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September, 2010Archive for

Playstation Move Review: Wheelchair User’s Perspective

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

I’m a self-confessed gadget freak. As it is, I’m currently writing this review on my Macbook, which is connected to the internet via bluetooth through my iPhone, and on another day, this might very well have been written on my iPad. Point is: I love my technology, and particularly the way it can enhance my life and the lives of other disabled people.

Playstation Move, for the uninformed, is a little bit like the Nintendo Wii. You play games by standing in front of your TV, pretending to wack a golf ball or fight in a gladiator duel, and your movements are picked up by a camera sitting on top of your TV, allowing you to interact with the game with your body instead of a traditional gaming controller. Needless to say, as soon as I got wind of this revolution in gaming I sped down to my local electronics store and picked up a starter pack. I had one lingering question, however: as a wheelchair user, would I be able to use Playstation Move?

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Learning the Art of Flexibility…

Friday, September 24th, 2010

I’d have to say the most memorable trips I have ever taken were the ones in which humor came to play. When you travel with a family member who uses a wheelchair, you tend to laugh, A LOT!

With just Jon (now 18 yr old son with CP) , one such trip was the Washington DC trip for a leadership conference. The conference was a week long, with teens from all over the US who, judging by their attitudes, had never encountered a person with a wheelchair before, let alone interacted with one. We were picked up on a charter bus at the airport, and that is when the fun began.  It was also apparent that Jon was the first person to attend this conference who used a wheelchair. He was the only person using a wheelchair-and yes, we brought his power one, as he had been to Washington DC several times before, and found the main tourist sites very accessible.  That’s when the real fun began….

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Air NZ’s Accessible Kiosks are Truly Wonderful Things

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

Air New Zealand Accessible KioskAfter writing that wee rant last week about Countdown’s wonderful new inaccessible self-service checkout kiosks , it got me thinking about better alternatives. I struggled at first to think of any company, either in NZ or overseas, that takes universal access seriously enough to incorporate it into any of its product design. And then it hit me. Our much-lauded national carrier, Air New Zealand, have these amazing checkin kiosks in their domestic terminal, one of which is not only totally accessible to those in wheelchairs but clearly signposted too!

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Working at the Speed of Sound

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

by Jessica Bewsee

WANTED:  Committed, type-A personality with nerves of steel, patience, and an extensive knowledge of politics, history, pop culture, literature and sports. This is not the beginning of a bad personal ad but rather an ideal job description for a stenocaptioner whose job is to close-caption programs like the evening news, sports games, and awards shows for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Stenocaptioners are trained court stenographers.  I worked both in a courtroom and took depositions for two years before I switched to captioning.  While there are many reasons why a court stenographer decides to switch from the legal field to broadcast captioning, for me it was because I didn’t like spending eight hours a day in a courtroom and then going home and producing a legal transcript.  I like instant results, and seeing my captions come up on a television screen less than a second after I press my steno keyboard is very satisfying to me.
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