Do you beg for money on your podcasts?

This morning I awoke to the following email message:

 

One of the most worst visually impairment contents I have seen online is the people asking for money or donations by the manner which gives the listener a negative impression about the blind people.

Instead of encouraging the listener to be determinedly optimized, you're keeping on showing that's the blind person is just an online penniless.

We're not a people of online solicitation as I may identify it, duh, we're a truly honored and dignified people.        

Best Wishs.
It's always hope that gives meaning to life.
_______________

The message was from:

 

Mostafa almahdy

mostafa.almahdy@gmail.com

 

 

and here was my email that I sent him in reply:

 

If you have a problem with me asking for donations on my podcasts and my website then I respectfully ask you to give running a website and doing hundreds of demonstrations yourself a try. It costs a great deal of money to do this.  Since the recipient of this email is solely addressed to blind geek zone I take great offense to your assertions here, I don’t beg and if you and others don’t like the fact I ask for donations to keep BGZ running then I suggest that you find other websites to get your free resources and information from in the future.

 

Rick Harmon

Owner – BGZ

 

 

 

 

 

After this I recorded BGZ podcast #50 and uploaded it to the BGZ website:

 

http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/Audio/BGZ050.mp3

 

Where I went off on a bit of a rant and  said what I thought about people complaining about donation requests from people like myself to help keep new free content  appearing on my website.

 

I hope those of you who don’t feel it’s necessary to donate and expect things totally for free understand it’s very expensive to purchase new things to demonstrate on the BGZ website.  I never expect anyone to donate because I ask for a donation, I hope that people will donate because they got something out of the content I produced and felt it worthy of a donation.

 

--

Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new Notetaker!

I couldn't resist posting this.  This comes from my BGZ mailing list.  Not sure whether to take it seriously or as a complete joke!

 

 

Help wanted:

  Hi my name is Alexander Kaiser. I need help with developing a 100%

  completely pocket sized braille notetaker running under a windows version

  called windows zoom hyperstorm a new version of windows mobile

  specifically

  designed for the blind and Visually Impaired And on a version of linux

  called Linux ZZt a linux version specifically built for the Blind and

  Visually Impaired. Can you please call this note Taker the thunder bolt

  pocket? Help is greatly appreciated with developing this notetaker. Please

  develop the Thunder bolt pocket wwith the following features: a pocket

  sized

  80 cell braille display with tiny thumbkeys, an 8 terrabyte internal hard

  drive, an 8 key perkins style braille keyboard including an enter key six

  braille keys, a spacebar, and a backspace key, speech output, with

  additional features including access to XM satellite radio with a

  mandatory Xm radio subscription with the best of sirius subscription

  required, a word processor, access to aim 7.5, internet access , access to

  email, ameture radio connection via program encoding using morse code,

  access to citizen band radio transmitions via an audio posting program,

  true

  Citizen band radio connection for CB radio calling and receiving live

  comunications with other CB radio users, access to klango, access to NOAA

  weather radio stations, access to asterisk telephone chatline development

  software,, access to netscape instant messenger, access to ICQ messenger,

  access to skype, a phone dialer, a media player for music and speech

  files,

  a memo recorder, a full dictionary in english, Belgin, Portuegese, latin,

  hindi, yitish, Danish, German, Russian, Spanish and Dutch, an FM radio, a

  Theasaurus, a book reader, a newspaper reader, a built in wireless

  ethernet

  card for network stability, wireless internet modem for secure web

  browsing, Unlimited access license for ID vault, hotspot shieled,an

  advanced securety system for file protection, a built in function where

  the

  braille keyboard can be used as a keyboard for the computer, a function

  where the braille keyboard works as a keyboard for bluetooth ready cell

  phones, a wireless syncronization setting where the braille keyboard can

  function as a keyboard for non-blutooth capable cell phone devices, a

  bluetooth printer connector, a bluetooth Braille embosser connector, a

  serial port for printers a serial port for braille embossers, a paralell

  printer port a paralel embosser port active sync data Syncronization

  with windows and linux based computers , an advanced scientific

  calculator,

  an address book, and a database manager?

 

 

Wow! Anything else you would like while someone is at it!

 

--

Rick

ACCESSIBLE WORLD TEK TALK PRESENTS RICK HARMON TO DISCUSS INSTALLING AND USING WINDOWS LIVE MAIL, APRIL 18, 2011

ACCESSIBLE WORLD TEK TALK PRESENTS RICK HARMON TO DISCUSS INSTALLING AND USING WINDOWS LIVE MAIL, APRIL 18, 2011

 

NEWSWIRE:              

 

On Monday, April 18 2011 Rick Harmon will demonstrate installing and using Windows Live Mail 2011 that is part of the Microsoft live essentials package for Vista and Windows 7 users.  Windows 7 doesn't come with any email program installed and this has presented many challenges for blind users out there.  Windows Live Mail 2011 is just 1 of the possible email clients that can be used on Windows 7.

 

Rick will talk about installing and configuring the program for use and then will discuss in detail the ribbon that the program uses instead of the old style menus used in the earlier versions of the program.  He will also let everyone know the pros and cons of using the newer version of Windows Live Mail.  afterward, Rick will answer questions from the Tek Talk audience.

 

Presenter:Rick Harmon

E-Mail: rickharmon@sbcglobal.net

 

Date: Monday, April 18,  2011

 

Time: 5:00 PM PDT, 6:00 PM MDT, 7:00 PM CDT,  8:00 PM EDT 

          and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 00:00 GMT

 

Approximately 15 minutes prior to the event start time; go to The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room at:

 

http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

 

Or, alternatively.

 

Select The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room at: www.accessibleworld.org

Enter your first and last names on the sign-in screen.

 

All Tek Talk training events are recorded so if you are unable to participate live at the above times then you may download the presentation or podcast from the Tek Talk archives on our website at www.accessibleworld.org

 

If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online conferencing software, there is a small, safe software program that you need to download and then run. A link to the software is available on every entry screen to the Accessible World online rooms.

 

All online interactive programs are free of charge, and open to anyone worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer, speakers, and a sound card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with the presenters and others in the virtual audience or text chat with the attendees. To speak to us, hold down the control key and talk; then let up to listen.

 

Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of the topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible World. The lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum.

 

You can join the Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk Announce List or the Sports Talk Announce List by completing the form at: www.accessibleworld.org/mailinglists

 

Accessible World also provides a Tek Talk Discussion List. This list is intended to give you an opportunity to ask computer related questions, suggest topics to be used in the weekly Monday training programs, or just to interact with others interested in using assistive devices to access computers. You may sign up for this list by selecting the Tek Talk Discussion link on the same page and completing the form.

 

Accessible World Contacts:

 

Robert Acosta, Chair

Accessible World

818-998-0044

Email: boacosta@pacbell.net

Web: www.helpinghands4theblind.org

 

Marcia Moses, Events Coordinator

Accessible World

734-495-1496

Email: mgmoses@comcast.net

 

Steve Hoffman, President

Talking Communities

Email: steve@talkingcommunities.com

 

The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly relevant information about new products, services, and training opportunities designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access barriers that adversely affect them

 

 

 

STS 133 Audio

Here are my links to audio recordings from the recent shuttle mission STS 133.  These links will be available to April 18, the day before the STS 134 mission is scheduled to start.

 

Day 1:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5wec9c8

 

Day 2:

 

http://tinyurl.com/6aamzk6

 

Day 3:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5u4xxlx

 

Day 4:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5vwkcae

 

Day 5:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5tm4f7a

 

Day 6:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5sx33vm

 

Day 7:

 

http://tinyurl.com/6dm8lou

 

Day 8:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5r9avzo

 

Day 9:

 

http://tinyurl.com/634zba8

 

Day 10:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5tyz55t

 

Day 11:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5r7skqb

 

Day 12:

 

http://tinyurl.com/62c3ze5

 

Day 13:

 

http://tinyurl.com/5udw642

 

Day 14:

 

http://tinyurl.com/6atv3b2

 

Enjoy

 

--

Rick

 

 

Rockin' witht he Rickster Friday Jan 21

Hi Everyone,

 

Hope you will come join me for my weekly show on ACBRI and The Legend today at 5p EDT, 2p EDT or 2100 UTC.  I have a 3 hour show where I play a mix of classic rock and pop from the 1960's through the 1980's.  I take your requests via twitter and e-mails.  It's a great time and I hope you'll join me there.  Go to:

 

http://interactive.acbradio.org

 

or

 

http://www.legend-oldies.com

 

and look for the listen links.

 

--

Rick

 

 

BGZ Livecast 4 show notes

Hi Everyone,

 

Here are the links as promised for todays show.

 

NVDA:

 

http://www.nvda-project.org/blog/NVDANeedsYou

 

This is the link to the blog posting where developers are asking for your donations to help keep NVDA going.

 

Hope:

 

http://q-continuum.net/hope/

 

Here is the address where you can purchase and download Hope the accessible interface for Pandora radio.

 

Amazon Kindle reader application for the PC:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kin_pcacc_surl&docId=1000632481

This is the link for the program itself.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_pcaccess_accessshortcuts?nodeId=200608290&pop-up=1

 

and here is the accessibility notes for the reader.

 

If you missed todays live show, you can listen to the archive here:

 

http://blind-geek-zone.net/Audio/BGZLivecast004.mp3

 

Enjoy.

 

--

Rick

 

 

BGZ Radio Today

 

Hi Everyone,

Join me today at 3p EDT, 12p EDT or 1900 UTC on BGZ Radio. I'll be demonstrating hope the accessible interface for Pandora radio and I'll also be demonstrating the Amazon Kindle application for the PC that was just made accessible.

I'll also take questions via twitter where I'm RicksterTheGeek and by email at mailto:rharmon%40blind-geek-zone.net

I hope you'll join me there. The listen link is:

http://listen.ultrastreams.us:8002

--
Rick

ACCESSIBLE WORLD TEK TALK PRESENTS RICK HARMON, NOV. 15,2010

On Tek Talk this week Rick Harmon will tell us all about the program Qwitter
used by blind individuals that use the micro blogging service Twitter.

Rick will walk us through using Qwitter to do several things with the
twitter service as well as discussing other services that Qwitter has to
offer such as searching with the Bing search session.

He will also discuss many of the great things this program can do on your PC
from inside any program as Qwitter has no program window that you have to
Alt - Tab to in order to use. Ease of use is what has drawn so many blind PC
users to this wonderful program that continues to be developed. The current
version of Qwitter is 4.5.1 and can be downloaded via:

http://www.qwitter-client.net

Qwitter runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 with all major screen
readers.

Rick

Presenter: Rick Harmon

Email: rickharmon@sbcglobal.net

Date: Monday, November 15, 2010

Time: 5:00 PM PST, 6:00 PM MST, 7:00 PM CST, and 8:00 PM EST

and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 01:00 GMT

Approximately 15 minutes prior to the event start time; go to The Pat Price
Tek Talk Training Room at:

http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

Or, alternatively.

Select The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room at: www.accessibleworld.org

Enter your first and last names on the sign-in screen.

All Tek Talk training events are recorded so if you are unable to
participate live at the above times then you may download the presentation
or podcast from the Tek Talk archives on our website at
www.accessibleworld.org

If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online conferencing
software, there is a small, safe software program that you need to download
and then run. A link to the software is available on every entry screen to
the Accessible World online rooms.

All online interactive programs are free of charge, and open to anyone
worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer, speakers, and a sound
card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with the presenters and
others in the virtual audience or text chat with the attendees. To speak to
us, hold down the control key and talk; then let up to listen.

Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of the
topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible World. The
lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum.

You can join the Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk Announce List
or the Sports Talk Announce List by completing the form at:
www.accessibleworld.org/mailinglists

Accessible World also provides a Tek Talk Discussion List. This list is
intended to give you an opportunity to ask computer related questions,
suggest topics to be used in the weekly Monday training programs, or just to
interact with others interested in using assistive devices to access
computers. You may sign up for this list by selecting the Tek Talk
Discussion link on the same page and completing the form.

Accessible World Contacts:

Robert Acosta, Chair

Accessible World

818-998-0044

Email: boacosta@pacbell.net

Web: www.helpinghands4theblind.org

Marcia Moses, Events Coordinator

Accessible World

734-495-1496

Email: mgmoses@comcast.net

Steve Hoffman, President

Talking Communities

Email: steve@talkingcommunities.com

The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the
disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly
relevant information about new products, services, and training
opportunities designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access
barriers that adversely affect them

Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
Email: boacosta@pacbell.net
Web Site: www.helpinghands4theblind.org

You can assist Helping Hands for the Blind by donating your used computers
to us. If you have a blind friend in need of a computer, please mail us at
the above address.

_______________________________________________
acb-l mailing list
acb-l@acb.org
http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-l

Todays BGZ LiveCast #2

Hi everyone,

 

Todays BGZ Livecast will begin at 2pm Eastern US time or 18:00 UTC.  Today I'll be talking about my experience voting the other day, I'll be talking about the BGZ websites moving to a new web host, I'll be talking about a troubling trend with Freedom Scientific and Jaws ILM's and I'll be talking about the online backup service called carbonite, also I'll interact with you via twitter and email.

 

On twitter you can tweet with me, the name is @RicksterTheGeek and as far as email you can reach me at:

 

rharmon@blind-geek-zone.net

 

You can listen live at:

 

http://listen.ultrastreams.us:8002

 

Unfortunately the stream only seems to be working with winamp or compatible players for some reason right now.  There will be an archive of the show as well, so if you can't listen live then hopefully you can listen to the archive.  Look for it on the main BGZ page later today or tomorrow if you can't tune in live.

 

 

--Rick

 

 

 

 

----
The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

 

My webpage:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net

 

Email contact info:
rharmon@blind-geek-zone.net
rickharmon@sbcglobal.net

Where did the Rickster go?

Good question, I guess I kind of forgot about the blog for the last few months.  I just don't know what to post here half of the time.

 

So, what's been going on?  Well the BGZ website is in the process of moving to a new hosting provider so there haven't been any postings there for a bit now.  Rest assured audio postings there will start up again really soon, hopefully by mid November.  We're moving to something called a Linode that a friend of mine is setting up.  It's going to give me more flexibility to host other customers for less money as well as host the BGZ site.  So keep looking for updates there.

 

BGZ Radio is a new project I haven't talked a lot about so here it goes.  I purchased a shoutcast stream from ultrahosts a couple of months ago and have been setting it up for use.  I've did some music there and on several occasions have streamed Movies described.  On September 23 we did our first BGZ livecast and I think it went pretty well.  I plan to do another here in November so keep check ing the BGZ main page for details of the next livecast.

 

As a result of doing the livecast on BGZ radio, I was convinced to audition and now broadcast on ACB Radio Interactive.  I'm one of their presenters there now.  I broadcast on Friday afternoons at 5pm eastern.  I'm on for 3 hours and play pop and rock from the 1960's through the 1980's.  It's been a lot of fun and I've learned a lot about talking live.  It's a lot harder than doing the blind geek zone podcasts for sure.  So come join me there on Fridays at 5pm Eastern time at:

 

http://interactive.acbradio.org

 

It's easy to listen with your favorite player.  I also take requests for songs during the show.

 

So that's basically what's been going on here the last 2 months now.  I will try to post here a bit more regularly.

 

--

Rick

 

Hear and There Audio Picture News, Oil spill in the Gulf

Here is a post I received today and thought others might be interested in checking out:

 

Hear and There Audio Picture News,  Oil spill in the Gulf

We  audio describe important news stories from around the world. 

We describe the video you have heard but wondered what was going on in the pictures.

We  use widely distributed video clips of news events and describe the details of the images surrounding the newscasters.

"A picture paints a thousand words."  we find the words that are the brush. 

In this episode we describe images from the oilspill in the gulf of Mexico. 

This clip is taken from The BBC.  It is entitled, "Deep oil drilling under the safety spotlight"

We chose this video because it shows a variety of images about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  As the reporter is speaking there are images of an oil industry shipping port, The pipe leaking oil on the sea floor, Graphs showing where oil is found and how deep they are drilling.  It also has images of oil rig platforms, pelicans covered in oil,  and deep sea robots at work.  We also describe satelie photos of the spill.

go to this link to listen http://twaud.io/mdD 
 
Thanks for listening,

________________________
Dave Ühlman
Accessibility Consultant
duhlman@msn.com
website  http://hearandthere.net/default.aspx

 

If you would like to subscribe to the H&T Podcast, use this link in your podcatcher or add it to your Favorites feed list.

 http://duhlman.podbean.com/feed

Accessible World Tek Talk presents A Discussion of Skype 4.2, August 2, 2010

News Wire:

Skype 4.2 is the latest version of the popular Internet Telephony
program. Using JAWS 11 and Windows 7, we'll take a look at how usable
it really is to the blind. A live demo will cover the basics of
creating an account, logging in, finding contacts and making calls, as
well as using skype's text instant messages, playing voicemails, and
using the dialpad with standard phone services, followed by a Q&A
session afterwards.

Presenter: Sean Randall
Email: sean@ask4access.com

Date: Monday, August 2, 2010

Time: 5:00 PM PDT, 6:00 PM MDT, 7:00 PM CDT, and 8:00 PM EDT
and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 00:00 GMT

Approximately 15 minutes prior to the event start time; go to The Pat
Price Tek Talk Training Room at:

http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

Or, alternatively.

Select The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room at:
www.accessibleworld.org
Enter your first and last names on the sign-in screen.

All Tek Talk training events are recorded so if you are unable to
participate live at the above times then you may download the
presentation or podcast from the Tek Talk archives on our website at
www.accessibleworld.org

If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online
conferencing software, there is a small, safe software program that
you need to download and then run. A link to the software is available
on every entry screen to the Accessible World online rooms.

All online interactive programs are free of charge, and open to anyone
worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer, speakers, and a
sound card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with the
presenters and others in the virtual audience or text chat with the
attendees. To speak to us, hold down the control key and talk; then
let up to listen.

Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of
the topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible
World. The lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum.
You can join the Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk Announce
List or the Sports Talk Announce List by completing the form at:
www.accessibleworld.org/mailinglists

Accessible World also provides a Tek Talk Discussion List. This list
is intended to give you an opportunity to ask computer related
questions, suggest topics to be used in the weekly Monday training
programs, or just to interact with others interested in using
assistive devices to access computers. You may sign up for this list
by selecting the Tek Talk Discussion link on the same page and
completing the form.

Accessible World Contacts:

Robert Acosta, Chair
Accessible World
818-998-0044
Email: boacosta@pacbell.net
Web: www.helpinghands4theblind.org

Marcia Moses, Events Coordinator
Accessible World
734-495-1496
Email: mgmoses@comcast.net

Steve Hoffman, President
Talking Communities
Email: steve@talkingcommunities.com

The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a
501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general
public, the disabled community and the professionals who serve them by
providing highly relevant information about new products, services,
and training opportunities designed specifically to eliminate
geographic and access barriers that adversely affect them

Do you and I count with Freedom Scientific still?

There has been some talk today on Twitter saying that you and I as individuals don't count or matter to Freedom Scientific since the bulk of their customer base is from state rehab and government  customers such as SSA and IRS and the VA.  I don't have numbers but I'd assume 90% of Freedom Scientifics customers are from the above groups.  I originally got my copy of Jaws from state rehab but since that point I've paid more for my SMA's and upgrade to Jaws professional to offset that original purchase from the state.

 

Most people in the blind community don't really feel that they are customers or matter to Freedom Scientific these days.  Recent events such as the lawsuit against GW Micro and Enhanced Vision along with the new Braille initiative have many saying that Freedom Scientific no longer cares about us, just the dollars it gets from state and government customers.  I'll go out on a limb here and say that many of the business practices lately have made it appear that Freedom Scientific cares more about dollars than helping blind persons to use their computers more effectively at home or on the job.  But is this really the case?  Freedom Scientific recently lowered the price of it's most popular Braille display by almost 40%.  Surely this is a positive move?  Well many say if Freedom Scientific can afford to lower the prices of the display by nearly 40% then they are obviously profiting hugely.  I can understand where this would seem to be the case.  Also charging Braille companies $9000 plus $5000 a year for signed Braille drivers when no one else in the industry does this isn't helping people to feel the love either.  I don't really understand the reasoning behind Freedom Scientific charging these fees to companies that have a difficult time making money these days.  But I can also see that Freedom Scientific isn't going to get rich anytime soon by charging these fees either!

 

Another thing that Freedom Scientific does to give themselves a negative image to many in the blind community is that it refuses to have any kind of lease to own program for either Jaws, Open Book or Magic making it nearly impossible for blind persons that can't work or do not want to work to be able to afford the purchase price of their products.  I have to agree with everyone here and say that Freedom Scientific should offer some kind of purchase over time plan if it truly cares about the blind community.  Every other major competitor out there offers a lease to own plan.  This probably alone is the biggest thing that makes many of us feel Freedom Scientific doesn't really see individual people as customers or show that it really cares about the blind community.

 

Then there is this business last week where one of the three Canadian distributors of Jaws was suddenly bumped supposedly because it was selling the competitions products along side of Jaws.  The company didn't come right out and say this and Freedom Scientific apparently didn't state why they dropped them.  So we all are coming to the conclusion that Freedom Scientific is bullying it's distributors to only sale Freedom Scientific products.  To me this really doesn't make a lot of business sense as competition is a good thing for everyone.  But once again the blind community perceives Freedom Scientific as being the big bully on the block. 

 

Sadly Freedom Scientific doesn't ever try to improve it's image with us either.  Basically they ignore everything many people are saying and go on with business as usual.  Seems to me that Freedom Scientific would have some kind of a public relations move to promote a more positive image to all of us in the blind community.  So why do they not? 

 

So this is where we come to the subject of my writing here today.  Do you and I still count?  Do you and I matter to Freedom Scientific these days.  I stated on Twitter that I feel I'm a customer of Freedom Scientific and do matter.  Sometimes I'm a happy customer and sometimes I'm not.   Some people on Twitter said that a certain person on Twitter that works for Freedom Scientific has un followed and in some cases blocked them because of comments made against Freedom Scientific.  I don't know anything about any of this.  The only thing I do know is that I have been negative about Freedom Scientific on Twitter in the past and haven't been blocked or un followed by this person.  The only thing I can make of this is that I try my best to be respectful when I make criticisms of Freedom Scientific.  I don't curse them or call them names.  I only state the facts.  So maybe this is why I haven't been blocked or un followed.  In my opinion, we all should be critical of Freedom Scientific when it's warranted.  It's our right to be critical when necessary.  We all do count as customers of Freedom Scientific and we should never feel that we are not.  If we believe we don't count, then we will not count!

 

So is this perception or fact?  Does Freedom Scientific really not care about us or are we all just making something of nothing?  I personally believe that Freedom Scientific does try to listen to us and make Jaws a better product for all of us to use but I do also agree that Freedom Scientific has appeared over the last couple of years to present an image of not caring about the individual customer as much as they did in the past.  Maybe it's time for Freedom Scientific to take a look at things and see what it can do to reverse this perceived image.  I'd love to hear from Freedom Scientific here, I'd also love to hear from everyone else here to.  So please flood me with comments here.  Please be respectful though or I'll have to not post your opinions.

 

--

 

Rick

 

 

Stream Newswire - Announcing Version 3.1

Dear Victor Reader Friends:

HumanWare is please to announce the release of new Stream 3.1 software.
Stream 3.1 is a free release that responds to popular requests received from
many Stream customers. New features include:

- Multi-level Talking Books bookshelf. The ability to create nested folders
on the Other Books, Podcast, and Text File bookshelves introduced in version
3.0 has been extended to include the Talking Books bookshelf. You can now
optionally create nested folders within the $VRDTB bookshelf folder and
navigate the structure while browsing the Talking Books bookshelf.

- For our friends in Spain we now support the Spanish braille electronic
text files with a file type of .BRA. At the time of this announcement the
Spanish 3.1 is not yet available but we are working with our partner in
Spain to release it as soon as possible.

- The popular percentage announcement on the Where Am I key that informs you
how much of the book you have listened to has been extended to Talking Books
and Audible books.

- When you set a start position for a Highlight bookmark the End position
can now be set with a single key press of the Bookmark key.

- The navigation UNDO feature has been extended to the Go To Page function.

- We have introduced two shortcuts to reach the start or end of a book. To
quickly jump to the beginning of a book press the Go To key once and then
press the Rewind key once. To reach the end of the book press the Go To key
and then the Fast Forward key.

- When you press Cancel to end a recording the Stream will now ask you to
confirm. This prevents stopping a recording accidentally.

- Stream 3.1 will allow you to copy DAISY books from USB flash media such as
flash memory sticks or the NLS cartridges used by the NLS library in the USA
and the AFWA library in Western Australia. Each USB flash book must be in
its own folder. When you attach a cartridge or flash media the Stream will
automatically start playing the first DAISY book on the media. Once the book
is playing you can optionally press key 3 to copy it to the Talking Books
bookshelf of your SD card.

Stream 3.1 also includes several bug fixes. Please see the Release Notes for
full details.

Both the software and Release Notes can be downloaded from the Stream
support page at:

http://www.humanware.com/stream_support

Select the Software link on that page. You will find the Release Notes at
the top of the English 3.1 software download links. You can choose from two
English versions one with Samantha + Tom text-to-speech voices and another
with Samantha + Daniel (UK) voices. You can upgrade to version 3.1 from any
prior Stream version. To install the new software, follow these steps:

- Download the software zip file

- Unzip the single UPG upgrade file from the zip file. You do not need
special unzip software. Simply press Enter to open the zip file and you can
then select the UPG file.

- Copy this UPG file to the root of your Stream SD card.

- Disconnect the Stream from the computer, connect it to AC power and turn
it on.

- The Stream will automatically start the update process which takes about 2
minutes during which time it will announce intermittent "please Wait"
messages. The Stream will power off when the new software is installed.

- When you power back on the UPG file will be automatically removed from
your SD card.

After the new software is installed, an html Release Notes document will
also be available in a HumanWare sub-folder of your Text Bookshelf so you
may read the Release Notes with your Stream. The html version allows you to
navigate the Release Notes section by section using the 2/8 keys to select
the level and keys 4 and 6 to move between sections.

With this announcement, version 3.1 is available in Danish, Dutch, English,
Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, and Swedish. As other languages
become available they will be posted on the same download page. We also are
working on a new version of the Stream Companion software for Windows which
will be announced on the Newswire when it is available.

HumanWare values your continued support of the Victor Reader Stream. We
remain committed to our customers to make the Stream the most powerful,
flexible, and enjoyable product used for listening to digital talking books,
computer files, and music.

Thank you,

The HumanWare Team

New commenting rules

Well I hate to do this but due to all the constant spamming here on the blog with comments from anonymous spam bots, anonymous comments will no longer be accepted here.  From now on you will have to register to be able to post comments here on the blog.  I really don't want to have to do this but with 50 to 100 spams a week now and growing, it's becoming very time consuming to keep screening out the bots.

 

--

Rick

 

 

Happy New Years:

I would like to take a moment to wish each and everyone of you a very happy new years from the Blind Geek Zone.  2009 was a very good year for the BGZ and I hope that 2010 brings you lots of good things for all of you out there.

 

---

Rick

 

Join me onMain Menu tonnight:

Here is the information about tonights main menu for anyone that wants to listen:

 

Coming up on Main Menu for the week of January 2, 2010

 

Main Menu begins 2010 with a bang! We first hear a greeting from ACB president Mitch Pomerantz. Next, your host is joined by J.J. Meddaugh of Blind Bargains
and Rick Harmon of The Blind Geek Zone to discuss the top news stories of 2009 as published on Blind Bargains. The number one story of the year will be
posted on the site just hours before the panel discussion airs on Main Menu. Finally, the three of us predict what stories will rank in the top ten list
for 2010. Take notes and see how close we are!

 

Main Menu airs on Saturdays at 1:00 UTC; that's Fridays at 8:00 Eastern time in the U.S. Subscribe to the Main Menu podcast feed at: http://mainmenu.acbradio.org/rss.php
Call the Main Menu comment line at (206) 338-7823

 

Posted by Jamie Pauls on 2009-12-29 at 04:32:09.

 

Here is the link to the main menu webpage:

http://mainmenu.acbradio.org/

 

and here is the link to blind bargains:

 

http://www.blindbargains.com

 

 

I will also post the segment on BGZ after main menu airs for those of you that miss it.

 

---

Rick

 

 

Merry Christmas wishes from BGZ:

I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new years from the Blind Geek Zone.  2009 has ended with lots of good things happening and  it's my hope that 2010 brings each and everyone of you out there great joy and happiness.

 

--

Rick

 

Just one of those things some blind people have to do to make themselves feel better:

Let me start by letting everyone know that this post has very strong adult language and content in it.  So if you are sensitive to such things please read no further.

 

Well folks this isn't going to be a jolly Christmasy type of post.  Instead, it's going to be rather sad and pathetic.  Sadly some people in our lovely blind community feel the need to beat others down in order to bring themselves up.  Now before I go on, this hopefully is a very small majority of people out there and this statement isn't directed at the majority of blind people out there as most of us will go way out of our way to help each other in any way that we can.

 

What I'm about to show you is a number of email postings on the GW Micro Booksense mailing list.  The email addresses will be deleted for privacy concerns and some of the swearing will be *'d out to keep it as clean as possible.  However since this is a public mailing list, I will be more than happy to keep all names intact for your reading pleasure!

 

As many of you know, GW Micro released the 2.0 firmware revision for the booksense yesterday afternoon.  One of the changes made was the adjustment to audio loudness and the internal speakers.  Yes I know, this is bound to cause an instant uproar amongst lots of people due to many having hearing issues of different kinds.  GW Micro stated that the volume levels were brought down a bit due to the levels in the 1.1 firmware causing speaker damage to some units.  I think most people can understand why the change was made.  I'm sure no one out there wants their speakers prematurely damaged due to excessive volume levels.  It's a tight rope that GW Micro walks on when making these kinds of changes.  The Humanware folks know all about this problem on the Victor Stream player.  It's hard to please everyone and no matter what a change in volume of speakers is going to ruffle someone's feathers!

 

This brings me up to the point where I come into all of this.  Below are statements I made on the mailing list and the extremely rude comments I got in return by a few posters on the list.

 

First I will post my message below and then others followed by comments here on the blog that were not posted out to the Booksense mailing list.

 

Rick Harmon wrote:

 

GW Micro stated this causes problems with the internal speakers.  do you
want louder volume at the risk of blowing out your speakers and having to
send the unit back to HMS for repair?

I'd rather not have my speakers prematurely blown out by too loud of volumes
applied to them.  I heard many times on the 1.1 settings where the speakers
rattled a lot.  This isn't a good thing.

Rick

----- Original Message -----
From: Missy Hoppe
To: GW-Micro booksense mailing list 

Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: [GW-Booksense] Booksense 2.0 changes


Agreed. The maximum volume most definitely needs to be bumped up again. It
still meets my needs, but only just. I have to walk very slow on tredmill to
still hear the built in speaker on max volume. Before, could walk a bit
faster.
There's got to be a way to get the best of both worlds. Agree about volume's
1 through 5; are't even worth mentioning; might as well be muted.
Still, I'm not complaining. I love my booksense as much as ever, and am
extremely happy with all the new features; if only this volume thing could
be resolved to meet everyone's needs.
With all that being said, though, I completely agree with what Raul said
earlier today. Let's just all sit back, relax, have a merry Christmas and
enjoy the new firmware for a little while before we really start picking it
apart too much.
Missy

Now let me say here that I wasn't actually referring to Missys post as her post has valid concerns.  I just decided to reply to this message as it was one of several posted to the list about the volume changes.  Next is a reply that I got back about my comments.

 

From: Keith Gillard

To: GW-Micro booksense mailing list

 

Oh do they now!

I never had that problem.

Perhaps you got ripped off!

I know I sure believe every thing I heard second hand!

Thank you Rick, for your the latest address to be added to my block senders
list!

KG.

and here is my reply back to Keith:

 

-original message-
Subject: Re: [GW-Booksense] BookSense 2.0 changes
From: Rick Harmon
Date: 12/21/2009 10:56 PM

Second hand, I'm sorry but this came direct from GW Micro.  I'm not sure
what I did to deserve blocking but hey knock yourself out.  I guess telling
the truth around here is a bad thing to do?

Rick

Okay, I figure this is the end of all of this and we all could just agree to disagree.  in my opinion Keith is a hot head and is always ranting on the list about how terrible the booksense is before the 2.0 release of the firmware.  Many people on the list share my feeling about Keith so it's just not me feeling this way about him.  Also  as for the information I provided being second hand, well that's false.  The statement was made directly by GW-Micro.

 

So the rest of the night goes without any further comments and all is well unttil this morning.  Then the bashing really gets nasty towards me.

 

Here is a post from Brandon Misch in regards to a question asked by Chantel Cuddemi 

 

he's mad because Rick told him that the reason why the volume had to change was distortion in the speakers if turned up to 21.
On Dec 21, 2009, at 10:43 PM, Chantel Cuddemi wrote:

Keith, what happened? Why are you blocking Rick's email? I missed something.

 

Next, Chantel thinks she is answering Brandon off list, in reality she's posting to him and the GW-Micro list as well.

 

Well, Brandon, maybe if he didn't act like sucha f**king know-it-all, he wouldn't be bashed like Brandon Hennis is.

 

Next Brandon Armstrong has to comment as well and I am assuming he thinks he's only writing to me offlist but in reality is writing to the GW-Micro list as well.

 

you know rickey, it's blindies like you who make me so angry.
I'm so sick of you thinking like your a f**king know it all,and you work for GW micro.
Why must you think and act like you know everything.
You suck as a moderator of any f**king list, and you don't deserve to own a Mac.

Wow! what can I say here.  two people that aren't smart enough to reply privately to me.  Not too intelligent if you ask me.  It's truly sad that people have to treat others this way.  I did nothing to Chantel or Brandon to deserve being treated like trash on this list.  I just don't know why some people have to knock others down to feel better about themselves.  These messages really hurt me a lot.  I try hard to help others in the community just to get people like Keith, Chantel and Brandon to attempt to destroy my credibility.  Chantel has also did the same thing to me on the Windows 7 mailing list that I co-own.  SO this isn't the first time I've dealt with her.  But be warned, Chantel will talk nice to you until you turn your back on her and then she will go around telling others how stupid you are behind your back

 

Here is a comment she made to me on the Windows 7 mailing list:

 

HI guys, hate to put my two cents in here, but this is coming from Ric, a guy who can't even stop interacting on the Mac? Come on, man!! I've had my Mac for nearly a year, and I know how to stop interacting. 

 

This was in a reply to a message that someone was siding with me about not needing to run the hardware wizard on a windows machine in order to get it to see the RAM you have installed in it.

 

Anyways what her comment had to do with windows 7 is beyond me.  Also just to be fair here, I've owned a Mac for a couple of weeks and have used it a few hours and Chantel is slamming mme here?  Why, who knows.  My guess she's a mean spirited person that wanted to make a funny joke at my expense.  She also wrote Keith Gillard off list or so she thought with  the following message that made it out to the booksense list with a message I sent to her privately.  For some reason she decided everyone needed to see it.

 

Well, Rick, I am sorry for letting fly the cuss words, but Keith Gillard agrees with me.
On Dec 22, 2009, at 12:44 PM, Rick Harmon wrote:

Chantel,

 Well thanks for this very enlightening message.  I do hope you be careful on 
the windows 7 list as I will boot you in a heartbeat now since I see your a 
liar and your apology was a load of crap.  As for my message on the GW Micro  list, I did nothing wrong. I wasn't mean to anyone and my statement was 
factual.  A lot more people will side with me than with Keith about  attitude.  As for you, You think your really smart don't you?  Telling others I don't  know nothing about the Mac and that you know so much.  I've seen some of  your messages on other lists and they clearly show you might not be quite as  smart as you tell others that you are. Also you forget to tell anyone that I  have only had a Mac for a couple of weeks and used it for mere hours  compared to you having yours for a year now.  That's pretty mean of you to  say such things to people but not tell them the entire truth. 

 

Rick

 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: Chantel Cuddemi 

To: GW-Micro booksense mailing list 

Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 11:39 AM
 Subject: Re: [GW-Booksense] BookSense 2.0 changes 
 
That makes sense. I even slammed him on the windows 7 list. He didn't like  it because I know more about the Mac and thing,s but, I later apologized to  him for it.

 On Dec 21, 2009, at 10:48 PM, Keith Gillard wrote:
 
Well everytime he post a reply he acts like he is working for GW and that his PooPoo doesn't stink! He talks down to members and thinks he is always right. Chantel, when a post angers me I have learned that there is likey a good reason for it. I've been around on many lists and for a long time and I've learned to 
trust
 my tummy! Cheers!
 

 

This is a very interesting post.  I didn't talk down to anyone with my post.  My poo poo does stink thank you Keith just like yours does.  Also I don't work for the great folks at GW-Micro but would be honored to be able to do so.  And Chantel, well you just showed your true ignorance there commenting about the Mac again to him.  How many others have you told this load of crap sob story to?

 

Okay, so that is my story.  Pretty sad huh?  As always I'm open to comments good or bad from all of you.

 

--

Rick

 

The cost of blindness:

Here is an audio post where I talk about the cost of blindness and my concerns about it increasing instead of going down.  I'm sure I didn't touch on everything and one thing I did leave out is the cost of travel.  I hope that you will comment on this post.  I'm looking forward to hearing from a lot of you out there and what you think about the cost of being blind.

 

http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/audio/costofblindness.mp3

 

--

Rick

 

My slant on the FS vs. Enhanced Vision lawsuit

Yesterday, November 24th Freedom Scientific filed a lawsuit against Enhanced Vision Systems INC., a maker of low vision magnification products.  You can read the complete details of the suit at:

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=4714

 

 

One of the alleged activities that Enhanced Vision is accused of is using website search metatag keywords in it's webpage in order to get people looking for Freedom Scientific to come to their pages as well I'm assuming in order to sell low vision magnifiers in competition with Freedom Scientifics low vision products

 

I thought about this a bit here and came to a frightening realization.  Blind Geek Zone uses both the Jaws and Freedom Scientific keywords in it's metatag keywords section of the website in order of all things to attract people looking for information on Jaws and Freedom Scientific to my website as well so that I could provide both free and paid training on among other things jaws training.

.

 

My initial knee jerk reaction was to remove the Jaws and Freedom Scientific metatags out of my keywords section and re post my page.

 

Here is a quote from the Lawsuit where Freedom Scientific asks the court to stop Enhanced Systems from:

 

(a)        That this Court grant a preliminary and permanent injunction pursuant to the powers granted it under 15 U.S.C. §1116, enjoining and restraining
the Defendant and its agents, servants, and employees from directly or indirectly using the mark, "Freedom Scientific," on any marketing materials, websites,
any Internet landing pages, or as a metatag or other keyword to be indexed by an Internet search engine, because such use is likely to cause confusion,
mistake, or to deceive;
 
So basically Freedom Scientific could come to me and say exactly the same thing.  That my websites keyword metatags misleadingly brought customers to my website in order to provide training that legally should have gone to Freedom Scientific.  Okay, I know that is a stretch of my imagination.  BGZ isn't worth Freedom Scientific's wasting $100.00 on in order to get me to stop my practices here.  But what about someone a bit bigger than myself.  I've managed to make a few thousand dollars here in the last 3 years that I've been providing paid training and services.  Clearly this isn't worth FS wasting 1 lawyer  on me.  But how about some of the bigger trainers out there that use Jaws or Freedom Scientific in their keyword metatags to get customers to come their way?

 

I'm not asking whether or not Freedom Scientific has the right to sue anyone for these practices or not.  For all I know, they do.  But Today it's Enhanced Vision, tomorrow will it be Blind Geek Zone? or a larger training service provider?  This is the question we all need to ask.  Where does the food chain end for Freedom Scientific's lawyers?

 

Should I be able to use these keywords on my website in order to draw blind customers searching for information on Jaws or Freedom Scientific here for potential paid training services?  Am I actually hurting Freedom Scientific by doing this?  I really don't think so but I really don't want to be sued for doing so unlawfully either.

 

Who is next FS?  Me? Another AT provider?something to think about don't you all think?

 

---

Rick

 

 

 

 

Accessible World Presents:

Accessible World Presents a Special Program Series Event, November 24, 2009

News Wire:

 

Special Program Series

 

Accessible World proudly presents Rick Harmon  who will present us with a tutorial on both the Sendspace Wizard and My Dropbox.

He will take us step by step from the installation of the programs to using them.

 

Many of us use Sendspace as a way to send files to our friends and to mailing lists.  Rick will also introduce us to My Dropbox which is a very efficient way to do the same thing.

 

Presenter: Rick Harmon

Email: rickharmon@sbcglobal.net

 

Date: Tuesday November 24, 2009

 

Time: 6:00 PM PST, 7:00 PM MST, 8:00 PM CST, 9:00 PM EST

         and elsewhere in the world Wednesday 1:00 GMT.

Approximately 15 minutes prior to the event start time; go to the Accessible World Auditorium at:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs5affc3cfa191

 

Or, alternatively,

 

Select the Accessible World Auditorium at: www.accessibleworld.org

Enter your first and last name

 

If you are a first-time user of the Talking Communities online conferencing software, there is a small, safe software program that you need to download and then run. A link to the software is available on every entry screen to the Accessible World rooms.

 

All online interactive programs require no password, are free of charge, and open to anyone worldwide having an Internet connection, a computer, speakers, and a sound card. Those with microphones can interact audibly with the presenters and others in the virtual audience. To speak to us, hold down the control key and let up to listen. If no microphone is available, you may text chat with the attendees.

 

Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of the topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible World. The lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum. You can join the Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk Announce List or the Sports Talk Announce List by completing the form at: www.accessibleworld.org/mailinglists

 

Accessible World Contacts:

 

Robert Acosta, Chair

Accessible World

818-998-0044

Email: boacosta@pacbell.net

Web:   www.helpinghands4theblind.org

 

Joann Becker, Events Coordinator

Accessible World

617-487-8795

Email: joannbecker@pcomcast.net

 

George Buys, CEO.

Talking Communities

Email: buys@talkingcommunities.com

 

The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly relevant information about new products, services, and training opportunities designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access barriers that adversely affect them