Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released

  • From: "Zdenek Vopat" <zdenekvopat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 14:11:19 +0100

Hi Brandon:
few queestions for you:
1. does it convert any amazon electronic books or do I still have  to have a 
kindle? The reason why I am assking is that I can not have accessible kindle 
because I am not american.
2. is thesre a same ristriction for the programs that you are talking about?? 
In other words do I have to be of "right american blood" to use them?
Many thanks.
Zdenek

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Brandon Keith (Biggs) 
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 6:27 AM
  Subject: Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  Hello,
  After being annoyed at this slow navigation and voice on the accessible 
Kindle, a friend and I found a couple Jaws friendly programs to convert the 
Kindle files to HTML.
  TO my knowledge, converting the books is legal, according  to the new version 
of the digital millennium  copyright act, as long as you don't distribute the 
files. 
  Because they are a couple of programs you need to install, including Python, 
they are to big to attach to an email... And because we don't have a website to 
attach these files to, we put them on Send space:
  http://www.sendspace.com/file/hjuuki

  Please let me know if there is a place we can put these files on to make them 
known to the blind community.
  Let me know if you have any questions,

  Brandon Keith (Biggs)

  Check out
  MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/brandonkeithcom
  Also add me on facebook! 
  brandonkeith
  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=675097942
  And for my resume go to: 
  http://www.sfcasting.com/brandonkeith 


  From: Yadiel Sotomayor 
  Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 2:33 PM
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Subject: Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  Also, thanks for the suggestion of reporting this to the NFB. We have a NFB 
afiliad here in Puerto Rico, and I am a member. I will talk to the state 
president. I don't expect much fuzz from amozon though. I've never had any 
problem with other than this. I always purchase any class book from its site 
and my sister has used the MP3 purchase site without a problem.


  From: Adrian Spratt 
  Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 6:07 PM
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Subject: RE: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  I didn't finish my thought. As you probably know, Amazon made its Kindle more 
accessible to enable American colleges to use it in courses without 
discriminating against visually impaired students. Several entities were behind 
the settlement with numerous colleges, including the two I mentioned. Amazon 
wasn't a signatory to these agreements, but they are definitely the motivator 
behind the developments that Gary reported here last night. I'm confident the 
ACB and/or NFB would take up your cause if Amazon didn't cooperate directly 
with you.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Adrian Spratt
  Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 5:02 PM
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: RE: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  Yadiel, it's possible that excluding the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 
probably the other territories, was an oversight. I know, a big oversight. IN 
recent months, I've found Amazon's customer service online and on the phone to 
be much more helpful than in the past. You might want to contact them. Or else 
contact the ACB (American council of the blind) in Washington, D.C. or the NFB 
to ask them to look into it.  



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Yadiel Sotomayor
  Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:34 PM
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  Well, just my luck! Apparently Puerto Rico (even though is considered a state 
according to all US federal laws) is not supported. I can't download the 
application because, Puerto Rico is not an official "state". That is just great.


  From: Gary King 
  Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:50 PM
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Subject: Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


  Yes, the application is free, and as I mentioned, you can find some free 
books in the Kindle Store.  You do need an Amazon account to register the app 
and get books from the store, even the free ones.

  Gary King
  w4wkz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  .  
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Yadiel Sotomayor 
    To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 10:07 AM
    Subject: Re: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


    Is the aplication free?


    From: Gary King 
    Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 9:16 PM
    To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Subject: Accessible Kindle for PC App Released


    If you've been waiting for an accessible Kindle app for the PC, you're in 
luck!  Go to

    http://blindbargains.com

    and read the entry under Latest Bargains.  The link will take you to the 
Amazon page that describes the app and how to download and use it.  Read 
through all of the Help links, and you will know all that I do about it.

    The app download is 231 MB, so if you have a dialup connection, forget it!  
It has been tested with JAWS and NVDA.  A screen reader must be detected by the 
app in order to enable text-to-speech on all Kindle books.  As you may know, 
authors have disabled text-to-speech on the Kindle itself for many of their 
titles.  At least, we will be able to read them on the computer with this app.

    You can read the books a page at a time or continuously with a male or 
female voice.  Navigation only goes down to the sentence level, so you can't 
read word by word or have words spelled.  I hope this will change in a later 
version.

    I would suggest that if you want to try the program that you get one of the 
free books available from the Kindle Store.  I visited the Free Collections 
link and chose a book from the Limited Promotions section.  There were 143 
selections to choose from.  I just made sure that I looked for the ones that 
were $0.00.

    These are my early impressions of the program, and at least I think they 
have made a good start toward accessibility.  We will need to give them 
feedback to insure that improvements will be made.

    Gary King
    mailto:w4wkz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Yadiel J. Sotomayor

    E-MAIL: yadosotomayor@xxxxxxxxxxx
  Yadiel J. Sotomayor

  E-MAIL: yadosotomayor@xxxxxxxxxxx
  Yadiel J. Sotomayor

  E-MAIL: yadosotomayor@xxxxxxxxxxx

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