A Timely Gift from a Talented and Generous Author

by Jonathan Mosen

From the Editor: Jonathan Mosen is a well-known name. He has had articles in the Braille Monitor with some frequency, has had a lot of visibility in his work with HumanWare, Vispero, and Aira, and is appreciated for several books he has written that make the iPhone and other devices much more useful to those not technically suited to read a manual or lengthy help file. Jonathan is without doubt an activist, and he intends to do good in the world. Here is just one manifestation of the spirit that drives this man’s life work:

Kia ora [be safe] everyone, from a beautiful Wellington, New Zealand.

As many of you know, I’m now CEO of a national organization here in New Zealand. I’m no longer developing Mosen Consulting projects, but I keep titles available as long as they remain relevant. Occasionally, I check in to see what we have sold through our automated system. Having just done this, I have noticed a sharp increase in the number of people buying my audiobook on Zoom Cloud Meetings, Meet Me Accessibly, which is a three-hour description of how to use Zoom on a range of platforms with a screen reader. There has been a very sharp spike in sales in just the last few days. Clearly, this is because more people are already working from home or are preparing to do so.

I do not feel comfortable profiting from a need people have during a crisis that is unprecedented in living memory. If people need access to the material at a time like this, I can afford to give it away especially since Mosen Consulting is no longer my primary means of making a living. I have therefore refunded in full everyone who has purchased Meet Me Accessibly during March and made it free on the website. You are welcome to download it free and distribute it anywhere you want. The only thing I ask is that you please not change any of the files and that it be distributed in full. Download it free from http://mosen.org/zoom

I hope this helps in some small way during a very tough time for many. There is no sugar coating the fact that we are living through a very difficult period in history. But, if we follow quality advice, including regular handwashing and levels of isolation appropriate for the degree of outbreak in our country, we’ll get through it. Let’s all do our best to stay safe, be mindful of the safety of others, and be kind.

Take care,
Jonathan