Martin, Kay was an actual Sky disabilities representative on the Sky User list who played an active part on the Sky users e-mail list set up by another blind or partially sighted Sky user. Darran ----- Original Message ----- From: "martin wilsher" <m.wilsher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2008 5:40 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: FW: A letter I wrote to sky. | HI Jackie: | | I do not understand your reference to k alan, but guess this person was | someone to do with sky. And while I agree with you here in part re the digi | box, if blind people do not face the challenges of inaccessible services and | flag up the inaccessibility, they will be left behind in the digital | revolution. I believe using sky plus to the best of our abilities and | flagging inaccessible parts of this service will force sky to do something | about it in the end. Though I completely understand your standpoint | ttoo.-----Original Message----- | From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of | Jackie Cairns | Sent: 16 November 2008 17:18 | To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | Subject: [access-uk] Re: FW: A letter I wrote to sky. | | Hi Martin | | Firstly, it's why I won't buy a Sky Plus box to replace my eight-year-old | original Digibox, because I can't access the facilities the Plus offers. | | Secondly, bring back Kay Allen. She was excellent, even if she couldn't | implement everything we'd like to see happen. | | Jackie Cairns | Braille Support Adviser | Email: jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sight and Sound Technology Welton | House North Wing Summerhouse Road Moulton Park Northampton | NN3 6WD | Tel: 01604 798024 | Web: www.sightandsound.co.uk | -----Original Message----- | From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of | martin wilsher | Sent: 16 November 2008 16:04 | To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | Subject: [access-uk] FW: A letter I wrote to sky. | | | | -----Original Message----- | From: martin wilsher [mailto:m.wilsher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] | Sent: 16 November 2008 12:45 | To: 'access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx' | Subject: A letter I wrote to sky. | | HI all. Having just got sky plus installed, I have had no end of issues | with the remote record service, so this, along with other issues I found, | prompted me to write the following letter to sky which I enclose for your | discussion. | | "Dear Sir/Madam: | | My Name is Martin Wilsher. Having recently upgraded to sky plus in an | attempt to enhance my sky experience, I am generally impressed with the | operation of the sky plus system. Though, as one of your disabled | customers, I am totally blind, meaning I cannot see the sky EPG to operate | the system properly, I need to find alternative methods of programming the | box to my liking. Now, to this end I use accessible sky TV listings, and | would use remote record, but this is broken, so I cannot use the service, | even though I am subscribed to use it. the only way I can control the box | is to send texts at twenty five pence per time from my mobile phone, this is | excluding network charges, so in the two days I've been using this system I | have unbilled usage of £10 excluding VAT on my mobile bill due to | controlling the sky box. I have spoken to accessible customer services | regarding this matter, and that of the remote record, so I will not continue | the discussion of my current problems here. My main concern is the lack of | accessibility for totally blind people when using sky plus. There are no | indications when moving up and down the menus for example, so pressing up, | down, select, or left or right arrows does not cause a beep or any audible | tone for the blind user. This means blind users cannot adequately use the | menus. I feel that key clicks to tell a user when they have pressed an | arrow key, or the select key would be a small enhancement to the sky plus | menu system which, in the interim between today, and the day when we finally | get a talking EPG, which I believe is in the pipeline, would be of great | help to blind customers, as would accessibility services set to on by | default. At present, a blind customer has to get assistance with setting up | audio description and the beep to tell when AD is available on a channel. I | believe this is a sorry state of affairs. Accessibility should be a right | straight out of the box, not a privilege, as it is at the moment. If a | blind user cannot get sighted assistance, and is not competent with use of | the remote control while someone on the end of a phone line talks them | through key presses where little feedback from the box, Is given, the blind | user is stuck with a box they cannot use, as there is no talking EPG at the | present time. While sky provides AD for its blind customers, I believe with | the revenue streams sky gets from loyal customers, that access for blind | users should be, and could be much improved. At the moment I am finding my | use of sky plus a very expensive experience, but I hope this, with the | rectifying of the remote record problem, should come down to the normal | costs experienced by sighted users of the sky plus system. I must say that | I am very technically minded, and will work through technical issues, but | with an aging population, and possible growing numbers of people with | moderate to total sight loss, coupled with the imminent switch to digital | television for all, sky need to urgently address all access issues to a | greater degree than they already are. I like my sky plus box, but am not | totally uncritical as my letter to you shows. I am young, technically | minded, and have a fair knowledge of computers and of the menu systems sky | employ, if explained to me. Some older people might not have this | advantage. So this letter is a plea for accessibility for elder folk as | well as me as a blind sky user. I feel key clicks could be implemented | quickly and should be accelerated to the top of your to do list. I | understand the talking EPG is in development, but Key clicks could be | implemented quickly and put into a software upgrade to the current sky plus | boxes. I currently use the box by remembering the key presses I make on | various keys, but am not totally sure if the box has accepted all presses, | so it's still pot luck. I believe the implementation of key clicks is as | important as the highlighter bar on the menus. If sighted users of sky plus | suddenly found the highlighter gone from their menus, they would not be able | to find their way around the sky planner and other services. This is how it | is for blind users. Yes we have the sky music which plays when in menus, | but that is all. There are no other cues as to where we are in the menus. | I believe, in the days of the disability discrimination act, and the so | called right of disabled people to be treated equally when accessing | services, blind people deserve a better deal from sky, as sky continue to | innervate. Please, please do not leave blind people out of the digital | revolution. I believe blind people are given very little consideration when | new services are implemented, and feel this is morally as well as legally | wrong. I also wish to express my disappointment in the sign up process for | my sky. This implements a visual graphical test for registrants which | entail the completion of a form by entering text into the box. This is not | accessible to screen reading software. An alternative audio system should | be provided for blind and visually impaired customers so they can sign up | independently. Registration for remote record via sky plus box is not | accessible either, which I feel could be improved by the use of the website | to tell the box what to do. Access to sky services needs to be drastically | improved for blind users. Thank you for reading." | | Hope this provokes discussion. | | Hope to hear from you soon. | | From Martin. | | Please email me at: | | m.wilsher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | Thanks | | | Please visit my website: | | www.martin-wilsher.com | | | | | ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] | ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | ** and in the Subject line type | ** unsubscribe | ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the | ** immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] | ** or send a message, to | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq | | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. | For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email | ______________________________________________________________________ | ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] | ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | ** and in the Subject line type | ** unsubscribe | ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the | ** immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] | ** or send a message, to | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq | | | __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature | database 3615 (20081115) __________ | | The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. | | http://www.eset.com | | | ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] | ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx | ** and in the Subject line type | ** unsubscribe | ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the | ** immediately-following link:- | ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] | ** or send a message, to | ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq | | | __________ NOD32 3615 (20081115) Information __________ | | This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. | http://www.eset.com | | ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq