At the New York Internet World in Fall of '99, Handspring officially announced their first product - the Visor handheld. On the other side of the exhibition hall, some dot com had Jenni there signing autographs. Judging by the line she had, you'd think that she had usurped all of the attention from Handspring. Everyone wanted to meet her.
Of course I wanted on line and got her autograph, too! I couldn't resist.
The level of ignorance in some of these comments is really appalling to me. People here are saying that maybe the blind and disabled shouldn't be using the web. I think that's an extremely ignorant and narrow way of thinking. You are missing the larger picture. Clear and useful alternatives need to be created for the disabled so that they can live their lives and better themselves like each one of us has been given the opportunity to.
They can't drive, right, but there is mass transit and other transportation services available. Where's the alternative to the web? As more and more parts of our lives are put online, there are fewer and fewer alternatives to using the web. This isn't about the blind and disabled simply being able to "enjoy" the web by looking at entertainment sites. This is about the blind and disabled being able to function as a normal human being, work, and live their lives like you & I do.
More and more parts of our daily jobs are being replaced and "bettered" with computer software, web applications, and other electronic devices. I'm not talking about programming jobs, either, this is something that is happening in all fields of work. Obviously, concessions will need to be made and there will be jobs that not everyone will be able to complete. However, I'm not willing to leave the blind and disabled behind because they "don't need the web."
Shouldn't someone at Kazaa have read the book, "All The Rave: The Rise And Fall Of Shawn Fanning's Napster"? Wouldn't they have learned that one of the reasons Napster failed because they tried to hardball the labels and back them into a corner? Just because Kazaa, Napster, or whoever, has the technology and the users, the industry still has the law and the money.
I've been working quite extensively within section508 guidelines which outlines electronic accesibility within government systems - from webpages, to software, to the photocopiers in the office. The statistics that are used in cases like this are misleading to those unfamilar with accesibility. You may not think that 1/6 people are 'handicap', but this term is fairly broad when used in this contex. The term also refers to the color blind, people with carpel tunnel syndrome, people with hearing-impairments (but not completely deaf), and the like - anyone who may require any assistance at all or may have difficulty navigating the web or a software product.
At the rate many of us are going, we're going to have weakened eyesight and carpel tunnel syndrome from so many hours on the computer. So we will be relying on many of these advances in accessibility options in the future.
I really recommend section508.gov which is a really great resource for accessibility.
Slashdot Mirror
Math will be very useful when you find out you can't get a job with a CS degree and you wind up working the register at McDonalds.
At the New York Internet World in Fall of '99, Handspring officially announced their first product - the Visor handheld. On the other side of the exhibition hall, some dot com had Jenni there signing autographs. Judging by the line she had, you'd think that she had usurped all of the attention from Handspring. Everyone wanted to meet her. Of course I wanted on line and got her autograph, too! I couldn't resist.
The level of ignorance in some of these comments is really appalling to me. People here are saying that maybe the blind and disabled shouldn't be using the web. I think that's an extremely ignorant and narrow way of thinking. You are missing the larger picture. Clear and useful alternatives need to be created for the disabled so that they can live their lives and better themselves like each one of us has been given the opportunity to. They can't drive, right, but there is mass transit and other transportation services available. Where's the alternative to the web? As more and more parts of our lives are put online, there are fewer and fewer alternatives to using the web. This isn't about the blind and disabled simply being able to "enjoy" the web by looking at entertainment sites. This is about the blind and disabled being able to function as a normal human being, work, and live their lives like you & I do. More and more parts of our daily jobs are being replaced and "bettered" with computer software, web applications, and other electronic devices. I'm not talking about programming jobs, either, this is something that is happening in all fields of work. Obviously, concessions will need to be made and there will be jobs that not everyone will be able to complete. However, I'm not willing to leave the blind and disabled behind because they "don't need the web."
Shouldn't someone at Kazaa have read the book, "All The Rave: The Rise And Fall Of Shawn Fanning's Napster"? Wouldn't they have learned that one of the reasons Napster failed because they tried to hardball the labels and back them into a corner? Just because Kazaa, Napster, or whoever, has the technology and the users, the industry still has the law and the money.
I've been working quite extensively within section508 guidelines which outlines electronic accesibility within government systems - from webpages, to software, to the photocopiers in the office. The statistics that are used in cases like this are misleading to those unfamilar with accesibility. You may not think that 1/6 people are 'handicap', but this term is fairly broad when used in this contex. The term also refers to the color blind, people with carpel tunnel syndrome, people with hearing-impairments (but not completely deaf), and the like - anyone who may require any assistance at all or may have difficulty navigating the web or a software product.
At the rate many of us are going, we're going to have weakened eyesight and carpel tunnel syndrome from so many hours on the computer. So we will be relying on many of these advances in accessibility options in the future.
I really recommend section508.gov which is a really great resource for accessibility.