I got two new toys today:
1) A body fat measuring computer. This is one of those things that runs
current through you to test your resitance (the fatter you are, the higher
your resistance (except your resistance to food, of course)). It's driven
by a TRS-80 Model 100 bolted onto a contraption and mounted in a
briefcase. Would you free the M100 or leave it as a (bad) example of a
computer-contolled app? (Or leave it near the fridge as a subtle reminder
of your pigosity?)
2) A Kurzweil "Personal Reader". This was very high-tech for its time: a
portable card cage with hand-held scanner, OCR software in ROM, and a
DEC-Talk module. Used by the blind to read books. I assume it has been
obsoleted by much less expensive PC-based equipment, but would you offer
to donate it to a center for the blind or keep it as a (good) example of a
computer-controlled app?
BTW, if any of you are blind or know somebody who is, I also have a Primax
DataPen for the Mac w/o software. There is software available
http://www.stepup.com.au/utility/datapen/executiv.htm
to turn this thing into a book reader for the blind. I'd be happy to
donate the (untested (I'm in a Mac-Free Zone)) DataPen to somebody who
could use it as such.
-- Doug
Received on Fri May 29 1998 - 16:09:08 BST