[nfb-talk] APPLICATION FOR LOAN

Peter Donahue pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com
Sat Mar 9 22:22:42 UTC 2013


Hello everyone,

    We're hearing and seeing some of the same things Bonnie was telling us 
about. In addition to alternatives to visual computer screen access seniors 
are realizing the benefit from other forms of non-visual information. On our 
local news we learned of a retirement home that is located near a dangerous 
intersection. The city installed new crosswalks and a traffic signal that 
gives pedestrians both visual and auditory notifications of when it is safe 
to cross. At one point in the report I heard the signal say "Walk." At no 
time in the report was it mentioned that there were blind residents at this 
home nor was any mention made that the audio pedestrian signal was added to 
benefit blind persons living at the home and in the area.

    In light of this it's quite possible that in the future many individuals 
may realize the benefits to be derived from receiving information from a 
computer, a traffic signal, a home appliance, etc in alternative means to 
print. I believe this is something to watch. Others have said that Braille 
notetakers may be on their way out due to the increased inclusion of 
accessibility features in to main stream devices. Like Mike we're in no 
hurry to throw out our notetakers as there is a long way to go before 
universal accessibility becomes the norm.

Peter Donahue


 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2013 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] APPLICATION FOR LOAN


Bonnie:

You and I should agree to disagree on this one. I don't think the market
will get nearly as large as you think it will because most senior citizens
just want their sight back -- they don't really *want* to learn new
technologies and, frankly, to use the technology that most of us find
useful, they're going to have to admit they're blind -- something most of
them are loath to do. Admittedly, this is a generalization but it's what
I've seen.

To give people some idea of the miniscule market out there, if our NFB
Independence Market sells twenty thousand of *anything,* it's doing a
land-office business.

It will be interesting to see who's right. (grin)

Mike Freeman


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bonnie
Ainsworth
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2013 3:55 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] APPLICATION FOR LOAN

That being said, Mike, we do have an aging population and many of them are
experiencing vision loss.  I'm of the belief that demand for devices and
products with speech will become a bigger demand than we think.  Text to
speech is becoming a god-send for several I know already.  Most are wanting
larger fonts so wham...in goes screen magnification or options for larger
fonts.  I don't think this is is as far-fetched as we think.  It's fast
becoming a reality.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2013 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] APPLICATION FOR LOAN


All:

Let us have done with deluded thinking. We are a very small market and,
therefore, what we do or do not do will have a negligible effect upon the
general market. Apple emphasized accessibility in order not to lose out on
the Massachusetts education market. What we buy or don't buy or what rehab
has in disposable income will ultimately have little to do with what
adaptive technology sellers will charge for their wares.

We are a drop in the bucket. That's part of being a minority.


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