[bksvol-discuss] Re: OT More Abouth the Kindle
- From: Bill Cox <waywardgeek@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 09:02:15 -0500
Thanks for the info about the petition. I signed it. It is at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/We-Want-To-Read
Sorry about the grump tone in my post. I'm use to posting on
slashdot.org and other sites where grumpy is the norm. I'll moderate
my tone going forward on this list.
Bill
On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 3:59 AM, Kim Friedman <kimfri11@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi, Bill, are e you familiar with the System Access Mobile Network? Do you
> know there is a petition addressing what makes you infuriated, specifically,
> it concerns the inaccessibility of the Kindle, the authors guild wrongheaded
> approach to accessibility, etc.? I don't know if you're a member of the
> system access mobile network, but if you are, let your voice be heard and
> sign that petition. Regards, Kim Friedman.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bill Cox
> Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 1:40 PM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 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.
>
> 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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