News
“Let’s StartUP America!”
Jan 31st, 2011
This is my new favorite quote:
“Everyone deserves a chance to change the world.”
- Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, in his remarks at the White House StartUP America announcement.
I heard this while sitting in the audience at the White House StartUP America Partnership announcement this Monday morning. As a social entrepreneur and advocate for people with disabilities, I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Gooslbee. I’m thankful for opportunities and resources that I’ve been given to follow my vision of impacting change and improvement for accessibility in our communities. However, there are thousands of entrepreneurs around the country who do not More >
Which tablet will make the right move?
Jan 7th, 2011
This weekend is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The buzz, not surprisingly, is about the tablets that will rival Apple’s iPad in 2011. There’s a lot of fanfare about including high-quality video in the tablets, with reports of cable companies like Comcast streaming live and on-demand media to such devices. In addition, there are a few bells and whistles that allow you to unleash your creativity and gaming personality. You can take pictures, edit them, and share them, as well as spend a few minutes (or hours?) playing Angry Birds.
Sounds exciting, but…Yes, the appeal of being able to engage More >
Going Up: Keen Featured in Inc. Magazine’s Elevator Pitch Column
Dec 9th, 2010
This week, we are proud to have been featured in Inc. Magazine’s Elevator Pitch column! Check out the column, and see if you agree with the investors weighing in. Whatever your opinion, we think you’ll agree: it’s exciting to see a top business magazine looking at social entrepreneurs and how they’ll carefully balance their missions with their business models to successfully accomplish both.
AARP Interview: How a gadget suddenly made accessibility easier.
Nov 1st, 2010
The 140-character conversation:
The “tweet” below was the start to a conversation that I had with AARP regarding accessible technology. This Twitter question (or shall I say, twestion?) regarded technology that we love, and I couldn’t help but chime in with the response that “technology designed with accessibility in mind” is the best one out there. From there, Beth Carpenter at AARP wanted to find out more, and interviewed me for their blog in the “The ShAARP Session.”
The spark of an idea: the Video iPod
Beth asked me to discuss how technology changed accessibility, and some cool technologies that work for More >
“iPad a Therapeutic Marvel for People with Disabilities” – New York Times
Nov 1st, 2010
In my “Masters of the Univers(al)” post, I broadly outlined how some of our everyday technologies also significantly benefits people with disabilities. Since writing this, a New York Times article came out citing the iPad as a therapeutic tool for people with disabilities, and I just had to add this to the list.
Apple, you’re doing great. Keep up the good work! As Representative Ed. Markey (D-MA) remarks in this NYT article, “Apple is an outlier when it comes to devices that are accessible out of the box.” Hopefully Apple can continue to do great work in this area, and that More >
Not on the Bandwagon? Don’t worry.
Dec 23rd, 2009
submitted by Catharine
At Keen, we talk a lot about our distribution channel being on the iPhone, but it’s only our first test application. We are quickly moving towards getting as many people as possible onto our mobile distribution platform. The Google Android Operating System is gaining a lot of traction, and starting to offer significant competition to the iPhone. Below is an excerpt from an article in VentureBeat:
“Looking forward, it’s a safe bet that December’s Android share will be well over 30%, helped by the introduction of Verizon’s Droid and Google’s Nexus One. But wait for it — the report to watch for will More >
Captioning Online, on Phones, and iPods: Improvements on the Horizon.
Nov 16th, 2009
submitted by Catharine
Either I’m hearing more about new accessibility initiatives with captioning / as well as goof-ups, or I’m paying more attention to the news. I thought I’d share a few with you!
1. The FCC is listening. A lot of content online is not captioned, eventhough the number of U.S. broadband households watching premium online content via online has doubled to 25 million in the last year according to Broadband, Communications, and Entertainment Bundles, a new study from Parks Associates. That’s a lot of online content! There was a recent FCC Field Hearing by members of the Coalition of Organizations for More >
Keen Guides wins 2009 VMFA award
May 3rd, 2009
Keen Guides received the honor by the VMFA Business Council as the top five most creative businesses in Virginia. Frank McNally Jr. accepted this award at the Un-GALA reception on April 30th. To our mystery nominator, thank you! We are excited about our complimentary one-year Corporate Patron Membership and opportunities to come down to Richmond for museum events at the VMFA.
(Please note, this is not to be confused with the AAM MUSE awards which is a separate award.)
Keen featured in i711.com Publication
Nov 4th, 2008
Click here to read about Keen in i711.com, an online publication dedicated to the deaf and hard of hearing community and to users of relay services. Read this great article to hear Catharine’s story and learn more about where Keen is going next!
Congratulations to Catharine!
Oct 28th, 2008
Keen Guides is very proud to congratulate our own Catharine McNally on her new appointment to the Board of Directors of the National Cued Speech Association. Recognizing her outstanding work in developing adaptive technology to help museums and cultural institutions be more accommodating to visitors and accomplish greater compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Cued Speech Association has named Catharine the Government Liaison for the board. We are proud to see Catharine on the board of this organization, which she and her family have been active in for more than twenty years. To learn more about the More >