Computer Science Ethics Must Include Accessibility (my rejected NYT letter to the editor)

On February 12, 2018, the New York Times ran a piece in the business section titled Tech’s Ethical ‘Dark Side’: Harvard, Stanford and Others Want to Address It. The article explained that top computer science programs are starting to embed ethics courses in the curriculum. I was glad to see that Stanford’s course would include… Read more… Computer Science Ethics Must Include Accessibility (my rejected NYT letter to the editor)

CVS Spoken Rx™ Press Release

CVS Pharmacy announced that it has developed Spoken Rx™, a new feature of the CVS Pharmacy app that can read a specific type of label for patients with visual impairments and those who cannot read standard print labels. Spoken Rx is the first in-app prescription reader application to be developed by a national retail pharmacy. Read more… CVS Spoken Rx™ Press Release

Patreon Accessibility Press Release

Congratulations Patreon! The popular membership platform for creators and their supporters recently announced its commitment to digital accessibility with the press release posted here. Patreon worked in conjunction with the American Council of the Blind and blind creators and patrons including Robert Kingett in Structured Negotiation on its accessibility initiative. Lainey Feingold and Washington, D.C.… Read more… Patreon Accessibility Press Release

7-Eleven Talking V-com Agreement

The 7-Eleven V-Com Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian using American Council of the Blind (ACB), the California Council of the Blind (CCB), and individual blind advocates. A V-com is an advanced ATM in 7-Eleven retail outlets across the United States and 7-Eleven agreed in the settlement that they would all have audio output to allow independent use by blind customers. This was the first agreement in the country in which a non-bank retailer agreed to make ATMs accessible. Read more… 7-Eleven Talking V-com Agreement

Lawyers Need Soft Skills: A Book Review

Chapter 16 of Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits is about traits like patience, trust, and optimism that lawyers need to resolve problems without litigation. I have now discovered Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer – a book that is like my Chapter 16 on steroids plus so much more. It should be mandatory reading for every lawyer, law student, law professor, and CLE provider. Read more… Lawyers Need Soft Skills: A Book Review

Alphabet Soup of A Name; Giant Commitment to Digital Access

This post is about an unsung hero of web accessibility — the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The W3C WAI EOWG :  Now you understand why I put ‘alphabet soup’ in the title of this post. But don’t let a clunky name deceive you. If you care about digital accessibility you need to know EOWG and probably already rely on its work without being aware of it. Read more… Alphabet Soup of A Name; Giant Commitment to Digital Access

Community in Toronto: What Made the #A11yTO Conferences So Spectacular?

I’m sitting in the airport on my way home from two conferences put on by #A11yTO. I’ve been trying to figure out what made the three days in Toronto so great. This post is what I’ve come up with. #A11yTO is a volunteer-run digital accessibility community in Toronto. Puzzled by the title? A11y (that’s A-eleven-Y)… Read more… Community in Toronto: What Made the #A11yTO Conferences So Spectacular?