Networking Forum

I use online banking. I can pay bills, write checks, check balances and transfer funds without assistance from a sighted reader. No more waiting for somebody to show up and not paying a bill because the reader cancels. No more wondering who I can trust sufficiently to let have access to my checkbook and records of personal information.

Day to day living will be easier when web sites including banks realize we constitute a large customer base. Target chooses to be sued rather than fix their site so blind shoppers can use it. Yahoo and Amazon have also failed to make their sites truly useable and accessible. Such businesses will lose not only disabled shoppers but their families, friends and coworkers who observe us struggle to buy socks underwear and other things online on a less than well constructed site.

I am legally blind, but I can read print if I can magnify it. I worked for a bank several years back and I really liked the job. However, I had trouble reading their computer monitors. They were really small, like 8 by 8. They told me to hang on for a few months because they were upgrading the computers. I got a larger monitor, but the print was still too small and was white print on a blue background. I have problems with color blindness too so it's best that I read in black and white. Again, I asked for help. My problem kept getting passed off from one person to the next and nothing was done. I was told that there was no software compatible with their system. Now, not too many years later, I have an office job and I use a PC all the time. Zoomtext has been a real blessing for me and I have an employer who did not bat an eye when I asked for it. I have also been able to attend school online through University of Phoenix and DeVry. I will complete my MBA in the Spring of 2008. I could never have done it in a traditional classroom.

To my beloved friends who are blind: I am very much interested in the machines which are able to read payslips and so on but where can I get those machines on which price if possible. If there's a place where I can get free software please tell me about because I have a problem with the current software I am using.

Hello. If I were to choose one piece of adaptive software that has made a difference in my life, that would have to be the newly-released screen reader Non-Visual Desktop Access. This is a free and open-source screen reader which first came out late last year, and has grown to include not only a self-voicing installer but also many other great features. Check it out at http://www.nvda-project.org. Although this is not my default screen reader at home, it is my one and only screen reader at my new job. Although I really like NVDA and it has thus far proved very useful at work, my first choice for a screen reader there was JAWS. The reason for this is that I have used JAWS the longest and am therefore most comfortable with it. However, due to the fact that the licensing policy has changed I went with NVDA. Also, I could not get any type of support from my state VR agency. I would also have to say that my Braille label maker has come in most handy over the years. I recently labeled several things at work with the help of a job coach who is employed by the organization I work at. She and I have some more labeling to do. In general I think my Braille skills have played a vital part in my life over the years.

If I were to pick one piece of adaptive software that has made a difference in my life, it would have to be the free and open-source screen reader Non-Visual Desktop Access. This screen reader only came out at the end of last year, yet it has already grown to include a self-voicing installer as well as many other great features. Although NVDA is not my default screen reader at home, it is my one and only screen reader at my new job. My first choice for a screen reader at work was JAWS, since I have used it the longest and therefore feel most comfortable with it. However, due to a change in policy regarding JAWS licensing, I went with NVDA at work. So far I have installed it on two of the organization's computers with absolutely no trouble. I'd also have to say that my Braille label maker has come in quite handy. Recently I labeled some things at work with the help of a job coach, who is employed by the organization. All three microwaves in my apartment complex, as well as some other things, are labeled in Braille. In general I think my Braille skills over the years have played a vital part in life. In addition, I would have to say that my extensive knowledge of JAWS has allowed me the power to help in the creation of accessible websites. For example, I have been working with a few of this organization's staff to make their website as accessible to everybody as possible. Their website is http://www.independentfutures.com. Undoubtedly it will work with other screen readers too. I think the website is already usable by screen magnification programs but I haven't been able to test it since I only have light perception.