16th January 2007

My response to “Low- and no-cost Communications Devices”

posted in Deaf, Hearing Loss, Technology, deaf culture, sign language |

A post was made at deafness.about.com regarding the high price of UbiDuo and that he has a low-cost alternative.

I’ve posted my response in the forum but I’m going to reprint here because not everyone is registered at the forum.

Robert,
Your contraption for a low cost communication tool is a good and worthly alternative for those that are technically inclined.

But not everyone has 2 laptops around, or know which cable to use, and know how to fiddle with the laptop settings so that both units will communicate to each other.

The UbiDuo just makes it simpler for two units (or 3 or 4) to communicate with each other without fiddling. Just turn it on and type!

This is a recurring issue so Scomm already addressed this issue in their FAQ:
http://www.scommonline.com/blog/?p=8

Now, let’s go over quickly the difference between your laptops contraption and UbiDuo:

Laptop: Turn on time is 30 seconds or longer

UbiDuo: Turn on time is 3 seconds.

Laptop: Battery life is up to 4 hours

UbiDuo: Battery life up to 8 hours

 
Laptop: Wires between two units

UbiDuo: No wires to tangle with

Laptop: Limit to two units attached by wires

UbiDuo: No limit on the distance between two units (Range goes to 500 feet)

Laptop: One person can type at a time back and forth

UbiDuo: Up to 4 people can chat at the same time with no pause

Laptop: File saved to laptop

UbiDuo: Chat can be saved to a file to be downloaded via USB.

Laptop: Complicated to be used as a TTY, if possible.

UbiDuo: Functions as a TTY (software and phone jack included).

What can UbiDuo be used for? At doctor’s office, at job interviews, at business meetings, at family events, at parties, at restaurant, at anywhere!!!

Compare the price of getting a Sign Language Interpreter. Who pays for it? You or them? What if they don’t want to pay for an Interpreter?  Then what?

Secondly, will the interpreter be there when you need it? What happens if the Interpreter doesn’t show up? Or what if you can’t get an Interpreter at all? Then what?

Now, try to put  a price on the lack of communication because of no Sign Language Interpreter.

Then compare with the price on the FREEDOM to communicate at any time you want, anywhere, and with anyone, over and over again.

I want to add that I had the privilege of meeting with Jason Curry, inventor of the UbiDuo and he demonstrated what the UbiDuo can do.
Once you try the UbiDuo, you won’t let go of it.

Oh by the way, remember life before TTY? Before Relay Services? Before Pagers? Before VRS and VP? Same thing here. The UbiDuo is another revolutionary device to communicate.

JSG
Manager, WinfreePCS Inc.
Ubi Duo Dealer

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Deaf, Hearing Loss, Technology, deaf culture, sign language. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 2 responses to “My response to “Low- and no-cost Communications Devices””

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  1. 1 On January 16th, 2007, mcconnell said:

    You are correct, JSG. UbiDuo is quite unique as a communication device for deaf/hh and speech impaired people.
    Though I believe battery life is 10 hours, not 8.

    I, too, have known Jason, president of sComm, for more than 2 years and had the great opportunity of meeting him at
    the NAD conference in California. You can’t get a better deaf president of a company than Jason!

  2. 2 On January 16th, 2007, Rob G. said:

    Thanks for the compliments of my article, but you still have to remember that not everyone can afford it. You did make some good points here and there between the UbiDuo and laptops. I know not everyone is technically inclined, but if they follow directions well and so on, they can have a working setup.

    Battery life: Some laptops have even less power. I have an older one that’s got maybe 2 hours time. Some of us will want to plug in to nearby outlets if they want to do so.

    Wired: Directly connecting the two laptops will require a crossover ethernet cable as I mentioned. I neglected to mention that you can use wireless, setting it up so only those laptops with the right settings can communicate. Either regular wireless (802.11b, g or newer) or bluetooth can be used. But of course, the old standby of a null modem cable on the modem port can be used.

    Wireless: The range can be around the same as the UbiDuo, but as you go further out from the access point, the lower your speed will be. This is true no matter what you use. Ever heard of the Cantenna?

    Number of devices: If you add on a hub or switch, you can increase how many laptops you have connected. Adding on a router removes the requirement of someone having to set the IP on each laptop since the router will assign the IP.

    Chatting: Not just one person on the laptop. Multiple people can talk at the same time with the right client program. Multiwindowed and IM-like clients do exist.

    TTY use: You’re right on the TTY thing. I’ve not used that part, but others have. As usual, it all depends on the client program you use.

    Space usage: Whoo… This is pretty much where the UbiDuo beats all!

    You got good points on the use of an interpreter. However, not everyone will want to take the time to type out stuff to you. Some have pretty bad typing skills. Others have been known to leave a keyboard smoking since they type so fast.

    Either way, both methods are methods of helping you communicate with someone. Good responses here. Good knowing there’s someone who knows their stuff. Hope to meet you sometime!

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