The Accessible Devices event came into existence in June of 2002. When we realized that while the sighted community had easy access to virtually any product not all of them were accessible to us. When individual members of the Blind community found a product that was accessible, there was no means of sharing that information with others. The Accessible Devices event was an attempt to fill that need.
After seven years of holding our Accessible Devices event on Sunday afternoons we've decided it's time for a change. We'll be switching to using podcasts to deliver the information to you. There are two main reasons for this. We've encountered problems from time to time with presenters not being able to be available at the time of the event. This is often caused by the time zone issue. In addition many who wish to hear the information have found it hard to be there at that time also and have communicated this to us. The fact that the downloads of the presentations are far greater than the number of people present for the live event bears this out.
The Accessible Devices E-Mail list followed in July 2002 and served as a means of making the information developed in the event readily available to all.
By May of 2003 we were receiving so many requests for information sent out previously on the list that we created the Accessible Devices website.
through the website this information could be made readily available 24 Hours a Day.
The website has gradually expanded to include a Reference Library section containing many articles, written by members of our community, on how to do various computer tasks. A Resource section contains material on useful programs and web resources. Our Miscellaneous section contains articles about the accomplishments of Blind citizens World wide.
Two other sections provide archived articles about developments in technology which affect our lives. There's also a Medical section providing information about progress in research. The website now contains more than 1,000 pages of content. On an average daythere will be nearly 1,000 page requests.
Due to ongoing problems with both the subscription and bounce handling processes we've decided to move the list to a server on our own site. Following the move the list currently has 585subscribers.
In June, 2009 we introduced our Medical News Research list. This list provides articles similar to those found on our Medical News Center page. These articles offer information on progress being made in improving the quality of life for those of us with vision impairment. This list currently has 143 subscribers.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this,To subscribe to the Accessible Devices list, click on the link below and send the blank message that pops up. As a list member you will receive 3 to 5 messages per week. Most of them pertaining to products and their accessibility. There will be an occasional message concerning information that we consider worth knowing.
When the confirmation message comes just follow the directions to complete the process.If you're interested in receiving Medical Research articles similar to those found on our Medical News page by e mail you may wish to subscribe to our Medical Research News List. This is an announce only list and the volume will be very low. Simply click on the link below and send the blank message that pops up. Follow the instructions in the confirmation message to complete the process.
Subscribe To The Accessible Devices Medical Research News ListOur sincerest thanks to Sarah for the following poem.
Accessible DevicesUpdated on ... February 23, 2010