Blind Bargains: Deals & News for the Blind & Visually Impaired

As part of its Customer Appreciation Sale, ShopPBS.org takes 20% off sitewide with no minimum required via coupon code "PBS325" by using the link on this post. Shipping starts at $4.95. Choose from selections such as American Experience, Empire Series, FRONTLINE, Great Performances, Masterpiece Theatre, etc. Coupon expires March 15.

The American Printing House for the Blind has released the Book Port Plus, the successor to the Book Port digital audio book player. The player currently costs $299, although we have heard the price will go up in September. Orders must be called into 800-223-1839. The catalog number for the Book Port Plus is 1-07191-00. Orders outside the United States may be placed by calling 1-502-895-2405. Update: We have received official word that the $299 price is effective until further notice.

MeritLine.com has these portable folding scissors for $1.49. With free shipping, we weren't able to find a better deal on this item. The scissors are made out of stainless steel.

Texas State Surplus has listed several adaptive technology items on EBay. These include a Braille Lite 2000 with an opening bid of $119, two BrailleNote units, and three alva braille displays of various sizes. All auctions end March 18.

An EBay seller has listed a Viewplus Tiger Advantage braille embosser with an opening bid of $499. Or Buy It Now for $599. The embosser and power chord are included, and it powers on to a ready state. Auctino ends March 11 if not sold sooner.

MeritLine.com has a 1800mAh external battery pack for the IPhone and IPod touch for $9.99. With free shipping, we weren't able to find a better deal on this item.

Humanware is now selling an accessory which will allow users to play and rip CD's on the Victor Stream. The new accessory connects via the unit's USB report and costs $125 for existing users. New customers can buy the stream with the drive for $449 plus shipping. According to the company, plugging in other external drives is not an option, as the stream may get destroyed in the process. By contrast, the Plextalk Pocket rips CD's with no limitation on the type of player, while the Booksense supports playing CD media, but not ripping.

An EBay seller has a DecTalk Express External Speech Synthesizer with an opening bid of $50. Add about $20 for shipping. This was the dominant high-end speech snythesizer for many years and is still compatible with modern screen readers. A serial to USB converter is required for many modern computers. Auction ends March 12.

The AirZooka ain't got nothing on this. A.B. Johnson via Amazon.com has the MegaZooka for $24.95 plus about $5 for shipping. It shoots air farther and has two shooting modes, including a semi-automatic capability. Let the battle begin.

A meeting has been scheduled for current and perspective users of the KNFB Reader mobile to discuss tips and tricks as well as to answer questions about the software. Representatives from the company and some of its distributors will be on hand, and the meeting can be accessed via phone or online. Check the link on this post for details.

Freedom Scientific has made another major cut on the price of one of their braille displays. This time, they've sliced the price of the Focus 40 Blue to $2,795, a $1,700 savings. It now ranks as the cheapest 40-cell bluetooth display and near the price of the cheapest 40-cell display period. FS did a similar drastic price cut with the Pac Mate displays a few years back.

We wish we knew more, but we are stuck with a one-line teaser about more device support for the Sendero GPS software package. Sendero will debut their software for two new platforms at CSUN in Sandiego, according to this company post on the GPS-Talkusers mailing list. We're not sure if this message refers to an upgraded platform like the Braillenote Apex or something entirely new like support for Symbian phones or the iPhone. Nevertheless, we'll report more as we learn about it.

The National Library Service (NLS) digital talking book player, the free alternative to such players as Humanware’s Victor Reader Stream and GW Micro’s Book Sense offers a free update to its firmware. Libraries and patrons can upgrade players to the latest software in the following manner: 1. Obtain the latest software from the NLS web site. 2. Extract (unzip) this file onto a cartridge or USB drive so that the directory “upgrade” appears in the “root” directory of the drive. 3. Turn on the player. 4. Insert the cartridge or USB drive containing the software. 5. The player will announce “Upgrading your player’s software.” 6. Wait until the upgrade is complete and the player restarts (about 10 seconds), then remove the cartridge. 7. The upgrade will only occur if the player’s version is older than the version of the software on the cartridge; reinserting the cartridge will not repeat the upgrade. To access the latest player firmware, version 2.1.3 (November 25, 2009) click the link on this post. Don't forget to check the site for future updates.

Amazon.com offers 100 MP3 albums for $5 each. Normally, 50 albums are offered. These are delivered as a digital MP3 download. This month’s selection includes Paramore, Coldplay, Lil Wayne, and many more.

Auntie Arwen's Spice Blends sells a wide variety of spices, rubs, seasonings, and many more items to make your food taste better. They also offer teas, coffees, chocolate, and other miscellaneous items. The site will ask if you want braille labels on your order during checkout, although we wish they advertised this service more throughout their site.

Another Captcha solving solution exists for Firefox users. Webvisum.com offers visually impaired users the chance to solve captchas without sighted assistance. According to the website, some of the features are • Community driven tagging and page enhancements. • Automated and instant CAPTCHA image solving, sign up to web sites and make forum posts and blog comments without asking for help! • Built in helper functions for easier page navigation and less confusion. • Numerous under the hood page tweaks designed to help screen reader users. • Visually Impaired users benefit from features such as high contrast page viewing, link and focus highlighting, and more. The service is available in English, German, Russian, Italian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Dutch, Croatian, Romanian, Portuguese, Turkish and Spanish. To use the service, you have to have an invitation, which can be gained in two ways: Request an invitation on the website by providing your name, email address, and a comment so you can prove that a human is making the request. The other way to gain an invite is to ask your friends who use the service already to email an invite code to you. Next, create an account, which requires the invitation code to be entered. Then install the add on in Firefox. The service is relatively easy to use. Note that there is a limit to how many captchas can be solved a day because spammers have discovered the service.

Walmart has the DreamGear i.Sound 2X Power Portable Speaker System, in black, for $7.77 + 97 cent shipping. Opt for free shipping with the site to store option. These speakers feature a foldable design just right for easy travel. It is Compatible with all iPod models, PSP’s, laptops, mp3 players or any other device with a standard 3.5 mm headphone output jack. It has a custom Ipod docking station but also supports newer models like the Ipod touch, which doesn’t fit in the docking station but still works great. Custom adapters are included for the Ipod video and Nano. The speakers are powered with 4 AAA batteries, which aren’t included, or the supplied AC adapter.

For the proud pooch owner and the guide dog user, Dogpoopbags.com offers an alternative to the pooper scooper and trying to avoid stepping in the mess left on the sidewalk. This website provides the opportunity to purchase black EZ tie and rolled dog waste bags. Bag count starts at 100 but quantities vary depending on how many bags are needed. All US orders are shipped via UPS or USPS the same day or at the latest, the next day they are received. The amount of shipping depends on the order. Ordering seems simple enough and the company seems to respond promptly to email. Note that these bags are bio-friendly.

With all of the technology blogs which just reprint press releases without comment, it's refreshing to see a new voice adding their opinion. Corry Ballard has launched Access4 Us, a new blog focusing on assistive technology and product reviews. In his "A Week With" feature he plans to spend an entire week trying out a piece of assistive technology and then writing a review on his findings. Ballard is an adaptive technology specialist for the Badger Association, a Wisconsin nonprofit. We wish him success with his new project.

Here's a few remaining notes from this year's ATIA coverage which weren't covered elsewhere. First, according to Freedom Scientific's Jonathan Mosen, development is continuing on the Pac Mate Omni, despite rumors to the contrary. A new major update is forecast for the coming months, though little detail was given on functionality. Serotek launched a Hotspot version of their Accessible Event service. Where we see use in this is in a presentation which includes Powerpoints or other media. Users with a computer could log on to the appliance, essentially a souped up router, and follow along on the Powerpoint right along with the presenter. It's potentially groundbreaking for businesses. Duxbury will have a major update to their popular braille translator this summer. Included are support for newer Microsoft Office documents including Excel as well as new options for printing tables. I love the idea of being able to print a table in its original form, even if it would stretch across multiple braille pages. KNFB Reading Technology had a prototype for a portable stand for the KNFB Reader. No decision has been made on future plans for this stand though the company is actively soliciting feedback.

Dolphin has released a free major update to their Hal screen reader and Supernova screen reading and magnification products. Among the new features in this release is the inclusion of quick navigational keys, enhanced spell checker support, and improved hotkey announcements in Microsoft Word. Support for other Office applications is also enhanced. Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit are also officially supported in this release. It's a free update for all 11.X users.

Humanware has released version 3.1 for their Victor Stream audio book player. This new version adds support for nested folders within the DAISY bookshelf, support for the spanish electronic braile format, and it is now possible to copy DAISY books from USB flash media to the stream. Note that the promised support for books in the EPUB format is not in this release. Version 3.1 is a free update for existing Victor Stream customers.

An EBay seller has listed a Topaz Connectivity Pack for $145. With about $11 for shipping, Or, make an offer. it's less than half the cost of a new one. This accessory allows you to connect a Freedom Scientific Topaz Magnifier to your computer. Listing ends March 18 if not sold sooner.

According to the session directory in the CSUN 2010 program, the Plextalk Pocket will soon take advantage of its built-in wireless capabilities, making it the first player in its class and price range to do so. According to the session summary, "The PLEXTALK Pocket offers wireless Internet access to download digital books, magazines newspapers, and pod-casts." Hiromitsu Fujimori will present the session at the CSUN conference this march in San Diego. We'll post more information as it becomes available.

APH is presenting two workshops in San Diego in the days leading up to the CSUN conference. Among these is a half-day presentation on how to use and operate the new Book Port Plus. Available on both Monday and Tuesday, the seminars will be held at the nearby Braille Institute offices in San Diego. As for the release of the player, the announcement states, "Please bring your Braille+ and/or Book Port Plus with you if you have one." This indicates to us the unit will be available before this time.

Code Factory has announced the official release of Mobile Geo 2.0, the upgrade to their GPS product for Windows Mobile phones. This version includes faster route calculation, better distance calculations, improved entering of addresses, and searches by ZIP code among other features. The latest maps found in other Sendero GPS products from 2009 are also included. Learn more from the press release from Code Factory.

This certainly isn't the first article we've seen detailing ways to make some extra money, but this list is a nice compendium of some of the things you could do to bring in some extra dough. And most of these are very feasible options as a blind person. Check out the article for the 24 ideas. Via Coupon SHerpa

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ThinkGeek.com has the Airzooka Air Gun for $9.99. Plus, shipping adds about $5. What makes this gun cool is that you'll never run out of amunition, unless there's a shortage of air where you live. It's the perfect way to liven up your office or home.

Amazon.com has the ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook featuring Up to 14 Hours of Battery Life for $366.16. Plus, shipping is free. This recently-released netbook features the next generation Intel Atom N450 processor, which consumes less power and runs at 1.66GHz. It also includes a 250GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, 802.11N wireless connectivity, and Windows 7 Starter. A one year warranty is included, but we recommend an extended warranty from SquareTrade, available near the bottom of the page. They're a highly-rated and well-respected warranty company. In addition, they now offer warranties with accidental damage protection for a bit more.

We've seen a few websites offer a way to search recipes by ingredient, but none as simple and intuitive as SuperCook. Start by typing in just the name of one ingredient, perhaps something you're trying to use up before it goes bad. Then, you will be presented with a list of other ingredients that you can add. For instance, I search for spinach and then it asked me if I had eggs, milk, cheese, and other staples. As I selected the link for each ingredient, the site updated the list of possible recipes I could make. It will show both recipes that can be made with the ingredients on hand, but also recipes that require only one or two other ingredients. You can click on an existing ingredient to limit your search to recipes which must include that item. It uses multiple recipe sites as sources, so there are plenty of options to choose from. The site is largely accessible, though some refreshing of your screen reader's browser buffer may be required after adding new ingredients.

Code Factory has released version 4.01 of their Mobile Speak aplication for symbian phones. This maintenance update adds support for the Nokia x6 and 6700 slide, support for the web browser on touch-screen devices, and more. This is a free upgrade to existing users of Mobile Speak 4.

Olympus has recently announced the forthcoming availability of two new devices in its DM line of portable recorders. The DM-2 and DM-4 include many of the same features as the popular DM-420 and DM-520 models, with the DM-4 including several accessibility improvements. The latter model will include text-to-speech capabilities for reading filenames, dates, and keywords as well as .txt files. In addition, voice recognition for performing common tasks and support for DAISY books is included in this model. Both models will include Olympus's familiar voice-guided menus and support for MicroSD memory cards. The DM-2 includes 4GB of built-in memory while the DM-4 includes 8GB. Unfortunately, the battery life is advertised as much less than the prior models, rated at 20 hours of use compared with 51 on the DM-520. Street prices for the two models are listed as $249 and $299 respectively, though they will certainly be available for less through online retailers. The estimated release date is June 2010, and we'll post deals on these models as the release nears.

Oratio, Humanware's screen reading solution for Blackberry smartphones, has garnered a lot of press, both positive and negative. In this extended audio interview, we talk to Michel Pepin, Product Manager for Humanware about the current and future features of Oratio, its future compatibility with other devices, and some of the recent statements which have been made about the software.

I have become increasingly frustrated with the lack of reception on my FM radio. If you ask just about any radio enthusiast, they will tell you a tuner that comes as a part of an amplifier generally does not pick up as many stations. With this in mind, I picked up the Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner for $79.99, shipped free from Amazon.com. The reviews lauded the unit's selectivity and reception, and I must say I'm generally pleased so far. Read on to see my initial thoughts. Read more

Walmart.com has a 10-pack of Dingo Munchy Stix for $1.76. Shipping adds 97 cents. According to the description, "Dingo Munchy Stix have the great meat in the middle flavor dogs love, but in an easy to chew munchy treat." We're not sure if humans would also enjoy these chicken-flavored treats, and are not about to find out.

On the surface, being a featured app in the iTunes music store may seem like nothing. But we're quite proud of Serotek for their iBlink Radio application, which has now achieved this mark. Not only is it one app out of thousands, but it makes a strong statement for the capabilities of blind and visually impaired broadcasters and also promotes the importance of accessibility to a wider audience. Congratulations, Serotek.

APH is Walking in a Winter Wonderland as they offer their Winter Wonderland sale. All items are on sale through March 31 or while supplies last. Amongst the liquidation of a pile of Handi-Cassette Players and accessories are some steals including the Kelvin Programmable Talking Thermostat for $60. Discounts on the Verbal View of Windows series of tutorials are also available as well as savings on a selection of braille books. Check the link for the complete list.

No trip to Orlando would be complete without a visit to our best friend, perched just outside of tower 2. Listen in as we say goodbye to ATIA and our good buddy Sierra.

It's time for our audio recap of the festivities at ATIA 2010. Listen in as J.J. Meddaugh and Matt McCubbin discuss the high and low points of the conference and some of the new products on display.

The Book Port Plus was certainly the talk of ATIA, marking the return long-awaited return to the digital book player marketed by the American Printing House for the Blind. Larry Skutchan, Technology Product Leader for APH, gives us a hands-on demonstration of some of the features which will be present in this forthcoming product.

We have made several mentions to the newly-crowded OCR field seen at this year's ATIA conference. Sal Terranova, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Guerilla Technologies, explains how their OCR product which uses a netbook and a digital camera differs from the rest in this audio interview.

eSight Corporation was showing off some rather unique optical gear at ATIA. We speak with Rob Hilkes, President, about evSpex, a new custom solution which can solve a variety of vision problems through technology. J.J. also was wearing a pair of evSpex during the interview, though they don't do much for totally blind people.

There's been a lot of talk about Freedom Scientific's signed braille driver initiative but what do other companies think of the move? Sigi Kipke, CEO and Owner of HandyTech, is one who has chosen to speak out and gives his comments, along with some background on HandyTech's new iRead OCR product and the OpenBraille initiative in this audio interview.

The next major release to ZoomText is slated for the summer of 2010. Derek Bove, Sales Specialist for AI Squared, talks about the latest with the product and why he feels specialized screen magnification software is still relevant in this audio interview.

Freedom Scientific introduced a new version to its long-running OpenBook OCR product at ATIA in Orlando. Dusty Voorhees, Senior Product Manager, talks to us about OpenBook version 9, MAGic 12, and the latest from the company in this audio interview.

GW Micro recently announced support for SAMNet content on the Booksense media player. Jeremy Curry, Director of Training for GW Micro, talks about this and the company's latest products, his thoughts on the latest screen reading trends, and what's on the horizon in this audio interview.

Mobile technology dominated several of the booths at this year's ATIA conference. In this audio interview, Greg Gladman, Chief Technical Officer for Code Factory, talks to us about the recently-released Mobile Speak 4 and the future of Code Factory screen readers.

Depending on the software you wish to use, the access to Adobe products varies widely. One accessibility advocate within the company is Andrew Kirkpatrick, Senior Product Manager for Accessibility. We speak with him about Adobe's accessibility initiatives and future access for Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe Air, and other products in this audio interview.

Braille readers may have been introduced to GH, LLC, because of their involvement in producing the braille program guides at this year's conference. In this audio interview, we speak with Shashank Patel, Director of Sales and Marketing for GH, LLC, about their new DAISY software for the Macintosh platform and the company's other initiatives.