06-30-2010, 04:48 PM | #16 | ||
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06-30-2010, 06:37 PM | #17 |
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06-30-2010, 06:44 PM | #18 |
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The auto companies also discriminate against the blind
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06-30-2010, 06:55 PM | #19 |
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This WILL be a big deal for textbooks, which are soon to go "ebook" as it just saves way too much money. I write college textbooks, and I can tell you the bookstore gets most of the money there (remember, all those used textbooks mean ZERO dollars going to author/publisher) ebooks will be great authors in that area.
But, ADA compliance is an absolute must. In order for these color big-screen books to replace college textbooks, they must meet those gov requirements. -bvl |
06-30-2010, 06:56 PM | #20 | |
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Physical textbooks aren't ADA compliant--but students who can't read them, have other options. Students who can't navigate a Kindle (who aren't limited to the blind, although that's probably the largest group) don't currently have other options, for those schools that are trying to switch to ebook-only textbooks. Chalkboards, as mentioned, are not ADA compliant. And because of that, professors are required to provide information in more accessible ways, for those students who can't get it from a chalkboard. The issue isn't "every device used in school must be ADA compliant." It's "every device *mandatory* for school must be ADA compliant." And potentially, "every device that receives federal funding must be ADA compliant." |
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06-30-2010, 07:18 PM | #21 | |
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I could see a lawsuit forcing the publisher to allow the text to speech... If they think it'll hurt audiobook sales well then it's about time they learn laws are passed for the people not to help maintain their bottom line. We've already decided accessibility outweighs the publisher's free market choice to charge more for or not bother to produce an audiobook. And there's already the basic rights that come with a purchase. Objecting to letting someone use a text to speech program on a file they pay for is akin to taco bell not allowing people to break a taco they buy into pieces and eat it as a taco salad. DRM at its worst. |
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06-30-2010, 07:28 PM | #22 |
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wadda crap
what a blind person'd need is a X-ing between a so-called braille-terminal and a reader, so e-ink is evidently out of discussion |
06-30-2010, 07:46 PM | #23 |
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06-30-2010, 07:47 PM | #24 |
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My daughter is blind. While it would be nice to have voice command, the reality is that just having the text to speech takes care of a huge portion of the issue.
Government, stay out of my business. Thank you. |
06-30-2010, 08:02 PM | #25 | |
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06-30-2010, 08:24 PM | #26 |
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did some googling. it still amazes me sometimes how easy it is to fidn things nowadays.
first i found this ASU article from last year about the "upcoming" kidle test http://uto.asu.edu/blog/2009/05/06/p...us-the-kindle/ read response 16. I google the person who wrote response 16 found his blog with reports about the suit and himself being interviewed http://blindaccessjournal.com/?p=900 and found reports of the settlement from the NFB abotu the lawsuit http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=449 and read the settlement PRs . From reading all of this I see a person who filed a lawsuit to stop a program that hadn't even started and that hadn't done him any wrong- his suit was based on possible future harm. he may not have even taken the class that the Kindles were going to be tested in. the settlement had no monetary exchange and no admittance of wrongdoing on the part of the University. Amazon and the universities committed to what they were already committed to- working on making it accessible for all in the future. without this test they wouldn't have known how or what to do. This student could have just asked to be part of the group evaluating the program and offered his help to everything more accessible to other blind students. instead he chose to follow his knee jerk reaction from the original ASU blog post and file a suit. the suit caused the program to cease which may actually make it take longer to find the right ways to go because ASU and others will be reluctant to test things in the future. |
07-01-2010, 03:47 PM | #27 | ||
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Which the proponents might claim would throw off the results of their study. However, the study results are useless unless they're showing "how this works in real classrooms" not "how this works in classrooms that don't have to follow US laws." |
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07-01-2010, 03:52 PM | #28 |
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07-01-2010, 04:56 PM | #29 |
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Is this the same government that is in charge of the Louisiana oil spill?
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07-01-2010, 04:58 PM | #30 |
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Egads. Has anyone other than Elfwreck actually read any part of the originating article...?
• All the ruling is saying is that until menus offer TTS capability, an ebook reader is not ADA compliant. So if a class uses an ebook as course materials, they just need to make those same materials available in a compliant means as well (e.g. braille). • As soon as the menus work with TTS, the devices will be compliant. • There is no requirement or legal obligation for a manufacturer to add that capability if they choose not to. • Amazon announced months ago they were going to add that capability. • The ADA was written in the 90s and updated a few years ago. This is not the government popping in out of nowhere and making a declaration. As to the ebook pilot programs, I don't see any reason why they can't continue to run the study by merely offering the disabled students alternate materials, as long as they can be provided in the same time frame. By the way, jasonfedelem, you might want to keep in mind that the ADA also prevents employers from discriminating against your daughter, and requires schools to accommodate her needs. Are you sure you want the government to stay out of this matter altogether...? |
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