All About Access

A couple of months ago, I had heard from several very reliable sources that [Duxbury Systems, Inc.](http://www.duxburysystems.com/ “Visit the home page of Duxbury Systems, makers of the Duxbury braille translation software”) would be taking over the development and support of TGD Pro. I just went to the home page for [Tactile Graphic Designer](http://www.tactileaudio.com/ “Visit tactileaudio.com for more information about TGD Pro”) and it seems to be official:

On Friday my boss, Brian Charlson, suggested that I needed to do something fun this weekend. I have no idea how Brian could have sensed that I was feeling a little bit stressed. Unless, of course, it was my response to his asking how things were going. In retrospect, the answer should have been something like, “Fine, thank you, how are things going with you?” Instead, I provided him with a list of all the negative words that can be formed by rearranging the letters in the name of a particular software product we use. I love anagram servers!

Brian, you will be pleased to know that I rented a movie on Saturday, went snowshoeing today, and am about to go make mole—pronounced mo lay—enchiladas. For those of you not familiar with mole—mo lay—it’s a sauce made with Mexican chocolate and chile, completely devoid of burrowing animals and tasting far better than one might expect from a chocolate chile sauce. But I foolishly checked my email before heading off to the kitchen. The response from Microsoft was sitting there in my Inbox. (more…)

To Whom It May Concern:

What gives?!? Microsoft AntiSpyware is reminiscent of the early days of software development, back when users with disabilities were forever falling behind because new products—new Microsoft products—were not accessible. Products would come out and people with disabilities would wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And it seemed that as soon as the makers of assistive technology products released a solution, out would come a new version of the mainstream product, and the waiting game would begin again. Happily, we’ve come so far from those dark days. Or so I thought…. (more…)

Like most people, sometimes my cup is half full, and sometimes it’s half empty. On a half-full day, I look at all the accessible web sites out there and consider how much things have improved over the years. On a half-empty day, I imagine my cup traveling faster than the speed of broadband through the window of the webmaster that couldn’t be bothered to make his/her site more accessible. But after the imaginary glass shatters, what am I left with? The same inaccessible web site, and the added challenge of having to drink my coffee straight out of the pot. Enter JAWS’ new Custom Labels feature, which allows you to assign your own labels to things like links (both text and graphical) and form fields. (more…)

Okay, so I don’t actually have bunny slippers on my feet, but I do telecommute. And I love it!!! You can’t beat the drive or the dress code. And for people who are blind or visually impaired, telecommuting can offer something much more valuable, namely access to jobs that would otherwise be inaccessible due to a lack of public transportation options.

Until fairly recently, telecommuting was not an option for any blind employee who needed to access company computers remotely. Whereas sighted telecommuters have been using products like PC Anywhere, Citrix, and Microsoft Terminal Services for years, blind users have not. They couldn’t.

The other day I was cleaning my office and came across a paperback dictionary. “How quaint,” I thought, “a relic from the distant past.” Quaint?!? The distant past?!? Wow… I might be in need of some help… Apparently I have joined the class of technology-dependent people for whom life itself will come to a sudden and devastating halt if the power goes out. But I’ve decided to live in denial. After all, how often does the power actually go out?

As a technology-dependent person, I am on a constant quest for better, faster ways to do, well, everything. And for that, Microsoft Outlook is a godsend. Sometimes, late at night, I consider that it may also be a sinister plot on the part of Bill Gates to take over the universe. (more…)