The Week’s News in Access Technology
Distributed by Flying Blind, LLC
http://www.flying-blind.com/
For questions and comments regarding Tidbits, please e-mail Dean Martineau at dean@topdotenterprises.com. Dean Martineau provides adaptive technology training by phone, online, and in person, with flexible arrangements, and at affordable prices.
News
1.) Tek Talk on the Plextalk Pocket
Learn about a new accessible digital recorder and DAISY player, the Plextalk Pocket , on Tek Talk on GMT Tuesday, January 14 at 01:00.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2
2.) Web 2.0 Accessibility Forum on LinkedIn
Web 2.0 Accessibility Forum is a new LinkedIn discussion group for: users with disabilities, professionals in the accessibility space, and others who share common interests in making Web 2.0 applications like Facebook built using technologies such as AJAX, and next-generation web technologies accessible by people with disabilities.
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1605077
3.) EdSharp 2.9 and FileDir Upgrades from Jamal Mazrui
Jamal Mazrui has upgraded the powerful text editor EdSharp to version 2.9, adding a lot of new screen reader support especially for JAWS and greatly improved Unicode support among other enhancements:
http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe
and has upgraded the powerful file manager FileDir to version 3.5 with some enhancements:
http://EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe
4.) Giveaway of the Day Free Software
Our nearly weekly raid of information from Fred’s Head Companion yields a site where each day, software developers offer a free full version of their program, downloadable only during that day.
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/
5.) The Alliance for Technology Access
The Alliance for Technology Access is comprised of networks of community-based Resource Centers, Affiliates, Associates, Developers and Vendors. It could lead you to local or regional resources for technology information or funding.
http://www.ataccess.org/
6.) Flash Drive Versus Thumb Drive
Here is an article detailing the difference between a flash drive and a thumb drive.
http://www.fredshead.info/2009/01/difference-between-flash-drive-and.html
7.) Crazy Fads from the 20’s Through the 90’s
For amusement, learn about fads in vogue from the 20’s through the 90’s.
http://www.crazyfads.com/
8.) Verify-Email Tool
If you want to check whether an e-mail message you receive is legitimate, you might get some information from a tool called Verify-Email:
http://www.verify-email.org/
9.) Vloud.com Raises Audio Volume
Vloud.com is a free service to which you can upload audio files. .mp3 or .wav, and have their volume increased for you.
http://www.vloud.com/
10.) Two Services for Automatic Alerts
Computers and the Internet can excel at helping us remember things. Here is a post detailing two flexible services letting us receive alerts in our favorite format and on our favorite device:
http://www.fredshead.info/2008/12/automatic-alerts-in-format-of-your.html
11.) Woot.com Daily Deals
Another daily deal site: Woot.com offers a really low price on one name-brand electronics item per day at a very low price.
http://www.woot.com/
12.) Tools for Defragging Your Hard Drive
Here is an article describing two tools for defragging your hard drive, and why you should do so:
http://www.fredshead.info/2006/11/better-computer-performance-with.html
13.) This article concerns exercise, with some online resources
http://www.fredshead.info/2006/10/exercise-library.html
14.) Martial Arts for the Blind
And our final Fred’s Head Companion borrowing concerns Martial arts for the blind, again, with some online resources:
http://www.fredshead.info/2006/08/martial-arts-for-blind.html
15.) SeroTalk Podcast on Online Radio and Music
The latest SeroTalk podcast discusses online radio and music listening. The blog post contains a considerable number of links, all mentioned in the show, as well as a link to download the podcast:
http://serotalk.com/2008/12/24/fourth-serotalk-podcast-on-music-and-radio-websites/
16.) 64-Bit JAWS for Windows 10 Public Beta
A 64-bit version of JAWS for Windows 10 has been posted as a public beta.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/JAWS/JAWS-public-beta.asp
17.) T. V. Raman on Accessible Touch Screen Phones
In the “People are Working on it” department, this post from the Access Ability blog summarizes T. V. Raman’s efforts to make touch screen phones accessible.
http://accessability.blogspot.com/2009/01/google-engineer-raman-addressing-on.html
18.) Window-Eyes 7.1 Will Include 64-Bit Support
Gw Micro has also announced that at some point in the presumably near future, version 7.1 of window-Eyes will include 64-bit support.
http://www.gwmicro.com
19.) WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey
WebAIM, a long-standing web accessibilityinitiative of Utah State University, is conducting a screen reader user survey so they can provide accurate information regarding the preferences of this population. the more responses, the more accurate will be the information they convey.
http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/
20.) 7-128 Software Self-Voicing Games on the Mac
7-128 Software has made its numerous self-voicing games available on the Mac.
http://7128.com/games_mac/purchasegetgames_mac.html
21.) EASI January Webinars on Accessible Forms and Style Sheets
EASI holds two free public webinars in January, both at 19:00 GMT. On 13 January: Creating Accessible Forms for the Web. On 20 January: Cascading Style Sheets: What they are and How they Affect Accessibility.
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm
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