[bksvol-discuss] Re: OT More Abouth the Kindle
- From: Jackie McBride <abletec@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 8 Dec 2009 14:46:28 -0700
Bill, if you're gonna vent your wrath to some1, do so at Random
House--they're the 1's who are trying to make TTS discretionary. Look,
I think Amazon's Kindle for PC is utter crap, & I have no ax to grind
here--I *certainly* do not work for Amazon & am actually urging people
to get on board w/Barnes & Noble because they are making their stuff
accessible but at the same time, the thing regarding the TTS is really
the fault of Random House. Ok, serious run-on if ever there were 1
but...
On 12/8/09, Bill Cox <waywardgeek@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> So, does this mean I shouldn't be pissed at them for:
>
> a) Ending my ability to listen to most books, which they did when they
> gave publisher's the option to disable TTS.
> b) Suing people who publish software to help load books like the ones
> I can get from bookshare.org onto the Kindle.
>
> I don't see it. Let's face it: Amazon screwed the blind/VI. They
> could have put in some sort of exception for the blind, but didn't.
> They simply disabled audio, and DRM lock-downed the device, and then
> sued anyone who wrote software that I can legally use to break their
> encryption. A Kindle is a useless piece of junk for many, including
> me.
>
> That said, I'm pitching it to buy my father-in-law a Kindle for
> Christmas. I may be pissed at Amazon, but it's still a cool device.
> Hopefully one day they'll throw the blind/VI community a bone. Google
> is coming out next year with a competing service. Hopefully they wont
> be evil, and the blind/VI community will be able to participate.
>
> Bill
>
> On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 1:08 PM, Chela Robles <cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Here is more info on this reader.
>>
>> Blind and Vision-Impaired Readers to Benefit from New Kindle Features in
>> 2010
>> Amazon working to make the bestselling Kindle also a breakthrough device
>> for
>> the blind
>> a.. Press Release
>> b.. Source: Amazon.com, Inc.
>> c.. On 9:00 am EST, Monday December 7, 2009
>> a.. Companies:
>> a.. Amazon.Com Inc.
>> SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kindle, the #1 bestselling product across all of
>> Amazon, has enabled many vision-impaired readers to enjoy books more
>> easily
>> than before, and has also helped dyslexic readers and those with learning
>> disabilities improve their reading skills. Vision impaired customers
>> benefit
>> from Kindle's ability to change the font size - easily making any book a
>> large print edition. Dyslexic readers benefit from being able to listen
>> with
>> Kindle's text-to-speech technology while simultaneously reading along with
>> the synchronized text. Today, Amazon announced that it is working on a new
>> set of features that will make Kindle even better for these readers as
>> well
>> as a meaningful breakthrough device for the blind.
>> Related Quotes
>> "Kindle is for anyone who loves to read-in fact, we've heard from
>> thousands
>> of vision-impaired customers and customers with learning disabilities over
>> the past two years who have been helped tremendously by Kindle," said Ian
>> Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "With some key modifications, we
>> believe Kindle can be a breakthrough device for the blind, and the team is
>> excited about making these enhancements."
>> Below are examples of emails sent to the Kindle team over the past two
>> years
>> about the significance of these features:
>> "The other day I took my visually impaired friend to the eye doctor. I
>> just
>> happened to take my Kindle out of my purse to show her the birthday gift I
>> had received. Amazingly, she was able to read on it. How exciting; she had
>> not been able to read books for many years."
>> "I've always loved to read, but the last year or so vision problems have
>> hampered my reading. Reading small print was extremely difficult and
>> caused
>> eye strain. Fortunately, a dear friend gifted me with my Kindle 2 on my
>> birthday in September. Since that time, my Kindle has not left my side."
>> "I have an 11 year old daughter with cerebral palsy. She has very poor
>> vision and cannot turn pages in a book, so the kindle text to speech is a
>> blessing for her. She loves books and will listen for hours!"
>> "I am an ophthalmologist specializing in rehabilitation of the visually
>> impaired. I have found the Kindle DX to be of tremendous value to my
>> patients. A few modifications could increase its effectiveness."
>> [From teacher of students with learning disabilities] "One of my students
>> brought his mom's Kindle to class this week and gave a little show and
>> tell
>> for two different classes. He is certainly a hard worker, but reading is
>> not
>> an easy skill for him. He reports that the lack of back-lighting, the
>> ability to change font size and the 'read-to' features have been very
>> helpful - already he feels he has made great progress! The Kindle has
>> really
>> grabbed the attention of many of my students who have typically been
>> turned
>> off by reading assignments."
>> To make Kindle more useful for the blind, the Kindle team is currently
>> working on an audible menuing system so blind and vision-impaired readers
>> can easily navigate to books unassisted, in addition to listening to books
>> as they can already do today with Read To Me. In addition, a new super
>> size
>> font will be added to Kindle, increasing the number of font sizes from six
>> to seven. This seventh font size will be twice the height and width of the
>> current largest font. These new features are scheduled for release by the
>> summer of 2010.
>> To receive emails from Amazon when new features and updates on this topic
>> are available, please send an email to blind-interest@xxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> About Amazon.com
>>
>> Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN - News), a Fortune 500 company based in
>> Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers
>> Earth's
>> Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most
>> customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
>> they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
>> lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
>> unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
>> Movies,
>> Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden;
>> Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel; Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty;
>> Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial.
>> Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to
>> in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end
>> technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type
>> of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are
>> Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service
>> (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS),
>> Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), Amazon Mechanical Turk and
>> Amazon CloudFront.
>> Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
>> www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr,
>> www.amazon.ca,
>> and
>> www.amazon.cn.
>>
>> As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include
>> Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
>> otherwise.
>>
>> Forward-Looking Statements
>>
>> This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
>> of
>> Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
>> Securities
>> Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from
>> management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks
>> and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
>> competition,
>> management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential
>> fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of
>> legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization,
>> seasonality,
>> commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign
>> exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and
>> taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that
>> potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in
>> Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
>> including
>> its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
>>
>> Kindle devices are sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
>>
>>
>>
>> Contact:
>> Amazon Media Hotline:206-266-7180
>> ----------------
>> ----------------
>> “If you go without playing the trumpet for one day, no one knows, two
>> days,
>> only you know, and more than three days without practicing, girl you
>> better
>> look out, because everyone will know!”
>> Today, I find myself constantly saying those words, just to get myself
>> going, to not give up, and it works. Since I learned to play the trumpet
>> at
>> the tender age of 10, I have spent so much passion and much diligence with
>> that instrument that I will not give up on it. Sometimes my instrument
>> puts
>> me into awkward situations where I feel like they won’t ever end, but the
>> trumpet gives me a lot of hope with the majestic, crystal-clear sound it
>> brings to my ears.
>> ----------------
>> Chela Robles
>> E-Mail: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx
>> MSNWindowsLive Messenger: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> Skype: jazzytrumpet
>>
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--
Change the world--1 deed at a time
Jackie McBride
www.abletec.serverheaven.net
Please join me Saturday, 11/7, on my walk against breast cancer by
making a donation at:
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/larkspur>
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