The other area is in personal organisation. A computerised organiser program provides a diary, an address book, a to-do list, a notebook and an anniversary list. Items can be easily moved from one date or section to another. Alternatively there are small hand-held organisers such as those made by Sharp or the Apple Newton. Environmental control systems range from simple devices activated by pressing buttons, right through to separate units which are voice activated.
Most systems enable control via a computer, which can be a convenient option for many.
For example, the Dragon Dictate speech recognition system can be used to control X-10 modules, giving a useful voice controlled environmental control system. The independence which an environmental control system can give people is quite amazing. Nevertheless we have seen many cases where social benefits have been significant. These range from a paraplegic father who shares computer activities with his children, to people who have suffered brain injuries and whose friends come and share computer games with them. For many people with disabilities, the computer provides an important context for social interaction.