Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, August 28, 2014 - Volume 472
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

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Greetings,

1) Well, Marco threw in the towel on his 30-day immersion into Android on day 18 and went back to iOS:
http://30dayswithandroid.blogspot.de/2014/08/day-18-part-3-i-quit.html

2) Meanwhile, this sighted Android user spent a month with an iPhone, and shares his impressions of hardware and software:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8414/a-month-with-the-iphone-5s

3) The Summer 2014 edition of "508 XPress" has articles on Avoiding Section 508 Violations, Efficient Strategies for Non-Visual Mobile Navigation, and more:
http://www.section508.va.gov/

4) If you have reason to use the command line, this article discusses how to Use Tab Completion to Type Commands Faster on Any Operating System:
http://www.howtogeek.com/195207/use-tab-completion-to-type-commands-faster-on-any-operating-system/

5) Here we have the post "Working with Web 2.0 Applications: A Blind User's Review":
http://g3ict.org/resource_center/newsletter/news/p/newsletterId_/id_513

6) And here are some tutorials for working with Google Docs and Google Drive:
http://rintintin.colorado.edu/~deri4989/googleappstutorials/

7) This post, from Paths to Literacy, lists the author's preferred apps that support the development of Orientation and Mobility skills for children and youth who are blind or visually impaired, as well as those who are deaf-blind:
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/orientation-mobility-apps

8) In case you're asking yourself if you should switch to a no-contract phone carrier, this post and its numerous comments might help you with the decision:
http://cnet.co/1zHXFbW

9) CNET offers ideas on "How to improve battery life on any mobile device":
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-improve-battery-life-on-any-mobile-device/

10) From Computerworld comes, "16 Tips for Mac Users Who Must Use Windows":
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2476636/microsoft-windows/16-tips-for-mac-users-who-must-use-windows.html

11) NVDA 2014.3RC1 hs been released, with lots of new features for Microsoft Office users. this is a release candidate, which means that if no glaring problems surface, this will be identical to the final release of the upgrade:
http://community.nvda-project.org/blog/NVDA2014.3rc1Released

12A) Doug Lee continues to upgrade the JAWS scripts for Skype. Here is a direct link to version 6.18 of the Skype 6 scripts:
http://bit.ly/1mURaNj

12B) Here is a 12-minute audio description of the scripts:
http://www.dlee.org/skype/ts3.mp3

13) Doug Lee is also developing JAWS scripts and NVDA add-ons for Virtual Audio Cable. This is an upgrade to the NVDA add-on:
http://www.dlee.org/vac/vac.nvda-addon

14) The Vario Ultra Braille devices have not shipped yet, but the manual is now available:
http://www.baumusa.com/support/user-guide-docx-varioultra.docx

15) With Cloud storage prices becoming more competetive, Dropbox has lowered storage prices and added some features to its paid version:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/27/6072757/dropbox-slashes-pricing-and-boosts-storage-as-competition-intensifies

Turning to audio, and some video:

16A) Eyes on Success 1435 addresses Macular Degeneration and Low Vision Support Groups:
http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/

16B) This YouTube video was a presentation to a YouTube conference: "Going Screenless with Youtube: How blind users experience this service":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewCSjiZ7Cdo&feature=youtu.be

16C) I'm actually preparing Tidbits late enough this week to be able to include the latest Serotalk Podcast, #208:
http://serotalk.com/2014/08/27/serotalk-podcast-208-out-here-on-the-balcony/

16D) The latest Media Access Australia podcast, with accompanying transcript, covers Australia's Braille OwnFone: 3D-printed features, customisation, usability and more:
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/audio-description-on-radio/australias-braille-ownfone-3d-printed-features-customisation-usability-and-more

And from AppleVis:

16E) Listen to A Review of the HMDX JAM Classic Bluetooth Speaker:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/review-hmdx-jam-classic-bluetooth-speaker

16F) And Send Invoices and Estimates, Track Time and Capture Expenses with FreshBooks Cloud Accounting for iOS:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/send-invoices-and-estimates-track-time-and-capture-expenses-freshbooks-cloud

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