True! And the first line of my message clearly states that I am not in favor of such a carrier! However, assuming that high tech is for everyone is a somewhat insular and elitist attitude and not helpful for those who desire simplicity. I want everyone, blind or sighted to be able to decide what will best suit their needs.
You can have an off day, but you can't have a day off! ---The Art of Fielding Sent from my Mac Book Pro richr...@gmail.com On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:22 PM, Donna Goodin <doniado...@me.com> wrote: > Hi Richard, > > But what you're proposing is very different from the special phone, special > carrier thing. *Everybody, sighted or blind, should have the right to choose > the type of phone they want, and of course there are blind individuals who > would not choose a smart phone, just as there are sighted individuals who > would make that same choice. Having the option of a plain, simple phone on a > regular carrier such as VZ, ATT, etc. is a very different thing from having a > blind-only phone on a blind-only carrier. > Cheers, > Donna > On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:15 PM, Richard Ring <richr...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I am not, I repeat I am not in favor of a special carrier dedicated to >> people who happen to be blind. However, having spent many years dealing with >> people from all walks of life with varying degrees of technological savvy, I >> do wish a mainstream carrier would bring forth a relatively simple phone >> that would allow the user to make calls, maintain a list of contacts, and >> send and receive text messages. The Haven from Verizon was such a phone. >> I believe that some of us fail to realize that there are many people both >> sighted and blind who might benefit from simplicity! >> I personally love my iPhone, and all that it allows me to do, but I don't >> wish to become so immersed in technology that I fail to realize that complex >> smart phones are not for everyone. >> When you deal with people who are not on your particular technological >> level, the issues become different. >> My wish is that for those who are either blind or suffering from severe >> vision loss that there be a fairly uncomplicated, mainstream accessible >> phone. >> That makes far more sense to me than having a special carrier. >> >> >> You can have an off day, but you can't have a day off! ---The Art of Fielding >> Sent from my Mac Book Pro >> richr...@gmail.com >> >> On Jun 7, 2013, at 11:50 AM, Donna Goodin <doniado...@me.com> wrote: >> >>> But preference in this case doesn't justify the potential loss for the rest >>> of us who don't want to take the easy way out. also, I don't buy the >>> preference argument in situations like this. If all my life everyone has >>> always waited on me and I've never been expected to learn to do anything >>> for myself, of course my preference will be that that would continue. But >>> it certainly isn't in my best interest to live my life that way, because at >>> some point, someone isn't going to do everything for me and if I haven't >>> developed the skills I need, I won't be equipped to stand on my own two >>> feet when the time comes. >>> Cheers, >>> Donna >>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 11:40 AM, "Michael Babcock, Marketing and Sales Manager, >>> Commtech LLC" <michael.babcoc...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> This is also a preference thing. For example, I was researching other >>>> carriers yesterday, and a particular carrier Lightyear wireless kept >>>> popping up. I honestly don't even know what they are, it looks like some >>>> pyramid scheme program, however, I do know that there are probably some >>>> people out there because again it kept coming up. So, it's up to the >>>> individual who wants to use it, and I do think it would be a. Interesting >>>> program to monitor, and see how well it does. I also do like the fact that >>>> it states that 2% of the voice plans will go to organizations that support >>>> the blind, so it would be interesting to see which organizations those >>>> are, and if those organizations are behind this network! >>>> AT&T offers a disability number, I don't have it on hand. I am pretty sure >>>> that Verizon does as well, and I know Sprint customer service individuals >>>> have documentation about accessibility. So, three of the four major >>>> carriers I am pretty sure have access to accessibility information. It is >>>> up to the customer service representative whether or not they want to >>>> actually research the questions that a blind or visually impaired >>>> individual might have. This particular carrier, should consider marketing >>>> the fact that they have customer service individuals trained in the >>>> knowledge of accessibility options on mobile devices, and that way there >>>> not solely advertising to the blind or visually impaired or disabled >>>> market. Just my two cents honestly! Sorry if this upsets anyone. >>>> Michael >>>> >>>> Michael Babcock >>>> Marketing and Sales Manager >>>> Commtech LLC >>>> Web: http://commtechusa.net >>>> phone: (888) 351-5289 Ext. 704 >>>> Fax: (480) 535-7649 >>>> >>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 10:27 AM, Christine Grassman <cgrassman1...@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> That's fine -- but we should be able to call such a carrier on any phone >>>>> we wish, not proprietary phones for that carrier especially. Also, there >>>>> could still be a company, web site, etc., which specializes in this sort >>>>> of help, without giving the false impression that a specific carrier must >>>>> be set aside for us. In my experience, Apple has always been able to >>>>> find someone who knew about VoiceOver enough to help, or the rep >>>>> researched it and got back to me. I would be willing to stake money that >>>>> sighted people have called Apple or other companies, and have spoken to >>>>> reps who needed to do some research on a particular issue. Few reps are >>>>> familiar with every possible bug, every technical glitch, tip, shortcut, >>>>> or troubleshooting strategy. >>>>> Christine >>>>> >>>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:19 PM, "Michael Babcock, Marketing and Sales >>>>> Manager, Commtech LLC" <michael.babcoc...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I think we all are looking at this the completely wrong way! Look at it >>>>>> from this point of view, you're able to dial 611 from your phone, >>>>>> because somehow you disabled speech on your iPhone. However, in the >>>>>> current time, if we dialed 611 and STA just how we would be able to >>>>>> enable speech on our iOS device again, they might ask us what we are >>>>>> talking about, or transfer us around to a myriad of different >>>>>> individuals who still don't know what we're talking about. However, if a >>>>>> blind person is able to pick up his phone, dial 611, and receive >>>>>> assistive technology assistance, this might be more beneficial to him. >>>>>> In addition, there are several smaller carriers out there, especially >>>>>> running on the T-Mobile network, like this one appears to do. Just >>>>>> something to think about, imagine being able to call customer service, >>>>>> and getting assistance using jaws to read that bill, or voiceover, on >>>>>> your new iPhone especially if you're brand-new customer. >>>>>> >>>>>> Michael Babcock >>>>>> Marketing and Sales Manager >>>>>> Commtech LLC >>>>>> Web: http://commtechusa.net >>>>>> phone: (888) 351-5289 Ext. 704 >>>>>> Fax: (480) 535-7649 >>>>>> >>>>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 9:54 AM, Mike Arrigo <n0...@charter.net> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> We really don't, especially with the out of box accessibility that is >>>>>>> provided by IOS and Android. There's simply no need for specialty >>>>>>> phones. >>>>>>> Original message: >>>>>>>> Does anyone know anything about these phones or this project? Seems >>>>>>>> pretty pointless if you want more than just a phone, and the full >>>>>>>> range of experiences available to the sighted on any mobile carrier. >>>>>>>> Why on earth do we need a special phone carrier? Separate and >>>>>>>> marginalized, rather than expecting to be included in available >>>>>>>> services. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Christine >>>>>>>> http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/05/odin-mobile-first-mobile-service-provider-for-the-visually-impaired/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at >>>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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