The meeting was called to order by Maria Rueters, President at 1:00 p.m.
After introductions, Jen Bowes demonstrated the features of the Freedom Scientific product the Packmate which besides having web access and word processing features, is portable, has a Braille display that can be detached and reattached, and has a long battery life. The demonstration ended at 3:0 p.m.
Dennis Brady, Vibug clerk, read the minutes of the meeting held June 11, 2005. The minutes were accepted as read.
Since the nominating committee had finished its deliberations, Jeanette Kutash was asked to present the committee's slate of officers for the election to be held in October. She thanked the committee members for their hard work and candidates for presenting their ideas for the future of the organization. The slate of candidates was:
Amy Ruell, President
Ted Filteau, Vice President
Gill Bush, Clerk
Jim Roberts renominated as Treasurer
Steve Dresser renominated as webmaster
The committee consisted of Paulene Downing, Jen Bowes, Don Breda and Jeanette. Members were reminded that nominations can be made from the floor; but that they should speak to the person they intend to nominate to make sure that it will be accepted. Contested elections would be decided by secret ballot. The method will be determined by the Vice President.
Next, Marguerite Vergil from Fidelity Investments provided information about a study Fidelity was conducting on web accessibility and they wanted experienced jaws users. Excerpts are as follows:
"This study seeks participants who use Jaws and not vision as the main method for accessing the web. Beyond that, no technical or financial expertise is required to participate. Study sessions will last 2 hours.
During sessions, participants will be asked to perform a set of tasks on a website and provide about what they like and dislike about interacting with 2 different web sites."
The location of the study was the office at 245 Summer St., accessible to public transportation. Participants would receive a $100 American Express check redeemable almost anywhere. Participants who showed an interest but didn't fit the profile Fidelity was looking would be kept on their list for future studies. Participants were advised to contact either Margeruite Berge at Marguerite.Bergil@fmr.com, or call 617-392-2069, or Ann Chadwick-Dias at Annmarie.Chadwick.Dias@fmr.com or by calling 617-392-1904.
Everyone who attended the 1st annual Vibug pool party on July 23rd at the home of Steve and Marcia Dresser agreed that it was a very successful event and the Dressers were thanked for their efforts.
The annual Vibug Christmas party is scheduled for Saturday December 10. A committee needed to be put together to find and find a place to hold it. In the past, there have been house parties, but in recent years, restaurants such as the Red Hat in government Center and Jay's in Brookline have been used. Planning needs to be done now so that we can decide in October where the party will be. Members should contact Maria Rueters if interested in planning the party.
At the September meeting, Joe Lazarro will demonstrate a Cd-ripper program called Cdex, and Maria Rueters will discuss MP3 players. At the October meeting, Evan Silver from the Carroll Center will Demonstrate the use of Tivo with adaptive software. Clerk's Note: Subsequent information indicated that the demonstrate would be Windows Media Center, a Tivo-like device.
After a good round of computer questions, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dennis Brady, Vibug Clerk.