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04-07-2009, 09:30 PM | #1 |
Mommy of Many Interests
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From HuffPo: Group protests Kindle e-reader's read-aloud restrictions
Thought y'all might find this interesting. The main thing I find interesting is that this is in the "relative mainstream" media rather than just a gadget blog...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_184277.html "NEW YORK — A group representing the blind and other people with disabilities protested limitations to the new read-aloud feature on Amazon.com Inc.'s latest Kindle electronic reader Tuesday, arguing that the restrictions unfairly limit their access to e-books." Discuss amongst yourselves... or not! |
04-08-2009, 12:15 PM | #2 | |
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04-08-2009, 02:42 PM | #3 |
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No, I think that's just the Authors Guild trying to blame Amazon in order to "save face". The Authors Guild is the one that threw a fit about TTS, now they're realizing that they're going to get some bad PR if it sounds like they're anti-disability. They're tying to put a spin on this so that the finger gets pointed back at Amazon.
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04-08-2009, 03:56 PM | #4 | |
Jeffrey A. Carver
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04-08-2009, 04:20 PM | #5 |
Wizard
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Not if you look at the history of this specific story.
The AG could easily have said they meant "except for people with disabilities" all along (whether they originally said that or not). However, in the media that would still look like this was an argument between the disabled and the AG. Instead, the AG is trying to spin this so that the whole thing looks like a fight between the disabled and Amazon. Amazon's preference is obviously that everyone should have access to TTS. There's really nobody in the wrong here, it's just a PR battle. This whole thing is about the impression of "Disabled people are upset at -----". Right now the AG's name is in the blank, they're trying to spin it to put Amazon's name there instead. |
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04-08-2009, 04:30 PM | #6 |
Jeffrey A. Carver
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The AG did say from the beginning that they were not trying to exclude people with disabilities. But that didn't get the press, because that would have made it less exciting to attack them. Granted, they might have been more forceful on the point. But their position has never been to shut out the disabled.
Oh--there are two threads going on this, and I put their full statement on the other thread. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44470 (I'm not sure how to link to the actual post.) Last edited by starrigger; 04-08-2009 at 04:34 PM. |
04-08-2009, 04:42 PM | #7 | |
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04-08-2009, 04:54 PM | #8 |
Jeffrey A. Carver
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Okay, no argument there. But I think it's more than just PR, because I believe the AG really does want to see the product changed so that the disabled can get use of the speech technology, while everyone else is arguing about who has the right to do what.
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04-08-2009, 05:20 PM | #9 |
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One could say that the disabled had access to TTS before the AG got involved.
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04-08-2009, 05:35 PM | #10 |
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The one thing I don't get though is how are blind people going to be able to access TTS on their own since there is no TTS for the menus.
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04-08-2009, 05:50 PM | #11 |
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04-08-2009, 05:51 PM | #12 | |
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04-08-2009, 09:06 PM | #13 |
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Nope, I don't go to Amazon and read what they post. I just wait till someone on MR tells us.
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04-09-2009, 12:38 PM | #14 | |
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04-09-2009, 02:51 PM | #15 |
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