A few points from me: Windows comes with a screen reader called narrator. It's not as robust as Voiceover, but Microsoft does "develop" it, much the same way as one vacuums under the sofa—You're lucky if it's done every few years.
Yes, I agree with the initial suggestion. Tell Microsoft you want to participate as a full user of their software. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Peer-selling can be of great benefit, like telling them that if a company like DigiDesign can render a highly complex program like ProTools accessible, it would be easy for Microsoft to do the same for its most familiar productivity software. We may also mention the fact that 65 to 70% of blind people are unemployed or underemployed. Perhaps one person could take up the initiative, start a petition and be the go to person when it comes to engaging Microsoft in a dialog, much like my hero Slau did with ProTools. In which case, a carefully articulated and well-crafted series of statements could bring light to this issue. In addition, opening lines of communication to the media on this issue could also be of benefit to our cause. This is a large issue, as there is much to explain to a largely sighted audience. Explaining how screen readers work is one thing. Explaining how a popular program like MS Word doesn't work with a Mac or Windows screen reader is a whole other challenge, orders of magnitude beyond telling the journalist that talking computers let blind people surf the web. If it's at all possible, we could establish a list of people with the skills and connections to create these documents, the petition, press releases and other communication strategies to bring attention to this issue. If there is a lawyer on the list (and I doubt it because no one answered my black's Law Dictionary question), perhaps the mention of an anti-trust investigation will get things moving. I say this with a bit of jest, so please don't fill the list with messages bashing these suggestions. I work for a radio station here in Canada and would be willing to invest resources into getting this story told. If anyone else has a media contact or connection, let's develop the tools that we need to tell this story. the only question that remains is, are you ready to change the world? Kevin -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
