[blind-democracy] Re: uber fined in cal partially for violating ada

  • From: Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2015 14:35:10 -0400

I think that there are some less expensive I phones on Blind Bargains and
some of the other websites that sell things to blind people. But then there
are the monthly charges and how high they are, depend on whether you have
services like email. However, there are still businesses with websites that
have 800 numbers and customer service people with whom one can deal. I
prefer doing that for a lot of reasons including that it minimizes the
potential for errors in one's order.

Miriam

________________________________

From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2015 1:03 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: uber fined in cal partially for violating ada



For that matter, I first got an email address in either 2000 or 2001. I
could only access it by telephone and I don't mean a smart phone either. The
email by phone system from Yahoo that I was using would only read the first
of an email unless it was extremely short. I did not get a computer and
Internet access until 2003. Before I got access to email I was finding
myself increasingly frustrated every time I tried to do business with
practically any entity because they always just assumed that everyone had
access to email. Sometimes they were actually astonished when they found out
that I didn't use email and then once I did get an email address they were
astonished that I was accessing it in such a clunky way as the telephone. It
was clunky too and that was an additional frustration. Now the same thing is
happening. It is just assumed that everyone has a smart phone. People are
surprised when they find out that I am still using a land line. They are not
quite astonished yet, but the surprise is increasing and it will not be long
until the astonishment comes along. I keep running into web sites where log
ins by smart phones are preferred and where I cannot make use of the full
functionality of the site without a smart phone. I actually would like to
have a smart phone, but except for carrying it with me I can accomplish most
of the things they can do with my computer and land line phone, so I just
have not been able to justify the expense for myself and they are most
certainly expensive. I can see the writing on the wall though. Give it about
ten more years - perhaps even less - and it will be very difficult to
function without a smart phone. And by then I wonder what almost everyone
else will have and be astonished that I don't have.

On 7/19/2015 2:45 AM, Alice Dampman Humel wrote:


Miriam,
I'd add one more level of horrifying to all that you outline.it's
not so much that the Skypeing doctors, the facilitators sitting in the room
with the hundred kids glued to the computer screens, the so-called educators
who think this is such a great idea, and so on, expect everyone to have
access to and be able to use the technology, they are indifferent to their
patient, indifferent to their students, they really don't care one way or
the other. If they care about anything, it's their bottom line, business as
usual.
And, yes, that applies to Uber and the other companies trying
something different. I might hope these new ideas bring about some change,
but I'm not naive enough to think they care anymore than do other big
corporations and businesses.
The level of indifference in our society has become so high that
when you do run into someone who really seems to give a rat's ass about you,
their job, the possibility of helping somebody out, it practically makes you
cry.
I will, however, add that eventually, all this new technology will
be as commonplace as that pay phone that used to be on every corner. When
cars, phones, TV, first appeared, hardly anyone had one. Now it seems that
everyone must have a car, a phone, a TV, a radio, everyone will eventually
have to have a computer and a smart phone. The kids, the millennials, they
talk about computers and apps the way we used to talk about our three-ring
binders and pencils.
And, once again, the poor, the working class, the marginalized, the
forgotten, will be left out in the cold. Look at that discussion that has
dragged on and on on the BARD list about mailing cartridges to blind patrons
of the library who can't or don't want to download books. It's really been
horrifying to read how many people on that list have absolutely no
understanding for people who still want their books sent to them on the
cartridges. Again, the indifference. They are basically saying, I have what
I want, and I don't care if you get what you need or not. And worse,
although it doesn't hurt them one little bit, they want to take that option
away from those who prefer it or need it.
Alice

On Jul 18, 2015, at 3:58 PM, Miriam Vieni
<miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Marsha,

What has happened is that now, in order to participate in
most aspects of
our society, people need computers with internet access and
smart phones.
Although, originally, the technology for all of this came
out of government
research, actually military research, it is now the province
of private
enterprise. As our society sheds various aspects of our
social welfare state
and the belief that it is the government's responsibility to
ensure that
everyone's needs are taken into account, an assumption is
made that everyone
can, or ought to be able to, own and use all of the new
available technical
devices. Pay phones are a thing of the past. If you're away
from home and
have to make a call, you can't just drop a quarter into a
slot and make the
call. You must own a cell phone and pay a monthly fee. In
Manhattan, one can
still stand on a street corner and hail a cab. But perhaps,
some day, that
won't be a possibility. You will only be able to summon a
ride through a
smart phone app. There's a lot of enthusiastic talk these
days of docdtors
using apps to check patients' chronic conditions and skype
consultations and
examinations. This is a whole new level of impersonality and
a way to lower
the expense and time of service providers while placing more
financial
responsibility on the consumer or patient and it assumes a
level of
independence, competence, and health that is not available
to all members of
our society. It is the same new business model which says
that you can put
100 children in front of computer screens and provide
education through
computer programs and a facilitator. It is precisely the
oppisit of the
kind of world that Chris Hedges would like to see and that
the Occupy
movement was working for.

Miriame

________________________________

From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Martian.Lady
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2015 2:56 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: uber fined in cal partially
for violating ada


HI
The ability to use this service depends on having a smart
phone. This
means many people can't use the service.

Marsha








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