Um, Bill, I don't have one either. Just thought I'd pass along anyway, so sorry it made you sound grumpy, and indeed if Google made Gmail very useful and its search engine useful, sure it can make their future book reader if it is indeed thinking of coming out with one, definitely would want the info on accessibility for that one afterall many of google products are accessible.
----------------“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----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Cox" <waywardgeek@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 1:39 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: OT More Abouth the Kindle
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. BillOn 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 2010Amazon working to make the bestselling Kindle also a breakthrough device forthe 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 easilythan before, and has also helped dyslexic readers and those with learningdisabilities improve their reading skills. Vision impaired customers benefitfrom Kindle's ability to change the font size - easily making any book alarge 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 wellas a meaningful breakthrough device for the blind. Related Quotes "Kindle is for anyone who loves to read-in fact, we've heard from thousandsof vision-impaired customers and customers with learning disabilities overthe past two years who have been helped tremendously by Kindle," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "With some key modifications, webelieve Kindle can be a breakthrough device for the blind, and the team isexcited about making these enhancements."Below are examples of emails sent to the Kindle team over the past two yearsabout 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 hadnot been able to read books for many years." "I've always loved to read, but the last year or so vision problems havehampered my reading. Reading small print was extremely difficult and causedeye 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 studentsbrought 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 notan 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 veryhelpful - already he feels he has made great progress! The Kindle has really grabbed the attention of many of my students who have typically been turnedoff 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 readerscan 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 thecurrent 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 inSeattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth'sBiggest 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 ofunique 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-endtechnology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any typeof 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 StatementsThis announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the SecuritiesExchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risksand 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 oflegal 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 inAmazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, includingits 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 betterlook out, because everyone will know!” Today, I find myself constantly saying those words, just to get myselfgoing, 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 putsme 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: jazzytrumpetTo unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxput the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.