[Electronics-talk] Informational Picketing Against Authors Guild in New York City

[Mohaned Sayegh]

> Amazon has decided to allow authors and publishers to decide which
> books can be read aloud by this device. Naturally, this is a blow to blind
> people and others with print disabilities who can benefit from the
> text-to-speech feature and who would love to be able to purchase books and
> start reading them immediately for the first time in history.
Um, you realize this is not true right? The Kindle II isn't even 
accessible, and furthermore, nothing is stopping you from purchasing the 
books with a Nokia browser and reading the text withTalks or Mobile 
Speak, or just putting the books on a Victor Stream. I'm not saying this 
event is not important or anything like that, but this is not the first 
time in history we've been able to purchase ebooks and read them with 
text to speech. The Kindle II is only important to you if you don't mind 
having a sighted friend start the playback of the book for you.



David Andrews wrote:
>
> >From Chris Danielson:
>
> Dear Fellow Federationists:
>
> As you may already know, Amazon, Inc. released the newest version of its
>
> e-book reader, the Kindle, on February 9 of this year. The Kindle 2
>
> includes a feature that allows e-books downloaded to it to be read aloud.
>
> The Authors Guild has objected to this feature because it believes these
>
> e-books are licensed only for visual display, and under pressure from the
>
> Guild, Amazon has decided to allow authors and publishers to decide which
>
> books can be read aloud by this device. Naturally, this is a blow to 
> blind
>
> people and others with print disabilities who can benefit from the
>
> text-to-speech feature and who would love to be able to purchase books 
> and
>
> start reading them immediately for the first time in history. For this
>
> reason the National Federation of the Blind has joined with other
>
> organizations representing people who cannot use print effectively to 
> fight
>
> the Authors Guild.
>
> We plan to kick off our public education campaign to increase public
>
> pressure on the Authors Guild to reverse its stance with an informational
>
> protest in front of the Guild’s headquarters in New York City. This 
> picket
>
> will take place on Tuesday, April 7, from noon until 2:00 p.m. I am 
> writing
>
> to you in hopes that you can organize members to come to this protest. A
>
> number of Federationists from Maryland are coming and we expect
>
> participation from other organizations in the coalition, but it would be
>
> very helpful if those of you with easy access to New York City would 
> help us
>
> by providing more picketers. It is extremely important that we make a
>
> strong impression on the Authors Guild and the media so that our message
>
> will be heard.
>
> In the next few days you will receive more communications with additional
>
> logistical details, as well as more information about our position and
>
> suggestions on how to respond to questions from the media. In the 
> meantime,
>
> if you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact 
> me. As
>
> soon as you have an idea of how many people may be able to come to this
>
> event, please provide that information to John Paré by calling 
> 410-659-9314,
>
> ext. 2227, or by e-mailing jpare at nfb.org. Thank you for your 
> assistance in
>
> this important matter.
>
> Sincerely:
>
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Christopher S. Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>
>
> David Andrews and white cane Harry.
>
>
>
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