Good morning Slau, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all you are doing with Avid. I to, will be more than willing to help out ware I can pertaining to this. Thanks so much, Chris Harrington
On Nov 14, 2012, at 6:26 PM, Nickus de Vos <[email protected]> wrote: > Awesome efords Slau and it certainly sounds as if the meeting whent > very well and positive. It's great that some of the Avid guys are > actually behind the idea of accessibility and the Ed guy beeing blind > can also help the cause because having to use accessibility he would > understand our position. Don't know if this is true and can't remember > details but a while back I heard someware that in the very early OSx > and voiceover days, a top guy at Apple had a blind sun and he > personally through a lot of his weight behind voiceover because of his > sun. Anyway let's hope for option A, the big boss throaghing his > weight behind accessibility, otherwise option B raising money is > certainly a option. > Thanks again Slau. > > Brian Casey wrote: >> Even better than i expected Slau and I've come to expect great things from >> you by now! >> >> Very well handled! Going to the very top might be crazy enough to work! >> >> Great work >> Brian >> >> On 14/11/2012, at 8:14 PM, "Slau Halatyn" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> As some of you might recall, David Gibbons, the person who was truly to >>> thank for finally making the work of accessibility happen at Digidesign, >>> left the company a couple of years ago. He was and continues to be a great >>> source of support for the cause of making Pro Tools more accessible. The >>> reigns within Avid were handed to Bobby Lombardi. Bobby was present at the >>> meeting where we saw the first results of the programming work done for >>> VoiceOver. Bobby, in fact, was the first and only person of those who >>> attended that meeting to respond to my follow up email thanking those in >>> attendance. Unfortunately, Bobby took over at a time when Avid began to >>> slash their workforce. Massive layoffs commenced and Avid underwent severe >>> cutbacks. During this time, my limited contact with Bobby made one thing >>> clear: Avid was not going to do anything concerning accessibility when they >>> were scrambling to minimize their bleeding. It was also quite clear that >>> Avid's focus was on their video market. It's widely known that Avid bought >>> Digidesign to ensure a robust audio platform for their video business. With >>> Pro Tools in the service of their Avid video production environment, the >>> music production aspect of Pro Tools was cut back. Hence, the sale of >>> M-Audio (where they lost tens upon tens of millions) and the cutting of >>> Advanced Instrument Research or AIR plug-ins. With resources at a minimum >>> and continuing to shrink, it was communicated to me that things were highly >>> uncertain because of their inner crises. there was never a time when Bobby >>> outrightly said they would not continue the work. He only indicated that >>> they essentially had no development capacity. He suggested that they might >>> be able to gain some headway through something called "hack-a-thon" where >>> engineers essentially spend a weekend to take on a programming project just >>> to throw things on the wall and see what sticks. Sometimes, it's a pet >>> project, a new feature, a shot in the dark. Sometimes it can be an idea put >>> forth by a given team. He suggested that it might be a way to address the >>> immediate issue of the AAX plug-in accessibility. After weeks had gone by >>> and there seemed to be no word, I scheduled the meeting for October. >>> >>> Bobby, as nice of a guy as he is, is not the best at returning emails. He >>> did, however, promptly reply to me and agreed to the meeting. In fact, he >>> invited a couple of other people at Avid including Rich Holmes, another >>> attendee from our last meeting. Bobby did mention in his reply that someone >>> had taken a look at the AAX issue and they didn't see any easy way to fix >>> it. This didn't concern me at the time because I felt it was more important >>> to have the meeting and address the bigger picture first. By the time it >>> got to our meeting there were several more people present including guys >>> from UI design, programming, special projects and partnering. The >>> partnering guy is the one in charge of third-party developers. This was >>> probably going to be an important person at some point along the way. >>> >>> When I got to the meeting, I saw Rich Holmes first. As I mentioned, Rich >>> was at the previous meeting. He was quite impressed with the work Xiang, >>> the intern, had done with VoiceOver support in Pro Tools back in 2009. At >>> that meeting, Rich asked a lot of questions and took a very genuine >>> interest in the subject. He was the one who was concerned with plug-in >>> accessibility when we faced the possibility of not having plug-in >>> accessibility in the initial 8.0.3 release. His concern was, if we didn't >>> have accessible plug-ins, what was the point? In other words, he felt that >>> it was important enough to pursue a solution somehow. I indicated to him >>> that, while plug-ins were certainly critical, it would at least be usable >>> for recording and editing, at least for a start. As it turned out, Xiang >>> figured out a work-around and managed to implement it for the 8.0.4 >>> release. Anyway, that's just a little background about Rich. back to our >>> previously scheduled meeting… >>> >>> I was told that Bobby would probably not be joining us. It wasn't entirely >>> surprising to me because I had learned, quite accidentally, from an >>> interview with bobby on Pensado's Place that bobby was no longer in charge >>> of Pro Tools and that he was moving over to the Sibelius side of things. >>> rich Holmes was the new person in charge of Pro Tools, both hardware and >>> software. Frankly, I was relieved that the new person to take over was a >>> person with whom I've already interfaced and had some background with. >>> >>> The next person to walk in was a bit of a surprise. It was Ed Gray, the >>> person in charge of partnering, like I said, the third-party developer >>> liaison. Ed's been with Digidesign/Avid for about 17 years. Several years >>> ago, Ed started having trouble with his vision due to glaucoma. Two years >>> ago he lost a significant amount of sight and he is now legally blind and >>> uses a white cane. Surprise, surprise, eh? >>> >>> Once the others were in attendance, I went over the agenda. I did break the >>> ice, so to speak and not that there was any ice to begin with necessarily, >>> by saying I would be happy if 3 things happened: Number 1, if the San >>> Francisco Giants won the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. This >>> yielded the desired response until I also mentioned that, although I was >>> from New York, my ex-wife is from Detroit. This got an even better >>> response. This is all to say that the atmosphere was friendly and, although >>> the nature of the meeting was serious business, I felt it was important to >>> balance it with some levity. That mission accomplished, we discussed the >>> issues of plug-in format, the fact that the current aAX is essentially a >>> transitional format, the various tables that are not accessible because >>> they're custom UI elements, the various windows that are not yet >>> accessible, etc. We covered a lot of areas including the fact that the >>> 64-bit version of Pro Tools would be in alpha in the near future and that >>> it would likely be released some time next year, perhaps the middle of the >>> year. Rich Holmes said that this was a perfect time to consider these >>> issues because of the imminent new version. >>> >>> The gorilla in the room was the issue of development capacity. I did make >>> it clear fairly early on that I recognized the issue and that it wouldn't >>> deter me from laying out the issues and discussing possible solutions. When >>> we finally got through the major points, I proposed an idea that I hoped >>> would prompt a certain response. It was a bit of a gamble but I thought it >>> was worth it. The response was, in a way, actually better than I had >>> hoped. Here was my proposal: >>> >>> Given that Xiang had spent roughly 4 weeks working on accessibility, I >>> suggested that if someone were to spend another, say two or three months >>> exclusively working on the same issue, we'd probably get just about >>> everything working. Now, this, of course, takes money. Money is something >>> they are not rolling in. Pick up the Wall Street Journal and you'll get a >>> good idea of how Avid's doing when articles about them appear in the >>> financial section. I do know that Avid has historically outsourced their >>> work to a company called Global Logic in Kiev, Ukraine. As some of you >>> know, I regularly travel to Kiev to engineer orchestral recording sessions >>> and I'm fluent in Ukrainian. First of all, Avid wouldn't outsource to >>> anybody outside their established corporate relationships so this covered >>> that angle. From a project manager standpoint, I could personally interface >>> with a programmer from global Logic to handle the work, Avid wouldn't have >>> to worry about that aspect. A programmer could work alongside the normal >>> development without stepping on anyone's feet. >>> >>> The last part of the puzzle was the funding. I suggested that I could start >>> up a KickStarter campaign to raise funds to pay Global Logic for the work. >>> Yes, it would place a burden on me to raise the money and, yes, it would >>> take some time but I'm confident that it could be done. It would mean no >>> burden for Avid whatsoever and we could get it done. Stay with me. >>> >>> Before we could discuss any more details about that approach, Rich made it >>> a point to say that he felt this might not be necessary. The way he saw it, >>> just as there was an initiative in Pro Tools 10 for international language >>> support, there should be a similar initiative for VoiceOver support. He >>> posited that accessing Pro tools through VoiceOver is not really different >>> than accessing it through another language. Naturally, I was glad to hear >>> that coming from him. Others chimed in with similar support of his >>> position. In fact, they felt it should be an initiative throughout the >>> product line including Sibelius. The person in charge of special projects, >>> Phil something (his surname escapes me), actually comes from Sibelius. He's >>> well aware of the accessibility that JAWS users had under Windows. Again, >>> the support of the people in Daly City was clear and, in my opinion, >>> genuine. >>> >>> Of course, taking this path would require essentially going to the top, to >>> the CEO of Avid, Gary Greenfield. Everyone at the meeting spoke highly of >>> Gary. They referred to him as a good guy and conscientious. This might >>> sound strange in light of the fact that Avid has gone through a horrible >>> time. rich and I agreed that we would both write letters to Mr. Greenfield. >>> If successful, this approach would ensure that the work of accessibility >>> would simply become part of the process of programming and in-house >>> testing. Without that, it's likely that things would just continue to break >>> down. Now, that's not to say that nothing could be done in the future but >>> there's absolutely no telling when and it seemed like a more durable choice >>> to get it sanctioned rather than to hope for a window of opportunity that >>> would likely never come. >>> >>> As some of you know, I attended the 133rd Aes convention that weekend and, >>> consequently, was stranded in San Francisco for several more days. When I >>> got back, I had to catch up with a number of issues. Two days ago, on >>> Monday, I sent a letter to Gary Greenfield. At the risk of making this >>> message entirely too long, I'm posting it below: >>> >>> >>> "Dear Mr. Greenfield, >>> >>> I'm writing to you on behalf of blind Pro Tools users throughout the world >>> with an urgent request regarding the accessibility of the software. At the >>> outset, I should mention that I recently met with several people in Daly >>> City and we concluded that we should go to the top to ensure that the >>> matter is resolved in a lasting manner. There's some history to this >>> situation which I'll address as briefly as I can, and will gladly provide >>> more background if needed. Hopefully I can paint a clear picture of how >>> we've come to this point and the crisis we currently face. >>> >>> Back in the mid '90s, there were a number of blind audio professionals who >>> were interested in using Pro Tools. Using a third-party program called >>> outSPOKEN, they attempted to navigate Pro Tools within Mac OS 9, but there >>> was a problem with the systems crashing. Rick Boggs, a blind producer in >>> Los Angeles, managed to get the folks at Digidesign and the folks from >>> Berkeley Systems (the makers of outSPOKEN) to put their heads together to >>> figure it out. They found that some code in the DAE (Digidesign Audio >>> Engine) software was causing the problem, so Digidesign altered it. With >>> that, Pro Tools became the most accessible DAW platform for blind users. It >>> was at that time that I and other blind engineers invested in our Pro Tools >>> HD systems. >>> >>> When Apple released OS X, there were no third-party screen readers on the >>> market available for it. Blind users stuck to OS 9 for a few years and it >>> wasn't of great concern to those who used Pro Tools because Digidesign >>> didn't make its own transition to OS X support for quite a while. >>> Eventually, Apple decided to build a screen reader called VoiceOver right >>> into the operating system. At that point, Pro Tools was already available >>> for OS X and a few of us were eager to upgrade to the latest version (v6.4). >>> >>> Unfortunately, the upgraded version of Pro Tools turned out to be >>> inaccessible. The only things one could access were the menu bar and a >>> handful of dialogs that used the Apple framework. Everything else, it >>> seemed, was invisible to VoiceOver. A few of us tried to contact Digidesign >>> regarding these issues but were unable to make much headway. Eventually, we >>> began a petition calling for Digidesign to commit to action, gathering over >>> 1,200 signatures. We were about to send it to various officers in the >>> company when I received a call from David Gibbons (then V.P. of Marketing) >>> inviting me to come to Daly City to discuss the situation. Digidesign had >>> become aware of the petition and the issue had finally reached someone who >>> took interest. At our first meeting in 2006, I demonstrated the level of >>> accessibility I had under OS 9 with outSPOKEN and how, under OS X, the >>> latest version of Pro Tools was completely inaccessible. It was clear to >>> David that we had something that used to work but that was now broken and >>> needed to be fixed. Incidentally, more details about our meeting and the >>> actual petition can be found at: >>> http://www.protoolspetition.org >>> >>> It turned out that Avid had been planning a few transitions in the code, >>> which needed to happen before undertaking any work on accessibility. >>> Essentially, they needed to follow Apple's programming guidelines to define >>> the windows and controls in such a way that VoiceOver would recognize them. >>> In 2008, an intern was assigned to the project and spent a few weeks adding >>> the required bits of code. I flew out to Daly City toward the end of the >>> process to provide feedback. It was amazing to see how much he had >>> completed in that short amount of time. >>> >>> Pro Tools 8.0.4, released in 2009, was the first version to include those >>> coding additions, which allowed it to support the VoiceOver feature in OS >>> X. Though still perhaps only 70% accessible, it was at least usable. >>> Subsequent versions continued to be mostly accessible until version 10, >>> where something broke. The new AAX plug-in format was significantly >>> different and, unfortunately, the issue of accessibility wasn't foremost in >>> anyone's mind as they developed it. To add to this, David Gibbons was no >>> longer at Avid and the issue of VoiceOver compatibility appeared to fall by >>> the wayside. >>> >>> Since I was going to San Francisco for this year's AES show, I scheduled a >>> meeting with several people in Daly City. It became clear during our >>> meeting that the actual work isn't especially difficult. Rich Holmes >>> suggested that accessing Pro Tools through VoiceOver is really no different >>> than accessing it in another language. Given the push for international >>> language support in Pro Tools 10, it would seem that VoiceOver support >>> could fit naturally within this effort. However, we agreed that rather than >>> take a skunkworks approach to accessibility (as had been done before), it >>> would behoove us to make it official and have the support of the CEO to >>> ensure that it simply becomes part of the UI process and in-house testing. >>> I was encouraged to see genuine support for making sure that Avid's product >>> line is fully accessible. Rich said that he would write a letter to you and >>> I agreed to do the same. >>> >>> Please pardon the somewhat lengthy journey I've taken to this point but >>> here's where I make an appeal to you as the person who can make this >>> happen. I know that Avid receives requests of all kinds for new features. >>> Please consider the fact that while most people's requests have to do with >>> preferences or workflows, our request for access to Pro Tools means the >>> difference between being able to use Pro Tools or not. Yes, we currently >>> have some degree of accessibility but, now that plug-ins are not >>> accessible, we're seeing stuff beginning to break. With the shift to >>> 64-bit, it's likely that other things might break if left unchecked. The >>> actual amount of work necessary is not great when you consider that it's >>> largely a matter of defining and labeling elements. We're not asking for >>> anything more than for Avid to follow Apple's published programming >>> guidelines, which will ensure that Pro Tools is accessible. >>> >>> Gary, I regularly receive emails from blind students and professionals from >>> all over the world who, when they encounter Pro Tools, are so excited to >>> learn that it's fairly accessible right out of the box. They're equally >>> concerned when they learn that the new plug-in format is not accessible. >>> Who knows what the future will hold unless universal design is made a >>> consideration. I, too, have a personal stake in this. I make my living as >>> an audio engineer and recording studio owner. I'm a trained professional >>> who wishes to use the platform of choice alongside my sighted colleagues. I >>> have no esoteric requests. I'll leave that to the sighted folks ;) My >>> request—our request is that Avid follow Apple's programming guidelines and >>> maintain an accessible Pro Tools for blind users through the VoiceOver >>> feature built into Mac OS X. >>> >>> I know that you will appreciate the weight of this request. It's probably >>> one of the most important letters I've ever had to write. I also have >>> hundreds of blind audio professionals waiting anxiously with the hope that >>> Avid will commit to making its products accessible. Thank you so much for >>> taking the time to read this and I hope you can make it happen. >>> >>> Best regards, >>> >>> Slau Halatyn" >>> >>> So, the above message went out to Gary Greenfield and chris Gahagan, EVP of >>> Avid. I also copied Rich Holmes. The letter also made its way to Ed Gray >>> who sent me a message. I'm sure he wouldn't mind that I post part of it >>> below: >>> >>> "Dear Slau, >>> >>>> Your letter to Gary was passed on to me and I can’t express how much I >>>> appreciate it. You expressed yourself extraordinarily well and gave a >>>> transparent history which is essential. I know, having spoken to Rich >>>> since our meeting, that he is dedicated to delivering the results you are >>>> asking for. I will stay on top of this for you and I am your ally in >>>> this initiative." >>> >>> So, that's where we currently stand. We're awaiting word from the top to >>> see if accessibility can officially become part of the process. It would, >>> indeed, be the best scenario for us. If we do get a commitment, great. If >>> not, I won't let it drop. Gary Greenfield is unaware of my initial proposal >>> for a fund-raising campaign. I still feel that it would be feasible and >>> successful if we had to undertake it. There are those who will undoubtedly >>> feel that we shouldn't have to raise funds for something Avid should do on >>> their own dime. Yes, I agree in principle. However, it is a viable option >>> and, if we must go there, so be it. That's where public outreach and social >>> networking will be required big time. For now, we need to wait and see what >>> the official response from Gary Greenfield will be. Whatever the response, >>> I will inform him that I plan to make it public. I don't mean that as a >>> threat. I mean, I will ask him for a formal statement either way. I trust >>> that his response will be hopeful and that Avid will make a formal >>> commitment to action. The commitment made some years ago was on the part of >>> several conscientious individuals at Digidesign. It's time for Avid, as a >>> company, to respond. That's what I'm looking for before the next move. >>> We'll see how it goes from here. >>> >>> As I stated in a previous message, my personal commitment is to see this >>> through at least until we have a response. At that point, I'll make a >>> personal decision. If the response is positive, I'll continue to work with >>> Avid in the near future to ensure they have whatever they need in terms of >>> feedback, beta testing, etc. My involvement beyond that, by design, will be >>> minimal because, by nature, if the issue of accessibility is part of the >>> process, it won't require high maintenance. >>> >>> If, however, the official response is not in our favor, I will proceed with >>> Plan B involving possible fund-raising through KickStarter. I will only do >>> this if enough people on the list support me in that approach because it >>> will certainly require pounding the pavement. We did that before and we can >>> do it again. Even this approach would require Avid's approval. They may go >>> along with it, they may not. We'll cross that bridge if we get to it. >>> >>> Some of you might have the possibility of legal action in the back of your >>> mind. For the record, I'm against it at all costs. Actually, I should more >>> accurately say that, to me, it should be an absolute last resort. I >>> personally will not spearhead such an approach. It'll have to be up to >>> somebody else to take the reigns under such conditions. I have no >>> experience with such matters. Perhaps someone like Rick Boggs, who has had >>> firsthand experience with access-related legal action, could find the time >>> to step in, if necessary. Again, in my book, legal action is Plan C. >>> Barring subtle variations, I don't see any other major outcomes, A, B or C. >>> >>> Thanks for reading this very lengthy post. I hope it answers some >>> questions, perhaps it might prompt some questions. I suspect that some of >>> the potential questions might depend on the response from Mr. Greenfield. >>> We'll see. Naturally, as soon as I receive any word, I'll immediately post >>> it here. >>> >>> Slau >>>
