Touching Lives: The Kevin Berg Story

Kevin Berg is a computer support technician who fixes client PCs remotely from his home south of Seattle, Washington. Business is booming, he loves his work, and has even recently hired his first employee. But this is no ordinary small-business success story.

Berg is a computer support technician with cerebral palsy. NextWindow touch technology has increased his productivity by 500%.

Berg, age 37, was born with Cerebral Palsy and is wheelchair-bound. The brain disorder that affects muscular control is severe enough that he has trouble using his limbs properly and needs a translator when speaking. He doesn’t use a computer the way most people do, because he can’t operate the mouse or keyboard with his hands. "It affects my whole body," he says.

Yet that doesn't stop him from supporting his wife and two children by helping clients all over the world. Doing so used to be a lot harder for Berg. Despite tremendous help from his wife, Melinda, who serves as his translator and also fixes any equipment problems in his office, interacting with the PC has been a laborious effort.

"I loved what I was doing before NextWindow, but now I love it even more, I have a hard time getting away from the computer, because it is so easy to use and it helps make money for my family."

For years, he operated the mouse pointer by resting his chin on the trackball. "I would have to roll the ball, look up and see where I am." He repeated that process hundreds of times a day. "It wasn't very precise." It was also uncomfortable, forcing Berg to continually reposition his body.

Berg, however, is resourceful. He learned about touch PCs a few years ago, so he and Melinda began to shop around. They were quickly disappointed, because none of the touch screens worked with his head wand. Berg wears a special device on his head made from the under portion of a hard hat with a metal "wand" attached to the front, which he uses to type 25 words per minute on a keyboard. "He tested out several screens with his head wand, but he would touch the screen, and nothing would happen,"Mrs. Berg recalls.

Finally, they found one that worked: the HP TouchSmart All-in-One PC.

The TouchSmart, which uses NextWindow optical touch screens, allows for any input method to activate the touch functionality. Other touch screen technologies require a stylus or a finger, and some require significant on-screen pressure. The Bergs invested in the HP, and their productivity and business never looked back.

"The optical touch is beautiful. I can use my head wand and I don't even have to touch the screen. I just have to go over the invisible barrier and it activates. It's wonderful."

Instead of working with one or two clients at a time, he can now work with five or six clients simultaneously, using a remote support application. He works on one job, while waiting for responses from other clients. He also does repairs at night, giving clients the added convenience of uninterrupted PC usage throughout the day when they need them.Working faster and more efficiently with touch means that Berg’s business, Compupane, is thriving. The company has doubled its project volume this year and is looking to expand further." Our 10-year goal is to have 20 employees," Mrs. Berg says.

Clients often ask him how he completes tasks very quickly. This is when Berg educates them about his touchscreen. "I loved what I was doing before NextWindow, but now I love it even more," he says. "I have a hard time getting away from the computer, because it is so easy to use and it helps make money for my family."

If he didn't have access to a touch PC, Berg says he would have figured out something else to solve the mouse problem. "Actually, I am waiting for mind-controlled computing," he says. For him, one of the major benefits of NextWindow technology is that it's a readily available consumer technology, meaning it’s affordable. "Adaptive technology is so expensive, it's just outrageous," he explains. "I use any regular consumer device that I can and put my own little twist on it."

Thanks to NextWindow’s optical touch technology, Berg works just like any other consultant in his field. "Actually, I'm faster and more effective than my able-bodied peers now," he says. The Bergs and their children, a six-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, are an active family. Berg has not slowed down due to his condition. In fact, he appears to be accelerating. "I really don't see myself as disabled," he says.

 

The Bergs and their children, a six-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, are an active family. Berg has not slowed down due to his condition. In fact, he appears to be accelerating.

 

Berg and his wife Melinda, in their home office near Seattle, Washington.

"When we first brought that machine home it was like night and day," Mrs. Berg says."He was going all over the place, ten times faster."