Apple of My Ears
I enjoyed reading the article, "A History of Accessibility at IBM" in the March issue of AccessWorld. Might I suggest an article about the history of the first talking computer, about Apple and Street Electronics and about Bill Grimm. It seems to me that the work Apple and Grimm did is beginning to disappear into remote memory. I functioned with a Talking Apple II for 12 years and benefited from several products developed by Grimm and what was then Computer Aids. I moved with Computer Aids as they entered the "IBM and GUI" worlds and became GW Micro.
Richard H. Fidler
Bucknellian, retired mathematics teacher of sighted students, traveler, gourmet and classical music lover
Annemarie Cooke, in her On-the-Job Profile, "A History of Accessibility at IBM" (AccessWorld, March 2004), stated, "Our terminals became 'talkies' just 20 years ago, in 1984." I disagree.
I got my first computer, an Apple II plus, in January 1982, and it definitely had speech. The synthesizer was an Echo, and the software was Braille Edit. I continued to use that combination till 1991 when I changed platforms from Apple to an IBM-based system with JAWS as my screen reader. Of course, I don't mean to belittle the outstanding work of Jim Thatcher at IBM in 1984 and later. It was great.
Morgan Jones
AccessWorld Replies
Early Apple computers were discussed in "Focused and User Friendly," an interview with Doug Geoffray of GW Micro in the January 2002 issue of AccessWorld. In the 1980s he worked for Bill Grimm at Computer Aids and wrote some of the Apple software. If more readers are interested in the history of assistive technology, we may publish one or more articles on the subject.
Good Reviews
I really enjoy reading AccessWorld and the AccessWorld Extra newsletter for their informative content. I especially like the product reviews because they give readers a good look into what a product's capabilities actually are, as opposed to promotional messages that explain what the product is all about. I was wondering if, in upcoming issues, AccessWorld could feature a product review or comparison between stand-alone reading machines such as Pulse Data International's ScannaR and Freedom Scientific's VERA? I would love to read someone's hands-on experience with these units, as I am considering purchase of a scan-and-read system.
Maria Kristic
AccessWorld Replies
An evaluation of stand-alone reading machines is high on our to-do list.
