White Cane Safety Day Proclamation

As those who speak with me for more then two minutes about politics knows I have huge disagreements with Obama about everything from economics to civil rights matters. Having said this I have always been most impressed by his White Cane Day proclamations, and felt it important to reprint it here.

The focus on the white cane as a symbol of freedom and independence, as well as the mention of the importance of Braille as literacy, are major points and should not be overlooked. Regardless of whether a given day is a travel easy day or one where I am veering all over the place, the fact that I can navigate independently is so important, and can be overlooked when not compared with the fairly recent past.

Additionally, the ability to read is extremely important. Although I don't read as quickly as I would like, the ability to use Braille, no matter how slowly, is a blessing. I know of those who can make it with just sound, but I question if their life is really enhanced by this lack.

October 15, 2010
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

The white cane, in addition to being a practical mobility tool, serves as a symbol of dignity, freedom, and independence for individuals who are blind or
visually impaired. On White Cane Safety Day, our Nation celebrates the immeasurable contributions the Americans who use canes have made as valued members
of our diverse country. We also examine our progress and recommit to full integration, equality, education, and opportunity for Americans with visual impairments.

Today, students with disabilities are reaching achievements considered unattainable just a few decades ago. Many gains have been realized throughout our
educational system, but we must accomplish more so that America's technological advances and assistive tools are available for the benefit of all students.
My Administration is committed to ensuring that electronic readers and other electronic equipment used by schools, including postsecondary institutions,
are accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. We are also providing guidance and technical assistance to help colleges and universities
fully comply with the legal requirements to use emerging technology that is accessible to all students in the classroom. Blindness and visual impairments
are not impediments to obtaining knowledge, and we must highlight the availability of existing tools to facilitate communication and work to improve access
to them. Additionally, the Braille code opens doors of literacy and learning to countless individuals with visual impairments across our country and around
the world, and we must work with advocates and leaders throughout our society to promote and improve Braille literacy among our students.

Americans with disabilities are Americans first and foremost, entitled to both full participation in our society and full opportunity in our economy. My
Administration is working to increase information access so Americans who are blind or visually impaired can fully participate in our increasingly interconnected
world. To expand career options for people with disabilities in the Federal Government, I signed an Executive Order directing executive departments and
agencies to design strategies to increase recruitment and hiring of these valued public servants. I was also pleased to sign the Twenty-First Century Communications
and Video Accessibility Act into law earlier this month to ensure that the jobs of the future are accessible to all. This legislation will make it easier
for people who are deaf, blind, or live with a visual impairment to use the technology our 21st-century economy depends on, from navigating digital menus
on a television to sending emails on a smart phone.

As we observe the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this year, my Administration reaffirms our national commitment to creating access
to employment, education, and social, political, and economic opportunities for Americans with disabilities. Together with individuals who are blind or
visually impaired, service providers, educators, and employers, we will uphold our country as an inclusive, welcoming place for blind or visually impaired
people to work, learn, play, and live.

By joint resolution approved on October 6, 1964 (Public Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress designated October 15 of each year as White Cane Safety Day
to recognize the contributions of Americans who are blind or have low vision.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 15, 2010, as White Cane Safety Day. I call upon all
public officials, business and community leaders, educators, librarians, and Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of October, in the year of our two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA 

The Serotek Ultimatum

For those unaware this post from the Serotek Blog is really fantastic, calling on all blind people to throw off the AT chains of the blind ghetto. Can't wait until Braille for Everyone comes to pass. The comments afterward are also workth reading IMO.

Blind Core goes to Turkey

I wish to bring this effort to your attention and request you consider making a donation to their work. As a person who loves to travel I always marvel at how interesting other countries are- yet at the end of every trip I say there is no better place in the world to be a blind person then North America.

Dear Friend,
It’s winter! You just can’t get around, at least if you’re anywhere like Omaha, Nebraska. We have had 2 blizzards in the last 3 weeks. Transportation, at times has been nearly impossible, schools and businesses have been closed. This has been some of the foulest weather in this region for years, with freezing rain, wind, ice, snow, and no sign of this pattern letting up. With the low temps and piles and piles of snow everywhere, most of us are being very selective in where we choose when traveling away from our homes. Yet people have the choice. Imagine if you had no such choice. Or what if your choices were just as limited, round the clock, day long, week in and out, month after month, life-long? What would that be like?
It would be like the lives of blind people in developing nations, with no hope of receiving the basic training they need to live full independent lives. But this kind of training is available in the U. S. A. every single day. Now, the veteran rehabilitation professionals of non-profit Blind Corps provide this kind of U. S.-developed training to blind people and their teachers where it has never been provided before.
You can help to thaw the ice and make it possible for blind persons of developing nations, struggling to be free and equal, to achieve their dreams of independence. For the cost of a $10 Braille slate, a $25 white cane, a $50 Braille watch, or the donation of used but serviceable equipment or technology you can make a difference.
On May 25, 2010 our team of eight, including myself, will be leaving for Istanbul for our third Blind Corps mission. We’ll be providing training to teachers from the 16 schools for the blind scattered across Turkey, as well as direct contact with individual blind persons. If you’d like to join us, as well as the Turkish Ministry of Education, the City of Istanbul, and Bey Az Ay, the leading non-profit organization of the blind in Turkey in supporting this project, please contact me directly or donate securely online with the Paypal link below.
All of us of the Blind Corps team appreciate your consideration and generosity.

Yours respectfully,
Robert Leslie Newman, Board Member, Blind Corps

(To use Paypal, please click or paste):
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10485686

BLIND CORPS, since November 2005, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Corporation

Robert Leslie Newman
Email- newmanrl@cox.net
THOUGHT PROVOKER Website-
Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info

On the tea party and blindness

I found this post from Serotek to be most interesting. On the one hand it suggests correctly that one of the primary issues is government spending going into outdated technologies, while suggesting on the other hand that government spending isn't wasteful and that we as blind people would be worse off without it. On the former point we are in complete agreement, but on the latter point I must disagree. Would the market truly bare the current prices for adaptive technology? Is there such amazing innovation in the AT field that we need really worry about RND being discontinued? What RND exactly? As a company that supports affordibility in its products I would think Serotek would be above all others eager to see the government slops that keep adaptive technology prices above market go away. I hope their business model succeeds, because Freedom Scientific's model looks forward to the increased government spending for the blind we supposedly are in such need of. Give me reasonable prices I have a hope of paying, not endentured servitude to the government so I can have accessibility.

Cheap Shots and Government Wellfare

I recently found this post from Cafe Hayek on snarky cheap shots- a post that I found personally touching as it excoriates those who delight in ad honimem attacks rather then addressing their points in an arguement. I have had several of these, as I currently receive social security payments due to my blindness, while strongly argueing for limited government and free markets. I have stated before and will state again that I find it extremely unfortunate that the means I currently find of living are from the government; however, I would present that if they were to go away tonight I would not starve- nor would my wife. We would no doubt have some hard choices to make, but we would survive- as would all those who are on social security. Reliance on the government from a personal viewpoint has given me nothing but a sense of worthlessness and being a drain on society. I find happiness and worth when I have had employment and been able to make my own way in life. I look forward to the day when I am able to disconnect this IV of government and walk forward in freedom. This disconnection may be awhile in coming, but I work to make it happen- and as is mentioned in the post above of my personal state doesn't impact the validity of my arguements for the free market and limited government.

The only reason why we find it so necessary currently is because we have been trained to do so. People survived perfectly fine before the 1930s, and I have no doubt would do so if SS were to depart directly.

One arguement as a disabled person I have heard from other disabled individuals is that the cost of adaptive equipment would bankrupt us if we didn't have government support- and if we are talking about today's prices for adaptive equipment I would quite agree. If one looks however at the real worth of these products one would find if the companies didn't have the government doling out the money they would be forced either to drop prices in order to stay in business or go out of business. Shocking notion in today's economy of bail outs, but such things can be a good thing. I do not believe that subsequent development of adaptive technology would end, and I suggest that those who believe so have no concept of what market economics is. My primary example is Serotek. This company has lowered the bar drasticly on prices, particularly for screen reading technology. Granted it may not have all the bells and wistles one might like (though it has a surprisingly large number considering the difference in price) but it works. With the new atom edition of System Access one can have a completely accessible computer via a netbook for $500. Now I am not made of money, but even I would find such a deal within my means, especially if such an avenue were my only method of gaining access to the internet and on line commerse.

Additionally there is the example of Apple's VoiceOver software. Less useful then System Access it still provides access to e mail, the internet, word processing, etc. useing the Apple OS platform. How much for this access one might ask? It is free.

With all this in mind I find it extremely unfortunate that some view government slops as the only means of obtaining independence. I find it absolutely criminal that companies charge $800-$1000 for blind individuals to access the internet. This reliance on government makes us throw our freedom to choose into the hand of the local VR councilor and limits our choices about where we live, what we do, and how we access life to them. I prefer freedom, and thus will I continue to support Serotek and all companies that support freedom for markets and individuals.

P.S. Found this on resenting the rich very valid. from Cato

10% Read Braille

Although I find the stat itself troubling (if not surprising) I like the positive points put forward about Braille. In particular the focus on the fact that literacy for the blind can only be found in Braille.

I am applying for grants to obtain an Alva BC640 to aid in my own quest for greater Braille literacy. Hopefully it will go well.

Fewer Than 10 Percent Of Blind Americans Read Braille

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, March 26, 2009

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Jordan Gilmer has a degenerative condition that
eventually
will leave him completely blind. But as a child, his teachers did not
emphasize Braille, the system of reading in which a series of raised dots
signify letters of the alphabet.

Instead, they insisted he use what little vision he had to read print. By
the third grade, he was falling behind in his schoolwork.

''They gave him Braille instruction, but they didn't tell us how to get
Braille books, and they didn't want him using it during the day,'' said
Jordan's mother, Carrie Gilmer of Minneapolis. Teachers said Braille would
be ''a thing he uses way off in the far distant future, and don't worry
about it.''

That experience is common: Fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million
legally
blind people in the United States read Braille, and just 10 percent of
blind
children are learning it, according to a report to be released Thursday
by
the National Federation of the Blind.

By comparison, at the height of its use in the 1950s, more than half the
nation's blind children were learning Braille. Today Braille is considered
by many to be too difficult, too outdated, a last resort.

Instead, teachers ask students to rely on audio texts, voice-recognition
software or other technology. And teachers who know Braille often must
shuttle between schools, resulting in haphazard instruction, the report
says.

''You can find good teachers of the blind in America, but you can't find
good programs,'' said Marc Maurer, the group's president. ''There is not a
commitment to this population that is at all significant almost
anywhere.''

Using technology as a substitute for Braille leaves blind people
illiterate,
the federation said, citing studies that show blind people who know
Braille
are more likely to earn advanced degrees, find good jobs and live
independently.

''It's really sad that so many kids are being shortchanged,'' said Debby
Brackett of Stuart, Fla., who pressured schools to provide capable Braille
teachers for her 12-year-old daughter, Winona.

One study found that 44 percent of participants who grew up reading
Braille
were unemployed, compared with 77 percent for those who relied on print.
Overall, blind adults face 70 percent unemployment.

The federation's report pulled together existing research on Braille
literacy, and its authors acknowledge that not enough research has been
done. The 10 percent figure comes from federal statistics gathered by the
American Printing House for the Blind, a company that develops products
for
the visually impaired.

The federation also did some original research, including a survey of 500
people that found the ability to read Braille correlated with higher
levels
of education, a higher likelihood of employment and higher income.

The report coincides with the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, the
Frenchman
who invented the Braille code as a teenager. Resistance to his system was
immediate; at one point, the director of Braille's school burned the books
he and his classmates had transcribed. The school did not want its blind
students becoming too independent; it made money by selling crafts they
produced.

The system caught on, but began declining in the 1960s along with the
widespread integration of blind children into public schools. It has
continued with the advent of technology that some believe makes Braille
obsolete.

''Back in about 1970 or so, I was heading to college, and somebody said
to
me, 'Now that you've got the tape recorder, everything will be all right.
In
the early 1980s, somebody else said, 'Now that you've got a talking
computer, everything will be all right,''' said Marc Maurer, president of
the federation.

''They were both wrong. And the current technology isn't going to make
everything all right unless I know how to put my hands on a page that has
words on it and read them.''

Audio books are no substitute, said Carlton Walker, an attorney and the
mother of a legally blind girl from McConnellsburg, Pa. Walker once met a
blind teenager who had only listened to audio books; the teen was shocked
to
discover that ''Once upon a time'' was four separate words.

Walker also had to lobby teachers to provide Braille for her 8-year-old
daughter, Anna, instead of just large-print books.

''At 3 years old, Anna could compete with very large letters. When you
get
older, you can't compete,'' Walker said. She once asked a teacher,
'''What
are you going to do when she's reading Dickens?' She said, 'Well, we'll
just
go to audio then.'

''If that were good enough for everybody, why do we spend millions of
dollars teaching people to read?''

Gilmer, now an 18-year-old aspiring lawyer, worked on his Braille in a
summer program when he was in middle school and can now read 125 words a
minute, up from his previously rate, an excruciatingly slow 20 words a
minute.

''Just try it,'' Carrie Gilmer said. ''Go get a paragraph, get a
stopwatch
and try to read 20 words a minute. Try and read that slow and see how
frustrating it is.''

Fluent Braille readers can read 200 words a minute or more, the
federation
says.

Carrie Gilmer is president of a parents' group within the federation for
the
blind. She believes poor or haphazard instruction is largely responsible
for
the decline in Braille literacy, but she says sometimes teachers push
Braille only to meet resistance from parents.

''They're afraid of their child looking blind, not fitting in,'' Gilmer
said.

The report outlines ambitious goals for reversing the trend, including
lobbying all 50 states to require teachers of blind children to be
certified
in Braille instruction by 2015. But its immediate goal is to simply make
people aware that there's no substitute for Braille. It's not just a tool
to
help people function -- it can bring joy, Maurer said.

''The concept of reading Braille for fun is a thing that lots of people
don't know,'' Maurer said. ''And yet I do this every day. I love the
beautiful, orderly lines of words that convey a different idea that can
stimulate me or make me excited or sad. ... This is what we're trying to
convey.''

Colorado Joint Braille Resolution

Below is the joint resolution passed by the Colorado House and Senate on March 26th recognizing Louis Braille in general and the Braille coin in particular. Great stuff. I listened to the readings and adoption via streaming, and it was most moving.

First Regular Session
Sixty-seventh General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO

REVISED SJR09-031
LLS NO. R09-0962.01 Joel Moore

SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Shaffer B.,

HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Rice,

Senate Committees House Committees

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 09-031
CONCERNING THE CONTINUING IMPORTANCE OF BRAILLE LITERACY
IN THE LIVES OF BLIND CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN COLORADO AND
ACROSS THE NATION, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH,
RECOGNIZING ”NATIONAL BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS DAY”.

WHEREAS, Since its invention by Louis Braille, the reading and
writing code for the blind that bears his name has become the accepted
method of reading and writing for the blind the world over; and

WHEREAS, Braille is used to represent not only the alphabets of
most written languages but also mathematical and scientific notation and
the reproduction of musical scores; and

WHEREAS, Braille provides people who are blind with the power
of knowledge, expanding their opportunities and equipping them with the
tools to be productive and imaginative contributors to society; and

WHEREAS, Contrary to popular belief, Braille is not difficult to
learn, nor is reading Braille slower than reading print; and

WHEREAS, While technology has improved the lives of blind
people by facilitating quick access to information, no technology can
replace Braille literacy since literacy is the ability to read and write and
to do both interactively; and

WHEREAS, Despite Braille’s efficiency, versatility, and universal
acceptance by the blind, the rate of Braille literacy in the United States
has declined to the point where only 10 percent of blind children are
learning to read and write Braille; and
WHEREAS, Just as a literacy rate of 10 percent among this
nation’s sighted children would be rightly viewed as a crisis and as cause
for national outrage, the decline in Braille literacy is a crisis, and swift
action must be taken to reverse this dangerous trend; and

WHEREAS, Braille literacy is the key to independence,
productivity, and success for blind people, as evidenced by the fact that,
while 70 percent of the blind are unemployed, 85 percent of those who
are employed use Braille; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress officially recognized the
importance of Braille by passing the Louis Braille Bicentennial--Braille
Literacy Commemorative Coin Act, authorizing the striking of a United
States silver dollar in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Louis Braille; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind, the nation’s
oldest and largest organization of blind people and the leading advocate
for Braille literacy, has launched a national ”Braille Readers are Leaders”
campaign to promote awareness of the importance of Braille and the
magnitude of the Braille literacy crisis and to increase the availability of
competent Braille instruction and of Braille reading materials in this
country, with funding for said campaign to come from a portion of the
proceeds of the sale of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind has today
released a comprehensive report, ”The Braille Literacy Crisis in
America--Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind”,
and the United States Mint has this day released the Louis Braille
Bicentennial Silver Dollar for purchase by the general public; now,
therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly
of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, do
hereby proclaim March 26, 2009, as National Braille Readers are Leaders
Day, to celebrate the hope, opportunity, and power that literacy in Braille
provides to the blind and to our nation; and

(2) That we call upon all public officials, educators, and citizens

-2- 031

throughout Colorado and this nation to recognize the importance of Braille in the lives of blind people and to assist the National Federation of the Blind in its efforts to increase instruction in and use of Braille in Colorado and across the United States.

Be ItFurther Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.; the members of the Colorado Congressional delegation; and Scott C. LaBarre, President, National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.

-3- 031

Braille Coin

Tomorrow the long awaited Louis Braille Coin goes on sale. Planning to buy two or three myself, as it combines two of my favorite things- coins and Braille.

Below is a press release from the NFBCO on the event tomorrow. I am saddened I will not be able to make the festivities, but trust they will be superb anyway.

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Celebrates
Release of Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar


Denver, Colorado (March 25, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of Colorado will On March 26 celebrate the release of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar. This historic commemorative coin, the first-ever U.S. coin to contain tactile, readable Braille, will be launched at a special ceremony at the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind, in Baltimore, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EDT on March 26, 2009.



In Denver, Colorado and under the leadership of Majority Leader, Senator Brendon Shaffer and Representative Joe Rice, the Colorado General Assembly will honor the launch by adopting a Joint Resolution highlighting the release of the coin and emphasizing the Braille literacy program partially funded by the sale of this commemorative coin.



Immediately preceding the assembly's passing of the resolution, the NFB of Colorado will hold a press event at 08:30 am in the Press Room; (room 326 on the third floor in the southwest corner of the Capitol). State Senator Brandon Shaffer and other dignitaries will be in attendance.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "If the blind can read, the blind can achieve. The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar celebrates the man who gave literacy to the blind and is a unique and beautiful keepsake, but it is also a coin with a mission: to make sure that every blind child and every adult losing vision in our nation has the opportunity to learn Braille. "



Scott LaBarre, president of the Federation's Colorado affiliate said "I am a totally blind attorney operating my own successful law practice. I would not be able to do so without being extremely literate. Braille is fundamental to my level of literacy, without which I

could not practice law. The Louis Braille Coin and its attendant literacy program will bring success and freedom to the generations of tomorrow. We know that the working



age blind face an unemployment rate exceeding seventy percent, yet a substantial majority of the blind who are employed are Braille readers. We salute Senator Shaffer and Representative Rice for demonstrating the leadership to call attention to this literacy crisis and for supporting the program to start fixing the problem."



Senator Shaffer said, "It's unfortunate that we are so quick to forget the invaluable contributions that the sight impaired have made to our society. Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, Galileo Galilee, Kirby Puckett, Claude Monet, and David Paterson are just a few individuals that have and continue to contribute. Braille is an accessible, efficient mechanism for learning and there is no reason why only 10 percent of blind children are learning it. The sight impaired deserve the same opportunities as all individuals and Colorado is ready to provide that for them."



Regarding the resolution, Representative Rice said, "Literacy is considered by our society to be a fundamental civil right in America today. I applaud the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado as it works through its Braille Readers are Leaders Campaign to provide the right of literacy through Braille to all of America's blind children and adults."



Sales of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, which was authorized by a law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in 2006, will support the NFB's "Braille Readers are Leaders" campaign. The campaign is a national initiative created to double the number of blind children learning Braille by 2015.



The National Federation of the Blind is asking the American public, through purchasing this stunning silver dollar, to join its campaign to bring literacy, education, opportunity, and success to the blind of America. The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar goes on sale to the general public at noon on March 26. Those interested in ordering a coin should visit www.usmint.gov or call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). For more information about the National Federation of the Blind and the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, visit www.braille.org.



###

Plug and Braille

This development is a very happy thing for me, as I have wondered at the effectivness of the Accessible Anywhere Braille Display petition. This shows me that those of us who love Braille and want it to expand are having an impact. I congratulate Handy Tech on giving tangible evidence that they wish to provide their customers with high quality products that are not limited to their closed platforms, but accessible anywhere.

Plug and Braille with Handy Tech Easy Braille!
On December 11, 2008, Serotek announced via the Serotek blog their endorsement of the Accessibility Anywhere Based Braille Display petition to Braille display manufacturers created and written by George McDermith. This petition urges Braille display manufacturers to do-away with proprietary drivers and instead use standard, mainstream technologies that will drive these devices regardless of the screen reader being used.

As an avid Braille reader myself, I am proud to be a signer of this petition. We at Handy Tech North America support Mr. McDermith's efforts with respect to this matter and in order to demonstrate our commitment to the cause, we are pleased to announce the Handy Tech Plug and Braille initiative with the introduction of Easy Braille with HID support.

HID stands for Human Interface Device and is the open standard for plug and play devices such as keyboards and mice. The HID protocol requires no separate software installations in order for these devices to work. Now Braille readers can simply plug-in their Handy Tech Easy Braille with HID support and gain immediate Braille access regardless of their chosen screen reader.

Although Easy Braille with HID support has been several months in the making prior to Mr. McDermith's petition, his timing is perfect as it affords Handy Tech the opportunity to demonstrate that we are once again on the leading edge when it comes to giving customers the tools they need when they need them.

For over a year now, Handy Tech customers have enjoyed the ability to walk up to one of millions of Apple computers and gain immediate grade two Braille access simply by plugging in their Handy Tech Braille display. Handy Tech is pleased to now offer the same freedom of access on the Microsoft Windows side or on any other platform that supports the HID protocol.

Combine this new Plug and Braille development with the high quality and ergonomic design for which Handy Tech products are known worldwide, and enjoy a flexible and reliable Braille solution for many years to come in the Handy Tech Easy Braille.

"I don't believe that people should be penalized because of the screen reader they use," says Sigi Kipke, Managing Director of Handy Tech GmbH in Horb, Germany, the manufacturers of Handy Tech Braille products. Kipke further stresses the importance of access to portable electronic Braille by stating that Braille products should not be viewed as some obscure technology used by just a few blind people, rather it should be viewed as a progressive and innovative technology that gives Braille readers the same advantages and opportunities as print readers.

Although Easy Braille with HID support is slated for release in May of 2009, Handy Tech representatives from both European and North American offices will be demonstrating this exciting new development at this year's California State University Northridge Center on Disabilities 24th Annual Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, otherwise known as CSUN.

Please join us in the exhibit hall at booth 302 of the Marriott LAX hotel where we will be enthusiastically demonstrating the following products:

Easy Braille with new HID support.
The new Handy Tech Braille driver for Nuance Talks which allows for the input of grade two Braille among other things.
The powerful netbook computer and Braille display options available from Handy Tech North America which does away with the out-dated notion that technology for blind people must be based on a closed and proprietary platform.
Last but not least, the latest developments around the exciting Active Tactile Control (ATC) technologies that actually senses the user's fingers on the Braille display and responds accordingly based on reading behaviors. This ground breaking technology is useful for Braille readers of all skill levels.

Serotek Turns Seven!

I couldn't agree more with the below sentiments and those found throughout the entire article.

"At Serotek we believe in universal accessibility – no exceptions. The day we don’t have to design or sell another piece of software created to make inaccessible applications accessible, will be a celebration. We know we won’t lack for marvelous new things to do that make life more fun – more livable for everyone. And when that day comes the products we design for our blind brothers and sisters will have a market of billions worldwide. Our competition will be the big software players, not the niche organizations that specialize in government funded aid to the visually impaired. No question but that Serotek is a pioneer and we may end up just collecting the arrows while others move on to settle the territory. But I don’t think so. I think we have the brains and genius to be designing world class products for the entire business and consumer market – products that blind folks can use right out of the box." --Full Article

NFB on the Kindle 2

I found the below extremely helpful and good to know. The part about reading in private was particularly poinyant, as it is one of what I consider the basic rights of mankind.

National Federation of the Blind Responds to Authors Guild Statement on the Amazon Kindle 2
Baltimore, Maryland (February 12, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind people in the United States, today responded to a statement put out by the Authors Guild advising its members to consider negotiating contracts prohibiting e-books to be read aloud by the new Amazon Kindle 2, which incorporates text-to-speech technology. The Authors Guild argues that the reading of a book out loud by a machine is a copyright infringement unless the copyright holder has specifically granted permission for the book to be read aloud.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind supports all technologies that allow blind people to have better access to the printed word, including the ability of devices like the Kindle 2 to read commercial e-books aloud using text-to-speech technology. Although the Authors Guild claims that it supports making books accessible to the blind, its position on the inclusion of text-to-speech technology in the Kindle 2 is harmful to blind people. The Authors Guild says that having a book read aloud by a machine in the privacy of one's home or vehicle is a copyright infringement. But blind people routinely use readers, either human or machine, to access books that are not available in alternative formats like Braille or audio. Up until now, no one has argued that this is illegal, but now the Authors Guild says that it is. This is absolutely wrong. The blind and other readers have the right for books to be presented to us in the format that is most useful to us, and we are not violating copyright law as long as we use readers, either human or machine, for private rather than public listening. The key point is that reading aloud in private is the same whether done by a person or a machine, and reading aloud in private is never an infringement of copyright.

"Amazon has taken a step in the right direction by including text-to-speech technology for reading e-books aloud on its new Kindle 2," Dr. Maurer continued. "We note, however, that the device itself cannot be used independently by a blind reader because the controls to download a book and begin reading it aloud are visual and therefore inaccessible to the blind. We urge Amazon to rectify this situation as soon as possible in order to make the Kindle 2 a device that truly can be used both by blind and sighted readers. By doing so, Amazon will make it possible for blind people to purchase a new book and begin reading it immediately, just as sighted people do."



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About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind
people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives
through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force
in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In
January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind
Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the
United States for the blind led by the blind.

Not celebrating the death of the SMA?

I recently read this article from the Blind Access Journal that mentions some concerns about the death of the SMA. The primary concern is that with SMA profits AT companies will not be willing/able to keep up with mainstream technology. I find this arguement puzzeling, as currently System Access is far more stable then JAWS, equal to it in all ways except for one or two used by computer nuts like myself (and even then it is a close second), and Serotek's business model seems to opporate just fine without a SMA based model. I think this may indeed force the AT companies to get off the path of government handouts and get onto the path of innovation.

All hail the death of the SMA, and thanks be to God and Serotek for killing it.

RIP SMA

I am thrilled at this announcement from Serotek that they will be eliminating all their SMAs (Software Maintanence Agreements). This is the sort of innovation I have come to expect from Serotek, but even so I am always stunned anew when they once again blow my expatations out of the water.

For my birthday I got a netbook from my wife (the most beautiful woman on the earth) and the System Access Atom Edition from my friend Jenn to go with it. I cannot express how pleased I am at the responsiveness of SA and how pleased I am to know that when it comes time to switch all my boxes over to SA the transision will be an easy one. With Ellequence no longer being supported I see JAWS losing a HUGE part of its market share, as it is only Ellequence that has me currently useing JAWS 10 on my primary machine. Without that advantage I see absolutely no reason to give JAWS any marks above SA, nor Window-Eyes for that matter. I see the innovation for which Serotek is so properly known carrying it, and System Access, far beyond its current market share, even with the government slops being thrown at Freedom Scientific. When customers begin to see that quality and affordability are both available with System Access and that going with JAWS or Window-Eyes offers no real advantage and less customer service and affordability, it will be time for the folks at FS to prepare for a downhill ride. This has been long in coming, as on the whole the majority of AT companies can hardly be called innovative- hence why Serotek is so refreshing.

Some Thoughts on Braille

As I begin to delve more deeply into the AT field, going beyond a hobby to a profession I have found the tendency to disregard Braille displays as a important and necessary part of most blind individuals AT package rather depressing. In the field where Braille is perhaps most exciting and full of possibilities to dramaticly level the playing field between those of us who are blind and those who are not with displays and access to electronic Braille (limiting or all together eliminating Braille's historic space issues) there is a noted coolness towards the code. This is unfortunate to say the least, for one of the best ways to have a full accessible digital lifestyle is to have tactile as well as audible output.

This coolness towards Braille is in part due to the stereotypes stil so easily found about blindness. People wish to be viewed as "normal" and thus they squint and strain at a ten word per minute rate of speed, rather then learn Braille. Even at twenty five or seventy five words per minutes the issue still remains that most can read at one hundred words per minute or more with no strain in Braille. I find a system and indviduals that promote this foolishness of print worship to be misguided at best, and believe they are woefully misinformed on what "normality" consists of (indeed all who have known me for any length of time can atest to my lack there of). I find the fact that in today's environment of openness and change we still have our minorities and stereotypes.

I believe however that if I, who was a anti Braille nutter from high school on, can be converted to the way of Braille there is hope for the most stubbron senior or recalcitrent student out there. I trust that once individuals have a taste of the freedom reading gives one, as opposed to listening all the time to material, they will want more. I hope so at least.

I am planning on wrapping up the display petition in mid to late April. I think this will give it enough time to be signed without transforming from a labor of love to one of pain. I hope it will have some impact on things, though more and more I find myself in the plite of so many geeks, who fall passionately in love with some obscure bit of programming or some sub sub geek culture issue, which when he holds forth to the rest of the world he is stunned to find that the rest of the world doesn't care about his pet project. This has its amusing side to be sure, though I pray it will be many a year before I need the services of a Tech Addicts Anonimus group. Just give me a gallon barrel of straight espresso and some good SAM Net content and I will survive... Hopefully.

Vote Serotek in the Blind Bargains Poll

Vote here for everything Serotek related to give this outstanding company a part of the commendation they deserve for their dedication to quality and service. There are other options of course, but Mike Calvo and Serotek got my votes in every catagory they were offered in. The Victor Reader Stream and the KNFB Reader Mobile also got my vote. Voting ends 1-25, so get yours in today.

Leaving the PAC Mate Behind

Everyone who follows the AT field knows that apdative technology for the blind is extremely overpriced. The only ones who will tell you differently are those who gain the profits from this field. I will gratn that some products are important to the blind, speech output programs being chief among these, and Braille displays being a helpful (if all to unfortunately underused and overpriced) another. I submit however that apart from Serotek these and all other products are far overpriced.

I have always held that as much mainstreaming as possible, in education as well as technology, is best for everyone involved. This is due in part to the social intergration, it adds to acceptance of blind people as normal people who can't see when one uses an iPod or standard mobile phone or laptop as opposed to an odd looking device that looks like it comes fresh from 1970s science fiction.

The other factor is that of the market place. If inovation comes more regularly in the mainstream market (as the article above argues) then everyone, blind and sighted, benefit from such novations. Unfortunately novation is a lost word in the AT field. Apart from the novation of Serotek and the Stream from Humanware, there has been limited or non exsistant. The time is long past for us as blind people to put our money, and that which is used on our behalf by Voc Rehab and others, where our best interests lie, in the mainstream market. As the article notes some adaptive technology is very much needed to make mainstream technology work, but just because it is needed does not mean it needs to be overpriced rubbish. I commend Serotek for its inovation and ask all others in the AT field to think long and hard about how to best meet your client's needs. Will putting them on a device that may fall far behind the mainstream and be overpriced really the best answer? For some it may be yes, but I think for the majority it will be a solid no.

Serotek Does it Again

"It isn’t just about bridging the gap to employment, which is certainly important. It’s about providing a way for blind people to have fun, to be entertained, and to communicate with the rest of the world without any geographical, social or economic barriers. [...] The blind ghetto discourages mainstream technology companies from making their products accessible. A select group controls the sales to the ghetto and like it that way. The ghetto barriers protect their market share even though those walls can deny their customers access to the riches available to everyone outside the walls. It takes gutsy companies to build and market products that tear down the walls and it is these "disruptive" technologies that excite me."--Full Article

Once again Serotek shows through the above post its dedication to outstanding service, quality product, and most importantly amazing business philosophy. Dealing with the standard AT companies attatude of "good enough for you," it is extremely refreshing to see this company buck the trend and tare down a chunck of the ghetto wall. This attatude is why I plan to switch to System Access screen reader as quickly as possible. Realizing that life for the blind consists of more then 9-5 (while still regonizing that 9-5 is important) is one of the best and rarest qualities of Serotek. I will continue to support them personally and intend to train future students on Serotek's products. Such market oriented quality service needs and deserves to be supported.

Apostle of Light

This clip gives a dramatic depiction of Louis Braille going blind and inventing Braille. Thought considering the celebrations it was a good thing to post.

Happy Birthday Louis Braille

I wish to add a belated but heart felt happy birthday to Mr. Braille, whose bicentennial occured on 1-4 of this year. Celebrations and educational events have already begun and are scheduled to continue throughout the year. I trust and hope this educational push will encourage both the sighted and blind to understand why Braille is not merely important but absolutely necessary for independence.

Happy Birthday Mr. Braille! — $200 discount on our Braille products
Longueuil, January 6th, 2008 — January 4th 2009 marked the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. Louis Braille is the inventor of the Braille reading and writing system used internationally by people who are blind and visually impaired. It is the only method by which the blind can be truly literate. Statistics show that 85% of employed blind people use Braille to perform part of their job.
HumanWare has been at the forefront of providing award-winning Braille solutions for both students and professionals. HumanWare's BrailleNote note takers are used by thousands of students and professionals who create and access documents and books to be read in Braille. HumanWare offers other Braille solutions from the pocketsize BrailleConnect for use with mobile devices and laptops, several sizes of the Brailliant Braille displays for the workplace, and personal and institutional Braille embossers.

HumanWare will be celebrating this two hundredth anniversary throughout the year with many future announcements. To begin the year with the true spirit, HumanWare is pleased to offer to all of our customers in the Americas a $200 discount on the purchase on any of our Braille products.

HumanWare realizes that much work remains to be done to insure that all blind individuals have an opportunity to learn and use Braille. HumanWare has worked on many initiatives in the past to make Braille more accessible and will vigorously pursue these activities in 2009 and beyond to make illiteracy among the blind a thing of the past.

Campaign tries to teach the benefits of Braille

SUE McMILLIN

January 5, 2009 - 2:38PM

Since its invention in the 1820s, Braille has been the key to literacy - and employment - for blind people, according to the National Federation of the Blind.

It's appalling that only 10 percent of blind children in the United States are learning Braille, said Kevan Worley, president of the federation's Colorado Springs chapter.

Nationally, about 70 percent of blind people are unemployed, Worley said. But, he said, more than 80 percent of blind people who have learned Braille are employed.

The federation has launched a Braille literacy campaign as it celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the blind Frenchman who invented the Braille alphabet and published it in 1829. Sunday, Worley and other members of the local chapter demonstrated various mechanical and electronic Braille writers at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers on Briargate Boulevard. Similar events took place at about 60 bookstores across the country.

The small Braille machines easily attracted the attention of children visiting the store.

"Kids love to learn about Braille because it's a code," Worley said. Many myths about Braille - that's it's slow and hard to learn or that it can be replaced by audio material - have kept the Braille literacy rate low, he said. Also, there's a shortage of qualified teachers. But perhaps the biggest obstacle is that most blind children have some visual capabilities and are encouraged to use that rather than learn Braille, Worley and others said.

Rene Harrell, who is teaching Braille to her 7-year-old daughter Clare, said: "The default is to use print because people believe it's easier and it's less intimidating."

That might be OK for children's books when there's only a few large-print words on a page, she said, but by the time blind students get to high school they can't keep up with the reading and can't compete for college and jobs.

Harrell said she adopted Clare when she was 4 and at first believed that she could only perceive light. It turned out that Clare has some visual abilities, but they can vary based on the environment and other factors.

"We decided to let Clare use her vision when it's useful and let her learn techniques for when it's not," Harrell said.

Most children learn Braille at about the same rate that seeing children learn to read, Worley said. And it opens a world to them that listening to audio books alone cannot. When he adopted his son, Nijat, from Azerbaijan at age 11, he'd had no Braille training. He was living in a refugee camp and when his sight was lost at age 9, his schooling had stopped.

Nijat said he quickly picked up Braille (and English), learning to read it with Harry Potter books. He graduated last year from Cheyenne Mountain High School and is now a freshman at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Now he teaches his dad how to download the newspaper on the equivalent of a Braille laptop, as well as scanning and downloading his textbooks so that he can read them in Braille.

Contrary to popular belief, adults who lose their sight later in life can learn Braille, too, Worley said.

Rob Lewark, 45, awoke one day in May 2005 and could barely see. His vision was about 80 percent gone, and by January 2006, he was blind because of glaucoma. He'd done a variety of things but in midlife had gone back to school and became an architect. That career was gone, too.

But he learned Braille at the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton, and soon was running his own cafe on Peterson Air Force Base.

"There are a lot of things blind people can do," he said. As for the saying "Life's a bitch," Lewark had his comeback tattooed in Braille on his arm: "Let's get this bitch started."

I also have to mention the continuous and tireless work of the National Braille Press. Their quest to provide Braille at prices our sighted counterparts would pay is a praise worthy one.

The Case for Braille

"From the mid-'60s to the present, the percentage of school-aged blind children in this country who use braille as their primary reading medium has dropped from 50 percent to 12 percent, and more than a generation of blind children has been largely allowed to grow up illiterate under the damaging notion that tape recordings and talking computers are sufficient for them."

"This decline in the teaching and learning of braille has occurred not because the value of literacy has in any way diminished. On the contrary, in our democratic society for which a literate public is the cornerstone and in an economy which is increasingly complex and information-driven, the ability to read and write is increasingly crucial. This is all the more true as society's vision of the capacity of blind people to achieve despite their handicap grows, as prejudices against them diminish, as the law supports them in equal employment opportunity, and as opportunities for blind people to produce and contribute are expanding." --Full Article

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I follow with the iced coffee and a Braille book...