Thread:
This suing by lawyers (vultures of US society at large)
has nothing to do with AOL. It looks like the case is filed in Mass by a group in Baltimore (wonder why?). Is there a small company in Mass area that sells voice recognition software and want it to be packeged by AOL on its CDs, for free?
Of course the ultimate winner will be lawyer(s), like that Texas tobacco case.
In fact AOL ackowledged that it is working on a new version
that will have that capability. It is a few minutes fame noise IMHO.
-Nat
Full story is here
>>>>
biz.yahoo.com
BOSTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The National Federation for the Blind on Thursday filed suit against America
Online Inc.(NYSE:AOL - news) charging the world's largest Internet access provider with violating the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Baltimore-based group sued the Virginia-based Internet service provider in Boston's federal court claiming
AOL designed its ``service so that it is incompatible with screen access software programs for the blind.'
But a spokeswoman for voice recognition software maker Lernout & Hauspie (NasdaqNM:LHSP - news),
based in Burlington, Mass., was quick to point out a number of its products, including the text reader program
Kurzweil 1000, work with AOL.
AOL spokesman Richard D'Amato said, "We're disappointed that they've done this. We're proud of and
absolutely committed to the work we've done in this area.
``The next version of AOL software will include a text to voice interface, more robust keystroke shortcuts that
are instrumental to the blind,' D'Amato said. ``Making AOL fully accessible is a major priority for us.'
But a spokesman for the group said, ``AOL has steadfastly refused to modify its software in order to ensure
compatibility' so the blind can use the service.
Kelly Lumpkin, chief executive of Alternate Access, a closely held Raleigh, N.C., company that builds
applications based on products made by Lernout & Hauspie and other firms, said there were a number of
programs that could easily work with AOL.
``Now could a small company set up a front-end to AOL that would allow blind people access to AOL?
Absolutely. I could set one up in my kitchen' Lumpkin said.
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