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Approved-By:  Bill McGarry <wtm@SHELDEV.SHEL.ISC-BR.COM>
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Date:         Mon, 13 Apr 1992 16:16:26 EDT
Reply-To:     Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
From:         Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
Subject:      Handicap Digest # 2578
X-To:         LHCAP <l-hcap@VM1.NODAK.EDU>

                          THE HANDICAP DIGEST

                               Issue # 2578

                           Monday, April 13, 1992

Today's Topics:


                                ******

                           Blink Talk Digest # 558

                               embosser sought
                               COBOL Compiler
                        New Braille computer display
                          HELP NEEDED IN NEW JERSEY
                                 Double Talk
                      Re: New Braille computer display
                                 depression
                     Re: modifying walkman for RFB tapes
               Is there an alternative to the Toshiba laptop?
      Question about the Dec-talk phonetic dictionary-need help please


                                ******


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                              Bill McGarry (Moderator)
                              (203) 337-1518



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Subject: embosser sought
From: John.Sanfilippo@p0.f102.n2603.z1.fidonet.org (John Sanfilippo)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:2603/102.0 - The Event Horizon, Bay Ridge NY


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Is there a braille embosser that can do interpoint and 80
collumn landscape?

... Does anyone REALLY read these stupid taglines?

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!2603!102.0!John.Sanfilippo
Internet: John.Sanfilippo@p0.f102.n2603.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: COBOL Compiler
From: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org (David Tanner)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/168 - Braille Bank BBS, Pittsburgh PA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

I am looking for a COBOL compiler that works well with speech, uses
COBOL 84 conventions and disk based documentation, a tutorial would
be helpful also.  If you know of one please get back to me soon as
we are going to have a need to use such a software with a student
in our training program within the next 30 to 60 days.  I am
keeping fingures crossed for a shareware package, but if not then
we will have to do what we have to do.

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!168!David.Tanner
Internet: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: New Braille computer display
From: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org (David Tanner)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/168 - Braille Bank BBS, Pittsburgh PA


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

I would be very happy to hear more about the new display you are
proposing, and would like to be included in any beta testing on
such a display. You may contact me weekdays at (412) 221-2200
evenings (412) 655-0257 or leave mail at my bulletin board at (412)
655-0806.

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!168!David.Tanner
Internet: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: HELP NEEDED IN NEW JERSEY
From: John.Dragona@f583.n520.z1.fidonet.org (John Dragona)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:520/583


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

This is to bring to your attention a matter of discrimination
against blind employees of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind
and Visually Impaired, an agency that receives millions of federal
and state dollars each year.

CBVI employs blind home instructors who teach clients in their
home.  The state of New Jersey assigns to them a vehicle and a
driver five days each week. Starting June 2, 1992, however, the
home instructors will have to use public transportation--which is
not available to two of the agency's six offices--on their office
day EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE PROMISED FIVE-DAY-A-WEEK TRANSPORTATION
WHEN HIRED AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACCEPT THE JOB
OTHERWISE.  In other offices, where public transportation is
available, it is very involved and/or   hazardous.  The drivers, on
the other hand, may take the car home every day and use that
vehicle for FREE transportation to and from their office.  This, in
itself, is discriminatory.

In addition, CBVI provides sighted field workers with state cars
which can be taken to and from their home five days each week, or
they may use a private car and be reimbursed for mileage.
Additionally, the sighted drivers were granted permission to drive
other sighted workers to and from the office in state cars.
Therefore, these sighted employees, too, are being allowed FREE
transportation.

It is only the blind field workers, hence, who are being
discriminated against; for, were they sighted, they would be
provided with a state vehicle or be allowed to use a private car
and be reimbursed for their mileage.  The person responsible for
this discriminatory policy is Jamie Hilton, CBVI's Executive
Director ((201) 648-2324).  She, however, is provided with a state
car and a driver to take her to and from her home five days each
week, while her blind field staff are expected to utilize public
transportation even though it is not always available.  For those
who have no public transportation, despite the fact that it will
have been provided for over forty years (until June 2, 1992), they
will be in jeopardy of losing their job.

Jamie Hilton has been informed that this new policy is in clear
violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.  However, her
personnel manager was reported to have stated: "We don't care about
federal regulations; we're going to do things the way it's done in
the state."  Since this agency is disregarding a federal law that
prohibits the discrimination of people on the basis of handicapping
condition and since the agency receives millions of federal dollars
each year for rehabilitation services, I would appreciate your
assistance in this matter.  I would also appreciate your discussing
with me any arguments you may receive from the administrators at
CBVI so that you may get a complete picture.  If you wish, we can
send you correspondences regarding the efforts we have made to
resolve this problem before contacting you.

If you wish to further discuss this matter with me, I can be
reached at (201) 662-0956.

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." -L.L.

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!520!583!John.Dragona
Internet: John.Dragona@f583.n520.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Double Talk
From: Doug.Parisian@f120.n2320.z1.fidonet.org (Doug Parisian)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:2320/120 - MicroTalk BBS, Louisville KY


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Just to prove that I am almost true to my word, I have provided the
address of RC systems along with telephone number below, also that of
MicroTalk in case you are interested in ttrying out a demo copy of ASAP.

RC Systems Inc.
121 West Winesap Road
Bothell, WA 98012
Phone 1 206 672-6909

MicroTalk
337 S. Peterson
Louisville, KY
Voice Phone 1 502 897-2705
Modem 1 502 893-2269
Fax 502 895-3022

Sorry I forgot the zap code but you just can't find reliable help these
days.  If you or anyone else wishes to talk to me directly, (only God
knows why you would) my address and phone follow:

Doug Parisian
Entering Your Ear Systems
657 Goulding Street
Winnipeg, Mb.
R3G 2S3
Voice phone 1 204 775-1789
Fax Phone 1 204 783-0055

Of course, I do not accept charges for personal calls like I sometimes
do for my business but I'll say no more about that here since the
moderator may see this as advertising which I am sure go against the
grain of this conference and I assure the moderator that, as much as I
would like the opertunity, that is not my intent here.  . I cannot say
how the Litetalk works with other speech programs but it certainly does
perform well with ASAP--they are a pair made for each other.  I
challenge anyone to beat its total conbination articulateness, speed,
compactness, battery life from full charge, ease of long term
istening, and price.  The higher speed is available in new models with
the chip update).  Litetalk is about the size of a 2 pound
block of cheese but nonedible.  RC Systems does not make LiteTalk but
does make the internal DoubleTalk which has the same features.  You can
get both through MicroTalk.  Retail price I believe is $269 for
Doubletalk & $369 for Litetalk.  I have used both Accent and DoubleTalk
expensively and find the latter much easier to listen to over long
periods of time. Remember, we are talking about half the price for
DoubleTalk & Litetalk which, if the government is paying, may not be a
concern for some. Accent responds faster to keystrokes and is quicker
when asked to speak but I haven't found this to be a big issue. I  now
only use my Accent SA when I loan my LiteTalk to someone for demo
purposes (I handle ASAP for microTalk among other
things.)

 * OLX 2.2 * Chicken heads are the chief food of captive alligators.

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!2320!120!Doug.Parisian
Internet: Doug.Parisian@f120.n2320.z1.fidonet.org




------



Subject: Re: New Braille computer display
From: Les.Kriegler@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Les Kriegler)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/207 - The Recovery Room, Rochester NY


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

There certainly needs to be a realistic option regarding
braille displays.For a desktop machine, a 40 character display
is the minimum requirement, and that costs about $7000.  While
an 80 character display is the ideal, as it would match the
normal display in length, who has in excess of $14000 to
spend?  A couple of years ago, I purchased a scanning system,
and I figure that that was my major purchase for quite a
while.  I think you will find considerable support for
alternatives for braille reading of a computer screen.
Regards, Les

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!207!Les.Kriegler
Internet: Les.Kriegler@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org




------



Subject: depression
From: Jeanne.Mcwhorter@f41.n106.z1.fidonet.org (Jeanne Mcwhorter)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:106/41 - Beehive BBS, Houston Tx


[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

My fellow has not worked in about 10 years.  He was being abused by his
wife when I met him and has a minus level of self-esteem.  He is
convinced that he cannot find a job though he speaks several languages
and is higly computer literate.  The worse thing is that he just can't
make himself try anymore.  He tried to start a brailling business, which
I was delighted to help him with, but it got so that I had to initiate
everything concerning it, so I stopped.  I am now unemployed as well and
cannot fight his depression any more.  It has started affecting me as
well.  We also have no ac, even though we pay for it in our rent, and he
is quite large, in both height and size, and so that affects him
terribly, as it does me.
I hate to get personal on what apprears to be a mostly technical echo,
but I'm not sure where else to even ask for answers.  He has such
negative things to say about the council for the blind here and the
lighthouse that I am reluctant to go there.  What types of jobs can
totals do?  He is brilliant and so gets bored real easily if the job is
repititios and when he did work, he felt severely discounted because of
his blindness.  He has been blind all his life but according to friends,
he only got this badly depressed during the last few hyears of his
marriage. I am in school and get my act together soon or flunk out.  I
have worked for too many years to get into grad school.  I cannot loose
it because of all that is going on, so if anyone has any ideas, please
let me know.  He doesn't have a dog anymore since he died a few years
back.  He's only about a year away from a BA but am not sure I can
support him, or want to, for that length of time.  When I got help
financially, I was working my butt off. He just sits around and does
nothing.  He's a brilliant man with a marvelous wit and flair for
languages and medical information, etc. Surely there is something he
could do, right?
Thanks...

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!106!41!Jeanne.Mcwhorter
Internet: Jeanne.Mcwhorter@f41.n106.z1.fidonet.org




------



Subject: Re: modifying walkman for RFB tapes
From: gcampbel@ecst.csuchico.edu (Gary Campbell)
Organization: California State University, Chico

It's not as easy to modify a standard stereo cassette machine to play
NLS tapes as you might think.  Standard stereo cassettes have the left
and right channels on ajoining tracks so that when they are played on a
mono player both channels can be heard, or at least one won't be heard
backward.  NLS format tapes have tracks 1 and 3 going in the same
direction like the reel to reel stereo format.  This means that the
right channel will be backward, as you probably already know if you have
tried listening to a NLS format tape (also used by RFB) on a stereo
cassette machine.  You could cut off the right channel and hear the left
one okay, but you wouldn't be able to get the right one.  You would have
to move the head down when listening to the right channel, or get a head
with the right spacing.

I'm not familiar with the Bookman, but the Handi-cassette from APH is a
nice player/recorder and it cost around $125 when I got mine 4 years ago
I think.

--
Gary Campbell





------



Subject: Is there an alternative to the Toshiba laptop?
From: talmy@rand.org (Shel Talmy)

Is there an alternative to the Toshiba laptop that has been
converted to work with the Accent or Artic synthesizers?  If
possible, I would like the option to select another laptop and
another synth and put them together myself, rather than having to
accept the overpriced Toshiba package.

When speaking to dealers who handle the Toshiba, more often than
not, we buyers are subjected a lot of mumbo jumbo/garbage about
why the Toshiba has to be specially configured which allegedly
justifies the high prices.

I would like to hear from anyone who has something different in
laptops and synths, and how to go about putting them together,
and what difficulties, if any, there are in doing this.

Thanks.





------



Subject: Question about the Dec-talk phonetic dictionary-need help please
From: talmy@rand.org (Shel Talmy)


I would like to talk to anybody familiar with programming the
additional phonetic file to correct the Dec-talk pronunciation.

Although, I have faithfully followed the manual, I still can't
get the Dec-talk to accept words that contain capitals or
numerals.

Example:

1st for first, 2nd for second, etc.
1/2 for one half

Hints towards obtaining this goal will be gratefully received.  I
have tried talking to people at DEC, but gave up after several
shuntings to various departments with no apparent reward.  If
there is somebody at DEC I can speak to, I'll be happy to get
his/her name and take it from there.

Thanks





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                                ******

             End of Issue # 2578 of the Handicap Digest

                                ******
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