[Nfbc-info] FW: NFB-NEWSLINE Subscriber Newsletter

[tina thomas]

Subject: NFB-NEWSLINE Subscriber Newsletter



NFB-Newsliner

            

The Newsletter for Subscribers

 

 

All aboard the Newsliner!

 

Welcome to the maiden voyage of NFB-Newsliner, the newsletter for
NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers.  The intent of this newsletter is to inform you
of important news and updates regarding this unique and empowering service,
and to help maximize your enjoyment as a user.  You are receiving this
newsletter because you are one of the individuals for whom we have an e-mail
address (perhaps you are one of the ever-growing number who receives their
news via e-mail?) and because we feel the time has come to open up a line of
communication with you.  We understand that you don’t want your email inbox
overwhelmed, so we plan to only send you information we think you can really
use; you can expect an email from us two to three times per month.  In
addition to our desire to ensure that this service is everything that it can
be for you, and to alert you to improvements and expansions, we also want to
hear from you!  Please write to Scott White at swhite at nfb.org with your
suggestions and as always, you can call our helpline at (866) 504-7300 with
any questions you may have.  If you have forgotten your login codes, or if
you wish to receive a tutorial tape or print User’s Guide, please contact
Carylin Walton at cwalton at nfb.org.  For a wealth of information on
NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit our website at www.nfbnewsline.org.

 

Portholes

 

Do you have a certain columnist who you never miss?  Is there a certain
section of your local paper that you look forward to each week?  If so,
please pass along your preference so that it can be included in this
subscriber’s newsletter.  Whether it is sports commentator’s enthusiastic
review of baseball statistics or a food writer’s unique take on tofu, your
favorite part of the paper could also be somebody else’s must-read article
too!  Contact Renée West, Marketing and Outreach Manager, at rwest at nfb.org
or (410) 659-9314, extension 2411, so that she can feature your favorite(s)
in the next issue of NFB-Newsliner!  

 

What’s Current?

 

Since July of 1995, blind people have been using their telephone to sail
into the sea of information.  With the advent of the NFB-NEWSLINE® service,
members of the print-disabled community could be as thoroughly informed of
election results, edamame recipes, and economic reports as the next
(sighted) guy.  While phone calls and e-mails function as the anchor of our
service, we continue to build on our (and your) prior efforts—and now we’re
exploring new and exciting ways blind folks can get the news they need, when
they need it.  Two initiatives are making headway:  

 

News via the Victor Reader Stream

A companion software program for the PC will be crafted in conjunction with
a Web site where subscribers can select daily newspapers to be directly
delivered to their computer each morning.  The software will then
automatically transfer the selected daily newspapers to the Humanware Victor
Reader Stream.  The user can then take this portable, pocket-sized device
and read the selected material at their convenience.  

Currently, some subscribers who lack technical experience may find tackling
the process of transferring content from their email to their Victor Reader
Stream a bit inconvenient.  However, when the automated process is rolled
out, getting your daily news will be as simple as plugging your VR Stream
into your computer.

 

News on the Net

A secure Web site will be developed where subscribers can login to view
their daily newspaper or magazine of choice.  This Web site is to be
optimized for ease of use by persons using adaptive technology such as
screen readers and enlargement software programs.  Additionally, this Web
site will be designed to be efficiently used by persons of all levels of
technical expertise.  One really excellent feature of the
newspapers-by-website experience is that, in addition to featuring full
content, subscribers can do an allover search for a key term.  This means
that one can find every instance of the term “pirate” within all sections of
a newspaper, whether it is within the technology or entertainment pages.
This amazing functionality puts on board a new ability for members of the
print-disabled community to do research for homework or career, and makes
getting informed a ballast, er, blast!  

 

(Broad)casting Off

 

Do you love having free access day or night to over 260 newspapers and
magazines on the NFB-NEWSLINE® service?  Do you enjoy the unprecedented
ability to become informed through the availability of seven excellent
magazines, local and national Associated Press releases, and six
Spanish-language offerings?  Can you not fathom how you ever got along
without this service?  Do you know another print-disabled individual who
would benefit from using NFB-NEWSLINE®?  We want to help you in telling
others about this special service.  If you have a blind friend or are a
member of a support group for blind people, or if you live near a retirement
community, or know someone who is incapable of reading the newspaper for any
reason, you can serve as an integral element in our efforts to promote
NFB-NEWSLINE®.  We can provide you with help in targeting and talking to a
group of one or a hundred about the service, and can help you receive
marketing materials to aid in your presentation.  Please call Renée West to
discuss how you can reel in new subscribers!

 

Scott A. White
Director of Sponsored Technology Programs
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2231

Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:swhite at nfb.org"swhite at nfb.org

 

 


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