It's not hard to imagine how the blind view the world. Close your eyes for a period of time and try to operate as you normally would. Now try to imagine accomplishing work as a blind attorney, such as William Grignon, an associate at Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco, or Bountiful, Utah attorney Ron Gardner who was recently appointed by President Bush to the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency that works to increase accessibility for people with disabilities.
Both Grignon and Gardner use technology to make life and work easier. Grignon uses a screen reader and text-based programs. Gardner uses a small, screen-less braille computer to check appointments and surf the Web. In Gardner's words, "It's such a great time to be a blind guy."
And it appears to be getting better. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has licensed two technologies that could bring affordable graphic reading systems to the blind and visually impaired. The two systems bring electronic images to life in the same way that Braille makes words readable.
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