[nfb-talk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Comments on New Kindles

[Chris Nusbaum]

Loraine,

You can say that again! I couldn't have said it better myself!!

Go NFB!! "Glory glory Federation, our cause goes marching on!"

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Rovig, Lorraine
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2012 9:00 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List (nfb-talk at nfbnet.org)
Subject: [nfb-talk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the
Blind Comments on New Kindles

Have you read the one paragraph quote by Dr. Maurer below?  I keep thinking
what a good thing, really-really Good Thing it is that the NFB is working on
this for all the blind and visually impaired students going off to school
(K-12, college, and adult education) and all the blind and visually impaired
employees whose employers employ inaccessible equipment.  Inaccessible
equipment and inaccessible Internet sites mean people who need accessibility
have lives with more difficulty and often unnecessarily much poorer than for
people who can use stuff out of the box.  If, I mean, "when" we have won the
fight with Amazon for accessibility being built into devices in the design
stage, and, when Amazon discovers this means more money for the company
(which it will), we will have won BIG across the board.  Amazon is
worldwide; we will be influencing companies and inventers worldwide.
Everyone will take notice-just like all the big players took notice when we
sued AOL.  The biggest sad part is that the longer it takes, the more
inaccessible devices are made and bought and out there.  I am just one
person, Amazon won't listen to me but still I can help. I vote with my
wallet - both by not buying a Kindle and by helping the NFB raise the funds
it needs to carry the fight to the court of public opinion, to the Congress,
and, when necessary, to our courts of law.

Go NFB!

Lorraine Rovig
Member of the NFB since July 1975

Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2012 9:12 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Federation of the Blind Comments on New Kindles

Baltimore, Maryland (September 6, 2012): The National Federation of the
Blind<http://www.nfb.org>, the nation's leading advocate for accessible
technology and content<https://www.nfb.org/access-technology>, commented
today on Amazon's press conference announcing new Kindle e-readers and
tablets.

Dr. Marc Maurer<http://www.nfb.org/marc-maurer-bio>, President of the
National Federation of the
Blind<http://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind>, said: "The U.S.
Department of State has just withdrawn a single-source contract proposal
involving the Kindle family of devices, possibly due to our concerns about
the lack of
accessibility<http://www.nfb.org/national-federation-blind-files-complaint-a
gainst-state-department> in virtually all iterations of the Kindle.  Despite
the State Department action, our repeated encouragement of Amazon to
incorporate accessibility, and the fact that companies like Apple and Google
are actively engaged in the incorporation of accessibility features into
their devices, there is no evidence that these new Kindles are accessible.
It seems abundantly clear where Amazon stands.  The National Federation of
the Blind will continue to fight for access to all manner of devices and
content and to oppose the deployment of inaccessible devices and content by
entities that are covered by our nation's disability laws."
###


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.