Before I begin, I am totally blind and have never seen. I agree with most of this, but not all of it. I simply use things that work. I never buy things without real dials or buttons, including all of my appliances. I don't need an app to turn on my microwave or use my toaster. I don't shop on inaccessible sites. Most restaurants have websites with menus, many of which are fully accessible. If I don't simply ask someone who is with me what's available, I use my computer before we get there and decide what I want, or if I absolutely had to, I would pull out my keyboard and check it on my phone. I see no issue with 3.5mm jacks, since I use them every day in my own devices. I usually just buy things online, negating the need for cash entirely, though I do usually keep some in my wallet. I have no problem asking for help when needed. I fail to see what dignity has to do with it. It's not my fault that idiots make idiotic technology.
Having said all of that, on the whole, I do agree with this. Many sites are inaccessible, and in 2025, with WCAG (website accessibility guidelines) available to all, this shouldn't even be an issue. I can understand very small businesses not knowing much about these things, but some of these sites are owned by multi-billion dollar corporations (ahem, Facebook, Google for GMail and Youtube). They claim accessibility while destroying the versions of their sites that were actually accessible in the first place (Basic Mobile site, Basic HTML, and pre-2018 mobile site, respectively). The obsession with touchscreens and digital everything is also utterly ridiculous. Even cars aren't made normally anymore. I'm surprised people don't have computers to think for them! There do need to be more normal options available. Nowhere is this more obvious than with phones. Why can't we have a qwerty phone that runs the latest version of Android, works well, and receives updates in a decent amount of time? At the very least, why can't we have a phone that's a good size (around that of the iPhone SE 2016-20-22 or smaller), instead of being almost as large as a tablet! I have to carry that and my folding bluetooth keyboard around with me, and then, people wonder why I don't bring my phone everywhere and am not addicted to it? I already own one, but why can't there be more microwaves with dials sold alongside the annoying touchscreen ones? What about stoves which are completely flat and can literally kill or severely burn us? Since when did putting real burners on them become a problem? Why can't people actually say whether something such as a fan or heater uses a touchscreen or dials? Most of the time, they do, or it will say "digital controls" which is a dead giveaway, but that's not always the case. And why, in 2025, can't we have simple braille labels on products, or at least labels and bar codes that are easy to scan with ocr software?
I don't work, but I also understand things from that perspective. I've heard a horror story of a woman who had a great job and did it well. One morning, she went to work and the updated software wouldn't work with her screen reader, so she lost her job. I've seen many applications for jobs that require vision, even when you think they wouldn't, or jobs that, by all rights should be doable, until, again, the software causes trouble.
https://nimerblogs.blogspot.com/2025/08/congratulations-youve-unlocked-expert.html?m=1
#accessibility #blindness#ScreenReaders #technology
