Blind Line Show on Universal Access

[Jonathan Mosen <jmosen@rnzfb.org.nz>]

Blind line returns this weekend with a discussion about one of the most 
critical issues we face as blind people. It affects how we might live 
independently, our employment prospects, and our dignity in general. It is 
the issue of universal access. Standard household appliances are becoming 
increasingly difficult to use. Radio is going digital, complete with all 
kinds of textual information on the screens of the radios of the future. 
Most of us can only use a fraction of the features on our cell-phones. 
Automatic teller machines could some day be operated not by a PIN, but by 
identifying the unique characteristics of your iris. And those computers 
that we are only now accessing effectively in the graphical environment 
could soon be irrelevant as the Internet moves to televisions, cell phones 
and other portable devices.

Yet there is hope. There are people who are not only able to advocate 
effectively and talk the jargon that is understood by the developers of 
these new technologies, but these same people also work constructively to 
develop inclusive solutions to effect what has become known as universal 
access. If their vision becomes reality, we could one day have access we 
have only dreamed of up until now. One of the key players in working for a 
universally accessible world is Gregg Vanderheiden of the Trace Center in 
Wisconsin, and Gregg will be this week's guest on Blind Line, the only 
Internet talk show exclusively for blind and visually impaired people.

Afterwards, you'll be able to phone in to discuss Gregg's interview and the 
issues raised. We'll also be asking you to consider what the AOL and Time 
Warner merger means for blind people and accessibility.

Blind Line airs on Saturdays at 2200 Universal time. In the USA, that's 5 
PM Eastern, 2 PM Pacific. It's 10 PM in Britain, and on Sunday morning at 
11 AM in New Zealand, 9 AM eastern Australia.

To phone in, you can either use your regular telephone to call the number 
given out on the show, or download the Buddyphone software from ACB Radio. 
Note to existing Buddyphone users that you must have version 2.05.

You can listen to the show using Winamp or Realplayer 7 by going to
http://www.acbradio.org.

The Winamp Player, which we recommend, is available for download there.

We have recently nearly quadrupled our listener capacity to just under 400 
simultaneous listeners, so you will have no trouble accessing the stream. 
We look forward to your company for Blind Line and indeed all the other 
great programming on the air 24 hours a day at acbradio.org
        Jonathan Mosen
mailto:jonathan@mosen.org
ICQ: 32257076
Phone: +64-21-4Mosen