Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-07 Thread John G. Heim
, there will always be a way to connect a keyboard if you want it. - Original Message - From: "David Denne" To: Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 7:42 PM Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium >I think that if you get a touch screen device of any kind really it'

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread David Denne
l the keys. Most keyboards even have extra bumps on the f, j, and >>> numpad >>> 5 keys so people can find them easier. >>> >>> I just bought a mini USP keyboard from the Apple Store. Its way flatter >>> than >>> a regular keyboard but its not per

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Scott Howell
nt to compose an email yourself than to have your secretary > compose it for you. > - Original Message ----- > From: "Scott Howell" > To: > Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 12:48 PM > Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium > > > John, that is t

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
The problem is that, because every brain is pruned differently, it responds differently to "identical," stimuli; thus telepathy is a very slim shot indeed. However, I think the conventional keyboard is on its way out in favor of more efficient ways to use all ten of those fingers to get mo

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread John G. Heim
compose it for you. - Original Message - From: "Scott Howell" To: Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 12:48 PM Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium John, that is true and in talking to a friend of mine who has really taken to the iPhone as I have and he is sighted, h

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Yeah, I noticed the USB model. :) Wonder if they make a FireWire version of that. I wrote my first novel-length work on one of those Apple 90s style keyboards; if I had cash to drop, I'd consider one of those. The MBP keyboard is fine, but should probably be preserved for when it's not j

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Blouch
Right, but at best you still have the contextual phonetic issues of which witch is which. Also, a keyboard won't require training to figure out what letters you meant. The new automated closed caption system from Google is going to be interesting as they refine the algorithims: http://googleblo

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Blouch
One update they did make is that it works with USB now so you probably could get one for your mac. Web site is http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/ The Customizer 101 is $69. I also liked the old school Apple full-size ADB keyboards from the early 90s. Not as loud as IBM's but I could still ty

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Mac Book Pro 15. -- 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

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Hofstader
I kept my IBM AT keyboard until the SPACEBAR fell of for the lst time and SuperGlue was no good anymore. I loved that keyboard. I must say, though, that I really dig the MacBook Pro keyboard even without the old IBM punch back keys. Oh... I just realized what an MBP15 is... On Dec 4, 2009, at

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
MUAHAHAHAHA! I should have never given up my model M! I'm such a loser! I wonder if they'd make me an Apple Model M *big dreamy eyes* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@google

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Hofstader
What is an MBP15? On Dec 4, 2009, at 1:43 PM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: > Well, that may be a point. I do relish the action of a good keyboard, > and it wasn't until I got much better hearing aids that I finally gave > up on my IBM model M keboard; built like a tank, all metal parts, rea

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Hofstader
Actually, the latest and greatest voice recognition systems are amazingly accurate after they have been adequately trained. "Adequate" training does thak hundreds of hours of use and being incredibly faithful to correcting the mistakes the software makes. Few people who can type are willing to

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Blouch
NPR did a bit about those keyboards back in January. You might find it interesting. They cater to a niche market that still cares and will pay more than $3 for the good feel of a key click. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100076874 CB Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: > Well,

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Scott Howell
> generally, you don't see them because people don't like them. > > - Original Message - > From: "Mark BurningHawk Baxter" > To: > Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 10:38 AM > Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium > > >>

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Well, that may be a point. I do relish the action of a good keyboard, and it wasn't until I got much better hearing aids that I finally gave up on my IBM model M keboard; built like a tank, all metal parts, real springs, and I loved the action on that puppy. The only keyboard that could d

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread John G. Heim
nt: Friday, December 04, 2009 10:38 AM Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium > Keyboard, or touch-input alphanumerical devices, sure, but they'll be > touch screen or nonstandard shapes and sizes; it behooves the blind > person, I think, to get used to the fact and start

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Keyboard, or touch-input alphanumerical devices, sure, but they'll be touch screen or nonstandard shapes and sizes; it behooves the blind person, I think, to get used to the fact and start breaking away from traditional QWERTY; I never learned DVORAK or any other of the keyboard configurati

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-04 Thread Chris Blouch
I dunno. As long as the primary form of stored and forwarded communication is written text, the fastest way to generate that text is either going to be strong native speech recognition or a physical interface that makes use of all 10 fingers, if possible. Even though voice recognition keeps pro

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-03 Thread Chris Hofstader
Hell, I just woke my wife up to drive me to a mental health hospital to sign myself in for a few days on your recommendation that I should be committed . The truth is that I'm pretty nuts and I didn't find your incomplete note as anything but amusing banter. cdh On Dec 2, 2009, at 11:23 PM, pe

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-02 Thread peter apgar
Chris, please accept my sincere apologies. the below message was not the completed response i had intended on posting. after reading the below posting i have unintentuly falsely targeted you personally. My intent was to poke fun and note one of my own experiences. however i have no

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-02 Thread peter apgar
you should be committed. it's your fault for assuming. learn to communicate and all of your listed issues will be resolved. Good luck, Go nfb :( On Dec 1, 2009, at 9:44 AM, Chris Hofstader wrote: > I am so sick of teaching random citizens about guide dogs, blindness, that I > don't need a

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Pete Nalda
Not all schools in the US grant full ownership of dogs @ graduation. Some do, but others don't until after a period of time. On Dec 1, 2009, at 11:54 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote: > Hi, > The difference, as i understand it, and correct me if i'm wrong here, is that > in the States, you actually o

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Before moving to the Bay Area of California, I'd agree with you. but the crazy way people act around here, the amount of hassle I get from pig--cops--around here, even *AFTER* I cut my hair back to a crewcut... I don't take anything for granted. Plus, Guiding Eyes and I have had our diffe

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Tyler Littlefield
dogs but I've never met anyone who has > experienced this. > > > -Original Message- > From: Krister Ekstrom [mailto:kris...@kristersplace.com] > Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 1:54 PM > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: no mac for blind peop

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Thomas McMahan
Depends on the school in the U. S. Some contracts say in large print one thing such as "end user" owns, but in small print there is some wiggle room for the organization. The organization still however, may have to proceed through legal meens to get the dog back. In other words they have

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Well, now, I care very little for who says they own what; there's another thing in the states that goes "Possession is nine tenths of the law." It's whom the *DOG* chooses that matters more to me. Having said that, I will now give the facts for my guide dog school: Guiding Eyes for the Bli

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread carlene knight
Some of the organizations give you full ownership and some don't. For the ones that do there is usually a fee of about $200. On Dec 1, 2009, at 11:54 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote: > Hi, > The difference, as i understand it, and correct me if i'm wrong here, is that > in the States, you actually ow

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Scott Howell
Amen brother!!! On Dec 1, 2009, at 11:05 AM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: > Hell, I've had people call the cops on me and my guide dog--it was > easier to convince the cop that no, I was not abusing the dog, that > yes, the dog loved me and was a working animal, that the person who > calle

RE: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread John W. Carty
this. -Original Message- From: Krister Ekstrom [mailto:kris...@kristersplace.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 1:54 PM To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium Hi, The difference, as i understand it, and correct me if i'm wrong here, is th

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread anouk radix
Hello, This is the way in which it is done in the Netherlands as well, the school owns the dog and loans it to the end user. I have heard of some cases though in the states in chich a dog was taken a way from its owner (i mean a guidedog not a normal dog). Greetings, Anouk, On Dec 1, 2009, at 8:

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Krister Ekstrom
Hi, The difference, as i understand it, and correct me if i'm wrong here, is that in the States, you actually own the dog. In Sweden it's the blindness organization that owns the guide dogs, we just use them, borrow if you so will and so taking a dog away is perfectly ok, if the owner so chooses

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Yeah, and for that unfortunate half a blind person, finding a kidney before you get the job is just impossible! Not to mention legs and a half torso... :) Mark BurningHawk Baxter Skype and Twitter: BurningHawk1969 MSN: burninghawk1...@hotmail.com My home page: http://MarkBurningHawk.net/

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
The keyboard will become obsolete in the next 10-20 years; this is a prediction I'm making now. It was invented in the 19th century for the manual typewriter. It's going to go the way of the cathode ray tube; it's primitive. Blind people either adapt or they get left behind. I can't affo

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Hell, I've had people call the cops on me and my guide dog--it was easier to convince the cop that no, I was not abusing the dog, that yes, the dog loved me and was a working animal, that the person who called them was uninformed... etc. If anyone wants to take a dog away from me, they're

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
My ultimate trigger are the people who ask, "does he want a braille menu?" or something similar as if I wasn't actually there. This is a real zero level interrupt for me that I need to fight hard not to blow out a sequence of profanity (I am originally from New Jersey where such language is pr

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
That phone, called Oasis in the US, was an entirely private venture although they did get a loan from Once in Spain on which I think they defaulted. I am good friends with one of the people who led the organization here in the US and she's using an iPhone these days. As I've said, a mass marke

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
I am so sick of teaching random citizens about guide dogs, blindness, that I don't need a wheelchair or assistance walking up a jet way, how I can dial a telephone, how I can pee into a urinal without missing - you name it, that I can almost explode. An anecdote: In Harvard Square, the rapid t

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread JC Helary
On 1 déc. 2009, at 23:37, Chris Hofstader wrote: > According to NFB numbers, there are 1.5 blind people and about 10 million low > vision in the US. With a total population of over 300 million, we are an > absolutely tiny fraction of the population. For people who rely on niche devices that i

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
According to NFB numbers, there are 1.5 blind people and about 10 million low vision in the US. With a total population of over 300 million, we are an absolutely tiny fraction of the population. cdh On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:50 PM, carlene knight wrote: > Unfortunately you have to be realistic tho

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
NFB does not actually try to push people toward JAWS and Windows. Their Macintosh/VO review was a pathetic example of poor journalism but they do and say rather mean things about lots of other products from FS and elsewhere. At one NFB convention, because OpenBook had fewer features in the Span

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Chris Hofstader
Hi, This should also go to the bs list to which I CC'd my response... I don't think I said "born blind" but, rather, blind at an early age versus into adulthood. Your comments on the resources that a community can muster, though, are entirely true. Even in the small towns, though, those blind

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Krister Ekstrom
That reminds me of what happened when i showed the iphone at a big vendors show here in Sweden. I got told that this was a new device and that people most likely never would switch because "blind people should use physical buttons, nothing more". Some said that this was a modern design interface

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Krister Ekstrom
Hi, I totally agree with much that you're saying. That's why i don't educate or inform people anymore, it's simply not worth the bother. People say that when people are prejudiced or ask stupid questions or are plain downright rude, it's because they aren't educated enough, but i've learned when

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-12-01 Thread Scott Howell
Wow, what a deal, I'd love to have gotten one for Christmas. In order to buy one for myself, my wife told me I had to buy her one as well. :) The one thing that made this purchase well worth it is when she needed some help, I could easily turn VoiceOver on and help her with her phone. That was n

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Richie Gardenhire
When I told her I was considering getting an iPhone after the first of the year, she said, "Why wait till then, when it's possible you may get one for Christmas." Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. On Nov 30, 2009, at 1:26 PM, Scott Howell wrote: Hey Richie, so now that the iPhone is acc

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
in 1990, when OutSpoken for the Mac came out and I was using it at my place of employment, I was asked to demonstrate it as a visually impaired computer users group in Boston, MA. I got up there and demonstrated it with four part harmony and feeling, and the guy from MS got up and started

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
it doesn't bother me really. I just laugh and know that I'm at least helping one person, which is what I care about. If the rest want to throw themselves in with the flock and kneel at the feet of the people in NFB, so be it. More power to them. While that might sound arrogant, it's more of a wa

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
I'm not good at covert, except insofar as the art of invisibility is concerned, and for me that has limited applications as of yet. I cannot stand to be disrespected to my face. Only recently have I been able to tolerate having someone be rude to me over the phone or by E- mail and take it

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
It would figure that it was the NFB. I went to a tech meeting there, and discussed the history of technology. While there they discussed how much the NFB affected technology and used examples, but they forgot to mention other companies; Voiceover, window eyes, speak up, orca, etc. I found it mil

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
Hey Richie, so now that the iPhone is accessible, what does she think about that? Considering she thought it was possible and now it is, she must be pretty impressed. :) On Nov 30, 2009, at 4:54 PM, Richie Gardenhire wrote: > Scott, I never would have had my interest peaked about the iPhone, >

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
It would, in fact be great to see jaws in the stores, but that'd just give FS a reason to double the costs. That and stocking jaws on shelves that won't ever need it. The stores actually have to pay for it, then pay for the new version when a new one comes out, etc. On Nov 30, 2009, at 1:50 PM,

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
Why are you dependent on agencies to do stuff? Your just as capable as they are of doing the research. More than likely your more capable because you won't just go with the normal and will choose what you like for whatever reasons. The hunt for accessible software is hard at times, but it's not

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
I know that the companies take huge advantage of the fact that they have a guaranteed nitch and can charge whatever they want. That's why I will not upgrade my JAWS SMA. For one thing I don't need it and secondly, I don't want to pay that kind of price for an upgrade, but FS knows that they ca

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
I'm with you on the anarchy, though I've chosen to just stay close mouthed about things I disagree with and take what I get and smile. If there is someone who I see is the same way or who I might be able to help by possibly pushing them off the ideals track, I'm totally willing to do so, though

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Exactly so. The fact is that I forget that I'm seen as disabled because I'm the strongest person in my world. To me, many people who try to "help," me are the ones in desperate need of help themselves, but I realize that this point of view is just switching the shoe to the other foot and

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Richie Gardenhire
Scott, I never would have had my interest peaked about the iPhone, were it not for my niece, Elisabeth, who had one and though she didn't show me how to operate it, she thought it could be adapted so that blind people could use it. Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. On Nov 30, 2009, at

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Richie Gardenhire
With all due respect, that argument has been used time and time again. To that, I say this: the best example of a product that has gone down in price because of the acceptance of it by the sighted community, is the optical scanner, which was originally intended for use by the blind for sca

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
Urrggg! We could get into a discussion about the NFB as I think they have made a lot of things worse in pretending we don't have different needs than the sighted workd. but I think that's an OT subject. I could write essays about it though. As I said, the sales people at Apple stores should

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
or better yet, call Microsoft and tell them that Apple is making their products accessible out of the box, why can't they. :) I agree with you 100% I have always hated the word "disabled." It sounds like everything is disabled, not just my eyes. I love my work place because people have disc

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Yep, I troll those sites all the time. :) Thanks. 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 pos

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
I love conversations like that! It's a rare treat for me when someone comes up and says, basically, "You're different from me and that fascinates me, and I want to learn." Usually what I get is "You're different from me and that makes me afraid, so I'm going to control what I fear so tha

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
Ah, well that is a good question. I'm a Program Manager for Work/Life and Benefits in human resources, but from a policy side of the hr world. You can check out http://nasajobs.nasa.gov or http://usajobs.opm.gov. Good luck, On Nov 30, 2009, at 4:07 PM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: > It's not

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
Mark, very interesting. I once was on a flight and this nice young lady started asking me about my dog. The conversation quickly turned to questions about being blind, about how I work with computers and the like and eventually to her showing me an Iphone. THis was before the iPhone was accessib

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
My first visit to an Apple store, the guy said "what over? Voice what? Oh, you mean that speech synthesizer program? we don't have that." When I showed him VoiceOver, instead of being helpful, he became defensive; "Well how'm I supposed to know about that? no one's ever used it before."

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
It's not a total failure, until it is, and then it'll be a spectacular failure. It's a quick-fix solution for a quick-fix world, where your food comes from a tube and your cure from a pill, where you travel 80 miles an hour to go nowhere. While this might sound like I"m disparaging Wester

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
As long as the blind define themselves as "disabled," they will have this problem. It's paradoxical, because as I said, I don't really like to be around lots of blind people all together in a group, and yet we, the blind people, need some sort of cohesive teaching / enabling power that wil

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
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 o

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
Unfortunately you have to be realistic though. I agree with you in a sense, but going into a store and buying JAWS or Window Eyes off of the shelf? That would be nice? that's one reason I like the Mac and accessories. The people in the Mac and Apple stores will likely not be trained for exte

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
Well there ya go Mark, you said it and I couldn't agree more. I didn't have the agencies etc. since I don't think my folks really knew about them. I grew up in a sighted world so to speak and learned to get along and work with what I had. THe county I lived in provided the tools to get through s

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
I am flattered that I made you think; that's the highest of compliments, thank you. It seems to me that the system is bass- ackwards. Instead of saying "what do you need?" and gently showing you how you can assist yourself, in other words assisting you to not need assistance, they say "thi

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Richie Gardenhire
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 wa

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
You've got a point. I wish I could do all of this on my own. OCB has been willing to step in after my employment to help me, but I know that many organizations don't. They do sign over expensive equipment which you are then responsible for getting repaired regardless of your income. I don't

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
The biggest way in which the sighted have power over the blind is just that; they teach the blind to pity themselves, to be dependent on the sighted and not upon themselves. Thank you for the kind words, by the way; I only hope I can earn them. :) I fall far short of my ideals in this res

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Hi, Carlene. You are a perfect example of my point. Generally put, they did not teach you to fish, they gave you some fish. Hell, I'm writing this on the Macbook DOR of California bought me; listening with the hearing aids they bought me... Maybe I'm a hypocrite, but I'm forced to use t

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
extra-Name doesn't sound familiar. When I got accepted to Dartmouth and started in 1986. I rarely went back because my parents and I didn't get along so well. I also found that training at the Carroll Center was far too slow for me, but the computer guy, Brian Charleston, recognized that

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
Mark, Reading your message, I have a lot of respect for you, and those like you. The blind community is littered with people who would've given up, or who make these agencies their life and conform to them. I recently attended the youthslam convention NFB hosted this last summer, in the

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread carlene knight
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 bu

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Tyler Littlefield
Hello chris, I haven't followed this thread, but I will put in my two cents where I've had experience. The main thing is the comment about the advantages of blind people from birth; while it may be easier to deal with, I've seen many people go blind at early ages (before teens) and in their teen

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Chris Hofstader
My only valuable experience with an agency was learning the little bit of braille that I know at a local Lighthouse. I've had lots of friends work at such places and I believe they do as good as they can under constant budgetary pressures and I think these people do so with hope rather than my

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
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 fr

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Chris Hofstader
I often share the frustration but I don't think the blame is entirely with the agencies. People blind from childhood are far more likely to be independent than are those of us who, like me, went blind later in life from RP or some other degenerative disorder or accident. The kids are "in the s

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Mark BurningHawk Baxter
gI think you've hit it right on the head--the blind are removed from the capitalist marketplace "for their own good." If we abolish the agencies, a lot of blind people would be left like fish flopping on the floor of a boat--having never been taught the principles nor given the power to co

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Scott Howell
Chris, very good points and I have to agree with your observations. On Nov 30, 2009, at 7:31 AM, Chris Hofstader wrote: > The problem, in the US at least, isn't the actual accessibility of any of > the solutions but, rather, how entrenched the products and sales people have > become in the cult

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-30 Thread Chris Hofstader
The problem, in the US at least, isn't the actual accessibility of any of the solutions but, rather, how entrenched the products and sales people have become in the culture of said agencies. FS has held a big lead for a long time and virtually every AT trainer in the US knows at least one FS s

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread rossy
hi ann, this is great news please let us know , if you wish tell us your esperience i would be glad to translate it for our italian mailing list . you and your housband are doing a great job with the braille tables. rk pubblish Il giorno 29/nov/2009, alle ore 14.05, Scott Howell ha scritto: > Hi

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread carlene knight
I think that part of the problem also is getting these agencies to realize how accessible OSX is now. this has been my personal experience. On Nov 29, 2009, at 6:47 AM, Scott Howell wrote: > Chris, > > That is rediculous because funding isn't being just spent on "bombs" as you > say, but on ev

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Scott Howell
Chris, That is rediculous because funding isn't being just spent on "bombs" as you say, but on every other possible and pointless program like bailouts of banks, auto manufactures, and now the possibility of health care. Of course lets try not to stray down the path of politics. I will agree th

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread anouk radix
Hello Anne, Yes that is fabulous indeed! Please keep us posted. I listened to the french infovox voices and I think they are great and of really high quality. Greetings, Anouk, On Nov 29, 2009, at 2:05 PM, Scott Howell wrote: > Hi Anne, that is great news and I'd be curious how that works out and

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Chris Hofstader
This should be moved to the bs list... Getting government agencies or the non-profits with whom they contract to provide such services in the US is really a hard problem to solve in the current economic climate. First off, a lot of people in the consumer services side of these organizations

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Scott Howell
Hi Anne, that is great news and I'd be curious how that works out and so keep us posted. I'm sure this saved them money in the long run as well. On Nov 29, 2009, at 7:51 AM, Anne Robertson wrote: > Hello, > > To clear things up a bit, blind children at the school for the blind and deaf > in Bru

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Scott Howell
rve them right if Apple sued them for making >> false claoms or some such. >> Donna >> On Nov 28, 2009, at 9:46 PM, Rich Ring wrote: >> >>> But, they can still purchase one, can they not? >>> - Original Message - >>> From: "anouk rad

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Anne Robertson
Hello, To clear things up a bit, blind children at the school for the blind and deaf in Brussels are going to be using Macs. I know this for a fact as I have a contract to teach their IT teacher how to use Braille with VO. A company in France got the contract to supply the computers and Braille

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Chris Hofstader
I would think that an appeal to the European Union section on disability would probably result in a reversal in this decision. The lawsuit in question started a long time ago and used a pretty crufty version of VO which wasn't too usable in many areas. With all of the improvements since, thoug

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread anouk radix
such. > Donna > On Nov 28, 2009, at 9:46 PM, Rich Ring wrote: > >> But, they can still purchase one, can they not? >> - Original Message - >> From: "anouk radix" >> To: >> Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 6:50 PM >> Subject: no ma

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Donna Goodin
wrote: > But, they can still purchase one, can they not? > - Original Message - > From: "anouk radix" > To: > Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 6:50 PM > Subject: no mac for blind people in Belgium > > > Hello, A friend of mine told me this morning hta

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Scott Howell
I beg to differ. The state agency I work for has in fact purchased several > Macs for individuals who requested them. > - Original Message - > From: "Jake" > To: "MacVisionaries" > Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 10:28 PM > Subject: Re: no ma

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread anouk radix
Hello, Yes I know what you mean. Also if you are a student (high school or university) as I said you get a laptop from the state. I know from my own eperience that I did not only use this laptop at school but everywhere including at home as well. So if you only get a certain laptop in your high

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread Lynn Schneider
It's not that much different here in the U.S. Typically, if you want a state agency to pay for your technology, they will have contracts with certain companies like Humanware and will prefer certain screen readers, typically Jaws. On Nov 29, 2009, at 4:59 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote: > > 29

Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium

2009-11-29 Thread anouk radix
Wow you can get a computer at work? At work we can get a braille display and screenreader but you have to get yoru own pc (I dont mind this just stating it). Ironic since for the money a new screenreader costs they could buy you a mac mini... Greetings, Anouk, On Nov 29, 2009, at 10:53 AM, Krist

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