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Top Tech Tidbits - Volume 249
The Week's News in Access Technology

Distributed by Flying Blind, LLC
http://www.flying-blind.com/

This Issue's Featured Advertisement:
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Greetings,

1) Version 3.03 of the Skype scripts for Window-Eyes are now available on the Gw Micro Script Central at
https://www.gwmicro.com/Script_Central/Scripts/Script_Details/?scriptid=1025

2) Doug Lee has been developing CLISK, the Command Line Interface for Skype. Skype users can do most things using the command line, so if you like using the computer in this way, get the program and read the manual.
http://www.dlee.org/clisk/

3) An accessibility review of Non-Visual Desktop Access version 2009.1 has been added to the AccessWatch database.
http://www.accesswatch.info

4) American Printing House announces the availability of the Book Port Plus, a digital audio player with excellent recording capability and the ability to play books from NLS, Recording for the Blind, Audible and books in many text formats. The price until September 30 is $299.
http://www.aph.org/tech

5) NFB Newsline in Your Pocket now works with the Book Port Plus and the Book Sense, enabling users to easily transfer favorite Newsline content to those devices.
http://www.nfbnewsline.org/

6) Thanks to Fred's Head, we learn of the Vision Simulator, a Customizable, Low Vision Simulator That Shows how the World Looks to the Visually Impaired. There is lots of other useful information on the main Lighthouse page.
http://lighthouse.org/donate-volunteer/vision-simulator/

7) This Fred's Head post leads you to 100 science podcasts and to the Smithsonian Channel with other science instructional material.
http://www.fredshead.info/2010/03/one-hundred-science-podcasts.html

8) This one is a reprint of an article from May have 2008 entitled Observational Astronomy for the Visually Impaired
http://www.fredshead.info/2010/03/observational-astronomy-for-visually.html

9) Windows 7 does not have an e-mail program included as part of the operating system. Two popular choices to use are Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird. Gene Asner will give a thorough guide to both so you can choose one and then use it successfully on Tek Talk on GMT Tuesday, 16 March at 00:00. With US daylight savings time starting this week, the broadcast time will be what you're used to if you live in North America, but probably not if you don't, since the program is scheduled based on US time.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

10) Humanware has released the victor Stream Cd Edition, consisting of a special cd player add-on to the Stream for playing books on cd. Current Stream owners can buy the attachment, or the unit can be purchased as a whole.
http://www.humanware.com/streamcd

11) Freedom Scientific has slashed the price of its Focus 40 Blue braille display by 38%, down to $2,795. This display connects via USB and bluetooth and works with mobile phones and computers.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/News/Pressroom/2010/Braille-Prices-Support-Braille-Literacy.asp

12) Social Networking and You: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for Blind Users is a new book by Anna Dresner available in paper or electronic braille , DAISY or text from National Braille Press for $12.
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/SOCIAL.html

13) Jamal Mazrui has released version 2.7 of his Twitter client McTwit. This version makes adjustments necessitated by changes in Twitter and adds some new features. the program is available here:
http://EmpowermentZone.com/mtsetup.exe
And documentation is here:
http://EmpowermentZone.com/McTwit.htm

14) Executive Products has designed a new CASE for the NLS/BPH Digital Talking Book Player available to Library for the Blind users in the US.
https://www.executiveproductsinc.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=361&products_id=1841&osCsid=14ebd96fb23b48a3097aac1ba35292f3

15) The nearly three-hour seminar on the KNFB Reader held last Thursday can now be downloaded.
http://hingson.s3.amazonaws.com/KnfbReaderHintsandTricks-March4-2010.mp3

16) Reading Bookshare Books on Victor Reader Stream is a free webinar that will take place on Tuesday, 15 March at 20:30 GMT.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/636080867

17) There will be a window-Eyes script writing class July 1-2 in Dallas for $650.
http://www.gwmicro.com/events

18) Serotek Tech chat 53 featured a Tribute to george Buys who recently passed on and who rendered many services to the online blind community, a discussion of the iBill Talking Currency Identifier, and a lengthy discussion of Setting Up a New Computer under windows xp and Windows 7.
http://serotalk.com/podcasts/TechChat053.mp3

For questions and comments regarding Tidbits, please e-mail Dean Martineau at dean@topdotenterprises.com. Dean Martineau provides adaptive technology training by phone, online, and in person, with flexible arrangements, and at affordable prices.

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