Rupert Murdoch Attacks Governor Paterson's Disability

Today Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, is in the news for calling New York Governor Paterson "a very nice, honest man who's blind and can't read braille and doesn't really know what's going on."

Yet, it appears that Mr. Murdoch is really the one who doesn't know what's going on. Here in the 21st century, those of us with vision loss use a number of adaptive techniques to read books and newspapers, e-mail, surf the web, text message, and much more. Braille is one way of accessing information, but there are many others, including screen reading and magnification software that allows easy access to information on a computer screen or cell phone.

How many times do we have to see this kind of ignorance when it comes to the capabilities of people who are blind and visually impaired? Mr. Murdoch is just the latest in a slew of attacks on the Governor's disability, but our stance hasn't changed. See my prior posts on State Senator Diane Savino's comment and SNLs offensive skit.

Helen Keller, who worked at AFB for more that 44 years and remains our guiding light, summed it up perfectly when she said: "Many people with perfect ears are emotionally deaf, many with splendid eyes are blind in their perceptions."

Important News Regarding Access to Printed Information

Recent announcements signal growing interest in access to print information, especially books. Last week, Intel joined the club of companies manufacturing reading machines for the blind with its Intel Reader, $1499 USD. The hand-held device competes with products such as the knfbReader which operates on a conventional Nokia cell phone. More recently, two universities announced they would not use Amazon's Kindle Reader DX, targeted at educational users, because it is not accessible to people with vision loss.

Intel's first foray into the blindness/low vision arena has been a rather bumpy ride. Influential bloggers including Serotek's Mike Calvo have hammered Intel for charging nearly $1500 USD for a hardware package which a mainstream article from Engadget suggests could be produced for about $500 USD. Recognizing that the Intel device is a first generation product, it does not seem to have as many features as the knfbReader. Even so, it is great to see a company with the talent and treasure of Intel enter into this space.

The University of Wisconsin and Syracuse University have both adopted policies rejecting the Kindle, so long as it remains inaccessible to the blind. AFB applauds these universities for their willingness to publicly support equal access to information by all students and staff, including those who are blind and visually impaired. We call on all other colleges and universities to adopt similar policies.

And, we call on Amazon, and other developers of ebook readers, to make these products accessible for people with vision loss. Access to intellectual and cultural information is integral to a full and rich life.

The advent of technology such as the iPhone and iPod, with built in accessibility has changed the expectations for access to mainstream technology. Perhaps the Kindle and the Intel Reader can add another important chapter to these exciting developments.

AFB's New York Headquarters Has Moved

AFB's New York headquarters has moved. Please update your directory with our new contact information.

American Foundation for the Blind
2 Penn Plaza, Suite 1102
New York, NY 10121

Tel.(212) 502-7600
www.afb.org

FCC Workshop on Broadband Access for People with Disabilities

While many of us take Internet access for granted, far too many people with disabilities are not able to take advantage of this essential communications and information vehicle. To really take advantage of the information and communications potential of the Internet, you've got to have broadband. This means a high-capacity connection to the Internet that is always on. Although broadband options are available in most parts of the country, the expense often puts these networks out of reach.

On October 20, I will be participating in a forum hosted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explore broadband accessibility for people with disabilities. This daylong information meeting is part of the FCC's work to develop a National Broadband Plan. Participants, representing industry, the disability community, government and other key constituents, will be discussing accessibility and affordability barriers faced by people with disabilities, opportunities made possible by broadband and policy recommendations to spur broadband usage.

I plan to talk about the importance of access to information for people with vision loss and the absolute necessity to ensure that we have access to broadband to deliver information and services that we need. I will suggest some changes in policy to help make broadband more affordable for people with disabilities. I'll also make sure that our government understands the need to ensure that the equipment we use to access broadband services is accessible. That's why we need to have Congress enact legislation like the Twenty-first Century Communications and video Accessibility Act.

I hope you can take some time to listen to the webcast or follow the discussion. Online participants can visit http://www.broadband.gov/ws_accessibility_disabilities.html to register (instructions for online participants are found at the bottom of the page).

Simultaneous with the webcast, the meeting will be available through Accessible Event, a service that works with your web browser to make presentations accessible to people with disabilities. You can listen to the audio and use a screen reader to read displayed documents. You can also watch the video with open captioning. Accessible Event is available at http://accessibleevent.com. The web page prompts for an Event Code, which is 005202376. To learn about the features of Accessible Event, consult its User's Guide at http://accessibleevent.com/doc/user_guide/.

Updates about the Federal Communications Commission's development of the National Broadband can be found at http://blog.broadband.com and at http://www.broadband.gov/news.html. You can also follow the FCC on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FCC.

Events Roundup from the Week

This week, there are a couple of important events taking place around the world. Today is White Cane Safety Day—the day we celebrate the achievements of people with vision loss and recognize the importance of being able to travel safely and independently. The white cane has become an important international symbol of independence, as it enables those of us who are blind or visually impaired to get around without sighted assistance. In honor of this day, we are making the chapter on mobility from The Unseen Minority: A Social History of Blindness in the United States free for the month of October. The chapter covers dog guides as well as canes. In addition, the World Blind Union released a statement that addresses some of the currently mobility challenges, including hybrid/quiet vehicles and the "shared space" urban design concept that involves the removal of curbs, lines, signs, and signals. We encourage you to take a look at the WBU statement when you have a moment.

The other event taking place this week is National Aging in Place Week—a time to think about how to continue to live independently and comfortably at home as you age. Since most of us want to continue living at home into our late years, it's important to learn how to adapt our spaces to make them safer and easier to navigate. Here at AFB, we created a web site for seniors with age-related vision loss and their family members that tackles this very issue. On AFB Senior Site, older Americans and their loved ones can learn how to make their homes more vision loss-friendly. If you, or anyone you know, has been diagnosed with an age-related eye condition, please send them on the AFB Senior Site.