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Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, April 11, 2013 - Volume 400
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

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Greetings,

Still going strong at issue #400. Issue #1, December 16, 2004, reported on the release of JAWS Version 6, the Beta of Window-Eyes Version 5, and the Beta of something called "System Access". There was no mention of anything related to a mobile phone or tablet.

1) This post from Komando.com is called "Free fix for slow Windows Startup":
http://www.komando.com/downloads/category.aspx?id=13322

2) Researchers are looking for blind users to test some audio CAPTCHA's they think will be both effective and accessible:
https://secure-hamlet-3770.herokuapp.com/experiment/

3) This HowToGeek article is called "How to Test Your Antivirus, Firewall, Browser, and Software Security":
http://www.howtogeek.com/143263/how-to-test-your-antivirus-firewall-browser-and-software-security/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=090413

4) This is an Australian "Report on the Accessibility of Electronic Program Guides":
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/latest_news/captions/report-on-the-accessibility-of-electronic-program-guides

5) This is a brief review of the Stand Scan, a stand for the iPhone that positions the phone properly for scanning print material:
http://www.matildaziegler.com/2013/04/08/feature-writer-alena-roberts-stand-scan-making-ocr-on-the-iphone-practical-and-usable/

6) This "Battle of the Book Readers" from the Disability Now Blog compares the new Victor Reader Stream to the Plextalk Linio Pocket:
http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/article/battle-book-readers

7) From Marco's Accessibility Blog, we read a cogent post about Marco's attempt to switch from his iPhone to an Android device as his full-time mobile phone, only to find that he would lose too much accessibility.
http://www.marcozehe.de/2013/04/05/switching-to-android-full-time-an-experiment/

8) The April, 2013 issue of AccessWorld contains "A Review of Freeware and Shareware Screen Magnification Software for Windows," "An Evaluation of the HumanWare Victor Reader Stream (New Generation"), "Mac, PC, or Both: Choices for Blind and Visually Impaired Computer Users", "Social Networking for the Blind or Visually Impaired: The What, Why, and How", and more:
http://www.afb.org/aw/main.asp

9) This article from CNET Security and Firewall is called "Windows 8's rising security tide raises all antivirus boats":
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-3667_7-57578546/windows-8s-rising-security-tide-raises-all-antivirus-boats/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Microsoft&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

10) Let's intersperse this week's 22 podcasts here this time around. With a note that podcasts are something else we didn't have in Issue #1, December, 2004!

First, six from BlindGeekZone:

GW Connect Tutorial Part 2:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/gw-connect-tutorial-part-2/

Language Learning:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/language-learning/

NVDA Tutorial #6 Part 2:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/nvda-tutorial-6-part-2/

Cyanogen Mod:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/cyanogen-mod/

BGZ Podcast 65:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/bgz-podcast-65/

NVDA Tutorial #6 Part 1:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/nvda-tutorial-6-part-1/

Next, 7 from Apple and Other Accessible Technology:

Demonstration of The Meteor Vibrating Watch:
http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com/2013/04/10/demonstration-of-the-meteor-vibrating-watch/

Demonstration of the Victor Stream 2nd Addition:
http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com/2013/04/09/demonstration-of-the-victor-stream-2nd-addition/

How to create a Phone contact to automatically log you in to an automated phone system:
http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com/2013/04/04/how-to-create-a-phone-contact-to-automatically-log-you-in-to-an-automated-phone-system/

Getting started with VoiceOver and Mountain Lion Table of Contents (The entire tutorial is also on the site):
http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com/2013/04/02/getting-started-with-voiceover-and-mountain-lion-table-of-contents/

Next, Cool Blind Tech #18, a demonstration of Sendero Seeing Eye GPS for iPhones:
http://coolblindtech.com/podcast/sendero-seeingeye-gps-cbt-18472013

FSCast, Choosing the Focus Display that is best for you:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/FSCast/default.asp

There's no new audio here yet, but The Mystic Place Blog and Podcast is now called The Mystic Access Podcast, and the feed to subscribe is:
http://www.mysticaccesspodcast.com/?feed=podcast

Six AppleVis Contributions:

Get Jamming with ThumbJam:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/get-jamming-thumbjam

Listen in with Police "Scanner" Radio for iOS:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/listen-police-scanner-radio-ios

Using the iPhone's Autodialing Feature to enhance your calling experience:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/using-iphones-autodialing-feature-enhance-your-calling-experience

Earl Part 2: Customizing your newspaper reading experience:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/earl-part-2-customizing-your-newspaper-reading-experience

Race to the Checker Flag with Formel1 Spirit:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/race-checker-flag-formel1-spirit

AppleVis Extra: An interview with the developer of Dice World:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/applevis-extra-interview-developer-dice-world

And Three from SPN:

That Android Show #15:
http://www.thatandroidshow.com/

SeroTalk Podcast #149:
http://serotalk.com/2013/04/09/serotalk-podcast-149-vinyl-resurgence/

And Episode 46 of iBlindTech is an interview with Ryan Honey from BIA:
http://www.iblindtech.com/democast/episode-46-big-browser.html

11) We've already missed one of these presentations, but SSB BART Group is offering four more 30-minute free webinars they call a New Accessibility Overview Webinar Series, the next four Tuesdays starting 16 April at 18:30 GMT:
https://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/2013/04/04/new-accessibility-overview-webinar-series/?utm_content=%23a11y&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

12) iPad Tips & Tricks is a free iBook by Jeanette Davies:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/ipad-tips-tricks/id562515466?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

13) This is a YouTube Flash player with captions which seems to have many accessibility features:
http://www.visionaustralia.org/business-and-professionals/digital-access/resources/tools-to-download/youtube-flash-player-with-captions

14 A new, free, challenging and accessible word game for Windows called Tiny Zebras Rock is available from Rich DeSteno. He also has four other free games for the asking. Send your request to him at:
ironrock@verizon.net

15) Learn about "The Many Ways of Reading Books on the iPhone" on Tek Talk on GMT Tuesday, 16 April at 00:00:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

16) In the latest Freedom Scientific Newsletter, learn about the competitive upgrade price for MAGic that is extended to 28 April, and more:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/news/current-newsletter.asp

17) This PC World article is entitled "How (and why) to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) Today":
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030763/how-and-why-to-set-up-a-vpn-today.html#tk.rss_all

18) This site predates Top Tech Tidbits by many years, but it is still handy. You can get word definitions, thesaurus entries, anagrams and more via email. To get definitions for a word, write "define word" in the message header, and send the message to:
wsmith@wordsmith.org
To learn about other services, such as A.Word.A.Day, go to:
http://www.wordsmith.org

19) NVDA 2013.1 Beta 2 has been released:
http://community.nvda-project.org/blog/NVDA2013.1beta2Released

20) NIB is seeking applicants for the Joseph Roeder Assistive Technology Scholarship, a $2,500 scholarship to an individual who is blind, interested in pursuing education in computer science, information systems or a related field, and pursuing a career in access technology:
http://www.nib.org/resources/grants-and-scholarships

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