[html4all] Excerpt from DisabilityLand

[Laura Carlson]

"Think of it, for a moment, this way. If the personal computer had
been invented by someone paralyzed from the neck down, do you suppose
it would have  included a keyboard or a mouse as standard equipment?
Or if the personal computer had been invented by someone who was
blind, wouldn't it follow that the standard computer screen might have
been available only as a special option for sighted users?

"But the personal computer wasn't invented by people with
disabilities. It was invented instead by some talented engineers who,
like most people, had little or  no personal experience with disabled
others. As a result, obstacles were unintentionally part of the
original design.

"In most cases the obstacles weren't very big. But then again, the
2-inch curb on the sidewalk doesn't seem to be much of an impediment
either. Unless you're driving a heavy wheelchair."

Source: DisabilityLand by Alan Brightman Select Books (NY) (March 31, 2008).

Best Regards,
Laura

-- 
Laura L. Carlson