[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind AnnouncesAgreementwithTicketmaster

Thu Apr 28 14:57:53 UTC 2011

Sorry I was replying to your question about translation software for the Mac.
Must've replied to the wrong message. (frown)

Sorry.

On Apr 28, 2011, at 1:26 AM, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home wrote:

> Umm, I didn't quite understand that message. You don't think so about what?
> 
> ----- 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 7:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind AnnouncesAgreementwithTicketmaster
> 
> 
> 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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