My Art Stays with My Ears

Accessibility is an issue in the IT world that is less about hardship and more about finding solutions so someone dealing with a handicap - temporary or otherwise - can access and leverage technology to accomplish and enjoy the things they want to do.

I recently visited the home of a world-renowned pianist who is losing his eyesight and needs to practice 100-page concertos (about 10 per year) for touring.

A VESA mount arm was installed so an Apple cinema display could swing within inches of his eyes.  His Steinway will host something similar.  Swipe tablets may work to digitally display the music; we're evaluating other designs and solutions.  One idea involved the individual wearing headphones and speaking into a mic, and with the use of speech recognition software, he could dictate to the computer.  That solution required headphones and the kind artist calmly said that was not acceptable:  "My art stays with my ears," said he.