[Electronics-talk] TV with EasilyaccessibleAudioDescribedprogramming.

cheez cheez at cox.net
Sun Sep 22 01:47:32 UTC 2013 

10 years ago was your first cellphone?  I got my first one back in 96.  Of 
course it wasn't a smartphone.  But it was one of the first flip phones.
Vince

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christopher Chaltain" <chaltain at gmail.com>
To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] TV with 
EasilyaccessibleAudioDescribedprogramming.


> and in many respects it's gotten much better. 10 years ago I didn't have a 
> cell phone. Five years ago, I had a cell phone where I could access the 
> cell phone's features, the PIM applications and a few other applications 
> to boot. Now I have a cell phone where I can access all of the phones 
> functions, plus all of the PIM apps as well as hundreds of additional 
> apps, such as accessible apps I can use to control my DVR and my home 
> theater receiver.
>
> I have many more options now when it comes to MP3 players and book readers 
> than I did a few years ago. A lot of this can be attributed directly to 
> the fforts of the NFB.
>
> It used to be that the only computer I could access was a PC running 
> Windows. Now I can use a Mac or a PC running Linux as well.
>
> They don't talk to me, but I can use my microwave, clothes washer, dryer, 
> dish washer and stove top.
>
> I don't think any of the items you mentioned below are covered by any 
> accessibility legislation or enforece by any agencies like the FCC.
>
> I'm sure there are a few areas for me where accessibility has taken a step 
> backwards, but I can't think of any, and I definitely don't dwell on them. 
> Maybe I'm just fortunate though.
>
> On 09/21/2013 12:59 PM, Gerald Levy wrote:
>>
>> I don't see it that way,  Indeed, in many respects, accessibility has
>> actually become worse for us blind consumers over the past few years.
>> There used to be a few different talking microwave ovens on the market,
>> but now there is only one.  There used to be a few talking AM/FM clock
>> radios on the market, but now there is only one, and even that model may
>> soon become unavailable.  There used to be an audible battery tester on
>> the market that could test hearing aid and button cell batteries, but it
>> was discontinued a long time ago and now there is no way for those of us
>> blind consumers who wear hearing aids to check battery status without
>> using an expensive talking multimeter, if they are even still available,
>> or getting sighted help.  . How is this a step in the right direction?
>> You can enact all the laws you want, but what good are they if they lack
>> teeth?
>>
>> Gerald
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Chaltain"
>> <chaltain at gmail.com>
>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 1:32 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] TV with Easily
>> accessibleAudioDescribedprogramming.
>>
>>
>>> and your solution, other than just throwing your hands up in the air
>>> and giving up because it's impossible, is what exactly?
>>>
>>> Where is Comcast going to start if it doesn't start with a prototype?
>>> How can this not be seen as a step in the right direction? Should
>>> comcast not be investing in this technology because Time Warner
>>> doesn't have a solution for you on the shelf right now? How do you
>>> know time Warner doesn't have any such plans?
>>>
>>> I don't think the FCC is as inept as you think, and the fact is that
>>> there are more laws on the books right now than there has ever been in
>>> the past. Obviously, execution and implementation needs to catch up,
>>> but again, I don't see how having these laws on the books isn't a good
>>> idea and a step in the right direction.
>>>
>>> Obviously your doom and gloom predictions are going to come true
>>> sometimes. For me, I'd rather look at how my accessibility right now
>>> is greater than it's ever been and keep working hard to make sure it
>>> keeps getting better and the areas where it's lacking get addressed
>>> through awareness and legislation.
>>>
>>> On 09/21/2013 12:02 PM, Gerald Levy wrote:
>>>>
>>>> This podcast merely demonstrated a prototype of a possible future cable
>>>> box design.  It did not demonstrate the features of a cable box that is
>>>> available right now to Comcast customers, nor did it offer "proof" that
>>>> the introduction of such a device is imminent.  Indeed, nowhere in the
>>>> podcast did I hear the Comcast rep mention when this talking cable box
>>>> would become available to any blind or disabled customer who requests
>>>> one.  I can tell you that Time Warner, the cable provider that I am
>>>> stuck with has no plans to offer such a talking cable box in the
>>>> foreseeable future.  Nor will they be forced to do so.  Last month, 
>>>> they
>>>> blacked out CBS for millions of their customers over a contract dispute
>>>> despite the fact that the FCC "must carry" rule requires them to 
>>>> provide
>>>> all local, over-the-air channels to their customers.  Was Time Warner
>>>> punished for its egregious action?  Of course not, because the FCC is
>>>> totally inept and ineffectual as a regulatory agency.  So if Time 
>>>> Warner
>>>> and its other cable rivals fail to comply with the new FCC rules that
>>>> require them to offer accessible cable boxes, what is going to happen?
>>>> Are they going to be fined?  Maybe, but not likely.  Are their
>>>> executives going to face criminal prosecution for violating the civil
>>>> rights of their blind and disabled customers?  Of course not.  So 
>>>> excuse
>>>> me if you find my cynicism annoying.  Remember all the hoopla over the
>>>> Insignia Narrator talking HD radio when it was first demonstrated last
>>>> year?  I skeptically predicted that it would be discontinued within a
>>>> year.  How did that work out?  Did Best Buy make any kind of concerted
>>>> effort to find a new manufacturer for this product when the original 
>>>> one
>>>> decided to stop making it?  I don't think so.  And Panasonic
>>>> demonstrated a prototype of a TV with talking menus in Europe a few
>>>> years ago, but it never became available in the US, and earlier this
>>>> year  it announced plans to exit the consumer electronics market
>>>> altogether. Have any other manufactures demonstrated TV sets with
>>>> talking menus in this country?  I am not aware of any.   We blind
>>>> consumers have been screwed over too many times before, so I see no
>>>> reason to believethat things will be any different this time around.
>>>> Sorry, but I have to tell it like it is.  And if you find my messages
>>>> annoying, simply hit the delete key on your precious Mac.
>>>>
>>>> Gerald
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Foret jr" <rforetjr at att.net>
>>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 10:34 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] TV with Easily accessible
>>>> AudioDescribedprogramming.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> You are wrong, and, frankly, starting to annoy me!!!  In your message,
>>>>> you say, in part:
>>>>>
>>>>> :The idea that accessible set-top boxes and TV's are coming soon
>>>>> thanks to FCC rules adopted a few years ago is sheer fantasy.  It just
>>>>> ain't gonna happen".
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh yeah?  Well, you are wrong.   here is proof!
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNTL-3fj6HI
>>>>>
>>>>> Your constant negativism is getting on my very last nerve.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my mac, the only computer with full accessibility for the
>>>>> blind built-in!
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray
>>>>> Still a very proud and happy Mac and Iphone user!
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sep 21, 2013, at 7:11 AM, "Gerald Levy" <bwaylimited at verizon.net>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This seems to be the Holy Grail of home electronic devices for blind
>>>>>> consumers like us.  I have yet to find a flat panel LcD or plasma TV
>>>>>> that has a dedicated button on the remote control for turning the SAP
>>>>>> channel on and off.  They all require navigating through a bunch of
>>>>>> onscreen menus to accomplish this, which, of course, requires sighted
>>>>>> help.  And if you have cable or satellite TV like most of us, it
>>>>>> doesn't matter whether the TV itself has an easy way to turn SAP on
>>>>>> and off because the SAP channel is sent by the provider and
>>>>>> controlled by the set-top box, which, again requires sighted help to
>>>>>> navigate its onscreen menus.  The idea that accessible set-top boxes
>>>>>> and TV's are coming soon thanks to FCC rules adopted a few years ago
>>>>>> is sheer fantasy.  It just ain't gonna happen.  When I ask the
>>>>>> customer service reps at Time Warner Cable when they will have a
>>>>>> blind accessible cable box available, they just start muttering
>>>>>> huh,and what's that.  So if accessible boxes ever become
>>>>> available , nobody at the cable companies will be aware of them
>>>>> anyway. Such are the travails of being a blind consumer in the 21st
>>>>> century.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gerald
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Cassell"
>>>>>> <ApolloSeven at Earthlink.net>
>>>>>> To: <Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 12:47 AM
>>>>>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] TV with Easily accessible Audio
>>>>>> Describedprogramming.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am looking for a new TV.  It must have a very easily accessible
>>>>>>> SAP (second audio program) feature for being able to easily access
>>>>>>> audio described programming.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does such a thing exist?  If so, what is it, and where can I buy it?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks for any help you can provide!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -- George
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Christopher (CJ)
>>> chaltain at Gmail
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
> -- 
> Christopher (CJ)
> chaltain at Gmail
>
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