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Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, March 24, 2016 - Volume 553
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

This Week's Featured Advertisement: Join Flying Blind, LLC's President, Larry Lewis, for An Informative Online Seminar - Bringing Non-Visual Access to a Social Network Playing Field - March 28th 2016

Photo of Flying Blind, LLC's President, Larry Lewis, conducting a presentation in front of a large screen upon which is being projected the screen of an iOS device which he is controlling using a small refreshable Braille display that is hanging, otherwise untethered, around his neck.

Seminar Name: Bringing Non-Visual Access to a Social Network Playing Field

Seminar Date: March 28, 2016

Seminar Time: 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Seminar Description: Social networks have emerged as a way for individuals to develop personal networks as well as grow their businesses. Would you like to learn more about how you can better work social networking opportunities into your daily use of technology? And how to overcome many of the challenges that could hold you back?

Join Seminars@Hadley (http://bit.ly/seminarsathadley) as Larry Lewis, President and Founder of Flying Blind, LLC, discusses how to take optimal advantage of what a dynamic social networking experience has to offer.

Larry Muffett, a member of Hadley's Seminars Team, will moderate this 60-minute seminar. A question and answer session will be included as part of the seminar.

This seminar is an audio presentation. Space in this seminar is limited. Please only register if you know you are available to attend.

Registration: You may register for this seminar at: http://bit.ly/hadleyreg03282016.

Technology Requirements: Please read the technology requirements at: http://bit.ly/hadleytechreq carefully prior to the seminar.

Access Verification: If you are already registered, we encourage you to verify that you are able to access the room at least 24 hours prior to the start of the event to allow time for troubleshooting.

Technical Assistance: If you require technical assistance, please contact the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired Help Desk at helpdesk@hadley.edu or by calling (847) 446-8111 EXT 6690.

Already Registered Participant Login: http://bit.ly/hadleyseminarlogin.

Price: Free

Register - Bringing Non-Visual Access to a Social Network Playing Field - March 28th 2016
http://bit.ly/hadleyreg03282016

Greetings,

1) The March 2016 issue of AccessWorld contains learnings from two recent conferences as well as reviews of the Apple Watch, the Orion Ti-30XS talking scientific calculator, the NVDA Remote Access add-on, and the Blind Legend game, among other content:
http://www.afb.org/aw/main.asp

2) Here is an updated list of the commands you can give Siri, with some more being found in the comments after the post:
http://www.applevis.com/guides/ios/ios-7-siri-command-list

3) "VoiceOver Makes Apple Devices More Accessible Than Ever," is an article which, other than misidentifying the organization of which Marc Maurer was President, gives a good introduction to Apple Accessibility for the uninitiated:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/voiceover-makes-apple-devices-accessible-ever/

4) The Here and There Accessibility News seems to cover a wide range of topics, many of which relate to some kind of accessibility for some population. Here is the March 17, 2016 Edition:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/voiceover-makes-apple-devices-accessible-ever/

5) Soft Braille Keyboard is a $16.57 App now available in the Google Play Store which offers Uncontracted and Contracted Braille input in both US and UEB, as well as several other languages:
http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=14983

6) Some WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) publications are available electronically:
http://www.wipo.int/publications/en/

7) The Microsoft Windows UI Automation blog covers topics related to the Windows Automation API:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/winuiautomation/

8) Blind Abilities, which now boasts its own iOS app, offers us an "iAccess Demo: Using the Text Replacement Feature in the Keyboard Settings:"
http://blindabilities.com/jeffrey-thompson/iaccess-demo-using-the-text-replacement-feature-in-the-keyboard-settings/

9) Here is the latest statement of philosophy from the slowly-crystalizing Dictation Bridge project:
http://dictationbridge.com/2016/03/21/free-software-expands-options/

10A) iOS 9.3 has been released, and there are several changes, some of which relate to accessibility. Here is an AppleVis podcast on the matter:
http://www.applevis.com/podcast/episodes/exploring-some-new-features-ios-93

10B) Here are five demo podcasts about different V9.3 features:
http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com

10C) And Maccessibility Roundtable #104 also discusses what's new:
http://maccessibility.net/?p=2362

11A) MoneyGeek.com is a US-based organization which purports to provide a variety of free financial guides, some of which relate to people with disabilities. They offer "Scholarships and Grants for Students with Disabilities:"
http://www.moneygeek.com/education/college/resources/scholarship-guide-for-students-with-disabilities/

11B) And "Workers with Disabilities And ADA:"
http://www.moneygeek.com/careers/resources/workers-with-disabilities-and-ada/

12) iHabilitation Canada now sells large print and Braille books of screenshots of iPhone and iPad screens, to facilitate learning and understanding:
http://www.ihabilitation.com/

13A) Visit Hadley's YouTube Channel to find two new iFocus Instructional Videos: "Finding Audio Descriptions in iTunes" at:
https://youtu.be/D0sApfd5znA

13B) And "Exploring the Videos App" at:
https://youtu.be/4f646UC-qJQ

14) Jim Kitchen made many free games available to the blind. He passed on last August, but his family is maintaining the site, and is open to offers from developers who might be willing to port the games to iOS and other platforms. Jim's sister's email address is on the site so those interested can contact her:
http://www.kitchensinc.net/

15) CoolBlindTech.com has recently published a new podcast about playing interactive fiction on iOS. The app for the iPhone is superbly accessible for both speech and Braille users:
https://www.coolblindtech.com/frotz-for-ios-interactive-fiction-at-your-fingertips/

16) This latest installment to the Lighthouse Interpoint series offers a rather scathing look at how blindness is portrayed in a popular novel:
http://lighthouse-sf.org/blog/anthony-dont-on-blindness-and-the-portrayal-of-marie-laure-in-all-the-light-we-cannot-see/

17) This useful article is called "What I Wish I Had Known About Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP):"
http://snip.ly/61qqn#https://thewayeyeseetheworld.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/what-i-wish-i-had-known-about-retinitis-pigmentosa-rp/

18) Episode 1613 of Eyes on Success continues the interview with the blind, active-duty policeman:
http://www.eyesonsuccess.net

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