Kelly:
I also contacted Intuit via email. Mine was related to The check writing
product. We should pass their address to all concerned and let them know
that we are out there using their product, or would use it if it were user
friendly.
tom Rash
Yucaipa, California
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Ford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thursday, May 20, 1999 3:20 PM
Subject: RE: TURBOTAX FOR THE BLIND
>Hi All,
>
>Call it irony or whatever you choose, but I received some interesting email
>today. A couple days ago I had forwarded a letter from the U.S. Civil
>Rights Division talking about computer access at a college to a couple
>email lists. This morning I received an email from a vice president at
>Intuit telling me that for some reason that email made its way to his inbox
>after many forwards. I'm still not certain why he felt compelled to write
>to me indicating that Intuit had a corporate desire/commitment toward
>accessibility but I'll dispense with that for the time being.
>
>I've removed email addresses from this email exchange for now but wanted to
>share this. It tells me that the message is not filtering up to the top
>levels of Intuit. I know that many more than two people, myself one of the
>supposed two, have contacted this company.
>
>Also, I may not be 100 percent accurate in that there was any formal
>contact between HJ and Intuit with respect to Quicken. However, when
>writing my initial message I thought I recalled reading an announcement
>that a joint presentation was happening on the topic with Intuit and HJ at
>some disability conference (probably CSUN) a last year. I did not check
>with HJ or check any conference archives first.
>
>The initial message I received is at the end of this exchange. I've taken
>the further step of placing "Kelly" before each paragraph of mine and
>"Intuit" before each paragraph from the Intuit VP.
>
>So what do folks think would be a good next step? Can anyone give
>technical specifications that will enhance the accessibility of Intuit
>products? I know that when I used Turbotax this year, it was a challenge
>to find instructions and such anyplace near where the PC cursor was
>located. Also several dialogs in the program wouldn't read with whatever
>cursor I tried.
>
>
>Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: RE: TURBOTAX FOR THE BLIND
>Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 14:24:40 -0700
>
>Intuit
>
>See my comments in UPPER CASE below (hope this doesn't present problems to
>your screen reader).
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Kelly Ford [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>Sent: Thursday, May 20, 1999 12:12 PM
>Subject: Re:
>
>Kelly
>
>Interesting the ways that email bounces around. As it so happens the
>accessibility of several Intuit packages happens to be a topic of
>discussion on several email lists just now.
>
>I find your statement indicating that I might know Intuit is committed to
>accessibility to be well let's just say interesting. I have been a long
>time user of Quicken and Turbotax from early releases of the DOS versions
>of the software. I must say that in the Windows environment each new
>release of both of these products has been more and more inaccessible.
>
>Intuit
>
>I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY FOR MAKING PRODUCTS ACCESSIBLE FOR
>THE BLIND, BUT DO KNOW WE USE STANDARD DEVELOPMENT TOOLS FOR CREATING
>STANDARD WINDOWS APPLICATIONS.
>
>Kelly
>
>I'd be interested to know what steps Intuit takes to test accessibility and
>follow accessible software design practices. Do you have a point person
>within Intuit who consumers can contact with respect to accessibility? Is
>there someone championing the cause of accessible software design within
>the various development chains for Intuit products? Is there a web address
>or other resource where we might go to learn about the latest doings with
>respect to accessibility within the Intuit corporation and products?
>
>Intuit
>
>IN MY SEVEN PLUS YEARS HERE, THIS IS THE SECOND REQUEST I'VE SEEN FOR
>MAKING OUR PRODUCTS MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED. BECAUSE OF
>THE VERY LIMITED DEMAND, WE DO NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC PERSON CHAMPIONING THIS
>AREA. IN MY VIEW, CUSTOMERS DICTATE PRODUCT DIRECTION, NOT A PRODUCT
MANAGER.
>
>Kelly
>
>After turning many family and friends (all 10 of my brothers and sisters
>now use Intuit products) on to the ease of use and better financial
>management I experienced with Intuit products, it is disappointing when I
>have to answer their requests for how to use features with replies of,
>"Sorry, that no longer works with my screen reader." It was disappointing
>this tax season to have *every* financial institution I work with send me
>accessible copies of my tax information, to further be eligible for IRS
>paperless filing and now find that the tax preparation software I used was
>the barrier to my independent completion of my tax return. In the past it
>was the paper part of the process I had to get assistance with in the form
>of someone reading the material to me once. From that point I could use
>Turbotax to complete my tax return. Now, with the paper side of the
>equation resolved, I find it sad that it is the Intuit software that's the
>barrier, especially when the letters I and others have written to your
>company seem to go unacknowledged.
>
>Intuit
>
>NOT SURE WHAT PROBLEM YOU EXPERIENCED ON THE TurboTax PRODUCT. WE DO
>SUPPORT PAPERLESS FILING AND WE'RE THE ONLY SOFTWARE VENDOR TO SUPPORT THIS
>PAPERLESS FILING PROJECT WITH THE IRS.
>
>Kelly
>
>I guess I'm a bit curious to know what prompted you to write to me, someone
>who merely forwarded an email letter to a couple lists on a topic that
>wasn't at all related to Intuit. In the past programs like Quicken and
>such were extremely popular with people who are blind. As I said I have
>long used Quicken because paying a bill electronically is much faster than
>attempting to type out a check and use methods to verify that it has been
>accurate. But many of the advanced features of programs like Quicken are
>designed in ways that don't work with screen reading technology. And
>Turbotax is largely an adventure in frustration. Intuit was once a company
>that I personally admired for the corporate belief in giving the average
>person effective tools for easy, yet quality, financial management.
>
>Intuit
>
>YOUR EMAIL FOUND IT'S WAY TO MY DESK FROM OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP. THEY
>FORWARDED IT TO ME SO WE COULD ADD THE COMMENTS TO OUR DATABASE OF CUSTOMER
>SUGGESTIONS. I HAD NOT CONSIDERED HOW OUR PROGRAM IS USED BY THE BLIND AND
>THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR REQUEST AND THEN SEE
>WHAT WE CAN DO FROM A DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE TO MAKE TurboTax MORE
>ACCESSIBLE. MY REPLY WAS SIMPLY TO ACKNOWLEDGE, THANK YOU AND THEN LEARN
>MORE FROM OUR DEVELOPMENT GROUP ON HOW WE CAN SERVE THE BLIND.
>
>Kelly
>
>I do know that someone from Intuit worked with a screen reader company
>called Henter-Joyce at one time and made a few enhancements that worked in
>the basic check register of Quicken. But as I'm certain you are aware,
>Quicken is much more than that. I use JFW, the screen reader from
>Henter-Joyce and can tell you that there are many other areas that need
>attention.
>
>Have you ever tried a screen reader with your software? If not I'd
>encourage you to do so and get a feel for how the technology works.
>
>Intuit
>
>NEVER USED A SCREEN READER, BUT WILL FOLLOW UP ON THIS. WHILE WE TRY TO
>MAKE THE PRODUCT EASIER AND MORE STREAMLINED EACH YEAR, I DO GET CONCERNED
>ABOUT TWEAKING FEATURES OR THE USER INTERFACE THAT DEGRADE THE USER
>EXPERIENCE FOR MOST CUSTOMERS. NEVERTHELESS, WE'LL LOOK INTO FINDING OUT
>WHAT IT TAKES FOR US TO BE MORE COMPATIBLE WITH SCREEN READERS.
>
>Kelly
>
>If there's a point person that I can direct more specific comments and
>suggestions to that has an awareness of accessibility I'd certainly
>appreciate knowing who to contact. The average person still seems
>bedazzled that people who are blind can actually use computers.
>
>Intuit
>
>YOUR LAST POINT IS PROBABLY ACCURATE. WHILE I KNOW COMPUTERS ARE ACCESSIBLE
>FOR THOSE WHO ARE BLIND, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD/BAD THIS EXPERIENCE MAY
>BE. SO IN ONE SENSE, YOU ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL OF RAISING MY AWARENESS.
>
>Original Message from Intuit
>
>At 11:26 AM 5/20/99 -0700, you wrote:
>> Kelly Ford, Your email re. Civil Rights Letter re. Long Beach found
>>its way to my inbox after many recipients. As you may know, Intuit is
>>committed to creating products and services that are accessible and easy
to
>>use for all customers, regardless of disability or handicap. Our success
is
>>based on listening to what customers want and then delivering
>>products/services that address these needs. We continue to do that
>>year-after-year and your feedback will be considered in our product
>>development plans for all Intuit products. Thanks for the feedback.
>
>
>-
>Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
