Saturday, October 09, 2010

President Obama signs bill to give disabled better access to technology


Now this is something we can all get behind. Today, President Obama signed a bill pledging to see that theblind and deaf get better access to cellphones, the internet, and other technologies which are a necessity of life in the modern era. Joined by a group of lawmakers and Stevie Wonder, the president signed into law the bill which promises guaranteed access for 25 million blind or visually impaired and 38 million deaf or hearing impaired people living in the United States. New federal guidelines resulting from the bill include requiring improved user interfaces on smartphones, providing audible descriptions of television programming, captioning online programming, making telephone equipment compatible with hearing aids, and adding buttons to remote controls to provide quick access to closed captioning. The bill, S. 3304, should bring down the cost of these technologies for people who need them significantly.

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