PRESIDENT's MESSAGE: TECHNOLOGY AND INDEPENDENCE?
  by Mitch Pomerantz
  Recently, I was thinking about all of the tasks I perform as 
ACB president and how many of those tasks are done via computer 
and e-mail.  The catalyst for such thoughts was the failure of 
the primary ACB server and the resulting crash of our web site.  
I then began musing over how ACB presidents prior to Paul Edwards 
handled their duties, particularly those which could be 
considered time-sensitive in nature: reviewing contracts, 
approving press releases, commenting quickly on governmental 
policy documents, to mention only three.  Of course, we've 
conducted business on the telephone for as long as ACB has 
existed, but where printed material is involved, the phone is not 
a great option.
  Next came the discussion on both Leadership and ACB-L of the 
announcement of the iBill, the low-cost electronic currency 
identifier.  Would such a device help make blind and visually 
impaired people more independent? Does it further increase our 
dependence on technology? And would introduction of this device 
jeopardize ACB's efforts to get the Department of the Treasury to 
implement a non-technological solution to inaccessible currency? 
As a result, I've been engaging in an internal debate over 
whether the proliferation of such devices promotes or inhibits 
our independence.
  Before going further, let me offer my disclaimer.  Yes, I use a 
computer, but by no means do I consider myself a techie.  Those 
who know me at all call me a dinosaur, a moniker which I 
grudgingly accept.  My perspective is that I want the computer 
(or whatever the technology being utilized) to work when needed; 
I could care less how it functions.  I don't want to be like 
those early operators of automobiles who not only had to know how 
to drive their horseless carriage, but also how to repair it when 
it broke down, something which occurred frequently.  I neither 
have the time nor the inclination for that.
  Having provided the foregoing as background, I'd like to 
explore whether the growing use of technology by blind and 
visually impaired people enhances our independence, or whether we 
are substituting one form of dependence for another.  Clearly, 
widespread use of access technology has lessened -- but certainly 
not totally eliminated -- our need for sighted assistance to 
accomplish some tasks.  Devices such as talking calculators, 
global positioning systems (GPS's) and microwaves allow us to do 
many more everyday tasks with minimal or no help from family 
members, friends, co-workers or strangers.
  In the late 1970's, my employer purchased one of TSI's 
Speech-Plus talking calculators, which I used regularly to do the 
budget work that was a part of my job at the time.  That device 
made it possible for me to perform what was an "essential 
function" of the job.  Incidentally, several of my co-workers 
liked to borrow that calculator to do their own work as it meant 
they didn't need to keep glancing from the screen to the paper 
upon which they were writing.  They simply listened and jotted 
figures.
  Over the intervening decades, I've used a VersaBraille to draft 
reports and maintain records, and the omnipresent computer for 
reviewing and editing the work of my staff and communicating with 
employees in other departments.  I am absolutely certain that I 
wouldn't have had the nearly 34-year career I recently concluded 
without access technology.
  My reservations concerning our increasing dependence upon 
technology don't relate only to blind and visually impaired 
people, but to society as a whole.  I can recall a number of 
occasions during the past several years at my former office when 
the city server went down and all our computers with it.  What 
did I and my co-workers do during those two or three hours of 
non-connectivity? Absolutely nothing! We've all heard someone 
almost panic when discovering that their cell phone or PDA wasn't 
with them.  These days everyone must be connected at all times!
  For blind and visually impaired people, more and more of us are 
going into serious debt in order to buy the latest and greatest 
access gadget.  We feel compelled to keep up with the proverbial 
Joneses -- in this instance, our friends who are snapping up 
accessible iPods, talking GPS units and cell phones that allow us 
to listen to music and browse the web, exactly like our sighted 
peers.
  I question whether this rush to own ever-cooler technology is 
helping to make us truly independent.  Can we do simple math 
without a calculator or spell a word correctly without 
spell-check? Can we get from point A to point B without relying 
upon something telling us where we are every block? Must we carry 
yet one more electronic gadget to identify our money? Have we 
traded one form of dependence for another? Personally, I believe 
that's just what we've done.  And by the way, my misgivings apply 
to the broader society, not only to our relatively small 
community.
  What I'm advocating here is that no matter how many talking 
devices we choose to buy, we must maintain those skills which 
technology is making easier for us to perform.  Keep up your 
braille, OandM, math and spelling and old-fashioned daily living 
skills.  Don't become too dependent on technology; after all, 
power fails, batteries die, and devices stop working.  Remain or 
become as self-reliant as possible.  Let's distinguish between 
necessity and convenience.
  I wish everyone a joyous holiday season filled with family and 
friends.  Donna and I will be at the Rose Parade on New Year's 
Day cheering on the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching 
Band.  We may even have a welcoming banner.  Take care.


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