Welcome to the BlindMind.net Blog "Unrestricted Access"
This site is a passion of mine, and something i've wanted to do for a long time now. It seems that the more my own condition worsens, and is subsequently made better and easier by means of technology, the more I want to share that relief with others. And why shouldn't we all? We live in a time when technology has opened so many more doors for blind and visually impaired people, it just boggles the mind. Who would have thought 10 years ago that we'd be browsing the internet on mobile phones, read emails on our PC's faster than sighted people, or hold very technical jobs?
Both my grandparents were blind. You know what technology they had when I was 10 and visiting them all the time? A talking clock. Yep, that was it. My Grandmother, who still had a little bit of sight, used to use a large handheld magnifier to be able to see who a letter was from, or to see the amount on a bill. She could read a little bit with great difficulty and terribly slowly. Today, she'd be able to take a snapshot of that bill with her phone and have the phone read it to her. Would she have wanted to do this or even bothered trying to learn?
That's not really the point. A person should have the right to decide if that's what they want to bother doing, I guess is the point. Removing barriers to be able to access the same things a sighted person can, I believe, is something noble to strive for. Whether that comes in the form of a talking cell phone, magnified PC screen, the ability to learn and be employed doing Cisco router configuration, or maybe just the freedom to safely walk the streets, assuming the streets are safe to walk where you live in general! These are simple freedoms that should be so widespread and available in today's society that we shouldn't be able to marvel at how great it all is. It should just be that way. Now there is the chance to make this commonplace. Unremarkable.
I guess that's the reason for the name of the Blog, "Unrestricted Access". For so long, getting to do things that most people take for granted has been unavailable to the blind and visually impaired community. But no more. This Blog, and the website in general will discuss and attempt to spread technology to those who are perhaps just becoming aware of the possibilities it can open up, and also hopefully be a place for those who are already in the know to congregate and share their prowess with others. We may go off on tangents from time to time discussing advocacy issues, employment opportunities (or lack thereof), mobile and PC technology, innovations in accessibility or in technology in general, or perhaps occasional things not related whatsoever.
I have invited my new friend Amir, formerly of Blogspot Blog "Mobile Space", to be a regular contributor here. Amir (who shall remain surname-less for now, as I haven't asked if he wants his surname splashed around the internet!), is a gifted, very technical user who has worked in the assistive technology industry, and has a very impressive knowledge of mobile phones and accessibility, particularly in the Nokia Symbian operating system, which as you can see by the rest of this website, is still the most common platform for blind and visually impaired people. I hope you enjoy his posts as much as I've enjoyed chatting with him the last little while, and I'm sure he'll enrich the discussions here very much.
Welcome once again, and please visit frequently — I promise there'll be some very interesting content!
Ted, from BlindMind.net
Posted by Ted Mc at 9 Dec 2009, 2:04 AM 
Categories: Nokia, Smartphones, Symbian, Accessibility, Miscellaneous
Tags: visually impaired symbian blind accessibility s60
Categories: Nokia, Smartphones, Symbian, Accessibility, Miscellaneous
Tags: visually impaired symbian blind accessibility s60
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