Posts Tagged audio
RNIB Penfriend Audio Label Maker
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on July 29, 2011
Having bought a Penfriend today I thought I’d give some first impressions, which on the whole are very favourable.
Let’s suppose you have a bunch of items that are hard to tell apart, such as CDs, canned foods, packets of seeds, letters from the tax people… Up to now I’ve tried to struggle through by trying to read the existing labels on items, and, if necessary, scribbling a label of my own in very large marker pen. This doesn’t always solve the problem, as I’m finding it harder to read my own writing, even if it’s in large capitals. I don’t know much Braille, so Braille isn’t an immediate solution. Well, here’s one very easy alternative – audio labels.
The Penfriend looks like a microphone, which is partly what it is. On the side there are controls for power, output volume and recording. There are sockets for a USB cable (which is supplied) and headphones (which are not supplied). The device is powered by 2 standard triple-A batteries.
You attach a special kind of label to an item, then record yourself speaking about what it is. You can include a large amount of detail if you want to, as the Penfriend has a gigabyte of memory. When you swipe that label with the Penfriend, you hear your recording, and so you can identify the item. Your recording is an mp3 sound file, and the label simply has a bar code embedded in it that tells the device which mp3 file to play.
Here’s a neat feature. If you have a set of the same item, say 4 cans of tomatoes, you only need to create one label, then you can cut it into 4 to label the whole set of items.
You could, if you wanted, put some music mp3s on to the device as well, but don’t expect fantastic sound quality, at least not from the built-in speaker.
Although I had a strange problem getting the Penfriend to spit out any audio the first time I tried to use it, the device seemed to right itself after a few minutes, and has been very easy to use since then. I started by labelling my aromatherapy oils, which are very hard to tell apart by sight, and the idea really worked.
Operating instructions are built-in, or can be played over USB on another device, such as your computer.
Frozen food can be marked, which is really good news – no more wondering what that lump of something or other was, or how old it is – you can put all that info on an audio label when you first put an item into the freezer. How cool is that?
Unfortunately, the labels at the moment are not washproof, though the RNIB is looking into labels that can be attached to clothing and survive the wash.
One possible limitation is the lack of a pause button, so while you can record up to an hour of sound on one label, e.g., a meeting, it may not be very comfortable playing it back on the Penfriend itself. However, you can copy files to your computer, or play them with your regular media player via USB. How well the microphone picks up in a room full of people I don’t know, but in principle you should be able to use the device as a regular voice recorder.
the Penfriend is marketed by the RNIB in the UK, but is available elsewhere, certainly in the USA. It also, it won a CNIB award, so I take it that it must be available in Canada.
Links on the RNIB Penfriend
RNIB PenFriend audio labeller – RNIB
Video demonstration of Penfriend
Penfriend Hints and Tips Guide (Word doc)
Download Penfriend manual (doc file)
Suggestions For Uses For The RNIB PenFriend Labeler – Accessible Devices
Penfriend on Trial – Bristol City Museum and Shropshire Libraries put the device through its paces.
Vince’s Parallax: New Address
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 26, 2011
My main web site, Vince’s Parallax, has now moved to Fortunecity.
The new URL is this:-
Some direct page URLs:-
Blind Photography
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/blindphotography.html
Blind Photography News
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/bpnews.html
Blind Cycling / Blind Tandem Riding
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/blindtandem.html
Space Audio Page
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/spaceaudio.html
Blind Gardening News
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/bg_news.html
Orang-utans
http://vipuc.fortunecity.com/orang-utan.html
Emotional freedom ~Technique Links
The Blind Buzz on Guide Dogs
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on November 10, 2010
[Video] Dennis Meech Local 1951 Training with his new Guide Dog Partner – IAMBuildingCommunity – Dennis is introduced to the dog and starts training.
Dr Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Getting Some Groceries – Dog’s Eye View
RSS Feed
[Video] Guide Dog GUGP – Week 38 – Dog Park – puppy walker deals with a dog distraction issue.
Guide Dogs Chief Executive interviewed by The Guardian — Guide dog puppy blog
Guide Dogs Seek Wider Acceptance — ZooToo Pet News – "No dogs allowed" signlas from ignorant store workers not uncommon.
[Video] Guide dogs turned away – discrimination in western Australia.
High Seas Adventure – No Bones About It: Guide Dogs’ Blog – guide dog and owner go on a sea cruise.
Long Work Route – Dog’s Eye View – introducing a new guide dog to the workplace.
Meeting Canine Friends – Dog’s Eye View – the social side of being a guide dog.
[Audio] One Man and his Guide Dog – Episode 24 – MAIDEN VOYAGE! – Mike Brace describes hhis first solo voyage without a white stick for 50 years, as he and Izzy visit the gym.
Page with all episodes – episode 30 is probably the last one.
Restaurant snubs man with guide dog (From Salisbury Journal)
Rudy’s life… as a guide dog in training – from th epoint of view of the dog.
RSS Feed
The Guide Dog Interviews | scaryideas.com – Guide Dogs NSW/ACT – would you be up to the job?
[Book] Tom and Bear: The Training of a Guide Dog Team – Amazon.com: – a broad look at a newly blind man and his partnership with a guide dog, including coming to terms with his blindness.
Understanding Labrador Retrievers – Why a Lab May Not Be For You | Fido’s Features – explains what a lab was bred to do and how this may or may not fit in with your life-style.
Youngsters Taste Guide Dog Freedom | Able Magazine – the UK Guide Dogs for the Blind Association recently held a 48-hour camp for kids in Loughborough.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on June 4, 2010
A new style of audio description under discussion – Blind Mind News – ‘cinematic audio description’ includes the way a film has been shot and edited.
A Very Tiny, Huge Leap Forward – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – the world’s smallest electronics promises much more powerful computers and assistive technology, amongst other things.
Accessible Insights Blog
Accessible Insights RSS Feed
ACTF Project Home – this is a project within Eclipse that aims to build tools for accessible applications and content.
Accessible e-Books “Tantalisingly Close” – E-Access Bulletin Live » Blog Archive – barriers to ebook accessibility could be removed by changing the implementation of existing technologies, claims new report.
Announcement – Audio Version Available Now – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – the magazine is now available at the end of each month in audio and DAISY formats.
Applian Technologies Info For Blind Users – for blind people using this audio and video recording and streaming software.
Bright-F: A Gadget for Blinds | NetShet.ORG – a talking colour detector.
City maps for the blind trialled in Sheffield – The Star – tactile maps to go on sale in Sheffield, Northern England.
Differences Between Windows and Macs « SeroTalk Tech Chat 63
e-Access ’10 – conference and exhibition in London on access to technology. 13th July, 2010 at Olympia 2.
EASI Webinars for June include DAISY hardware players and PDF accessibility.
First Impressions: ViewPlus Premier 100 Braille Embosser – NFB Access Technology Blog
Full Page Magnifier, Book Magnifier, Low Vision Magnifiers – WebRN Macular Degeneration
Get Going With Mobile Geo 2.5 – Code Factory Live « THE CODE FACTORY BLOG – Sat, June 5th, apam Pacific Time, 7pm Central European Time.
Gogo Inflight Internet – Splash Page – offers passes so you can use inflight wi-fi. Accessible CAPTCHAS available.
gotNET – checks that you have .NET Framework on your system. This is a direct link to the setup program.
Handy Tech North America, where US residents can buy Code Factory software such as Mobile Speak and Mobile Geo on one-year interest-free contracts.
How to Conquer Assistive Technology Barriers for Low-Tech Parents – Fred’s Head
iPad apps may need to be disabled-accessible – Possible legal duty, says BSI – British Standards Institute looking at accessibility of web sites on a wide range of devices, not just iPads.
Loadstone GPS – Satellite Navigation for blind mobile phone users – new version for Symbian phones.
Mike Calvo Rants, Tech News and Two Product Reviews – SeroTalk Podcast 42
Mushroom FM Internet radio station. – The home of the Fun guys – tutorial (3 hours) in mp3 and DAISY about becoming a radio presenter.
Olympus DM5 – New voice recorder. Voice Guidance, Voice Commands, Text to Speech and DAISY 2.02. PCM, MP3 and WMA compatibility. 8GB flash memory, microSD slot, multilingual menus, a large backlit colour display and rechargeable battery. Sonority file management software is compatible with both PCs and Macs
Reading Files From Intel Reader On Apex – HumanWare United Kingdom – the Intel Reader can capture text and this can be sent to the Braillenote Apex for conversion into Braille almost instantly.
Rigel Technology offers three of its two-hour, $70 trainings during June. These can usually be purchased for the same price on cd if you can’t attend in person. All start at 21:00 GMT: Tuesday 8 June: Google This; Thursday 17 June: Dropbox 499; Tuesday 22 June: Microsoft Office 2010. The only way to register for these appears to be by phone at (888) 723-5011 Ext. 1. Thanks to Top Tech Tidbits for this one.
Screen-reader access to SharePoint – Jeffrey’s Soapbox
SIGHT VILLAGE 2010 – TEXT GUIDE – new version including site layout for this event in Birmingham, UK..
TextMagic – Text messaging solution for visually impaired texters
Touch Color Helps Blind People to Draw | Tuvie – Industrial Design and Future Technology – this device works by generating different amounts of heat, enabling a blind artist to draw on a thermal board.
Twitter: Remaking the Persona of the Physically Challenged – many disabled people are getting a new identity online.
[Book] Understanding Accessibility – ebook and paper versions.
Using the Accessible iPod (iTunes 9 Ed.) (ACCIPOD) – National Braille Press
Victor Reader Stream SoftPak – HumanWare USA – gives several new input and output format options for your Stream.
Vinux: 3.0 released – based on Ubuntu 10.04, this release has a wealth of accessibility features.
Windows 7 and Mac OS X: A Head to Head Comparison « The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast
The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast RSS Feed
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on June 1, 2010
Accessible Documents in HTML, Word, and PDF – Terrill Thompson
Amazon and accessibility – onwebdev blog
Audio Darts Shows Accessible Recreation’s Broad Appeal
[Audio] audio description of museums, galleries and exhibitions – Infosound – the work of VocalEyes, who also audio describe theatre performances in the UK.
VocalEyes Web Site
ccPlayer – Invent + Build / Web + Multimedia / Tools & Guidelines – a media player that you can use on your web site that gives accessibility to videos, including Flash.
Ghana To Host Forum For The Blind ::: GBC | GTV | Ghana Radio | Ghana Television – Ghana Broadcasting Corporation – the 2011 event will have delegates from 70 African countries. The theme will be Access Africa.
I Know! Let’s Take Books Away from the Blind! – Planet of the Blind – New Jersey Governor axes talking books service. Yes, that’s you, Governor Chris Christie.
Interactions – May/June 2010 – topics include accessibility in Sweden, United Nations supporting web accessibility, user interfaces, mobile technology.
Interactive Podcasts: Web Accessibility Gone Wild | SXSW.com – not all accessibility is well done.
Listen to the podcast (mp3)
Introduction à NVDA – Site des utilisateurs francophones de NVDA
iPad Assistive Technology/Disability Round-Up | ATMac – accessibility for blind people and those with other disabilities.
iPad Camera Connection Kit Provides USB Keyboard, Microphone, and Headset Support– The Mac-cessibility Network – News [Lioncourt.com] – hidden possibilities of this $29 add-on.
iTunes 9.1.1 squashes VoiceOver bugs – update available through software update.
Kill Accessibility | Man with no Blog – developers who don’t use assistive technnology themselves are only paying lip-service to accessibility, claims author Gary Barber.
Kindle Update Bringing Useful Improvements, Also Twitter | Maximum PC
Labeling Frozen Foods – Fred’s Head
Install “Tonalities:seeing art through music” for the blind in museums | Pepsi Refresh Everything – supposedly tones have raltionships with colours.
Microsoft Word – WebAIM – accessibility, including Word 2010.
Moon Letters – this is the other blind people’s tactile reading system, the one that’s not Braille.
More Digitized Books to be made Available – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – Internet Archive and libraries have ways of getting around the copyright laws without breaking them.
Nadler Examines the Americans with Disabilities Act’s Application within the Digital Age
National Disabled Persons Network launched – Stabroek News – umbrella network for other disability networks in Guyana.
New Air Carrier regulations, travel services try to improve access for people with disabilities – Media dis&dat – improvements to travel in the US, including that probvided by foreign operators.
New Braille technology helps visually impaired ‘see’ emotions – thesis proposes camera linked to electrodes on the skin to let a blind person interpret facial expressions.
New news and information service launched for blind people · coHearentVision – this is Infosound, based in the UK.
NFB National Convention Hosts Apple Products Session– The Mac-cessibility Network – News [Lioncourt.com] – apparent change of policy at NFB
NFB-NEWSLINE(R) for the Blind Receives Funding a further year’s access to newspapers and magazines is now possible.
NY City plans to shift special education into schools throughout district – Media dis&dat
Obama Signs Veterans, Caregivers Legislation – Defense.gov News – access to transportation in rural areas and services for women are included.
Online resources for accessible travel – Manchester Examiner (USA)
Op Ed Writer Bob Branco – Can Grade Two Braille Spell Trouble? – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – introducing contractions too early could stop children learn real spellings.
Open vs. Closed: Google Takes on Amazon and Apple in e-Books – Google Editions could change the ebook market radically.
Page zoom does not mean the end of flexibility | 456 Berea Stree – there’s still more to it than sizing your fonts in pixels.
Panic Releases Transmit 4.0 With Enhanced Accessibility and New Features– The Mac-cessibility Network – enhancements for this Mac FTP client.
Pedestrian accessibility issues focus of city walk | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME – walk to promote interest in the city, getting to know the neighbours and highlighting problems faced by pedestrians.
Pioneering video telephone system accessible for all – those who find conventional phones difficult may benefit from the Total Conversation system in the UK.
Presentations – Accessibility – Resources – Vision Australia – VA can provide extensive services to government and businesses to ensure web accessibility.
Presenting About “The Evolution of Assistive Technology into Everyday Products” | Accessibility NZ – paper to be presented in Rotorua, New Zealand, in September.
Project Canvas to be accessible for disabled viewers – BBC to incorporate audio description, ability to change colours, captions, and more.
Proprietary Vendors Don’t Help Disabled, Says FSF | eWEEK Europe UK – Free Software Foundation asks for more accessibility.
Quitter v4.0 – free and innovative blind persons’ interface for Twitter.
Radio Service For Blind Takes To The Web – Home – Staple News – CRIS is the Connecticut Radio Information System, carrying news, discussion and readings provided by about 400 volunteers.
CRIS Radio web site
Listen (Windows Media Player)
Roundup: What is the Mozilla Accessibility Team working on?
SAKSHAM | ngogateway.com – Saksham is an organisation in India that aims to empower marginalised people, including those with disabilities. Activities include production of accessible materials, providing technology and audio description.
Sendero GPS v2010 Improvements list
The Keyboard Shortcuts of Ubuntu 10.04
Toozla releases beta version of audio guide based on Wikipedia – Focus on Travel News
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 11, 2010
2010 SDS Conference | Society for Disability Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, June 2nd to June 5th.
A Brief History of Markup – A List Apart – presents chapter 1 of “HTML5 for Web Designers”.
A smartphone for Geniuses? | Tech Blog | FT.com – the HTC myTouch 3G Slide features a QWERTY keyboard, speech recognition and some speech output functions. The Genius button starts some of the ‘smart’ features.
Access Technology – Now and Tomorrow – the author, who is about to leave AbilityNet, reflects on progress over the last 10 years and speculates about the future in assistive technology.
Accessible Tourism? – Low Visionary: accessible information, disability rights, web accessibility » Blog Archive – disabled people are still likely to be seen as problems.
Accessibility & Inclusive Design with Ann McMeekin & Antonia Hyde – developer Fusion – ASP.NET, C# Programming, VB.NET, .NET Framework, Java and Visual Basic Tutorials – event in London on 24th May, 2010.
AccessibilityOnline – "AccessibilityOnline represents a collaborative training program between the ADA National Network (DBTACs) and the US Access Board. The program includes a series of free webinars and audio conferences on different topics of accessibility. Sessions are held on a monthly basis and cover a variety of topics concerning accessibility to the built environment, information and communication technologies, and transportation."
Accessing YouTube Offline with Tooble | DigMo!
ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing
Adding ARIA Landmark Roles – Web Axe – Practical Web Design Accessibility Tips – Podcast and Blog – future-proof your site!
An Interview with the Audio Only Game “Cadet 227″ Creator
APCD impressed with Brunei disability advocates – there is still much to develop, but there is also a great deal to praise.
APH News, May, 2010 – products, services and training from the American Printing House for the Blind.
Audio Available from Today’s BookSense and NFB Newsline Webinar
BarrierBreak Technologies Launches the Digital Talking Book Website | DAISY Consortium
Bay Area project puts 1 million books online for blind, dyslexic – ContraCostaTimes.com – Internet Archive, a San Francisco non-profit, aims to make many more books accessible to bline people.
BBC – AM Glass Box – The ‘Disabled Voter’ or ‘The Disability Vote’ – one listenerto the Radio 4 PM programme claims that UK politicians don’t care about disabled voters.
Better Internet & Technology Access for Blind, Deaf Community – Senator Mark Pryor, Arkansas, reveals new legislation.
BlackBerry OS 6.0 will target consumers – CNN.com as opposed to business types, who, of course, are a different species.
Blind for a day where a medical student has to take on a disability for a day. In this case the disability was blindness.
Blind women taking on doubters, one brush at a time | Jordan Times – blind women from under-privileged backgrounds train to be hairdressers in Amman, Jordan.
Blindness-Related Books, Publications, and Periodicals
Braille Printing Services & Alternative Formats |T-Base Communications – information on compliance, and a service that will send you an impression of what your site sounds like to a blind person.
Canada has no federal accessibility law? « transect
Changing How Qatar Sees the Blind – one womans achievements as head of a school for blind children, and the cultural and accessibility difficulties.
chester creek large key keyboard visionboard – yellow – Cheap! Game Controllers » Blog Archive
Creating Accessible Computer Applications – American Foundation for the Blind
Creating accessible links in PDFs
DaveBanesAccess – Access Technology – Today and Tomorrow.
Designer Cool Canes – "unique designer canes for people with disabilities and for those who want to make a fashion or attitude statement."
Disabled rights advocates say proposed legislation long overdue – The Nassau Guardian Online Guide – advocates in the Bahamas complain of 25 years of broken promises by governments.
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & web accessibility Webcredible – this refers to the UK equality law.
Disenfranchisement at its Worst – jady_lady – blind UK voter tells of her futile attempt t to use a polling station in the General Election.
Disney World magical for the disabled – CANOE Travel – Florida
Early Voters Test New Machines – electronic voting machines in California can accommodate several languages and people with disabilities. Early voting to avoid the crush is also possible. Seems there are lessons there for the UK’s antiquated electoral system.
FCC Releases First-Ever Paper On Accessibility & Technology Issues | Accessibility News International – part of the US National Broadband Plan.
[PDF] FCC TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON EXPANDING DISABILITY ACCESS WITH WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES, MAY 13 – Federal Communications Commission – Washington DC
Experiment with video accessibility and time-aligned text
Innovative New Apps for the Blind : Healthymagination – useful summary of some recent developments in technology.
iPad Available in Nine More Countries on May 28 including the UK.
Play AudioRacer, a free online game on Kongregate – an audio game that includes blind players.
Screen Readers And WAI-ARIA Landmark Roles – Humanising Technology – Léonie Watson describes a relatively new way of navigating through web pages.
Solona Enhanced iPhone Screen Protector – makes the touch screen of your iPhone more tactile and prolongs its life, Solona claim.
Speak To Me Catalog – many kind of talking product, including coffee maker, photo album, clocks, music players and the PenFriend.
Special services at Macquarie University – Sydney Morning Herald
[PDF] The EU. What’s in it for me? – booklet made accessible on the Web, aims to demystify the benefits of membership of Europe for UK citizens.
World Access for the Blind – US-based non-profit that promotes FlashSonar, a technique whereby a blind person can make clicks like a dolphin to detect objects around them. Also read
Blind boy learns how to ‘see’ using dolphin technique – Telegraph
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 3, 2010
CSUN 2010 Audio
Blind Bargains: Audio Content Index includes several items related to CSUN
CSUN 2010 – 27 interviews conducted on March 25, 2010, in the exhibit hall of the San Diego California Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Hands On with Accessible Canon Copiers
MagniLink Go Reads, but also Magnifies
New Magnification Upgrades from Enhanced Vision
Serotalk – SeroTek at CSUN 2010
Tech Chat 56 – CSUN Highlights, and XP Mode Under Windows 7 « SeroTalk
The Summit of I.D. Mates
Other CSUN 2010 items
Adaptech Research Network Presentations
Adventures From My First Day at CSUN 2010 – Perspectives from a Blind Point of View
More Adventures from CSUN 2010 – Perspectives from a Blind Point of View
CSUN 2010 recap – Marco’s Accessibility Blog
Olympus DM-4 And DM-2 Digital Audio Devices Are At Your Command To Deliver Super High-quality Recording And Simple Playback
Slides from CSUN 2010 Talks – Adobe Accessibility
Two New Seika’s Coming to the U.S. – new Braille displays
10 Insanely Great iPad Apps We Can’t Wait to Use « AccessTech News
[Video] 2007 Faculty Development Award Winner: Access E-Learning – Georgia Tech tutorial on many aspects of accessibility.
A Brief Guide to WordPress and Web Accessibility
ABBYY Invites iPhone Users to Try Its Business Card Reader for Free
Accessible JavaScript: Beyond the Mouse
Accessible World Tek Talk Presents Make It Work, Computer Consultants March 29, 2010 by Mr. Daniel Kevorkian – general computer discussion
Accessibility tips for the casual coder – hope: Nerdy PSA – Why you should use em and strong tags for italics and bold.
ai squared – making accessibility simple – ZoomText, Victor reader Stream, Pebble, SenseView Duo and more.
Ajax Accessibility and ARIA – Ajaxian
Apple iPad Helps Businesses Meet Needs of Disabled Employees – Yahoo! News
Bank of America Installs Talking ATMs by Bank Systems & Technology
Best Buy Adds Tactile Keypads to Improve Checkout Experience for Customers with Visual Impairments – USA story.
Blind Bargains to Begin Charging for Access on April 15
Blind-friendly ipad – Latest Technology News
Browser Zoom Comparison | AlastairC – several ways of changing the size of things on screen in several browsers.
Choosing To Use A Cane – Fred’s Head
Cinemas apply for exemption to the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 « AccessTech News – cinemas in Australia are asking for a delay in the demand for audio description and captioning.
Contributor Robert Kingette – Accessible PDF with WebbIE – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – first-hand experience of Accessible PDF from webbie.org.uk, which on the whole is very good.
Council on e-accessibility « Sköne Oke – standards are inconsistent across ~European countries.
Costa Rica Zip line Tour at Turu Ba Ri park is almost for any body | Costa Rica Turubari Park – Canopy Tours – elderly blind woman enjoys the tour.
Digital Talking Book Internet Service Delivers One Millionth Download « AccessTech News this is the NLS BARD Service in the USA.
eBooks page on the RNIB web site. On the same subject, you may like to visit
The tale of the accessible eBook – BBC Ouch!
eClipseWriter Student-Teacher – talking word processor with adjustable fonts and "Save as DAISY" facility.
FAE: Run FAE – functional accessibility evaluation. Enter a web address for an assessment of the page’s accessibility.
Free AVG Rescue CD Helps Get Unbootable PCs Working
Freedom Scientific Lease-to-Own Petition – sign the petition if you agree that FS should let people pay by instalments instead of needing the whole purchase price of JAWS up-front.
GNOME 2.30 released – with excellent accessibility support – Peter Korn’s Weblog
Google funds new research to help blind web surfers | Bioscience Technology Online – work at Manchester University to be supported by a £50,000 grant from Google.
Google Services Optimized for iPad: Gmail, YouTube, Maps and More « AccessTech News
GrabText – the idea is to take a picture of the whole screen and pick out the text from it using OCR
[GSoC Proposal] N900 as an Accessibility device – maemo.org – Talk
How Perceptual Blindness Works – Simple test shows how Humans (yes, even you) sometimes completely miss things that are in plain sight – Try the test – The Blogs at HowStuffWorks – Mozilla Firefox – even if you have some sight, you can miss something that’s right in front of your face. Here’s why.
How to Use Bump Dots to Maximize Accessibility – Fred’s Head – raised dots have uses on keyboards, ATMs and keypads. there are other uses for them in your life.
iPhone HD or iPhone 4G release? – rumours, no doubt carefully orchestrated by Apple, of the new iPhone release in the summer of 2010.
Is it possible to develop an accessible dynamic menu? – AccessIT
Issues in improving accessibility « H809 Learnings by SkillKick – some of the barriers.
IVONA Text-To-Speech Makes Mobile Applications More Accessible – free trial and book available on the site.
Juicy Studio: Image Analyser – This service examines all images found on a web page to check for any accessibility issues. The width, height, alt, and longdesc attributes are examined for appropriate values.
Kit support scent – Kit Cosmetics want to support Guide Dogs Australia. They have even sent scented Braille letters to blind people making them aware of their support and their product.
Support Scent Video Commercial
KPR – Koester Performance Research – ‘ …enhances the usability and accessibility of information and assistive technologies through research, development, and education. We research the “fit” between users and their technology. We develop software to assess user needs and to enhance computer interfaces. We also consult on usability and research desig’.
Learning the way – Donna Jodhan – how are you going to find your way about when you can’t see landmarks?
LookTell, Mobile Applications For The Blind – Technology Blog – mobile application for object recognition.
[Video] LookTel demo shows how Looktel system recognises objects, including food cans, newspaper items, shop signs, currency notes (at least, American currency notes).
Mouse by Keyboard « AccessTech News – Mac tip
Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0.4 Final « AccessTech News
Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition 3.0.4 Released « AccessTech News
Multiple form labels and screen readers | 456 Berea Street – using an extra label to carry text for users to read seems like a good idea until you try it with a screen reader…..
New Design Opens Door To Full Screen Displays For The Blind – page display rather than line-by-line.
News Bytes – latest on Linux.
Nuance Announces TALKS 5.0 for Touchscreen Phones | Business Wire
Nuance Talks web site.
Nuance announces T9 Trace « AccessTech News – it’s not clear whether Nuance Talks will support this text entry system.
OverDrive Announces New Program for Visually Impaired Readers « ResourceShelf – download up to 20 ebooks per month.
Podcast: 30 Mar 2010 Software Walk-Through Resco News S60 – Blind Mind News – Unrestricted Access – RSS reader for symbian 3rd and 5th generation phones.
ReadPal -Free download to read faster with no stress or glare. – read documents in easy formats.
Set default zoom level in Safari using a CSS file – Mac OS X Hints
Sharp’s New 3D Touch Displays Eliminate Need for Glasses | Blog | ZiggyTek
Software @ ColorJack – products include a free Sketchpad program, Color Galaxy for color visualization and Color Sphere, which lets you choose color schemes, including colorblind simulators.
Sources of Research Articles on Cognitive Web Accessibility « Clear Helper
[Audio] The very first look at a touch screen phone with Talks 5. | Listen and Learn Recordings
The Web Isn’t for Everyone … Yet but lessons here try to help web authors make the most of it.
Virtual Ability, Inc. – offers techniques and training to enable disabled people to enjoy virtual worlds, such as Second Life.
VisionZone Initiates Eye Heath Awareness and Low Vision Community Connectivity -online arm of Optelec promises education on eye health and support for visually impaired people and their allies across the USA.
What to do with a Guide Dog when entering a Mosque? – www.TurnToIslam.com
Whenever you use :hover, also use :focus | 456 Berea Street – applying :focus to the CSS state of links.
WinPenPack Gathers Hundreds of Portable Apps in One Package [Downloads] « AccessTech News
YouTube accessible interface alternative now available « AccessTech News
Full story
Accessible Interface to YouTube
