[vicsireland] Re: What's so wrong with buttons?
- From: "Cearbhall O Meadhra" <cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxx>
- To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 16:09:42 +0100
Interesting!
Did the gym mention an actual figure for the adaptation? It would be useful
to know how many machines are involved.
I would be interested to know just what the template looks like if you don't
mind explaining it? I would think that a template consisting of a plastic
sheet with holes where the buttons go would be sufficient to give a blind
person access to the buttons and give the others nothing to pick at. What do
you think?
All the best,
Cearbhall
"Good design enables - Bad design disables"
Tel: 01-2864623 Mob: 087 9922227 Em: cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of martin kelly
Sent: 28 July 2007 15:12
To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: What's so wrong with buttons?
Hi again Cearbhaill
Thank you for getting back with such a considered response to the question
of making products accessible to VIPs...
Having had a similar experience to Tim, i felt that he should at least be
aware of the adaptions to treadmills etc. While the ideal would be to place
templates on all of the equipment in the particular suite, the cost of this
small effort at reasonable accommodation was highlighted to me. Naturally,
I advised that the Gym purchase bumper dots to overcome my difficulty but my
advice was ignored. Would you believe that people are picking off the
raised arrows on my particular template so you can just imagine what would
happen with bumper dots.
Don't worry, i have my own supply of chewing gum to stick on the treadmill
if the occasion arises
Keep up the good work on advocating for universal design and some day we
will all have nothing to moan about...don't you agree?
Martin K
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cearbhall O Meadhra" <cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxx>
To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2007 1:42 PM
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: What's so wrong with buttons?
> Hi Martin,
>
> I have struggled for years to get my gym to provide a template but without
> success. The problem with a fixed template is that you are forced to use
> only one particular machine. Why not ask for a template to be put on every
> screen. If you are right and nobody notices the adaptation then it
> shouldn't
> interfere with anyone's use of any machine which has your template on it.
>
> I have such a machine at home. This has a flexible plastic cover on it and
> I
> found that I could rub my finger around and feel the button underneath the
> cover on a good day. Other days I could not find the buttons. Finally, I
> got
> my 10 year old to glue tiny points of superglue on the plastic cover,
> carefully placed over the centre of the buttons. Now I have free and easy
> access to all the controls! This could also be done in the gym don't you
> think? Tiny spots like this leave the visual appearance unchanged and
> leave
> the surface easy to clean.
>
> All the best,
>
>
> Cearbhall
>
> "Good design enables - Bad design disables"
>
> Tel: 01-2864623 Mob: 087 9922227 Em: cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of martin kelly
> Sent: 28 July 2007 10:46
> To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [vicsireland] Re: What's so wrong with buttons?
>
> Hi Tim!
>
> As I'm just home after the hols. you have probably sorted out your
> difficulties around using your ultra modern treadmill but I'll tell you my
> story as it may help other folk in the same position...
>
> My Gym went up-market and replaced all the older but very tangible screens
> with the latest versions of these machines. However, after requesting
> that
> one of the treadmills be made accessible to VIPs, I eventually needed to
> suggest that the Equality Authority would be interested in this type of
> localised discrimination. I had made enquiries (and seen) various
> templates
> which have been designed to address this very problem and I informed the
> "powers that be" their existence.
>
> To make a long story shorter, I can now work away on my own with the aid
> of
> the template, the only problem is that other folk don't even realise that
> the machine has been adapted and hop on board although several others are
> lying idle. So! i occasionally need to ask folk to move over but in a
> "nice
> way" so that everyone can get the best from their membership fees.
>
> You've excuse now Tim, so stay up with the pace?
>
> Martin K
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ed Harper" <goat@xxxxxx>
> To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 10:31 AM
> Subject: [vicsireland] Re: What's so wrong with buttons?
>
>
>> Hi tim I fully sympathise, but I suspect the reason is that with
>> everything
>> covered by smooth plastic there is less to get gunged up and go wrong and
>> its probably easier to give a touch screen a wipe down. But I doubt
>> many
>> of the things which have touch screens will survive long enough for that
>> to
>> be really significant.
>>
>> Ed
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Tim Culhane
>> Sent: 11 July 2007 09:37
>> To: vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [vicsireland] What's so wrong with buttons?
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> *** warning this is a major rant, so if you're not in the mood then
>> delete this now ***
>>
>> I was told in the gym I go to last week that they were getting new
>> threadmills this week. Sure enough, when I arrived in last night,
>> there
>> they were.
>>
>> I had made a private bet with myself that these new machines would be
>> the
>> type that use touch sensitive controls, rather than good old fashioned
>> buttons. And guess what, I've had to pay out to myself!
>>
>> The control pannel on the machines is a featureless mass of smooth
>> plastic.
>> Even if your fingers had the sensitivity of an exposed root canal
>> treatment,
>> I doubt they would be able to detect the buttons on the machine.
>>
>> I just can't understand what designers of these devices have against
>> buttons. Ironically the only button on the machine is the stop button,
>> which is a huge plastic affair which you could probably press with your
>> elbow, let alone your finger.
>>
>> It seems that more and more these days buttons are just not the in
>> thing.
>> For example, Apple's new IPhone has a touch sensitive screen rather than
>> the
>> traditional phone keypad. The machines which were slated for use in
>> electronic voting had touch sensitive controls and now even the damn
>> threadmills can survive without a button in sight .... Or even touch.
>>
>> Where will it all end? Even now somewhere I bet they are designing
>> shirts
>> which have coloured dots on the material which you line up in order to
>> "button" up your shirt. The fire alarms will have a helpful notice
>> beside
>> them saying brake glass and move your finger gently over the green circle
>> below. I'll be there, flames licking around my legs, trying to find the
>> green circle.
>>
>> Oh for the days of nice clearly discernable buttons. The nice big
>> square
>> plastic ones, or those funny shaped squishy rubber ones. I even had a
>> remote control once where the buttons were actually in the shape of the
>> print numerals!
>>
>> Its not even that the threadmill control pannel is particularly small
>> or
>> the display screen needs to be particularly big. I reckon you could
>> fit
>
>> a
>> decent size piano keyboard on to the control pannel. So I have to
>> assume
>> that the only reason these machines are designed in this way is to make
>> them
>> look "fancy".
>> Just another example of design for nobody except those with a
>> pathelogical hatred of buttons.
>>
>> Anyway, I'll finish up now, but if I ever meet one of these anti
>> button
>> designers, I'll personally burn their eyes out with a red hot poker and
>> then make them use there "fancy" new machines.
>>
>> Tim
>>
>>
>> -------------------------
>> Tim Culhane,
>> Critical Path Ireland,
>> 42-47 Lower Mount Street,
>> Dublin 2.
>> Direct line: 353-1-2415107
>> phone: 353-1-2415000
>>
>> Tim.culhane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> http://www.criticalpath.net
>>
>> Critical Path
>> a global leader in digital communications
>> ------------------------
>>
>>
>>
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>
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