> Byte size interview: James Robinson
- 13 Aug 07, 03:56 PM
James is 36, and whilst trained as an administrator, is currently taking time to spend with his family as his mother recovers from major surgery. He is partially sighted, and has Asperger’s syndrome. His main interests lie in music and swimming.
Q: What are your favourite websites?
I’m a bit of a satellite TV enthusiast, and I like Lynsat.com. It lists all the satellite channels from around the world, even places like China. It is text based, and easy to use. I also really like Discogs.com, which is a database of music label and artist discographies that is also text based. It is a great source of information on music. I recently became a moderator there.
Q: What are your least favourite websites?
I can’t get the BBC iPlayer to work! Apart from that, in general I find that the websites of bands that are in Flash really annoying. I have a friend who uses a screen reader to access the web, and he often has to call me to read out what is on those websites to him.
Q: What was the last thing you bought online?
I don’t like to buy things online for security reasons. If I buy 7-inch singles from ebay, for example, I’ll send a cheque rather than buy online. Last Christmas, my Mum did buy me a book called Single File by Terry Hounsome from Amazon. It is a book with information on all British singles released between the 50s and 80s and is very hard to find. It cost $15 to buy and $30 in postage!
Q: If the web was taken away from me today I would…
Just go back to traditional methods of communication and finding things out I guess. I would have to find my Perkins Brailler again! As great as the internet is, it isn’t the be all and end all. I would have more time for my hobbies, like swimming, and we wouldn’t depend on email so much – which I always think of as “anti-social socialising.”
Q: What's the most adventurous thing you've done on the web recently?
I’m building my own website at the moment, which is almost finished now. I’ve written the content for it, and my Mum, who went to art college, has done much of the design work. I’m making sure that it is accessible for screen reader users as well. I also learnt about open water swimming at river-swimming.co.uk. That is something I have now taken up because of that website, and I love it.
Q: What's your favourite blog?
I really like Nanny Knows Best. It is full of interesting and funny stories about ‘political correctness gone wrong.’
Q: Have you ever heard of Facebook?
I have, but I’ve never tried it. I use Friends Reunited, but I’m not a full member.
Q: Do you have a favourite gadget?
I have a DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) radio that lets me pick up all kinds of radio stations I wouldn’t otherwise be able to get. My only criticism of it is that it isn’t very blind-friendly. Everything is done on an LCD menu screen that has poor contrast – blue text on a black background – that doesn’t make it the easiest thing to use for everyone.
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