[Electronics-talk] cable access

Ashley Bramlett bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Mon Jan 6 04:19:56 UTC 2014 

Christopher,
I won't comment on the corporate good versus evil opinion. kind of off 
topic.
However, I was the one wondering about cable access and how much 
independence we can have and I figured tvs were electronic, so figured here 
might be a good place to ask.

I'll say that I agree with you on customer service. They can and should 
provide it regardless where they are located.
However, with monopolies, there is little place to go with bad service. I 
hope the merger does not occur. I have more opinions on big business and 
unfair competetion, but that's kind of off topic.

However, I will say that we seem to make little headway with accessibility 
with big corporations. How much advocacy and resolutions has been passed 
about Microsoft, adobe, amazon, and book reader manufacturers?
Have they done much in the five or so years I've seen resolutions on these 
electronics matters?
I've seen little progress sadly. Okay, we have one kindle version 
accessible, still no nook or sony reader though.
No, not much changes. We are a minority and the corporations just want to 
make money and money, and don't seem to care much. if they did, why don't we 
have talking menus yet?

You said
"Anyone reading this list would think it's horrible being blind, which
kind of surprises me since it's hosted by the NFB. I hope newly and
younger blind people aren't discouraged by reading all of this
negativity and lack of constructive advice. "

Well Christopher, I'm fairly young; graduated college a few years back.
I'm not surprised about the negative commentary though. I mean, we are a 
consumer advocacy group, yes. We are NFB. But people do have feelings about 
the lack of participation of us in society.
We speak up, But when you make little progress year after year, well, you 
are frustrated. I completely understand that.
Some people are just venting the lack of progress and understanding of cable 
companies.

Now, back to my questions on cable.
Is comcast making a talking set box and if so, when?
Have any of you used a dvr independently by memorizing what to press?
Can you record shows on a dvd as an alternative to a DVR?

Here is a solution with old technology.
If anyone still has the old vcr tapes and of course a working vhs recorder,
you can record shows and movies there. I've done that and its very 
accessible. You can pop the video in the vcr and press a few buttons and it 
plays.

Oh, the joys of old technology. No menus needed!


-----Original Message----- 
From: Christopher Chaltain
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 10:13 PM
To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] cable access

This is a completely unfounded statement. There are plenty of laws on
the books and enforced, which are not popular with "big business" such
as the ADA and other equal rights laws, health care, environmental laws,
anti-trust laws and the list goes on. The fact that mergers even have to
be approved by the government is an example of this. Remember, the AT&T
and T-Mobile merger was not approved. I also don't agree with the
underlying assumption here that "big business" is evil. Big business
hires an awful lot of people, provides quite a few jobs and pays quite a
bit in taxes.

If you Google for the proposed merger between Time Warner and ComCast,
you'll find more links than you can shake a stick at. Most seem to think
it's unlikely that this merger will be approved by the FCC/FTC and White
House but this article doesn't seem to think it's impossible
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57613685-93/is-comcast-time-warner-cable-really-unthinkable-maybe-not/

On the issue of customer service, it's irrelevant where the customer
service is located or what accent the person you're dealing with has.
Companies need to provide good customer service, and that can be done as
well or as poorly from an office in New Jersey as it can from an office
in India.

I'm constantly surprised by the amount of negativity on this list.
Anyone reading this list would think it's horrible being blind, which
kind of surprises me since it's hosted by the NFB. I hope newly and
younger blind people aren't discouraged by reading all of this
negativity and lack of constructive advice. My suggestion is that people
would be happier by distancing themselves from such negativity and
negative people by unsubscribing from this list and finding another
source of information on accessible consumer electronics. BTW, there
seems to be very little traffic on this list as of late regarding
accessible consumer electronics, as the message below on how evil
government and big business is demonstrates.

On 01/05/2014 07:50 PM, wmodnl wmodnl wrote:
> Remember, when it comes to the United States government, all rules go 
> right out the window.  It is a "do as I say" environment, not A Do as I 
> do" standard. Let's look at things like the ADA, ADAAA, etc.  Big business 
> always wins in this country with the right political pull.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Jan 5, 2014, at 7:12 PM, "Ray Foret Jr" <rforet7706 at comcast.net> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Let me pul that up and tell you right now.
>>
>> The contemporary Christian music channel is 435.  You can find them all 
>> listed on  newsline starting with 401.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Mac, the only computer with full accessibility for the blind 
>> built-in!
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray, still a very happy Mac and Iphone 5 user!
>>
>>> On Jan 5, 2014, at 4:19 PM, Snow White Dove <jlperdue3 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I have the same problem with Comcast.
>>>
>>> I can’t pull up the Music channels to find out what channel the 
>>> Contemporary Christian music channel or the country channels are.
>>>
>>> I had the same problem, the customer service rep seemed like English was 
>>> not his first language.
>>>
>>> I asked for a supervisor and I was on hold for way too long and just 
>>> hung up.
>>>
>>> Newsline’s TV guide gives me so much choice considering I only have 
>>> about 15 to 20 channels as far as networks, and don’t know how to get 
>>> through al the other junk to get to the music stuff which is in the 800’s.
>>>
>>> Anyway, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, LOL.
>>>
>>> Jenny
>>>> On Jan 5, 2014, at 9:25 AM, Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net> 
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Well, here in Time Warner territory in Manhattan, the NFB Newsline 
>>>> cable guide is a big fat waste of time because their channel lineup 
>>>> listings are totally out of sync with the actual channel lineup on my 
>>>> cable system. Indeed, Time Warner's own onscreen and web site channel 
>>>> guides are out of sync with the actual channel lineup, and the 
>>>> brain-dead bozos in customer service apparently don't understand this. 
>>>> A few weeks ago, Time Warner rearranged all the Music Choice channels, 
>>>> but didn't bother to update their channel guide to accurately reflect 
>>>> these changes.  So for instance, both the NFB Newsline and Time Warner 
>>>> channel lineups list the Jazz channel as being on channel 644, when in 
>>>> reality it is actually on channel 641, and many of the other Music 
>>>> Choice channels are not where they are supposed to be,either.  The 
>>>> nitwit I spoke to in their customer support department didn't seem to 
>>>> know what I was talking about when I called to inquire about this, but 
>>>> that is understandable in
view of the fact that he spoke with an Indian accent and was probably based 
somewhere overseas in a bunker.  Now I have no idea of which musical genre 
is playing on which channel unless I get sighrted help.  And now rumor has 
it that Time Warner  may merge with Comcast to create an even bigger mess. 
Unbelievable
>>>>
>>>> Gerald
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pamela Dominguez" 
>>>> <geodom at optonline.net>
>>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
>>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 9:44 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] cable access
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I use newsline's TV guide to find out what's on and put it on, or, 
>>>>> like you, channel surf.  I have, occasionally, gotten stuck in 
>>>>> something I need help out of, but not often.  Pam.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Poppa Bear
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 11:59 PM
>>>>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] cable access
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm old school, I just channel surf untill I hear something that 
>>>>> intrests
>>>>> me, but then again, I am always so busy that I only sit in front of a 
>>>>> TV for
>>>>> about two hours a week.
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ashley Bramlett" 
>>>>> <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>>>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>>>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 7:20 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] cable access
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi sandy,
>>>>>> same situation.
>>>>>> If I hit a wrong button on the remote, it goes into some weird menu 
>>>>>> or mode. Sometimes, turning off the tv and turning back on resets it.
>>>>>> Other times, you just need to get out of the menu. I need sighted 
>>>>>> help then.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I see no way to have access independently which means if I lived 
>>>>>> alone, it would be difficult to have tv.
>>>>>> It seems like I need assistance for the menus for one reason or 
>>>>>> another very often.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ashley
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Sandy
>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 10:47 PM
>>>>>> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] cable access
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Ashley,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I took on my dad's directv account and am alone.  No, the guides and 
>>>>>> all of
>>>>>> that I cannot access; now I subscribe to Newsline and I have created 
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> favorites list so listen to that to see some programs I might want. 
>>>>>> My
>>>>>> friend is alone, with really poor sight, and still uses the DVR from 
>>>>>> Comcast
>>>>>> cable and can use some sort of guide.  Tbhe worst for me is if I hit 
>>>>>> some
>>>>>> button and then get no stations.  At times I can experiment and fix 
>>>>>> it and
>>>>>> othwer times I must wait for sighted help.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sandy
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>>>> From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 9:56 PM
>>>>>> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
>>>>>> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] cable access
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I’d like to have a tv when I’m on my own. For now, I can get 
>>>>>>> assistance with our cable tv options when someone is available.
>>>>>>> Actually, we have fios now.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Obviously, I can manipulate the remote; the buttons are tactile.
>>>>>>> I can even see the name of a tv program when looking fairly close to 
>>>>>>> the screen; but reading long menus would not be possible.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> However, much stuff is on screen in this digital age.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Is it possible to have cable or verizon fios when living alone?
>>>>>>> I see no way we can access those menus.
>>>>>>> In essense you have limited access and pay full price. Would you pay 
>>>>>>> for it without accessing much of its features?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I’ll just state some features and see if they are accessible 
>>>>>>> somehow. Maybe you all use aps.
>>>>>>> All are on screen, and therefore seem inaccessible.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1. the tv guide
>>>>>>> 2. on demand tv
>>>>>>> 3. the dvr function
>>>>>>> 4. ordering movies
>>>>>>> 5. any statements about station outages.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Do any providers have talking menus or large print ones? Do any of 
>>>>>>> them provide braille information to you?
>>>>>>> How has the company accomodated you, if at all?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>>>> Ashley
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail

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