Another problem is that the devices themselves are often acting more like
graphical computers without screen readers.  In all the TV and VCR ads I
hear, they brag about on-screen programming.  I remembering about two or
three yuears ago, when we were going to buy a TV, I told the salesman that
I wanted a TV with a tone control because I have a hearing loss as well as
being totally blind.  He said,k "We have one, but it uses the on-screen
programming to do this."  He did not have one or know of a modelo with
this funciton that did not have on-screen programming.  Why is  it that
every new thing becomes a one-size-fits-all standard.
Movies, TV, and computers have al become more and more graphical over the
years.  The sitcom with a few graphical scens and the love story that
maybe totally accessible through the ears are giving way to presentations
that rely on graphics for the total conveyance of the message.  I believe
that waht we want to tell society applies to computers, movies, TV,
kiosks, and appliances, present the message--the  information, thourhg
more than one sense.  That, I blelieve, is what universal acces is all
about.  If you can't provide it directly, make it easy to provide.  This
is not always possible, but it is an achievable goal in many situations.

Rick Roderick,
Louisville, KY
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