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Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
use Apple's Safari and Mail.
1. Very small type.
2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
Bill
My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
use Apple's Safari and Mail.
1. Very small type.
2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
Bill
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052008@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> 1. Very small type.
> 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
I use Safari Version 3.1.1 (4525.18), but don't use Apple Mail. I use
Eudora for Email, and it lets me choose the font (including size). Of
course, for HTML, all bets are off.
For Safari, go to Preferences in the Safari menu. Select advanced, and
the top option lets you choose a minimum font size. I haven't tried it,
but it looks promising. While in a page, choose Make Text Bigger from
the View menu, or use the shortcut, "Apple +".
For low contrast fonts, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun. What I
actually do is close the page and never go back to it. If the author
can't figure out that his page is unreadable, why should I believe the
information on it anyway?
--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel@sonic,net
In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052008@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> 1. Very small type.
> 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
I use Safari Version 3.1.1 (4525.18), but don't use Apple Mail. I use
Eudora for Email, and it lets me choose the font (including size). Of
course, for HTML, all bets are off.
For Safari, go to Preferences in the Safari menu. Select advanced, and
the top option lets you choose a minimum font size. I haven't tried it,
but it looks promising. While in a page, choose Make Text Bigger from
the View menu, or use the shortcut, "Apple +".
For low contrast fonts, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun. What I
actually do is close the page and never go back to it. If the author
can't figure out that his page is unreadable, why should I believe the
information on it anyway?
--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel@sonic,net
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
On 2 May, 02:37, Dan Abel <da...@sonic,net > wrote:
> In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052...@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
> Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
>
> > My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> > but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> > the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> > use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> > 1. Very small type.
> > 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
>
> I use Safari Version 3.1.1 (4525.18), but don't use Apple Mail. I use
> Eudora for Email, and it lets me choose the font (including size). Of
> course, for HTML, all bets are off.
>
> For Safari, go to Preferences in the Safari menu. Select advanced, and
> the top option lets you choose a minimum font size. I haven't tried it,
> but it looks promising. While in a page, choose Make Text Bigger from
> the View menu, or use the shortcut, "Apple +".
>
> For low contrast fonts, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun. What I
> actually do is close the page and never go back to it. If the author
> can't figure out that his page is unreadable, why should I believe the
> information on it anyway?
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
> da...@sonic,net
I don't know what you guys are complaining about!
I always found that small font always makes my vision better. And low
contrast is great! Actually, this is what Bates referred to as
"unfavourable conditions". If you strain to see in these conditions,
your eyesight will get worse. But if you can learn to not strain (to
rest) in them, by using the various methods which the Bates system is
all about such as imagining the swing, the halos, and so on, not only
will the discomfort cease but the vision becomes super clear. In other
words the pessimum becomes an optimum. And when the computer monitor
(which is a pessimum for a lot of people) becomes an optimum you can
probably see almost any near object without straining.
Anyway if you are really bothered by small font-type on the web, it's
not exactly hard to make it bigger. Just hold ctrl+scroll up or down.
No need to dive into a hissy-fit about the webauthors' competence. And
just because you can't see it because of defective vision/imagination
doesn't mean they did a bad job of presentation and colour choices.
For normal sighted people it's completely readable and visible!
Also, you can try getting a higher resolution monitor. I recommend
Samsung. They are amazing. Contrast ratio is very superb. Colours are
stunningly vibrant. In price and quality combination they are
unrivalled. Ebuyer is the best place to buy.
On 2 May, 02:37, Dan Abel <da...@sonic,net > wrote:
> In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052...@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
> Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
>
> > My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> > but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> > the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> > use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> > 1. Very small type.
> > 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
>
> I use Safari Version 3.1.1 (4525.18), but don't use Apple Mail. I use
> Eudora for Email, and it lets me choose the font (including size). Of
> course, for HTML, all bets are off.
>
> For Safari, go to Preferences in the Safari menu. Select advanced, and
> the top option lets you choose a minimum font size. I haven't tried it,
> but it looks promising. While in a page, choose Make Text Bigger from
> the View menu, or use the shortcut, "Apple +".
>
> For low contrast fonts, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun. What I
> actually do is close the page and never go back to it. If the author
> can't figure out that his page is unreadable, why should I believe the
> information on it anyway?
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
> da...@sonic,net
I don't know what you guys are complaining about!
I always found that small font always makes my vision better. And low
contrast is great! Actually, this is what Bates referred to as
"unfavourable conditions". If you strain to see in these conditions,
your eyesight will get worse. But if you can learn to not strain (to
rest) in them, by using the various methods which the Bates system is
all about such as imagining the swing, the halos, and so on, not only
will the discomfort cease but the vision becomes super clear. In other
words the pessimum becomes an optimum. And when the computer monitor
(which is a pessimum for a lot of people) becomes an optimum you can
probably see almost any near object without straining.
Anyway if you are really bothered by small font-type on the web, it's
not exactly hard to make it bigger. Just hold ctrl+scroll up or down.
No need to dive into a hissy-fit about the webauthors' competence. And
just because you can't see it because of defective vision/imagination
doesn't mean they did a bad job of presentation and colour choices.
For normal sighted people it's completely readable and visible!
Also, you can try getting a higher resolution monitor. I recommend
Samsung. They are amazing. Contrast ratio is very superb. Colours are
stunningly vibrant. In price and quality combination they are
unrivalled. Ebuyer is the best place to buy.
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
Another alternative if your vision is really bad to the point that
it's impossible to read anything, is to get one of those speech
softwares that can read the text out. But most of them kind of suck.
And the good ones aren't even available for Windows or Macs. You
should get a linux distro. Sabayon is my favorite. You might be
interested in following the directions of a tech guy who has actually
gone and done this himself. I think he was converting the entire Bates
book into an MP3 file. I've given a link to him below. Anyway that's
only a temporary measure just to help you in your current state. It is
wiser to cure your sight altogether.The best thing to do it practice
imagining halos or seeing how the letters pulsate. Well, at least that
gives me instant microscopic level of vision. I'm not joking. But
different things work for different people since all people's minds
are different. So you have to read Dr.Bates' work (book, magazines,
etc.) and understanding the principles then applying them, and see
what is effective.
http :// www .iblindness.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t’7&pS57#p5361
Another alternative if your vision is really bad to the point that
it's impossible to read anything, is to get one of those speech
softwares that can read the text out. But most of them kind of suck.
And the good ones aren't even available for Windows or Macs. You
should get a linux distro. Sabayon is my favorite. You might be
interested in following the directions of a tech guy who has actually
gone and done this himself. I think he was converting the entire Bates
book into an MP3 file. I've given a link to him below. Anyway that's
only a temporary measure just to help you in your current state. It is
wiser to cure your sight altogether.The best thing to do it practice
imagining halos or seeing how the letters pulsate. Well, at least that
gives me instant microscopic level of vision. I'm not joking. But
different things work for different people since all people's minds
are different. So you have to read Dr.Bates' work (book, magazines,
etc.) and understanding the principles then applying them, and see
what is effective.
http :// www .iblindness.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t’7&pS57#p5361
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052008@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> 1. Very small type.
> 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
>
> Bill
If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
--
~RT
In article <SalmonEgg-2DF794.17174801052008@news.la.sbcglobal,net >,
Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> My vision is deteriorating. Reading off of a computer display can help
> but often adds problems. Is there software available that avoids some of
> the problems I list below without requiring custom handling. In my case
> use Apple's Safari and Mail.
> 1. Very small type.
> 2. Low contrast fonts: Gray on gray or light blue on white.
>
> Bill
If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
--
~RT
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
In article <_7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ_tDinZ2d@earthlink,com >,
RT <RTMD24@NOSPAMyahoo,com > wrote:
> If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
> preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
> select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
> under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
> preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
I haver used some of the features in the past. The zoom is particularly
useful.
I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
Bill
In article <_7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ_tDinZ2d@earthlink,com >,
RT <RTMD24@NOSPAMyahoo,com > wrote:
> If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
> preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
> select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
> under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
> preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
I haver used some of the features in the past. The zoom is particularly
useful.
I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
Bill
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
On 3 May, 02:13, Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> In article < 7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ tDin...@earthlink,com >,
>
> RT <RTM...@NOSPAMyahoo,com > wrote:
> > If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
> > preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
> > select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
> > under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
> > preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
>
> I haver used some of the features in the past. The zoom is particularly
> useful.
>
> I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
> out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
> text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
> have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
>
> Bill
Believe it or not, the effect of seeing gray on white as opposed to
how it should be seen, black on white, is just an illusion in your
mind - a wrong illusion resulting in strain. You can even check this
if you ask someone with normal or perfect sight to look at it and tell
you what he sees. Learn to see illusions how a normal sighted person
sees them, which are listed and extensively described in the The Book
and the magazines. One illusion of normal sight is that the parts
inside the writing look whiter than on the outside parts. These spaces
of intense white are what Bates called 'Halos'.
When you are struggling to read any text, because of a poor contrast
or whatever may be the problem, try closing your eyes for a while and
imagining the whitest thing you can, but without making difficult
efforts. You could imagine something that is familiar to you so that
you already have a strong and intense memory of it - f.ex you could
try imagining the clouds with the sun shining on them. Then open your
eyes for a fraction of a second and you might be able to notice that
the white parts inside of the letters look whiter than they did
before. If they do, it means you're doing it right, so keep doing it,
flashing the letters for a moment and then closing your eyes and using
imagination. If you can repeat this often and with success, you'll
find that the wrong illusions disappear and they are replaced by right
illusions, i.e. halos are seen and you may also note a short and easy
swinging of the letters as you shift between them. This is a very
effective and fast method to sharpen up your vision whenever things
are blurry. I hope you find this helpful.
On 3 May, 02:13, Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> In article < 7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ tDin...@earthlink,com >,
>
> RT <RTM...@NOSPAMyahoo,com > wrote:
> > If you go to System Preferences under the Apple Menu you can select a
> > preference pane under "System" called "Universal Access." There you can
> > select enhanced contrast and zoom options. You can set minimum font size
> > under Safari preferences under the "Advanced tab" and in Mail under
> > preferences you can set font size under "Fonts & Colors".
>
> I haver used some of the features in the past. The zoom is particularly
> useful.
>
> I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
> out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
> text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
> have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
>
> Bill
Believe it or not, the effect of seeing gray on white as opposed to
how it should be seen, black on white, is just an illusion in your
mind - a wrong illusion resulting in strain. You can even check this
if you ask someone with normal or perfect sight to look at it and tell
you what he sees. Learn to see illusions how a normal sighted person
sees them, which are listed and extensively described in the The Book
and the magazines. One illusion of normal sight is that the parts
inside the writing look whiter than on the outside parts. These spaces
of intense white are what Bates called 'Halos'.
When you are struggling to read any text, because of a poor contrast
or whatever may be the problem, try closing your eyes for a while and
imagining the whitest thing you can, but without making difficult
efforts. You could imagine something that is familiar to you so that
you already have a strong and intense memory of it - f.ex you could
try imagining the clouds with the sun shining on them. Then open your
eyes for a fraction of a second and you might be able to notice that
the white parts inside of the letters look whiter than they did
before. If they do, it means you're doing it right, so keep doing it,
flashing the letters for a moment and then closing your eyes and using
imagination. If you can repeat this often and with success, you'll
find that the wrong illusions disappear and they are replaced by right
illusions, i.e. halos are seen and you may also note a short and easy
swinging of the letters as you shift between them. This is a very
effective and fast method to sharpen up your vision whenever things
are blurry. I hope you find this helpful.
Re: Browsers and readers for reduced vision?
On 3 May, 02:13, Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> In article < 7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ tDin...@earthlink,com >,
>
>
> I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
> out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
> text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
> have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
No matter how much you tweak the contrast settings, or adjust other
variables on the browser you think are causing the problem, you'll
never be able to see things as they should be seen unless you correct
the underlying problem which is an imperfect imagination of things
seen!
On 3 May, 02:13, Salmon Egg <Salmon...@sbcglobal,net > wrote:
> In article < 7mdncqvU78rvIbVnZ2dnUVZ tDin...@earthlink,com >,
>
>
> I tried varying contrast settings. This is indeed for making some washed
> out pictures (jpeg) pictures easier to view. It does not seem to help
> text appear more contrasty. I still get the effect of gray on white. I
> have to change fonts to use bolder characters to get any benefit.
No matter how much you tweak the contrast settings, or adjust other
variables on the browser you think are causing the problem, you'll
never be able to see things as they should be seen unless you correct
the underlying problem which is an imperfect imagination of things
seen!
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