Special Stylus solutions by shapedad on Etsy

Shapedad is an outlet on Etsy that provides custom solutions for stylus’ for touch screens in many formats. Shapedad says: “It all started when the wife of a quad (quadriplegic) patient ordered a regular Stylus Socks stylus from our Etsy shop.” Some examples below:                       Continue reading “Special Stylus solutions by shapedad on Etsy”

In search of the Ubiquitous Mouthstick

Mick (email on request) sent me this very pertinent email the other day about the un-ubiquitous nature of mouthsticks. Lads is it just me or do we all use any given mouth-stick for a broad variety of tasks? I ask because I find that many of the solutions offered for a specific issue -in thisContinue reading “In search of the Ubiquitous Mouthstick”

AnyGlove Liquid makes any glove touch capable

Evidently this “AnyGlove” liquid will turn any glove into a touchscreen-friendly glove. AnyGlove is a liquid you apply to the fingertips of any glove which then makes the area to with the liquid usable on your touchscreen device. It’s said the effect wears off after a while and then you can reapply for the same effect.Continue reading “AnyGlove Liquid makes any glove touch capable”

Hitachi stylus compatible, capacitive touch panel

This interesting development was flagged to me recently and is of great interest personally as I battle with the “Touch barrier” that the pervasive use of capacitive type touch-screens pose. Hitachi Displays has developed a projective-type electrostatic capacitance touch-panel that can convert input from a non-conductive object into electrostatic capacitance, thus allowing the use ofContinue reading “Hitachi stylus compatible, capacitive touch panel”

Do RIM’s optical trackpads offer Accessible Alternative to “Skin” Touch?

It seems RIM’s ‘optical pad’ technology could offer hope for the “touch barrier” that exists with the requirement for skin to touch the capacitive type pads that dominate todays gadgets. Thinking about how your phone’s touchscreen operates, you might assume that the so-called optical pads that have been making appearances on recent BlackBerrys (among otherContinue reading “Do RIM’s optical trackpads offer Accessible Alternative to “Skin” Touch?”

Pressure Sensitive Multitouch pads to come

An article in Technology Review reveals development of pressure sensitive touch pads that could be used on future generation devices. Why is this Lifekludger newsworthy? Because the pads are reported to combine features of both kinds of existing touch pads. To me, this might mean some breaking down of the Touch Barrier and the seemingContinue reading “Pressure Sensitive Multitouch pads to come”

Revisiting touch on the OLPC XO laptop and hardware access design

“Accessibility is about accommodating characteristics a person cannot change by providing options” — Joe Clarke, 2001 * An outline * some ideas in olpc first look was promising * accessibility and usability are hardware issues too * accessibility should venture out of the online space into hardware design Last year I had a first lookContinue reading “Revisiting touch on the OLPC XO laptop and hardware access design”