[Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mail and Barcode Reader Available

Christopher Chaltain chaltain at gmail.com
Thu Jul 8 22:54:33 UTC 2010 

I just want to echo what Jim said. I've been involved with some open 
source projects where nothing gets done because the community tries to 
drive to a consensus. this is a lofty idea, but when you get into thorny 
issues, members of the community will use this to keep resolutions they 
don't agree with from ever being adopted. I've been on other open source 
projects that were very successful, but these usually had a pretty clear 
meritocracy in place, so that once a few key leaders said this is the 
way it's going to be then that was adopted and the community moved on. 
Like I said, open source can be wildly successful, but it can also be a 
total bust. Personally, when I hear something is open source, I take a 
wait and see attitude, unless of course I think I have the time and 
skills to contribute.

Oh, there's another issue that can crop up on open source projects, and 
again this depends a lot on the make up of the community. An open source 
project can become very closed to suggestions and requests for features. 
I've been involved in several open source projects where mistakes in the 
documentation would be pointed out by an end user and the response 
they'd get is something like "It's a wiki, update it yourself." In other 
cases, suggestions would be made or features requested by customers just 
to be told "If you want it so bad, join the community and work on it 
yourself." Granted, some customers can be pretty bossy and pushy, 
especially if they don't realize it's an open source project made up of 
people who are volunteering their time, but I've also just seen some 
pretty closed minded open source projects. Again, I'd just say it's a 
mixed bag

--

Christopher
chaltain at gmail.com


On 7/8/2010 11:24 AM, Jim Barbour wrote:
> Actually, in many ways, open source is a free for all.
>
> There are ways to bring order to the open source chaos, but they
> require thought leaders to step up and outline best practices,
> developer guidelines, documentation, etc  These thought leaders *can*
> also take control of the process of checking in changes to open source
> projects.  However, this can just mean that an alternate group can tak
> ethe code, and staqt a new project.
>
> I have not seen strong thought leaders step up yet in the android
> accessibility space yet.  there are several talented programmers, but
> no impactful thought leadership.
>
> Jim
>
> On Thu, Jul 08, 2010 at 07:49:07AM -0700, Tom Evans wrote:
>    
>> Thanks for the good answer.
>>
>> I would assume that it would have to be pros making the changes.  Are they
>> paid?  And what happens if there are differences in the direction?  One
>> wants it to do this, which may violate what the other one has done.  it
>> seems like a free for all, but it is more regulated then that.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Christopher
>> Chaltain
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 7:12 PM
>> To: 'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mail and Barcode Reader
>> Available
>>
>> Open source typically means that the source code is available to the public;
>> contributions are encouraged and any use of the open source software has to
>> in turn be open source. This provides a fantastic opportunity, especially
>> where accessibility is concerned, since anyone could go in and make the
>> changes needed for an application to become more accessible.
>>
>> Open source applications and development also have some challenges. the most
>> successful open source projects are those with a passionate community behind
>> them. Many open source projects fade away because they lose the driving
>> force behind them. Not every community is going to have members who are
>> committed to accessibility, and accessibility advocates may have trouble
>> getting the community to adopt standards and conventions necessary for an
>> application to be accessible. Remember too that laws like the Rehabilitation
>> Act in the US aren't going to have much influence over a free open source
>> application, since it won't stand to lose much revenue in government sales.
>>
>> Although there's a lot of reason to be optimistic that open source
>> environments will lead to greater accessibility, it's not a given that just
>> because the Android screen readers are open source the Android platform will
>> be as accessible as the iPhone, Symbian or Windows Mobile platforms.
>> Remember that open source operating systems and applications have been
>> around for a while and they aren't automatically the most popular and
>> accessible applications.
>>
>> --
>> Christopher
>> chaltain at gmail.com
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tom Evans
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 3:40 PM
>> To: 'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mailand BarcodeReader
>> Available
>>
>> So there is not really a deadline of when this is as accessible as an
>> iphone?  May be better than an iphone one day is your thought?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Baracco, Andrew W
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:00 AM
>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mailand BarcodeReader
>> Available
>>
>> It's supposed to stimulate creativity, independent thinking, thinking
>> out of the box, etc.
>> Andy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tom Evans
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:24 AM
>> To: 'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mailand
>> BarcodeReader Available
>>
>> Not sure what you mean by open source.  How can it be near as good, if
>> no
>> standardization?  They free lance and maybe come up with something
>> better?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Baracco,
>> Andrew W
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 8:59 AM
>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mail and
>> BarcodeReader
>> Available
>>
>> That's the downside to open source.  There is a lot of potential, but no
>> real accountability. And, no standardization. At least there is some
>> accountability to Microsoft if you are developing for the Windows
>> platform, or to Apple if you are developing for the Mac or iPhone.
>>
>> Andy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tom Evans
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 2:51 PM
>> To: 'Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances'
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mail and
>> BarcodeReader Available
>>
>> They use the word developing, so that means the video magnifier and web
>> browser are not here and no date.
>> Did I read that accurately?  So how do you use the web or just wait?
>>
>> What is here is the email and bar code reader.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Andrews
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 1:55 PM
>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Accessible Android E-Mail and Barcode Reader
>> Available
>>
>>
>>      
>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>
>>> Contact: Steve Jacobs
>>> Phone: (614) 777-0660
>>> E-Mail: steve.jacobs at ideal-group.org
>>>
>>> Accessible Android E-Mail and Barcode Reader Available
>>>
>>> Open Source, Android Applications Released in
>>> Support of Raising the Floor, Reducing the Cost,
>>> and Leveling the Playing Field for Individuals with Disabilities
>>>
>>> HILLIARD, OH July 6, 2010 - IDEAL Group
>>> Apps4Android, Inc. announced today the release
>>> of the first Android e-mail reader for the
>>> blind. The IDEAL K9 E-MailR reader is accessible
>>> using Google's Talkback and other Android
>>> screenreaders. Also announced was the release of
>>> IDEAL Item IdentifierR, an Android-based barcode
>>> reader. The barcode reader makes it possible to
>>> quickly, easily, and accurately identify
>>> products by using Android smartphones to read
>>> barcodes on standard products. Both applications
>>> have been open-sourced in support of the Raising
>>> the Floor Initiative. http://raisingthefloor.net/
>>>
>>> According to Steve Jacobs the President of IDEAL
>>> Group, "Given the efforts Google has put into
>>> Android, especially the work of their Eyes-Free
>>> Project team, we are convinced that Google is
>>> committed to making Android a world-class fully
>>> accessible platform and we want to help Google get there faster."
>>>
>>> IDEAL is also developing an open source Android
>>> web browser for the blind. In addition, IDEAL is
>>> developing an open source video magnification
>>> application that enables individuals with low
>>> vision to turn their Android smartphones into hand-held video
>>>        
>> magnifiers.
>>      
>>> Given the high cost of dedicated devices that
>>> serve these purposes today, Jacobs hopes these
>>> free, high-quality open source Android
>>> applications will be Raising the Floor of
>>> opportunities for individuals with print disabilities.
>>>
>>> Jacobs further stated, "While we plan to develop
>>> accessible applications for other platforms in
>>> the future, we love the openness of Android. It
>>> makes it easy for developers to figure out how
>>> programs function and has enabled us to innovate
>>> much more rapidly and easily than on any other platform."
>>>
>>> About IDEAL Group Apps4Android:
>>>
>>> Apps4Android, Inc. is dedicated to developing
>>> low/no-cost, high-quality, Android applications
>>> that enhance the quality-of-life, independence,
>>> quality of education, and employability of
>>> individuals with disabilities... and everyone
>>> else! Apps4Android is the world's largest
>>> developer of speech-enabled Android applications
>>> in the world with 750,000+ active users in 47 countries. For more
>>>        
>> information:
>>      
>>> http://apps4android.org/
>>>
>>> About Raising the Floor (RtF):
>>>
>>> Raising the Floor is an international consortium
>>> of organizations and individuals focused on
>>> ensuring that people experiencing disabilities,
>>> literacy problems, or the effects of aging are
>>> able to access and use all of the information,
>>> resources, services, and communities available
>>> on or through the Web. Of particular concern are
>>> those with limited or no resources. For more information:
>>> http://raisingthefloor.net/about
>>>
>>> ###
>>>
>>> This work is supported in part with funds from
>>> the National Institute on Disability and
>>> Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of
>>> Education, grant number H133E080022 to the
>>> University of Wisconsin Trace R&D Center. Users
>>> of IDEAL K9 E-MailR and IDEAL Item IdentifierR
>>> should not assume endorsement by either the
>>> Department of Education or the federal government.
>>>
>>>        
>>           David Andrews and long white cane Harry, dandrews at visi.com
>> Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920
>>
>>
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