Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Cruising Blind
We recently took a 8-night Caribbean cruise on the new Carnival Horizon ship. Since the cruise depart from New York City, we stay in the city for few days to visit family. I
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Ipevo Visualizer : my two cents
After I watched the following video, I thought the Ipevo document camera and its Visualizer software would be helpful to read hardcopy stuff for me. Tge USB version of the camera was cost around $100. Other versions of of the camera with additional interface cost more. The video seem to suggest that the Visualizer software can be easily used by a visually impaired person, but my experience was not the case.
I was hoping this camera along with the software would replace my desktop CCTV , which I can no longer use due to very poor eyesight. I was hoping the software would read whatever document I put under the camera.
The camera was mounted at the end of 2 segments arm, with a stable base at the other end. The whole camera and arm assembly seem to be well made. There was no software or any type of instruction in thepackage. I had to go online to download the Visualizer software and watch couple of video to get some idea on how to use the software. TheVisualizer software I donloaded from Ipevo website seem to missing the text to speech function, or just hidden under other menu that I couldn't find it. I was able to find that function in the Visualizer in the Microsoft window store.
I guess this software was not designed with blind user in mind. Some buttons and other functions were not accessible by screen reader. The screen layout was not user friendly for blind user. It took me a while to figure out to find the text to speech function and its associated settings. One of the major problem I encountered was I had no way to know whether the camera would capture the whole page of document that I place under the camera,, there was no help with field of view. My attempts to read a document were either cut off at left or right edge. I also had few document not recognized messages with the same piece of paper.
My initial thought was thissoftware is not worth the trouble for blind user.
I think the Seeing Ai app do a much better job on this task.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb4_ycccMKs
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Seeing AI: my two cents
There are a lot of reviews on youTube about this free Microsoft Seeing AI Talking Camera app for iPhone. Instead of repeating what others have said, I just want to put in my 2 cents on each of the function offered by this app. I will provide links for additional info at the end of this post. After reading this post and viewing the videos, I think you would agree this is one of the must have app if you have vision issue. This post is about Seeing AI 2.0 for iPhone, as of today, there is no Android version. I was so convinced this app would make my life easier, I bought an cheap iPhone just to use this app.
Microsoft referred the functions in the app as channels. When you open the app, the channel selection is default to the short text channel. Each flick of the finger would change the channel in the following listed order. Some of the channels are very useful and some are just good for amusement.
Short Text Channel
I think this is the most useful function of this app because it instantly read out whatever text placed in front of the camera. Unlike KNFB Reader, I don't need to take a picture first in order for the app to read out the text. With this channel, I can sort out mail or read other short text much faster then KNFB reader. I can even read the text on TV screen, like the phone number with some ads, and headline during news cast. I tried to use it to read the caller ID display on my table top phone but it didn't work. It couldn't read my LCD thermometer either, I think this app can't read text on small LCD screen.
I found this app is a great componentry too to my ZoomText screen reader. ZT reader just won't read some Window screen like anti-virus result screen. I just point the camera at the onitor with the unreadable screen and let Seeing AI read it to me. The app can do all these without internet access.
I hope in the future, the app would provide a way for the user to interact with the text. For example, the app was able to read all the labels on my washing machine's buttons. Wouldn't be nice if I place a finger on a button and the app say my finger is on what button?
Document Channel
Use this channel to scan and read full page document. Like KNFB Reader, I have to take a picture of document before it would read out the text. The app also provide verbal assistant to help you frame the whole document within the view finder. Unlike KNFB Reader, Seeing AI needs internet access for this channel to work. I guess Seeing AI sends the text image to some Microsoft cloud server for OCR processing. With my short tests, Seeing AI provided very accurate OCR result on plain text documents. It also did well with text imbedded in picture.
I am hesitant to let Seeing AI process my more sensitive documents because the app would send the them to Microsoft for OCR processing, I just don't want my financial and medical record floating around somewhere in the web. Until I find out more, I would use KNFB Reader for my private documents.
Product Channel
This is the barcode scanner function. Unlike other barcode scanner, you don't need to position the barcode exactly in the scanning window. All you need to do is point the camera at a product and it would provide audio clue whether a barcode is in view. Once the barcode is captured, it would go out to the internet to retrieve product info. Depend on what info you want, I think the short text channel can do it faster and easier.
Person Channel
After taking a person's photo, the app attempts to guess the person's age, face expression, and other basic info. This channel is definitely an amusement channel because the result were so off the mark. Just for fun, I took a photo of our wedding photo which we took about more then 30 years ago, the app said two faces detected, 42 year old man look happy and 15 year old girl look natural.
You don't have to be blind to have fun with this one.
Microsoft called the following preview channel. I interpreted these functions are not ready for prime time and the result can't be trusted?
Currency Channel
This function worked very well on identifying US paper money. It accurately ID dollar bills from front or back or even crumbled bill. think its best use is to sort out a bunch of paper money at home or at a bank. I don't think it is practical to use this function while doing purchase. Imagine you paying your hot dog with a $20 bill at a food truck, the vendor hands you back some bills and coins. How many hands to you need? One hand hold the change, one hand fumble with the phone, one hand hold your white cane and don't forget to take the hog dog, while a line of hungry people behind you wondering what you doing.
Scene Channel
You take a photo of something and the app would tell you what was taken. I am not sure the purpose of this channel because the info provided is not enough to act on. For example, let say you are blind and you check into a motel room. You take a photo at a random direction and the app say a room with a bed, a lamp and a desk. It doesn't say the relative position of these three things, so you can't tell whether the lamp is at the left or at the right of the bed.
I was wondering whether it would ID stuff on table so I gave this a try. When point at a TV remote, it correctly ID it as such. When I point at a black stapler, the app said it was probably close view of a black car, hau? This channel probably wasn't mean to ID stuff at close range, but it was fun to see how it mess up on many simple objects.
Color Channel
Point your camera at an object and the app would tell its color. I was able to determine whether a banana is yellow or green. Since I am color blind also, I guess I would find more use of this channel. Some people said the result is not very accurate, well, that's why this is a preview channel.
Handwriting Channel
I didn't expect too much from this function but I was amazed it read most of the hand writing correctly on the Christmas cards. It also able to read many hand writing on checks, like payee's name an\ memo. Yes, I did cover the routing and account numbers on the checks for this test. Since I hardly come across hand written stuff in my daily life, not sure where else I can use this function.
Light Channel
This is a light detector function. The app provides audio clue on the brightness of your surroundings. From no tone for no light detected to high pitch tone for very bright. It works but I don't think I have much use for this channel.
In conclusion, I think this is one of the best low vision app I have used so far. The Short Text Channel made it so much easier and faster to read any type of short text.
Additional Info
Seeing AI Overview
Seeing AI Review 1
Seeing AI Review 2
Microsoft referred the functions in the app as channels. When you open the app, the channel selection is default to the short text channel. Each flick of the finger would change the channel in the following listed order. Some of the channels are very useful and some are just good for amusement.
Short Text Channel
I think this is the most useful function of this app because it instantly read out whatever text placed in front of the camera. Unlike KNFB Reader, I don't need to take a picture first in order for the app to read out the text. With this channel, I can sort out mail or read other short text much faster then KNFB reader. I can even read the text on TV screen, like the phone number with some ads, and headline during news cast. I tried to use it to read the caller ID display on my table top phone but it didn't work. It couldn't read my LCD thermometer either, I think this app can't read text on small LCD screen.
I found this app is a great componentry too to my ZoomText screen reader. ZT reader just won't read some Window screen like anti-virus result screen. I just point the camera at the onitor with the unreadable screen and let Seeing AI read it to me. The app can do all these without internet access.
I hope in the future, the app would provide a way for the user to interact with the text. For example, the app was able to read all the labels on my washing machine's buttons. Wouldn't be nice if I place a finger on a button and the app say my finger is on what button?
Document Channel
Use this channel to scan and read full page document. Like KNFB Reader, I have to take a picture of document before it would read out the text. The app also provide verbal assistant to help you frame the whole document within the view finder. Unlike KNFB Reader, Seeing AI needs internet access for this channel to work. I guess Seeing AI sends the text image to some Microsoft cloud server for OCR processing. With my short tests, Seeing AI provided very accurate OCR result on plain text documents. It also did well with text imbedded in picture.
I am hesitant to let Seeing AI process my more sensitive documents because the app would send the them to Microsoft for OCR processing, I just don't want my financial and medical record floating around somewhere in the web. Until I find out more, I would use KNFB Reader for my private documents.
Product Channel
This is the barcode scanner function. Unlike other barcode scanner, you don't need to position the barcode exactly in the scanning window. All you need to do is point the camera at a product and it would provide audio clue whether a barcode is in view. Once the barcode is captured, it would go out to the internet to retrieve product info. Depend on what info you want, I think the short text channel can do it faster and easier.
Person Channel
After taking a person's photo, the app attempts to guess the person's age, face expression, and other basic info. This channel is definitely an amusement channel because the result were so off the mark. Just for fun, I took a photo of our wedding photo which we took about more then 30 years ago, the app said two faces detected, 42 year old man look happy and 15 year old girl look natural.
You don't have to be blind to have fun with this one.
Microsoft called the following preview channel. I interpreted these functions are not ready for prime time and the result can't be trusted?
Currency Channel
This function worked very well on identifying US paper money. It accurately ID dollar bills from front or back or even crumbled bill. think its best use is to sort out a bunch of paper money at home or at a bank. I don't think it is practical to use this function while doing purchase. Imagine you paying your hot dog with a $20 bill at a food truck, the vendor hands you back some bills and coins. How many hands to you need? One hand hold the change, one hand fumble with the phone, one hand hold your white cane and don't forget to take the hog dog, while a line of hungry people behind you wondering what you doing.
Scene Channel
You take a photo of something and the app would tell you what was taken. I am not sure the purpose of this channel because the info provided is not enough to act on. For example, let say you are blind and you check into a motel room. You take a photo at a random direction and the app say a room with a bed, a lamp and a desk. It doesn't say the relative position of these three things, so you can't tell whether the lamp is at the left or at the right of the bed.
I was wondering whether it would ID stuff on table so I gave this a try. When point at a TV remote, it correctly ID it as such. When I point at a black stapler, the app said it was probably close view of a black car, hau? This channel probably wasn't mean to ID stuff at close range, but it was fun to see how it mess up on many simple objects.
Color Channel
Point your camera at an object and the app would tell its color. I was able to determine whether a banana is yellow or green. Since I am color blind also, I guess I would find more use of this channel. Some people said the result is not very accurate, well, that's why this is a preview channel.
Handwriting Channel
I didn't expect too much from this function but I was amazed it read most of the hand writing correctly on the Christmas cards. It also able to read many hand writing on checks, like payee's name an\ memo. Yes, I did cover the routing and account numbers on the checks for this test. Since I hardly come across hand written stuff in my daily life, not sure where else I can use this function.
Light Channel
This is a light detector function. The app provides audio clue on the brightness of your surroundings. From no tone for no light detected to high pitch tone for very bright. It works but I don't think I have much use for this channel.
In conclusion, I think this is one of the best low vision app I have used so far. The Short Text Channel made it so much easier and faster to read any type of short text.
Additional Info
Seeing AI Overview
Seeing AI Review 1
Seeing AI Review 2
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Bye bye, Mr. Rooter
This post is not RP related but on my recent disappointing experience with Mr. Rooter of Northern Colorado.
Oh, not again, that was my thought when my kitchen drain was all clot up. We poured vineger and hot water into the kitchen sink but it didn't help a bit. Then we took the U trap out under the sink and poked a long steel coil through the drain pipe, we managed pull out some grease gunk but the drain still fully clot up. Aftter couple hours of trying, we decided to call a professional. We had used Mr. Rooter couple of times before and was fairly happy with their work so we called them again for this problem.
Mr. Rooter won't provide a price quote over the phone but would come over take a look and provide a price quote on the spot and if we don't like it we don't need the work done without trip charge.; Mr. Rooter sent over the crew of . Mr. J and Mr R to our house in couple hours. Mr. J introduced Mr. R as his assistant but in fact he is a trainee. Mr J gave us a price quote of $340 to cable the drain, he also strongly recommended the additional service of hydro jetting to high pressure wash of the drain pipe for additional$360. If any new part need on the drain, there will be $320 additional charge. We were shocked with these prices. We almost told them to leave due to the high price, we told them we had the same drain cableing work done 4 years ago for $215. Mr. J called Mr. Rooter office to see if the price can be reduced, Mr. Rooter agreed to do the cableing for $250.
As soon as they start to work, it was obvious that Mr. R is a newbie, Mr. J had to tell him almost every step of the work. Mr. R didn't even know to remove a section of the drain pipe to make more room for the cableing machine and he didn't put down some rags under the sink to absorb any water spill . At one point, there was a lot of water spilled under the sink cabinet, and Mr. J had to rush out to the truck to get a vacuum cleaner to suck up the spill. After Mr. R pull out some grease from the drain pipe he was go to stop there but Mr. J told him cable the drain pipe again, slowly this time in order to clean up more grease. While Mr. R doing the cableing second time around, Mr. J went down the basement to look at the drain pipe. He told me the drain pipe is not hung at the correct slope because one of the pipe hanger is loose. He said he could fix this for additional $150. I refused the offer, because I think I can fix the loose pipe hanger. After Mr. R finished the cableing, we let full sink of water down the drain to test it out. We noticed couple of water drops leak under the strainer and pointed it out to Mr. J. He said he could patch the leak with a bit of plumber's putty for $150. I refused the offer because I think the price was too high for this simple task. When we turn on the garbage disposer with full sink of water, we found some water was forced out from the dishwasher drain pipe. Mr. J said this was due to drain pipe not completely clean with just cableing and he again recommended us to do the hydro jetting for only additional $200. He said the high pressure wash would completely get rid of the grease in the drain pipe thus opening up the drain pipe completely to let large amount water flow throught. I again refused the additional work because I think he is just doing Upselling and pulling price out of the air. Mr. J even offered us financing if we want the additional work done, yep, right, only a fool would take out a loan to pay the extra expensive work. We were also not happy to pay for professional and got a newbie to work on our problem. After they left, we noticed a small leak on the drain pipe joint at the garbage disposer, we didn't have that leak before the work, not happy.
After they left, I look up info about hydro jetting. From what I read, a drain clot can be cleared either by cableing or hydro jetting. While hydro jetting seem to be a longer term solution, nothing that I read said I have to do the cableing to clear the clot first then the hydro jetting to clean the drain pipe. I wish Mr. J just offer the hydro jetting instead of trying double dipping.
Bye Bye Mr. Rooter, We were really turn off by the aggressive up selling and the high prices. I have seen many ads for unclotting the drain for lower price, I will give them a try or do the hydro jetting next time.
Oh, not again, that was my thought when my kitchen drain was all clot up. We poured vineger and hot water into the kitchen sink but it didn't help a bit. Then we took the U trap out under the sink and poked a long steel coil through the drain pipe, we managed pull out some grease gunk but the drain still fully clot up. Aftter couple hours of trying, we decided to call a professional. We had used Mr. Rooter couple of times before and was fairly happy with their work so we called them again for this problem.
Mr. Rooter won't provide a price quote over the phone but would come over take a look and provide a price quote on the spot and if we don't like it we don't need the work done without trip charge.; Mr. Rooter sent over the crew of . Mr. J and Mr R to our house in couple hours. Mr. J introduced Mr. R as his assistant but in fact he is a trainee. Mr J gave us a price quote of $340 to cable the drain, he also strongly recommended the additional service of hydro jetting to high pressure wash of the drain pipe for additional$360. If any new part need on the drain, there will be $320 additional charge. We were shocked with these prices. We almost told them to leave due to the high price, we told them we had the same drain cableing work done 4 years ago for $215. Mr. J called Mr. Rooter office to see if the price can be reduced, Mr. Rooter agreed to do the cableing for $250.
As soon as they start to work, it was obvious that Mr. R is a newbie, Mr. J had to tell him almost every step of the work. Mr. R didn't even know to remove a section of the drain pipe to make more room for the cableing machine and he didn't put down some rags under the sink to absorb any water spill . At one point, there was a lot of water spilled under the sink cabinet, and Mr. J had to rush out to the truck to get a vacuum cleaner to suck up the spill. After Mr. R pull out some grease from the drain pipe he was go to stop there but Mr. J told him cable the drain pipe again, slowly this time in order to clean up more grease. While Mr. R doing the cableing second time around, Mr. J went down the basement to look at the drain pipe. He told me the drain pipe is not hung at the correct slope because one of the pipe hanger is loose. He said he could fix this for additional $150. I refused the offer, because I think I can fix the loose pipe hanger. After Mr. R finished the cableing, we let full sink of water down the drain to test it out. We noticed couple of water drops leak under the strainer and pointed it out to Mr. J. He said he could patch the leak with a bit of plumber's putty for $150. I refused the offer because I think the price was too high for this simple task. When we turn on the garbage disposer with full sink of water, we found some water was forced out from the dishwasher drain pipe. Mr. J said this was due to drain pipe not completely clean with just cableing and he again recommended us to do the hydro jetting for only additional $200. He said the high pressure wash would completely get rid of the grease in the drain pipe thus opening up the drain pipe completely to let large amount water flow throught. I again refused the additional work because I think he is just doing Upselling and pulling price out of the air. Mr. J even offered us financing if we want the additional work done, yep, right, only a fool would take out a loan to pay the extra expensive work. We were also not happy to pay for professional and got a newbie to work on our problem. After they left, we noticed a small leak on the drain pipe joint at the garbage disposer, we didn't have that leak before the work, not happy.
After they left, I look up info about hydro jetting. From what I read, a drain clot can be cleared either by cableing or hydro jetting. While hydro jetting seem to be a longer term solution, nothing that I read said I have to do the cableing to clear the clot first then the hydro jetting to clean the drain pipe. I wish Mr. J just offer the hydro jetting instead of trying double dipping.
Bye Bye Mr. Rooter, We were really turn off by the aggressive up selling and the high prices. I have seen many ads for unclotting the drain for lower price, I will give them a try or do the hydro jetting next time.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
I hate ZoomText 10.1
In my previous post I encountered few serious problems with ZoomText Ver 10.1 running on Window 7 PC. I mentioned that those problem may be resolved with Window 10 PC but I found out this is not the case.
I was hoping to stay with Window 7 and ZoomText 10 as long as possible but due to a hard drive failure, I had to purchase a new laptop with Window 10 OS. The Window 10 user interface is so different than Window 7, it really take me awhile to figure out to do anything. It won't even auto install ZT 10.1 when I insert the disk in the DVD drive. I can understand why so many people want to stay with Window 7, me included.
After I activated the Zoomtext, I immediately got a compatibility issue with the Edge browser. So, I switched over to Firefox browser and found out ZT's mouse echo function and AppReader won't work with Firefox Version 55. ZT tech support comfirmed that ZT has compatibility issue with version 55 and told me to use version 50. I then try the Chrome browser and it won't even start. ZT tech support also comfirmed that ZT 10.1 won't work with the Chrome browser at all. Microsoft IE 11 is the only browser would work with ZT 10.1. Like the previous version, ZT 10.1 also won't read any screen made by anti virus program. I am so disgust with ZT 10.1 I don't want to install Thunderbird mail client on the laptop. ZT 10.1 is so bad I don't even know why they release it. With Zoomtext 11 already released, I have the feeling that they don't want to support ZT 10.1 anymore.
I also want to point out at this time that Zoomtext 10 and 10.1 would not read many text on Window. For example, some window screens have many options to choose, ZT would not read some of those option and would not tell the function of buttons. I just start playing Window's build-in magnifier and narrator, and I found they are surprisingly good. The narrator can even read the text that Zoomtext couldn't. Who know, may be I could get away with these instead of buying Zoomtext 11 upgrade.
As a side note: there isn't much user review on Zoomtext product, if I knew all these issues, I wouldn't have purchased this ZT 10.1 upgrade. If anyone has user experience with Zoomtext 11 or Zoomtext Fusion 11 please post your comment here or at the Facebook page called Zoomtext User Group.
I was hoping to stay with Window 7 and ZoomText 10 as long as possible but due to a hard drive failure, I had to purchase a new laptop with Window 10 OS. The Window 10 user interface is so different than Window 7, it really take me awhile to figure out to do anything. It won't even auto install ZT 10.1 when I insert the disk in the DVD drive. I can understand why so many people want to stay with Window 7, me included.
After I activated the Zoomtext, I immediately got a compatibility issue with the Edge browser. So, I switched over to Firefox browser and found out ZT's mouse echo function and AppReader won't work with Firefox Version 55. ZT tech support comfirmed that ZT has compatibility issue with version 55 and told me to use version 50. I then try the Chrome browser and it won't even start. ZT tech support also comfirmed that ZT 10.1 won't work with the Chrome browser at all. Microsoft IE 11 is the only browser would work with ZT 10.1. Like the previous version, ZT 10.1 also won't read any screen made by anti virus program. I am so disgust with ZT 10.1 I don't want to install Thunderbird mail client on the laptop. ZT 10.1 is so bad I don't even know why they release it. With Zoomtext 11 already released, I have the feeling that they don't want to support ZT 10.1 anymore.
I also want to point out at this time that Zoomtext 10 and 10.1 would not read many text on Window. For example, some window screens have many options to choose, ZT would not read some of those option and would not tell the function of buttons. I just start playing Window's build-in magnifier and narrator, and I found they are surprisingly good. The narrator can even read the text that Zoomtext couldn't. Who know, may be I could get away with these instead of buying Zoomtext 11 upgrade.
As a side note: there isn't much user review on Zoomtext product, if I knew all these issues, I wouldn't have purchased this ZT 10.1 upgrade. If anyone has user experience with Zoomtext 11 or Zoomtext Fusion 11 please post your comment here or at the Facebook page called Zoomtext User Group.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
KNFB Reader, a hands on experience
As mentioned in my previous post, I was looking for a mobile OCR apps to help me read the info on packages. I tried the TextGrabber (TG) and the result was very disappointing. I mentioned that KNFB Reader may be an better OCR apps but I didn't want to buy it due to it's high cost. Recently, I saw a notice on the KNFB website saying that Google is supporting KNFB development, and the apps is selling for $20 for a limited time. I thought the price was reasonable so I bought a copy. I also found out that the apps has try before you buy option. You can try the full function for 25 pictures, after that, you have to do in apps purchase in order to continue using the apps.
Unlike TG, KNFB Reader was designed for a blind user in mind. There are couple ways to help a blind user to position the camera to capture a good image. While TG only has manual mode, KNFB has three ways to capture an image, manual mode, auto mode, and stand mode. There are extensive online video on on this app. With that in mind, I would provide a link to each feature follow by my own hands on experience. This demo video provides an overview of KNFB Reader's features.
When you open the app, you are at the take picture screen. In addition to take picture, this screen also let you change various options, like picture mode, language, file management, etc. There are three ways to take a picture, manual mode, automatic mode, and stand mode.
Manual picture mode is the default mode. If you can position your phone to take the picture manually, this is the fastest method. After you press the shutter button, the OCR goes to work immediately and read the text on the reading screen within few seconds. I use this mode to quickly sort out junk mails from important mails.
If you can't take the picture manually, you can take a picture with the automatic picture mode. The camera will take a picture after it found all 4 corners of the paper. This mode is fairly time consuming and doesn't work all the time, but if you put a light color paper on dark background, the automatic picture mode would work much better. You can use the field of view and tilt assistance as additional help to take a picture. Note: the video demo the field of view usage with a split tap gesture on an iPhone, this gesture didn't work on my Android phone.
If you have a lot of material to scan, the stand mode would be very helpful. You will need to buy an optional scan stand in order to use this mode. Fopydo scanning stand appear to be a popular choice. The photo below shows my document scanning station. I use it read through junk mail and letters.
One of the major reason that I want a mobile OCR apps is to read info on various packages while shopping. I tried it out on one of my Costco shopping trip and I was disappointed with result. The automatic mode was pretty much useless in a shopping environment because of product placement and/or lighting condition. For example, there were boxes of food placed side by side on a shelf, the automatic mode was not able to take a picture because, I guess, it couldn't find all 4 corners of a box. I had to pull one box out, put it on my chopping cart, for the automatic mode to work some of the time. I ended up using manual mode for the rest of the shopping trip.
If the package is not printed on a flat surface, like the text on plastic food packages, the KNFB OCR result is about the same as TextGrabber, that mean both were poor visual aids for shopping. The automatic mode didn't work on the long strip of register tape either because again it couldn't find the 4 corners. So I had to use manual mode to scan the long tape section by section, and because the tape won't lay flat on a table, I had to put a coin at the top and bottom of the tape to hold it flat. I think the whold shopping experience was more trouble than its worth.
I had a much better result using KNFB reading food package at home because I could remove the food and flatten the plastic package. Both KNFB and TG had similar OCR result with flattened packages. I was surprised that KNFB able to read most text on curve surfaces. I took a picture of a plastic jar of peanut butter, a can of soup, and a small bottle of medication, the OCR result were just fair to good but I had enough useful info. TG was not able to recognize any text on curve surface.
In conclusion, if you only want to scan plain black text printed on flat white paper, both KNFB and TG produced about the same OCR result. The KNFB did slightly better than TG on color magazine pages and news letter with graphics. Both apps have trouble reading text printed on non flat surfaces. Unlike TG, KNFB was able to read text printed on curve surfaces.
TG was not designed for blind user in mind, so you must to see well enough to point and shoot the document manually. You also need to press couple more buttons to have the text read to you after you took the picture. If you can't do point and shoot, KNFB is the way to go. This apps would read out the text after a picture is taken without additional action. I think a better camera and more user experience would probably improve the OCR result on either apps.
Finally, TG is a lot cheaper at $2 a copy, while KNFB costs $100 at regular price, but often on sale. I bought my copy for only $20. Only you can determine whether the much higher price of KNFB is worth for you. I think I would use a Bluetooth headset when using the KNFB in public to avoid unwanted attention.
Update July 2017
Microsoft just released a free IOS app called SeeingAI. From what I saw in the following video, I think this app could make the KNFB Reader obsolete. I don't have an iPhone so I couldn't try it out, hopefully Microsoft would release an Android version in the future.
SeeingAI Demo Video
Unlike TG, KNFB Reader was designed for a blind user in mind. There are couple ways to help a blind user to position the camera to capture a good image. While TG only has manual mode, KNFB has three ways to capture an image, manual mode, auto mode, and stand mode. There are extensive online video on on this app. With that in mind, I would provide a link to each feature follow by my own hands on experience. This demo video provides an overview of KNFB Reader's features.
When you open the app, you are at the take picture screen. In addition to take picture, this screen also let you change various options, like picture mode, language, file management, etc. There are three ways to take a picture, manual mode, automatic mode, and stand mode.
Manual picture mode is the default mode. If you can position your phone to take the picture manually, this is the fastest method. After you press the shutter button, the OCR goes to work immediately and read the text on the reading screen within few seconds. I use this mode to quickly sort out junk mails from important mails.
If you can't take the picture manually, you can take a picture with the automatic picture mode. The camera will take a picture after it found all 4 corners of the paper. This mode is fairly time consuming and doesn't work all the time, but if you put a light color paper on dark background, the automatic picture mode would work much better. You can use the field of view and tilt assistance as additional help to take a picture. Note: the video demo the field of view usage with a split tap gesture on an iPhone, this gesture didn't work on my Android phone.
If you have a lot of material to scan, the stand mode would be very helpful. You will need to buy an optional scan stand in order to use this mode. Fopydo scanning stand appear to be a popular choice. The photo below shows my document scanning station. I use it read through junk mail and letters.
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| Smartphone sits on top of Fopydo scanning stand |
One of the major reason that I want a mobile OCR apps is to read info on various packages while shopping. I tried it out on one of my Costco shopping trip and I was disappointed with result. The automatic mode was pretty much useless in a shopping environment because of product placement and/or lighting condition. For example, there were boxes of food placed side by side on a shelf, the automatic mode was not able to take a picture because, I guess, it couldn't find all 4 corners of a box. I had to pull one box out, put it on my chopping cart, for the automatic mode to work some of the time. I ended up using manual mode for the rest of the shopping trip.
If the package is not printed on a flat surface, like the text on plastic food packages, the KNFB OCR result is about the same as TextGrabber, that mean both were poor visual aids for shopping. The automatic mode didn't work on the long strip of register tape either because again it couldn't find the 4 corners. So I had to use manual mode to scan the long tape section by section, and because the tape won't lay flat on a table, I had to put a coin at the top and bottom of the tape to hold it flat. I think the whold shopping experience was more trouble than its worth.
I had a much better result using KNFB reading food package at home because I could remove the food and flatten the plastic package. Both KNFB and TG had similar OCR result with flattened packages. I was surprised that KNFB able to read most text on curve surfaces. I took a picture of a plastic jar of peanut butter, a can of soup, and a small bottle of medication, the OCR result were just fair to good but I had enough useful info. TG was not able to recognize any text on curve surface.
In conclusion, if you only want to scan plain black text printed on flat white paper, both KNFB and TG produced about the same OCR result. The KNFB did slightly better than TG on color magazine pages and news letter with graphics. Both apps have trouble reading text printed on non flat surfaces. Unlike TG, KNFB was able to read text printed on curve surfaces.
TG was not designed for blind user in mind, so you must to see well enough to point and shoot the document manually. You also need to press couple more buttons to have the text read to you after you took the picture. If you can't do point and shoot, KNFB is the way to go. This apps would read out the text after a picture is taken without additional action. I think a better camera and more user experience would probably improve the OCR result on either apps.
Finally, TG is a lot cheaper at $2 a copy, while KNFB costs $100 at regular price, but often on sale. I bought my copy for only $20. Only you can determine whether the much higher price of KNFB is worth for you. I think I would use a Bluetooth headset when using the KNFB in public to avoid unwanted attention.
Update July 2017
Microsoft just released a free IOS app called SeeingAI. From what I saw in the following video, I think this app could make the KNFB Reader obsolete. I don't have an iPhone so I couldn't try it out, hopefully Microsoft would release an Android version in the future.
SeeingAI Demo Video
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Ooma, an almost free phone service
I am always looking for bargain. So, when I saw the ads about free phone service offers by Ooma, I have to give it a try.
Few years back I had the traditional copper wire telephone service provided by CentryLink at around $30 per month. The monthly fee only gave me local call, no caller ID or long distance call. Then I switched over to Walmart's BasicTalk phone service for $13 per month. BasicTalk was a VoIP phone service. Unlimited nationwide call, caller ID, and voice mail were included in the monthly fee.
Ooma is also VoIP phone service. In order to get the free phone service, you have to buy the Ooma Telo device. The Ooma Telo usually sold for $100 at Amazon but I bought mine on sale for $80. Although the phone calls are free but you still have to pay the taxes and fees monthly. The taxes and fees was only $3 when I was using the BasicTalk, to my surprise, they are nearly $5.30 for Ooma. I just don't understand why Ooma charge more. Also, Ooma charges $40 to port your current phone number if you sign up for the basic service. BasicTalk did not charge for number porting. See the cost comparison at the end of this post.
The hardware connection to your home network is very simple, just connect the included Ethernet cable between the Ooma Telo and your router, plug in the power supply and your phone to the back of Ooma Telo and you are ready to sign up for service. You can also buy an optional wireless adapter to connect Ooma Telo to yur router via WiFi connection. Note: for some unknown reason, my talking telephone doesn't work with Ooma phone service, see below.
Signing up for Ooma phone service was also very easy. You just go to their website, enter the Ooma Telo serial number and following the on screen instruction. When you first sign up for the basic service, you would also receive 2 months of free trial for the premier service. The premier service provide you with second phone number, call blocking capability, and other features. I have no intention to keep the premier service for additional monthly fee after the free trial.
How is the call quality with Ooma? Like most VoIP phone service, it has some noise, echo and delay, they are more noticeable on some calls especially with cordless phone. I would say the call quality is about the same as Walmart's BasicTalk. I think the traditional copper wire phone service had the best call quality.
In conclusion, if you have a reliable broadband internet connection and can live a slightly lower call quality, Ooma is a good low cost alternative phone service.
After all said and done, I was very disappointed that my RadioShack talking telephone would not work with Ooma Telo device. The talking phone can make out going calls, but would hang up after one ring with incoming calls. This talking phone had no problem with Walmart's BasicTalk phone service. Due to my low vision, I really miss all the features from this talking phone.
I am now using a Panasonic phone with Ooma phone service. The Panasonic has talking caller ID but no talking phonebook and no talking keypad. I think I can use the Ooma mobile apps to get around this problem. Using the Ooma mobile apps on my smartphone with Talkback enabled, this apps would act like a talking dialer.
If you have an Amazon Ecoh device, you could also use it to make the call for you, but you still need to pick up a telephone to talk.
Following table shows the 2016 cost comparison between Walmart's BasicTalk and Ooma Basic at the same address.
Few years back I had the traditional copper wire telephone service provided by CentryLink at around $30 per month. The monthly fee only gave me local call, no caller ID or long distance call. Then I switched over to Walmart's BasicTalk phone service for $13 per month. BasicTalk was a VoIP phone service. Unlimited nationwide call, caller ID, and voice mail were included in the monthly fee.
Ooma is also VoIP phone service. In order to get the free phone service, you have to buy the Ooma Telo device. The Ooma Telo usually sold for $100 at Amazon but I bought mine on sale for $80. Although the phone calls are free but you still have to pay the taxes and fees monthly. The taxes and fees was only $3 when I was using the BasicTalk, to my surprise, they are nearly $5.30 for Ooma. I just don't understand why Ooma charge more. Also, Ooma charges $40 to port your current phone number if you sign up for the basic service. BasicTalk did not charge for number porting. See the cost comparison at the end of this post.
The hardware connection to your home network is very simple, just connect the included Ethernet cable between the Ooma Telo and your router, plug in the power supply and your phone to the back of Ooma Telo and you are ready to sign up for service. You can also buy an optional wireless adapter to connect Ooma Telo to yur router via WiFi connection. Note: for some unknown reason, my talking telephone doesn't work with Ooma phone service, see below.
Signing up for Ooma phone service was also very easy. You just go to their website, enter the Ooma Telo serial number and following the on screen instruction. When you first sign up for the basic service, you would also receive 2 months of free trial for the premier service. The premier service provide you with second phone number, call blocking capability, and other features. I have no intention to keep the premier service for additional monthly fee after the free trial.
How is the call quality with Ooma? Like most VoIP phone service, it has some noise, echo and delay, they are more noticeable on some calls especially with cordless phone. I would say the call quality is about the same as Walmart's BasicTalk. I think the traditional copper wire phone service had the best call quality.
In conclusion, if you have a reliable broadband internet connection and can live a slightly lower call quality, Ooma is a good low cost alternative phone service.
After all said and done, I was very disappointed that my RadioShack talking telephone would not work with Ooma Telo device. The talking phone can make out going calls, but would hang up after one ring with incoming calls. This talking phone had no problem with Walmart's BasicTalk phone service. Due to my low vision, I really miss all the features from this talking phone.
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| RadioShack Talking Telephone |
If you have an Amazon Ecoh device, you could also use it to make the call for you, but you still need to pick up a telephone to talk.
Following table shows the 2016 cost comparison between Walmart's BasicTalk and Ooma Basic at the same address.
| Walmart BasicTalk | OOMA Basic | |
| Hardware | $9.99 | $79.99 |
| Number porting | $0.00 | $39.99 |
| Monthly service | $9.99 | $0.00 |
| County Tax | $0.13 | |
| Sales Tax | $0.86 | $0.31 |
| Regulartory Compliance | $1.26 | $1.98 |
| 911 Service Fee | $1.79 | |
| Fed Universial Charge | $0.46 | |
| County 911 | $0.75 | $0.75 |
| State USF | $0.15 | |
| Monthly Total | $12.99 | $5.29 |
| Annual Toal | $155.88 | $63.48 |
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