Features

• Talking Tech w/ Curtis Chong: Amazon's Kindle gets accessible
• Blind Perspective: Technology in our world brings up personal choice

Talking Tech w/ Curtis Chong
Kindle PC software with accessibility plugin actually works!

In January, Amazon announced the availability of its Kindle for PC with Accessibility plugin. Although the Kindle eBook reader has proven to be a popular portable electronic book reading system for the sighted, as matters now stand, the Kindle is not a book-reading option I would recommend for someone who is blind or visually impaired. For one thing, the built-in text-to-speech technology is difficult to use, and for another, you cannot purchase books from the Kindle bookstore without sighted assistance.

I am very pleased to report that the Kindle for PC with Accessibility plugin, a program for a Windows computer provided free of charge, can be operated without sighted assistance--particularly, if the blind user is also running a screen access program, such as JAWS for Windows. Amazon tells us on its website— www.amazon.com/kindle/accessibility—that the following accessibility features are provided:

• Text-to-speech reading with adjustable voice settings
• Voice-guided menu navigation
• Large font sizes
• High contrast reading mode
• Keyboard navigation
• Accessible shortcuts

Even though an author may sell a book with the idea of prohibiting text-to-speech access, this prohibition will be overridden if the plugin sees that a screen access program is running. The screen access program will voice the menus and other controls in the plugin while the text of the Kindle book you want to read is spoken using a male or female text-to-speech engine built into the plugin. You should bear in mind that the only two screen access programs that Amazon claims to have tested are JAWS for Windows and NVDA.

My admittedly limited experience with the Kindle for PC Accessibility plugin has been positive so far. I was able to purchase a book from the Amazon Kindle bookstore with relative ease, download it to my computer and read it. By default, the plugin reads the book one page at a time, and you have to move to the next page and tell the program to continue reading. However, it is easy to instruct the program to enter a continuous reading mode.

There are keystrokes to control how fast the book is read, and you can choose to hear the book using either a male or a female voice. It is not possible at this time to move through the book one character, word or line at a time, but you can move back and forth by sentence or page. The documentation to operate the program is quite accessible, but you will need to memorize about 10 keystrokes to get the most out of the program.

While I might wish that the Kindle was more accessible, I believe Amazon should be commended for taking this positive step to make its Kindle books accessible to blind and visually impaired people. Now we have another place where we can acquire books that are accessible.

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Blind Perspective
Technology in our world brings up personal choice

By Linda Slayton

In regard to technology I think there are basically three types of people. The first group gets excited by the word technology. They jump on the bandwagon for each new product that is developed. They are the people who always have the newest gadgets. The second set shrinks in fear at the mere mention of the word. They avoid new technology for as long as possible. They may watch the parade, but they will never get on the float unless the band carries them there kicking and screaming all the way. The third segment realizes that technology has its place. They accept it and learn as needed. Their interest is piqued, but they need a reason to join the parade. Once in the parade they often think they are the Grand Marshall.

Sometimes life pushes us into things and sometimes things push us into life. Technology is like that. It surrounds us. What few take the time to realize is that “technology” as a word is much broader than the definition we have come to associate with it. It’s more than computers, scanners, cell phones, and e-readers. It’s more than electronics in general. In its simplest definition technology is “the practical application of knowledge.”

As blind people we sometimes develop new technology for our own use. We use the term “alternative techniques.” However, when asked what technology we use, few of us say a white cane, a slate, and never “this gizmo I made out of duct tape and cardboard that helped me put new hardware on the cabinets.” That question makes me feel as if I am supposed to expound on the astounding new electronics blind people now have at our disposal. While I am awed by the current applications technology has for blind people, the truth is I still use what I like and need. Yes, I belong to the third group.

Early in my life as a blind person I was taught to think of alternative techniques as tools. I was told to use the tools that I needed to make life easier and better. That’s how I also use technology.

I think those of us who struggle with new technology for whatever reason feel sort of ashamed when asked what technology we use. I always feel as if I am letting someone down. Blind people have fought so hard to have accessible technology that I sometimes feel disloyal for not knowing enough about it. Then I remember that we have fought harder to be recognized as normal people who have our own interests and abilities. My true loyalty, both to myself and the blind community, lies in being myself.

Technology is a great thing. Whether we love it or hate it, we are surrounded by it. It can be as complicated as a modular space station and as simple as a rubber band. We are all impacted by it. Perhaps the next time someone asks if I use much technology I will answer honestly, “Don’t we all?”

Linda Slayton is a freelance writer living in Des Moines. She can be reached by e-mail at lcslayton@yahoo.com