OrbiTouch Review: A Keyless Keyboard
Thanks for posting this article, Martin. The OrbiTouch is one cool device! I'm not sure I'd have the strength to operate it, but I believe it could
help many people with disabilities. Although the product probably wasn't made with the disabled in mind (I may be wrong about that), surely those individuals who still have some dexterity in their hands will benefit from using the OrbiTouch keyless keyboard. Maybe I can get their company to let me experiment with it. Using this Dragon dictate
is a bit laborious. I've been looking for an alternative for awhile now. We'll see. (Paul Campos)

SCIENCE! I just love this kind of stuff. Have a look. Wired News: Bubbles Oust Viruses in Therapy

Talk about a "No-brainer"! The announcement from the Transportation Security Administration-posted by Yahoo! News - (TSA Announces New Program for Disabled)
-that they will treat people with disabilities with "respect and dignity", gets a thumbs up and a big, DUH. You see? It's not so much to ask, now is it?

Now this is what I'm talking about! Wired News: Geeky Legal Beagles Nail Spammers Elliot Spitzer and his gang are finally sticking it to spammers. You go, guys!

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Private spacecraft tested
Very cool!

Has anyone seen what yourable.com is up to these days? I must say their new website: jobability.com is one heck of an idea. Hmmm. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it? They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Nah! I’m sure any similarity is completely coincidental.
It’s all good.

This NY Times article, And Here's Where It Gets Uninteresting, is just brilliant! I mean, how dull can it get? Hmmm.
(registration req'd)

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/13/2003 | Editorial | Lemon pledge
This is probably the best article I've read about the Individualized with Disabilities Education Act dilemma affecting children in special education. Worth the read.

It certainly seems by this Boston Globe Op Ed piece that, once again, lawmakers are out of touch with the needs of the disabled (High School kids in this case). The Massachusetts House’ Vote “to allow communities to exempt special education students from the MCAS graduation requirement” would only serve to undermine the effort put forth by disabled-and nondisabled students alike-who can actually pass the MCAS test.

The article states:
[These students deserve (sympathy), a great deal of attention, education programs individualized to their needs, and -- as is currently provided -- either continuing education or an end-of-school certificate and ceremony that celebrate the abilities they do have.]

Although this statement makes sense, I would take it further and say these "special needs students" need the kind of attention that concentrates on helping them improve their chances at passing the MCAS test. If there are students who cannot pass this test no matter what (as stated in the article), they should be identified before the test is given so that a solution can be developed which doesn’t necessarily involve an honorary certificate.

I guess the House didn’t get the memo on education reform. How can we expect to reform education when lawmakers are out of touch with students’ needs in the first place?

Hopeully, the Senate and Governor Romney will realize that the House made a mistake in voting for this amendment.

Group for User Interface Research - Projects - SUEDE Suede is A Wizard of Oz Prototyping Tool for Speech User Interfaces.

A very cool tool that could be used to create interfaces for people with disabilities.

Group for User Interface Research - Projects - SUEDE Suede is A Wizard of Oz Prototyping Tool for Speech User Interfaces.

A very cool tool that could be used to create interfaces for people with disabilities.

Wired News: The Bionic Leading the Blind
I remember posting the story on my site about "The Bionic Eye" research. It's definitely an amazing accomplishment to be able to help "restore some eyesight" to those who suffer from "degenerative eye diseases". SCIENCE!

iCan ONLINE
Happy Mother's Day!

Wired News: Support for Fingered File Traders
I have no sympathy for the RIAA. Heck! I'd be willing to help these students out. What is the RIAA going to do? Sue every college student and every child who loves music and owns a computer? I'm with John Stossil of ABC's 20/20 who did a piece on this very subject. Give me a break!

Wired News: Book Excerpt: All the Rave
Fascinating article on the "astonishing alliance between Napster Inc., on its knees in court, and the parent of one of its five archenemies"(BMG).

Australian IT - Log on and enter the Matrix (Stephen Brook and Sophie Tedmanson , MAY 08, 2003)

iCan ONLINE - Fight Bush's Assault on Medicaid
Extremely important article! Very informative. Remember, just say no to "Block Grants"!
From article:
Act Now to Save Medicaid
The future of Medicaid now lies in the hands of state governors. Congress is not likely to pass the Bush proposal without the support of the nation’s governors.

Contact both your governor’s office and your state Medicaid director today to urge that the governor oppose the Administration’s Medicaid block grant proposal, and instead support S. 138 and H.R. 816, a temporary increase in federal matching funds.

iCan ONLINE - Beyond Sutton: ADA Restoration
Another excellent article from iCan.com. Let's hope ADA Watch will be successful in its efforts to staff "a broad coalition of disability organizations to explore options specific to ADA Restoration".
From article:
Following the Sutton vote, word on the Hill is that Democrats and Republicans alike want to do something to restore the rights originally invoked by Congress under the ADA. Thanks to the efforts of so many of you to bring attention to the ADA and to the threats of Federalism during the Sutton debate, we now have increased awareness of our struggle. Senators, Senate staffers, the media, and the general public were educated about the attacks on the ADA -- a mainstream law that is held in high regard by a large majority of Americans.

With your support, we will now use this momentum and go forward to restore the ADA.

Our hope is that Republican leaders such as Sen. DeWine, Sen. Hatch, and others will join a bipartisan effort to restate the intent of the ADA and reassert Congressional authority to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities.

Of particular interest is Sen. DeWine's statement at the end of this article: Please read.

Wired News: Blogger: Catch Me If You Can
Interesting article. Whether or not the blog mentioned in the article is true, it still is curiously imaginative.

iCan ONLINE - Group seeks public comment on accessibility features
This is exciting stuff!
From article:
The goal of the collaborative effort is to create a framework, adoptable by small and large eLearning developers and content providers around the world, which serves all users by making learning materials easy to access from any and all "points of entry" (school, home, office, library or while using mobile devices) after an initial, one-time recording of preferences by the user.

iCan ONLINE - Senate OKs Bush Appeals Court nominee
Maybe Sutton is being truthful when he says he'll be objective as a judge and not to hold his previous work as a lawyer against him. It is interesting, however, asking the Committee not to judge him on his previous work. How else, or, on what terms should the Committee decide whether he'd be objective? Again, let's hope for the best.

iCan ONLINE - House shoots down special ed fund
Well, Democrats didn't get what they wanted in terms of mandatory funding. Republicans get their bill passed. Advocates for the disabled worry about students' civil rights eroding, and parents are left in fear for their children. It's interesting how some things get through without any debate. Maybe with the Senate a compromise can be reached. We shall see.

From Article--
"There will be no debate in the United States House of Representatives on the most critical issue facing special education today," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass.

The money issue is significant because states and school districts must pay for whatever expenses the Congress doesn't cover. That amounts to billions of dollars that school leaders say they need for teacher training and salaries, books, equipment and other expenses.
Quote from the Washington Post:
"By failing to make full special education funding mandatory, we will be rolling the dice in the appropriations process every year in the hopes that children with disabilities get the resources they need," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "Gambling with the education of America's children is wrong."

The bill would also allow schools to expel or suspend special education students without determining whether their behavior was linked to their disability.

Yahoo! News - Study: Kids With Disabilities at Risk
The Associated Press
According to this study by the National Council on Disability, many kids will go to juvenile court because of schools' inability to deal with teenagers who have learning disabilities or behavioral problems. More reason to keep track of what the House of Representatives and the Senate is up to in regards to H. R. 1350 and the Senate's version of the bill to be voted on by Memorial Day.

For more information, visit: National Council on Disability: http://www.ncd.gov

Wired News: Why Gary Hart Wants to Blog
Gary Hart, "Blogging his way into visibility", is a great idea. Being the first politician to do a weblog may turn out to be a stroke of genius. We may be able to get a true sense of where he stands on all the issues, especially with the feature that allows for public feedback. The simple fact is he answers the questions raised by his readers. I'll be checking in regularly. Excellent article.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Bloggers unite to fight
It will be interesting to see what happens here. I truly hope this online protest will help win the release of Mr. Motallebi. Interesting article.

vnunet.com Matrix sequel is web's most-wanted
I cannot wait to see Matrix2! What about you?

Wired News: Students Fork It Over to RIAA
I think RIAA is just pitiful. Here's a good quote from Peng's lawyer:

It is unfortunate the recording industry, in trying to protect their profits, used the legal system to intimidate students who are often their best customers," Peng's lawyer, Ende said.

Wired News: School Blocks Out File-Trading
I don't know about you, but I hope other schools don't bow to RIAA's pressure. Students will find a way around it. Again, RIAA--get with the program! Create your own file-sharing system. Computers. Technology. The future is now. Wake up!

Wired News: RIAA Gets the Message About IMs
Very interesting article. It's amazing RIAA didn't start sending instant messages until after the U.S. District Court Judge ruled that file-sharing sites (Morpheus and Grokster) should not be shut down. Maybe this judge actually gets it. I wonder if he's downloaded music himself. Hmmm.

Wired News: RIAA IMs: We're Watching You
I'm not sure the Recording Industry is sending out instant messages for the purpose of educating song swapping file-sharers. If RIAA needs to use scare tactics it's because of the judges' unexpected ruling.
From article:

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson on Friday ruled that the Grokster and Morpheus services should not be shut down because they cannot control what is traded over their systems. Like a videocassette recorder, the software in question could be used for legitimate purposes as well as illicit ones, he said.

Popular Science | The Ultimate Exterminator
This is a fascinating article. Wouldn't you just love to get rid of the mosquito?

Wired News: Looted Iraqi Art Displayed Online
Hopefully, displaying the Iraqi Art will help recovery efforts. It may take some time and probably a good deal of luck.

Wired News: Stopping SARS: A Search for Drugs
It's good to know the CDC is on the case.

New Scientist
Ethical stem cells? Interesting article. I welcome anything that will end the embryonic stem cell debate once and for all. If researchers can make this work, the sky's the limit for disease sufferers.