1) More and more online book clubs are being formed under the auspices of the Friends of Bookshare. the books to be discussed are available on Bookshare, but Bookshare membership or eligibility is not a requirement to take part. Among existing clubs are those for horror, Christian fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, fantasy, hooked on books, and teens, and a Writers' Practice Club for aspiring writers. the best way to track new and existing clubs is via the Friends of Bookshare web site.
http://friendsofbookshare.org/

2) Jamal Mazrui is in the habit of creating structured text file collections of the documentation that comes with JAWS, for those who prefer to read the material in this format. Archives of documentation for JFW versions 7 and 8 have been mentioned in earlier editions of Tidbits. Now he has created an archive for version 9, which is in public beta.
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/jfw90doc.zip

3) A mailing list has been created for those new to programming who want to learn without being criticized for not already knowing. the list is called newprogrammers, and you can join by sending a blank message to
newprogrammers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com <

4) This post to the Access Technologists Higher Education Network blog discusses the extension of life Microsoft has recently given to allow windows XP to be sold longer.
http://athenpro.blogspot.com/2007/09/microsoft-extends-windows-xps-stay.html

5) Gw Micro has added an article to its Knowledge Base giving a good listing of software synthesizers and places to obtain them.
http://www.gwmicro.com/Support/Knowledge_Base/?kbnumber=GWKB1084

6) the public beta for MAG-ic screen magnification software, version 11, continues with a new update.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_MAG110_beta.asp#Update

7) this idea might benefit somebody in the US: Read this to Me is a free service whereunder blind folks fax documents, labels, or any other print material they want read to them to a foll-free number and a volunteer calls them and reads the document.
http://www.readthistome.org/

8) the reading initiative is a service of Kevin Savetz, who for many years has maintained and updated a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document on how to send and receive faxes via the Internet.
http://www.savetz.com/fax/

9) Tek Talk will present An Introduction to Podcasting, focusing on finding and listening to podcasts, during its weekly free online training on GMT tuesday, 16 October at 00:00.
http://www.accessibleworld.org.

10) Insight Radio will have an interview regarding something called the Ultra Cane on Monday, 15 October at 10:15 GMT.
http://www.insightradio.co.uk <http://www.insightradio.co.uk>

11) EASI presents a free Webinar, Midwest Alliance: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathmatics, on Tuesday 16 October at 18:00 gmt. Pre-registration is required to take part.
http://easi.cc/forms/midwest.htm

12) EASI also offers an interview with two scientists who are working to eliminate barriers to blind folks working in those fields.
http://easi.cc/download/stem1.mp3

13) Version 2.3 of Jamal Mazrui's EdSharp text editor/word processor is now more powerful for programmers.
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe

14) Thanks to the Internet Tourbus, we learn about Jot, a service which is currently in free public beta that lets you speak a short message via toll-free phone and have that message converted to text and e-mailed to you or others, post to Yahoogroups or various blogs in the same way, and explore a few web sites over the phone.
http://www.jott.com/

15) Bob Rankin is one of the editors of the Internet Tourbus mailing list, and he also hosts an Ask bob Rankin list for technical information. Here are the top 20 most popular answers he has given recently:
http://askbobrankin.com/the_top_twenty.html

16) Freedom Scientific is seeking JAWS scripters to hire, primarily those willing to relocate to Florida.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_about/Careers/Careers_Detail/FS06609.asp

17) The Washington Department of Services for the Blind has two tech-related vacancies. An AT Assistant,
http://www.dsb.wa.gov/documents/JobBulletin_ITS2_10-1-2007.doc
and an AT Specialist.
http://www.dsb.wa.gov/documents/ITS4_ATSpec.doc

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