top tech tidbits for Thursday, March 8, 2007
1) Here is a blog post giving a clear review of five online sites where you can convert files from one format to another.
http://franticindustries.com/blog/2007/03/04/5-online-file-format-converters-reviewed/
2) thanks to Pirilo's Picks is a potentially handy site, Tasklist.org, giving information about all the processes that run in the background on your computer.
http://www.tasklist.org/
3) One of the annoying ironies of adaptive technology of late has been that while Apple claimed to be making advances in making its systems accessible to the blind, its own iTunes program wasn't accessible to blind Mac users. the situation is now apparently largely resolved with the latest iTunes version. A Window-Eyes user reports that the latest windows version also works better with that screen reader.
4) the March issue of Accessworld is out, including articles about the Jitterbug cell phone, accessible equipment for diabetes care, accessibility of distance learning, and several more articles.
http://www.afb.org/accessworld
5) Bus riders in Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Austin, Houston and Dallas can get bus schedules via text message.
http://www.dadnab.com/
6) EASI will hold a free workshop, When Is a Webinar Accessible for Users With Disabilities? on Tuesday, 13 March at 18:00 gmt. they are trying out a new web-conferencing service and hope people will register and give them feedback. they will offer two paid clinics on webinars (that's "web-based seminars) in April.
http://easi.cc/forms/webinar.htm
7) If you have a current BrailleNote or VoiceNote but no gps system to go with it, you can enter a drawing for a free gps system. For every 100 owners who enter the drawing, one gps unit will be given away.
http://www.senderogroup.com/freegps.htm
8) David Dailes has written a free guide for JAWS users trying to use the free multi-track audio editor Audacity. the guide can be found in the audio section of his web page, and he is open to feedback.
http://vip.chowo.co.uk/jaws-guides/
9) the Accessible World online trainings which occur Monday evenings in North America are scheduled based on North American time, so beginning next week, when most of North America switches to daylight saving time, the time for these programs will remain the same in North America but change elsewhere in the world; the programs begin at 00:00 tuesday gmt. Next week's training is entitled Incorporating Mobilespeak Pocket into Day to Day Living.
http://www.accessibleworld.org>
10) On the other hand, ACBRadio bases its schedule in GMT, so North Americans who want to listen live to Main Menu, or take part in Main Menu Live, will need to do so an hour earlierstarting next week. I know at least one North American with whom I am intimately acquainted who will be listening breathlessly to next week's program, Wednesday 14 March at 01:00 gmt, as Larry Skutchan from American Printing House for the blind discusses, among other things, the next version of the Book Port. And since said North American will be unavailable for the live broadcast, it is great to see that the ACBRadio archives are updated very quickly now and the podcasts come quickly too.
11) the blind Handy Girl list is for women to discuss better ways of doing things around the home. the list has moved to Google Groups. to join, send a blank message to
blindhandygirl-subscribe@googlegroups.com
12) window-Eyes 6.1 Beta 2 is now available
http://www.gwmicro.com/beta.
13) and you can now listen to the second part of the two-part feature on On the Move Radio concerning window-Eyes and windows Vista.
http://www.gwmicro.com/onthemove
14) Opportunities Unlimited for the blind will hold the 3rd Annual "World at Your Feet" GPS/Technology Event in Michigan from 16-19 August, 2007. this camp for blind and visually-impaired children will give them the chance to navigate a park and a nature trail using gps, and to attend a technology fair.
http://www.campt.org
15) Two new articles have been posted to the Gw Micro Knowledge Base: Disabling Smart Tags in Microsoft Word and Uninstalling window-Eyes Manually nder windows Vista.
http://gwmicro.com/Support/Knowledge_Base/
16) VIP Conduite is an audio chat site for the blind and sighted featuring weekly activities and classes, many free, some for supporting members.
http://www.vipconduit.com
17) Brian Buckley has a web page with lots of links to european radio stations with streaming audio.
http://www.live-radio.net/european.shtml
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