“Social media has the potential to provide an array of new opportunities to people with disabilties. But when it comes to sites such as Twitter, more needs to be done…”
Quoting Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian, U.S.-based disability and civil rights lawyers:
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“Dear members of the blind community:
As we approach the end of the year, we are asking for your help in making sure the settlement agreements negotiated by ACB and its affiliates are working well. Feedback from individuals about Talking ATMs, accessible credit reports, tactile Point of Sale devices, accessible pedestrian signals, and accessible websites is critical to the success of Structured negotiations. Please take a minute to read this email and send us feedback on any of the issues raised here. We can be reached through Lainey’s email at: LF@LFLegal.com or by calling toll-free to Linda’s office at 1-800-822-5000. Thanks in advance for your help, and wishing everyone a peaceful holiday season.
Feedback needed about the following:
(1) Accessible Credit Reports: Credit reports are available in Braille, Large Print, Audio CD, and on-line in an accessible format. Each person is entitled to three free credit reports per year, one from each national credit reporting company. If you haven’t received your free reports for this year, you can go on-line to www.annualcreditreport.com, or call toll free 877-322-8228 (you will be offered the chance to choose your format towards the end of the phone tree. More information available at: http://lflegal.com/2008/12/credit-announce/
(2) Tactile Keypads: Ten national retailers have signed agreements with ACB, CCB, AFB and BSCB to install and maintain tactile keypads so that customers with visual impairments can privately enter their PIN and other confidential information. The stores have trained staff on these issues, but if blind shoppers don’t use the devices, this training is often forgotten. If you are able in the next month or so to shop at any of the following retailers and can use a debit or other PIN-based card, we’d appreciate hearing from you: 7-Eleven, CVS, Target, Rite-Aid, RadioShack, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Wal-Mart, Staples and Dollar General. (Please recognize that the full roll-out has not yet been completed at all these chains.)
When blind customers use a PIN-based card at these retailers it helps all of us to monitor the settlements reached as a result of Structured Negotiations and lets the companies know that these changes are important. A short summary of all the POS settlement agreements with links to the full agreement is available on Lainey’s website at http://lflegal.com/category/settlements/point-of-sale-settlements/. You can read all the press releases issued about these settlements at: http://lflegal.com/category/articles/settlement-agreement-press-releases/press-releases-point-of-sale/
(3) Accessible Websites: Blind community advocacy has been instrumental in making the internet more accessible to people with visual impairments. We are currently monitoring the following websites as a result of Structured Negotiations settlements, and would welcome feedback: Staples (www.staples.com); CVS (www.cvs.com); Bank of America (www.bankofamerica.com); Rite-Aid (www.riteaid.com) and RadioShack (www.radioshack.com). We are also interested in hearing about other websites, particularly health-care and health insurance related, with accessibility barriers.
(4) Talking ATMs: Ten years after the first Talking ATM was installed in the United States we continue to monitor Talking ATM progress. In particular, Bank of America, with the most Talking ATMs of any bank in the country has Talking ATMs at over 90% of its locations nationwide. Please let us know if you encounter any issues at any Bank of America Talking ATM, or with Talking ATMs at other institutions around the country.
(3) Accessible Pedestrian Signals in San Francisco As a result of the settlement with CCB, the LightHouse and the Independent Living Resource Center, San Francisco has installed Accessible Pedestrian Signals at close to 80 intersections throughout the City. Feedback on the devices is critical to ensuring effective implementation of the agreement.
Thanks for everyone’s continuing advocacy on these issues. Of course, if you have new issues about accessible information and technology you would like to bring to our attention, we’re always happy to hear about those too.
Lainey and Linda
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Lainey Feingold
Law Office of Lainey Feingold
http://LFLegal.com
510.548.5062
LF@LFLegal.com
Linda Dardarian
Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian
www.gdblegal.com
510.763.9800
LDardarian@gdblegal.com”
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It’s not uncommon for blind gamers to feel invisible in addition to visually impaired. For instance, when gamer Brandon Cole wrote [game developer] THQ a letter suggesting changes to make its Smackdown series of WWE wrestling games more accessible to the blind, he received a form letter back thanking him for his appreciation of the game’s graphics.
But now, one visually impaired gamer has gone beyond simply requesting accessibility features and is demanding them by way of a lawsuit. Last month, disabled gamer Alexander Stern filed suit against Sony, Sony Online Entertainment, and Sony Computer Entertainment America in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The suit alleges that Sony is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to implement features to make its games accessible to visually impaired gamers.
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that, “No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”
According to the suit, Sony ignored repeated … Continue reading this article on gamespot.com
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Read Irked posts tagged “blind”
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Virtual Helping Hands (VHH) is a coalition of four groups, united in their mission “to bring people who have disabilities into Second Life so everyone can enjoy what Second Life offers—entertainment, education, and employment. Everyone can explore and enjoy the same virtual worlds of the Immersive Internet”….with just a teensy weensy li’l bit of code tweaking.
According to Orbit Research promo materials:
Orbit Research recently announced the introduction of the iBill, billed as “the world’s first affordable Talking Banknote Identifier for the blind and the visually impaired.” Priced at $99, the 1.5 ounce iBill is pager-sized. It enables the blind and the visually impaired community to achieve independence in the everyday necessity of using paper currency, which sighted people take for granted.
Measuring just 3 inches by 1.6 inches by 0.7 inches, the ultra-slim and compact design allows it to be carried unobtrusively in a pocket, purse, clipped to the belt or attached to a keychain or lanyard. Among the features that set it apart from other such devices are the extremely high accuracy (better than 99.9%) and the near-instantaneous speed (less than one second in most cases) with which it identifies banknotes.
The iBill is designed with the sole purpose of providing the simplest, fastest and most accurate means to identify U.S. banknotes. Its unique ergonomic design permits easy and intuitive use without the need for any training or practice. Upon insertion of a banknote into the device, its denomination is identified at the press of a button. Based on the user’s preference, the denomination is announced by a clear and natural voice, or by tone or vibration for privacy. The unit identifies all U.S. banknotes in circulation and recognizes them in any orientation. Banknotes in poor physical condition are indicated as unidentifiable and are not misread. The unit is also upgradeable to recognize new banknote designs.
The iBill achieves all of this while operating on a single, commonly available AAA battery which lasts for over a year with typical use. Its durable construction and sealed design ensure trouble-free use. The unit is backed by a one-year warranty from Orbit Research, and toll-free customer support.
Samples of the iBill are available for evaluation now and Orbit Research is accepting orders.
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Then…
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Brent A. Gifford aka “The Great Blindini” is what they call a Master Magician. He’s been performing reality-bending, sleight-of-hand magic all across North America for more than three decades.
But here’s the kicker: Blindini started performing magic shortly after he went blind, at age 12. He was intent on proving that he could “do anything a sighted person could do. It was the most ‘visual’ thing [he] could think of doing…”
Furthermore, The Great Blindini thought up one of the funniest taglines EVER to promote his act.
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Last week, we told you about HumanWare’s very groovy Trekker Breeze handheld talking GPS for people who are blind and visually impaired. But the company makes MANY cutting-edge, disability-friendly products! Check out these two BBC videos about another one of HumanWare’s groundbreaking devices—The DeafBlind Communicator (DBC), conceived by Washington state’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, built by the Canadian company HumanWare and perfected with feedback from members of Seattle’s deaf-blind community, consists of a Braille note-taker linked by Bluetooth to a mobile phone:
The Trekker Breeze, designed and manufactured by the company HumanWare, is a handheld talking GPS for people who are blind/visually impaired that “can be controlled by one hand” and is ”as simple as your TV remote.” It costs $895USD, and here’s what it can do: It verbally announces names of streets, intersections and landmarks (including stores, public services, etc) as you walk. No need to stop passersby to know where you are… simply press a button and Breeze tells you your location on the spot. When you are in a vehicle, Breeze announces all intersections, allowing you to exit when you want. If you get lost, you can easily retrace your steps—simply push a button. You can record the routes when you learn them with sighted people so that you can use them later without assistance, and also save landmarks for later use (i.e. favourite restaurant, friend’s house, bank, park bench, etc).
