Hi Christine
Why don't you initiate a class action against the Authors gill so to level the playing ground for accessible books. Your not the first or only person I have seen on different lists complain about the Author gill. I just don't see anyone in the USA doing anything about it. So they get away with it. Only I wished that I lived there. I would then be able to do something. Sean On 28/04/2012, at 10:36 PM, Christine Grassman wrote: > With all due respect, Scott, laws which disparately impact certain groups or > classes of people have been flouted through civil disobedience since the > introduction of legal systems, e.g., civil rights, disability rights, > employment rights, etc. The United States might not exist were it not for > disobeying laws. > I am an attorney, and it continues to amaze me how slowly the U.S. is moving > to accommodate disability, and how snail-paced the societal shift in > attitudes toward us has been. and it seems that whenever a company like > Apple makes great strides in accommodating blindness off the shelf, plenty of > other technologies come along and do not bother to incorporate us into their > equation. So many educational apps, for example, are not accessible, though > they could be, and given the push now to have iPads in classrooms, once again > blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print-disabled students will be left > out. Apple moves us two steps forward, and "progress" (for others) moves us > three steps back. I should be able to turn on a television, flip a switch, or > turn on a transmitter, and get descriptions. I should be able to access books > on the Nook or the Kindle, not just iBooks. I cannot express, and I am sure > others here agree, the happiness I feel when a new release or best-selling > publication is available on iBooks. > (Incidentally, if a book is available on iBooks and on bookshare.org, I > purchase the book. Yet, I have lost quite a lot of money as a published > author -- as soon as my book was published, I sent a copy to bookshare.org; > it was more important to me to have it available at the same time to the > blind and print-disabled. The Authors Guild apparently does not care about > such access, despite the fact that they would actually get money from us.) > > I would happily go to the movies more and happily purchase audio-described > movies through iTunes if they were available. Even movies which are released > with audio description are not always sold through movie resellers -- > goodness knows I have tried. To date, I have only located The Incredible > Hulk, from 2008, which I purchased for my son. > Even Apple could do more. It could strengthen its requirements for apps. It > has provided developers with the means to make their apps VoiceOver > accessible, and there are plenty of apps out there which could be so. Only > apps that are visual by their very nature should be exempted. But, as usual, > profit trumps people, despite the fact that the disabled community rewards > those who remember us with our business. > Frankly, I would prefer to purchase the audio-described movies and shows I > download from the vault, so that I could watch them with sighted friends and > family. I wish I could show a film to a class and not have to ask my para or > a student to tell me what is going on. The entertainment industry gets plenty > of my money. If they want more, they should remember that I deserve to be > able to access their material independently. OK. Topic over. Those of you who > wish to continue this off-list are welcome; I've appreciated your > correspondence thus far. > Christine > On Apr 28, 2012, at 6:13 AM, Scott Howell wrote: > >> I am sure commenting on this only adds fuel to the fire, but I did want to >> point out that as I recall the person that is responsible for this movie >> vault thing also runs a legit company. I would find it difficult to believe >> that he has not checked into this because no one would want to put their >> business assets at risk. If there truly is an investigation then prove it. I >> get pretty annoyed when people claim something, but cannot or do not provide >> any reference to back those claims. And for the record I do not condone >> pirating of any kind and believe that regardless of accessibility issues >> even blind people must follow the laws. >> >> >> On Apr 27, 2012, at 10:51 PM, Christine Grassman wrote: >> >>> Naturally, if the moderator deems this discussion verboten, I will refrain >>> further, but I would feel remiss not to point out the following for >>> consideration: >>> 1. As of several hours ago, there was nothing on the FBI's official web >>> site regarding an investigation, nor were there any press releases or other >>> comparable references to an investigation of the movie vault. A reference >>> would be appreciated; mere speculation or rumor could be deemed libelous. >>> >>> 2. The problem industries have with illegal file-sharing is loss of >>> revenue. Since, at least in the United States, there is virtually no way to >>> purchase audio-described movies or television shows, the industry is not >>> being cheated of revenue. >>> 3. The files are straight audio, with no ability, for example, to "watch" >>> with sighted peers while having the benefit of the audio description. This >>> is not at all remotely similar to downloading a film for the family to >>> watch. That being said, the vast majority of the sighted community does >>> this with impunity, even though many of the shows and movies they download >>> can be seen for free when they are are shown on television. We, on the >>> other hand, cannot even enjoy full access to these shows when they *are* on >>> television. Either they are not audio-described at all, or it is not easy >>> to turn on the secondary audio channel, or a particular station only >>> carries foreign language broadcasts on the SAC rather than audio >>> description. Comparing access to audio-described movies and shows in mp3 >>> format to the type of file-sharing which goes on 24/7 on hundreds and >>> thousands of sites is a stretch. >>> 4. If the government and/or the involved industries wish to do something >>> about the existence of resources like the movie vault, the former should >>> mandate, and the latter should provide a market from which we can obtain >>> these items. I have been able to watch a non-described movie with others >>> after listening to an mp3 file and tell another blind person what is going >>> on thanks to that previous experience. My two blind children have been >>> able to enjoy fare which their peers enjoyed months or years ago. Until the >>> entertainment industry levels the playing field, I will utilize resources >>> like the movie vault with the same guiltless pleasure I take in >>> bookshare.org (and, by the way, it is possible to download books from >>> bookshare.org which are available commercially.) We cannot use the Kindle >>> as others do. WE cannot use the Nook. We are severely limited in what we >>> can access independently when it comes to entertainment, and we must even >>> still fight for access to education at every level, despite technological >>> advances. Holding us to the same standards as the vast majority of illegal >>> file-sharers is legally, morally, and economically inequitable. >>> >>> Christine >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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