COMPUTER USERS NETWORK NEWS
Adaptive Technology
for the Blind and Visually-Impaired
Vol. III, no. 5 September-October, 1997
Published bimonthly by
Digit-Eyes
Blind Service Association
22 West Monroe Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
voice-mail: 312-458-9006
Copyright 1997
Editor: Cindy Brown
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to provide a vehicle for our consumers to share
information with each other. This is accomplished by stimulating
the pro-active involvement of our readers.
CONTENTS
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION .......................... 3
CHECK US OUT ........................................ 3
NETWORK NEWS
by Cindy Brown ................................ 3
"WHAT'S IN A NAME" OF A NETWORK? .................... 4
THE OPTACON: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
by Deborah Kent Stein .......................... 4
TEAMWORK
by Nate Branson ................................ 7
DO IT--WRITE NOW! ................................... 9
THE RIGHT STUFF: CHOOSING ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
by Kelly Pierce ................................ 9
FYI ................................................. 14
TREASURES! .......................................... 14
DATES TO REMEMBER! .................................. 15
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
A subscription for the Computer Users Network News is included
in the Computer Network annual membership donation of fifteen
dollars or more. The newsletter is available on cassette tape or in
print. It is also accessible on-line. Normally, each annual
membership entitles you to all six issues for that particular
calendar year.
However, an extra bonus is currently available for any new
members who join in the last two months of this year. Any person
who joins for the first time after October 1st of 1997 will get our
last issue this year plus all issues in 1998. In other words,
he/she will get seven upcoming issues instead of getting six past
issues, and the minimum donation remains the same--fifteen dollars.
To begin or renew your membership in our network, please send
your contribution, along with your name and address to Blind
Service Association, indicating your intention to join the Computer
Network, and specifying in which of the above formats you wish to
receive your newsletters.
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CHECK US OUT
You can check us out on the web page made available to us
through Vipace. You'll find current and back issues of this
newsletter. That's at http://www.city-
net.com/vipace/friends/chicago.
You can also check out our upcoming events by phoning 312-458-
9006.
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NETWORK NOTES
by Cindy Brown
In the October 8, 1997 Cognoscentae meeting, the following
decisions were made:
--Beginning with this issue, minutes from the latest
Cognoscentae meetings will be included with the newsletter. They
will be read on the end of the taped version, and print copies will
accompany the print version. Since minutes of each meeting need to
be approved at the subsequent meeting, minutes from the most
current meeting will not be sent out until the next time a
newsletter comes out.
--Tapes of monthly seminar presentations are available to any
member for a donation for each tape. A list of topics will be made
available in a future newsletter. Tom Jones has agreed to be the
librarian for the seminar tapes. Members who want more information
should contact Tom through the voice-mail line.
--For those who join the network as new members from now until
the end of 1997, instead of getting all the newsletters for this
calendar year, they will be mailed the last issue of the newsletter
for this year and will not have to rejoin in order to get the 1998
newsletters.
--A new name for the Computer Network has been chosen. See
next article.
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"WHAT'S IN A NAME" OF A NETWORK?
As we explained in the July-August issue, the board has felt
that the name Computer Network has not served us as well as it
might. It did not really zero in on the segment of computer users
whose needs and interests we target in on. So we sent out an all-
points bulletin requesting recommendations for a new name.
In the August 8th Cognoscentae meeting the new name was
unanimously chosen. The new name not only has a technological ring
to it, but it also suggests physiological compensations for visual
impairment. Henceforth, this network will be known as Digit-
Eyes, nominated by the creative mind of Anna Byrne. Thanks Anna,
and all others who offered suggestions.
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THE OPTACON: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
by Deborah Kent Stein
Like most blind people of my generation, I grew up with the
futuristic dream of the "reading machine." I had no idea what this
magical invention would look like or how it would work its
miracles. But somehow it would grant me entrance to the bookshelves
of the world. I would have the freedom to read whatever I wanted
and needed without waiting on the whim of some busy human
intermediary.
For me the dream came true in the summer of 1977, when I
obtained my first Optacon through Associated Services for the Blind
in Philadelphia. I spent two weeks in Optacon training at ASB - the
standard time required by Telesensory Systems, Inc., the machine's
manufacturer. A special grant obtained through the dedication of
ASB's Fred Noesner covered 75 percent of the then-astronomical
$3400 cost, bringing the purchase price within range of most
consumers. My dream machine proved to be compact, lightweight, and
highly portable. The main unit contained a template or "array" with
144 tiny pins. Connected to the main unit by a slender cable was a
"camera lens" the size and shape of a mini-flashlight. I learned to
track the lens across a printed line with my right hand while
resting my left forefinger lightly upon the array. The pins of the
array vibrated to create a tactile image of each letter viewed by
the lens. I could literally feel everything on the printed page.
As soon as I began using the Optacon, I made startling
discoveries. I learned that italicized letters are slightly tilted,
that chapter titles are sometimes offset with wavy lines or
curlicues, that Penguin Books uses a tiny penguin logo while Borzoi
Books marks its title pages with a running dog, that the first
letter of the first word of a chapter is usually so large it
reaches down to the second or third line. I had survived very
nicely without knowing these things. Still, such details are an
integral part of the world of print--the world from which most
people gather so much information and pleasure.
Without a doubt reading with the Optacon was slow. Through
steady practice I built my speed to about 100 words per minute,
compared with my Braille-reading speed of 250 words per minute or
more. But reading speed was not the issue. What mattered was
access, and the Optacon provided that. Books, newspapers,
magazines, catalogues, bills, record jackets, and the recipes on
boxes of cake mix--the barriers were down, and suddenly everything
was within reach. For the first time friends lent me their
favorite books, sent me clippings, and dared to share their private
thoughts in typewritten letters.
"So what's the first thing that machine helped you do?" my
aunt asked when I brought the Optacon home from Philadelphia. "I
cleaned out my purse," I told her. It was true. I didn't plunge
straight into the latest bestseller. I emptied my purse onto the
couch and sorted through several weeks' accumulation of receipts,
theater programs, ticket stubs, and random scraps. In the past I
would have had to wait for the opportune moment with some patient
friend or paid reader who could help me weed out the debris.
Perhaps I might simply have taken the matter into my own hands,
dumping everything into the wastebasket and hoping I wasn't losing
some crucial phone number or appointment slip. Now, with the
Optacon, I could check each questionable paper and dispose of it as
I saw fit, on my own time, without having to let anyone else
glimpse into the rat's nest my purse had become.
I have had a Kurzweil scanner since 1990. I no longer use the
Optacon for reading full-length books as I often did in the past.
But the scanner has never replaced the Optacon in any other regard.
They are both tools for accessing print, but each has its own
unique strengths and limitations. The scanner can read quickly
through large blocks of standard print. It enables me to store
material on diskette for future reference, thus building up a small
library of books and articles. But the scanner has strong views on
what "standard print" really is. Poor to moderately well-xeroxed
copies, most newsprint, all faxes, print that is unusually small or
exceptionally large - all call forth the maddening message: "Page
too difficult, may be upside down!" Pages with more than one column
may be read accurately, as long as the space between the columns
isn't too narrow. Italicized words often turn into strings of
"unrecognized characters." And anything handwritten, no matter how
clearly, is totally out of bounds. With the Optacon, on the other
hand, the only limits are my time and patience. With a bit of both
I can read virtually anything. Cursive handwriting is the only
holdout; I can usually read handwriting if people print. I can also
examine charts and tables, and can puzzle out simple line drawings
and maps. The underlying fact is that the scanner interprets what
it perceives, often in its own idiosyncratic fashion. The Optacon
shows me what is on the page and allows me to interpret for myself.
When I got the Optacon twenty years ago, I believed it would
be available to blind people for as long as civilization endured.
I never imagined that the company that created and marketed this
extraordinary instrument would one day renounce it as obsolete. But
by the mid 1980's TSI (the descendant of Telesensory) had moved on
to other, more lucrative products. It promoted the Optacon, even
the newest model, with waning enthusiasm. In 1996 came the dreaded
proclamation. The Optacon would no longer be manufactured. Old
machines will be serviced "until the turn of the century," unless
the parts run out sooner. The Optacon is an essential part of my
life. In my work as a freelance writer I turn to it a hundred times
in the course of the day - to check a page number for a footnote,
to make sure the margins are correct on a printed page, to check
whether my printer needs a fresh ribbon.
Beyond my working life the Optacon is just as important. I can
browse through gift catalogues before Christmas and birthdays. I
can sort the mail and read the pieces that are addressed to me. I
can use the dictionary, the encyclopedia, and even the Yellow
Pages. Without the Optacon I could not do any of these things
independently. Each of these small but necessary tasks, plus dozens
and dozens more, could be done only with another person's
assistance. The Optacon has given blind people a level of autonomy
and flexibility unparalleled in history. Yet that gift is being
withdrawn. That sense of freedom, that knowledge that print poses
no barriers, may be lost to future generations. As a devoted
Optacon user I belong to a minority within the blind community. We
spend a lot of time worrying, raging, strategizing, and mourning.
We stockpile used machines, buying them up at every opportunity.
With renewed hope we pursue each rumor that another company will
buy up parts, will service old machines and build new ones. We tell
each other that something has to be done. We try to carry that
message to the world.
For the most part, the response is not encouraging. We are
told that the Optacon brought blind people into the age of
technology, but its day is done. It will be remembered fondly, like
the party line and the wind-up Victrola. After all, no company
wants to invest in a dead-end product--in technology without a
future.
Right now the blind community is focused upon another
technological crisis. Looming before us is the growing use of
graphics in household products that were once accessible with ease-
-microwave ovens, tape decks, VCR's, clocks, and even telephones.
How can we continue to compete in this increasingly icon-oriented
world?
Programmers are employing all their wizardry to make these new
gadgets talk to us. They're struggling to turn each new icon into
speech. To some extent they have been successful. But every new
gadget requires tampering; each manufacturer must be bargained
with. The struggle looks to be endless. According to the proverb,
a picture is worth a thousand words. At best speech is an awkward
medium with which to represent graphics. One often needs to know
the layout of the screen, where the image appears, and how it
changes when a button is pressed.
Surely there is another approach to the whole problem, one
that does not depend on speech at all. Why not develop a device to
enable blind people to read the screen tactually? Why not turn
visual graphics into tactile images?
This notion is not as farfetched as it may sound. For more
than two decades Optacon users have been reading computer screens
with a specially-designed lens attachment. The Optacon has proved
highly useful for navigating in Windows and other graphically-based
environments. Couldn't this technology be enhanced to meet the
challenges before us? Instead of trying to make each new gadget
talk, we could carry a simple hand-held device that would enable us
to read any screen we encounter, whether on an ATM machine or the
new clothes dryer. The Optacon was at the cutting edge of
technology when it appeared in the early 1970's. Instead of tossing
that technology onto the rubbish-heap, let us carry it forward and
see what the future may bring.
For my part, I just want to go on reading my mail and cleaning
out my own purse. Those may seem like small things, but they have
a lot to do with large issues - such as privacy, dignity, and
self-respect.
(Deborah Kent is a nationally-known freelance writer. Among
her more than fifteen books available through the Library for the
BLind and Physically-Handicapped are: Belonging, Jody, Ohio, One
Step at a Time, and Te Amo Means I Love You.)
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TEAMWORK
by Nate Branson
The activities of the teams listed below are the muscles of
the Computer Network. To express interest in participating as part
of any of the teams, contact the team leader by leaving a message
on our voice-mail line, and be sure to indicate to whom you want to
speak. The number is 312-458-9006.
Lynx Squad--Kelly Pierce. This team has been meeting
regularly for over a year and a half. On the second Thursday of
the month, a group averaging five to ten people gathers to discuss
and roam the Net. Pros and others new to the Net cycle in and out
of this conclave. Group members suggest the topics. Pierce
reports that their most notable achievement this year was the
establishment of a visually-impaired computer users group listing
(VICUG-L). Pierce explained that it is a mailing list; "When
someone sends an e-mail message to VICUG, the server takes it and
shoots that message off to a number of people on the list."
Pierce, along with the visually-impaired computer users groups of
New York and Pittsburgh, put this together in a month and a half.
People subscribe to the list and receive information on topics they
are interested in. Pierce, for example, has sent out a book review
and an Internet tutorial. "My intent with the list is to foster a
sense of participation in community as well as a sense of advocacy,
information access and technology on a local level."
Membership--Sandra Saunders recently accepted the post of
leader of membership. She is in the process of enlisting other
participants for the committee. She lists several projects on her
agenda: (1) streamlining the membership intake process; (2)
developing better records on members so they can be tracked more
easily; and (3) getting more input from members on subjects such as
what things they would like to see in this newsletter. New
members' meetings are held on the Thursday before the monthly
Saturday seminar. Towards the end of assessing members' needs,
Saunders hopes a survey might be instituted. She adds, "and also
doing a followup on members when they join to make sure their
questions about membership are answered."
Outreach--Jim Ferneborg. Assistant BSA director, Jim Ferneborg
heads this team and notes that the Computer Network was suggested
and shaped by the consumers. In addition to speaking at other arms
of the rehab system, such as ICRE-Woods, he also speaks at private
companies. He notes that mention of the Computer Network at BSA
elicits interest from the audiences. On these at-least-twice-a-
month trips, Jim also finds that audiences are surprised that
visually-impaired people can work with computers. Ferneborg adds,
"We think that the Computer Network is one of the best things that
we have going here."
Peer Training--David Porter. The peer training group conducts
the Computers for Dummies seminar on the fourth Thursday of each
month, and coordinates seminars for the general membership on the
first Saturday of each month.
Posse--David McClain. The Posse tinkers with and repairs used
computers which are donated to this network. It meets
periodically. To join this team, contact Dave McClain.
Preview Crew--Dan TeVelde. This team beta-tests new
technology on an as-needed basis. To become part of this team,
contact Dan TeVelde.
(Nate Branson is a graduate of Roosevelt University and a
freelance writer. He has worked for the Chicago Tribune and the
Chicago Sun Times.
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DO IT--WRITE NOW!
There are those of you who have been thinking of writing an
article for this newsletter, and there are others of you who have
been intending to write an article.
Well, whatever they say about "good intentions," they don't
make a good newsletter. So we hope you will sit down to commit
your technological thoughts/information to a 3.5-inch floppy disk
(ASCII or WP5.1), Braille, or cassette tape right now. It's
relatively painless.
Submit all articles to Cindy Brown, c/o Blind Service
Association, eleventh floor, 22 West Monroe Street, Chicago,
Illinois 60603. The deadline is Wednesday, December 3, 1997 at
noon. Believe it or not, that's just around the corner.
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THE RIGHT STUFF:
HOW TO CHOOSE ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Part Five:
Your Evaluator and Dealer
by Kelly Pierce
In previous installments, I have discussed what attributes to
look for while choosing adaptive technology (AT) which will best
serve your needs. In this last article in the series I explore
issues involved in the personnel you do business with in this
regard.
How good is the person evaluating or selling the product? One
way to minimize the problems associated with training, repair,
product reliability, and hidden costs is to choose an evaluator,
trainer and dealer who is experienced and knowledgeable about blind
computing. These can be different people or the same person. If
someone other than the user is buying the AT (such as a state
vocational rehabilitation agency, school district, or employer), an
evaluation will likely be necessary. This is to find out if the
user can benefit from the AT and what specific skills, devices and
training will be needed for the person to reach his goal in getting
technology. Evaluations are often conducted when someone exercises
legal rights found in the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, resulting in the conclusion that adaptive technology will
allow the individual to do a job on par with the sighted or to
fully participate in a public accommodation, such as a college
course or academic program. Choosing the right product is just
half the journey. Choosing the right person to turn dreams into
reality is the other half.
Who conducts evaluations? Generally, evaluators (or people
who conduct AT assessments) fall into four categories:
rehabilitation engineers/technologists, vendors, therapists, and
consultants. People conducting evaluations vary widely in their
skill levels. Some are licensed, others are not.
Rehabilitation engineers/technologists use the principles of
engineering design and application of adaptive technology for
people with disabilities. They may or may not have Master's
degrees in rehabilitation engineering. A vendor sells equipment
for a company or companies. Therapists are professionally trained
and licensed in a specific medical discipline, such as speech,
physical, occupational or rehabilitation therapy. In Illinois,
these therapists must be licensed. On the other hand, a consultant
may be a licensed therapist, a rehabilitation engineer, a really
creative person, or just about anyone. There are no licensure or
educational requirements to hang out a shingle and declare oneself
a consultant. Unless you ask about experience, training and
credentials, you will not know.
But just having a license or degree does not guarantee that a
person is an adaptive technology expert. Nor does the fact someone
is a vendor or consultant preclude them from being an adaptive
technology expert. It is important to ask about a person's
credentials and experience before an assessment. Nevertheless, do
not stop there. Here are some questions you can ask to learn more
about a potential adaptive technology specialist's skills and
talent.
How long has the person been recommending this type of AT?
How many devices of this type has the specialist recommended?
Experience builds credibility, skill, knowledge, and
familiarization with user needs. Evaluators and specialists work
out better when they have been in the field for at least a few
years and have recommended, installed, trained, and serviced many
devices and assisted many users in a general AT area, such as
blindness. Be wary of those who have serviced a limited number of
individuals in the past year unless they come with high
recommendations from credible consumers.
With what age range and/or disability type does the person
primarily work? Some work with people in a particular age range or
disability type, such as blindness. If you are a 35-year-old adult
and the person has only worked with children up to this point, be
wary. Likewise, if you have reduced vision and are quadriplegic
and the person has only worked with blind individuals, additional
expertise might be needed.
What is the track record? Do the recommendations represent a
variety of manufacturers and devices? Learn about a person's track
record from other blind computer users. Ask others that you know
their opinions of the evaluator. Connect with a computer user
network. Ask for at least three references of blind computer users
that you can contact. Be sure that they have received similar
services to yours or are using similar devices to what you will be
using. If the specialist doesn't have any or says it is
"confidential," look elsewhere. People with disabilities should be
able to expect that adaptive technology specialists accept the same
degree of performance checking as someone hiring a handyman or
house painter. High-quality evaluators and adaptive technology
specialist are well known and proud of their work. They will be
happy to have you learn about it. Before buying anything, check
out the recommendations with other end users. One resource that
can be quite helpful is the Internet. This is of particular
importance if the person doesn't live in a really big town like
Chicago with many sophisticated end users. There are more than 75
blindness-related electronic mailing lists, many on adaptive
technology. End users, professionals, vendors and dealers answer
questions and exchange information, ideas and solutions with each
other daily. For a list of these with descriptions, go to
http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/blist.html. To obtain this list by
electronic mail, send an e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] and leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message type: get blist info. This file is
more than 200 kilobytes in size. For just an index or listing of
all the mailing lists, send an e-mail message to the address above
with the command "get blist short".
If the specialist may be called upon to participate in an ADA
complaint, lawsuit, employer grievance, or IDEA appeal, you should
anticipate that the other side would question the credibility of
the expert. A long, proven track record of recommending devices
that have been used successfully over time is the best defense.
Are people satisfied with the particular products recommended?
What kind of technology and products do others in a similar
situation use? How independent are they with them? Finding
similar end users and talking to them will take time. Patience and
personal education will translate into long-term success and avoid
costly and irritating headaches when things don't work together.
Vendors sell the products they recommend. That is ok, many in
the field do. Be careful with those who sell or are familiar with
products from only one company. It is in their interest to sell
their particular product whether it works for the consumer in
question or not. Use dealers that represent a variety of companies
and recommend a range of products. How is the specialist meeting
individual needs if he is recommending the same device for
everyone? Were all of the people really that much alike? For
example, the most popular scanning software for the blind, Open
Book Unbound, did not until recently support the Keynote Gold
speech synthesizer from Humanware, Inc. This recommendation posed
limited flexibility to blind end users who may desire to add
scanning capability to their computer systems. We will never find
out things like this unless we ask, learn about the relationships
the dealer has, and we check out user satisfaction with the
specialist, company, and product.
If a school district or a state rehabilitation agency is
paying for the evaluation, the evaluator should not be the one
selling the equipment. Also, if the evaluation might be used later
in contesting an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or in an ADA
complaint, this can be cited as a conflict of interest and might
damage the credibility of your case.
How can I get help after the sale? Realize that for success
and independence, the end user is initiating and developing a long-
term relationship with the adaptive technology specialist.
Technology changes rapidly. New products are released daily.
Existing products are upgraded regularly. Technology opens more
and more opportunities for people with disabilities. What worked
for someone in the past may not meet their needs now. Treating
adaptive technology specialists like order takers or disposable
agency bureaucrats will deny the end user the tremendous benefits
of a long term partnership.
Be mindful of the industry practice known as "stop and drop,"
and as the words imply, little followup happens after the initial
sale. This can often happen when a consumer aggressively selects
a local dealer solely on the basis of the lowest price for the
product. However, for a product to work for most consumers, it
needs to be set up, installed, and configured to meet the specific
consumer's needs. Additionally, quality technical support and
assistance is essential at the outset for a product to really work
for the consumer in the long run. The lowest price is not always
the best. The consumer is not simply buying a product but a
relationship with a company and dealer. At some level, we get what
we pay for.
Good evaluators and adaptive technology specialists keep
customers and don't need to solely rely on product sales to earn a
living. They have the talent to earn money through services such
as training, installation, maintenance, and upgrades. They should
know about products and services that they don't sell, such as
training tapes, books, online mailing lists, community college
courses and other resources that assist the end user in learning
and conquering the technology.
Adaptive technology specialists, evaluators, and dealers may
be independent business owners or work for an agency or
institution. Independents may be highly adaptable to individual
needs and flexible in their services. They also may have little
contact or exposure with the disability community beyond their job.
Agencies are as good as the people that work there. Consider the
strengths and experience of the person working at the agency, not
just the strengths of the agency itself. Agencies can be biased
too. For example, the largest Chicago blindness agency has a
financial relationship with an Indiana-based producer of screen
readers. Not surprisingly, this agency invariably recommends only
the screen readers that it sells.
What assessment procedures does the evaluator use to arrive at
a recommendation? Will the user actually try the device? For how
long? What outcomes or behaviors were observed during the device
usage? If you have not used the device before, this is a must.
The evaluation should go beyond a demonstration of how the adaptive
technology works. It should include hands-on use of equipment and
software in the actual situations and settings faced by the end
user. If it doesn't work, it is convincing evidence not to
purchase the device. If it works for the end user, it is a nearly
irrefutable justification. Actual experience with a product during
several weeks in the real world is far more convincing than the
unnatural experience of a half-hour-long highly structured
evaluation at a demonstration center.
What standard does the evaluator use for his recommendation?
Is it consistent with the legal standard in question? This is
important. If an employer, state rehabilitation agency, or a
school district is purchasing the adaptive technology, the
evaluator should be familiar with the standards and procedures in
the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act as
amended in 1992, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA). These standards may vary considerably from the
professional opinion of the AT specialist or the preferences or
desires of the user. What is best for the user may not be
"appropriate" under IDEA, or "effective communication" under the
ADA. Likewise, rehabilitation funding allows for devices
"necessary for employment" and Medicaid will cover only those
things "medically necessary." These are not complicated
definitions to understand, but the At specialist should be familiar
with their meaning and requirements. For assistance in obtaining
a specific standard, contact a parents' group, ADA technical
assistance center, or a blind computer user network.
Can the evaluator, trainer, or dealer use the device the way
that the end user will? People who sell, service, and evaluate
adaptive technology products such as screen readers should be able
to use the adaptive technology. Rarely do sighted evaluators,
trainers, or vendors have the screen turned off when working with
a blind end user. It can be difficult to understand what works--
REALLY WORKS--for the end user if one does not use it oneself.
Finally, above all, trust yourself. Things that can't be
described can mean a lot. You may have difficulty in trusting the
adaptive technology specialist. You may feel that he really
doesn't understand your needs or situation. He may speak only in
generalities and not specifics. He might be vague about the
experiences of other customers. My experience tells me that if the
end user is uncomfortable or unsure about the adaptive technology
specialist, unsatisfactory outcomes often result. It is better to
wait and continue asking questions until one is comfortable than to
move forward. Our feelings tell us a lot about ourselves. We need
to use them to make the right choices.
(Kelly Pierce assists victims of crime navigate the criminal
court system at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. He is
also the coordinator of the Computer Network's Lynx Squad.)
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FYI
The following radio and television shows may be of interest to
our readers:
Sundays--11:00 AM, "TV.com," ABC, channel 7 in Chicago;
Sundays--3:30 PM, "Life on the Internet," Channel 20 in Chicago;
Sundays through Saturdays--6:00 PM, "The Site," MSNBC;
Sundays--4:00 PM, "Computer Chronicles," Channel 20 in Chicago;
Tuesdays--9:00 PM, "Real Computing," WDCB, 90.5-FM, Glen Ellyn;
Fridays--8:30 PM, "Computer Chronicles," Channel 20, Chicago;
Saturdays--2:00 PM, "CNN Computer Connection," CNN (Cable News
Network).
If you know of other technology-related shows that are not
included here, please contact Cindy Brown through the voice-mail:
312-458-9006.
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TREASURES!
Planning on upgrading to a Pentium and wishing for a home for
your 486? Got a Braille 'N' Speak classic you aren't using any
more? an old synthesizer? an out-of-date, beginner-ready copy of a
computer tutorial?
List what you've got in the Treasures column, the Computer
Network's home for wonderful things that their current owners have
used and loved and don't need any more! Anna Byrne is your contact
person. You can reach her by leaving your name and phone number on
the BSA voice-mail line, and be sure to indicate you want to speak
to Anna Byrne. That number is: 312-458-9006.
AVAILABLE TO BORROW:42 2-track cassette tapes, recorded at
1 7/8 IPS;containing articles about computers from The Chicago
Sun Times;to be picked up at BSA office on a week day; available
only until March 1, 1998. To reserve the tapes,
phone: Carlos Hranicka, 312-226-4280.
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DATES TO REMEMBER!
All events listed below take place at Blind Service
Association, unless otherwise indicated. You can also contact the
BSA voice-mail line for more up-to-date information. (312-458-
9006)
Thurs., Oct. 30, 1997, 6:00-7:30--openhouse for new members;
ninth floor.
Sat., Nov. 1, 1997, 10:00-12:30--Arkenstone Open Book 3
(optical character recognition scanner) and MegaDots (Braille
translation program); ninth floor; (seminar presentations).
Wed., Nov. 12, 1997, 5:30-7:30--Cognoscentae (governing board)
meeting; ninth floor; (all are welcome).
Thurs., Nov. 13, 1997, 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor
(Internet discussion).
Thurs., Nov. 27, 1997--Thanksgiving (no Computers for Dummies
or new members' openhouse this month).
Wed., Dec. 3, 1997, noon--deadline for newsletter articles!
c/o Cindy Brown, eleventh floor (see DO IT--WRITE NOW!
page 9).
Wed., Dec. 3, 1997, 5:30-6:30--All-Write team meeting (all who
are interested in helping out with the newsletter).
Sat., Dec. 6, 1997, 10:00-12:30--Holiday Openhouse for
everyone! ninth floor; (food, fun, and perhaps even a door-prize or
two).
Wed., Dec. 10, 1997, 5:30-7:30--Cognoscentae (governing board)
meeting; ninth floor; (all are welcome).
Thurs., Dec. 11, 1997, 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor
(Internet discussion).
Thurs., Dec. 25, 1997--Christmas Day (no meetings for new
members or beginners this month).
Note: Because of the holiday weekend, there will be no monthly
seminar in January.
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