Insofar as I am not a great fan of role models or examples, being a horrible one myself, I would merely point out that such a service Woodset the way for other companies to fobbed off their accessibility requirements on to such dedicated services. It would possibly lead to a degradation in overall services for those blind people who chose to stick with the mainstream.
Sent from my iPhone Messengers and Skype: BurningHawk1969 My home page: http://MarkBurningHawk.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markburninghawk.baxter On Jun 7, 2013, at 10:46 AM, Richard Ring <richr...@gmail.com> wrote: > True! And the first line of my message clearly states that I am not in favor > of such a carrier! > However, assuming that high tech is for everyone is a somewhat insular and > elitist attitude and not helpful for those who desire simplicity. > I want everyone, blind or sighted to be able to decide what will best suit > their needs. > > > You can have an off day, but you can't have a day off! ---The Art of Fielding > Sent from my Mac Book Pro > richr...@gmail.com > > On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:22 PM, Donna Goodin <doniado...@me.com> wrote: > >> Hi Richard, >> >> But what you're proposing is very different from the special phone, special >> carrier thing. *Everybody, sighted or blind, should have the right to >> choose the type of phone they want, and of course there are blind >> individuals who would not choose a smart phone, just as there are sighted >> individuals who would make that same choice. Having the option of a plain, >> simple phone on a regular carrier such as VZ, ATT, etc. is a very different >> thing from having a blind-only phone on a blind-only carrier. >> Cheers, >> Donna >> On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:15 PM, Richard Ring <richr...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> I am not, I repeat I am not in favor of a special carrier dedicated to >>> people who happen to be blind. However, having spent many years dealing >>> with people from all walks of life with varying degrees of technological >>> savvy, I do wish a mainstream carrier would bring forth a relatively simple >>> phone that would allow the user to make calls, maintain a list of contacts, >>> and send and receive text messages. The Haven from Verizon was such a phone. >>> I believe that some of us fail to realize that there are many people both >>> sighted and blind who might benefit from simplicity! >>> I personally love my iPhone, and all that it allows me to do, but I don't >>> wish to become so immersed in technology that I fail to realize that >>> complex smart phones are not for everyone. >>> When you deal with people who are not on your particular technological >>> level, the issues become different. >>> My wish is that for those who are either blind or suffering from severe >>> vision loss that there be a fairly uncomplicated, mainstream accessible >>> phone. >>> That makes far more sense to me than having a special carrier. >>> >>> >>> You can have an off day, but you can't have a day off! ---The Art of >>> Fielding >>> Sent from my Mac Book Pro >>> richr...@gmail.com >>> >>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 11:50 AM, Donna Goodin <doniado...@me.com> wrote: >>> >>>> But preference in this case doesn't justify the potential loss for the >>>> rest of us who don't want to take the easy way out. also, I don't buy the >>>> preference argument in situations like this. If all my life everyone has >>>> always waited on me and I've never been expected to learn to do anything >>>> for myself, of course my preference will be that that would continue. But >>>> it certainly isn't in my best interest to live my life that way, because >>>> at some point, someone isn't going to do everything for me and if I >>>> haven't developed the skills I need, I won't be equipped to stand on my >>>> own two feet when the time comes. >>>> Cheers, >>>> Donna >>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 11:40 AM, "Michael Babcock, Marketing and Sales >>>> Manager, Commtech LLC" <michael.babcoc...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> This is also a preference thing. For example, I was researching other >>>>> carriers yesterday, and a particular carrier Lightyear wireless kept >>>>> popping up. I honestly don't even know what they are, it looks like some >>>>> pyramid scheme program, however, I do know that there are probably some >>>>> people out there because again it kept coming up. So, it's up to the >>>>> individual who wants to use it, and I do think it would be a. Interesting >>>>> program to monitor, and see how well it does. I also do like the fact >>>>> that it states that 2% of the voice plans will go to organizations that >>>>> support the blind, so it would be interesting to see which organizations >>>>> those are, and if those organizations are behind this network! >>>>> AT&T offers a disability number, I don't have it on hand. I am pretty >>>>> sure that Verizon does as well, and I know Sprint customer service >>>>> individuals have documentation about accessibility. So, three of the four >>>>> major carriers I am pretty sure have access to accessibility information. >>>>> It is up to the customer service representative whether or not they want >>>>> to actually research the questions that a blind or visually impaired >>>>> individual might have. This particular carrier, should consider marketing >>>>> the fact that they have customer service individuals trained in the >>>>> knowledge of accessibility options on mobile devices, and that way there >>>>> not solely advertising to the blind or visually impaired or disabled >>>>> market. Just my two cents honestly! Sorry if this upsets anyone. >>>>> Michael >>>>> >>>>> Michael Babcock >>>>> Marketing and Sales Manager >>>>> Commtech LLC >>>>> Web: http://commtechusa.net >>>>> phone: (888) 351-5289 Ext. 704 >>>>> Fax: (480) 535-7649 >>>>> >>>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 10:27 AM, Christine Grassman <cgrassman1...@gmail.com> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> That's fine -- but we should be able to call such a carrier on any phone >>>>>> we wish, not proprietary phones for that carrier especially. Also, there >>>>>> could still be a company, web site, etc., which specializes in this sort >>>>>> of help, without giving the false impression that a specific carrier >>>>>> must be set aside for us. In my experience, Apple has always been able >>>>>> to find someone who knew about VoiceOver enough to help, or the rep >>>>>> researched it and got back to me. I would be willing to stake money that >>>>>> sighted people have called Apple or other companies, and have spoken to >>>>>> reps who needed to do some research on a particular issue. Few reps are >>>>>> familiar with every possible bug, every technical glitch, tip, shortcut, >>>>>> or troubleshooting strategy. >>>>>> Christine >>>>>> >>>>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 12:19 PM, "Michael Babcock, Marketing and Sales >>>>>> Manager, Commtech LLC" <michael.babcoc...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> I think we all are looking at this the completely wrong way! Look at it >>>>>>> from this point of view, you're able to dial 611 from your phone, >>>>>>> because somehow you disabled speech on your iPhone. However, in the >>>>>>> current time, if we dialed 611 and STA just how we would be able to >>>>>>> enable speech on our iOS device again, they might ask us what we are >>>>>>> talking about, or transfer us around to a myriad of different >>>>>>> individuals who still don't know what we're talking about. However, if >>>>>>> a blind person is able to pick up his phone, dial 611, and receive >>>>>>> assistive technology assistance, this might be more beneficial to him. >>>>>>> In addition, there are several smaller carriers out there, especially >>>>>>> running on the T-Mobile network, like this one appears to do. Just >>>>>>> something to think about, imagine being able to call customer service, >>>>>>> and getting assistance using jaws to read that bill, or voiceover, on >>>>>>> your new iPhone especially if you're brand-new customer. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Michael Babcock >>>>>>> Marketing and Sales Manager >>>>>>> Commtech LLC >>>>>>> Web: http://commtechusa.net >>>>>>> phone: (888) 351-5289 Ext. 704 >>>>>>> Fax: (480) 535-7649 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Jun 7, 2013, at 9:54 AM, Mike Arrigo <n0...@charter.net> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> We really don't, especially with the out of box accessibility that is >>>>>>>> provided by IOS and Android. There's simply no need for specialty >>>>>>>> phones. >>>>>>>> Original message: >>>>>>>>> Does anyone know anything about these phones or this project? Seems >>>>>>>>> pretty pointless if you want more than just a phone, and the full >>>>>>>>> range of experiences available to the sighted on any mobile carrier. >>>>>>>>> Why on earth do we need a special phone carrier? Separate and >>>>>>>>> marginalized, rather than expecting to be included in available >>>>>>>>> services. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Christine >>>>>>>>> http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/05/odin-mobile-first-mobile-service-provider-for-the-visually-impaired/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>>> send an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>>> Visit this group at >>>>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at >>>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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