Andy,
Charts and graphs are one of the last unexplored areas of independent
information access. Part of the problem is that there are two schools of
thought on how to deliver access to this information. One group of
leaders believes that a graph and often a chart is largely visual in
nature so creating a tactile or audio equivalent doesn't make sense for a
blind person. Instead, They believe that a text based annotation of the
information may be best for the blind end user. This is similar to audio
description of still photos or images or that provided for film and video
productions. Another group of leaders believes that a graph or a chart
could, if rendered appropriately, deliver useful information to the blind
end user like it does to the sighted. This could be accomplished through
Braille formatting, variations in audio signals, and better rendering of
tables in HTML, PDF, and MS Word by screen readers. They have not given
up the possibility that independent access to this information is
possible. They believe that the right tools need to be developed. The
first group believes that the most robust solution today is their
approach, although they are open to other possibilities if they are as
good as a highly trained reader.
While this stalemate goes on, I use a sighted person to read charts and
graphs to absorb information quickly. I also check out historical
closing prices on stocks to get a sense of price levels and fluctuations.
This information is easily accessible at Yahoo Finance.
What easily could be made accessible are the prospectuses produced by
mutual fund companies. Mutual funds have a legal obligation to provide a
prospectus describing the investment, its performance, the risks, and
fees to anyone purchasing shares. If they fail to provide a prospectus
to the investor, it is a violation of rules of the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Blind investors should be able to read prospectuses
in alternate formats. Unfortunately, no mutual fund company provides
this access, even though they are required to do so by the Americans with
Disabilities Act. This includes giants like Fidelity, Vanguard, T. Row
Price, and Drefus. There is a clear and exquisitely definable access
solution here. Someone just needs to advocate for it.
Kelly
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew J. LaPointe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 2:55 PM
Subject: Blind Investors!!
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> Hi, I just got an e-mail from one lister from this group and =
> thought......Are there any blind investors here? I am blind and use =
> Schwab as a broker and
> looking for suggestions on how to read charts, graphs ect. I asked =
> schwab and there are blind reps, but no one can tell me anything on =
> graphs but to read
> it to me. I can download charts, but what does some like us do???
> I have Dusbury and the Braille blazer but talked to Duxbury and as of =
> now it would come out from the blazer. Does anyone have any
suggestions =
> on a program
> that would be Jaws friendly? Andy, Salem, MA.=20
>
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> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Hi, I just got an e-mail from one lister from this
=
> group and=20
> thought......Are there any blind investors here? I am blind and =
> use Schwab=20
> as a broker and<BR>looking for suggestions on how to read charts,
graphs =
>
> ect. I asked schwab and there are blind reps, but no one can tell
=
> me=20
> anything on graphs but to read<BR>it to me. I can download
charts, =
> but=20
> what does some like us do???<BR>I have Dusbury and the Braille blazer =
> but talked=20
> to Duxbury and as of now it would come out from the blazer. Does
=
> anyone=20
> have any suggestions on a program<BR>that would be Jaws friendly?
=
> Andy,=20
> Salem, MA. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
>
> ------=_NextPart_000_0025_01C3430D.E49DF9A0--
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>
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