Top tech tidbits for Thursday, November 30, 2006

1)  Do you wish you could add Accessible Google or other less common search tools to the search provider list in Internet Explorer version 7?  this page shows how to do it; navigate to the link for Handy Java Scripts.
http://post.queensu.ca/~tremblam/webtoys.html#

2)  Speaking of Google and its accessibility initiatives, engineer Dr. T.V. Raman wrote a short hote for the Official Google Blog defining CAPTCHA, discussing Google's accessible alternative and asking for feedback on how well it works for all people.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/audio-captchas-when-visual-images-are.html

3)  Do you ever wish you could download web pages for playng in a Book Port or in another device where you're away from your Internet connection?  Thanks to TextPal, it's now quite possible to do so, and we show you how in article 29 of Sound Computing.  Incidentally, the scsum.htm file has been cleaned up and updated to show all the available articles, so you can see what all you get for your total expenditure of $9.00
http://topdotenterprises.com/scsum.htm

4) Speaking of TextPal, it's now up to version 2.7, with more fixes and a new calculator feature.  who knows: By the time you get this, the version number might be even higher!
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/palsetup.exe

5)  the Hadley School will offer a free one-hour seminar, Beat the Rush with Online Shopping, on on tuesday 5 December at 19:00 GMT.  Registration required.
http://www.hadley.edu/seminar/

6) the upcoming free training from Accessible World will be entitled Affordable and Accessible CD/DVD Burning and Scanning Software.  It will concern two low-cost products from Premier Assistive Technology.  Previous programs are consistently archived.
<http://www.accessibleworld.org>

7)  teniss's Davis Cup final takes place this weekend in Moscow, and quality audio commentary will be available starting on Friday 1 December ar 10:00 GMT.
http://daviscup.com/

8) Baen Books has been producing their science-fiction books in unprotected electronic format since 1999 and charging a low cost for them.  Now in recognition of the service of disabled veterans, those with print disabilities, veterans or not, can gain access to these books at no charge after registering. through Baen Books or through ReadAssist.
http://www.readassist.org/

9) One of the interesting trends on the net is the ability for everybody to create his or her own customized online "radio" station.  In article 30 of Sound Computing, we discuss this trend, showing how to use one such service, Pandora.com successfully with screen reading technology, and provide other useful links for online radio listening.
http://topdotenterprises.com/scsum.htm

10)  Kurzweil-blind-users is a mailing list for discussing the use of Kurzweil keyboard by blind users.  To subscribe send a blank message to
Kurzweil-blind-users-subscribe@googlegroups.com

11)  Reader-users is a mailing list for supporting the handheld Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader.  to subscribe, send a blank message to
reader-users-join@nfbnet.org

12)  Article 31 of Sound Computing illustrates
two powerful ways to select text in Microsoft Word.  One is the built-in Extend Selection Mode, while the other is a set of easily-installed macros that give Word an effortless way to select text, much like that some of us used to like in old programs.
http://topdotenterprises.com/scsum.htm

13)  This link from Fred's Head Companion is a great site for comparing cities and learning about a city that may interest you.
http://www.city-data.com.

14)  Here is a Fred's Head article on accessing online dictionaries and encyclopedias.
http://fredsheadcompanion.blogspot.com/2006/11/accessing-dictionaries-and.html

15)  Version 11 of the OCR program Kurzweil 1000 is now shipping.  this $125 upgrade features enhanced OCR engines, some ability for blind users to scan and then fill out printed forms, an appointment calendar and several bilingual dictionaries.
http://www.k1000eng.blogspot.com/
In Article 32 of Sound Computing, we have an hour-long conversation with Stephen Baum of Kurzweil Educational Systems.  Whether you're a long-time OCR user or are contemplating program purchases,  you will likely learn from this interview.  It's rare to find somebody discuss their product with this degree of honesty.
http://topdotenterprises.com/scsum.htm

16)  US residents may be able to earn themselves free copies of either windows Vista or Microsoft Office 2007 by registerign and taking part in three technical webcasts per product.
http://www.powertogether.com/

17) Two new games are available from the Audio Network in the UK, a trivia game and a maze game.
www.pressakey.net/catalog>
 
18)  Freedom Scientific is seeking to hire two in-house tech support specialists and two contract tech support specialists.  For information, e-mail
Nhowell@FreedomScientific.com
or
BryanC@FreedomScientific.com

We've now sent out 99 issues of top Tech tidbits.  You'll all have to wait until December 21 for the 100th installment,  because da wife and I are off to Hawaii, and I'm leaving the computer at home!  thanks to
http://www.ifbyphone.com
I can choose to keep up with any important e-mail that comes along.

visit the Tidbits page at www.topdotenterprises.com/tidbits.htm where you can subscribe to the rss feed and grab back issues.  All that welcome information for future issues can come to me at dean@topdotenterprises.com.