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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
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completely blind computer geek, lover of science fiction and fantasy (especially LitRPG). I work in accessibility, but my opinions are my own, not that of my employer. Fandoms: Harry Potter, Discworld, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Buffy, Dead Like Me, Glee, and I'll read fanfic of pretty much anything that crosses over with one of those.
keyoxide: aspe:keyoxide.org:PFAQDLXSBNO7MZRNPUMWWKQ7TQ
Location Ottawa
Birthday 1987-12-20
Pronouns he/him (EN)
xmpp fastfinge@im.interfree.ca
keyoxide aspe:keyoxide.org:PFAQDLXSBNO7MZRNPUMWWKQ7TQ
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@simon @JamminJerry The pixels are bloody expensive for a test device, though.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
Me trying to explain a book I read to an offline friend: "Okay so, it's about, like, a robot vacuum who gets summoned by priests into a fantasy video game world with stats and skills." All The Dust That Falls probably shouldn't be someone's first introduction to hearing about litrpg LOL
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@jscholes @bermudianbrit @JamminJerry @modulux @simon The only thing I can't prove is that Human Voice, LLC has the rights to license DECTalk at all. DECTalk was created at MIT and Digital Equipment Corporation. Did Denis own the rights to DECTalk at the time he died? It looks like Human Voice, LLC is working under the belief that he did. But based on how most employment and research contracts work, I find this deeply unlikely.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@bermudianbrit @jscholes @JamminJerry @modulux @simon Yes, they did use the DECTalk code from github. But I have no reason to doubt that they were given a license to do so by Human Voice, LLC. "Human Voice LLC" is a real company, and you can find its New Jersey incorporation documents. You can also verify that it was incorporated by family members of Denis Klatt. That took me about three minutes of searching. And most of that time was spent filtering out mailing list posts from idiots asking questions and making false claims. I don't think this particular conspiracy has legs. Matthew is a lawyer, so he could probably access the associated documents even easier than I can.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@simon @JamminJerry So I don't have any other Android thing, so I'd want to be on the latest and give up eloquence to test accessibility of newer Android. So should I get Jelly Max or Tank 3 Pro, if I spent money for no reason?
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@simon @JamminJerry Isn't the Jelly Star only Android 13 though?
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@bermudianbrit @JamminJerry @modulux @simon It wouldn't be allowed as a blindness accessibility company if there weren't shady practices of some sort going on. Sorry, I don't make the rules!
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@simon @JamminJerry Doesn't eloquence just not run anymore now that Android apps have to be 64-bit?
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@modulux @cachondo Same honestly. It's so inaccurate for me without the feedback of keys that I don't bother.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@cachondo @modulux Yeah. And the BT Speak has wireless internet so it wouldn't help you avoid searching for clues. Useless. LOL
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@JamminJerry Totally. And if I wanted a reading device I could get one of @simon's solar jelly android preserve phones or whatever they are for much cheaper than a BT Speak.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@JamminJerry Yeah, exactly! You can use VoiceDream Reader for that even though the app kind of sucks now but there are other apps. And if you want to read on your phone without constant interruptions from notifications you can turn on do not disturb mode. And you have a back-up battery already so the extra battery life is totally meaningless and not something you need.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@JamminJerry Yeah, exactly. I have no use for a cool Linux machine that supports Braille input and is based on an open platform and has long battery life. My iPhone can do everything it can do!
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@JamminJerry Yeah but I mean, I could put it on credit. Not that I should. Because that would be stupid. But, you know, I could.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@modulux Right, but compare the price of that to the price of a raspberry pi 500! The only difference is that the BT Speak supports Braille input and it's much smaller and Linux is already installed and configured so you don't have to do it yourself and it comes with decent customer support and it has dectalk. But otherwise it's the same thing! I mean, it doesn't even support the old BNS basic games that I spent hours playing in class on my Braille 'N Speak when I should have been paying attention. So what good is it, really? No good, that's what!
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@modulux We should start a support club for people who don't need BT Speaks.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
@modulux Yeah. It's just a raspberry pie with a nice case and a bit of custom software. If I want that I could build it myself. If I haven't it means I don't want it that badly. Right?
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
Could everyone please remind me that I neither need 'nor have any use for a BT Speak? Thanks!
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
Right now, I'm using to generate a unique URL for this purpose. So I publish a note, then put that URL into shlink, and give my person the shlink url. Then I can see if they clicked it or not. In theory, Joplin allows plugins and I could automate this workflow somehow but I have no idea how Joplin plugins actually work.
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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge@interfree.ca
10mo
I love so much. I find myself using it to publish long documents that I want others to read that are well formatted, but in plain HTML so can't be edited, and live on my server. Better than a PDF by far, and markdown makes including tables and other complicated layout easy. The only improvement I'd love is the ability to see how many visits a published note got. I don't need browser and IP and location and all that stuff. Just a number, so I can know if a link I shared with a single person was viewed by them.