A Great Accessibility Opportunity

Greetings. I received the following on several of the NFB Net run email lists that I'm on. The following announcement is from Google. While they are looking for people primarily in the Bay area, don't hesitate to apply if you're not from there. The more blind people that participate and let Google know that we use their services (searching, Blogger, and others), the more they are likely to improve those services and make them more accessible to us. With that, here's the announcement:

Google is interested in finding out more about how blind and visually
impaired people use our products. We will use this information to help
make our products more accessible.

In The study we will ask you to use the Google search engine to look for
specific pieces of information on the Internet.

If you are blind or visually impaired and use assistive technology to
access the Internet, we would like to invite you to take part in this
usability study.

To participate you will need to:
o be at least 18 years old
o be visually impaired
o Be familiar with screen reading technology such as JAWS For Windows
o be willing to sign our Usability Non-Disclosure Agreement

Details:

Where: The Googleplex - 1600 Amphitheater Parkway. Mountain View, Ca. 94043
When: A 2 hour appointment will be scheduled between 9/01/05 and 9/09/05

Google will arrange and compensate for taxi-cab transportation to
and from your home. (up to $50 each way)

All volunteers will also receive $75 in American Express Gift Checks as
thank you from Google.

If you would like to be considered for this usability study, and you
meet the requirements above, please answer the following questions, and
email them to tgriffith@google.com. Please keep the same subject line
as this email.

*Questionnaire*

1. What is your name?

2. Are you totally blind or partially sighted?

3. Were you blind from birth or did you develop blindness later on in
life (please give age)?

4. Do you have any other disabilities?

5. What assistive technologies do you currently use - please give
product name and version.

6. How long have you been using assistive technologies?

7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your skill with assistive
technologies?

8. Which operating system(s) do you use at home (Windows, Linux, Mac)?

9. Have you ever participated in any focus groups or user studies (yes, no)?

10. Will you require transport assistance to enable you to come to Google?

11. Are there any other accommodations or issues that are relevant to
your participation in this study?

12. Do you have a phone number at which you can be reached?