[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces AgreementwithTicketmaster

Jorge Paez computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com
Thu Apr 28 02:51:31 UTC 2011 

Don't think so.


On Apr 27, 2011, at 10:37 PM, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home wrote:

> Unless accessibility becomes a little more integrated into mainstream technology without errors and Braille displays become a little more compatible and mainstream technology does not take five minutes to start up, I think that the notetakers will always have a niche. Also, mainstream technology does not have support for Braille without added software. Just out of curiosity, are there any translation programs for Mac's?
> 
> Nicole
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jorge Paez" <computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7:27 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces AgreementwithTicketmaster
> 
> 
> Mike:
> Completely agree.
> 
> And, on the question of note takers having better processors…
> if its true that that thhinking is spreading wide--that is, the thought that notetakers are becoming obsolete, and since we all know that FS and other companies are 100% for profit, then I don't blame them,
> and they aren't gonna be ready to do much more unless they see some real market demand.
> 
> I'm not saying there isn't demand--just that I can understand their stance looking at it from a business point of view.
> 
> 
> On Apr 27, 2011, at 10:03 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:
> 
>> Hi, chris.
>> 
>> I'm going to express a view that is rather unpopular among students and some
>> other techies.  I feel that if we expect the public to treat us with respect
>> and not discriminate against us, we must have a philosophy that is
>> internally consistent so that both we and society at large know what we
>> expect of society and of ourselves.  With that in mind, here is my view.
>> 
>> I start with the observation that note-takers are, in essence, PDAs.  Yes,
>> they can get rather expensive, especially when they have a braille display.
>> But they are PDAs nevertheless.  Sighted persons also use smart devices --
>> PDAs,smart phones and the like -- albeit these devices are usually far less
>> expensive than are our note-takers.  Some websites have a mobile version;
>> others do not.  Hence, the sighted cannot view every website using their
>> smart phones or PDAs and must use a PC or Mac to view some websites.  Why
>> should we, the blind, expect to be treated differently?  Some might say that
>> our impecuniousness, that is, our lack of income making it difficult to
>> afford both a note-taker and a laptop or PC/Mac should be sufficient reason
>> to justify a request for differential/special treatment.  I don't buy it.
>> There are plenty of sighted folks who cannot or choose not to own both a
>> personal computer and a smart phone or PDA due to lack of means.  In my
>> view, to demand that all websites be accessible by note-takers amounts to a
>> request for special treatment and we should think *very* carefully before we
>> ask for such differential treatment.
>> 
>> On the other hand, I think it *might* be defensible to request that
>> government websites, at least, have a text-only version accessible by both
>> fancy computers and mobile devices such as note-takers, PDAs and smart
>> phones.  The problem there is that often this means two websites must be
>> maintained and this inevitably leads to the sites getting out of sync.  So
>> many of us have resisted this solution to the problem of web accessibility.
>> 
>> I know it's human nature to want to have our cake and eat it, too.  But one
>> of the strengths of NFB philosophy is that we realize that this is
>> impossible.
>> 
>> This is, of course, entirely separate from the question as to whether
>> note-takers should have more powerful processors.  But that's between the
>> blind and the note-taker manufacturers.  And one can't blame these
>> manufacturers for not going that route when at least some folks maintain
>> that note-takers will soon be obsolete.  I'm not sure this is the case but
>> it's something to think about.
>> 
>> Mike Freeman
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
>> Of Chris Nusbaum
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 3:16 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list;
>> david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces Agreement
>> withTicketmaster
>> 
>> Hi, all.
>> 
>> I just want to make a few comments.  I'm always very glad to know that NFB
>> has reached an agreement with a private company to make that company's Web
>> site accessible.  My only comment is that in all these press releases, I've
>> noticed that it has only talked about making sites accessible to screen
>> reading software, and that's great! Screen readers are the most popular form
>> of Internet access for the blind, if I'm not mistaken.  But I don't want NFB
>> to overlook the fact that they also need to be accessible to people using
>> electronic notetakers for their Internet access as well as those using
>> screen readers.  I have both available, so if a site isn't accessible to the
>> BrailleNote, I'll try JAWS.  But a friend of mine only uses his Braille-Note
>> for Internet access both at school and at home, and hasn't gotten a laptop
>> yet.  What about people like him? Also, it never ceases to amaze me that the
>> NFB has to go so far as a lawsuit to get companies to make their Web sites
>> accessible.  It sounds to me like the CEO of Live Nation, in that case, was
>> totally cooperative with the NFB and would be glad to make their site
>> accessible.  But if the CEO was that cooperative, they wouldn't have to take
>> Live Nation to court.  The same with the law school admission site that we
>> were told about yesterday.  What do you think of all this?
>> 
>> Chris Nusbaum
>> 
>> "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Freeh,Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org> (by way of David Andrews
>> <dandrews at visi.com>)
>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:20:44 -0500
>> Subject: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces Agreement
>> withTicketmaster
>> 
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> CONTACT:
>> 
>> Chris
>> Danielsen
>> Linda Bandov Pazin
>> 
>> Director of Public
>> Relations
>> Live Nation Entertainment
>> 
>> National Federation of the
>> Blind                                                   (310)
>> 867-7000
>> 
>> (410) 659-9314, extension
>> 2330
>> <mailto:lindabandov at livenation.com>lindabandov at livenation.com
>> 
>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>> 
>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> Announces Agreement with Ticketmaster
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Ticketmaster Makes Website Fully Accessible and Fan-Friendly to Blind Users
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Baltimore, Maryland (April 26, 2011): The National Federation of
>> the
>> Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for Internet access by
>> blind Americans, today announced a cooperative agreement with
>> Ticketmaster, the global event ticketing leader and one of the
>> world's top five eCommerce sites, to make its website fully
>> accessible to the blind.  Under the agreement, Ticketmaster will
>> make
>> its website (<http://www.ticketmaster.com/>www.ticketmaster.com)
>> fully accessible to blind users utilizing screen access
>> technology by
>> December 31, 2011.  Screen access technology converts what is on
>> the
>> computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dr.  Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
>> Blind,
>> said: "An increasing number of goods and services are now offered
>> primarily over the Internet and Ticketmaster's extremely popular
>> ticket sales website is a prime example of this trend.
>> Ticketmaster
>> customers gain many of the company's valuable benefits and
>> services,
>> including access to special pre-sales and promotions, through its
>> website.  The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that
>> Ticketmaster has recognized the importance of providing equal
>> access
>> to its website for its blind customers, and we look forward to
>> working with the company to achieve that goal.  The National
>> Federation of the Blind will continue to work tirelessly until
>> the
>> blind have equal access to the full range of products and
>> services
>> available to the public through the Internet and other
>> information
>> technologies."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "For Ticketmaster, the future is all about the fans.  We want to
>> participate wherever and however so that fans can have the best
>> possible fan-friendly experience," said Nathan Hubbard, CEO of
>> Ticketmaster.  "Partnering with the National Federation of the
>> Blind
>> is enabling us to address the needs of our blind fans, so that
>> they
>> can have the same positive experience when purchasing tickets for
>> their favorite artists' performance or any live event.  We are
>> committed to working with NFB to enhance the Ticketmaster website
>> so
>> that it's accessible and usable by all of our fans out there."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Pursuant to the agreement, Ticketmaster will develop a
>> comprehensive
>> accessibility program that will include the development of an
>> accessibility guidelines manual, as well as the appointment of
>> both
>> an accessibility coordinator and an accessibility committee.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Additionally, Ticketmaster will continue to work with officials
>> of
>> the National Federation of the Blind to ensure that the
>> Ticketmaster
>> services remain accessible to the blind.  Ticketmaster will
>> submit
>> its website to the NFB Nonvisual Accessibility (NFB-NVA) Web
>> Certification program, a rigorous procedure by which websites and
>> applications that have made efforts to be accessible to the blind
>> can
>> be identified and recognized.  The NFB-NVA Web Certification
>> program
>> continuously monitors participating sites to ensure that they
>> remain
>> compliant with certification criteria.  If a site remains
>> accessible,
>> its certification is renewed on an annual or a version basis.  If
>> accessibility issues arise, the National Federation of the Blind
>> will
>> work with the site developers to remedy them.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ###
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>> 
>> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the
>> Blind
>> is the largest and most influential membership organization of
>> blind
>> people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's
>> lives
>> through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
>> encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading
>> force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's
>> blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of
>> the
>> Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center
>> in
>> the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> About Live Nation Entertainment
>> 
>> Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live
>> entertainment
>> and eCommerce company, comprised of four market leaders:
>> <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation
>> Concerts,
>> Front Line Management Group and Live Nation
>> Network.  <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com is the
>> global event ticketing leader and one of the world's top five
>> eCommerce sites, with over 26 million monthly unique visitors.
>> Live
>> Nation Concerts produces over 20,000 shows annually for more than
>> 2,000 artists globally.  Front Line is the world's top artist
>> management company, representing over 250 artists.  These
>> businesses
>> power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment
>> marketing solutions, enabling over 800 advertisers to tap into
>> the
>> 200 million consumers Live Nation delivers annually through its
>> live
>> event and digital platforms.  For additional information, visit
>> <http://www.livenation.com/investors>www.livenation.com/investors
>> 
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> 
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