Today on the VR Stream list and the Jaws for Windows list, there are dozens
of messages from people who are having problems downloading books from
Audible to their Streams. They are all very skilled computer users and they
spend $14 or more each month for commercially produced audio books and other
audio productions. From about 2012 and onward, until recently, I thought
that doing so was unnecessary, given the fact that so many of the same
commercially produced books began appearing on BARD in a very timely manner.
But now that the stream of books has been so radically reduced and we have
no idea what the real reason is, regardless of everyone's assumptions, I'm
not so sure. Anyway, that isn't the point. The point is that a very large
number of blind people are having this issue and each one of them is
desperately attempting to solve the problem on his or her own. I forwarded
two messages from the Victor Stream list to the Jaws list which seemed like
they might be helpful to the people who were not on the Victor Stream list.
One of the most skilled members of the Jaws list then subscribed to the
Victor Stream list as a result of that message and wrote about his numerous
unsuccessful attempts to solve his problems with many phone calls to the
Audible tech people. The problems are a result of the change to Windows 10
from Windows 7 and a simultaneous change in the Audible software for
downloading books. People called Humanware which was unhelpful. The Audible
tech people, if things haven't changed from when I last used Audible, are
not in the US and are not accustomed to working with blind people. If I
were still a member of the ACB list, I would write the following.
As an national advocacy organization, the accessibility of Audible books to
blind people who use devices that are manufactured for the use of blind
people like the Victor Reader Stream, should be an important concern. For
large numbers of blind people, including those who use I phones, devices
like the VR Stream are easier to use in many situations and their use should
be supported. The manufacturers of these devices should be encouraged to
make every effort to cooperate with the suppliers of content for their
devices to facilitate their use for blind people. But it is also most
important that when a company like Audible makes changes in their software,
representatives of the blind community and the manufacturers of blindness
devices be involved so that people will not be left on their own to deal
with complicated technical changes. Audio material is just about the most
important entertainment and educational material that blind people have.
Organizations that represent them should be concerned with ensuring that all
such resources remain easily accessible to them.
Miriam
