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PLANET 2000 Conference
By Kendell
DisabledPerson.Com again visited an Internet conference
looking for new technology that will benefit our community. This time, we stayed home and
attended the Planet 2000 conference that was put on by i2 Technologies. It was held at the
San Diego Convention Center. Let me tell you, this place is a marvel. It is huge,
beautiful and totally accessible in my opinion.
There had to be over 5000 people in attendance. i2 put on a wonderful, professional and
organized conference. The lecture series and workshops were extremely informative about
the brave new work of e-commerce and how it is shaping the new economy. One aspect of the
conference that I thought was absolutely great was that at lunch, i2 had tables set up for
specific discussion topics. Each table had a moderator for the discussion and you could
choose the table/discussion that you wanted. Extremely informative!
Everyone, everywhere was discussing e-business. How to set up manufacturing matrix's that
ultimately sell to a consumer. Truly an education! Again, as in the conference that I
attended in Las Vegas the previous month, there was something missing and as you might of
guessed, it was the disabled community.
As I did in Las Vegas, I went around to everyone who would listen and asked why isn't the
disabled community represented? Of course, no one had an answer. I had one though, they
didn't think of us. We weren't even an afterthought. That old Rodney Dangerfield
expression, "I don't get no respect." Just so you know, I made a lot of noise
and by the end of the conference, I had different companies thinking hard about our
community. As a matter of fact, a couple of big name companies are taking a look at what
can be done for us.
Another reason for my attending the conference was to try and find out about any new
assistive technology products that the software and hardware companies were working on. I
found out that IBM was doing some very nice things for our community. Below are highlights
of what IBM, Compaq and Hewlett Packard are doing for us.
IBM's Talking Web Browser Allows Blind and Visually Impaired People To Do E-Business
Greatest functionality at the lowest cost; software offers Javascript support, more
languages and ease-of-use features
Home Page Reader 3.0 for Windows offers the greatest functionality in a talking Web
browser at the lowest cost in the industry. It provides Javascript support for complete
access to the Web, supports nine languages and offers many new options and features that
simplify set-up and operation of the browser, allowing users to get online and navigate
the Internet more quickly and easily.
"With its rich features, low cost and Javascript support, this new version of Home
Page Reader will allow many blind and visually impaired people around the world to fully
participate in the e-business revolution for the first time," said Guido Corona, User
Interface Designer for the IBM
Accessibility Center. "Our team worked closely with current Home Page Reader users
and focus groups to create many new features allowing those with vision disabilities
greater and easier access to the Web than ever before."
Javascript support allows the software to speak aloud all information on a Web page,
including conventional text, tables, graphic descriptions, text in column formats, data
input fields, forms and image maps. This enables blind and visually impaired users to
complete on-line forms for purchasing, selling or trading products and services over the
Web.
The new version supports three additional languages-- Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional
Chinese, and Simplified Chinese -- in addition to the existing U.S. English, French,
Italian, German, Spanish, and Japanese languages. It also automatically switches
languages; users can hear the information pronounced correctly in the original languages,
for Web pages that are presented in Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Spanish and
English. For example, if a person using the German language version surfs to a page in
Spanish, the browser will automatically speak the information on the page in Spanish.
Home Page Reader is a complete, self-contained talking browser -- no screen reader is
required. It combines the power of Microsoft Internet Explorer and IBM's ViaVoice Outloud
text-to-speech technology to present Web-based information in an integrated solution.
Users access the program through the standard keyboard, a numeric keypad, or by using a
mouse, and hear the information through IBM's Outloud speech synthesizer. The software is
intended for users of Microsoft Windows 98, Millennium, and Windows 2000. Users simply
need to install the program following the installation and setup instructions, and the Web
is instantly speech enabled.
Features of Home Page Reader 3.0 include:
A talking installation program that makes set-up fast
and easy;
An interactive, talking hands-on tutorial and
comprehensive on-line
help features, including contextual help and users guide;
Integrated, easy-to-setup e-mail facility;
A new user interface, allowing users to begin
accessing basic Web
information using as few as six keys
Graphics and text are visually highlighted and
tracked with the cursor
in synchronization with the program, allowing visually impaired users
to follow along as the program speaks;
Support for blind users; customization of the audio
presentation
through voice changes (male voice for text, female voice for hyperlinks),
sound effects and text tagging (allows the user to program in a spoken
cue, such as having the word "link" spoken whenever the program
reaches a hyperlink)
Support for low-vision users; customization of the
visual presentation
for font size, background, color etc.;
Integrated search facility, allowing the user to
search the current
page or do a broader search of the Web;
Speaks selected multimedia applications such as
Windows Media Player,
and RealPlayer
Suggested retail price for Home Page Reader version 3.0 is $149. The U.S.
English version will be available to purchase beginning December 15, 2000.
The translated versions will be available in their respective countries by
March 31, 2001. Users of Home Page Reader versions 2.0 and 2.5 will be
able to download a free upgrade to Version 3.0 from the IBM Accessibility
Center Web page (http://www.ibm.com/able); at the end of this year.
Give it a shot.
I would like to thank Ms. Rebecca Keeler Gee for being so nice and providing me with the
above information.
IBM also has a program called Empower Purchase Program where the disabled get discounts on
IBM's home computing solutions, including Aptiva PC's, thinkPad notebooks and a variety of
accessories. This information can be obtained at the web address posted above.
These are just a sample of things that IBM is doing for our community. If you have more of
an interest in their total involvement, please visit their Web site at www.ibm.com.
I also contacted Hewlett Packard. The people there were very nice especially a Ms. Camala
Kolseth. Ms. Kolseth informed me that many assistive products will run with/on HP computer
products, that are Windows or NY-based.
Compaq's Nora Hahn was also very nice when I approached about assistive technology
information. She indicated to me that Compaq does not have any specially designed
assistive technology or products at the present time. She indicated that Compaq is
currently undergoing a pretty thorough review of their commercial PCs to determine where
they can make them more accessible. Some of the first changes that they are implementing
are things like moving from a 2-latch case on their notebooks to a 1-latch case. This so
that if a person only has use of only one arm or hand, that he or she can still open the
notebook. They
also moved all the plug-in ports to the Front of the iPAQ Desktop PC, so that it is easier
for someone with limited mobility or sight impairments to find the ports.
Ms. Hahn also told me that a company in Florida has designed a software application called
the iCommunicator that converts text to sign language. The iCommunicator products only
works on one the Compaq Armada M700 notebook. Also they have a consumer product keyboard
that enables users to type in Braille. She also stated that more changes are coming in
2001 as they finish their review of the products and start to implement more design
changes.
Of note was that Dell Computer was also contacted but failed to respond to my request.
It is wonderful that these companies are thinking about the disabled. I would like to
thank them on behalf of our community.
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