Yesterday was another interesting day, albeit of a completely different type to wednesday. I went up into London, to a talk Lyn and I had been invited to. Abilitynet were hosting an event to Google Campus about finding better ways for disabled pople to access the online world; we were invited because Lyn and I had participated in the accompanying ‘Look No Hands’ film. In the event, Lyn was feeling tired so I went on my own, and I must say it was quite an interesting afternoon. There were demonstrations of many cool things, such as how Google’s new glasses can be used to enhance the lives of disabled people. The current trend seems to be focussing on the ways mainstream technologies can be adapted to help disabled people rather than making bespoke, expensive devices; the obvious example is the way the Ipad can be used as a communication aid.

It was all rather interesting, but towards the end of the event, during the ‘discussion’, something ironic struck me. It was quite academic and dry – people there didn’t seem to grasp how vital the technology they were discussing was to certain people. They were being academic and thorough, of course, treating it as they would any other branch of technology; yet it seemed to me that, without the things they were discussing, people like myself would be leading much more barren lonely lives. I don’t blame them for talking as they did, but the mismatch between these two realities, seemed odd. In a way it seemed like they didn’t realise they were setting people free.