Visiting the Borg Collective

RantWoman has done it. She has followed the seductive link out of an email to the Amazon.com purchase options for a book someone mentioned. RantWoman really wants to read the book. RantWoman THINKS she knows blind people who have successfully downloaded e-books from Amazon, but RantWoman is troubled by the suspicion that this may have been pre-Kindle.

RantWoman herself has not ordered anything from Amazon in a very long time, basically since before certain vision-related medical events multiple years in the past. RantWoman most recently ordered books about 1. stalking and true crime and those who fight the latter. 2. gynecological problems. These are important issues and people need to be able to order books about them. However, RantWoman's life has moved on, and she SO wishes that when she signs into her account the marketing geniuses at Amazon would at least try to tempt her with something new and fresh instead of downer themes from multiple years ago.

RantWoman poked and prodded around the listings for the book that brought her to the site. The book is available in Kindle format, in paperback, and in large-print paperback.

RantWoman has previously excoriated the perpetrators of the Kindle on accessibility grounds. RantWoman has published links to lawsuits, disputes with the Authors' Guild, and multitudinous other impediments to her ability to fully enjoy reading material via Amazon. RantWoman notes with chagrin that her own alma mater, a biographical fact she has in common with the founder of this wing of World Domination unlimited, is NOT one of the ones boycotting Kindle textbook distribution because it is inaccessible. Boo alma mater!

RantWoman saw a link indicating that the book she wanted comes with audio performance enabled. Even more seductive are links to Kindle clients for the PC and the iPhone. RantWoman, ever optimistic, notes that both the PC and the iPhone have well-tested, well-understood accessibility options. RantWoman allowed herself to entertain the hope, however faint, however miasmic, that these accessibility options would mean that the Kindle clients for these platforms would also be accessible.

WRONG! Delusions! Insanity! What on EARTH was RantWoman thinking?

First rantWoman downloaded the client: Help? What Help? RantWoman selected something she thought would yield Help. Instead, RantWoman got a WHOLE screen full of household merchandise and nary a word about the Kindle client for the PC.

Not only is the PC client not accessible, RantWoman's PC showed substantial signs of dyspepsia after attempting to force the client to play with her screen enlarger. RantWoman is SO seriously not amused.