Your message was eloquently put and sounds very presidential. Again
does it or does it not work on Tiger? I wasn't offended at the least,
were you. I am not a list person because people hide behind the list
as you said and only gripe. I have contacted three companies for lack
of accessibility and gotten fast results, not responses. For example
XMJB is a application that allows Mac users to transfer files from
their Creative Zin MP3 players. He got the message from me at 12 mid
night and by 6AM I was testing a beta that was fully accessible. I
spent 1 and a half years defending accessibility for myself against a
law firm that employed me for years. After they upgraded their
software they didn't want to pay to have it scripted. I gave them over
a year of chances to do the moral thing. I sued for 1.2 million and
won 2.5 million. I did this all without a attorney. I am dedicated to
get the majority out of this rat race that dictates that it is so hard
to build accessibility in there software. I don't think you are a cry
baby at all, I think that we need accessibility in Pro Tools. Again
can we use it on Tiger or not. I can go on and on about my fights and
victories on consumer rights but I can point you to the FDCPA and
lawsuits I have won for consumers blind and sighted alike. I am a CEO
of 3 companies and will be starting another by the summer, so I shake
hands with the best of them. I just call there BS when I smell it.
Freedom Scientific has changed more lives than the Roman church but
when a company capitalizes with no morals then I have a problem. You
made the changes, upgrades, held meetings, worked on development
projects, done or is doing beta testing but yet we have nothing to
show for it. If they had technology built into their DNA then we would
be talking about buttons being renamed, not a whole community of
people with the latest technology left to find a aged Mac and out of
date unsupported, can't use piece of software to run one of the most
expensive sound software known to man. No excuse, now can I plunk down
the money and use Tiger or do I need to check the old folks home for a
older Mac to run a $10,000 and up software/hardware product?
On Jan 8, 2008, at 8:16 PM, Rick Boggs wrote:
There isn't any need for people to get offended with anybody on the
list over this Pro Tools topic. Clearly, work is being done, has
been done, results have been achieved in the past, and will again in
the future.
It strikes me as strange that blind consumers want to beat
Digidesign with a big stick for not updating Pro Tools to a native
version for the current Apple OS, but these same blind folks say
nothing about other companies who have never done anything, made any
accomodation at all to make their products accessible. Blind audio
engineers are not alone in the visually impaired world when it comes
to lacking equal access. At least we are dealing with a company
that made a difference for us for a decade. Also, they are clearly
working with competent blind beta testers to do it again for the
future. So, what is the problem? Are we really just talking
about impatience here? If so, how petty.
The point that OSX itself was not usable for years and that Pro
Tools right now itself is not compatible with Leopard ought to cause
us to wake up and understand the world we live in.
I have put my money and time where my mouth is and have made a
difference through advocacy, not only with Digidesign but in other
cases, sometimes involving legal action. I am prepared and very
capable with a track record here, if that is where this leads, but
to complain because it has not yet been done is immature and
premature and lacks understanding of the process involved. Again,
nobody can call me a cry baby who does nothing but complain. I have
resolved issues including this very same one in the past. Neither
can anybody rightfully accuse me of pandering to the corporate
position and supporting stonewalling. What can be done is being done.
Inviting every blind Tom Dick and Harry who wants to be in on the
technical testing aspect won't make this go faster. If anything, it
will slow up the process. There are enough of us here to get things
done in a number of arenas. Since Jerry and I have made progress
and continue to report to this list about the progress and the plan
forward, why don't some folks do similarly with other companies that
make other products that we all want to use?
We are available to discuss best practices in advocacy or what has
worked in the past, if that kind of information is of any interest.
Otherwise, if folks just need to feel better by getting their gripes
off their chest and writing to or calling companies like digidesign
who are well aware at the highest level of our issues, well, let's
hope that such random activity doesn't turn the tide of good will
toward one of an adversarial nature.
I could go into great detail about advocacy efforts that have gone
that way. Believe me, as one who has settled law suits and has
pending class action suits of the nature this would become, we would
be talking about five years or more of wrangling with no guarantee
of what the outcome would look like.
The passion expressed on this list is good and can be put to good
use. Any suggestions for secondary priorities after Pro Tools?
rick Boggs
