Table of contents 1 Ask the expert Internet security: alternatives to Captchas
2 Business commentary Online time growing in Canadians' daily lives
3 From the soap box Texting takes over talking territory; Average cell user sends, gets more texts than calls
4 The reader’s choice Being blind presents special challenges for shopping in Beijing
5 News and views Same drug, new hope
6 Helpful tips
7 Accessibility news Software makes iTunes accessible to blind
8 Editorial Not Just in Canada
9 Comments to the editor 10 Notes
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month’s STAE issue. The Sterling Creations accessibility team, the Sterling Creations business team, the Sterling Creations research team, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, our readers, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
Donna J Jodhan is the founder and president of Sterling Creations which was founded in 1994. As a blind woman she has had to overcome mountainous challenges in order to get where she is today. She is a very successful business woman, consultant, and author and she continues to help produce daily blogs that contain weekly features on topics of interest and relevance. She is never tired, always willing to help others, and never gives up when it comes to helping others to voice their opinions. As she puts it: "My undying commitment is to ensure that the kids of tomorrow have a more level playing field when it comes to such things as employment opportunities, equal access to the Internet and technology. I think that if I can do my little part to help someone else succeed then in turn they will help others."
We are all very proud to be part of the Sterling Creations team but above all, we are pleased and delighted to have Donna J Jodhan as our leader.
Internet security: alternatives to Captchas February 2009 By the Sterling Creations Accessibility team
Hello there! This month we the Accessibility team would like to present you with an article that talks about alternatives to the CAPTCHA feature. As many may know, it is almost impossible for those without enough vision to interact with this feature and we hope that the following article will help to bring some hope to those many persons who continue to struggle with CAPTCHA. In fact, this feature is often responsible for blind and visually impaired persons not being able to take advantage of websites and it continues to be a thorn in their sides. We hope you find it interesting.
Internet security: alternatives to Captchas
London, (GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE)
By Tim Anderson
"Captcha is the bane of the internet," says Matt Mullenweg, who runs the massively popular blogging site Wordpress.com. "I can't figure them out myself half the time!"
He is referring to those squiggly, distorted images commonly seen when registering for internet services such as free email accounts or blogging sites. The user has to type the letters in the image before proceeding. Captcha stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. The idea is that humans can read the letters, but computers cannot, thus preventing automated scripts from registering.
Websites use Captchas in an attempt to disrupt the spam and malware economy - but they are not working. "Spammers and malware authors are able to break Captcha process," says Carl Leonard, a threat research manager at Websense Security Labs. "As a result, we've seen an increase in the amount of mail sent out from reputable mail services such as Gmail, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, and an increase in the number of blogs that host malicious content, or content that the spammers wish to advertise." Email accounts on such services are particularly valuable because spam filters cannot block them without also blocking genuine mail.
Techniques to break Captcha are nothing new. First, if a human can read an image then the chances are that software can do the same thing. In 2005, a software developer, Casey Chesnut, wrote a Captcha-breaking algorithm and demonstrated it by posting automated comments to nearly 100 blogs to demonstrate their vulnerability (bit.ly/captcha2). In response to this kind of attack, Captcha authors have devised tests that are harder to solve.
Images may be more squiggly than they used to be, making them harder to break but also more troublesome for legitimate users. Other ideas include 3D Captcha, relying on object recognition rather than character recognition (bit.ly/captcha3); or framing questions that are trivial for humans to answer but hard for software to parse. Some approaches work better than others, but there are a number of inherent problems. One is that many Captchas are inaccessible to the visually impaired, and will fall foul of accessibility legislation unless there is an alternative. Another snag is that spammers may play their trump card, using humans.
Human resources:
"Many attackers have found creative ways to entice humans to unknowingly solve the Captchas for them," says Jamie de Guerre, chief technology officer at Cloudmark. "This relay attack involves copying the image served in a Captcha to a user somewhere else, having them solve the Captcha, and then copying their response back to the original website."
Another option is to pay. Spammers have employed large teams of temporary staff to solve Captchas, effectively "rooms of people", usually in a third world country, sitting at a computer and solving Captchas.
"Most Captchas have been completely broken" says Leonard, adding that the problem is getting worse. "We're seeing more Captchas targeted, more Captchas broken. I don't see how the targeting by the malicious authors right now is going to go away. It's still in their interests to get hold of these valued accounts."
Despite these issues, heavily attacked companies such as Microsoft are not abandoning the system. "We are updating our Captcha system to be both more readable for customers but more difficult to break through," a spokesman said. "Improvements include new image distortion logic, overlapping characters and dynamic monitoring capabilities to observe attacks in real time and make necessary adjustments to mitigate them. In addition, we continue to make advances to better prevent spammers from using Hotmail accounts, once created, to successfully send spam."
That is all very well, but the failings of Captcha impact every internet user. It is not only a matter of more spam choking inboxes. Breaking Captcha enables networks of computers to post malicious content to legitimate sites. "The huge increase in numbers of legitimate sites affected radically changes traditional trust relationships on the web," says Pete Simpson, the ThreatLab manager at ClearSwift. "Steering clear of dubious sites has always been sound advice, but steering clear of legitimate sites is not an option."
What can replace Captcha? "There's probably going to have to be some kind of layered security," says Leonard, "It's up to the industry sectors which and how many layers of security they wish to employ, dependent on what sort of site they have."
Layered security means adding human or third-party checks to actions like registration, and then monitoring content later to check for malicious use.
The trade-off is that as security increases, usability decreases. Heavy-handed security can easily kill the conversation on social networking sites which depend on making it easy for new users to engage with the community.
Safety net:
In the end, it is just another angle on the woeful security that characterises today's internet. New authentication schemes such as OpenID, or Microsoft's CardSpace, may help as adoption increases. These systems make it possible to register for one site using credentials verified by another. Instead of having many sites with poor verification procedures, the internet could have a few sites with strong verification procedures, that are then used by others. The advantage for the user is that they no longer have to jump through multiple hoops for each new site they encounter. Such a system depends on receiving sites being selective about which third parties they trust to verify a user's identity. That said, the internet is a long way from adopting this level of security, and there is always a danger that whatever steps the industry takes to improve authentication, the scammers will keep up with innovations of their own.
Mullenweg's answer is to focus on the content rather than the user. His Akismet system for preventing spam comments relies on a combination of secret algorithms and community reports, and has proved remarkably effective.
"Ultimately Captchas are useless for spam because they're designed to tell you if someone is 'human' or not, but not whether something is spam or not. Just because something came from a real human being doesn't mean it isn't spam, which is why content-based solutions like Akismet are the only long-term solution to the spam problem."
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Online time growing in Canadians' daily lives February 2009 By the Sterling Creations Business team
Hello! We hope that everyone is enjoying the wintry season and all that it has to offer in the line of freshness, and robust sporting events. This month we have chosen an article that can easily be applied to any developed country in the West. This article focuses attention on Canada and we fear that there is a growing concern over too much time being spent online. From the youngest to the oldest, it appears that online time may be threatening to take over our lives and this may not be such a good thing. Please read our selection this month.
Online time growing in Canadians' daily lives; Yet people still loyal to traditional media, likely finding less time for outings, socializing
Chris Sorensen The Toronto Star
Techno-savvy Canadians are spending an increasing amount of their time online, but not necessarily at the expense of watching television, reading newspapers or other forms of so-called "traditional media."
That was among the findings of a wide-ranging survey on Internet usage in Canada released yesterday by the Canadian Internet Project, a research consortium funded by both government and private sector partners.
While the study found that Canadians are increasingly living in a Web- centric world, it failed to find a link between a 10 per cent decline in people's consumption of traditional media sources - namely television - between 2007 and 2004 and a simultaneous 30 per cent increase in time spent in front of a computer screen.
Instead, the national survey of over 3,000 people conducted last year found that consumption of traditional media has fallen more or less equally among Internet users and non-users since the project collected data in 2004.
"That indicates to us that the Internet isn't necessarily displacing traditional media, as is the widely held belief," said Charles Zamaria, the study's principal investigator and a professor at Ryerson University.
"Newspapers aren't going away and neither is television."
While time spent with traditional media is slowly decreasing across the board, due in part to the emergence of a "multi-channel universe," Zamaria argued that the Internet's role has so far been to supplement traditional media sources.
"That's a very outstanding part of our study that isn't seen in other studies."
The pattern holds true even for younger Internet users, Zamaria said.
Overall, Canadians on average devoted 45 hours a week last year to traditional media, down from about 50 hours three years ago. Meanwhile, they averaged 17 hours a week online, up from 13 hours in 2004 - in part due to an increase in broadband availability.
A similar trend was observed three years ago when the project's report on the 2004 survey was published. As one might expect, the latest study found that younger Canadians were more likely to turn to their PCs for information and entertainment whereas traditional media consumption was higher among older people.
Zamaria said another key finding in the new study was that Canadians are increasingly viewing the Internet as a place to spend their time, as opposed to a tool to locate information and entertainment - a shift he attributed in part to communication tools such as email and instant messaging, as well as the rising popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook.
"People feel a sense of belonging just by being online," he said. "This is a place that people like to visit."
However, some technology observers don't believe a peaceful co-existence between new and old media is sustainable.
Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting for AR Communications Inc. in Toronto, argues that Canadians have so far managed to squeeze in more Internet time without impacting their old media habits but at the expense of other activities.
As well, he credits laptops and wireless hand-held devices such as the iPhone for allowing people to increase their online time without disrupting their normal schedules.
However, he predicted people's online lives will grow to the point that they run out of hours in the day, forcing them to make choices.
Advances in technology could also hasten the shift.
"The Internet can't replace television infrastructure today," argued Levy. "Watching TV on the Internet remains a much less vibrant experience than watching TV on a television. But that's just a technological challenge."
From the soap box
Texting takes over talking territory; Average cell user sends, gets more texts than calls February 2009 By Scott Savoy
Well! For this month I am going to follow in the footsteps of our Business team by sharing another article with you from a Canadian source and in like manner I am going to stress here that this article can easily be applied to any other country that is a heavy user of cell phones. This article is very insightful and I hope you find it interesting. Have a great February.
Texting takes over talking territory; Average cell user sends, gets more texts than calls
Misty Harris Ottawa Citizen
The good news is that modern kids no longer have phones attached to their ears. The bad news is it's because the ubiquitous devices are instead attached to their thumbs.
According to a new study, the average cellphone subscriber sends and receives more text messages than actual voice calls -- 357 compared with 204, respectively. The numbers among youth 13 to 17 are especially astonishing: 1,742 monthly texts compared with 231 phone calls during the second quarter of 2008.
The Nielsen Mobile report examines the billing activity of more than 50,000 Americans.
And though there's no parallel data in Canada, where analysts track minutes used instead of calls made, it's nonetheless clear Canadians are swept up in the textual revolution.
Indeed, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association will announce this week that short message service (SMS) messages are on course to reach 20 billion by year's end, double the total of 2007, with nearly nine billion having been sent in the first six months of 2008 alone.
"One of the big attractions of having a cellphone is that you're able to connect with people -- and texting is an instant form of that," says association communications director Marc Choma. "If there's something you want to say or something you need, you can send out a message in seconds."
A Canadian expert on information and media, however, wonders if all this connectivity is actually disconnecting people from real interaction.
"Few things are more worrisome to me than seeing two people facing each other in a restaurant, both on their cellphones texting -- presumably not with each other," says Tim Blackmore, an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario.
The fact that Canadians send 54.1 million texts a day is, according to Mr. Blackmore, partly about a need to control the conversation and partly about dodging difficult or time-consuming situations that might otherwise be endured in a voice exchange.
"I think it's a cultural avoidance of that which is difficult," he says.
For Ryan Holmquist, whose last cellphone bill clocked about 3,000 texts and 560 talking minutes, text appeal is equal parts expediency and amusement.
"Talking is nice, but sometimes you just don't have the time," says Mr. Holmquist, a 29-year-old purchaser from Vancouver. "You can get the point across a lot faster by sending a text."
For Mr. Holmquist, "there's pretty much no sacred place" when it comes to texting, which he does at the movies, while driving, having dinner with friends or family, and hanging around the house.
"My wife threatens to throw my phone out the window every once in a while," he says. "But I've been raised in the digital age ... 22 years playing with electronics, it's just one of those things that's now socially acceptable."
CrimeStoppers this year launched a program in which people can send anonymous tips via text from almost any urban centre in the country.
Britney Spears is thought to have ended her marriage to Kevin Federline with a text. And in an increasing number of provinces and states, texting while operating a motor vehicle has become so prevalent -- and potentially hazardous -- that using a handheld cellphone while driving has been outlawed.
Carla Guzzi, a 17-year-old student from Winnipeg, admits she has almost rear-ended fellow drivers as a result of her "24/7" texting.
She prefers the medium to talking because it doesn't suck up her airtime and allows her to speak her mind or cancel plans at the last minute with minimal explanation.
"You're not really talking to them," she explains. "So it's easier to say things through a text than on the phone."
The reader’s choice
Being blind presents special challenges for shopping in Beijing February 2009 Contributed by Dena Kennedy of Toronto Canada
This month we would like to Thank Dena Kennedy for her contribution. We chose this article because of its relevance to accessibility in large cities. Thank you Dena.
Being blind presents special challenges for shopping in Beijing
The Canadian Press, September 15, 2008
BEIJING - She had barely walked through the door before a person collided with her.
At first the woman gave Victoria Nolan an irritated look. She then noticed Nolan's white cane. Confusion soon turned to embarrassment and, after a quickly whispered apology, the woman hurried away.
For Nolan, a Toronto mother of two who has about three per-cent vision, the incident could have happened in any shopping mall in Canada. The fact it occurred in the frenzy of Beijing's Silk Market though made it different.
"I feel it worse in Toronto sometimes," said Nolan, 33, a member of the Canadian mixed coxed four rowing team which finished sixth at the Paralympic Games. "It's frustrating to get jostled around but I don't feel claustrophobic."
Nolan suffers from a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa. She has lost much of her peripheral vision and has limited sight for objects directly in front of her.
Besides being a mother, an athlete and a special education teacher, Nolan has taken on an advocacy role for people with disabilities. She successfully took a Toronto cab driver to court for refusing to allow her guide dog Angus into his taxi. She also has filed a suit against three hotels in Miami over their refusal to allow Angus into their rooms.
Nolan agreed to spend an afternoon shopping in Beijing with The Canadian Press to talk about accessibility issues in China and Canada.
Navigating a crowded Beijing sidewalk can be like running an obstacle course at the best of times. Try closing your eyes and walking through the crowd.
"With the crowds here it is really difficult," said Nolan. "If things are constant I can figure my way around. When things are moving, it's difficult. You constantly have people walking in front of you, jostling you.
"It's tough to concentrate and figure out where you are walking. In Toronto, people generally stay on the right and walk in straight lines. Here, it seems they are walking in every direction, crossing in front of you quickly."
The Silk Market is a warren of shops selling everything from electronics to watches, clothes and sporting goods. Many of the items are knockoffs, the aisles are crowded and the sales people aggressive.
Think of going to Future Shop on Boxing Day morning.
Nolan slowly walked down the aisles, her cane sweeping in front of her. She stopped at several stalls to inspect the goods. She asked staff about the colour of some clothes.
"It's organized and straight," she said. "It's in a grid.
"A flee market in Toronto, everyone would be crowded at a table. It's hard to get in. Here, everyone keeps moving. There is a traffic flow."
When haggling over the price of an item, the salesperson typed her first price on a calculator. The numbers were too small for Nolan to read, but staff quickly found another calculator with much larger numerals.
The salespeople in other booths seemed intrigued to see Nolan navigating alone. They whispered questions to the reporter accompanying her, asking if the lady really couldn't see.
Nolan laughed when told about the stares she was getting.
"I don't see it," she shrugged. "It only bothers me if they touch me or start pulling my cane."
Most Chinese understand the significance of the white cane but are confused how to help a person holding one, Nolan said. She recently took a cab to a local hotel to visit her mother and sister.
"The doorman picked up the end of my cane and started pulling me through the door," she said. "I was so scared. I didn't know what the ground was like or anything and he was pulling me really fast."
Angus, a huge three-year-old German shepherd, made the trip to Beijing. The pair soon became celebrities.
Only six people in mainland China have guide dogs. Angus's size made him even more of a curiosity. At the athletes village and the competition venue crowds would quickly gather, taking pictures and trying to pet Angus.
"I tried to communicate with people that they shouldn't distract him or touch him," said Nolan, who was forced to leave Angus in her room for shopping trips. "I don't know if they don't understand or chose to ignore me."
While Beijing has presented challenges for Nolan, she also faces many accessibility issues in Canada.
"We still have a long way to go in Canada," she said. "I've had many experiences, especially with my guide dog, where I've been turned out of buildings. It's simple things like going into a restaurant and not being able to get a menu that is in large print."
Some Toronto buildings have wheelchair ramps that are too steep or positioned to near a wall, Nolan said. Some washrooms have wheelchair accessible stalls that the door won't close when a person enters.
"To able-bodied people it appears we've come a long way and we're really accessible, when in fact, we are not," she said.
Nolan became involved in rowing following the birth of her second child. She was battling depression after her vision had decreased even more and wanted to do something active.
She quickly fell in love with the freedom the sport offered.
"I feel safe," she said. "You can move really fast and it's really physically exhilarating. You don't have to worry about falling or bumping into anything."
Coming to the Paralympics has introduced Nolan to athletes with many other disabilities and the challenges they face.
It also has served another goal.
"I wanted my kids to be proud of me," she said. "I knew another mom who had RP and she was saying her son was embarrassed when she comes to pick him up at school.
"That really upset me. I thought I wanted to do something so they can say my mom is blind but. I didn't expect it to go this big. It's been amazing."
News and views
Same drug, new hope; February 2009 By Christian Robicheau
Hello all! Seems as if this month's magazine is just filled with Canadian-based articles. For my contribution I have chosen an article that can bring hope and relief to millions of diabetics globally. I hope you find it of interest. Have a terrific February.
Same drug, new hope; Study finds injections can be cut from twice a day to once a week and work even better
Paola Loriggio The Toronto Star
A stronger, once-a-week injection of an existing diabetes drug seems to lower blood sugar better and with fewer side effects than the original twice- daily dose, making it much easier for patients to stick to their treatment plan, according to a study released today.
The drug, exenatide, would be the first weekly treatment for Type 2 diabetes, with other drugs requiring up to three daily injections or tablets. The current formula is administered twice a day, and was approved in the U.S. under the Byetta brand three years ago. Neither version is available in Canada.
"This is among the more potent therapies developed to date," lead author Dr. Daniel Drucker, from Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, wrote in an email. "Seventy-five per cent of patients achieve their glucose targets," in comparison to about 60 per cent on the twice-daily shot.
The results were published today in the journal The Lancet as the team prepared to present the next phase of the study in Rome. "The most exciting thing to me is that (the new formulation) is so forgiving," said Dr. John B. Buse of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, one of the study's co-authors.
Treatment for diabetes currently involves frequent and scheduled medication, something that "really pushes the envelope of what people are willing and able to do," particularly when it comes to repeated injections, he said.
Though the new exenatide should be taken weekly, "even if it's taken on the eighth or ninth day, nothing (bad) would happen."
The drug also causes some weight loss - about 3.5 kilograms in six months - but there was no significant difference between the two formulations in terms of results. Most diabetes drugs cause weight gain, which can exacerbate the disease.
Buse said the companies behind exenatide, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company, planned to submit the new version to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration early next year, which means it could hit the shelves by late 2009.
The two companies funded and helped design the study.
Diabetes experts not involved in the research seemed cautiously optimistic about the findings.
Dr. David Nathan, director of the diabetes centre at Massachusetts General Hospital, suggested a once-a-week formula has both pros and cons. The thought of 13 fewer shots a week would appeal to many patients - but medication taken weekly is easier to forget.
"When you do something once a day, it becomes a habit," he said, in reference to insulin, another type of therapy that requires daily injections.
Both the twice-daily and weekly formulations of exenatide can trigger nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in a portion of patients. In the study, 26.4 per cent of people on the weekly treatment and 34.5 per cent of people on the twice-daily dose reported nausea.
There may be another, more serious side effect as well. The FDA has received six complaints of pancreatitis in people using the twice-daily version.
In the study, 259 patients were randomly assigned to receive one or the other version of the drug over 30 weeks.
In the end, the A1C readings for those on the new, once-a-week formulation had dropped by 1.9 units, compared to 1.5 for those taking two daily shots. A1C is a measure of glucose stuck to red blood cells, and the test used to judge whether a patient's blood sugar is under control.
Helpful tips
February 2009 By the Sterling Creations Research team
Happy February to you out there! Cold enough for you? Or maybe a bit too cold? Well, we are here to give you our usual package of helpful tips. Have a great February.
Helpful tips for February:
Hey! Do you know what you can use to get rid of those annoying sunspots? Vinegar of course! Use a few drops of vinegar two or three times daily. Sap your sunspots with this very healing liquid.
What exactly is corn beef? Corn beef is beef gristle that is ground up and pickled. Yummy! Yummy!
Want to know a bit more about measles? First off, measles is not as dangerous an affliction as it used to be. One can obtain vaccinations for it. Common symptoms include: inflamed eyes, white spots in the mouth, and a rash.
What are the top six most common body pains, which you should pay attention to? Abdominal, mouth, chest, legs, back, and head.
What are the top two most common afflictions for kids these days? Yes, the common cold and what else? You guessed it! Head lice.
Did you know that tooth decay is contagious? Yes indeed! According to the Dental Health experts, it is. Just the simple action of sharing spoons with someone who has tooth decay can be dangerous for you.
Where can you find the smallest bone in your body? Is it in your foot, your ear, or your jaw? The smallest bone can be found in your ear. There are three very tiny bones in your ear that is responsible for sound.
What you ought to know about tattoos! Tattoos can cause meningitis when it comes to either going through the process of getting one or removing one.
What can yellow fingernails mean? If you find yourself with yellow colored fingernails, it could mean that you are suffering from breathing problems.
Having problems keeping your breadcrumbs fresh and for a long time? Try storing it in the freezer. It works.
Is honey better than white sugar for your health? Yes indeed! Honey is sweeter but never mind. It is healthier for you.
Can you guess how many times a night does one dream on average? You guessed it! Three to five times nightly and they occur during REM or rapid eye movement sessions.
What is one of the most effective remedies for a sore throat? Yes, a pinch of salt in a small glass of warm water. Gargle with this mixture regularly until the sore throat is gone.
Which of the two keeps your hands warmer: Gloves or mitts? You got it! Mitts. Why you may ask? When you wear gloves your fingers are separated from each other. When you wear mitts your fingers are together. So, with your fingers being closer together in a pair of mitts, this makes from warmer and toastier fingers.
Accessibility news
Software makes iTunes accessible to blind February 2009 By the Sterling Creations Research team
Hello again! We're back for our second contribution and this time we bring you wonderful news! For those of you who are just dying to become users of ITunes! The following article may be old news for some of you but we hope that it is new news for many. We are just so excited to be bringing you this.
Software makes iTunes accessible to blind By Christine McConville Saturday, September 27, 2008:
Jim Denham, the assistive technology coordinator at the Perkins School for the Blind, is looking forward to spending this rainy weekend, at home, on his computer.
Thanks to a technological advance, Denham, who is blind, can sit at home by himself and browse among the thousands of audio books, podcasts and albums digitally stored on Apple's iTunes.
"There's a podcast out there that identifies different bird calls, and I really want to check that out," he said yesterday, during a break from teaching two Perkins students how to use the new software. Click here to find out more!
The breakthrough was announced yesterday at Perkins, a storied school in Watertown.
The new software - which transforms the written information on an iTunes-linked computer screen into speech or Braille - stemmed from an agreement between Apple, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company, the National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
"It is a great day for Massachusetts," said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind. "Blind people will be better off and have access to better education."
According to Coakley, blind rights activists noticed that blind people couldn't independently access iTunes or iTunes U, an online program that allows students at some universities to connect to course lectures and lab demonstrations.
"We want to make sure that everybody, including people with disabilities, have the opportunity to access this cultural and educational information," Perkins School for the Blind President Steven Rothstein said.
The groups worked out an agreement with Apple that led to development of the new software, and a $250,000 donation to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, which will be used to purchase some of the new software.
Editorial
Not just in Canada February 2009 By Donna J Jodhan
Not Just in Canada
Hello there! Today I would like to ramble a bit on our need to keep on fighting the good fight.
On December 03 2008as I along with many others celebrated the International Day for the disabled, I had to marvel at the same theme that kept coming through as speakers around the globe and indeed in our beloved country spoke. A few years ago, the United Nations designated December 03 as the International Day for the disabled and since then this day has become part of our box of things to remember on an annual basis. I along with hundreds of others gathered at a well-known hall in Toronto to celebrate and for me it was the first time that I had done so. While the cold Canadian winter had fun outside, others inside listened and agreed as consecutive speakers reiterated similar messages. Several thoughts raced across my mind as I listened attentively and at the end of it all I came away with renewed energy and a recommitment to follow my belief to keep on fighting the good fight.
It does not matter if we live in Canada, the United States, some far off land in Europe, Africa, or Asia, some sunny spot in the Caribbean, or anywhere else; we need to keep on fighting the good fight. It does not matter if the stocks on Bay Street or on other stock exchanges around the world go up or down; we must continue to fight the good fight. It does not matter what the outcome of our present political crisis here in Canada turns out to be, or what newly elected American president Obama promises for the future; we have no choice but to continue to fight the good fight. In short, as special needs persons around the world, we owe it to both ourselves and to the children of the future to keep on fighting the good fight.
Many individuals choose to fight with their fists and feet but the type of fight that I am referring to here, is one of example. A fight where we use our soft weapons to do the job. To fight through example, through actions, and through words and deeds. We are here today because others before us made the decision to fight for a better future for us and in turn we need to do the same for others. We would probably not be around to reap the fruits of our hard labour, but that's okay. Those before us are in the same boat. A thankless job you ask? Not at all! If I can indulge you to cast your minds back to about 20 years ago.
Around 1986 when the world was yet to discover the joys and wonders of the Internet, when blind and visually impaired persons were still using the earliest versions of screen reading technology, and when almost everyone was practically dying for some big breakthrough to take place. Since then many breakthroughs have taken place but for Canada and the rest of the world, there are some very daunting statistics that continue to haunt special needs persons and these are: Over 80% of persons with disabilities continue to be unemployed. Over 70% of persons with disabilities in Canada continue to live below the poverty line, not much better for the rest of the world. Blind and visually impaired persons still have the greatest number of unemployment in their midst.
These statistics continue to haunt us despite the many improvements and breakthroughs that have taken place over the years and if we are serious about wanting to be conduits of change then we will take this time to recharge our batteries and refocus ourselves. We need to think of it like this: Commitment, continuance, and creation. As I see it, we really do not have much of a choice. If we are really serious about wanting to improve our lives and those of others, then we will take the personal oath to commit, continue, and create. If we choose to do nothing then there goes our chance to do something great for others.
Strength lies in numbers and we can use our constructive efforts to put our stamp on the future of fellow disabled persons. We don't necessarily have to go out there expecting to do it all at once. Instead, we first need to change our expectations and then start tackling the tasks at hand in small well defined steps. We need to concentrate on breaking down the attitude, physical, and technological barriers. We need to spend time developing ways to create awareness both on and off the Internet. However, before we can even think of starting off on this path there is something very important that we need to do and this is: We need to believe in ourselves.
If we believe in ourselves then what I am saying will come more easily but if we do not then the task will become very difficult. I know it is very easy to give up and give in, but trust me when I tell you that standing up is a lot more rewarding. There are days when I myself flirt with the temptation to give up and give in but then I think of my brother Robert who succumbed to cancer in 2007. When he discovered that he had cancer he told us that he would fight to the end. He never complained; he fought the good fight and his very last words to his wife and doctors as he slipped away were: "Somebody do something." These words will forever linger in my mind.
Your time is now! Either put up or shut up! Two very well defined paths from which to choose. Not just in Canada, but an opportunity that stretches well beyond the borders of your homeland where ever you are.
Comments to the editor
February 2009 From the desk of the editor
Hello there! Here are this month's contributions.
From Tim Christopherson of London England: I agree with last month's editorial. We need more video games for seniors, aging boomers, and for those with disabilities. This could be a very niche market for those interested.
From Ryan Cresthaven of New York: I wonder out loud how this recession or whatever you wish to call is going to affect those on fixed incomes? Like the disabled?
From Ron Sallinger of New Jersey: Can this magazine please start printing more exciting and interesting articles? Boring! Very boring indeed!
From Lidia Garfield of Montana: Donna, congrats on your new blog or not so new blog. I like your weekly feature. Keep up the great work. You are an inspiration for so many others.
From Vijay Rampaul of Bombay India: Like your editorials and your newsy articles.
From Francine Henderson of Beverley Hills California: Can you tell me where I can purchase one of those new portable braillers? Much appreciated.
From Rick Canning of Ottawa Canada: The article from ask the experts in your January issue was great. Maybe the Americans can borrow a leaf from us you think? Ha! Ha!
If you have something to say, an opinion to express, or anything that you wish to share with the rest of the world, then please send it on to info@sterlingcreations.ca. Comments to the editor are yours and yours alone. All comments are reviewed to ensure appropriate language.
Notes
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