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Re: Accu-Touch Design



Tab
Ther are two main issues I have on the specification of the AccuTouch.

They are:

1) The internal battery must be capable of operating the voting unit for a minimum of (3) three hours and preferable all day because we now have competition that provide light weight units that also use smart card and can operate all day, therefore it is difficult to justify our heavier units that cannot operate more than one hour on our batteries. I'm sure you'll agree one hour would not give most counties enough time to respond to a power disruption and voting cannot stop.

2) Internal printers will be required on any units sold in some states such as Virginia. It will be required that each unit print a zero total in the morning before voting begins and print a total of votes cast at the end of voting just as is now require of the AccuVote.

Also, I believe that the one single thing that now sets us apart from everyone else is the size of our screen. I don't believe a smaller screen would be of value because no matter the jurisdiction size they may have races with a large number of candidates or issues that require large amounts of space.

Talbot Iredale wrote:

 To all interested parties;     We have now completed the first phase of the Accu-Touch redesign (design specification).  I have attached a coy of this design to this email.  Please review and email me your comments. Here is a brief overview of the major points of the design:
  • Weigh less than 15 lbs..
  • Data is stored on a PCMCIA (PCCard) memory card similar to the Accu-Vote but with much more capacity. Therefor the election that the Accu-Touch processes is based on the memory card inserted (again like the Accu-Vote).
  • All connections, except the smart card reader, will be behind locked panels.
  • Internal battery backed up system good for at least 1 hour hopefully up to 8 hours (dependant on cost & weight)
  • Has two PCMCIA connectors, one for the 'memory' card the other for expansion such as modem.
  • Slim ergonomic enclosure
  • Has Infrared port for communicating with Pollbook
  • Has smart card reader
  • Headphone & keyboard connector for VIPs units
There are a few items I really would like some feed back on. They are:
Two screen options:
We are currently considering supporting an 10 inch and a 15 inch LCD. The 10 inch is about $400, our cost, less expensive therefor approx. $1200 list price difference. Is this a worthwhile option?  Any ideas as to what percentage 10" verse 15" system we will sell. Should we consider supporting a larger screen 19 inch? How much more could we sell this for ($100, $500, $1000, $2000) ?
Internal printer
Should the printer be internal or external?  The disadvantage of an internal printer is that is places some serious restrictions on the ergonomic design of the enclosure due to paper roll size.  It also impacts the power supply requirements since printers consume a fair amount of power.  The advantage is cost.  If most units need a printer then the internal printer is the way to go.  So what percent of units are expected to need a printer?
Landscape verse portrait screen orientation
The expected 'normal' operation of the unit will be in portrait mode (higher than wider) but we have had requests for 'landscape' mode.  For those places that want landscape would the current 15 inch Accu-touch screen work or do we need an even larger screen? How many units potentially will want the landscape screen (100, 500, 1000, 5000, etc) ? How much more will they pay?
 If you have any thoughts about this now is the time to let me know. Tab