As the former Manager of Product Development for Recording for the
Blind & Dyslexic, I can tell you that we addressed the Digital Talking
Book initiative by making the needs of the end-user the driving force
of the whole process.  Huge amounts of feedback from beta-testers and
other users were continuously re-integrated into the design process to
ensure that the resulting product would be the best technology
available--delivered at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time
period.

One of the problems we have always been concerned about is the cost of
the stand-alone DTB players.  Remember that we do not design or build
any type of hardware--we only create the accessible content.  The two
hardware manufacturers, Plextor and VisuAide, have also invested
several years of research and design effort into their products, and I
can tell you that even at $500 they may not be recouping their expenses
for quite some time into the future.  However, once there is a
sufficient demand for these devices, one can expect the cost to drop
sooner or later.  Also, keep in mind that Digital Talking Books do not
have to be played on one of these stand-alone machines, but can be
utilized on a computer with fairly inexpensive (perhaps free) software.


In an ideal world, educational materials (including textbooks) would be
universally designed and fully accessible from the start, and
specialized equipment and services would not be required to gain access
to these materials.  Although you and I will never live in an ideal
world, it may be that current legislative initiatives (such as the
proposed “Accessible Instructional Materials Act” supported by the NFB,
ACB, NFB, RFB&D and others) will someday transport us into a world
where providing access to educational information (at least) will be
required by law.

Steve Noble
Policy Analyst
Kentucky Assistive Technology Service Network
8412 Westport Road
Louisville, KY 40242
Voice: (502) 327-0022 x268
Fax: (502) 327-9974
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Board of Directors, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (KY Unit)
Board of Directors, Learning Disabilities Association of Kentucky
Contributing Editor, Information Technology and Disabilities