🚀 go-pugleaf

                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1091

                         Tuesday, November 15, 1994

Today's Topics:


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                              IDEA and Braille
                      CALL FOR WWW USERS WHO ARE BLIND
                             Re: A blind friend.
                       Bioptic Glasses - Usage (rcpt)
                      Accessible Billing and Statements
                          Pacific Bell Phone Bills
                     Help with Windows and AS400 access


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To subscribe to the Blind News Digest mailing list or have your
thoughts in the next issue, please send electronic mail to
Bill McGarry at any of the following addresses:


UUCP:       uunet!bunker!wtm
INTERNET:   wtm@bunker.afd.olivetti.com
BITNET:     blindnws@ndsuvm1.bitnet
Fidonet:    The Handicap News BBS (141/420)   1-203-926-6168
            (300 - 14,400 baud, 24 hours)

                              Bill McGarry (Moderator)
                              (203) 926-6187



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Subject: IDEA and Braille
From: David.Andrews@f1125.n261.z1.fidonet.org (David Andrews)


[Note from Bill McGarry: This was my fault for not getting this
article out before the November 7th deadline.  My apologies.
I am still posting this article in case the Department of
Education will accept comments.



     As many of you may know, the Department of Education is currently
accepting comments on the regulations for the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  These comments can be made
through November 7th.

     As you may also know, the National Federation of the Blind is concerned
with the teaching of Braille to blind and visually impaired school children.
We are asking people to make comments concerning Braille issues.

     A suggested sentence conveying our concerns reads as
follows:

"Regulations to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should set a
standard that Braille must be considered for each blind student and can not
be refused merely because a child can also see enough to read some print."

     Please make your comments by November 7th.  They can be submitted via
the Internet by sending them to the following address;

dan_morgan@ed.gov

     Comments can also be Faxed to:

Mr. Daniel Morgan
Department of Education
Office of Special Education Programs
(202) 260-0416.

David Andrews
---------
Internet: David.Andrews@f1125.n261.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: CALL FOR WWW USERS WHO ARE BLIND
From: senkmj@ptbma.usbm.gov (Mark J. Senk WB3CAI)

While you may not be a www user right now, perhaps you are interested or
know someone who is.
I just wanted to spread the word.


Mark Senk       (412) 892-6513  senkmj@ptbma.usbm.gov
U.S. Bureau of Mines
Pittsburgh, PA  15236


---------- Forwarded message ----------
 Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 17:02:18 -0600 (CST)
 From: Gleason Sackman <sackman@plains.nodak.edu>
 To: net-happenings <net-happenings@is.internic.net>
 Subject: MISC> CALL FOR WWW USERS WHO ARE BLIND (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
 Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 20:01:59 +0100
 From: Gregg Vanderheiden <gcvander@facstaff.wisc.edu>
 To: Multiple recipients of list <www-talk@www0.cern.ch>
 Subject: CALL FOR WWW USERS WHO ARE BLIND

There is an increasing number of people and programs who are trying to
figure out the best ways of making the WWW accessible to people with low
vision and those who are blind.  As a result, the Trace Center is getting
increasing requests from people and organizations for information on what is
the best mechanism or what would be most appropriate for users who are
blind.  In order to provide them with better opportunities to get first-hand
input, we would like to identify individuals who are using the World Wide
Web who have low vision or who are blind, and who are interested in
communicating with these people and programs and offering opinions about
strategies for making browsers and other WWW tools more accessible to people
with visual impairments.  We are also interested in identifying individuals
who are interested in helping us in our research here at the Trace Center in
making next-generation information systems in general more accessible to
people with low vision or blindness.

If you are such a WWW user (Mosaic, Lynx, etc.) and are interested in having
your name shared with researchers and developers in this area, please send
your name in a message to

curbcuts@trace.wisc.edu

Please note in your message that you are interested in having your name
added to the listing of WWW users who are blind or have low vision, and
indicate whether you would like to be listed as a consumer/user with low
vision or with blindness.

If you do not want to provide your name for one of these resource lists, but
you would like to follow what's going on, you can also send a message to
that effect to curbcuts@trace.wisc.edu, asking to be put on our e-mail list
for updates on the Info Curbcuts Project.


Gregg

Gregg C. Vanderheiden, Ph.D.
Internet gcvander@facstaff.wisc.edu
608/262-6966 fax 608/262-8848







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Subject: Re: A blind friend.
From: ebohlman@netcom.com (Eric Bohlman)
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)

james cowell (jamesc@maestro.com) wrote:
: Index Number: 34265

:       Hi, My name is James Cowell and I am looking for some info on a
: good screen reader for a friend of mine who is totaly blind. He would
: like to be able to set up a system so that he would be able to have as
: much access to the Net as he can. I wonder if you might recomend some

One possibility for him would be Tinytalk from OMS Development (of which
I'm the owner, so add as many grains of salt as you feel necessary).
This is a DOS screen reader which will make any text-mode dos program
accessible through a voice synthesizer (as with any screen reader, you
may have to do a little setup in order to hear things the way you want to).

Tinytalk supports the majority of voice synthesizers.  We also sell the
Echo PC synthesizer from Echo Speech Corporation and the Doubletalk
synthesizer (both internal and external models) from RC Systems.

Tinytalk is shareware and costs $75.  The Tinytalk/Echo package is $190,
the Tinytalk/internal Doubletalk package is $350, and the
Tinytalk/external Doubletalk package is $360.

Note that while Tinytalk can use a Soundblaster card for speech output in
some applications, telecommunications isn't one of them; you need a
dedicated speech synthesizer to access applications that require the
computer to be able to receive data in real time.

For more information about Tinytalk or the synthesizers mentioned,
contact OMS Development at 800-831-0272 (708-251-5787 outside the US and
Canada).




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Subject: Bioptic Glasses - Usage (rcpt)
From: nva1726@dsacva2.dpsc.dla.mil (Gregory Sanborn)

Hi Bill,

    For some reason, I never saw this posted to the misc.handicap newwgroup,
and there seemed to be a long gap when nothing was being posted to the group.
Would you please re-post this, thank you!
- clip here -

    I am considering purchasing either Bita or Acutech bioptic glasses.  I am
not sure which is best for me.  I have some information on the Bita lenses but
very little on the Acutech lenses.  My best vision corrected is approximately
20/80.  If anyone has experience with either of these two devices, or anything
else you believe is relevant (cost is also a factor), I welcome your feedback.
Currently, I own a pair of bioptic glasses made by Designs For Vision, it is
very heavy and strange looking.  For these reasons I rarely wear them anymore,
and am investigating newer (better) types of eye correction.  Thanks in advance
for any information you provide.  Please E-mail your response (my address
appears below) as well as posting to this newsgroup.


                                ******
********
 * Any sufficiently advanced programming bug will become a feature........... *
 *============================================================================*
 * Gregory H. Sanborn                  *                INTERNET:             *
 * DLA Systems Design Center           *     gsanborn@dsacva2.dpsc.dla.mil    *
 * DSDC-VFD                            *     Commercial:  (215) 737-7646      *
 * P.O. Box 8529                       *     Autovon:           444-7646      *
 * Philadelphia, PA  19145-8529        *     Fax:         (215) 737-2080      *

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********




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Subject: Accessible Billing and Statements
From: kford@netcom.com (Kelly Ford)
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)


I am interested in compiling a list of banks, credit card companies,
phone companies, utilities and other companies that currently offer
things like bills and statements in an accessible format to those who
can't read print.

Anyone with information on this subject can e-mail it to kford@netcom.com
and I will post the list here and make it available via FTP.


--
Kelly Ford

KFORD@NETCOM.COM

Looking for someone to join your organization?  Check the URL
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/kford/resume.txt to see if I might be that person.




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Subject: Pacific Bell Phone Bills
From: hksbfred@ctsc.hkbc.hk (Hong Kong Society for the Blind)




After reading Kelly Ford's article in Blind News Digest No. 1089, about Pacific
Bell phone bills, I like to let readers of this newsletter know the following :

Since Summer 1993, Hong Kong Electric Company has been providing braille
electricity bills for blind customers.  All we need to do is just to let the
company know that you are a blind person, the company will then put you on
record and sends out the bills every month a braille bill in addition to the
original print one which the person can pay with, leaving the braille bill for
personal reference.

The braille bills are produced directly by the computers and embossers at the
company itself, not through any braille printing house.  Customers do not have
to pay any extra fees either.

If people like more information on this, please contact me.

Fred Leung (hksbfred@ctsc.hkbc.hk)



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Subject: Help with Windows and AS400 access
From: UD167958@VM1.NoDak.EDU (John Nordlie)
Organization: Gizmonic Institute II


A blind friend of mine needs help finding a decent access program
for use with Windows 3.1 applications, including AS 400 access
through 5250 terminal emulation.  He's using an Artic Transport
synthisizer on a Gateway 2000 486.  Any pointers to products
or experience you've had and could share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.


---------------------------------------------------------------
| John Nordlie                  |  C Program.                 |
| N0RNB                         |  C Program Run.             |
| UD167958@vm1.nodak.edu        |  Run, Dammit, Run!          |
| #include <std.disclaimer>     |                             |
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                 End of Issue # 1091 of the Blind News Digest

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