One Simple Question or

“You Walked Four Miles to Eat What?!” Jane Vincent, U-M Assistive Technology Manager

January 17, 2014 #UMSSD40

In the beginning was the Word...

Merit Network

Jim Knox

SLS Graduate

•  “Allow handicapped members of the university community a voice in the determination of their information technology needs.”

•  “Assist in the development of the Consortium for Enabling Technology” (“a state-based group concerned with helping the disabled user computers more readily.”)

•  “Recommend information technology (hardware and software) that would allow...ready access to the information environment at UM”

•  “Recommend information technology-related services to assist handicapped students, faculty, and staff”

Draft White Paper, 10/86

Item

Price comparison 1987 vs. 2013

1987 2013

Screen reader PC Talking Program (DOS): $500

JAWS: $900 and up NVDA: $0 (open source) VoiceOver: $0 (built into Macs)

Synthesis hardware DECTalk: $1,600 Symphonic and Artic Vision: $695

$0 (Incorporated into software)

Magnification software DP-11 (DOS): $2,695.00 MAGic for Windows: $395 without speech, $595 with speech

•  Two speech synthesizers •  Two screen readers •  Two braille printers •  Two magnification programs •  Two large print monitors TOTAL: $24,0000

Grant requests

“Topp Brings Hope To Disabled” Michigan Daily, 9/10/87

Darlys Topp (Vander Beek)

Julie Biernat

John Warner

Ray Farha

The Next President

Herman Miller lab

Ergopods

Talking Points

Avuncular Duty

Jim

Dedication

The Future