Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Listener Feedback as of 9/18/2005

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Shownotes

Help Blind Katrina Victims

The National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana is accepting donations for use in assisting blind victims of the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. Thanks to Don for this excellent information.

Don’s Excellent Feedback

Darrell. As a sighted individual with a special interest in accessibility, I’ve become a regular reader of Blind Access Journal and a fan of your podcasts in particular. You’ve asked twice, now, for feedback regarding your “pod chats,” first from Tucson and now your 9/11 tribute. So, here’s mine. I think they’re great – Karen brings a whole new dimension to the blog; and by including topics that may at first seem to be outside the scope of your mission statement, you’re actually enhancing your message. Sometimes I feel like a voyeur, listening in on a private conversation; but more often I feel like an invited guest, privileged to have a better sense of you as a couple, not merely trying to cope with inflexible bus schedules and inaccessible software, but enjoying friends, sharing music, talking politics. You know. life! Darrell, you’re an inspirational advocate for accessibility. Karen, I think you complement that advocacy in a very genuine way. Your “chats” bring a deeper meaning to accessibility because you’re making yourselves more accessible – as human beings – to readers like me. And that’s the point. isn’t it? I’d like to discuss this with you further in the future, but please keep up the good work. We’re listening .we’re reading .we’re getting the message.

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Another Screen Reader Letdown on the Job

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Yet another component of my job has become inaccessible due to the failure of a piece of mainstream software, in this case an extremely large HTML table data structure, to be usable with the two most widely implemented screen readers: JAWS and Window-Eyes. There are potentially negative and serious consequences in store for me as a result of all this ongoing inaccessibility. Of course, as we blind people are largely off the radar screen of the technology industry, this scenario of inaccessibility at work is growing exponentially. Our ability to participate in employment will bleed away from us if we’re unable to find ways to constructively address issues of technology access. Listen to this podcast for details.

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