Abled Body Where can-do is done different

The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2009 conference in Orlando is off to a great start. I attended sessions on VoiceOver for iTunes, and Apple shipped in 50 or so brand-new Macs to demonstrate speech capabilities for the iTunes library, a new accessibility feature that will be rolled out by summer. A visually impaired attendee, Adam Gaffney, who works for Florida’s agency for blind services, whizzed through VoiceOver and pointed out potential goofs. I couldn’t hear on the available earbuds so I tried to follow along somewhat haphazardly. But it’s still a very cool feature. Microsoft presented the new built-in screen magnifier for Windows 7. A nice add-in for the visually impaired, if not basic. I also attended an awe-inspiring talk by Benetech’s Jim Fruchterman, who I met several years ago when he launched Bookshare.org, an audio book service for the blind that’s essentially like Napster for books (only he ... keep reading »

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Vision Free presented awards to 19 companies and organizations for making products that blind people can use. Vision Free is led by blind musician Stevie Wonder and several organizations that promote equality for visually impaired people. Among the awards this year were National Public Radio for their accessible digital radio broadcast services initiative; Apple for adding speech capabilities to its its iPod Nano and iTunes music library; and Audible.com for providing a good web interface and enabling Audible books on several devices for the blind. In an Popular Science magazine interview, Wonder says huge advances in technology have made life easier for people with physical disabilities, but there’s still much more work to be done. “I hear manufacturers say, ‘Oh, we forgot about that,’ or ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ Well, think! Make your products a convenience for everyone. Be an all-inclusive company,” Wonder said. ... keep reading »

The setting: Phoenix. The scene: American Idol, season eight, the momentous singing competition that makes or breaks the dreams of young, hopeful talent. Tonight’s two-hour premiere was well worth watching to the very end, when 23-year old Scott McIntyre auditioned for the judges. McIntyre has been blind from birth. Sporting a ‘Mind the Gap’ t-shirt (a nod to London’s famous ‘tube’ system) that he thought Simon Cowell would appreciate, McIntyre won the judges over with his rendition of Billy Joel’s And So It Goes. Because of my hearing impairment, I rely on my boyfriend to tell me whether each contestant has a good voice. “Is he good? Can she sing?,” I ask during each performance. I had my fingers crossed for McIntyre. “He’s pretty good,” my boyfriend replied, somewhat tentatively. When the song finished, I sat up straight in my seat. I had seen contestants with disabilities compete on Idol ... keep reading »

Last week I attended the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality’s (SATH) World Congress in Orlando, where I spoke briefly on assistive technology gadgets for travel. I met many interesting people who are helping the disabled pursue their travel passions, including Craig Grimes of Accessible Nicaragua and Accessible Barcelona who puts tours together for people with disabilities (an especially tough feat in developing nations). I also met the infamous Scott Rains of Tour Watch, a social network for travelers with disabilities. He’s a personable guy who puts out the excellent Rolling Rains report. I also talked with Sherri Backstrom of Waypoint Charter, who helps wheelchair users enjoy the experience of yachting via fully accessible ships. SATH held a reception at Universal Studios, where I had the pleasure of being introduced to Cindy Brown, who has a background in ADA compliance and writes for several publications. Her speciality is cultural tourism; ... keep reading »

Over the weekend I read two really interesting articles in the New York Times on disability topics. One was in a special report called Education Life, about a group of MIT students who created a video game for the blind. I had read about this game, called AudiOdyssey, when I was doing research a few weeks ago for a recent article. Most video games for the blind are designed just for the blind; AudiOdyssey is unique because it’s the first game that allows blind and seeing users to compete against each other equally, without giving the seeing person an advantage. Using music as its central theme, the game follows a disc jockey whose objective is to get people in his nightclub onto the dance floor by pumping out great music that players mimic by matching his beat. AudiOdyssey can be downloaded here and played on a keyboard or with a ... keep reading »

Before I start blogging about the gadgets and devices that I discovered at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference in Orlando, I wanted to write about something I have been chewing on for the last 24 hours, which has ultimately altered the way I am going to approach my upcoming book, The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology (due out in late 2009). While there were lots of cool, new technologies exhibited at ATIA, I also had the chance to attend a half-dozen seminars that, when tied all together, painted a fantastic yet mostly under-reported picture of the future of assistive technology and the driving forces that will allow people with disabilities — whether they are born with one, have been injured during a war, or are experiencing the effects of aging — to live longer and more fruitful lives. Here are five trends that today are shaping the assistive ... keep reading »