Reading in the dark
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Kestrell" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
|
09:48 am
[Link] |
NFB leader for blind computer users claims ComputerWorld article inaccurately portrays PDF issues
Kes: Curtis Chong, computer science president for National Federation of the Blind, claims that the ComputerWorld article "Microsoft grows DAISY for blind computer users while Adobe wilts," by Eric Lai, published on May 8, inaccurately contextualized what he actually said, makes the very valid point that, despite all the usability issues with the PDF format and other proprietary formats developed by such corporations as Adobe and MicroSoft, usability issues are usually associated with poor document construction rather than inaccessible format. I would add that, in my experience, DRM (digital rights management) shares an equal amount of culpability in locking out assistive technology users from PDF and/or MS Reader format documents.
Curtis Chong's announcement issued through email distribution:
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, pdf, technology
|
|
08:02 pm
[Link] |
Online talk on accessible chess
Kes: Anna Dresner produces some of the most knowledgeable and useful discussions on accessible media, so I highly recommend this event to anyone interested in the subject.
Anyone For A Game of Chess? | Accessible World
Date: Monday, April 21, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m. Pacific, 6:00 p.m. Mountain, 7:00 p.m. Central, 8:00 p.m. Eastern and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 0:00 GMT.
Where: Tek Talk Conference Room at:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2
or
http://www.accessibleworld.org
The Accessible News Wire April 13, 2008, Indianapolis, Indiana USA
http://accessibleworld.org/content/anyone-game-chess
Chess has been defined many ways but most will agree that it is not merely an idle amusement but essentially in its essence it is a game, in its form an
art, and in its execution a science. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened
by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century
after evolving from similar, much older games of Indian and Persian Origin dating back somewhere before 600 A.D.. Today, while chess is one of the world's
most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in clubs, online, by correspondence, in tournaments and informally, only a limited number believe
that it can be played and enjoyed by individuals who are blind. Anna Dresner and Alan Dicey will demonstrate to the Tek Talk audience that Whether you're
new to chess or a seasoned player, blindness does not have to stop you from playing, and playing well. It really is a game that can be played effectively
and enjoyed by those who are totally blind.
IN their presentation, they will describe adaptive chess sets, discuss playing as a blind person, tell you where to get free lessons, and suggest lots of
ways to meet other players - sighted and blind, from the U.S. and elsewhere - and develop your skills via e-mail, voice chat, and computer chess programs.
So listen in, then grab a board and join the fun!
( contact info and online conference room info below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, games
|
|
10:10 am
[Link] |
Faust play featuring actors with disabilities at Harvard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
username: faust
taking accessible theatre into the digital age
(CAMBRIDGE, MA) - Tickets are on sale for username: FAUST, an original
multimedia production featuring an ensemble of local performers with a
variety of disabilities. Performances will be held April 9-13, 2008 at
Harvard's New College Theatre, 12 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, MA.
Directed by Harvard senior Charlie I. Miller, this adaptation of the Faust
legend is a collaborative work, created in partnership with the cast. Miller
assembled a group of artists with disabilities ranging from blindness to
bipolar disorder, and began working with them last fall. What began as
improvised workshops, scenes, and video projects has become a cutting-edge
performance unlike any other theatrical or cinematic event.
While complicated in its technical execution, username: FAUST is at its core
accessible theatre. Miller designed the show to be a stimulating
multi-sensory experience that can be enjoyed by a diverse audience.
Additionally, the venue at Harvard's New College Theatre is completely
accessible to patrons with disabilities, and the production will offer open
captioning and audio description. ASL interpreters are available upon
request.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, disability, theatre
|
|
02:07 pm
[Link] |
Bookshare.org Partners with Don Johnston to Provide Free Text Reader for Print-Disabled Students
From the Daisy Talking Book mailing list
Bookshare.org Partners with Don Johnston to Provide Free Text Reader for Print Disabled Students
Special education publisher (Don Johnston) partners with non-profit online library (Bookshare.org) to provide free assistive technology software for students with print disabilities.
Palo Alto, CA and Volo, IL
) March 13, 2008 -- Bookshare.org and Don Johnston have announced a partnership to provide qualified print disabled students with a free text reader to access electronic books from the Bookshare.org library.
This technology access partnership announced at the 2008 CSUN conference in Los Angeles, CA, will serve an estimated 1-3% of the total K-12 student population, specifically those who receive special education services and qualify under the 1996 Chafee Amendment.
We chose Read:OutLoud because of its strong support tools for students with reading disabilities and its ability to read DAISY files that have the richness that comes from the NIMAS publisher files. Benetech and the team at Don Johnston are working closely together to create more equality for students with learning disabilities and special needs.
Beginning at the start of the 2008-09 school year, qualified students will have the opportunity to use Don Johnston's Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition text reader (Windows Version) to access more than 36,000 books, magazines and newspapers in the Bookshare.org library.
The Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition text reader offers embedded reading comprehension strategies and instructional supports that align with state educational standards. The text reader software includes audio feedback, electronic highlighting and note-taking features that allow students to effectively capture ideas. A Mac version will follow in 2009.
( continued below cut, links at bottom )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, bookshare, ebooks, education
|
|
10:13 am
[Link] |
Keyboard shortcuts for browsing Gmail faster
MakeUseOf.com has a post today on
basic keyboard shortcuts for browsing gmail faster
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/essential-shortcuts-to-browse-through-gmail-faster/
which may be of particular use to visually-impaired users.
These shortcuts may be of particular interest to blind users who, like me, find themselves using the default interface instead of the accessible interface because, while the basic html interface may be quote accessible unquote like many of the sites which go for a separate accessible interface (such as Amazon.com, for example), the accessible alternative lacks a large amount of the functionality of the default interface.
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, gmail
|
|
04:02 pm
[Link] |
Planning my corner of the virtual world: The Jorge Luis Borges Book Center and Dog Park
This evening I will be attending an event at MIT titled
" It's a Small World: How Virtual Communities Are Changing the Ways We Relate"
(6-8:30 p.m. at the MIT Campus Broad Institute NE 30, corner of Main Street and Ames Street).
The registration Web site mentioned homework, so, as one of the discussion topics will be "What Kind of World Would You Make: Second Life as Thought Experiment," I decided to do the Hermione thing and plan my corner of the virtual world.
*The Jorge Luis Borges Book Center and Dog Park*
with explanations about accessibility and how a visually-impaired user accesses a visual interface
First, a couple of facts regarding people with disabilities as a potential market.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, games
|
|
05:19 pm
[Link] |
Recommendations for improving access to virtual worlds
The March issue of AccessWorld is just out
http://www.afb.org/accessworld
and it includes an article which makes recommendations for improving accessibility to virtual worlds. The opening of the article muses on a real-life inaccessible space as one of the writers attempted to locate the elevator in a hotel with muddled acoustics. This points to one potential use of combining virtual worlds and accessibility: the possibility of using virtual worlds to help improve the access of real spaces. I have to say, sometimes I really wonder what the engineers were thinking when they designed something that was supposed to be accessible.
Case in point: have you noticed the audible cross signal in Central Square directly in fron of the Starbuck's, which gives the visually-impaired a go-ahead signal for a crosswalk where *no one ever stops*.
Exploring Methods of Accessing Virtual Worlds
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw090207
We present some possible solutions for accessible navigation and
communication in virtual worlds such as Second Life
William S. Carter and Guido D. Corona
Other articles of potential interest:
Music Is His Life and His Livelihood: An Interview With Bill Mccann of
Dancing Dots
We interview the maestro of a company that makes composing and printing
music accessible--Deborah Kendrick
Surfing into the Future: An Introduction to Web 2.0
Having trouble using MySpace, YouTube or Basecamp? We examine the
reasons--Stephanie Bassler
+ reviews of lots of new access technologies
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, blindness, games, universal design
|
|
11:47 am
[Link] |
On creating subtitles for silms + Oliver Stone discusses turning history into film
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dariusk pointed me to this entertaining and educational rant titled
"Subtitle Your Fucking Movie,"
http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/000597.html
which argues that subtitles increase the enjoyment potential for many audience members, so filmmakers should stop thinking about subtitles as quote just unquote a deafness thing.
And here is another film-related link from LearnOutLoud.com (it's free if you register with the site):
An Evening with Oliver Stone: A Dialogue on Classic Filmmaking
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Arts-and-Entertainment/Film_-Music_-Radio_-TV_-and-Pop-Culture/An-Evening-with-Oliver-Stone/19496
Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone struggles with how Hollywood adapts history, in this insightful one on one discussion provided on video from UCTV. Interviewed just after finishing his epic take on the life of Alexander the Great, Stone provides the details of a film that took years of research and devotion, only to be criticized and panned upon release.
Here Stone gives a harrowing account of what it takes to make history sellable in today's movie landscape and reveals a filmmaker that is as educated and opinionated as any scholar on the subject. This title is available on streaming and downloadable video from Google Video.
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, media, movies
|
|
09:30 am
[Link] |
Accessibility in games links and resources
Someone asked about resources on this topic, so here is a short list of links and articles where one can learn more about what some people are doing about making mainstream games accessible or creating games which appeal to both disabled and abled gamers (thanks to simplychristina and vernicus for the links).
1. The International Game Developers Association Accessibility SIG
http://igda.org/accessibility
I would point you specifically to
the mailing list,
the news blog
http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/
--I just created a LJ feed for this named igd_access--
and the sections titled "Readings and Presentations" and "Game accessibility organizations."
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, games
|
|
01:28 pm
[Link] |
Article on designing accessibility into games
Via the OneSwitch.org.uk blog
http://switchgaming.blogspot.com/
this link to an Gamasutra article by
Eitan Glinert, who developed the AudiOdyssey audible rhythm game I helped test last summer,
Designing Games That Are Accessible To Everyone
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3538/designing_games_that_are_.php
Kes: One of the things I always find interesting about the varied comments one gets on anything relating to accessibility is that comments always seem to fall into three camps, the latter two of which often overlap:
1) It works for me and therefore I think it works for the majority/mainstream, so don't change it
and
2) This article made me think about how to do something I hadn't thought about before, cool!
and
3) I know someone with a disability and knowing them has gotten me thinking...
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, games
|
|
12:41 pm
[Link] |
More about access to virtual worlds + In which formats do blind readers get their books?
The AFB AccessWorld Extra just arrived in my inbox, and it included the results from a set of questions sent out in December regarding where blind readers get their books and in what formats they like to read. I am including that information here, but I also wanted to mention that the March issue will include an article titled
Exploring Methods of Accessing Virtual Worlds by William S. Carter and Guido D. Corona
We provide an introduction to virtual worlds and propose ways of making them
accessible to people who are blind.
Here is the book info, and I just want to note that I am in a minority due to my preference for text over audio.
block quote start
In December, we asked about reading electronic books. We received 100
responses.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, books, ebooks, virtual worlds
|
09:55 am
[Link] |
As Ray Kurzweil discusses the future of games at GDC, PWD remain excluded
As Ray Kurzweil, one of the most significant innovators in regard to adaptive technologies, is set to deliver the major keynote speech at GDC, it is interesting to note that people with disabilities, including vision, hearing, and mobility impairments, are still being significantly left out of the mainstream games that reporters are discussing in regard to the banner year of 2007. Game culture, like the rest of culture at large, is one of the ways in which people share experiences, not just entertainment, and as virtual worlds expand to include employment, education, and social opportunities, the disregard of equal access for everyone is becoming one more way for people with disabilities to be left out of the future being discussed--and designed-- now.
A couple of tidbits on the GDC:
1. Future of video game industry taking shape at GDC
Posted by Daniel Terdiman
block quote start
One thing that strikes me about how video games are intersecting with people's lives in 2008, and it was made abundantly clear over the Christmas holidays, when it was
simply impossible to find a Nintendo Wii
for sale anywhere, is that finally, the medium is truly mainstream.
And while there will always be a significant segment of the industry that caters to and is serviced by hard-core gamers, what's becoming evident is that there's almost no one who is left out of what video gaming is today. And for those who are left out, that may not be true as the years progress. I suspect that that is something Kurzweil will touch on, at least briefly.
"It's a very exciting time in the game industry, in that we have this growing recognition of the important of casual and family-oriented content," said Jamil Moledina, the director of GDC. "You're seeing it in the $60 packaged (games) and in the $10 downloads. It's a perfect storm of factors poised to really expand the game industry."
block quote end
2. Game creators look to the future
By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: disgruntled
Tags: accessibility, games
|
09:29 am
[Link] |
Documentation and an mp3 presentation on Mac's Voiceover program
Posted by Greg Kearney to the Daisy Talking Book list are a number of informative links about the Mac text-to-speech program, Voiceover, including
* an mp3 file of a presentation of Leopard Accessibility given by Mike Shebanek of Apple 10 October 2007
and
* Apple Computer's VoiceOver Getting Started documentation for VoiceOver screen navigation system built into MacOS X version 10.5 (Leopard), available in several formats, including various Daisy and audio formats, Grade 2 braille, and PDF.
You can find these resources here
http://www.cucat.org/books/vogs/vogs.php
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: accessibility, tts, voiceover
|
|
09:39 am
[Link] |
Accessible games list, BBC dramatizations, more
From the Top Tech Tidbits newsletter
http://www.flying-blind.com/tttenews/02142008/index.html
1) Thanks to
http://www.blindbargains.com,
we learn about We Can Play, a web site with an associated mailing list devoted to the principle that many mainstream video games can be played by people
with little or no vision.
http://www.wecanplay.info/index.php?title=Main_Page
2) The creator of The Ranger Station is an enthusiast of Big Finish, a British site which is licensed to create high quality audio dramatized versions
of several popular science fiction TV series, including Dr. Who, Dark Shadows, and Stargate.
http://www.bigfinish.com/
3) Google Hacks is an open-source collection of search enhancements for Google, enabling you to conduct a variety of searches and do some lesser-known
things with the Google service.
http://code.google.com/p/googlehacks
( more below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.wumb.org
Tags: accessibility, blindness, games, google, media
|
|
12:06 pm
[Link] |
Google and Gmail tips and tricks
From today's Daily Bits newsletter
http://www.dailybits.com/
come various tips, tools, and tricks for improving and customizing your gmail interface. A number of these have potential benefits for visually-impaired gmail users like myself who may want a cleaner more simple interface for navigating gmail.
If you want more tips and tricks regarding accessibility, check out
TechTalk's "Harnessing the Power of Google," available on the archives page
http://www.accessibleworld.org./category/site-categories/tek-talk-archives
presented by Anna Dresner, author of Get Going with Google, available through the National Braille Press http://www.nbp.org
The Gmail Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
http://evhead.com/hodgepodge/gmail-shortcuts.html
( many more links below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: Lorena McKinnet live http://www.wumb.org
Tags: accessibility, gmail, google, interfaces, usability
|
|
02:43 pm
[Link] |
NPR survey for visually impaired users
Kes: I just filled out this survey, and the ultimate goal is to provide more functionality for visually impaired users, so all you NPR fans out there may wish to take the time to fill out the survey.
Towson University and National Public Radio are looking for visually
impaired participants to survey about their experiences with media
devices and user interfaces. If interested, please provide your name,
contact information, and preferred contact method (phone, email) Dan Schwab at
dschwab@npr.org
or (202) 513-2466.
Current Location: library
Current Mood: geeky
Tags: accessibility, media, npr
|
|
12:50 pm
[Link] |
WGBH jobs: video describer
WGBH has been advertising a lot of media and software development jobs lately, but I thought I would pass this one along because I know people out there who could do this. Also, I know someone who worked in this position, and I could put you in contact with her if anyone is interested.
http://careers.wgbh.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Apply.woa/wo/0.12.10.1.0
Tags: accessibility, jobs, wgbh
|
|
10:35 am
[Link] |
Online talk on accessible cell phones
Kes: This sounds like it is going to talk about both some cool phones and some very cool applications--reading books on your cell, that's definitely very tempting.
Topic: cell phone accessibility
Presenters: Earl Harrison, President, and Kelly Dunn, HandyTech North
America. 651-636-5184 EMail: earle@handytech.us
Web: http://www.handytech.us
During the online interactive Tek Talk program this week, Earl Harrison and
Kelly Dunn from HandyTech North America will discuss the features and
capabilities of various phones using the Mobile Speak screen reader from
Code Factory. They will demonstrate commonly used features such as using the
address book, sending text messages, checking battery level, ETC.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: library
Tags: accessibility, phones
|
|
11:44 am
[Link] |
Captcha cracked in porn game
herooftheage pointed me to this one: I had heard years ago that captcha was not the security hurdle it was claimed to be, but this is the first mainstream news I've heard that supports this.
from Schneier on Security
http://www.schneier.com/blog/
Spammers Using Porn to Break Captchas
block quote start
Spammers have created a Windows game which shows a woman in a state of undress when people correctly type in text shown in an accompanying image.
The scrambled text images come from sites which use them to stop computers automatically signing up for accounts that can be put to illegal use.
By getting people to type in the text the spammers can take over the accounts and use them to send junk mail.
I've been saying that spammers would start doing this for years. I'm actually surprised it took this long.
block quote end
Current Location: library
Current Mood: evil glee
Current Music: Eric Burdon and the Animals, Ring of Fire
Tags: accessibility, captcha
|
10:19 am
[Link] |
Getting started with Voiceover files produced in Daisy/mp3 formats
Greg Kearney posted the following message to a Daisy Talking Book list:
block quote start
> I have produced VoiceOver Getting Started for Leopard as a DAISY
> 2.02 and DAISY/NISO 2005 book. This is a full text/full audio book
> with images and image descriptions.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: library
Current Music: Dave Alvin, Tramps and Hawkers
Tags: accessibility, tts, voiceover
|
[<< Previous 20 entries] |