--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: E5X00013Date: 05/27/97 From: ANDY BARACCO Time: 09:49pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: security alert From: Andy Baracco Subject: Re: security alert Another approach is to use a folding or telescopic cane. Then you can sit anywhere. Personally, when I travel alone, I prefer an aisle seat because it is easier to communicate with the flight attendants. Andy Baracco On 19 May 1997, Mike Freeman wrote: > > > In an epistle to All dated 21 Apr 97 20:38, Matthew Roberts writes: > > MR> I only took a straight on a plane once > MR> and I was advised to get a window > MR> seat. Is it better than getting an isle seat? > > Only in that if you put your cane next to the fuselage between the > fuselage and the window seat, you don't have to crawl over the > person sitting in the window seat to do this. I generally order a > window seat for this reason. But it isn't absolutely necessary if > you have a cooperative person occupying the window seat. > > Mike Freeman; Internet: mikef@pacifier.com; Amateur Radio Callsign: K7UIJ > President, National Federation of the Blind of Washington > /* PGP2.6.2 Public Key available via my ".plan" file */ > ... 0x20 -- the final frontier. > ___ PCRR QWK 1.60 > > --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: E5Y00000Date: 05/28/97 From: MIKE FREEMAN Time: 10:37am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Maybe this time (fwd) From: Mike Freeman Subject: Maybe this time (fwd) I received the following message and have permission to forward it to the list. Let's hope we have a chapter organizing/reorganizing soon and that it is crowned with success. Forwarded message: >From chief@dodo.crown.net Tue May 27 16:47:16 1997 Message-Id: <199705272345.SAA10020@dodo.crown.net> Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Melvin Lumbardy" To: mikef@pacifier.com Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 18:44:16 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Maybe this time Return-receipt-to: "Melvin Lumbardy" Priority: normal X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.40) Dear Mike, I did see the letter that you posted to the listers regarding my letter. I want you to know that I have drafted a letter and did send it off to a lady here in Indiana who has been elected part of our states chapter development committee. She is very willing to help. And she will pass along my letter to Indiana state pres. VP and state secretary. I did tell them basically there was a lack of communication between chapters and state officials. perhaps I was too critical of the Nat headquarters when I didn't have all the information I needed to make decisions. Perhaps I was too critical of the Indiana state officials as well, if so I apologize. We the local chapter did try to get something accomplished but the lack of information and help was not there. Most of us were new to the NFB and did not have any role models to ask questions and get answers. A lot can be learned from the Braille Monitor but a person always needs more. I appreciate any help you or anyone else cares to offer. Thanks again, Deb Lumbardy P.s. you can forward this to the list if you want. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: E5Y00001Date: 05/28/97 From: EARLENE HUGHES Time: 02:43pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Maybe this time (fwd) From: Earlene Hughes Subject: Re: Maybe this time (fwd) Hello all, Just to clarify one point, the members who serve on the Chapter development committee here in Indiana were not elected, we were appointed to serve on the committee by state President Ron Brown. I have not been elected to office here in Indiana. I hope that my next message to the list can read in part that "we will be meeting with interested persons from Porter County to organize a new apter". Earlene Hughes At 08:37 AM 5/28/97 -0700, you wrote: > > >I received the following message and have permission to forward it to the >list. Let's hope we have a chapter organizing/reorganizing soon and that >it is crowned with success. > >Forwarded message: >>From chief@dodo.crown.net Tue May 27 16:47:16 1997 >Message-Id: <199705272345.SAA10020@dodo.crown.net> >Comments: Authenticated sender is >From: "Melvin Lumbardy" >To: mikef@pacifier.com >Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 18:44:16 +0000 >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: Maybe this time >Return-receipt-to: "Melvin Lumbardy" >Priority: normal >X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.40) > >Dear Mike, >I did see the letter that you posted to the listers regarding my >letter. I want you to know that I have drafted a letter and did send >it off to a lady here in Indiana who has been elected part of our >states >chapter development committee. She is very willing to help. And she >will pass along my letter to Indiana state pres. VP and state >secretary. I did tell them basically there was a lack of >communication between chapters and state officials. perhaps I was too >critical of the Nat headquarters when I didn't have all the >information I needed to make decisions. Perhaps I was too critical of >the Indiana state officials as well, if so I apologize. We the local chapter did try >to get something accomplished but the lack of information and help >was not there. Most of us were new to the NFB and did not have any >role models to ask questions and get answers. A lot can be learned >from the Braille Monitor but a person always needs more. I appreciate >any help you or anyone else cares to offer. >Thanks again, Deb Lumbardy > >P.s. you can forward this to the list if you want. > > > Earlene Hughes hughese@nlci.com http://www.nlci.com/users/hughese/ --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: E5Z00000Date: 05/29/97 From: JAMES SOFKA Time: 10:40pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: POSITION: Silver Spring, MD (fwd From: James Sofka Subject: POSITION: Silver Spring, MD (fwd Hy all for your information. Jim Sofka. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 16:46:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Terry Bray Reply-To: access-l@icomm.ca To: access-l@icomm.ca Subject: POSITION: Silver Spring, MD (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 13:11:44 -0500 From: Courtney Deines-Jones Reply-To: Library Adaptive Technology To: ADAPT-L@AMERICAN.EDU Subject: POSITION: Silver Spring, MD Greetings -- The National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) has an immediate need for an abstractor/indexer who will also provide telephone reference service at our (fully accessible) Silver Spring, MD, facility. Because telephone service provision during public service hours is an essential function of the job, the successful candidate must be able to work a regular, full-time on-site schedule and must have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Experience with disabilities and rehabilitation is highly desirable, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Salary is in the mid-20's, plus benefits. This is an excelent opportunity for a recent MLS grad or someone with a BA in library science and some indexing/abstracting experience. Interested parties should contact Joan Lott in Human Resources at MACRO International, 301-572-0200. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions, but do *not* send applications or resumes to me -- we are at a different site and applications may not be received on time if they are not sent directly to MACRO HR. -- Courtney Deines-Jones NARIC Library and Information Services Manager cdeinesj@ix.netcom.com --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: E5Z00001Date: 05/29/97 From: PETE DONAHUE Time: 10:49pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: buddying up for conbention From: Pete Donahue Subject: buddying up for conbention Fellow Federationists and friendss, Several members of our chapter are willing to share their rooms with others looking forroom mates for the National Convention.If you are going to New Orleans and want to share a hotel room with someone else please E-mail me back privately, or call (210) 826-9579. One person has all ready taken us up on this invitation but we still have some other members willing to share their rooms, and room expenses with others needing a room mate for the convention. I was talking to Mrs. Maurer this afternoon and she says that the National office is still receiving reservation requests and requests for information about the National convention. Who knows. perhaps the Hampton Innwioll be filled by now. Perhaps some of you might encourage members of your chapters and state affiliates to help ensure htat all who come to the convention have a place to stay. Mary and I have done this for a number of years now and it helps both us and our room guests. just an idea to pass on. Peter donahue --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EA100000Date: 05/31/97 From: JULIE DAWSON Time: 06:42pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: None From: Julie Dawson Subject: None Computer for sale. I have a Compaq 486-sx33 with 10 mbs of ram and 120 meg hard drive for $600 OBO not including shipping. It has Telix 3.22, MS-DOS 6.2, WP5.1+, Macafee antivirus, ASAP speech with Artic #215 sound card with sonix tts bridge. Ithas utilities such as fildfind and pkzip, and dosfax winfax program. Email me privately if interested. Good start up computer for someone or good computer in general. Also has windows 3.1. All programs are installed and are configured. Also has Magnum Deluxe. "Out of many''''one people." We give of ourselves to share with each other. we receive from each other to empower ourselves. Blessed be the Almighty who blesses His people. Julie, AKA Magnolia in New York. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EA100001Date: 05/31/97 From: KELLY PIERCE Time: 06:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: blind computer user network news #11 From: Kelly Pierce Subject: blind computer user network news #11 Below is the eleventh newsletter of the Blind Computer User Network in Chicago. For back issues, check out our home page at http://www.city-net.com/vipace/friends/chicago. Computer Users Network News Adaptive Technology For the Blind and Visually-Impaired Vol. III No. 1 Jan.-Feb., 1997 Published bimonthly by Blind Service Association 22 West Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60603 (312) 236-0808 Copyright: 1997 Editor: Cindy Brown Project Coordinator: Dave Porter Our mission is to provide a vehicle for our consumers to share information with each other. This is accomplished by stimulating the pro-active involvement of our readers. -------- Contents Membership/Subscription n Information So What About the Network? by Dave Porter Teamwork Be Connected with Us by E-Mail On-Line Glossary--Part II Treasures Editing: Art or Science? by Cindy Brown and Anna Byrne Things to Keep in Mind FYI Dates to Remember! -------- So What About the Network? by Dave Porter In December of 1994 we took on the challenge of building and maintaining a computer users network. Two years later,... What has happened? What hasn't happened? What more can we make happen? Can we build on the processes, experiences, and interchanges we've had so far and entice more people to become involved with us and try this approach with an eye toward shaping their future? Adaptive technology is providing a great opportunity to bring us into the information age in style. Mastery of it will be a survival criterion for the majority of us. Most jobs will depend on our familiarity with and mastery of technology. As for acquiring and manipulation of information--we're closer to competitive parity then we've ever been. Nature is a course of gives and takes. Nothing gives without borrowing from its neighbor. We depend on and shoot for this balance. We're at our best when we're as close to that balance as possible. I replace what I take; what I give away is replaced; or the whole tenor of my life becomes unfulfilled and the supply of or quality of all I have and have to offer becomes compromised. We all harbor pieces of knowledge. Our knowledge is unique to us, fashioned by our dreams, shaped by our experiences, carved by our efforts, and refined by our resourcefulness. The best way to obtain information is to dialogue with its possessors. The Network provides a great opportunity to obtain that information. The details and dynamics of adaptive technology have become so sophisticated that we have to use it to know it. Vicarious experience doesn't cut it. By using it we learn tips, tools, tricks, and techniques that, combined with our unique spins on things, make it work. The Network becomes a conduit for sharing what we have learned with each other, making that knowledge exponential. A shift to end-user driven determination of what works has had a serious impact on the adaptive technology industry. With an enlightened consumer base, technology peddlers now know that they can't simply sell novelty. If it doesn't work it won't fly, and if it doesn't fly it won't last. If it doesn't last and they don't withdraw, replace, or revamp it, they won't last. Notice all the adaptive technology companies that are changing hands, restructuring, merging, reshaping, etc. Furthermore, salesmen can no longer expect to march into the field armed with glitzy glosses, patronizing smiles, and flashy brochures targeted at human resources departments, employers, special need instructors, deans of admissions, etc., and assume things will remain copacetic. Now the end-user must be consulted, and his/her input must be considered. Salesmen, in order to succeed, need products that work. Companies have become more performance driven and look more and more toward functional end-users. The Network is the natural habitat for enlightened, enlivened, empowered, self-determined end-users. Becoming fully employed is one of the most difficult aspects of blindness. Because of society's misguided perceptions about our employability, I believe we in the Network have a social responsibility to share any skills, tips, tricks, tools, or techniques that we have with anyone we can to dispel those perceptions. Because employment requires specialized training and social skills we too often don't refine, we need to cultivate any outlets we can find to further refine our training and social skills to protect and expand the context of our work. Because hiring a blind or visually-impaired person often requires special accommodations which puts us at a disadvantage in competition with other employable entities, we need to assert ourselves as exceptionally competent. We can get enmeshed in a system where we are perpetually the recipients of habilitative or rehabilitative services, or we can take control of our destinies by taking initiative on our own behalf. The hardest transition that we as blind people may have to make is from being a subject to being a peer. Peers manage their own affairs no matter how awkward or inconvenient that may be. Subjects, on the other hand, allow themselves to be passive recipients because it's the most convenient role for them and their servers. We need to rise above the societal perceptions of us and replace it with the personal conviction of who we are and expect others to see us as equals. I see The Network as an exponential outlet for much of these exchanges and strategies to take place. The Network interface provides a resolute testing ground for trying out our personal convictions on each other. Here among peer professionals reside the most harsh critics imaginable--peers. It is in the interest of all for each one of us to be at our best. We know that the better each one of us does, the better we all will do. We know that the impression one of us makes affects the way people react to all of us. The safe harbor of this structure provides an opportunity to test strategies, theories, and tactics on an objective resolute assemblage. Effecting change is a long, hard endeavor, riddled with many trials and errors. But each time we rotate through the process, we come out a little stronger, more focused, and more determined. How did I do that? How can that be better done? How did she do that? How do you do that? The process involves give and take. To succeed, our livelihood depends on creating and exploiting as many opportunities as possible. For the coming year I propose setting the following goals. I see many opportunities to expand the Network structure and outreach. I want to work with kids and seniors, doing on-site seminars, job fairs, etc.--you give us a platform, we'll find an interested audience. Doing in-house seminars, we'll give a platform to companies doing day-long show-and-tell seminars to a quality audience. We will continue to develop more ways to get more people involved in the Network: expanding the Posse to a computer tune-shop, developing and maintaining a community web-site to best get and manage information. What about expanding the newsletter to a magazine so we can get the right word out right, finding ways to embrace rehabilitation without threatening new computer users? and using the cognoscenti as an avenue to shape what the Network does, musing over what would make this network thing work better? I'm struck by what my compulsive grandiose picture must look like to people who live by details. There are detail-oriented people in the cognoscenti to keep me in line. By their challenging my sometimes crazy ideas, they actually give me space to be more grandiose, knowing I can afford to risk ideas because they'll shape them to conform to reality. To be absorbed, ideas must work. Finally, can we link the process with other networks--help them grow while absorbing thier ideas? (Dave Porter is president of Comp-Unique, an adaptive technology development and consulting firm. He is coordinator of the Computer Network.) -------- Teamwork The Computer Network is made up of teams. The word network, for most of us, connotes a system of interactive parts. Interaction among peers is meant to be the fuel that keeps this network alive. The teams are the parts of the Network which address specific tasks. Become involved by joining one of the teams described below. Outreach. "You-all come!" is the motto of this team. Its job is to spread the word to youth and adults in the community-at-large about our activities--Jim Ferneborg, chairperson. Membership. "We hope you'll stay awhile" is what you'll hear from this team. Welcoming, orienting, and hooking in new members is this team's raison d'etre, and they also keep members informed of upcoming events through the phone tree.--Joe and Darlene DeCourcey, co-chairpersons. Preview Crew. "What's new?" That's what these computer veterans are asking, as they are eager to beta-test new technology products.--Dan TeVelde, chairperson. Posse. "Let's not forget about the old stuff." Hands-on refurbishing of hand-me-down computers is the focus here. They meet to tinker.--Dave McClain, airperson. Lynx Squad. It seems the whole world is talking about the Internet, the World Wide Web, and e-mail. To join in, sign up with this team. Reasonable word processing and typing skills are helpful. Meetings are held the second Thursday evening of each month. Note the change of day.--Kelly Pierce, chairperson. Peer Training. "Each one teach one." Planning and executing monthly seminars for novices and the advanced is the focus of this team. Ideas for events as well as volunteers to help are welcome.--Dave Porter, chairperson. All-Write! "All I know is what I read in the newsletter." We think this is a cop-out! We hope you will add what you know to the pages of future newsletters by contributing technology-related articles. Submit articles (on 3.5-in. diskette in ASCII or WordPerfect 5.1) to Cindy Brown at Blind Service Association. The deadline for the next issue is Wed., March 12, 1997 at noon. We're looking for editors for FYI and Personal Profiles.--Cindy Brown, editor. -------- Be Connected With Us The electronic mailing list of the Computer Network sizzles with the latest news, articles and resources. If someone has an e-mail account, he/she can join the list. Network members share with each other the treasures they have discovered online, offering to others the best of the Net, making available newspaper and magazine articles, Usenet postings, web resources, product announcements, and the latest in technology and information access. Recent electronic golden nuggets have included information about such things as an innovative online training class that allows people to become braille transcribers online, newsletters from other blind user groups, a guide from the UK that simply explains and clarifies basic concepts of Microsoft Windows, a Lynx tutorial, and an article on buying a new Pentium for under $1,000. In addition, minutes of Network cognoscenti meetings are distributed and you can keep abreast of announcements of CN meetings, technology seminars, demonstrations, and other meetings that are going on in Chicago. Share and learn and join the network community online. To be added to the mailing list, send an e-mail message to Kelly Pierce with your request. His e-mail address is kelly@ripco.com. -------- Online Glossary--Part II submitted by Dave Porter M --mailing list: A subject-specific automated e-mail system AKA a listproc, listserve or majordomo. Users subscribe to it and via e-mail they receive information about the subject of the list and postings about the topic from other list subscribers. --mediaware (the spectrum of media delivery storage and management products and services. --mil (pronounced MILL): A domain name suffix denoting an abbreviation for military. In Internet addresses, mil indicates a site belonging to a military branch or organization. modem (pronounced MOE-dim): Shortened form of "modulator-demodulator." A device that allows computers to communicate with each other via telephone lines, cellular signals or television cables. To send information from one computer to another, a modem converts digital signals from a computer into analog signals that can be sent over telephone lines. On the receiving end, the modem converts the analog signals back into digital ones that can be understood by the computer. --morphing: Changing shape or image due to changing conditions. --MPEG, mpeg, mpg (pronounced EM-peg): A standard for compressing video images developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group. Video clips on the Web are sometimes available in MPEG format; however, video clips are more often found in AVI nd QuickTime formats. --MUD (pronounced like the word "mud"): Multi-User Dungeon. An online role-playing game similar to Dungeons and Dragons. Normally text-based, Multi-User Dungeons allow numerous people to play and interact in the same game scenario at the same time. N --net: An abbreviation for "network." In Internet addresses, net indicates a computer network service. When capitalized, Net is used as a slang term for the Internet. --netizens: end-users who surf the Net hour after hour looking for hot sites and cool topics. --Netscape Navigator: A Web browser that's widely used because of its speed and easy interface. --netiquette (pronounced NET-i-ket or -kit): Internet etiquette is sometimes obscure and usually learned only through experience. --network: A hardware/software system that allows two or more computers to be connected so they share resources. --newbie (pronounced new-be): A new Internet user. As used by more experienced Internet users, newbie usually carries derogatory connotations. They are often faulted for not knowing etiquette. --newsgroup: A broad grouping of online discussion groups--the Internet equivalent of BBS's. Most are distributed through USENET. --newsreader: A Program used to read through and organize newsgroup text and information. O --org (pronounced ORG): A domain name suffix denoting an --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EA100002Date: 05/31/97 From: KELLY PIERCE Time: 06:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: 02:blind computer user network news #11 From: Kelly Pierce Subject: blind computer user network news #11 abbreviation for organization. Internet sites which don't fall into any other category are given the domain name of org. It usually indicates that the site belongs to a non-profit, non-governmental organization. P --plain vanilla format: same as ASCII format. Ensures text to be readable, not affected by type of soft- or hardware used or rapid changes in computer technology. --protocol: the way a computer transmits and receives characters. 8-1-n 8bits 1 stopbit no parity dosbased 7-1-5e even parity for unix based systems. --PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol. A protocol that allows a computer to use a telephone line and modem to connect to the Internet; an alternative to a SLIP connection. Q --QuickTime: A video compression standard developed by Apple. The uickTime standard is one of the most popular formats for video clips on the World Wide Web. S --screen capture: Communication software opens a file in your computer and dumps an image of the contents of your screen into it. --search engine: A mechanism for finding documents on the Internet--e.g WAIS, Yahoo and Alta Vista are search engines. --server: A computer system that manages and delivers information to multiple stations. One server can have several different software programs running on it. --signature file: A footer added to the bottom of e-mail messages. --SLIP (pronounced SLIP): A protocol that allows a computer to use a telephone line and modem to connect to the Internet. It's an alternative to a PPP connection. --spam: The act of spewing out large numbers of electronic messages via e-mail or newsgroups to people who don't want to receive them; considered a gross breach of etiquette. The term is believed to be derived from a Monty Python skit in which the word is repeated over and over again. Its relation to Spam, the much-maligned pork luncheon meat, is uncertain. T --TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet (working) Protocol. A standard set of rules which allows computers on different networks to communicate with one another. The Internet came into being with the development and adoption of TCP/IP. --Telnet: The Internet protocol which allows a computer at one location to connect with and act as a terminal of a computer at another one. Unlike FTP which involves the transfer of files between computers, Telnet primarily involves the transfer of and response to commands from the terminal emulator to the host computer, the host to the terminal, and to the terminal emulation programs which utilize Telnet protocol. --terminal emulation: computers mimicking emulate the way information is displayed accept keyboard commands. --T-1: A phone line connection that can transfer data at 1.5 million bits-per-second. It is frequently used to connect LANs to the Internet. --T-3: A phone line connection that can carry data at 45 million bits-per-second--more than enough to do full-screen video. --thread order: original message in a newsgroup followed by replies. --tn3270: A Telnet program and protocol used to log into IBM mainframe computers. --twitch games: Action games requiring lightning-quick reaction times, dexterity and caveman intelligence. U --UNIX: A computer operating system designed to be used by many people at the same time; the most widely-used operating system for servers on the Internet. --upload: process of sending a file from your computer to the net. --URL (Uniform Resource Locator): protocol for identifying documents on the Web. All Web addresses have an URL--E.g. The New York Times is http://www.nytimes.com. --USENET (pronounced USE-net): A world-wide system of thousands of discussion areas, called newsgroups, with comments from hundreds of thousands of users. Most Usenet machines are on the Internet. V --Veronica: (Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives) A frequently updated database with the names of almost every menu item on the thousands of Gopher servers. --VMPEG (pronounced VEE EM-peg): application for playing MPEG video files. --VRML: (Virtual Reality Modeling Language): a computer language that allows users to create three-dimensional programs. In a VRML application a user can click on any object to travel to another part of the program or to visit another Web page. W --WAIS (pronounced WAYS) : Wide Area Information Service. A search engine that indexes large quantities of information and makes the indexes searchable. --WAV (pronounced WAVE) : An audio file format. --Webrowser: A program used to navigate and access information on the Web. They convert raw html coding into a graphical display. Some are also able to navigate Gopher sites, connect with FTP servers and display different types of image files. Popular browsers include Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mosaic. --webcast: a brodcast on the web; available to users with high bandwidth connections: no less than a 28.8 kbps modem and preferably ISDN* or T1* access. --Web goddess, webgoddess: A female Web master. --Web master, webmaster: The person in charge of maintaining the content found on a Web site, or of keeping it up and running. --Web site: A collection of Web pages, usually consisting of a home page and several other linked pages. --WebziS\R~A magazine on the World Wide Web. See zines. --word: A group of bits, used to designate various information within a computer. An 8-bit word is called abyte. --World Wide Web: (www) A system of finding and accessing Internet files and programs utilizing hypertext. Allows users to navigate the Internet by following links from documents on one computer to documents on others. It employs html, allowing files to be viewed in a graphical format. Z --zine: Short for magazine. Generally, has a narrower focus, a stronger personality and a lower circulation than traditional magazines. -------- Treasures! Planning on upgrading to a Pentium and wishing for a home for your 486? Got a Braille 'N' Speak classic you aren't using any more? an old synthesizer? an out- of- date, beginner-ready copy of a computer tutorial? List what you've got in the Treasures column, the Computer Network's home for wonderful things that their current owners have used and loved and don't need any more! Anna Byrne is your contact person. -------- Editing: Art or Science? By Cindy Brown and Anna Byrne (In this article, Cindy describes the process of editing with speech. She uses Jaws for DOS. Anna describes Braille translation with Duxbury. The need for translation may be elusive to those who are not familiar with Braille symbols, but we do our best to interpret the issues involved into English.) Initial Editing. I would like to think of editing as an art, and I suppose there are basic elements of artistic endeavor involved. Spacing is an important element of editing--i.e., imagining how the finished product will be laid out in a reasonably comfortable-to-look-at layout on the page. I confess, however, that our first consideration has been to save space, not being as concerned about the optimal visual presentation. Nonetheless, spacing has been a much larger occupation than the reader might initially imagine. I'll describe this in greater detail below. I would suggest that punctuation is a part of the art. Changing punctuation to help the language flow more readily for the reader, helping the reader focus on the ideas and information being expressed, not the syntax, is an essential aspect of editing. In a publication such as ours, the mission is to convey information without critiquing particular products, politicians, or institutions. Occasionally the editor needs to edit out vituperations which would draw us into political or legal battles. Accomplishing this without altering the overall thrust of the piece, at times, takes some creativity on the part of the editor. But the science of editing takes by far the most time and energy. Much of it is mindless but time-consuming. For some reason that has not been explained to me, when material is downloaded from e-mail, it is often filled with spaces--lots and lots of spaces. These spaces can appear seemingly anywhere--at the beginning of lines, in the middle of lines, at the end of lines, in between lines. So one of my first jobs is to find the spaces and then to close them up. With the use of a speech synthesizer, this is not easy. It takes more than just listening to the words and the flow, because the screenreader skips the spaces to bring a flow to the reading. This is terrific when you're trying to make sense of what you are reading, but not so convenient when you're editing. So, I need to go through line by line, and if the line seems unusually short, this is the first alert that something is wrong. Then I erase space by space. It had been suggested to me that I use the "search" function in WordPerfect to find these spaces. But this doesn't do the whole job. In many cases, when only a few words occur at the beginning of the line, the line break, as far as the computer is concerned, has taken place only a space after the last letter of the previous word, so the "search" function doesn't pick it up. Additionally, when materials have been downloaded, they sometimes appear with strange combinations of letters or letters missing. If I cannot make sense of it, I need to phone the author for assistance. Then to conserve space and conserve paper, the printer expert and I agreed that paragraphs should be indented only three spaces rather than the customary five spaces, and that there should be only one space between sentences rather than the customary two. So this means that I need to go through and eliminate all the extra spaces. In this case, the "search" function does work. We acknowledge that this conservation of space undoubtedly has been more noticeable to the readers of the print edition than readers of the Braille, but, again, our primary mission is to communicate the information. Past editions have contained numerous editing problems, and the quality could be enhanced if I can get a Braille copy for proofreading. But in the paragraphs below, you will learn why this is too time-consuming to be practical. Brailling with Duxbury Braille Translator. The newsletter comes to me as a WordPerfect document on a disk. In order to translate it into Braille one must first convert the disk file to a document type that the translator can read with a file name it will accept. Microsoft Word for Windows can convert a WordPerfect file to a text file, to a Word file, to a text file with line breaks, to a windows Write file... MSWord also includes a status line with column, line, and page number information. Care is required, though, when the conversion is made. Word gives you a message telling you that converting the document to text might cause the loss of some formatting information. Are you with me so far? Well--then it replaces all the page break symbols with blank lines! Experience teaches you things like that. Before setting up the title page, one must determine how page numbering should be done. There are of course choices--top of page, bottom of page, odd-numbered pages, all pages... A Duxbury command does this. Next--centering and spacing lines. Duxbury is well-documented. He (all programs are male) believes that all centered lines are headers, and I just allow him to think so. Placing the header-start command ($hds) before the text on the line and the header-end ($hde) following the text centers the line. There is a skip-line command ($sl1, for one line, $sl2 for two lines, etc.). The new-page command ($pg) allows for ending a page without filling it completely so that titles don't end up on page bottoms without their related texts. The table of contents is done with Duxbury "tab" commands. You tell him which column should be the last on the line, what kind of fill characters you want before the page number, and he takes care of everything--except, of course, determining the page number where each article begins. I tell him that all articles begin on page 2, and when I find out where they really begin I go back and change the copy. Once the text is formatted, Duxbury's "Braille" command translates text into Grade II braille, and the proofreading begins. "The Computer Users Network" becomes"! -put{ us{s net'W," and the newsletter is "edited by Cindy Brown," $it$ by c9dy Br[n. The next step, then, is to braille the newsletter a page at a time, proofread and correct each page, braille it again, proofread and correct again, and go on to the next page. I use low-quality light weight paper that I can throw away, so that it isn't so painful to discard page after page. Although Duxbury is excellent it still makes mistakes. The period at the end of a sentence, for example, is the same symbol used in Nemmeth Braille mathematic code for the number 4. In the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.", the final word is "dog4" which in Braille looks just right; but Internet addresses--ripco.com, eskimo.com--are translated "ripco4com and "eskimo4com." And every time the document is corrected and translation is done again, the addresses must be corrected again. In order to be sure that the print and Braille copies hold identical information, another necessary step is to translate the Braille file into an "ink" file. When this is done, lines are skipped between paragraphs, five spaces are indented at the beginning of the line instead of three, appropriate margins are set, and the result is a document almost ready to print. The last thing is to undo any special changes--making a Braille asterisk into a "ch" sign, for example--that made the Braille copy more readable. (Note: In computer Braille code, the "ch" sign is used to denote the asterisk.) Now both the Braille and print files are ready for production. The Braille printer must be instructed about line length, page length, top and bottom margins, interpoint (i.e., two- sided Braille page) "yes" or "no". It takes about fifteen minutes to print a 37-page, interpoint newsletter. And of course if you forget to instruct it otherwise, while doing two copies, the --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EA100003Date: 05/31/97 From: KELLY PIERCE Time: 06:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: 03:blind computer user network news #11 From: Kelly Pierce Subject: blind computer user network news #11 printer will put page 37 on one side of the paper and page 1 on the other side of the same paper, with pages 2 and 3 together, and so on. Print newsletters are photo-copied and stapled; Braille newsletters are punched and bound. From disk to posted document requires many hours of work--sometimes wonderfully entertaining and sometimes slow and tedious. That we can do it ourselves is not only the result of ever-improving technology but requires ingenuity, determination, and sheer cussedness of the people whose privilege it is to do it. So it was a wonderfully ambitious goal to produce this newsletter in the Braille medium, and those of us who love Braille and believe knowledge of Braille to be essential for the literate blind person, have greatly appreciated the efforts of Marie Porter, Anna Byrne, and Chuck Slavick who have made the Braille newsletters available. But the project has been too labor intensive to be practical for an organization of this size. We will continue to produce print and audio cassette editions, and to do this, the initial editing is just as crucial. For this edition, we are grateful for the services of BSA volunteer Doris Sayed-Ahmed for her excellent profreading. (Anna Byrne is a senior systems analyst at ComEd. She and her husband, Pat, have four children and three grandchildren.) (Cindy Brown is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and supervisor at the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago. She also has a private practice in psychotherapy.) -------- Things to Keep in Mind Submitted by Anna Byrne Dedicated to the Editors: Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. Don't use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice. Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change. -------- FYI The following radio and TV shows may be of interest to our members: Sundays--11:00 AM, "TV.com," ABC, channel 7 in Chicago; Tuesdays--9:00 PM, "Real Computing," WDCB, 90.5-FM, Glen Ellyn; Saturdays--2:00 PM, "CNN Computer Connection," CNN (Cable News Network). Saturdays--9:00-11:00 PM, "Kim Komando's Komputer Klinic," WJJD, 1160-AM. -------- Dates to Remember! Note: All meetings regularly scheduled for Tuesdays in the past will now meet on Thursdays instead. Sat., Feb. 1, 1997, 10:00-12:30--Bona fide Beginners' Seminar; ninth loor. Wed., Feb. 12, 1997, 5:30-7:30--board (cognoscenti) meeting, open to all; ninth floor. Thurs., Feb. 13, 1997, 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor. Thurs., Feb. 27, 1997, 6:00-7:30--newcomers' openhouse and orientation; ninth floor. Sat., March 1, 1997, 10:00-12:30--seminar, TBA; ninth floor. Wed., March 12, 1997, 5:30-7:30---board (cognoscenti) meeting, all are welcome; ninth floor. Wed., Mardch 12, 1997, noon--deadline for newsletter articles; eleventh floor, will- call drawer (see All-Write! in Teamwork article above for more details). Thurs., March 13, 1997 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor. Thurs., Apr. 3, 1997, 6:00-7:30--newcomers' openhouse and orientation; ninth floor. Sat., Apr. 5, 1997, 10:00-12:30--seminar TBA. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EA100004Date: 05/31/97 From: "MELVIN LUMBARDY" Time: 04:32am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Has anyone used MEGA-DOTS ? From: "Melvin Lumbardy" Subject: Has anyone used MEGA-DOTS ? Hi Everyone, I was wondering if anyone has used the MEGA-DOTS program and if so what was it like and did it work for you. Deb at chief@crown.net --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045)