Greetings. Here I sit on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Its been raining a ton here over the past few weeks, and while I like the rain, its beginning to grow tiresome even to me. However, as long as it mainly rains when I’m inside, I don’t mind it too much. And anyway, when was the last time it rained like this in July in Austin, or on a larger scale in the south? Then again, I live in a pretty good area; not close to any rivers or lakes, and in a place where it doesn’t flood too badly. I live on flat ground and the apartment complex’s parking lot can flood easily, but the apartments themselves are a little raised up from the ground so that water doesn’t flood the sidewalks too often. If it ever did, then it would be raining a lot. I may have slightly different views of the rain if these conditions were different.
On another issue, I don’t believe I’ll purchase any of the System Access software, at least not for now. I’m still experiencing the problems I wrote of a week ago and Serotek hasn’t really offered any solutions for me. In the Word problem, where System Access was losing focus in Word XP, the only thing they said was, “We don’t support that version of Word for Windows.” I know that, and I even replied telling them that. I however also asked them why this happened, since it’s a notable issue that needs to be addressed bys someone. The response I got back went something like, “We don’t’ know why it happened.” Oh well. I’m not knocking Serotek or their products by writing all of this. I’m sure that my issues are more the exception rather than the rule. And, hopefully whenever I get my new Vista computer and try these packages again, the same things won’t happen. However, they’re happening to me and I’m not willing to pay several hundred dollars for faulty software. I’ll still keep rooting for Serotek and support their endeavors in what they’re trying to do.
I indirectly received more complements from one of the July graduation students from the training Center. He asked someone to pass along a message to me from him, that according to the graduate, I had made a large impact on him; that he enjoyed having me as a computer teacher. That made me feel pretty good. I had made an impact on him. He was one of the students that I really clicked with and really got along well with. There were many times when I asked the students in class how they were doing on a particular task, and this student would say something like, “Already done,” much to my surprise. I’d give him another few tasks to do and he would finish those in short order as well. These are the times that give me great satisfaction and help confirm for me that I’m in the right place as a tech teacher at a rehabilitation center. These are the times when I think back to that award I received two months ago at another graduation ceremony, for excellence in teaching and dedication to the students.
I’m beginning horseback riding again. I’ve had a secret passion and love for horses. Many people are surprised when I tell them that, but its true. Just being around horses, petting them and giving them treats gives me a recharge, much less taking regular lessons and spending hours at a time with them. This all began when I participated in a therapeutic horseback riding program for the disabled back in the late eighties. I had liked horses before that time, but those 10 weeks over a semester was the thing that really did it for me. I found a place in south Austin that offers horseback riding lessons, as well as horse/dog boarding and dog training lessons. The lessons themselves are very affordable and I’m glad to be at a point in my life where I can pay for my own lessons and easily afford to do so. The horse that I’ve been paired up with, coincidentally has a little bit of vision loss, but is a red roam color with some white. I think the owner said that the white spots are on the horse’s mane. Anyway, the horse is named Rye and he is about 16.5 hands at the withers. For those that don’t know, a “hand” is about 4 inches, or about the distance from your pinky to your index finger when your fingers are together. So 16.5 hands is pretty tall, about 66 inches. I’ve only been on one lesson thus far but hope to go weekly. My next lesson is tomorrow night. That time might pose problems as we get into football season if the Cowboys play on a Sunday evening, which happens a few times this season. That will be a hard choice: go horseback riding or watch football. Though there is that deep passion for the equine, football in general and the Cowboys in particular might win that contest.
I think the plan is to have me do some training with Rye. The owner was asking about my horseback riding experience, the types of saddles I’ve ridden in (both English and Western), and if I’ve done Join Up with a horse before, which I haven’t. Join Up is a means of getting a horse used to the rider and to a saddle. Some would call this “breaking a horse..” It was largely brought into the mainstream by
Monty Roberts,
as a means to build trust with the horse in a nonviolent way. Though I’ve read how this is done and read Monty’s book (available through the National Library Service on talking book), I’m not sure how I as a totally blind person would do it. Anyone who has experience with this is welcome and encouraged to comment on this entry and explain how this can be done, so I can pass it along to the people at this facility I’m going to. Though they are not an official
North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) stable, they do seem willing to work with me. I think that the owner has worked with blind folk before. Horseback riding is one of the few things that I’ve done over the years that I’ve truly gotten a lot from, been able to relax while doing, and truly enjoyed. I’m glad that I found this place and can get into it again. I’d love to own my own horse or two someday, along with that dream home of a ranch, with stables near the house in easy walking distance, and a bus stop at the end of the sidewalk or driveway. That may be a little unrealistic, but then again, who knows.
Well that’s all for now. The training Center is supposed to get a large group or intake of people, as many as 30 or more, coming in a few weeks. So my weekends and week nights will become a lot more enjoyable and hopefully restful shortly. Speaking of which, I’m off to enjoy this one. I’ll attempt to get some pictures of Rye that I can put up on my website for you to see, and will post more about my riding experience. Until then. (Hey, …, you, …, pssssssst, football’s coming!)
Saturday, July 28
Sunday, July 22
Interesting article about regaining sight
Greetings. Here's an interesting article about the blind possibly regaining sight, and the possible questions and issues that come out of that. I received this from the NFB's blind students email list. As for me, I have thought about some of the questions raised below often and really haven't come up with any answers. Except that if I were offered the chance to see again, I'd first think about it for a long time, but eventually probably refuse. Read on about the various issues that come out of sight restoration to find out why. Enjoy, and as always, please excuse any formatting errors.
Subject: The Chance to see again...would she take it?
REBECCA ATKINSON IS GOING BLIND. AN EXPERIMENTAL
THERAPY COULD OFFER HER THE CHANCE TO SEE AGAIN - BUT WOULD SHE TAKE IT?
TUESDAY JULY 17, 2007
THE GUARDIAN
EARLIER THIS YEAR, DOCTORS AT MOORFIELDS EYE
HOSPITAL, LONDON, BEGAN THE WORLD'S FIRST GENE
THERAPY TRIALS TO TREAT 12 PATIENTS WHO HAVE LEBER'S CONGENITAL
AMAUROSIS, A CONDITION THAT CAUSES PROGRESSIVE
SIGHT LOSS. FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL ANIMAL TRIALS
(SAID TO HAVE RESTORED THE VISION OF BLIND DOGS SO THEY COULD
NAVIGATE A MAZE WITHOUT DIFFICULTY), IT IS HOPED
THAT THE TECHNIQUE, WHICH INVOLVES INJECTING
WORKING COPIES OF FAULTY GENES DIRECTLY INTO THE RETINA,
WILL PROVE EQUALLY EFFECTIVE WHEN CARRIED OUT ON
HUMANS. THE RESULTS WILL NOT BE MADE PUBLIC FOR A
YEAR BUT, IF THE TECHNIQUE WORKS, SCIENTISTS HOPE IT
COULD EVENTUALLY BE USED TO TREAT A WIDE RANGE OF
INHERITED SIGHT DISORDERS AFFECTING UP TO 30,000
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE IN THE UK AND POTENTIALLY MILLIONS
MORE WORLDWIDE.
THE FIRST VIABLE TREATMENT FOR BLINDNESS IS
TWINKLING ON THE HORIZON AND AS ONE READER SAID
ON A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSING THE TRIALS,
"THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ABLE TO GIVE IMPROVED
SIGHT TO PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS IS A
GREAT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE HUMAN RACE." BUT WHAT OF THE PEOPLE
WE SEEK TO REPAIR? THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN BLIND
AND THOSE, LIKE ME, WHO ARE LOSING OR HAVE LOST
THEIR VISION. IS THIS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR?
IS IT "A GREAT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE HUMAN RACE",
OR A STEP FORWARD IN THE EUGENIC QUEST FOR AN
UBER-RACE, FREE OF IMPERFECTION AND RID OF THE UNEASE ABOUT
DISABILITY THAT NESTLES QUIETLY IN SOCIETY'S POCKET?
FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS I HAVE BEEN LOSING MY
SIGHT, DUE TO A GENETIC AND INCURABLE CONDITION
CALLED RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA (RP). RP CAUSES THE PHOTORECEPTIVE
CELLS ON THE RETINA TO DIE OFF, CAUSING, IN MY
CASE, TUNNEL VISION. I LIKEN IT TO LOOKING AT THE
WORLD DOWN THE MIDDLE OF TWO TOILET ROLLS. MY CENTRAL
VISION REMAINS INTACT, BUT WHERE ONCE WAS
PERIPHERAL VISION NOW FLOAT ONLY MY THOUGHTS. IN
TIME THESE LOO ROLLS WILL SHRINK TO KNOTHOLES AND THEN PINHOLES
AND THEN POSSIBLY NOTHING.
IN THE EARLY YEARS AFTER MY DIAGNOSIS, BLINDNESS
REMAINED A REPULSIVE AND TERRIFYING CONCEPT.
EVERY YEAR I WOULD VISIT THE DOCTOR AND HE WOULD SAY THE SAME
THING - THAT I MUST LIVE AND PLAN MY LIFE WITH
THE CERTAINTY THAT BLINDNESS WAS INEVITABLE. AND
SO, SLOWLY OVER TIME, THAT IS WHAT I LEARNED TO DO. BUT
NOW THE ADVENT OF GENE THERAPY HAS PUSHED OPEN A
CHINK IN THE DOOR. DISABLED PEOPLE HAVE LONG
ASKED THEMSELVES THE HYPOTHETICAL "WOULD YOU BE CURED IF
YOU COULD?" QUESTION. NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THERE IS A CHANCE, ALBEIT VERY SMALL, THAT MAYBE
ONE DAY I MIGHT ACTUALLY GET MY SIGHT BACK.
HURRAH, YOU CRY. I MUST BE THRILLED. ACTUALLY, I
AM A BIT CONFUSED. IT IS EASY TO ASSUME THAT ALL
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE WILL BE HAMMERING DOWN THE DOORS
SHOULD GENE THERAPY PROVE SUCCESSFUL. BUT TO SAY
THIS IS TO ASSUME THAT A BLIND LIFE IS LESSER AND
THAT ALL BLIND PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO BE SIGHTED. THEY
DON'T. THE FIRST BLIND MAN I EVER MET, WHO ALSO
HAPPENED TO BE MY BOSS AT THE TIME, IS ONE OF
THEM. I RECENTLY ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD HAVE GENE THERAPY
IF HE COULD. NO, CAME HIS REPLY. BECAUSE, HE
TELLS ME, REGAINING SIGHT IS MORE THAN JUST SEEING AGAIN.
THERE ARE ISSUES OF IDENTITY AND CULTURE AT STAKE
TOO. "AS THE BLIND-FROM-BIRTH SON OF BLIND
PARENTS, I AM, IN PART OF MY SOUL, DEFINED BY MY BLINDNESS,"
HE EXPLAINS. "IT DIRECTLY EQUATES TO ETHNIC OR
RACIAL ORIGIN. IF YOU GIVE A BLACK PERSON THE
CHOICE TO BE WHITE THERE MAY WELL BE SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES
IN SUCH A DEAL: MORE ACCESS TO BETTER JOBS;
FREEDOM FROM THE SHACKLES OF IGNORANT PREJUDICE;
IN SHORT, A STEP CLOSER TO EQUALITY. BUT I'D BET MOST WOULD
TURN THE OFFER DOWN FLAT."
BUT WHAT IF, UNLIKE MY OLD BOSS, YOU HAVEN'T
ALWAYS BEEN BLIND? WHAT IF, LIKE ME, YOU GREW UP
WITH FULL VISION AND HAVE SEEN ALL THE CLICHE-RIDDEN THINGS
THAT THOSE BORN TOTALLY BLIND ARE PITIED FOR
NEVER HAVING SEEN - THE SUNSET, YOUR OWN
REFLECTION, THE LOOK IN YOUR LOVER'S EYES. WHAT IF YOUR SOUL IS SIGHTED,
AND THEN YOU GO BLIND?
YOU WILL CRY AND WONDER WHY. YOU WILL HOPE AND
PRAY. YOU WILL WISH IT WOULD ALL GO AWAY. BUT THE
LONGER YOUR SIGHT HAS BEEN ON THE SLIDE, THE MORE IT SEEPS
INTO EVERY CRACK OF YOUR PSYCHE - UNTIL ONE DAY
YOU ARE NO LONGER THE "SIGHTED PERSON" WHO CAN'T
SEE ANY MORE. SOMEHOW, STRANGELY, IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT,
YOUR IDENTITY HAS ROLLED OVER IN BED AND YOU WAKE
UP AND GET OUT THE OTHER SIDE A "VISUALLY
IMPAIRED PERSON" - AND IT FEELS LIKE PART OF YOU.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, AND PERHAPS IT
DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ALL WHO SAIL THE STRANGE SEAS
OF SIGHT LOSS WITH ME. BUT FOR ME THERE CAME A POINT WHEN IMPENDING
BLINDNESS WAS NO LONGER MY ALIEN BUT MY FRIEND. I
HAD HAD MY TIME AS A SIGHTED PERSON. I HAD SEEN
THE WORLD THROUGH MY EYES. NOW IT WAS TIME TO TOUCH IT
AND SMELL IT AND HEAR IT.
WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR VISION YOU HAVE TO RE-LEARN
THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO
SURVIVE ON THE PLANET, SUCH AS CROSSING THE ROAD WITHOUT BEING
FLATTENED. NEXT YOU MUST TACKLE THE REAL PROBLEM
AND LEARN TO DEAL WITH THE ATTITUDES OF OTHERS AS
THEY MORPH AROUND YOU. MISCONCEPTIONS START TO SPOUT
FROM EVEN YOUR OLDEST FRIENDS' MOUTHS BECAUSE
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES ABOUT BLINDNESS PERMEATE US ALL.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO CROSS OVER INTO THE DARK SIDE
AND SEE WHAT WRIGGLES AND WRITHES ON THE
UNDERBELLY OF SOCIETY. FOLK WILL SEE YOU AS THE SUFFERER, THE PITIFUL,
THE AFFLICTED, THE SUBHUMAN - THAT'S YOU, YES,
YOU. IF YOU USE A CANE OR A DOG, PEOPLE WILL
STARE AS YOU WALK DOWN THE STREET. PEOPLE WILL ASSUME YOU ARE
MORE LACKING IN INTELLIGENCE THAN YOUR SIGHTED
COUNTERPART. PEOPLE YOU HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE
WILL ASK IF YOU WANT CHILDREN, AND IF YOU DO, THEY WILL ASK
IF THE KIDS WILL HAVE THE SAME CONDITION THAT YOU
HAVE, AND WHETHER THAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG.
WELCOME. YOUR REPRODUCTIVE AUTONOMY IS IN THE DOCKS OF THE
MORAL COURTS OF THE NATION'S MINDS.
SO IF THIS UNDERBELLY IS SO WRETCHED, SURELY IF
THE TIME COMES WHEN THE DOCTORS ARE LOOMING FORTH
WITH A NEEDLE CONTAINING THE WORKING VERSION OF MY FAULTY
GENE AND HERALDING THE PROMISE OF A NEW DAY, ONE
WITH A BRIGHT SUNSET AND ME AT THE WHEEL OF A
FAST CAR, I'LL TAKE IT, RIGHT? ANYTHING TO ESCAPE? NO. SAYING
YES TO SEEING AGAIN, EVEN FOR SOMEONE WHO WASN'T
BORN BLIND, ISN'T EASY. THE REPERCUSSIONS WOULD
RIPPLE BEYOND MY EYES INTO MY FRIENDSHIPS, MY WORK, MY
RELATIONSHIP.
WOULD I RETAIN THE UNITY I HAVE WITH MY DISABLED
BRETHREN IF I COULD SEE? OR WOULD I HAVE
DIFFERENT FRIENDS, THE TYPE WHO FALL BY THE WAYSIDE NOW BECAUSE
THEY ARE NOT AWARE OR EMPATHETIC, OR ARE TOO
AESTHETICALLY OBSESSED? WOULD I LOSE THE FRIENDS
WITH WHOM I HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON BUT WHO REMAIN IN MY PHONE
BOOK BECAUSE THEY GET THE BLINDNESS THING? AND
WOULD IT BE RIGHT TO DUMP THEM JUST BECAUSE I CAN
SEE AND DON'T NEED THEIR EMPATHY ANY MORE? IF I STEPPED
INTO THE POOL OF "NORMAL PEOPLE" AGAIN, WHERE WOULD MY IDENTITY GO?
THE KERNEL OF WHO I AM HAS BEEN SUCKED INTO A NEW
BODY; NOW IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SUCKED BACK INTO
THE OLD ONE. AND WHAT OF MY RELATIONSHIP? WOULD WE STAY
TOGETHER OR WOULD I RUN OFF TO DO ALL THE THINGS
I NEVER GOT TO DO BEFORE? THERE IS A HIGH RATE OF
SEPARATION AMONG COUPLES WHERE ONE PERSON GETS A GUIDE
DOG FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHY? BECAUSE SUDDENLY
THEY CAN DO THINGS ON THEIR OWN AGAIN. THIS
NEW-FOUND INDEPENDENCE SHIFTS THE BALANCE AND CRACKS APPEAR.
IF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH A DOG, THINK WHAT COULD
HAPPEN WITH A PAIR OF FULLY WORKING EYES AND A CAR.
GOING BLIND ISN'T A SMOOTH RIDE, THOUGH. IT COMES
DOWN AND SQUISHES YOU UNDER AN INSURMOUNTABLE
WEIGHT OF GRIEF AND DISBELIEF. IT IS LIMITING, FRUSTRATING
AND CHANGES THE WAY YOU DO MANY OF THE THINGS YOU
USED TO ENJOY - NOW YOU MUST DANCE WITH THE LIGHT
ON AND DRIVE FROM THE BACK SEAT. BUT LIKE THE AFFIRMATION
OF NEAR DEATH, IT AFFECTS MORE THAN JUST YOUR
PHYSICALITY. IT GIVES YOU A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.
IT IS A GRAND EXPERIMENT THAT MOST DON'T GET TO TRY; TO OBSERVE
AS YOUR BRAIN REWIRES AND WATCH AS THE HUMAN BODY
ADAPTS IN INFINITE WAYS. WHEN MY VISION BEGAN TO
GET WORSE, I BUMPED INTO EVERYTHING IN MY PATH BECAUSE
I WAS STILL CAREERING DOWN THE PAVEMENT AT THE
SPEED OF SOMEONE WHO COULD SEE. AS MY MIND CAUGHT
UP WITH MY EYES, I CHANGED THE WAY I WALKED - WITH MORE
CAUTION AND LESS SPEED - AND THE PERPETUAL BUMPING AND TRIPPING STOPPED.
LOSING YOUR SIGHT IS NOT LIKE JUST SHUTTING YOUR
EYES. THE LOSS IS SO GRADUAL THAT AS ONE SENSE
DIES OTHERS GROW. SUDDENLY YOU CAN SMELL THE WORLD AND SENSE
WHEN SOMEONE IS STANDING OUT OF YOUR LINE OF
VISION. YOUR BRAIN GROWS ON THE INSIDE AND THINGS
ON THE OUTSIDE START TO MATTER LESS. I GET TO LIVE MY LIFE
TWICE OVER IN TWO DIFFERENT BODIES (THE SIGHTED
ONE I USED TO HAVE AND THE PARTIALLY SIGHTED ONE
I NOW HAVE), AND WITH THAT COMES THE PRIVILEGE OF SPYING
ON THE WORLD AND ITS INTRICACIES FROM MULTIPLE VANTAGE POINTS.
IT'S A CLICHE TO SAY THAT DISABLED PEOPLE ARE
NICER. IT IS INCORRECT, IN FACT. BUT FOR ME,
VISION LOSS HAS MADE ME MORE EMPATHETIC AND MORE OPEN- MINDED.
I HAVE TO TAKE SO OFTEN THAT I GIVE MORE FREELY.
WHEN YOU RELY ON FRIENDS TO TAKE YOU DOWN OXFORD
STREET OR A STRANGER TO GET YOU ACROSS THE ROAD, YOU
THINK MORE CONSCIOUSLY ABOUT WHAT YOU GIVE BACK
AND BATTLE WITH THE FEELING THAT YOU NEED THEM
MORE THAN THEY NEED YOU. BUT, STRANGELY, I AM HAPPIER LIKE
THIS THAN IF I HAD CARRIED ON DOWN THE MIDDLE
LANE TO MEDIOCRE CITY NEVER HAVING SEEN OR FELT
REAL LOSS AND KNOWN HOW TO APPRECIATE THE GOOD THINGS AROUND
ME.
I HAVE MET PEOPLE I WOULD NEVER HAVE MET HAD I
BEEN SIGHTED, AND WE HAVE BEEN JOINED TOGETHER BY
THE COMMON BOND OF DISABILITY (AND THERE IS NO GLUE THAT
SETS AS HARD AS THAT SQUEEZED FROM THE PORES OF A
MINORITY). WHEN PART OF YOUR BODY STARTS TO DIE
YOU FEEL WHAT IT IS TO BE HUMAN. YOU WAKE UP FROM THE
SLUMBER OF BEING JUST ANOTHER IDIOT WITH AN IPOD
BECAUSE YOU ARE FORCED TO WORK OUT THE BIGGER
QUESTIONS. OR AT LEAST ASK THEM. WHY AM I HERE? WHY IS THIS
HAPPENING? YOU ARE ALERT TO THE IMMEDIACY AND
FRAGILITY OF YOUR LIFE. YOU KNOW THAT THE CHOICES
OF THE MODERN AGE DO NOT AND CAN NOT EXTEND INTO EVERY
REALM OF YOUR LIFE. YOU CAN'T CHOOSE TO SEE (AT
LEAST NOT YET). THIS IS IT. THE UPSHOT? YOU LIVE
IN THE MOMENT. YOU SETTLE FOR YOUR LOT AND LOVE IT.
THE CONCEPT OF SIGHT LOSS AS A POSITIVE THING IS
AN ELUSIVE ONE. IT IS HARD TO GRASP WHEN YOU HAVE
EXPERIENCED IT; AND EVEN HARDER TO GRASP WHEN YOU HAVEN'T.
IT IS NOT SOMETHING I WOULD HAVE CHOSEN, BUT IT
IS NOT SOMETHING I WISH HADN'T HAPPENED. WOULD I
LIKE TO STOP IT GETTING WORSE? YES, BECAUSE I'M ONLY HUMAN
AND SOMETIMES I LIE AWAKE WORRYING HOW I'LL COPE
WHEN IT'S ALL GONE. BUT WOULD I LIKE TO HAVE GENE
THERAPY AND SEE PERFECTLY AGAIN? FIVE YEARS AGO I'D
HAVE SAID YES. NOW I'M NOT SURE, BECAUSE IF THIS
EXPERIMENT OF GOING BLIND HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING,
IT IS THAT WHAT YOU LOSE IN ONE PLACE YOU GAIN ELSEWHERE,
AND WHILE A BLIND LIFE IS DIFFERENT TO A SIGHTED
LIFE, IT IS NOT LESSER. AND ULTIMATELY IT IS BETTER THAN HAVING NO LIFE AT
ALL.
Subject: The Chance to see again...would she take it?
REBECCA ATKINSON IS GOING BLIND. AN EXPERIMENTAL
THERAPY COULD OFFER HER THE CHANCE TO SEE AGAIN - BUT WOULD SHE TAKE IT?
TUESDAY JULY 17, 2007
THE GUARDIAN
EARLIER THIS YEAR, DOCTORS AT MOORFIELDS EYE
HOSPITAL, LONDON, BEGAN THE WORLD'S FIRST GENE
THERAPY TRIALS TO TREAT 12 PATIENTS WHO HAVE LEBER'S CONGENITAL
AMAUROSIS, A CONDITION THAT CAUSES PROGRESSIVE
SIGHT LOSS. FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL ANIMAL TRIALS
(SAID TO HAVE RESTORED THE VISION OF BLIND DOGS SO THEY COULD
NAVIGATE A MAZE WITHOUT DIFFICULTY), IT IS HOPED
THAT THE TECHNIQUE, WHICH INVOLVES INJECTING
WORKING COPIES OF FAULTY GENES DIRECTLY INTO THE RETINA,
WILL PROVE EQUALLY EFFECTIVE WHEN CARRIED OUT ON
HUMANS. THE RESULTS WILL NOT BE MADE PUBLIC FOR A
YEAR BUT, IF THE TECHNIQUE WORKS, SCIENTISTS HOPE IT
COULD EVENTUALLY BE USED TO TREAT A WIDE RANGE OF
INHERITED SIGHT DISORDERS AFFECTING UP TO 30,000
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE IN THE UK AND POTENTIALLY MILLIONS
MORE WORLDWIDE.
THE FIRST VIABLE TREATMENT FOR BLINDNESS IS
TWINKLING ON THE HORIZON AND AS ONE READER SAID
ON A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSING THE TRIALS,
"THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ABLE TO GIVE IMPROVED
SIGHT TO PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS IS A
GREAT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE HUMAN RACE." BUT WHAT OF THE PEOPLE
WE SEEK TO REPAIR? THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN BLIND
AND THOSE, LIKE ME, WHO ARE LOSING OR HAVE LOST
THEIR VISION. IS THIS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR?
IS IT "A GREAT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE HUMAN RACE",
OR A STEP FORWARD IN THE EUGENIC QUEST FOR AN
UBER-RACE, FREE OF IMPERFECTION AND RID OF THE UNEASE ABOUT
DISABILITY THAT NESTLES QUIETLY IN SOCIETY'S POCKET?
FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS I HAVE BEEN LOSING MY
SIGHT, DUE TO A GENETIC AND INCURABLE CONDITION
CALLED RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA (RP). RP CAUSES THE PHOTORECEPTIVE
CELLS ON THE RETINA TO DIE OFF, CAUSING, IN MY
CASE, TUNNEL VISION. I LIKEN IT TO LOOKING AT THE
WORLD DOWN THE MIDDLE OF TWO TOILET ROLLS. MY CENTRAL
VISION REMAINS INTACT, BUT WHERE ONCE WAS
PERIPHERAL VISION NOW FLOAT ONLY MY THOUGHTS. IN
TIME THESE LOO ROLLS WILL SHRINK TO KNOTHOLES AND THEN PINHOLES
AND THEN POSSIBLY NOTHING.
IN THE EARLY YEARS AFTER MY DIAGNOSIS, BLINDNESS
REMAINED A REPULSIVE AND TERRIFYING CONCEPT.
EVERY YEAR I WOULD VISIT THE DOCTOR AND HE WOULD SAY THE SAME
THING - THAT I MUST LIVE AND PLAN MY LIFE WITH
THE CERTAINTY THAT BLINDNESS WAS INEVITABLE. AND
SO, SLOWLY OVER TIME, THAT IS WHAT I LEARNED TO DO. BUT
NOW THE ADVENT OF GENE THERAPY HAS PUSHED OPEN A
CHINK IN THE DOOR. DISABLED PEOPLE HAVE LONG
ASKED THEMSELVES THE HYPOTHETICAL "WOULD YOU BE CURED IF
YOU COULD?" QUESTION. NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THERE IS A CHANCE, ALBEIT VERY SMALL, THAT MAYBE
ONE DAY I MIGHT ACTUALLY GET MY SIGHT BACK.
HURRAH, YOU CRY. I MUST BE THRILLED. ACTUALLY, I
AM A BIT CONFUSED. IT IS EASY TO ASSUME THAT ALL
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE WILL BE HAMMERING DOWN THE DOORS
SHOULD GENE THERAPY PROVE SUCCESSFUL. BUT TO SAY
THIS IS TO ASSUME THAT A BLIND LIFE IS LESSER AND
THAT ALL BLIND PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO BE SIGHTED. THEY
DON'T. THE FIRST BLIND MAN I EVER MET, WHO ALSO
HAPPENED TO BE MY BOSS AT THE TIME, IS ONE OF
THEM. I RECENTLY ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD HAVE GENE THERAPY
IF HE COULD. NO, CAME HIS REPLY. BECAUSE, HE
TELLS ME, REGAINING SIGHT IS MORE THAN JUST SEEING AGAIN.
THERE ARE ISSUES OF IDENTITY AND CULTURE AT STAKE
TOO. "AS THE BLIND-FROM-BIRTH SON OF BLIND
PARENTS, I AM, IN PART OF MY SOUL, DEFINED BY MY BLINDNESS,"
HE EXPLAINS. "IT DIRECTLY EQUATES TO ETHNIC OR
RACIAL ORIGIN. IF YOU GIVE A BLACK PERSON THE
CHOICE TO BE WHITE THERE MAY WELL BE SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES
IN SUCH A DEAL: MORE ACCESS TO BETTER JOBS;
FREEDOM FROM THE SHACKLES OF IGNORANT PREJUDICE;
IN SHORT, A STEP CLOSER TO EQUALITY. BUT I'D BET MOST WOULD
TURN THE OFFER DOWN FLAT."
BUT WHAT IF, UNLIKE MY OLD BOSS, YOU HAVEN'T
ALWAYS BEEN BLIND? WHAT IF, LIKE ME, YOU GREW UP
WITH FULL VISION AND HAVE SEEN ALL THE CLICHE-RIDDEN THINGS
THAT THOSE BORN TOTALLY BLIND ARE PITIED FOR
NEVER HAVING SEEN - THE SUNSET, YOUR OWN
REFLECTION, THE LOOK IN YOUR LOVER'S EYES. WHAT IF YOUR SOUL IS SIGHTED,
AND THEN YOU GO BLIND?
YOU WILL CRY AND WONDER WHY. YOU WILL HOPE AND
PRAY. YOU WILL WISH IT WOULD ALL GO AWAY. BUT THE
LONGER YOUR SIGHT HAS BEEN ON THE SLIDE, THE MORE IT SEEPS
INTO EVERY CRACK OF YOUR PSYCHE - UNTIL ONE DAY
YOU ARE NO LONGER THE "SIGHTED PERSON" WHO CAN'T
SEE ANY MORE. SOMEHOW, STRANGELY, IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT,
YOUR IDENTITY HAS ROLLED OVER IN BED AND YOU WAKE
UP AND GET OUT THE OTHER SIDE A "VISUALLY
IMPAIRED PERSON" - AND IT FEELS LIKE PART OF YOU.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, AND PERHAPS IT
DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ALL WHO SAIL THE STRANGE SEAS
OF SIGHT LOSS WITH ME. BUT FOR ME THERE CAME A POINT WHEN IMPENDING
BLINDNESS WAS NO LONGER MY ALIEN BUT MY FRIEND. I
HAD HAD MY TIME AS A SIGHTED PERSON. I HAD SEEN
THE WORLD THROUGH MY EYES. NOW IT WAS TIME TO TOUCH IT
AND SMELL IT AND HEAR IT.
WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR VISION YOU HAVE TO RE-LEARN
THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO
SURVIVE ON THE PLANET, SUCH AS CROSSING THE ROAD WITHOUT BEING
FLATTENED. NEXT YOU MUST TACKLE THE REAL PROBLEM
AND LEARN TO DEAL WITH THE ATTITUDES OF OTHERS AS
THEY MORPH AROUND YOU. MISCONCEPTIONS START TO SPOUT
FROM EVEN YOUR OLDEST FRIENDS' MOUTHS BECAUSE
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES ABOUT BLINDNESS PERMEATE US ALL.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO CROSS OVER INTO THE DARK SIDE
AND SEE WHAT WRIGGLES AND WRITHES ON THE
UNDERBELLY OF SOCIETY. FOLK WILL SEE YOU AS THE SUFFERER, THE PITIFUL,
THE AFFLICTED, THE SUBHUMAN - THAT'S YOU, YES,
YOU. IF YOU USE A CANE OR A DOG, PEOPLE WILL
STARE AS YOU WALK DOWN THE STREET. PEOPLE WILL ASSUME YOU ARE
MORE LACKING IN INTELLIGENCE THAN YOUR SIGHTED
COUNTERPART. PEOPLE YOU HAVE NEVER MET BEFORE
WILL ASK IF YOU WANT CHILDREN, AND IF YOU DO, THEY WILL ASK
IF THE KIDS WILL HAVE THE SAME CONDITION THAT YOU
HAVE, AND WHETHER THAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG.
WELCOME. YOUR REPRODUCTIVE AUTONOMY IS IN THE DOCKS OF THE
MORAL COURTS OF THE NATION'S MINDS.
SO IF THIS UNDERBELLY IS SO WRETCHED, SURELY IF
THE TIME COMES WHEN THE DOCTORS ARE LOOMING FORTH
WITH A NEEDLE CONTAINING THE WORKING VERSION OF MY FAULTY
GENE AND HERALDING THE PROMISE OF A NEW DAY, ONE
WITH A BRIGHT SUNSET AND ME AT THE WHEEL OF A
FAST CAR, I'LL TAKE IT, RIGHT? ANYTHING TO ESCAPE? NO. SAYING
YES TO SEEING AGAIN, EVEN FOR SOMEONE WHO WASN'T
BORN BLIND, ISN'T EASY. THE REPERCUSSIONS WOULD
RIPPLE BEYOND MY EYES INTO MY FRIENDSHIPS, MY WORK, MY
RELATIONSHIP.
WOULD I RETAIN THE UNITY I HAVE WITH MY DISABLED
BRETHREN IF I COULD SEE? OR WOULD I HAVE
DIFFERENT FRIENDS, THE TYPE WHO FALL BY THE WAYSIDE NOW BECAUSE
THEY ARE NOT AWARE OR EMPATHETIC, OR ARE TOO
AESTHETICALLY OBSESSED? WOULD I LOSE THE FRIENDS
WITH WHOM I HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON BUT WHO REMAIN IN MY PHONE
BOOK BECAUSE THEY GET THE BLINDNESS THING? AND
WOULD IT BE RIGHT TO DUMP THEM JUST BECAUSE I CAN
SEE AND DON'T NEED THEIR EMPATHY ANY MORE? IF I STEPPED
INTO THE POOL OF "NORMAL PEOPLE" AGAIN, WHERE WOULD MY IDENTITY GO?
THE KERNEL OF WHO I AM HAS BEEN SUCKED INTO A NEW
BODY; NOW IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SUCKED BACK INTO
THE OLD ONE. AND WHAT OF MY RELATIONSHIP? WOULD WE STAY
TOGETHER OR WOULD I RUN OFF TO DO ALL THE THINGS
I NEVER GOT TO DO BEFORE? THERE IS A HIGH RATE OF
SEPARATION AMONG COUPLES WHERE ONE PERSON GETS A GUIDE
DOG FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHY? BECAUSE SUDDENLY
THEY CAN DO THINGS ON THEIR OWN AGAIN. THIS
NEW-FOUND INDEPENDENCE SHIFTS THE BALANCE AND CRACKS APPEAR.
IF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH A DOG, THINK WHAT COULD
HAPPEN WITH A PAIR OF FULLY WORKING EYES AND A CAR.
GOING BLIND ISN'T A SMOOTH RIDE, THOUGH. IT COMES
DOWN AND SQUISHES YOU UNDER AN INSURMOUNTABLE
WEIGHT OF GRIEF AND DISBELIEF. IT IS LIMITING, FRUSTRATING
AND CHANGES THE WAY YOU DO MANY OF THE THINGS YOU
USED TO ENJOY - NOW YOU MUST DANCE WITH THE LIGHT
ON AND DRIVE FROM THE BACK SEAT. BUT LIKE THE AFFIRMATION
OF NEAR DEATH, IT AFFECTS MORE THAN JUST YOUR
PHYSICALITY. IT GIVES YOU A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.
IT IS A GRAND EXPERIMENT THAT MOST DON'T GET TO TRY; TO OBSERVE
AS YOUR BRAIN REWIRES AND WATCH AS THE HUMAN BODY
ADAPTS IN INFINITE WAYS. WHEN MY VISION BEGAN TO
GET WORSE, I BUMPED INTO EVERYTHING IN MY PATH BECAUSE
I WAS STILL CAREERING DOWN THE PAVEMENT AT THE
SPEED OF SOMEONE WHO COULD SEE. AS MY MIND CAUGHT
UP WITH MY EYES, I CHANGED THE WAY I WALKED - WITH MORE
CAUTION AND LESS SPEED - AND THE PERPETUAL BUMPING AND TRIPPING STOPPED.
LOSING YOUR SIGHT IS NOT LIKE JUST SHUTTING YOUR
EYES. THE LOSS IS SO GRADUAL THAT AS ONE SENSE
DIES OTHERS GROW. SUDDENLY YOU CAN SMELL THE WORLD AND SENSE
WHEN SOMEONE IS STANDING OUT OF YOUR LINE OF
VISION. YOUR BRAIN GROWS ON THE INSIDE AND THINGS
ON THE OUTSIDE START TO MATTER LESS. I GET TO LIVE MY LIFE
TWICE OVER IN TWO DIFFERENT BODIES (THE SIGHTED
ONE I USED TO HAVE AND THE PARTIALLY SIGHTED ONE
I NOW HAVE), AND WITH THAT COMES THE PRIVILEGE OF SPYING
ON THE WORLD AND ITS INTRICACIES FROM MULTIPLE VANTAGE POINTS.
IT'S A CLICHE TO SAY THAT DISABLED PEOPLE ARE
NICER. IT IS INCORRECT, IN FACT. BUT FOR ME,
VISION LOSS HAS MADE ME MORE EMPATHETIC AND MORE OPEN- MINDED.
I HAVE TO TAKE SO OFTEN THAT I GIVE MORE FREELY.
WHEN YOU RELY ON FRIENDS TO TAKE YOU DOWN OXFORD
STREET OR A STRANGER TO GET YOU ACROSS THE ROAD, YOU
THINK MORE CONSCIOUSLY ABOUT WHAT YOU GIVE BACK
AND BATTLE WITH THE FEELING THAT YOU NEED THEM
MORE THAN THEY NEED YOU. BUT, STRANGELY, I AM HAPPIER LIKE
THIS THAN IF I HAD CARRIED ON DOWN THE MIDDLE
LANE TO MEDIOCRE CITY NEVER HAVING SEEN OR FELT
REAL LOSS AND KNOWN HOW TO APPRECIATE THE GOOD THINGS AROUND
ME.
I HAVE MET PEOPLE I WOULD NEVER HAVE MET HAD I
BEEN SIGHTED, AND WE HAVE BEEN JOINED TOGETHER BY
THE COMMON BOND OF DISABILITY (AND THERE IS NO GLUE THAT
SETS AS HARD AS THAT SQUEEZED FROM THE PORES OF A
MINORITY). WHEN PART OF YOUR BODY STARTS TO DIE
YOU FEEL WHAT IT IS TO BE HUMAN. YOU WAKE UP FROM THE
SLUMBER OF BEING JUST ANOTHER IDIOT WITH AN IPOD
BECAUSE YOU ARE FORCED TO WORK OUT THE BIGGER
QUESTIONS. OR AT LEAST ASK THEM. WHY AM I HERE? WHY IS THIS
HAPPENING? YOU ARE ALERT TO THE IMMEDIACY AND
FRAGILITY OF YOUR LIFE. YOU KNOW THAT THE CHOICES
OF THE MODERN AGE DO NOT AND CAN NOT EXTEND INTO EVERY
REALM OF YOUR LIFE. YOU CAN'T CHOOSE TO SEE (AT
LEAST NOT YET). THIS IS IT. THE UPSHOT? YOU LIVE
IN THE MOMENT. YOU SETTLE FOR YOUR LOT AND LOVE IT.
THE CONCEPT OF SIGHT LOSS AS A POSITIVE THING IS
AN ELUSIVE ONE. IT IS HARD TO GRASP WHEN YOU HAVE
EXPERIENCED IT; AND EVEN HARDER TO GRASP WHEN YOU HAVEN'T.
IT IS NOT SOMETHING I WOULD HAVE CHOSEN, BUT IT
IS NOT SOMETHING I WISH HADN'T HAPPENED. WOULD I
LIKE TO STOP IT GETTING WORSE? YES, BECAUSE I'M ONLY HUMAN
AND SOMETIMES I LIE AWAKE WORRYING HOW I'LL COPE
WHEN IT'S ALL GONE. BUT WOULD I LIKE TO HAVE GENE
THERAPY AND SEE PERFECTLY AGAIN? FIVE YEARS AGO I'D
HAVE SAID YES. NOW I'M NOT SURE, BECAUSE IF THIS
EXPERIMENT OF GOING BLIND HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING,
IT IS THAT WHAT YOU LOSE IN ONE PLACE YOU GAIN ELSEWHERE,
AND WHILE A BLIND LIFE IS DIFFERENT TO A SIGHTED
LIFE, IT IS NOT LESSER. AND ULTIMATELY IT IS BETTER THAN HAVING NO LIFE AT
ALL.
Saturday, July 21
Serotek products and thoughts
Greetings. Let’s try this again. I started this post a little while ago but it was erased by some circumstance, so I’ll try again. Of course, this slightly changes my view on the software that I was and am going to talk about, :)
Serotek is a name that some blind people have heard of, either from their line of products for Windows or, perhaps more likely, from their involvement in a lawsuit from Freedom Scientific recently. Either way, it’s a name that we should be familiar with. Why? Because of the types of products that they are coming up with; products that innovate and push the envelope. I’m not going to get into technical details. There are others that can do that much more eloquently, not to mentioned informed, than I can. I will talk about my experience thus far with their products, aside from the information loss, and tell you what I think.
System Access. This is a new product that Serotek has come up with that performs like, and in fact is, a screen reader. Its not as complex and involved as JAWS, but then again, it doesn’t pretend to be. System Access is what it is, and it’s a pretty good product. It allows you to use your computer nonvisually, from accessing desktop icons, to using Microsoft Word, to sending email in Outlook Express or Microsoft Outlook, to surfing the WWW, and more. Serotek has recently introduced a new product similar to System Access, called System Access to Go or S.A. to Go. They are currently offering S.A. to Go as a public beta for people to test. There’s no indication on when the beta cycle will end, however you can sign up by going to:
www.SAToGo.com.
I’m using a 4 and a half year old computer running Windows XP Home and am writing this in Word XP,a program that Serotek freelly says that they don’t support. Perhaps hat’s why I’ve had problems with it. When using their System Access program, each time that I’ve come back to Word from another window, my focus has been lost and I’ve been placed on one of the many pages of my currently 28 page blog document. Sometimes I’ve gotten speech when arrowing through the document, and sometimes I haven’t. And then there’s the issue of that disappearing text I had earlier. I should say that it seems that Serotek’s products use some of the familiar JAWS navigation keys. I’ve been able to use the equivalent Windows keystrokes for moving by word or paragraph. About the time that I thought I’d run into trouble (which I’ll get into later), I was able to switch back to the Word window with Ssystem Access, and attempt the save file command in Word (Control with S). I assumed that the file did indeed save and closed the file. This was several hours ago. When I returned a few minutes ago I found that the last post in the file was one I had written before convention. All of the stuff I had written before was gone. That wasn’t very much, but I figure I had written about a page and a half or 2 pages altogether. That as some good stuff with good observations. Hopefully I can recreate that in this post or another one. However, those good thoughts are now in the bit bucket as some call it. This is disappointing to say the least. I plan on informing Serotek about this, even if they don’t’ support Word XP.
I mentioned that System Access and S.A. to Go don’t use many of the JAWS keys I’ve come to know and love, such as moving by character, word, spelling the word, etc. The programs are however much more responsive in Word as a whole, as least compared to JAWS. They are also pretty good in Outlook Express. There is a bit of a delay when arrowing through messages, but I can deal with that, at least for a short time. I’m not sure if I’d want to rely on it all the time, but its good to have available.
The advantage and huge selling point to S.A. to Go is that you don’t need any software on the computer in order to use it. All you need is either an Internet connection or the S.A. software on one of the many new U3 USB thumb drives, for when you plug in the USB drive into any computer, you instantly have access to that computer, whether or not if there’s any assistive software on that machine. This has been the big selling point for some of the Serotek line of products for several years, starting with their Key to Freedom product. That I know of, no one else in the AT industry has been able to duplicate this level of access. Some have come close, like Freedom Scientific with their dongle or thumb drive version of JAWS, but one still needs JAWS on a computer in order to use this, which kind of defeats the purpose of “access anywhere.” I think that Dolphin have also attempted this kind of access as well with their Dolphin Pen, though I don’t know if that requires the Dolphin software on the computer in question in order to work, like FS does. In any case, Serotek are true innovators by introducing and maintaining this level of access.
The last product I’d like to talk about is the S.A. Mobile Network, formerly known as the Freedom Box Network. Basically, this is a safe “sandbox” like environment that they introduced back in 2000 to give blind and low vision people access to many different software, such as email, web browsing, chat, word processing, etc. Among other things, one of their most popular offerings is the ability to listen to the audio track of many different DVS or describe movies. Thik of the S.A. Mobile Network like what America Online attempted to do some years ago.
I’ve gone onto the Mobile Network, after I signed up for a free 30 days trial, and have watched, er listened, to several movies in the last 12-24 hours. I must say that these movies present a very good and enticing argument and plus for the S.A. Mobile Network and Serotek as a whole. The movies range from classics to Holiday favorites to action and adventure, and all points in between.
In watching these movies I’ve discovered that while I started out the session with System Access, after a said period of time in which I haven’t pressed any keys on my computer, S.A. disappears. I know this because I’ve attempted to check the time a number of times and was unable to do so. When the movies were over, I’ve also attempted to move to another window finding that I got no speech. I tried bringing up JAWS and Microsoft Narrator with no success. Incidentally, Narrator’s not so bad if you adjust the speech rate to a faster speed. Its still the same voice, but at least he doesn’t sound as drunk. Anyway, I know that JAWS came up because my Braille display came to life but nothing was displayed. There was no speech either. Perhaps S.A. was blocking the speech, since if Narrator did load, the program spoke with hesitation, menaing there were many pauses when it was trying to announce some things. All but one of the times that I’ve watched a movie, which has probably been 5 or 6, I had to eventually restart my computer from a complete shut down state. Being able to watch movies is quite nice, but I’m not sure I’d pay for this ability if I have to reboot my computer after the movie’s over. The one time that I didn’t have to restart was when I closed the media player’s window and got S.A. speech back, but I was still unable to check the time during that session after awhile. The point when I lost my work in Word, I had started a movie and had it on pause. I had a feeling that I might have to restart at some point, so I paused the movie, went back to Word, and tried to save the document. I don’t know if the presence of the movie or media player had anything to do with my data loss, but if so, that’s not a good selling point either.
Like I’ve said, I’m still evaluating things and my conclusions might not amount to much. However, over all, these are great products. While I may not pay the money for System Access or the Mobile Network for this computer, after all it is still 4 years old. There’s a good chance I will try it on Windows Vista, whenever that next computer comes. Even when my 30 day trial runs out, I’ll still use the S.A. to Go program, if at all possible. Its great not needing any software and just being able to type in a web address or bring up a favorite to launch a screen reader. And then, when done, to just close the window or unload the program, and have there be no trace of the program on that computer. There’s one other part of S.A. to Go that might interest others but doesn’t really do much for me: the ability to remotely control another computer with both System Access and S.,A. to Go. For the person in information technology, tekkie, or computer repair person, or even for the true geek, this is pretty cool. Also, as far as Windows Vista is concerned, System Access doesn’t have any trouble in working with Vist’as graphics. Which means that unlike JAWS, Window Eyes, and other screen readers, you don’t have to unload or change the display settings in order to use System Access. For any sighted people in your life, this is pretty notable it would seem.
There you have it. I’m off to play some more in this virtual sandbox. Serotek is running a "summer conference special" on their site until 7/30/07 that combines many of these products for only $500. Check it out if you're interested. To learn more about Serotek, visit them online at
Serotek.com
Serotek is a name that some blind people have heard of, either from their line of products for Windows or, perhaps more likely, from their involvement in a lawsuit from Freedom Scientific recently. Either way, it’s a name that we should be familiar with. Why? Because of the types of products that they are coming up with; products that innovate and push the envelope. I’m not going to get into technical details. There are others that can do that much more eloquently, not to mentioned informed, than I can. I will talk about my experience thus far with their products, aside from the information loss, and tell you what I think.
System Access. This is a new product that Serotek has come up with that performs like, and in fact is, a screen reader. Its not as complex and involved as JAWS, but then again, it doesn’t pretend to be. System Access is what it is, and it’s a pretty good product. It allows you to use your computer nonvisually, from accessing desktop icons, to using Microsoft Word, to sending email in Outlook Express or Microsoft Outlook, to surfing the WWW, and more. Serotek has recently introduced a new product similar to System Access, called System Access to Go or S.A. to Go. They are currently offering S.A. to Go as a public beta for people to test. There’s no indication on when the beta cycle will end, however you can sign up by going to:
www.SAToGo.com.
I’m using a 4 and a half year old computer running Windows XP Home and am writing this in Word XP,a program that Serotek freelly says that they don’t support. Perhaps hat’s why I’ve had problems with it. When using their System Access program, each time that I’ve come back to Word from another window, my focus has been lost and I’ve been placed on one of the many pages of my currently 28 page blog document. Sometimes I’ve gotten speech when arrowing through the document, and sometimes I haven’t. And then there’s the issue of that disappearing text I had earlier. I should say that it seems that Serotek’s products use some of the familiar JAWS navigation keys. I’ve been able to use the equivalent Windows keystrokes for moving by word or paragraph. About the time that I thought I’d run into trouble (which I’ll get into later), I was able to switch back to the Word window with Ssystem Access, and attempt the save file command in Word (Control with S). I assumed that the file did indeed save and closed the file. This was several hours ago. When I returned a few minutes ago I found that the last post in the file was one I had written before convention. All of the stuff I had written before was gone. That wasn’t very much, but I figure I had written about a page and a half or 2 pages altogether. That as some good stuff with good observations. Hopefully I can recreate that in this post or another one. However, those good thoughts are now in the bit bucket as some call it. This is disappointing to say the least. I plan on informing Serotek about this, even if they don’t’ support Word XP.
I mentioned that System Access and S.A. to Go don’t use many of the JAWS keys I’ve come to know and love, such as moving by character, word, spelling the word, etc. The programs are however much more responsive in Word as a whole, as least compared to JAWS. They are also pretty good in Outlook Express. There is a bit of a delay when arrowing through messages, but I can deal with that, at least for a short time. I’m not sure if I’d want to rely on it all the time, but its good to have available.
The advantage and huge selling point to S.A. to Go is that you don’t need any software on the computer in order to use it. All you need is either an Internet connection or the S.A. software on one of the many new U3 USB thumb drives, for when you plug in the USB drive into any computer, you instantly have access to that computer, whether or not if there’s any assistive software on that machine. This has been the big selling point for some of the Serotek line of products for several years, starting with their Key to Freedom product. That I know of, no one else in the AT industry has been able to duplicate this level of access. Some have come close, like Freedom Scientific with their dongle or thumb drive version of JAWS, but one still needs JAWS on a computer in order to use this, which kind of defeats the purpose of “access anywhere.” I think that Dolphin have also attempted this kind of access as well with their Dolphin Pen, though I don’t know if that requires the Dolphin software on the computer in question in order to work, like FS does. In any case, Serotek are true innovators by introducing and maintaining this level of access.
The last product I’d like to talk about is the S.A. Mobile Network, formerly known as the Freedom Box Network. Basically, this is a safe “sandbox” like environment that they introduced back in 2000 to give blind and low vision people access to many different software, such as email, web browsing, chat, word processing, etc. Among other things, one of their most popular offerings is the ability to listen to the audio track of many different DVS or describe movies. Thik of the S.A. Mobile Network like what America Online attempted to do some years ago.
I’ve gone onto the Mobile Network, after I signed up for a free 30 days trial, and have watched, er listened, to several movies in the last 12-24 hours. I must say that these movies present a very good and enticing argument and plus for the S.A. Mobile Network and Serotek as a whole. The movies range from classics to Holiday favorites to action and adventure, and all points in between.
In watching these movies I’ve discovered that while I started out the session with System Access, after a said period of time in which I haven’t pressed any keys on my computer, S.A. disappears. I know this because I’ve attempted to check the time a number of times and was unable to do so. When the movies were over, I’ve also attempted to move to another window finding that I got no speech. I tried bringing up JAWS and Microsoft Narrator with no success. Incidentally, Narrator’s not so bad if you adjust the speech rate to a faster speed. Its still the same voice, but at least he doesn’t sound as drunk. Anyway, I know that JAWS came up because my Braille display came to life but nothing was displayed. There was no speech either. Perhaps S.A. was blocking the speech, since if Narrator did load, the program spoke with hesitation, menaing there were many pauses when it was trying to announce some things. All but one of the times that I’ve watched a movie, which has probably been 5 or 6, I had to eventually restart my computer from a complete shut down state. Being able to watch movies is quite nice, but I’m not sure I’d pay for this ability if I have to reboot my computer after the movie’s over. The one time that I didn’t have to restart was when I closed the media player’s window and got S.A. speech back, but I was still unable to check the time during that session after awhile. The point when I lost my work in Word, I had started a movie and had it on pause. I had a feeling that I might have to restart at some point, so I paused the movie, went back to Word, and tried to save the document. I don’t know if the presence of the movie or media player had anything to do with my data loss, but if so, that’s not a good selling point either.
Like I’ve said, I’m still evaluating things and my conclusions might not amount to much. However, over all, these are great products. While I may not pay the money for System Access or the Mobile Network for this computer, after all it is still 4 years old. There’s a good chance I will try it on Windows Vista, whenever that next computer comes. Even when my 30 day trial runs out, I’ll still use the S.A. to Go program, if at all possible. Its great not needing any software and just being able to type in a web address or bring up a favorite to launch a screen reader. And then, when done, to just close the window or unload the program, and have there be no trace of the program on that computer. There’s one other part of S.A. to Go that might interest others but doesn’t really do much for me: the ability to remotely control another computer with both System Access and S.,A. to Go. For the person in information technology, tekkie, or computer repair person, or even for the true geek, this is pretty cool. Also, as far as Windows Vista is concerned, System Access doesn’t have any trouble in working with Vist’as graphics. Which means that unlike JAWS, Window Eyes, and other screen readers, you don’t have to unload or change the display settings in order to use System Access. For any sighted people in your life, this is pretty notable it would seem.
There you have it. I’m off to play some more in this virtual sandbox. Serotek is running a "summer conference special" on their site until 7/30/07 that combines many of these products for only $500. Check it out if you're interested. To learn more about Serotek, visit them online at
Serotek.com
Tuesday, July 10
Remembering Tony
Hi Tony. I just wanted to write you a quick note and wish you happy birthday. I know you're in Heaven now, but I still need to remember your birthday and the happy times. I've thought about you a lot in recent months and days. For awhile, you were in my dreams. I don't dream about you as often these days. You do come up from time to time though. I've met a girl named Beth and I think you would have liked her. She's a real dog person so there would be a definite connection between the two of you. May this day bring you happy memories in Heaven just like they're bringing me down here. Talk to you in awhile. Love, Wayne.
Sunday, July 8
JAWS 8.0 for Windows Vista Final release
Greetings. I meant to post this before I left for convention, but didn't get a chance. JAWS 8.0 for Windows XP/Vista has been released. On the Windows XP side, there's not a lot of enhancements/improvements since the last minor update. However, this is considered a "final release" for Windows Vista. So from now on, you can burn this copy to a CD or get a CD from Freedom Scientific, and install it on a new Windows Vista computer. For those interested, you can read more about the JAWS 8.0.2173 Final Release. Refer to the "Enhancements for JAWS version 8.0.2173" heading for specifics on what has changed since the last update. Also, in the JAWS seminar at the NFB convention last week and on FS Cast (FS's podcast), there was mention of version 9 coming out hopefully in September. If you have Windows XP and don't see a reason to get this update, then I'd suggest just waiting for 9.0. One notable thing and a reason you might want to order the 8.0 CD is that a new batch of training material is included on it. Among this material are free Daisy moduals, including one on moving to Windows Vista when using JAWS or Magic. Refer to the JAWS Training Headquarters and look for the heading, "Download these additional DAISY books." Enjoy.
The PAC Mate Omni
Greetings. After long last, an upgrade for the PAC Mate is coming. It was officially announced this past week at the National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind conventions. For those that missed the convention or announcement, or want more details, then check out the PAC Mate Omni press release. As a PAC Mate user, I'm grately looking forward to this upgrade. Though I hate to be apart from my technology I rely upon, I'll gladly send my unit in if they're going to perform this sort of upgrading to it. In case you're interested, it would be a good thing to do any maintenance or repairs to your unit before the new version comes out. FS in fact said that they won't do any upgrading if your unit is not working perfectly. Also, the pricing structure that FS has announced is pretty great too; think of it, paying from only $299 to $699 for an upgrade like this. That sounds a lot better than the nearly $2,000 that HumanWare was charging a few years ago when they introduced the BrailleNote mPowers. Since my hardware and software agreements are up to date, I'll only pay $299 for this upgrade. As the date gets closer, Freedom Scientific will announce other details about how the upgrade process will work, as well as other enhancements to the PAC Mate. For now though let's enjoy the moment and the news.
Friday, June 1
June update
Greetings. Thought I’d given an update since I have time on my hands. Usually, about this time of day on a normal week, I’m either sleeping or being really lazy in front of the TV. However, this has not been a normal week. Mainly because I’ve been off. The Center closes during the last week in May and during the week of Christmas and New Year’s. All the students and staff get the week off, which is great. I’ve been catching up on my R&R this week, and basically not accomplishing anything. Its been wonderful! I know that things will get plenty busy next week when work starts up again, and then the following week when a lot of new students come in. Its safe to say that June will be a busy month for me and that there will probably be some nights when I come home, put my feet up on my coffee table, and fall asleep. However, since I’m going to the NFB convention in Atlanta the first week in July, that gives me something to look forward to and plan for. That will be nice, to go off to a convention in the middle of that craziness at work. So I’m completely cool with not accomplishing anything this week, :)
The mattress has been everything I thought it would be, and more. Its one of those mattresses where when you lay down on it, its not immediately comfortable. But as you lie on the bed, the mattress’s various “pressure points” mold or shape themselves to your body. So, if you can get up after a few minutes, you then realize how comfortable it really was. There have been a few times when I have laid down for a few minutes while listening to some audio on my computer, and then had thought of changing songs or stations, and dreaded the idea of getting up again. So to say that its been enjoyable might be an understatement, :)
The graduation ceremony went very well. It was good to see the students that I had taught, at various stages, finally accomplish their goals and get their certificates. However, as it turned out, the students had a little surprise for the staff. Apparently, they had gotten together in one of their planning sessions for the graduation, and decided to give certain staff members awards. They gave awards to at least one person from each department. I’m writing this not only to draw attention to their efforts, but also to mention that I received the award for the technology department!
As part of the introduction, the student that presented me the award said something along these lines: “The next award goes to someone in technology. This person hasn’t been here that long, only a little over a year, and he doesn’t get much recognition.” The award says:
Service Excellence Award
Presented to
Wayne Merritt
In recognition of your outstanding service and dedication to consumers.
05/24/07
And then it had the student’s name. There were things I could have said and things I wanted to say, but as soon as I mounted the steps to the stage and received the award, I was speechless. How could I thank students that had just paid me probably the biggest complement I’ve yet to receive in my career? Truth be told, I’m not recognized that often. It was a long time, about a year, before someone even mentioned me in their short graduation thanks that each student gives when they receive their certificates.
So, I’d like to take this space to thank all the students, especially the presenter (and you know who you are), for recognizing me. Your recognition helps make my job worthwhile. And it helps to validate all those days of arriving on time for class, of giving challenging homework, and of talking about anything from lecture material, to Shrek, to blindness skills in class. As I said to one of my colleagues after the ceremonies were done, “Now my life is complete.”
Pretty much everyone, staff and students alike, were at the graduation ceremony. It was neat to be recognized and acknowledged by my students and colleagues.
On another note, I went and saw Shrek the Third last weekend with a friend. For the record, though its better than Shrek 2, its not nearly as overwhelmingly funny as the original Shrek movie. At times though, I thought that there was too much going on in Shrek the Third. I did enjoy the medieval names and places though; those were amusing. I was left with one question though: will there be a forth installment in this movie series? I guess we’ll see in 2010, since all of the movies have been released every 3 years.
Well, that’s about all for now. I’m off to enjoy the rest of my weekend and vacation, at least until Atlanta, :) See ya.
The mattress has been everything I thought it would be, and more. Its one of those mattresses where when you lay down on it, its not immediately comfortable. But as you lie on the bed, the mattress’s various “pressure points” mold or shape themselves to your body. So, if you can get up after a few minutes, you then realize how comfortable it really was. There have been a few times when I have laid down for a few minutes while listening to some audio on my computer, and then had thought of changing songs or stations, and dreaded the idea of getting up again. So to say that its been enjoyable might be an understatement, :)
The graduation ceremony went very well. It was good to see the students that I had taught, at various stages, finally accomplish their goals and get their certificates. However, as it turned out, the students had a little surprise for the staff. Apparently, they had gotten together in one of their planning sessions for the graduation, and decided to give certain staff members awards. They gave awards to at least one person from each department. I’m writing this not only to draw attention to their efforts, but also to mention that I received the award for the technology department!
As part of the introduction, the student that presented me the award said something along these lines: “The next award goes to someone in technology. This person hasn’t been here that long, only a little over a year, and he doesn’t get much recognition.” The award says:
Service Excellence Award
Presented to
Wayne Merritt
In recognition of your outstanding service and dedication to consumers.
05/24/07
And then it had the student’s name. There were things I could have said and things I wanted to say, but as soon as I mounted the steps to the stage and received the award, I was speechless. How could I thank students that had just paid me probably the biggest complement I’ve yet to receive in my career? Truth be told, I’m not recognized that often. It was a long time, about a year, before someone even mentioned me in their short graduation thanks that each student gives when they receive their certificates.
So, I’d like to take this space to thank all the students, especially the presenter (and you know who you are), for recognizing me. Your recognition helps make my job worthwhile. And it helps to validate all those days of arriving on time for class, of giving challenging homework, and of talking about anything from lecture material, to Shrek, to blindness skills in class. As I said to one of my colleagues after the ceremonies were done, “Now my life is complete.”
Pretty much everyone, staff and students alike, were at the graduation ceremony. It was neat to be recognized and acknowledged by my students and colleagues.
On another note, I went and saw Shrek the Third last weekend with a friend. For the record, though its better than Shrek 2, its not nearly as overwhelmingly funny as the original Shrek movie. At times though, I thought that there was too much going on in Shrek the Third. I did enjoy the medieval names and places though; those were amusing. I was left with one question though: will there be a forth installment in this movie series? I guess we’ll see in 2010, since all of the movies have been released every 3 years.
Well, that’s about all for now. I’m off to enjoy the rest of my weekend and vacation, at least until Atlanta, :) See ya.
Wednesday, May 23
NFB convention agenda available
Greetings. For those interested, the NFB 2007 Convention Agenda is now available. This is a direct link to download the Word document on the NFB website. Note that this file is just over 3 megabytes in size, and that it might take some time to download on a modem connection and further to open in Word. I recommend, that as soon as you open it in Word, you perform a Save As and save it in either rich text or plain text to reduce the file size. Remember to load this on your note taker or laptop of choice before you go to convention. By doing so, you can preserve some trees for all the people that forgot their laptops, or those that don't have the ability. Also, while they're still reading over their agendas, you can be rushing to a meeting or the event of your choice, chuckling all the way because you were prepared :) Enjoy.
Sunday, May 20
May entry
Greetings. Well, its time for another monthly blogging update. Some people have asked me why I don’t post as often as I once did. Truthfully, I don’t really know myself. Things are a little less stressful at work and as a result I’m not as stressed. Though, this coming week, I’ve got a mess of reports and summaries to write for my students, some of whom are graduating so they’re even higher on the priority list. I think I’ll always be a blogger to some degree, but perhaps that degree is getting smaller as we go. Anyway, I do have some notable things to update you on this month.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first pair of boots, which has surprised and pleased several people in my daily life. I had heard about boots and their comfort several times before now, and I needed some new work shoes anyway, so I thought, “Why not?” Wearing boots has presented its own set of challenges and interesting observations. Mainly that I’m now 2 inches higher than I once was. I realize that those of you who may have been wearing boots for a long time are reading this and thinking, “Well of course Wayne, they’re going to make you taller.” But bare with me for a moment; after all, these are new experiences for me. For the record, I bought a pair of break in or transition boots, or those that are recommended to people that have been wearing shoes and are in the process of switching to boots. Thus, they have a good amount of padding in them to ease the process. I’ve noticed differences in the height of things around me, in going up or down stairs, and I’m even considering obtaining a 67 inch cane, since now my 65 inch doesn’t come up as high as it once did. Its definitely different. On the flip side, I’ve gotten complements from many people that, “You look good in those boots,” when I wear the boots with jeans or khakis. I do like the ability to pull the boots on at any time and not to have to mess with laces or any mess like that. I’ve been told from people that know such things that it will take a week or two to break them in, but after that, I’ll love them. I’m inclined to believe them.
On another front, yesterday I went out with a friend and ended up buying a new mattress, bed frame, and side table at a local furniture store for some great prices. Actually, as much as I’m pleased with the kind of mattress I got, I’m equally, if not more, excited about the delivery of all of this on this coming Saturday. For those interested, the mattress is one of those Posturepedic mattresses, which basically means that it provides good back support and firmness throughout the whole mattress. So, you get the same firmness whether you’re sitting on the edge, laying in the middle or on either end or side of it. You don’t feel like you’re going to roll off the side, which is great. This is my first queen size mattress and I’m already rubbing my hands together in anticipation.
The other big day in this coming week is Thursday, since its another consumer graduation day. I’ve taught many of these students, some more than others. It will likely be one of those bitter sweet days, where it will be good to see them achieve their goal of program completion, but sad to see them go.
Add to that the fact that the Center is closing for a week next week, or Memorial Day week, and you can understand my anticipation of Friday. I’m going to go ahead and throw out the prediction that, among staff, there won’t be very much productivity on Friday afternoon, especially after 3pm. With the end of May looming, my anticipation for the NFB convention in Atlanta is growing. I always love going to those conventions, and this year‘s is no exception. On that happy note, I’ll bid farewell for now. Adios.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first pair of boots, which has surprised and pleased several people in my daily life. I had heard about boots and their comfort several times before now, and I needed some new work shoes anyway, so I thought, “Why not?” Wearing boots has presented its own set of challenges and interesting observations. Mainly that I’m now 2 inches higher than I once was. I realize that those of you who may have been wearing boots for a long time are reading this and thinking, “Well of course Wayne, they’re going to make you taller.” But bare with me for a moment; after all, these are new experiences for me. For the record, I bought a pair of break in or transition boots, or those that are recommended to people that have been wearing shoes and are in the process of switching to boots. Thus, they have a good amount of padding in them to ease the process. I’ve noticed differences in the height of things around me, in going up or down stairs, and I’m even considering obtaining a 67 inch cane, since now my 65 inch doesn’t come up as high as it once did. Its definitely different. On the flip side, I’ve gotten complements from many people that, “You look good in those boots,” when I wear the boots with jeans or khakis. I do like the ability to pull the boots on at any time and not to have to mess with laces or any mess like that. I’ve been told from people that know such things that it will take a week or two to break them in, but after that, I’ll love them. I’m inclined to believe them.
On another front, yesterday I went out with a friend and ended up buying a new mattress, bed frame, and side table at a local furniture store for some great prices. Actually, as much as I’m pleased with the kind of mattress I got, I’m equally, if not more, excited about the delivery of all of this on this coming Saturday. For those interested, the mattress is one of those Posturepedic mattresses, which basically means that it provides good back support and firmness throughout the whole mattress. So, you get the same firmness whether you’re sitting on the edge, laying in the middle or on either end or side of it. You don’t feel like you’re going to roll off the side, which is great. This is my first queen size mattress and I’m already rubbing my hands together in anticipation.
The other big day in this coming week is Thursday, since its another consumer graduation day. I’ve taught many of these students, some more than others. It will likely be one of those bitter sweet days, where it will be good to see them achieve their goal of program completion, but sad to see them go.
Add to that the fact that the Center is closing for a week next week, or Memorial Day week, and you can understand my anticipation of Friday. I’m going to go ahead and throw out the prediction that, among staff, there won’t be very much productivity on Friday afternoon, especially after 3pm. With the end of May looming, my anticipation for the NFB convention in Atlanta is growing. I always love going to those conventions, and this year‘s is no exception. On that happy note, I’ll bid farewell for now. Adios.
Thursday, April 26
JAWS 8.0 second update released
Greetings. For those interested, the second automatic update for Windows XP and for the public beta of Vista has been released. Read more about the second JAWS XP update here. The heading to look for is called, "Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.2107 (26 April 2007)." This update looks like it addresses many issues. I can't really speak to them individually, but it is good to hear that FS has fixed and allowed access to the User Access Control (UAC) in Windows Vista. That is a big thing that needs to work with JAWS, since from what I understand, it comes up on screen each time there's an attempted change to the user account settings. From the reviews I've read about Vista, this UAC appears a lot, so its good that JFW can now work with it. For those interested, you can Read what's new with JFW and Vista. Specifically, you will want to look for the heading called, "What to Know About the JAWS Public Beta with Windows Vista." Though I'm not quite ready to take the plunge and get a new computer yet, reading over the list of improvements is really exciting and increasing my anticipation for that day when I'll have a Vista machine and can really play with it. Enjoy.
Sunday, April 22
Shopping via text message
Greetings. I'm going to go ahead and throw out the prediction that the cell phone will be the new frontier for communication and staying connected. In recent years, the cell phone has not only become the tool for talking with family, friends, and coworkers, but it has also been the tool we use to manage contacts, send and receive text messages to friends, manage appointments, and more. We have even experimented with more practical uses that perhaps go beyond the communication intent, such as a bar code reader, scanner, low cost GPS unit, taking and storing pictures, etc. Well, here's another possible use for that cell phone in your pocket: shopping. Read more from the New York Times in the article called New Form of Impulse: Shopping via Text Message. I've read futuristic novels from Tom Clancy where the characters use an all in one communication device for phone calls, video conferencing, appointments, and much more. Its looking more and more like the cell phone will be that sort of device for us in a few years--or perhaps it already is now. Enjoy.
Saturday, March 24
Anniversary, taxes, interesting people, and more
Greetings. I realize that my posting rate has slowed down drastically in the last month or two. I apologize for that. It seems that as things have gotten busier for me in my life, my blog posts have come less frequently. To be sure, I still have plenty to say, but finding the time to say it in when I get home, well, that’s another matter.
Currently at work, I am one of three full time instructors. We do have a forth, sort of, but he only teaches one class, so the lion’s share of the classes are mainly left to the three of us. Sure, we’ve hired a fifth person that will eventually teach a class or two. Since they’re still going through the initial training though, and probably won’t be done until May, things are tight for the moment. And, throw in the possibility of absences from time to time, or requests for covering classes for whatever reason, and things get even more stressful. Thankfully though, we should be having a sixth and final person start soon, which will eventually lighten the load and make things more manageable for everyone. I’ve thought of posting several times, but then I put it aside and think, “Oh, I’ll do it later.” And we all know where that thinking gets you.
Anyway, the tightness of the situation really hit home for me yesterday. I’m usually the one in my department to turn in the reports for new students early in the month, or at least in the middle. Due to the things I listed above, plus whatever else might come up, yesterday afternoon was the first time I was able to sit down and devote time to my 6 reports. And, I’m glad I did that. I at least got through 4 of them. Getting the other 2 done by the deadline won’t be any problem.
In my on and off posting here, some significant things have happened that haven’t made it to this space until now. First, on February 1, I observed and celebrated my one year anniversary at my current job. On that day, I couldn’t help but smile to myself when I was buzzing myself into the building, and when I walked down the hall toward my office. To add to these good feelings, I found myself in the position of paying off the remaining debt that I have—er, had, That was a good feeling as well. Not only did February2007 mark the one year point for me, but it also marked the point of freedom, where I was truly able to say, “I’m debt free!” I don’t know that I’ll be so bold as to say that I’ll be debt free forever, but at least I am until my next big purchase. Which looks like it will be technology, as in a new computer.
Another significant thing was on February 12, when the “new guy” started. Sure, he won’t be teaching classes for several months, but at least we’ve got him on board. I’ve enjoyed sharing information, building a working relationship with him, answering his questions, and helping to ease him in. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was the “new guy,” and I certainly remember what a transition that was for me. Initially, I was reluctant to give up the title of new guy, but actually, its kind of nice not being the new guy. And being someone who helps the new guy get settled in.
I’ve paid my taxes for 2006. That’s a good feeling as well. I went to the same place I went to last year, but they had moved across the street, so it took a little longer to get there. I realize that not everyone knows everything about interacting with a blind person. However, I don’t expect them to. That said, much of this interaction I believe is pure common sense. As sometimes happens though, when some people see a blind person, they freeze up, kind of like the deer in the headlights, and think, “Oooh! Blind guy! What do I do?” And whatever they do or say is then filtered through this “freezing up” response. The result of which can be quite humorous. For instance, the woman who asked me, while we were walking at a brisk pace, “How do you get around campus without going up steps?” To which I responded, “Well, I guess I don’t.” Or, the person who asks me if I can go down steps when we’re standing at the top of a staircase, and then proceeds to gasp in utter awe that I can. Or, the clerk in the college bookstore who, excuses themselves so they can go to their boss and ask them if I can indeed go down steps. And all I hear is something like, “Yes, he can. I’ve seen him do it before..” All of these things have happened to me, along with countless others.
Why do I bring all this up after mentioning that I paid my taxes? Because, one of these types of people initially helped me in the tax preparation process. Let me state here that not everyone “freezes up” when they see me. But there is a certain level of this that goes on with people I don’t know or don’t know very well. And, occasionally with people I do know. Anyway, at the risk of putting you on the floor with all of the happenings with this woman at the tax place, I’ll just highlight a couple. For instance, when she said to me, “I don’t think that this is your W2 form..” When I asked why, after a pause, she goes on with, “Well, because, …, oh, there’s your name at the top. Never mind.” Or, one of my favorites, when she tells me that she needs to see my identification. I ask why and she says that she just needs to see it. I ask her if she needs the ID number, and that I could give it to her. She says, “No, I need the date of expiration.” To which I tell her when its set to expire, and her response remains, “Ok, well, I still need to see your ID.” I consent and then asked her for a phone to call my driver, since I didn’t bring my ID with me. I don’t remember needing it last year, but who knows; perhaps I did show it. Her response to my request is, “Oh, I’ll dial for you.” To which I reply, “Oh, I can dial the number, I do it all the time on my phone.” And her response: “Oh, well, we don’t have a phone near here.” I wonder to myself: *There’s no phone even though she just offered to dial for me*. I shrugged, and pulled out my own cell phone and start turning it on. The woman gasps and says, “You have your own phone?” “Sure, don’t you?” I ask.
When my driver and I returned, I quickly discovered that I had someone else that was going to help me with my taxes, to my great relief. As it happened though, when I mentioned that I had my ID to show him, the man who was now helping me asked, “Why? You don’t need it to file.” I don’t know if this was the woman’s first day on the job, but its incidents like that that remind me of the state of the average person in the world today with regards to how they view blind people. To be fair, the gentleman that helped me prepare the taxes was very good, taking time to read things to me and explain things. He completely made up for the first attempt. He even gave me his card so that I could use him again next year, which I hope to do. Its people like this gentleman that make things worthwhile.
That’s about all I have for now. I’ll try to post more often than I have been, but don’t be surprised if my posting stays at the twice a month level of late, at least for the next month or two. Until then.
Currently at work, I am one of three full time instructors. We do have a forth, sort of, but he only teaches one class, so the lion’s share of the classes are mainly left to the three of us. Sure, we’ve hired a fifth person that will eventually teach a class or two. Since they’re still going through the initial training though, and probably won’t be done until May, things are tight for the moment. And, throw in the possibility of absences from time to time, or requests for covering classes for whatever reason, and things get even more stressful. Thankfully though, we should be having a sixth and final person start soon, which will eventually lighten the load and make things more manageable for everyone. I’ve thought of posting several times, but then I put it aside and think, “Oh, I’ll do it later.” And we all know where that thinking gets you.
Anyway, the tightness of the situation really hit home for me yesterday. I’m usually the one in my department to turn in the reports for new students early in the month, or at least in the middle. Due to the things I listed above, plus whatever else might come up, yesterday afternoon was the first time I was able to sit down and devote time to my 6 reports. And, I’m glad I did that. I at least got through 4 of them. Getting the other 2 done by the deadline won’t be any problem.
In my on and off posting here, some significant things have happened that haven’t made it to this space until now. First, on February 1, I observed and celebrated my one year anniversary at my current job. On that day, I couldn’t help but smile to myself when I was buzzing myself into the building, and when I walked down the hall toward my office. To add to these good feelings, I found myself in the position of paying off the remaining debt that I have—er, had, That was a good feeling as well. Not only did February2007 mark the one year point for me, but it also marked the point of freedom, where I was truly able to say, “I’m debt free!” I don’t know that I’ll be so bold as to say that I’ll be debt free forever, but at least I am until my next big purchase. Which looks like it will be technology, as in a new computer.
Another significant thing was on February 12, when the “new guy” started. Sure, he won’t be teaching classes for several months, but at least we’ve got him on board. I’ve enjoyed sharing information, building a working relationship with him, answering his questions, and helping to ease him in. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was the “new guy,” and I certainly remember what a transition that was for me. Initially, I was reluctant to give up the title of new guy, but actually, its kind of nice not being the new guy. And being someone who helps the new guy get settled in.
I’ve paid my taxes for 2006. That’s a good feeling as well. I went to the same place I went to last year, but they had moved across the street, so it took a little longer to get there. I realize that not everyone knows everything about interacting with a blind person. However, I don’t expect them to. That said, much of this interaction I believe is pure common sense. As sometimes happens though, when some people see a blind person, they freeze up, kind of like the deer in the headlights, and think, “Oooh! Blind guy! What do I do?” And whatever they do or say is then filtered through this “freezing up” response. The result of which can be quite humorous. For instance, the woman who asked me, while we were walking at a brisk pace, “How do you get around campus without going up steps?” To which I responded, “Well, I guess I don’t.” Or, the person who asks me if I can go down steps when we’re standing at the top of a staircase, and then proceeds to gasp in utter awe that I can. Or, the clerk in the college bookstore who, excuses themselves so they can go to their boss and ask them if I can indeed go down steps. And all I hear is something like, “Yes, he can. I’ve seen him do it before..” All of these things have happened to me, along with countless others.
Why do I bring all this up after mentioning that I paid my taxes? Because, one of these types of people initially helped me in the tax preparation process. Let me state here that not everyone “freezes up” when they see me. But there is a certain level of this that goes on with people I don’t know or don’t know very well. And, occasionally with people I do know. Anyway, at the risk of putting you on the floor with all of the happenings with this woman at the tax place, I’ll just highlight a couple. For instance, when she said to me, “I don’t think that this is your W2 form..” When I asked why, after a pause, she goes on with, “Well, because, …, oh, there’s your name at the top. Never mind.” Or, one of my favorites, when she tells me that she needs to see my identification. I ask why and she says that she just needs to see it. I ask her if she needs the ID number, and that I could give it to her. She says, “No, I need the date of expiration.” To which I tell her when its set to expire, and her response remains, “Ok, well, I still need to see your ID.” I consent and then asked her for a phone to call my driver, since I didn’t bring my ID with me. I don’t remember needing it last year, but who knows; perhaps I did show it. Her response to my request is, “Oh, I’ll dial for you.” To which I reply, “Oh, I can dial the number, I do it all the time on my phone.” And her response: “Oh, well, we don’t have a phone near here.” I wonder to myself: *There’s no phone even though she just offered to dial for me*. I shrugged, and pulled out my own cell phone and start turning it on. The woman gasps and says, “You have your own phone?” “Sure, don’t you?” I ask.
When my driver and I returned, I quickly discovered that I had someone else that was going to help me with my taxes, to my great relief. As it happened though, when I mentioned that I had my ID to show him, the man who was now helping me asked, “Why? You don’t need it to file.” I don’t know if this was the woman’s first day on the job, but its incidents like that that remind me of the state of the average person in the world today with regards to how they view blind people. To be fair, the gentleman that helped me prepare the taxes was very good, taking time to read things to me and explain things. He completely made up for the first attempt. He even gave me his card so that I could use him again next year, which I hope to do. Its people like this gentleman that make things worthwhile.
That’s about all I have for now. I’ll try to post more often than I have been, but don’t be surprised if my posting stays at the twice a month level of late, at least for the next month or two. Until then.
Thursday, March 8
More on Dadnab and other services
Greetings. Here is more information on Dadnab, which is taken from an email I sent to everyone in my department. This will hopefully give you a better idea of how to use the service. At the end, there are links and information for similar services in other locations. Enjoy.
Dadnab is a service that you can send text messages to in order to find out bus schedule information. There is a demonstration of the service on their site, with a combo box for selecting the city and then an edit field with preselected text in it. You can of course put
your own text in there. Currently, the service is in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, how ever they are looking into adding several
other cities, including New York, Salt Lake City, and others. There's no charge for the service, aside from normal text messaging rates (provided you're
not already in a texting plan, in which case its free). This seems like a powerful service, and one that provides another option when waiting at the bus
stop.
Some examples of things you could query would be:
4 and Congress to 49 and Sunshine
4 and Congress to 49 and Sunshine by 8:00 pm
49 and Sunshine to Anderson and Foster by 7:30 am on Saturday
Or even "loc," without the quotes in the message of course, for location, and then an intersection. If there's lots of busses that go by that stop though, you'll get lots of messages back. They recommend
using an intersection verses a street address for best results. Provided that the city has a trip planner and its schedules online, the service can work
with them.
When texting, you will send the message to:
Cityname@dadnab.com
Where “city name” is the name of the city you want to search for schedules in. Then put the query in the text area. Refer to the site for instructions on specific numbers for different cell carriers. If you text Dadnab a lot, and
you have to put the email address in the message itself (which is necessary for a few carriers), you can setup a template with the address already in there.
Then you insert the template, and then you only have to write the query. Enjoy.
Addition: If you don’t live in a city served by Dadnab, then perhaps you might find the following services of interest. You can get schedule information from the site or by text messaging. Refer to the individual site for details.
Hop Stop,
offers bus and subway directions for Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
Google Transit
offers directions and information for cities in the following states: California, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Only selected cities are listed so refer to the site for more details.
Dadnab is a service that you can send text messages to in order to find out bus schedule information. There is a demonstration of the service on their site, with a combo box for selecting the city and then an edit field with preselected text in it. You can of course put
your own text in there. Currently, the service is in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, how ever they are looking into adding several
other cities, including New York, Salt Lake City, and others. There's no charge for the service, aside from normal text messaging rates (provided you're
not already in a texting plan, in which case its free). This seems like a powerful service, and one that provides another option when waiting at the bus
stop.
Some examples of things you could query would be:
4 and Congress to 49 and Sunshine
4 and Congress to 49 and Sunshine by 8:00 pm
49 and Sunshine to Anderson and Foster by 7:30 am on Saturday
Or even "loc," without the quotes in the message of course, for location, and then an intersection. If there's lots of busses that go by that stop though, you'll get lots of messages back. They recommend
using an intersection verses a street address for best results. Provided that the city has a trip planner and its schedules online, the service can work
with them.
When texting, you will send the message to:
Cityname@dadnab.com
Where “city name” is the name of the city you want to search for schedules in. Then put the query in the text area. Refer to the site for instructions on specific numbers for different cell carriers. If you text Dadnab a lot, and
you have to put the email address in the message itself (which is necessary for a few carriers), you can setup a template with the address already in there.
Then you insert the template, and then you only have to write the query. Enjoy.
Addition: If you don’t live in a city served by Dadnab, then perhaps you might find the following services of interest. You can get schedule information from the site or by text messaging. Refer to the individual site for details.
Hop Stop,
offers bus and subway directions for Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
Google Transit
offers directions and information for cities in the following states: California, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Only selected cities are listed so refer to the site for more details.
Monday, March 5
Exciting service for getting transit information
Greetings. Dadnab is an exciting new service where you can obtain information about current or upcoming transit schedules via text message. The way it works is you message a certain address and then you can write in a number of things. For instance, in Austin, I can write "4th and Congress to 49 and Grover by 3:30," and after 45-60 seconds, I would get information on the next bus going that direction and appropriate times. The service is free, provided you're in a text messaging plan with your cell provider. Otherwise, normal rates apply, which are 10 cents per message you send or receive. There is a demonstration of the service on the Dadnab site. Currently, the service is in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. I attended a meeting this afternoon at the transit authority of Austin (Capitol Metro), where all this was laid out.
This is a great idea. I can see definite uses for this, like for instance, you're at the bus stop and want to know the next time for a route, but don't want to fight through the voice response system or you don't want to wait on hold for who knows how long. Instead, you can simply pull out your cellphone and send a text message for the information. Though it is not in many cities yet, there are plans to expand to other parts of the country, such places in the Northeast. Aside from the cost of a text message, for a blind person, the only things necessary are a cellphone and the software to access the phone, like Talks or Mobile Speak.
The Dadnab site has more information, including special numbers or instructions based on what carrier you use. Check it out and enjoy.
This is a great idea. I can see definite uses for this, like for instance, you're at the bus stop and want to know the next time for a route, but don't want to fight through the voice response system or you don't want to wait on hold for who knows how long. Instead, you can simply pull out your cellphone and send a text message for the information. Though it is not in many cities yet, there are plans to expand to other parts of the country, such places in the Northeast. Aside from the cost of a text message, for a blind person, the only things necessary are a cellphone and the software to access the phone, like Talks or Mobile Speak.
The Dadnab site has more information, including special numbers or instructions based on what carrier you use. Check it out and enjoy.
Wednesday, February 28
An amusing but possible career for the blind
Greetings. I received the following from a coworker and thought it appropriate to put here. This is a career that I've thought of and believe could work, especially with today's technology in tow. Picture this: you're sitting at the bar, drinking your favorite brew, taking notes on your note taker, while casually listening to the conversation of the person down the bar from you, and maybe even recording it with the digital recorder in your note taker, so as to have a backup and physical evidence. Meanwhile, you're secure in the knowledge that you won't be spotted as eavesdropping because--you're blind. Read on and consider the possibilities. Enjoy.
The Herald (UK)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I spy an MI5 career as the blind invisible man
By IAN HAMILTON
Am I invisible? Well, some days it appears that I am. There is a strange
phenomenon going on which either has to be exploited or investigated.
Now I'm not a scientist, but there is an extraordinary correlation
between how poor someone's sight is and how much they can be seen by the
general public. It's weird. It's like the poorer your sight becomes, the
harder it is for anyone to see you. Very slowly you fade away to
nothing. There is, perhaps, at best, just a faint outline of a person
moving through the crowd. The guide dog can be seen clearly, but the
person is invisible.
Once, I was sitting in the executive departure lounge at Glasgow Airport
(now, I'm not saying that to show off but I was put in the elite waiting
room by one of the airport staff who thought it would be helpful -
actually, I think she was just getting me out of the way) and for some
time I was alone, till one other traveller appeared.
The lounge was quiet, with only the faint crunching sound of a blind man
and his dog gorging themselves on free biscuits. (I wonder who supplied
them?) The other passenger then made a call on his mobile. "Hi, I'm at
Glasgow Airport. Yes, I'm completely alone."
advertisement
I screamed, "No! no! I'm here. Ya-hoo! Yahoo!", while bouncing up and
down on my seat.
He continued. "Yes, yes, I can speak freely," he said in a booming
voice.
"No! No! You can't speak freely, I'm here - look, see," I said while
figuratively slapping him repeatedly around the face.
He then proceeded to go into great detail about what football players he
would be buying and selling for his club. "I'm thinking of buying Jo
Bloggs for around 200 thousand - um, yes, as long as he gives up the
drugs and alcohol. Obviously, it would be good if his foot would grow
back, then he'll be the player for us. Selling - well, who the hell
would buy one of ours?" It was a Scottish Premier League chairman.
He plumped himself down next to me and confessed to his life
My instinct was to run around the room naked, falling over chairs and
tap dancing on the tables while whistling Dixie. Obviously, I didn't do
any of these. I sat quietly taking mental notes. Well, it is my job. He
was so near I could have reached out and touched him with my left hand.
What was he thinking? He was sitting only feet from a journalist. But
because I was blind he just couldn't see me. Some people just have to be
protected from themselves. No, I'm not going to embarrass him by giving
his name.
So, here's my idea. Stick with me on this one, it's good. How about the
blind spy? According to a charity for the blind, four out of five blind
people of working age are unemployed. A shocking statistic, I know, but
perhaps this could be a good way to get many of them back to work by
using our so-called natural skills. Being invisible and, of course, our
extraordinary hearing. Although I'm not so sure about my hearing.
Sometimes I become very deaf, particularly at home, for some strange
reason. "Ian, you couldn't do the dishes?" Answer: "Sorry, what was
that?" Another yell comes from the kitchen. "Ian, the bin needs
emptying." Answer: "Sorry, I didn't catch that."
We've got all the technology now. Talking mobile phones with camera,
infra-red object detector, digital recorder, colour detectors and
blind-friendly global positioning systems. We've got so much kit that
when we plug it in at night to do the charging the street lights dim.
A couple of years ago MI5 was going through a recruitment campaign
looking for more agents. It should have started looking around the blind
colleges and training centres - not Oxford and Cambridge. Apart from
being invisible, for some reason, those of the public who have the
special powers that can see us tend to be the mad, bad, criminally
insane and deranged. These types always feel the need to off-load all
their darkest secrets, as if somehow a blind person knowing them just
doesn't count.
Many years ago, I was approached by a man in a bar. He plumped himself
down uninvited and started to confess to me about his life of crime.
Armed robbery, receiving stolen goods, almost everything apart from
murder. If only I'd had a modern phone with a camera, I could have
secretly taken his photo, recorded his confession with my miniature
digital recorder and scanned the colour of his clothes using my colour
detector. Then I could have called the police, giving my GPS
co-ordinates, and maybe scooped myself a large reward. The alternative
is to try to escape. It's not easy trying to squeeze yourself and a
labrador out of the window in a disabled toilet, particularly when you
don't know where you're landing.
Even when a blind person can be seen, normal rules of security don't
apply. Before the recent tightening of security at airports, being blind
didn't appear to constitute any threat. I could walk through customs
with 10 kilos of crack cocaine under one arm, a box marked "bomb" under
the other one, and dragging a case with "swag" printed across it. But as
long as I had a white stick or a guide dog, I had some kind of blind
diplomatic immunity. If only David Blunkett were still Home Secretary he
could have implemented my army of blind spies.
Ian Hamilton reports on disability issues for BBC Scotland.
The Herald (UK)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I spy an MI5 career as the blind invisible man
By IAN HAMILTON
Am I invisible? Well, some days it appears that I am. There is a strange
phenomenon going on which either has to be exploited or investigated.
Now I'm not a scientist, but there is an extraordinary correlation
between how poor someone's sight is and how much they can be seen by the
general public. It's weird. It's like the poorer your sight becomes, the
harder it is for anyone to see you. Very slowly you fade away to
nothing. There is, perhaps, at best, just a faint outline of a person
moving through the crowd. The guide dog can be seen clearly, but the
person is invisible.
Once, I was sitting in the executive departure lounge at Glasgow Airport
(now, I'm not saying that to show off but I was put in the elite waiting
room by one of the airport staff who thought it would be helpful -
actually, I think she was just getting me out of the way) and for some
time I was alone, till one other traveller appeared.
The lounge was quiet, with only the faint crunching sound of a blind man
and his dog gorging themselves on free biscuits. (I wonder who supplied
them?) The other passenger then made a call on his mobile. "Hi, I'm at
Glasgow Airport. Yes, I'm completely alone."
advertisement
I screamed, "No! no! I'm here. Ya-hoo! Yahoo!", while bouncing up and
down on my seat.
He continued. "Yes, yes, I can speak freely," he said in a booming
voice.
"No! No! You can't speak freely, I'm here - look, see," I said while
figuratively slapping him repeatedly around the face.
He then proceeded to go into great detail about what football players he
would be buying and selling for his club. "I'm thinking of buying Jo
Bloggs for around 200 thousand - um, yes, as long as he gives up the
drugs and alcohol. Obviously, it would be good if his foot would grow
back, then he'll be the player for us. Selling - well, who the hell
would buy one of ours?" It was a Scottish Premier League chairman.
He plumped himself down next to me and confessed to his life
My instinct was to run around the room naked, falling over chairs and
tap dancing on the tables while whistling Dixie. Obviously, I didn't do
any of these. I sat quietly taking mental notes. Well, it is my job. He
was so near I could have reached out and touched him with my left hand.
What was he thinking? He was sitting only feet from a journalist. But
because I was blind he just couldn't see me. Some people just have to be
protected from themselves. No, I'm not going to embarrass him by giving
his name.
So, here's my idea. Stick with me on this one, it's good. How about the
blind spy? According to a charity for the blind, four out of five blind
people of working age are unemployed. A shocking statistic, I know, but
perhaps this could be a good way to get many of them back to work by
using our so-called natural skills. Being invisible and, of course, our
extraordinary hearing. Although I'm not so sure about my hearing.
Sometimes I become very deaf, particularly at home, for some strange
reason. "Ian, you couldn't do the dishes?" Answer: "Sorry, what was
that?" Another yell comes from the kitchen. "Ian, the bin needs
emptying." Answer: "Sorry, I didn't catch that."
We've got all the technology now. Talking mobile phones with camera,
infra-red object detector, digital recorder, colour detectors and
blind-friendly global positioning systems. We've got so much kit that
when we plug it in at night to do the charging the street lights dim.
A couple of years ago MI5 was going through a recruitment campaign
looking for more agents. It should have started looking around the blind
colleges and training centres - not Oxford and Cambridge. Apart from
being invisible, for some reason, those of the public who have the
special powers that can see us tend to be the mad, bad, criminally
insane and deranged. These types always feel the need to off-load all
their darkest secrets, as if somehow a blind person knowing them just
doesn't count.
Many years ago, I was approached by a man in a bar. He plumped himself
down uninvited and started to confess to me about his life of crime.
Armed robbery, receiving stolen goods, almost everything apart from
murder. If only I'd had a modern phone with a camera, I could have
secretly taken his photo, recorded his confession with my miniature
digital recorder and scanned the colour of his clothes using my colour
detector. Then I could have called the police, giving my GPS
co-ordinates, and maybe scooped myself a large reward. The alternative
is to try to escape. It's not easy trying to squeeze yourself and a
labrador out of the window in a disabled toilet, particularly when you
don't know where you're landing.
Even when a blind person can be seen, normal rules of security don't
apply. Before the recent tightening of security at airports, being blind
didn't appear to constitute any threat. I could walk through customs
with 10 kilos of crack cocaine under one arm, a box marked "bomb" under
the other one, and dragging a case with "swag" printed across it. But as
long as I had a white stick or a guide dog, I had some kind of blind
diplomatic immunity. If only David Blunkett were still Home Secretary he
could have implemented my army of blind spies.
Ian Hamilton reports on disability issues for BBC Scotland.
JAWS and Vista update
Greetings. For those interested, FS today released a public beta version of the JAWS compatible version for Windows Vista. If you don't want to get Vista right now, which would be a smart move since both mainstream and adaptive software/hardware companies haven't fully gotten their support for it yet, then you can use this update as a final release on Windows XP. Refer to the JAWS Headquarters What's New area for full details on what's new with XP and this new JAWS update. For those brave souls that want to try JAWS on Vista, bare in mind that this update will probably be made available in several betas before FS makes it a final release. Remember, that if you want to run JAWS on Vista when the version becomes a final release, you need to have 8.0 as well as an up to date SMA count. You also need to have an authorization key available. To check whether or not you have a key available, go to FS Activate. Finally, remember, as with any beta software, things may not work properly and there likely won't be any technical support for it. Enjoy, and feel fre to report back your findings and how JFW is working for you.
Saturday, February 3
update to a free screen reader
Greetings. Here's an announcement of another free screen reader that is open-source, so anyone can modify or suggest changes to it. Try at your own risk, but have fun. Please pardon any formatting errors. Enjoy.
Today I posted revision 315 of NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) to the NVDA website:
http://www.kulgan.net/nvda/
NonVisual Desktop Access is an entirely free (and open-source) screen reader for Windows XP and Windows Vista.
It does much more than Microsoft's Narator (including support for Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Outlook Express, Dos console windows, and much more).
I'm sure there are still bugs, and support for some applications could be a little better, but I personally now use NVDA as my day-to-day screen reader, and I know of others who are now starting to do the same.
Of course the only way for NVDA to grow and become better is for people to use it, and report bugs and suggest new features. Also, I am always interested in help from other programmers who have skills in either the Python programming language, or skills in programming with MSAA and other accessibility APIs.
There have been many changes since revision 164 including:
*Much improved responsiveness for sapi5 synths.
*Much improved support for both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
*The addition of easy-to use dialogs, to configure many settings such as voice, pitch, rate, key echo, mouse navigation, object presentation and more.
*A built-in quick-start guide right in the NVDA user interface.
*Massive improvements to the NVDA user interface as far as focus issues are concerned.
*Password protection by saying stars when typing in to protected edit fields.
*All objects are reviewable so you are able to check the spelling of things as you navigate around.
*NVDA can report the groupbox that the object with focus is in (example: advanced page in system dialog, control pannel).
*Beeps are now used to notify the user of changes on progress bars (such as when loading a page in Internet Explorer or Firefox, copying a large file in Windows Explorer, or checking for new email in Outlook Express etc).
*New wave sounds are now used to denote startup, errors, crashes and exit, in NVDA. Previously the PC speaker was used.
*insert+s used to turn speech on and off, but now it toggles between 3 speech modes: talk, beeps and off. Talk is just normal speech, off is off, but beeps, is an idea that came from the Dos screen reader, ASAP. This mode plays a 5ms 10000HZ tone (very high and very short) each time an item of speech is supposed to happen. It is very responsive, and it allows you to deal with the situation when you are doing something that is constantly changing the screen, as in millions of files are scrolling up a dos console, or perhaps you are running a setup program that is constantly telling you what file it is copying etc. If you switch to the beeps speech mode, you only have to wait until the flood of beeps stop and you know the task is finished. This is much faster than having to keep pressing control, or waiting for all the speech to finish.
*Reading of new text on Dos consoles has been much improved. Also NVDA no longer crashes when pressing control+c or exiting a dos console.
*Improved the reading of objects under the mouse more so that hopefully NVDA will not freeze if using the mouse to close a window.
*Improved responsiveness and memory management in some parts of NVDA. Most noticeably NVDA no longer will sometimes freeze up for a second or two when closing some applications.
*When leaving the menu bar or context menu of an application, NVDA now moves back to the correct place of focus and reports it.
*Removed the sapi4 driver because it was causing trouble on a lot of systems, plus it has to be rewritten to solve some problems to do with threading. Now NVDA only supports sapi5.
*Removed the Viavoice driver due to licencing issues.
*Added a say 'cap' before capitals option to NVDA. When on (check the checkbox in voice settings) the word 'cap' will be prepended to any single capital letter spoken. This means either when typing a capital letter with sayTypedCharacters on, or when arrowing on to a capital letter. This was added because some synthesizers may not support pitch and therefore have no way of denoting capital letters.
*Caps lock and Num lock now speak when being turned on and off.
*NVDA no longer hides its user interface on startup by default. If you want it to hide by default, check the "Hide user interface on startup" checkbox in the User Interface settings dialog on the preferences menu.
*Added an option to automatically save the current configuration on exit. (Found in the User Interface settings dialog)
*The NVDA interface now contains a navigatable text control in the main part of its window, which contains a quick-start document explaining how the User interface works, and also documents many useful NVDA key strokes.
*Added a script to report the title of the active window (insert+t). Like speak title in many other screen readers.
*The navigator where am I script (insert+numpadAdd) now starts from the object that is a parent to the current navigator object, rather than starting from the actual current navigator object. This is to make it quicker to find out where you are since you can already report the current navigator object with insert+numpad5. The script now also says the word 'in' before each object to separate the objects more clearly.
*Added a script to report the dimentions and location (in pixles)of the current navigator object (shift+insert+numpad5)
Today I posted revision 315 of NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) to the NVDA website:
http://www.kulgan.net/nvda/
NonVisual Desktop Access is an entirely free (and open-source) screen reader for Windows XP and Windows Vista.
It does much more than Microsoft's Narator (including support for Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Outlook Express, Dos console windows, and much more).
I'm sure there are still bugs, and support for some applications could be a little better, but I personally now use NVDA as my day-to-day screen reader, and I know of others who are now starting to do the same.
Of course the only way for NVDA to grow and become better is for people to use it, and report bugs and suggest new features. Also, I am always interested in help from other programmers who have skills in either the Python programming language, or skills in programming with MSAA and other accessibility APIs.
There have been many changes since revision 164 including:
*Much improved responsiveness for sapi5 synths.
*Much improved support for both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
*The addition of easy-to use dialogs, to configure many settings such as voice, pitch, rate, key echo, mouse navigation, object presentation and more.
*A built-in quick-start guide right in the NVDA user interface.
*Massive improvements to the NVDA user interface as far as focus issues are concerned.
*Password protection by saying stars when typing in to protected edit fields.
*All objects are reviewable so you are able to check the spelling of things as you navigate around.
*NVDA can report the groupbox that the object with focus is in (example: advanced page in system dialog, control pannel).
*Beeps are now used to notify the user of changes on progress bars (such as when loading a page in Internet Explorer or Firefox, copying a large file in Windows Explorer, or checking for new email in Outlook Express etc).
*New wave sounds are now used to denote startup, errors, crashes and exit, in NVDA. Previously the PC speaker was used.
*insert+s used to turn speech on and off, but now it toggles between 3 speech modes: talk, beeps and off. Talk is just normal speech, off is off, but beeps, is an idea that came from the Dos screen reader, ASAP. This mode plays a 5ms 10000HZ tone (very high and very short) each time an item of speech is supposed to happen. It is very responsive, and it allows you to deal with the situation when you are doing something that is constantly changing the screen, as in millions of files are scrolling up a dos console, or perhaps you are running a setup program that is constantly telling you what file it is copying etc. If you switch to the beeps speech mode, you only have to wait until the flood of beeps stop and you know the task is finished. This is much faster than having to keep pressing control, or waiting for all the speech to finish.
*Reading of new text on Dos consoles has been much improved. Also NVDA no longer crashes when pressing control+c or exiting a dos console.
*Improved the reading of objects under the mouse more so that hopefully NVDA will not freeze if using the mouse to close a window.
*Improved responsiveness and memory management in some parts of NVDA. Most noticeably NVDA no longer will sometimes freeze up for a second or two when closing some applications.
*When leaving the menu bar or context menu of an application, NVDA now moves back to the correct place of focus and reports it.
*Removed the sapi4 driver because it was causing trouble on a lot of systems, plus it has to be rewritten to solve some problems to do with threading. Now NVDA only supports sapi5.
*Removed the Viavoice driver due to licencing issues.
*Added a say 'cap' before capitals option to NVDA. When on (check the checkbox in voice settings) the word 'cap' will be prepended to any single capital letter spoken. This means either when typing a capital letter with sayTypedCharacters on, or when arrowing on to a capital letter. This was added because some synthesizers may not support pitch and therefore have no way of denoting capital letters.
*Caps lock and Num lock now speak when being turned on and off.
*NVDA no longer hides its user interface on startup by default. If you want it to hide by default, check the "Hide user interface on startup" checkbox in the User Interface settings dialog on the preferences menu.
*Added an option to automatically save the current configuration on exit. (Found in the User Interface settings dialog)
*The NVDA interface now contains a navigatable text control in the main part of its window, which contains a quick-start document explaining how the User interface works, and also documents many useful NVDA key strokes.
*Added a script to report the title of the active window (insert+t). Like speak title in many other screen readers.
*The navigator where am I script (insert+numpadAdd) now starts from the object that is a parent to the current navigator object, rather than starting from the actual current navigator object. This is to make it quicker to find out where you are since you can already report the current navigator object with insert+numpad5. The script now also says the word 'in' before each object to separate the objects more clearly.
*Added a script to report the dimentions and location (in pixles)of the current navigator object (shift+insert+numpad5)
Wednesday, January 31
JAWS and Windows Vista
Greetings. For those interested in how JAWS is used with Windows Vista, then download or stream the following FS Cast episode 2: Windows Vista with JAWS. I've just downloaded it to my computer and its about 30 MB in size. I'm off to check it out. Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 30
Exciting offer from Book Share
Greetings. I was listening to a live broadcast for the National Association of Blind Students’ Student Seminar a couple of days ago, and heard an item that might interest some readers of this blog. Until March 1 I believe, Book Share is offering the waving of their $25 set up fee for new subscribers, provided you mention that you heard the offer at the NABS Student Seminar. This brings the first year cost down from $75 to $50, with the usual $50 fee each year. Simply
email support at BookShare dot org,
and tell them that you’re interested in becoming a new subscriber and want to take advantage of this offer.
To date, they have nearly 31,000 books ranging from best sellers, to self help, to technical, to textbooks, and all points in between. They also offer many of the newspapers from NFB Newsline in DAISY form. You need to have a program or product that will read DAISY files, but many of them do these days, such as FS Reader from Freedom Scientific, the Kurzweil 1000, and some of the portable reading devices such as the Book Port and Book Courier. In other words, now is a great time to join. Traditionally, they’ve only made this offer during the summer convention season in June and July, but don’t wait until then—jump on it now!
For more information on becoming a member of Book Share, refer to the page on individual memberships.
email support at BookShare dot org,
and tell them that you’re interested in becoming a new subscriber and want to take advantage of this offer.
To date, they have nearly 31,000 books ranging from best sellers, to self help, to technical, to textbooks, and all points in between. They also offer many of the newspapers from NFB Newsline in DAISY form. You need to have a program or product that will read DAISY files, but many of them do these days, such as FS Reader from Freedom Scientific, the Kurzweil 1000, and some of the portable reading devices such as the Book Port and Book Courier. In other words, now is a great time to join. Traditionally, they’ve only made this offer during the summer convention season in June and July, but don’t wait until then—jump on it now!
For more information on becoming a member of Book Share, refer to the page on individual memberships.
Sunday, January 28
The future of Windows
Greetings. Well, its almost here. Windows Vista has been slated for consumer release on January 30, which by my calendar is this Tuesday. If you are interested in such things, the weekly Internet show Main Menu, on ACB Radio, will be taking a comprehensive look at Vista. The program airs this Tuesday evening in the States at 7 CST and will be a rare 3 hour show. They will have guests from Microsoft, Serotek (makers of Freedom Box) and GW Micro (Window-Eyes), that will review Vista from an accessibility perspective. To listen, go to the
Mainstream page at ACB Radio,
and look under the Listen heading on that page. Then just click on the listen link for your player of choice. If you miss it, then you can catch the replay on the Mainstream channel next weekend. Or, after next Sunday, check out the
Main Menu On-Demand archives.
Incidentally, if you want to stay with XP Home or media Center for just a little while longer, Microsoft has said that they will still offer tech support for them until April of 2009. I believe the support for XP Professional extends until 2011. So, if you don’t want to rush out right away and grab Vista, then you’ve got some time.
If, on the other hand, you do want to get Vista soon, its probably a good bet to wait at least until the summer, in order to let all the initial bugs with your adaptive software to be worked out. Also, to let Microsoft patch anything from the start. From a piece I read earlier on a blog, it looks like Microsoft will be issuing some round of patches for Vista in March, aside from their normal monthly patches which has become known as “patch Tuesday.”
If you’re computer’s more than 2 years old, do yourself a favor and buy a new system. Think of it this way: which is more costly: buying a new computer, or spending lots of money trying to upgrade your old machine for a totally new operating system? Besides, if you buy a new one, you can eliminate some things you used to depend upon, like floppy drives.
Whenever you do get a new machine and want to transfer your data from the old to the new, check out the
Windows Easy Transfer utility for Vista.
It might make things easier for you.
It’s going to be interesting to watch the various media reports over the next few months on Vista. It will also be interesting to hear how Freedom Scientific plans to have JAWS support Vista. On the last big Main Menu show of a new operating system, which was Windows XP back in 2001, Freedom Scientific was part of it. This time though, for Vista, they are not. They have elected to put out their JAWS support for Vista in the form of their new podcast, called
FS Cast.
It will be different and kind of odd not to hear them on the Main Menu show this Tuesday. I’m not sure what to make of this decision by them. On one hand, its kind of exclusive for them to not put out their support in the public. After all, Main Menu has become one of the benchmark technology shows in the blindness community. If an Assistive Technology company has a new or an updated product, then they’re likely to use Main Menu as publicity for that product. Perhaps Freedom Scientific is waiting until CSUN in March, or the summer convention season in July, to publicly unveil their support for Vista.
Any way you slice it, the next few months will be interesting to watch, from a mainstream technology perspective as far as how well Vista will perform, to an assistive one. It should be fun.
Mainstream page at ACB Radio,
and look under the Listen heading on that page. Then just click on the listen link for your player of choice. If you miss it, then you can catch the replay on the Mainstream channel next weekend. Or, after next Sunday, check out the
Main Menu On-Demand archives.
Incidentally, if you want to stay with XP Home or media Center for just a little while longer, Microsoft has said that they will still offer tech support for them until April of 2009. I believe the support for XP Professional extends until 2011. So, if you don’t want to rush out right away and grab Vista, then you’ve got some time.
If, on the other hand, you do want to get Vista soon, its probably a good bet to wait at least until the summer, in order to let all the initial bugs with your adaptive software to be worked out. Also, to let Microsoft patch anything from the start. From a piece I read earlier on a blog, it looks like Microsoft will be issuing some round of patches for Vista in March, aside from their normal monthly patches which has become known as “patch Tuesday.”
If you’re computer’s more than 2 years old, do yourself a favor and buy a new system. Think of it this way: which is more costly: buying a new computer, or spending lots of money trying to upgrade your old machine for a totally new operating system? Besides, if you buy a new one, you can eliminate some things you used to depend upon, like floppy drives.
Whenever you do get a new machine and want to transfer your data from the old to the new, check out the
Windows Easy Transfer utility for Vista.
It might make things easier for you.
It’s going to be interesting to watch the various media reports over the next few months on Vista. It will also be interesting to hear how Freedom Scientific plans to have JAWS support Vista. On the last big Main Menu show of a new operating system, which was Windows XP back in 2001, Freedom Scientific was part of it. This time though, for Vista, they are not. They have elected to put out their JAWS support for Vista in the form of their new podcast, called
FS Cast.
It will be different and kind of odd not to hear them on the Main Menu show this Tuesday. I’m not sure what to make of this decision by them. On one hand, its kind of exclusive for them to not put out their support in the public. After all, Main Menu has become one of the benchmark technology shows in the blindness community. If an Assistive Technology company has a new or an updated product, then they’re likely to use Main Menu as publicity for that product. Perhaps Freedom Scientific is waiting until CSUN in March, or the summer convention season in July, to publicly unveil their support for Vista.
Any way you slice it, the next few months will be interesting to watch, from a mainstream technology perspective as far as how well Vista will perform, to an assistive one. It should be fun.
Wednesday, January 17
Austin weather update
Greetings. Well, its day 3 of the winter storm, and like yesterday and Monday, there’s no work. We’re done with the winter storm/freeze warning, but now there’s a winter advisory until 7, whatever that means. Basically, the roads are still icy in many places and its still cold. The temperature is supposed to get up to 35, so at least we can start melting away some of the ice. The problem though is that the city is running low, or has already run out, of the sand and other de-icing material they used in the last couple of days. In other words, anything that’s icy now or may get icy tonight, won’t be able to be de-iced until they get more materials in. I wonder, what are the chances that the very truck that’s bringing more sand to the Austin area for the roadways, ends up spinning out and crashing? Forgive the morbid thought, but that sounds like a possible Darwin award.
From my perspective, we were told that the state offices would open at 1 today. Upon checking the Capitol Metro (or transit service) website, I learned that the busses were running on a “reduced schedule,” but I couldn’t find any definition of what that meant. I tried calling the Cap Metro number, but got busy signals each time. Since this is my first real winter in Austin, I don’t yet know what “reduced schedules” are. Do they mean Saturday schedules? Sunday schedules? Or, in the words of one of my coworkers, does the bus just come once an hour? I have no idea. The Saturday and Sunday departure times for where I catch the bus are about 20 minutes apart. However, remember, we’re still talking about temps around 32 or 33. Who wants to stand outside for 20 or 30 minutes, or longer, in 32 degree weather? I sure don’t.
I talked to my boss about this and we wondered if I just go take that shot in the dark, banking on the fact that the bus would stop when it did come. However, if I missed it, after waiting who knows how long then do I wait for the next one which might be an hour away, or go home? It’s a perplexing problem. Times like these might make me wish I had a car that I could drive in, but then the issue would be icy roads and bridges. Fortunately though, I soon learned that the message on the phone line for weather closures, had been updated and all offices were closed for the day.
All this will probably be over by tomorrow, since the temp is supposed to get into the upper thirties. Then again, since there are no materials for de-icing, who knows.
One more question: since there’s a chance we might go back to work tomorrow and have at a least a day and a half or two days of classes for the week, will students still complain about going to class, or try to get out of going to class?
From my perspective, we were told that the state offices would open at 1 today. Upon checking the Capitol Metro (or transit service) website, I learned that the busses were running on a “reduced schedule,” but I couldn’t find any definition of what that meant. I tried calling the Cap Metro number, but got busy signals each time. Since this is my first real winter in Austin, I don’t yet know what “reduced schedules” are. Do they mean Saturday schedules? Sunday schedules? Or, in the words of one of my coworkers, does the bus just come once an hour? I have no idea. The Saturday and Sunday departure times for where I catch the bus are about 20 minutes apart. However, remember, we’re still talking about temps around 32 or 33. Who wants to stand outside for 20 or 30 minutes, or longer, in 32 degree weather? I sure don’t.
I talked to my boss about this and we wondered if I just go take that shot in the dark, banking on the fact that the bus would stop when it did come. However, if I missed it, after waiting who knows how long then do I wait for the next one which might be an hour away, or go home? It’s a perplexing problem. Times like these might make me wish I had a car that I could drive in, but then the issue would be icy roads and bridges. Fortunately though, I soon learned that the message on the phone line for weather closures, had been updated and all offices were closed for the day.
All this will probably be over by tomorrow, since the temp is supposed to get into the upper thirties. Then again, since there are no materials for de-icing, who knows.
One more question: since there’s a chance we might go back to work tomorrow and have at a least a day and a half or two days of classes for the week, will students still complain about going to class, or try to get out of going to class?
Tuesday, January 16
Ice and sleet in Austin?
Greetings. Well, its day 2 of the big Austin ice/freezing rain event. Word around town is that this doesn’t happen that often, like maybe once every few years. However, it has managed to shut down the city for 2 days running, and perhaps more according to the news. First Dallas got it (perhaps someone else had it before Dallas, but since I’m still very plugged into the major happenings in Dallas, that’s where I’m starting from), and now Austin and Central Texas has it. I still stand by the “10:00 back down theory” that I mentioned in December of 2005. Word of the pending bad weather started last Friday, and as we went through the weekend, I began to suspect that things would shut down come Monday. I didn’t figure that it would be for 2 or 3 days though., I don’t remember anything like this happening in Dallas, where the city was essentially shut down for several days. I do remember hearing of some ice or snow storms that hit in the mid or early eighties that shut things down though.
Anyway, everyone’s at home in their warm houses or apartments. The outside temperature is hovering around 32 or so, but its going to dip down below that point over night and word is that more freezing rain and sleet is coming. We’ve got a freeze or winter storm warning that currently goes through noon tomorrow.
Even though yesterday was a Holiday, we were supposed to go into work and have a semi-normal class day. However, those that did go in were sent home at 11. I find it funny and interesting that a majority of the blind staff were able to go into work, but there was a number of sighted staff that did not. Logic dictates that since the blind take busses, and thus have more reliable transit than the sighted who have to drive in this mess, some of whom come from areas with lots of icy roads. But its still funny.
Another aspect of this event that I find interesting is that the residential staff, or staff that handles activities inside the Center outside of business hours, are staying at the Center. I suppose that they were warned ahead of time and could plan accordingly. I guess all of this is standard stuff, but I’ve never had to deal with it before. Until now, I’ve simply not gone to work on bad weather days and that was it. I never thought of the implications in a rehab training environment, much less at a training center where all the students and even some staff stay on the premises.
I went outside a couple of hours ago to check things out and see how icy or snowy it was at my complex. There was some ice and sleet on the ground, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Though I’m not willing to chance that good fortune and go to much further with those other possible icy spots and patches. It was probably more icy this morning before cars got out and drove around.
It’s been nice having some days off, but I think that by the time this is over, I’ll be ready to go back to work and get back to normal. Until then, I’ve got a TV with digital Cable, a high speed Internet connection, and a warm apartment. If you’re in the Central Texas area, then stay warm. If not, then well, perhaps you’re lucky, :)
Anyway, everyone’s at home in their warm houses or apartments. The outside temperature is hovering around 32 or so, but its going to dip down below that point over night and word is that more freezing rain and sleet is coming. We’ve got a freeze or winter storm warning that currently goes through noon tomorrow.
Even though yesterday was a Holiday, we were supposed to go into work and have a semi-normal class day. However, those that did go in were sent home at 11. I find it funny and interesting that a majority of the blind staff were able to go into work, but there was a number of sighted staff that did not. Logic dictates that since the blind take busses, and thus have more reliable transit than the sighted who have to drive in this mess, some of whom come from areas with lots of icy roads. But its still funny.
Another aspect of this event that I find interesting is that the residential staff, or staff that handles activities inside the Center outside of business hours, are staying at the Center. I suppose that they were warned ahead of time and could plan accordingly. I guess all of this is standard stuff, but I’ve never had to deal with it before. Until now, I’ve simply not gone to work on bad weather days and that was it. I never thought of the implications in a rehab training environment, much less at a training center where all the students and even some staff stay on the premises.
I went outside a couple of hours ago to check things out and see how icy or snowy it was at my complex. There was some ice and sleet on the ground, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Though I’m not willing to chance that good fortune and go to much further with those other possible icy spots and patches. It was probably more icy this morning before cars got out and drove around.
It’s been nice having some days off, but I think that by the time this is over, I’ll be ready to go back to work and get back to normal. Until then, I’ve got a TV with digital Cable, a high speed Internet connection, and a warm apartment. If you’re in the Central Texas area, then stay warm. If not, then well, perhaps you’re lucky, :)
Friday, January 5
More Vista stories
Greetings. In going through the long list of month old New York Times Technology stories that appear on their RSS feed, I found two that are related to the upcoming consumer release of Windows Vista, and might be worth the read. Here they are:
Looks, Locks, and Lacks. Okay, so this isn't the name of the article. But it is a phrase the article uses and I liked the sound of it. This one covers some of the possible plusses and minuses of Windows Vista.
Vista is ready. Are you? This article covers some of the upgrade requirements if you want to upgrade to Vista on your current computer. If your system is 3 or 4 years old, it might be easier to buy a new computer, which is what I'm going to do most likely. Besides, if you have it custom made, as many manufacturers will do if you order the computer from them directly, then you can cut out things that you used to use, such as floppy drives.
Though this final entry is not directly related to Vista, it does cover a software suite that will likely be in your Vista computer. From Paul Thurrott, the same reviewer who did that multi-part review of Windows Vista, comes his review of Office 2007. Like the Vista review, this one has been divided into 5 parts and will likely have additional sections to them. He has just started this one, so bookmark it so you can check back on his progress. I'm guessing that he will fill in the gaps over the next few weeks.
Enjoy and happy reading.
Looks, Locks, and Lacks. Okay, so this isn't the name of the article. But it is a phrase the article uses and I liked the sound of it. This one covers some of the possible plusses and minuses of Windows Vista.
Vista is ready. Are you? This article covers some of the upgrade requirements if you want to upgrade to Vista on your current computer. If your system is 3 or 4 years old, it might be easier to buy a new computer, which is what I'm going to do most likely. Besides, if you have it custom made, as many manufacturers will do if you order the computer from them directly, then you can cut out things that you used to use, such as floppy drives.
Though this final entry is not directly related to Vista, it does cover a software suite that will likely be in your Vista computer. From Paul Thurrott, the same reviewer who did that multi-part review of Windows Vista, comes his review of Office 2007. Like the Vista review, this one has been divided into 5 parts and will likely have additional sections to them. He has just started this one, so bookmark it so you can check back on his progress. I'm guessing that he will fill in the gaps over the next few weeks.
Enjoy and happy reading.
Friday, December 22
Exciting news from NFB Newsline
Greetings. Here’s an exciting announcement regarding accessing TV listings on Newsline. Incidentally, the NFB is using the same TV listing service that I’ve just switched to, for whatever that’s worth. Anyway, the system is very easy to use and is customizable to offer information on specific channels. In addition, you can move forward and back through the time slots, in the usual sentence navigation way on Newsline. You can navigate as far as a full day or more later than the time you started with. Also, if you’re traveling and don’t want to change your home TV channel setup, then you can use a temporary setup, which is very cool. I’ll still look up listings on the computer, but perhaps not as much when I start using this method more and more. Enjoy.
Breakthrough Technology Provides TV Listings to the Blind
Wonderful new Technology!
Free, On-Demand Service Available to Millions
Baltimore, Maryland (December 20, 2006): The National Federation of the Blind has partnered with Tribune Media Services to add television listings to NFB-NEWSLINE®, the nation's largest on-demand news service for the blind. Beginning today, blind and visually impaired Americans will have independent access to their local TV listings, all in one place, only a telephone call away.
Eric Duffy, a Columbus, Ohio native and blind parent of two children, said: "It is so important to find quality television programming for young children. Now I can choose appropriate TV shows for my children, just like any other sighted parent."
Garrick Scott, of Atlanta, Georgia, hosts a weekly sports talk show. "Watching sports is a huge part of my life, and this new capability makes it infinitely easier to find what I want to watch," Scott said.
By simply entering the zip code, source of TV reception, and time zone, blind users will have quick and easy access to their local TV listings. The listings are interactive, as the user can navigate and choose between date, time, and/or channel listings. After a user enters the local zip code, he or she is presented with a list of cable and satellite providers in the area. The user can also indicate the use of a television antenna.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind said: "The sheer volume of information that blind persons will now have access to is astonishing. Finally, blind television viewers can find out what's on any channel, at any time, and within seconds. "
Over 50,000 NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers already enjoy the free electronic newspaper service which carries 242 newspapers and magazines to 41 states and the District of Columbia. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and AARP The Magazine are among the many national and local newspapers offered. Subscribers have access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, through a local or toll-free telephone number.
NFB-NEWSLINE® uses the Zap2it television listings, a product of Tribune Media Services and the leading source of entertainment listings in the country.
Individuals who are unable to read print due to a physical disability are eligible for this free service. To register or to request more information, call the National Federation of the Blind at (866) 504-7300, or visit them online at
http://www.nfbnewsline.org/
Breakthrough Technology Provides TV Listings to the Blind
Wonderful new Technology!
Free, On-Demand Service Available to Millions
Baltimore, Maryland (December 20, 2006): The National Federation of the Blind has partnered with Tribune Media Services to add television listings to NFB-NEWSLINE®, the nation's largest on-demand news service for the blind. Beginning today, blind and visually impaired Americans will have independent access to their local TV listings, all in one place, only a telephone call away.
Eric Duffy, a Columbus, Ohio native and blind parent of two children, said: "It is so important to find quality television programming for young children. Now I can choose appropriate TV shows for my children, just like any other sighted parent."
Garrick Scott, of Atlanta, Georgia, hosts a weekly sports talk show. "Watching sports is a huge part of my life, and this new capability makes it infinitely easier to find what I want to watch," Scott said.
By simply entering the zip code, source of TV reception, and time zone, blind users will have quick and easy access to their local TV listings. The listings are interactive, as the user can navigate and choose between date, time, and/or channel listings. After a user enters the local zip code, he or she is presented with a list of cable and satellite providers in the area. The user can also indicate the use of a television antenna.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind said: "The sheer volume of information that blind persons will now have access to is astonishing. Finally, blind television viewers can find out what's on any channel, at any time, and within seconds. "
Over 50,000 NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers already enjoy the free electronic newspaper service which carries 242 newspapers and magazines to 41 states and the District of Columbia. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and AARP The Magazine are among the many national and local newspapers offered. Subscribers have access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, through a local or toll-free telephone number.
NFB-NEWSLINE® uses the Zap2it television listings, a product of Tribune Media Services and the leading source of entertainment listings in the country.
Individuals who are unable to read print due to a physical disability are eligible for this free service. To register or to request more information, call the National Federation of the Blind at (866) 504-7300, or visit them online at
http://www.nfbnewsline.org/
Monday, December 18
Follow up on yesterday's review
Greetings. Another cool thing jumped to mind today about AVG Internet Security. I don't know if this is true for all of the AVG line of products, since I haven't used anything other than the Net security package, but it wouldn't surprise me. After updating itself with new virus or spyware definitions, AVG will do an automatic scan of the computer to make sure its not infected or afflicted by any of the new viruses or spyware. This is something that I'm pretty sure Norton never did, at least not in the regular home consumer edition. That helps me sleep better at night, to think that my security software is double checking the computer after updating itself. As a coworker of mine often says, "Wonderful!"
Sunday, December 17
Review of firewall and security software
Greetings again. Here’s a very raw and very brief review that I sent a friend on firewall and security software. I finally had had enough with Norton, and several weeks ago decided to try out some other software that I had heard of. Granted, this overview might not meet the qualities and standards for CNET or a computer magazine, but here it is anyway. Who knows, this might help someone else in the same circumstance. I’ll place links to the various software packages at the end. Enjoy.
Sure thing. Here are some additional thoughts based on what I've seen over the past few days. I've installed and uninstalled several different programs to see how well they would work and how I liked them. Granted, I didn't use the program for very long, since I was curious how the others looked and stacked up, but here's some initial impressions, along with my choice.
F-Secure. Having only read the review and with no other prior experience, I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to get much of the information about the product's security controls, such as virus protection, firewall status, antispam status, etc. On the down side, much of the information was in list views. This was good since it was accessible to me. What I couldn't figure out was how to get in and make changes to preferences or settings for doing different things, like handling viruses, setting firewall levels, and so forth. For what it does, it looked like a great product, but the inability to change the preferences or settings lost a few points in my book.
Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare. Out of the programs I tested, this was by far the cheapest. If obtained from Microsoft it is $49.95, if obtained from Costco, it is $32.99, or through January 1, there's an additional $20 discount. Going into my evaluations, I figured that this might be the one I would go for since it was good on the pocketbook. As with F-Secure, OneCare was very accessible. It tended to use web page like environments, where you could tab between various links for different things, like antivirus, firewall, computer maintenance, and so forth. The settings were accessible in a dialog box, which was better than F-Secure, from my limited testing. Over all, I really liked this product, and if I was not looking for something with spam filtering, then OneCare might very well have been the one I would have gone with. However, since I can get around 150 or 200, or more, spam emails a day, I was really looking for something to filter those messages, or at least identify them. A friend told me that there very well might be a spam filter in OneCare somewhere (she initially got me interested in it since she uses it), however she didn't know where it was or how it could be accessed. There are times you can find some nifty features in products, software, or websites if you only dig around a little. Anyway, if not for the lack of spam filtering, I would have gone with OneCare. It also has a sweet of computer maintenance features to it, that will clean up, defrag, and otherwise maintain your hard drive about once a month. Though this isn't a must have for me, it was definitely cool to see in a product.
AVG Internet Security. This was the last program I tried. The interface is very accessible, presenting most things in a dialog box format but it also has a menu bar. The installation and initial configuration were very accessible too, keeping the same dialog box approach. AVG has everything I'm looking for, including virus protection, a firewall, regular system scans for viruses and updating itself automatically, and spam filtering. It also can detect and remove spyware in addition to viruses. I found this last nugget particularly interesting. I'll still run Add-Aware or Spybot regularly to keep my computer covered and free of spyware, but its interesting to see that included in a product. All of this is very accessible. There's a spot in AVG, called the control center I believe, where everything is presented in a list, and if you hit the applications key on an item, it brings up a context sensitive menu with specific options relating to that item. I'm only a couple of days into the trial for AVG, but it looks like it wins the battle of the security software. AVG is the most expensive among the programs I tried, priced at about $70, but then again, so was Norton's Net Security. And besides, one could argue that you get what you pay for.
I should say again that I'm probably not the best reviewer of software there is, and I probably didn't evaluate long enough to make me credible. However, I was concerned with accessibility and making sure the packages had what I was looking for. The one thing that Norton's Antispam had that I absolutely loved was that it put an item in the applications menu called Norton Antispam. If there was ever a message that was identified as spam and wasn't, or vise versa, I could go into that Antispam item on the application key, and correct Norton's mistake. None of these products had anything like this. However, after creating some specific filters from the AVG identification of messages that were spam or had a virus, all of my spam and virus messages go into their own folder now. This was a major thing for me in my search, since its disheartening to open your Inbox after a day or two of not checking it, and to know that 85% of the messages in the inbox itself are spam. I'd rather all those messages go into a separate folder.
Addition: Incidentally, I'm still using AVG's Internet Security since I first wrote this review, and I still love it as much as when I wrote the review. I was poking around in its Control Center this morning, and found that it had isolated over 400 viruses in its Virus Vault, and several pieces of spyware in a similar storage area. I never looked to see how many viruses Norton had isolated, mainly because it was too daunting and complicated. The fact that AVG is still working just as hard during a trial as if I had already bought the program is a great sign. Before I leave for the Christmas break, I'm going to go ahead and get that package.
Finally, all of the products I checked out have trial periods. For AVG and F-Secure, its 30 days, but for Windows Live OneCare, its 90 days. Incidentally, Microsoft has decided to put AVG's free antivirus solution in the upcoming Windows Vista release, if that tells you anything.
Here are links to the software mentioned in this review:
F-Secure
Windows Live OneCare
AVG Internet Security
Sure thing. Here are some additional thoughts based on what I've seen over the past few days. I've installed and uninstalled several different programs to see how well they would work and how I liked them. Granted, I didn't use the program for very long, since I was curious how the others looked and stacked up, but here's some initial impressions, along with my choice.
F-Secure. Having only read the review and with no other prior experience, I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to get much of the information about the product's security controls, such as virus protection, firewall status, antispam status, etc. On the down side, much of the information was in list views. This was good since it was accessible to me. What I couldn't figure out was how to get in and make changes to preferences or settings for doing different things, like handling viruses, setting firewall levels, and so forth. For what it does, it looked like a great product, but the inability to change the preferences or settings lost a few points in my book.
Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare. Out of the programs I tested, this was by far the cheapest. If obtained from Microsoft it is $49.95, if obtained from Costco, it is $32.99, or through January 1, there's an additional $20 discount. Going into my evaluations, I figured that this might be the one I would go for since it was good on the pocketbook. As with F-Secure, OneCare was very accessible. It tended to use web page like environments, where you could tab between various links for different things, like antivirus, firewall, computer maintenance, and so forth. The settings were accessible in a dialog box, which was better than F-Secure, from my limited testing. Over all, I really liked this product, and if I was not looking for something with spam filtering, then OneCare might very well have been the one I would have gone with. However, since I can get around 150 or 200, or more, spam emails a day, I was really looking for something to filter those messages, or at least identify them. A friend told me that there very well might be a spam filter in OneCare somewhere (she initially got me interested in it since she uses it), however she didn't know where it was or how it could be accessed. There are times you can find some nifty features in products, software, or websites if you only dig around a little. Anyway, if not for the lack of spam filtering, I would have gone with OneCare. It also has a sweet of computer maintenance features to it, that will clean up, defrag, and otherwise maintain your hard drive about once a month. Though this isn't a must have for me, it was definitely cool to see in a product.
AVG Internet Security. This was the last program I tried. The interface is very accessible, presenting most things in a dialog box format but it also has a menu bar. The installation and initial configuration were very accessible too, keeping the same dialog box approach. AVG has everything I'm looking for, including virus protection, a firewall, regular system scans for viruses and updating itself automatically, and spam filtering. It also can detect and remove spyware in addition to viruses. I found this last nugget particularly interesting. I'll still run Add-Aware or Spybot regularly to keep my computer covered and free of spyware, but its interesting to see that included in a product. All of this is very accessible. There's a spot in AVG, called the control center I believe, where everything is presented in a list, and if you hit the applications key on an item, it brings up a context sensitive menu with specific options relating to that item. I'm only a couple of days into the trial for AVG, but it looks like it wins the battle of the security software. AVG is the most expensive among the programs I tried, priced at about $70, but then again, so was Norton's Net Security. And besides, one could argue that you get what you pay for.
I should say again that I'm probably not the best reviewer of software there is, and I probably didn't evaluate long enough to make me credible. However, I was concerned with accessibility and making sure the packages had what I was looking for. The one thing that Norton's Antispam had that I absolutely loved was that it put an item in the applications menu called Norton Antispam. If there was ever a message that was identified as spam and wasn't, or vise versa, I could go into that Antispam item on the application key, and correct Norton's mistake. None of these products had anything like this. However, after creating some specific filters from the AVG identification of messages that were spam or had a virus, all of my spam and virus messages go into their own folder now. This was a major thing for me in my search, since its disheartening to open your Inbox after a day or two of not checking it, and to know that 85% of the messages in the inbox itself are spam. I'd rather all those messages go into a separate folder.
Addition: Incidentally, I'm still using AVG's Internet Security since I first wrote this review, and I still love it as much as when I wrote the review. I was poking around in its Control Center this morning, and found that it had isolated over 400 viruses in its Virus Vault, and several pieces of spyware in a similar storage area. I never looked to see how many viruses Norton had isolated, mainly because it was too daunting and complicated. The fact that AVG is still working just as hard during a trial as if I had already bought the program is a great sign. Before I leave for the Christmas break, I'm going to go ahead and get that package.
Finally, all of the products I checked out have trial periods. For AVG and F-Secure, its 30 days, but for Windows Live OneCare, its 90 days. Incidentally, Microsoft has decided to put AVG's free antivirus solution in the upcoming Windows Vista release, if that tells you anything.
Here are links to the software mentioned in this review:
F-Secure
Windows Live OneCare
AVG Internet Security
Milestones
Greetings. I’ve been in a reflective mood this weekend, so as a result, this will be a reflective post. This will probably be my big annual look back post for 2006, so sit back and enjoy.
Its been quite a year. A lot has happened this year. Before I go over some of the highlights, or as I call them “snap shots,” for 2006 let’s rewind a little.
On November 1, 2005, the board of directors at the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Dallas, decided to close the agency that I was working at, and within a matter of a few days, everyone was laid off and in essence, locked out. On November 14 of 2005, I traveled to Austin for my big interview and demonstration for the technology instructor position. On December 15, I was given an offer which I gratefully accepted, and all of a sudden, I was employed again!
Now, for this year: in early January, my parents and I drove down to Austin to go apartment hunting. On January 20, we moved all of my stuff into my new apartment. And, on February 1, I started my new job at the state training center as a tech instructor.
I’ve thought about those dates often in the past month or so, thinking what happened on this or that day at certain times or where I was, and considering what I’m doing now. The new job of course, is perhaps the biggest highlight of this past year, and the one that most of the other highlights are tied to in some form or another.
Some other snap shots include the following, in no particular order: my time in immersion, or blindfold training; going tubing on the San Marcus river with other students and staff; the Louis Braille birthday party we had last February and hearing the center’s director do a Braille rap; the 2006 NFB convention in Dallas; observing and in the latter part of May, even co-teaching classes with another instructor; getting my own keyboarding class back in late March or early April; getting my first Windows class in August, and continuing to teach Windows until now; and more. I remember going to my first few meetings with a student, their counselor, and other staff, and how nervous I was the first few times when it came time to give my report. I’m better now, sort of, but I still get nervous from time to time, especially when I have to take someone out of a class. I hate denying anyone the opportunity to learn technology. I remember all the talks I’ve had with staff in the tech department about different topics, some relating to technology and students and some not so much. I remember the times I called some staff after hours, especially early on, when I wanted to ask them something or was worried about a particular situation. I remember back in April, when I went over to Geoff’s apartment to use his elliptical, and ended up talking with him for another couple of hours after the 15 minutes of doing exercises.
I remember going to pay my own taxes in April, and having the tax preparation person tell me when I was leaving, “See you next year.”
Though its not a pleasant thing to think about, considering how things ended, I remember Tony, my former guide dog. I enjoyed having Tony here with me from when we moved down to September 1 when he died. I remember when I was moving into the apartment, Tony was going around to the various parts of the place, checking things out, laying down in different spots, and then getting up to move on to another spot to try. My Mother reported at one point that Tony was in the closet and you could see only his head sticking out. I remember how Tony always greeted me when I came home from work. I always left the TV on for him, though he never did tell me what he learned from watching or listening to the different shows. He learned a lot though, since he watched Biography and the Texas Cable News channels. I remember getting Kathi to take care of Tony when I was in Dallas. I remember taking him over to her house, and letting him explore her backyard, which he did about 3 different times before he was satisfied. And, though its sad to think about, I remember that day—the day that Tony left me. Even over three months removed, I can still see how everything seemed to fit together that day, so that I was never alone for very long. Whether I was on the bus coming home, with Jack when we raced to the vet and later went to lunch, sitting in my apartment with my music going in the background, or talking with some people on the phone about what had happened. One of the hardest things I had to do that day was tell my Mom what had happened when Jack and I were at lunch. Up until then I was feeling okay about things. I knew what happened of course, but to have to put it into words for someone else is something totally different. I also remember Jack asking me how I felt, and then saying, “Never mind,” when he saw the look on my face. And, along with those things, I remember my parents coming down for the weekend to be with me. That really helped. I still think of Tony often, and even have been dreaming about him once or twice a month or more, but that first weekend with my parents here really helped me get a lot of that emotion out.
I remember going home for Thanksgiving and how much of a rest and recharging event that was. I had not thought a lot about vacations up until that point. After those few days where I could sleep in and relax, well, suddenly vacations don’t look so bad. Perhaps I’ll even take one next year at some point.
I remember going to the graduations for students that I had taught before and feeling proud of what they had accomplished. As it happens, there’s another graduation this Wednesday where at least seven out of the 12 or so graduates were my students at one time or another. This is the first time that I’ve had such a connection with that many students in a graduation ceremony before. It will be good to see them achieve their final goal of graduating. However, it will also be sad to see them leave, but such is the routine of the rehabilitation system: a constantly revolving door of people coming and going. I have thought a lot in the last few months of what I will have to say in about 5 years of watching this revolving door, and remembering the students, the struggles, the high points, and so forth.
I’m sure that there are things I’m missing from 2006, but those are the things that come immediately to mind. Its truly been an interesting year. There’s one more connection with this year that is truly remarkable: 20 years ago, I lost my sight. True, the loss of a sense may not be remarkable in itself, but what would my parents, friends, teachers, and least of all, me, say if someone had told anyone of them that I would be teaching computers at a state training center and where I’d be now, if they were told this back in the fall of 1986? I can’t speak for all the others, but my response would probably be something like, “What???”
So, cheers for a great 2006 and an even better 2007. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. Everyone stay safe, make resolutions that you might keep, and we’ll see you in January, where who knows what will happen.
Its been quite a year. A lot has happened this year. Before I go over some of the highlights, or as I call them “snap shots,” for 2006 let’s rewind a little.
On November 1, 2005, the board of directors at the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Dallas, decided to close the agency that I was working at, and within a matter of a few days, everyone was laid off and in essence, locked out. On November 14 of 2005, I traveled to Austin for my big interview and demonstration for the technology instructor position. On December 15, I was given an offer which I gratefully accepted, and all of a sudden, I was employed again!
Now, for this year: in early January, my parents and I drove down to Austin to go apartment hunting. On January 20, we moved all of my stuff into my new apartment. And, on February 1, I started my new job at the state training center as a tech instructor.
I’ve thought about those dates often in the past month or so, thinking what happened on this or that day at certain times or where I was, and considering what I’m doing now. The new job of course, is perhaps the biggest highlight of this past year, and the one that most of the other highlights are tied to in some form or another.
Some other snap shots include the following, in no particular order: my time in immersion, or blindfold training; going tubing on the San Marcus river with other students and staff; the Louis Braille birthday party we had last February and hearing the center’s director do a Braille rap; the 2006 NFB convention in Dallas; observing and in the latter part of May, even co-teaching classes with another instructor; getting my own keyboarding class back in late March or early April; getting my first Windows class in August, and continuing to teach Windows until now; and more. I remember going to my first few meetings with a student, their counselor, and other staff, and how nervous I was the first few times when it came time to give my report. I’m better now, sort of, but I still get nervous from time to time, especially when I have to take someone out of a class. I hate denying anyone the opportunity to learn technology. I remember all the talks I’ve had with staff in the tech department about different topics, some relating to technology and students and some not so much. I remember the times I called some staff after hours, especially early on, when I wanted to ask them something or was worried about a particular situation. I remember back in April, when I went over to Geoff’s apartment to use his elliptical, and ended up talking with him for another couple of hours after the 15 minutes of doing exercises.
I remember going to pay my own taxes in April, and having the tax preparation person tell me when I was leaving, “See you next year.”
Though its not a pleasant thing to think about, considering how things ended, I remember Tony, my former guide dog. I enjoyed having Tony here with me from when we moved down to September 1 when he died. I remember when I was moving into the apartment, Tony was going around to the various parts of the place, checking things out, laying down in different spots, and then getting up to move on to another spot to try. My Mother reported at one point that Tony was in the closet and you could see only his head sticking out. I remember how Tony always greeted me when I came home from work. I always left the TV on for him, though he never did tell me what he learned from watching or listening to the different shows. He learned a lot though, since he watched Biography and the Texas Cable News channels. I remember getting Kathi to take care of Tony when I was in Dallas. I remember taking him over to her house, and letting him explore her backyard, which he did about 3 different times before he was satisfied. And, though its sad to think about, I remember that day—the day that Tony left me. Even over three months removed, I can still see how everything seemed to fit together that day, so that I was never alone for very long. Whether I was on the bus coming home, with Jack when we raced to the vet and later went to lunch, sitting in my apartment with my music going in the background, or talking with some people on the phone about what had happened. One of the hardest things I had to do that day was tell my Mom what had happened when Jack and I were at lunch. Up until then I was feeling okay about things. I knew what happened of course, but to have to put it into words for someone else is something totally different. I also remember Jack asking me how I felt, and then saying, “Never mind,” when he saw the look on my face. And, along with those things, I remember my parents coming down for the weekend to be with me. That really helped. I still think of Tony often, and even have been dreaming about him once or twice a month or more, but that first weekend with my parents here really helped me get a lot of that emotion out.
I remember going home for Thanksgiving and how much of a rest and recharging event that was. I had not thought a lot about vacations up until that point. After those few days where I could sleep in and relax, well, suddenly vacations don’t look so bad. Perhaps I’ll even take one next year at some point.
I remember going to the graduations for students that I had taught before and feeling proud of what they had accomplished. As it happens, there’s another graduation this Wednesday where at least seven out of the 12 or so graduates were my students at one time or another. This is the first time that I’ve had such a connection with that many students in a graduation ceremony before. It will be good to see them achieve their final goal of graduating. However, it will also be sad to see them leave, but such is the routine of the rehabilitation system: a constantly revolving door of people coming and going. I have thought a lot in the last few months of what I will have to say in about 5 years of watching this revolving door, and remembering the students, the struggles, the high points, and so forth.
I’m sure that there are things I’m missing from 2006, but those are the things that come immediately to mind. Its truly been an interesting year. There’s one more connection with this year that is truly remarkable: 20 years ago, I lost my sight. True, the loss of a sense may not be remarkable in itself, but what would my parents, friends, teachers, and least of all, me, say if someone had told anyone of them that I would be teaching computers at a state training center and where I’d be now, if they were told this back in the fall of 1986? I can’t speak for all the others, but my response would probably be something like, “What???”
So, cheers for a great 2006 and an even better 2007. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. Everyone stay safe, make resolutions that you might keep, and we’ll see you in January, where who knows what will happen.
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