I have not been back to the theater, but thanks to the Regal my next visit will be on them.

Shout out to the Regal for resolving the issue and just as important, being responsive.

I’ll let you know if all is well.

BTW – My bad on the delay giving Regal their props!

For those unfamiliar with how audio description works, attendees use a handheld receiver and headset to listen to a separate narration audio only, accompanying the movie’s main audio track. The end result is full, private non intrusive description of scenes not containing any dialog providing the most comparable experience to that had by people with full sight.

The available descriptive track is produced for non dialog scenes in the movie, meaning all previews including any commercials are not described. An attendee can only be made aware of any malfunction when the movie begins. Therefore, the need to either replace a handheld receiver or notify management of a problem requires leaving the theater and missing part of the movie.

My children are still of the age where they enjoy going to the movies with the entire family. Recently they asked to see PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS. Whenever my children are interested in a family movie the first thing we do is check to see if the movie is available with description. Naturally I offer the kids the opportunity to attend the most convenient movie based on their mother’s schedule, in order to make sure they don’t miss out. They usually decline, it’s important to them that I can fully take part in the movie. It’s their way of making sure their Dad is fully included and for this I am thankful.

This makes our recent experiences all the more disappointing.

After settling into our theater seats one recent Saturday afternoon, fully prepared to enjoy a family movie, I anxiously waited for the movie to begin in order to assure the equipment was working correctly. The headset given to me appeared to be the wrong one. However, I wanted to be sure. As the opening scene and credits began I noticed there was no accompanying track playing through the receiver’s headset. All I could hear was static.

My wife and I quickly left the theater in order to alert the manager. I was told that the receivers have changed and the one I was using was correct. The manager brought out another which I recognized. This model had an additional knob that enables frequency selection. We quickly returned to the theater only to find out that the second receiver too was not working.

Once again, we left the theater only to be told that the equipment must not be working. Apparently there are only two receivers.

While my oldest is responsible enough to look after her younger sister, my wife and I leaving the theater interrupts their engagement and denies them of the family experience they were both seeking.

After the two interruptions, I ended up with no descriptive audio. The Regal Theater’s management compensated us with passes to use to attend future movies and assured me that the technician would be contacted for repair. While I commend them for their professional response, it did take away from the full experience we were seeking.

My wife and I planned to see “Salt” starring Angelina Jolie. Since the theater is 35 to 40 minutes from my home, I wanted to be certain that the equipment was repaired and there wouldn’t be any interruptions. I called the theater on two separate occasions prior to the Sunday we planned to attend the movie. During my first call I was told that the technician had not been out to fix the equipment. I was assured he/she was contacted, but the equipment was still not working. This was about three days following the experience with my children. I called back a few days later and spoke to two separate individual’s one of which was a manager. I was told the equipment was repaired and fully functional.

Great, I thought, my wife and I will be able to fully enjoy our date. Based on the times printed on the Regal website for described audio and open caption movies, we planned to attend the 12:45 showing of Salt. We arrived at the theater around 12:25 only to see that the website start time did not match the box office time. According to the latter the show began at 12:15. No problem I thought, the first 15 minutes or so consist of previews so we decided to get the tickets and see the movie.

After getting the DA receiver and headset we made our way to the theater. While walking I turned on the receiver thinking as we got closer I would begin to pick up a signal and determine if the equipment was working. All I could pick up was static. Even as we sat in our seats I continued to hear static. The equipment was not working.

My wife, maybe inspired by the character Salt, immediately reacted. She grabbed the receiver headset combo, leaped over at least two rows of seats and sprinted back to find a manager. (Maybe a slight exaggeration, or is it?) She returned only to have the device once again not work. Yes, again the equipment was not working. Stamp this with a Big FAIL!

I’ve been a fan of Regal Theaters since they became the first theater in my area to offer description. However, offering the service and not living up to the expectation is arguably worst than not offering the service at all. I often recommend the Regal to others I know who have visual impairments. I explain to them that they can fully enjoy movies as they may have done in the past.

I reached out to Regal and I truly hope they will resolve this problem, but honestly I may have to visit the other theater an equal distance away in New Jersey.

I know for some, audio description and my experiences may seem like a trivial concern. I propose that it’s no less a concern than any other accessibility issue such as access to websites, books or buildings. Movies are not only about the entertainment, but there’s the social inclusion from which people with disabilities can often be excluded. Movies can provide the context in which a parent can explain important life lessons to their children or simply be the focus of a family memory.

Recently WGBH announced an agreement with multiple theater chains, one of which is the Regal, to provide more Open Caption and Descriptive Audio for the hearing and visually impaired. This is a wonderful step forward for accessibility. I just urge all theaters involved to be sure to include a maintenance plan to insure the experience doesn’t leave the consumers a bit, ahem, “salty.”

An empowering 4 days, where a message of independence is delivered not only to our nation’s representatives, but all of those in the capitol who interact with a determined and well informed group of advocates.

As in the past, MCCB has once again sponsored delegates  to attend the week end seminar. Mary Ann will again provide feedback and share information with  the local chapter, which we in turn share with our readers.

The 2010 ACB Legislative Seminar officially kicks off on Saturday with the state affiliate President’s meeting. Check back throughout the weekend and next week for updates and analysis.

I say my fellow humans because apparently there are some lacking the basic ability to identify with other human beings experiencing a tragedy.

Last week I made the mistake of letting myself get drawn into a series of comments on a Face book “Friends” status update. I quoted Friend because honestly I haven’t had any real connection with this person for over 25 years. In my book that’s not really a friend.

I understand many of us have grown up differently and subscribe to a variety of political, philosophical and spiritual views. In fact, I usually do try to avoid reading status updates that sound remotely political because I’d rather appreciate those in my circle for how I know them. And honestly sometimes learning about their views on politics or racial matters for example can make that a more difficult task.

This particular status update however caught my attention and unfortunately drew me into reading the comments. The subject was the recent telethon featuring a variety of musical performances to help raise funds for Haiti relief. It was pretty obvious that the person wasn’t a fan of the idea and would prefer focusing on those in need in the “Good ‘ol USA.”

Before launching the link to read the additional comments I questioned whether I should. I did. What I read disturbed me, not because of who said it, but rather the fact that someone could actually feel this way. This person and I were educated in the same school during the first portion of our lives. Both of us were young students who learned the basic lessons of Christianity. I thought we were taught to show love and compassion for our fellow man. Apparently fellow man is defined by borders. Lucky me, I must have been absent when we covered that particular point.

It was the comment and my “friends” affirmation that really got under my skin. The commenter directly equated the Haitians in need of support to illegals and drug addicts. Saying “A concert for the working people, not the illegals or the lowlife crack heads, or the ones scamming the welfare system!!”

Not sure which category applies to all of those children orphaned all of those who are now homeless or those who lost limbs or lost their lives because of the earthquake.

I considered responding to the comment directly, but recalled something I decided a long time ago. I will never argue with folks who don’t have the capacity to stay on the topic and intelligently articulate their position. If this person believes USA dollars should stay in the U.S, I’m okay with you taking that position, but illegal’s and crack heads, c’mon, that’s just down right stupid. These are mothers, fathers, elders and babies just like ours in the USA.

As I get older I really do believe that the most important things we learn come from the first few years of our lives. In this case, if you don’t have something positive to say, then you just shouldn’t say anything at all.

As you may recall, Amazon’s Kindle contains a “Read to Me” feature that uses text to speech (TTS) to read books aloud using synthetic speech. Many in the blind community had great hope for this product until the Author’s Guild got there panties in a bunch. Simply put, they incorrectly concluded that TTS was equal to audio books and therefore author’s should receive additional royalties.

Believe me, there’s no hate on my side toward authors. I really like author’s. Some of my best friends are authors! In fact, many authors have moved into my neighborhood, their children attend school with mine. Ok, you get the joke. Seriously no one in their right mind can listen to an audio book and equate such a performance to synthetic speech.

The result, Amazon caved and gave Publishers the control to turn on the TTS feature for each title.

Amazon’s announcement therefore doesn’t really get me all that excited. It’s great and I hope that future versions of the product and other I-Book readers approach product development from a universal design perspective, but how will this actually play out. There’s no way I will spend a few hundred dollars to buy an accessible I-Book reader only to access a limited number of books.

Now according to this article from Boing Boing, titled “RIAA, MPAA and US Chamber of Commerce declare war on blind and disabled people, “ the struggle continues. Apparently writer’s began a petition to assure that people with reading disabilities would have access to E-Books. According to the article, which asks who would be against assuring that people unable to read print have access to books:

Well, The US Chamber of Commerce, the MPAA and the RIAA, that’s who. All three organizations have urged the US trade delegation to oppose the treaty, because they fear it might set a precedent that users have rights to copyrighted works.

Is it just me or is this a bit confusing. On one hand, author’s are saying they are for print impaired having access to their books. However, the Author’s Guild saw to it that TTS was limited. I guess it plays out like: “Yo blind dude here’s the E-Book but you can’t use TTS.” Hmmm, see the problem?

I’m sure the Author’s Guild wants blind people to access their books using TTS, but I think they saw the opportunity to re-negotiate their contracts and increase their revenue.

Same is true for the organizations mentioned in the Boing Boing article. I don’t believe they are blaming blind and print impaired people for piracy, but they are trying to protect their bottom line.

I’m sure all of these organizations understand and believe in access to physical property such as public stores, restaurants, hospitals and schools. All of these “brick and mortar” properties require facilities to be accessible. Why not print?

These organizations need to protect their businesses, but not at the expense of people who have a right to access

I along with millions, want to purchase a book, in the same way fully sighted people can – without jumping through hoops or waiting months for the accessible version. The technology is here right now to make it possible. It’s a shame we still have to wait for the “human” aspect to catch up to the technology.

I’ve had so much on my mind for the past few months, I figured I’d share a bit here.

ACB Convention:
This summer I had an opportunity to attend the state convention of the American Council of the Blind in Orlando. I have been a member of this organization since I along with 7 others began the local chapter in Monroe County, PA in 2006. I thought the experience would have an impact on me at least as much as my first state convention of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind.

There are several reasons it didn’t. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it or would plan on attending future conventions.

I think I built up my expectations a bit too much. I imagined much more in the way of vendors, and  enlightening  seminars and workshops. Keeping my ear to the current developments in the blind community when it comes to technology, advocacy issues and general interests it was difficult to find something new and exciting during workshops.

I imagined the convention would give me a great opportunity to meet new people who are interested in many of the same things as I am as well as a chance to share our experiences. I still believe this to be true although I didn’t meet as many new people as I would have liked.

One of the great things about attending any convention is not standing out as I travel with my cane. The hotel and conference area was  pretty large with some open areas that can make it a bit more difficult to navigate. It really only took one practice walk to feel comfortable traveling on my own without assistance from volunteers or family. Not having the opportunity to do this on a daily basis  really makes me miss this when I return home. There’s nothing better than traveling independently without people assuming I need there help simply because I am using a white cane.

PCB State Convention:
I recently had the opportunity to take some of the lessons I have learned during conventions and share with volunteers and staff at the Chateau Hotel and Resort, where the Monroe Chapter of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind will host the 74th PCB State Convention on November 6-8.

Along with general information such as how to perform sighted guide and dispelling some of the many mis-conceptions associated with blindness, I had a chance to address and hopefully dissuade others from committing one of my greatest pet peeves.

Many times while walking alone to my hotel room or through the hallway, I can hear an attendant moving out of the way. Noticing them, I greet them accordingly, "Good morning" for example, but I am greeted with silence. I realize sometime I have my Barry White persona so maybe I spoke to low, so I repeat myself, doing my best impression of a politician greeting potential voters, "Good Morning!" Nothing! What the umph is up with that? I hate this, people don’t do this!  I can hear some of you now, maybe it’s a language barrier? Well, I kicked it in Spanish, "Buenos Dias!" Nada. I then tried French, "Bonjour" Nope! So I reverted to the universal language and flipped them the bird! Well, at least I did in my mind.

Ironically, walking into the hotel that very day I passed someone standing near the entrance and unintentionally tapped them with my cane. At first I was unsure if it was a person or some structure. When I realized it was a person, (he cleared his throat), I said "Oh, hello, pardon me!" Nothing, nada nil! I guess it would be wrong if I took my cane and…

Did I mention I can’t stand when people do this! (Breathe, T, breathe!)

This year’s convention has been pretty involved. Among several other duties, I am working on a Low Vision Expo that is being held as part of the PCB Convention but open to the general public. I have been leading the effort to promote the expo.

Based on our experience promoting MCCB events in the past, I knew there would be some definite challenges. Individual’s experiencing low vision, are often very reluctant to admit they are losing their sight. Many of which are seniors who either believe it is just part of their aging or believe whatever their current mechanism for coping is sufficient.

And whatever you do, don’t mention BLIND! That word alone probably keeps Depends in business. (Was that mean?)

We have had radio and television opportunities where I instructed everyone involved to purposely limit the use of the word blind in fear of scaring away those who are most in need of the information being presented at the expo. In fact, I have limited my own contact promoting this event because as a total, I too scare the stuff out of many of these individual’s with low vision. this is not just my opinion, the American Foundation for the Blind has surveyed and found that the most feared among the public in terms of health issues is blindness. Yes, we beat cancer and HIV/AIDS. Hey so this year, I should trick or treat as a blind guy! (Was that mean too?)

The expo is attempting to appeal to two very different philosophies. The medical centric and the advocacy centric.

The medical centric believes, the cure is the cure! Prevent and or cure  blindness and we no longer have a problem. The advocacy centric is saying the problem is not based in the loss of a sense or function, but rather it’s the way society thinks about disability. The result of which plays a major role in the 60 – 70 percent unemployment rate, inaccessibility and of course, hotel room attendants and others contracting their own temporary disability, the inability to speak when spoken to.

I purchased the phone a week prior to leaving to Florida for the ACB National convention, my first. I think further discussion on that is worthy of a separate post. That in itself is not a problem, it just left me with very little time to prepare.

Secondly, I had to send my laptop to be repaired. My line out/headphone jack came loose and would no longer isolate sound to the headphones. This is a big problem for me when I use my laptop in public or when recording.

Now that the laptop headphone jack has been fixed, I’m working on a audio segment for PCB Reports – The Pennsylvania Council of the Blind’s audio magazine – available from their website. Check out the latest edition for information on the upcoming state convention to be held in the Poconos. Yours truly is speaking about our upcoming Live Auction.

Rather than discussing the impact the iPhone can potentially have on Access Technology, I want to share a hidden feature of sorts.

Sending text messages can really be useful. Sometimes you don’t want to stop what you’re doing to make a phone call, maybe because of time or maybe you just don’t want to talk to the person. It’s ok, I know we all think that way, I am just brave enough to say it. Of course this doesn’t apply when I am sending YOU a text message. And YOU know who you are!!!

My 5 year old daughter has mastered the art of texting. While some people may think this is negative, I would argue the contrary. She is practicing her spelling and reading skills. Since she is new to both she continues to practice proper grammar and punctuation, rather than all of the texting abbreviations.

Almost daily, she will get a hold of her mother’s phone and begin texting me. Here’s a sample conversation:

Daughter: Daddy you are koo koo.

Me: you are

Daughter: No, you are.

Me: ok, i am but you are too

Daughter:no you are

This continues periodically throughout the night.

Just another benefit of the iPhone. Gotta love it!

He pointed us to a blog post by Marcus over at Engel’s Ensights titled

Pardon My Geekiness.

Ok, first, a lesson to all, never ever apologize for your geekiness! I don’t care what kind of Geek you are, it’s all good!

Marcus is trying to get Apple to develop an application to read books from the NLS. While I will definitely support the move and send my email as suggested, chances are that such an application will come from a independent developer.

This got me thinking   about the impact the iPhone and future accessible mainstream products can have on the Access Technology Industry.

Now, I‘ve never been shy about expressing my devotion for my Vicky known to most as the Victor Reader Stream, by HumanWare.

However, HumanWare, who is also in the process of developing a screen reader application  for the Blackberry, has to be a little concerned about the potential of the iPhone. The very well known Access Technology company offers devices specifically built for people who are Visually Impaired, Blind and Deaf-Blind

And then, In walks the Apple iPhone. For less than the price of the Victor Reader Stream the iPhone can potentially give access to features offered by almost all of HumanWare’s catalog. Oh yes, plus a cell phone.

Let me be very clear here, I have no hate for HumanWare whatsoever.  I think they build solid products.

A few months ago I wrote about features I would like to see in the next version of the Victor Reader Stream. It just so happens, all are in the iPhone. Oh yes, plus a cell phone.

• Clock
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Web Browser
• Pod catcher

HumanWare and others offer great Notetakers but they start at around $1500 for the low end model.

For users who are blind and visually impaired, pairing a Bluetooth keyboard With the iPhone will greatly improve note taking. For those who use Braille Displays, Apple’s Leopard  already offers support for many popular devices on the market. If these can be ported over to the iPhone, OMG!

The reality of the Access Technology Industry is that state agencies who often pay for much of the technology, will probably continue to purchase products from the traditional AT vendors. Since I haven’t actually got my hands on the iPhone yet, I can’t really discuss the associated learning curve. But, if the hype we often hear about Apple is real, those not working with state agencies will have affordable options.

Now all we need are Apple Biter’s.

For those who may not be familiar with the expression, a Biter is a copier, someone who forgoes originality for imitation.  While the iPod was not the first MP3 Player on the market, other companies began biting Apple’s style. I like to think I am in touch with those in the Blind community and those who believe in accessibility , so I think it is safe to say that we really hope other cell phone manufacture’s  begin imitating Apple’s accessibility initiative.

So to Nokia, Blackberry Palm, and any consumer product companies for that matter, go ahead, bite the Apple.

My Dad passed away in 96. My last dream right before I woke up this morning was so cool.

I ran into my parents bedroom to say bye to my Dad before I went out of the house with my mother and sister. I jumped on the bed as my Dad was sleeping and gave him a kiss on his cheek. I could feel his soft skin covered by a scruffy 5 o’clock shadow.

He smiled and said, “I’ll see you later.”

One day, I will! Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and all of you out there.

Accessibility built in, I love it! I’m hoping to get my hands on one to test, especially since my current AT&T contract is expiring in August. More to come on that soon.

The news got me thinking about what this development can possibly mean for accessing printed materials and more.

You may recall, Amazon caved in to pressure from the Author’s Guild following their protest that the Text to Speech function included in the Kindle violated audio book copyright. Right now publisher’s have the final decision whether  a print impaired person will have access to their book. Random House having the not so honorable distinction  of being the first publishing house to  basically say,  F you blind people – that’s “forget you” of course!.

However, Amazon does offer the Kindle iPhone app. Based on the promotional text, a Kindle isn’t required.

The code turning on/off the TTS is specific to the Kindle. As long as Apple doesn’t cave in to publisher’s a person who is blind owning an iPhone could potentially have access to books as soon as they are released.

In addition to the Amazon Kindle app, other eBook apps are available.

With so many developer’s coding for the iPhone, I thought I’d start planting the seed for a few other apps.

With the built in camera included in the phone it will be nice to see a developer offer an OCR application allowing a user  to snap a picture of a printed document and translate the graphic into text to be read using VoiceOver.

Turn by turn pedestrian based GPS – self explanatory. While there is an application on the market available for Windows Mobil based phones, it’s pretty expensive.

A Bar code reader to translate product information including things like price quantity and other information currently not available to an individual without sighted assistance or a separate device.

With that said, here’s my pitch for the next Apple commercial;

A man or woman, with a white cane, holding an iPhone up to an item in  a supermarket

A family sitting in a restaurant with Dad listening to VoiceOver reading the menu after he takes a quick snapshot

A young woman in business attire using a white cane and receiving GPS instructions as she navigates her way to a business meeting

Following the three scenarios we hear the narrator  say;

“Accessibility, there’s an app for that!”