xybernaut.com]
MicroOptical [microopticalcorp.com]

laptops for visually impaired people

[c545880]

My wife is visually impaired, she had similar problems so she installed a magnifying programme. she telephoned microsoft for the program Ian