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Top Tech Tidbits - Volume 187
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 Access Technology Team at the Jernigan Institute has produced its latest Consumer Electronics list, listing mainstream devices such as dishwashers, phones, home theater equipment, that are usable by the blind.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/accessible_home_showcase.asp?SnID=1332588961

2) The Cisco academy for the vision impaired from Western Australia is running again in 2009 and they are seeking interested students from all over the world. Course cost is $300 US to take all 4 courses, which can greatly enhance computer skills and perhaps lead to some certifications. Courses are designed to be taken either in person or online.
http://www.cucat.org/promo/

3) Tek Talk will feature demonstrations of two products on GMT Tuesday, 9 December at 01:00. One will be TypeAbility, a typing tutorial designed for the blind which includes speed tests, dictation tasks and basic screen reader instruction, and the other, J-Tools, providing some enhancements to the usual interface for JAWS.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

4) 7/128 Software has released seven accessible computer games for blind children ages 2-7, including Here Comes the Duck and various number and letter games. Games cost as little as $7.00 and are self-voicing.
http://www.7128.com

5) In other game news, Jim Kitchen has released version 9 of his self-voicing Monopoly game, allowing for all sorts of customization of the board and game pieces.
http://www.kitchensinc.net

6) Design Science today announced the release of MathType 6.5 for Windows, a new version designed to work with a wide variety of education and scientific applications and websites. The company hopes the program will become a universal editor for mathematical notation.
http://www.dessci.com/en/company/press/releases/081202.htm

7) Fred's Head Companion points out that it is quite possible to send text messages via e-mail. If you know your friends' phone numbers and the carrier they're on, you can easily send email text messages to their cell phones. MakeUseOf.com has compiled a list of over sixty domestic and international carriers and the corresponding email address formats used for each.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/email-to-sms/

8) They also let us know that ZingSale will monitor item prices for you, and will send you an email when the items you want to buy go on sale.
http://zingsale.com

9) While we're talking about buying things, The latest SEroTalk podcast discusses many great web sites for online shopping, and provides tips on security and dispute resolution.
http://serotalk.com/podcasts/SeroTalk002.mp3
And get a list of links mentioned in the podcast at the blog found at
http://serotalk.com

10) Here is a site that lists the features currently envisaged to be part of the upcoming Windows 7:
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff.asp

11) And here is an article from Microsoft about the accessibility planned for Windows 7.
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/11/30/accessibility-in-windows-7.aspx

12) Humanware is now shipping the DeafBlind Communicator, a versatile device linking a BrailleNote with special software and a companion phone, enabling face-to-face and telefonic communication.
http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/about_us/press_releases/031208_press_release

13) The latest FSCast, podcast from Freedom Scientific, features a discussion of the values of VOIP, Voice Over Internet Protocol, phone services, and how to use them with Freedom Scientific products.
http://podcast.freedomscientific.com/FSCast/episodes/fscast024-november2008.mp3

14) This Fred's Head Companion post gives several sources for accessible tv program listings.
http://www.fredshead.info/2006/11/accessible-tv-listings.html

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