Presenters: Rob Turner, Glenn Ervin, and Kelly Sapergia Responding to yor many requests, Tek Talk Online Training will start its weekly programming with three knowledgeable trainers discussing the way to convert files to MP3 format using OpenBook, Text Aloud and DSpeech. Step by step instructions, along with a review of each program's features, will enable you to create sound files quickly.
Presenter: Joshua Miele, Ph.D., Research Associate, Smith-Kettlewell Eye
Research Institute's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, San Francisco, California
This week's Tek Talk online training sponsored by Accessible World.org will
feature an informal review by Research Associate, Dr. Joshua Miele of the
LevelStar Icon -- a new Linux-based blind-accessible PDA. He will describe
the unit, its capabilities, and his impressions of its potential as a
platform for third-party software development. Following his presentation,
The Accessible World Tek Talk online training this week will feature two
highly qualified assistive technology specialist, Walt Kramer and Ken
Trebelhorn, as they provide valuable information to unleash the power of
Microsoft Word. Specifically, participants will learn efficient ways to
organize data and a variety of ways to handle page layouts. The discussion
will include relevant information on opening, closing, and saving documents,
Formatting attributes such as bolding, underlining and italicizing,
formatting paragraphs, bullets and numbering, outlining and tabbing, and
Presenter: Mitake Holloman Burts, Keystone Systems Product Manager
919-782 1143. Email: mitake@klas.com.
Do you have access to your Talking Book library 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week? At any time of the day or night can you independently search the
complete catalog, select the books you want, and order them directly from
your computer? If you are a patron of 75 of the 141 libraries in the
National Library Service (NLS) network , you can answer a resounding YES to
these questions. Why? Because your library has had the foresight to install
Presenter: Larry L. Lewis, Jr., Founder and President, Flying Blind LLC.
Home Office Phone: (216) 381-8107. Mobile Phone: (216) 276-0699. Email:
L_Lewis@Ameritech.net.
This week the Accessible World international Tek Talk online training event
is proud to present a demonstration of the many features of Mobilespeak
Pocket, the first screenreader released for persons who are blind that runs
on an endless number of windows Mobile PDAs and cellular phones. Drawing
upon his extensive background in product evaluation, training, and deploying
Presenter: Beau Barnhart. Look Media International, LLC. 888-378-5665
. http://www.lookmedia.com. beau@lookmedia.com
This week the Accessible World international Tek Talk online event focuses
on a friendly, yet powerful program that allows beginners and advanced
computer users
with visual impairment, learning or reading difficulties to instantly access
vital information on the Internet. With just a few keystrokes, WebText
Reader will read you the latest news, weather,
sports, stock quotes, T V listings and much more instantly without having to
Presenter: Gerry Chevalier, Victor Reader Product Manager, Humanware
Email: gerry.chevalier@humanware.com
.Phone: 800-722-3393
http://www.humanware.com
HumanWare Group Worldwide CEO Gilles Pepin and Pierre Hamel, Vice President
of R&D for HumanWare To Provide A Unique "Up Close" Look Into Company's
Operations and Vision For Its Future.
Many of you may have heard that the former president of HumanWare Canada has recently become the CEO of the HumanWare Group. Tech Talk has invited Gilles Pepin to join us and discuss HumanWare. Tech Talk participants will hear Gilles talk about his history in the Assistive Technology industry and how he developed his former company Visuaide best known for launching the Victor Reader in 1998.
Presenter: Woody Anna Dresner, National Braille Press.
Email: adresner@nbp.org
888-965-8965
http://www.nbp.org
Computer users worldwide are meeting the daily challenge of harnessing the
power of Google, the largest, most complete, and popular Internet search
engine available today. Attendees at this week's Accessible World Tek Talk
event WILL BE PROVIDED an introduction to using Google based on the book
"Get Going with Google", which was originally an audio tutorial created by
Jonathan Mosen that our presenter, Anna Dresner, later adapted to written
Presenters:: Walt Kramer Email: wokwest@charter.net and Ken Trebelhorn (lvti@charter.net
)While most people know that Kurzweil 1000 provides blind users access to
printed and electronic materials through its excellent optical character
recognition scanning program, few really know how to use the many other
extremely valuable tools within the software. During Monday's online Tek
Talk training event, sponsored by the Accessible World, Walt Kramer and Ken
Trebelhorn, assistive technology trainers working as independent contractors
comprehensive overview of the new Microsoft Office 2007 by Karen McCall, M.S. of Karlen Communications, a recognized trainer and consultant on digital environment accessibility. She will discuss many of the features of the software and provide valuable tips for setting up Outlook 2007 for anyone using adaptive technology and how to make the two programs work together better.
Contact: Karlen Communications, Ontario, Canada
Web: www.iprimus.ca/~martha/table.htm
Probably the most talked about topic among computer users of assistive devices is
the inaccessibility of many websites. Unfortunately, for most the talk is just that:
Talk. During the upcoming Accessible World Tek Talk online event, however, you will
have the privilege of meeting a technology expert who has done much more than talk
about the problem. He has developed core technology and led the development of InFocus(tm),
the industry's first commercial software for testing Web accessibility.
Tim Springer, co-founder of SSB Bart Group and the chief architect of the Accessibility
A Unique "Up Close" Look Into HumanWare's Operations and Vision For Its
Future, Part 2, and An Update on VR Stream Version 1.2.
Those of you who joined us January 7 for the special Tech Talk featuring the
up close look at HumanWare with Gilles Pepin, CEO and Pierre Hamel Vice
President of Research and Development may remember that Pierre was unable to
complete his presentation due to Internet issues that disrupted the
Accessible World broadcast. Pierre has graciously accepted to repeat that
presentation for us February 18.
Rick Harmon, a recognized technology trainer, will discuss and demonstrate Callburner
and several other recording methods now available.
Contact Rick Harmon at his webpage and podcast feed at:
http://www.blind-geek-zone.net
or his web Blog at
http://blind-geek-zone.blogspot.com/
Email:
rickharmon@sbcglobal.net
Larry Lewis, President of Flying Blind LLC, will showcase the entire
line of wireless Braille displays manufactured by Baum Retek, a European-based manufacturer
with decades of experience developing products for persons who are vision impaired.
The virtual audience will be taken on a tour of the hardware of these displays and
will hear a demonstration of methods for efficiently using these displays to wirelessly
access a PC as well as Mobilespeak-equipped PDAs and Smartphones.
Additionally, Lewis will discuss how these displays have complimented his abilities
During this Tek Talk online event, Innovative Rehabilitation Technology, Inc. (IRTI) of Grass Valley, California will provide two related presentations: eClipseWriter 4.0 Scanning to DAISY and how eClipseReader and writer work together to provide instant
remote access to accessible media.
Attendees will first learn how eClipseWriter Professional 4.0, now powered by Abby
FineReader 8, integrates document scanning and DAISY book and Personal use. Then,
eClipseWriter's new scanning, word processing and automated Save to DAISY features
Doug Geoffray, Co-Owner of GW Micro, will first demonstrate to the Accessible World Tek Talk audience
the many new features of 7.0. Then, he will devote the majority of the presentation
discussing and demonstrating the new and powerful scripting abilities. He will provide
a background of what scripting is, how it integrates into Window-Eyes and how it
will increase productivity for blind computer users.
Doug Geoffray
GW Micro Co-Owner, VP Product Development and Support
Email: doug@gwmicro.com
Web: http://www.gwmicro.com
Phone: 260-489-3671
During the upcoming Accessible World Tek Talk online event Larry Gassman and other
members of the Tek Talk planning committee will provide an overview of the products
and services displayed during the 23rd annual CSUN technology conference held March
10-15th 2008 in Los Angeles. A project of the California State University Northridge
Center on Disabilities, the conference is known as the longest-running and largest
annual university sponsored conference on technology and persons with disabilities
in the world.
This week's Tek Talk event will feature the version for Maestro and Trekker, a small
yet powerful, fully accessible and easy to use handheld device with many solutions
such as Calendar, Contacts, wireless Email, Web browser, Media Player, Daisy player,
Voice notes, Text notes and a File Explorer.
Trekker GPS features many popular and innovative application such as: Where am I
information, GPS status, creation and search of Points of interest, Route creation,
virtual Browsing offline, free mode navigation and many more.
Sam Adler, Market Development Manager for HumanWare.
Dean Martineau will discuss and demonstrate Windows Vista Speech Recognition, a powerful feature of this operating system that has received less promotion than it deserves. He will discuss who can best benefit from this feature, some thoughts on how this approach to speech recognition compares with Dragon Naturally Speaking, then provide a tutorial on its use, both with System Access as the screen reader and using the J-Vist package from T & T Consultancy.
Did you know there is now a portable device that recognizes flat and solid objects
through the eyes of a digital camera! Did you know there is a hand-held device that
is a real computer with Windows XP and 60GB Hard Disk, slightly bigger than a palm,
able to recognize objects in less than ten seconds? Did you know a device exists
that can read books, magazines and newspapers of any size and complexity up to two
complete pages at a time, text on boxes, bottles, cans, and medicines , as well as
texts found on TVs and LCD displays? Whatever the camera frames, the device reads
Chess has been defined many ways but most will agree that it is not merely an idle
amusement but essentially in its essence it is a game, in its form an art, and in
its execution a science. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the
course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits,
ready on all occasions. the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during
the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older games
of Indian and Persian Origin dating back somewhere before 600 A.D.. Today, while
The next Accessible World Tek Talk online training event will explore the musical
world with Bill McCann, Founder and President of Dancing Dots, a United States, based
company with customers in more than 40 countries, that has been providing solutions
to challenges faced by blind musicians worldwide since 1992. He will demonstrate
the Goodfeel Braille Music Translator, any sighted musician with no knowledge of
Braille can scan and edit print notation and convert it to the equivalent braille
notation. The translator also enables Blind musicians to independently create print
Determining the importance of computer games in education has resulted in significant
research throughout the world. While opinions of researchers vary, it is generally
believed that computer games are the most frequently used interactive media for children
and young adults and that computer games are already a phenomenon of greater cultural
importance to all ages than movies, or perhaps even sports.. The gaming industry
is believed by many to be the catalyst that is driving the propagation of new and
improved operating systems since statistics substantiate that more time is spent
Are you blind or visually impaired? Do you take prescription medications? Do you
know someone else who does? Are you concerned about remembering your prescription
instructions and information? Are you bothered that you have to rely on others to
read your prescription information? Are you looking for a way to safely and independently
manage your medications? If you answered YES to any of these questions, ScripTalk
Station is for you!
During the upcoming Tek Talk online event sponsored by the Accessible World, you
Are you trying to decide which MP3 player to buy, or would you like to know how to
use your MP3 player more effectively? If so, Anna Dresner's new book, A Pocketful
of Sound, available from National Braille Press can help. It compares and describes
a variety of mainstream and adaptive players and includes instructions for their
use.
The Accessible World is excited about having Anna Dresner as its presenter during
the upcoming regular Monday event. Anna will describe some key features of the book.
She will then demonstrate searching for and downloading music from Amazon.com's MP3
"HumanWare is proud to present the most recent GPS Orientation tool: Trekker Breeze!
This new, all-in one device , easy and simple tool will assist you in your daily
travel, providing automatically most valuable information such as Where you are,
What's around and Where to go next. The Breeze will allow you to record your favorite
landmarks and routes, in the easiest manor. Only nine buttons to give you all the
security you need to enjoy outdoor travel in confidence. This device is small, smart
and it's operation is yet so simple!
Whether we're working or playing, at home or on the road, access to digital information
has become essential in our daily lives. Ricky Enger of Serotek Corporation will
join us to discuss and demonstrate software from Serotek enabling computer users
to access information anytime, anywhere.
We'll explore the concept of the Accessible Digital Lifestyle using several tools
from Serotek, including SAToGo, a free, web-based screen reader, the System Access
Mobile Network, and much, much more.
Contact: Ricky Enger, Marketing Representative, Serotek Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Just when we think we’ve heard about all the newest technology that provides independence
and employment opportunities to the blind and visually impaired, we learn about the
Tag-It Guide developed by Dr. ger and Lienert Informationsmanagement GbR of Marburg,
Germany.
This system, based on the RFID -technology (Radio frequency, allows identification
of objects that are provided with tags or transponders and displays information via
a computer, a PDA or some other small device. The tags are small self-adhesive labels
Tech Talk is pleased to welcome back Gerry Chevalier, Victor Reader Product Manager from HumanWare to update us on the latest news for the Stream. Gerry
will focus on the exciting new features and improvements in software version
2.0 the most comprehensive software upgrade yet released for the Stream.
Past Tech Talk presentations on the Stream have been very popular and an
excellent way to learn first hand from HumanWare about the advances to this
versatile DAISY, NISO, and MP3 player and voice recorder.
HumanWare Contact Info:
Australia: au.sales@humanware.com
During this week's Tek Talk event, attention will be focused on PayPal, a secure,
global online payment system that allows individuals and businesses with an email
address and an Internet connection to securely send and receive online payments for
goods and services. There is no fee to use the service to buy something; it's always
free to use PayPal to send payments to someone.
Millions of people use this system but blind computer users need to know if it is
accessible with assistive technology.
Bill and Jennifer Sparks, both totally blind business owners, will answer that question
If you are looking for a portable device that is a hand-held Optical Character Recognition
scanner, an organizer, media player, notes recorder, electronic magnifier, barcode
reader, and more, you definitely will want to be in the virtual audience when Assistive
Technology Center LLC of Sacramento, California demonstrates the many features of
Mobile Eyes, Basic and Professional. Performing the functions of nine different devices
and counting, for less than half the cost and at fraction of the weight, MobilEyes
Are you still looking for that easy to use, affordable and accessible CD burning
software?
Yur search may be over when you listen to Dean Martineau, internationally recognized
leader in the technology field, describe how to use CD Burner XP this week on Tek
Talk, an Accessible World online interactive training event.
Named the editor's choice for products of its category on the Gizmo's Tech Support
Alert page, this totally free application makes it possible to create all types of
CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs and ISOs .
Contact: Dean Martineau, Top Dot Enterprises.
Discussing new technology is something Jonathan Mosen enjoys and does very well.
As Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Management at Freedom Scientific,
he has been invited to share information with the Tek Talk virtual audience this
week on the new features of PAC Mate Omni 6..1
Attendees will learn that the PAC Mate Omni Accessible Pocket PC is available with
or without refreshable Braille, and in Braille and qwerty input versions. Out of
the box, it contains a wide range of essential tools for school and work use, but
Attendees of this week's Tek Talk online training will have the unique opportunity
to learn about two products that work together to make computer use more accessible
for the blind and partially sighted. Sound interesting? Read On!
The Firefox browser, when used with a new add on, Webvisum, has significantly increased
Internet accessibility. The feature that has attracted the most attention is Webvisum's
ability to solve captchas with no sighted assistance. If you have been kept from
participating in forums, from working fully with Yahoo Groups, or are tired of the
As we approach the first anniversary of the Victor Reader Stream, Accessible World
Tech Talk wants to hear from Stream users. Monday August 25 we will host a user forum
for the Victor Reader Stream. We invite you to tell us your story. What has the Stream
done to change the way you access information? How and why do you use your Stream?
How has it changed your life as a student, working age adult, or how do you just
plain have fun with it? Have you used it for unusual purposes that perhaps others
have not thought of? Do you have tips and tricks to share with your fellow Stream
With the increased interest in accessing computers with Braille displays, we have
invited Larry Lewis, President of Flying Blind LLC, to demonstrate the functionality
and practical uses of Optelec's recently released Alva Braille Controller 640.
Since Optelec began shipping this 6th generation of Alva Braille displays within
the United States in June 2008, customers have been experiencing the feature-rich
functionality present within this state-of-the-art, wireless Braille solution.
Lewis, who has extensive experience both using and representing a wide array of wireless
Presenter: Michael McCarty, Expert Database Coordinator
http://www.fredshead.info
American Printing House for the Blind
http://www.aph.org
Direct Tel: 502-899-2396
APH Phone: 502-895-2405
Toll Free: 800-223-1839
Email: mmccarty@aph.org
.Do you know where to find the most comprehensive accumulation of computer related
tips, techniques, tutorials, in-depth articles, and resources for and by blind or
visually impaired people?
Do you know who sponsors this collection and how long it has been in existence?
Presenter: Amy Ruell, President, Visually Impaired Computer User Group, Massachusetts.
Email: aruell@comcast.net
Web: www.vibug.org
Did you know that a personal digital assistant (PDA) is almost like holding a feature-rich
laptop in the palm of your hand?
Are you aware that with proper training a blind computer user can quickly learn to
use the many features of this powerful, totally accessible device?
To hear for yourself, plan now to attend the next TekTalk Internet online training
event when Amy Ruell, an extremely knowledgeable computer user, will demonstrate
Imagine for a moment that nothing in your house is labeled in braille. Or maybe you
don't have to imagine it! Do you reach in the fridge for some orange juice and grab
the milk carton instead? Ever sprinkle some cinnamon on your French toast - but it's
cayenne pepper instead? And are you wearing your new maroon silk top, or the one
with the plaid pattern that clashes with almost every pair of pants you own? These
examples may be extreme, but think about it - are you expending more mental energy
on identifying things than you would like?
Phil Vlasak, founder of one of the oldest companies dedicated to developing blind
accessible games, will review the past present and future of blind friendly computer
games during the next Tek Talk event. This will include a description of the text
only games in the past up through the surround sound windows games of today and then
review predictions of what developments are next in the gaming industry.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a gaming expert all about the world of
accessible fun and entertainment.
Contact: Phil Vlasak, President, PCs games.
www.pcsgames.net
During September 2008, Apple (who are world renowned for their range of iPod products
and an Internet Store from where music and movies can be downloaded), made two startling
announcements.
First, they stated that the iTunes software for transferring material to an iPod,
and the vehicle for accessing their Store, contained a level of accessibility for
screen-reader users. Second, the new range of Apple's iPod Nano products gives the
ability for a visually impaired person to have access to audio track titles and menus
through spoken prompts.
During the Accessible World’s Tek Talk online event this week, attention will be
focused upon how the latest update of Dolphin’s screen reading, screen magnification
and reading and writing tools opens the world of information to those with vision
loss.
Dave Williams, Blindness Products Manager For Dolphin Computer Access Limited, will
provide a practical demonstration of new enhancements in Version 10 of the Hal screen
reader, Lunar screen magnifier and the Supernova screen reader/magnifier. This will
More relevant online training will again be available this week as attention is directed
to Windows Live Messenger, the next-generation of MSN Instant Messenger. It has all
the cool features of Messenger, and much more! It is the software Microsoft rebranded
to coordinate with Windows Live, a family of free desktop and web based services.
Joann Becker, Access Technology Trainer, will demonstrate how to communicate with
your friends, family and colleagues using the latest Microsoft instant chat client,
Choosing just the right present for those on your holiday gift list will be much
easier again this year thanks to the upcoming free online Stocking Stuffers event
hosted by the Accessible World on Monday, November 3, and Monday, November 10, 2008.
Both days will feature a number of manufacturers and product Distributors who provide
useful and accessible products for celebrating religious holidays, to remember a
birthday or anniversary, to send get well wishes or express gratitude to a special
person in your life. you will have an opportunity to learn about a myriad of unique,
If you are still looking for that special present to please the most
discriminating family member, friend or colleague on your shopping list,
plan now to attend this week's Accessible World's free online Stocking
Stuffers 2008 Part Two event. It will feature three more manufacturers and
product distributors who provide useful and accessible products for
celebrating religious holidays, to remember a birthday or anniversary, to
send get well wishes or express gratitude to a special person in your life.
You will have an opportunity to learn about a myriad of unique, fun,
Responding to many requests we have received to provide training in making
MP3 files from text documents to transfer to the VR Stream and other
portable devices, we have invited Don Barrett to discuss this topic in
detail during next week's Tek Talk online training sponsored by the
Accessible World.
This training session will discuss exactly what Text Aloud is, where to buy
the software, how to begin using it, how to use various voices, batch file
conversion, how to add, pauses and change voices within a file, use the
pronunciation editor to change the way words are spoken, and more.
As the world moves farther into the 21st century, it seems a look at the
past is inevitable if for no other reason than to determine if we've made
any progress at all. Each person attending this week's Accessible World Tek
Talk online two part event will be guided by experts as Braille writing
past and present is reviewed by a recognized historian and a current day
technology expert on the latest technology for the blind.
Micheal A. Hudson, Director, Museum of the American Printing House for the
Blind, will begin by presenting a brief history of American braillewriters
Tek Talk Provides Tutorial On Using HumanWare's Companion Software To
Transfer Books To the VR Stream Monday, December 1, 2008
As increased numbers of VR Streams are being purchased and used by thousands
of blind individuals worldwide, Tek Talk has received numerous requests to
again offer training on transferring files from the computer to the VR
Stream using the Companion software. Therefore, during this week's Tek Talk
event, Don Barrett, recognized advanced computer user, will provide specific
training on the many features of the Companion 2.0. He will demonstrate how
Brian Hartgen, the Product Development Manager at T&T Consultancy Ltd, has
been invited to introduce two low cost products for use with JAWS for
Windows and the computer keyboard this week on Tek Talk, the online
worldwide training event sponsored by the Accessible World.
The session will begin with a demonstration of TypeAbility, the software
that allows a person to learn how to use the keyboard in 77 fun, easy and
interactive lessons. By the end of the lessons, users will have learned the
letter keys, figures, and punctuation signs together with basic
With the increasing use of Skype to communicate with others worldwide, there
has been a genuine need for efficient, low cost software that will record
skype messages. Jamie Pauls, a well-known, knowledgeable user of assistive
computer technology, will provide a comparison of several recording options
and will then demonstrate in detail the features of the MX Skype Recorder, a
new tool that works in conjunction with Skype and other VOIP applications,
to record voice conversations. This will include its ability to
automatically select the record, stop or manual modes, automatically
Many computer users are finding it necessary to upload and download larger
files than most email clients will allow. Fortunately, several free services
are available. During this week's Accessible World Tek Talk online
training, one of the more popular services, Sendspace
http://www.sendspace.com
), will be reviewed.
Rick Harmon, an extremely knowledgeable computer trainer, will provide
information about the various accounts or levels of service and the features
of each. He will then demonstrate how to download, install and set up the
Have you heard about the latest portable solid-state digital audio recording
device for blind or sighted users from Plextor designed? It's the Plextalk
Pocket and it will be demonstrated during this week's Accessible World Tek
Talk online training.
The product is unbelievably feature rich. For starters, it makes it possible
to play and Record in a wide range of DAISY MP3 formats for voice or high
quality music applications. You can use the Pocket as an audio note taker
and enter audio navigation markers while in record or playback mode and it
When preparing to read an eBook on your computer or portable digital player,
do you frequently wish you could change to a different voice than your
screen reader or other text editor such as the smooth easy listening voices
used by Kurzweil?
Assistive Technology Trainer Ann K. Parsons has been invited by the
Accessible World to answer this question. During this week's Tek Talk online
training session, she will demonstrate how to convert eText into mp3 files
using Kurzweil 1000 reading software.
(Ann K. Parsons
Email: akp@portaltutoring.info or akp@samobile.net
Skype: Putertutor)
Using a computer program to read, write, and send email is probably the most
repetitive task any computer user performs on a daily basis. It is,
therefore, extremely desirable to choose a good email client or program and
learn its many features thoroughly. During this week's Tek Talk event, the
Accessible World has invited Denny Huff of Gateway for the Blind, L.L.C. to
take a close look at Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2003.
Contact: Denny Huff, Gateway For The Blind LLC.
Email: Denny@GatewayForTheBlind.Com
Phone Number: 636-262-1383 or 888-362-1382
Web: http://WWW.GatewayForTheBlind.Com
Most agree that every person should have the opportunity to fully access the world around them and have the freedom to build lasting friendships and a happy and productive life regardless of physical disabiliy. Making it happen for the deaf-blind has been a long and frustrating journey. However, those attending this week's Tek Talk online event will learn from highly qualified presenter and trainer Greg Stilson, Humanware Product and Support Specialist, how his company has used its technological expertise to design a product that significantly opens their lines of communication.
During this week's Tek Talk event, Jim Gashel, Vice President of Business Development
for knfb Reading Technology, Inc. and Michael Hingson, Director of National Sales
for the National Federation of the Blind will demonstrate their superior Mobile Reader
product line for the blind and learning disabled - featuring the first cell phone
that reads and translates.
The knfb Reader Mobile is a major advancement in print access for the blind. The
software, delivered on a multifunction cell phone, allows the user to snap pictures
the Tek Talk Planning Team with co-hosts Joann Becker and Rick Harmon will be conducting a Computer Forum where you can present your questions dealing with all aspects of using the computer.
Presenters:
Greg Stilson, HumanWare Product and Support Specialist
Phone; 800-722-3393
Greg.stilson@humanware.com
Dave Wilkinson, HumanWare US Western Region Blindness Product Specialist
Phone; 800-7-22-3393, ext. 241
Dave.wilkinson@humanware.com
Greg Stillson and Dave Wilkinson travel throughout the United States providing product
trainings and presentations and getting customer feedback for product functionality
and improvement. Greg and Dave work closely with the Technical Support staff and
are involved in product research. Both have been BrailleNote users since its inception.
Innovative Rehabilitation Technology Inc. (IRTI) is presenting two new low cost reading
systems enabling non computer users to scan and read books and documents and create
portable DAISY books for personal use.
Presented by Peter Proscia, IRTI President and CEO
Learn about the newest innovations to the Stream Companion program version 3.0 soon to be released by HumanWare. Yes, this handy little Windows program that thousands of Stream users enjoy already will soon be even better with new features and a completely new interface.
HumanWare has just announced Stream 3.0 at the CSUN conference in Los Angeles and Gerry will tell us more about it. Version 3.0 includes many new features requested by happy Stream users. Learn how your Stream has been enhanced with optional multi-level bookshelf navigation, text file search, bookmark alerts, music playlist innovations, usability improvements, and more. The Victor Reader Stream now enjoyed by tens of thousands worldwide is better than ever.
Pete has been working at Adobe as a Quality Engineer for almost 5 years dealing with
Accessibility of PDF documents and the use of
Adobe Acrobat and Reader. In this tech talk, he’ll explain exactly what PDF means, then will take you through the process of downloading and installing
Adobe Reader, the free software Adobe provides for reading PDF documents.
When you start Adobe Reader for the first time after installation, Adobe Reader will discover if you have a screen reader like JAWS or
An Overview of an Accessible Leopard by Jim Denham
The latest version of the Macintosh operating system, OS X 10.5, includes some incredible
accessibility features.
For users who are blind, the built-in VoiceOver screen review software offers a whole
new way to use the Mac.
This powerful tool offers features such as refreshable Braille support, an extensive
help system and reliable access to many popular Macintosh applications.
For the past several years, all Macintosh computers have shipped with an Intel based
processor.
Did you know that 10% of the population have a learning disability? Come and find
out more information about this "hidden" disability.
A focused presentation on learning disabilities around understanding the benefits
of the ClassMate Reader that has been created by HumanWare. The presenter will be
Brenda McBride, Product Manager for the ClassMate Reader. We will also take a look
at on line resources and valuable information about accessing content.
Topics discussed will include:
* What is a learning disability?
* A few simulation activities
Rick Harmon will be showing us the as yet to be released Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft that currently is in Beta and expected to be released by the company next month as a release candidate for general public testing.
A tour of Windows 7 will show how similar to Vista it is yet how different. Rick will discuss the reasons why one might want to try this exciting new operating system out even though it's not officially released yet. He shows how Windows 7 is almost 100 percent compatible already with Jaws and other screen readers on the market.
Accessible World's Tek Talk Training for Monday June first, 2009 is all about Twitter. With the ever-growing popularity of social networking, Accessible World is delighted to have Rich Cavallaro a student from Hofstra University, as our guest on Tek Talk. He will guide us through the many features of this ever-growing social networking site. Rich will discuss how to set up an account, how to follow people, how to send the different types of messages, ways to tweet and more.
Accessible World's Tek Talk is pleased to present Louis Herrera and the Eye-PAL, and Eye-PAL SOLO. The EYE-PAL is a stand-alone, computer driven scanner. It is a one-pound portable USB device. The foldable stand, designed specifically for the blind, holds a digital camera over the printed material to be scanned. The camera is always at the exact distance needed to create a clear image. There is no need to adjust the camera. Louis will describe how Eye-Pal's patented motion detector can scan 20 pages per minute.
Accessible World Tek Talk is very pleased to present Judy Dixon, Consumer Relations Officer, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically handicapped.
Judy Dixon will demonstrate and discuss the new NLS Digital Talking Book player that will be arriving in libraries later this summer.
Judy will also speak to us about accessing and using Web Braille as well as the NLS Downloadable services. If time permits, she will discuss any future programs contemplated by NLS.
Contact information for Judith M. Dixon: Consumer Relations officer,
On Monday, June 29, Larry Lewis, President, Flying Blind LLC, will take the Tek Talk audience on a virtual tour of Mobile Geo, the world's first accessible GPS solution developed for Windows Mobile, and Windows Smartphone devices. This software, developed by Code Factory, can be installed on a number of off-the-shelf Windows Mobile devices. Mobile Geo gives the user the ability to: *Determine a specific location; *explore surroundings; *create and save specific routes from a point of origin to a desired location.
In September 2008, Apple released a talking iPod Nano. This was followed up in March by the release of a talking iPod Shuffle. You may wonder how accessible these players really are, or you may have one and wonder how to get the most out of it. Anna Dresner's new book, Using the Accessible iPod (available from National Braille Press at www.nbp.org ), answers these questions and helps both new and experienced users get the most out of these exciting players.
During the July 13, 2009 installment of the Accessible World Tek Talk Room, Bernard Maldonado, Founder of Solona.net, the Free Captcha Solution Service for visually impaired people, talks about all aspects of Captcha. While this tool limits spam registrations, and spam blog posts, it also affects the way visually impaired people surf the internet. Some sites offer usable audio captchas; most sites do not. In any case, people with both visual and hearing difficulties are affected even more.
Do you long to enter the world of accessible cell phones, or to change to a different phone or provider, but find yourself mystified by the ever-changing array of choices and the scant available information? Whether you're an uncertain beginner or a current user of an accessible phone who wonders how you might improve your situation, the Tek Talk panel on July 27 will make your next move clearer by giving you up-to-date informationabout the various accessible phone options and sharing a wealth of experience concerning different phones.
Mobile Phone enthusiast, Mark Taylor, will take the stage to discuss the
hottest new comer to the accessible wireless device arena, Apple's iPhone
3GS.
With over 20 years in the information systems field, including serving as
the Manager of New Technology at the University of California, Los Angeles,
and as a professional technology BLOGGER, Mark will compare and contrast the
basic features of iPhone 3GS with conventional mobile phones solutions and,
in so doing, will describe what kind of learning curve new iPhone 3GS owners
Special event
Bay Area Digital LLC is an adaptive technology company working in
the fields of health care and superior quality technology for the
blind and visually impaired. We create our own products as well
as carry superior products from other companies such as the Royal
National Institute of Blind People. The company publishes a
quarterly newsletter, Pulses, which is available free to anybody
requesting it. Bay Area Digital is majority-owned by the blind
and visually impaired. We invite you to visit us on the web at
Wicab, Inc. in Middleton, WI is developing a new technology that has the potential to provide assistive benefits to blind individuals by enabling greater independence. As an assistive tool, the BrainPort vision device may enhance important functions as mobility, orientation, reading, object recognition, employment, and recreation. The BrainPort system presents information to the brain via electrical stimulation of the tongue, augmenting normal sensory channels. The device consists of an electrode array for the tongue, a video camera, and a control system.
In today's world access to information on the go is key and highly related to the ability to communicate via portable mobile solution. The constant evolution of mass-market electronics has been providing more portability than ever before and smartphones are quickly becoming the predominant way that business professionals, individual consumers and students stay in touch with their friends, family and information while on the go. Unfortunately this mobile technology creates accessibility challenges for people who are blind and visually impaired.
For this Tek Talk, Steve Landau will be discussing recent work by Touch Graphics,
Inc. to develop a variety of innovative products, such as:
a talking digital "pen" that announces place names as you touch its tip to the surface
of specially printed tactile graphic sheets;
talking, touchable models that describe themselves as they are touched by visitors
to museums or users of
public information kiosks;
wiiCane, a new interactive training system for teaching correct use of the two-point
touch method for cane use to young children,
Accessible World Tek Talk presents the latest GPS Sendero 6.0 upgrade, September
21, 2009
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News Wire listservice@accessibleworld.org
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News Wire:
Mr. Charles M.LaPierre, the CTO For The Sendero Group will presents the latest upgrade
for the excellent GPS Software program.
Announcing Sendero GPS 6.0 for BrailleNote Products
Raising independent travel to a whole new level
Version 6.0 is Sendero's eleventh version since our laptop GPS in 2000. It has been
14 years since we began working on the first prototypes. There are 25 improvements
Windows 7 is available to the public on October 22nd. Tune into a presentation from
Kelly Ford from Microsoft to learn about what’s new in Windows 7 that may interest
computer users who are blind and find out all about Windows 7 and what it has to
offer for you.
About Kelly Ford
Kelly Ford is a test Manager with the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft and has
been with the company for just under nine years. Ford has worked in the accessibility
industry for more than 20 years with stops at Microsoft, Mt. Hood Community College
Victor Reader Stream Bookshelf and Bookmarking
Join us for an interactive session on the Victor Reader Stream with Gerry Chevalier,
Product Manager from HumanWare. Gerry will begin with an overview of two of the Stream's
most powerful features: its bookshelf and its bookmarking capability. You are then
welcome to ask questions to Gerry about those features or any aspect of using the
Stream. Unlike previous Tek Talk sessions where Gerry focused on new software features
this session is for you, the Stream user. You are encouraged to share your experiences
As web pages have become more complicated, screen reader manufacturers have added more and more features to help users navigate them. Some of these features are fantastic and make complicated pages easy to navigate. The problem, though, is that it's hard for users to keep up with the new features and to understand how to use them effectively.
Eric Damery Vice President of Software Management unveils Jaws 11.
On Monday, October 19th , Eric Damery will take the Tek Talk audience on a tour of Jaws 11. For the first time, this exciting software release will be distributed on a DVD providing the user with additional helpful materials, as well as a free DAISY player; FS Reader. You won't want to miss Eric's demonstration of the new robust features included in the release of Jaws 11 as well as his discussion of several important enhancements. Here are a few examples of these powerful new features.
Tek Talk is very honored to present Mr. Stephen Baum, Vice President of Engineering of Kurzweil Educational Systems.
Mr. Baum will be talking about the latest release of Kurzweil 1000, version 12, which is scheduled to ship on October 22 nd.
He will assume that everyone knows about Kurzweil 1000, and launch into a discussion of the new features. These include:
Updated OCR Engines.
Full Text Translation.
Access to Recorded Pronunciations for each Word found in the Dictionary.
Enhanced Functionality for Low Vision Users.
PDF Improvements.
A New User Wizard.
A Separate OCR Utility.
Accessible World is pleased to welcome you to the first part of our two part-series of Stocking Stuffers for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza.
We shall be presenting several vendors who will be discussing gift ideas for the holidays.
We shall start our 2009 Stocking Stuffers program with a presentation by Diane Croft, Vice President of Publishing, National Braille Press. She will commence her presentation at 8:00 PM EST to be concluded at 9:00 PM. We shall allow time for questions from our worldwide audience.
Contact information:
Email: orders@nbp.org
Web Site: www.nbp.org.
Accessible World cordially invites you to our second part of Stocking Stuffers on November 9. This is an opportunity for you to shop for all of the holidays you celebrate.
In part II, we feature Bob Crane, the President of Ccrane who will talk to us about his innovative products for sale. His contact information is as follows:
Phone 1-800-522-8863
Web Site: www.ccrane.com
Michael McCarty, Social Network Coordinator, American Printing House for the Blind will then speak to us about their many products for the holidays and year round for that matter.
On Monday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard time, Larry Lewis, President, Flying Blind LLC www.flying-blind.com will be demonstrating netECHO, an accessible, phone-based web application that enables individuals who are vision impaired to perform a number of tasks using the world wide web.
Monday December 14th, 2009
,Tek Talk presents Larry Lewis, President Flying Blind LLC and Darryl Sherwood, founder
of Povidi NZ LTD who will demonstrate the SoundPost Orientation System. SoundPost
picks up where other GPS and Mobility aids leave off by providing a fundamental level
of orientation to a variety of objects throughout one's environment. Consisting of
a base station and a hand controller, SoundPost enables users to independently and
efficiently navigate to doorways, staircases escalators, etc, traveling across complex
Larry Skutchan introduces the latest generation Digital Talking Book player and Recorder, Book Port Plus from American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
He explains that the combination of advanced hardware and innovative firmware combine to make this portable device an essential tool to nearly any student, professional, or even the casual DTB reader.
The presentation demonstrates playback and navigation of titles from NLS, RFBD, and bookshare.org and highlights the features that distinguish this device from the rest of the portable players including the following:
We are very pleased to welcome back Dean Martineau who will discuss the navigation of the web site of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Many of our friends have found the navigation and download of material from this web site to be quite confusing. Please come by with your comments and questions.
Presenter: Dean Martineau
E-Mail: dean@topdotenterprises.com
We are very pleased to welcome back Dean Martineau who will discuss the navigation
of the web site of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Many of our friends have
found the navigation and download of material from this web site to be quite confusing.
Presenter: Dean Martineau
E-Mail: dean@topdotenterprises.com
Accessible World Tek Talk is most pleased to welcome Mr. Daniel Kevorkian, a Computer
Consultant representing Make it Work. This is a computer consulting company operating
throughout Southern California. Their wonderful consultants visit our homes and fix
our computer problems.
Mr. Kevorkian will speak to us on surfing the web by using passwords to get into
some sites. He will also answer our general computer questions.
Presenter: Daniel Kevorkian:
E-Mail: daniel.kevorkian@gmail.com
Tek Talk offers an early look at Blio, the new touchstone in accessible e-book reading for everyone, Monday, April 5, 2010. This will provide an opportunity to learn more about the exploding world of e-books and the especially exciting e-book reader called Blio just being released by K-NFB Reading Technology.
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 bar code scanner and a database of millions of products. When a bar code on an item is scanned, BCScan will check a database for the product and tell you what it is. You can add products to your personal inventory, add notes or contribute additional information. It's great for the visually impaired person who needs to identify a canned good or for anyone who wants to better organize their life.
It's hard to avoid terms like tweet, post, and poke, these days. If you know these
words have new meanings, but you're not sure what those meanings are, or you'd like
to learn more about social networking websites, Anna Dresner will try to help. She
recently wrote a book for National Braille Press called Social Networking & You,
which is an introduction to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Anna will talk about
the book, and in the process will discuss the differences between these three sites
and when you might use each. She'll also discuss privacy issues, the three different
First part of the program will be a practical use of the program. This segment will
cover the following: where to obtain Express Burn, and how to use the program. I
will tell about different key strokes to do such things as name a disc, choose what
kind of disc one wishes to burn, and how to navigate folders when choosing what content
to burn to disc. Another feature of the program that will be covered is the difference
in burning audio and data CDs. I will be available to answer any questions people
might have.
Presenter: Joshua Hendrickson
Email: louvins@gmail.com
Steven Hoffmann, president and co-founder of Talking Communities Web Conferencing
Services, will be a guest on Tek Talk on Tuesday, May 3, 2010. Hoffmann will be discussing
the accessibility side of web-conferencing, collaboration, and community tools. “Accessibility
has generally always been an after-thought for software development companies”, suggests
Hoffmann. Most companies do not start out with the intention of making their products
equally accessible to blind, low-vision, and hearing impaired users, but often need
Prodigy Diabetes Care synopsis
The mission of Prodigy Diabetes Care is to bring the very best and most high tech products to market for blind and low-vision diabetics, giving them complete accessibility and total independence.
Tek Talk’s presentation will include two products by www.franklin.com. Yukline Gatewood,
Educational Sales Coordinator will demonstrate the Franklin Bill Reader. This new
product identifies all US currency in circulation. It is approximately the size
of a cell phone; batteries and lanyard are included. If any of the currency has changed,
Updates will be available on the website for download
The second product is the Speaking Language Master Special Edition. This device reads
words and definitions from the Merriam Webster dictionary. It also contains a full
On May 24 2010, Dusty Voorhees,Senior Product Manager for Freedom Scientific will
speak to our Tech Talk Audience about two new products being released by this innovative
technology company.
Dusty will present and demonstrate the OpenBook 9 features along with their new product,
the PEARL camera.
OpenBook™ 9 and PEARL™ Portable Reading Solution – Now you can have lightning fast
OCR with all the features of OpenBook in a portable solution that folds up and fits
in your backpack. Connect via a USB port and quickly scan documents and books. Have
Accessible World Tek Talk presents Rick Harmon discussing Podcasting June 7, 2010
We are please to welcome Rob Hancik who will demonstrate and discuss Express Rip.
This software allows one to rip cds in only five minutes.
We will have other surprises for you as well.
Presenter: Rob Hancik
E-Mail: rhancik@verizon.net
Join us on Tech Talk Monday June 21 for an update on the Victor Reader Stream portable DAISY MP3 player from HumanWare. On May 25, HumanWare announced 3 new offerings for its Stream customers. Firstly, there is a new free upgrade of the Stream software version 3.2. Secondly, a free upgrade of the Stream Companion software is now available. Thirdly, HumanWare has announced an optional suite of software features called the Stream SoftPak which may be purchased online for $49.
Two months ago, Apple introduced its third in a series of innovative mobile touch
screen devices. In terms of price and features, the "iPad" is positioned between
the iPhone and Macintosh making it an attractive alternative to traditional portable
computers. The iPad ships with Apple's built-in "VoiceOver" screen reader. This means
that the device is fully accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
In a recent episode of their "Tech Doctor" podcast, Jenny Axler and Robert Carter
examine the iPad and iPhone from the perspective of screen reader users. On Monday,
Dear Friends,
Our first meeting in July will be a two hour Tek Talk presentation in which you,
the consumer, will have the opportunity to discuss your favorite non-blindness product.
Do you ever find yourself wishing you could tell the world about something you now
use and can't imagine living without?
If you do, , you will have ten minutes in which to tell us Why you love it and why
we will too. How do you use it? Where can we buy it and how much does it cost? Is
there a special feature you particularly like? Please allow some time for questions
during your ten minute presentation.
Would you like to write documents by speaking to your computer, rather than typing, or are you somebody who needs to perform all your computer operations with little or no use of your hands? While still challenging, these feats are becoming ever more possible with the steady improvement of speech recognition technology.
Over the past couple of years, Apple has released a variety of devices that are both
portable and accessible. This is great, but it can be confusing as well. Anna Dresner
will try to dispel any confusion you may have regarding the major differences and
basic functions of these devices. She'll work
through the iPod Shuffle and Nano, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, describing their
sizes, prices, and basic functions. This should help you decide which device to buy
or make the most of any of these devices that you already have.
Presenter: Woody Anna Dresner
Email: wadresner@att.net
Have you ever gone to your cupboard or pantry to choose food for a marvelous dinner
only to be surprised once again by what you chose? Do you ever wish you could
know what is inside a package before opening it? Are you ready for a product that
will make these and many other tasks easier?
Digital Miracles, LLC, now has a product that does all the above and more. The Digit-Eyes
Audio Labeling System, available at the Apple Apps After downloading, the I Phone
application will recognize the important items in your life. At $29.99,it is easily
affordable and can be used anywhere.
To his many fans, he is known as the Jazz Man, so you know Steve Bauer is qualified
to demonstrate and discuss the new accessible HD radio produced by Dice Electronics.
Until now, HD radios have been a disappointment, leaving purchasers with a severe
case of buyer's remorse instead of the improved accessibility they hoped for. On
August 16, Steve will demonstrate an HD radio that is truly accessible for the blind.
If your experience with HD radio has left you disenchanted, or if you love radio
and have always been curious about it and would like to learn more, he will renew
Bay Area Digital is pleased to announce that we will be featured Monday, August 23
on Tek Talk, your premier source for hearing and speaking about technology at Accessible
World. The presentation will be at 5:00 P.M. Pacific Daylight time and will last
approximately one hour.
On this program, Bay Area Digital will be discussing two new and very exciting products.
First, we will present the Bay Area Digital Internet Radio and its accompanying service.
Have you ever wished for an Internet radio that you could operate independently?
What does it take to start your own Internet radio station? How does one go about
putting it on the Net, and then how do you build and maintain an audience? If you've
never broadcast before, should you take the plunge and start your own station, or
should you go with an established operation?
Ride Radio owners Rick and Deb Lewis will address these questions and more as part
of their August 30th Tek Talk presentation, "Owning And Operating An Internet Radio
Station."
Whether you're a casual listener who just wonders how it all works, a prospective