Archive for February, 2010
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 28, 2010
Accessibility – Mono – this allows some Windows applications to run on Linux machines with the same level of accessibility.
Betsie | Get Betsie at SourceForge.net – "Betsie is a CGI filter script written in Perl that can improve the accessibility of arbitrary websites by creating an intelligently decolumnised text-only version."
Braille Struggles Under Threat From Audio Technologies – E-Access Bulletin Live » Blog Archive – translated from the Italian newspaper, La Republica. Braille in decline, but still valuable to visually impaired people.
Creating Accessibility-aware Silverlight 2 Content -CODE Magazine
EDeAN: European Design for all eAccessibility Network – this group of 160 organisations in European countries aims to support accessibility for all.
Google, the largest blind user on the ‘net | Accessibility NZ – making a site accessible also makes it search-engine friendly.
Hit-a-Hint Bookmarklet Generator – makes it super easy to select links with keyboard only. This is an add-on for Firefox and Opera.
HTML5 Media and Accessibility presentation – ginger’s thoughts
Large Print Guidelines – Resources – Vision Australia Website
Latest Technology Instant Messenger Now Available For Mobile Phones And PCs From FIXITCHAT – one interface for all your messaging accounts on mobile phone and PC.
Low Vision Simulation – WebAIM – simulates what it is like to surf the Web with macular degeneration.
Researchers Plan To Automate Web Image Description – E-Access Bulletin Live » Blog Archive – UK group aims to develop browser plug-in to decipher graphics.
SpeakingFox Makes Firefox Talk | ATMac – works with Mac OS X. Not for serious screen reader users.
Visual Impairment Simulator for Microsoft Windows – this software imposes the effects of visual impairments on to your Windows environment.
Wrestling With the CAPTCHA Arm-Lock – AbilityNet – the distorted image CAPTCHA, some alternatives, and some of the problems that still exist.
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 27, 2010
APH Museum: Enter the InSights Art Competition for visually impaired artists in the U.S and around the world. Entries in by April 15th (adults) , April 1st ( school students).
Albert Watson at Young Gallery – IDbazaar – Home Page – Design & Art sourcing website » Blog Archive – Albert Watson is blind in one eye, and has had a high-profile photographic career, including photos for magazines, fashion and royalty.
Being a color blind photographer — Scott Wyden Imagery – some of the problems, and some useful sites.
Blind people in Delhi click photographs – dnaindia.com – more good stuff about the ‘Blind With Camera’ project in India.
[Video] blind photography feb 1, 2010, 5:47 PM – girl takes pictures with blindfold on, and challenges you to do the same.
Beyond Sight: Blind Photography in China | GlobalGiving – support blind people’s photographic activities in China, with the aim of reducingthe stigma of visual impairment.
ItalyTraveller experience. | The image museum – he museum, in Florence, includes the Touch Gallery, where some of the images are presented in tactile form.
I love this book! | dTour Photography – student describes "The Black Book of Colors", which has no colors, but has raised diagrams and braille text, emulating the world as experienced by a blind child.
Make Your Travel Pictures Talk: Fotobabble – this service will let you add a soundtrack from your microphone to photos you upload to it.
PhotoBabble Web Site
Norman Taylor: A shed load of art – Theatre & Arts, Entertainment – Belfasttelegraph.co.uk – when he started to lose his sight, Norman Taylor took many photographs of his garden shed. Some of them are soon to appear in an exhibition. Also visit
Norman’s Old Shed | Norman Taylor Photography
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 23, 2010
A Partially Blind Art Lover – "The World Through Vision Enhancers" – Jo Baaklini in Lebanon has several interests, including photography.
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An iPad Camera? | tim o’brien photos – future iPad models may have a camera, and give VI photographers a large display to work with.
Dog’s Eye View – the author, with a couple of physics degrees and a couple of dogs, makes use of photography and video in her blog. One of the dogs is her guide dog.
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[Video] Lifting the Blindfold;The Seeing With Photography Collective | CameraSLRreviews.com – Mozilla Firefox#vLifting the Blindfold;The Seeing With Photography Collective | CameraSLRreviews.com – the video shows the light-painting techniques used by New York’s Seeing With Photography Collective. This is not a new item, but is well worth watching again.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park University Project – If I’m reading this right, 5 Huddersfield University students are looking at the market for potential Friends of the Park. The Park functions, amongst other things, as a place to display the sculptures of Henry Moore and other sculptors. Included in the blog is an
article on blind photography, though I must admit I’m not sure I get the connection.
The Blind Buzz on Orang-utans
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 22, 2010
Following tonight’s BBC TV Panorama programme,
Dying For a Biscuit, I’d like to present some links to further information on the plight of the orang-utans and the rainforest environment of Indonesia. This isn’t a flash in the pan – I’ve had a web page on this for several years past, and would be glad if anyone visited it. Please visit
Vince’s Parallax: Orang-utans.
Almost half of all primates face ‘imminent extinction’ | Environment | The Guardian
[Video] Benn: ‘Power lies with shoppers’ – BBC News – Panorama – Hilary Benn, British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, comments on the palm-oil industry.
Borneo, Island of Tradition and Mystique – citmag.com » Blog Archive includes information on Semenggoh Orang Utan Centre.
British charity working to save orang-utans in Borneo – Times Online – the work of International Animal Rescue.
Environmental Education in Indonesia – Orangutan Foundation
Have a Heart, save the rainforest: WWF on Heart of Borneo – wildsingapore news
Indonesian Eco-Resorts and Orangutans
Orangutan survival and the shopping trolley – BBC News – Panorama
[Video] Part 1Orang-utan, Just Hanging On – Before It’s Too Late – saving the orang-utan is now or never.
Unilever drops major palm-oil producer – Nature, Environment – The Independent – BBC TV footage revealed unethical practices in Indonesia.
Wash Your Hands of Palm | Lush Cosmetics – Your Perth – Lush has come up with a special way for customers to make their mark.
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 20, 2010
BBC – Pods and Blogs | Blind Photographers – modesty forbids, and all that, but this is a pointer to a BBC article on a certain British blind photographer.
Haiti, BIL and accessibility is a BBC page where you can read more.
Being a color blind photographer — Scott Wyden Imagery
Blind With Camera » Photo Gallery – work from blind photographers in Mumbai.
Images Without Sight – "Process is as much an artistic experience as the object created. In this project, we follow a photographer who is blind, crafting her personal experience into a public one that can be shared by others."
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UK Gov nationalises orphans and bans non-consensual photography in public « grassroots issues – far-reaching changes in UK law on copyright may go unnoticed by most of us. Photography in public may in effect be banned, at least if the photography is digital.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 20, 2010
ACCESSIBILITY OF THE ANDROID SMARTPHONES – EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information
Adapting Sports for Blind Participation – To Ginger Irwin, All Sports are Accessible to the Visually Impaired
Blind Wiki – many kinds of resource information.
BlindWorld Blog and Podcast: iPhone Podcast 3: THE IPHONE!!! – well-stablished treasure-trove of information and reviews from Shane Jackson.
Braille karaoke lets blind croon in sync | The Japan Times Online
Braille packaging for medication – Lipogen, a cholesterol controlling medication, is the first in South Africa to get Braille labelling.
Chandigarh opens a new sensory park, for the visually challenged – northern India.
For the Visually Impaired, Money Talks – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com – this is about the
Franklin Bill Reader, which costs $300. It’s a funny way of solving your currency recognition problem – rob you of your currency first.
Handy Tech iRead – NFB Access Technology Blog – some advantages and disadvantages of this new OCR product – $750 doesn’t exactly make it cheap.
My first experience using an accessible touch screen device – Marco’s Accessibility Blog
Nick Lansley’s Technology for Tesco.com Blog: The web is a visual medium, so what are blind people doing on it? – 10 years later, Nick is telling web designers how to make their sites as good as Tesco’s. Hmmmm.
ReadSpeaker – Make your web sites, blogs, RSS feeds, digital books talk!
Sharing Solutions: Strategies for Effective Socializing Whether at Work or Play – Seminars@Hadley – Monday, 22nd Feb, 2010, 11:00 AM CST, 17:00 GMT.
][Audio] Shelly Brisbin Discusses The Arrival of iPhone 3GS Accessibility – Mac Voices #982 – this is from June 2009, but is still worth a listen.
The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media
Web Developer Add-on for Firefox
WebsiteTips.com Web Design Tips, Web Page Design Tutorials CSS HTML Tutorials Website Design Tips – Web Site Resources – includes designing for accessibility.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 19, 2010
A small apology if necessary – because WordPress seems to have had some downtime today, some of the links here haven’t been checked as they would usually be checked. Chances are that they’re fine, but time will tell.
A few upcoming free technology webinars – The Assistive Technology Blog
Accessible-devices.com Podcast – Show 11 Computer Utilities and Odds and Ends
Accessible Devices Podcast Feed
Accessible drag and drop using WAI-ARIA – Opera Developer Community
Accessible form builder – Generate XHTML-compliant accessible forms quickly and easily | Accessify
Accessible Open Source Content Management System – TYPOlight Open Source CMS – to produce well-organised and accessible web sites.
Adobe is Bad for Open Government – Sunlight Labs: Blog
AIM 7.2 Integrates with Facebook Chat | SSB BART Group – improves accessibility to Facebook.
Airline staff refuses to help blind man from the Deccan Herald
ARC Accessibility Simulations – Home Page – simulations of the ways in which various disabled people may interact with Blackboard. This is for awareness-raising.
Are You Aware February 10, 2010 | VisionAWARE newsletter of zVISIONAWARE.ORG
Built-in video arrives in Opera beta | Deep Tech – CNET News and still Opera refuses to work with my screen reader. Why haven’t they ever got this right? Is this the fastest critique on the Web?
Computer Training for the Over 50s – based in southern England. Online learning materials are free, and you can pay for a tutor to visit.
csun10 – Wireless Downloads coming to Plextalk Pocket – Blind Bargains
Design for Disability Will Become the Norm – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education – as the population ages, the penny’s dropped that accessibility is good for everyone.
Disabled score voting victory | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun – elections must be made more accessible in the whole of Canada, human rights judgement says
Dolphin – Version 11.50 out now – FREE for ALL version 11 users
EASI Webinar: NonVisual Desktop Access free open source Screen Reader – use this link to register for the webinar scheduled for Wed. March 3, 9 GMT in the US, times are 1 PM Pacific, 2 PM Mountain,
Expedia Offers New Option for Disabled Travelers – find out which hotels can offer facilities for people with disabilities.
Full Screen Weather : Weather Underground – partly accessible with a screen reader.
Google Buzz Has Completely Changed the Game: Here’s How « The BAT Channel – what Google Buzz might mean for the social networking environment.
Humanware releases version 3.1 of the Victor Reader Stream firmware – AccessTech News
Internet Your Way to a New Job (JOBONLINE – National Braille Press (USA)) – $11.95 Braille and e-book.
iPad: no books here and an interesting diversity challenge – The Mobiliser » Blog Archive – no iPad books in the UK at the moment, and some criticisms of Apple’s software.
[Audio] iPhone Review – Action for Blind People
Law Office of Lainey Feingold – Disability Rights Legal Advocacy – Home Page – has represented blind and visually impaired people in class actions in the USA.
[Video] Mac OSX Universal Access features for sight impaired users – YouTube
[Audio] Michel Pepin Talks Oratio in Extended Interview – Blind Bargains – Oratio is Humanware’s screen reader for the Blackberry smartphone.
Mobile Speak 4.01 for Symbian phones has been released – Blind Bargains – maintenance update of CodeFactory’s screen reader.
Monthly Event Calendar | Accessible World – podcasts, webcasts and e-learning.
Qwitter Client – an accessible Twitter interface for blind people.
REAPER | Download – trial version (fully working) of this music editing software is reportedly accessible to screen readers.
SeroTalk Podcast 35 – Lots of News, 5 Things for the iPhone, and 3 Radios Under $100 « SeroTalk
Solona teams up with independent developers to make Captcha Solving much easier – Fred’s Head
‘Talking’ bus stops for blind – pilot project in Leicester, UK, using the Star Trak bus information system.
Teaching about accessibility – via @saraheborne – Hello Happy Pitbulls » Blog Archive – Alan Brightman of Yahoo! explains how staff are made aware of accessibility needs. Better late than never, I suppose.
The Government’s medicines watchdog want to put their comprehensive and up to date medicine information online. Is this a good idea? How would you use it? – they don’t say which government!
The Internet Archive: An Untapped Resource for the Blind – Braille Monitor – set up in 1996, the Internet Archive’s mission was to make knowledge universally available. In partnership with the NFB, they are making efforts to make it accessible to blind people.
The one handed typing tutor – Learn to touch type with one hand. Suitable for child and adult. One handed typing helps people with a disability in education and employment. Become a one hand typist
The Top 5 Roadblocks To Web Accessibility – Karl Groves asserts that accessibility is the last thing on the minds of web designers, and explains why it is important, and the major pitfalls.
Theatre for the blind gives unique insight at Upton Village Hall show – Chester Chronicle – local production of ‘Jane Eyre’ will be audio described.
TidyRead Turns Your Web Reading into a Fast, Smooth, No-fringe Experience Again – extension available for Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. Results for me have been a bit patchy, I must say.
U.S. to Celebrate World Standards Day 2010 with a Focus on Standards for Accessibility
Usability.Edu: 25 Incredibly Useful Usability Cheat Sheets & Checklists | Designer City, USA
UIC Accessibility Guide for Non HTML Formats including PDF, Word, Powerpoint, multimedia formats.
Vodaphone… get blind pedestrians back on track! – group aims to save Wayfinder Access GPS software. Thanks to Top Tech Tidbits for this one.
Win a new VW Urban Fox or £10,000 in our Big Spring Prize Draw 2010 – Action for Blind People – hey, does the car include driving lessons?
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on February 17, 2010
aAuthors@Google: Trey Ratcliff – blind in one eye, Trey Ratcliff is a well-known travel photographer. Here, he describes how he captured his High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.
Blind With Camera: Images from a world that is not seen | The Better Indiar – Blind With Camera is based in Mumbai, India, and has recently exhibited members’ work at a public festival.
Blindness, Photography and Art | Blind Photographers simonhayhoe looks at blind photography as a new art genre, and picks out some of its unique characteristics.
Photography – A Retrospective Insight from a Visual and Hearing Impaired Perspective | Bradford Smith Photography – Bradford Smith, on the Gold Coast of Australia, explains the meaning to him of creating images. A beautiful piece of writing.>
Bradford Smith’s
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