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Top Tech Tidbits - Volume 148
1) You can download a talk about using Linux with speech and braille, as well as other talks from the same conference, here:
Distributed by Flying Blind, LLC
For questions and comments regarding Tidbits, please e-mail Dean Martineau at dean@topdotenterprises.com.
http://linux.conf.au/programme/presentations
2) You can hear an overview of the LevelStar Icon, ask questions, and request demonstrations of the features of the device, during a presentation on GMT 27 February at 01:30:
3) Jamal Mazrui continues to enhance his text editor, EdSharp, now up to version 1.6
And his file manager, FileDir, now up to version 3.2
4) The January, 2008 issue of FScast, the monthly podcast from Freedom Scientific, focuses on how you can use JAWS to send music and spoken word files to your mp3 player, with emphasis on the iPod and iTunes. Here's the link to the sound file:
5) The January, 2008 issue of the Braille Monitor contains an article concerning magnification software. Here is a link to the text of the article:
And here's a link to an audio recording:
6) Thanks to the ever-vigilant J.J. at Blind Bargains, here's a link to a Google page listing all the free searches you can conduct from your mobile phone, for which you will receive in return a text message containing the results:
7) Tech Support Alert is a valuable site containing comprehensive and coherent evaluations of freeware programs in 46 different categories, including antivirus and many varieties of anti-malware, as well as a useful free newsletter and an enhanced, affordable, paid version.
8) Peter Crain has written a free organizer program that works with several screen readers:
9) A frequent question I see on mailing lists is, "How can I record my Skype conversations?" The Tek Talk training coming up on GMT Tuesday, 26 February at 01:00 will address this issue. As always, the program will be archived within several days of its recording, but here's the link to the conference room:
10) The Blind Bargains mailing list tips us off to the fact that more information is now available about the new KNFB Mobile Reader, including documentation.
11) On a related matter, a lot of attention is being focused on the Nokia N82 phone, the feature-rich phone on which the KNFB Mobile Reader will operate. J.J. lets us know about the Nokia N82 blog:
12) J.J. says that the Say What electronic game is fully accessible. One place you can get it is Amazon:
13) The Fred's Head Companion shares with us http://www.WorldTimeEngine.com, the Local Time Directory, which claims to allow you to find the local time for every country, city, town, village, zipcode, point of interest, and street on earth:
14) AFB has published two late-breaking articles of AccessWorld. Scanning and Reading on the Move: A Review of Zoom-Ex and Zoom-Twix, and A Reading Machine In Your Pocket: Introducing the KNFB Reader Mobile:
15) To follow up on an item from last week's Tidbits, here's another website devoted to sharing hotkeys for different applications:
16) We learn from the Braille Forum that Internet Speech has recently updated its netECHO software that allows anyone to access the Internet using any phone and user's voice, without a computer.
17) Thanks to the E-Access Bulletin, we are informed of a posting to a virtual Hosting blog which lists 25 free web accessibility checkers.
18) GW Micro will be offering a variety of hands-on classes and demonstrations at the upcoming CSUN Conference.
19) The NFB Access Technology Blog reminds us about their Access Technology Tips page, which has some new tips for using Office 2007, and claims to feature many underutilized and underdocumented functions for a variety of programs and devices.
20) The February 15 posting from that same blog briefly describes some open-source tools for producing digital talking books, and provides links to them.
21) Apple has extended the braille support found in its Leopard operating system, adding more Braille displays and generally streamlining the system.
22) Microsoft has announced a new program, Microsoft DreamSpark, through which they will give copies of several development tools free to high school and university students in 11 countries.
23) ATC is offering three 2-hour trainings during march. Each costs $50.00, and if you can't take part in person, you can buy a CD of the training for the same price. Thursday, 6 March, 22:00 GMT: Advanced Dragon Naturally Speaking. Thursday, 13 March, 21:00 GMT: Advanced Window-Eyes. Thursday, 20 March, 21:00: OmniPage OCR. To register for any of these, or for more information, e-mail:
24) The free bimonthly AFB AccessWorld Extra informs us of a new CCTV from Freedom Access, the QuickLook. The unit has many advanced features, and costs $995.
25) A new, announce-only, low-traffic mailing list has been created to keep people informed about new developments regarding accessible cell phones. To join, send a blank message to: Feel free to forward individual Tidbits, or the entire tidbits issue, to interested people (but make sure they don't already receive it; a lot do!) When doing this, please have the courtesy to cite your source, perhaps directing them to the tidbits website (see below.) Tidbits is intentionally concise, but I know a lot of people don't understand many of the items because little explanation is given. If a Tidbit brings up a question in your mind, feel free to ask, and I'll answer as time, knowledge and inclination permit. Visit the Tidbits page at http://www.topdotenterprises.com/tidbits.htm where you can subscribe to the RSS feed and grab back issues. All that welcome information for future issues can come to me at dean@topdotenterprises.com.
People can subscribe to Tidbits via e-mail: tttt-join@topdotenterprises.com (Make sure to get all 4 T's into the address!) |
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