I just returned from a 2 week trip to see my father in Utah.  It was a fun Christmas with lots of snow and family.  My Dad got a new ipod nano as a Christmas present, something he had previously sworn he’d never need or use.  You see, my dad, like many people is somewhat afraid of technology.  He struggles with e-mail, the internet, and a lot of the newest hottest stuff that comes out, like the ipod.  Once he figured out how to use itunes, he loves it, walks around with his headset on, all be it a little too loud for those around him sometimes.

So while I was there, I tried to help him learn some things in itunes, as well as buy and download music from amazon.  I was attempting to show him how to perform some tasks that have become so easy for me.  However, he did not have jaws or any screen reader installed on his computer, so I was trying to help him without knowing what was actually on his screen.  Let’s just say it was eye-opening for me.  I have tried to grow with technology, learn new things as they come along, but to someone who hasn’t done this, the simplest things can be very overwhelming!  By the time we finished one task, I had him so confused and frustrated!  It did show me my capabilities, made me realize that I know a little and can help people with that knowledge.  Even without a screen reader, I can help in performing technical tasks.  That said, next time I may go armed with a portable screen reader like system access to give me a little boost.

By the way, I am now playing with System Access to go and it works great!!  They have just opened up the option of having a free account to try it out.  Wow, this would have been very nice to have on my recent trip!!  I will blog more about it on another post!

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Ok, so I know you have called your bank or some other business and have dealt with voice interfacing on the phone.  So many companies use this to give you information, weather it be your bank account balance, movie times, and a ton of other things that you can access via your computer.  This makes it possible for those who either do not have access to a computer or the internet, or who cannot use a keyboard or mouse due to a mobility impairment.  Many times, such interfaces are great!  But I have had some instances where I feel like yelling at the synthesized voice because it does not understand me, or it misunderstands me.  You have to speak very clearly and slowly, and you cannot be in a situation where there is a lot of background noise to confuse the interface.  Also, various accents and voice types are not easily interpreted by the machine.  If you want to try one out that works very well, try google’s free directory assistance, 800-goog411, which is 800-466-4411.  Just be sure you speak clearly.  There are also software voice browsers that work along with your pc, you speak into them and the information comes up on your screen.  Technologies such as dragon naturally speaking have come a very long way!

Follow this link to the W3C voice browser activity to read up on how and why this is becoming so important.

As web developers, it is important to know how to author a page so that it is voice browser accessible.  It seems that if accessibility guidelines are followed, a site should be voice browser accessible as well.

So not only are voice interfacing systems helpful for those with motor disabilities, they can increase our access as a society to information when we are not near our computers.

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I haven’t blogged here for quite some time, over a month now!  A few weeks ago, my computer crashed completely!  Nothing related to microsoft would open or function at all.  I could not run repairs, uninstalls or updates.  I ended up having to reformat my whole system and reload every program I had.  If you have done this before, you know what a horrible process it is, even if you have everything backed up.

If you haven’t already, back up everything!  There are a lot of ways that this can be done.  You can buy an external storage drive, which is a good way to go and you can get them for a reasonable price.  There are also on-line services where you can back up your files.  One that is fairly familiar is Carbonite.  You can try it out before paying and then if you like it, the monthly cost is reasonable.  One other is Mozy, which has been advertised a lot lately on tv and radeo.

Whatever avenue you take, don’t wait!  Fortunately, my important stuff was on an external drive, so I didn’t lose actual files.  The hardest part was going and finding all of the programs to reinstall.  So far, things are running smoothly now, but it is never failsafe, so have backups!!!

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“The core of our American democracy is the right to vote. Implicit in that right is the notion that that vote be private, that vote be secure, and that vote be counted as it was intended when it was cast by the voter. And I think what we’re encountering is a pivotal moment in our democracy where all of that is being called into question.”  (Former California Sec. of State Kevin Shelley) Last Friday, I performed an important duty as a citizen of this country, I voted. This was my third presidential election to vote in, though for the past few years, I have made it a point to vote in the annual local elections as well. One big reason for my diligence in even the small elections is accessibility. I remember the first time I voted. My sighted husband was with me, and they allowed us to go into a booth together so that he could read the ballot to me and I told him my selections. Him being my husband, I felt comfortable doing this, but I still wished for a way that I could vote independently. If my husband had not been with me, one of the office volunteers could have read the ballot to me, making me a bit less comfortable. So I didn’t vote each year, sometimes it was because of time constraints, others because I just wasn’t motivated, knowing that someone would have to make those marks for me. A few years ago, I saw an ivotronic machine made accessible for the very first time. It is basically a normal electronic voting machine with software that provides speech during the voting process. What a fantastic thing! Now, I was able to put on a headset, push the buttons that were marked in braille, and hear and choose my selections. Every year since, I have voted and been happy to use the talking voting machine. This comodity is not available in all states or voting locations, and many still have to contend with the old dependence on a designated sighted person to cast their votes. According to the National Federation for the Blind, the 2008 election is the first where blind voters are guaranteed their privacy and equality in the voting process. While electronic voting still has some pitfalls and many do not trust that their vote counts propperly, I would ask them; How do you know your paper balots were counted propperly? I used to feel that way when a stranger marked my balot for me. How do I know they bubbled in what I wanted? With the added accessibility, I feel more confident in voting than before, despite opinions that say e-voting is less reliable than the traditional paper balot. So what is it like? I’ll tell you as best as I can just how the experience was for me, and give a few side comments.I enter the poling location, my photo ID in hand. I sign in at the desk and simply tell them I would like to use the audio ballot. They walk with me to the machine and plug a headset in. They put a cartridge in and select my precinct and activate the audio. Then I have the chance to select audio only, and the language I wish to use, today it was English or Spanish. Then I am left alone to make my selections, but my screen is blank so that no one can see my choices. The synthesized but clear voice gives directions on how to use the machine and make choices. The main buttons I use are up and down and the diamond button which is select. I am told how many contests there are total and am placed at contest 1. As it announces each contest, it also tells how many selections or choices there are within that contest. My only complaint, and it’s a little one, is that there is no way to adjust the speed of the voice. Since I am very used to synthesized speech, I listen to it at very fast speeds. Because of this, the voting process did take a little longer for me than for my sighted husband, but I was clearly aware of each choice and which options I had selected. Once I made it through all 23 contests, the machine announced I would be in summary mode, where I could arrow up and down and hear my selections, even change them if I were so inclined. Finally, I am instructed to press the vote button and am told exactly where to find it on the machine. That is that, my ballot was cast and the machine lets me know that it was successfully completed. By the way, at the location where I voted, E-voting was an option for everyone, not just those who needed accessibility. So now, as a visually impaired person, I have nothing holding me back from taking part in the voting process. Eventually, I’d like to see an accessible voting machine for someone who is mobility impaired and unable to press the buttons. But for now, I am very happy that this citizen can vote independently! I urge everyone, if you did not early vote last week, plan to vote tomorrow!!

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A few months ago, I posted a blog about e-bay and some of the changes they had made. While at that time I could still use the site, their changes had started to makeshopping on e-bay very difficult. Unfortunately, they have continued alterations to the site and now, it is next to impossible to shop there using a screen reader. They have completely eliminated headings and have not incorporated any skip to navigation links, and when you’re looking at almost 300 links on a page, finding what you want is now not possible! Even if I do happen to find something I’m looking for, I cannot determine the item’s description, price and shipping costs. 

Even when e-bay was first launched, it was more accessible using screen readers than it is currently. So why did e-bay make these changes? Apparently, the site looks exactly the same to a sighted user. I still am not quite sure who I could talk to from e-bay. For now, unless they become accessible again, I’m going to have to find somewhere else to do my Christmas shopping.

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Ok, so I just received a new note taker and want to see how my blogs will look when using it to post. This machine is fantastic! It has a pretty powerful web browser, media player, calendar, and of course word processor with which you can take notes! If I could figure out how to insert hyperlinks, I could do all of my posts here. I have worked with note takers before, namely Humanware’s braille note. It does quite a bit, but this new baby is so much more powerful! It is manufactured by Hims in Korea and is called the Braille Sense. I’m still learning so much, but this is excellent so far!

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How many people around the world use the web as a social network?  With sites out there such as my space, facebook, twitter, etc. there is a lot of opportunity to always be connected.  You can tell people what you are watching, listening to, eating, working on, anything you like.  You can use these networks to promote yourself or your business, share any and every aspect of your life you’d like, and just make friends and build up your portfolio of people who can always be connected to you.  Most of these sites offer a way to use your cell phone to interact with the network via text messaging, instant messaging, or E-mail.

I myself think that all of this is too much.  I’m not too sure if I want to know that Sally had a pita wrap for lunch.  However, being on such a network can be helpful to me and this blog.  Maybe I can generate more readers, let people know about Knowbility, and update those who already know and read my posts here when I add something or want comments on an issue.  So I decided to try and join one or more of these social networks.  My space and facebook are in general, very difficult sites to use.  There is a lot of inaccessible flash content that sometimes can prevent me from accessing the info I need.  I did join twitter, but had to have sighted assistance in reading some of the little boxes that were not tagged with text, and even once I registered, I found it was hard to navigate and do too much.

Well

last week, with Anneka’s help, I joined a network called utterli.  Registration was fairly painless, although they need to fix their check boxes and some of their forms.  Once a member, the site is pretty straight forward, not too many untagged areas and very little use of flash.  Also, I can connect twitter and my blog to utterli, so that when I make an update there, it shows up under those profiles as well.  And one other bonus, I can call a number and put audio there, which will show up on my blog here.  It looks like fun, and a good alternative that is accessible.  I wonder if it will put my entries here into my utterli profile as well?

If anyone is interested, you can join, or send me your info for twitter or even my space or face book, and I can add you.  This should be fun to play with a little and could possibly help to generate more readers and thus educate more people about accessibility!!

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I recently found out about a new movie that has just come out in the U.S, and was very disturbed.  It is entitled “Blindness,” and is based on a novel by a Portuguese Author named Jose Saramago.  The National Federation for the Blind strongly objects to this film and has been protesting it throughout the nation since before its release on October 3rd.  You can read their official press release, which is very well written and begins to explain why there are such strong feelings about this “work of art.”  You can also read several comments from some who have seen it, just to get an idea of the differing opinions.

Some of the details of this movie are very disturbing and I won’t go into it here.  Basically, the whole premise for this movie is fear.  Blindness in the story is a contageous virus, which has the world in a pannicked standstill.  It seems that the Author is utterly terrified of blindness and what he thinks it means for people.  According to the movie, if you are blind, or become blind, you are incapable of living a normal life.  You should be institutionalized, fed, dressed, and kept from the outside world because hey, if your eyes don’t work, neither do any of your senses, namely your common sense.  I actually feel sorry for Saramago, if he thinks being without sight is so horrible.  The root of fear is ignorance, and he obviously has no idea what it really means to be blind.  Life doesn’t end; you don’t become a raving maniac or crazy.  You still are concerned with personal hygine, even when you cannot see yourself and those around you can’t see you.  Humans are much more adaptable and smarter than he gives us credit for.  And no, blindness is not God’s way of punishing someone.

In my view, blind people, and really anyone with a disability, are many times put into a stereotype.  This movie will only add to many views of blind or disabled people, and thus may have an impact on our ability to be accepted in society, obtain employment, or live life to its fullest!  One would hope that a person’s opinion or view of blindness would not be shaped by such a thing, but unfortunately, so many are impressionable to whatever is out there in movies and media.  If it’s on a screen, it must be true and accurate; SOME WOULD EVEN TAKE IT AS FACTUAL.

I haven’t actually paid my good hard earned money to see this creation, but I decided to read the book, just to get an idea of the basis for the film.  I’m about halfway through and so far, I find it offensive and degrading as both a blind person and a woman.  In the novel, blind people are put into quarantine and treated like common criminals.  They begin to exhibit behaviors of caged animals, and it becomes an “every man for himself” scenario.  Human beings become vile, stealing and willing to kill each other for personal gain.  Fear reigns and chaos is unleashed.

There seems to be no substance to the novel, no real plot development, just the sad state of human beings that suddenly find themselves without sight.  There was no research done, no attempt to portray any true behaviors of a blind person, just a lot of twisted scenes of inhumanity and torture.  Several times so far, blind people are compared to dogs, where individuality and identity are unimportant.  The Author never even gives his characters names!!  The government locks them away, lets them govern themselves and kill each other.  After all, the fewer of them the better, according to government.  Is this how blind people are viewed by this man?  I haven’t reached the end of the book yet, but it is suggested that everyone gets their sight back by some miracle, so all is well again.  Maybe once I finish I can find some redeeming qualities… maybe.

If you read the user comments linked to above, you’ll see that some scenes in the movie were so disturbing that many movie goers were dissatisfied and disgusted enough to walk out during the film.  Am I going overboard here?  I know this is not a personal attack, and yet it feels that way.  I can joke around about blindness with the best; humor is part of breaking the ice for me.  But I don’t find this portrayal humorous; I don’t know that I’m supposed to.    What do you think?  I would love to hear any comments on either side!!

Here is just one example so far of the kind of opinions that are out there and the ignorance of some, that will only be increased by this film!

“blindness” the movie angers people.

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Ok, so a little update on the newest IPod nano Fourth Generation, released by Apple INC at the beginning of September.  I am really happy to say that I got an early Christmas present from my husband and for almost a week now, have been able to test and use the speech features.  First thing I’ll say is WOW!!  After going through a few steps to install the speech and voice tags, almost every item on the nano now speaks!  There is no extra software or hardware that I have to plug in or install, it just simply talks!  The only things that aren’t spoken are the battery indicator, and the extras features like the clock, calendar and contacts list.  I do wish there was a way to tell how much battery I have left, but the extras aren’t all that important to me.  I can very easily find my lists of artists, albums, playlists, and everything.

One little downside, in case anyone is interested in buying the new nano.  I have discovered that it will not charge on my old Altec Lansing docking speakers that I used for my previous IPod.  I can charge it via the USB port on my computer, or plug the chord it came with into a USB wall adapter to charge the unit.  This is a little frustrating for me, since I used my dock almost exclusively to charge my IPod every night.  I called Apple to ask about this issue and was told that they had been having issues where the IPod would overcharge and blow up, sometimes even shooting sparks!  As a result, they had to rethink how the wire pins are configured, and this causes many docking stations to be unable to charge the newest IPods.  However, you can still play your IPod on the speakers and all but charging functions just fine.

All in all, this is an excellent product and a huge step that Apple has taken.  As I have said before, they literally went from being almost completely inaccessible with the older versions of ITunes and the IPod, to being the manufacturers of one of the most accessible portable media players now on the market!!

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Last Thursday October 2, the count-down to rally day has officially begun!  We are as always very excited for this event!  Rally day will be on Saturday October 18.  We would like to take a moment to wish all participating teams the best of luck!

If you would like to learn more about AIR, you can go to our link;

http://www.knowbility.org/air-austin/

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