Dave Williams

Some personal blogs are more occasional than others. Certainly Davewilliams.co.uk has been less frequent of late. Like many floggers, I do not always have the inclination to blog. Either, nothing blogworthy happens, I am too busy, get out of the blogging routine or I just can't be bothered! I'm not going to promise to blog more. If I'm not blogging it is probably because I'm zonked in front of the TV rather than blogging! That said, I have a few minutes to share a couple of TV related bits and pieces.

I was recently prevented from paying my licence fee online as apparently the TV licensing database cannot cope with the fact that some blind people receive correspondence in Braille and the address for the Braille transcription is different from one's home address. Ah well half an hour on the phone later and I'm all set to pick up the remote.

For the record, I am not opposed to the licence fee, although the criteria for who should pay it seems somewhat arbitrary when one considers the volume of BBC content available online free from outside the UK. Moreover, the advent of the very excellent BBC iPlayer allowing one to catch up with programs for the past 7 days would seem to indicate that anyone in the UK with an internet connection (not just a television) would also be liable for the licence fee?

Incidentally, 3 years ago, Geoff Shang, Jeff Haris and I came up with something slightly similar to the iPlayer for ACB Radio. Great to see that the ACB Radio Replay service is still going strong:

ACB Radio Replay.

Anyway, When I inadvertently stumble across a a wrist slittingly depressing episode of BBC One's primetime soap EastEnders, the tacky tastic game show serving warm up for the National Lottery, or yet another episode of the Weakest Link, I am left wondering what the hell the BBC is playing at with our licence payers' money?

That said, generally I am supportive of the licence fee. When one considers the breadth and depth of the BBC's output. It is difficult to imagine any other broadcaster in the world commissioning a comparable range of content. And good on ya BBC for telling those greedy Ausies to stick it when Channel Ten hiked up the price for Neighbours. I'm sure the good folk of Erinsborough will be just fine along side Home and Away, on the UK's Channel Five. Isn't Five owned by RTL now anyway?

Back on the Beeb, lately I have been delighted by the return to our screens by the larger than life character DCI Gene Hunt in the Life on Mars spin-off Ashes to Ashes. Proceeded on Thursdays by the marvellously morose Grantly Budgen in that hopelessly optimistic of all school dramas Waterloo road.

I have recently enjoyed Tropic of Capricorn concluding this past weekend on BBC Two. Following Equator this is Simon Reeve's second televised travel log circumnavigating the globe. He's no Palin but that's probably a good thing is it allows the audience to focus on the place rather than the presenter.

Moving away from the Beeb, if you like your TV travel a bit more gritty then Dave Gorman's America Unchained is well worth a watch. Now available on DVD and being repeated on FilmFour and probably available on 4OD although I've not checked.

Speaking of grit. Channel 4's Shameless is well into it's fifth series and still well worth a giggle. Although for me Shameless has lost some of it's original charm. Frank and the other characters on the Chatsworth Estate have gone a bit preachy, and they are making a bit too much use of fantasy reality sequences which always put me in mind of the movie version of Billy Liar.

Glad to report: Ashes to Ashes, Waterloo Road, Tropic of Capricorn and Shameless are all audio described. Which is more than can be said for any of the films playing at the Worcester Odian! And if the blogs are to be believed AD is coming soon to an iPlayer near you!


Next time on DaveWilliams.co.uk...

Hrrors of Hotpoint,

Nws from the Preston front,

My little sister's getting married!

All the best.

Labels: Opinion, TV

Hope everyone out there in Internet land is doing well? A few of you have asked why I have not blogged here in a while. Well I guess I have been busy trying to prove the theory that if you have a life you have no time for blogging! So guess my life is on hold for a few minutes while I quickly post something here.

June was pretty manic with lots going on at work. Some of which I can talk about, some of which I cannot. Dolphin's screen reader for Windows Mobile Smartphones, Smart Hal, seems to be doing very well with plenty of interest from many quarters. Thank you all. During the final week in June I went to London as part of Dolphin's participation in Transforming Lives, an event hosted by Microsoft in Westminster. As well as presenting Smart Hal to the great and the good including Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, for part of the day I sat on a panel which explored where we are and where we are heading with assistive technology.

During the Transforming Lives debate, there was some criticism from a leading blindness charity here in the UK to the effect that the Windows environment accessed with screen reader software means that blind users are restricted to consuming and processing information thus relegating blind people to the less affluent end of the economic spectrum. As a screen reader user I take issue with this position which does not seem entirely logical in the context of assistive technology and the information age. So, eh hem, needless to say yours truly chimed in to challenge this gloomy prognosis.

It is true to say many blind people in a wide range of fields, requiring computer access or not, are more likely to be denied the economic opportunities available to sighted peers. It is also true to say that Microsoft Windows the operating system running the majority of modern computers has very limited screen access software built-in. Moreover, comprehensive and powerful screen reading software is absolutely essential in order that a blind person can make effective use of a Windows PC and to get on in an increasing number of careers requiring basic levels of computer literacy. However, the relationship between Microsoft and a rich ecosystem of assistive technology manufacturers actually works to break down rather than perpetuate economic inequality between blind and sighted people by delivering highly effective and targeted products which often meet and in many cases exceed the needs of blind computer users. The screen reader industry is small and the products are often not perfect. However, compared with twelve to fifteen years ago when the received wisdom seemed to be that access to Windows and the web were not really viable propositions for a blind person, in reality we have come a very long way.

Microsoft Windows enables assistive technology developers to utilise a range of frameworks and techniques enabling specialist targeted tightly-focused screen reading and screen magnification solutions to be created for use by people who are blind or partially sighted. Screen reader developer techniques made possible by Windows include but are not limited to: API hooking, MSAA, UI Automation, Document Object Models, Video Chaining, Mirror Drivers, etc. While some of these techniques have better support than others, and while some of these approaches may require a higher degree of creativity amongst developers than others. The practical upshot is that Windows users can choose from any one of half a dozen free and premium highly effective customisable screen readers providing comprehensive Braille and speech output for a vast array of applications used in a wide variety of professional and domestic scenarios.

Many transactions which previously relied on having access to sighted assistance or a transcription service can now, with appropriate technology and training, be successfully completed independently by someone who is blind at the same time as sighted peers without additional cost or reliance on a sighted intermediary. Moreover, this independence can enhance one's confidence privacy and dignity potentially reducing physical barriers to education and employment.

Absolutely greater accessibility and usability in Windows can potentially improve the experience for everyone, not just those who traditionally have been disabled by inaccessible interfaces. However, the past decade has shown that by working in partnership with assistive technology specialists who have the requisite experience and expertise from working directly with users Microsoft are stimulating an environment where tailored solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of otherwise disabled users can flurrish.

The first tenant of universal design is to recognise the diversity amongst users. Can an operating system developer, even one as omnipotent as Microsoft, realistically continue to support the broad range of specialist hardware such as Braille displays and speech synthesisers used by blind people, accommodate the differences and preferences amongst screen reader users, continually release assistive technology updates to keep pace with new applications and emerging web trends, as well as provide appropriate levels of training and support to educate users relying on speech and Braille output?

To me as an assistive technology user, at least for now it seems appropriate that Microsoft should continue to promote innovation and choice in the assistive technology arena by providing a platform and infrastructure on which customisable assistive technology solutions are built in order to meet the needs of this diverse user community.

Consuming and processing information is a means by which an individual can acquire education, experience, skills which are ultimately marketable commodities. When funded along side appropriate training and as part of a balanced programme including Braille literacy, screen reading software products providing access to Windows applications and the internet can substancially enhance the education, independence and economic mobility of blind and partially sighted people by providing a gateway resulting in widening participation in a knowledge economy.

There is not a mortgage repayment goes buy when I do not think of those teachers in school who tought me how to read Braille, how to type and use a computer. Thank you Miss King, Mrs Duffy and Mr Irvine.

I certainly do not wish to underestimate the significant assistive technology challenges which lie ahead. There is a lot to do with Web 2.0, and in the area of set-top-boxes hardly anyone has even begun to scratch the surface. At the same time one should not underestimate the achievements to date and Microsoft are now more aware of the needs of assistive technology users more so than at any point in the past.

Labels: Disability, Opinion, Technology

Possibly futile but worth registering one's disgust!

Few broadcasters have done more than the BBC to set standards by which others are measured. However, this latest set of guidelines from auntie to homogenise TV credits sequences seems a tad over the top?

The credits, as well as providing important and appropriate attribution information about the people who made TV productions possible, are in many cases a natural pause allowing one to sit back, enjoy the show's theme music reflect on the programme past. While I do not have sufficient eye sight to read the credits for my favourite TV shows, I can recollect countless examples from over the years where programme makers and writers have come up with original ways to express ideas around the end credits. Some of these have been hilarious, thought-provoking and even moving.

One of the most seminal moments in British sitcom history was the moving sequence at the end of Blackadder series IV, which if I have correctly understood the new requirements, would not be possible in the future?

Does all this bollocks apply to repeats too?

Labels: Opinion, TV

I am not usually taken to recommending feel good programmes on disability. If you want to feel a good disabled then go out and find one! Many would welcome the attention! :)

However, this week's BBC Radio 4 In Touch, which sounds like it may have been in the can for a little while waiting for Pete White to have a week off, really shatters any preconceptions which one may form while reading the blurb. These blind Iranians are really just getting the hell on with it. They are not blogging, complaining about the lack of accessible traffic signals or waiting for audio description, navel-gazing about tv documentaries on blindness, etc. That's not to say I shouldn't, there's room on this world wide webbie thing for all of us. These guys are simply figuring out what is important and the last thing they want to be thought of is as some hard luck charity cases.

In my best Points of View voice then.

"Well done BBC!"

This episode of In touch will be available through the Beeb's listen again until 15 May. and let tis be a lesson to ya! :)

Guess it's back to whinging about the lack of guidedog hotels and the like next week.

Poodle tip...

Labels: Disability, Opinion

Note to self, must not prejudge Channel 4 documentary on young people who are blind. Probably safer to avoid it like the plague!

I am really trying extremely hard to remain optimistic about this documentary. I can't help dreading it though and that is not because like one of the featured students in the Channel 4 show I too was suspended from the RNCB. Prob not best to go into the reasons why at this stage. Safe to say it was not big and was not clever. Although pretty funny depending on your perspective.

The programme to go out at 9PM on Monday may actually leave viewers with the cutting edge impression that blind people may actually be having sex? My goodness Ray Charles would turn in his grave! What's the world coming to!

Seriously though, are people with disabilities just overly sensitive about tv documentaries like this? What sort of documentary would we really be happy with? Do blind people need/want a documentary at all? What actually was the original purpose of the programme? Is it to educate the public about disability? Is it meant to be car-crash TV to entertain the curious? Is it to promote a positive image of disability? In which case why not have some positive role models who are disabled as characters on Hollyoaks or presenting on T4?

Oh so many questions and too few answers. However "heart-warming" and Animal Hospital-like the documentary turns out to be, I am sure that plenty of blind people will be tuning in to find out which stereotype is being portrayed this time. Yes, against my better judgement, I will probably end up being one of them.

I sincerely hope I am proved completely wrong!!!

Labels: Opinion, TV

A perennial problem faced by blind concert-goers the world over. Thankfully this was a question I did not have to ask on Friday when my sister and I visited the Manchester Evening News Arena to witness Kylie performing her Showgirl Homecoming tour. I did not miss a single second, which is just as well because Kylie was simply sensational!

We arrived early at the M.E.N. taking a moment to locate the essentials including seats, bar and WC. As usual the arena stewards were on hand to assist with direction as and when required. As a blind concert-goer Spending a moment doing a little orientation before a gig usually turns out to be a worthwhile investment. One is then able to independently enjoy the rest of the evening without the nagging uncertainty that should one wish to leave one’s seat for any reason during the performance, one may never find it again amongst a crowd of fifteen thousand people! The alternative is to be made to feel like a child asking someone in a yellow jacket if they would be so good as to take you to the loo! What independent adult would accept that indignity? I guess whatever works for you. However, I am very much a fan of the “get there early and figure out where everything is” method, in order that one can be self-sufficient throughout the rest of the show.

I know several blind people who have become masters in the art of refusing to answer the call of nature, because of the chance of not making it back to their seat afterwards. Some blind people with particularly weak bladders run the risk of serious dehydration at concerts as they simply refuse to take onboard any liquid for hours before and during important gigs in order to avoid going for a piss. So knowing where the basics are at concerts can seriously impact one’s enjoyment of what should be a really special occasion.

Generally the staff at the M.E.N. provide an reliable and friendly service especially when compared with their counterparts at a number of other high-profile venues throughout the UK. The stewards at the M.E.N. genuinely want you to have a good night out, and were all set to provide a little orientation pre-Kylie. Save for a bit of faffing around trying to find someone prepared to point us in the direction of a taxi rank at the end of the gig, I am delighted to be able to report that once again we received an exemplary service from the staff in Manchester on Friday. Thank you. It is a travesty that these people only get paid £5.50 per hour when ticket costs average five or ten times this. Having said that, Friday was worth every penny!

There is little I can add to the glowing reviews Kylie’s Showgirl Homecoming tour concerts have already received. When a coquettish charismatic Kylie is bobbing around on stage belting out cheesy pop songs, all seems right with the world. Like millions of other fans I have followed Kylie’s career with interest for nearly twenty years and was stunned in 2005 when reports started coming in of her having been diagnosed with breast cancer. Clearly the choice of Better the Devil You Know as an opener was calculated to be poignant and we were prepared to be moved. And yes when the princess of pop took to the stage many members of Kylie’s audience shed the odd tear of joy.

Labels: Opinion

Great to see lots more people signing the Money for All accessible US currency petition over the weekend. If you have ever been to the US, or ever plan to use the US dollar, or you want to show support for your brothers and sisters across the pond who have to put up with inaccessible currency. Please hop on over to:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mfaacp/

And lend them your support. I signed on Friday.

I regularly travel from the UK to the US on business or to visit friends. As an independent blind adult I find that not being able to independently identify US bills makes my visits much more problematic than they need to be. For example, I would rather carry my own luggage than not know how much I was tipping a bellman, or stand around and suffer the public indignity of someone telling me, and presumably everyone else in ear shot, what bills I have. Accessible currency is as much a personal security issue as anything else.

Labels: Opinion

Someone recently said to me that they were making up a cassette of tracks to listen to while on the train. This made me feel all nostalgic as making compilation tapes is something many of us did twenty years ago. I had no idea that people were still out there using cassettes. I guess while many of us are immersed in our own particular technology bubble there's a whole world out there getting on quite nicely without technology thank you very much.

I feel almost naked without at least a mobile phone. And I can't remember the last time I went on the train without a laptop. A few albums, podcasts, email etc can quickly see off a two or three hour train journey for me. I can't even remember when I last used a tape recorder. I'd feel really restricted now if I was stuck with a couple of C90s listening to the same songs in the same order and not being able to skip back and forward, and read the artist and title of every track. Many people now have large music collections stored on large hard drives so they can hear any track in a couple of seconds. I'd quite like to be able to get to that point with movies and TV series which I have on DVD, although that tmay take a bit longer to set up.

Anyway, if the tapes are meeting your mobile music requirements, take no notice of me. This is the bloke who has had more gadgets than hot dinners. But I wouldn't go back, especially not to a time witout Internet access.

It is difficult to dispute the assertion that access to the internet is one of the most significant developments to empower people who are blind since Braille itself. Many of us love being able to shop and bank online and read news and sports results on the day it's all published, and browse TV listings, and film reviews, and encyclopaedias, oh the list goes on. But to have a good slice of human knowledge and experience instantly available at one's fingertips makes many of the connected blind feel all liberated and independent. Sure, there is a lot of pap online too. The trick is to become proficient at filtering out the dross and focus in on whatever it is you're seeking.

Although, however clever we think we are, it is important to remind our selvs that technology and the skills to use it are only in the hands of a small minority. Hopefully that will not always be the case.

Labels: Opinion, Technology

I recently noticed that the Google web search is now marking up results using the HTML Heading tag. This is great news for people who access their web browser using modern screen reading software, as we can now quickly and easily navigate to the next and previous matches on a Google web search results page. Most screen readers include commands to move to the next heading, previous heading, or list all headings on a web page, and by implementing the Heading tag, many screen reader users will find it more efficient to find the information they are looking for using Google. And just as importantly, for those who cannot take advantage of Headings, this change should not have a negative impact on their Google experience.

Hopefully this simple improvement is just the first of many steps along the road to greater accessibility and enhanced usability for the world's most popular search engine. Hopefully Google can extend the heading tag to Google's other searches such as: news, blog search, groups, etc.

Labels: Opinion, Technology