As a blind computer user, what did you do the last time you visited a site that was not accessible? Did you switch screen readers or web browsers and hope for the best? Did you get frustrated, send out an angry tweet and forget about it, or did you maybe send an e-mail to the company asking them to make the site more inclusive to all visitors? Last week the Wall Street Journal published an … [Read more...] about The Court of Public Opinion is Not the Last Resort
community
Should Serotek Start a Newsletter?
Serotek? Newsletter? What gives! Serotek is a company that has always prided itself on breaking out of the traditional mold. Our corporate culture encourages things like hilarious April Fool's posts like like GTO or the notetaker that just got bigger, and instances where employees offer software trial resets for everyone while the boss is too soused on margaritas to stop them. So why is a company … [Read more...] about Should Serotek Start a Newsletter?
Egypt Revisited
As a lot of you know, last night I had a strong reaction to Apple and its decision to reject Serotek's Accessible Event app. The exact number of apps that do not make it to Apple's App Store is not documented but is estimated to range in the thousands. When our app fell into that category for a third consecutive time, I admit my reaction was a little hasty.I understand Apple only wants the best … [Read more...] about Egypt Revisited
The Disney Standard
This past Sunday my family and I accompanied some friends to Disney World. Living in Orlando, I guess it's not as big of a deal as it would be for the common tourist. I myself have always found it more or less enjoyable, something to do with the kids anyway. Last weekend I decided to satisfy my curiosity about a new audio description device that I had heard about somewhere, and while looking over … [Read more...] about The Disney Standard
Crowdsourcing as a software development tool
With the recent release of DocuScan Plus, the product development team would like to share with the community what we believe to be a new and exciting method of developing assistive technology. We feel that this tool is especially useful when developing assistive technology because of the unique challenges involved with creating this type of software. Assistive technology, unlike some other types … [Read more...] about Crowdsourcing as a software development tool
What is the Future of Screen Readers anyway?
A week or so ago, the American Council of the Blind held a Future of Screen Readers panel as part of the Information Access Committee seminar at the ACB annual convention. Serotek was one of the companies invited to attend remotely via Skype. Other remote participants were GW Micro and NVDA. Unfortunately technology failed (through no fault of Skype) and we remote participants did not get to … [Read more...] about What is the Future of Screen Readers anyway?
The Serotek Ultimatum
Serotek declares war on the traditional adaptive technology industry and their blind ghetto products. With this announcement we are sending out a call to arms to every blind person and every advocate for the blind to rise up and throw off the tyranny that has shaped our lives for the past two decades. It is a tyranny of good intentions – or at least what began as good intentions. But as the … [Read more...] about The Serotek Ultimatum
The Serotek Story Documentary A Must For your Audio Archive
I don’t usually post things from the Serotalk Podcast here, but, The Serotek Story Documentary is so compelling that I figured I would post it. Of course I’m biased!If you haven’t put the Serotalk Podcast on your RSS, shame on you! LOL! Really though, it is a great resource for information on what’s happening in the World of technology according to a few blind and rather disturbed geeks! So, if … [Read more...] about The Serotek Story Documentary A Must For your Audio Archive
What I think About the Intel Reader
Yesterday marked the release of a product which, according to Intel, would revolutionize the way the blind and others with reading disabilities accessed printed materials. During those few fleeting moments between hearing of the announcement and reading the actual press release, I had high hopes that a mainstream company would demonstrate its dedication to accessibility and innovation at an … [Read more...] about What I think About the Intel Reader
Who Says? You Can’t Build It and They Will Come
Knowbility blogger Desiree at Universally Designed gives us a wonderful tutorial in Webinars in her September 2nd posting along with an introduction to Serotek’s Accessible Event, which makes this phenomenally useful tool completely accessible to the blind, deaf, and deaf-blind. Desiree gives our AE team a lot of well-deserved pats on the back. That’s the way it should be because our people are … [Read more...] about Who Says? You Can’t Build It and They Will Come
Ipod and Itunes are now accessible to the blind!
This was an important week for blind people. Apple, a company that has long ignored the need for accessibility in it’s consumer devices brought out a new 4th generation version of the Ipod Nano that, when combined with Itunes version 8,is accessible. GW Micro took Apple where no other AT company has been able to lead them. It is a wonderful success and a gift to blind people everywhere.Us … [Read more...] about Ipod and Itunes are now accessible to the blind!
Living the Digital Lifestyle
This week I am in our Minneapolis office and was able to work with my computer at home, my Serotek intranet, and even hear music. I did all this without even plugging in a thumbdrive. Using SAToGo I did it all. I got to thinking about this digital lifestyle.We’ve been seduced into it, often without even knowing that it is happening to us. In our pocket we have a cell phone that does an amazing … [Read more...] about Living the Digital Lifestyle
