[gui-talk] PDF accessibility

[Doug Lee]

A clarification in case it helps, though I can't tell if your message
was in response to my earlier one:  When I suggested that you give us
a patent number, I was not suggesting that you reveal anything that is
not already publicly available.  Having contracted at the US PTO
myself, I know something of how to locate a patent, and I also know
that a patent, after it is granted, can be viewed by anyone that
knows how to find it.  I simply thought it might save you and us some
time if you could give us a patent number to look up.  Anything you
are trying to keep from being discovered by other people would, pretty
much by definition, not be part of a granted patent, since getting a
patent granted exposes the thing patented.

I certainly understand your interest in protecting your work.  I'm
just trying to speed the communication of what is not restricted
information, so the rest of us can speak more informedly on what
you're trying to do.

On Thu, Dec 03, 2009 at 01:10:05PM -0600, James Pepper wrote:
The problem here is that this is a Pandora's Box. Once it is out there it is
out there.  So I am sending this out to be tested by the Accessibility
groups and I am asking who I should contact on this method to get it put
into software.

I am not a software company, I am just one man.  I am the driving force in
getting this work done.  And why should I just give away my life's work when
the accessibility people in the government receive a salary to do their
jobs.  I should be able to protect what I have done.

I would love to show it to the federal folks without giving away the
process.

I am financing this whole thing myself.  I do not have any grants.

I submitted a form to the EAC, the Elections Assistance Commission last year
that uses conventional techniques to make content accessible to the blind
and the entire document is accessible to free text to speech engines and Jim
Dickson, the Vice President of the American Association of People with
Disabilities personally presented that document to the the EAC.  But that
form, which was accessible to the best standards that we presently have, did
not use my new technique.  And it took a while to make, whereas with my new
format is better and it is easier to lay out.

I sent that form to every state and the state reactions varied but mainly it
was the IT personnel who wanted to see it to "get some tips" on
accessibility, not to use my work.  One state actually claimed in writing
that they were not required to make their voter registration forms
accessible to the blind and they said that was in the HAVA law.  So I sent
that letter to the Voting Rights Division of the ACLU and they were
appalled!

But that format is not my new format.

Another accessibility group contacted me today and they are going to take a
look at it and test it.  I think that's the best method to proceed because
these people set the standards for accessibility and they know the
technology better than anyone else and have tested this stuff for years.
And Section 508 recognizes them as experts in the field.

So I came in here for advice on who to contact on handling this graphic user
interface for the blind.

This is an ongoing process to prove the technology without giving it away.

Sincerely,

James Pepper
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-- 
Doug Lee                 dgl at dlee.org                http://www.dlee.org
SSB BART Group           doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com   http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds
new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' ('I found it!') but rather 'hmm....
that's funny...'"  --   Isaac Asimov