F.E.D.S.
Families Exploring Down Syndrome
Networking
Examine the many Internet resources. They literally
number in the hundreds. Professional internet sites, Doctors, Educators,
Research, News Groups, Families.
Exchange your views and questions "online" in specifically
designated chat areas.
Post your ideas, views and questions on Down Syndrome
News Group "bulletin" boards.
Discuss with people from all over the world.
Communicate via E-mail, regular mail, phone, whatever
is good for you.
Establish common relationships with other parent/children
support groups like ours.
Research the University Libraries from your home.
Discuss your particular need with professionals on
the internet.
Share the information.
Tell us what is going on in your area.
Cyberspace should be equal for everyone. Especially, folks with
disabilities should participate on the same basis as everyone else.
The trouble is, the more the Net utilizes multimedia in audio, video and
even Internet telephony and worldwide chat, instead of plain text, the
more it leaves disabled users behind. But blind and hearing impaired
Web surfers now have SAMI to lend a hand. The Synchronized Accessible
Media Interchange standard, expected from Microsoft by the end of the year,
will let software developers add a closed-captioning track to multimedia
web sites and CD's. SAMI will time-synch captions to corresponding
audio, video and animation files and play them back through Microsoft's
DirectShow media player so the hearing impaired can read them in plain
text on virtually any operating system or Web browser.
Closed-captioning software has been available in the past, but Microsofts'
standardization of the technology may be the first step toward getting
multimedia developers to create all titles with disabled access in mind.
And Microsoft isn't stopping there. The next step for SAMI
promises synchronized audio descriptions for the blind. For more
information visit: WWW.MICROSOFT.COM.
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E-MAIL F.E.D.S. at: robeng@ix.netcom.com
or use the voice mail to inquire
about membership, events, questions.
Voice Mail: (810) 997-7607
