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Petition demands Vista price cuts in U.K – CNET

24th February 2007 • Dave

It seems highly unlikely that the UK government would weigh in on this issue. However it is outlandish that the cost for a boxed copy of Vista is around double in the UK. If you really want Vista and are not willing to pay over the odds you could always pick up an OEM copy. or use the Vista upgrade trick which has been widely publicised online including in the Windows Secrets newsletter of which I am a regular reader.

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201/

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Access to Vista

31st January 2007 • Dave

It has long been the dream of many blind people that we should be able to have comprehensive access to main stream technologies available at the same time and at the same cost as everyone else. Anything which falls short of this fundamental REQUEST IS NOTHING LESS THAN discriminatory, reducing the ability of blind people to be productive, competitive and most importantly considered as equal participants in this technological age.

By their very nature many technologies are intrinsically inaccessible and history has shown that it is unrealistic to expect that main stream market forces guided by legislation will always foster the specialist expertise required to deliver accessibility for all. It would appear that Microsoft recognise that they cannot be all things to all people in this area, consequently Microsoft promote an ecosystem of private companies and individuals who have made a business out of taking on the responsibility to make sure that people who are disabled have the information and tools required to: learn, work, play and communicate using main stream technology.

Many believe the assistive technology industry which makes a living by producing and marketing products for clients who are disabled and those working on our behalf, has an ethical and moral responsibility to create and inform the disabled community about appropriate solutions which enhance the accessibility of main stream technological innovations. If for no other reason than this is in the financial interests of the AT industry itself. So when a major PC operating system is launched, it is to be expected that people with disabilities look to the AT companies for access solutions. This is exactly what I did on Tuesday following the launch of Windows Vista.

It is reassuring to know that along with most screen reader developers, my employer dolphin computer Access had publicly announced their commitment to Windows Vista by the time the new OS made a consumer launch. Users of Dolphin screen reading and screen magnification software can expect vista support during the second quarter. This will be a free update for customers of dolphin version 7 software.

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Apple blind to iPhone accessibility? – BBC Ouch Blog

18th January 2007 • Dave

Took the words out of my mouth.

This piece and associated comments speaks volumes about how far the blind community has to go in demonstrating the value of universal access to technology.

Although in Apples favour they did have a crack at including a credible screen reader with the OSX operating system, all be it 5 or 10 years too late for many.

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Thinking inside the tech bubble

5th January 2007 • Dave

Someone recently said to me that they were making up a cassette of tracks to listen to while on the train. This made me feel all nostalgic as making compilation tapes is something many of us did twenty years ago. I had no idea that people were still out there using cassettes. I guess while many of us are immersed in our own particular technology bubble there’s a whole world out there getting on quite nicely without technology thank you very much.

I feel almost naked without at least a mobile phone. And I can’t remember the last time I went on the train without a laptop. A few albums, podcasts, email etc can quickly see off a two or three hour train journey for me. I can’t even remember when I last used a tape recorder. I’d feel really restricted now if I was stuck with a couple of C90s listening to the same songs in the same order and not being able to skip back and forward, and read the artist and title of every track. Many people now have large music collections stored on large hard drives so they can hear any track in a couple of seconds. I’d quite like to be able to get to that point with movies and TV series which I have on DVD, although that tmay take a bit longer to set up.

Anyway, if the tapes are meeting your mobile music requirements, take no notice of me. This is the bloke who has had more gadgets than hot dinners. But I wouldn’t go back, especially not to a time witout Internet access.

It is difficult to dispute the assertion that access to the internet is one of the most significant developments to empower people who are blind since Braille itself. Many of us love being able to shop and bank online and read news and sports results on the day it’s all published, and browse TV listings, and film reviews, and encyclopaedias, oh the list goes on. But to have a good slice of human knowledge and experience instantly available at one’s fingertips makes many of the connected blind feel all liberated and independent. Sure, there is a lot of pap online too. The trick is to become proficient at filtering out the dross and focus in on whatever it is you’re seeking.

Although, however clever we think we are, it is important to remind our selvs that technology and the skills to use it are only in the hands of a small minority. Hopefully that will not always be the case.

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Google Heading in the Right Direction

5th December 2006 • Dave

I recently noticed that the Google web search is now marking up results using the HTML Heading tag. This is great news for people who access their web browser using modern screen reading software, as we can now quickly and easily navigate to the next and previous matches on a Google web search results page. Most screen readers include commands to move to the next heading, previous heading, or list all headings on a web page, and by implementing the Heading tag, many screen reader users will find it more efficient to find the information they are looking for using Google. And just as importantly, for those who cannot take advantage of Headings, this change should not have a negative impact on their Google experience.

Hopefully this simple improvement is just the first of many steps along the road to greater accessibility and enhanced usability for the world’s most popular search engine. Hopefully Google can extend the heading tag to Google’s other searches such as: news, blog search, groups, etc.

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