top tech tidbits for Thursday, May 18, 2007
1) We start out this week with two pieces of good news for those running systems under the Linux and Mac operating systems. first, the chat and education site Talkingcommunities.com is preparing to offer clients for those operating systems. they want prospective users to test by visiting
http://67.19.5.34/masteradmin/webcast.asp?roomid=3D= rs0cf4c71fca57.
2)
Next, version 0.93 of UBT, a free tool for Unix and Mac OSX users to transfer files to the Book Port and Book Courier is now released.
http://www.nfbcal.org/~buhrow/ubt
3) Here's ResourceShelf, where dedicated librarians and researchers share the results of their directed (and occasionally quirky) web searches for resources and information.
http://www.resourceshelf.com/
4) And That discovery prompted me to check, and one of my favorite Internet resources is still alive and kicking, now renamed to Librarians' Internet Index
http://www.lii.org/
5) Made for the blind in Singapore, the TellMate is a voice recorder, mp3 player, and a label scanner/reader, costing around $400 US.
http://www.gaishantech.com
6) Loadstone GPS is a free GPS program available from
http://www.loadstone-gps.com/
It works on Symbian mobile phones. Cindy Sheets is trying to organize a gathering of users and potential users at the upcoming NFT Convention. E-mail her if interested.
slerythema@insightbb.com
7) the big news this week is the sale of both Freedom Scientific and HumanWare to two organizations with no history in the adaptive technology industry. You can listen to an interview with Freedom Scientific President and CEO Lee Hamilton discussing this and other matters.
http://podcast.freedomscientific.com/FSCast/episodes/fscast006-may2007.mp3
8) Freedom Scientific has added two rss feeds so you can keep up with changes to their web sites. Keep up with training resources by adding this link to your rss reader:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/RSS/Training/rss.xml
And this one keeps you up to date with JAWS developments
http://www.freedomscientific.com/RSS/JAWS_HQ/rss.xml
9) EASI is offering a free webinar on creating accessible forms using pdf, Word or html, on Thursday, 14 June at 18:00 GMT. Pre-registration required, and gives you access to the archive.
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm
10) Two topics for the price of one (free!) this week during the Accessible world training, to take place on Tuesday, 22 May at 00:00 GMT (Monday evening stateside.) Topic 1: QuickMix: What It Is and How To Use It; Topic 2: Various Ways To Open Programs and Drives With Shortcuts
http://www.accessibleworld.org
11) A step in the right direction: the price of the portable KNFB Reader has dropped by $950, to $2,550.
http://www.knfbreader.com/
12) Version 9.1 of the magnifier ZoomText is shipping, featuring dual-monitor support, support for Vista, focus enhancements and other improvements. A 60-day demo is available.
http://www.aisquared.com
13) Here's a page that calls itself the blind Computing Home Page, containing links to software and tutorials in a variety of categories.
http://www.blind-computing.com/
14) An accessibility review of TypeAbility version 2.1.1 had just been added to the AccessWatch database
http://www.accesswatch.info
15) An online guide to traveling on the London Underground (LU) for the blind and disabled is now available.
http://www.directenquiries.com/ ),
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