Anyone who is blind, or who has worked with the blind, knows how expensive our technology can be. This couldn't be more true with relation to braille displays. Even the cheapest costs at least $799, and it's already behind the newest in that line, at $899. This is the Orbit Reader 20 and 20+. Now, a student in India wants to change that by creating a display that is truly affordable (under $50)! Please pass this on, so that we can give him greater recognition within the blind community. Even if it costs a bit more than he initially suspected it would, there is no excuse for the $2,000 to $5,000 average price of such technology when cheaper alternatives can be designed! He is determined to bring this to market, so let's help him do it and show our appreciation for his hard work on this life-changing project!

forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton…

#access #ACB #accessibility #affordability #blind #braille #BrailleDisplays #children #education #employment #independence #India #learning #NFB #ocr #parent #reading #science #school #students #teachers #technology #work #writing

(I am posting this from my Friendica as well as my Akkoma accounts, since some instances and groups don't federate with Blob.cat.)Please forgive the negative post, but this must be said. I'm sick of what I'm calling the switching crew. They constantly say things such as "switch from Facebook or Twitter to the Fediverse", "switch from Amazon to local shops), "switch from Windows or Mac to Linux", etc. They sometimes imply and sometimes outwardly state how easy it is. So let me explain something. Note that I can't speak for other disabilities, since I'm only blind, but I'm sure they have their own problems with these as well. I am also very good with computers, so I have the technical skills to do these things. Not everyone does.

1. It takes research to join the Fediverse. Not everyone wants to join Mastodon, and even for those who do, [people still must find instances that align with their goals. Not all platforms here are accessible, either. I left Facebook precisely because they shut down their basic mobile site, and their main site and apps are terrible to use with a screen reader. I joined Friendica, but had more accessibility problems. Now, I'm on Akkoma and am finally happy. But it's taken over four months for me to find my place!
2. Amazon offers free shipping, large discounts, and in some cases, Amazon Fresh to Prime members. They also have a wide variety of products, all at one place. All of this contributes to the independence, not only of the blind, but also of those who are house-bound. No one has yet to give me an alternative that has all of these features. It's great to go to local farmer's markets and little shops, but not everyone can easily get there, and even those places that do ship often require monthly payments, charge a lot, or charge shipping with every order. Are there blind people who do shop locally? Yes. Is everyone like that, or does everyone have such places near him? No.
3. Prior to joining the Fediverse, this one annoyed me the most. Most sighted people can just turn on a computer or a phone and start using a new operating system relatively quickly, as long as it's graphical. It's not the same for those of us who are blind. First, the system has to have a screen reader installed. If not, we must find someone sighted to install it for us. Many Linux distributions don't have Orca installed by default. Secondly, even if said system is installed, there needs to be an easy way to activate it via a hottkey or during setup. Many Linux distributions have Orca but don't have an easy way to start it. Then, once all of that is done, we must learn how to use said screen reader, not to mention the layout and commands of the operating system itself, and withLinux, often, one must learn how to use the terminal in order to accomplish certain tasks. Even as a DOS lover, I found it to be frustrating. . Finally, after accomplishing all of that, if there aren't many programs that work with this operating system and screen reader, or if they don't work well, why should we switch from a system that we already know, where things are accessible, to one that we don't where they aren't? Linux is great for the sighted, but not for the majority of the blind. Again, are there blind people who use it? Yes. Is it as easy as simply turning on a computer and switching? No.

#accessibility #Akkoma #Amazon #blind #blindness #Facebook Fediverse fediverse #Linux #NVDA #Orca #technology ##Twitter #Windows

Attention, blind Akkoma users! I will be writing to the developer with my concerns about a few problems with accessibility on this platform. Most should be easy to resolve. Please let me know if you find any more, and also state what browser and screen reader you are using. Note: This is in reference to the site itself, not to your client of choice. I will post about that separately. For the record, I use NVDA with Firefox.

1. Many buttons are unlabelled and simply say "button". This is true on the main page as well as when viewing posts and tabs in profiles. Most work once pressed. They just need to be labelled.
2. Searching for people, tags, groups, and posts is inaccessible. I can enter the edit field and write my text, but then, there are two unlabelled buttons next to that. The first simply takes me back to the edit field. The second does nothing. I am assuming this is a submit button that doesn't work via the keyboard.
3. It is impossible to view followers, as well as those whom I follow. I can see the numbers of each but not the people and groups themselves.
4. I cannot read my own profile without editing it. There appears to be no link where I can simply view it, either as myself or anonymously. If I go to my page and am not logged in, however, I can view it. I can also easily edit it when logged in.
5. The page renders very differently in Chrome than in Firefox. In Chrome, I can't see anything but my notifications, so I can't get to my page or the other timelines.

#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Blob.cat #Chrome #Fediverse #fediverse #Firefox #JAWS #NVDA #html #ScreenReaders #SemanticHtml #Supermium #Windows

Tonight, because of the problems with TweeseCake and Blob.cat compatibility, I was reminded of TWBlue. Normally, I don't use it, because I can't edit posts. But other than that one feature, I love it! It even has a few features that TweeseCake doesn't, including the ability to view followers, those whom you follow, and blocked users. It even allows searching within posts and for people! It also allows me to view favourites, which TweeseCake has only partially implemented. There, they disappear, but here, they remain visible. I was also wrong when I said that I can't post paragraphs. It's just that, instead of hitting return as I normally would (and as in TweeseCake, for those curious), I have to hit shift+return. Interestingly, I found that I can edit my Friendica profile perfectly, excluding Friendica-only features such as keywords. Remember, both of these clients are made to work with Mastodon, and the only reason they can work with other platforms is their compatibility with it. Anyway, when I try to edit my profile on Blob.cat, I can't. After I choose "Edit", nothing happens. But the most vexing thing is that TWBlue doesn't include an editing feature for posts! If anyone here works with and/or for them, can you plese either suggest this or strongly consider implementing it? It would make life so much easier and would complement the other features very well.

#accessibility #blind #Blob.cat #clients #Friendica #NVDA #ScreenReaders #TweeseCake #TWBlue #Windows

I am unable to view or even edit my sent posts in TweeseCake with Blob.cat! I have no idea why. Maybe, it's different enough from Mastodon (the actual network that TweeseCake is meant to work with) that it won't allow me to do it. Sometimes, I honestly have half a mind to just give up all social networking accept Dreamwidth, because it's the only place that is completely accessible. I don't have to beg developers to make things screenreader-friendly, or hope it will work with this client or that website because I can't do x on the main one, or that y feature that worked on one site will be accessible on the next one. It just works. Say what you like about Facebook, but the Basic Mobile site (not app) worked. I hardly had any problem with it. Then, they closed it, and I left because their main site is a nightmare to work with. Now, I'm in the Fediverse, feeling as if I'm using the main Facebook site all over again!

I don't blame the administrators of friendica.world or blob.cat. It's not their fault. They're just working with what they have. Both are wonderful human beings who have been very kind to me. It's not even the fault of the developers of both sites. It makes sense, when you're a small business or a single developer, not to know about things such as accessibility. I just wish more people would learn and/or write things in semantic html or offer some kind of text-only or basic version of their site. I know that Deque University and Geeks4Geeks teach accessibility and teach html with accessibility included, respectively, but I guess other sites and books don't. As for TweeseCake, this is an excellent client for the blind that works well with Friendica and probably even better with Mastodon. But again, it's by a single developer. While changes are coming, people do have lives and other committments, and one person can't be expected to work as quickly as a huge company.

By the way, my Dreamwidth account is here. I must update it slightly, as I have some new entries to post for the month.

dandylover1.dreamwidth.org
#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Dreamwidth #Facebook #Fediverse #fediverse #Friendica #html #Mastodon #NVDA #ScreenReaders #SemanticHTML #TweeseCake #WCAG #Windows

Yay! I'm on Blob.cat! I am happy to note that almost all of it is accessible, minus one or two minor issues. I have a feeling this is not an instance problem, but an Akkoma problem. Even as a non-programmer, I am also fairly certain that this can be fixed easily. No one needs to rewrite the entire front end, as with Friendica. Basically, in the Profile and Settings, and on the main page, there are some buttons and check boxes that are not labelled properly. The check boxes under Settings, for example, just say "check", without stating if they are checked or unchecked. However, when they are unchecked, there is something labelled simply "button" that appears. There are other buttons for things such as post visibility default, but while they are labelled i.e. "Unlisted", "Public", etc. there is no way to tell which button is checked. In the profile, the Bio section appears blank, even though I filled it out during registration and can read it when I go to my profile without trying to edit it. Finally, on the main page, there are two things labelled simply "button". I think they have something to do with emojis. But that's really it! Everything else is accessible with NVDA, and I love the feature set! I really hope these tiny things can be worked on, because it would make everything truly perfect!

By the way, here is my profile page. I haven't written anything yet, as I was only approved recently.

blob.cat/dandylover1

#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Blob.Cat #Fediverse #fediverse #Friendica #html #NVDA #ScreenReaders #SemanticHtml #WCAG

This is sad! I found a wonderful Akkoma instance that aligns with my views and even has a 100,000 character limit! Plus, it's theme is cats, which I adore! The following is taken from their page.

blob.cat/about

"• Never post anything illegal (USA jurisdiction)
• Mark sensitive media as NSFW
• Most importantly, be excellent to each other
Notes
• "Be excellent" generally means "no explicit bigotry". For example, "death to all $group" memes are not allowed. Generally unpopular opinions are fine though, as long as they are expressed respectfully
• However, this server is not primarily intended for political debate. If you are interested in that, please find another server"

I filled in my profile, but then, it gave me a captcha with no audible version. Even Cloud Vision couldn't help when I ran it through there. I am really hoping I won't have any issues once this is resolved, but looking at the site itself, Akkoma does seem accessible with NVDA.

@Critical @:blobcatverified2: Can one of you please help me register? I am going to use the same name as here, dandylover1. I'm not sure how to communicate privately with those who are not on Friendica.

#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Blobcat #NVDA

I have looked everywhere, but I can't find this post from 11 February! It isn't showing up in my Sent timeline. So if it is on my profile, and/or if you have seen it, I apologise.

I am not closing my account here, but I need to try something other than Friendica, due to accessibility issues. I am considering Akkoma, but am open to other networks if they are compatible with Mastodon.

I am seeking an instance with the following specifications.

Accessible interface (I use a screen reader called NVDA). If it uses Semantic html and isn't cluttered, that's a great start. I would prefer it to be compatible with Mastodon so that I could also use TweeseCake as a client. I need to easily be able to access things such as notifications, follow requests, my own posts, to be able to search for tags, people, my posts etc.

Posting limit of 5,000 characters or more (more preferred.

Ability to pin, unpin, edit, and delete posts.

Ability to filter content, so that I don't see certain words or phrases. (This doesn't work with TweeseCake, so it's not as important as the rest, unless the site is so accessible that I can use it often.)

Ability to select between seeing all posts of someone or only some, and to choose whether to let someone follow me without my seeing his posts or to follow him completely. (Friend versus Subscriber on Friendica).

Extensive profile with keywords. (Keywords may be a Friendica feature, so can be skipped.)

Most people write in English and are not politically, technologically, or gaming obsessed. No radicals of any pursuasion. (the English bit is just to help me find friends on my particular instance.)

Free speech (nothing illegal or homophobic). I personally avoid obscenities.)

If such an instance exists, please tell me. I found https://akkoma.fediverse.observer/list[7] but that's just a list with no real information about each instance. I would have to go through over 400 of them, choose the ones from the UK, Canada, and America (they're the most likely to have English instances), then go through those to see if they meet my requirements, but that's ridiculous.

I am not a programmer, so please don't suggest I start my own instance or join a network that is not set up with a webpage and/or to accept a client, as I know nothing about these things other than that they run on Linux and I'm a Windows user. I just want something that works. Also, if there are any demonstration instances, please let me know. I heard of one where accounts only lasted five days, but it seems to be gone.

#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Fediverse #Friendica #Glitchsoc #html #instances #NVDA #Mastodon #screenreaders #TweeseCake #Windows