Quote:
Originally Posted by wawasteele
In public bathrooms, there is always at least one handicap stall. Should all the stalls be handicap accessible? No. That would hurt all the non-handicapped people, because the handicap stalls take up a lot more room, so there would be less total stalls.
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So, as long as there are viable options for all readers, I don't see why every reading device has to be made for blind people, just like every trail or bathroom stall isn't accessible. I also don't see why in schools or libraries, that every reading device has to be accessible, as long as there are some for those that need them.
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That comparison doesn't really work out since every public washroom must have an accessible toilet. Similarly, every parking lot (that meets certain criteria) must designate a certain number of handicapped parking spots. Libraries should be forced to provide accessible ereaders if they provide ereaders to their patrons. Again, it doesn't have to be all of them.
Should every ereader on the market be accessible? That depends upon what you mean. It would be absurd to integrate a braille display, and even turn page buttons aren't realistic in the era of the touch screen. However, adding software hooks for assistive technologies should be considered mandatory. Ditto for inexpensive modifications to the hardware that do not fundamentally alter the form of the device (e.g. enabling USB host mode or adding a headphone jack). That may leave the user buying a specialized input or output device to access the hardware, but at least that possibility exists.
Oh, and I wouldn't dismiss the efforts that people have gone to in order to improve the lives of the disabled. There was a time not so long ago when it was difficult for the disabled to even leave the block they live on or do their own groceries. It is easy to take that stuff for granted because it is so commonplace these days.