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Launch of New Shellworld Radio Internet Broadcaster

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A new Internet radio station, Shellworld Radio, has just launched this weekend. Operated by a blind business owner, this new station provides music and original content serving the blind community. We highly recommend you check out this new Internet listening opportunity.

Happy listening!

Update

It is apparent that the links to the new Shellworld Radio are not working consistently at the moment. We are quite confident that the issues will be resolved soon and the station will be on the air full time.

Tutorial: PAC Mate, Nokia Series 60 Cell Phone and T-Mobile Internet on the Move

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This text based tutorial represents the step by step instructions necessary to connect your Nokia Series 60 based Symbian cell phone with your PAC Mate for the purpose of establishing Internet access through T-Mobile Internet. An audio presentation of this information was released on ACB Radio’s Main Menu technology program in early July.

Requirements

The following equipment is required:

  • Nokia 3650, 6620 or other similar Series 60 Symbian based cell phone.

  • A screen reader on your cell phone such as Mobile Speak or Talks.

  • Subscription to your cellular provider’s data service. T-Mobile Internet is specifically demonstrated in this tutorial.

  • A Freedom Scientific PAC Mate BX or QX product.

  • A Bluetooth Compact Flash card inserted into the PAC Mate. The Socket Communications Bluetooth Connection Kit is highly recommended.

Preparing the Phone to Connect to the PAC Mate Using Bluetooth

Complete the following steps to make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your phone and that it is discoverable:

  1. Press the menu key.

  2. Down arrow to Connectivity.

  3. Press Select.

  4. Bluetooth is already highlighted. Press Select.

  5. Listen for the words “Bluetooth on”. Press Select if you hear “Bluetooth off”.

  6. Press down arrow once. Make sure you hear “my phone’s visibility shown to all”. If it says “hidden”, press Select once to make the phone discoverable.

  7. Optionally, down arrow and press select to rename your phone. This step is not required.

  8. Press Key 2 twice to exit the menus.

The phone has now been prepared to accept a Bluetooth connection from the PAC Mate.

Establish Bluetooth Bonding Between the PAC Mate and the Phone

Most of these procedures are conducted on the PAC Mate. Entry of the Bluetooth passkey must be entered on both devices. This will be made clear in the procedures below:

  1. Make sure your PAC Mate is focused on the “Today” window.

  2. Press JAWS key+f11 on the PAC Mate.

  3. Press enter on “Bluetooth Transmitting”.

  4. Down arrow to “Get Connected” and press enter.

  5. Press enter on the Next button.

  6. Use the up and down arrow keys to select the model of your cell phone: for example, Nokia 7650/3650.

  7. Press enter.

  8. Press enter on the Next button.

  9. A reminder of the need to make your phone discoverable is heard. Following these procedures, this has already been accomplished. Press enter on the Next button to proceed.

  10. The name of your cell phone should now be heard. If there are multiple devices found, use the up and down arrows to select your phone from the list.

  11. Tab to the Select button and press enter.

  12. Press enter on the Next button.

  13. Press enter again on another Next button.

  14. Press enter on the Finish button.

  15. Return to the “Today” window if you are not taken there automatically.

  16. Press JAWS key+f11.

  17. Press enter on “Bluetooth Transmitting”.

  18. Down arrow to “Advanced Features” and press enter.

  19. Down arrow to “Bluetooth Devices” and press enter.

  20. Down arrow to the name of your cell phone and press the Context key. This is the fourth key to the right of the space bar.

  21. Press enter on “Bond”.

  22. Press enter on the Next button.

  23. The name of your cell phone is heard and you are reminded to make sure its Bluetooth capability is turned on and discoverable. Press enter on the Next button.

  24. Enter a passkey as prompted. This should consist of four numbers.

  25. Tab to the Reply button and press enter.

  26. On your phone, enter the same passkey as prompted then press Key 1 within 30 seconds or less to complete the bonding process.

  27. Press enter to choose the Finish button on your PAC Mate.

  28. Press escape to return to the “Today” window.

Connecting the Phone to the Internet

These procedures assume you are using the T-Mobile Internet service. Feel free to substitute the details with information supplied by your cellular data service provider as needed. Follow these steps on the phone:

  1. Press the Menu key.

  2. Down arrow to Tools and press Select.

  3. The Settings menu is highlighted; press Select to open the menu.

  4. Down arrow to Connection and press Select.

  5. The Access Points option is highlighted; press Select to open the menu.

  6. Press Key 1.

  7. Down arrow to the “New Access Point” submenu and press Select.

  8. The “Use Default Settings” option is highlighted; press Select to continue.

  9. Enter the following information in the fields as prompted:

    • Connection name: Enter anything you like. The contents of this field are all up to you.

    • Data Bearer: GPRS

    • Access point name: internet2.voicestream.com

    • User name: none

    • Prompt password: no

    • Password: Skip this field; do not enter anything here!

    • Authentication: Secure

    • Gateway IP address: 216.155.165.50

    • Home page: http://wap.myvoicestream.com

    • Connection security: off

    • Session mode: permanent

  10. Press Key 2 when entry of all settings has been completed.

  11. Press Key 2 several times until all menus have been closed.

The phone is now ready to be utilized as a device for establishing an Internet connection from the PAC Mate.

Establishing the Dial-Up Connection on the PAC Mate

Follow these steps to establish a dial-up connection from the PAC Mate through your phone:

  1. Press the Start key on the PAC Mate.

  2. Down arrow to Settings and press enter.

  3. Press control+tab twice to reach the “Connections” page.

  4. Down arrow to Connections and press enter.

  5. Tab to New and press enter.

  6. Enter a name for the connection as prompted.

  7. Tab to the “Select a Modem” field.

  8. Make sure “Bluetooth Phone” is selected.

  9. Tab to the Next button and press enter.

  10. Enter *99# as the number to be dialed.

  11. Tab to the Next button and press enter.

  12. Tab to the Advanced button and press enter, leaving the username, password and domain fields blank.

  13. In the “Baud Rate” list, down arrow to 57600.

  14. Tab to the “wait for dial tone before dialing” check box and press the space bar to turn this feature off.

  15. Tab to the “extra dial-string modem commands” edit box and enter the following text exactly: +CGDCONT=1,,”internet2.voicestream.com”

  16. Tab over to the “general tab” and press enter.

  17. Tab to the Finish button and press enter.

You have now established a dial-up connection that uses your PAC Mate to connect with T-Mobile Internet through your cell phone. Completion of these procedures has left you focused on the Modem tab of the Connections settings. Press escape to leave this window.

Establishing and Using the New Connection

It is now time to establish your first successful mobile Internet connection. Follow these steps to get underway:

  1. Make sure your cell phone is turned on.

  2. Press the Start key on your PAC Mate.

  3. Press s to reach the Settings menu quickly.

  4. Press control+tab twice to reach the Connections page.

  5. Down arrow to Connections if it is not already focused and press enter to open this window.

  6. Down arrow to “Manage Existing Connections” and press enter.

  7. Your new connection should be focused. If it is not, press down arrow until it has been selected from the list. You may safely ignore the check box to the left of its name.

  8. Press the Context key to right click the connection.

  9. Down arrow to Connect and press enter.

  10. Make sure the username and password fields are both totally blank. Remove any asterisks that may be present in the password field.

  11. Tab to the “save password” check box and press the space bar to activate it.

  12. Tab to OK and press enter.

The PAC Mate will initiate the connection process. If all goes well, you will be connected to the Internet in less than a minute. No dialogue box will confirm this successful connection; focus will simply be returned to the list of possible dial-up connections. Simply begin using programs such as AOL Instant Messenger, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger.

I hope this tutorial helped to expand your connectivity beyond the home, office or wireless hotspot into new realms where Internet access is typically unavailable. Please feel free to provide constructive feedback by way of a comment to this article, an e-mail message to editor@blindaccessjournal.com, or a call to the comment line at 206-350-6925.

Dial-A-Ride: Clear Example of the Need for Greater Professionalism

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I sent the following letter to the quality assurance manager of Dial-A-Ride following a conversation he had with Karen this afternoon.

Hi Andrew,

Karen and I just spoke at length regarding the telephone discussion the two of you had this afternoon. First, please understand that Karen and I appreciate your taking some ownership of yesterday’s incident and doing your best to make some adjustments. We really do appreciate that. Second, we both fully understand that Dial-A-Ride is a shared ride service, that it (like all other systems in the known universe) is imperfect and that, from time to time, there are bound to be problems. When problems do arise, all we ask is that your organization’s staff hold themselves accountable, take ownership and make real, sincere, reasonable best efforts at resolving the issues. As in just about any other business, we expect representatives to take ownership and responsibility of all matters from start to finish. The following basic steps would go a very, very long way toward resolving any issues:

  1. When there is an error, acknowledge it right away.

  2. Sincerely apologize.

  3. Expedite any adjustments as needed to reduce the negative consequences.

  4. When adjustments just can’t be made, provide a free trip or send some tickets.

  5. Investigate and provide real answers.

That’s all there is to it. We just would like you guys to do your best to follow those basic five steps. We feel they are pretty much universally good practices across all aspects of life. You mentioned your feeling that the number of e-mails we send and telephone calls we make concerning issues are “excessive” and that we need to understand that “we are not the only passengers”. Karen is in the hospitality industry and I am in the technical customer support industry. Under no circumstances are we permitted to make statements like these when dealing with customer service issues. It would be, at a minimum, considered highly unprofessional. Our supervisors would certainly be speaking with us. We would most certainly be written up or, worse yet, fired for repeated incidents. Please understand that you and other members of your staff will receive fewer e-mails and telephone calls from us when we observe practices of greater accountability,
professionalism, responsibility and taking ownership of issues.

Best regards,

Darrell