[nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

Sun May 1 22:49:41 UTC 2011

Okay, I'm gonna be like * really * NFB ignorant here, but what's 
the Reading Rights Coalition? Is that part of NAPUB (National 
Association to Promote the Use of Braille?"

Chris Nusbaum

"A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 1 May 2011 14:29:22 -0700
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

Yup.  Can you say "Reading Rights Coalition"?

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Nicole B.  Torcolini at Home
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 8:01 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

And it's not just with technology.  It's with so many other 
things, such as
books.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 7:51 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

 We don't have that right; that's what we are trying to 
establish.

 Mike Freeman
 sent from my iPhone

 On Apr 30, 2011, at 17:51, Chris Nusbaum 
<dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:

 I'll say this again.  So, we're a minority.  Who cares? Should 
that
 discourage us from at least trying to get all technology to be
 accessible? My answer is a resounding, "No!" We have as much of 
a right
 as anybody to have access to technology.  We just need a few 
adaptations.

 Come on, guys, where's the NFB philosophy here? I can't be the 
only one
 on an NFB-NET list who believes that we deserve the right of 
access to
 technology and we need to fight for it!

 Chris Nusbaum

 "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities 
motto)

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
 To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:24:46 -0700
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

 Patrick et al:

 I wouldn't count on increased numbers of visually impaired 
people to
 drive
 technology development.  Even if the number were to double, 
visually
 impaired people would still constitute a minority of the 
population.
 Short
 of legal requirements, development of technology is 
market-driven.  And
 although *we* don't like touch-screens and complaints of senior 
citizens
 about them strike a chord with us, most people tend to like them 
and they
 are far easier to maintain than are devices with buttons and 
dials that,
 being mechanical devices, wear out easily.

 I agree that we should strive to educate technology vendors 
about our
 needs
 but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to respond short 
of legal
 sanctions.  In this connection, while not the whole answer, our
 Technology
 Bill of Rights would go a long way toward solving the problem.  
Even
 then,
 however, we will still face some technology barriers in that 
innovation
 goes
 on and, like it or not, it is geared toward the needs of the 
majority so
 we,
 the blind, are and probably always will be playing catch-up.

 Mike Freeman

 -----Original Message-----
 From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
 Behalf
 Of Patrick Molloy
 Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 5:20 PM
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

 Nicole,
 I agree with you.  New technology continues to be a stumbling 
block, at
 least in part.  However, I think the answer is twofold: First, 
we
 should strive to educate the people in charge of leading 
technology
 companies with regards to blindness.  Second, there really 
should be a
 law mandating all touch screens be accessible.  However, I feel 
that
 progress will come.  As the number of Americans with vision
 impairment/vision loss increases, technology will HAVE to be 
made
 accessible.
 Just my thoughts,
 Patrick

 On 4/29/11, Nicole B.  Torcolini at Home 
<ntorcolini at wavecable.com
 wrote:
 It continues to amaze me in how inaccessible new technologies 
can be.  I
 don't think that the people who design them are purposefully 
making them
 inaccessible, but it is still very frustrating.  For example, I 
just read

 a
 paper about a virtual nurse agent that is designed to help 
patients
 understand medical information before being discharged from the 
hospital.
 Although the system does talk, it has several other features, 
including a
 touchscreen and pointing at places in a print booklet, which 
would be
 completely inaccessible to the blind.  My question then is, 
besides
 educating
 people about blindness, is there something else that could be 
done? For
 example, should there be a law that all touch screen devices 
have to be
 accessible or have an option for accessibility?
 The paper can be found at:
 http://relationalagents.com/publications/CHI09.VirtualNurse.pdf

 Nicole
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