Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, January 31, 2013 - Volume 390
The Week's News in Access Technology

A Flying Blind, LLC Publication
http://www.flying-blind.com/

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Greetings,

1.) With the release to the world of Microsoft Office 2013, listen to yours truly (Dean Martineau) discuss Word 2013, what's new since 2010, and demonstrate features and tricks that make Word 2013 a very viable product for screen reader users. All this, on Tek Talk for GMT Tuesday, 5 February at 01:00
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

2.) Those who will be joining me at the ATIA Conference in Orlando will be able to take advantage of customized fully accessible wayfinding information for blind attendees. Searchable walking directions are available within the hotel and conference areas, as well as to every booth within the Exhibit Hall.
http://www.clickandgomaps.com/atia

3.) Version 2 of vTurbo for NVDA is out, offering the ability to save and export settings and to link Braille and speech settings.
http://www.vict-consultancy.co.uk/content/vTurbo_for_NVDA.html

4.) How to use your iPhone, iPad or Mac to borrow ebooks from the library:
http://gigaom.com/2013/01/26/how-to-use-your-iphone-ipad-or-mac-to-borrow-ebooks-from-the-library/

5.) The Verge explains that "Forty public universities will offer free online courses with full credit starting this spring."
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/23/3907672/forty-public-universities-will-offer-free-online-courses

6.) A guide to File Explorer on Windows 8 for JAWS users, though mostly useful to users of other screen readers, is found here:
http://vip.chowo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/jaws/File-Explorer-8-Guide.html

7.) Commtech, LLC has started a moderated, low-traffic support mailing list for fielding questions about Apple products. To join, send a blank message to:
applesupportvi@yahoogroups.com

8.) In iOS App news, AccessNote, the $19.95 Notetaker App from American Foundation for the Blind, is now out.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accessnote/id591287188?mt=8

9.) BrailleTouch, a program for writing on an iOS device using a simulated 6-dot keyboard, is available as a free demo or for purchase, with the purchase price being 25% lower until 3 February.
http://brailletouchapp.com/

10.) Bookshare now lets users create "virtual bookshelves" to sort books, and to use WebReader to read books in a browser on a pc rather than downloading them.
http://communications.bookshare.org/get-books-quickly/

11.) The NFB AT Blog reviews Solo DX, an unconventional source for described movies:
https://nfb.org/blog/atblog/movie-night-solo-dx

And is not positive as to the usefulness of the HIMS Chat app for the deaf-blind:
https://nfb.org/blog/atblog/are-you-free-communicate-free-app

12.) HIMS announces the release of version 3.0 for the Book Sense line of products, featuring the ability to read PDF documents, search for text, manage files more easily, record in DAISY, and more"
http://www.ozmailer.com/fcso/URL_tracking.php?send_no=1276910&mail_no=4199850&email=larry.lewis@flying-blind.com&OZTRACKING=3e7fc5fe13c7d8e3c8f63f1684c15ac4&url=http://www.himsintl.com

13.) People wishing to work to make WordPress more accessible may wish to join an IRC meetup:
http://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2013/01/25/irc-meetups/

14.) A user recommends eBuddy as an accessible way to chat on IRC and on a variety of other chat services as well. The mobile version is said to be more accessible:
http://m.ebuddy.com

And there is a desktop version:
http://www.ebuddy.com

15.) And we have a plethora of podcasts this week:

SeroTalk Podcast 139 Awaits:
http://serotalk.com/2013/01/30/serotalk-podcast-139-guilty-as-charged/

High Contrast Episode 7 discusses Windows 8 with a low-vision slant, and more:
http://serotalk.com/2013/01/17/high-contrast-episode-7-a-sea-of-mirrors/

Accessible devices podcast 35 discusses the TapTap see app for iOS:
http://www.accessible-devices.com/feed.xml

Joseph Lee is creating a comprehensive series of podcasts on NVDA. They become available on the Blind Geek Zone site pretty quickly, but they are also stored here:
http://www.nvda-kr.org/en

New episodes of Eyes on Success include Accessible Forms and Assistance from the IRS:
http://www.EyesOnSuccess.net/show_notes_1305.htm

And Accessibility Features of Android's New Jelly Bean OS:
http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/show%20notes/show%20notes%201304.htm

While we're mentioning Android, the latest Tech Doctor podcast has for its theme, "Android Accessibility, Part Three":
http://www.dr-carter.com/?p=183

And from AppleVis:

Daily Tracker: A Diary, Journal and To-Do Application for iOS:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/daily-tracker-diary-journal-and-do-application-ios

New Podcast: TextExpander for Mac: Type Short Abbreviations to Enter Text Snippets, Correct Misspelled Words, and More:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/textexpander-mac-type-short-abbreviations-enter-text-snippets-have-misspelled-words

iCatcher: Subscribe, Download and Listen to your Favorite Podcasts with this Accessible Podcast Manager:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/icatcher-subscribe-download-and-listen-your-favorite-podcasts-accessible-podcast

Pig Dice: A Very Simple Jeopardy Game for iOS:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/pig-dice-very-simple-jeopardy-game-ios

Yesterday USA: An iOS App for all fans of Old Time Radio:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/yesterday-usa-ios-app-all-fans-old-time-radio

Using a Bluetooth Keyboard With The Apple TV:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/using-bluetooht-keyboard-apple-tv

16.) HumanWare has announced its new, smaller, wireless Victor Reader Stream:
http://www.humanware.ca/web/en/Newsletter/111457.htm

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