Establishing A New Orbit

The countdown over the last 10 days was leding up to something. And here it is!

http://blog.serotek.com/2010/07/establishing-new-orbit.html

Greetings and salutations Serotekiens!

I'm super awesome thrilled to be here and I am looking forward to meeting many members of the community. Wait a second, that is the end bit. I got a little ahead of myself. Must remember, introductions first. My name is Joe Steinkamp, however, many of you reading this might know me by another name. A particular call sign on a little old blog called The Ranger Station. Ranger1138 is my alter ego of the past 15 years. Now he and I are one thanks to the fine people at Serotek.

But if you haven't read my blog, followed me on Twitter or noticed that I haven't updated Facebook in an extremely long while, let me give you some pertinent information as to the "who" behind the "why" I'm coming aboard one of the most exciting places to be in the Assistive Technology Industry.

At 7 years old I dreamed of being in radio. Those dreams came true in college. However, I found that I craved to have more interaction with people beyond the spinning of today's top hits. So, I got into sales. Really expensive home theater sales. that became more retail driven and I found myself working as a Corporate Trainer for a large retail chain. When that came to a crashing end, I moved into the cubes of technical support for what was then [and is no longer] a major computer manufacturer.

None of that on face value sounds like much I know. Here are the more relevant parts of my history. For the last 10 years I've worked in Vocational Rehabilitation and Rehab Engineering for the State of Texas. For 5 of those years I was lucky enough to work in a room with more than $250,000 worth of new and currently available Assistive Technology. Video Magnifiers, Screen Readers, OCR solutions, Screen Magnification programs, Braille Displays, portable note takers, book readers and tons more. Chances are if it beeped, flashed, talked or if it was generally to expensive to own I may have worked with it during my time in this amazing room full of toys.

As much as I loved helping Blind folks find the right product to fit their needs for their job, I longed for the ability to delve into specific technologies and subjects outside my four walls. Fantastic platforms like the Serotalk podcasts and Tech Chats have really widened my thoughts on many portions of the technology landscape. I mentioned this to a few at Serotek, a tranquilizer dart was fired and I woke up here typing on this blog in a font that isn't mine. Or, I was offered the opportunity to participate in the company's vision and I readily jumped at the chance to share in that grand adventure.

Okay, now that I've filled in some of the blanks, I'm now hoping to get to know all of you better. I am ecstatic to be able to come on board and be a part of the Serotek Community. And I'm looking forward to talking about an array of subjects that we as a Blind Community face in our daily lives. Just one thing before I start, I want to thank several of the Serotek staff for giving me a padded cell instead of the generic government issued cube to live in during my stay with the company. So far it is very luxurious and comfy.

Regeneration

It is no secret that I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who. I was 7 when I first saw Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor, on the screen of KPRC-TV Channel 2 in Houston. Channel 2 was awesome for Sci Fi. They ran Space 1999, The Prisoner and other British shows including Monty Python right after Saturday Night Live. Doctor Who, however, was my favorite of the lot.

It wasn’t Star Trek, which I also loved because I was in the city that saved Trek thanks to Bjo Tremble, and it wasn’t Star Wars. The Doctor was just something new to a small kid like me sitting in Houston. And the sound of the TARDIS is as familiar to me as the sound of a doorbell. Instinct kicks in and I look around for where that noise is coming from.

My cousins, who lived in New Orleans, were luckier than I as they had a PBS station that showed more than Doctor number 4. They had episodes of both the 5th and the 6th Doctor in the 80’s. I was forced to trade precious items on a borrowing plan in order to secure their videotape collections one faithful summer. And it was so worth it!

Growing up legally Blind in a small Texas town, we moved from Houston when I was a little older, meant that you fit into three distinct areas. Ag, Jock or Stoner. I was none of these things. In fact, I was worse off. I was a Dungen and Dragons Chess playing geek whose parents had him listen to classical music growing up. I rebeled and turned to the Electric Light Orchestra for some sort of change. Still, I watched a lot of PBS because the Doctor had moved to share airtime with  “Blake’s 7” on Channel 8 [the public station KUHT]. And I would follow him anywhere.

Conversations on the school grounds about Daleks, Cybermen and other assorted monsters were generally frowned upon. Although I did manage to get a steady D&D group together around 8th grade. I couldn’t get anyone into Doctor Who no matter how much I tried.

“Its too slow” they said. “They talk weird” which was something even my parents would say when trying to figure out the various regional dialects of the UK. My father, however, would point out the wobbly sets and cheap effects as a reason why he didn’t find the show appealing. me? I thought it added charm. The copious amounts of speech to convey the lack of visuals thrilled me to no end. It was like “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” or “Lost in Space”. both sported the same issues, yet others adored those shows.

It was then that I realized that visuals didn’t really matter to me when it came to enjoying any form of media. Mostly because I didn’t really see them very well, but also I learned to appreciate the substance of the story over flashy style. Okay, I admit to being a Knight Rider fan as well. So I’m not all about the heady bits.

The thing was I grew older and fewer stations were carying the Doctor on their airwaves. By my college years I had totally moved on to big budget blockbusters and “movie of the week” events. I was an Entertainment Reporter for my college radio station and it fueled my fire for such things. I didn’t catch up with the Doctor again until the not so hot FOX 1996 movie. We’ll just move on ahead 9 years instead of discussing that for now.

In 2005 the BBC comissioned a new Doctor Who series with Russell T. Davies at the helm. I was ecstatic. Except, and this was a big problem, it was airing in the UK first. This forced me to discover the, er um, alternate means for viewing things on the internet. While I was doing so, I found out tons of history about one of my childhood heroes.

For instance, several of the early stories of the 1st and 2nd Doctor have been lost due to the BBC throwing them away. The older shows were stored on large bulky tapes. And to be fair, the BBC had no idea that the show would become what it is today some 46 years later.

The amazing thing is that geeks, back in the day, recorded the audio tracks from the television. Funny enough, I did the same with Battlestar Galactica, the original version, and it served to be just fine until we got our initial VCR.   

The guys who recorded the audios didn’t know about the other guys who took pictures of the show for their collections. These pictures, called Telesnaps, are some of the only remaining visual records of some of the lost 2nd Doctor stories.

Amazingly enough, the BBC has created some reconstructions of these lost episodes by combining the amateur home audio recordings with the amateur photography still collections. Moreover, the BBC have brought back some of the actors from those stories to read stage direction from the scripts. This narration ends up having a Descriptive Video Service effect. And it makes the show even more Blind friendly as a byproduct of the process of these restorations.

Going back over episodes I never knew, while waiting for the new series to start, was a real blast since there was so much audio content available. Many of the Target Books, a range of books that retold the television stories [like James Blish did for Star Trek], were also available on audio. And, as many have already read, there are the Big Finish radio plays that feature the original actors from the show reprising their roles in all new adventures. In short, I have 500 hours of Doctor Who audio in various forms. All of this audio content makes Doctor Who a wonderful Sci Fi series for the Blind.

Beyond all of this, there are many other reasons why I enjoy the show. 11 actors, in the main series, have played the role of the Doctor. You see many years ago the show had a problem with the 1st Doctor, William Hartnell, growing too old to play the lead character any longer. Rather than retire the series, the BBC decided to recast the role. And since the Doctor was an alien, why not have the new actor take over for the older Doctor? So began the first of the Time Lord’s “regenerations".

The idea is simple. The Doctor, in order to avoid death, would regenerate into someone else. yet he would still be the same character with all his memories from his previous lives. In this way the character can continue his journey but the next actor brings something new to the role as well. It keeps the show fresh. Unlike James Bond, there is direct continuity from the 1st to the 11th Doctor. Long time fans of the show are often rewarded with call backs to events and stories of the past. Which, by all rights, plays into the geeky nature of the show too.

The thought of Regeneration has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve been looking back at my many vocations in my adult life and I could think of them as variations of a theme. Each job building upon the last to add to the greater whole sort of thing. Radio to sales to Corporate Trainer and so on throughout my career. Each job a new regeneration of the same guy. A cycle that culminates in a rebirth into something all together familiar but unique. Not an ending per say, but a new begining. That is the way I view the debut of a new Doctor.

Recently David Tenant, the 10th Doctor, ended his time on the show in a series of specials that aired during 2009. David was the Doctor at a time where the show saw unparalleled levels of success.  His final moments were heartbreaking, however in the last 20 minutes on screen, he saved many of his friends before he moved on to becoming the 11th Doctor. A few critics found it to be overly sentimental  and too self serving. I found it to be wonderful that one could get a curtain call before they said farewell. 

Tenant is credited for being a big part of the show’s popularity in the last four years. Yet, he left the role because he felt it was time to give someone else a chance. Well, that and he said he would continue to do it to a point where it wouldn’t be fun anymore. He didn’t want to come to a script reading and say “Argh, the Sontarans again? REally?”. Therefore, he made plans to leave at the same time when others on the creative team decided that they too would leave the show.

Tenant’s departure was very moving and it happened to coincide with many things I was experiencing in my offline exploits. Not to be overdramatic, or asking for the need for therapy for making comparisons of reality versus fantasy,  but I too have been facing some tough choices on what was best for me in what I do for a living.

I have been extremely lucky enough to work daily in a large room with close to $250,000 of the latest Assistive Technology. More than 50 current Video Magnifiers, 6 shiny new Braille Display models, all kinds of OCR solutions, Speech Recognition, every Screen Reader and Screen Magnifier on the market. And the note takers. All of them as well. You name it, I had a chance to play with it over the last five years.

Beyond the AT, I’ve also been blessed to work with one of the best teams of people anywhere in State Government. We all specialized in a particular field and together we were a fine Assistive Technology machine.

Like David Tenant though, I was starting to reach a point where .. as awesome as it was .. I was starting to not have as much fun with things. Every job has its own politics. And eventually a candy store, as delicious as it sounds, can become a drudgery if you spend enough time there.

Today I said good-bye to co-workers, team mates and friends as I announced my resignation of my position some two weeks ago. While I was sad to leave the people I’ve worked with over the last ten years, I was also happy to begin my life as a newly regenerated Ranger.

I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to do something new but still be in the field of Assistive Technology. Helping others with vision loss has become a passion that I don’t intend to lose no matter the situation. So I could hardly believe that I would get a chance to do something even more exciting than what I had done previously.

EAch Doctor has their ups and downs. And some are more popular than others. I hope those of you who have read this blog over the last five years will find this new Ranger someone worth listening to in the future. And I also hope to see many of you on my travels in my new position.

I’ll link to the clip of David Tenant regenerating into Matt Smith as it sums up my longwinded points on endings and beginnings fairly well.

As always, thank you for reading. . and .. Geronimo!!!!!

A Look Back At 2009: Final Edition

Thought I forgot eh? Well I haven’t, however, this is going to seem very anticlimactic some five months down the road from my original posts. And, thankfully, I sum these two bits up in a paragraph or two. This post has a few edits. I’ve left some anachronisms in place from my draft and added only a sentence here or there.

Apple made a jump into the mobile space for the Blind in a big way last year. There is no denying that the ability to go out to WalMart and buy something off the shelve, and after some doing, come home and make it talk is a fantastic thing. I have a great fear though that some are just trading in one perceived monopoly for one actual monopoly. Um, but I’ll save that discussion for another time. For now, Apple was a big story in 2009.

The biggest story though, and you can confirm my vote with Jamie or J.J. or Rick, was Google and their inclusion of Talkback into Android 1.6 and higher. Why Google? Why not Apple? At the time I stated my reasons as this: 50 handsets running Android for free with most contracts by holiday 2010  can’t be ignored. I stand by that still. While LG offers some built in options, the ability to add talking GPS and Speech Recognition gives the G Men a bit of an edge. Of course, the problem is that the “Eyes Free” project has a long ways to go. Google, unlike Apple, is software based. The ability for Google to throw money, engineers and time at an issue also can’t be ignored. . . Of course, they have to do that part first ..

Google’s bigger issue falls on fragmentation and the rapid ever changing face on what is a Google phone. This is where Apple has the advantage in being predominantly a hardware maker. Google faces an uphill battle with phone manufacturers in the same way that Microsoft does with Windows. And like Windows, Google could be supporting just as many configurations with a new Android phone coming out each week in your box of breakfast cereal. What a cool toy surprise!  

the thing about Microsoft is that they can’t go get a cup of coffee without consulting two teams of lawyers first. The thing about Apple and Google is that they haven’t been tested beyond the court of public opinion yet. At some point the EU and others will descend on both companies and they to will have to defend themselves from the same legal battles as Microsoft. It is just what happens to big companies.

I still think that Google has the potential to rush out of the gate at some point. Either by design or by Advocacy prompting them in nasty ways. it will have to happen. I just wish it would happen faster because we are running out of options in the mobile space. And being locked into a phone platform, a company and a carrier is not a good thing going forward.

Control can be a double edged sword that can cut both sides of the argument clean in half. Reliance can also take the place of control in this scenario as well. I’m reminded of those great but ominous DEVO lyrics on the matter.

“Freedom of choice is what you got.. Freedom from choice is what you want.”

Here the whole track from the link below ..

Yes Virginia, There Is Indeed A Windows 8 On The Horizon

Should this really shock anyone? Really anyone?.. Buler .. Buler? Death, taxes and Windows. 3 constants of the universe. The question will move quickly from when and more to how. As in how will access be changed in Windows 8? The answer may come as early as 2011. but let me back up a second if you are just joining this program already in progress.

The story broke this week about a leaked set of slides detailing early concepts for Windows 8. The following articles cover what was on those slides to the umth degree.

From Beyond Binary

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20009035-56.html

From Neowin

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-planning-039windows-store039-app-store-for-windows-8

From Ars Technica

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/06/leaked-windows-8-slides-an-app-store-for-windows-ie9-beta-in-august.ars

And from the man, Paul at the Windows Super Site

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win8_leak.asp

Its early days yet, however, some information is better than no information at all.

There are some things we do know for sure though..

1. Microsoft has assured many developers that Windows 8 would be 3 years away from the release of Windows 7.

2. Windows 8 is being said to have no 32 bit flavors in the works.

3. There would be some need for new hardware for some advanced features in Win 8 needed on board to make the OS come alive.

To be fair, that third bit has been sung around the campfire for years. I’m not laying awake at night worried about that one at any point between now and release. After all, how can you beta test something if you don’t have the hardware on hand to beta test said product correctly? Yep, not worried about legacy hardware just yet.

Windows 7 has already sold over 150 million licenses since the debut in October 2009. Some in the IT field suggest that the new OS has already taken 10% of the market. This would make it the fastest rate of adoption of an OS.. like ever. Microsoft will, again prepare for the lack of shock, to take it all in stride and release a new OS regardless of 7 sales because they HAVE! to re-establish the market cycle. Barring a major malfunction of horrific proportions, Windows 8 will be upon us in beta in 18 months or less. Such is the way of things.

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Dallas: Geeky High Points Of This Year’s NFB Convention Schedule

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I’ve attended both ACB and NFB Conventions in the past. I’m not suggesting one is better than the other. And, I’m not suggesting you belong to both, either or neither group. What I am saying is that Convention can be a wonderful time where you can learn from others who are into the same things you find interesting. Networking, learning and dog gone it.. having fun with others. that is why I look forward to July.

I’m going to NFB again this year because I’m speaking at the AT Trainers Division meeting. Also, Dallas is kinda closer to Austin. Therefore, I am heading to Dallas on July 3rd.

Here are some portions of the schedule I’ve marked as points of interest. The full schedule can be found at the official 2010 NFB Convention site.

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/National_Convention.asp

Saturday July 3rd

7:30 - 8:45 am—HAM RADIO GROUP EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Milan Room, Tower mezzanine  
Discuss convention frequencies, hotel architectural features, and distributing special FM receivers for the hearing-impaired and Spanish-speaking attendees. D. Curtis Willoughby (ka0vba), Chairperson

8:30 - 11:30 am—WHAT’S NEW IN JAWS 11 AND A FIRST LOOK AT JAWS 12—FREEDOM SCIENTIFIC, INC.
Senators Lecture Hall, Tower lobby
Join Eric Damery, JAWS Product Manager, for an exciting and informative session covering the new details surrounding JAWS development during the past year.  In addition to many demonstrations of JAWS 11 with Research It, this will also be the first look at JAWS 12 scheduled for public beta in August 2010.

9:00 am - 12:00 noon—GW MICRO: SENSE NOTETAKER AND BOOKSENSE TRAINING (Registration: $10; refreshments provided)
Fleur-de-Lis A Room, Atrium mezzanine
The Braille Sense Plus and other Sense notetakers are exciting devices in Braille notetaker technology.  Learn new features, including the GW Sense Navigation GPS.  See the BookSense in action; play your books and audio files with ease.  Raul Gallegos and Jeremy Curry. To register, call 260-489-3671.

9:00 am - 5:00 pm—NFB JERNIGAN INSTITUTE’S ACCESS TECHNOLOGY SEMINARS
Governors Lecture Hall, Tower lobby  
    9:00 - 11:30 am—Apple’s Mac system, iPod series, iPhone, and iPad
    1:00 - 2:00 pm—Ebay’s accessibility improvements
    2:15 - 3:30 pm—Blackboard Learn, the online platform for education      
    3:45 - 5:00 pm—Accessing e-Books rapidly expanding market

1:00 - 3:00 pm—FREEDOM SCIENTIFIC; OPENBOOK 9 AND PEARL PORTABLE READING SOLUTION
Senators Lecture Hall, Tower lobby
Have lightning fast OCR with OpenBook in a portable solution that folds up.  Connect via a USB port and scan documents. Have them read aloud using Eloquence voices or any of Real Speak Solo Direct human-sounding voices now available on OpenBook. Magnify work, write under the camera, and reformat text.

1:00 - 5:00 pm—HUMANWARE PRODUCT SHOWCASE AND USER GROUPS
Obelisk A Room, Atrium mezzanine
Sessions: 1:00 Breeze; 2:00 Portable Devices; 3:00 Stream; 4:00 BrailleNote
Join HumanWare to learn about recent updates and share product tips. Give us your suggestions or ask questions about your favorite HumanWare product. Door Prizes for every session! 

1:30 - 2:45 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel.

2:00 - 5:00 pm—GW MICRO: WINDOW-EYES TRAINING (Registration: $10; refreshments provided)
Fleur-de-Lis A Room, Atrium mezzanine
Explore the power of Window-Eyes with advanced scripting support, Office 2010, Windows 7, and much more.  Come to see support for the Internet and scripting provided by a screen reader.  Presenters: Jeremy Curry and Raul Gallegos. To register, call 260-489-3671.

3:00 - 4:45 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel.

7:00 - 10:00 pm—INDEPENDENCE SCIENCE, LLC FOCUS GROUP ONE
Fleur-de-Lis B Room, Atrium mezzanine
(Preregistration by May 15 was required to attend.) Independence Science LLC, in collaboration with Purdue University researchers, is collecting feedback on a new portable handheld data collection device for blind students to use in high school science laboratories.  (Focus Group Two meets Monday at 7:00 pm) 

7:30 - 9:00 pm—knfbReader MOBILE USERS MEETING
Fleur-de-Lis A Room, Atrium mezzanine
Conducted by Michael Hingson

Sunday July 4th

1:30 - 2:45 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel

Not AT related, but fun to attend anyway...
2:30 - 5:30 pm—TRAVEL AND TOURISM DIVISION
Milan Room, Tower mezzanine
Don Gillmore, President

3:00 - 4:45 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel

3:00 - 5:00 pm—WHAT’S NEW WITH NFB-NEWSLINE®
Lalique Room, Atrium mezzanine
Learn about the NFB’s free audible newspaper service for the blind and visually impaired.  Topics cover Podable News, the new voices, the new on-demand article request feature, and more.  Sign up for NFB-NEWSLINE® at its exhibit hall table.

8:00 - 9:30 pm—WEBMASTERS MEETING
Fleur-de-Lis B Room, Atrium mezzanine
A meeting for all NFB affiliate and division Webmasters to discuss the importance of an informative, accessible, and visually attractive Website.
Gary Wunder, Chairperson, Webmasters Group

Monday July 5th

Don't Miss!!!
12:30 - 5:00 pm—NFB IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
Rosetta Room, Atrium mezzanine  
   12:30 pm–Registration; 1:00 pm–Meeting begins
Some of the topics include: the Macintosh as a productivity tool for the blind; Solona, a CAPTCHA-solving service; Association of Information Technology Professionals presentation; accessibility to Microsoft’s products by its director of accessibility, Rob Sinclair; elections; and much more.  Curtis Chong, President

Don't Miss!!
5:30 - 7:00 pm—KURZWEIL 1000 USERS’ CONTINGENT
Steuben Room, Atrium mezzanine 
Join the Kurzweil 1000 Users’ Contingent!  Meet with Steve Baum, Vice President of Engineering, and share some Kurzweil 1000 experiences.  Kurzweil 1000 is our state-of-the-art, text-to-speech and life navigation software for blind and visually impaired readers.

6:30 - 9:30 pm—SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DIVISION
Wyeth Room, Atrium mezzanine 
  6:30 pm–Registration; 7:00 pm–Meeting begins
John Miller, President

I'll be speaking at this one...
6:30 - 10:00 pm—ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TRAINERS DIVISION
Manchester Room, Tower mezzanine
  6:30 pm–Registration; 7:00 pm–Meeting begins
Topics: determining the right note taker for your student; plunging without fear into Windows 7 with Cathyanne Murtha of Access Technology Institute; Jsay Pro; and teaching the Mac.  Michael Barber, President

7:00 - 10:00 pm—INDEPENDENCE SCIENCE FOCUS GROUP TWO
Fleur-de-Lis B Room, Atrium mezzanine
(Preregistration by May 15 was required to attend.) Independence Science LLC, in collaboration with Purdue University researchers, is collecting feedback on a new portable handheld data collection device for blind students to use in high school science laboratories.

Tuesday July 6th

6:00 - 8:00 pm—AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INTRODUCES AccessWorld  EVERY MONTH AND NEW ONLINE COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Peacock Terrace, West Wing
You are invited to our informational reception. Announcing AFB AccessWorld, every month—more authors, more information, more often. CareerConnect, FamilyConnect, and SeniorSite offer newly-expanded opportunities. Network with families, seniors, and successful mentors. We look forward to meeting you.

7:00 - 8:30 pm—BOOKSHARE AT NFB MEMBER PARTY
Lalique Room, Atrium mezzanine
Enjoy snacks and refreshments while meeting the Bookshare staff. This is your opportunity to talk with us and share your ideas; we’re here to listen.  Plan to have fun with contests, drawings, and interacting with your fellow members.  We look forward to seeing you. 

8:00 - 9:00 pm—BEP: U.S. CURRENCY IDENTIFICATION FOCUS GROUP Steuben Room, Atrium mezzanine
Representatives of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the Office of Product Development provide an update on BEP’s progress to provide blind individuals with access to U.S. currency and discuss concepts it is currently testing. (Session Two: Wednesday at 7:00 pm.)   

Wednesday July 7th

During the General Session …

9:50 am    THE APEX AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS AT HUMANWARE
Gilles Pepin, Chief Executive Officer, HumanWare; Drummondville, Canada

11:10 am    ASSURING INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY
Preety Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Deque Systems, Inc.; Reston, Virginia

7:00 - 8:00 pm—BEP: U.S. CURRENCY IDENTIFICATION FOCUS GROUP Steuben Room, Atrium mezzanine
Representatives of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the Office of Product Development provide an update on BEP’s progress to provide blind individuals with access to U.S. currency and discuss concepts it is currently testing.

7:00 - 8:15 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel

7:00 - 9:00 pm—WHAT’S NEW WITH NFB-NEWSLINE® 
Lalique Room, Atrium mezzanine
Learn about the NFB’s free audible newspaper service for the blind and visually impaired.  Topics cover Podable News, the new voices, the new on-demand article request feature, and more.  Sign up for NFB-NEWSLINE® at its exhibit hall table.

A possible don't miss..
7:00 - 11:00 pm—NON 24-HOUR SLEEP WAKE DISORDER SEMINAR
Obelisk A Room, Atrium mezzanine
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders in totally blind people. Total loss of light perception prevents synchronization of circadian body clock rhythms to the 24-hour day, leading to cyclic insomnia and daytime napping. The causes of this sleep disorder and possible treatment options will be presented and discussed.

7:30 - 9:00 pm—INTRODUCTION TO ORACLE SIEBEL CALL CENTER
Obelisk B Room, Atrium mezzanine
Don Mauck, Accessibility Evangelist at Oracle, will demonstrate the accessibility features built into the Oracle Siebel Call Center. Oracle CRM products are used by more than 4,000 enterprises and more than 4.6 million business users; these enterprises represent potential employment opportunities for the blind.

8:00 - 10:00 pm—COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Rosetta Room, Atrium mezzanine
For the most part, technological developments tend to exclude blind people.  Developers must change the ways future technologies are designed.  Join us—perhaps you can suggest a technology or approach that nobody else has considered.  Curtis Chong, Chairperson

8:30 - 9:45 pm—EXPERIENCE THE BLIO READER: MAKING THE WORLD’S BOOKS ENJOYABLE, USABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE!
Peridot Room, Atrium mezzanine
Presented by James Gashel

Thursday July 8th

During the General Session ..
9:05 am    BUYING AND SELLING ONLINE: EBAY BUILDS ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE BLIND INTO ITS PLATFORM
Dane Glasgow, Vice President, Buyer Experience Product Management, Ebay, Inc.; San Jose, California

10:50 am    ACCESSIBLE DESIGN, A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE
Steve Eastman, President, Target.com; Minneapolis, Minnesota

12:15 - 1:45 pm—EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NLS 
Obelisk A Room, Atrium mezzanine 
A question-and-answer session with Frank Kurt Cylke, Director, and staff of the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

11:00 pm—SCIENCE FICTION MEETING
All persons interested in science fiction and fantasy are welcome to join in an open discussion.  Please contact Ed Meskys for room location.

5 Years

This historical look back has been somewhat interesting and sorta depressing for me. Interesting in that I’m amazed by what I thought was the big news at the time I was creating that particular post. Depressing in that I need to change up my writing style more often.

But what’s done is done. I can’t go back and change things can I? Well, I did once. I actually went back and edited some posts for an offline drama situation. Now I can fix that by reposting the original version of the first post of this blog some 5 years later.

The changes I made weren’t dramatic, however, they do fill in some gray areas on things I’ve talked about before. With this now said, here it is, I bring you the unedited first post of TRS.

June 17^th 2005

Run for the hills because the Ranger has started a Blog.

So I am like what??? 4 years behind the times. Well I guess I can’t say that I am on the bleeding, cutting or perforated edge. I do however play with all manner of things that beep, flash and talk in the Assistive Technology industry. And that should account for something. Or at least I hope it will as this is going to be a very boring read for some otherwise. I have, as a gesture of good will to those long time readers at ISN and Booji, at least created these posts in MS Word before I dump them here. That means I actually used spell check outside of work. Another first for me. Man that’s a lot of work for a tech specialist on a lonely Friday night.

So for those who may have accidentally clicked on this site let me give you the heads up. I am an Assistive Technology Consultant for the Texas Department of Rehabilitative Services at the Assistive Technology Unit under the Division of Blind Services housed in the Chris Cole Rehabilitation Center. And yes it actually says all that on my business card. It’s my license to be pompous and longwinded. Not to mention we cause others to lose their vision with the size of the font on that card. Which also means that they now qualify for our services. A win/win for everyone really.

But when I am not at work breaking, uh lovingly caring for, our equipment I revert to my on line persona at isnnews.net. At ISN I have been lucky enough to be the Executive Moderator for more than six years. I think that is 42 years in internet time. Or dog years. Either way it’s a long time to be wasting on the net. But that’s not all. I go back even further to the days of the Pathfinder boards in the mid to late 90’s. It was at Pathfinder discussing good old Babylon 5 where the Ranger was truly born.

Ranger1138 is a combination of who I was at the time. It’s like a college frat name that you just can’t shake. And, like most screen names, it came to me in a haze after a 15 hour shift at Incredible Universe. More on that at another time. Anyway, the Ranger part reflects my love of the B5 universe and the 1138 is, of course, a love of THX. Not THX1138 the movie though. I like the film but I was studying to become THX certified at the time and well. Did I mention the 15 hours? Retail and Caffeine equals a name I have stuck with for almost a decade.

My secret plans with this Blog is to combine my insights on Assistive Tech and the passion I have for all things Geek. As being a Geek admits that you are comfortable with who you are and being a Nerd implies that you are in denial about the Midiclorions in your blood. Trekie versus Treker right?

So I plan on giving up some info on what I see in both of my two lives and we will see how bad it gets from there. I can’t break confidentiality on some things as I am an actual State Agent but I can skirt around the issues as best as I can. I did take debate in high school and that Lincoln Douglas training has to be used sometime I guess.

And since this is my first post, look another first I’m winded, on my first Blog I plan on committing all the regular mistakes early on..

Today I ate an English Muffin. It was good.

I clipped my toenail on my new coffee table. Ouch that hurts.

Can you believe that Katy Homes?

There! I feel much better. Onwards to bigger and more interesting content.. I hope!

To The New iPhone 4 Owners, This Too Shall Pass

I’ve been reading all the stories on the ups and downs of iPhone and iOS 4. I could go on and on about first generations, product design flaws and how it will all disappear in the mind of the press six months from now. but the funny thing is that I stumbled upon two older news stories that serve as better examples of how Apple has survived the company’s previous mistakes quite well.

For example, do you remember that Leopard had launch issues? I kind of forgot about it and this article reminded me of the long gone controversy.

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1819

Remember when the concern was that you wouldn’t be able to move your iTunes library to say, pause for a moment, your Windows Mobile phone? This blast from the past reminds us of the big news of the day from 2006.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/note-to-recording-artists-just-say-no-to-apple/3008

These iPhone issues are growing pains of a company who used to be the underdog but is now a multi billion dollar empire. And empires have bad product launches. Ask Microsoft about the first three years of Xbox 360.

Brave hearts Apple fans. I’m sure by the time the white versions of iPhone 4 roll out, this thing will be lost to the mists of time only to resurface again at archives.org.

Now for some odd chance we are talking about this some 6 months down the road on December 26th at 6 pm still.. then Cupertino we truly have a problem.  

…. 6

Oh Yeah, That Poll Thing

I haven’t forgot about that box on the top right of the page. Honest! I just haven’t thought of any good questions lately. And I’m not sure that today’s question is good or not. Only time will tell I guess.

Poll Question: If It Had The Features You Wanted, How Much Would You Pay for A Victor Reader Stream Update?

Something close to $20 U.S.   2 (11%)
Maybe around $30 U.S.   7 (38%)
I might spend $40 U.S.   1 (5%)
No more than $50 U.S.   4 (22%)
I'll never buy an update for my Victor Reader Stream   4 (22%)

It wasn’t by any means a scientific poll, however, it did give us some idea of what people thought about the upgrade before the pricing was announced. Remember, to learn more about the update visit Humanware at the link below.

http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/about_us/press_releases/2010_press_releases/victor_reader_stream%3A__new_version%2C_new_companion%2C_new_softpak%21

Poll Question: The Next iOS Apple Do’hicky I must get Is..

iPhone 4
iPad
iPod
Mac Mini
I'll never buy an Apple anything

I’ll set this one for mid July and see how it goes after many get their hands on Apple stuff at this year’s Blindness conventions. Wonder if there will be a clear winner this time around.

By the way.. 7

Before The Blog, I Was Still Me

8

I’ve been roaming through some of my previous attempts at, hmm, writing lately. My reasons for being so introspective will be revealed soon, but lets just say I’m constantly amazed how all things in life happen for a reason. I’ve been lucky to have had my compass set on true North most of my years. And by that I mean one life experience seems to build upon itself in preparation for the oncoming entrance ramp of the next road to take.

Previous to starting the blog, I was [and in some ways still am[ the Moderator of a Babylon 5/Crusade fan site. I know. I know. Shock and awe with your jaw on the floor. More tech and more geek related back-story. However, even then my offline career melded into my writings. And the below post, from 2003, reminds me of just how all my roads lead to the same place. Also, I see my style hasn’t diverted that much either. Must work on that in the future.

***

Ever wondered what the voice of the Ranger sounds like? Well keep reading and you too will know Ethne’s pain or as I call it my beautiful broadcast trained oration of vocal delight. Ahem.. read on gentle members.

I think after 5 years and 5,000 posts, the post count was semi reset in the hack attack, you guys have gotten to know me pretty well. And you know that I rarely hold back on things that erk me to know end. See the Star Trek Enterprise topic if you aren’t sure about that last sentence. But my off line life has really picked up a ton lately and I feel compelled, no for Ethne’s sake mean to say driven, to voice some of my views here in this topic. Is that wrong? Is it an abuse of my small power here at ISN? Is it a complete waste of electrons and server space? I imagine after you read a few of these posts you may say “Yes” to all three.

The thing is that I joked the other day about this place being my Blog and there really is some truth to that. I have spent a ton of time here on our site moderating and posting over the years. But I also find ways to creep it into my off line life as well. One of my agreements with David years ago was that the site must be accessible to those with visual disabilities. There were two hidden agendas at work with this request.

1. I wouldn’t have to learn code to fix the site to work with my access and speech programs.
2. If the site was accessible then I could use it in the trainings and presentations I do on the job. A way of promoting the site and B5 simultaneously.

For the most part ISN is accessible. It has a few places that aren’t perfect but I kind of like that because I can show the good and the bad in the presentations I give in the field. Anyway, ISN has always been my home, my portal and identity on the net since 1998 and I try to give it the credit it deserves whenever I can. It’s like an actor on a talk show giving himself cheap plugs on his upcoming projects.

The majority of the internet, however, is not fully accessible. There are many times I have clicked on a link that someone gave me and I wasn’t able to read it with the access programs I use to read the web. The sad thing about this is that any site can be made accessible rather quickly with some additions or some forethought to it’s initial design. Placing ALT Text tags on buttons, using hidden tags on links and generally using text or HTML text are ways to keep the internet accessible for all. You might have also noticed that some sites offer a text only version for this very reason. I think that’s a bit much at times but I have found that many people who aren’t disabled use those pages as well because of it’s ease of use.

The phrase “function over form” comes to mind. Okay I am listening to Rush’s “Moving Pictures because it’s a rule of the ISN Empress that I must do so at least once a day. The phrase is accurate enough though. Sometimes new web developers get so locked into using Flash and Java that they skip some of the steps in making a fully designed web site. An that’s their bag. It just means that not everyone on the net will be able to read their content. And that’s a shame because a percentage of the web community, like me, will move on to the next site on the list. This is especially true of sites that sell things. Amazon, Audible and Dell were some of the first companies to offer alternative views to their sites and it paid off for them. Some of these changes were simple to implement and they didn’t cost a thing either. And that’s the real beauty of this rant. Fixing the problem costs very little, if no, money at all.

To show you guys how passionate, T says crazy actually, I am about this I decided to post this bit on my new role with AIR Houston. This wonderful project is hosted through Knowbillity and it’s designed to be informative and fun. I know. . you have heard that one before. . but here me out.

We have gathered major companies together to build web sites for non profit companies. Better yet we made it a contest to see who could build the best designed, yet still accessible, site for bragging rights and cheap swag. We took something like a boring training and made it fun with the thrill of On Line Tournament play. It’s the best of both worlds for your company’s IT staff. And it promotes accessibility for all as a beautiful bi product.

So I thought that I would share this bit of info with you all as my first off topic rant in the Open Forum. And as an added bonus I am placing a link to a site that contains a radio interview with me that was just featured on National Public Radio. Please read and pass on these links to others so we can level the playing field for Nettezens who need accessibility.

Knowbillity.org’s Home Page

http://www.knowbility.org/main/

Tales Of Terror From The Travel Log

9

I’ve had to travel a lot over the years for my various jobs. and the one thing I’ve learned, as mundane as this sounds, is to “expect the unexpected”. By this I mean you should be prepared at any time, any given moment, to take copious amounts of notes for an eventual letter to the manager or owner. Letters of praise and complaint have served me well in the past for getting a particular point across about a service or visit somewhere. Below you will find an excerpt from one such letter, a personal fave, that did happen despite the dubious nature of the parts halfway down this read. I swear I thought I was on some revival of Candid Camera or some other just as bad reality TV.

The following took place between the hours of 8 AM and 10:00 AM… Events happen in real time.

8:12 AM

My wife and I had finished our breakfast at the hotel and were returning to our room to pick up our luggage and check out of the hotel. We both tried our keys, which are little chips with a metallic tab on one end, in the electronic lock to no avail. We then proceeded to the check out desk where the staff re-encoded our key and suggested that we try the lock again.

8:22 AM

We tried the keys again and they did not work. Usually there is a beep to signify that the lock has accepted the key, however, there were no sounds or lights to be seen or heard from the lock.

8:26 AM

We returned to the check out counter and asked for guidance in this matter. The staff conveyed to us that this sort of thing happens all the time and that it would take ten minutes for the maintenance man to replace the batteries in the door lock. We were assured that it would take no time at all even after I explained to them the fact that I was late for my appointments of the day.

8:37 AM

The worker arrives to begin his task of replacing the door lock batteries. He tries his key to see if it works and it does not. He then moves on to the room to the left of our hotel room, Room 503, and goes inside. After 45 seconds he leaves 503 and tells us to wait for his return.

8:45 AM

The worker returns and he has brought some tools with him. He attempts to gain entrance by removing the covering of the lock to our room. At this point I then went to my car to find the number for Ms. X in order to explain my situation and that I was going to be late in my arrival to our appointment. That is when I heard the workman break the window. I returned to see the glass broken out of the window on Room 503. The workman then realized that the window he had just broken did not gain him entrance to our room that had no windows [ except for those in the door ]. The worker then moved to the room to the right of our room, 501, and broke that window as well. Once again the man realized too late that the window also did not gain him entrance to Room 502.

9:03 AM

I returned to tell the staff about the broken windows to find that they were not all that concerned about the situation at hand. I again explained to them that I was late and that they must have come across this kind of problem before. Mr.. T, Rooms Division Manager, said that it happened all the time and that it would only take ten minutes longer. I explained to him that I was told that in the beginning of all of this and we were now fast approaching the one hour mark.

I then asked him some questions on what would have happened if I had not been leaving that day.

Q: “Would you move me into another room?”

A: “Sure. If that’s what you wanted.”

Q: “So I would then have to wait for all of this to be cleaned up before I could retrieve my things to put into another room?”

A: “Or we can do all that for you.”

I explained to him that at this point I didn’t feel comfortable with them handling much of anything and that I had a security issue with the other two rooms with broken windows. It was made clear to me that this situation was a common state of affairs and at no time did I get any apology, however, Mr.. T made a half hearted gesture of an offer to make things better on my next stay.

9:14 AM

I returned in time to see the workman drop his tools and then break the window inside the door to Room 502. The glass did not go all at once so he had to work at one particular section for awhile before he had a workable area to reach around the door with. At this point there is no lock on the door and no handle either. The worker had made a large hole in the glass, however, the rest of the glass now creaked and groaned with spider web cracks running throughout the rest of the remaining door. The workman told us that he would return in a moment.

9:25 AM

My wife and I noticed that the door was slightly ajar and we managed to pry it open without touching the parts of the door that contained the splintered glass. Glass covered the floor of our room but not any of our belongings. We gathered our belongings and moved them to our car.

9:40 AM

I returned one last time to the check out counter to make sure I had my names straight and to also give back my key to the hotel. Mr.. T was still on duty and he made a joke about the key being a “keyless lock” that I found not funny by this point in the day.

***

As you can see, being able to jabber into a digital recorder can be ever so helpful in these matters. You never know when you may have to pretend you are a side character on 24. Hmm, no wait they don’t make it to the end of the day do they? That’s like I just suggested we all put on Red Shirts and journey down to the planet on the Enterprise Away Team. Oh well, point made somewhere in all that mess above I guess.