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                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1115

                         Thursday, February 02, 1995

Today's Topics:


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                                  For sale
                           message for Anjoo Sikka
                               Research Paper
                            Macular Degen - HELP!
           Re: Catalogs of products for visually impaired wanted.
                        Re: Help with braille display
                                RP surgeries
             Microsoft letter to National Council on Disability
                              Re: VOICE TYPERS?


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                              (203) 926-6187



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Subject: For sale
From: speedy@halcyon.com*** (Julie Clark)
Organization: Northwest Nexus Inc.

I have an Epson Real Voice for sale $2,000.00 for best offer. The
voice is female. You type in what you want to say and the machine
speaks it. The machine is six years old and inexcellent condition.
You can program many phases or just a sentence. The Epson Real
Voice is for people who need a communicative device. It can also be
used as a computer input device.  Please e-mail me at
speedy@halcyon.com, if you have interest and I can give you more
information about the capabilities of the Epson Real Voice. If you
know where I can advertise my Epson Real Voice please let me know.



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Subject: message for Anjoo Sikka
From: jodie_hoger@uow.edu.au (Jodie Hoger)
Organization: University of Wollongong

Dear Anjoo,
I have tried sending you an e-mail however it does not seem to be able to
process. I am a parent with a severe vision impairment and would like to
have the opportunity to help you with your informal survey. My name is
Jodie Hoger.My work address is:
Ms. Jodie HOger
Disability Services
University of Wollongong
Norhtfields Ave, Wollongong, 2522
NSW
Australia.
My e-mail address is: j.hoger@uow.edu.au

I hope that we can talk about the issues of parenting with a disability
soon.
Regards,

Jodie Hoger




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Subject: Research Paper
From: avatar@utw.com (Jerry Costley)
Organization: Avatar, Inc.

     A student who is blind should be able to dictate a research paper.  If
someone reads through the options in the card catelogue, and he/she selects
the ones he/she is interested in, then the work will still be his/hers.
Moreover, if a screen reader is available, the work could be typed on a
computer, and the library computer could possibly be accessed through the
internet independently.  A couple of observations.



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Subject: Macular Degen - HELP!
From: cp0k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Claire Rene Palmgren)
Organization: Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

hi all,

i have myopic macular degeneration, not age related as i am 29 years
old. i had a check-up at my retina doctor's last week.  i have a blood
vessel growing behind my retina in the macular area.  they have decided
not to do laser treatment to remove it, as they said there is no
evidence cited that this will be of any benefit to my vision.

i am searching for any doctors currently doing research on treating
this. i am eager to be a patient in their trials.  i have heard that
someone is doing trials with thalidomide to prevent vessel growth.  does
anyone know ehere this is being done?  can you pleas forward any names
or locations of people who may be treating cases such as mine?  i am
willing to travel anywhere.

i would also be interested in finding info on any alternative medicine
treatments.  the vision in my eye has deteriorated from 20/40 to 20/400
in 11 months.

thanks for any info.
claire
cp0k@andrew.cmu.edu
pittsburgh, pa



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Subject: Re: Catalogs of products for visually impaired wanted.
From: venkat@scs.leeds.ac.uk (N B Venkateswarlu)
Organization: The University of Leeds, School of Computer Studies


In article <35181@handicap.news>, jonwilson@aol.com (JonWilson) writes:
|> Index Number: 35181
|>
|> The best place I know of is the National Association for the Visually
|> Handicapped in New York city. They have a mail-order catalog, and prices
|> that are remarkably reasonable. I'm sorry I can't find their address or
|> phone number, but directory assistance will have it. Fine organization,
|> deserving all support. Good luck.
|> Yrs, Jon Wilson

 Can any one inform the address and email address of National Association for
the visuallu Handicapped of New York.


  Venkat



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Subject: Re: Help with braille display
From: ketil@colargol.edb.tih.no (Ketil Albertsen)
Organization: Sor-Trondelag College, Norway

ANWRtbeer (anwrtbeer@aol.com) wrote:
: Also, I would appreciate any info on a braille display that is compatible
: with windows.

I doubt that yoou will ever find one. Contrary to plain DOS, the character
codes are stored nowhere in computer memory agter they are output - only
the graphical pixel patterns.

Some clever programmer with little to do may some day write a "hook" (I don't
think Microsoft's definition of the term "hook" covers this, but anyway...)
catching all output calls from all running Windows programs, file the output
data in its own structures, and pass the call on to Windows itself. But that
will be a less than trivial application, since all cursor movements must be
traced, you must be prepared for text written in all directions, upside down
etc (true, that doesn't affect the character code but it does affect the
position of each char in the image), char size effects positioning (what you
first though was large line spacing due to a large font is later filled in
with small print inbetween the lines - where will you store these data in yur
data structure?) and zillions of problems like this.

I'll go another way: Since the braille display (at least the Alva) is run
through the serial port, and any Windows program may request control of the
port, I'll make (for my daughtere, who will be getting her Alva in a couple
of weeks) a set of small programs : A simple editor (which will allow editing
and printing size to be specified independently! Why doesn't standard tools
like W4W and Write offer this?) a large, fullscreen calculator, a scanner
control program for a TWAIN interface - all of these with explicitly programmed
output to the braille reader. Call it a poor man's solution, but it will be
tailor made to braille users, and therefore likely to be more functional thn
"forcing a square Windows into a round braille needle".
(Related to the original request: Yes, when my daughter grows old enough to
care for that, I'll make a Gopher client with braille output too. Sure you
can use DOS based onew, but in a few years I believe that DOS is conpletely
gone on the standard PC, so we'll *have* to make Windows based tools. And
if noone else makes braille-oriented tools, we have to do it ourselves.)

Ketil



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Subject: RP surgeries
From: flax@Waisman.Wisc.Edu (Marshall Flax)

Denise -- the last i heard, these were surgeries without any merit.  I
suggest that you check with the RP Foundation in Baltimore and/or your own
eye doctor before taking this risk.

Marshall

>I am looking for information from people who have been to Cuba for the
>Retinitis Pigmentosa operation and the Ozone treatment.  I am thinking
>about going to Cuba to get the operation and Ozone therapy.   My problem
>is central vision loss - i can still see (kinda) with peripheral vision.  If
>you have been to Cuba please call me and let me know if this experience has
>helped you or not.
>
>TIA, I will post a summary of my findings to this group.
>
>    Denise Russell
Happy Birthday Louis Braille! January 4, 1809

On the information superhighway my exit is Flax@Waisman.Wisc.Edu

Otherwise, you can reach me at:
Wisconsin Council of the Blind
354 West Main Street
Madison, WI  53703-3115
USA
1-608-255-6178
FAX: 1-608-255-3301




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Subject: Microsoft letter to National Council on Disability
From: JAMAL@KSGDFS.HARVARD.EDU (Jamal Mazrui)


Since arranging a meeting at Microsoft headquarters in August
1994, the National Council on Disability--a federal advisory
board appointed by the President--has been diligently advocating
for improved access to the Microsoft Windows operating
environment, particularly for people who are blind or visually
impaired.  Marca Bristo (the chair), Bonnie O'Day (an appointee),
and Billy-Jean Hill (a staff person) deserve particular credit
for this work, which--combined with the efforts of others--seems
to be achieving substantive results.

A few days ago, NCD received a responsive letter from a
senior vice president at Microsoft.  With NCD's permission, I am
sharing it here.

Jamal Mazrui
jamal@ksgdfs.harvard.edu

------------------------------

Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA  98052-6399

January 25, 1995

Ms. Marca Bristo
Chairperson
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, N.W. -- Suite 1050
Washington, D.C.  20004-1107

Dear Ms. Bristo:

Thank you for your letter to Bill Gates concerning blind
accessibility to Microsoft Windows and other products.  I am
sorry to be so long in getting back to you.  As you can imagine,
we've been very busy ensuring the upcoming release of Windows 95
does the best job possible addressing the issues that you raise.
I want to emphasize Microsoft is very committed to making
computers easier to use for everyone, including individuals with
disabilities.  Personal computers are powerful tools that enable
people to work, create, and communicate in ways that might
otherwise difficult or impossible.  The vision of enabling all
people can be realized only if individuals with disabilities have
equal access to the powerful world of personal computing.

That said, I would like to share with you some of the areas we
are focusing our resources on for Windows 95:
*    New API's (Application Programming Interface) and "hooks"
are being developed
to allow Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to develop
third-party accessibility                                   aids,
especially those which allow blind individuals to use Windows by
way of a                                               screen
reader.  These include the ability to access both low-level
graphics                                     operations as well
as higher level graphics information, methods to retrievewindow
focus change and system carat location information, and methods
for                           screen readers to bypass system
criteria dialog boxes and messages.  By providingdocumented and
supported interfaces to this information, it allows the
ISVcommunity to be innovative in their own accessibility products
for Windows.
*    We're also developing a Windows 95 tutorial for blind users
to better introduce
the rich set of functionality now available, as well as the
ability for the computer                                    to
read text to a user ('text to speech') and the ability for a user
to tell a                                         computer what
to do ('voice command').
*    For people with limited vision, we've designed the Windows
95 visual interface to be very easy to customize.  This includes
a customizable mouse pointer, high-contrast color schemes, high
contrast mode, and customizable windows titles, scroll bars,
borders, and menu text.  In addition to be easy to customize,
we're working on utilities for users with limited vision such as
a screen enlarger.
*    We're integrating and improving the features from the Access
Pack which compensate for difficulties some individuals have
using the keyboard mouse.  These features include
'stickkeys' (allows users to type with a single finger or
mouthstick), 'filterkeys' (allows users to brush against keys
without any ill effect, and when the user gets a finger on the
proper key, they can hold the key down until the character prints
to the screen), 'repeatkeys' (allows users to adjust the speed at
which the keys repeat), 'bouncekeys' (instructs Windows to ignore
unintended key strokes), and 'mousekeys' (allows users to control
the mouse pointer using the keyboard).
*    Aside from the above features, we're also developing an
on-screen keyboard for users who have difficulty navigating with
a keyboard.
*    We're providing additional visual feedback for users who are
deaf or hard-of-hearing, including 'showsounds' (allows Windows
to tell applications to show audible information, akin to 'close
captioned' television broadcasts), and 'soundsentry' (tells
Windows to send a visual cue, such as a blinking title bar or
screen flash whenever there is a system beep).
*    We will be making Windows 95 documentation in an accessible
format.

Since your meeting here on campus in August, we have assembled a
sizable group of employees who are working to devise a means of
making all of our products more accessible.  I know that Windows
95 has been of particular concern.  As indicated above, Windows
95 will have improved support for blind access techniques over
Windows 3.1, as well as the many other features mentioned.  Some
features may not ship in the initial release of Windows 95, but
we will find a way to include these additional features as soon
after the initial release as possible.  We have also stepped up
our efforts to work with accessibility software vendors and to
provide them with better technical access, so that they can
address the limitations of current software.  To provide this
opportunity, we will be holding an "Accessibility Summit" where
software vendors will be invited to participate in an exchange of
ideas and experience creating products for people with
disabilities.  We won't, however, rely solely on software vendors
to do all the work.  Some additional utilities we'll build
ourselves.

We are continuing to hear, from a variety of sources, about the
problem that graphical interfaces, and Windows in particular,
present to individuals who are blind.  We understand the need to
address these shortcomings as soon as is feasible and are
committed to making Windows the most accessible operating system
available.  To adequately ensure each issue is addressed, we are
initiating an internal research effort on making graphical user
interfaces more accessible for the disabled.  We're also
investigating establishing an independent effort for
accessibility criteria for all Windows-based applications.

We hope that in the interests of greater accessibility for blind
computer users we can enter into a productive dialog with the
National Council on Disability and with other disability
organizations to reach our common goal.  In fact, we are in the
process of setting up an advisory board and are eager to involve
you if possible.  I would personally like to meet with you to
discuss these issues.  A member of my team will contact you in
the near future to set up a meeting where we can begin working
closely together.

Sincerely,
Brad Silverberg
Senior Vice President
Personal Systems Division

cc:  Bill Gates



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Subject: Re: VOICE TYPERS?
From: ralf@ark.franken.de (Ralf W. Stephan)
Organization: his desk writing an article

Aimie Palmer writes:
> Her parents are trying to hook up a system that will read everything on
> the screen to her, but don't know how.

For Text->Speech or Speech->Text software, consult the
comp.speech FAQ.  Good luck.

ralf



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                 End of Issue # 1115 of the Blind News Digest

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