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Statistics are statistics, and are made specifically to represent what the proponent wishes, but:

50 Million disabled Americans? Assume (generously) that there are 300 million people in the U.S. - does this mean that one in six people could benefit from accessibility technology?

No, it means that almost everyone will find some benefit from Assistive Technology, whether they realize it or not. One of the most common misconceptions of AT is that it will only benefit the disabled. The point of AT is to provide a STANDARD BASELINE, as well as EQUAL ACCESS. It's not meant to be necessarily the lowest commmon denominator, but it can be.

Think about lowered curbs at corners. Initially, they were created for people in wheel chairs in mind. Alas, everyone found them handy - people with stroller, bikers, pedestrians, everyone. In the end, it ended up benefitting everyone.

Assistive Technology will benefit everyone.

Currently, the only advanced and (semi) well-supported AT is for the Windows platform.

Screen readers,

screen magnifiers,

Braille boards,

haptic mice,

headset mice,

Braille boards,

Voice recognition,
and so forth. None of these are real options for Linux currently. Since alot of these products are pricey, I would urge open-source h4X0rZ w/big hearts to contact the hardware manufacturers if they can obtain some development-type hardware/software, so that they may be able to port some of these to Linux. GNOME is working hard, and have contacted them personally about contributing to the project. If you were lucky enough to have been blessed with good sight/mobility, and have the l33t skills, I urge you to contribute.

Because in the end, it's not about which OS you prefer, but which OS can you *use*.

bob alvarez
assistive technologies consultant
www.bobalvarez.net

Statistics are statistics, and are made specifically to represent what the proponent wishes, but:

50 Million disabled Americans? Assume (generously) that there are 300 million people in the U.S. - does this mean that one in six people could benefit from accessibility technology?

No, it means that almost everyone will find some benefit from Assistive Technology, whether they realize it or not. One of the most common misconceptions of AT is that it will only benefit the disabled. The point of AT is to provide a STANDARD BASELINE, as well as EQUAL ACCESS. It's not meant to be necessarily the lowest commmon denominator, but it can be.

Think about lowered curbs at corners. Initially, they were created for people in wheel chairs in mind. Alas, everyone found them handy - people with stroller, bikers, pedestrians, everyone. In the end, it ended up benefitting everyone.

Assistive Technology will benefit everyone.

Currently, the only advanced and (semi) well-supported AT is for the Windows platform.

Screen readers,

screen magnifiers,

Braille boards,

haptic mice,

headset mice,

Braille boards,

Voice recognition,
and so forth. None of these are real options for Linux currently. Since alot of these products are pricey, I would urge open-source h4X0rZ w/big hearts to contact the hardware manufacturers if they can obtain some development-type hardware/software, so that they may be able to port some of these to Linux. GNOME is working hard, and have contacted them personally about contributing to the project. If you were lucky enough to have been blessed with good sight/mobility, and have the l33t skills, I urge you to contribute.

Because in the end, it's not about which OS you prefer, but which OS can you *use*.

bob alvarez
assistive technologies consultant
www.bobalvarez.net

OK...did some more googling, and found some interesting schtuff. Freedom Scientific sells all sorts of accessiblity products for people. They DO sell the Jaws software, as well as other possible solutions for your friend. This is is the link to their main site http://www.freedomscientific.com/index.html, and this is the link to the Jaws page http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_news/nr_JAWS4. asp.

OK...did some more googling, and found some interesting schtuff. Freedom Scientific sells all sorts of accessiblity products for people. They DO sell the Jaws software, as well as other possible solutions for your friend. This is is the link to their main site http://www.freedomscientific.com/index.html, and this is the link to the Jaws page http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_news/nr_JAWS4. asp.