The National Federation of the Blind settled its nearly six-month old
lawsuit today with Diebold, one of America's largest ATM
manufacturers.  The agreement forges the first partnership between an atm
manufacturer and the blind.  the partnership may include work to develop a
better access solution than the one currently used.  Eventually, all
Diebold atm's will need to receive a "seal of approval" issued by the
NFB.  There is no word yet what this approval seal would include, what
standard would be employed, or who would determine what access was.  I'm
sure we will learn more in the upcoming weeks or months.  Below is the
press release from Diebold.

kelly



Wednesday November 1, 9:02 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Diebold, Incorporated
Diebold and NFB Partner to Develop Next Generation Voice-Guided ATMs
BALTIMORE, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD - news),
the nation's leading manufacturer of automated teller machines (ATMs) and
the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), today announced plans to
develop a cost-effective voice-guided ATM that can be readily accessed by
the blind without assistance from sighted persons.

Walden W. O'Dell, chairman, president and CEO at Diebold, and NFB President
Marc Maurer said the two organizations will work together to develop a
cost-effective and easy way to upgrade and simplify Diebold's existing
voice-guidance capabilities. Initial plans call for improving Diebold's
widely used CSP 200, designed specifically for retail use. The improved
model will incorporate an affordable design that permits easy, non-visual
access and requires no additional computer programming by the retail
customer or the ATM network.

``While many ATMs have Braille instructions on keypads and labels, not all
blind people can read Braille,'' noted Maurer. ``Moreover, Braille keypads
and labels are static. They don't provide accessible and independently
usable, sequential computer screen instructions to guide a blind customer
through a complex bank transaction. As a result, blind customers currently
have little choice but to rely on others to bank for them.''

He continued, ``We applaud Diebold for working with NFB to develop
affordable voice-guidance systems for its ATMs that make them easier to
operate and fully accessible to the blind community.''

Diebold's voice-guided ATMs work with a standard headset -- owned by many
people within the visually impaired community -- that can be plugged into
the ATM to receive voice instructions in complete privacy. The CSP 200 will
offer blind customers total access to the same banking functions available
to sighted customers, including cash withdrawals, balance inquiries and
account transfers.

NFB and Diebold will promote the improved ATMs to NFB members via postal
mailings. Diebold will also introduce NFB to industry associations in which
Diebold is actively involved. Further, the two organizations will develop a
new Web site promoting the locations of voice-guided ATMs and the
technologies used to upgrade them.

``NFB has long been actively involved in promoting adaptive technologies
which allow the blind to live and work independently in today's technology-
driven world,'' O'Dell said. ``Diebold is proud to be a part of that effort
and trust that we can make a meaningful contribution to NFB's work.''

Over the next five years, Diebold will contribute $1 million toward the
construction of NFB's National Research & Training Institute for the Blind.
Diebold also will install and operate a voice-guided ATM at the
organization's National Headquarters.

``This contribution recognizes the outstanding work of NFB on behalf of the
blind community, and reflects our commitment to work with them to assure
our ATMs are easily accessible to the visually impaired,'' said O'Dell.

Diebold will replace the current generation CSP 200 units, located in Rite
Aid stores in Washington, D.C., with another model ATM equipped with
currently available voice-guidance capabilities. The Disability Rights
Council of Greater Washington will evaluate these District of
Columbia-based machines and provide input regarding performance.

Once testing on the CSP 200 is complete, Diebold and NFB will cooperate to
adapt that voice-guidance technology to Diebold's entire family of ATM
models distributed in the United States.

Every improved ATM manufactured and sold by Diebold will receive NFB's Seal
of Approval. As the only ATM manufacturer authorized to use the NFB Seal of
Approval on its voice-guided units, Diebold will proudly display the seal
in its promotional materials.

Diebold will promote and market this effort to create broad public
awareness and understanding of the advantages of its ATM voice-guidance
capabilities. The company has also established certain sales targets for
the newly designed features, and will implement its ATM voice-guidance
technology wherever it owns and operates ATMs.

NFB's national headquarters is home to the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind. The center, which houses more than $2
million worth of hardware and software designed specifically for the blind,
is the world's most extensive demonstration and evaluation center for
computer-related technology serving the needs of the blind. For more
information, visit the organization's Web site at www.nfb.org .

The Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington (DRC) is the pre-
eminent advocacy organization for people with disabilities in the
Washington community. The organization addresses systemic discrimination
against people with disabilities in every aspect of society. For more
information, call the DRC at 202-234-7550

Diebold, Incorporated is a global leader in providing integrated self-
service delivery systems and services. Diebold employs more than 11,000
associates with representation in more than 80 countries worldwide and
headquarters in Canton, Ohio, USA. Diebold reported revenue of $1.3 billion
in 1999 and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol 'DBD.' For more information, visit the company's Web site at
www.diebold.com .

SOURCE: Diebold, Incorporated


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