Archive for December, 2009
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility with a high Braille content
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 29, 2009
12 really cool reasons to get OS X Snow Leopard | News | TechRadar UK, including support for about 40 Braille displays.
‘BrainPort’ research project seeks nationwide for participants | savannahnow.com – Pittsburgh medical research targets blinded veterans.
CALVERT TRUST KIELDER Kielder, Northumberland. – on the whole highly praised as a holiday/vacation destination for disabled people, but lack of induction loops and braille signage.
‘Caterpillar’ the first Arabic Braille children’s book – Daily Newws, Egypt
Clock Sheet tells you the time | Gadgets and Technology – and it’s tactile.
CodeProject: See your name in Braille. Free source code and programming help – some Javascript to convert text to braille.
Code Factory: Products – Screen readers – Overview – here you can find out which screen reader is compatible with your mobile device.
Computer mice for the blind: Feeling in the dark | The Economist tactile mouse helps blind people to feel graphs and graphics.
Culture: Braille, To See the Unseen The Foreign Exchange – challenges and advantages of using Chinese Braille in Taiwan.
Downloadable Braille Materials – educational files.
DR on dealing with GOJ border fingerprinting: sandpaper down your fingers – debito.org Blog Archive – confuse the Japanese Government’s mass fingerprinting operation, and feel Braille more accurately too.
Elves send letters from Santa — in Braille — baltimoresun.com – don’t tell the kids the NFB dealt with them, though!
Experience what is on screen with Sense | Wyrd – multi-sensory device allows experience of smells, tastes, textures, and can handle Braille.
Faithful volunteers make Braille Bibles possible – DailyBulletin.com – Lutherans in Canada produce large print and Braille Bibles for free distribution world-wide.
Feel by Blend Apparel [hands-on review] :: Hide Your Arms – Braille t-shirt that says “feel”? Surely some discretion needed?
Flat World Knowledge announces partnership with Bookshare – The CITE: – this will make textbooks easier to obtain by students with visual impairments.
For Those with Special Needs | Information-Online – some USA venues and the provisions they make for disabled people.
Fox Creek Wines Pty Ltd | News / Events – launch of large print and Braille wine labels by this Australian wine company.
Future Aids – The Braille Superstore with toll-free US phone number.
Handy Tech North America – Handy Holiday Specials 2009 – deadline extended to December 31st. Offers include Code Factory and GW Micro products.
Honea Path woman aiming to go back to college after losing her eyesight» Anderson Independent – when Andi Mills lost her sight, all else seemed to be lost – but not for long.
How is braille produced? – Resources – Vision Australia Website – everything from manual to electronic methods explained.
How to Cope With Being Blind – wikiHow – a beginner’s guide. It’s a wiki, so you can edit it.
[Podcast] Importance Of Braille blind academic praises the versatility and accuracy that Braille gives her at work and in life generally.
Index Braille – Braille embossers, software and accessories. Based Sweden, distributed world-wide.
Innovation: Award-winning product design of 2009 – Image 2 – New Scientist – the design excellence awards included the Haptic Reader from Korea, a device that can scan text and convert it instantly to Braille or speech.
Lees Mee braille stamps by René Put – Dezeen » Blog Archive – Dutch award for designer.
libbraille – Library for Braille Display – free computer library that enables the development of Braille for displays in many languages. Free Braille translation tool. Braille alphabets for several languages.
Library goes digital for visually impaired – Global Times – visually impaired people in China can get hold of e-books, music and lectures through the China Digital Library.
Lights for the blind – Craft and Design Happenings – Australian designer has made a device that represents Braille as LED lights. Totally blind people can use it to read Braille in the regular way.
Livescribe Talking Braille Periodic Table « Livescribe Smartpen Applications – to be released early 2010?
Mac OS X v10.6: VoiceOver manuals available in Braille
Making Museums More Accessible – Museu Picasso Barcelona » Blog Archive – recent conference explored how to make art more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities.
Mitra Jyothi – Changing the lives of visually impaired – this organisation in Bangalore, India, enables visually impaired people to find jobs and facilities they need for an independent life.
Multilingual Braille Output For Snow Leopard | ATMac – while VoiceOver can speak several languages, SnowLeopard Braille is in standard English. Archie Robertson has addedseveral languages at Grade 1. Anyone who can help him advance this work into other languages and higher grades of Braille can e-mail conseil at anarchie dot org dot uk.
No More License Plates: Mo. prison inmates transcribe books for the blind « ResourceShelf
OBR – Optical Braille Recognition -using an ordinary scanner, non-readers of Braille can get ordinary text from Braille documents.
Open Content Textbooks Available to All Without Proof of Disability – No Limits to Learning – thanks to US Government funding Bookshare.
Orca 2.28.2 (Stable) – SourceWell – Open Source Software Announcement & Retrieval – provides speech, magnification and braille.
Perkins Brailler – American Foundation for the Blind
Rightfully theirs – Financial Express – India proposes fair deal law to enable books to be produced in alternative formats.
RoboBraille.org – converts text to Braille and mp3 audio online.
Squibble Portable Braille Interface – concept device could result in mobile phones accessible by Braille interface.
The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media – "A non-profit R&D organization dedicated to achieving media access equality for people with disabilities."
Using a Braille Font – Louis Braille School
What To Do When You Meet a Sighted Person
Who Invented Braille And How Does It Work? – from The Eye, a site about vision loss – there are more advanced Braille topics here, too, such as contracted Braille symbols.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 26, 2009
A preview of accessibility for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch – Blind Bargains
Access all areas – everyday tasks that are more difficult with a disability, illustrated in this article from the Jerusalem Post.
Accessible Captcha – Purple Dogfish // Free Stuff
Accessible Online Surveys (fully CLF 2 & 508 compliant) – OnlyASurvey.com
Accessites.org – The Art of Accessibility – accessible sites don’t have to be boring!”
Accessibility evaluation tools (A-Z of user experience design resources)
ADA Audio Conference Series – find out about trends and regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Ai Squared Adds their Holiday Specials to the Mix – Blind Bargains – special offers run until the end of the year.
Alertbox: Jakob Nielsen’s Newsletter on Web Usability
An Overview of Website Accessibility at Online Pacific Time (Thursday January 14, 2010) – Upcoming – it’s not really too complicated to make sites more accessible.
BookSense 2.0 Firmware Now Available – get your free upgrade from GW Micro.
Cinema for the Blind – Festival : lifestyle, cinema | euronews – films at the International film festival in Marrakech available with audio description and Braille.
CLiCk, Speak reads web pages in Firefox web browser – The Assistive Technology Blog
Creating Video and Multimedia Products That Are Accessible to People with Sensory Impairments
DAISY: AMIS (Adaptive Multimedia Information System) – this self-voicing DAISY book reading freeware has a new version, 3.1, released Dec. 19th, 2009.
Language packs and installers for other languages
DAISY: PLEXTALK Pocket PTP1 Firmware Version 3 Now Available – update for this DAISY recording and playback device.
DIADEM project – researches what technology works for older people, and produces front-ends for existing programs that are more suitable for their skill level. Project shared by the UK, Norway and Italy.
Download the Colour Contrast Analyser- Resources – Vision Australia Website
Dyslexia Friendly Fonts and Text Styles – Indigo Dyslexia Centre
EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information – podcasts of conferences on accessibility topics.
eSpeak – free, open-source speech synthesiser for many languages
Firefox Accessibility Extension :: Modules pour Firefox
Free Assistive Technology – OSU Web Accessibility Center – don’t spend your inheritance until you’ve tried these.
[DRAFT] How People with Disabilities Use the Web: Overview document in progress, comments welcome but citations not. from WAI
If you must use a dropdown menu, make sure it’s keyboard friendly | 456 Berea Stree – hear! hear!
KNFBReader V6.3.1 upgrade now available – Blind Bargains – supports more devices, trial version available.
Making Flash Accessible: a quick guide – presented as an inaccessible Shockwave object. Great joke, fellas.
Mobile Speak 4 Information – useful resources on the forthcoming screen reader for mobile phones.
Mozilla Invites You to Help Design Firefox 4 – GigaOM
NCAM and Apple Publish “Creating Accessible iTunes Content” / NCAM – guidelines include how to include closed captions and audio description.
North Carolina Assistive Technology Program – Freware – programs that could help people with a range of disabilities
Oracle’s Accessibility Program
Police ignore disabled in metrobus station protest – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review – wheelchair protest at an Istanbul bus station causes divided opinions.
PROJECT DETAIL for Lynx text web browser = useful material on this text-only web browser.
Project:Possibility – A Software Collaboration for Persons with Disabilities – aims to bring developers and disabled people together to make a difference by developing open-source software.
ReadTheWords – make an audio file from written text.
Reduce Clutter on Webpages – udl4all
Shareware, Freeware and Demos – The DRM WebWatcher: Assistive Technology – software to make life easier.
The 2010 Accessible Transportation Coalitions Initiative (ATCI) – want to see improvements in your local transport in the USA? This program may be able to help.
Trust gives green light to net TV – the BBC will take part in the Canvas Project, which will develop on-demand TV.
TTS: Internet for the visually challenged | My Sinchew – the push for better accessibility in Malaysia.
Typeface or Font Readability – it’s not all a matter of fonts…..
UK Resources for Web Accessibility and the Law
What is accesselearning? – tutorial on accessible distance learning from Georgia Tech.
What is MobileSpeak 4? – Blind Bargains – the new version of the screen reader for mobile phones is scheduled for release in January, 2010.
WinAmp update fades out critical media player flaws • The Register – users advised to upgrade to the latest version to avoid malware activity.
Zoom into Any Screen on Your iPhone – Fred’s Head from APH – don’t overlook the built-in Zoom feature on the iPhone.
ZoomIt – this tool for Windows is designed to work with software used in presentations. Zoom in on an area and draw on it if you like.
The Blind Buzz on Travel
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 19, 2009
This is a heady mixture of travel opportunities, technology to enable travel, and – sorry to say – plenty of stories of blind people facing discrimination in travel.
Apply for the Crashing Through Award for Independent Travel | The LightHouse Blog – "Sendero Group would like to encourage and recognize independent travel exploits by blind people as exemplified by the book about Mike May,
Crashing Through by Robert Kurson. A portion of every Sendero GPS sale will go into an annual scholarship fund to be awarded to the applicant with the most impressive travel adventure for the year."
Blindtravel.com – "Powered by Damar Travel & Cruise. Our message is to help launch the non-sighted into a position of travel confidence. Thus, helping to enable each person to build his or her own self worth and independence for future travels." Based St. Louis, Missouri.
Feeling the way – MIT TouchLab device gives blind people a chance to navigate within a building virtually before attempting the real thing.
[Video] Independent Travel with Sendero GPS for the blind – YouTube – more info at the
Sindero Web Site
Jetstar Denies Boarding to Blind Passenger and Then Takes Away a Wheelchair
Mind’s Eye Travel – tours for people with visual impairments in the USA and Europe.
National Sports Center for the Disabled – outdoor recreation opportunities for individuals with disabilities – outdoor travel and leisure opportunities. Based Colorado.
Qantas refuses woman with guide dog – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Reflections on European travel as a blind person / Best Travel Spots/Tips written from an American perspective.
Rolling Rains Report:: European Blind Union on Air Travel in the E U
Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality – an educational nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the United States and abroad.
[Video] Travel, Navigations & Tech for Blind – playlist on YouTube containing several videos.
Travel guide: Museums: special services for blind visitors – covers the Louvre, the British Museum and MoMa. Also visit
Special services for blind visitors, in British museums and
Visits guided for blind persons in the Zoo of Buenos Aires
Travel Outlook for People with Disabilities | Travel the World – sites that may help you plan your dream trip.
Travel Providers Strive to Meet the Needs of Disabled Travelers | Radixx Travel Solutions
[Video] Traveleyes – Amar Latif – Part 1 – Orange business – the boss of the well-known UK travel company, TravelEyes..
Part 2.
Vision Outdoor – Nature tours for blind and visually impaired people. Based Germany.
Walking on the Edge: Life with a Guide Dog | Interactive Journalism – travel in New York (with embedded video).
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 17, 2009
10 Best Nokia Beta Labs Apps -include the experimental Braille Reader, indoor GPS, magnifier
[Audio] 1197am RPH Adelaide – Listen On-line to Vision Extra
33 Must Read CSS3 Tips, Tricks, Tutorial Sites and Articles | Graphic and Web Design Blog -Resources
A Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility: 21 Ways to Make Your Site More Web Accessible
A vision for inclusion – A Guide to the European Blind Union. Includes a section on inaccessible products and services.
A website for teachers who are blind or visually impaired
Abilities Expo | Events for People with Disabilities – USA organization for disabled people and proefessionals. Events display latest technology, products and services.
Access for Everyone: Empower Technologies’ Accessible Comparison Shopping Service – Fred’s Head from APH
Direct link to empowereveryone.com
Access Keys -Accessibility Assessments – these are awards for web sites that meet particular needs.
Accessible Alternatives for CAPTCHA – those visual puzzles you have to solve before you can enter some web sites are not a whole heap of use to blind people, so here are some solutions.
Accessible Devices Podcast Feed
Listen to Episode 9: iBill Currency Identifier – other episodes cover the iPhone, Penfriend Audio Labeler and the BrainPort. Plextalk recorder,
Accessible HTML/XHTML Forms – The Web Standards Project
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 – what’s ARIA all about?
Accessible Tech Resource Library: How can our organization deliver accessible webcasts?
Accessible Twitter : web accessibility for the Twitter.com website application
Accessible Twitter Wins Award, Slidedeck – Web Axe
Accessible Web Video: JW Player Controls – OSU Web Accessibility Center
Accessibility tools, web developer tools, wizards and markup generators | Accessify – warning: a script on this page generated a threat warning from AVG anti-virus. Probably trivial, but it’s your choice whether to follow this link.
Accessify Forum: Accessibility Discussion Forums
ADA Online: Is a Website a “Place of Public Accommodation”? | Citizen Media Law Project – in the light of the recent case claiming that Sony’s games site was not made accessible to visually impaired people, questions arise about the status of websites.
Adobe – Accessibility training resources
AMP Express – get a free accessibility report for your web site.
ASSOCIATION OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED TEACHERS AND STUDENTS [ABAPSTAS] – UK based
Balabolka: Free Text-to-Speech for Windows – Fred’s Head – this is a simple text-to-speech program that can read from the clipboard and save sound files from what it reads there.
Beyo CBS Reader is an OCR application for Symbian phones, cost £75. Get a demo in the UK from
Computer Room Services – supposedly the OCR program requires Talks.
Blind in business: Cutting-edge seeing aids – The Independent, UK – how a City of London blind high flyer does it.
Bookshare – Accessible Books for Individuals with Print Disabilities – books and periodicals made accessible. USA based.
Browser Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts « AccessTech News – Firefox, IE, Chrome, Safari, Opera.
Cambridge University Press Has Signed an Agreement with the DAISY Forum of India
Captchas: The Bain of Everyone’s Existence – Perspectives from a Blind Point of View
Color Vision – by Cal Henderson – a tool to simulate how someone with color deficiency would see your site – or not, as the case may be.
Copyright Owners Fight Plan to Release E-Books for the Blind | Threat Level | Wired.com
Discover new ways of thinking about accessibility – W3C Blog – new documents urges designers to involve users, not just stick to standards.
Dive Into Accessibility – book for site owners.
Dragon Dictation comes to the iPhone. Wow. – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
RSS Feed
easy computer for our seniors – software and hardware that are easy to use.
Eldy RSS Feed
Enhanced Keyboard-accessible Google Maps » Learning the World
eyes-free Google Group – access to Android phones.
Finally, Posted Notes for the Visually Impaired – Fred’s Head – ever wanted bigger post-it notes? Now’s your chance!
FireVox – free text-to-speech extension for Firefox.
Free PDF to Word Converter Online – send in your scanned PDF file, and get a Word document back with page features preserved.
Global Assistive Technology Encyclopedia – accessible wiki site that everyone can help to build.
GW Micro – News & Events – Upcoming Events – Online Presentation of BookSense 2.0 Firmware! – When: Monday, December 21, 2009 – registration for this event is closed, but you will be able to hear a recording of it eventually.
IDEAL Group Android Accessibility Wizard – helping people to move from previous generation phones to Android smartphones.
Introducing Easy Web Browsing – Macy’s talking web browser in co-operation with IBM. Only works with oudated versions of Internet Explorer.
JAWS ate my tables – WebAIM Blog – is this a data table or is it a layout table? It isn’t always clear to screen readers.
JAWS scripts for Mozilla Thunderbird version 3.0 – this link starts the installer.
KeyboardNavigation Does Away with Mouse Clicks in Chrome – Keyboard Shortcuts – Lifehacker
Lighthouse International: Get Organized – handy hints on making your whole life more accessible.
Lou Reed Launches iPhone App for the Visually Impaired – Spinner UK – yes, it is that Lou Reed. The app zooms your iPhone contacts.
Main Menu show on ACB Radio has a feature on MobileSpeak 4 on Saturday, 19th December, 2009. If you miss it, find it in
the Archives.
Make Thunderbird 3 Your Ultimate Online/Offline Message Hub – Thunderbird 3 – Lifehacker
Memory Fox Manages Firefox’s Memory Use, Aims to Keep It Low – Memory – Lifehacker – much as you might love Firefox, it can be a memory hog.
northtemple – The Accessibility Checklist I Vowed I’d Never Write – a guideline for developers not experienced in accessibility.
Obama Sides With Blind in Copyright-Treaty Debate – some copyright holders (authors and publishers) in the USA want to deny blind people the right to accessible bookes e.g., text-to-speech on the Kindle). Obama has laid his cards on the table on this issue.
Primula Speak N’ Brew Coffee Maker, world’s first talking coffee maker » ZiggyTek » Blog
Section 508: Summary of Section 508 Standards – site may not be available this weekend.
SeroTalk Tech Chat 44 – Accessible Gifts Under $50
Simplicity launches in London computer powered by Eldy – easy computer targeted at older people.
Simply Accessible – presntation dating from 2005, but may still be useful .
RSS Feed
SmartMenus DHTML Menu / JavaScript Menu – Accessible List Based Website Menu / Web Menu – accessible menus for web pages.
Speech-to-Text: Dictation software for Mac OS X | ATMac
Text Speech Plugin Turns Winamp into a No Frills Book Reader – Blind Bargains
Thunderbird 3 is coming out soon, and it’s accessible! – Marco’s accessibility blog
Total iTV, on-line movies and series with subtitles and audiodescription
Ubuntu brings advanced Screen features to the masses – screen profiles are very powerful, but most users don’t know about the advanced features.
UN Agencies Agree on Need for Closer Collaboration in Favor of Visually Impaired including access to literary and scientific materials.
Usability Testing Toolkit: Resources, Articles, and Techniques – Noupe
VisionAWARE | Resources For Adults Experiencing Low Vision, Vision Loss, and Blindness – find products, services and useful information.
WCAG 2 Tutorial – learn about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Web Accessibility Toolbar for IE – several manual web page testing tools for Internet Explorer only.
Web Axe – Practical Web Design Accessibility Tips – Podcast and Blog: Colorblind, Law, and Lightboxes 4
RSS Feed
Window Eyes Scripts for TeamTalk 1.0 by J.J. Meddaugh
Windows Vista Accessibility Tutorials from Microsoft.
The Blind Buzz on Accessible Mobile Phones
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 11, 2009
Let the buyer beware!
Please note that these links are only for information. You are wise to do more research before purchasing any piece of equipment or software, and make sure that it fits your requirements.
I’m in no position to conduct detailed reviews of any item listed here, so please be cautious.
Accessible Cell Phones – Fred’s Head
Aurora Device Search freeware for the Android phones – apps and games.
Create text-to-speech (TTS) podcast from RSS feed for iPod, iPhone, MP3 player and mobile phone
EyesFreeAndroid’s Channel on YouTube.
HTC Hero Sim Free Android Smartphone: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo
PHONE REVIEW: iPHONE 3GS, BLACKBERRY BOLD, PALM PRE AND NOKIA N97 « Speaking One’s Mind
Minor Talks update released – Wayne’s blog
TalkBack: An Open Source Screenreader For Android « AccessTech News
The Mobile Phone Directory – mobile phones, glossary of terms, telecom news – information for the UK and Europe.
Toshiba Tactility – Mobile Phone Concept for Visually Challenged | Touch User Interface
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 11, 2009
Accessible Technology On-line Seminar Series – The goal of the Accessible Technology Webinars is to increase awareness on technology accessibility for people with disabilities.
AccessWatch Going Offline As Of December 12 – but if you’ve benefited from the site, maybe a nice note to the author is in order!
AccessWorld News – AccessWorld® – November 2009 – yes, it’s a bit late. Subjects covered include Accessible TV, e-book accessibility, click and go maps,
Aiding access to arts -stuff.co.nz – new guide has simple practical advice for arts venues.
An Idiot’s Guide To Accessible Website Design | Web Design Ledger
Archos Introduces 1 Vision Media Player, Allows More Audio Than Vision » ZiggyTek » Blog – Archos try to make a comeback with this low-end media player gadget.
ATIA Educational Webinar Series « LVATUG blog – free webinars for educators, rehab workers, assistive technology professionals, disabled people and their supporters.
ATTO: Assistive Technology Training Online – aimed at USA educators in elementary classes.
Bookshare India Partnerships Build India and Worldwide Collections of Digital Books
Bosch Puts New Spin on Washer and Dryer Controls – AccessWorld® – November 2009 – old-fashioned controls are simpler and give positive clicks as you turn them.
BRAILLE MONITOR, December 2009 includes latest on the FS vs GWM lawsuit and VoiceOver on the Mac
British Museum Launches Multimedia Guides in 11 Languages – artdaily.org – audio described and sign language versions available.
Call For Compliance With UN Convention Covering ICT Rights – E-Access Bulletin Live » Blog Archive. Nations that ratified the treaty need to report on progress next year.
Complete List of Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools
Disaboom on Top 8 Free Browsers for Seniors and Disabled – several browsers and add-ons briefly described.
Discounted Braille Jewelry in the ACB Store – Blind Bargains
Feeling in the dark « Cervantes – a tactile mouse invented in Israel can give Braille and tactile diagram feedback to a blind user. No more “in the dark”, please! Dark is a sighted concept.
Freedom Scientific seeks private beta testeres for new magnifier
Grafting web accessibility onto computer science education « As Your World Changes – traditional computer science education does not cover a ccessibility issues, but that needs to change.
GWMicro Script Central – has a lunar lander game and a script to force the Window Eyes focus on to a list of file names.
Live Describe – audio description software for videos. There is also synchronisation software. The audio can be saved on the web site.
RSS Feed
Liverpool Actionnaires achieve Sport England Clubmark – Actionnaires Clubs are multi-sports clubs for blind and partially sighted children of school age.
Looking Ahead To The iPhone 4G, Exploring The Wonderful Possibilities Ahead » ZiggyTek » Blog
Mobile and Handheld Technology Accessibility Forum group | LinkedIn
New Petition Seeks to Gain Support of Access to Books for All
Nuance brings its speech-recognition technology to the iPhone | Software | iPhone Central | Macworld – Dragon Naturally Speaking dictation software arrives for the iPhone.
Packaging Information Available from Horizons for the Blind – Fred’s Head from APH: – infromation on grocery, health and beauty product labels in accessible form.
Reading Rights represents Americans who cannot read print.
Redstart Systems Inc. — Utter Command speech recognition interface software – take control of your computer with this add-on for the Dragon Naturally Speaking Pro Engine.
SeroTalk Podcast 29 – controling Your computer with Your Voice and ooTunes Radio for the iPhone
Direct link to audio
RSS Feed
Squibble Portable Braille Interface – this device is only a concept at the moment, but if it is marketed, it will have a tactile and high-contrast displa
Subscribe to Yahoo! Group b-v-m – virtualisation and issues raised for visually impaired people.
T. R. Fraser’s Storefront – Lulu.com – current offers on e-books about JAWS and Word 2007, Outlook 2007 and Vista. $12 each.
Tek Talk Training Room – GMT Tuesday, 15 December at 01:00 – featuring the Sound post, a device to augment GPS and give us more information about our immediate environment. From Top Tech Tidbits, 10th Dec 09.
Telerik Adds Accessibility Support to RadEditor – Dr. Dobb’s
The Problem with PDF Content – Fred’s Head article describing the perils of graphics-only PDF content.
Timer Stopwatch – Online Timer – Online Stopwatch
UK’s First Educational e-Book Library Launched Online – E-Access Bulletin – Books For All has educational books in a range of digital formats suitable for visually impaired people.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on December 4, 2009
‘Tis the Low Vision Holiday Season with Optelec and ShopLowVision.com – but only in America, by the looks.
AbleGamers Reviews Games From a Disability Standpoint – Slashdot Games Story
Accessible online video for keyboard-only users – how to improve the accessibility.
Adobe Tech Talk on Accessibility in PDF documents upcoming on December 9th. It seems the event is free but you need to register.
AISquared News – the makers of ZoomText have some seasonal offers for you – if you’re in America….
At my fingertips – Deccan Herald – how Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged, Mumbai, grew to provide access to education
Banking Services for Elderly, Disabled Improved – Scoop – New Zealand adopts voluntary guidelines for accessible banking. Isn’t it about time the UK did the same? With us being so generous with our tax money and all……
Blind Adrenaline Now Offers Gift Subscriptions for Online Accessible Card Games – Blind Bargains
Catch Dolphin’s Dave Williams introducing EasyReader live on Radio « AccessTech News – if you can’t hear it live, this is the
Innovations Podcast Page
College wins access award – Dudley News, UK – praise for the College’s comprehensive approach to disability access.
Curb Cuts Episode #5 ::: AT for Low Vision – featuring people with low vision using a range of hardware and software.
Designing the Intel Reader | December 2, 2009 – Dr. Dobb’s
Disabled employment foundation making a difference to the handicapped – India
EasyReader Case Study: DAISY is something that we have decided we SHOULD be doing – case studies on this digital book reader available from Dolphin.
Empower Technologies Launches Accessible Comparison Shopping Service with “Access for Everyone” –
empowereveryone.com web site (USA).
Firefox 3.6 Beta 4 Available with Many Fixes – Firefox – Lifehacker
First braille election document launched by Edmonton candidate (From Enfield Independent)
First Internet Web Radio Launched For Blind Users -E-Access Bulletin Live » Blog – you still need a broadband connection to run this device from the british Wireless for the Blind Fund, and some can get one on free loan, but if not it will cost you £350.
For Disabled, Birthright Trips Meet Needs, Fulfill Some Dreams – free trips from USA to Israel available for those with Asperger’s Syndrom, wheelchair users, deaf and blind people.
Free Audio and Video Converter Impresses – praise for simplicity and clean interface.
Download
[mp3 Audio] FSCast Episode 36, November 2009 – Research It functionality in JAWS
[mp3 Audio] – Introducing Mobile Speak 4 podcast episode from the Mark Taylor Candleshore Blog.
[mp3 Audio] Innovations Podcast from the Global Voice – episode about NVDA screen reader, Visionaid and a brief history of television.
Luggage Locator – What’s New – Things You Never Knew Existed – see and hear your bags as they go past you on the carousel.
MKs urged to think about disabled accessibility | Jerusalem Post
NFB and Santa to Promote Braille Literacy – this is the American NFB
Nuance Talks&zooms 4.11 Released – Blind Bargains
Portable magnification options « AccessTech News – portable CCTVs.
Registration for Techshare India 2010 – conference with global perspective on technology for disabled people and an increasingly elderly population. Early Bird Registration discounts available until December 25th.
Season’s Meetings from Serotek
Accessible Event intends to make meetings and conferences accessible to all.
[mp3 Audio] SeroTalk Podcast 28 – Accessing Computers Remotely, GPS and MP3 Choices, and hands-free Computing.
Smart phones give disabled help on the go – The Globe and Mail – the message of this article seems to be that disabled people want the same gadgetry as everyone else.
Social Networking and Accessibility – Associated Content – social networks can enhance communication, but can produce new barriers as well.
Stumbling Around .gov Websites: Good, Bad, and Goofy « As Your World Changes – sites deserve marks for effort, but the audio linked in here shows some of the difficulties they present to a visually impaired user, says Susan Gerhardt.
"Hear Me Stumble" Recordings
[mp3 Audio] – Tek Talk podcast presents netECHO, by Larry Lewis, President, Flying Blind LLC – get Web content on a landline or cell phone.
The Future of HTML 5 by Bruce Lawson – an explainer
[Video] The Sounds of the Chevrolet Volt – Chevrolet worked with the National Federation of the Blind to come up with an excuse-me sound. Video with plenty of sound-track.
The Top 5 Bargain Smartphones: Low Priced, Feature Packed, And User Friendly » ZiggyTek » Blog
UN: People With Disabilities Face Huge Obstacles reported by the Voice of America, the UN made this statement to mark the International Day of Disabled People
[mp3 Audio] Web Axe Episode 76 (Web Accessibility Disasters) – web sites that should be great, but aren’t.
ZoomNews December 2009 « AccessTech News – in which ZoomText appears on Cooking Without Looking and other things.
