Top Tech Tidbits - Volume 181
The Week's News in Access Technology

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

1) The September-October issue of DIALOGUE: A WORLD OF IDEAS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE OF ALL AGES is now available, with, as always, some technology-relatedinformation.
http://blindskills.com/sep_oct_2008_toc.html

2) The staff of the weekly technology program Main Menu has started a mailing list where topics from the show can be discussed and feedback to the staff offered. To join, end a blank message to
mainmenu-friends-subscribe@acbradio.org

3) The Ohio State Universith Web Accessibility Center has created a Survey of Survey Tools, testing for accessibility different packages for creating online surveys.
http://wac.osu.edu/workshops/survey_of_surveys/

4) If you use an Index embosser, then you now have access to an improved braille translation and editing package, winBraille. A more elaborate paid version can also be had.
http://www.indexbraille.com/Support/Knowledge-base/WinBraille-5/WinBraille-5---it-is-that-easy.aspx

5) This Fred's Head Companion article offers several ways to access weather forecasts and advisories from the US National Oceanic and Atnospheric Administration (NOAA)
http://www.fredshead.info/2007/03/noaa-weather-radio-online-and-weather.html

6) And this one contains information about various packages for translating text and music into braille.
http://www.fredshead.info/2007/03/braille-translation-software.html

7) "Stay in Touch with Windows Live Messenger" is the topic for the free Tek Talk training coming up on GMT Tuesday, 28 October at 00:00.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

8) The Sendero Group announces the release of version 5 of its GPS packages for the BrailleNote family of products, with over 40 new features including many new points of interest.
http://www.senderogroup.com/allgps.htm

9) While we're talking about GPS, Code Factory has started a mailing list to discuss its new Mobile Geo product, which it created in partnership with Sendero Group.
http://list.codefactory.cat/mailman/listinfo/codefactory.cat.mgeo_mailing

10) A mention in the New York Times Thursday technology news brought me to Tweakhound, a site with lots of well-thought-out information for optimizing windows.
http://www.tweakhound.com/
the author also has a blog that provides computer news and reviews.
http://www.tweakhound.com/blog/

11) This page lists lots of keyboard shortcuts for the Firefox browser:
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Keyboard+shortcuts?style_mode=inproduct

12) If you are a supporting ($20/year) member of VIP Conduit, you can take the Goldwave for Intermediate Users class which starts on GMT Wednesday, 29 October at 00:30.
http://www.vipconduit.com

13) Two people have written scripts or programs to facilitate language translation of blocks of up to 500 characters using the Google algorithm. First, Jamal Mazrui created window-Eyes scripts to do this.
https://www.gwmicro.com/Script_Central/Scripts/Script_Details/?scriptid=1162
Then Octavian Rosnita wrote Maestro Translate, a desktop program to achieve this with any, or no, screen reader.
http://www.tranzactiibursiere.ro/static/MaestroTranslate.exe

14) Tidbits Reader Tyler Spivey has co-authored a free program to make windows navigation easier. The program called NUtils lets you hide programs so that they do not appear in the alt+tab order. You get to them with hotkeys or through the system tray.
http://gtc.ath.cx/downloads/

15) Audio interviews regarding the Cisco Academy for the Blind and Vision Impaired in Australia are available here:
http://www.cucat.org/caviaudio

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