7 ms·

How Google’s Blind Lawyer Does His Job

89 points by juanplusjuan 10y ago

CyberDildonics 10y ago
If he is anything like Daredevil, he loses in court then beats the shit out of the person he couldn't convict.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
brunorsini 10y ago
I work with Jack on a regular basis. You couldn't ask for a more fun colleague to work with too, he not only does all of those things but he does them with incredible grace. His story really illustrates how we all need to start thinking more about accessibility features in the products we build, however time/budget constrained we might be.
gremlinsinc 10y ago
Good thing this isn't reddit or there would be a mile long thread about Daredevil, just saying.. lol
coffeevradar 10y ago
It's interesting to me that he uses an iPhone instead of an Android phone. Apple must be fairly far ahead when it comes to accessibility.
- zepto 10y ago
  It's not even close.
- glandium 10y ago
  From two years ago, but here's an account of the second attempt from a blind (iPhone) user at using Android: https://marcozehe.com/30dayswithandroid/ https://marcozehe.com/30dayswithandroid/
bsimpson 10y ago
One of the things I really admire about Google is the effort it makes to be an inclusive workplace. I love that they'll go out-of-their-way to tailor the environment to be comfortable for anyone who happens to work there.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  Supposedly, this is pretty much... the law in the United States. That you make reasonable accommodations to allow the disabled to do their jobs. However, Google is incredibly good at marketing and PR, and hence gets journalists to write posts like this for them.
  - nxzero 10y ago
    Companies going out of their way to help the blind is not the norm.
ivan_gammel 10y ago
As if Daredevil was based on a true story.
mrkgnao 10y ago
620 words per minute? While I do not have any form of visual impairment, I wonder how useful it would be to be able to absorb spoken information at that pace. Can anyone tell me more about this?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- PatentTroll 10y ago
  That stood out to me too, I imagine it's more akin to 'skimming' than reading each word for comprehension. Most legal documents are highly repetitive, full of legalese filler, and generally you just need to get the gist of something quickly rather than analyze it on a small scale. I bet that when he's carefully writing or reading an important clause it's at much less than 10 words a second.
  - hobs 10y ago
    Probably not "much less", I am not vision impaired but I use TTS every day; over time it becomes easier and easier to listen to higher and higher frequency speech (if the speaker can actually enunciate that fast.) I currently use the fastest built in voice speed windows (by default) offers and I believe that is just slightly slower than 10 words per second(8 or 9.)

89 points by juanplusjuan 10y ago

CyberDildonics 10y ago

If he is anything like Daredevil, he loses in court then beats the shit out of the person he couldn't convict.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

brunorsini 10y ago

I work with Jack on a regular basis. You couldn't ask for a more fun colleague to work with too, he not only does all of those things but he does them with incredible grace. His story really illustrates how we all need to start thinking more about accessibility features in the products we build, however time/budget constrained we might be.

gremlinsinc 10y ago

Good thing this isn't reddit or there would be a mile long thread about Daredevil, just saying.. lol

coffeevradar 10y ago

It's interesting to me that he uses an iPhone instead of an Android phone. Apple must be fairly far ahead when it comes to accessibility.

zepto 10y ago
It's not even close.
glandium 10y ago
From two years ago, but here's an account of the second attempt from a blind (iPhone) user at using Android: https://marcozehe.com/30dayswithandroid/ https://marcozehe.com/30dayswithandroid/

bsimpson 10y ago

One of the things I really admire about Google is the effort it makes to be an inclusive workplace. I love that they'll go out-of-their-way to tailor the environment to be comfortable for anyone who happens to work there.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Supposedly, this is pretty much... the law in the United States. That you make reasonable accommodations to allow the disabled to do their jobs. However, Google is incredibly good at marketing and PR, and hence gets journalists to write posts like this for them.
- nxzero 10y ago
  Companies going out of their way to help the blind is not the norm.

ivan_gammel 10y ago

As if Daredevil was based on a true story.

mrkgnao 10y ago

620 words per minute? While I do not have any form of visual impairment, I wonder how useful it would be to be able to absorb spoken information at that pace. Can anyone tell me more about this?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
PatentTroll 10y ago
That stood out to me too, I imagine it's more akin to 'skimming' than reading each word for comprehension. Most legal documents are highly repetitive, full of legalese filler, and generally you just need to get the gist of something quickly rather than analyze it on a small scale. I bet that when he's carefully writing or reading an important clause it's at much less than 10 words a second.
- hobs 10y ago
  Probably not "much less", I am not vision impaired but I use TTS every day; over time it becomes easier and easier to listen to higher and higher frequency speech (if the speaker can actually enunciate that fast.) I currently use the fastest built in voice speed windows (by default) offers and I believe that is just slightly slower than 10 words per second(8 or 9.)