Do Unto Others, It's Good Business

finally

One reason I've stuck at what I do for so long is that in my bones I know technology will continue to transform not just our work existence but the very essence of the environment in which we live. And I know that the people who are going to pull this off are VARs and home integrators.

I have never seen more solid evidence than last week when I visited the Llanes family, who will be featured in an upcoming episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. (The episode was supposed to air this month, but the producers were apparently so bowled over by the footage they'll probably push it into the fall sweeps season.)

As I've blogged before, the technology portion of this particular project, which was integrated by small-business VAR Silicon East, represents not just the lastest in home integration systems but also in accessibility technology. It gives me goosebumps to recall how the family talks about how this stuff has transformed their lives. "It is the most liberating thing, especially with the Internet," says Vic Llanes, who is blind. His mother is also blind, and his two daughters, Carrie and Guinivir, are losing their sight because of the same heriditary condition. Llane's son Zeb, meanwhile, is deaf and his wife, Maria, is fighting thyroid cancer. The entire family is extremely hands-on, although it helps that both Vic and Zeb are what I would respectfully describe as sorta geeky.

Microsoft was instrumental in coordinating the donations of the gadgets, which still boggle my imagination.

Some examples of the donations (still can't list 'em all, I'm sorry, because of the TV people): a currency reader, a braille printer and all sorts of Kurzweil equipment. But one of the coolest applications is from iCommunicator, which converts Vic's speech into text and sign language that Zeb can see. In reverse, it converts Zeb's typing into speech, which his father can hear. It makes it a gazillion times easier for Zeb to "talk" to the other family members.

Microsoft was so floored by the end result that its COO Kevin Turner recognized Silicon East President Marc Harrison during his keynote today at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. Harrison's company also is one of the recipients of a brand-new type of Microsoft partner award, one for community service, in recognition of its work on the Extreme Makeover project.

Harrison describes that work as the most exhausting -- it required a unique integration between the home control system and the device controlling the solar panels -- yet most rewarding he has ever done.

"It's the right thing to do, but it's also good business," adds Ellen Kampel, who works with the Microsoft Accessible Technology Group and helped Harrison get his hands on many of the devices now in use in the Llanes household.