I want a cool phone. I am going to hold out ( with my old chunky Nokia) for a super duper model that can do all the things Japanese cell phones can do: read barcodes, serve as a credit card, have fingerprinting system to protect my data. Wow.
This might happen soon thanks to some amazing technology being developed to serve the needs of the disabled. New software developed for cell phones will allow low vision users to read supermarket products info or street signs. Or how about a program which allows the physically disabled to guide a computer mouse by neural impulses, or imagine a solar system visualization program where a blind person would use a forced feedback device to feel three-dimensional reconstructions of terrain on other planets (whaaaat???). Soon there will be worldwide open-source Web site on which disabled persons and software developers can collaborate on new ideas and add to existing programs. Most of these projects are run by universities and supported by some business like Goggle, but they are to be non- commercial, open-source projects. Very cool.
And on a related note, check out this New York Times Magazine article about the guide animals for the disabled. It is not just dogs anymore. Now it’s monkeys for quadriplegia and agoraphobia, guide miniature horses, a goat for muscular dystrophy, a parrot for psychosis and any number of animals for anxiety, including cats, ferrets, pigs, iguanas and ducks.
I’d better be prepared for the reverse tech-culture shock when I get back!