Last month, the well-known and reputable publisher Randomhouse made the decision to turn off the text-to-speech feature in its books.  This action mainly affects those using Amazon’s Kindle 2 for reading or listening to books.  However, though I do not use a Kindle, this action by Randomhouse is very disturbing for several reasons.  One is that it sets a precedence, other publishers will most likely follow suit.  Another is that it speaks volumes about what that publisher and others who follow think about people with disabilities accessing their books.  I understand copyright and they should protect themselves from people who plan on infringing on that right, but is the use of text-to-speech copyright infringement?  Really, if you could read easily, would you choose to listen to a book generated by a mechanical voice?  Honestly, the only reason to listen to a book this way is because you have no other choice.  You want to enjoy the book, but cannot read it, so this is your only means of accessing it.  Another reason why this action disturbs me is that so many Authors use Randomhouse, and even if they do not support blocking text-to-speech, their publisher does and their materials are denied to people with disabilities.  Even books by our own President Obama are now unavailable using the Kindle and text-to-speech, since Randomhouse is His publisher.

There is an alternative however, although it is not as easy as loading a book on your Kindle.  You can visit bookshare.org, become a member by verifying that you have a print disability and then download the books of your choice.  You will also have to have a daisy reader software installed, or something that would convert daisy to speech, and you would have to listen on your computer rather than your kindle.  If you need to translate from BRF to text so that it can be spoken, you can use NFBTRANS.  While this may not be a preferable alternative for reasons of convenience, bookshare is affordable and offers thousands of books to download and listen to.  Publishers are even submitting their books to bookshare, because they feel that their copyright is being protected by bookshares member approval process.  So if you cannot get a book on your kindle to read using text-to-speech, try bookshare.

Hopefully, something can be done to restore access to books using text-to-speech, if for no other reason than to show that publishers and authors are considerate of people with disabilities.  Once they figure out that someone using mechanical speech to read does not violate copyright, perhaps this action will be reversed.  In the meantime, those of us in the disabled community need to voice our concerns via blogs, letters to publishers and authors, etc.  You never know when your voice might be heard by someone who can take action and change policies!

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I was recently led to a site that has a ton of information and news about accessibility.  From arts and entertainment, to education and to issues in communities throughout the world, this place on the net is a great resource for all things accessible!  I will surely be discussing many of the news items that appear here.

Go to: www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com

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This week has been one of change for my family and I with regard to our home network, telephone and television.  We decided to try AT&T’s U-verse service, which combines all of those products into one package.  The technician was at our home installing everything for about 5 hours.  Honestly, when the TV, phone and internet were out, I felt like we had literally lost power.  What a relief it was when things turned on and bit by bit restored to life.

The internet came on with no problem, other than our speed decreased slightly from what we had with DSL.  I also had to have my outgoing e-mail port unblocked in order to send messages from my business e-mail address.  The telephone worked right away, though we are having a little issue with our talking caller id which may or may not be able to work.  I started a list of questions that I would call and ask either tech support or customer service about, and the adventure was on.

The real fun for me came with the television, learning new channel numbers, remote buttons, etc.  The first thing I did was look for a channel guide on line, since I am of course unable to use the on-screen information.  I tend to try and memorize my favorite channels and all of the numbers had changed.  Once I had that information, I wanted to see if I could find an accessible on-line program guide, so that I could see what was on when.  The first one I found was very inaccessible, it was not in a table format and there was no way for me to see which shows corresponded to each channel.  I put this on my list of things to call and ask about.

One of the major reasons for our decision to go uverse is the ability to record shows and watch them on any television in the house.  I like to record shows for my daughter from PBS or Disney, but I don’t usually want to watch them over and over the way she does.  Now, they can be recorded and she can watch them in the play room while I work or watch something more entertaining.  The other great option is that I can actually program my cable box to record shows using my computer.  Now I don’t have to depend on my husband or other sighted help to record the shows I want.  I can also manage my recordings on-line, delete shows and see what has been recorded.  The main site to accomplish this is somewhat accessible, but I find that using the mobile version is faster, more compact and easier to navigate.

One really nice option that my husband found was the ability to put some sound to menu using.  Unfortunately, the options will not talk, but you can make it so that as you arrow around, you hear a sound.  This allows me to count arrows in any direction and try to choose options that way.  I have not yet found an accessible manual that will take you through step by step how to do things with the menu, but perhaps something could be written for a blind user, incorporating the number of sounds and arrows up, down, left or right.

Another important question I had was regarding the SAP or Secondary Audio Programming channel.  It is through this audio channel that audio described television is provided when available.  For now, there is a limited number of programs offered in the U.S with this feature, but many shows on PBS do have descriptions.  I had to find out first, if this channel was available on U-verse, and second, how to turn it on and off.  I put that on my list of questions and decided it was time to make the call and see what answers I could get.

I called the main number and muddled through the voice automated system and first found myself and customer care.  I explained that I was new to U-verse, I am blind and had some questions about accessibility.  I then had to explain what I meant by accessibility, that I am totally blind and have no vision whatsoever and that I enjoy watching TV even though I cannot see it.  I really stumped them when I asked about their website, and where I could go to find usable content that does not require me to scroll around with the mouse.  My call was transferred.

I found myself talking to a very nice lady in tech support.  I started from the beginning and I could tell that she too was not sure what to say or do.  She was very courteous and was able to help me with my question about the SAP channel, after a lot of time consulting manuals and probably coworkers.  She explained to me how to access the channel, even told me the exact location of the buttons on the remote control and number of arrows to the right I would go in order to turn it on and off.  She said they have it listed as the Spanish channel, but that same audio channel is used for descriptions as well.  I’m not sure she really understood as I explained what audio described television was, but perhaps it gave her something to talk about with her friends at work.  She was not sure how to help me with regard to the website, so again, I was transferred.

A very nice gentleman was my next victim, I think he was in web support.  I told him what I was looking for and he gave me a few options to try for places to find channel line-ups and guides.  He even waited as I explored them to see if indeed they were accessible to me.  I found one, the U-connect site,  that was in table format and worked very well.  I could see show times and channels by using simple table navigation commands in Jaws.  He was also the one that unblocked my e-mail SMTP port.  He tried to help me with the talking caller id issue, but I am still not sure there will be a solution to that one.  He was very nice and somewhat curious about just what a blind person liked to watch.  I don’t think he had ever known or spoken to someone who couldn’t see, so perhaps he left with new knowledge and something to chat about with his coworkers too.

So after reading all of this, you are probably wondering, is it worthwhile to switch to U-verse if you have the option.  Well, give me some more time and playing with it and then ask that question.  I will say that everyone I talked to, no matter how unsure or stumped by my questions and issues, was very respectful and really tried to help.  I think that as big as AT&T is, they definitely need to have an accessibility department, or a go to guy for questions related to customers with disabilities.  Maybe some of my readers here would know how to put a bug in their ear so to speak and get something in place?  If any of you out there are using AT&T, I would love to hear your experiences with various products and services they offer.  Overall, I think we made a good decision in switching, but as with any change of this kind, it takes a lot of time and effort to learn how it all works.

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There are several reasons why so many people with disabilities are unemployed.  One of the possible barriers for many disabled people when it comes to employment is transportation.  Taking the bus is not always an option, and even in those cities that offer a transporting system for people with disabilities, using those networks is more often than not very difficult.  Others may have health issues that prohibit them from working in an office environment.  For many, working from home is a perfectly viable option.  Thanks to technology, more and more opportunities to work from home are available.

Of course, as is always the case with great ideas, you have to be careful not to fall for scams.  There are many seemingly legitimate businesses that say they will pay good money to give you a job working from home, but how do you know which options are based on truth?  There are a few reputable places where you can find free scam reviews.  Is working from home right for you?  There are many pros and cons to telecommuting, and you have to weigh them honestly with yourself and any potential employer.  So when thinking about working from home, though it may sound easy, reasonable and workable, you not only have to look at the legitimacy of a company offering this opportunity, but also your own personal situation.  For more great articles about working from home and other disability employment-related information, check out www.esight.org.

What do you think?  Would working at home really be a solution for you or someone you know who may be disabled and unemployed?  Feel free to leave your comments below, this would be a very worthwhile discussion!

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With all of the talk about social media everywhere, including this blog, sometimes even those of us with disabilities forget to consider who may be left out.  Yes there are various tools that make it easier and in some cases possible for the disabled to use specific social networks, but have we covered everyone and all barriers encountered?  Are we at risk of alienating some people, keeping them from accessing the information out there?  The definition of a disability is very broad, encompassing so many factors.  It is difficult for developers of network tools to be sure that absolutely everyone can use them and get to the informational content that is available on the internet.

Here are a few examples of some disabilities and the types of content that is virtually inaccessible to them.

·        If you are hearing impaired, you cannot access the majority of podcast materials.  There are few podcasts that are also offered in full text transcription, or in other ways accessible to the deaf.  I myself listen to a variety of podcasts, but the information and entertainment I get from them is not available to those who are unable to hear.

·        Persons who are visually impaired and need to enlarge text on a page find that many of the social networking sites do not allow for increasing font size.  The background color schemes can make the content impossible to read.

·        People with Dyslexia struggle with the busy graphic schemes presented and in many cases, the colors or other details of the page are in a state of constant change.

·        Someone who is unable to use a mouse due to a motor disability is locked out of participating in many of the applications and features of any given social networking site.

These are just a few examples, not to mention people that do not have access to the internet at all.  If you are only using social networking to market, you are leaving out those who are unable to get on the internet for whatever reason.  All of that said, we really are moving forward.  More and more ways to access this information are developed every day.  Even with its pitfalls, social networking has opened many doors for people, including those who happened to have a disability.  We simply have to try and consider all possibilities as we embrace this ever-changing world of social media.

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Lately there has been tons of chatter everywhere about twitter.  From television and radio, to magazines and newspapers, to podcasts from Freedom Scientific and Serotek.  I have to admit to being reenergized about twitter after all the buzz!  I had been mostly a Facebooker, kind of updating my twitter status haphazardly, but not very consistently, and my heart just wasn’t into tweeting.  I did learn about hash tags and have been enjoying searching those for information and conversation.

The May 2009 edition of FsCast from Freedom Scientific delves into some great accessible options for tweeting.  Some of them I have previously discussed here, namely Jawter and Accessibletwitter.  I learned of a few new options as well, one called McTwit, which is an installable application that is fully keyboard accessible, and another called TWInbox (formerly known as OutTwit,) that works within Outlook.  There was also some talk about the mobile twitter site, as well as slandr.net.  There are so many twitter aps and tools out there that it can be overwhelming, which one do I use?  What will work most efficiently for me and my needs?

I have been using Jawter for a few months now and can say that it works very well.  You can find it at www.randylaptop.com.  It is a little difficult to install for now, but its Author Shawn Randall says that this process may become easier in the not too distant future.  I have it installed on one of my computers and like to scroll through and hear the latest updates, and it is simple to tweet from there as well.  Given its name, it only works with Jaws, so if you are running another screen reader or none at all but need an accessible twitter application, Jawter will not be your solution.  Jaws users should seriously consider adding it to your arsenal of little tools, just read the installation instructions thoroughly and follow them exactly.

Accessibletwitter is very nice because it works on any web browser, with all screen readers and is very keyboard accessible.  One nice thing about Accessibletwitter is the keyboard shortcuts and headers.  To try this one out, you won’t have to install anything, just visit the site itself at www.accessibletwitter.com.  One tip that Jonathan Mosen mentioned on FsCast is to use the quick key h to get to the header and then q to get to the text of that tweet, very handy!  Another nicety is that when you are typing a tweet, you are notified once you have exceeded 30 typed characters and that continues until you reach the maximum 140 allowed.

Now to explore two aps that I have not discussed here before.  The first is McTwit, written by Jamal Mazrui.  The application can be found at Empowermentzone.com.  This site alone is full of some fantastic tools and ideas, I could dedicate an entire blog post just to the great things found here!  McTwit works with most versions of windows, with any screen reader and is fully keyboard functional.  I had some initial installation issues with the latest version, so I went back one build and it works just fine.  It is a stand alone application, so you don’t have to go to any website, though you of course will need internet connectivity.  Once you learn the key strokes you will use most, this tool is quick and easy.  I could look at my followers lists of followers and easily join up to follow people I find.  I can read messages and easily write and send tweets of my own.  This tool will be one I use frequently on my personal traveling computer.

Finally, I tested TWInbox, which used to be called OutTwit, found at www.techhit.com.  Again, this website has a lot of great information and things to try, even an outlook plug in for Facebook!  The first thing I found out is that TWInbox does not work with Outlook Express, which is what I use on my traveling computer to save disk space.  Therefore, I may not use this application much, since I do most of my work on that smaller computer.  This tool would be great for using in your work environment with the full version of Outlook running.  You can easily see all updates as they come in and reply to them, as well as compose your own tweets.  Make sure your subject line is reading in its entirety, as that is where the tweet text will be.  The quick start guide is a little vague, and I don’t see where I can get a list of keyboard shortcuts to search for followers and the like.  Overall, I would use this at the office to keep in touch with everyone in and outside of work.

Perhaps I have given you a small taste of what is out there with regard to twitter.  There is so much to help you tweet whenever and wherever you are.  Definitely check out the FsCast episode, it is a worthwhile listen.  Play around with things, you are sure to find what will work best for you in any situation.  And, most importantly to me anyway, leave your comments, discuss your experiences with twitter and aps you use, I want to learn from you out there too!!

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Having access to online activities is no longer just a cool pastime…it is a necessity for equal education, employment and citizen interaction with government.  If you haven’t ever tried operating a mouse without the use of your arms, read a website without your eyes, or listen to a webcast without hearing it, you may never have considered the challenges faced as people with disabilities try to access information and services from the Internet.  For ten years, Knowbility has worked with communities across the country to raise awareness and improve access for more than 50 million Americans with disabilities and more than 750 million disabled people worldwide.

People like Derek Featherstone understand how fundamentally necessary it is for everyone to be able to access the opportunities of the web.  That’s why he has launched an IronMan campaign to raise awareness and funds to support Knowbility’s important programs. In schools, workplaces, and communities all over the world Knowbility is making a real difference.  Whether for children with disabilities in schools, wounded veterans trying to rebuild their lives, or others with disabilities acquired at birth or through aging, Knowbility is transforming lives. Won’t you help?
Support Derek and Knowbility - pledge today!

I personally benefit directly from every effort to make the web more accessible.  I have seen access to the web and technology positively affect my own life.  I believe in Knowbility’s mission and feel honored to be part of such a wonderful organization.  We may never know exactly how many doors are opened for people with disabilities as a result of Knowbility’s efforts, but there are still countless websites out there with accessibility barriers that need some assistance.  Knowbility is more than happy to help!

Join me in supporting Derek’s campaign and “pump him up!”  Donating is easy, very painless with only a few steps, and yes, it is fully accessible!  I was able to complete the process in under 5 minutes using Jaws.  So take a little time and give to a very worthy cause.  Help Knowbility continue to defeat the barriers to accessibility!

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A few months ago, I posted a blog entry about solving captchas.  I sited a service that works through FireFox called Webvism, which made captcha solving a breeze.  The only catch for me was that I am a comfortable Internet Explorer user and had to have both that browser as well as FireFox loaded onto my machine.  In my experience since then, the only time I use FireFox is when I’m signing up for something and need a captcha solved.

While Webvism is a very viable and relatively easy solution, I found another service that you may be interested in.  It is called Solona and is a project dedicated to the solving of captchas.  This will work on any web browser, but the process is very different from Webvism.  With Solona, there are actual live operators standing by to solve your captchas for you.  Once you have discovered a site where a solved captcha is needed, you find the image and print it to a file.  There are detailed instructions as to how you can do this with both Windows and Apple.  After you have saved your image file, you send it to Solona and wait for the operator to solve your captcha and return the results to you.  It seems a lot more complicated, but a good solution if you simply cannot use FireFox and Webvism.

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I’ll start off by admitting that I am a huge Star Trek fan!  I may not be as crazed as some Trekkies out there, but I love it.  The TV shows, the movies, the books, I even have a toy Starship Enterprise.  So there’s my disclaimer.

Yesterday, my husband and I actually got to go and see the newest Star Trek movie.  We planned the day, got a babysitter, the whole 9 yards!  Of utmost importance in our plan was to find out where we would have access to the movie with Audio Description.  This was an important aspect of the plan, since most theaters near us do not have the equipment available.  We knew the movie itself had been equip with the necessary audio track, so we went to the internet to find out where we could go.  We decided on the Bob Bullock IMAX Theater.  They have the equipment, the sound there is fantastic, and my sighted husband would get to enjoy the film on a life-size screen.  The Bob Bullock Theater seems to have a lot of accessibility features, so we thought for sure they would have the descriptions available, as long as the film provided the track.  I didn’t even mind paying a little extra for the tickets, since I would get to enjoy the description along with the superb theater sound.  So, I bought our tickets ahead of time, the date was set.

We arrived at the theater a little over an hour early and the line to get in was already very long, everyone wanting the best seats in the house.  It was sold out, which was why we bought our tickets ahead of time.  We asked the man at the front desk about the Audio Description and he said that should not be a problem, we would just ask the theater master at the door just before giving her our tickets.  We went right to her and asked, and she looked right at me and then asked if we wanted the little machine that showed the captions/subtitles.  We explained to her that we wanted the headphones in order to hear the audio description that we knew the movie was released with.  She called someone and then told us that they do not offer this film with Audio Description.  We almost left in frustration, but we had been anticipating this movie for so long, planned for a sitter and had it all scheduled.  I didn’t know when or if the opportunity would come again, so we stayed and attended the movie.

It was a great show, but as I had expected, filled with action.  My husband was trying to describe quietly what was happening, but it was hard to hear everything and I know I missed many of the details.  I couldn’t help but be frustrated, knowing the movie was provided in audio description, that this theater had the equipment needed, and yet I could not access it.  Very possibly it would have been a matter of plugging something in and voila, I would have been privy to description of the action as it happened.

My advice, call ahead, don’t just look on the internet.  Take a look at the list of theaters with the proper equipment, then check and double check that your movie is available before making your plans.  Really, we should have walked out of there to make the point, but that just didn’t seem fair either.  So, I may never get to see the movie with Audio Description, unless they make it available on the DVD release.  I am very disappointed, yet it really was a cool movie.  I guess I just don’t understand why it wasn’t available when the audio and equipment were there?  I wonder who would be the one to ask that question?  One consolation is that there is an audio book, so I can read it and get what I missed at the movies.

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Ok, so for whatever crazy reason, I decided to take on some studying.  I figured that since I have been testing websites for several years now, purely from a usability perspective, I should learn more about the technical stuff.  User testing is great, but I have been finding it hard to give advice to people on how to improve without knowing how to speak the wonderful computer language of HTML.  I can tell you all day long that you need to put alt text on your images, but I had no clue what that really meant.  I am still very new to it, so my skills are at the most basic level, but I have been actually enjoying the learning process.

The first thing I did was perform a Google search on basic html, and of course several thousand results came up.  I looked at the beginner level of the W3C HTML Tutorial, actually went through its steps and learned from the first chapter or 2.  I found another site called HTMLDog that had a really great tutorial with a lot of examples in the beginner levels, so that I could actually look at the code one character at a time.  Once I learned some basics, I made my first page, which incorporated the use of paragraphs, headings, lists both ordered and unordered, a basic table and a small form.  I find it fun and fascinating to view the source codes for websites and try to figure out how they tagged certain elements.  I also have one more big advantage as I learn, and that is the great and vast knowledge of my husband, who has been very patient as I try to explain out loud what I am discovering.

I really have been enjoying it, believe it or not.  This knowledge was very helpful at AccessU last week, where I began to understand the language as everyone talked about tags, coding, etc.  Hopefully, my results in website testing will also be more thorough and full of technical language to go along with my user experiences.  I know I have a long way to go, but at least I have a starting point.  The basics, using a text editor, are fairly easy and indeed possible to do with Jaws or any other Screen Reader.  It can be a little time consuming, listening to each character, but well worth it to me.  It’s kind of like Sudoku, a little more effort is needed at times, but a lot of fun anyway.  It may take me a bit longer to ensure I have coded things correctly, but speed will surely come with practice.  So don’t be surprised if you start seeing some different formatting in future blog entries.

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