This is from yesterday. Enjoy. No audio for this one.
Tidbits doesn't appear on Thursdays when I don't send it, like last week. Even when I do send it, when I send it late on Thursdays as I have done for a long time, the current distribution process means you probably don't see it until a day or so later. God forbid, I might have to start sending it earlier!
1) EASI will offer a free 1-hour clinic entitled Tools to Turn Text Documents into MP3 Audio, Thursday 6 December at 19:00 GMT. You need to register in advance to get a space, or to get the link to the recording. You can also read about other free and fee-based offerings from EASI.
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm
2) A new version of Fedora, a Linux installation made accessible via the Speakup screen reader, is available. It can be installed with no sighted assistance by those with hardware synthesizers, and guidance and telephone support is available to those without hardware synthesizers.
http://speakupmodified.org/
3) Jim Kitchen has added a new free self-voicing game to his web site: Homer on a Harley.
<http://www.kitchensinc.net>
4) The November, 2007 issue of AccessWorld is available, featuring reviews of accessible mp3 players, an article on Blackberry access, the search for accessible exercise equipment and more.
http://www.afb.org/accessworld
5) A user has found a program, Nokia AudioBooks which appears accessible, and which allows owners of Simbian 60 3rd edition phones to play audio books with bookmark and resume features.
http://www.nokia.com/betalabs/audiobooks
6) JAWS for windows version 9 has been released.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws90fea.asp
Eric Damery of Freedom Scientific will discuss the release, how it works with Office 2007 and windows Vista, and answer questions at the Tek Talk free online training to be held on GMT Tuesday, 4 December at 01:00 (stateside Monday evening.)
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2
If you live in the US and received a JFW 9 cd that doesn't seem to install, the company is apparently aware of the problem and is sending replacements.
7) The team at Accessible World, providers of the Tek Talk weekly training events, have begun to collaborate with Level Star, the makers of the portable Icon and its derivative device, the Braille Plus. They offer weekly trainings on the use of the device on Thursdays, and past trainings are or soon will be in the archive.
http://www.accessibleworld.org
8) Jim Fruchterman, founder of BookShare, gave a presentation discussing the future of BookShare, discussing plans to serve students and non-US readers. You can download the presentation, and find a wealth of other material of interest to those interested in books and reading.
http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/
9) OpenBook version 8, the scanning-reading program from Freedom Scientifric, is due to be released in December. Owners of the previous version can upgrade for $100 if they do so by the end of the year.
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_open.asp
10) An Easy-To-Use document diary for 2008 both in word in a size of 14PT and 20PT and plain text formats is now available for you to download from the website:
http://www.moving-mountains.com
11) the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco will present a 2-hour seminar on GPS (Global Positioning Systems) for the blind on Friday, 7 December starting at 21:00o GMT. People can take part in person, over the phone or via the net. If you want to participate via toll-free phone or online, e-mail
info@lighthouse-sf.org
12) Here is a blog entry concerning AXSJAX, a Google initiative for making some "Web 2.0" content such as AJAX, and some of the Google online programs, potentially accessible.
http://google-code-updates.blogspot.com/2007/11/introducing-axsjax-access-enabling-ajax.html
13) Some people may be able to obtain a refurbished computer for $`100 through the Texas Center for the Visually Impaired. These are computers running Windows XP, and come with a 7-cassette tutorial and demo copies of window-Eyes screen reader and ZoomText magnification software.
http://www.handicapability.org/computers.html
14) The Assistive Technology Center will offer several online seminars in December, both free and fee-based.
http://www.atechcenter.net
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