From ds94124 at aol.com Thu Dec 4 00:47:06 2008 From: ds94124 at aol.com (ds94124 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:47:06 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Americorps NCCC in Boulder Colorado In-Reply-To: <7C8CF7C340BA40D9A52B65A6AF76951D@MonkeyPaw> References: <7C8CF7C340BA40D9A52B65A6AF76951D@MonkeyPaw> Message-ID: <8CB23C0F7150031-32C-4D@webmail-dd20.sysops.aol.com> I understand that this may not apply to everyone on this list, but if you think this applys to you and you are in the area,I think it certainly worth checking out. Darian -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NewAmeriCorpsNCC CAPPing Flyer Boulder Colorado.docx Type: application/x-zip-compressed Size: 109010 bytes Desc: not available URL: From nrh_lists at n-republic.net Thu Dec 4 01:07:20 2008 From: nrh_lists at n-republic.net (Nehemiah Hall) Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 18:07:20 -0700 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Fw: CCB Sudent Association Tallent Show Message-ID: <36F82EA2469642B4ADB196199F1BCEE2@Tavia> Come One! Come All! Sing and Dance and Have a Ball! We the Student Association are hosting a Talent Show fundraiser! Tickets are only $10.00, but our hospitality is worth millions! So don't wait, get out and join us for door prizes, food and great talent. Tickets are on sale Now! Our sales will end on December 8, 2008, so Hurry!! Location: Colorado Center for the Blind Address: 2233 West Shepperd Avenue Littleton CO 80120 Date: Friday December 12, 2008 Time: 6:00p.m - 9:00p.m Also if you are considering doing an act of any sort, auditions will be held on Monday December 1, 2008 from noon - 1:15p.m, December 2, 2008 from noon - 1:15p.m and December 2, 2008 from 4:45 - 6:00p.m. If you have any questions please contact President Beth Allred at 303 - 778 - 1130 between the hours of 8:15a.m and 4:30p.m. Thank You From JFreeh at nfb.org Thu Dec 4 02:30:47 2008 From: JFreeh at nfb.org (Freeh, Jessica) Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:30:47 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] =?iso-8859-1?q?NFB=92s_Target_Lawsuit_Settlement_May?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_Mean_Money__for_You_=96_Check_out_www=2Enfbtargetlawsuit?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=2Ecom__now!?= Message-ID: NFB?s Target Lawsuit Settlement May Mean Money for You ? Check out www.nfbtargetlawsuit.com now! Are you legally blind? Have you tried to access the goods or services on Target.com using screen-reader software while you were in the State of California at any time between February 7, 2003 and December 9, 2008? Did you have trouble using that Web site? If so, you are probably eligible to receive up to $7,000.00 from Target under terms of the settlement between that company and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). However, you have to apply, and time is rapidly running out. To be eligible, you must fill out and submit a claim form by no later than January 8, 2009. There are two ways to get the claim form. The easiest way is to go to www.nfbtargetlawsuit.com. You will find the claim form, instructions, and other information. You may also request a claim form from: NFB v. Target Claims Administrator, RG2 Claims Administration LLC, P.O. Box 59479, Philadelphia, PA 19102-9479 (866-742-4955). There is still time for you to submit your claim. The form may be submitted online by January 8, 2009, or mailed to the address above, postmarked by that date. You do not have to be an NFB member to qualify. Jessica A. Freeh Public Relations Assistant NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 Telephone: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2348 E-mail: jfreeh at nfb.org From KZakhnini at nfb.org Fri Dec 5 01:38:00 2008 From: KZakhnini at nfb.org (Zakhnini, Karen) Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:38:00 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] NFB Youth Slam Message-ID: The National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam A 2009 STEM Leadership Academy Observe! Discover! Evolve! Launch rockets, perform astronomy, examine new technology, learn about engineering, solve crimes like on CSI, design solutions for the environment, meet new friends from all over the United States, play goal ball, watch movies, dance, make podcasts, meet blind role models, and experience many other adventures at the NFB Youth Slam! From July 26-August 1, 2009, two hundred blind and low vision high school students will stay at the University of Maryland, College Park, to be mentored by blind role models during fun and challenging activities meant to build confidence, expand leadership and advocacy skills, and increase science literacy. Participants will also attend various social events as well as workshops on topics such as leadership, career preparation, and advocacy. The NFB Youth Slam will culminate in an inspiring rally in Washington DC! Those interested in participating as students or mentors should complete an application by March 1, 2009. After an initial screening process, eligible students will be accepted into the program through random selection. Students and mentors need not have a strong interest in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) in order to participate, enjoy, and benefit from this academy. If you are interested in being a student or mentor participant or if you'd like to learn more about the NFB Youth Slam visit http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/youth_slam.asp. Send questions about the NFB Youth Slam to youthslam at nfb.org. Karen C. Zakhnini Education Project Manager Jernigan Institute NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND Phone: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2293 Fax: (410) 659-5129 Imagine a Future Full of Opportunity... From newmanrl at cox.net Wed Dec 10 07:18:35 2008 From: newmanrl at cox.net (Robert Newman) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:18:35 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] NFB- 2009 Writing Contest for Youth and Adults Message-ID: NFB Writers' Division Writing contests For Both Youth And Adults The National Federation of the Blind Writers' Division wishes to announce our annual writing contests. The opening date for submissions in both the contests for youth and for adults is January 1st, with the closing on (Post Marked) April 1st. See all requirements below: Youth Writing Contest The NFB Writers' Division is hosting a Youth Writing Contest to promote Braille literacy and excellence in creative writing. Entries will be judged on creativity and quality of Braille. We are looking for creative writing, in the form of fiction and poetry. There is no charge for entering. This is a contest for students who use Braille. Entries must Be submitted in hand embossed Braille, either on a slate and stylus or on a Braille writer. No computer Braille entries will be considered. Submissions must be Brailled by the entrant. Elementary students (K-5) may submit contracted Braille, uncontracted Braille, or an acceptable combination of the two. Students in higher grades will be expected to submit stories or poetry in contracted Braille. There are six categories, as follows: Elementary Fiction; Elementary Poetry; Middle School Fiction; Middle School Poetry; High School Fiction; High School Poetry. Elementary is K-5. Middle School is 6-8. High School is 9-12. The contest begins January first, and ends, postmarked date April first. There will be three cash prizes for each of the six categories. First prize per contest is $25. Second prize is $15 and third prize is $5. Submissions for fiction may not exceed one thousand words. Poetry may not exceed twenty lines. Authors may submit multiple entries and all work must be original and unpublished. Each entrant must provide an identical print copy for possible publication. Entries must be accompanied by a cover sheet containing entrant's information: Name, address, phone, email, title of the entry, school and grade of entrant. Winners will be announced at our division meeting during the July 2009 NFB National convention held in Detroit, Michigan. Send to Fred Wurtzel, 1212 N Foster, Lansing Michigan, 48912. Adult Writing Contest The NFB Writers' Division's writing contest of fiction short stories and poetry for adults will be open for submissions starting January 1st, closing Post Marked April 1st. Top prize for each contest is $100, second $50, and third $25. Winners will be announced at our division meeting during the July 2009 NFB National convention held in Detroit, Michigan. Fiction: short stories can be up to 3,000 words and can be of any genre. All work must be original and previously unpublished. If you wish to submit- You are required to send a cover sheet with title of all entries, name, address, phone and email (if available). A second requirement , is please have your documents double spaced and if you are sending it hardcopy, it cannot be handwritten. The cost for submission of a single story is $5.00. You can send either a check or money order made out to the NFB Writers' Division. You have two choices for submission: First is the traditional method of sending hardcopy and check, and if you do so, send it to Tom Stevens address- 1203 S. Fairview Road, Columbia MO 65203. The second method is to email your writing and cover letter to cthls at earthlink.net And for payment for electronic submissions check our web site and see if we have PayPal by then URL http://www.nfb-writers-division.org Or, if you need to snail-mail the check, use Tom's address in choice one. Poetry: Entrants are invited to submit original poetry of up to 36 lines. If you wish to submit- You are required to send a cover sheet with title of all entries, name, address, phone and email (if available). A second requirement , is please have your documents double spaced and if you are sending it hardcopy, it cannot be handwritten. The cost is $5.00 for up to 3 poems and you can send either a check or money order made out to the NFB Writers' Division. You have two choices for submission: First is the traditional method of sending hardcopy and check, and if you do so, send it to Lori Stayer, 2704 Beach Drive, Merrick NY 11566. The second method is to email your writing and cover letter to LoriStay at aol.com And for payment for electronic submissions check our web site and see if we have PayPal by then URL http://www.nfb-writers-division.org Or, if you need to snail-mail the check, use Lori's address in choice one. President NFB Writers' Division Robert Leslie Newman Email- newmanrl at cox.net Division Website- Http://www.nfb-writers-division.org Robert Leslie Newman Email- newmanrl at cox.net THOUGHT PROVOKER Website- Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info From dandrews at visi.com Wed Dec 10 07:52:42 2008 From: dandrews at visi.com (David Andrews) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:52:42 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] NFB of Oregon Alaska Cruise Benefit Message-ID: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF OREGON ALASKA CRUISE BENEFIT SEPTEMBER 5 ? 12, 2009 *** Seven-night Alaska cruise aboard the beautiful Norwegian Cruise Line Star --- all-you-can-eat food with 11 restaurant choices and 24-hour room service; top-notch, nightly entertainment, including elaborate Broadway-style productions, comedians, concerts, etc.; state-of-the-art spa facilities; variety of activities for all ages, as well as an abundance of quiet areas to relax *** Exciting Alaska itinerary highlighting spectacular glaciers that are so close you can hear ice breaking into the water; 7,000 foot high snowcapped mountains, which drop immediately to sea level; fresh, saltwater, crisp air; wildlife ? whales, hundreds of seals, bear, moose; an opportunity to ride the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, a historic railway operated during the Gold Rush era and offers an unforgettable scenic train trip over the White Pass SPECIAL PROMOTIONS *** The National Federation of the Blind of Oregon (NFBO) will receive a donation of $100 per cabin booked! *** For every 8th cabin booked, the NFBO will receive a bonus donation of a minimum of $634. *** Everyone will receive $50 onboard credit (per cabin; offered when the group reaches 8 booked cabins) *** $20 discount per person for the first 5 Inside Cabins booked by March 1, 2009 ITINERARY Itinerary Map DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART Sat, Sept 5 Seattle, Washington 4:00pm Sun, Sept 6 Inside Passage (Cruising) Mon, Sept 7 (Labor Day) Ketchikan, Alaska 7:00am 3:00pm Tues, Sept 8 Juneau, Alaska 7:00am 1:30pm Sawyer Glacier (Cruising) Wed, Sept 9 Skagway 7:00am 5:00pm Thurs, Sept 10 Prince Rupert, BC, Canada 4:00pm 10:00pm Fri, Sept 11 At Sea Sat, Sept 12 Seattle, Washington 8:00am CRUISE RATES Inside Cabin = $654* Ocean View Cabin = $824* (with a ?picture? window ? NOT a little porthole) Ocean View Cabin with a Balcony = $1,184* *Rates are per person based on double occupancy & do not include taxes & port fees, currently around $395 per person & are subject to change until paid in full. Discounted 3rd & 4th person rates are available upon request. SPACE IS LIMITED --- BOOK EARLY! A deposit of $275 per person is required to guarantee your space on this cruise. This deposit, minus a $25 per person cancellation penalty, is REFUNDABLE until June 5, 2009, which is when the final payment is due. Contact Kim Howell with Travelfax 1-800-480-7405 or email- kim at travelfax.biz -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 20421 bytes Desc: not available URL: From gwunder at earthlink.net Wed Dec 10 09:08:34 2008 From: gwunder at earthlink.net (Gary Wunder) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:08:34 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Diane McGeorge E-mail Reminder-Washington Seminar Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: McCarthy, Jim Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 3:27 PM Subject: Diane McGeorge E-mail Reminder-Washington Seminar Fellow Federationists: The following message comes from Diane McGeorge who organizes much of the logistics of Washington Seminar. The time is growing closer than you might think. Our 2009 Washington Seminar will run from Sunday, February 8 to Wednesday, February 11. "Please get your reservations in as soon as possible." Our deadline for hotel reservations is January 5, 2009, which is only about one month off. Following is the information which I need to have to assure you of a room at the Holiday Inn. The address of the Holiday Inn Capitol is 550 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. 1. First of all I will need to have the names of the persons in the room. Please spell the first and last name of each person if you make the reservation by phone. You may do so by calling: (303) 778-1130, extension 219, or email (see below); and 2. I will need to have your arrival date and departure date. If people are sharing the room and their arrival and departure dates are different from yours, please be sure to indicate that; and 3. I will need to know if you wish a smoking or a non-smoking room. Also, if you have any special requirements, please advise. For example, if you require an accessible room, please include that information. If you wish to have a roll-away bed in the room, please let me know. If you request a roll-away bed, there will be an additional $15 charge per night; and 4. If you make your reservation by phone, and if you have an e-mail address, please leave that address so that we may send you confirmation that your reservation was received and processed. If you have no e-mail address, then please leave a telephone number so that I may call you back with a confirmation. You may make your reservations by e-mail by sending your request to Lisa Bonderson. Lisa's address is: lbonderson at cocenter.org. Either Lisa or I will send you a confirmation. The hotel rates are $154 per night for single, double, triple, or quad. There is an additional 14.5% hotel tax each night. When you check in you must be prepared to cover at least the first night of your stay with either a credit card or check; and then arrange to pay the balance by presenting a credit card or writing a check for the remainder of the cost. If state delegations will be paying for members with one check or one credit card, please advise Ed Cruz in the Holiday Inn Capitol accounting department prior to your arrival and he will make special arrangements for your delegation. It is also very advisable to supply to Mr. Cruz a list of the names of persons your delegation may plan to cover. It would also be advisable for you to supply me with the same list prior to arrival so that we will all be on the same page and this will lessen problems. Mr. Cruz has always been very helpful. Remember please, the deadline is January 5, 2009. There will be a number of special meetings during the seminar and you will want to watch the NFB Website for special announcements. The Great Gathering-In meeting will be held on Sunday, February 8, at 5 p.m. You certainly don't want to miss that. I hope this answers all of your questions. I look forward to seeing all of you in D.C. in February. Have a blessed holiday season. Diane McGeorge DM/wb From gwunder at earthlink.net Wed Dec 10 09:09:14 2008 From: gwunder at earthlink.net (Gary Wunder) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:09:14 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Braille Test at Washington Seminar Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: Braille Certification To: Louise Walch Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 5:42 PM Subject: Braille Test at Washington Seminar Dear NFB State Presidents, Please find attached a flyer announcing that testing for the National Certification in Literary Braille will be held on the Saturday prior to our Washington Seminar. Please pass this information along to your membership and others you think might be interested. Thanks in advance. -Louise Louise G. Walch NBPCB Coordinator 210-464-6144 Braille at nbpcb.org www.nbpcb.org ----- Braille Test at Washington Seminar Feb 7, 2009 THE NATIONAL CERTIFICATION IN LITERARY BRAILLE (NCLB) As you may be aware, the National Literary Braille Competency Test (NLBCT) of the National Library Service (NLS) has been transferred to the administration of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB). With the NLBCT as its cornerstone, the NBPCB has established the National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB), which is a complete professional credential that requires recertification on a five year cycle. Individuals who were certified with the NLBCT prior to 2006 will need to retest through the NBPCB; however, the initial fee may be waived if the applicant can show proof of original NLBCT credential. The NCLB is currently the only nationally recognized certification in literary Braille. The examination has not been substantially changed from its earlier version once administered by the NLS, however a five year recertification requirement has been instituted in the interest of maintaining high standards. The exam is not aimed at transcribers. Rather, it is a valid test of a person's ability to competently read, write, and understand contracted, literary Braille, and is being targeted to all individuals who teach Braille professionally, and/or those seeking to be credentialed in this area. The next scheduled exam open for certification and recertification in 2009 is: Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009 Time: 8:00am-5:00pm (Doors close 8:30am) Location: Holiday Inn Capitol (Columbia II) 550 C Street SW Washington, DC 20024 Cost: $250 combined application/testing fee Deadline: Sunday, January 4, 2009 (or $275 late registration January 5-25) Subsequent NCLB examinations will be convened wherever an appropriate venue can be procured, and sufficient applicant numbers make it possible. Please contact the NBPCB for more details. To apply online go to: http://www.nbpcb.org/nclb/application/ or to download the NCLB Candidate Guidelines please visit: http://www.nbpcb.org/nclb/ For additional information please visit the NBPCB website at: www.nbpcb.org, call the NBPCB office at (318) 257-4554, or contact Louise Walch, NBPCB Coordinator, at: braille at nbpcb.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Flyer NCLB DC1.doc Type: application/msword Size: 31744 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jsorozco at gmail.com Tue Dec 16 04:45:00 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:45:00 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] State Division Materials Message-ID: Dear state student division presidents and representatives: The NABS web site is well underway. As we grow closer to the launch we're turning to our student leadership at the state level to help us collect information about some specific information in your affiliates. If your affiliate offers a scholarship, we would like to know. If you have an upcoming state convention, we'd like the dates. If there is a unique program in your state that only exists in your geographic boundaries, we'd like you to share it with others. Help us build a complete repository of information that equally shares details about the happenings in your division and affiliate. If you could pass this along to me by Sunday, December 21, you'd be my favorite person. Also, I want to take a moment to thank Peter Donahue for throwing in his technical assistance to help us meet our ambitious deadline. He's good people, and any affiliate and/or division would be fortunate to have him in their corner. Thanks all. Joe Orozco "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M. Barrie From MThorpe at nfb.org Mon Dec 22 18:31:25 2008 From: MThorpe at nfb.org (Thorpe, Mary Jo) Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:31:25 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] NFB BELL Program for 2009 Message-ID: Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Nonvisual Learning 2009 NFB BELL Summer Program The NFB Jernigan Institute is pleased to announce the Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Nonvisual Learning (BELL) program in the summer of 2009. The BELL program is designed to serve as a demonstration program to help provide intensive Braille instruction to low vision children during the summer months. This pilot program will be modeled after the successful 2007 BELL Program led by the NFB of Maryland state affiliate. The NFB Jernigan Institute plans to expand this program into two additional states during the summer of 2009. Selected states will host the Institute's BELL Core team during the two weeks of their program. BELL Core Team members will facilitate a variety of fun, hands-on lessons ranging from group activities to one-on-one instruction to help teach Braille to low vision students ages four to twelve. The program will run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please visit www.nfb.org/nfb/Bell_Program_2009.asp to learn more about this exciting program. Interested in being part of the BELL Core Team? Members of this team will be responsible for creating and implementing the curriculum and various activities for the three BELL program sites. These individuals will work closely with staff members from the NFB Jernigan Institute and the state coordinators from selected states to design lesson plans and projects for the program. Selected team members will be hired as contractual summer staff for the NFB Jernigan Institute beginning in June through the middle of August 2009. Team members will also participate in the NFB Youth Slam. Qualifications We are looking for enthusiastic and highly motivated individuals who are passionate about encouraging the next generation of blind children and eager to promote Braille literacy. Teachers of the Blind/Low Vision and those with experience teaching Braille to children are highly encouraged to apply. However, members do not have to be certified teachers to be effective participants in the NFB BELL program, but they should have experience working with young children. Benefits All aspects of the program, including transportation, room, and board will be provided by the NFB at no expense to selected team members. Team members will also receive a $3,500 stipend as payment for the summer. This program is an extraordinary opportunity for individuals to assist blind children and help to promote our efforts for Braille literacy. How to Apply Please visit the Web site to obtain an application. Applications are due by February 1, 2009. For all other questions about the NFB BELL Program, please contact: Mary Jo Thorpe, Education Programs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind (410) 659-9314, ext. 2407, or by e-mail at mthorpe at nfb.org. From jsorozco at gmail.com Wed Dec 24 00:45:33 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:45:33 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] FW: [nabs-l] Calling All New State Student Divisions... Message-ID: Subject: [nabs-l] Calling All New State Student Divisions... Hello NABS listers, If you're a member of a state student division that was organized during the past two years (2007 or 2008), we'd like to hear from you! NABS is putting together an informational handbook for people interested in starting or building up student divisions in their states. We're compiling a bunch of examples of great seminars, fund-raisers and other activities that other state divisions have done. We have a bunch of contributions already from some of our largest and oldest divisions, but we'd also like to include input from some of our newer divisions as well, to inspire those of us who are starting from the very beginning. So if your division is less than two years old and you've recently sponsored a seminar, fund-raiser or other activity that went well, we'd like to hear about it! Please reply on-list and tell us about your activity. Better yet, if you still have the agenda or other written materials from your event that you'd be willing to share with other NABS leaders, please send them to me individually at arielle71 at gmail.com Thanks in advance for your contributions! Hope everyone has an excellent holiday and a happy and healthy New Year, Arielle Silverman First Vice-President, National Association of Blind Students _______________________________________________ nabs-l mailing list nabs-l at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l: http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jsorozco %40gmail.com From george.mcdermith at gmail.com Wed Dec 24 04:00:54 2008 From: george.mcdermith at gmail.com (George McDermith) Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:00:54 -0700 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Accessible Anywhere Based Braille Display Petition In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <031CD30D076342C087D9CA7D8DC6C4ED@OwnerPC> A petition has been started by George McDermith, asking Braille display manufacturers to base their drivers on the human interface protocol, found on all Windows computers. Such a design philosophy will ensure that users can be certain of having support for their Braille display on any computer, not just one which has been custom-configured for such access, and will eliminate the need to depend on specific screen reader drivers. The text of the petition reads as follows: "To: Braille display manufacturers We, the undersigned, who are Braille display users, friends and family of Braille display users, and teachers of the blind, *: Believe that accessibility to information for the blind on a par with their sighted piers is a right. Believe that due to this right, and due to the cost of Braille displays, accessing Braille through the use of Braille displays should not be limited by the type of screen reading solution used by the blind. *: Strongly request that all manufacturers of Braille displays cease basing the drivers of their Braille displays off of particular screen reader drivers, but rather base all Braille display drivers off of the Human User Interface Protocol, which can be found on all Windows computers. *: This will allow true portability and equal access to information for the blind, as they will be able to use their display with any computer. This will create greater competition in the market for the best Braille display to stand out, grant greater literacy in Braille through greater access to electronic Braille books and other materials, and support the right of all blind people to have accessibility anywhere." Visit the petition web page at http://www.petitiononline.com/brldis/petition.html to add your support to this worthy cause. NEWS RELEASE Wednesday, December 03, 2008, 1:36:13 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Michael Lauf) For Immediate Release Media Contact: E-mail pr at serotek.com 612.720.1068 Technical Contact : E-mail info at serotek.com Serotek First to Offer 64-Bit Support System Access 3.0 Sets New Standard in Assistive Technology MINNEAPOLIS, Minn - December 3, 2008 - Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of internet and digital information accessibility software and services, today released version 3.0 of its award-winning System Access software. With this release, Serotek now offers the first full-featured screen access product with support for 64-bit operating systems. This is a breakthrough for blind and visually impaired consumers and IT professionals alike. Blind information technology professionals have long struggled with the issue of being a step behind their sighted counterparts due to a lag in access technology and its inability to support the latest mainstream developments. With the release of System Access 3.0, the only existing screen access support for 64-bit Windows operating systems on the market, Serotek has leveled the employment playing field for skilled IT professionals. Without it, blind IT professionals would be locked out of administering 64-bit servers and work stations which are prevalent in most corporate environments. With it, a blind IT professional can plug in a USB drive containing the System Access 3.0 software and instantly provide technical support services to anyone in the world. Increasingly, retailers are stocking computers running 64-bit versions of Windows so blind consumers were facing a similar dilemma. Now, new computers, from the smallest Netbook to the most powerful server, that are running OEM versions of 64-bit Windows, are instantly accessible with System Access 3.0. Consumers who are blind or have low vision can purchase a computer product without wondering if it will be accessible. "Consumers and IT professionals alike no longer need to concern themselves with whether a computer is running a 32 or 64-bit operating system," said Mike Calvo, CEO, Serotek Corporation, "System Access provides easy access in either scenario." Version 3.0 also features voice over IP, speech and refreshable Braille output, and the most compelling support for iTunes 8 on the market. "With this release, Serotek continues to raise the bar in the assistive technology industry" said Calvo, "and exponentially boosts the digital lifestyle for the blind and visually impaired while at home, work or traveling." The update to version 3.0 will happen seamlessly for existing System Access customers with no need for user intervention. New customers can begin a free trial or purchase the product by visiting www.satogo.com. For a complete list of features and enhancements, visit http://www.serotek.com/whatsnew.html. Serotek Corporation Serotek Corporation is a leading technology company that develops software and manufactures accessibility solutions under the System Access brand. Committed to the mission of providing accessibility anywhere, Serotek began with the launch of the first online community specifically designed to meet the needs of people with visual impairment. Since then, Serotek has introduced several powerful, affordable solutions that require minimal training and investment. For more information, visit www.serotek.com Serotek Extends offer of $200 off the purchase of $399 or more Through Dec. 3RD, 2008 Monday, December 01, 2008, 3:43:52 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Michael Lauf) Due to popular demand, we are extending our offer of $200 off the purchase of $399 or more through Wednesday, Dec. 3RD at Midnight Eastern. Get $200 off System Access screen reader version 3.0, System Access Mobile Network, Neospeech, Document Scan, additional machine licenses, or a Netbook computer with System Access. Call toll-fre 866-202-0520 or visit the Serotek Purchase Page Second SeroTalk Podcast Holiday Special Thursday, November 27, 2008, 4:24:16 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Michael Lauf) Listen to the second SeroTalk podcast holiday special Mike Calvo announced the official release of System Access 3.0, and $200 Black Friday discount from Nov 28 thru Dec. 1st. For more access for less, call 866-202-0520 or visit www.serotek.com Mike Calvo recommends the ultimate coffee, tea and hot chocolate maker technology called Tassimo. He recommends getting the Bosch brand TAS10 for $99 if you have filtered water, or the TAS45 for $129 if you need your water filtered TassimoDirect.com Michael lauf spoke with Tom bozikis with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org They discussed reading U.S. and Canadian business reliability reports at search.bbb.org filing a complaint at complaint.bbb.org online safety and the very informative Tri-State BBB Consumer Education Blog at www.bbbConsumerEducation.com Seven people recommend their favorite websites for purchases. Four sites mentioned by two or more people were: overstock.com NewEgg.com TigerDirect.com and amazon.com Three sites for comparing prices were mentioned: froogle.com from Google nextag.com and PriceGrabber.com Other sites mentioned for computers, electronics and tech toys included: BlindBargains.com Buy.com and Geeks.com For custom built computers and parts, cmsProducts.com mWave.com MagicMicro.com For audio gear like mixers and mics for musicians and DJs: SweetWater.com and J&R Music - www.jr.com Two sites for radios, antennas and communications gear: C. Crane Company - CcRadio.com and BearCat1.com Daily special sites offering only one product per day updated at midnight: Woot.com and MidnightBox.com For cell phones, GSM phones unbranded or also referred to as unlocked: ImportGSM.com MobileCityOnline.com and NegriElectronics.com For fragrances: Scentiments.com FragranceNet.com and Perfume.com For books, music and movies: Half.com For smaller and personal items: haband.com HarrietCarter.com and llbean.com SeroTalk Podcast Friday, November 14, 2008, 5:04:08 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Michael Lauf) Hello, my name is Michael lauf. Some of you may remember me from the internet radio show called Handi-Talk back in 1999. I met many great peple from doing that program, including Mike Calvo. I am excited to now be a part of the Serotek team as of November 3, 2008. In addition to taking the variety of content on the System Access Mobile Network to a whole new leverl, I will also be creating two podcasts each month. SeroTalk is both a podcast and blog discussing ways people use access technology to improve the quality of life. The web site is serotalk.com The website, podcast and blog will offer a wealth of information on new technologies, useful websites, cool software, education, information and entertainment. User comments will be read from those sending us e-mail. resources at serotalk.com Voicemails will be played from those calling a dedicated toll-free number which is 866-997-2522. Persons can instantly recieve the latest podcasts and blog postings by adding the following URL to their web browser, RSS news reader or podcatcher http://serotalk.com/feed/ As I write this, we just posted our first podcast, showcasing ten new and exciting features in System Access version 3.0. You can hear our absolutely awesome voice chat technology in action as I talk with six other staff members including Mike Calvo, Ricky Enger, Matt Campbell, richard Wells, Brian Kevelighan and Raymond bishop. Topics included: 64-bit support, simplified user menus, awesome voice chat technology, support for FireFox Web Browser Version 3, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, refreshable braille support via the ALVA BC640 Braille display, automatic updates and auto-repair, new and more-responsive Neospeech voices, 75 percent smaller and subsequently 75 percent faster start time for SAToGo support for iTunes 8.01, AllInPlay, and offline document scanning. We also discuss the variety of new economical and powerful Netbook computers. We will play selected voicemails, and read selected e-mails during each podcast, as we are all about interaction. We hope you will sign up and provide feedback to our posts. Serotek CEO Announced as Tekne Award Finalist Tuesday, October 07, 2008, 3:02:35 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) For Immediate Release Media Contact: pr at serotek.com Technical Contact : info at serotek.com Calvo recognized as one of Minnesota's top technology innovators and leaders MINNEAPOLIS, Minn - September 30, 2008 - Mike Calvo, founder and CEO of Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services, was named as a Technology Executive of the Year finalist for the 2008 Tekne Awards. The awards recognize Minnesota companies and individuals who have shown superior technology innovation and leadership. The Technology Executive of the Year category honors an individual member of an executive team who is responsible for the advancement of technology and technology strategy within a company or organization. Leadership within the business as well as civic and community level involvement are considerations. Born blind, Calvo committed to making a difference from a young age and today, hundreds of thousands around the world, including the elderly, visually impaired, and those with limited mobility, are using Serotek products to operate computers and access the Internet. Calvo conceived of and led the delivery of several industry firsts including the first Web 2.0 based accessibility software, the first Microsoft Vista-ready product line, the first accessible software-as-as-service offering, the first remote incident and remote access management systems for corporate technology support personnel, and he was the first to remove financial barriers by providing world-wide computer accessibility free of charge by donating Serotek's screen reading product to a foundation he helped found. Additionally, Calvo established and co-sponsored with Lenovo and Microsoft the Serotek Technology Camp for Children, and launched a program for K-12 students in the United States to obtain free accessibility software for their schools. "Recognition for accomplishments that required the cooperation of so many is humbling," said Mike Calvo, CEO, Serotek Corporation, "but I'm honored to represent those who have influenced and changed the lives and careers of so many through technology access." Presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) in partnership with Enterprise Minnesota and LifeScience Alley, the Tekne Awards annually recognize Minnesota's leading technology users and developers in innovation, development, education, commercialization and management of technology in Minnesota. A list of finalists is available online at www.tekneawards.org. "Every finalist should be proud of this accomplishment," said Kate Rubin, president of MHTA. "For nearly a decade the Tekne Awards have shined a spotlight on our state's best and brightest technology innovators. Great leaders and innovators like Mike Calvo give us hope that we'll be in good hands for years to come." On Oct. 30, one recipient from three finalists will be named in this category at the Awards ceremony. Award categories recognize leaders and technology businesses that are emerging (with annual revenues under $50 million) and established (with annual revenues of $50 million or more). This year's Tekne Awards ceremony will be emceed by Kerri Miller, host of "Midmorning" and "Talking Volumes" on Minnesota Public Radio. Serotek Corporation Serotek Corporation is a leading technology company that develops software and manufactures accessibility solutions under the System Access brand. Committed to the mission of providing accessibility anywhere, Serotek began with the launch of the first online community specifically designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Since then, Serotek has introduced several powerful, affordable solutions that require minimal training and investment. For more information, visit www.serotek.com. Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) MHTA accelerates the growth, sustainability and global competitiveness of Minnesota's technology-based economy through public policy advocacy, member collaboration and education, and community outreach. MHTA is the only membership organization representing Minnesota's entire technology-based economy. MHTA members include organizations of every size involved in virtually every aspect of technology creation, production, application and education in Minnesota. MHTA works in partnership with AeA, which represents Minnesota's technology organizations nationally. Find out more online at www.mhta.org. Ipod and Itunes are now accessible to the blind! Thursday, September 18, 2008, 11:52:25 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) This was an important week for blind people. Apple, a company that has long ignored the need for accessibility in it's consumer devices brought out a new 4th generation version of the Ipod Nano that, when combined with Itunes version 8,is accessible. GW Micro took Apple where no other AT company has been able to lead them. It is a wonderful success and a gift to blind people everywhere. Us blind folks are tough critics and the ink will be hardly dry on the announcement before people will be griping that the new Ipod doesn't do one thing or another. Hush. Something more important than features happened here. Thanks to GW Micro, Apple made the digital lifestyle accessible. In doing so, Apple recognized that accessibility is not about compliance. It's not about some minimal legal requirement to grudgingly make it possible for a blind person to have some small taste of what's available to the general public. It's about making fun accessible. It's about eliminating barriers and making fun an eyes-free experience. Think about it. Ipod is the ubiquitous companion of the young and the young at heart. It is everywhere. In just a few short years this device has completely disrupted and reinvented the music industry; it has added a huge new dimension to social networking; it has become a delivery mechanism for information and entertainment of all kinds. And now it's accessible. Now it speaks and you can find what you want and enjoy what you want to enjoy without looking. As the New York Times describes it: "The Nano can now speak its menus, song names, and on-screen messages as you navigate. That should assist anyone who's blind and anyone who insists on fiddling while driving." Let me add: "Or while jogging or biking or reading a book or painting a picture or.the list goes on." Anyone whose eyes are otherwise occupied is no longer hampered in finding the tune or other feature she wants to hear. What do you think our multi-tasking kids from grammar school to graduate school are going to do with that capability? I'll bet they spend half of their navigating time eyes-free. This one announcement is a giant step towards full, ubiquitous accessibility. Because if we can find our tunes eyes-free, we are going to want to do many other things eyes-free. And that means a future where blind people like you and me no longer have to struggle for accessibility just moved a whole lot closer. GW Micro did the spade work, Serotek and hopefully other AT companies will pile into the hole and start shaping it into something bigger and better. I know we are on that path. Our upcoming product release will be just an opening salvo. Now that GW Micro has broken ground in the Apple space we'll all be there competing for the Ipod user's attention. Hopefully we'll be able to do it better. That's what competition is about. You'll be the judge. But let's all admit we wouldn't even be on this playing field without GW's heroic work. GW Micro and Apple have combined to make every blind person's future brighter. As a competitor I salute you. As a blind man, I thank you. WINNERS OF SUMMER SIZZLE READY TO COOK Tuesday, September 09, 2008, 6:54:56 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) Since its announcement in early June, eager contestants have entered and anticipated the drawing for the Serotek Summer Sizzle, a contest offering $2000 worth of products comprising a Digital Lifestyle Makeover for the lucky winner. Nearly 2000 people from some 30 countries entered the online drawing, simply by completing a survey identifying personal styles and preferences as blind computer users. As anticipated, the winner was announced on the Marlaina Show, a program of ACB Radio, Sunday evening, September 7. The lucky winner, Amy Ruell, is known to many in the blind community for her work in the areas of technology and braille literacy. In addition to her work distributing materials through the ReadBooks program for National Braille Press, Boston, and hosting webinars for parents of blind children for that agency, Ruell is also passionate about her work as president of a Boston area computer users group, VIBUG (Visually Impaired Blind Users Group.) Either directly or indirectly, her Summer Sizzle prize will benefit the VIBUG community, which is dedicated to demonstrating new products and providing information on both mainstream and adaptive technology. "I've been a user of SA To GO for a long time," Ruell commented, explaining that she often uses the free online version of System Access when traveling. It is so much easier to use the computer offered in a hotel business center, she said, than to carry her own somewhat heavy equipment. "It will be wonderful to have the System Access software available to me all the time now," she said, "and to demonstrate it to others." As winner of Serotek's Summer Sizzle, Ruell's prize included An ASUS 8G 2 pound Netbook PC with 1 gigabyte of main memory and an 8 gigabyte hard drive fully equipped for accessible, wireless networking A complete Serotek SAS package including System Access Mobile; four years of System Access Mobile Network; and Neo Speech Victor Reader Stream audio book player Zen Stone MP3 Player And choice of any MobileSpeak screen reader courtesy of CodeFactory. Serotek CEO Mike Calvo also surprised ten lucky runners-up in the Summer Sizzle contest, each of whom received a one-year subscription to the System Access Mobile Network. The runners-up are: Pat Lenahan, John Manchester, David Taylor, Mike Nicol, Roger Fordham, Jay Pellis, Jessica Miller, Shawn Bever, Brandon Bracey, and Marjolijn Terlingen. "We've learned a great deal from the Summer Sizzle survey," Calvo commented, "but primarily what this proves is that blind people want the digital lifestyle and accessibility anywhere that is Serotek's mission." For more information about Serotek and System Access products, go to www.serotek.com. Dr. Mark Maurer's letter encouraging rehab centers to give their blind clientele their choice when it comes to selecting accessibility tools Tuesday, September 02, 2008, 4:44:20 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) I am a little tardy responding to Dr. Mark Maurer's letter, at the end of this post, encouraging rehab centers to give their blind clientele their choice when it comes to selecting accessibility tools, such as screen readers. We agree with Dr. Maurer wholeheartedly. There are two considerations, however, that the letter did not address: 1. To make an informed choice, blind consumers need access to all their options and valid, easy to access information about the plusses and minuses of each possible choice. They need to understand the functional capabilities and they need to understand how much time they will have to invest to become proficient using each potential tool. Not all rehab centers are currently able to present this information on all products. 2. Choices have different costs. In a free market scenario the client would make his or her own cost-benefit choice. But if the product is being purchased by vocational rehab funds or other public sources, the client never sees the cost side of the equation. The vocational rehab center does, though. And a client who chooses an expensive product that has more capability than he or she needs, may be limiting the rehab center's ability to serve all of its clients. Conversely, forcing a low-cost decision on the client when the product falls short of his or her needs is clearly not an acceptable answer. Rehab centers can and should guide clients towards products that fit their needs and make the best use of center resources. I believe Dr. Maurer's letter should be a clarion call to vendors of accessibility products to: 1. Make sure every rehab center has full access to product functional specifications; sample products; and demonstration materials that professionals can use to help clients evaluate which tool best meets their needs. 2. Provide accessibility capability at the lowest possible total cost (hardware, software, and training). 3. Structure products in a fashion where users can select a product that meets their specific needs on a cost/benefit basis. Our hat is off to Dr. Maurer for making the call. Now it is up to Serotek and other vendors to make sure rehab centers can follow through with both the knowledge and the resources to both give their clients choices and serve their entire constituency. Now Here's the letter: August 20, 2008 To All Rehabilitation Agencies in the United States Dear Colleagues: Sometimes I am told that rehabilitation officials have formed the opinion that they should decide for the clients what products or services may be offered to them. Sometimes I am told that the opinions of rehabilitation personnel are put into effect despite contrary opinions expressed by the blind. As an example, I am told that there is no choice offered the clients regarding the screen reader that may be selected by clients for use in the rehabilitation process. It is desirable to give the clients a choice in the rehabilitation products these clients receive. This is true for two reasons: 1) The clients who participate in selecting their own products are more likely to use the ones they select; and 2) The right of choice is part of the Rehabilitation Act. It is good for the client, and it is good for the rehabilitation programs to encourage free choice. Should Window-Eyes be used, or should Jaws be used? Should HAL be used, or should System Access To Go be used? The answer to these questions is yes. The client should participate in the choice, deciding which screen access program is preferable in the circumstances. Access to information is of vital importance to the blind. Rehabilitation can enhance access to information, assisting blind people in vital ways. I encourage you to incorporate these thoughts in the process of rehabilitation. Sincerely, Marc Maurer, President NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND Cc: GW Micro Freedom Scientific System Access To Go Dolphin CEO Joins Students at Technology Camp Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 5:26:40 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) Students everywhere are enjoying the last few weeks of summer before the school year begins. When asked to describe how they spent their summer vacation, 12 lucky students in Cincinnati, Ohio will undoubtedly have quite a story to tell. The students attended the first technology camp hosted by the Clovernook Center for The Blind and Visually Impaired. Mike Calvo had the opportunity to join in the fun this week as the children learned to send email, download audio-described movies, and explore web sites such as Bookshare and NLS. You can read this excellent article about the camp which appears in the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can also view the news story which aired on WXIX Fox 19 and see footage of Mike, the campers, and the Clovernook staff as they discuss this year's camp experience. The students will return home from a week of immersion in technology carrying with them not only a greater understanding of how to use a computer, but with a tool allowing them to put such knowledge in to practice no matter where they are. The students are participating in the Keys for K-12 program, which provides any child in the United States enrolled in grades k-12 with a free, annually renewable license to install System Access on a U3-enabled USB thumb drive. Any windows-based computer becomes instantly accessible when plugging the drive in to an available USB port. As the students at this year's technology camp will attest, having accessibility anywhere is not only practical, it's lots of fun as well. If you know of a child who is eligible to participate in the program, we encourage you to check out the KK12 page for more information. Isn't It Ironic? Thursday, July 17, 2008, 5:48:43 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) IBM gained a bit of press with its recently announced Social Accessibility Project which promises to broker a service that makes Web sites accessible to users of Jaws and Internet Explorer. Almost immediately thereafter, WebVisum was touted for its tools that make sites accessible via Firefox. Both of these efforts are stragglers, wandering onto the field some four years after Serotek announced C-Saw, which enlisted the blind and low vision community to help itself by making not-so-accessible sites more accessible with graphics tags, form fields, links, etc. Serotek has a library of over 4,000 heavily trafficked sites that have been made fully accessible via C-Saw. When we created C-Saw we approached every AT vendor and offered it to them, free of charge with the goal of making the Internet more accessible for everyone. We got no takers. So the work that has been done is the result of volunteers using Serotek's System Access and/or the System Access Mobile Network. And these volunteers have done very good work indeed. It is disheartening to introduce a capability that benefits the community, offer it to everyone, and get the cold shoulder only to see a behemoth like IBM waddle in and make a half-hearted gesture along the same lines and get considerable favorable press. All so they can market tools for accessibility to website designers. It's disheartening, but not unexpected. This sort of thing happens all the time in the technology industry. Everyone pays attention when the eight-hundred pound gorilla scratches. More disheartening is the fact that the IBM effort is unlikely to make important things happen for the community. It could, like Sprint's voice dial capability, be discontinued tomorrow and no consideration given to those who have come to depend on it. Those who contribute to the database will be professionals, doing their part, but not invested in the outcome. C-SAW volunteers are from the blind and low-vision community. They represent the blind community doing for itself - an independent attitude we kind of like here at Serotek. We'd like to suggest that the three efforts be merged and that the AIR Foundation become the repository for the accessibility database. We imagine there are good things to be learned from IBM and Visum and Serotek can offer up its current data base of accessible sites and our cadre of experienced volunteers. By taking the site accessibility database out of the hands of any company, we protect against the corporate retooling that can (as it did with Sprint) wipe out a non-profit service without a thought as to the consequences. Let's make Web site accessibility a community right! Please post your comments and try your best not to be anonymous. Mike Calvo Presents at the General Session of the 47th Annual ACB Convention Wednesday, July 09, 2008, 7:57:54 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) Mike Calvo gave a well-received talk at the July 9rd morning General Session of the 47th Annual Convention of the American Council of the Blind. Everyone is now invited to listen to an archive of this special event. This Year's Convention Adventures Wednesday, July 09, 2008, 4:01:15 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) So I am now getting ready to go home after 2 long weeks on the road. Wow! What a rush it's been. From Dalis to Louisville I have had a blast hanging out with many of you and being humbled with your good wishes and encouraging support. I had so many things to say and for several reasons just decided to speak to the people I had in front of me, from the heart, and post my actual speech here. Should I have stuck to the script? I don't know really. Quite honestly I am just way to tired to even have an opinion. But hey, here it is, you decide. It is truly an honor to have this opportunity to address you from the podium today. . Maybe you've never heard of Mike Calvo or Serotek Corp., or SA To Go or System Access. I'll try to bring you up to speed. I am one of you. I grew up in the schools and streets of Miami as a blind kid. (If you want to know more details, you can read an article in AccessWorld by Deborah Kendrick, called from Street Kid to CEO. That article tells you where I came from - and where I'm definitely going.) In the interest of time, though, I'll tell you that I'm a blind guy who had a dream seven ears ago. I love technology. But I didn't like the fact that we, as blind people, needed to pay more for it, use tools different from everyone else's, and always seemed to be playing catch up with the sighted world wanting to accomplish the same tasks. My dream has grown and grown and is now spreading around the world. I used to say it's something like AOL meets WEB-TV for blind folks - and that's still true, but now, System Access is so much more. Have you ever wished you could just sit down at your sighted friend's computer and show them how to do something - but there's no screen reader? Have you ever wished you could use the computer in the library or an internet caf? or your sighted child's school? With SA To Go, you can have an instant screen reader on any computer, anytime, anywhere - and have it there in seconds. If the computer is used by sighted people who don't like the sound of synthetic speech, you don't have to worry, because it goes away when the computer is turned off. System Access and the System Access Mobile Network are the flagship products we sell at Serotek. I could spend all my time just telling you about the news, entertainment, movies, music, and more you can find and find easily on the System Access Mobile Network. But I'm talking today about access for everyone, free, everywhere. In January we partnered with a new foundation (headed up by your own Art Schreiber) called Accessibility is a Right: AIR. Because of the partnership between Serotek and AIR, any blind person anywhere in the world who has access to any computer with an internet connection can download SA To Go for FREE, and have speech and magnification on that computer to make it accessible in the way so many of us in this room have come to associate with using. Technology. (And yes, Braille access is part of our plan as well.." With the newest release of System Access Mobile, everything on the screen can be read with the Alva BC640 Braille display. Why is this the only display added at this time? Because it meshes with the Serotek philosophy that we, as blind people, should not have access only with limited, specialized tools that are available in limited settings. Our intent is to do for accessibility what Google did for Web searches. That is, make the idea of accessibility fundamental to using the Web. We want to make accessibility second nature. Why? We believe that blind and low vision consumers have a right to be on a par with sighted consumers in enjoying the full benefits of the digital lifestyle. But we have a problem. Only a tiny portion of the blind and low-vision community is "access-enabled." Microsoft commissioned a study by Forester Research in 2004 to look at the opportunity in accessibility. The reports (there are two of them) are available on Microsoft's Web site. The reports showed that only 1% of people who could benefit from screen readers were using them and only 5% of people who could benefit from screen magnification were using magnification. That means that 99% of blind and 95% of low-vision people were being excluded from access to the digital lifestyle. There are only a few hundred thousand "access-enabled" blind and low-vision consumers worldwide - and everyone here is undoubtedly counted among that elite group. But there are many millions of blind people in the world who are not "access-enabled." And that number is growing. When you've spent your life in the digital world, you become aware of how fast change happens. I've got some old timers in my company who remember when computers weighted tons and took up whole air conditioned buildings to deliver a few kilobytes of memory at processing speeds barely faster than a mechanical adding machine. These so-called old timers - and there are some in this room -- are only in their sixties. The time they are remembering is only about forty years ago. Computer technology has undergone nearly forty generations in that time. We are watching evolution on fast-forward. The conventional approach to access-enabling blind and low-vision users cannot come close to keeping up with the pace of technology innovation. Thus even access-enabled blind and low vision people, like you and me, are falling behind the state of the art if we are locked into current screen reader technology. The blind community is falling further behind with each new generation of digital products and services. And as the gap increases we become less and less visible. And there is no need for there to be a gap at all. The very nature of digital information makes it easily accessible. Whether it is presented as text, as voice, as Braille, music, graphics, or in multimedia combination is all a matter of how digital information is displayed. The intrinsic truth - the word, the note, the picture - is there, represented by 1's and 0's, arranged in well-known code structures. With almost no effort at all, every bit and byte of mainstream digital information could be inherently fully accessible allowing the user to choose how he or she would receive it. But mainstream software companies and Web designers don't recognize that they have a potential user base of millions who are being excluded. We, the blind community, are invisible to them and even as our numbers grow, we will become less rather than more visible unless we take dramatic steps to increase the percentage of us who are access enabled. That is what System Access to Go is about. It is about enticing thirty or forty million blind and low vision people into the digital mainstream by making it possible for them to have access any time they are connected to the Internet. It's about getting those people into the digital lifestyle, using the social networking tools, enjoying the music and entertainment, staying current with the news, and buying products in sufficient numbers for mainstream companies to take notice. Our goal with System Access to Go is to make accessibility software obsolete. There is no reason whatsoever for accessibility not to be embedded within every software product, every Web site; every digital player and device. SAToGo is our gift to the blind community and we ask nothing for this gift except that people make a small effort to be access-enabled. We believe an access-enabled blind community will be a vibrant market with ample opportunity for many businesses to prosper serving the community's digital lifestyle needs. Will we achieve the ubiquitous recognition of Google? Well we could probably have chosen an easier to use name. You hardly ever hear anyone saying "SAY-TOGO that for me, will you?" Nonetheless, thousands of users are downloading SAToGo every day. We are making it possible for today's blindness professionals to reach out to more people and meet the growing demand. Look for Serotek to continue along this path - bringing easy, affordable access to the digital lifestyle for all blind people. Come by the Serotek booth to learn more about SAToGo and the SA Mobile Network and to enter our Summer Sizzle to win a digital lifestyle prize worth $2000. And thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you this morning. Thank you. Mike Calvo Presents at the General Session of the 68th Annual NFB Convention Thursday, July 03, 2008, 11:40:06 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) Mike Calvo gave a well-received talk at the July 3rd morning General Session of the 68th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Everyone is now invited to listen to an archive of this special event. In Memory Of Clarence Whaley Monday, June 16, 2008, 2:20:20 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) I am saddened by the passing of Clarence Whaley. He is one of the special people you meet from time to time in the adaptive technology industry whose only interest is making life a little fairer for blind people. I just saw him and Raul at CSUN. He's one of the people who helped convince me that a guide dog would make my life a whole lot easier. Clarence was a great role model showing us that you don't have to have a chip on our shoulder to get noticed. I remember when Serotek was the new kid on the block that he and all the other folks at GW Micro made us feel like part of the adaptive technology family. This was important to me because we were new in an industry that was really skeptical of any new player. Clarence always had a kind and encouraging word even though we were competitors in the field. Clarence Whaley was always a gentleman. The industry will miss him. Serotek Summer Sizzle: Win a Complete Digital Lifestyle Makeover Monday, June 02, 2008, 9:06:50 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) Serotek's Accessible Digital Lifestyle is a hot topic and getting hotter. Here's your chance to add some sizzle to your life by participating in our online survey and enrolling to win a complete digital lifestyle makeover. Here's what you can win: ASUS 8G 2 pound Netbook PC with 1 gigabyte of main memory and an 8 gigabyte hard drive fully equipped for accessible, wireless networking A complete Serotek SAS package including System Access Mobile; four years of System Access Mobile Network; and Neo Speech Victor Reader Stream audio book player Zen Stone MP3 player 1 copy of any Mobile Speak screen reader courtesy of Code Factory The digital lifestyle makeover is worth more than $2,000 and all you have to do is answer a few really easy questions. What's to lose? Now is your chance to get hot and warm up your life with Serotek's fully accessible digital lifestyle. The winner of our Summer Sizzle contest will be drawn on September 7, the Sunday after Labor Day, on ACB Radio's Marlaina program, and the winner must be at home to win. Of course you don't have to wait to win to get access and be accessible. You can start your makeover now. This summer we're putting the Sizzle in accessibility. If you're one of the first 100 people to sign up for Serotek's four-year software as a service package, for only $24.95 per month, in addition to System Access Mobile for two computers and a memory stick; a four-year membership to the System Access Mobile Network, and Neo Speech, we'll send you a ZEN Stone MP3 player at no charge. Who says accessibility is just about your job? Serotek provides you Life Access With Speech. For more information please visit Serotek on the web at www.serotek.com and click the Summer Sizzle link. Changes in System Access 2.5.0 Monday, May 26, 2008, 8:36:23 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Accessible Digital Lifestyle Fixed a problem which prevented the SA Mobile Network browser from starting the Amazon MP3 Downloader. Eliminated an error message which was appearing when logging into Napster from the SA Mobile Network browser. Note that other error messages still appear when using Napster with the current beta of Internet Explorer 8; this isn't a problem with System Access or the SA Mobile Network browser, but we're still working with Microsoft to remedy it. Fixed problems with the log-in form on Pandora.com. Internet Explorer and SA Mobile Network Browser Improved access to pages such as the Comcast.net home page that have areas which frequently update themselves. Improved access to Google applications, especially Gmail and Google Docs. Fixed a bug in the new SA Mobile Network browser which prevented the browser from coming to the foreground on startup. Windows Live Mail This update introduces support for Windows Live Mail, Microsoft's latest desktop email software for home users and the successor to Outlook Express and Windows Mail. As well as providing access to Windows Live Mail itself, System Access now provides fully automatic speech output in Windows Live Installer, making it easy to install and start using Windows Live Mail. Miscellaneous If you tap the Control key twice quickly, System Access will stop automatic speech in the current foreground window, such as reading of progress bars and status indicators, until you switch to another window. Improved access to the Microsoft rich edit control, resulting in better access to the freeware Jarte word processor, among other programs. Your SA Mobile Network notes will now be stored on SA Mobile Network servers instead of your home machine and/or U3 smart drive. This means that you'll have access to all of your notes in one place whether you're using your home machine, a U3 smart drive, or SA to Go. An Open Letter To Independent Living Adult Blind Professionals Thursday, May 15, 2008, 2:33:03 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) Independent Living Adult Blind (ILAB) service organizations face a unique challenge as baby boomers become seniors and many experience vision loss. The impact of a rapid loss of vision can be devastating. In very short order, a person loses every point of reference. They feel cut off, isolated, disoriented, and afraid. A once-friendly world is suddenly an alien place with everything that was once familiar, now strange and threatening. We who are blind know that with time, a person can find a new equilibrium - well-oriented and secure. Millions of blind people live independently and there is no inherent reason why a newly blind senior can't recapture an independent lifestyle. But it requires the help of caring and skilled organizations and individuals to make that transition. ILAB's job is to be a lifeline, offering support in re-achieving independence and helping newly blind seniors find a path to: Orientation Mobility Safety Home and personal management skills such as identifying money, cooking, cleaning, and labeling foods and medications Employment skills such as typing and computer use Quality of life skills including talking books, Braille, writing guides Self-actuating skills such as assertive communications, goal setting and coping The duty of an ILAB organization is to help individuals discover a way to find new reference points, reconnect to people, relearn basic living skills, and roll back the fear. Accessible computers, the Internet, and a whole raft of digital devices and services can be important tools for making that path smoother and with fewer obstacles. That is only true, however, if the tools themselves are not a challenge beyond the newly blind person's ability. Fortunately, the baby boomers experiencing age-related vision loss are more computer savvy than seniors were just a few years ago. A majority have used computers in some fashion either at work or at home before experiencing vision loss, and while they are not computer geeks by any stretch of the imagination, neither are they completely intimidated. The number of computer savvy individuals will continue to grow among the senior population as each succeeding wave is more attuned to the digital lifestyle than the preceding group. When Serotek created the first accessible digital lifestyle products back in 2001, we were focused on the needs of the newly blind who were even less sophisticated than the baby boomers. We realized that accessible meant more than simply reading a screen or a document. Accessible meant being usable by anyone, no matter how much or how little computer background they might have had. We believed then and now that accessible means accessible to anyone, anywhere. It is that belief, and how we put it into practice, that makes Serotek the perfect partner for ILAB services. Living Better Digitally While it is intuitively obvious that digital technology is essential to vocational rehabilitation, it may not be so obvious that the computer, the Internet, and the wide variety of digital tools are even more important to independent living. Consider the challenges listed below: Orientation - or where am I? Cell phone global positioning will become widely available within the next few months. That means a blind person can get step by step instructions on how to get from here to there, wherever they are on the planet. Mobility - or how do I get where I need to go? Mobility is always an enormous challenge for the newly blind, but the accessible Internet can greatly reduce the need to travel. With access to the Internet, a person can shop from home, work from home, attend classes from home, and enjoy a wide range of entertainment without ever setting foot outside the door. That takes a lot of pressure off the mobility challenge and makes it much easier to deal with the occasions when staying home isn't an option. Safety - When you lose your sense of where you are, the world is a frightening place. Again, the Internet allows a person to deal with challenges of being newly blind, while staying in the relative safety of his or her own home until he or she gains the confidence to become more mobile. Home and personal management - Shopping, banking, access to medical information, managing personal finances, accessing home maintenance services, recipes and more are all available via the Internet and by using a computer. Employment - Work from home using voice over Internet protocol and the computer. The computer and Internet make it possible to work anywhere in the world and never leave your home. Quality of life - Arts, entertainment, social interaction - all available via the broadband connection including talking books, described videos, infinite radio channels, and more. Connect to family via e-mail and old and new friends via an ever growing variety of social networking sites. Self-actuating skills - It is easier to be assertive online than in person. The truth is, our society is completely connected today using the Internet, cell phones, and the growing Wi-Fi network. The majority of life experiences are available regardless of whether or not a person is sighted. The Internet, the computer, and the many other digital devices are great leveling tools. Across a digital connection, everyone is the same regardless of the quality of their vision, provided they have a fully accessible connection. Unfortunately, however, accessibility has not been an easy thing in the past. The tools offered by traditional adaptive technology vendors have been expensive and complex. A person might require 30 or more hours of class room training to become competent on a traditional screen reader and even after 30 hours, not everyone succeeds. License fees for accessibility software have been high and bundled with a string of conditions that assure the vendor a steady revenue stream. While the tools are adequate for most vocational rehab applications they often fall far short when being used to surf the Internet and enjoy the wide variety of products, information, services and entertainment available on the web. Many Web sites have been designed with little regard for screen reader requirements and are thus totally inaccessible to traditional screen readers. Serotek made the accessible user interface its design priority. Our System Access product family has won accessibility awards from the MS Foundation and the American Foundation for the Blind. Typically a user can be trained and fully functional using System Access with about two hours of instruction. Many computer savvy users can function with System Access with no training, just relying on its extensive Help menu as necessary. We do recommend that users take advantage of training when it's available. The more familiar the user is with the computer and the Internet, the easier it is for them to use System Access because in general System Access uses the same command structures they are used to, without layering on special "screen reader" commands. Serotek has also made accessibility completely mobile. System Access Mobile can be loaded on a thumb drive and plugged into any computer, making it instantly accessible. If a computer is connected to the Internet, System Access To Go (SAToGo) is available at no charge to be instantly downloaded and used while the computer is connected to the Internet. SAToGo is made available to anyone, anytime at no cost through The AIR Foundation, which believes that "accessibility is a right." When cost is a major issue, ILAB organizations can train the newly blind using SAToGo. There are good reasons, however, for the user to invest the small amount necessary to have the full complement of Serotek Products. We make available System Access Mobile for two computers, NeoSpeech, and the System Access Mobile Network for a monthly service charge of $24.95, with a four-year commitment. That includes all software updates and maintenance. The user can connect a work and home computer using System Access Mobile; and load System Access on a thumb drive to plug into any computer anytime. Access to the System Access Mobile Network (SAMNet) gives the user e-mail, a powerful search engine, access to the largest assembled collection of accessible content anywhere on the Web including news, sports, Internet radio, described video and more; accessible shopping, blogs, forums, etc. SAMNet is a key to independent living. The online community delivers immediate connection to family and friends via e-mail; it connects the newly blind person to the world via news and entertainment channels; the newly blind individual is welcomed into a caring community of others who are happy to share experience and advice over forums and chat groups. SAMNet provides full access to online shopping using, for example, the Amazon.com family of shopping services providing everything from groceries to electronics and other gifts - and they still do audio books. The SAMNet community uses a Serotek tool, called C-SAW, to make Internet sites more accessible. Every SAMNet user automatically benefits from the improved accessibility when they connect to any of the thousands of C-SAW improved sites. Being online gives users access to a growing supply of online applications for business and personal use. We have recently made Quicken Online accessible for users to manage their personal finances. Reaching and Teaching One of the biggest challenges for ILAB organizations is simply reaching the newly blind seniors and accommodating the ever increasing numbers. Serotek is the only adaptive technology company that seems to have given any consideration to the huge workload that these baby boomers represent and the limited resources ILAB organizations have to deal with them. Our solution, being used in state organizations successfully, is called Remote Incident Manager (RIM). RIM is a fully-accessible distant learning and technical support tool that lets the trainer or technician share the student's computer desktop over the Internet. The trainer can make technical adjustments if the student is having difficulty with his or her machine. The trainer can download software or call it up from the student's machine and work directly with the student on the application being trained, whatever it is. This one-on-one training is very powerful and students grasp much more quickly than they do in a classroom setting. Using the phone or Voice over Internet protocol, the trainer and student have a full hands-on learning experience and neither needs to travel to make it happen. This saves precious travel time and cost and multiplies the number of successful training sessions a trainer can have per day. Trainers and students both claim that when using RIM, they are enjoying at least a three-to-one advantage with one hour of RIM time being worth at least three hours of class room time. RIM can be used to train conventional screen readers, but when it's used to train the System Access accessibility anywhere tools, the time from start to full independent living is shortened by an order of magnitude. The $1,000 annual license pays for itself several times over. It's All About Independence When a person loses his or her eyesight to macular degeneration or any of the several age-related conditions, their world crashes. To be newly blind is to be alone and afraid. There is a huge gulf between how life was and how it seems now and independence seems like an unreachable goal. Fortunately, for many, there are ILAB organizations that are ready and willing to reach across that gulf and bring the newly blind into a new dimension of independent living. The digital lifestyle is a big part of the transition and Serotek Corporation has not only made the digital lifestyle accessible, it has delivered the tools to help trainers and students bridge the gulf more quickly. For us, the reward is that newly blind baby boomer's independence. An independent blind person is a potential customer for other accessible digital lifestyle products and services and that's where we see our future. Independently living blind people bring their appetites for all the exciting digital lifestyle tools and toys that their sighted peers enjoy and Serotek intends to be the leader in making these products and services accessible. Losing one's sight is life changing, but thanks to ILAB organizations and companies like Serotek that support them, it need not be the end of the world. It can be the beginning of a whole new, rewarding and productive life. Serving More People, Better, And For Less Thursday, May 08, 2008, 3:30:05 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) "The baby boomers are coming! The baby boomers are coming!" You can hear the cry ringing out in agencies and organizations that work with blind and low vision people throughout the country. And, just when they need more money and resources to deal with the influx of newly blind seniors, the Federal and state governments, feeling the crunch of a poor economy and a raging Federal deficit, are scaling back. Our brave, blind services militia is standing exposed, running out of ammunition, and seeing the hoard descending upon them. Wise people know that if this first line of defense fails and cannot contain the influx of newly blind seniors helping the majority of them to live independently with a high quality of life, society will feel the impact several times over with Medicare and Medicaid costs soaring and a huge demand society cannot fill for specialized housing, transportation, personal attendants, and more. You might think that the adaptive technology industry and the vendors who have, for years, made a healthy profit selling traditional screen readers, hardware, and services to this community, would now step up to the plate and help the home team meet the challenge. But that doesn't seem to be the case. So far it looks as if traditional screen reader vendors will simply sit back and profiteer with little concern for the social impact of failure. Guerrilla Tactics When conventional forces cannot prevail the only option is to use guerrilla tactics. Fortunately guerrilla tactics are what Serotek knows best. And we've created the tools our blind services militia can use to reach out to more people, provide them with an almost instant ability to live independently, and do it even as budgets are being squeezed. First, Serotek has given the home team an unlimited supply of free accessibility software. That's right. System Access To Go (SAToGo) is Serotek's award-winning access tool available at no charge to anyone connected to the Internet. Compare that to licenses costing $1,000 or more from traditional vendors. How many more customers can you serve on your budget? As many as you can introduce to SAToGo - that's how many. Your organization doesn't need to spend scarce resources buying software and maintenance licenses for your clientele. Not everyone will want to use an Internet-based accessibility tool For those who want the software resident on their machine and want the ability to interact between their home and work computers you can point them to Serotek's software as a service offering (SAS). For less than $25 per month they can have it all: System Access Mobile, NEO speech, and four years of System Access Mobile Network. This is a cost within almost anyone's budget (less than a cup of coffee per day). Even with free software, though, your agencies resources will be taxed to the max. How can you physically serve the number of people who will be begging for help in the coming decade? The answer is Remote Incident Manager (RIM). RIM is Serotek's powerful distance learning tool. Your trainers can work from the office or from home directly contacting clients at home. RIM allows the trainer and client to share the client's "desktop." The trainer can adjust the client's computer, if necessary and then either using a separate voice line or Voice over Internet Protocol, teach the application in a hands-on fashion. Everything the client sees, the trainer sees. The trainer can intervene as necessary, point out errors, and gently steer the client to right process. Any application can be trained remotely including those overweight, overpriced conventional screen readers that some people insist they need. Does it work? Joe Devine said, "In my experience, the one hour a week [remote] session was a more effective and efficient use of the instructor's time. I was able to progress much more rapidly than in the three hour classroom session. My proficiency has greatly improved. I am happy and relieved to have improved enough to be functional on my computer." How about System Access? Can it handle real screen reader duties? Larry Klug of Clovernook in Cincinnati reports: "I am proud to announce that my consumer Jim Keller, who uses System Access, received the Blind Employee of the Year award last Friday at the annual Clovernook Center for the Blind Annual Banquet." And we just heard from a user who walked into a job interview at a company where the systems were not accessible. She accessed SAToGo, demonstrated that she could do the work, and got the job. The fact is that thousands of users are now looking to System Access and System Access to Go for at least some of their accessibility needs. Major institutions, like Ohio State University, are making their entire network accessible using Serotek's enterprise solutions. If you are sitting in a state blind services organization or a vocational rehabilitation training facility and wondering how you are going to survive this imminent crush of baby boomer demand, look no further. The Serotek team is on your side with solutions that work, that are far less costly, and that allow you to do so much more with the precious resources you have. You see, at Serotek we view the challenge differently. Conventional AT players see accessibility as their only opportunity to make money from blind folks and the current government subsidized software approach works just fine for them. But Serotek sees the opportunity as selling fun, digital lifestyle products to people who already have accessibility. And that means anything we can do to increase the number of people with accessibility makes our opportunity grow. You may be groaning when you see the hoard of newly blind seniors on your doorstep. We're licking our chops. As soon as we can help you get these folks online, we can reach out and sell them devices that will improve their quality of life ten-fold. Your success is our opportunity. And together we can make it happen. Retooling for Baby Boomers: Helping Vocational Rehab Organizations Meet The Coming Surge in Demand Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 7:18:25 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) Retooling for Baby Boomers: Helping Vocational Rehab Organizations Meet The Coming Surge in Demand There has always been a strong link between age and blindness. Numerous diseases and conditions we associate with aging that result in impairment or loss of vision. This year, the first of the baby boomers reach retirement age and what follows will likely be a rapidly increasing demand for rehabilitation services for the blind. This should not come as a surprise to anyone in the blind services field. This NCSAB conference is a direct recognition of the impending increase in demand. If state agencies were limited to the tools of the past, the impending boom in demand would be a crisis. Traditional, one-size-fits-all screen readers are hugely expensive and notoriously difficult to train. While baby boomers have some computer literacy, they are still mostly neophytes when it comes to dealing with the technical awareness required by most screen readers. If they are newly blind and just beginning to learn the basics of independent living, the screen readers can be overwhelming. Yet, if they are to achieve independence and full communion with their families, they need to have access to the computer and the Internet. Digital access is fundamental to living independently and to attaining and enjoying a quality of life that compares to their lives before they lost their vision. If state agencies could count on an enormous increase in funding, commensurate with the growth in demand, it might be possible to assemble reduced-functionality training programs using conventional screen readers. Increases in funding, however, are generally wishful thinking. Reality will likely be an increased workload and little in the way of additional resources. Strange as it may seem, with its initial business plan in 2000, Serotek started out to address precisely this issue. The plan recognized both the challenge and the opportunity in the "graying of America." Its fundamental strategy was to treat blind and low vision Americans and others throughout the world as customers rather than welfare recipients. This was not a popular position because conventional wisdom in the investment community said that blind folks don't have any money. If you want to sell them products, you have to get the government to pay. Over time, our original vision has proven true, but it hasn't been easy. We took this position for a number of reasons: Conventional screen readers had a vast amount of capability but were packaged with a "one-size-fits-all" mentality. People come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and needs, and for most people, particularly elderly blind people, conventional screen readers are far too complex and difficult to master. The complexity of conventional screen readers exists in part because they are built on a legacy of past investment. No one wants to reinvent the wheel. It's easier, faster and cheaper to pretty up the old one. Best of all, by dressing up the existing model, it will still fit with all the old hardware and software. Unfortunately, it also means that the most current screen reading technology is still a generation or so behind the state of the art in mainstream software. Thus in addition to paying a huge price for accessibility, blind folks are forced to run on the previous generation's operating system. Companies that make their software accessible are similarly hindered by having their corporate technology held back in order to remain compatible with current conventional accessibility tools. There is a whole host of neat toys - digital candy if you will - that make life more fun. These PDAs, MP3 players, games and such are totally forgotten by the conventional accessibility industry. We like these toys and we know other blind people would like them too. This is particularly true of the newly-blind baby boomers who have been huge consumers of such digital lifestyle products. In effect, there is an accessibility barrier that keeps the blind and low vision community at a disadvantage in the workplace and from enjoying the lifestyle advantages of the digital age. There is another problem with the conventional screen reader technology. It is difficult to teach and depends on the network of vocational rehabilitation organizations to train people in its use. The training process is long and expensive both in dollars and in trainer time. Bringing a newly-blind, non-computer user to competence is no easy matter using any of the major conventional screen readers. Despite the dependent relationship between adaptive technology vendors and vocational rehabilitation personnel, the vendors have done precious little to make training easier and more consistently successful. We took on this barrier from two perspectives. First, we created System Access to Go and made it available free of charge to anyone who wishes to use it. We did this in cooperation with The AIR Foundation, which promotes accessibility as a fundamental human right. For those who aren't aware of the da Vinci-award-winning System Access, it is highly intuitive and easy to learn. Although we do not position it or market it as a vocational rehab tool, it handles most of the major off-the-shelf business applications like Microsoft Office and delivers a host of special capabilities. One such capability allows a user to access a home computer from the road and run it just as if he or she were sitting at the keyboard. System Access to Go, which just won the 2008 AFB Access Award, is a web-based version of System Access that can be used anytime a person is connected to the Internet, at no charge. Our second program is called Remote Incident Manager (RIM) and it is a tool designed specifically for trainers and technicians. Using RIM, a vocational rehab trainer, working from her home or office, can conduct one-on-one training of a blind or low vision person with a computer and access to the Internet wherever they might be. The trainer can be on the trainee's desktop sharing the same application and providing direct instruction, using voice over Internet protocol. He or she can help adjust and install new software on the trainee's system and help the trainee work through applications in real time. The trainer can teach any application including conventional screen readers. The whole interactive process is fully accessible. Serotek is basically changing the economics of blindness. The SAToGo accessibility tool meets one hundred percent of most people's needs for accessibility - at least in their everyday lives. It's available anywhere, costs nothing, and it is relatively easy to learn and use. The software includes a screen reader, braille access and text magnification. This is the perfect tool for newly blind baby boomers and for many others. Many of the people who use SAToGo may choose to purchase System Access Mobile and have an accessibility tool permanently installed on their home system and on their portable systems. Many would also enjoy the benefits of being part of the online community, System Access Mobile Network. Priced as a service, this costs the user less than $25 per month for everything. That's well within most budgets. And for those who require state assistance for this payment, it is still far less expensive than any other accessibility solution. Remote Incident Manager (RIM) is priced at $1,000 per seat. This software pays for itself many times over by saving commute time for clients in rural areas. It also allows vocational rehab trainers to reach and successfully train more people in a larger geographical area at less total cost. RIM eliminates the burden of travel - always one of the biggest barriers for the newly blind. Combining the two products, System Access (including SAToGo) and RIM, makes it possible for a vocational rehab center to take on the added burden of newly-blind seniors and to provide them with the tools for independent living and a high quality of life. Equally important, the tools allow the vocational rehab center to spend less of its precious resources providing products to their clientele and to focus resources on delivering service. The coming boom in demand for vocational rehab services is inevitable as baby boomers age. Serotek gives vocational rehab providers the tools to meet this surge and to continue delivering the high quality services that give newly blind seniors a path to independent living. For more information on how Serotek's award-winning products and services can enhance the way you interact with your consumers, please contact: Ricky Enger Serotek Corporation http://www.serotek.com (612) 246-4818 Ext. 104 Toll free: (866) 202-0520 Ext. 104 ricky.enger at serotek.com Changes in System Access 2.4.8 Thursday, April 10, 2008, 12:47:00 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Internet Explorer and New SA Mobile Network Browser Fixed a bug which caused System Access to hang the browser when tabbing through some pages, such as the results page on Froogle. SA Mobile Media Library You can now play WMA files in your media library and transfer them to a ZEN Stone. Victor Reader Stream Support When you connect to the Victor Reader Stream, the SA Mobile Network browser will now offer to download the latest Stream software update if your Stream isn't running the latest software. Dining with Giants Tuesday, April 08, 2008, 11:55:22 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Mike Calvo) We had an opportunity on Friday to have dinner with some folks who have made a difference in each of our lives. The occasion was the annual American Foundation for the Blind accessibility awards dinner and we were there because Serotek received the award for System Access To Go. My wife and I were in rare company and we were honored to be there. SAToGo has indeed made a difference in many people's lives and will continue to do so for years to come. But I don't want to talk about us today. I sat in a room full of giants - people making a difference every day and not getting a whole lot of press. I want to celebrate these people - both the recipients and the members of the American Foundation for the Blind who came together to recognize these contributions. There were three recipients of the 2008 Accessibility Award. In addition to Serotek, the award was given to Code Factory and to Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian. At the same event, Anita Aaron, Executive Director of the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind received the 2008 Gallagher Award. My good friend Eduardo Sanchez Palazon, CEO of Code Factory, came from Spain to receive the accessibility award for making cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs accessible with Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier. I truthfully could not do my job without these powerful tools that let me tap into our network from my smart phone and run Serotek from wherever I am. In December, Code Factory signed an agreement with AT&T to make accessible cell phones available to the blind community at a discount. Eduardo is unique because he sees us blind folks as customers - not the agencies, not the government, but just us blind folks. And he treats us like customers, not like welfare recipients looking for a handout. Eduardo not only serves our communication needs, but he gives our self-esteem a huge shot in the arm and for that alone the man deserves all the awards and kudos that are heaped upon him. Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian are lawyers who have been making the case for accessibility for several years. Lainey and her co counsel developed a process, called "Structured Negotiation" which replaces costly and contentious litigation with formal, structured negotiation as a means of solving accessibility issues. Her success rate is awe-inspiring. Thanks to Lainey you and I can access ATM's and point of sale terminals at thousands of banks and stores nationwide. She has agreements with 7-11, American Express, Bank of America, Bank One, Citibank, Radio Shack, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Trader Joe's, Wells Fargo and many other banks and retail operations. In our litigious, contentious society it is a breath of fresh air to see a different approach - reasonable people working together to solve an issue - and actually succeed. Anita Aaron, who received the 2008 Gallagher Award, is legendary in San Francisco where she has been Executive Director of the Lighthouse for the Blind for seventeen years. She also serves on the San Francisco Commission on Aging and Adult Services, is on the Board of Directors of the Curry Senior Center and a member of the Blind Services Advisory Committee of the State Department of Rehabilitation. California's and specifically San Francisco's leadership in accessibility issues is largely due to Anita's firm hand. The award recipients weren't the only giants at the affair. Our host, Carl Augusto, the President and CEO of the AFB certainly has left his imprint on our lives, extending the AFB's scope to influence corporate America to make accessible products and acting as unifying force, bringing service organizations of and for the blind together in a collaborative way to further the common objective of accessibility and independent living. Under Carl's tutelage the AFB is promoting accessibility for seniors who are losing their vision from age-related conditions. The room was filled with many business and community leaders, serving on the AFB's Board of Directors, many of them blind. They come from all walks of life: banks, universities, major corporations, law firms; and a wide variety of government and NGOs serving the needs of the blind. I am sure, however, that Mike May, our emcee was the only blind individual in the room who had both set world records as a blind downhill skier and worked for the CIA. Warm and charming, Mike was entertaining and inspirational. I have his book, "Crashing Through," written with Robert Kurson on my list of "must reads." Blind from the age of three, Mike is one of a small group of individuals who had some vision restored with stem cell transplant surgery less than a decade ago. Most of us can imagine his emotional and intellectual struggle whether or not to go through with this life-altering and very "iffy" surgery. I am grateful to the AFB for honoring our Serotek team by making us part of this affair. They did everything right. It was at the same time elegant and casual; people dressed to the nines, but warm and friendly. The food and company was superb. There was no competition among the industry people. Rather there was a universal appreciation for what each had brought to benefit our community. Maybe it was the never empty wine glass, but by the end of the evening I was thinking that it is a great misperception when people complain that our blind youth have no heroes - no one to look up to and see what is possible. This room was filled with heroes - everyday heroes making a difference in peoples' lives, not in any way restricted by the fact that they are blind or have low vision. Every one of us has an opportunity to be that kind of hero. We only need to follow our passion and believe that we can. Changes in System Access 2.4.7 Saturday, April 05, 2008, 12:15:57 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) This update introduces two features related to the accessible digital lifestyle: access to the Songza.com music search engine and Internet jukebox, and improved access to Major League Baseball's audio and video streams. Songza You can now use Songza with System Access, in either Internet Explorer or our own browser, to search for songs, listen to the songs you find, create playlists, and more. You can control Songza's music player with the same hot keys as in the Napster Web-based player; for a listing of the special hot keys in either of these Web-based players, press Modifier+F1. We're excited about the access we've been able to provide to this cutting-edge Web 2.0 application, and we hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions, please share them on the Serotek Users Forum. Major League Baseball Multimedia This update fixes a few problems which rendered Major League Baseball's subscription-based audio and video streams inaccessible with SA. Again, if you still have problems, please let us know. Internet Explorer and New SA Mobile Network Browser Fixed a bug which sometimes caused SA to lock up Internet Explorer when using Windows Update. SA no longer interrupts continuous reading of a Web page to announce changes on the page. This is especially important for news articles which have frequently updating advertisements. Added check boxes to our browser display preferences section which let you indicate that our browser should always use your preferred colors, font, and/or font size, even when visiting a site that provides its own settings. These have the same effect in our browser as the accessibility options in Internet Explorer. Word Fixed a bug which prevented SA from speaking the new horizontal position after pressing Tab. Changes in System Access 2.4.4 Friday, March 21, 2008, 9:28:14 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Starting with this update, you should no longer need to use our old browser, which will go away in a week or so. Instant Messenger Our instant messenger is now available in the new SA Mobile Network browser. Made sign-in and sign-out alerts configurable per account. You will no longer hear sign-in and sign-out alerts when the SA Mobile Media Player is in the foreground. Miscellaneous You will no longer hear SA Mobile Network email alerts when the SA Mobile Media Player is in the foreground. Changes in System Access 2.4.0 Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 7:39:26 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Screen Magnification System Access 2.4 introduces full-screen magnification. The screen can be magnified with a factor from 1.25x to 6x, adjusted in 0.25x increments. The colors can also be inverted, so black becomes white and vice versa. For more information, including magnification-related keyboard commands, refer to the System Access online help. System Access Browser This update also re-introduces the display preferences section which was present in the old browser, so you can adjust the font size and colors that our browser uses. Serotek CSUN 2008 Announcement Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 6:26:57 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Serotek Team) We cordially invite you to join us at booth 357 at the Marriott LAX for the annual CSUN conference, March 12 through March 15. We'll be showcasing several exciting new features of System Access and the System Access Mobile Network that you won't want to miss. First, we are proud to announce the addition of magnification to our System Access software. Magnification ranges from 1.25X to 6X, and can be increased in increments of .25. This update is available in all paid System Access packages as System Access version 2.4, and it is also part of the free online version of System Access to Go. There is absolutely no charge for the update, and it will automatically be downloaded and installed for all current users of System Access. Serotek continues its commitment to the accessible digital lifestyle by introducing features for portable devices that will ensure that you have access to all your favorite content from the System Access Mobile Network, even when you aren't near a computer. Supported devices include the Victor Reader Stream from Humanware using the latest firmware update, and the Icon from LevelStar. You can send your email, news, podcasts, radio dramas, and even your favorite movies right to your portable device. Just plug in to any available USB port on your computer, and any content from the network that you've added to your sync list will be downloaded to your device and ready for you to take with you on the road. If you haven't yet upgraded the firmware on your Victor Reader Stream, no problem! We'll automatically detect which version of the firmware you're running and initiate the update process for you. Note that you will not be able to transfer content from the SA Mobile Network to the LevelStar Icon until a few weeks after the CSUN conference, but we will be demonstrating this feature at CSUN. We are also excited to announce that we have partnered with De Witt and Associates to produce a line of TrainingWareT designed for use by individuals and training facilities to increase independent living skills through the use of a computer. In just a few hours, users will learn how to send and receive email, surf the Internet, participate in online shopping, utilize Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, MS Word and Excel, and perform many other computer-related tasks for personal and business needs. Packages including a printed teacher's manual and student workbook, along with a CD containing these materials in MS Word and Braille-ready formats will be available both for individual use and as a site license for use in training facilities. A copy of the student workbook in Daisy format will also be available for purchase, and can be downloaded for use on a computer or portable device such as the Victor Reader Stream. To find out more about the latest from Serotek, visit us at www.serotek.com or call us toll-free at (866) 202-0520. Changes in System Access 2.3.0.195 Wednesday, March 05, 2008, 2:07:42 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) New Browser Added an explanation of keystrokes which changed from the old browser to the new. If you previously used the old browser, this message will appear when you run the new browser for the first time, and never again. In the "Notes" section, voice notes now work in the new browser, as they did in the old. Added support for Audible Manager to the new browser. Note that you must still install Audible Manager on your computer first. Document Scan When you scan a page with Document Scan in the new browser, the text of the whole page will now be read, as it was in the old browser, instead of just the first line. Miscellaneous The keystrokes for moving to the previous and next sentence have changed from Shift+Modifier+S and Modifier+S to Alt+Up Arrow and Alt+Down Arrow, respectively. These commands don't interfere with the ability to open drop-down lists by pressing Alt+Up Arrow or Alt+Down Arrow. Improved support for edit controls in .NET applications such as EdSharp. Changes in System Access 2.3.0.189 Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 3:29:22 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) System Access Browser Re-added the "Copy Shortcut" command to the context menu for links. Changes in System Access 2.3.0.188 Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 1:51:48 AM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Starting with this version, the new System Access browser is used by default when you choose to connect from the SA Mobile Network from the System Access menu, or when you launch the SA Mobile Network icon on the Windows desktop. The old, Mozilla-based browser is still available; it's now the second option on the System Access menu. If you previously set the old browser as your default browser, the new browser will become the default when you install this update. You'll want to use the old browser if you want to use our instant messenger; otherwise, you should use the new browser. Changes in System Access 2.3.0.187 Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 7:35:22 PM | noreply at blogger.com (Matt Campbell) Accessible Digital Lifestyle Audio demos of the features described below are available. The new SA Mobile Network browser now supports the Amazon MP3 downloader, which we strongly recommend that you use when buying music from the Amazon MP3 store. You can now transfer described movie audio, other SA Mobile Network audio content such as old-time radio, RSS news articles, podcasts, email, and forum messages to a Victor Reader Stream. Note that you need at least version 1.2 of the Victor Reader Stream firmware, which we expect to be released within a few days of this blog post. You can also transfer music and podcasts to a Creative ZEN Stone MP3 player. Please check the online SA Mobile Network help for more information about these new features. Show all items Displaying32 / 32 All32New Sort by: List OrderDateTitleAuthor Filter by category: 20081ACB2Access Award1Accessibility3Accessible Digital Lifestyle3AFB1aging2AIR1Ajax1American Council of the Blind1Apple1Awards1Baby Boomers3blindness3Clarence Whaley1community1conventions3C-SAW1CSUN1friends1GW Micro2heroes1ILAB1Independent Living Adult Blind1Ipod1Itunes1Keys for K-121National Federation of the Blind1NFB3rant1RIM1SAToGo3seniors2Seniorsscreen readers1Serotek6Summer Sizzle1System Access12Vocational Rehab3 Mark feed as readView feed properties... From jsorozco at gmail.com Fri Dec 26 00:28:00 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:28:00 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] NABS Division Trivia Message-ID: <5A2F2ECF2EAB4F1485C70113E622E100@MonkeyPaw> 1. In what year was NABS established? 2. Can anyone name the presidents of NABS from its inception through the present? 3. Are there any noteworthy tidbits of NABS history you could identify? If anyone has information on any of these points, let us know. I've been in contact with a few of you but figured a general call might generate more ideas. We're trying to build a comprehensive profile of the division. Any assistance you can provide would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance, Joe Orozco "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M. Barrie From jsorozco at gmail.com Fri Dec 26 00:31:45 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:31:45 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] UnitedHealth Heroes Service-learning Grants Message-ID: To all eligible state divisions: This grant may be of interest to you. If you live in the listed states and have considered engaging a community service project to put your members to work, this may be a worthwhile opportunity. Our office will be announcing another grant opportunity of potential interest to you in January. To learn more visit: www.ysa.org/awards/ Best, Joe Orozco UnitedHealth Heroes Service-Learning Grants: Asking young people to take the lead in solving the most critical health problem facing their generation! (Applicants from selected states in the USA) Youth Service America and UnitedHealthcare are excited to offer the UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning grants, a Global Youth Service Grant (GYSG). More than 200 awards are available for youth-led community education projects. These grants of up to $1,000 support teachers, community-based and school-based service-learning coordinators, and students in the health professions to implement service-learning projects around childhood obesity. The selected projects will engage children and youth ages 5 to 25 in youth-led solutions. We encourage 'Semester of Service' length projects that launch in February, and use Global Youth Service Day (April 24-26, 2009) to bring visibility to their projects. Grants will support projects in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and in the following specific areas: Florida-selected counties, Illinois-Chicagoland and Peoria; and New York-Long Island, New York City, and Syracuse. Deadline: January 15, 2009. For application materials, visit http://tinyurl.com/UHHeroesGrant . Questions? E-mail: healthheroes at ysa.org YSA improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. From jsorozco at gmail.com Fri Dec 26 19:53:36 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:53:36 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] State Student Division Materials Message-ID: <956189FF9F824482BD8B5C6E93AF0E64@MonkeyPaw> Dear state division representatives: We need a few items from you to ensure the upcoming NABS web site contains up-to-date information on your state division. 1. Does your division have a web site? If so, please send us the URL to this web site or web page to be included in our list. 2. If you have not already done so, please send us a list of upcoming events. Please include event name, date, time and location and any other relevant information to be made a part of the NABS Calendar of Events. This information can be added later, after the launch, but if you have information now, we would love to make it a part of the site right away. 3. Do you have any photographs and/or videos of your division at work? Send them to me off-list. We will include them on the NABS site where appropriate. Thank you for your cooperation. We are now only days from the unveiling of the NABS web site, and we are counting on you to make the first launch a good one. Regards, Joe Orozco "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M. Barrie From khanksmt at yahoo.com Sun Dec 28 01:51:39 2008 From: khanksmt at yahoo.com (Kathryn Hanks) Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:51:39 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Ccb-alumni] introduction Message-ID: <884551.49288.qm@web46304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Hi, I'm Kathryn from Centennial Colorado. I graduated from CCB in May 2005. I have been blind all my life but had more learning to do. However, I was one of the graduates who didn't keep my skills up. I needed to learn more about cooking and cane travel. However, I'm not motivated to do what I need to do. How do any of you keep yourselves motivated in life? Thank you, and I will enjoy being here. From ds94124 at aol.com Sun Dec 28 03:14:30 2008 From: ds94124 at aol.com (ds94124 at aol.com) Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:14:30 EST Subject: [Ccb-alumni] introduction Message-ID: Hello, My Name is Darian and I am also a CCB graduate. I Graduated in 2004. For me, it was about finding use for the skills I learned, at the sametime, it's about having a goal or some goals and dreams and sticking with them. I found that that if nothing else, the skills were great but alonge the same vain, the confidence I gained was even more power at times. GHaving the skills to do anyting is wonderful. But I think the confidence fuels the passion in life to do what you feel you want to and need to do. I hope that helps Darian In a message dated 12/27/2008 7:05:05 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, khanksmt at yahoo.com writes: Hi, I'm Kathryn from Centennial Colorado. I graduated from CCB in May 2005. I have been blind all my life but had more learning to do. However, I was one of the graduates who didn't keep my skills up. I needed to learn more about cooking and cane travel. However, I'm not motivated to do what I need to do. How do any of you keep yourselves motivated in life? Thank you, and I will enjoy being here. _______________________________________________ Ccb-alumni mailing list Ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ccb-alumni: http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org/ds94124%40aol.com **************One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000025) From dianefilipe at peoplepc.com Sun Dec 28 15:51:57 2008 From: dianefilipe at peoplepc.com (Diane) Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:51:57 -0700 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] introduction In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hey you guys! Welcome! I have had a hard time keeping my braille current, and am starting all over again with Hadley. Di ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 8:14 PM Subject: Re: [Ccb-alumni] introduction > Hello, > My Name is Darian and I am also a CCB graduate. I Graduated in 2004. > For me, it was about finding use for the skills I learned, at the > sametime, > it's about having a goal or some goals and dreams and sticking with > them. I > found that that if nothing else, the skills were great but alonge the > same > vain, the confidence I gained was even more power at times. GHaving > the > skills to do anyting is wonderful. But I think the confidence fuels the > passion > in life to do what you feel you want to and need to do. > I hope that helps > Darian > > > In a message dated 12/27/2008 7:05:05 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, > khanksmt at yahoo.com writes: > > Hi, > I'm Kathryn from Centennial Colorado. I graduated from CCB in May 2005. I > have been blind all my life but had more learning to do. However, I was > one of > the graduates who didn't keep my skills up. I needed to learn more about > cooking and cane travel. However, I'm not motivated to do what I need to > do. How > do any of you keep yourselves motivated in life? Thank you, and I will > enjoy > being here. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Ccb-alumni mailing list > Ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > Ccb-alumni: > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org/ds94124%40aol.com > > > **************One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, > Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Try it now. > (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000025) > _______________________________________________ > Ccb-alumni mailing list > Ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > Ccb-alumni: > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ccb-alumni_nfbnet.org/dianefilipe%40peoplepc.com > From jsorozco at gmail.com Sun Dec 28 22:07:45 2008 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:07:45 -0500 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Photo Submissions for NABS Site Message-ID: <3F19BECA6FCC47D2B5A4ACBCD833DB55@MonkeyPaw> Dear students, Thank you to those student divisions who have submitted photographs for the NABS web site. In order to keep a cohesive system, please ensure that your photos are accompanied by a brief description of what the photograph displays. Also, please ensure the file itself is titled in such a way as to make matching between the description and image an easy task. Submissions not meeting this criteria will not be considered for inclusion on the site. Thank you again, and if you have not yet submitted information, photographs or other details of your state division, now is the time to do so. Regards, Joe Orozco "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M. Barrie From cdanielsen8 at aol.com Tue Dec 30 03:01:19 2008 From: cdanielsen8 at aol.com (Chris Danielsen) Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:01:19 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] National Federation of the Blind Celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Louis Braille Message-ID: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chris Danielsen Public Relations Specialist National Federation of the Blind (410) 659-9314, ext. 2330 (410) 262-1281 (cell) cdanielsen at nfb.org National Federation of the Blind Celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Louis Braille Events to be Held Nationwide in Over One Hundred Locations Baltimore, Maryland (December 29, 2008): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation?s largest and oldest organization of blind people, will hold events nationwide on Sunday, January 4, 2009, to promote Braille literacy and help celebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille (1809?1852), the inventor of the reading and writing code for the blind that bears his name. In over one hundred bookstores, libraries, and other venues all across the nation, National Federation of the Blind representatives will demonstrate Braille and the power of Braille literacy. ?There can be no doubt that the ability to read and write Braille competently and efficiently is the key to education, employment, and success for the blind. Despite the undisputed value of Braille, only about 10 percent of blind children in the United States are currently learning it. These events will help raise awareness of the importance of Braille literacy and are an integral part of our nationwide campaign to reverse the downward trend in Braille literacy and to ensure that equal opportunities in education and employment are available to all of the nation?s blind,? said Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. The events are being held nationwide as part of the National Federation of the Blind?s Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, a national initiative to promote the importance of reading and writing Braille for blind children and adults. The Braille Readers are Leaders campaign kicked off in July of 2008 with the unveiling of the design of a commemorative coin to be minted in 2009 in recognition of the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. The commemorative coin design will also be previewed at the events. For more information about the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, please visit www.braille.org. To find out about events in your area, please contact Fredric Schroeder at fschroeder at nfb.org. ### About the National Federation of the Blind With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people?s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind. Please visit our Web site: www.nfb.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Jan 4 National Braille literacy events release2.doc Type: application/msword Size: 92160 bytes Desc: not available URL: From SWhite at nfb.org Tue Dec 30 19:53:40 2008 From: SWhite at nfb.org (White, Scott) Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:53:40 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Job Opening on the NFB-Newsline Team Message-ID: Subject: Job opening on the NFB-NEWSLINE team 12/30/08 Good Day, I am writing to inform you that we have an opening at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland for a Manager of Content for Sponsored Technology. Please see below or visit the below web site for a job description and instructions on how to apply. http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Malcontents.asp?SnID=642008648 Thank you. Scott A. White Director of Sponsored Technology Programs NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 Telephone: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2231 Cell: 410-300-8283 Fax: (410) 685-5653 Email: swhite at nfb.org Manager of Content for Sponsored Technology Description: Under the supervision of the Director of Sponsored Technology Programs, the Manager of Content for Sponsored Technology has primary responsibility for maintaining quality control of the information presented on NFB-NEWSLINE? as well as the addition of new content on the service. The manager acts as the point of contact between content providers and NFB-NEWSLINE?. Additionally the manager assists the Director of Sponsored Technology with other sponsored technology activities as needed. Responsibilities: * Monitors the NFB-NEWSLINE? system for stability, identifies problem issues and takes appropriate corrective measures. * Investigates and responds to system trouble reports from subscribers and state sponsors' management. * Communicates with stakeholders on the status of any repairs and projected timelines. * Performs periodic system and content checks to verify that the service is performing properly and resolves any issues discovered. * Routinely throughout the day monitors the updating of NFB-NEWSLINE? content to discover any discrepancies. * Identifies the reason for any discrepancies found and communicates with the content provider or staff members to facilitate resolution of the issue, continuing to track the content problem until it is fully resolved. * In conjunction with the Director, provides the technical staff with direction on the priority level of content fixes and additions. * Designs, implements, and manages a newspaper content escalation process for reporting and resolving newspaper content problems and issues. * Provides management with weekly and biweekly reports on the status of outstanding content issues and additions. * Participates in an on-call rotation with other team members for evening and weekend resolution of system issues. * Handles all aspects of acquiring content for the NFB-NEWSLINE? service, including initial contact and negotiation of contract with content providers, communicating technical requirements to the IT staff of the content provider, and ensuring quality control of the newly acquired content prior to its public release. * Monitors all newspaper contracts, identifies out-of-date contracts and brings these contracts up to our current standards. * Provides Level 1 general support to users regarding registration for service, changes in contact information, and general questions. * Provides Level 2 support and troubleshooting of technical issues reported by stakeholders and either resolves the issue or communicates it to appropriate personnel for resolution. * Provides support and training to state sponsors and coordinators on the use of the administration Web site. * Makes updates and additions to the NFB-NEWSLINE? Web site using a content management system when required. * Processes online forms from the Web site such as the application for service and e-mail delivery. * Recommends NFB-NEWSLINE? feature enhancements and initiatives to the Director of Sponsored Technology based on sponsor and subscriber feedback. Skills Required: * Ability to execute multiple tasks efficiently and effectively; * Ability to self-manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines; * A basic understanding of XML, HTML and FTP as an essential qualification; * The ability to set priorities and establish work routines independently; * Excellent oral and written communication skills; * Ability to learn new skills quickly; * Ability to deliver oral presentations to small and large groups; * Ability to communicate well with a wide variety of people and to troubleshoot problems; * Excellent follow-up skills; * Demonstrated skill in use of Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, and Outlook; * Ability to perform basic computer tasks required for the efficient operation of a business office. Education: A High School diploma is required. Other combinations of education and experience demonstrating qualifications to perform the work will be considered. Comments: Some out-of-state overnight travel is required. Requires an individual with above-average commitment to making a difference for a significant group of human beings frequently denied full opportunity in society. There are no ?positions? in the traditional sense at the National Center for the Blind for many of our jobs. Candidates are hired on the basis of their education and experience ratings and performance in multiple interviews and then assigned where needed. We seek individuals who long to identify with a cause and to assist in advocacy for a group long denied equal opportunity to succeed or fail on the basis of ability, not be denied opportunity on the basis of society?s stereotypes. Applicants should send, preferably via e-mail, a r?sum? and cover letter indicating salary requirements to: Anthony Cobb, Director of Human Resources, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone 410-659-9314, ext. 2281; fax 410-685-5653; e-mail Acobb at nfb.org. The National Federation of the Blind is an equal opportunity employer. Accordingly all terms and conditions of employment will be carried out without regard to race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, marital status, age, or disability. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Job opening on the NFB-NEWSLINE team 2008-12-30.rtf Type: application/rtf Size: 1235 bytes Desc: not available URL: From LoriStay at aol.com Wed Dec 31 03:31:46 2008 From: LoriStay at aol.com (by way of David Andrews ) Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:31:46 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Youth Writing Contest Message-ID: Do you know a budding writer? Pass this along! Lori Stayer Youth Writing Contest! The NFB Writers' Division is hosting a Youth Writing Contest to promote Braille literacy and excellence in creative writing. Entries will be judged on creativity and quality of Braille. We are looking for creative writing, in the form of fiction and poetry. There is no charge for entering. This is a contest for students who use Braille. Entries must Be submitted in hand embossed Braille, either on a slate and stylus or on a Braille writer. No computer Braille entries will be considered. Submissions must be Brailled by the entrant. Elementary students (K-5) may submit contracted Braille, uncontracted Braille, or an acceptable combination of the two. Students in higher grades will be expected to submit stories or poetry in contracted Braille. There are six categories, as follows: Elementary Fiction; Elementary Poetry; Middle School Fiction; Middle School Poetry; High School Fiction; High School Poetry. Elementary is K-5. Middle School is 6-8. High School is 9-12. The contest begins January first, and ends, postmarked date April first. There will be three cash prizes for each of the six categories. First prize per contest is $25. Second prize is $15 and third prize is $5. Submissions for fiction may not exceed one thousand words. Poetry may not exceed twenty lines. Authors may submit multiple entries and all work must be original and unpublished. Each entrant must provide an identical print copy for possible publication. Entries must be accompanied by a cover sheet containing entrant's information: Name, address, phone, email, title of the entry, school and grade of entrant. Winners will be announced at our division meeting during the July 2009 NFB National convention held in Detroit, Michigan. Send to Fred Wurtzel, 1212 N Foster, Lansing Michigan, 48912. Questions? contact Fred Wurtzel at f.wurtzel at comcast.net or 517-485-0326 From KZakhnini at nfb.org Wed Dec 31 18:10:53 2008 From: KZakhnini at nfb.org (Zakhnini, Karen) Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:10:53 -0600 Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Second NFB Youth Slam Message-ID: In the summer of 2009 we will have our second National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam for blind high school students. The program will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park. We still need plenty of mentors and students to apply, so please help us get the word out. If you need more information about the program or are interested in being a student or mentor participant, please visit http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/Youth_Slam.asp and fill out the appropriate application. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you! Sincerely, Karen C. Zakhnini Education Project Manager Jernigan Institute NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND Phone: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2293 Fax: (410) 659-5129 Support Braille literacy and empowering programs by sponsoring me in the Motor City March for Independence! Visit http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/TR/walk/General?px=1003222&pg=personal&fr_id=1050