Greetings everyone!  I'm Jayna Sheffield at the business and Guess what?  This is our last posting for the year and I'm the lucky one to be doing it.  We took a vote and decided to use our last posting of the year to provide consumers with special needs with some more selections of articles of interest.  The first article in our selection is geared towards those who are still hunting for holiday gifts.

Enjoy!

 

On behalf of the staff at the business desk, I'd like to wish all of our readers a very happy holiday season and a bright and prosperous new year.  Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noèl, and Feliz Navidad.

 

We're going to be off for a nice long and well deserved holiday and will be back on Jan 28.

See you then and in the meantime, enjoy your festivities.

 

I'm Jayna Sheffield at the business desk.

 

Table of contents

 

December 15 2007

 

1 Maxi-Aids Releases List of Holiday Gift Ideas for Independent Living
2 Reading Machine Turns Legally Blind Teen Into Bookworm
3 What Is Juvenile macular degeneration
4 New technology for the differently-able
5 OLAT 6.0 - Bringing together Web 2.0 technologies and accessibility
6 The sightless follow the voice of the Internet
7 Talking Thermostats.com Introduces Commstat CEO-24 Telephone Controlled Thermostat
8 Latest Website Rankings of 100 Retailers
9 Bad Web Design Proves a Problem for Blind Internet Users
10 European Commission calls for an all-inclusive digital society 
11 Swedish design: upwardly mobile

 

 

 

PRLeap.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

 

Maxi-Aids Releases List of Holiday Gift Ideas for Independent Living

 

By News Release

 

FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK   November 28, 2007   Consumer News

 

(PRLEAP.COM) Maxi-Aids, world-leading supplier of products for independent living, today released its list of Top 10 Holiday Gift Ideas. Maxi-Aids provides items to improve the lives of the Blind, Low Vision, Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Senior Citizens.

 

With the holiday shopping season in full swing Maxi-Aids, a world-leading supplier of products for independent living that improve the lives of special needs individuals, has released its list of Holiday Gift Ideas for Independent Living. Topping this year's list are Reizen Talking Atomic Watches. "We expect our popular line of atomic watches to be our biggest seller this holiday season," says Maxi-Aids President Elliot Zaretsky. "They're attractive, reasonably priced and you never have to set them."

 

While a majority of Maxi-Aids' customers are senior citizens or have special needs such as visual or hearing impairments, Maxi-Aids' products often have a broader appeal. One of the items on the list, the Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock and Bed Shaker, is a good example. "Although this item was developed for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing," Mr. Zaretsky says with a smile, "One of our customers was buying it for a teenager who had trouble waking up for school each morning." The item list follows:

 

1. REIZEN TALKING ATOMIC WATCHES $59.95. For the Blind and Low Vision. Choose one of 6 styles. All models announce time and date, are self-setting (including Daylight Savings). Large 1-1/8" diameter face.
2. BRAILLE AND LOW VISION MONOPOLY (29957) $58.95. The ultimate accessible version of the family favorite. 20" square board with tactile overlay. Oversized game cards in large print and Braille. Braille dice.
3. LOW VISION MAGNIFIER LAMP (674134) $129.95. Great table lamp for the visually impaired stamp or coin collector, needle pointer or other hobbyist. 13-watt low glare bulb shows colors true to life, reduces eyestrain. See fine details more clearly with 3X optical magnifier. 360-degree rotating base.
4. REIZEN TRAVELERS LCD TALKING ALARM CLOCK (item #700890) $14.95. Perfect for the Blind and Visually Impaired traveler, this compact alarm features one-touch time announcement and choice of rooster, cuckoo or steady beep alarm.
5. PICTURE CARE PHONE (303207) $44.99. Great for those with memory loss and Alzheimer's. Speed dial the person whose picture is displayed on the keypad. (Dial by photo, not number.) 10 speed dial slots. Last number redial. Ringer Off/Low/High settings. Flash button alerts for incoming call.
6. SONIC BOMB ALARM CLOCK & BED SHAKER (ITEM #SBB500SS) $42.95 For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, (or any sound sleeper.) 113dB adjustable volume alarm. 12-volt bed shaker. 110-volt power supply included.
7. LARGE PRINT CROSSWORDS #7 (475297) and #8 (475298) $12.95/each. The newest additions to this popular low vision series. Challenging for the mind, not the eyes. Oversized words and puzzle grids. 125 puzzles in each 10" X 9", 288-page book.
8. SUDOKO BRAILLE GAME (402783) $39.95. The latest brain teaser craze is now accessible to the Blind and Low Vision. 19 games with 5 levels of difficulty. 7/8" square Braille/tactile pieces with printed numbers. Case size: 16" X 16" X ½".
9. QUICKLOOK ZOOM PORTABLE VIDEO MAGNIFIER (607597) $795.00. The ultimate portable tool for those with low vision. Allows easy reading of restaurant menus, product labels in stores, magazines in waiting rooms, etc. Magnifies 3X - 18X on 4.3" LCD Wide Screen Display. Color, Black and White or Reverse Image.
10. TALKING TAPE MEASURE (ITEM #3082716) $94.95. For the Blind or Low Vision Handyman or Carpentry Buff. Announces length measured up to 16 feet in 1/16" or 1mm increments. Auto shut-off. Includes leather carry case and 9V battery.

 

For product details, visit Maxi-Aids' website at www.MaxiAids.com and click on the "MaxiAids Holiday Catalog" link. You may also order a FREE printed version of the holiday catalog by calling 1-800-522-6294.

 

Maxi-Aids is a world-leading provider of products for independent living, supplying an extensive range of aids and devices to improve the lives of the Blind, Low Vision, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Diabetic and those with mobility and other special needs. Maxi-Aids is the exclusive distributor of the Marks Script Guide writing aid for the Visually Impaired and Reizen products for special needs.
Contact Information Paul Weingarten
Maxi-Aids
631-752-0521
Email Maxi-Aids
copydesk@maxiaids.com

 

 

 

http://www.prleap.com/pr/105422/
 

 

St. Louis University, MO, USA
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

 

Reading Machine Turns Legally Blind Teen Into Bookworm

 

By Donn Walker

 

November 14, 2007
Donn Walker
314.977.8015
dwalke18@slu.edu

 

ST. LOUIS - For the first time in her life, 13-year-old Amy Knight can go home and do something most people would consider quite ordinary: She can open a book and read.

 

The illinois teenager is legally blind in her left eye and fully blind in the other. She was born prematurely and with glaucoma, a condition in which damage to the optic nerve causes vision loss. For Amy, objects at a distance were simply fuzzy and blurry shapes. In order to read anything up close, she'd have to hold something right next to her left eye.

 

All that changed last summer, however, when Amy was given a low-vision electronic reading machine by SLUCare - the physician practice of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The device consists of a camera and monitor that make objects - typically reading material - placed underneath appear up to 50 times larger.

 

Amy had limited access to such a device at the public school she attends and she had no device at home, making it impossible to read and do homework once she left the classroom. She'd begun learning to read Braille.

 

"Now that she has this machine at home, her life has totally changed," said her mother, Janet Knight. "She comes home and does her homework - which is something she really could never do before. And she can now read comic books, which she loves."

 

"It's like her world has opened up," Knight added.

 

Amy received the device free of charge from SLUCare's Low Vision Center, the only full-time medical practice in the St. Louis region to treat people with low vision, which is considered eyesight so poor it cannot be corrected through glasses or contacts.

 

Electronic reading machines cost up to $4,000 when purchased new. The device given to Amy was donated to the Low Vision Center by the widow of a man who'd used it for several years before passing away.

 

"This reading machine will open doors for Amy that would have been closed forever without such a device," said Thomas Porter, O.D., director of SLU's Low Vision Center.

 

Low vision problems affect anywhere from 5 to 7 percent of the population - mostly the elderly - which equates to about 150,000 to 200,000 people in the St. Louis area, Porter said. Their numbers include people with glaucoma, cataracts, glaucoma, retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

 

In general, the eyesight of someone with low vision can't be improved - in other words, made clearer or stronger. Instead, people with low vision can be taught to use aides and devices, such as the electronic reading machine, that can improve contrast and sharpness, reduce glare and make items appear larger.

 

However, Porter said that fewer than 10 percent of people with low vision elect to buy an electronic reading machine, largely due to the relatively high cost of the devices.

 

SLU receives several such used devices every year, and Porter says they're going to try to match the machines with other young people, like Amy, who suffer from low vision and whose families can't afford to purchase such a device.

 

"When you can make this kind of difference in the life of a child, it's extremely meaningful," Porter said. "In many cases, a gift like this can mean the difference between the chance for an education and a career, or a lifetime of poverty."

 

SLUCare consists of physicians, nurse practitioners, medical assistants and related professionals who provide high-quality care for patients locally, regionally and nationally. SLUCare is the only academic medical practice in St. Louis fully accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. This accreditation is a voluntary process through which the quality of SLUCare services and performance is measured against nationally recognized standards. More information is available at www.slucare.edu.

 

 

 

http://www.slu.edu/x19254.xml
 

 

Female First Magazine (UK)
Saturday, November 17, 2007

 

What Is Juvenile macular degeneration

 

17th Nov 11:05

 

It's true that the most common form of macular degeneration is age-related but other types of macular degeneration affect much younger people, from teenagers and children to infants.

 

These different forms are known as juvenile macular degeneration, early-onset macular degeneration or macular dystrophy.

 

The macula is located at the back of the eye at the centre of the retina. It enables us to see what is directly in front of us and also allows us to see finer detail. So it plays a vital role in helping us to read, write and perform other detailed tasks. It also enables us to recognise faces and see colours.

 

When macular degeneration occurs, the light-sensitive cells at the centre of the macula become damaged, and they malfunction and die. This results in central vision becoming blurred while peripheral vision remains clear.

 

The different types of juvenile macular degeneration are caused by genetic mutations that affect the macular cells.

 

The commonest form is Stargardt's disease, which is estimated to affect about one in 10,000 people. It's inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, meaning that a person has a one in four chance of inheriting the problematic gene.

 

Although symptoms may not start until someone is in their 30s or 40s, it's most common for symptoms to begin between the ages of seven and 12, with loss of central vision by the time they reach adulthood.

 

The second most common form of juvenile macular degeneration is Best's vitelliform retinal dystrophy. It's also inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, and a child has a one in two chance of inheriting the defective gene from their parents.

 

It's usually identified during childhood or teenage years and doesn't always affect both eyes equally. Sometimes good central vision can remain in one eye.

 

Information about other types of juvenile macular degeneration can be found at the Macular Degeneration Foundation.

 

In the UK, 220,000 people who are registered blind or partially sighted have age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The Royal National Institute of the Blind estimates the total number of people with AMD is closer to 400,000.

 

Central vision becomes blurred with symptoms similar to looking at a faded photograph. This loss of central vision makes it difficult for people affected to see what is directly in front of them and makes reading, writing, recognising faces and performing detailed tasks difficult.

 

Peripheral vision remains clear, so a person with juvenile macular degeneration does not develop total blindness. There is no pain or redness of the eyes.

 

Juvenile macular degeneration cannot be cured, but additional lighting and magnifiers can help to alleviate the symptoms. It's important to protect the eyes by eating healthily and avoiding ultraviolet light exposure.

 

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/health/health-1138.html
 

 

 

 

Philippine Information Agency, Philippines
Sunday, November 18, 2007

 

Feature: New technology for the differently-able

 

Manila (18 November) -- With a vision to help the visually-impaired, The Philippine Daisy Network (PDN) recently introduced Daisy or Digital Accessible Information System, an innovative and ideal reading system that can be readily available to the differently-able.

 

DAISY said, "the only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision".

 

DAISY was originally developed for people who are unable to read due to disability but it is also designed to benefit all readers including the mainstream population.

 

Documents that conform to the DAISY standard offer a reading experience that includes synchronized audio and structured text along with images. It supports traditional presentation of images and text but at the same time goes beyond this flat approach to include human narration, powerful navigation, and potential for adding video and animation.

 

DAISY is expected to start major developments in the information and communication technology that can be beneficial even to publishers, librarians, learning institutions and government and non-government sectors.

 

The PDN is composed of the Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired, Resources for the Blind, National Library of the Philippines, National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons and the Philippine Printing House for the Blind of the Department of Education (DepEd). (PNA)

 

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p071118.htm&no=28

 

 

 

TrainingPressReleases.com (UK)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

 

OLAT 6.0 - Bringing together Web 2.0 technologies and accessibility

 

By University of Zurich

 

Online Educa Berlin 28-30 Nov 2007 - Exhibitor

 

20-Nov-2007 » Training Press Releases » In early 2008 the learning management system OLAT will come with the major release 6.0.

 

A new design and improved workflows will be available as an outcome of a comprehensive usability study1. Furthermore OLAT presents its answer to the challenging question, how to ensure accessibility for visually impaired users in a fully "ajaxified" web application: Brasato2, the underlying java development framework of OLAT allows visually impaired users to choose the so called Web 2.a mode, which delivers plain HTML and is therefore fully supported by screen-reader software.

 

OLAT is the acronym for Online Learning And Training. It is a web application that supports any kind of online learning, teaching, and tutoring with little didactical restrictions. OLAT is open source, and has been developed since 1999 at the University of Zurich and won the MeDiDa-Prix3 in the year 2000. For more information please refer to the OLAT website4 or visit our booth A25 at Online Educa Berlin.

 

Links:
http://www.iml.unibe.ch/dienstleistung/usability/projekte/
http://www.brasatoframework.org
http://www.medidaprix.org
http://www.olat.org

 

About Online Educa Berlin 2007, November 28 - 30, 2007

 

Online Educa Berlin 2007 is set to be the key event for the international technology-supported learning and training industry. We have secured an excellent line-up of top international experts, who will cover a range of key topics, bringing together their knowledge and experience from various backgrounds. http://www.online-educa.com/

 

For further information about this story, please contact: 
Contact name:    Hans-Jörg Zuberbühler
Contact e-mail:   hansjoerg.zuberbuehler@id.uzh.ch
Contact telephone:   +41 44 6356705
Web site:   http://www.olat.org

 

SOURCE

 

http://www.trainingpressreleases.com/newsstory.asp?NewsID=3349
 

 

Baltimore Sun, Maryland USA
Friday, November 23, 2007

 

The sightless follow the voice of the Internet

 

By Jamie Smith Hopkins

 

Screen-reading software helps blind users navigate the Web as advocates press for greater accessibility
 
As Michael Bullis sped from one Web page to another in his search for Christmas presents this week, he saw none of them. Blind for most of his life, he has never seen the Internet.

 

But he doesn't need to. He can hear it.

 

Screen-reading software has for years translated the visual experience of computers and the Web into one-way conversations for blind users, reading aloud everything from the welcome message on a home page to the instructions for making an online purchase.

 

Sometimes this works very well, sometimes not at all. If there are no words, there's nothing to read - which means an image with no descriptive text tucked away in the coding is truly invisible.

 

The Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind, calling the Internet a critical part of everyday life that should be fully accessible to the country's 1.3 million legally blind residents, has brought national attention to the issue by coaxing - and occasionally suing - companies to make their sites more screen-reader-friendly.

 

Last month it won class-action status for a lawsuit against Target Corp., though the company contends that its site is fully accessible.

 

"I think that more blind Americans will attempt to shop online this Black Friday than ever before, and we hope that they have a better experience," said John G. Paré Jr., executive director for strategic initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind.

 

Bullis, who isn't involved in the suit, says some sites are a pain. But 99 times out of 100, he can find his way around. He expects to try things several different ways when he's on the prowl for a product or the checkout button. It's one part logic puzzle, one part treasure hunt.

 

"Hey, the freedom I've got now compared to what I had five years ago or 10 years ago is incredible," said Bullis, an instructor with Blind Industries and Services of Maryland who does as much of his shopping as he can online.

 

"This is a whole new world, you know? You can talk about whether the cup is half-full or half-empty; in my view, the cup is overflowing."

 

Bullis, a 54-year-old Baltimore resident, is a self-described geek where computers are concerned. His first was an Apple IIe in 1984; now he has a PC with four hard drives. Over those years, screen-readers have gone from rudimentary to pretty darn intelligent, in his opinion, though computers - and the Internet especially - have also become exponentially more complex.

 

Bullis took a break from work Monday morning to start his holiday shopping. His goal: Buy three copies of a favorite book for some of the adults on his gift list and find a nice globe for his 5-year-old daughter, Julianna.

 

A touch typist, he started with the book, typing the name and author into a search engine. As a check against typos, the screen reader's robotic voice repeated the letters out loud at the rat-a-tat-tat pace of an auctioneer on fast-forward. (Bullis keeps the speed at a head-spinning 350 words a minute because that's how fast a good human reader can process text, and he wants to be just as efficient.)

 

The results from his search appeared. The reader said: "One hundred headings and 428 links." A lot to consider - and that was just the first page.

 

Bullis uses keystrokes rather than a mouse, since point-and-click does little good if you can't see. The screen-reader software has dedicated keys to help navigate. So he keyed his way past the links unrelated to his search and stopped as the reader announced "Amazon.com."

 

That sounded promising, he thought. He hit the "Enter" key to go to the Amazon page for the science-fiction book he wants.

 

"Seven headings and 113 links," the reader told him.

 

Now for the logic puzzle: Which of those links was the one to buy the book? He tapped the dedicated H key repeatedly to scroll through the headings for clues. "Gift ideas for book lovers," said the reader. "Best books of 2007," said the reader. None of this was getting him where he wanted to go.

 

He switched to the N key, which moved him to each blank line on the page, to look for new subjects.

 

"OK, so now they're describing the book," Bullis said, listening to the reader. "And now they've gotten into reviews. I don't really want to review the book, I just want to buy it."

 

Next step: Search for the word "buy."

 

"Buy three books, get a fourth free," the reader suggested.

 

Bullis snorted.

 

He kept trying. He found "add to wedding registry" - "I don't think so," he said - and "foreword by Kurt Vonnegut," also not helpful. Then, five minutes after he started with the search engine, the reader said the magic word: "Availability."

 

"Ah, here we go!" he exclaimed, pouncing on it. If he had remembered that was the go-to word, he could have searched for it to begin with.

 

From there, he picked a candidate from the long used-and-new list. He changed the number of items to buy from one to three. He selected a shipping option, updated his credit-card information, hit "continue" - and then realized the subcontractor he had chosen for the book didn't offer gift wrap.

 

Ah, well.

 

Bullis decided to give it a break, search for his daughter's present and come back to Amazon later, since his almost-order would be preserved and he wouldn't have to start from square one. He called the wandering around to get to checkout "a little frustrating," but anyone could have been caught by the gift wrap.

 

"We're more alike than different," Bullis said of sighted and blind Internet users. "Yeah, my computer talks to me, but after that, I'm a guy who doesn't like to shop and is sometimes overwhelmed by the Web."

 

Not by the necessity of hearing a visual medium. By all the choices.

 

"I think that's a complaint that everybody has," he said.

 

jamie.smith.hopkins@baltsun.com

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.blind23nov23,0,6661952,print.story
 

 

 

 

Market Wire (Press Release)
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

 

Talking Thermostats.com Introduces Commstat CEO-24 Telephone Controlled Thermostat

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwire - November 28, 2007) - Talking Thermostats.com, a leading provider of specialized temperature control equipment, today announced the release and immediate availability of the Commstat CEO-24 Telephone Controlled Thermostat.

 

The Commstat CEO-24 is a full featured residential heating/cooling thermostat that can be remotely controlled from any Touch Tone telephone. The primary market for the Commstat CEO-24 is owners or managers of vacation homes, cabins or cottages, and condominiums that are not occupied at all times.

 

The Commstat CEO-24 gives the vacation home owner or property manager the ability to heat up or cool down their property before they arrive. One telephone call to the vacation home gives the caller the ability to monitor the current temperature of the property and remotely adjust the temperature set point to a level that will provide comfort upon their arrival.

 

The Commstat CEO-24 features an internal temperature alarm that can automatically dial out to up to three telephone numbers alerting the owner, neighbor or property manager of a heating or cooling system failure. An auxiliary input is also available to connect to an external device such as a water alarm or any other device with dry relay contacts.

 

The CEO-24 is the second generation of the Commstat family of telephone controlled thermostats. Attractively priced at $325.00, the product is now available for purchase by calling 763-591-9557 or at www.talkingthermostats.com.

 

About Talking Thermostats.com

 

With offices in Minneapolis, privately held Talking Thermostats.com has been supplying specialized comfort control products to the vacation home market for more than five years. In addition, the company also serves the needs of persons who are blind and visually impaired and seniors with accessible talking thermostats. For more information please visit

 

www.talkingthermostats.com

 

Contact:
Harry Cohen
763-591-9557

 

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=797093
 

 

 

 

The Retail Bulletin (UK)
Friday, November 30, 2007

 

Latest Website Rankings of 100 Retailers

 

By Glynn Davis

 

After one month off the top spot of the table of the 100 retail websites tested this month Tesco's direct catalogue site direct.tesco.com pushed rival supermarket Morrisons into second spot as it regained its crown.

 

The comprehensive list of 100 sites, which includes not only the largest players but also some of the smaller specialist online merchants, has been created by The Retail Bulletin and specialist website testing company SiteMorse that used its automated testing of the first 125 pages of each retailer's site to generate a ranked table.

 

Lawrence Shaw, founder of SiteMorse, says the Tesco site last month suffered from broken links but these have now been fixed and it has jumped 17 places back to the top of the table with a score of 8.12 out of 10 compared with 5.5 last month. "This demonstrates that it is not rocket science to keep a good website. It just takes good housekeeping to fix it," he says.

 

Not doing so well is DSG Group, with its Dixons, Curry's and PC World sites all performing particularly badly for a group that sells technology. Dixons stands at 83 in the table while PC World and Curry's prop up the bottom of the table in the bottom two spots.

 

Shaw says one of the big problems with these sites is that the links that connect them to each other are broken so it is not possible to move from Dixons to PC World via the website links. He says this raises questions about the overall quality of these sites, especially for the Dixons website which only has an online presence and no physical stores.

 

Adding to its woes is the fact that 53 per cent of its pages do not have the keywords present for search engines to pick up on. And every page fails the accessibility test that checks whether the site is usable by visually impaired people.

 

Although House of Fraser also fails badly on the accessibility test it has still managed to perform very well this month - having moved up 24 places with a score of 7.44 compared with 4.52 last month. This follows its jump of 21 places last month. "It's a good score and represents a big improvement. The only thing that it now fails on is the accessibility test," says Shaw.

 

Breaking its score down, it achieves a maximum 10 for functionality, eight out of 10 for code quality, and eight out of 10 for performance. This means that had it sorted out its accessibility and improved its score from zero out of 10 to nearer nine out of 10 then House of Fraser would have topped the table. To improve this situation Shaw says that simply adding ALT tags onto images (to provide a textual description) would make a big difference.

 

Another disappointment this month was the number of sites that have been excluded as a result of them either been 'down' at the time of testing or because of their reliance on 'assistive' technology, which SiteMorse believes breaks the general "rules of accessibility" of internet sites. Whereas last month Gap was the only exclusion, this month it has been joined by Pets at Home and more surprisingly the heavyweight retailer Boots.

 

(Full Top 100 rankings table on source page.)

 

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/latest_website_rankings_of_100_retailers_27-11-07/
 
Deutsche Welle, Germany
Sunday, November 25, 2007

 

Bad Web Design Proves a Problem for Blind Internet Users

 

By Kate Hairsine

 

The combination of the Internet and computer screen reader software means blind people now have more access to written information than ever before. But bad Web design is making accessibility difficult.

 

A folded white cane lies next to piles of papers and coffee cups on computer programmer Günter Christmann's desk. He is blind and can't actually see the written text on the computer screen in front of him.

 

Christmann opens up his Internet browser using the keyboard curser and types in the name of the site he wants to visit -- the tap of his fingers accompanied by a fast-talking robotic voice that fastidiously reads every single character displayed on the screen.

 

Given the amounts of advertisements, pictures, links and headings on a single Internet page, it can sometimes take a while for a blind user to find the actual text that they want. But according to Christmann, even if it does take him longer to find what he wants, it's worth it.

 

Information on the Net

 

Previously, if Christmann wanted to read a newspaper, he had to wait for it to be scanned into Braille, which meant the reports were already days old.

 

"Nowadays, with Internet, I can go to the newspaper or magazine and I can read the newspaper directly," he said.

 

The Internet has an even more practical side. Before the advent of the Net, Christmann had to wait for someone to scan in his computer manuals so he could do his work.

 

"Now, I can search with Google and find everything I need," he said. "I can find more information that I ever dreamt of."

 

There are several types of screen reader software that Europe's 2.7 million blind people can use if they have computer access. Most of these programs can easily switch between the major European languages written in the Roman script.

 

Sounds good so far, but there are digital roadblocks, such as when German programmers use German expressions to describe drop down boxes and form fields in an English Web site.

 

This is what Christmann found when he tested the DW-WORLD's English page, a problem he comes across often throughout the Internet. A pure English speaker surfing the page would have been stuck.

 

New portable software

 

Christmannn works as a product manager for Baum Retec, a German firm based near the southern German city of Heidelberg specializing in products and services for the blind and visually impaired.

 

One of the products he supports is MyStick, a screen reader packed into a normal USB stick in U3 technology that is making computers and the Internet even more accessible for the blind.

 

Because it is portable, MyStick means blind users can log onto any PC running Windows, and start using the programs and surfing the Internet without having to engage in the arduous process of installing software first.

 

"I can go to a library or an Internet café and plug in MyStick and start using the screen reader," Christmann said. When he's finished, he just takes out the USB stick, and puts it in his pocket.

 

High-tech electronics

 

In addition to the screen reader, another piece of equipment that's essential for blind people who use the computer for work is a Braille display. It's made up of a long row of so-called "soft cells" that are each made up of six to eight tiny metal or nylon pins, which are controlled electronically and move up and down to spell out a line of text in Braille. 

 

"Just because I can hear the words, doesn't mean I know how to write them," explained Anna Courtpozanis, who has been blind since birth (which hasn't stopped her gaining a degree, having a family, and working full-time).

 

"If I write texts, I need to see if I have made a mistake," she said, as her fingers flew over the Braille line. "At home, I have a computer without Braille and it's more difficult to work there."

 

Courtpozanis tests Web sites to see how accessible they are for Web For All, a Heidelberg-based non-profit association aiming to reduce barriers for people using the Internet. 

 

It can take new users a while to learn the numerous keyboard commands that are necessary for using a screen reader or a Braille line. According to Courtpozanis, however, the main barrier to web use is poor Web design.

 

Descriptive text a must

 

Pictures are often a barrier because unless a descriptive text is provided, a blind person has no way of knowing whether the image is an unidentified photo or logo, artwork, a link to another page or something else. Videos and animated elements are also problematic for the same reason.

 

Courtpozanis personally finds online forms particularly annoying simply because they are an unavoidable part of daily existence but often have no description of what particular field is for.

 

"If I want my daughter's birth certificate but I haven't got time to go to the town where she's born, then I have to do it over the Net, but I can't fill in the forms," she complained.

 

Courtpozanis and Christmann are both what you would call power Internet users. And both of them are irritated that with all the investment in high-tech software and technology, it's the simple things -- a lack of descriptive words, for instance -- that can render a website meaningless for the blind.
 
Kate Hairsine
 

 

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2969361,00.html
 

 

EUROPA (European Union)
Thursday, November 29, 2007

 

European Commission calls for an all-inclusive digital society 

 

Reference:  IP/07/1804    Date:  29/11/2007 
 
Brussels, 29 November 2007

 

Commission calls for an all-inclusive digital society

 

Despite technological progress and enhanced competition, more than one in three Europeans are still excluded from fully benefiting from the digital society. Benefits of ?35-85 billion over five years could be generated if society would be made more inclusive, websites more accessible and broadband Internet made available to all EU citizens. Today, the Commission presents its e-Inclusion initiative to Council, calling on Member States to support a number of key actions, including an awareness campaign for 2008 "e-Inclusion, be part of it!" e-Accessibility legislation, similar to that of the USA, is also under consideration.

 

"In today's society, access to information by all citizens is a right as well as a condition for prosperity. It is neither morally acceptable nor economically sustainable to leave millions of people behind, unable to use Information and Communications Technologies to their advantage" said Viviane Reding EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "With today's initiative, the Commission reinforces its commitment to overcoming digital exclusion in Europe. Progress has been only half as fast as it should be. The Commission is sending today a clear signal to all parties concerned: industry, regulators and governments that we must act together now to ensure a barrier-free information society for all."

 

In the Commission's view, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) must provide freedom of choice and be designed for use by everyone regardless of their personal or social situation, so reducing social disparities. In a Declaration made in Riga in 2006, EU Ministers committed themselves to clear targets, Eg to halve the gaps in Internet use and in digital literacy, and to achieve 100% accessibility of public websites by 2010 (IP/06/769). Such targets could deliver benefits of ?35-85 billion over five years.

 

Yet progress remains fragmented and slow, despite such targets and many actions involving public authorities, industry and civil society. Most of the Riga objectives will not be met on time. Accessibility of public websites remains stuck at 5%. Only 10% of people aged over 64 are Internet users while the average in Europe is 47%. Without further intervention, the gap will only be halved in 2015 instead of 2010. The latest assessments conducted for the Commission show that accessibility of websites, communication terminals, TV sets and other ICT remains problematic, with lower-educated, economically inactive and elderly people at the greatest risk of being left behind.

 

To address the challenge, this European initiative for an all-inclusive society sets out a strategic framework to:

 

Enable everyone to take part in the information society by bridging the accessibility, broadband and competence gaps.
Accelerate effective participation of those at risk of exclusion, and improve their quality of life.
Integrate e-Inclusion actions in Europe, and so maximise their lasting impact.
During 2008, the Commission will raise awareness through a campaign called "e-Inclusion, be part of it!" This will culminate with a Ministerial Conference towards the end of the year, to demonstrate real progress and to reinforce commitments at all levels.

 

As well as supporting research and pilots, the Commission will work towards a horizontal legislative approach to make the information society more accessible, to guarantee equal rights and to ensure an effective single market. Several EU Member States (such as the UK, Spain, and Italy) have already started to adopt legislative measures for e-accessibility. In the USA, the "Americans with Disabilities Act" of 1990 led to great improvements, and has recently been applied to on-line services such as websites.

 

Background:

 

In June 2006, 34 European countries committed to reducing the digital divide by 2010 in the Riga Ministerial Declaration (IP/06/769).

 

The Commission's i2010 initiative already prioritises e-Inclusion (IP/05/643). This has led to specific actions on: e-Accessibility (IP/05/1144), broadband digital divide (IP/06/340), ICT and ageing (IP/07/831) and e-Skills (IP/07/1286).

 

On 13 November 2007, the Commission proposed a substantial package of reforms for telecoms legislation in the EU with an explicit objective of giving all EU citizens access to broadband (IP/07/1677).

 

See also:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/index_en.htm
 
SOURCE

 

http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1804&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
 

 

 

 

EE Times Online
Monday, November 26, 2007

 

Swedish design: upwardly mobile

 

By George Leopold  

 

EE Times (11/26/2007 9:00 AM EST) 

 

Quote: "The company tapped into the local government's large database, developed under its Intelligent Transportation System program, to come up with a mobile-phone-based prototype of a system that could help guide the blind from their homes to, say, the grocery store. "
 
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Even more than in most countries, it seems that life simply can't be lived here without a mobile phone. The industrious Swedes continue to come up with new ways to use the cell, ranging from helping the blind find their way to outgunning the BlackBerry in delivering mobile e-mail.

 

A whirlwind tour around Stockholm, its bustling suburbs and one of Sweden's technology hubs to the south, Norrkoping Science Park, revealed a hotbed of development- some of it disruptive, some of it in the category of technologies searching for a solution.

 

A recurring theme here is moving the Internet to the mobile phone. But that requires squeezing busy Web pages down to tiny, hard-to-read displays. Currently, most pages have to be reworked before they can be displayed on mobile phones, and most look lousy when compared with PC or Mac pages.

 

One startup (and there are an impressive number of tech startups in Sweden), Mobizoft, has come up with a way to improve the rendering of Web pages on mobile-phone displays.

 

Founded in 2005, Mobizoft claims its Publish2Mobile tool improves the delivery and presentation of mobile Web pages by leveraging device- and browser-specific data. The tool also offers image compression and conversion. Another Mobizoft product, Content-4Mobile, is being promoted as allowing users to post videos to the Web directly from a mobile phone.

 

On the road

 

Scandinavia has been a good test market for the tools, said Mobizoft board chairman Jorma Mobrin. Nevertheless, he and company CEO and tool developer Maria Christensen recently completed a U.S. road show to demonstrate their products to large but unidentified content developers. Those developers are searching for ways to stream video to cell phones in a manner that will approximate the viewing quality of a PC.

 

Swedish technology companies are also at the forefront of efforts to incorporate navigation into mobile phones. But those efforts go beyond merely guiding a tourist to a restaurant, for instance. The local government in Stockholm wants to replace, or at least augment, the seeing-eye dog with wireless devices that can guide the blind around this exquisite but, in some places, cramped city.

 

One effort, overseen by a startup called Mobile Sorcery, seeks to combine navigation technology with audio to deliver location-based services for the blind and the elderly. While the challenges faced by the blind in a large city are obvious, Henrik von Shoultz, Mobile Sorcery's vice president of business development, noted that about 10 elderly or disabled citizens get lost in the city on average every day.

 

The company tapped into the local government's large database, developed under its Intelligent Transportation System program, to come up with a mobile-phone-based prototype of a system that could help guide the blind from their homes to, say, the grocery store. Users enter a key on a handset to determine the best route to a destination. A mobile-phone earpiece tells them in advance when and how much to turn, alerts them to obstacles, and updates them on how far it is to their ultimate destination.

 

Developers Tomas Upgard, Mobile Sorcery's chief executive, and Antony Hartley, its CTO, quickly realized that GPS navigation can't cut it in modern cities as a tool for guiding pedestrians or bike riders. An accuracy of 4 meters or less is needed to determine, for example, the side of the street on which a pedestrian is walk- ing. That's too precise a measurement for GPS.

 

Company engineers found that, when used in large cities, consumer GPS data is plagued by multipath problems, causing GPS signals to drift. Their solutions included filtering and a dead-reckoning system to provide users with better position data.

 

Using an off-the-shelf dead-reckoning system developed for the military by Honeywell that incorporates a gyroscope and compass as a "step counter," Mobile Sorcery engineers tweaked the prototype with internally developed algorithms to make the system more accurate.

 

Von Shoultz said 12 users are currently testing the prototype system as part of Stockholm's e-Adept program. A product is scheduled to be ready by 2009, he said. The company is also touting a mobile-phone development application called MoSync, a collection of tools designed to ease the growing problem of developing and porting software to mobile devices.

 

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204201009