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                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 962

                           Tuesday, June 29, 1993

Today's Topics:


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                      Re: Microsoft and screen readers
                             address book wanted
                         diagramming and programming
                          Diagraming And Programing
                        Greeting Cards For The Blind
                           midy  music  and speech
                  DOS 6 Manuals for legally blind users...
    Speaking of upgrades on things...how about a basic Braille and Speak?
                            Re: scanner question
                              INFO FOR PROJECT


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Subject: Re: Microsoft and screen readers
From: person@plains.NoDak.edu (Brett Person)
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network


Microsoft does provide on-line help, which is as good as that coloring book
they give you for DOS 6.

I run OS/2 and Linux so I don't have 6.0 online amd am not likely to, but I
do think the help system is quite speech friendly.
--
Brett Person
Guest Account
North Dakota State University
person@plains.nodak.edu || person@plains.bitnet




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Subject: address book wanted
From: dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil (Jude DaShiell)


You have two good options.
The first is vern buerg's list program which
can work with speech synthesizers with the /b switch on the
command line.  This has the automatic phone dialer built in.
you just position the cursor on the first character of the
phone number and hit the dial command and your modem does the dialing for you.

your second option is ct for contact tracking software announced
earlier here.
list is more general in that you can store anything you want in files
rather than just addresses though.

<dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil>
j. DaShiell
Naval Air Warfare Center
Aircraft Division Warminster
Street and Jacksonville Roads
Warminster, PA   18974-5000
(215)-441-2229




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Subject: diagramming and programming
From: dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil (Jude DaShiell)


One solution   you might try is
get modeling clay and real clay.
Take a pencil with a slightly dulled point and draw on
the modeling clay what you want.
Next freeze the modeling clay.
Wait until it's solid.
Then get a strip of softer modeling clay and wrap it around the
edge of the frozen tablet.
This should make a fence of about 3/4 inch over the top of
the tablet.
Next mix up the real clay with water until you have a heavy cream consistency.
now pour the heavy cream into the fence enclosure on your drawn
tablet.  If you did the drawing in reverse and slate and
stylus users do this easily, you wait about a week then come back
and take the modeling clay carefully off the real clay and
set the real clay out to dry.
End result is a raised drawing.
It's a take off on the babylonians since they were into
cuneiform and if sighted people or an optacon
has described the basic shapes and diagram layouts to you well enough
they're easy to reproduce.
One way to nail sighted people is to put all the writing in braille on the
tablets.  it sort of makes you indispensable.

<dashiell@nadc.nadc.navy.mil>
j. DaShiell
Naval Air Warfare Center
Aircraft Division Warminster
Street and Jacksonville Roads
Warminster, PA   18974-5000
(215)-441-2229


p.s. i'm doing programming now and will be going much more into
systems analysis and design in the future.




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Subject: Diagraming And Programing
From: Chuck.Broome@p0.f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Chuck Broome)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:104/809.0 - Fantasy Mountain, Golden CO


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

  I was once trading notes with a programmer who happened to be
blind and we got into this topic. He said he cut some braille paper
up into various shapes representing the various operations, then
brailled these with commonly-used terminology. When constructing
diagrams for his class, he would lay them out and connect them with
a very narrow tape that you can get in drafting-supply stores (art
stores may also have it).  For laying things out, you can now get a
special kind of glue stick that has the same stuff they use on those
stick-on notes - that is, you can easily peel things up to
reposition them. Hope this helps. -- Chuck

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809.0!Chuck.Broome
Internet: Chuck.Broome@p0.f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Greeting Cards For The Blind
From: Chuck.Broome@p0.f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Chuck Broome)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:104/809.0 - Fantasy Mountain, Golden CO


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

  I can't help you with the address or anything, but a friend of
mine got a mailer about 4 years back for some greeting cards in
braille. She says she THINKS they came from the Red Cross but isn't
at all sure. So at least they do exist somewhere. Sorry I don't have
more info. -- Chuck

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!809.0!Chuck.Broome
Internet: Chuck.Broome@p0.f809.n104.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: midy  music  and speech
From: John.Sanfilippo@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (John Sanfilippo)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89.0 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi Rusty,

I think you were basically asking if MIDI gear such as the
Rolland D10 or the Yamaha PSR500 or any MIDI keyboards can be
made to talk so that you could set their parameters the way you
want them set.

As far as I understand the current technology, the short answer
is no. These devices cannot be made to talk without lots of
technical hardware revisions!

I wonder if this kind of thing falls under ADA jurisdiction?  At
an ADA conference i asked and was told no.

About all your friend can do is get sighted help and try to
memorize the steps needed to make the settings you need to make.
I'm in the same boat, so i certainly understand your friend's
frustration.

Thanks for bringing this out.
jjcs

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89.0!John.Sanfilippo
Internet: John.Sanfilippo@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: DOS 6 Manuals for legally blind users...
From: Donna.Prentice@f415.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Donna Prentice)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/415 - Panorama, Binghamton NY


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

*Please* if you have any luck with MicroSoft, let me know? I know
of at least 2 people in that boat who want to learn DOS and I've
been hard-pressed to come up with anything that'll work for them.

I just ran across a program called PCL (Personal Computer Lessons
is, I think, what it stands for). It looks like I may be able to
get it with VocalEyes. One of the nicest things about the program
is that it covers computers in general, not just basic DOS
commands.

At any rate, let me know how you fare...

Shi

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!415!Donna.Prentice
Internet: Donna.Prentice@f415.n260.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Speaking of upgrades on things...how about a basic Braille and Speak?
From: Donna.Prentice@f415.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Donna Prentice)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/415 - Panorama, Binghamton NY


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Has anyone out there upgraded one? I'm not sure of the specifics
but I think the one in question has the basic configuration (like
64 k of memory or something).

Anyone who has upgraded: what are the advantages that you've
noticed? Was it worth the expense?

Thanks,
Shi

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!415!Donna.Prentice
Internet: Donna.Prentice@f415.n260.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Re: scanner question
From: Mike.Freeman@f107.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Freeman)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:105/107 - Don't Panic, Vancouver WA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

On <20 Apr 93 23:02>, Samuel Bushman spake unto David Tanner these words:

 SB> Scanning with an OpenBook reply

 SB> Hello,
 SB> I tryed those things and it doesn't seem to help.  If I
 SB> take smartdrv out of my config.sys
 SB> file things work well.  For

Yeah, SMARTDRV seems to cause a lot of problems with adaptive
software.  I know in the docs the come with Slimware Window
Bridge, they say that some systems don't behave nicely with
SMARTDRV.  Wonder if it's that smart, then {grin}?

BTW, seeing as I'm a weirdo and still use CP/M systems, I'd be
interested in knowing just what SMARTDRV is and what it's
supposed to do?

Ciao!

Mike Freeman
    CRR QWK 1.50a-

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!105!107!Mike.Freeman
Internet: Mike.Freeman@f107.n105.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: INFO FOR PROJECT
From: Mike.Freeman@f107.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Freeman)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:105/107 - Don't Panic, Vancouver WA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

On <16 Apr 93 23:56>, Christie Harrison spake unto All these words:

 CH> As an Interior Design student, my
 CH> project this term is to design an institution
 CH> that meets ADA specifications.  I am
 CH> proposing a gathering place that holds
 CH> resource (library) facilities and a
 CH> cafe with sit down dining.

 CH> This is an info. gathering series of
 CH> questions.  I would like to know what you
 CH> would like/dislike in a building such as this.

Hello, Christie.

Please forgive the tardiness of this reply; I read this echo,
several BBs on GEnie plus my E-mail, Internet mail and several
Usenet conferences and this necessitates a "triage" approach that
inevitably puts one echo or another at the bottom of the totem
pole occasionally.  I hope that this message is still of use to
you.  I will also contact you via Netmail thru my Internet
account.

I am blind; I have light perception.  What I will say pertains
*only* to the blind; I do not presume to speak to what other PWDs
with disabilites other than blindness need or what would be
desirable for them.

Insofar as the blind are concerned, there *are* no physical or
mobility barriers that need be taken into consideration when
designing a building.  With proper use of a white cane or guide
dog, blind persons can navigate with perfect ease and safety thru
any building.  You need make no special design changes or
accommodations to help the blind; blindness affects the eyes, not
the feet or brain {grin}.

There are a few touches (most of which are ADA requirements),
such as Brailled and raised-print-character elevator button
labels, signs on bathroom doors (those International stick-figure
symbols aren't explicit enough for me {grin}), etc.  However,
little, if anything else need be done.  There need be, as far as
I am concerned, no specially-textured terrain (floors, stairs,
etc.) nor need there be special color contrasts or lighting.  I
would opine, however, that good color contrasts and good, clear,
nonglare lighting is good for *everyone*, not just the blind.

There is *one* suggestion which I might make that I think would
be a good idea.  I've seen it in *one* place only -- the Irwin
Building on the campus of the Washington State School for the
Blind.  I believe it was put in with the blind in mind but it
makes so much sense for everyone that I cannot help but suggest
it.

Modern fire codes require that room doors (as of classrooms) open
outward so that, in the event of a fire, people do not get jammed
up against a closed door, preventing escape due to their weight
holding the door closed.  This makes sense; the number of
tragedies in which lives have been lost due to such jams is
legion.  However, this requirement brings with it a hazard --
that of doors swinging open into hallways and hitting the heads
(or other appendages) of passersby.  Incidentally, I've seen this
happen in buildings *not* designed for the blind as, for example,
the public high school I attended.  I saw a couple of pretty
serious injuries due to doors swinging open and bopping people in
the head.

The solution is simple:  recess the doorways to the rooms such
that, when the door is opened (and, thus, swings outward), it
does not protrude into the hallway and, when fully-open,
extending perpendicularly outward at right-angles to the room
opening, its outer edge is flush with the walls of the hall.

Such a feature, IMHO, should be universally adopted for the
benefit of *everyone*.

Take care.

Mike Freeman
    CRR QWK 1.50a-

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!105!107!Mike.Freeman
Internet: Mike.Freeman@f107.n105.z1.fidonet.org




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                 End of Issue # 962 of the Blind News Digest

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