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Technology Stocks : Fonix:Voice Recognition Product (FONX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cdtejuan who wrote (2296)	7/14/1999 9:35:00 PM
From: flickerful	Respond to of 3347

i found it very odd, to say the least, to hear about next month's ER applications when fonix no longer owns powerscribe: yes. why no mention in the context of L&H? mentioning skiers this winter, and announcing that for the upcoming holiday season, dragon just released naturallyspeaking [ surely not new today]: all of these things were discordant. [ is jupiter on the market yet, i wonder] if they're going to rehash old news, at least, expend the effort to give it a new shine and to make it appear timely. why would the globe trot this out now.... if there's a trade show in boston, surely there's new "stuff" to report, correct? why allow/enable/encourage/indulge this kind of shoddy reporting?

To: cdtejuan who wrote (2296)	7/15/1999 3:41:00 AM
From: flickerful	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3347

U.S. FCC Passes Rules For Disabled Phone Access By Aaron Pressman Thursday July 15 2:31 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Telephones and communications services like voice mail will become increasingly accessible to disabled people under rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday. The agency said telecommunications equipment manufacturers like Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news) and Nokia Corp. and service providers like Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE:BEL - news) will be free to decide how to include features to make telephones more accessible to an estimated 54 million people in the United States with disabilities. Solutions range from putting a small bump on the five key of a telephone keypad, allowing a blind person to figure out where each button is located, to including interfaces for text-based calling equipment or voice-activated controls. The agency ordered companies to evaluate accessibility features during the earliest phases of the design process and to include access features that can be accomplished easily and without much added cost. ''As technology becomes increasingly important in our economy and in our day to day lives, we've got to make sure that everybody has access to technology,'' FCC chairman William Kennard said at the agency's Wednesday meeting. The new rules also cover voice mail and interactive services, a requirement not directly called for by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. ''These are very critical features that are so widespread today,'' said agency commissioner Susan Ness. ''For those whose lives are dependent on being able to get through on a call this can be an extraordinarily frustrating and indeed life threatening situation.'' Disabilities groups praised the decision to include the nearly ubiquitous voice menus that have cropped up in everything from voicemail services to bank customer information lines. Deborah Kaplan, executive director of the nonprofit World Institute on Disability on Oakland, Calif., said manufacturers and service providers had resisted making products more accessible for fear of losing a competitive edge. ''We've been regarded as a very small niche market,'' Kaplan said. ''Now, everybody's going to do it so companies don't have to be afraid that they're going to take a huge business hit.'' Manufacturers, who had feared more burdensome government mandates, generally welcomed the new rules. ''We are confident that the commission will follow through on the reasonable balance being struck,'' said Matthew Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade group representing manufacturers. dailynews.yahoo.com