Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, January 16, 2014 - Volume 440
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

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Greetings,

1A) GW Micro has altered its business model, and is making Window-Eyes free to anybody with a paid copy of Microsoft Office 2010 or 2013 on their computer. The Office Starter version doesn't count, and you still may opt to pay for better voices or tech support, but other than that, it's the same screen reader others pay for, and there's no plan to charge for updates:
http://www.windoweyesforoffice.com/

1B) GW Micro will hold two live meetings where they will field user questions, on GMT Friday 17 January at 16:30 and 19:00. Read what they have to say about this on the NFT AT Blog at:
https://nfb.org/blog/atblog/window-eyes-and-microsoft-office

2) Speaking of that blog, they did a fairly sympathetic review of the Odin VI Mobile Phone:
https://nfb.org/blog/atblog/odin-vi-mobile-phone

3) This scathing review sums up the current state of Android accessibility, and those who commented on it seem to be in agreement with its findings:
http://chrishofstader.com/testing-android-accessibility-i-give-up/

4) I suspect we'll be reading about the Window-Eyes for Office initiative in the next issue of AccessWorld, but for now, the January 2014 issue features reviews of Bluetooth-connected scales, new techniques for treating age-related macular degeneration, an interview with the new CEO of Freedom Scientific, and more:
http://www.afb.org/aw/main.asp

5) This is the website for Tap Tap See, which explains the app and gives advice on how to get the most from this useful aid for blind iOS users:
http://www.taptapseeapp.com/

6) Here is the financial aid guide for students with disabilities:
http://www.onlineschools.org/financial-aid/disabilities/

7) You can listen to yours truly (Dean Martineau) talking about Windows 8.1, helping people decide whether the operating system is to be feared or embraced, or perhaps something in between, on Tek Talk for GMT Tuesday, 21 January at 01:00:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

8A) Here's a list of content from the AppleVis website to help those who are completely new to VoiceOver on iOS:
http://www.applevis.com//new-to-ios

8B) And here's one for those new to the Mac:
http://www.applevis.com//new-to-mac

9) The creator of the Cast podcast has a list of blindness-related blogs and podcasts which he promises to enlarge:
http://blindpodcaster.com/resources/?utm_content=buffer7ef96&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

10) Dolphin Guide Version 8 is a program designed to simplify computer access for those who find traditional interfaces to be unnecessarily difficult. This version boasts a new web browser:
http://yourdolphin.com/newsitem.asp?id=721

11) Turning to audio material for the week:

Serotalk podcast 183 was also just barely produced before the GW Micro press release, but it has all sorts of other current news:
http://serotalk.com/2014/01/15/serotalk-podcast-183-audio-selfie/

Learn about the Cosmo eBrailler and the BERT Remote Braille Teaching Tool in Eyes on Success #1403:
http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/

The Cast Roundtable gives us its first effort:
http://blindpodcaster.com/tcr-001-introduction/

From AppleVis:

Airfoil for Mac: Play Audio on Multiple AirPlay Devices Simultaneously:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/airfoil-mac-play-audio-multiple-airplay-devices-simultaneously

Using and managing iTunes Smart Playlists:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/using-and-managing-itunes-smart-playlists

And EyeNote for iOS: Quick and Easy Recognition of U.S. Bank Notes:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/eyenote-ios-quick-and-easy-recognition-us-bank-notes

From BlindGeekZone:

Demo of Tweetlist Pro for Twitter:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/demo-of-tweetlist-pro-for-twitter/

Virtual Audio Cable:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/virtual-audio-cable/

Technology for blind people:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/technology-for-blind-people/

An Accessible Way to Make Coffee:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/an-accessible-way-to-make-coffee/

Tutorial: How to broadcast with Spreaker:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/tutorial-how-to-broadcast-with-spreaker/

Chicken Nugget Twitter Client demo!
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/chicken-nugget-twitter-client-demo/

Podcast regarding NightOwl:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/podcast-regarding-nightowl/

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