or Via Accessible Event march 11 at 9PM Eastern.

iBill Talking Currency Identifier from Orbit Research.

We then covered setting up a new computer using Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 7. We discussed buying new vs. upgrading an existing computer, getting past the Out Of Box Experience, installing speech, updating drivers, Windows updates, wireless internet, removing unwanted preinstalled software, transferring software and music from the old to the new computer, plus questions from participants.
Listen to Tech Chat 53 – Tribute to George Buys, Demo of ibill Talking Currency Identifier, and Setting Up a New computer

Victor Reader Stream Firmware Version 3.1 Released.

Problems for Users Who Upgrade to MobileSpeak 4.

Purchase 2GB Flash Cartridge for NLS Digital Talkingbook Player for $11.99 from APH, But Don’t Expect A Cable!

Gizmo’s 46 Best Ever Freeware Programs.

Ricky Enger demoed the new

Fully Accessible RPG for the Blind with Music and Sound Effects, Called Entombed.

Michael Lauf reviewed great programs that work great with system Access:

Skype 4.2 Released, Even More Accessible with System Access, But Be Careful When Installing.

Qwitter Twitter Client for Windows.

File Hippo Update Checker.

FileZilla FTP Client and Server.

WinPatrol 2010.

EdSharp 3.0 Powerful and Free Text, RTF and HTML Editor.

Juice Podcast Client Version 2.2.

Dropbox computer File Synchronization Software and Service.

Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 36 – Great Software that Works Great with System Access, and First Fully Accessible RPG for the Blind.

by Mike Calvo

With this announcement we are sending out a call to arms to every blind person and every advocate for the blind to rise up and throw off the tyranny that has shaped our lives for the past two decades. It is a tyranny of good intentions – or at least what began as good intentions. But as the proverb says, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And for the past two decades the technologies originally conceived to give us freedom have been our shackles. They have kept us tied down to underperforming, obscenely expensive approaches that only a small percentage of blind people can afford or master. They have shackled us to government largess and the charity of strangers to pay for what few among us could afford on our own. And we have been sheep, lead down the path, bleating from time to time, but without the vision or the resources to stand up and demand our due. That time is past. We stand today on the very edge of universal accessibility. Mainstream products like the iPod, iPhone, and newly announced iPad are fully accessible out of the box. And they bring with them a wealth of highly desirable accessibility applications. The cost to blind people is exactly the same as the cost to sighted people. It’s the same equipment, the same software, the same functionality, and fully accessible. What Apple  has done, others are doing as well. The adaptive technology vendor who creates hardware and software that is intended only for blind folks, and then only if they are subsidized by the government, is a dinosaur. The asteroid has hit the earth, the dust cloud is ubiquitous, the dinosaur’s days are numbered. But dinosaurs are huge, and their extinction does not happen overnight.. Even as they die, they spawn others like them (take the Intel Reader for example). Thank you, no. Any blind person can have full accessibility to any type of information without the high-cost, blind-ghetto gear. They can get it in the same products their sighted friends are buying. But let’s face it; if we keep buying that crap and keep besieging our visual resource center to buy that crap for us, the dinosaurs of the industry are going to keep making it. Their profit margins are very good indeed. And many have invested exactly none of that profit in creating the next generation of access technology, choosing instead to perpetuate the status quo. For instance, refreshable braille technology, arguably the most expensive blindness-specific(and to many very necessary) product has not changed significantly in 30 years. Yet, the cost remains out of reach for most blind people. Where’s the innovation there? Why have companies not invested in cheaper, faster, smaller, and more efficient ways to make refreshable braille? Surely the piezo electric braille cell  is not the only way? And what about PC-based OCR software? It’s still around a thousand dollars per license, yet core functionality hasn’t changed much; sure, we get all sorts of features not at all related to reading, along with incremental accuracy improvements, but why are these prices not dropping either, especially when you consider that comparable off-the-shelf solutions like Abbyy Finereader  can be had for as low as $79? ? And let’s not forget the screen reader itself, the core technology that all of us need to access our computers in the first place. Do we see improvements, or just an attempt to mimic innovation  with the addition of features which have nothing to do with the actual reading of
the screen, while maintaining the same ridiculous price point. This maintaining of the status quo will, inevitably, face an enormous crash, worse than the transition from DOS to Windows based accessibility. You can expect a technology crash that will put users of the most expensive accessibility gear out of business. Why? I won’t bore you with all the technical details, but the basic story is that some of these products have been kept current with patches and fixes and partial rewrites and other tricks we IT types use when we haven’t got the budget to do it right, but we need to make the product work with the latest operating system. That process of patching and fixing creates an enormous legacy barrier that makes it impossible to rewrite without abandoning all who came before. But you can only keep a kluge working for so long before it will crumble under its own weight. That, my friends, is exactly where some of the leading adaptive technology vendors find themselves today. There are exceptions. Serotek is an exception because we have completely recreated our product base every three years. GW Micro  is an exception because they built their product in a highly modular fashion and can update modules without destroying the whole. KNFB is an exception because they take advantage of off-the-shelf technologies, which translate ultimately into price drops and increased functionality. But even we who have done it right are on a path to obsolescence. The fundamental need for accessibility software is rapidly beginning to vanish. The universal accessibility principles we see Apple, Microsoft, Olympus, and others putting in place are going to eliminate the need for these specialty products in a matter of just a very few years. Stop and think. Why do you need accessibility tools? To read text? E-book devices are eliminating that need. None of them are perfect yet, but we are really only in the first generation. By Gen2 they will all be fully accessible. To find your way? GPS on your iPhone or your Android based phone will do that for you. To take notes? Easy on any laptop, netbook, or iPad. Heck, you can record it live and play it back at your convenience. Just what isn’t accessible? You can play your music, catch a described video, scan a spreadsheet, take in a PowerPoint presentation – all using conventional, off-the-shelf systems and/or software that is free of charge. There are still some legacy situations where you need to create an accessibility path. Some corporations still have internal applications that do not lend themselves to modern devices. There will certainly be situations where a specialized product will better solve an accessibility problem than a mainstream one, especially in the short term. We don’t advocate throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but we do advocate that we begin to hasten the inevitable change by using accessible mainstream solutions wherever possible. Even now, the leading edge companies are reinventing their internal systems with accessibility as a design criteria, so the situations that require specialized products will certainly become fewer as time goes on. If our current Assistive technology guard’s reign is coming to an end, why the war? Why not just let it die its own, natural, inevitable death? Because nothing dies more slowly than an obsolete technology. Punch cards hung on for twenty or thirty years after they were completely obsolete. The same is true for magnetic tape. Old stuff represents a comparatively large investment, and people hate to throw away something they paid a lot of money for even if it’s currently worthless. But that legacy stuff obscures the capabilities of the present. It gets used in situations where other solutions are cheaper and more practical. The legacy stuff clogs the vocational rehab channel, eating up the lion’s share of the resources but serving a tiny portion of the need . It gets grandfathered into contracts. It gets specified when there is no earthly reason why the application requires it. The legacy stuff slows down the dawning of a fully accessible world. It hurts you and it hurts me. To be sure, I make my living creating and selling products that make our world accessible. But first and foremost, I am a blind person. I am one of you. And every day I face the same accessibility challenges you face. I have dedicated my life and my company to making the world more accessible for all of us, but I can’t do it alone. This is a challenge that every blind person needs to take up. We need to shout from the rooftops: “Enough!” We need to commit ourselves in each and every situation to finding and using the most accessible off the shelf tool and/or the least-cost, highest function accessibility tool available. With our dollars and our commitment to making known that our needs, and the needs of sighted people, are 99% the same, we can reshape this marketplace. We can drive the dinosaurs into the tar pits and nurture those cute fuzzy little varmints that are ancestors to the next generation. We can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. And all it takes is getting the best possible solution for your specific need. Once you have found the solution to fill that need, let the company know you appreciate their work towards better accessibility. Let your friends (sighted and blind) know about these accessibility features; they probably don’t know that such features exist. Make your needs known to the vocational rehab people you are working with, and don’t allow them to make recommendations for a specific technology for no other reason than that it’s been in the contract for years. Make sure your schools and your workplace understand the need to push technology in to the accessible space. Show them the low-cost alternatives. In this economy some, the intelligent ones, will get it and the tide will begin to turn. And then in short order the tsunami of good sense will wash away the old, and give us the space to build a more accessible world for all of us. Let the demand ring out loud and clear and the market will follow. If this message rings true to you, don’t just shake your fist in agreement and leave it at that. let your voice be heard! Arm yourself with the vision of a future where there are no social, conceptual, or economic barriers to accessibility, and let your
words and your actions demonstrate that you will not rest until that vision is realized. Take out your wallet and let your consumer power shine! You do matter as a market. People! You have kept this company alive with your money for 8 years this month! I believe that if we all get together and do our part, we will finally say “NO more!” same old same old! Join the revolution! Together we can change the world!

Kelly Pierce,

David Lepofsky

and

Brian Charlson

each successful in a variety of different initiatives.

Kelly Pierce works as an advocate for victims of crime with disabilities at the prosecutor’s office in Chicago. He has been active in helping people get adaptive technology at their college, obtain free talking cell phones and free cell phone screen readers, training and equipment from rehabilitation agencies, high quality audio interfaces for transit bus stop calling systems, voting machines and meaningful and useful ATM access at large banks; has written several guides on choosing adaptive technology and qualified trainers, and on forming assistive technology teams for acquiring technology.

Listen to 45 Minute Presentation by David Lepofsky on Advocacy, November 7, 2007

David Lepofsky, located in Toronto Ontario Canada, successfully navigated the complaint process to force the Toronto transit agency to install automatic stop calling equipment on its buses.  He also worked to include people with disabilities into Canada’s Charter of rights and Freedoms.

Brian Charlson has been one of the driving forces behind several of
the transformational legal settlements in the past few years. Recently he was one of the claimants that worked extensively with Major league Baseball on making its website and digital services fully accessible
to the blind. There was a profile in the Boston Globe in the past week
regarding this effort. He also worked with Fleet Boston financial on
ATM and banking access. Brian was one of the most visible disability
leaders that challenged the claims of Sun Microsystems and
International Business Machines Corp, (IBM) regarding the
accessibility of the OpenDocument file format and the Open Office
software suite that the State of Massachusetts wanted to use instead
of Microsoft Office. Sun, IBM and the state said the technology was as
accessible as MS Word and MS Office. Brian currently works at The
Carroll Center for the Blind and serves as vice President of Computer
Training Services. Brian has been instrumental in developing the
training program for the Adaptive Technology Center. His work has led
to the successful employment of many persons with visual impairment
who had been considered unemployable. Previously, Brian was a Vice
President of Talking Computer Systems. He attended Willamette University in Salem, majoring in
political science. He also served as Assistant Sergeant at Arms during
three terms of the Oregon State Legislature. He also worked as the
Human Rights Coordinator for the city of Salem and ran a food service
stand in the state agriculture building. Brian has used his nationally
recognized leadership and consensus building skills to advance the
employment and education of persons who are blind through the use of
adaptive technology. He is currently a director and Chairman of the
Budget Committee, American Council of the Blind (ACB); member,
Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American
Foundation for the Blind (AFB); Chair, Information Access Task Force,
(Washington, DC); member, Statutory Advisory Board of the
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind; and a member of the World
Blind Union North American Regional Board.

Tech chat 52 – learn to Effectively Advocate for Change, Via Accessible Event.

 Listen to Tech Chat 52 – Strategies for Effective Advocacy

Read Show Notes with Links, for Tech Chat 52 – Strategies for Effective Advocacy

We’ll also utilize

the power of Accessible Event technology to display relevant and useful web pages, Microsoft Word documents, Excel Spreadsheets and Powerpoint slides

to equip interested persons with the tools they need to effectitvely advocate for change.
 
We are honored to have a distinguished group of three accomplished guests:

Kelly Pierce, David Lepofsky, and Joyce Scanlan, each successful in a variety of different initiatives.

Kelly Pierce works as an advocate for victims of crime with disabilities at the prosecutor’s office in Chicago. He has been active in helping people get adaptive technology at their college, obtain free talking cell phones and free cell phone screen readers, training and equipment from rehabilitation agencies, high quality audio interfaces for transit bus stop calling systems, voting machines and meaningful and useful ATM access at large banks; has written several guides on choosing adaptive technology and qualified trainers, and on forming assistive technology teams for acquiring technology.

David Lepofsky, located in Toronto Ontario Canada, successfully navigated the complaint process to force the Toronto transit agency to install automatic stop calling equipment on its buses.  He also worked to include people with disabilities into Canada’s Charter of rights and Freedoms.

Joyce Scanlan earned Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of North Dakota with minors in Social Studies, Latin, Education, and History. She taught high school English, Latin and History in North Dakota and Montana before moving to Minnesota. She joined the National
Federation of the blind of Minnesota in 1970, and was first elected
its president in 1973. In 1974, she was elected to the national NFB
board of directors, where she served until 2006, including the offices
of secretary and first vice-president. Since arriving in Minnesota,
she and other young blind leaders believed the home for the blind the
Federation operated was and inappropriate focus for an organization
that stressed and attracted people for the aim of increasing
independence and opportunity. Eventually, Joyce spearheaded the sale
of the home for the blind and opened the residential training center
Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND, Inc.) in 1987. She
served as its executive director from 1987 to 2003. She was elected
president of the NFB of Minnesota every two years from 1974 until her
retirement from that position in 2007.

Join us Thursday Feb. 25 at 9PM Eastern to Learn How to Effectively Advocate for Change, Via Accessible Event.

Topics included great recipes using only 3 ingredients,
organizing and labeling your belongings, fixing small
problems, downsizing your belongings when you need to
relocate, shopping for food and other items, suggestions for
cleaning, and much more. We offered great tips from ten
books you can get for free from the NLS. Participants shared their personal exsperiences with others.

View Tech chat 51 – Tips for Home Management Via Accessible Event

Listen to Tech Chat 51 – Tips for Better Home Management

A Few Web Sites Mentioned in Tech Chat 51 on Better Home Management

Serotek Now Offers Paypal for All Software and Services

20,000 Downloads of iBlink Radio Since Being Posted on the Apps Page of the iTunes Store

HR4533 technology Bill of Rights for the Blind

Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2010

APH 2GB Flash Cartridge for NLS players for $11.99, Cable Not Included

Blind Bargains ATIA 2010 coverage and other audio

Tech Chat 50 Show Notes for online Data Backup Solutions

Fideliphone allows stereo phone calls with the highest audio quality

Olympus to release recorder with text to speech, Voice Recognition, DAISY Playback, MicroSD, Wave, MP3 and WMA recording

RockBox 3.5

New Windows 7 antipiracy update to phone home regularly

Fans With Visual Impairments Gain Enhanced Access to MLB.COM and some team web sites

Bill Sparks and doug Hunsinger reviewed three radios. Get the links from the

All Things Radio Web Site.

Mike Calvo reviewed the

Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset for the iPhone and other devices.

Michael Lauf reviewed three apps for the iPhone:

Just do a search in iTunes for

Mobile Talk

TVU Player

and

RSS Player

And Mike Calvo finished the podcast by reviewing the

Live Speakr dock for the iPhone that can fit in your pocket.

Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 35 – Lots of News, 5 Things for the iPhone, and 3 Radios Under $100