[nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness

Tue May 3 06:06:03 UTC 2011

Kirt,
I disagree. I think eventually most touch screens of this kind will probably be accessible. Look at elevators, for example. These days, most public buildings have their elevator buttons labeled in Braille. Does every company ask for their elevators to be Brailled? They don't. But elevators come with braille buttons by default, and that's all there is to it. I guess at some point, most of these machines which are inaccessible today will have some kind of built-in accessibility from the beginning, so individual stores, airports etc will never have to think about making them accessible. It will take time, of course. But I don't see why this can't happen...
On May 3, 2011, at 12:34 AM, Kirt Manwaring wrote:

> To all,
>  Here's my take...and, because I enjoy being an argumentative pain in
> the neck, I'm going to enjoy this.  :)  But before I start, I want to
> make it perfectly clear that I'm absolutely for the Technology Bill of
> Rights, making new technology accessible ought to be a legal right,
> and we are at a disadvantage when technology, like the touch screens
> Ashley mentioned are being put in store checkout lines, is used.
>  But we need to remember we are a minority and the majority of the
> population shouldn't bend over backwards to accomodate us.  While
> having all new technology come to us perfectly accessible is a
> laudable goal, it's probably never going to totally be realized.
> Should we have the right?  Absolutely.  Will we ever have it totally?
> Probably not...even with the Technology bill of rights, this dream of
> Universal Design will probably never be totally realized.  That
> doesn't mean we don't work towards it-it just means we need to learn
> how to live in a world where there are inconveniences we have to deal
> with.  We may have to stand in lines instead of using the independent
> self checkout-deal with it.  We may need to get a reader if our
> textbooks aren't accessible-too bad.  We may need to get assistance
> using keosks in the airport-I'm terribly sorry, that's life.  e maybe
> might even have to go with a trusted family member or friend when
> using an ATM...what a terrible tragedy!  I can't believe we're so
> mistreated, abused, ignored, neglected, forgotten, and treated like
> crap by the rest of the evil sighted world that doesn't even give a
> damn about us!  Life is aweful!  This new technology isn't
> accessible-woe is me, we're
> dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed!  Noone even
> cares about us!  This is a terrible, terrible, no-good world we live
> in, because we need to get people to help us use touch
> screens...whatever are we going to do?
>  Now of course that was an exhageration, and I certainly want
> technology to be accessible.  But rather than spend so much time
> complaining about it, let's do our best to get around the
> inaccessibility and live our lives!  I'm all for pushing to make this
> new technology independently usable...but it's probably never going to
> totally happen, deal with it.  There will always be inconveniences and
> annoyences associated with being blind-get used to it.  The world will
> never perfectly cater to our every whim, get over it.
>  Warmest regards,
> Kirt
> 
> On 5/2/11, humberto <humbertoa5369 at netzero.net> wrote:
>> Sorry, but your message came out blank: Subject: Re: [Nabs-l] New
>> Technology And blindness, sent on Sonday may 1, 2011 at 9:33 AM
>> 
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
>> list<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Date sent: Sun, 01 May 2011 09:33:12 -0400
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] New Technology and Blindness
>> 
>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>> for nabs-l:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/humbertoa
>> 5369%40netzero.net
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kirt.crazydude%40gmail.com
>> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/ignasicambra%40gmail.com