[Ohio-talk] Fw: Article from Columbus Dispatch Ohio Editorials 2010 09 19

[Deborah Kendrick]

And while I'm sending along articles, thought you might find my column this 
week of interest, too.
Deborah

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From: "NFB-NEWSLINE Online" <nfbnewsline at nfb.org>
To: "Deborah Kendrick" <dkkendrick at earthlink.net>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 6:03 PM
Subject: Article from Columbus Dispatch Ohio Editorials 2010 09 19


Deborah Kendrick commentary: Companies should  design products with 
disabilities in mind          Sunday, September 19, 2010   03:02 AM 
By  Deborah Kendrick      The Columbus Dispatch                         This 
week, eBay announced its new accessibility initiative, a result of 
partnering with the National Federation of the Blind. And Amazon recently 
announced that its new handheld ebook reader, the Kindle 3, will have 
greater accessibility, in large part due to pressure from the Reading Rights 
Coalition, comprised of organizations representing people with disabilities 
ranging from dyslexia and blindness to spinal cord injury.

Since the 1980s, technology has been hailed as the great equalizer for 
people with disabilities. It is that, although at times the progress looks 
like one step forward and two back.

Here are some major gains.

We have computer applications that speak text aloud, enlarge fonts and 
increase contrast for people with visual impairments.

We have applications that enable a person with limited or no hand function 
to command a computer - and other environmental objects - by voice or even 
breath commands.

People unable to use their voices can now communicate through an array of 
electronic communications devices, speaking for the person in voices often 
clearer than some human voices operated by their owners.

Some of these products have come about by innovation, necessity, an 
entrepreneurial spirit or some combination of the three. But there are still 
many off-the-shelf products that advanced technology renders more, not less, 
difficult to use for people with disabilities.

A simple example is the television.

When I was a kid and wanted to watch  Captain Kangaroo  or  The Smothers 
Brothers Comedy Hour  (in different decades of my childhood!) , I simply 
pushed one button to turn the TV on and turned the station tuner, one click 
per channel, counting till the desired number was reached.

Today, if I want to watch a favorite movie, I can only pop in the DVD, press 
the power button, and hope the movie begins. With some memorization and 
work-arounds, I can pause the movie for a beverage break, but accessing the 
onscreen menus is not an option.

Similarly, while I may be technologically advanced among many of my peers 
who do not have disabilities, making use of the check-in kiosk at the 
airport is a simple procedure that is completely impossible for me. Such 
kiosks, offering only a touch screen with no discernible buttons or audible 
feedback, while simple in concept, may as well carry a "hands-off" sign for 
individuals unable to see the visual display.

The eBay and Kindle solution represent one approach to solving the problem.

Irate advocates spoke out in numbers, litigation was looming and settlement 
agreements resulted in progress that might eventually mean that "great 
equalization" for everyone.

Apple Inc. is one company that has garnered considerable attention in the 
disability community by taking a different approach. The iPhone, iPod and 
iPad all have controls built in, rendering them usable out of the box by 
people with and without disabilities.

The eBay press release claims that its new accessibility features will 
create jobs for people with disabilities. The optimist in me likes that 
story. But why did it take so long?

There are now an estimated 60 million Americans with disabilities, 
representing a combined income of more than a trillion dollars. If the 
manufacturers of electronics, home appliances, public kiosks and more put 
that fact on the table while products are still in the development stage, 
more products would be sold, more people would be taxpayers and fewer 
valuable resources of time and talent would be devoted to retrofitting or 
out-of-court settlements.

I couldn't be more delighted with the ways in which technology has brought 
many who would have been marginalized into the mainstream, and I am eager to 
test-drive eBay and Kindle as these products progress. But incorporating a 
philosophy of accessibility for all from the ground up makes too much sense 
to be ignored any longer.

Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people with 
disabilities.

dkkendrick at earthlink.net

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