Mike, I'm not sure if you saw the message from an executive at AOL to Curtis Chong the lead tech guy for the NFB. That the player will be inaccessible was stated but the executive said they'd do everything they could to make it work but he was concerned it wouldn't be ready by Monday. I don't think it's time to become alarmed yet.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Pietruk Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 12:03 AM To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Accessibility Evangelism and Unfortunate News From AmericaOnline(AOL) Radio John and Darrell While I sympathize with your cause (and at this point do you guys even know what problems this player will present, if any), blind people in particular and Americans in general have far bigger things on their plate these days then worrying if someone can get at a media player. John, your safely crossing a street deserves 250% greater attention than this CBS/AOL player. Perhaps this player will prove workable via scripts or whatever. Perhaps other players can and will play the same streams. Frankly, I am ffar more concerned about the spiraling cost of gas, how expensive medical care and insurance is, that, in the case of northern Florida, you guys are fighting the Central part of the state over water wrights, and the myriads of other social issues that involve quality of life. Sure, it would be nice if this player worked out of the box; but having watched so many of these blindness evangelist battles, I often have found that the things that get complained about are usable either directly or indirectly. It is not that this isn't important; but there are far more things that ought to be viewed as important and perhaps some values are totally out of whack when quantums of energy get directed to an audio player rather than other things. There aren't unlimited dollars out there; and frankly I have a greater concern that John can get home safely than whether he'll have to use another player to listen to his favorite sports talk show. why? Well, if he cannot get around safely, he won't be able to listen to those shows anyway? And if he cannot afford adequate health care directly or indirectly, he won't be around to listen either. America is going through tough times these days; look at home foreclosures, rising unemployment rates, and all the rest. Politicians cannot embrace the types of things we are talking here at the moment as frankly it is even sad that we can give these things greater importance when there are true hurts out there, not just inconveniences. Yes, I'll be curious Monday to see what this means if anything. However, I am guessing that all of us will be listening to most of the same things we do today, but perhaps in a slightly different way. And before writing off the new AOL player, I would suggest first looking at the product to see if the warnings are warranted. Perhaps they are, but they may not be also. And there are many ways to listen to the same thing. Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
