Top Tech Tidbits - Volume 253
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

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Greetings,

1) With the release of the Apple iPad, another Apple device with built-in accessibility, here is a Mac-cessibility podcast with a panel discussing their impressions.
http://lioncourt.com/podcast/maccessibility_rt_se005.mp3

2) Here is a site that lets you hear popular names:
http://www.hearnames.com/index.php
And another one that helps you pronounce them:
http://www.pronouncenames.com/

3) The Tech Doctor Podcast is a new podcast hosted by Robert Carter and Jenny Axler. It will focus on product comparisons to help people make purchasing decisions among the numerous competing products in several categories. The first edition compares the Plextalk Pocket and the Book Port Plus.
http://www.dr-carter.com

4) The NFB Access Technology Blog has posts about Audio-Tactile Graphics and about the new Pearl/Open Book system due out in May from Freedom Scientific.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Access_Technology_Blog.asp?SnID=1332588961

5) In their usual vein, with the announcements of blindness-specific reading systems which cost a lot of money, Serotek will direct your attention during Tech Chat 57 to three reading solutions costing under $200. You can take part live on GMT Friday, 9 April at 01:00, and of course the program will be available for listening later.
http://serotalk.com/2010/04/07/serotalk-tech-chat-57-the-three-most-affordable-reading-solutions/

6) Handy Tech North America is holding a five-day Mac Academy, 14-18 June, to teach VoiceOver with Snow Leopard on the Mac. Cost for the training by itself is $1,000.
http://www.handytech.us/mac_academy_reg.html

7) BCScan is a free service that allows you to organize, catalog, learn about, and manage Your groceries, CDs, movies, household products, medications, or just about anything Else. It works using a lower-cost bar code scanner and a database of millions of products. Learn about it on Tek Talk on GMT Tuesday, 12 April at 00:00.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

8) Users of the BrailleNote Apex can download KeySoft version 9.01, which contains some bug fixes, better WiFi connectivity, Spanish speech synthesizer, and other improvements.
http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/braillenote_apex/software

9) To join a mailing list for discussing accessibility of and use of FaceBook, send a blank message to:
b-f-b-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

10) To join a mailing list concerning the NLS download service in the US, send a blank message to:
bardtalk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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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Tidbits is intentionally concise, and we know a lot of people may not understand some items because little explanation is given. If a particular Tidbit brings up a question in your mind, feel free to ask, and I will try to answer as time and knowledge permit.

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