We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month's STAE issue.
The Sterling Creations accessibility team, Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison who are our resident business consultants, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
We are especially delighted to have both Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison as part of our magazine staff and as our resident business experts because of their in depth knowledge and expertise as special needs business consultants.Both Jeff and Kerry have written many articles and they released their last hot selling book called "Untapped Wealth Discovered."This book was released in mid August 2005 and it has already begun to fulfill promises of being dynamite, explosive, and seismic and we are very sure that many of you will find it extremely valuable, useful and informative.Both the U.S and British governments have already given their blessing to this book and several business experts have also jumped on the band wagon.Marquis and Harrison are off to a flying start.
We believe in this book because it is unique in that it can help you to get back on your feet if you suddenly find yourself without a job, if you are looking for ways to put money away for your kids' education, or if you need extra income to help you live more comfortably.The beauty about this book is that it is based solely on realities and logic and not on those fool hardy get rich quick schemes and false and empty promises.
Here are just a few quotes from some U.S government officials and experts to peak your interest.
"Block buster material.This book has the potential to change the way we reduce our costs, increase our revenues, expand our customer base, and stay ahead of our competition."
"If you are looking for safe ways to protect the future of you and your kids then you should pick up a copy of Untapped Wealth Discovered."
"Marquis and Harrison have affectively provided their readers with logical and common sense ways to generate and create business ideas that will work because they are based on markets that exist.Moreover these markets are going to be around for a very long time to come."
"This book is meant to help the little guy.It's a book for almost everyone.The woman, the entrepreneur, the small business owner, and even the retiree and the college student."
"If you want to avoid those get rich quick schemes and keep your money safe then Untapped Wealth Discovered is an absolute must read for you."
The second edition of "Untapped Wealth Discovered is scheduled to be released in the early spring of 2006 and these two authors are already booked solid for the next year in promotional appearances across North America, Britain, and Europe.
Mr. Marquis is a motivational speaker and a highly paid consultant to both the U.S and British governments.He has over 20 years of special needs business consulting and is absolutely delighted to be co-authoring "Untapped Wealth Discovered" with Ms Harrison.His time is filled with speaking engagements, consulting, and traveling around the world to help set up new ventures.
Ms Harrison also has over 20 years in the special needs business-consulting field and her expertise is constantly in demand and among other things she works as a consultant to the U.S government, she is a motivational speaker, and she finds time to work on other projects for large corporate clients, small businesses, and even entrepreneurs.
These two are indeed an unbeatable combination and if you'd like them to help you keep up to date with up to the minute news then you should visit www.untappedwealth.com and check out the business desk.There you will find daily postings by Jeff, Kerry, and their fellow consultants and you can view all of this at no charge.
If you are looking for easy ways to keep abreast with news flashes, news from off the wires, and important developments and trends in the business world then the business desk is definitely for you.
Ask the expert
A stand-alone device to access audio content over the web
April 2006
By the Sterling Creations accessibility team
Hello there!This month we would like to publish an article on a device which we feel can potentially make a huge difference in the lives of millions of special needs surfers on a global basis especially the blind and visually impaired.We hope that you are as excited as we are about this device and its great potential to open wide doors.
Stand-Alone Device To Access Audio Content Over The Web
By Peter Verhoeven
www.magnifiers.org, February 22, 2006
A stand-alone device that provides access to selected news and entertainment
audio web content without the need for high IT skills is planned for a
launch later this year by a UK-based assistive technology charity.
The 'SpeakOn', developed by a-technic,
will be about the size of a digital TV set-top box, and plug in to a phone
socket to play its output through any standard speaker, TV or hi- fi. It
will use software developed by a-technic trustee Professor Isaac Porat from
the University of Manchester to present choices of content and download it
automatically from the internet.
Content offered will include DAISY-formatted books, MP3 music files,
internet radio stations, podcasts and other web site content including
online newspapers. Users will not need to access web sites directly, making
the system well-suited for vision-impaired users without high IT skills.
"You won't realise you're going to a web site," said A-Technic founder and
chairman Chris Mairs. "If you select the Guardian web site, under the covers
[content] is whizzed off the internet but users won't know that."
The device will be operated by a simple keypad similar to that of a phone.
Four raised navigation buttons arranged around a moveable nob will allow
users to scroll and select their choice, for example tracks from a music
playlist or articles from an online newspaper.
Subscription deals are still being sought for music download and audio
newspaper content, but once there are in place the device will be released
at a price of no more than 500 pounds, Mairs said.
A bad attitude can hurt both you and/or your future
April 2006
By Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison
Hello everyone!This month we would like to voice our opinion on something that seems to be creeping into the midst of many of our younger generation and it has to do with a seemingly bad attitude when it comes to a committed work ethic.For the past few months we have been receiving several calls and emails from several sources including households, seniors, and parents.It appears that several of our younger generation needs to be given some lessons in such things as commitment, loyalty, and dedication among other things.Whether we choose to face up to it or not a bad attitude can quickly come back to haunt both you and your future aspirations if you're not careful and there's really no need for anyone to have a bad attitude if they are serious enough about wanting to get ahead in their careers.What most college graduates fail to realize is that they need to show their elders that they are serious about wanting to work.Because they are just starting out, they need to work extra hard to prove themselves to both their peers and to those in authority.
It certainly won't do for Mike to convince his mom that he wants to be a support technician and he convinces her to put an ad in the city's newspaper for him and two months later he says that school is his priority and that he is no longer interested in becoming a support technician because he does not have the time.We would like to tell Mike that he needs an attitude adjustment.
In the same light, it is simply not acceptable in the business world for Anna to tell a potential customer that she is not interested in helping her customer because the money is not enough.
These are real examples that we chose from among hundreds of emails and calls to our offices and we wanted to print these because we along with many others are becoming more and more concerned about a lack of commitment on the part of some of our younger job seekers.One of the easiest ways to have your reputation damaged is through the by word of mouth channel.One customer has a bad experience with you and they tell their neighbors and friends and before you know it everyone in your neighborhood knows about you and your lousy attitude and then you are surprised when no one wants to hire you and your services.Our advice to you is to look inward at your attitude and work ethic before you go out there looking for customers and to the parents our message for you is that you need to work harder to ensure that your youngsters are fully aware of what is and what is not acceptable in the business world and what is expected of them when they take that big and all-important step to plunge into the big bad world of trade and commerce.
From the soap box
A way-finder system
April 2006
By Scott Savoy
Hi there!This month I'd like to focus on something that caught my attention a few weeks ago.So many of us complain on a daily basis about how difficult it is to find our way around the cities in which we live and especially so if the city in question is big.But wait a minute!Most of us including me are always having problems finding our way and my kids are constantly telling me that I should either hire a personal guide to help me get around or simply learn my way.I hope that this article inspires others to lobby for similar systems in their own cities because our special needs population can certainly do with this type of system in those very large and busy here in America.
Wayfinder system in Birmingham City Centre for Blind & Partially-Sighted
People
Birmingham City Council, UK, February 11, 2006
Summary A new facility to help blind and visually impaired people navigate
their way around the heart of Birmingham city centre will be launched in
Spring 2006. The 60 Wayfinder units will be installed around the city
centre, providing users with practical audible information, to confirm their
location and assist them to reach their destination safely.
Most units are being installed on existing street furniture to minimise
street clutter and, where no street furniture exists, being fixed into new
purpose built stainless steel posts located at the back of footways. Users
will carry a trigger card to activate the speaker unit when within range.
These triggers will be made available in Birmingham's principal languages.
Details on how and where to obtain the triggers will be available shortly.
The total cost of the Wayfinder scheme is #165,000, #65,000 of which was
recently agreed by Councillor Len Gregory, Cabinet Member for Transportation
& Street Services. Cllr Gregory said; "This is an excellent system,
assisting blind and partially sighted people find their way around
Birmingham city centre. It will help people more easily find transport in
the city, their places of work, shopping venues, public services and visitor
attractions, making Birmingham an even more accessible city".
The city council has worked in partnership with many other agencies on this
project, including The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB),
Birmingham Focus on Blindness, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Queen Alexandra
College, National Federation for the Blind, BBC Birmingham and others. Many
of these organisations have been represented by people with a visual
impairment.
Rob Legge, Chief Executive, Birmingham Focus on Blindness, said; "Sight loss
is a frightening and traumatic experience that affects almost every aspect
of a person's life! Our aim is to help the 30,000 children and adults in
Birmingham who have sight loss to achieve a better quality of life.
Wayfinder goes a long way to achieving this. For people with sight
impairment, travelling around the city independently is a major problem, so
Birmingham Focus is delighted to be working with Birmingham City Council and
others on the Wayfinder project."
Following the launch, the City Council will be encouraging users to give
their views on Wayfinder to enable the system to be fully adapted to their
needs.
Reference Number 8375
Press contact Kathy Williams 0121 303 3764 Issue Date 10 February 2006
Hello everyone!This month I have chosen to sponsor an article that features an exciting new breakthrough re making games more accessible to our blind and visually impaired population.As someone who loves playing computer games as well as board games, this article was easy for me to shine the spotlight on.I hope that more inventions like this are not too far off in the future and I thank Louise Fairfax living in Manchester England for sending this to us.
Rubik's Cube For the Blind
Gizmodo (Weblog), February 20, 2006
This is a new twist on an old game. Why make a new version of a game when
few people can master the original anyway? Regardless, this cube features
six different materials that all have a very unique texture: metal, wood,
textile, stone, rubber and plastic. It can be done like a regular style
rubik's cube or if you really have the cajones you can bust out the
blindfold and really test your skills.
There are six different basic materials involved. They are Metal, wood,
textile, rubber, plastic and stone. Different materials give people
different senses, which thus enabled the blind men to play. And here we
present the very example of this inspiration - The new Rubik Cube.
(Description of Image, from the Yanko Design website)
Image shows a Rubik's Cube, which is a 9 x 9 x 9 cubic rotating puzzle. The
six surfaces of the cube are covered in different materials, and described
as
Wood - Warm
Metal - Cold
Rubber - Soft
Plastic - Hard
Stone - Tough
Textile - W&S
The caption above the cube reads "Touch and Play. Games for blind men with
the aid of material".A Second image shows the puzzle in an unsolved state!
being played by a blindfolded man. (LWG)
The product was released 17th February 2006. Product Link:-
Hey there!This month I have chosen an article on the cost of sending emails in light of the spiraling amount of identity theft, spam, and other related areas of concern.I like this article myself because if the companies mentioned in this article can pull it off other companies may want to follow suit and this technique may really have a chance of curtailing those Internet hackers and thugs.If you like you can give us some feedback on this article because I know how important it is for us to deal with and conquer the problem of identity theft and spam.
Sending e-mails could cost some
Regina Leader-Post, February 6, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two of the world's biggest e-mail account providers,
Yahoo Inc. and America Online, plan to introduce a service that would charge
senders a fee to route their e-mail directly to a user's mailbox without
first passing through junk mail filters, representatives of both companies
said Sunday.
The fees, which would range from 1/4 cent to one cent per e-mail, are the
latest attempts by the companies to weed out unsolicited ads, commonly
called spam, and identity-theft scams. In exchange for paying, e-mail
senders will be guaranteed their messages won't be filtered and will bear a
seal alerting recipients they're legitimate.
Both companies have long filtered e-mail by searching for keywords commonly
contained in spam and fraudulent e-mail. AOL also strips images and web
links from many messages to prevent the display of pornographic pictures and
malicious addresses. Both practices sometimes falsely identify legitimate
messages as junk mail, making life difficult for businesses that rely on e-mail.
"We were hearing not only from members but also e-mail partners that they
wanted a different way of delivering e-mail that would stand out in the
inbox and would guarantee them delivery," said spokesman Nicholas Graham,
adding that AOL, a division of New York-based Time Warner Inc., will start
offering the service in the next two months.
Company spokeswoman Karen Mahon said Sunday Sunnyvale-based Yahoo will begin
offering a similar service in the coming months.
The plan, while it's optional and would apply to only a fraction of people
sending e-mail, amounts to a reversal in the economics of the Internet
because it would charge message senders rather than those receiving them.
The current model has led to the proliferation of spam and so-called
phishing scams because the people perpetuating them can turn a profit even
when only a minority of recipients respond, analysts have said.
AOL and Yahoo said the program, which is being offered through a company
called Goodmail Systems, will target banks, online retailers and other
groups that send large amounts of e-mail. In exchange for a payment and a
pledge to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, the
companies would be ensured their e-mails aren't diverted to spam folders or
have images or web addresses filtered out.
The companies also would receive reports showing how many e-mails were
received successfully. The American Red Cross, the New York Times Co. and
credit report company Experian have signed up with Goodmail to use the
service, Graham said. AOL and Yahoo would get a cut of the fees charged by
Goodmail.
Companies that don't want to pay a fee will be able to send e-mail to Yahoo
and AOL members exactly as they have in the past, Graham and Mahon said.
Advertisements
Professional chess teacher and associates at your service
Are you interested in learning how to play chess?Or how would you like to receive personalized coaching and preparation, practice and tips for those all-important chess tournaments?
It does not matter if you are a beginner, intermediate player, or professional.Kids and adults of all ages and levels are welcome.
Meet Nadia Shiskina!A world-renowned chess teacher with vast experience in the world of chess.Nadia has taught extensively in both Russia and Canada. and she can teach you in person, via the Internet, and even by phone.She can reach you anywhere and everywhere and she and her associates are standing by to help you enjoy the wonderful world of chess.
Nadia has and continues to teach both sighted and non-sighted students as well as persons of special needs.
You can contact Nadia at:nadiachess@hotmail.com
Ice skating coaches now available
If you live in the Toronto area and are looking for ice skating lessons then we have someone for you.
Meet Jan Haney.Jan and her coaches have vast experience teaching kids, adults, and special needs persons.Jan has taught at all levels and she is an accomplished figure skater having skated with the renowned Ice Follies.She and her coaches can also work with power and hockey skaters.
For more information please call Skating Adventures at 416 282-9703.
Notes
If you would like to contribute an article to our magazine then please contact us at:
Comments to the editor can be submitted free of charge.
All submissions are reviewed and you will be notified if yours is chosen.If your submission is chosen we will print it upon receipt of payment.
Are you having difficulty finding qualified translators to translate written documents or audiocassettes?Are you looking for qualified and skilled persons to coach you in the English language?Are you looking for translators to translate your blogs, articles, and newsletters?Are you looking for electronic and audio transcription services?
Then look no further.For all translation and transcription services to and from English, Spanish, French, Cantonese, and Mandarin; please go to www.translationpeople.com and there you will find translation and transcription services to suit your needs.
Are your customers constantly complaining that your website is either too difficult to navigate or access?Are they saying that they have to wait for such a long time when trying to access your website?Or are your cell phone customers unable to access your website with their cell phones because there are just too many icons or graphics?
If you are looking for ways to improve access to your websites, improve the content of your documents, emails, faxes, letters, and proposals, then visit www.sterlingcreations.ca.
If you are looking for skilled and creative writers to help you craft and write your ideas, proof read and edit your documents then visit www.sterlingcreations.ca and go to the ghostwriters' page and then you will find a variety of services that are designed to help you.
If you are looking for new business ideas for yourself, your kids, or even a friend then visit www.untappedwealth.com and there you will be treated to a collection of free ideas and information and you will have an opportunity to purchase either a hard or electronic copy of "Untapped Wealth Discovered" written by Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison.You will also find up to the minute information on the business desk page, a list of very informative articles on some really important strategies on the top business strategies page, plus much more.
