The following is the seventeenth newsletter of Digit-Eyes:
the Chicago Blind computer Users' Network. The initiative is
built on the principles of self-development, mutual aid,
cooperative learning and peer mentoring. For back issues and to
learn more about us, check out our home page at
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~b_b
to join us online, subscribe to the visually Impaired computer
User group List at [log in to unmask] In the body
of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" without the
quotations.
Kelly
COMPUTER USERS NETWORK NEWS
Adaptive Technology
for the Blind and Visually-Impaired
Vol. IV no. 1 January-February, 1998
Published bimonthly by
Digit-Eyes
Blind Service Association
22 West Monroe Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
voice-mail: 312-458-9006
Copyright 1998
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
TITLE PAGE
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ................. 3
CHECK US OUT ........................................ 3
NETWORK NEWS ........................................ 3
IS TECHNOLOGY RUNNING FASTER THAN YOU ARE?
by Dave Porter ................................. 3
SUPPOSE EDGAR ALLAN POE USED A COMPUTER
Author Unknown ................................. 7
LIST: A FILE VIEWING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
by Steve Zielinski ............................. 8
PERSONAL PROFILE: STEVE ZIELINSKI
by Nate Branson ................................ 12
TEAMWORK ............................................ 13
GO WRITE! ........................................... 15
FYI ................................................. 15
DATES TO REMEMBER! .................................. 16
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
A subscription for the Computer Users Network News is
included in the Digit-Eyes annual membership donation of fifteen
dollars or more. The newsletter is available on cassette tape or
in print. It is also accessible on-line. Each annual membership
entitles you to all six issues for that particular calendar year.
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
Digit-Eyes, and specifying in which of the above formats you wish
to receive your newsletters. Checks are to be made payable to
Blind Service Association.
--------
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 listening to
the message on our voice-mail line: 312-458-9006.
--------
NETWORK NEWS
by Cindy Brown
Minutes for December and January Cognoscetae meetings should
be included in the envelope if you get the print copy of this
newsletter, and will be read on the end of the taped version.
Items of significance from the February meeting are as
follows:
In order to accommodate suburban train schedules, and in
order to leave more of Saturday afternoons free for other fun-
having, the Saturday seminars are being moved to a half-hour
earlier--9:30-noon--starting immediately.
Due to low attendance, it has been decided to eliminate the
monthly new-members openhouses. Persons interested in joining
will be encouraged to show up a half-hour earlier than starting
time for the monthly Saturday seminars, or to stay afterward to
get their questions answered about Digit-Eyes.
Due to lack of adequate interest, the Posse is defunct.
--------
IS TECHNOLOGY RUNNING FASTER THAN YOU ARE?
by Dave Porter
Technology is a continuum. The more you know, the more you
know you need to know. The more you need to know the fewer
resources you have to help you get answers. The fewer answers
you get, the more questions you have. Have you noticed that
we've all been a bit testy lately?
Technology is a headache! Maybe it's because the work we
are doing, the offices we work in, the utilities, and the service
companies we have become so dependent on are constantly being
bottled up by technological prowess gone amuck. Each time I make
a phone call and become ensnared in a loop of recorded messages,
wave a card at a machine that winks and beeps at me instead of
doing what I instructed it to do, throw a switch and get no
response, or schedule and reschedule a service call because this
or that doesn't work, I am reminded of how engulfed in the
technological quagmire we really are.
As infuriating as that all is, it leaps out at us as just
another reminder of the price we are all paying for "progress."
In the late 1980's I began my computer journey on an Apple 2E. I
was an enthusiastic convert to DOS even though, like W95, it was
intimidating, expensive, and clumsy. I tinkered with several
adaptive technology packages until I settled on the ones I found
most useful to my navigating this DOS terrain.
When I learned DOS I thought I was set for life. I went to
school, got credentials, and was set with a job which provided
health insurance. The adaptive technology worked well enough
that I could plod along and function competitively in what I knew
to be a changing society.
When Microsoft shifted gears and dragged the population into
Windows, I bitched and kicked and screamed (like I had done just
a few years before with the Apple 2E) because DOS worked just
fine for me.
But work, play, politics, and my personal desire to accept
any challenge placed in front of me made me reluctantly resign
myself to make the Windows switch.
Now here I am--the rollercoaster ride called computer
technology forcing me to step up my learning even more, to the
point where I now am in the process of trying to master even
another complex operating system--one Microsoft intentionally
designed to be an intuitive interface; and one I have been forced
to learn by rote. W95 is so rich with commands for different
ways to do things, even the best of memory is not able to store
them all. That's why they made it intuitive. The computers may
be increasing in capacity for memory and storage space, but I am
not. I find it increasingly difficult to remember the sequences
of keyboard commands needed to enact a particular function. I
know what has to be done to accomplish basic tasks, but in the
heat of the moment with tasks at hand, I can't remember the
myriad of ways to accomplish them.
Documentation is so critical. When I learned DOS, several
commands were apparent, most were close to that. If, with
windows 95, I don't have the documentation, I am in immediate
danger of being swept under by its awesome interface. This is,
of course, assuming that the equipment works as it is promised to
do.
I also note that I have very few sighted colleagues whom I
can call on because they all use a mouse.
Ah yes--the mouse ...
A sighted person explaining to me how he uses a mouse to enact
what I am struggling to accomplish with a keyboard, is the
functional equivalent of his placing his hands on my shoulders,
and pushing me in a direction, and then silently going on his
way. I may be closer to where I am trying to get to, but I have
no real idea how I got there, and probably will have to work out
another strategy, should I attempt to get there again; and I may
have soured my relationship with that person in the process.
I need to know what that screen is saying, the path by which
it got where it is, and I need control of where that screen has
gone. It's hard enough to grasp what's happening without having
it move indiscriminately.
When your adaptive technology makes all the keyboard
functions speak, and Microsoft says its software is all keyboard
accessible, if you know your Windows and you're unable to do it
without a mouse, it probably can't be done at all.
It is critical that they understand it as we do. No level
of frustration will override that ability to absorb knowledge and
incorporate it into the vat of experience.
What are the criteria on which the next generations of
adaptive-technology users will be judged? Our value to society
as an employable commodity will be based on our experience
derived from the many different opportunities we position
ourselves to partake of.
So now comes the "promise" part. Here is the place where
technology and marketing team up to tell us what is going to
remedy this situation.
The current wisdom is "voice activation." I could issue
verbal commands to a computer like, "Get Microsoft Word file,"
and assume it goes there. Then I would type the desired text.
But use of the keyboard yields slow input.
Enter Architecture 2000! This bold new architecture will
feature computers as small as a paperback book. With an
illuminated screen, a writing notepad, and a microphone,
we will use a pen to write on the pad, and the microphone to
speak the commands. Software will be able to analyze our
handwriting, and not respond unless it's ours. That might serve
as a right-protect or password.
Given a verbal command, it will do its thing. We then work
with the open files.
If we had a pad that would speak what we wrote, might the
next generation of blind people have to learn penmanship? But
looking on the bright side--this architecture would be a direct
way to correct our penmanship by responding to what we write with
a pen as it now does when we mis-type. The machine would
understand handwriting, know it to be ours, be smart enough to
figure out what we meant, provide speech to echo what we wrote--
all as standard technology that's conventional except that it's
talking back.
If the hallmark of the current age is job security, that of
the next age will be networking.
Today the corporation is no longer loyal to its charges.
The most effective managers are those who marshall their
experiences and convey a sense of autonomy to their peers.
How do we pool the experiences we have? How do we thread our
experiences, knowhow, and knowledge in a way that conveys the
word of our good work, while pooling our time with people who are
doing things critical to our work so we can learn more from those
who share experiences from a different perspective?
This past week I have worked with a family planning
counsellor, a real estate agent, a satellite engineer, a human
resources person in a big downtown firm, and a point-of-sales
person in a software company. I help them to better do what they
do. They spread the word of what I've done, and eventually, I
meet and work with their colleagues. Meanwhile, I learn what
they do. Two years from now, maybe two of them will become
management; they remember my work. In time--they refer more work
to me. We both do better; we move on; the process continues.
For most of you I am a gurgle from your speakers, or a
sprawl of words on a glistening screen, or words dancing off a
page--a casual insertion into your everyday humdrum. But I am
seriously concerned about how all the dollars, promises, hypes,
and grumbling of the technologically elite are affecting the
members of this network. If we are moving into an information
age where changing technology will stir our every move; if our
lives, work, play, and politics are going to be based on
information management, then we need to come to terms with what's
actually happening-- and what our own consciences say should be,
could be, or would be happening if only ...
Is W95 a viable option for us?
If it is viable, with what? and how?
Might we be better served by focusing on what's ahead?
Should a shroud be placed over those glowing claims that
illuminate what has not been done on our behalf? Should this
network be surveyed on this topic? Do we need to become a
unified voice on services and products provided? Who should
provide them? How should they be provided?
We need to articulate what's going on for us now.
(Dave Porter is president of Comp-Unique, an adaptive
technology development and consulting firm. He is coordinator of
Digit-Eyes.)--------
*** SUPPOSE EDGAR ALLAN POE USED A COMPUTER ***
submitted by Anna Byrne
Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary,
System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor,
Longing for the warmth of bedsheets,
Still I sat there, doing spreadsheets...
Having reached the bottom line, I took a floppy from the drawer.
Typing with a steady hand, I then invoked the SAVE command
And waited for the disk to store,
Only this and nothing more.
Deep into the monitor peering, long I sat there wond'ring,
fearing, Doubting, while the disk kept churning, turning yet to
churn some more.
"Save!" I said, "You cursed mother! Save my data from before!"
One thing did the phosphors answer, only this and nothing more,
Just, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
Was this some occult illusion? Some maniacal intrusion?
These were choices undesired, ones I'd never faced before.
Carefully, I weighed the choices as the disk made monstrous
noises. The cursor flashed, insistent, waiting, baiting me to
type some more.
Clearly I must press a key, choosing one and nothing more,
From " Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
With my fingers pale and trembling, Slowly toward the keyboard
bending,
Longing for a happy ending, hoping all would be restored,
Praying for some guarantee Timidly I pressed a key.
But on the screen there still persisted, words appearing as
before. Ghastly grim they blinked and taunted, haunted, as my
patience wore,
Saying, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
I tried to catch the chips off-guard - I pressed again, but twice
as hard.
I pleaded with the cursed machine: I begged and cried and then I
swore.
Then I tried in desperation, sev'ral random combinations,
Still there came the incantation, just as senseless as before.
Cursor blinking, mocking, winking, flashing nonsense as before.
Reading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
There I sat, distraught, exhausted; by my own machine accosted
Getting up I turned away and paced across the office floor. And
then I saw a dreadful sight: a lightning bolt cut through the
night.
A gasp of horror overtook me, shook me to my very core.
The lightning zapped my previous data, lost and gone forevermore.
Not even, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
To this day I do not know The place to which lost data goes. What
demonic nether world is wrought where data will be stored, Beyond
the reach of mortal souls, beyond the ether, in black holes? But
sure as there's C, Pascal, Lotus, Ashton-Tate and more, You will
one day be left to wander, lost on some Plutonian shore,
Pleading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
--Author Unknown
--------
LIST: A FILE VIEWING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
by Steve Zielinski
While I am in the slow process of beginning to learn and
function with Windows, I still use DOS quite a lot. One of the
DOS programs I keep finding myself using is List, Written by
Vernon D. Buerg. The latest shareware archive I have been able
to locate is version 9.3A, archived as list93a.zip. It can be
found at:
ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/list93a.zip.
List comes in three forms, list.com, a full featured
version, sometimes called List Plus, listr.com, the "regular"
version which does not have all the file management facilities,
and lists.com, the "small" version, which among other limitations
cannot handle files larger than 600 kilobytes. The regular and
Plus versions can handle files as large as 16 megabytes. Buerg
even offers a special version that handles files up to 500
megabytes. I will be writing specifically about the features
found in List Plus.
With List, you can read any ASCII file and most other
formatted files such as those in WordPerfect, WordStar, .wri
files and binary files. List incorporates a variety of filters,
which when set, usually do not need further manipulation.
Programmers will find the ease of reading 16 bit hexidecimal code
to be an asset in List Plus.
Viewing Files in List
Many editors on the market these days create very long
lines, only having new lines start at the beginning of
paragraphs. They depend on the editors themselves to insert line
breaks on the screen for a natural look, though the code itself
is in long lines. List will automatically break up these lines
into 80-character lines, so you do not have to manipulate these
files yourself to read them comfortably.
While viewing a file in List, you can search for text
forward and backward. You can even automatically continue the
search into other documents in your current directory. For
example, let's say you've been collecting a variety of newspaper
articles about computer assistive technology. You keep these
articles in the c:\newsart directory and you recall that you read
an article months back about windows access for the blind, which
you saved. You recall the article in question has the phrase
"windows for the blind." To find that specific article you
change to the c:\newsart directory. Start List and load all
files in the directory by typing "list *.*". Hit the "f" key,
(Find), type in "windows for the blind", and follow this by the
Enter key. When the phrase is found, it will be highlighted and
placed on line number nine, the default setting, unless you've
changed it. The name of the file will show on the status line.
If this is not the correct file, or article, or if the phrase
wasn't found in the first file you searched, press the alt-A key
to continue the search. List will go through all the files in
the c:\newsart directory until the correct file is found,
highlighting any hits on line number nine. You can even start
this search process from the DOS command line.
You may also load up to 32 different files into list at the
same time. When this is done, simply press the "Q" key or ctrl-
pgup, to move to the next file and the "Z" key or ctrl-pgdn, to
move to the previous one.
You may also block text from a file and then save that
blocked text to another file. If you want you can append new
sections of blocked text to that second file. This is a great
way to cut out notes and information you want to keep and
consolidate into one file for future reference.
List can even dial your telephone! If you have a telephone
number written into a file you are viewing you can press the
ctrl-t key, then using your arrow keys, place your cursor on the
first digit of the telephone number and hit Enter. Voila! Though
it can be argued this feature is of limited use, nevertheless it
is available for those who find themselves writing lots of phone
numbers into a file and needing to call people from time to time
while reading these files.
Viewing Directories in List
You can view a directory structure with List Plus by simply
typing "List" from the command line. The top line of your screen
will show something like the following:
list file selection 1 of 244 path c:\netscape\*.*
The bottom line of your screen will show how many total files are
in the c:\netscape directory and how many bytes they take up. It
also shows how much available free disc space you still have on
your drive. The other lines of the screen will display the names
of subdirectories and files in your current directory. One of
these names will be highlighted.
In this example, you are viewing the netscape directory on
drive c, and *.* means you are displaying all the files in that
directory. The phrase "1 of 244" means you're highlighting the
first file in that directory. Pressing the up or down arrow keys
will move the highlighted file name and change the "1 of 244" to
some other value. You may press Enter to view the highlighted
file at this point. If you are highlighting a subdirectory,
pressing Enter will change to that directory.
Many options are available to you while viewing file names
and directories. You can press the letter "f" to change the file
specifications. For example, type *.txt after pressing the
letter "f", and only files with .txt extensions will be listed.
Press the letter "p" to manually type in a new drive or path to
change to. By pressing the letter "s", you can change the sorted
order of the listing of files. Options include sorting by
alphabetical name, extension, date, and size. You can precede
the option with the dash key to reverse the order.
One very nice feature is List's ability to display lots of
file names on one screen. You can display as few as one file per
line on the screen or as many as six on a line, with an 80-column
monitor. An 80-column monitor can display up to 138 file names
on the screen at once. A 132-column monitor can display as many
as nine files across, or a total of 207 file names. When List is
set up for 43 or 50 line display mode you greatly increase the
amount of displayed file names. When displaying one file across,
List shows the file name with extension, size, date and time of
creation, and current file attributes: Archive, System, Hidden,
or Read-Only file. 2-across lists eliminate the attribute
display. Increasing the number of files displayed on a line
gradually removes more file information until you are left with
just the file name and extension for a specific file. List
allows you to copy files to different directories and drives,
move files, rename files, delete them or change their file
attributes. You can even highlight a file name and hit the
letter "e" to invoke your favorite editor to start editing the
file rather than just viewing it. List will even let you run a
program by highlighting the program name and hitting the letter
"i" to run it. "i" stands for "invoke" in this case.
Another feature of List, which I use all the time, is the
ability to view an archived file. An archived file is a file
which contains within it, one or many separate files. These
files are then compressed or squeezed down, so that the total
package is actually smaller than the original. Having all these
files placed in one archive means that an entire program and all
its
documentation can be distributed more efficiently. All files
placed in that particular archive remain together for you to
unpack. It's like giving a friend an entire book on microfilm
instead of giving him a single chapter at a time on paper. Of
course, working with these archived files on a computer is much
easier than messing with a microfiche. List can allow you to
view archive files with extensions of arc, arj, zip, pak, dwc,
lzh, zoo, and lbr. List can also view most self-extracting files
with .exe and .com extensions. This facility of List means you
don't need to unpack the archive in order to read the files
within, making the process of reading archived files much quicker
and easier. Just highlight an archive file name and hit the
letter "v". You will then see a listing of files within that
archive. If the list is extensive, press the pgdn key to view
the rest of the list. When you see the file you want to view,
hit the letter "i" and use your arrow keys to highlight the file
and press Enter to actually see the file within the archive. It's
really quick and simple.
Getting List to Work with Speech
As I am a Vocal-Eyes user, I can only speak specifically to
that program's settings for List. In general, it was a matter of
making sure I had lines 2 through 24 set up as a speak window. I
then made the pgup and pgdn keys hot keys to read the speak
window. I then set up Vocal-Eyes to look at certain color
attributes and then speak the lines in that color. This is to
allow Vocal-Eyes to read highlighted text which was found by
using the search commands or block commands. Automatic bar track
set to On made following the highlighted file names in the
directory listing a snap. Setting it up with the VersaBraille II
Plus Braille display was even easier, I didn't have to do
anything.
If you are looking for a versatile and feature-packed file
viewer and manager, I believe List will do the trick for you. I
started using it because I once obtained a DOS database program
which had a massive 800K documentation file. It wouldn't
completely load into my ASCII text editor and it took forever to
load into WordPerfect 5.1. Now any huge file I obtain loads very
quickly with List. Its real power lies in its versatility and
ability to handle all kinds of file viewing tasks.
(See PERSONAL PROFILE: STEVE ZIELINSKI for further
information about the author.)
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PERSONAL PROFILE: STEVE ZIELINSKI
by Nate Branson
It may take some time for Michigan native Steve Zielinski to
become re-adjusted to Midwest winters. After spending four years
in Orlando, Florida, he is back in the Midwest. Though it is
Chicago, and not the more northern Detroit, he's heard that
Chicago's winters are notorious--especially when the wind blows
from Lake Michigan.
Having attended his first Digit-Eyes meeting in August, he
has recently taken over leadership of our Lynx Squad.
Steve moved to Orlando in 1993 searching for a change of
pace. While there, he did volunteer work with the schools and a
ham radio club. A Russian Language and Literature major at the
University of Michigan in the late seventies, Steve, totally
blind since birth, encountered problems with early adaptive
technology. In his computer class he worked with a speech
synthesizer connected to a mainframe. But in those days, there
were no PC's, so individuals worked from a terminal connected to
the mainframe. Since
screenreaders were not readily available, his early version of
the DEC-TALK "either read the whole blankity-blank screen or
nothing at all. So there was no way to check punctuation or
spelling, etc. I became very discouraged by this." In the years
to come, he became very comfortable with the VersaBraille Braille
display.
Now 40, Steve said his first experience with more modern
adaptive technology for computers was in the early '90s. He had
access to a computer in his weekly visits to an agency in
Detroit. "I tried to learn DOS with speech in an unstructured
way by fooling around on the computer." But this was
unsuccessful. He reports having really learned it in 1994, after
moving to Orlando, when he got his first computer, and was able
to hook up his VersaBraille to it so that he worked with a
Braille display, but no speech. Only since he moved to Chicago
did he begin to learn to use speech programs in earnest.
He became acquainted with the Internet through friends in
Orlando. As secretary of the ham radio club there in 1996, he
volunteered to initiate a Webpage for the group. He felt that
this group of more than 400 members, which sponsored and hosted
probably the largest annual hamfest in the Southeastern United
States, should be represented on the Web. But he did not have
Windows, let alone access to Web-design software. So he wrote it
out in HTML programming language. He worked alone on this
project, and he found it to be a work-and-learn situation.
Commenting on the Internet, he looks forward to the Net's
being increasingly available to him for learning, research, and
commerce.
Steve's hobbies include reading, travel, classical music,
and ham radio.
He first became acquainted with Digit-Eyes through e-mail
correspondence with Kelly Pierce. A friend of Steve's in Orlando
suggested he contact Kelly when he was searching for a worthy
organization where he might donate some plastic mailing
containers for cassette tapes. When Kelly heard he was moving to
Chicago, he urged Steve to be in touch with Digit-Eyes. Steve
followed through, and the rest is history.
(A graduate of Roosevelt University, Nate Branson has worked
for The Chicago Tribune and for the Chicago Sun Times. He is a
freelance writer.)
--------
TEAMWORK
By Cindy Brown
(with updates gathered by Nate Branson)
Digit-Eyes is a network made up of teams. The word network,
for most of us connotes a system of interactive parts.
Interaction among peers is meant to be the fuel that keeps this
network alive. The teams are the parts of the Network which
address specific tasks. Become involved by joining one of the
teams described below. Check the voice-mail calendar line
(312-458-9006) for specifics about times and dates of meetings.
For more information about how to participate in a given team,
leave word on the voice-mail line: 312-458-9006, and be sure to
designate which chairperson you wish to speak to.
Outreach. "You-all come!" is the motto of this team. Its
job is to spread the word to youth and adults in the community-
at-large about our activities--Jim Ferneborg, Chairperson.
Outreach Update. Jim and six cognoscentae members
participated in the recent Senior Tech Expo (see Senior Team,
below). He said that statistics indicate that about two-thirds
of the blind and visually-impaired population in America are in
the sixty-five-and-older age range. Most of them are not aware
of technological assistance that is available to enrich their
lives. Therefore, it makes sense for the Outreach team to put
forth a focused effort to inform them.
Membership. Welcoming, orienting, and hooking in new members
is this team's raison d'etre.--Tom Jones, Chairperson.
Membership Update. We're looking to reorganize and
revitalize this very important team, and Tom Jones has stepped
forward to lead this effort. He plans to greet and help orient
new members to the network and to get them involved. He also
plans to help existing members get their needs met. To contact
Tom, leave word for him on the voice-mail line (312-458-9006), or
ask for him before or after the Saturday-seminar meetings.
Preview Crew. "What's new?" That's what these computer
veterans are asking, as they are eager to beta-test new
technology products.--Dan TeVelde, chairperson.
Preview Crew Update. Dan is currently beta-testing the new
Aria notetaker, and plans to write about it in an upcoming issue
of this newsletter.
Lynx Squad. It seems the whole world is talking about the
Internet, the World Wide Web, and e-mail. To join in, sign up
with this team. Reasonable word processing and typing skills are
helpful. Meetings are held the second Thursday evening of each
month.--Steve Zielinski, Chairperson.
Lynx Squad Update. Steve is the new facilitator of this
group, and is anxious to help us navigate the Internet. (See
PERSONAL PROFILE: STEVE ZIELINSKI, to become more acquainted with
Steve.
Peer Training. "Each one teach one." Planning and executing
monthly seminars for novices and the advanced is the focus of
this team. Ideas for events as well as volunteers to help are
welcome. --Dave Porter, Chairperson.
Peer Training Update. Though the New Year's holiday
interfered with the scheduling of the usual monthly network
seminar on the first weekend of the month, Dave demonstrated
technology at the senior event on January 15th. He also
coordinated the
presentation by Bob Greenberg at the February 7th Saturday
seminar, covering the topics: Satellite Up links and down links,
ISDN, and Sophisticated Telecommunications, particularly as they
relate to radio programming.
Senior Team. "Live and learn!" Seniors often think that
the Computer Technology Express is passing them by. But on the
third Thursday morning of every month, there's an open invitation
to "Come aboard!" Each meeting will offer opportunities to learn
about hardware, software, and how to use it.--Doris Berry,
Chairperson.
Senior Team Update. At the Senior Tech Expo on January
15th, nineteen seniors attended. They were exposed to such
devices as scanners, closed-circuit TV's, and personal data
assistants. Doris Berry commented, "We were pleased with the
number that came in."
All-Write! "All I know is what I read in the newsletter." We
think this is a cop-out! We hope you will add what you know to
the pages of future newsletters by contributing technology-
related articles. You can join the newsletter team by attending
our bimonthly meetings held on the first Wednesday evening of
every other month. (See DATES TO REMEMBER for specific dates,
and see GO WRITE NOW! for directions on how to submit articles.)-
-Cindy Brown, Editor.
--------
GO WRITE!
There's no time like the present! Procrastination does not
get the job done.
Do you have a favorite software program or favorite piece of
adaptive equipment you'd like to tell others about? Have you
read a good technology-related book or used a helpful tutorial
you'd like to steer others to?
Write about it. We're here to absorb. You don't have to be
a Hemingway or a Danielle Steele. If you feel you're not a great
writer, commit your thoughts (in as coherent a manner as
possible) to a 3.5-in.disk (WP5.1 or ASCII), Braille, or cassette
tape. We'll do our best to help you out. And if you're a great
writer, we want to hear from you too.
The deadline for the next issue is Wednesday, April 1 at
noon. No--this is no April Fool's joke. And be sure you make it
to the attention of Cindy Brown, Blind Service Association,
eleventh floor, 22 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Il 60603.
Our success depends on you.
--------
FYI
National Braille Press offers the following publications for
sale which you're likely to find of interest as you move into the
world of Windows. To order, contact National Braille Press at 88
St. Stephen Street, Boston, Ma 02115; tel: 617-266-6160; toll-
free: 800-548-7323; fax: 617-437-0456; e-mail: [log in to unmask];
www: http://www.nbp.org.
THE TEN-MINUTE GUIDE TO WINDOWS 95 (3 volumes)
$13.99
WINDOWS 95 EXPLAINED (Braille, disk, or tape) $13.00
WINDOWS 95 EXPLAINED: Tactile Diagrams (Braille only) $10.00
WORD 7 FOR WINDOWS 95: KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS (Braille reference
card) $5.00
NBP also offers Braille labels for disks (package containing
102) $10.00.
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," WYCC, Channel 20,
Chicago;
Sundays--4:00 PM, "Computer Chronicles," WYCC, Channel 20 in
Chicago;
Tuesdays--9:00 PM, "Real Computing," WDCB, 90.5-FM, Glen Ellyn;
Fridays--8:30 PM, "Computer Chronicles," WYCC, Channel 20,
Chicago;
Saturdays--10:00 PM, "WGNradio.com," WGN Radio, 720-AM.
If you know of other technology-related shows that are not
included here, please contact Cindy Brown through the voice-mail:
312-458-9006.
--------
DATES TO REMEMBER!
The following events take place at Blind Service
Association, 22 West Monroe Street, Chicago. For updates on the
schedule, feel free to check the voice-mail announcement line:
312-458-9006.
Note: Monthly openhouses for the specific purpose of
orienting new members are no longer on the schedule. Those
interested in joining Digit-Eyes are urged to come a half-hour
early to Saturday seminars, or to stay afterwards to have any
questions answered.
Note 2: The times of Saturdy seminars are moved to a half-
hour earlier.
Sat., March 7, 1998, 9:30-noon--Seminar: Audio On the
Internet; ninth floor; (all are welcome).
Wed., March 11, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae (governing
board) meeting; ninth floor; (all are welcome).
Thurs., March 12, 1998, 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor;
(Internet activities).
Thurs., March 19, 1998, 10:00-noon--Senior Team meeting.
Thurs., March 26, 1998, 6:00-8:00--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor (for beginners).
Wed., April 1, 1998, noon--DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER ARTICLES;
c/o Cindy Brown, Will-Call Drawer, eleventh floor.
Wed., April 1, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM---All-Write meeting; ninth
floor; (for all who want to help out with the newsletter).
Sat., April 4, 1998, 9:30-noon--seminar: topic TBA; ninth
floor; (all are welcome).
Wed., April 8, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae (governing
board) meeting; ninth floor; (all are welcome).
Thurs., April 9, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Lynx Squad; ninth
floor; (Internet activities).
[A
Thurs., April 16, 1998, 10:00-noon--Senior Team meeting;
ninth floor.
Thurs., April 23, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor; (for beginners).
VICUG-L ARCHIVES http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
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