Well, if you look at the numbers... We can't include everyone. But the sight impaired includes a very large group, when you include the elderly with ARMD. Besides, they can hold a stylus in their mouth. I wish accessibility for us was that easy. Glenn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane Jordan (gmail)" <juanitatighan@xxxxxxxxx> To: "Glenn at home" <GlennErvin at cableone.net>; "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup at braille.uwo.ca> Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 8:31 PM Subject: Re: New Linux PDA For Blind People While I mostly agree with that assesment ... How do you deal with the folks who for whatever reason can't use their hands? Screens won't make a difrerence there. How do you mandate *that* kind of accessibility? I mean, if you're oging to mandate it for one group ... Jane On Mar 30, 2006, at 8:23 PM, Glenn at home wrote: > Ten years ago, I'd said that the government should not mandate > accessibility > into software, but now, it would be so cheap, when the price was > spread out > over the cost of the product to the general public, that I now > believe that > it should be law, that a device needs to be usable with and without a > screen. > I mean, it may have a screen, but it should be just as easily > usable if the > screen was covered. > I'm guessing it might cost a dollar or 2 over the cost of any > particular > product using software, if it was mandated. > Glenn > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lorenzo Taylor" <lorenzo at taylor.homelinux.net> > To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." > <speakup at braille.uwo.ca> > Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 2:14 PM > Subject: Re: New Linux PDA For Blind People > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > The voice in a blind-friendly mainstream product should be no > problem for a > sighted person. If they don't like it, they don't have to turn it > on. It's > that simple. The concept I'm going with here is that a blind-friendly > product > won't make a company much money. This is the excuse given by all the > companies > out there who are making tons of money off the government agencies > and blind > people themselves who can make the sacrifice it takes to buy such a > product. > So > why not make the mainstream product blind friendly at no cost to the > consumer? > The voice could be turned off by a sighted person if he/she doesn't > like it, > or > better yet, it could be very easilly turned on by a blind person if > he/she > needs > it. Voice synthesis is extremely cheap to implement now, so it > wouldn't > cost > the manufacturer any additional money to make it work, and it wouldn't > reduce > the functionality of the device. > > As for the open source mandate in MA, I think it's a good idea. > It's the > proprietary nature of screen readers for the unfortunately most > popular OS > that > makes it difficult to work with for some blind people. The screen > readers > for > Windows are based on proprietary technology and for the most part > only work > with > proprietary technology. This is changing slightly, but not > enough. This is > what > makes blind people think the state of MA is doing a bad thing by > trying to > cut > costs by switching to a superior open source technology. Just > think what > the > state was doing when they forced everyone to use Microsoft formats, or > Microsoft > forced the state to use their formats, whichever you like. > > Lorenzo > - -- > Keep American Idol great! Vote for Mandisa! > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQFELDwiG9IpekrhBfIRAurTAJ9Px4P1N9DM9586a6B0V85BIb7yjQCgh+Fr > dC/+Z2UTJJ7gXnx6334kNUA= > =dq8D > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup > > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup _______________________________________________ Speakup mailing list Speakup at braille.uwo.ca http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
