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Serotek Summer Sizzle Contest

May 31, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Serotek Summer Sizzle: Enter to Win a Complete Digital Lifestyle Makeover

Serotek’s Accessible Digital Lifestyle is a hot topic and getting hotter. Here’s your chance to add some sizzle to your life by participating in our online survey and enrolling to win a complete digital lifestyle makeover. Here’s what you can win:

The digital lifestyle makeover is worth more than $2,000 and all you have to do is answer a few really easy questions. What’s to lose? Maybe you’ll get hot and warm up your life with Serotek’s fully accessible
digital lifestyle.

Of course you don’t have to wait to win to get access and be accessible. You can start your makeover now. This summer we’re putting the fun in accessibility. If you’re one of the first 100 people to sign up for Serotek’s four-year software as a service (SAS) package, for only $24.95 per month, in addition to System Access Mobile for two computers; a four-year membership to the System Access Mobile Network, and Neo Speech, we’ll send you a Zen Stone MP3 player at no charge. Who says accessibility is all work?

Access life with Serotek’s digital lifestyle.

Start your makeover today!

Categories: Serotek
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Reminder: Coming Up on Main Menu in a Little Under 9 Hours – CAPTCHA!

May 27, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker
Hello Everyone,   
 
This announcement represents a friendly reminder for all of you to listen to an important, two hour live Main Menu coming right up later today.
 
Coming up on an exciting two hour live program, we hear from a panel of technology industry experts all about CAPTCHA (visual verification) and other forms of visual authentication, accessibility challenges to existing visual verification systems, the balance between human rights and security, existing solutions for providing reasonable accomodations to visual authentication and emerging accessibility solutions.
 
We are proud to introduce an impressive panel of experts and their primary areas of focus:
 
* Matt May from the Adobe Systems Accessibility Team will discuss his 2005 W3C note on the inaccessibility of CAPTCHA.
* Luis von Ahn from ReCAPTCHA at Carnegie Mellon University will describe their accessible solution.
* Steve Dispensa from PhoneFactor will tell us all about an innovative, telephone based two-factor authentication system.
 
The accessibility of CAPTCHA (visual verification schemes on the web) and other similar forms of visual authentication is a topic of utmost importance to the blind, visually impaired and others with print reading disabilities.  Real, universally accessible solutions are going to require significant amounts of effort, good will and out-of-the-box thinking.  We encourage active participation by the blind community, members on all sides of the issue from the mainstream technology industry and those sighted people who care about what happens to us.
 
Here is how to participate in the show:         
 
The number to call into the show is 866-400-5333.   
You may email your questions to: mainmenu@acbradio.org
You may also interact with the show via MSN (Windows Live) Messenger. The MSN Messenger ID to add is: mainmenu@acbradio.org         
 
Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is: main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Come join an already lively group of users.          
 
Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:          
 
 
Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream channel.          
 
Follow this link to listen to the show:          
 
 
Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team
Categories: Uncategorized
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Response to David Pogue: Are Efforts to Acquire Accessibility by the Blind Being Lumped in with Piracy?

May 25, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

May 25, 2008

Dear Mr. Pogue,

It is really disappointing to see blind people mentioned categorically in a negative light through your article entitled Can e-Publishing Overcome Copyright Concerns? in the New York Times. Unless there have been piracy convictions in a court of law, you have no absolute proof that those two blind people to whom you provided electronic copies of your books were the same ones who posted the illegal copies two days later. As people who lack physical eye sight, or who’s sight is extremely limited, we endure serious information accessibility challenges. This circumstance is completely beyond our control. Despite current technologies, we probably have access to easily 10 percent or less of the printed material you enjoy as a fully sighted person.

There are protected ways in which you may provide your books in an accessible format, one of which is Bookshare at http://www.bookshare.org. You could have also asked for some reasonable proof of disability before sending your books to complete strangers in an unprotected format. Please consider dawning a blindfold and a free screen reader like System Access to Go (http://www.satogo.com) and experiencing the world our way for a few hours, then consider clarifying your position toward blind and visually impaired people and the accessibility obstacles we face.

I hope you will consider making this right, so that your words don’t negatively impact our abilities to acquire an education and avail ourselves of employment opportunities through further worsening of the bleak inaccessibility we continue to encounter on a daily basis.

Best regards,

Darrell Shandrow

Accessibility Evangelist

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, Bookshare, opinion
Comments (2)

PDF to TXT 3.0 released

May 25, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Now available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/p2tsetup.exe

After a few years since version 2.1, I have now updated the program with two
substantive enhancements that broaden the range of PDFs from which text can
be obtained. If a PDF is locked with a password that you know, type it in
the edit box that has been added to the main dialog. If the PDF is
primarily an image format without textual characters, e.g., the result of a
scan, mark the new checkbox so that optical character recognition (OCR) is
performed rather than the usual text extraction techniques. Google
Tesseract technology is used for this, which is currently the best free OCR
available.

Note that OCR should be used as a last resort, since it takes much longer
and is more error prone. Essentially, PDF to TXT now incorporates the
PDF2OCR package, which has been available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/pdf2ocr.zip
The download size of the new installer is much larger, about 22 megabytes,
in exchange for the additional OCR capability.

The program's batch conversion features work with the latest enhancements.
Thus, all the PDFs in a directory, or all those on a web page, may be
processed with a single command if they share the same password or image
format.

Jamal

Categories: Uncategorized
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Coming up on Main Menu for the week of May 28 – Current and Emerging Accessibility Solutions to Visual Verification

May 23, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker
Hello Everyone,   
 
Coming up on an exciting two hour live program, we hear from a panel of technology industry experts all about CAPTCHA (visual verification) and other forms of visual authentication, accessibility challenges to existing visual verification systems, the balance between human rights and security, existing solutions for providing reasonable accomodations to visual authentication and emerging accessibility solutions.
 
We are proud to introduce our panel of experts and their primary areas of focus:
 
* Matt May from the Adobe Systems Accessibility Team will discuss his 2005 W3C note on the inaccessibility of CAPTCHA.
* Luis von Ahn from ReCAPTCHA at Carnegie Mellon University will describe their accessible solution.
* Steve Dispensa from PhoneFactor will tell us all about an innovative, telephone based two-factor authentication system.
 
There may be other surprise guests on this comprehensive episode, so it is definitely a show you will not want to miss!
 
Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is: main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Come join an already lively group of users.          
 
Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:          
 
 
Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream channel.          
 
Follow this link to listen to the show:          
 
 
Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team
Categories: Uncategorized
Comments (1)

Seeking Usability Test Participants for Voting Systems in Washington DC / Baltimore Area

May 21, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

The Paciello Group (TPG) is recruiting individuals with disabilities who live in the greater Washington, DC area, to participate in a usability study for voting systems.
In this initial round of testing, we are looking for individuals with the following disabilities:

– Blind or legally blind who requires braille or audio
– Low vision requiring large print and/or audio
– Persons with mobility disabilities
– Persons with dexterity disabilities

Additionally, participants must be at least 18 years of age and a registered voter.

Where:  Metro Research Services
             1729 King Street
            Alexandria, Virginia 22314
When:     Wednesday June 4 and Thursday June 5

Sessions will take about 45 minutes and each participant will be paid $100.

– Email: mpaciello@paciellogroup.com

– Telephone: 603-882-4122, extension 103 
      
  (If Mike is not available, please leave a message. Your call will be returned shortly.)

Thank you very much. Your participation will help ensure an effective, accessible voting systems.

—
Mike Paciello
Founder & Principal, TPG
web: www.paciellogroup.com 

 
Categories: Uncategorized
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Appeals court rules paper money unfair to blind – May. 20, 2008

May 20, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Federal appeals court says Treasury Department is violating the law by keeping dollars the same size and feel.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department is violating the law by failing to design and issue currency that is readily distinguishable to blind and visually impaired people. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a 2006 district court ruling that could force the United States to redesign its money so blind people can distinguish between values. Suggested solutions include making bills different sizes, including raised markings or using foil printing which is a method of hot stamping that is tactically discernable.

Judge Judith Rogers, in a ruling on a suit by the American Council of the Blind, wrote that the Treasury Department’s failure to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to the visually impaired violates the Rehabilitation Act’s guarantee of “meaningful access.” The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was originally designed to extend civil rights to disabled individuals and provide them a full opportunity to participate in American society.

Rogers also wrote that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has not met his burden to show why changing the money would impose an undue burden. “A large majority of other currency systems have accommodated the visually impaired, and the Secretary does not explain why U.S. currency should be any different,” Rogers wrote in her ruling. The euro, for example, is one currency designed to be more readily identifiable. Each banknote has a predominant color and large numbers to make them easier to see. Also, the larger the denomination of the euro, the larger the banknote.

“We are very pleased with the ruling,” said a spokeswoman for the American Council of the Blind. “We are hopeful that the Treasury Department will now get busy and come up with a plan to make paper money more readily identifiable for the visually impaired people all over the world.” The Treasury Department was not immediately available for comment.

The suit was originally filed in 2002 by the American Council of the Blind and two individuals with visual impairments, Patrick Sheehan and Otis Stephens. The appeals court ruled 2-1, with Judge A. Raymond Randolph dissenting. Judge Thomas Griffith joined Rogers in voting to uphold the lower court ruling. 

Source: Appeals court rules paper money unfair to blind – May. 20, 2008

Categories: accessibility
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Coming up on Main Menu for the week of May 21 – Replay A/V, Active To-Do List, The Onion Router and Pronto

May 18, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker
Hello Everyone,  
 
Coming up on an action packed one hour Main Menu:
 
* We hear from AccessWatch with a brief review of Applian’s Replay A/V recording software.
* Chris Grabowski demonstrates and reviews Active To-Do List from Beiley Software.
* Cory Martin demonstrates and explains the use of The Onion Router (TOR) for anonymous web surfing and Internet access.
* Johanna Särkinen tells us all about Baum’s new Pronto accessible PDA.
 
Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the Main
Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is: main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Come join an already lively group of users.         
 
Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:         
 
 
Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream channel.         
 
Follow this link to listen to the show:         
 
 
Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team
Categories: Uncategorized
Comments (0)

ScripTalk Station: An Audible Prescription Reading Device To Be Demonstrated On Tek Talk May 12, 2008

May 11, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

ScripTalk Station: An Audible Prescription Reading Device To Be
Demonstrated On Tek Talk May 12, 2008

The Accessible News Wire May 6, 2008, Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Are you blind or visually impaired? Do you take prescription medications? Do
you know someone else who does? Are you concerned about remembering your
prescription instructions and information? Are you bothered that you
have to
rely on others to read your prescription information? Are you looking for a
way to safely and independently manage your medications? If you answered YES
to any of these questions, ScripTalk Station is for you!

During the upcoming Tek Talk online event sponsored by the Accessible World,
you will learn all about the amazing ScripTalk Station from Envision
America, a small, portable device that speaks all your prescription
information for you. With the press of a button you hear patient name, drug
name, dosage, pharmacy information, warnings, side effects and much more.
Say good-bye to worries, concerns and guessing! This device provides a safe
and easy way to manage personal healthcare for those who cannot read the
information on their prescriptions, and to our knowledge, it is the only
product on the market to meet all federal guidelines. ScripTalk Station
gives you the freedom of voice!

Don't miss this opportunity to find out how this new device works, how it
can benefit you, and how you can help get it into the hands of all who need
it.

Contact: Anna McClure, Marketing Representative, Envision America, Inc.
Tel: 800-890-1180
Email: amcclure@envisionamerica.com
Web:

http://www.envisionamerica.com)

Date: Monday, May 12, 2008

Time: 5:00 p.m. Pacific, 6:00 p.m. Mountain, 7:00 p.m. Central, 8:00 p.m.
Eastern and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 0:00 GMT.

Where: TekTalk Conference Room at:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

or

http://www.accessibleworld.org. Select the Tek Talk room, enter your first
and last names on the sign-in screen.

All Tech Talk training events are recorded so if you are unable to
participate live at the above times then you may download the presentation
or podcast from the Tech Talk archives on our website at
http://www.accessibleworld.org.

All online interactive programs require no password, are free of charge, and
open to anyone worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer,
speakers, and a sound card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with
the presenters and others in the virtual audience.

If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online conferencing
software, there is a small, safe software program that you need to download
and then run. A link to the software is available on every entry screen to
the Accessible World online rooms.

Sign up information for all Accessible World News Wires and discussion lists
are also available at our website: http://www.accessibleworld.org.

Media Contacts:

Robert Acosta, Chair, Planning Committee
818-998-0044
Email: boacosta@pacbell.net
Web:

http://www.helpinghands4theblind.com

Pat Price, Founder and Events Coordinator
The Accessible World Symposiums
Vision Worldwide, Inc.
317-254-1185
Skype: patprice1
Email: pat@patprice.org
Web:

http://www.accessibleworld.org

Categories: Uncategorized
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Visual Verification: Seeking Advocates and Experts for May 27 ACB Radio Main Menu Program Covering CAPTCHA

May 10, 2008 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

We are planning an episode of ACB Radio’s Main Menu technology talk show covering the accessibility concerns surrounding CAPTCHA and similar visually based authentication or challenge / response systems utilized to ensure the security of Internet resources. We are seeking three or four guests who consider themselves to be experts in one or more of the following areas:

  • Successful implementation of an audio playback or other accessible CAPTCHA on a web site.

  • Research into the creation of new, unique universally accessible CAPTCHA schemes and other forms of authentication.

  • Accomplished advocates who have made significant progress toward convincing web site operators to implement audio playback or other reasonable accomodations to visual CAPTCHA.

  • Anyone who can speak about their experiences with or development of accessible versions of authentication tokens, security keys and similar forms of two-factor authentication schemes found in both business and consumer applications.

  • Addressing of CAPTCHA accessibility concerns especially for deaf-blind Internet users.

We invite any of our readers meeting one or more of the above criteria to send an e-mail to mainmenu@acbradio.org for consideration as a possible guest. This show will run from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Pacific time on Tuesday evening, May 27 (01:00 to 03:00 UTC on May 28) on ACB Radio Mainstream.

Categories: CAPTCHA, Visual Verification
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