Advanced
Fax
Fax is a handy way to send written/typed messages and images. Most businesses have faxes, which means that this can be a useful way of ordering goods, or contacting businesses with queries/complaints. The disadvantages of using fax are that most individuals do not have a fax machine at home, so using a fax to contact family and friends can be difficult; another disadvantage is that fax is not ‘real-time’, you can’t use it to have a proper conversation - you must send your fax, then wait for the reply to arrive.
Most fax machines can also be used as a normal telephone. A brief survey of different fax machines, did not find any that also had a volume control, or that were hearing aid compatible, but there are a number of different makes and models available and it may be possible to find a fax that also offers these facilities.
Home computers can also be used to send and receive fax. There are several different software packages that allow you do to this, and if you already have a computer then this is a very cheap way of using fax. Some Internet Service Providers (for example, F9 or Contact Box) give you a dedicated fax number as part of their service, and then forward any faxes sent to this number to your email box.
Many mobile phones are now able to receive and send short faxes. Check the information on each mobile phone model for more details.
Email is becoming increasingly useful for hard of hearing and deafened people. To use email you need either a home computer, a PDA, an email phone, or an email enabled mobile phone.
Using email is rather like a having a postbox at a postoffice. You have an account, with an address. People can send you email to that address. To go and get it, you have to contact the postoffice - usually by phoneline - and the email is then sent to your computer (or screen) where you can read it and reply. Email accounts can be set up with a variety of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), at no cost - except the cost of a local phonecall to go and fetch your email, which only takes seconds.
Emails are limited in that you have to send an email, then wait for a reply - so it’s not like having a conversation in ‘real-time’, but it is a very easy way of communicating with anyone (who has email), anywhere in the world, for the cost of a short local phonecall. Most businesses and services now use email, and the number of home users increases every day. Email also allows you to send pictures, and short video clips. Of course, if you have Internet access, whether it is through a computer or mobile phone, then you can also search for, view, and order goods - without having the hassle of trying to communicate in a shop!
BT have launched a telephone that also allows you to send, and receive, email(and fax) using a slide-out keyboard. The phone, called the Easicom 1000, is also hearing aid compatible, and has a volume control. You can print out the email/faxwith an optional printer (at additional cost). The Easicom 1000 costs about £80 at present. Other companies are likely to produce ephones very soon - look out for one from Philips.
A number of mobile phones can now send and receive short emails - see section on mobile phones. This is likely to be a big growth area over the next few years. Some PDA’s (personal organisers such as Psion, PalmPilot, etc...) also allow you to send and receive email - with an attached modem and mobile phone.
Internet
The Internet offers several services that allow you to talk to other people without having any difficulties due to a hearing loss.
Chatrooms
Chatrooms are where groups of people meet and chat about anything really. Once in a chat room you have an area on screen where peoples’ typed comments appear. To reply to a comment you simply type in the response box, and hit enter. Chatrooms are usally organised on the basis of hobbies, interests and professions. For example, there are chatrooms for teachers, and chatrooms on cooking. There are lots of sites that offer chatrooms - you just need to find one that suits you.
Some sites also offer you the option of setting up a private chatroom, as and when you want to. This means that you can arrange to ‘meet’ someone online, and go into a private chatroom with them for a chat. You can also do this with groups of people, so you could arrange to meet a group of friends online for a chat - but prevent the general public from dropping in.
IRC
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. IRC allows groups of people to meet and chat about a huge variety of subjects, or it can allow individuals to meet and have confidential chats.
To use IRC you need to have the correct software installed on your computer. There are several different versions of IRC: it doesn’t matter which one you use. You then need to find a site offering IRC services, and choose a chatgroup to join. Chatgroups will be on a variety of topics, and you can always start your own topic. All users have nicknames, and you can arrange to have a private chat with another IRC user.
IRC has limited applications for communication on a daily basis for the hard of hearing and deafnened. This is because:
However, IRC is very useful for meeting other people and helping you to feel that you are part of the ‘real world’ - albeit a virtual one!
AOL Instant Messenger
Instant Messenger is similar to IRC in that it allows individuals to chat over the Internet - but it is more like using a textphone. When you logon to AOL Instant Messenger you can see which of your family/friends are also online and send them messages which will pop up on their computer screen. They can then reply to your message, and their answer will appear on your computer screen. It has the same drawbacks as IRC - you must both be using AOL Instant Messenger, and you must both be online at the same time.
The software for AOL Instant Messenger is free (at the time of writing), and can be downloaded from the Netscape site, or you will get it with any distribution of Netscape Communicator - often found on magazine cover discs.
Videophone
A few years ago, BT launched a videophone. This allows you to see the person you are talking to - provided that they also have a videophone. Videophones are very handy for signlanguage - you can see the other person - but the picture is not really clear enough for lipreading. A BT videophone costs about £1,700.
Another possibility is that of using a webcam. A webcam is small camera that videos what it can see. The video can be sent as a video clip (by email), or used for video conferencing - where two or more people chat over a phoneline/Internet using computers, and are able to see the person /people they are talking to. Problems with using a webcam for video conferencing are that the image is not very sharp, the number of frames per second (speed) is not really good enough for lipreading, the picture is usually not wuite in time with the sound, and that phonelinemodems are not fast enough. Some software is also rather fussy about the software that it communicates with at the other end - meaning that unless you are using the same program you might not be able to talk to each other. However, webcams, and Internet video offer exciting possibilities for the future for the hard of hearing and deafened.