On January 31, 2008, the Accessibility Is a Right (AIR) Foundation was launched. The foundation’s first initiative is to provide a free screen reader to all blind computer users, or those who would like to be able to access computers, around the world. The blind still suffer at least a 75 percent unemployment rate in… Finish Reading Why Not Enjoy a Little Fresh Air?
I think we all recognize that, in many cases, there simply is not a strong bottom-line business reason for companies (either assistive technology or mainstream) to work hard on making sure their technologies function in ways that are in the best interests of all users, including those of us whom happen to be blind. There… Finish Reading The Heart of Accessibility Evangelism
The following letter was composed and sent to Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind, on July 28, 2007. It has been five weeks now. We continue to await a response from the organization concerning their official position and willingness to dedicate additional resources to these critical accessibility concerns. July 28, 2007Â Dear… Finish Reading Visual Verification: Request of NFB to Officially Support CAPTCHA Accessibility Initiatives
Karen and I took a short trip this morning down to the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona’s state convention. The hotel where it is being held is only a couple of miles from our house! We took a look at several exhibits and visited with a few people we know in the Federation.… Finish Reading Initial Thoughts on the K-NFB Reader
If you’re blind or severely visually impaired, imagine that you wake up one day to find… You compose an e-mail to your sister, only to discover you can’t send it due to a visual CAPTCHA that provides no audio playback or other reasonable accomodation. A telephone number is given for visually impaired users. After waiting… Finish Reading Imagine The Dark Future of CAPTCHA and Multifactor Authentication for the Blind
Recently, I have been engaged in discussions with several close friends and colleagues concerning my ongoing comparison between the exclusion of the blind from online participation through visual only CAPTCHA and the historical issue of racial segregation in the United States. These friends tell me the comparison is too controversial, that it doesn’t really work… Finish Reading Visual Verification: Changing the Frame of Reference?
The following comment was cowardly posted to the journal under a cloke of anonymity. I completely disagree with you. Blogs are essentially private domain, and the use of them in any capacity is a privilege that is extended by the owner to visitors. Your assertion that someone has to spend more time and energy into… Finish Reading Straightforward Example of the Selfishness and Poor Attitudes We Must Defeat
Blind Access Journal is almost three years old. We will be celebrating our third anniversary of concerted online accessibility evangelism on December 17,2007. Now that we have embarked on our second major CAPTCHA (visual verification) accessibility initiative, I thought it would be a good idea to make the agenda of Blind Access Journal plainly clear… Finish Reading Accessibility Is A Right, Not a Charity, Convenience, Luxury or Privilege
Is revisionist history at work in the blind community’s own electronic media outlets? Can important information and the opinions of certain people in the community simply be made to disappear from our public knowledge without comment? It appears, unfortunately, that there may be two clear cases of exactly this sort of thing happening in a… Finish Reading Is Revisionist History at Work in the Blind Community’s Own Online Media Outlets?
When I was in high school, I had a teacher’s aid named Gloria. Gloria came to the United States a long time ago from Burma. She’s a Karen, a member of an ethnic group that has been fighting for independence for more than 58 years. The Karen are officially represented by an organization known as… Finish Reading Objectivity versus Opinion, or the Difference Between Journalism and Evangelism