Hello all;
All of you may have heard about the demise of the
qwitter
project developed and maintained by
christopher
If not. I’ll simply quote the
qwitter_hg
twitter accounts last post.

Qwitter Mercurial: Q: Closing up shop, it’s been fun.: 13 hours ago 9/19/2011 11:08:07 AM Qwitter Client

after reading that, I got curious and poked around Q’s timeline and the thoughts that ran through my head were mixed.
I was composing in my head a response I was going to put up here, outlining my thoughts and views, but
JonathanMosen
did a much better job of it then I could ever do. So I’ll simply quote his ressitation who’s original can be found
over here.

Billy Joel once said, “I once believed in causes too, and had my pointless point of view, but life when on no matter who was wrong or right”. I was mindful of this as I saw the considerable volume of tweets exchanged over the apparent halt to development of the Qwitter client, the Twitter client for Windows designed specifically for blind people. I say apparent, because this is in my recollection the third time such a threat has been made, so I suppose only time will tell if this one is real or not. Initially, I felt compelled to comment, then I decided there was no point, and now finally, I’ve felt moved to write an extended post about this subject because I think the conduct of a number of people in the latest Twitter drama represents a pattern that is all too typical in the on-line blind community.

Although I have been using Twitter since 2007, I actually was a late adopter of the Qwitter client, beginning to use it in around November of 2009. My reason for this was because I felt uncomfortable with the aggressive online behaviour of its lead developer. A friend of mine convinced me that it was appropriate to separate the behaviour of the developer from the quality of the application, and there’s absolutely no doubt that the software is first class. It is a feature-rich, efficient means of interacting with Twitter. Without Qwitter, I am sure much fewer blind people would be using Twitter so regularly. The award given to Chris by ACB this year recognises all of this, and that recognition is richly deserved.

I have, however, remained very disappointed by the extraordinary rudeness, even contempt, that Chris has shown to many users who have made suggestions or come to him for advice. I am mindful that I am making these comments with around 20 more years on the planet than him, and in this case I think that does make a difference. I hope that if Chris is unfortunate enough to be able to review some of his tweets in 20 years time, he will do so with genuine regret. What makes our world so diverse and interesting, is that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Some people can write code, others conceptualise great user interfaces, others struggle with very basic computer concepts that just come naturally to some. Abrupt, rude, confrontational replies, many of which give the impression that the program’s author is somehow superior to or better than his fellow blind people are hardly going to remain unremarked upon.

Developing software is of course a very different skill from supporting it. Chris is obviously superb at the former. With a bit more good will towards people, I’m very confident the Qwitter Support account could have had a large number of volunteers, and Chris could have politely directed users to that account. We can wish that users would RTFM all we want, some simply will not, it is the reality of software development, and nothing is going to change that. Nor does the fact that the software is free make it any more acceptable to treat end users with rudeness.

Chris is, of course, absolutely right that there is a high proportion of blind Twitter users who are unemployed, may have difficulty getting out and about due to financial or transportation issues, and who therefore have plenty of time to generate Twitter drama. We do have a very high unemployment rate. Just as with sighted people, there are those who have never tried to find a job, those who in the current climate have become demoralised and have given up, those who spend hours every day looking for that big break. We seldom know each other’s stories, and it is sad when we choose to make very personal, sweeping assumptions. We do tend to sew what we reap. If we dish out confrontation on Twitter, chances are very high that confrontation will come right back at us. And it has been rather like watching a school bully crying when one little kid finally plucks up the courage to hit back, to see the lead Qwitter developer complaining when some of the hurt he has caused others comes back to him.

Does that make the behaviour of those who’ve responded in that way right or justified? Of course not. The best response to confrontation is often no response at all. Various Twitter characters in the blind community who’ve come and gone, have thrived on the fact that they know which buttons to push to get a reaction. Stop responding to them, and they’d have become bored and gone away long ago.

Then there is of course what we in New Zealand call the tall poppy syndrome. There is no doubt that Chris has considerable talent. In the blind community, we are good at building people up, to tear them down. Confrontational behaviour notwithstanding, there are some people who have sought to make his life a misery, almost as if they resent what he has been able to achieve. More than that, they are jealous of it.

Developing an app such as Qwitter obviously involves a very significant commitment of time. It has not completely been a labour of love, however. I haven’t taken the time to go back and do the sums, but I know I’ve personally donated at least US$100 to Qwitter, and that many others have donated what they can. I don’t regret doing so for a moment, nor do I expect that donations have created any kind of contract, expressed or implied, that Qwitter’s development would continue indefinitely. I raise this to simply point out that while a few users may have been vexatious, some provoked, some not, the project hasn’t been totally without its financial compensation.

Whether a piece of software is commercial or not, there is no guarantee that its development will continue forever. There are many examples of software used by a large number of people where development has simply stopped. Microsoft Money is a case in point. The issue I have is the point in the development cycle at which Qwitter development is apparently ceasing. It is in beta right now. Because it is beta software, there are problems, as one would expect. Does Chris have a legal obligation of any kind to tidy up the critical bugs? Of course not. He can walk away whenever he likes, and apparently has. The question is one of moral obligation, and of his personal brand. Would I be as willing to support any future project, commercial or otherwise, by a developer who leaves a user base in the lurch like this? No, I’d think twice, because I don’t believe that this is an ethical way to treat people. Anything we do online impacts on our personal brand. If we’re abusive, people make a mental note of that. If we walk away because a few people, again some provoked, some not, have been abusive, even though the majority of us have been supportive with our praise and with our wallets, then that leaves a sour taste and a reputation that is hard to recover.

Whether you volunteer or not should not make a difference to one’s conduct. I’ve volunteered over many years for a range of positions, including leading New Zealand’s blindness consumer organisation which would be the equivalent of NFB and ACB, serving on various committees, and of course managing Internet radio projects like Mushroom FM. In all of those cases, the work involved has been considerable. It’s involved a huge investment of time and effort. And there are times when circumstances require you to walk away. But if you have to do that, you should do so by tidying up as many of the loose ends as you possibly can.

I don’t begrudge for one second the fact that Chris may have concluded that he has better things to do with his life, that it’s just not rewarding anymore. If you are copping a lot of abuse, especially when you’re younger, it’s hard to shrug that off, and easy to say, why on earth am I bothering. My only issue is that I hope he will recognise how his own conduct as contributed in part to some of the grief that has come his way, and that to protect his reputation, he at least get Qwitter 5 to a production release and make it clear that that’s the end of the project. If he does not, then I fear the bad taste the half finished Qwitter project has left in so many mouths will continue to haunt him. That would be a pity when he is clearly such a gifted young man.

As for the rest of us, maybe there’s a good number of us who might like to think twice before joining in the flame war. Most of us in the blind community are online in such a way that our interactions are filtered to us through a mechanical sounding speech synthesiser. It is easy for us to forget that the tweet we send in a quick burst of anger or sarcasm may be the one that tips a real human being with feelings over the edge. We don’t know what else is going on in their lives, how they may be feeling. If we showed a little more on-line empathy, just empathy in general really, imagine how much of a peaceful place the online world would be.

I urge Chris to reconsider wrapping up the project in this stage in the cycle, but regardless, thank him sincerely for a very significant contribution to bringing blind people around the world closer together, and assisting us to interact with equal efficiency with our sighted peers.

A few final thoughts.
Is qwitter the only accessible client on windows?
No, it’s not.
Their are others like
TWInbox
that can do the basics.
Yes, not as feature rich, but qwitter’s development cycle ending isn’t the end all of twitter for the blind community.
Would I, like Jonathan, think twice about supporting another project, weather free or paid put out by this individual if he doesn’t at least take qwitter 5.0 to a stable release before shutting down?
Yes, I honestly would reconsider ever supporting future projects developed by him because of the way he handled qwitter and it’s closure.
I understand open source, but leaving those in the blind community with extremely buggy code because your being a nazi and don’t want to at least head for a final release before giving up is insane, and rediculous.
What are others thoughts and views.
I’d love to here what you have to say on this, spoken in a constructive, adult manner.
No childish bashing.
Constructive critisisms and pieceful debate are the name of the game.
See you on the comment boards.

Popularity: 67%

Well ok. My floor. Since I don’t have a desk to speak of at this current time. . You know, because give it a few days and I won’t have a place to live. But we already went over that earlier. So let’s just um, go down here, use my limited web design skills, and learn about what happens when stupid people/organizations do stupid things.

So, there’s this dude. You know, the guy who wrote this thinggy over here.

That guy who wrote that thing up there that’s used for the social network which shall not be named of which I may or may not be a member, goes to Florida State University.

Well, Florida State’s math department, you see, has this nasty little habit. They like to force their blind students to use inaccessible software for math courses.

Well, this dude doesn’t like this very much. You se, he, ladies and gentlemen, is blind, in the event you didn’t read that thing over there in your other browser tab. So what did Florida State do that pissed him off enough to get the NFB involved? Well, to refresh your memories, and mine, because it’s half past holy crap o’clock in the morning and I haven’t even had dinner yett, let’s play a li’l game. One of my favorites. it’s called Peel and Stick. It works, kinda like this, wherein I take a piece of that article in that other tab of mine and go… Well, let’s see what they did, now, shall we?

The suit alleges that FSU’s Department of Mathematics discriminated against Mr. Toth
and Ms. Principato by failing to provide them with proper accommodations so that
they could successfully complete required math courses for their respective degree
programs. The violations include requiring the students to use an inaccessible Web-based
application to complete homework assignments, tests, and quizzes; requiring the use
of clickers that cannot be used by a blind person to respond to in-class questions
and obtain bonus credit; failing to provide Braille versions of the required textbooks
in violation of agreed-upon accommodation plans; and engaging in retaliatory actions
when the students complained of these violations. In all cases, faculty members
in the Department of Mathematics were generally uncooperative, unhelpful, and even
hostile, and did not provide meaningful alternative methods for Mr. Toth and Ms.
Principato to successfully complete the required courses. As a result, both students
are currently unable to continue their degree programs and find their careers indefinitely
on hold.

Who are you, FSU math department, to deny these two blind students an education? And who are you, FSU disability services, for allowing the math department to treat students who *you* are supposed to be assisting, so poorly? And don’t even get me started. Inevitably, some fucktard’s gonna waltz on in here and say disability services could have known nothing about it. I’m calling bullshit. I’m calling bullshit based on the fact that other students in other state universities all across the country get treated like this daily. But you know what? As long as the books look pretty, it doesn’t matter how students are treated. Because nobody who works for a state university actually gives a fuck about the students. No. All they care about is their form letters and their handbooks and their rules. as long as it looks good on paper, nobody actually cares! Nope, because as long as their reports look pretty for whomever the hell they report to, they can just carry on treating people like garbage and get away with it.

You can’t rightfully sit here and tell me Florida State didn’t know about the treatment these two students were receiving. (In fact, I wish I could grab the one I have on my mesenger and ask him what disability services actually did about the situation, but unfortunately, right now, I can’t seem to find him.) Um, well, it is 1:26 AM. You normal people that are lucky an that have everything, you’re sleeping right now, wile I’m scrounging for a place to live. yeah. Especially you lucky sighties, who have jobs. And you all sat at home, in your normal houses, with your normal families, this evening, and did normal things. While I bounced around the state with a backpack, a duffel, a cane and a person guiding me, trying to find a place to crash this evening that wasn’t gonna get a friend of mine from high school evicted from her apartment, you people, probably some of the very ones I’m currently being persecuted and treated like a criminal by, get to live your lives like nothing’s wrong. You get to sleep in your own bed, in your own house, while I worry about whether my next move is to court so I dont get put in a group home by my insane mother, or worse, end up under her guardianship, and living in my house for the rest of my pathetic, broken, useless life. Hope you’re proud of yourselves, because I would rather like to start planning ways of getting rid of myself so you all have nothing to worry about anymore. Yeah. remember how someone told me I should kill myself? Suicidal ideations. again. thanks assholes. Just how I wanted to spend an evening in an unfamiliar place. and I thought I was gonna get away with not being a medicated zombie for the rest of my life? Well, guess I’m quite sure who to thank for that.

Popularity: 65%

Some tweets from this morning hit my radar almost 19 hours later, and I feel I need to say something publicly. Over the past few months, Christopher Toth has developed and distributed Hope, a third-party application that allows a Windows user using a screen reader to access the popular Pandora service. He charges $10 US for the program, which, considering he’s a student and is doing this in his spare time, is pretty damn fair. it’s even more so when before he stepped in, this demographic was unable to use Pandora unless they also used a Mac, or an iPod Touch or iPhone. anyone who doesn’t already own one will tell you that spending upwards of $200, so they may have access to Pandora via an iDevice, though it has many other uses, is out of their budget. I’m in a constant state of broke. I get broke, I live broke, I freakin’ electrical taped my laptop charger so I wouldn’t have to blow approximately $100 on a new one. Now, let’s be honest. You may not like the developer. You and he may have had a history in the past, you pissed each other off, had a fucking teenybopper snit, whatever. Maybe you have a hair across your ass because he told you to, oh my god, read the Qwitter Readme, (which, by the way, is common sense. Download software, read the documentation). But there is no excuse as to why you cannot pull $10 out of your tight asses, to buy this program. If I did it, anybody can. Maybe the registration scheme isn’t the niftiest, most awesome and most secure thing ever, yet. I get it. But there’s no reason to be a tool and steal a $10 piece of software. If you’re that much of a spoiled brat and need everything handed to you that badly, then you have some serious entitlement issues.

Yes, I’ve punked (legal) copies of software off Shane before. Four pieces of software on this machine are legally registered to him. They’re either there because I’ll need them eventually, because I needed them on the *BOUNCE*, meaning, I couldn’t wait any longer for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind to stop scratching their asses long enough to actually do their jobs, because they were put here to help fix the broken that is this computer, or, in one case, because shane thought one particular piece of software would make this thing work a little less like a brick than the other. Also, as some of you know, I share a dropbox with shane. Why? Because he has tons of space and said I could share. The difference, folks, is that most everything he gave me, if not all of it, is way the hell out of my price range! However, everything on here that is his, is legally registered to him, and he knows I have it, because in 3 out of 4 cases, he’s slapped the software on this machine himself. In his words, per my conversation with him as I write, “You have my permission to use it, the company *is* aware that it’s on your system. As I was using your system for a time, and felt it wasn’t to anyone’s bennifit to clean up after myself, you still have access to that software.” In other words, it’s legal, shut up, keep it, and like it. also re: The one thing he didn’t put on here himself that he handed me from 400 miles away, it became a matter of, I need this, because if the university’s networking policies eventually force me to make a certain upgrade, certain stuff of mine will be out of date and quite useless. We made the decision that him handing me a particular authorization for a piece of software was, for now, the best way to put a BandAid on the issue. What else was I going to do, learn a new screen reader in 2 days? Pull money out of my ass? Wait for a moneytree to appear? How about not? Now, if it were $10 software, I could simply go and buy it. However, there are certain pieces of software that cost more than both my parents make in a week put together. if somebody hands me a legal license, because I need that software, I won’t be kickin’ a gift horse in the ass. I will, as Shane’s fond of jokingly telling me to do when he does something major to help me out, “shut up and like it.” But people. Seriously. Hope’s a $10 piece of software. I’ve probably spent $10 in the last 2 weeks on caffeine alone. the developer may not be your favorite person, but that’s no excuse to publicly ask for a free copy of his software on Twitter. Would you like someone to do the same to you? Think about it. A little common sense and courtesy might get some of you a little farther in life.

Popularity: 55%

throughout today, it came to light that
SW Cast
had been shut down by
Sound exchange
but their’s a lot of wining that this is not valid.
Firstly, have the
original
post that sparked this

> SWCast shut down >

Posted on April 19, 2011 by David Oxenford

SoundExchange Claims Credit for Shutting Down Webcaster Who Was Not Paying Royalties

SoundExchange claims on its website that webcaster SWCast.net was shut down when SoundExchange complained to its ISP that the service was not paying royalties for the use of the music played by the site. SWCast was an aggregator of webcast channels created by other individuals, who paid the company – allegedly for the streaming and for the royalties that were due for that streaming. According to the SoundExchange press release, the webcaster was shut down when SoundExchange “sent a letter requesting that the hosting ISP disable access to the SWCast site.” SoundExchange’s statement says that, despite repeated attempts to engage the webcaster, SWCast neither paid royalties nor filed reports of use for the songs streamed by the service, leading to SoundExchange’s action. As far as we know, this is the first time that SoundExchange has taken such an action.

How did this work? While we have not seen the letter that SoundExchange sent to the ISP, we can assume that it alleged that SWCast was infringing on copyrighted materials by not paying the required royalties. ISPs have a safe harbor under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, protecting them from liability for the infringement of users of their services, if the ISP does not encourage the infringement, registers an agent with the Copyright Office, and agrees to take down infringing content when properly notified by a copyright holder (see our post here). We can only assume that SoundExchange or the copyright holders themselves notified the ISP that the material streamed by this webcaster was infringing as no royalties were being paid and, to protect itself, the ISP blocked access to the site.

Does this action reflect a new aggressiveness on the part of SoundExchange? We have noted before that, from time to time, there seems to be a flurry of collection activity by SoundExchange. We have heard from several streaming companies that they have recently received notices from SoundExchange inquiring about various compliance issues. SoundExchange has been staffing up, and they have an attorney on staff whose principal job is enforcement. Perhaps, with a new President, and with the last webcasting royalty proceeding done but for the appeals, this is a time when SoundExchange feels comfortable enough to act to ensure compliance with its royalty requirements.

We’ve summarized the Internet radio royalty rates recently, and reminded webcasters not to forget their minimum fee payments and yearly election requirements. If you are streaming, this might be a good time to check your royalty compliance to make sure that you are doing all that is expected by SoundExchange. They may be watching!

so I headed over to the linked in portion of the sound exchange website, and found
this
here’s that article, as well.

Public notice of disabling of access to SWcast services
April 18th
In recent days, SoundExchange requested that access to Internet radio service SWCast.net be disabled by the hosting ISP in accordance with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the ISP’s terms of service.

While regrettable, this step was necessary given SWCast’s repeated claims that it is a “provider of blanket music licensing and enhancement services” for online radio stations. SWCast collected monthly fees from webcasters using its service, in exchange for (it claimed) satisfying all of the reporting and royalty obligations of its webcaster clients. Among the obligations specifically listed on its site are those reporting obligations and royalties paid to rights-holders by webcasters through SoundExchange.

SWCast, however, does not provide the promised services. Specifically, and despite its claims, SWCast has failed to abide by its obligations under the statutory license, did not pay anything to SoundExchange for years, and, as of the date of this letter, has not even attempted to make any payment to SoundExchange for any period after 2005. SWCast has also never provided the reports of use that are clearly required by the statutory license.

SoundExchange repeatedly reached out to SWCast to seek its compliance, to no avail. Accordingly, SoundExchange sent a letter requesting that the hosting ISP disable access to the SWCast site. Individual webcasters who had been using SWCast’s services are free to rely on the statutory license going forward, either by submitting the necessary materials and payments to SoundExchange directly, or relying on a different third party service to submit such materials and payments on their behalf. Learn more about SoundExchange’s Licensing 101.

Thousands of webcasters have been able to thrive and to provide valuable services to their listeners while operating legally under the statutory license. It’s unfair for SWCast or anyone else to use artists’ work without compensating them, and it’s unfair to the webcasters who believed they were abiding by the law.

We’re sorry that SWCast chose not to comply with the law, and we hope SWCast fans will find another (legal) provider by which to enjoy the tracks we all love. Meanwhile, we’ll be holding down the fort here, making sure that artists and copyright holders see returns on their hard work, and have the means to continue creating new music.

If you have any questions, please review www.soundexchange.com or feel free to contact our licensing and enforcement department at 202.559.0555 or L&E@soundexchange.com.

so as a member of staff on both
JJRN
and
Mojo Radio
and a concerned listener, I contacted the phone number listed, and spoke with Mandi Nash of the licensing and enforcement department.
I determined, during that conversation that what I was reading was true and accurate, and as further proof, she sent me what all stations were receiving upon request.

________________________________

From: Mandi Nash [mailto:anash@SOUNDEXCHANGE.COM]
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 3:43 PM
To: shane@shaned.net
Subject: Notice of Violation of Terms of Statutory License by SWCast

Re: Notice of Violation of Terms of Statutory License by SWCast

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is a courtesy notice provided to you by SoundExchange regarding the current compliance status of your webcasting station. As you may know, SoundExchange, Inc. is the non-profit entity designated by the Copyright Royalty Board to collect royalties owed under the statutory license for the public performance of sound recordings via certain noninteractive digital audio transmissions (e.g., “webcasting”) and the making of certain ephemeral phonorecords. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 112(e), 114; 37 C.F.R. Parts 370, 380 (the “Statutory License”). SoundExchange, in turn, distributes the royalties it collects to the performing artists and copyright owners of such sound recordings.

We write to you regarding your webcasting service that has been made available through SWCast.net (“SWCast”). SWCast purports to be an Internet radio service for small webcasters and a “provider of blanket music licensing and enhancement services” for online radio stations. As part of its services, SWCast offers a so-called “Joint Performance Licensing Program” (“JPL Program”). Through the JPL program, SWCast offers, for a fee, to satisfy all of the reporting and royalty obligations of its webcaster clients whose streaming it hosts and manages (the “Webcaster Clients”). Among the obligations specifically listed are those reporting obligations and royalties paid to rights-holders by webcasters through SoundExchange. SWCast promises to provide “small U.S. Webcasters with the licensing coverage, expertise, and peace of mind they need,” in exchange for monthly payments from its Webcaster Clients.

SWCast, however, does not provide the promised services. Specifically, and despite its claims, SWCast has completely failed to abide by its obligations under the statutory license, did not pay anything to SoundExchange for years, and, as of the date of this letter, has not even attempted to make any payment to SoundExchange for any period after 2005. SWCast has also never provided the reports of use that are clearly required by the statutory license.

SoundExchange has tried for months to rectify this unacceptable situation with SWCast, to no avail. Accordingly, on March 28, 2011, SoundExchange sent a letter to the Internet service provider for SWCast.net informing the ISP that SWCast.net had failed to comply with the terms of the statutory license, was engaging and/or assisting in infringing activity and had violated the ISP’s terms of service. The letter requested that the ISP disable access to the SWCast.net site, in accordance with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the ISP’s terms of service.

We are writing to you to inform you of SWCast’s failure to comply with the terms of the statutory license. If you wish to rely on the statutory license for your webcasting service going forward, you may decide to submit royalty payments, statements of account and reports of use directly to SoundExchange, or you may decide to rely on a different third party to submit such materials and payments to SoundExchange on your behalf. Please let us know by May 6, 2011 how you intend to proceed. If you wish to submit materials and payments directly to SoundExchange, you may use the rates, forms and other information provided on SoundExchange’s web site at www.soundexchange.com/service-provider/how-do-i-pay/ . Please note that SoundExchange does not endorse any particular third-party service and that – should a third-party service fail to meet its obligations on your behalf going forward – you remain ultimately responsible for your own service’s compliance with the terms of the statutory license.

If you have any questions, please review our web site at www.soundexchange.com or feel free to contact our licensing and enforcement department at 202.559.0555 or L&E@soundexchange.com.

* * *

This letter does not constitute a waiver of our members’ right to recover damages incurred by virtue of any unlicensed transmissions or reproductions of copyrighted sound recordings, and such rights as well as claims for other relief are expressly retained. Also, please be advised that SoundExchange does not make any determination as to whether a service is in fact eligible to use the Statutory License. Instead, the applicable authorization for such services to publicly perform sound recordings derives from federal law, and eligibility for such activity is thus a matter of law. Accordingly, SoundExchange’s acceptance of notices of use, payments, statements of account, or reports of use does not express or imply any acknowledgment that a service is in fact eligible for or otherwise in compliance with the requirements of the Statutory License. If you have questions about whether your service is eligible for the Statutory License, you should consult your own legal counsel for advice.

Regards,

Brad Prendergast
Counsel
SoundExchange, Inc.
1121 Fourteenth St. NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202-559-0550
Fax: 202-640-5883
email: bprendergast@soundexchange.com

In other words, SW cast is dead. and you’ll need to find an alternate licensing source before may 6, 2011.
Feel free to comment as either a station owner, a listener, or what have you. It’ll be interesting to see your views.

Popularity: 32%

so those of you that surf
you tube
may have come across
this
video.
Great video. I love it, hey, I have the original in mp3, somewhere around here.
Who knew that speech synthesizers such as dectalk, the braille n speak, among others
thought the same!
I’m highly amused!
Sing it synthesizers, sing it!
Oh, and because I’m nice, have the
original
for your amusement.

Popularity: 22%

Yeah, I use
4 square
when I’m out, why the hell not. but seriously, do we really need it proclaimed as a
Holiday?
Seriously?
Great service, stupid holiday.
Just my opinion.

Popularity: 18%

This blog post has been crossposted to other blogs. so enjoy.
What is it? Baseball
Who’s playing? jays and minnisota.
What time does it start? 6:30PM eastern.
who’s running the show?
to extremely geeky people,.
How do I listen?
You listen by waiting until 6:30PM on Friday April 1, 2011, and then you click right
here
and then sit back with your beverage of choice, a pizza, your instant messenger, or twitter client in front of you, and enjoy great baseball, and commintary from the hosts of this party.
We hope to see you all their!

Popularity: 18%

so
amazon.
has launched this great knew service that allows it’s customer to store their music on their services for playing on multiple devices.
I took a look at it, and like the idea, a tad inaccessible, but what you gonna do, right?
Well now, amazon’s facing possible
legal
action because they don’t have the proper licensing.
small note to the record labels.
Your gonna be ass wholes, I’ll stick to my torrents, thanks.
Amazon’s already licensing enough content from you people, they shouldn’t have to buy more because they had the brains to put together a service that allows their customers to, oh my god, take their music with them on whatever device they happen to have hanging arouned.

Popularity: 27%

Once again, we here in canada proove we have a better handle on this digital thing than the united states.
We took the year by storm with
18% growth
over the united states impressive 1%.
Oh, wait, it gets better.
In 2009, our digital growth was 38%, and the united states was… what’s that? only 8%? sorry you suck, again.
It’s impressive to see that our digital and non digital markets rank the same, number 7 in the world.
Again, united states? RIAA/MPAA, head out of your asses, right the hell now.

Popularity: 29%

So yesterday everyone and their mother was wining about
facebook shutting down
but sadly, it’s
not
so please do be shutting your mouth and do your research before you wine.
More proof that the claim was
false
can be found right
over here
so in short, please get your facts straight before believing things like
this
thanks for coming out to play, though.

Popularity: 18%

people always ask me, why won’t you buy a mac.
My simple answer, I’m happy with what I’ve got.
If I want to play in the mac environment I’ll crank it up in a VM.
Well, I’ve found another reason.
Reading RSS feeds, we see that an apple
service provider is
suing
a customer for complaining online.

An Apple authorized Service Provider called System Graph is suing a customer who complained online about poor service from them. The customer Dimitrios Papadimitriadis took his iMac to them because he was seeing gray spots on his LED panel.

The Greek company System Graph recommended a full interior cleaning of the iMac and performed the service for Dimitrios. He then got his iMac back and noticed moisture behind the screen and that it still did not work properly and took it back to the repair center. System Graph then told him that they needed to keep his iMac to replace the LED screen and he would be without it for another week.

Dimitrios was now angry and demanded that his iMac be replaced pursuant to Article 540 of the Civil Code and section 5 of Act 2251. System Graph refused saying they were not the original retailer that he purchased the iMac from.

Dimitros has posted the entire story on a forum (Google Translated) and is now being sued by System Graph for 200,000 euros which is approximately $267,000 USD for slandering their good name. He has already gotten a large amount of support on both twitter and the forum.

What I don’t understand is what the company System Graph expects to get out of this suit. They will not be clearing their name by suing a customer, and what will Apple think if one of their Authorized Service Provider is suing an Apple customer. With the explosion of this news all over the web it will undoubtedly bring more attention to the company than they ever wanted.

if that’s the level of service we get from authorized apple dealers? Thanks, but no thanks apple, I’ll stick with windows, even though it does suck.
I’d rather avoid getting sued, when I file a valid complaint.
Apple, time to clean house, k? get rid of that service provider and i *might* consider switching, unlikely, but it had to be said.

Popularity: 16%

Hello fellow blog readers
It’s been awhile since I posted something of major substance to the blind community here.
On
this blog
We have some very interesting posts to reference.
I’m going to post each of them below, exactly as posted, and I’ll follow each one of them up with my comments.
The first one is entitled

Critical security flaw in JAWS

and was posted on october 16, 2009.

Critical security flaw in JAWS
October 16, 2009 by Tyler Spivey
I have found a critical security flaw in the JAWS Screen reader that allows an attacker to gain full system-level access to

the machine. I have tested this on 32-bit Windows Vista
with JAWS 10.0.1154 and 32-bit Windows 7 with JAWS 11.0.611 Beta.

Instructions:

1. From the Windows logon screen with JAWS running, press insert+f2. Run JAWS Manager will appear.
2. Select Settings Packager, and press ok. Settings Packager will open.
3. From Settings Packager, go to File menu > Open, or press ctrl+o.
4. In the open dialog, type “%windir%\system32\*.exe” into the file name field (without the quotes) and press enter.
5. In the list of files, find cmd. Right click on it, or press the applications key and select Run as Administrator.
A system-level command prompt should open. To get out of it, type exit and press enter, then close the Settings Packager.

my comments on this one
Note that this was during the last public beta build of jaws 11, build 611. I was able to varrify this issue with this build of jaws on all machines I have access to. After build 729 the final release to the public on DVD version of jaws came out on october 19 2009, tyler reported in his next post, see below, had been fixed. but as this next will show, this problem still exists using a different set of varrifiable instructions.
The next post entitled

JAWS security flaw, round 2

has this to say.

JAWS security flaw, round 2
October 19, 2009 by Tyler Spivey
In my First Post, I described a security vulnerability that allowed local users to gain system-level access to a machine. A quick test with JAWS 11.0.729, the release build of JAWS 11, reveals that it is fixed. Here is a slightly different set of instructions that will do the same thing.
1. From the login screen, press insert+j, and navigate to utilities/configuration manager.
2. When configuration manager opens, press control+o.
3. press the Import button. The open dialog will appear.
4. On my Windows 7 test machine, I got an error box that can safely be dismissed. Once done, type %windir%\system32\*.exe into the open dialog.
5. find cmd in the list, and press the applications key on it. Select Run as administrator if it appears. If not, keep following these steps.
6. From cmd’s context menu, pick select. answer no to the question asking you to overwrite settings files, if it comes up.
7. press import, and pick cmd from the list again. Activate the context menu, and select Run as administrator.
If done correctly, you should have an administrative command prompt

I took that set of instructions and again tested them on as many systems as possible, and low and behold, I received an administrative command prompt.
But the ensanity doesn’t end there.
On the same day, this post

Gathering passwords with the JAWS builtin keylogger

hit his blog.
The text is below.

Gathering passwords with the JAWS builtin keylogger
October 19, 2009 by Tyler Spivey
JAWS so helpfully contains a built-in script that logs all keys pressed on the keyboard. This method has a better chance of working on XP than the others. You must have a user account on the machine to make this work.

1. Open Keyboard manager, and open the default file. Add a key to the “ToggleKeyboardLogging” script.

2. Once done, log out of the machine. Your profile will still be loaded. Press that key. The only thing JAWS will say is “enabled”. Log into the machine, then open keystrokes.log in your jaws program directory. all keys pressed will be there, from the last time the script was enabled

At the time of writing, do to my keyboard manager acting up, I have not been able to test this particular vulnerability relating to the keylogger.
At the time this went to press, Freedom scientific LLC,
http://www.freedomscientific.com
was closed.
But the following e-mail was dispatched to both the support and info addresses.

subject: freedom scientific’s response to the security wholes found in jaws 11?

To whom this may concern,
I am writing this message in reference to three blog posts available at:

http://tspivey.wordpress.com/

and who’s text and my comments were placed on my own blog at

http://www.shaned.net/blog

To summarize these posts, it was discovered that not only can system level access to the computer be gained using your software, but your program includes a hidden keylogger that isn’t even documented that logs all keystrokes entered and can gain sensative information from a users computer?
These keys hense are logged to keystrokes.log.
I would like to ask, what is freedom scientifics stand on these issues, and is freedom scientific willing to comment publicly for airing on ACBRadio’s main menu and in other public venues regarding these security wholes?
I Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Shane Davidson

We shall see what comes of this.
until then.
piece yall.

Popularity: 20%

Blind Web surfers sue for accessibility

By SETH SUTEL, AP Business WriterTue Oct 24, 1:45 PM ET

“Links list dialogue.” “Links list view.” “Your Account — Two of 164.” This is what the Internet sounds like to Chris Danielsen. Danielsen is blind. He’s
using a software program called Jaws that converts the text on a Web page into a computerized voice that comes out through a speaker, allowing him to surf
the Web using keyboard commands instead of a mouse — the same way lots of blind people use the Internet.

In this case, his computer is listing all the Web links on the page he’s on and telling him that the highlighted link his cursor is on now will take him
to the “Your Account” section on Wal-Mart’s Web site.

Danielsen, who writes a blog called “The Voice of the Nation’s Blind” for the National Federation of the Blind, says accessing the Internet has been a “huge
boon” for blind people. It’s allowed them to accomplish a great number of tasks on their own that would otherwise present difficulties or require the help
of a sighted person, such as banking, buying plane tickets and shopping for things like groceries and music.

But like any evolving technology, accessing the Internet has hardly been a smooth ride for the blind. Some sites can be difficult to navigate, particularly
if they contain relatively few text links and rely more on graphics and other visual elements that screen-reading software such as Jaws can’t interpret.

That’s why the NFB, an organization that represents blind people, is suing Target Corp., saying that its Web site is inaccessible to blind Internet users.

Last month a federal judge in California allowed the NFB’s case to proceed, rejecting Target’s argument that its Web site wasn’t subject to the Americans
With Disabilities Act, a 1990 law that requires retailers and other public places to make accommodations for people with disabilities. Target argued that
the law only covered physical spaces.

The case, which is entering a pretrial phase called discovery in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, could set an important precedent
for applying federal accessibility law to the Internet.

Target said in a statement that its Web site was “committed to providing an online experience that is accessible to all of our guests. Despite the lawsuit
brought forward by the National Federation of the Blind, we have always and will continue to implement new technologies to our Web site.”

John Pare, a spokesman for the NFB, said most Web sites are far easier to navigate than Target’s. In a demonstration of screen-reading software for The
Associated Press, Danielsen showed that many links on Target’s side were unintelligible to the Jaws software, and that the final purchase required the
use of a mouse, something even the most sophisticated blind Web surfer would have trouble with. However, he was able to navigate other sites and purchased
a CD from Amazon.

Jaws, made by Freedom Scientific, is a popular kind of screen-reading software, but there are others, including Window-Eyes, made by GW Micro, and Hal,
made by Dolphin Computer Access.

Many Web sites already have made major progress in becoming accessible to the blind, and some, such as those run by the government, are required to do so
by law.

Yet surfing the Internet is not always worry-free for the blind. Crista Earl, the head of Web operations for the American Foundation for the Blind in New
York, said graphics that don’t contain textual labels — which can be read by screen-reading software — are a common obstacle for blind Internet users,
as are “forms” that are unlabeled. Forms are the little boxes where you insert data, such as a book title you wanted to search for.

The decision to hold Target’s Web site to the same standards of accessibility as its physical store under the Americans with Disabilities Act was considered
a victory by many advocates for the blind, but at the same time others worry that the ruling could be read too narrowly.

Not every business or Web site is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, said John D. Kemp., a lawyer with the Washington law firm Powers, Pyles,
Sutter & Verville P.C. The ADA applies mainly to public places such as restaurants, retailers, movie theaters and health care institutions, explained Kemp,
who has long worked on compliance issues related to disabilities, employment and technology.

For an electronic retailer such as Amazon.com, which has no physical store, the law is unclear, Kemp said. “There is no well defined policy in this area
at all.”

However, Kemp noted that many businesses, such as banks, see a strong business rationale for making their sites accessible, and have moved aggressively
to do so.

Meanwhile, other retailers are also moving to adapt their Web sites to screen-reading software. Kelly Groehler, a spokeswoman for Best Buy Co., says the
company has made a number of changes to its site since late last year, including incorporating “alt tags” — or text that labels items like graphics — into
its site.

Best Buy also moved code for drop-down menus to the bottom of the page, where it’s less likely to duplicate other elements on the page. “We’re trying to
be proactive here,” Groehler said. Walmart.com spokeswoman Amy Colella says the site has made sure it is “reasonably accessible” to the blind.

Other retailers are making similar efforts, but it remains a challenge due to the continuing evolution in the technologies used by blind people to surf
the Internet, says Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation for online retailers.

“As the retailers’ Web sites continue to evolve to stay competitive in the marketplace, sometimes the technologies necessary to do that are a little bit
ahead of where the screen-readers are,” Silverman said. “It’s a very fast-moving environment. Retailers want to serve all their customers, including blind
people.”

Internet search giant Google Inc. is getting into the act as well. In July it launched a project to identify and rank Web sites that offer significant accessibility
to the blind.

As more information and services migrate online, keeping access open to it is of paramount importance to advocates for the blind.

“The blind have more access to information than they ever had in history — but that’s only true to the extent that Web accessibility is maintained,” Danielsen
said. “The technology is out there, and we don’t need barriers to be put in our way. Give us a way in.”

___

On the Net:

National Federation of the Blind: http://www.nfb.org

Google Accessible Search:

http://labs.google.com/accessible/faq.html

American Foundation for the Blind: http://afb.org/

Popularity: 5%

>Blind Web surfers sue for accessibility

By SETH SUTEL, AP Business WriterTue Oct 24, 1:45 PM ET

“Links list dialogue.” “Links list view.” “Your Account — Two of 164.” This is what the Internet sounds like to Chris Danielsen. Danielsen is blind. He’s
using a software program called Jaws that converts the text on a Web page into a computerized voice that comes out through a speaker, allowing him to surf
the Web using keyboard commands instead of a mouse — the same way lots of blind people use the Internet.

In this case, his computer is listing all the Web links on the page he’s on and telling him that the highlighted link his cursor is on now will take him
to the “Your Account” section on Wal-Mart’s Web site.

Danielsen, who writes a blog called “The Voice of the Nation’s Blind” for the National Federation of the Blind, says accessing the Internet has been a “huge
boon” for blind people. It’s allowed them to accomplish a great number of tasks on their own that would otherwise present difficulties or require the help
of a sighted person, such as banking, buying plane tickets and shopping for things like groceries and music.

But like any evolving technology, accessing the Internet has hardly been a smooth ride for the blind. Some sites can be difficult to navigate, particularly
if they contain relatively few text links and rely more on graphics and other visual elements that screen-reading software such as Jaws can’t interpret.

That’s why the NFB, an organization that represents blind people, is suing Target Corp., saying that its Web site is inaccessible to blind Internet users.

Last month a federal judge in California allowed the NFB’s case to proceed, rejecting Target’s argument that its Web site wasn’t subject to the Americans
With Disabilities Act, a 1990 law that requires retailers and other public places to make accommodations for people with disabilities. Target argued that
the law only covered physical spaces.

The case, which is entering a pretrial phase called discovery in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, could set an important precedent
for applying federal accessibility law to the Internet.

Target said in a statement that its Web site was “committed to providing an online experience that is accessible to all of our guests. Despite the lawsuit
brought forward by the National Federation of the Blind, we have always and will continue to implement new technologies to our Web site.”

John Pare, a spokesman for the NFB, said most Web sites are far easier to navigate than Target’s. In a demonstration of screen-reading software for The
Associated Press, Danielsen showed that many links on Target’s side were unintelligible to the Jaws software, and that the final purchase required the
use of a mouse, something even the most sophisticated blind Web surfer would have trouble with. However, he was able to navigate other sites and purchased
a CD from Amazon.

Jaws, made by Freedom Scientific, is a popular kind of screen-reading software, but there are others, including Window-Eyes, made by GW Micro, and Hal,
made by Dolphin Computer Access.

Many Web sites already have made major progress in becoming accessible to the blind, and some, such as those run by the government, are required to do so
by law.

Yet surfing the Internet is not always worry-free for the blind. Crista Earl, the head of Web operations for the American Foundation for the Blind in New
York, said graphics that don’t contain textual labels — which can be read by screen-reading software — are a common obstacle for blind Internet users,
as are “forms” that are unlabeled. Forms are the little boxes where you insert data, such as a book title you wanted to search for.

The decision to hold Target’s Web site to the same standards of accessibility as its physical store under the Americans with Disabilities Act was considered
a victory by many advocates for the blind, but at the same time others worry that the ruling could be read too narrowly.

Not every business or Web site is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, said John D. Kemp., a lawyer with the Washington law firm Powers, Pyles,
Sutter & Verville P.C. The ADA applies mainly to public places such as restaurants, retailers, movie theaters and health care institutions, explained Kemp,
who has long worked on compliance issues related to disabilities, employment and technology.

For an electronic retailer such as Amazon.com, which has no physical store, the law is unclear, Kemp said. “There is no well defined policy in this area
at all.”

However, Kemp noted that many businesses, such as banks, see a strong business rationale for making their sites accessible, and have moved aggressively
to do so.

Meanwhile, other retailers are also moving to adapt their Web sites to screen-reading software. Kelly Groehler, a spokeswoman for Best Buy Co., says the
company has made a number of changes to its site since late last year, including incorporating “alt tags” — or text that labels items like graphics — into
its site.

Best Buy also moved code for drop-down menus to the bottom of the page, where it’s less likely to duplicate other elements on the page. “We’re trying to
be proactive here,” Groehler said. Walmart.com spokeswoman Amy Colella says the site has made sure it is “reasonably accessible” to the blind.

Other retailers are making similar efforts, but it remains a challenge due to the continuing evolution in the technologies used by blind people to surf
the Internet, says Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation for online retailers.

“As the retailers’ Web sites continue to evolve to stay competitive in the marketplace, sometimes the technologies necessary to do that are a little bit
ahead of where the screen-readers are,” Silverman said. “It’s a very fast-moving environment. Retailers want to serve all their customers, including blind
people.”

Internet search giant Google Inc. is getting into the act as well. In July it launched a project to identify and rank Web sites that offer significant accessibility
to the blind.

As more information and services migrate online, keeping access open to it is of paramount importance to advocates for the blind.

“The blind have more access to information than they ever had in history — but that’s only true to the extent that Web accessibility is maintained,” Danielsen
said. “The technology is out there, and we don’t need barriers to be put in our way. Give us a way in.”

___

On the Net:

National Federation of the Blind: http://www.nfb.org

Google Accessible Search:

http://labs.google.com/accessible/faq.html

American Foundation for the Blind: http://afb.org/

Popularity: 1%

Good morning everyone.
this
article
from
beta news.com
entitled:
Qualcomm Hands Off Eudora to Mozilla
is interesting.
I will post the article in it’s entirety below.
enjoy.
Qualcomm Hands Off Eudora to Mozilla

By
Nate Mook
and
Scott M. Fulton, III,
BetaNews

October 11, 2006, 2:57 PM

Qualcomm on Wednesday joined up with the Mozilla Foundation to announce it is transitioning
Eudora
into an open source e-mail client that will be based upon
Thunderbird.
In turn, all future versions of Eudora will be free and Qualcomm will discontinue the current paid client.

Although it may seem like Eudora is simply abandoning its e-mail software, which has a small but strong following of loyal users, the company claims the
Thunderbird-based client will retain “Eudora’s uniquely rich feature set and productivity enhancements.”
The first release of the open source client is expected in early 2007, at which point Eudora will cease selling the product commercially. In the meantime,
Eudora will be priced at $19.95 USD and come with three incidents of support in a six month period. Until today, Qualcomm sold Eudora versions for a suggested
retail price of as high as $49.95 USD.

Current Eudora users can choose to keep running the ad-supported version indefinitely after upgrading to version 7.1 for Windows and 6.2.4 for Mac OS X,
released last week but announced only today. Qualcomm says it will stop displaying advertisements in the client sometime early next year.

“Qualcomm has decided not to remain in the email market because it is not in alignment with the core business or strategic goals,” the company said. “By
moving Eudora to an open source product, Qualcomm can exit the Eudora business while still supporting Eudora users and advancing the Eudora e-mail client
at a faster pace than before, through the power of the open source development community.”

“We’re pleased to welcome Eudora and its millions of users to the world of open source,” said Frank Hecker, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation.
“This effort should further enrich the Thunderbird technology platform and provide users of both products with an even richer email experience.”

In recent months, reviewers continued to give Eudora the performance edge for use with enterprise e-mail, compared against Thunderbird (though not against
Microsoft Outlook). However, in practice, some have noted Eudora has suffered limited performance problems with recent versions, prompting in at least one case suggestions that users (in this case, students) try Thunderbird instead.

Popularity: 6%

>Good morning everyone.
this
article
from
beta news.com
entitled:
Qualcomm Hands Off Eudora to Mozilla
is interesting.
I will post the article in it’s entirety below.
enjoy.
Qualcomm Hands Off Eudora to Mozilla

By
Nate Mook
and
Scott M. Fulton, III,
BetaNews

October 11, 2006, 2:57 PM

Qualcomm on Wednesday joined up with the Mozilla Foundation to announce it is transitioning
Eudora
into an open source e-mail client that will be based upon
Thunderbird.
In turn, all future versions of Eudora will be free and Qualcomm will discontinue the current paid client.

Although it may seem like Eudora is simply abandoning its e-mail software, which has a small but strong following of loyal users, the company claims the
Thunderbird-based client will retain “Eudora’s uniquely rich feature set and productivity enhancements.”
The first release of the open source client is expected in early 2007, at which point Eudora will cease selling the product commercially. In the meantime,
Eudora will be priced at $19.95 USD and come with three incidents of support in a six month period. Until today, Qualcomm sold Eudora versions for a suggested
retail price of as high as $49.95 USD.

Current Eudora users can choose to keep running the ad-supported version indefinitely after upgrading to version 7.1 for Windows and 6.2.4 for Mac OS X,
released last week but announced only today. Qualcomm says it will stop displaying advertisements in the client sometime early next year.

“Qualcomm has decided not to remain in the email market because it is not in alignment with the core business or strategic goals,” the company said. “By
moving Eudora to an open source product, Qualcomm can exit the Eudora business while still supporting Eudora users and advancing the Eudora e-mail client
at a faster pace than before, through the power of the open source development community.”

“We’re pleased to welcome Eudora and its millions of users to the world of open source,” said Frank Hecker, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation.
“This effort should further enrich the Thunderbird technology platform and provide users of both products with an even richer email experience.”

In recent months, reviewers continued to give Eudora the performance edge for use with enterprise e-mail, compared against Thunderbird (though not against
Microsoft Outlook). However, in practice, some have noted Eudora has suffered limited performance problems with recent versions, prompting in at least one case suggestions that users (in this case, students) try Thunderbird instead.

Popularity: 1%