For a long time, I have always said that most available technology really, really makes life easier for deaf people. It keeps getting better. The last ten years have seen advances rocket ahead, and I look forward to seeing what the next ten years bring. It is my most profound hope that one day voice-to-text software will be perfected.
I have a T-Mobile Sidekick, which is a great tool for me. It allows me to download my email via POP forwarding, so I always have access to my email without having to haul around a laptop or hunt for a wifi zone. In addition, it has AOL Instant Messenger, allowing me to chat with friends and clients on the road, and it connects to the IP Relay operator so I can make operator-assisted phone calls. And it has a web browser on it, and SMS text messaging capabilities.
However, there are a few downsides. Not everyone has a cell phone with SMS, so some people can’t SMS me. If they need to contact me, they need to email me. Which is fine with me, because all my email gets downloaded to the Sidekick, so I have constant access to it. But what if you’re not near a computer? The next step would be to call my cell direct and leave a voice mail message, which is convenient for you, but not so for me. First, I have to log in to the AIM service and contact the operator. I have to give the operator access to my voice mail by giving them my password, and then wait for them to dial in to my voice mail and listen to the message, and then type it back to me. This takes about five to ten minutes, depending on how busy the operators are and how many messages I have. I don’t mind doing it – I do it as it’s just a fact of life to me – but yeah, it’d be nicer if someone built a better mousetrap.
Well, someone just did. MCI just developed a wonderful new phone service that works with AIM. I get assigned a phone number, and if you can’t contact me via email or SMS, you just dial this new number. You’re connected to the relay operator. If I have AIM on, a chat window will pop up and you start talking, the operator types your words to me, I type back to the operator, and the operator tells you what I’m saying. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. But what if I’m not on AIM? Well, then you can just leave a voice message, and then the service will type it up and email it to me. I love this. I’ll never miss a phone call again, and now I can’t think of any reason why anyone can’t call me (unless you live in Louisiana and do not have a landline installed yet, despite this technology being available for most of the 20th century) and I can now spend my 10 minutes doing something more productive than waiting for a relay operator to get my voice mails for me. I love this.
Dear MCI, thank you, thank you.
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