What do you expect? TV is designed for the lowest common denominator. Why? It's simple. Most people don't watch TV to be educated. They watch to be entertained. Having an active mind while staring at the TV screen is an alien concept to many.
Case in point: The decline in educational content on channels such as Discovery and TLC.
The cards could be read wirelessly from up to 20 feet away, which could reduce the difficulty in information gathering. Deputy Assistant Secretary Of State For Passport Services, Ann Barrett said, "As people are approaching
someone wishing to harvest personal details, they can remain completely unaware, and by the time they walk past the person with the reader, all the information will have been extracted and it can be used to generate proffit.""
I don't think so. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has too much of a stronghold in the business sector to remove backward compatibility. That's an example of what happens when you have a monopoly, although there will come a point in time when MS will be forced to say, 'Fuck this!" or their software will be crushed under its own weight.
This is Microsoft we're talking about here. Richard Stallman would buy Office 2007 before MS did something like that. Even independently, Bill Gates would not do something like that. It would cause too much damage to Microsoft's public image.
Maybe that document is a bit exaggerated and it's not quite as pervasive as that, but I still don't want to support the MPAA, and especially not Microsoft after the whole Novell/Linux situation.
This is either most likely do to Microsoft's monopoly on the desktop, or because of the nature of Apple zealotry, but if Microsoft included support for running OSX binaries, people would be crying "Anti-competition!" faster than it would take to load up Notepad.
Nobody uses tables anymore? I'm confused. Almost all websites I've encountered use tables.
I know the W3 doesn't like frames. I wouldn't doubt if they felt the same way about imagemaps. They are still common, though.
And don't try and tell me that graphics and Flash objects are obsolete.
My point was that if you use the propper guidelines, and give objects tags, the only setback should be screen reader developers and incomplete accessibility in some areas (The Firefox Flash plugin does not yet have accessibility support).
You may be right. next time I'm over there, I'll check out those options.
There are quite a few blind people migrating to the Mac. A lot seem to really like it. I have used Voiceover extensively. My school has a computer lab filled with Macs. It is pretty difficult to get things done, although this may, of course, have been do to me being unfamiliar.
Reading the manual did help quite a bit, but the product is, in my opinion, not yet mature enough to be used at work, for example. I listened to a demo of Voiceover and the Dashboard, and it was obvious that Voiceover was tripping up. There is no accessible spreadsheets application, and the only useable word processor is TextEdit.
I commend Apple for their accessibility efforts. However, contrary to what you may hear, Voiceover is not yet quite ready for primetime. With Leopard, it did get a bit closer, though.
The guidelines set you back ten years? I don't understand. Following guidelines, you can have accessible frames, tables, graphics, imagemaps, and JavaScript applets. Even Flash objects can be made accessible!
The only problem is, there are some screen reader manufacturers that care more about cash than customers.
You do have a point there. However, there are instances when I'd like using a GUI for tasks such as spreadsheets, word processing, and web browsing (Lynx doesn't cut it for me). Unfortunately, access to GUI's under Linux/Unix is still pretty new, and currently, one only has access to the Gnome desktop.
Well, so did Microsoft. The thing is, to a blind person, it's not all about the sound of the voice.
These so-called naturall-sounding voices, well, they dont' sound natural to me. They are filled with digital artifacts, and the inflection is all wrong.
But the biggest disadvantage of these voices is that they break down at high speeds. The more robotic voices, although they don't at all have human intonations, have superior pronounciation, understandability, and I can understand them as high as 400 WPM. You can't do that with the human-sounding voices, if they will even let you go that high (Most have a low speed threshold).
I am blind and use a screen reader, and I find Leopard's screen reader, Voiceover, will randomly freeze for a couple of seconds when browsing web pages. It is extremely annoying, but not as annoying as the extremely clunky keyboard interface. Hardly anything is automatically read, you have to use the shitty keyboard interface to find everything.
Like Microsoft, Apple claims their half-assed screen reader has improved. Like Microsoft, they've hardly done anything.
NOTE: I don't actually own a Mac, but I have an Apple fanboy friend who owns a Macbook with Leopard.
The OLPC was mainly designed to educate kids. It'll be pretty difficult to educate kids when they're shouting into their cell phones, or sending text messages.
I don't think this would be proffitable, as a huge amount of cell towers would have to be built and maintained. Not to mention, it is easier to lose or steal a cell phone than a laptop.
Why are these investigations even needed? I mean, will he be fired, for example, if Joe Scientist is gay? Libertarian? Doesn't read the bible? Anti-bush? Anti-war? Prefers german Cars? Doesn't believe in Santa Claus? Prefers Pepsi? Etc.
The issue is not that Microsoft generates a huge proffit. The issue is that Microsoft uses questionable methods to achieve those proffits.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
Microsoft pre-installing internet Explorer with Windows, dropping a metaphorical nuclear bomb to end the browser wars, and then integrating it into the system, making it impossible to remove.
Microsoft pre-installing Windows Messenger/Windows Live Messenger, making MSNp the dominant protocol
Steve Balmer claiming that Linux violates Microsoft's patents, scaring away any potential switchers.
Microsoft offering deals to schools and third-world countries, so the little kiddies grow up only knowing how to use windows and Office.
Unfortunately, however, no matter how much people monitor and complain, the corperate-friendly USA will just give them a slap on the wrist and say, "Bad Microsoft! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back ot using internet Explorer and Windows Messenger, and bombing those damn terrorists!"
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Interesting. Of course, stuff like that's easy to miss, because it's hidden among the three hours of infomercials, and:
Hip Hop Harry Pajama Party Pajama party at Hip Hop Central.
Hi-5 Teams: Animal The gang are all different animals.
Wilbur Dasha's New Friend; Ray Looses His Crow Ray's weather vane disappears.
Bigfoot Presents Teamwork; Space Rangers! Jose fails to listen to his partner; Meteor learns he has what it takes to be a great space rover.
...
10 Years Younger Sewing the Seeds to a New Look First impression.
A Baby Story Baby Frasca A couple wants a fourth child.
A Baby Story Baby Spar A fifth baby.While You Were Out Kansas City: Chaos in Progress A couple's clutter causes stress.
I don't have time to sort through the trash to find the treasure.
Note: That wasn't the name of a show, but it would make a good title for a documentary about the dumbing down of television.
What do you expect? TV is designed for the lowest common denominator. Why? It's simple. Most people don't watch TV to be educated. They watch to be entertained. Having an active mind while staring at the TV screen is an alien concept to many.
Case in point: The decline in educational content on channels such as Discovery and TLC.
I don't think so. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has too much of a stronghold in the business sector to remove backward compatibility. That's an example of what happens when you have a monopoly, although there will come a point in time when MS will be forced to say, 'Fuck this!" or their software will be crushed under its own weight.
This is Microsoft we're talking about here. Richard Stallman would buy Office 2007 before MS did something like that. Even independently, Bill Gates would not do something like that. It would cause too much damage to Microsoft's public image.
That's a great idea, except OpenOffice has trouble opening/saving Microsoft's binary file formats.
If you have documents that old, and they don't need to be edited in the future, you should probably convert them to PDF.
If they may need to be edited in the future, perhaps LaTeX or ODF would be good choices.
Well, for one thing, I don't like Vista's DRM.
Maybe that document is a bit exaggerated and it's not quite as pervasive as that, but I still don't want to support the MPAA, and especially not Microsoft after the whole Novell/Linux situation.
This is either most likely do to Microsoft's monopoly on the desktop, or because of the nature of Apple zealotry, but if Microsoft included support for running OSX binaries, people would be crying "Anti-competition!" faster than it would take to load up Notepad.
Nobody uses tables anymore? I'm confused. Almost all websites I've encountered use tables.
I know the W3 doesn't like frames. I wouldn't doubt if they felt the same way about imagemaps. They are still common, though.
And don't try and tell me that graphics and Flash objects are obsolete.
My point was that if you use the propper guidelines, and give objects tags, the only setback should be screen reader developers and incomplete accessibility in some areas (The Firefox Flash plugin does not yet have accessibility support).
You may be right. next time I'm over there, I'll check out those options.
There are quite a few blind people migrating to the Mac. A lot seem to really like it. I have used Voiceover extensively. My school has a computer lab filled with Macs. It is pretty difficult to get things done, although this may, of course, have been do to me being unfamiliar.
Reading the manual did help quite a bit, but the product is, in my opinion, not yet mature enough to be used at work, for example. I listened to a demo of Voiceover and the Dashboard, and it was obvious that Voiceover was tripping up. There is no accessible spreadsheets application, and the only useable word processor is TextEdit.
I commend Apple for their accessibility efforts. However, contrary to what you may hear, Voiceover is not yet quite ready for primetime. With Leopard, it did get a bit closer, though.
The guidelines set you back ten years? I don't understand. Following guidelines, you can have accessible frames, tables, graphics, imagemaps, and JavaScript applets. Even Flash objects can be made accessible!
The only problem is, there are some screen reader manufacturers that care more about cash than customers.
You do have a point there. However, there are instances when I'd like using a GUI for tasks such as spreadsheets, word processing, and web browsing (Lynx doesn't cut it for me). Unfortunately, access to GUI's under Linux/Unix is still pretty new, and currently, one only has access to the Gnome desktop.
Well, so did Microsoft. The thing is, to a blind person, it's not all about the sound of the voice.
These so-called naturall-sounding voices, well, they dont' sound natural to me. They are filled with digital artifacts, and the inflection is all wrong.
But the biggest disadvantage of these voices is that they break down at high speeds. The more robotic voices, although they don't at all have human intonations, have superior pronounciation, understandability, and I can understand them as high as 400 WPM. You can't do that with the human-sounding voices, if they will even let you go that high (Most have a low speed threshold).
I am blind and use a screen reader, and I find Leopard's screen reader, Voiceover, will randomly freeze for a couple of seconds when browsing web pages. It is extremely annoying, but not as annoying as the extremely clunky keyboard interface. Hardly anything is automatically read, you have to use the shitty keyboard interface to find everything.
Like Microsoft, Apple claims their half-assed screen reader has improved. Like Microsoft, they've hardly done anything.
NOTE: I don't actually own a Mac, but I have an Apple fanboy friend who owns a Macbook with Leopard.
Here's some good news on that front.
The OLPC was mainly designed to educate kids. It'll be pretty difficult to educate kids when they're shouting into their cell phones, or sending text messages.
omg ths sks were out of brd.
Note: I don't speak textspeak.
I don't think this would be proffitable, as a huge amount of cell towers would have to be built and maintained. Not to mention, it is easier to lose or steal a cell phone than a laptop.
Why are these investigations even needed? I mean, will he be fired, for example, if Joe Scientist is gay? Libertarian? Doesn't read the bible? Anti-bush? Anti-war? Prefers german Cars? Doesn't believe in Santa Claus? Prefers Pepsi? Etc.
The issue is not that Microsoft generates a huge proffit. The issue is that Microsoft uses questionable methods to achieve those proffits.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
*activates sarcasm matrix*
Hmmm. No wonder Linux has such a tough time getting onto people's desktops!
*Deactivates sarcasm matrix*Woops! That "ot" should be "to". Sloppy typing and proofreading on my part!
Unfortunately, however, no matter how much people monitor and complain, the corperate-friendly USA will just give them a slap on the wrist and say, "Bad Microsoft! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back ot using internet Explorer and Windows Messenger, and bombing those damn terrorists!"
You might still be able to get radium-enriched toothpaste somewhere.
I've just exposed myself to 15000 REMS of radiation. It looks like these guys were right. I just feel a bit warm an