Blind Access Journal

In an effort to move work related instant messaging traffic in house, my employer has decided to switch away from AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) to a solution that can be deployed on an internal server. The server will be based on the open source Jabber (XPP) protocols. As soon as I learned the protocol to be used, it felt like deja vu. I will explain the reason later.

After learning this news, I began a search for an accessible Jabber instant messaging client. Our local IT staff recommended a messenger client called GAIM, which has been renamed to Pidgin due to a trademark issue with America Online over the use of the term AIM. (Oh, no! There we go again!) After working with Pidgin for just a few minutes, I realized that it was going to be totally inaccessible for my needs. It appears to have been written using GTK+, which appears to be a UNIX GUI toolkit ported over to Windows. As a result, Pidgin might work extremely well with a Gnome screen reader like Orca. I also wonder how this might work on the Mac with VoiceOver. Our Linux, other *nix based and Mac user friends will, hopefully, set us straight.

Finally, I remembered the reason for my previous deja vu experience. While working as a network administrator for Amerion, I set up and utilized the Exodus Jabber instant messenger client back in 2001 to communicate with internal colleagues. Though changes have been made to the software since that time, my initial testing with Exodus shows it to be quite accessible after a couple of minor control reclassifications. Our IT staff has not yet implemented the new server, so I am not able to test this new client internally. If anyone would be interested in testing this client with me using public Jabber servers, please download and install your own copy of Exodus and send me e-mail so we can set a time to get together.

Barry Campbell from ACB Radio Interactive reports the following:

According to the website

http://www.dcrtv.com

XM Offers 87-Cent Refund For Outage – 5/23 – USA Today reports that DC-based
XM is offering a pro-rated refund for Monday/Tuesday's 24-hour satellite
radio outage. But, subscribers have to call XM's customer service number
(800-XM-RADIO) to request an 87-cent refund of the $13 monthly fee. The
problem with the XM3 satellite largely impacted reception of XM's network of
land-based repeaters, which provide service to urban areas…..

I find this curious because it will cost them more in phone charges then the
.87 per person. Think it would be easier to just prorate everyone's
account.

Karen contributes the following heartfelt KDD (Karen’s Daily Dose) concerning the issues between Freedom Scientific and Serotek currently rocking the blindness access technology industry.

At 6;15, I arrived to work, in plenty of time,
Hope all is fine,
I am struggling to keep awake, that will be difficult to do,
And how are you?

Only a couple hours of sleep, last night, We did get,
Most of it, having to do with The Lawsuit and messages being passed on
the net,
Some saying things to be hurtful instead of addressing the issues at
hand,
Dragging one another through the mud, dirt and sand.
Some are shooting each other in the head, through Character
assassination , rather then provide support,
Who wants to see anyone in court,
Deal with Lawyers and go to trial,
Wish FS, this Lawsuit, you did not file.
The blind community is way too small,
United , we should stand,
Give our fellow blind a hand,
Don't Make assumptions and accuse,
Until we are walking in another's shoes,
This is human nature, and we all do this,, including me,
Though, does not make it right, don't you agree?.
There is room for all Companies, each has their place,
No one should act out of haste,
Each player has a purpose and much each brings to the table, to suit
all blind people's needs,
Don't pull the other through the weeds,
Knock down and trample,
Experiment and sample,
Their products, services and Technology content , that anyone provides
for all,
Don't get pleasure in seeing anyone take a fall,
Encouragement do bring,
Don't allow derogatory comments to be swung,
Or for another to be hung.
We all have " Freedom "of speech, and can express our minds,
Yet be kind,
As well as, here, in America, one is innocent until proven guilty,
Unlike in other Countries, , it's the other way,
That is why many stay,
As they say, This is the" Melting Pot", Home of the Brave and the land
of the free.
Not sure what else to say, and am sure, this will fall in deaf ears,
this message, will not be heard,
And surprised I wrote so much today, this was written in MS word.
Due to this issue,Some of us are losing sleep and feeling stressed,
Hang in there, do your best.
Its almost 8:30 ,
And Darrell has begun the laundry that is dirty,
It is in the wash, up early, he was too,
And nothing more new,

Except, I went to the Disability commission meeting last night,
Think it went more than alright,
I Was outspoken about the issues with Dial-a-ride making me late,
To work and I do not feel great,
I am feeling exhausted and the pain in my arm, it radiates and did
rotate,
From my elbow, now to my shoulder,
And here, in Tempe, the Weather, has gotten colder,
We had a cool snap, not as hot, high,90 degrees,
And my allergies, are bad, Here, I do sneeze,
Yet, I will make it and get through the day,
And should get on my way,
Do think about what I had said, think with your head and your heart,
Act with both, don't toss darts,
In one's back, don't stick knives,
This effects lives,
just food for thought, serving you all a plate,
And do hope your day is great.

Executable installer
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/kitsetup.exe

Zip archive
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/kitsetup.zip

HomerKit 2.1
Released May 23, 2007

Fixed The Select Chunk command, Control+Space, not extending the selection
with subsequent key presses. Fixed the Jump command, Control+J, going to
the line before the one specified.

Fixed common dialogs, such as Open File, Save File, or Browse for Folder,
sometimes not becoming the active window when used for the first time.
Restored the native functionality of Alt+RightArrow, Alt+LeftArrow, and
Control+Q in Internet Explorer (IE), as well as F4 in Microsoft
Outlook/Outlook Express (OL). Worked around a couple of key conflicts
between Homer bookmark commands and JAWS/IE placemarker commands: now use
Alt+Shift+K to set a temporary placemarker, and JAWSKey+Control+K to
select a placemarker. In JAWS Script Manager, assigned Alt+D to delete
the current script or function definition, and made it read the current
line afterward.

Fixed the message list window not being recognized in Outlook Express. In
OL, improved reliability of the Save or Append commands, Control+S or
Control+Shift+S. Like in IE, Control+S proposes a unique file name, using
a numeric suffix if needed. Control+Shift+S lets you append text on the
same topic.

Made the executable installer initialize the Perl component, thus avoiding
an initial delay during subsequent user tasks. More precisely, this
component is initialized the first time in a JAWS session that a
Homer-supported application window is activated, including a page in
Internet Explorer.

Homer scripts may be deleted in order to restore the functionality of
scripts by Freedom Scientific in the All Users script folder. a new batch
file, called DelAppScripts.bat, may assist with this procedure. It does
not remove the core Homer script library files (those matching Homer* and
Editor*), but effectively uninstalls the application script sets by
deleting their files. It may be run from the Homer subfolder of the user
script folder, either in Windows Explorer or at a command prompt.

Corrected hot key summaries for IE and OL — presented with JAWSKey+H in
the virtual viewer or Alt+Shift+H in a text editor. Added a description
of JAWS Script Exchange (JSX) to the Miscellaneous Tools section of the
documentation for the Homer script library (HomerLib.htm).

Jamal

_____________________________________________________________
To leave this list, send a blank message to
Jawsscripts-unsubscribe@blindprogramming.com.

For information about this list, visit

http://blindprogramming.com/mailman/listinfo/jawsscripts_blindprogramming.com
For problems with the list, email Jawsscripts-owner@blindprogramming.com.
For JAWS documentation including the scripting manuals, visit

http://www.freedomsci.com/fs_support/doc_screenreaders.asp.
Other scripting resources:
JAWS Scripting lectures:

http://www.saomaicenter.info/OnlineCourse/JawsScript/LecturesVictor.zip
Audio tutorial on Jaws scripting conducted by Jim Snowbarger and
broadcasted on ACBRadio:
http://www.saomaicenter.info/OnlineCourse/JawsScript/JScriptAudioJimSnowbarger.zip
Web site address: http://www.BlindProgramming.com
 
Other blindness lists:

http://www.visionrx.com/library/resources/resource_int1.asp

Last week, Freedom Scientific, Inc. filed suit against Serotek Corporation
for trademark infringement with respect to the FreedomBox range of products.
Since then, the matter has been discussed at length on some
blindness-related blogs and e-mail lists. I'd like by way of this message to
clarify what I view as some of the objectives of the suit. I am a Vice
President at Freedom Scientific, and am extremely proud to work there.
However writing this message is my own initiative as a former technology
journalist. My aim in doing this is that people at least get a chance to
consider facts over rhetoric.

Firstly, let me talk a little about trademark law. A trademark's purpose is
to exclusively identify a source and origin of products. Importantly, a
trademark only applies to a certain range of goods or services. One of the
questions I have seen on e-mail lists is, "how can Freedom Scientific claim
to own the word Freedom." By taking this action, Freedom Scientific is not
seeking to do this. Rather, Freedom Scientific is simply enforcing the
Freedom Scientific trademark, which it owns for certain goods. Freedom
Scientific has invested to establish its trademarks and is only seeking to
enforce these valuable rights. Freedom Scientific has the legal right, and
the obligation to its customers and shareholders, to protect the use of its
trademark in the context of assistive technology. The concept of using
common words in trademarks is common – for example the use of the word Apple
to describe a computer company. As is well known through recent news
stories, Apple is quite entitled to own this name in the context of computer
hardware and software products. It does not, of course, mean that Apple has
any rights to the name when you eat a piece of fruit. Trademarks can
co-exist where there is no similarity between the businesses. For example,
Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets are trademarks, but there is no issue there
because the businesses' purposes are totally different and there is no room
for confusion. Freedom Scientific is confident that its trademark rights
will be upheld. The broadening of scope of the FreedomBox products to
include products like FreedomBox System Access (FBSA) offering access to
mainstream applications only exacerbates the infringement. Trademarks are
not some abstract thing. They are a company's reputation. They are legal
property, and you can't simply take someone's property without their
consent.

Secondly, I'd like to turn to the question, "why now." All sorts of bizarre
speculation have been put forward as to the timing of this suit. Freedom
Scientific made Serotek well aware of its position on this matter, but
unfortunately Serotek was unwilling to negotiate a settlement to this
matter. No one likes having to go to court, but if you genuinely believe
your property rights are being trampled upon, in the end there is no choice
but to do so if you are unable to get a resolution any other way.

Thirdly, it has been said that Freedom Scientific is giving the blind
community no credit by taking this action, and that everyone knows the
difference between the two product lines. Rest assured, this is most
certainly not the case. I can tell you that Freedom Scientific has been
contacted by Serotek customers seeking technical support, or even wanting to
buy a Serotek product. Thus, there is a likelihood of confusion.

Fourthly, a petition has been established by the hosts of ACB Radio's Main
Menu, calling itself the Save Serotek petition. The grossly misleading name
of this petition implies that somehow Freedom Scientific's objective is to
put Serotek out of business. As a result of the sensationalist name, many
commenters to the Petition have made comments to this effect. All Freedom
Scientific is seeking to do is protect its property and to seek appropriate
compensation for the unlawful use of it.

The objective here is not to put Serotek out of business. 2007 has already
seen great innovation from Freedom Scientific and there's plenty more to
come. Honest competition inspires excellence and is good news for the
customer. But I stress the word "honest." Yes, many people in assistive
technology are motivated by a strong sense of purpose and commitment to
making a difference. But these companies are still commercial entities, who
have every right to use the legal system to protect their property if they
think they need to, just as you have a right to use the legal system if
someone breaks into your house and takes something belonging to you.

In closing, I hope that those genuinely interested in the facts of this
matter will take the time to read up on trademark case law, but most
importantly, will let the judicial process take its course. It occurs to me
that if Freedom Scientific has got it as wrong as a few people claim, then
what do they have to fear? A jury will dismiss the case. I doubt that will
happen though. If the law has been broken as I believe it has, then Freedom
Scientific is quite entitled to redress.

My hope is that sanity prevails and that Serotek has both the courage and
the decency to brand its products in a fashion that wasn't already being
used in this industry. I think they would gain a lot of respect from the
blind community for acting honourably. Fair competition is not too much to
ask for, and it most certainly is worth fighting for.

Those interested in the subject of trademarks may like to take a look at the
Wikipedia entry on the subject, found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark.

Jonathan Mosen