Assistive Technology

I have been relying on quite poor VOIP service to place calls to large orgs that have call centers. The voice quality was lousy and recently my VOIP provider screwed something up and the service became broken.

I am not deaf but I think TTY might solve my problem. If I need to call a large org/agency that is likely TTY-capable, is this possible without some kind of service? In principle, shouldn’t I be able to connect to a bank or something without using any kind of subscription service? Linux, gnu screen, ssh, a terminal, Internet should be all I need, no?

My searches for TTY either yields results about how deaf people can use dedicated hardware or a Telecommunications Relay Service (“TRS”) -- or the search results are about /dev/tty* which is just a UI for sending commands to a command interpreter (apparently not a human). There are claims that all iPhones and /some/ Androids can do TTY. But doesn’t that still rely on phone service? I prefer NOT to use a phone or phone service.

This question has no answers, but it’s along the lines of what I need. There is this Zapata thing but that project has had no status since 2004.

Update

After more looking, it seems an “IP-TTY” relay service is needed for this situation. Searches so far lead to services that want to force a proprietary app on you.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/14218661

I just found Zipped Brands, a company that modifies other brand shoes to add zippers to them. If you have difficulties putting shoes on or lacing them, they seem great! They're not cheap though.

I am sorry to share a post which discusses politics, but it is not possible to advocate for accessible technology without also advocating for the users.

More of a medical device post, but I know some people like me interested in DIY AT went out to try making things during Covid.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/35550841

Posting to highlight the ever emerging need for more affordable, customizable prosthetics.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/20500252

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/20497164

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/27215699

[When Carter] decided to establish himself as a supporter of disability rights during the 1976 presidential election, he visited Warm Springs to make that promise. After he was elected president, however, Carter often struggled to implement key parts of his agenda, and disability rights was no exception. So disabled people had to step in to do the work that the non-disabled simply couldn't get done on their own.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to stop by Cheaha state park in Alabama, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a robust wheelchair-accessible experience.

The park is known for having the highest point in Alabama, and offers some excellent scenic views. My purpose for stopping by on a road trip was to get out of the car and take one of the hiking trails to an overlook. Instead I found the raised boardwalk and followed that.

The path is sturdy and well maintained, with covered seating areas every so often to stop and rest and informational placards.

At the end of the walkway is an overlook with incredible views across Alabama-the-Beautiful.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/26729948

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/29463281

cross-posted from: https://rblind.com/post/3405642

W3C, DAISY and NISO are co-hosting a webinar: Advancing Digital Accessibility for Scientific & Technical Publications

The DAISY Consortium, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) invite you to this Webinar happening on December 17, 10:00-11:30 AM Eastern time, 15:00–16:30 UTC.

This possibly falls under "surgical" instead of AT, but it's still an encouraging development in technology to help people with mobility constraints.