The SMA May be Dying, But I’m Not Celebrating

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Serotek has just announced that it will no longer charge its customers for a software maintenance agreement (SMA) in order to keep their products updated. This development is, of course, good for consumers in that it eliminates a nagging cost of owning assistive technology. It can, unfortunately, also be bad for us. At this point, you may be asking how on Earth can the removal of an SMA be a negative? The answer is, alas, remarkably simple. Without ongoing revenue, what is the ultimate motivation for a company to constantly enhance its product to cope with a dynamic, ever-changing environment full of inaccessible technology?

As a blind person who has worked in the mainstream technology industry for over 13 years and is now completing his college degree, I need a screen reader that is both capable and reliable. When new technology is developed, I need my screen reader to support it as soon as possible. It is absolutely critical that my screen reader not stop working or cause other problems that halt or limit my productivity. If other assistive technology companies follow suit by eliminating or reducing their SMA fees, I am concerned that we will be left even further behind than we are right now. Let’s just make sure we are wisely considering questions besides the all-too-often asked “how much does it cost?” We had all better be careful for that which we wish, as we might just get it and suffer some unintended negative consequences.

Survey Grants Opportunity to Provide Feedback on Accessibility Issues with Adobe Reader

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It appears we have an opportunity to provide feedback to Adobe’s developers concerning the ongoing accessibility issues we face with Adobe Reader:

  • Adobe Digital Editions content remains completely inaccessible with all versions of Adobe Reader above 7.0. The available “solution” with Adobe Reader 7 is inadequate at best.

  • There remain some text based PDF files that remain completely inaccessible due to the ability to turn off screen reader support in the security preferences when PDFs are created.

  • Adobe Reader remains excruciatingly slow when loading PDF files into the browse mode or virtual PC buffers of screen readers, causing crashes in some situations.

We ask all of you to complete this survey, making sure to take every possible opportunity to remind Adobe’s developers of these ongoing accessibility concerns. Once you complete the survey, please pass it along to your colleagues, friends and relatives. If we are doing our jobs as good accessibility evangelists, Adobe should be hearing from hundreds of blind and visually impaired users, as well as those who care about us.

Categories PDF

Request for Assistance with Spanish 101 Course from an Accessibility Perspective

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I am taking a Spanish 101 course in order to begin meeting the foreign language requirement for the journalism major at ASU. Unfortunately, the course seems to contain inaccessible, yet crucial, elements:

  • Most of the lab exercises presented on Blackboard must be completed by dragging and dropping the mouse, rely on pictures or seem to present other, unknown inaccessible elements.

  • Many of the practice elements for the Dos Mundos book companion web site are also similarly inaccessible.

  • The textbook relies on pictures more than on direct English to Spanish translation.

I would like to hear from anyone who has successfully taken a Spanish class as a blind student in the recent past using interactive technology. Which aspects of the technology could be made more accessible and how was it accomplished? When the book and interactive exercises could not be made directly accessible, what other reasonable accommodations were made and how successfully did they work for you? All ideas are appreciated as soon as possible, and I thank any of you in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.

ACB Radio to broadcast Presidential Inauguration Live

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Hello everyone,

ACB Radio, in association with ABC Television and ACB's Audio Description
Project, is proud to announce coverage of the inauguration of the 44th
President of the United States, live on ACB Radio World. ACB Radio will be
carrying the ABC telecast with audio description from 10 AM to 5 PM US
Eastern, that's 7 AM to 2 PM US Pacific and 15 to 22 hours Universal time.
We expect to commence our coverage shortly before these times in order to
introduce the coverage. During the broadcast, you will be able to contact
the ACB Radio team at world@acbradio.org with any questions or comments you
may have. Programs normally scheduled during this time will be preempted. To
listen, go to http://www.acbradio.org/world
We hope you will join us for this historic event, live on ACB Radio World.

Naama Erez
Program Director
ACB Radio World

Voting for the 2008 Blind Bargains Access Awards is Underway With a Nice Surprise

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J.J. and the gang at BlindBargains.com have done it again with their second annual Access Awards recognizing the accomplishments of individuals and organizations in the connected, online blind community. We are happily surprised to be nominated as a candidate for the “Best Blindness-related Blog” award. The Voting Round is now underway and open until 5:00 PM Eastern Time on January 25. It takes a great deal of encouragement, enthusiasm and passion to do the hard work necessary in order to advocate, create the podcasts and write the articles that make Blind Access Journal all it can be in the blind community. I appreciate the support of our fellow accessibility advocates and loyal readers over the years.

Catch the First Desert Cafe Show of 2009!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Darrell and I invite you all to our First  show of 2009.   It will be a wonderful evening in the cafe,lots of  great music  and good  food.  The entertainment  will lyrically inspire you,  give you hope for the New Year and  help you  feel more  connected to friends and  family.
 
 The  cafe will be  crowded so come early to  get a seat.  We will have your  favorite beverages.  Polor  bear and frosty will   return later but we will be here. So, pull up your favorite web browser, visit http://interactive.acbradio.org and tune in using your media player of choice.
 
Happy New Year,
 
Darrell and Karen Shandrow
The Desert Cafe

Special New Year Edition of the Desert Cafe Coming Right Up

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Hello Everyone,
 
Coming up at 02:00 UTC (6:00 PM Pacific, 7:00 PM Mountain, 8:00 PM Central and 9:00 PM Eastern) on ACB Radio Interactive, we bring you a special New Year edition of the Desert Cafe. Hear some New Year tunes, potentially interesting chat and more. So, visit http://interactive.acbradio.org and listen with your favorite media player.
 
Happy New Year,
 
Darrell and Karen
The Desert Cafe
Darrell Shandrow – Accessibility Evangelist
Information should be accessible to us without need of translation by another person.
Blind Access Journal blog and podcast: http://www.blindaccessjournal.com

Desert Cafe Christmas Special and Brand New Slot on ACB Radio Interactive!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Tomorrow come visit us, Polar Bear and Frosty, in the newly re-opened Desert Cafe. Join us Tomorrow (Monday) evening on ACB Radio Interactive from 6:00 to 8:00 Pacific, 7:00 to 9:00 Mountain, 8:00 to 10:00 Central or 9:00 to 11:00 Eastern time for our special Christmas show.  Our Doors will be open Every Tuesday from 2:00 to 4:00 UTC as we proudly settle into our brand new time slot.
 
Though there will  not be snow, there  may be mistletoe. :-) We definitely will have hot beverages and tasty treats and  Christmas  Tunes to entertain you in our special virtual cafe.  Perhaps you may want some    gingerbread coffee? Coco with whip cream? or   hot chocolate chip cookies right  out of the oven? We will  definitely have music for children  young and  old.  So, hope  to see  you all there.
 
The Desert Cafe may now be heard every Tuesday morning from 2:00 to 4:00 UTC by visiting http://interactive.acbradio.org and selecting your favorite media player to listen.
 
Merry Christmas to all, and to all many a great show,
 
Darrell and Karen Shandrow
The Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive,
Where Your Listening Is Our Business

The Desert Cafe Re-opens Tomorrow on ACB Radio Interactive

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Hello Everyone,
 
We have reopened our doors and just in time for the Holidays.  WE have rennovated the place and  have created  some  new flavors and tasty treats for you all.  We will still have our traditional favorite beverages, sweets and music.      Our hours right now vary so please call or stop by and see the signs posted. We will be open  beginning  Tomorrow with some early Bird Christmas specials as we fill in for Naama, so there is a reason to stop by and start the season off with the right blend.
 
That’s right! Tomorrow, December 20, from 14:00 to 16:00 UTC (6:00 to 8:00 AM Pacific, 7:00 to 9:00 AM Mountain, 8:00 to 10:00 AM Central and 9:00 to 11:00 AM Eastern time), I’ll be covering Naama’s Breakfast in America, serving up the best in Christmas tunes from the re-opened Desert Cafe. The show may be heard on ACB Radio Interactive by visiting the following link:
 
 
All the best,
 
Darrell and Karen Shandrow
The Desert Cafe

Demonstrating the Fully Portable Accessibility Command Center and Announcing Our Return to ACB Radio Interactive

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We are proud to report that the Accessibility Command Center, the headquarters of Blind Access Journal, is now fully portable and capable anywhere a 3G cellular connection exists. The computer driving the show is the MSI Wind netbook, a highly functional, ultra-portable computer with a near-full-sized laptop keyboard, specialized 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 2 GB of memory, 160 GB hard drive storage, a 10-inch screen and approximately five hours of battery life under full usage. The computer is connected to a Motorola Q9H cellular phone by way of a USB cable. Connectivity over the AT&T network is facilitated by PDANet, software that enables access to the Internet using a separate computer over a cellular phone using its existing wireless data plan. The 3G connection appears to be fast and reliable. As I write this post, I am listening to ACB Radio Interactive. While all this is happening, Mobile Geo is running successfully in the background, tracking satellites through the Bluetooth connected GPS receiver and announcing positions and points of interest.

Now that my first semester back in college has concluded successfully with two A’s and one B, you can count on increased activity here on the journal. In addition, Karen and I have returned to broadcasting on ACB Radio Interactive. Your first listening opportunity is tomorrow, Saturday, December 20, from 14:00 to 16:00 UTC (6:00 AM Pacific, 9:00 AM Eastern), as I cover for Naama’s Breakfast in America show. As many of you may expect, I will be playing the best in contemporary and traditional Christmas music.

Karen and I would also like to take this time to wish all of you who are loyal journal readers a Merry Christmas. We hope you are able to spend the holidays with your family and close friends. Karen has to work on Christmas Day, so the two of us will be celebrating on Wednesday.