[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind AnnouncesAgreementwithTicketmaster
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Thu Apr 28 21:07:49 UTC 2011
Yes, I understand that. That's what I thought for a long time.
But my TVI has always said that "the more tools you have in your
toolbox, the better." You can do a lot of things on your Mac, but
some things are just better on a notetaker. That's why I have
both.
Chris Nusbaum
"A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
----- Original Message -----
From: Ignasi Cambra <ignasicambra at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:21:03 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind
AnnouncesAgreementwithTicketmaster
I would say that eventually, notetakers will only be useful for
those who want both Braille output and input. I love reading in
Braille, but when working on a computer I simply don't need it.
I'm writing from a Macbook air which takes 10 seconds to boot and
is completely accessible. Why do I need a notetaker which costs
at least two or three times more? I can use this computer to do
many things which a notetaker cannot do at all, and it just
works!
Oh, and I think there is a translation software for Mac, although
I can't remember its name. If you really need it I can try to
find it for you...
IC
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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