And that is why I'm very supportive of what APple has done and will continue to do and I hope they do just that. On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:23 PM, Richie Gardenhire wrote:
> And for this reason, I feel that many state agencies, (Alaska's, being > one of them)will be cutting back services, in favor of other things > and as Mark so eloquently pointed out, the elderly, the poor, and the > disabled, will be hurt first. I know thisis a different subject line > from what was originally intended, and I apologize for that, but I > will say one more thing on this, and that is that I'm in favor of > universal design so that blind people can walk into any store and > purchase off-the-shelf software and get it working and we not be > forced to be co-dependent on state agencies to purchase our stuff. I > guess, in a way, I'm against state agencies for the reasons I stated > above. Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. > > > On Nov 30, 2009, at 10:32 AM, carlene knight wrote: > > Hi Mark: > > I certainly don't hold a grudge as everybody is entitled to their > opinion. However, if it weren't for the Commission for the blind here > in Oregon, there is no way that I could perform the job I was hired > for. I had to have a programmer write JAWS scripts so that I could > get to the buttons, read the drop down boxes that just had graphics > for names, etc. I couldn't have afforded the thousands of dollars that > has costed. He is working as we speak since the company I work for > has changed software and everything we had done in the past regarding > the original software is now null and void. I could have not afforded > a Braille display at about 12,000 dollars. I can say with certainty > that there are few if any companies that would provide any of these > services. Unfortunately many government funded agencies, including > the Oregon Commission for the blind do know little about Mac > accessibility as they have contracts with certain vendors, and, face > it,whether we like it or not, a majority of companies still use > Windows based software. My husband and I both decided on our own to > try the Mac, and though I've had some problems, I'm glad I did. I've > learned it without an instructor. We nearly lost our Commission last > summer so when I hear people talking about how we shouldn't have > government agencies such as this, I have to disagree though they do > have their problems. Yes, some people do rely on others to much, but > not all of us do. Like you, I grew up in the public school system in > a rural area. I was born blind also. I'll get off my soap box now. > > On Nov 30, 2009, at 10:51 AM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: > >> You, and I to a lesser extent, and others are the exception. I was >> born blind, didn't go to any institutions for the blind, was raised as >> an only child, mostly in rural Vermont with minimal help from state >> agencies. Graduated from Dartmouth when I was 20, again with minimal >> if any help from agencies--didn't have my first experience with any >> agencies or institutions for the blind until I was 24, when the >> Carroll Center was offering a medical transcription course and I >> needed another, safer place to be. They kicked me out of their dorm, >> making me homeless, after six weeks there. Rehab flatly refused to >> support me and my music career in any way, and pressured me to go to >> the Carroll Center in the first place, then pressured me to get >> therapy and reform my ways when they made me homeless. I only started >> cautiously learning how to deal with the agencies in 2007, when it >> became clear that my failing hearing was going to force me out of the >> transcription career I'd had for 13+ years. I learned Jaws and >> Windows essentially by myself, as I've always been good with tech. >> Even now, while I may have learned a little about how to get along >> with the agencies and get what I need, it's a very uneasy truce at >> best./ I hope to be starting a job at another institution for the >> blind soon, but this time as a trainer, not a student, which hopefully >> will turn out better. You can see why I advocate for the abolition of >> such systems. They do not foster independence of thinking, and tend >> to punish outside-the-box people, in my experience. I do realize that >> people blinded later in life may not adapt as fully as those born >> blind; I'm learning that as I lose my hearing, so I have the privilege >> of seeing both sides of the coin, but think about what that implies-- >> that the pressure on those whose world has already been blasted by >> losing their sight will essentially become putty in the hands of high- >> pressure agencies who are set in their ways. The system seems to >> punish at both ends--if you're too independent, you're pressured to >> conform; if you're new to blindness, you're taught not to think for >> yourself. Hell, I didn't even do mobility orienting stuff until last >> year, when Rehab here in CA suggested I ry it, and I decided, in the >> interests of keeping the peace, what the heck; my mobility teacher >> quickly realized that there was very little, beyond the immediate >> rehearsing of directions, that she could improve upon what I and my >> dog were already going. Since I got Trekker, that's even more so; now >> that Trekker is temporarily broken, I truly feel the loss. :) I don't >> see how the agencies really have done me any good, other than in the >> purely material realm, and if I weren't as articulate as I am about >> stating my needs, and as forceful as I am about what I need, which >> most people are not, even that gain might be minimal, and even now the >> damage is significant. So, that's where my beef with the system(s) >> comes in; sorry if that makes it a personal grudge, but there you are >> then. >> >> >> Mark BurningHawk Baxter >> >> Skype and Twitter: BurningHawk1969 >> MSN: burninghawk1...@hotmail.com >> My home page: >> http://MarkBurningHawk.net/ >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >> . >> >> > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en > . > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
