computers came in all sizes
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8/4/2019 Computers Came in All Sizes
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Why Help?
Once Upon a time, c omputers came in all sizes. I fondlyremember unloading a particular computer - the size of a fridge into our unofficial
pantry office that was the meeting place for members of HcUG ( an acronym for H K
c omputer U ser G roup for People with Disabilities - started in the late 80s it wasawarded the Outstanding Self-help Organization by the Hong Kong government in1994 ). We were the beneficiaries of generous individuals and companies who donatedused computers for our consumption. Looking back 20 years now, we had no clues howto boot this fridge size metal beast into functionality. In tears I asked if HcUG has
become a receiving dumping ground for corporate social responsibility act on electronicwaste disposal? Can disabled person be equal with the right assistive tools?
How things have changed over the 20 years. Today, the reality of a $25 bootablecomputer bundled with free open-source software (see http://www.raspberrypi.org andhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ7N4rycsy4 ) is being tested. Engineers can make
computing power available to the masses in wearable form a One Laptop Per Keychain(OLPK) assessibility project is in the waiting for innovators. Perhaps our long retireddial-in Bulletin Board System ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyTFvrihkM ) can bemade alive again given that connected computers and devices are everywhere now.
Today the Internet is the new great equalizer for people with disabilities. Growing upchildren must have connected computers as an extension of their body and mind. In 2008I fell in love with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO laptop and its mission for
providing educational learning experience for deprived children ( http://www.laptop.org ).It opened my past dream of packing dozens of laptops into a car boot or even a leg-
powered trishaw ( http://www.thetrishawman.com ) for educational roadshow and
training. The XO fits well - designed for play and work in harsh living environment.Recently the OLPC Paraguay team(http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/File:Accessibility_control_panel_2.png )has improves its functionality for accessibility by children with disabilities throughsoftware improvements. While testing a modified Memorize activity in the XO Sugar operating system I discovered single-switch ( http://youtu.be/oN5FofYeJro ) and virtualkeyboard access ( http://youtu.be/O34btug-YkE ) in the XO. This has ignited my interestin helping children with disabilities. I asked if we can prioritized disability accessibility
http://www.raspberrypi.org/http://www.raspberrypi.org/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ7N4rycsy4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyTFvrihkMhttp://www.laptop.org/http://www.thetrishawman.com/http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/File:Accessibility_control_panel_2.pnghttp://youtu.be/oN5FofYeJrohttp://youtu.be/oN5FofYeJrohttp://youtu.be/O34btug-YkEhttp://www.raspberrypi.org/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ7N4rycsy4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyTFvrihkMhttp://www.laptop.org/http://www.thetrishawman.com/http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/File:Accessibility_control_panel_2.pnghttp://youtu.be/oN5FofYeJrohttp://youtu.be/O34btug-YkE -
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in OLPC mission? With that I coined the One Laptop Per DisAbled Child(OLPdisAbledC) initiative to kick start interests in a very specialized area of work.
I renamed the HcUG of my past into a new acronym: H olistic computing UsabilityG roup. This nurture group promote holistic One2One educational computing in Asia.Through digital technologies (e.g laptops, netbook, tablets) and access to the Internet,
children with disabilities can now have equal opportunities to participate. HcUG supportthe ongoing global One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project with focused vision of targeting special needs children and individuals with OLPdisAbledC.
Educational computing provide ways of learning and living that enhance childrencognition, action, relation & emotion. We know disAbled children and individuals needthe tools NOW. This is a campaign to recycle used XO into to the hands of children inneed.
Note: BTW the XO fit the size of a medium pizza container box!
Let me have some ideas and your support.
T.K. Kang, Clinical [email protected]://www.121educomputing.com/
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]