[blindlaw] Accessibility of eDiscovery Platforms ...

Thu Jul 7 19:27:45 UTC 2016

Dear friends, 
On July 5, one of the presidential candidate made a very important comment. 
The workplaces are changing, it is about time that the policies change too. 
I believe that workplace technology has changed quite a lot in the last few years. 
JAWS and other access technologies always have to play the catch-up game with whatever changes are made in workplace technology. 
If the workplace technology companies such as Oracle and Microsoft make their products more readily accessible with screen reading software, it will be helpful. 
Do not forget that even if the software claims to be accessible, the system integrators, (the software experts who set up the system for big and small government entities) have to know about access technology. 
I mean not some people who know very little about access technology because their phone makes the noise on who is calling. 
I have met some of these so called experts who have no knowledge about access technology. 
Thanks for reading. 

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 
This message may contain protected health information or other information that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by return mail and destroy any copies of this material. 
Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gerard Sadlier via BlindLaw
Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 3:07 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Gerard Sadlier <gerard.sadlier at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Accessibility of eDiscovery Platforms ...

All,

I largely agree with all that has been said about JAWS and I think its days are numbered unless it really gets its act together. I at least am seriously considering moving to NVDA permanently/fully and given that NVDA is free, once lost, customers of JAWS will not be back.

Discovery platforms are reasonably specialized and I can understand that may be a nitch market but the point made about accounting software for example is telling! (I happen not to need access to such myself on a regular basis at the moment but that isn't really the
point.)

I take it though that Freedom Scientific are aware how significant the access problems are with discovery platforms?

Many thanks

Ger

On 7/7/16, Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Elizabeth:
>
> Government institutions represent the main cause of the problem. As 
> long as they keep purchasing JAWS without any demands from Freedom 
> Scientific, each update to the software will continue to be full of 
> gimmicks ant not much to be helpful in a job environment. If Freedom 
> Scientific was a company truly committed to accessibility and not just 
> its bottom line, by now it would fully support at least one major 
> accounting software, legal practice management software, and Etc.. 
> This will happen only when the folks who subsidize its existence begin 
> to mount sufficient pressure to change the status quo. Because the 
> company fail so miserably in that department, I find it to be a joke 
> to continue to refer to JAWS as "Job Access With Speech" and not as something else.
>
> Currently, sound engineers have to work on their own accessibility 
> package to operate their studios. Lawyers have to develop custom 
> scripts to get basic access to case management software; accountants are in the same boat.
> call center technologies have been left behind. Educators barely have 
> access to modern applications. But somehow, Freedom Scientific 
> remains the only king in the industry.
>
>
>
> Rod Alcidonis, Esq.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Elizabeth Rene via BlindLaw
> Sent: Thursday, July 7, 2016 11:44 AM
> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Elizabeth Rene
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Accessibility of eDiscovery Platforms ...
>
> Hi all,
> Having read the last few posts with keen interest, I'm beginning to 
> wonder whether it isn't time for the blind legal community and for 
> other like groups  to insist to Freedom Scientific that it produce 
> versions of JAWS that are compatible with the leading professional software programs.
> Haven't the days of one-size-fits-all passed? Isn't it time for blind 
> lawyers to stop saying to employers, to opposing counsel, and to the 
> court, "I'm sorry, but JAWS won't do that?"
> With the prices charged for JAWS, and with Apple/Voiceover's stiff 
> competition, should we continue to spend hours and hours crafting 
> work-arounds when we should be practicing law?
> I'm growing impatient with hostage hood to the technology that was 
> developed to serve us.
> We are the consumers.
>
> Elizabeth M René
> Attorney at Law
> WSBA #10710
> KCBA #21824
> rene0373 at gmail.com
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