Articles, Tips, and Tutorials

The first Blind Bargains podcast was more than nine years ago, back when Window-Eyes 9 was released and Be my Eyes was a brand new app. Technology as come a long way since then, and now we are able to take a look back using AI tools.

OneNote is one of the best ways to organize and connect different types of content, from notes to audio files and webpages. It also sinks between iOS, windows, and android, meaning that you will have access to your content on any device.

This is the write-up of a talk I did on Clubhouse several weeks back, demonstrating and going over some use cases. For those who have never used it, OneNote is probably the closest app to Scrivener on iOS that we have available on windows.

I've reviewed your options for managing screen time with iOS, but until recently, did not believe there was an accessible way to do this on windows.

Windows does have solutions to measure screen time built in. However, these are mostly geared towards family screen time management. Options for an individual user to manage their onscreen time are sorely lacking natively. There is no option to set specific apps as active, choose how long you spent in each app, or temporarily blocked distracting apps and web sites.

Recommended by Zapier on this list of The 7 best apps to help you focus and block distractions, The suite of apps by cold Turkey software attempts to change this. Fortunately, unlike other apps of its kind, these are also accessible.

Cold Turkey offers three different apps that tackle the problem in slightly different ways. First, cold Turkey blocker lets you designate apps and web sites as off - limits either for a particular interval of time, until the computer is restarted, or until a password is entered. Cold Turkey Micromanager takes the opposite approach, instead allowing you to choose the apps you want to be able to access at any given time and blocking everything else. Finally, Cold Turkey Writer is a minimalist text editor which forces you to focus on the active document.

Read on for a walkthrough of using all three apps, features, pricing, and of course, accessibility.

Recently, I decided to experiment with twitter on the web after some lingering frustrations with existing Windows clients. Is it a practical solution? Well... Maybe. Some significant issues exist on the web as well, but Twitter's Webb client has plenty of reasons to recommend it.

Prior to iOS 14, users had the ability to allow or disallow location access on an app-by-app basis. Now, users can also choose to give an app their general location only.

Do you have trouble finding apps that you've previously downloaded? Do you get tired of scrolling through your many pages of apps? A new feature in iOS 14 aims to help you solve this problem. Read on to find out about the app library.

In our previous BBQ in Review articles we covered news, Interviews and a whole lot of tips to make up for lost time. Yet no true BBQ traditional show would be complete without a Last Word . Or has it happened to be for this post several Last Word entries. It s all here. Cats, food and YouTube clips galore. Enjoy this journey into the oddities of the world wide web that you have come to expect from us at the end of an episode.

The tip portion of the show can sometimes be the most difficult to record and that s because we have a hard time settling on one for each episode. And sometimes the one we have in mind won t translate well to audio. So, this post is a list of possible upcoming tips for the BBQ, or it is full of things we were not sure would sound good in the Tips block of the show. Either way, there are a ton of things to learn and try out on your various devices.

Today, the National Federation of the Blind announced that this year's national convention, originally held in Houston, will now be held in a virtual format. The American Council of the Blind made a similar decision last week. But what exactly will this mean?

As a follow-up to my review of screen time, I will be looking at another little known feature of voiceover: remapping your gestures.

I am one of those rare creatures who lives on my phone. Let me clarify. This is a common criticism leveled at people my age or younger. It can be an especially pointed complaint from parents. But I think for blind people, this can be even more pronounced. It certainly is in my case.

I a writer, from developer Information Architects GmbH, is a minimalistic markdown writer and editor.

This article is something I ve spoken about with J.J. a few times before we boarded our respective jets westward for the yearly pilgrimage to CSUN. But it wasn't until the beginning of this year, when that 10 Year Challenge thing blew up on social media, did I feel I had a good framing reference for this story.

A monumental moment of pop culture will arrive in theaters on April 26th. 11 years in the making, and spanning more than 20 movies, Marvel will cross a milestone as it wraps up the 4th phase in their lucrative cinematic universe. And the best part is that almost all of it is audio described. We say almost because 2008 s The Incredible Hulk does not offer an audio description track at the time of this writing. However, the rest of the comic tales are described, and we have your guide to catch up on all of them in their official Marvel chronological timeline.

This article is something I’ve spoken about with J.J. a few times before we boarded our respective jets westward for the yearly pilgrimage to CSUN. But it wasn’t until the beginning of this year, when that 10 Year Challenge thing blew up on social media, did I felt I had a good framing reference for this story. First, a little background for those who don’t know my Assistive Tech history. This year marks my 20th in the industry and 9th for podcasting. Before the audio adventures began, I worked for the Division for Blind Services, back when we called it the Texas Commission for the Blind, in two roles. I started as an Employment Assistance Specialist helping Texans maintain, and obtain, employment through various means. In late 2004 I moved to Austin to join the ATU, or Assistive Technology Unit, which held one of the largest collections of A.T. stuff outside the international Braille Technology Center in Baltimore. And, as you'll read from the list below, it was amazing!

A technical evaluation was needed to gain the ability to purchase higher end, or expensive, technology at TCB. That meant, 10 years ago, you needed to come see us in Austin or head off to the San Antonio or Houston lighthouses for this service. Basically, you were empowered to come in and be a kid in the candy store for a day. We showed you multiple products in various categories of A.T. and then worked with you to find out which one would be the best tech for the job or classes you were taking in college. We then wrote up a report and sent it back to the field for purchase considerations. For almost 6 years my job was to talk to people and show them Assistive Technology. I needed to work with various companies that made said technology, assist in finding new A.T. and then test it all until my head hit the keyboard from exhaustion. Each day I walked into a room with more than $250,000 of modern tech and toys. And did I mention it was amazing? I did? Well, yeah it was and now I pinch myself because in my foggy memory it seems now like a dream.

With this all said, and with CSUN returning to a near L.A. location, I thought it would be fun to look back at some Assistive Technology from 10 years ago. I unearthed one of my old reports that contained almost all the equipment we were showing publicly in ATU in the early portions of 2009. Then, I ran a simple Google search using the name of the device, the maker of the device and then both with the type of device it was classified under. So, for example, I would do a search for "Topaz 19 inch LCD" unit. Followed by another search for "Topaz 19 inch LCD" and add "Freedom Scientific: to the search criteria. Lastly, I’d search for :Topaz 19 inch LCD Freedom Scientific" and add "Video Magnifier". Or, on older models, I’d change that to CCTV as that was the old school term for them before security systems asserted themselves. I then read only the first page of the results from each search and copied the most interesting links down for this article.

In some cases, I had to ignore newer products that are sold under the same brand name because that kind of defeated the intent of the challenge, and the purpose of this article, which means some of the products listed below have a :Revised"prefix before the product named. Also, and this should not have shocked me, but it really did, I did my level best to ignore the number of links for these older than dirt A.T. products being sold on eBay, Amazon or internationally for near or at 2009 list prices. After picking up my jaw which was bruised from hitting the floor several times in disbelief, I compiled the list of products and links below for this article.

What’s cool is, if you allow it of course, someone else will get an entirely unique list when using various search engines and personalized results. Sure, many companies do a lot to obfuscate results for the best marketing bang for the buck. Yet these older ghost products still come up because of their oddly spelled names, looking at you mPower, on general searches. Industry contractions and mergers can pose a problem as well. Products going by their old names at new places will give you more of a 2010s search. Not to mention it will remind you how there are fewer players on the field now than there were in 2009. And bless the teams at Able Data and AFB for keeping the torch lit on ancient internet pages in 2019.

If you decide to take on the 10 Year A.T. Challenge yourself, be sure to send us the odd or the most informative links you find in the comments section below, on Twitter Or send along an email to feedback@blindbargains.com

Desktop Video Magnifiers

My Reader by Humanware(http://support.humanware.com/en-usa/support/other_products/myreader2)
Presto by Ash Technologies
Super Zip by Low Vision International
Vertex Pro with 17 inch attached monitor
MSE C-14-SL by Magnisight
Aladdin Elite with 14 inch CRT Monitor by Telesensory Inc.
Affinity Supreme with 17-inch Monitor
Revised, Clearview+ 17TFT by Optelec
In Sight Pro 17 by In Sight
MSE-ACF17 by Magnisight
Apex with 17 inch LCD Monitor by Telesensory Inc.
Xtend Module 1 with 19 inch attached monitor by Humanware
Journey 17 inch LCD by Magnisight
Revised, Merlin Panel with 19 inch LCD by Enhanced Vision
Revised, Topaz with 19 inch LCD by Freedom Scientific
Clearview+ 19TFT by Optelec
Journey 19 inch LCD by Magnisight
[Clearview+ 22 TFT by Optelec]
(http://www.afb.org/ProdBrowseTaskResults.aspx?TaskID=262&SpecID=26)
Revised, 19. Topaz with 21 inch LCD by Freedom Scientific
Revised, Merlin with 22-inch LCD by Enhanced Vision
VTI 1820 with 20 inch monitor by Vision Technology Int.
MSE AC-20-SCLW by Magnisight
Flex Mate by Clarity
Revised, Acrobat with 20 inch Television Monitor by Enhanced Vision

PC Access Video Magnifiers

Smartview Xtend Module 3 with Keypad and attached 22 inch monitor
Revised, Merlin Plus Panel with 22 inch attached monitor by Enhanced Vision
Revised, Clearview + PC by Optelec

4. VT900 Series by Vision Technology Int.
   Aladdin Genie Pro by Telesensory
   Magnilink X Reader PC access by low Vision International
   Clarity PC Mate by Clarity
   Zoom EX by ABiSee
   iDex by FOCI
   Revised, Magnilink S Student Addition OCR by Low Vision International
   ZoomTwix by ABiSee

Hand held and portable Video Magnifiers

Sense View by HIMS Inc.
Nemo by Enhanced Vision
Smartview Pocket by Humanware
Smartview Nano by Humanware
Compact Plus by Optelec
The Looky by Rehan Electronics
QuickLook Focus by Ash Technologies
Sense View Duo by HIMS Inc.
Amigo by Enhanced Vision
Fusion by Ash Technologies
Revised, Traveller+ by Optelec
12. Strix by FOCI
Olympia by Telesensory
Slider by Assist Vision
Liberty Solo by Ash Technologies
Flipper Panel with 12 inch display by Enhanced Vision
Jordy Spectacle Mount by Enhanced Vision

Screen Magnification programs

MAGic v11.5 by Freedom Scientific
ZoomText v9.14 by Ai Squared
SuperNova v9.03
Lunar Plus v9.03 by Dolphin Computer Access
ZoomWare (formerly BigShot) by Ai Squared

Screen Readers

JAWS v10.0 by Freedom Scientific
Window-Eyes v7.1 by GW Micro
HAL v9.03 by Dolphin Computer Access

OCR/Scanners

OpenBook v8.0 by Freedom Scientific
Kurzweil 1000 v11
Eye Pal by ABiSee
KNFB Mobile Reader portable N82 version
Extreme Reader XR1 by Guerilla Technologies Inc.
ScannaR by Humanware
ZoomTwix by ABiSee

Notetakers

VoiceNote mPower QT Keysoft V7.3 by Humanware
VoiceNote mPower BT Keysoft v7.3 by Humanware
PAC Mate Omni BX400 v 6.1 by Freedom Scientific
PAC Mate Omni QX400 v 6.1 by Freedom Scientific
PAC Mate Omni BX4-20/40 v 6.1 by Freedom Scientific
PAC Mate Omni QX4-20/40 v 6.1 by Freedom Scientific
BrailleNote mPower QT Keysoft 7.3
BrailleNote mPower BT Keysoft Version 7.3 by Humanware
BrailleSense Plus by HIMS
VoiceSenseby HIMS

Braille Displays

Satellite 544 by Optelec
Easy Braille by Seeka/Handytech
Revised, Brailliant 24, 32, 40, 64, 80 by Humanware
Revised, Focus 20, 40 by Freedom Scientific
Braille Connect by Humanware
Braille Voyager by Optelec
Braille Connect 40 by Humanware
Trio by Papenmeier

Braille Embossers

Juliet Pro by enabling Technologies
Index Basic D by Index
Romeo 25 by enabling Technologies
Tiger by View Plus
Romeo Attaché by enabling Technologies

Braille Translation software

Duxbury for Windows version 10.7

Special request item

Apple Computer/Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger/10.5 Leopard

It has been almost two weeks since the BBQ Crew sat down to discuss the big reveals from Apple's September hardware event
And in that short amount of time we ve been given a bunch of updates to Macs, iPhones, Apple TVs, watches and that speaker that needs a coaster under it, so it doesn t harm your wooden table. Then for good measure, not the iOS 12 feature I promise, Apple let loose a duo of .1 updates for tvOS
And Watch OS

The latest update to the PC audio RPG, now six months on since its initial release
, rolled out to players with fixes for a few quests and a new enemy to encounter. Below are the release notes from Out Of Sight Games' Joseph Bein.

Welcome back to the next installment of writing with iOS. Joining the articles on Mindnode, Story Planner, and Scrivener, today we'll be looking at voice dream writer for iOS.

You've planned your story, you know who all the characters are, what they're going to do, and how that works out for them. Or maybe you've never been down for all this pre-planning stuff, and just want to get right to the business of actually writing your story. Either way, it's time to explore the best accessible apps for writing, beginning with Scrivener for iOS.

It is no secret that the BBQ Crew has been a bit scattered since the holidays. Some news has fallen behind the sofa, or been swept under a few floor rugs, so this large pile is our way of acknowledging some stories that have occurred while we've been occupied elsewhere.

Big shout out to Dean at Top Tech Tidbits and Access World for keeping the news torches burning. They are great resources for a little light reading when we aren't actively posting.

Apple has been slowly adding popular features found on Android phones for a few years now. yet the two biggest items on the Apple wish list would probably have to be that of wireless and rapid charging. With the release of the iPhone 8, 8+ and the X, apple fans finally saw their wishes become reality. Do these new power options really help you get through a day's worth of use more easily? The short answer is yes . Read on to learn more about my first month of using the official Apple USB C rapid charger and the Belkin Boost Up wireless pad.

Many VoiceOver and other audio game players on iOS have most likely heard of and have played the Blindfold series of games from Kid Friendly Software While these games have been accessible for speech users, they have not been useable by those who want or need to be able to play them with a braille display. Late last year, I posted a blog on AppleVis calling attention to this fact and pointing out that submited feedback prior to that point had not been taken into account. A discussion ensued, and in early January, I was happy to post that full braille display support was available with Blindfold Wildcard. This card game is very similar to the traditional Uno card game.

Last week, Kid Friendly Software released full braille display support for another game, Blindfold Travel Cards, a version of the popular game better known as One Thousand Miles. As someone who used to be able to play audio games, who later had that ability taken away due to a series of major hearing losses, it is great to now be able to play these games. It is my hope that Kid Friendly Software will continue to work to offer braille support on many of their titles which are text based.

Matt Sharp, a long time gamer and Youtube personality, runs a channel called Games for Everybody/audio described gaming, wherein he plays numerous mainstream games from various genres. While this is nothing new on YouTube, Matt's channel offers a unique twist. While playing, he describes the games for a visually impaired audience as he plays, reading the text of games aloud and describing the physical environment of the game.

In my last writing article, I introduced MindNode, an accessible mind mapping app for iOS. Mind maps are a very flexible tool, allowing a lot of creative freedom in designing and organizing your outline or plans. Today's app, story planner for iOS by SCVisuais, continues the theme of planning, but offers a great deal more structure and prompting for writers who like their layout.

Over the years I've joked with J.J. about him owning Google's first attempt at a music device with his Google i/o schwag bag Nexus Q collector's item. The unit was round like a Google Home Mini,dedicated to streaming playback and a mixture of touch controls that can be assisted by a smartphone for added functionality. Yes, the Nexus Q could be seen as the distant relative that doesn't get invited to family gatherings anymore during the holidays in Mountain View. Google's third entry in the Home series of smart speakers is positioned more as a Sonos killer than an Amazon rival.

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of articles exploring various iOS writing apps. I hope to cover planning apps, writing apps, generic iOS apps, and explore ways these tools can best be used in concert with one another. Today we will be looking at MindNode 5, an accessible app for creating mind maps.

If you are a frequent Uber user or enjoy getting money back for shopping, the Ibotta app may be worth a look, and now you can get a $10 bonus for trying it out.

The following is a guest opinion post from Alex Hall. We thank him for sending in the below article.

Earlier this week, I saw a
couple
of
tweets
from Joe regarding Apple, usability, iPhone X, etc. Rather than engage over Twitter, I thought I'd write an article in response. Twitter may have recently doubled its character limit, but it is still quite a limited forum for long-form thoughts and discussions.

First, here is the text of both tweets. I've put it into a single paragraph for convenience.

I’m tired of Apple, and their loyalist brethren, telling me I’m a Luddite for not excepting change. Touch Bar, headphone jack home button. And all the changes have been added to pad apples production cost. Not because the change is benefiting the user.

The gist of Joe's opinion seems to be that Apple is making devices less usable, introducing features that aren't necessary and that serve mostly to make money. Remove the headphone jack, and suddenly, those AirPods are way more appealing. Furthermore, Apple doesn't make devices as usable as they used to (the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar and the missing home button on iPhone X being two prime examples).

My basic point boils down to this. The way I see things, Apple isn't interested in making devices that are the best to use for every single customer. Rather, they make devices that are best to use for the majority, then they try to make that design accessible to the rest. A prime example is the iPhone. Physical buttons are objectively easier to use by visually impaired people than flat, featureless touch surfaces, as evidenced by every blind person who has cursed their iPhone while trying to use an automated menu while on a call. But Apple didn't include a physical keypad around which was worked a touch screen because that wasn't the vision they had for the majority of their users. Instead, they added VoiceOver, to make the touch screen as accessible as possible to those who would be less able to use an iPhone. Other accessibility efforts have emerged since, from VoiceOver improvements to low vision and touch accommodations and beyond. However, Apple didn't set out to make a phone that was optimized for the deaf, or blind, or paralyzed, they made the phone they thought the world wanted, then made that design as accessible as they could.

The Touch Bar is a more recent example, and as a user of a MacBook equipped with such a bar, I can speak from personal experience. For blind users, the bar is a poor replacement for physical keys in many situations. It has some advantages, such as sliders for fine-grained control, or offering buttons at one's fingertips instead of the user having to remember keystrokes. But there are plenty of times I miss physical keys, and that's just in macOS; running Windows on this computer is even more of a challenge. Yet, for sighted users, the concept makes a lot of sense. A strip of seldom-used keys is replaced by a touch screen, letting developers put whatever they want on there. Sliders, emoji, typing suggestions, oft-used commands, macros, the list goes on. Is it the best for blind users? No. Is it the best for a certain kind of power user? No. For touch typists who rarely even look down at their hands? No. But for the majority of users, the idea makes sense. Apple then added great VoiceOver support to the Touch Bar, made the function key with numbers emulate f-keys, and took other steps to help blind users get the most from the bar. Those efforts, combined with key remapping in VMWare (which I use to run Windows) mean that my Touch Bar is fully accessible. To Joe's point, no, it's not as efficient or usable, and I'll be the first to admit that. I think about him saying that every time I have to tap the escape key, then double tap it to activate it. What I'm getting at is that Apple never intended this MacBook to be made for my specific needs or what I would find to be most usable. They made it for the masses, then made it so I could use it if I chose to.

There's also Apple's vision to consider. I'm not saying this vision is right, or even preferable, but the fact is, it's there. Apple has the vision, and they have the talent and the hardware and the developers and the money. Apple will follow their vision, and if the market hates it enough to not buy it, they'll adjust. But much of the time, the market is on board once they get ahold of the new device/design. I'm thinking of the iPhone here. The chief designer of the iPhone line has
said that the ultimate goal for iPhone is a single slab of glass.
No holes, no buttons, no nothing, just a glass-encased device driven entirely by voice, touch, and wireless. That vision is the goal, and iPhone X is the first step toward it. Is having no home button better or worse than having one? Depends, but the sighted reviewers I've read seem to not care about its removal at all. Will blind users? Yes, of course, but I've not heard much negativity toward the idea even from that group. Admittedly, though, the intersection of blind people I know/read, and the population that has the new iPhone, is very small, so time will tell on that point. Still, Apple did its best to make the new design accessible, with tactile feedback as the user's finger moves indicating where to start, and when to stop, moving. Is the new model the best for every user? No, but that's never been Apple's way. They do what they think is best, and then make it as usable as is practical.

This may also involve a shift in usage patterns. I've had my own iPad now for only a day or so, but I find myself rarely pressing the home button. Instead, I bring up the dock, and find the app I want there. Between apps I've placed there, and suggested apps, I almost never have to go to the home screen. A two-finger swipe from the bottom edge feels completely natural to me, after very little use; I don't doubt that many iPhone X users will experience something similar. They may not miss the home button because the way they interact with the device has changed. Even if they use the home command a lot, it could be a quick adaptation that seems quite normal after relatively little adjustment.

Joe's other point was that much of the design changes are to make money. First off, I agree. Since Apple is still a publicly traded company, it has to make money. The job of any CEO is, ultimately, to turn a profit with his or her business. Apple has always been expensive, and iPhone X is no different. But it's also no different from other Apple firsts. The company seems to do this quite often: make a new product category, or a radical redesign of an existing one, and charge more than expected. Then, as that new thing evolves and matures, the price will stabilize. MacBooks weren't always $999, and Minis weren't always $499. When prices do remain the same, the specs generally get better. See iOS device storage changes, or the bump in MacBook base model storage, or the increasing power of Apple Watch, for more instances of better value for the same cost.

Yes, iPhone X is super expensive. But that's normal for a new product like this. Apple has never gone bezel-less, never used Face ID sensors, never not had a home button, and never, to my knowledge, used a new alloy of stainless steel in any iPhone. Besides, they didn't drop all other options; they still offer the SE, 6s, 7, and the all-new 8, which was unveiled right next to the X. Eventually, I don't doubt the X form factor will be the only one around, but that's very likely years away. For now, everyone has options, and with the 8, users aren't even giving up performance or storage if they want the classic iPhone style.

As someone who does occasional device training, I know exactly where Joe is coming from when he talks about the difficulty of training someone on a gesture-centric device like iPhone X. Believe me, I had to suffer through the iOS 11 mail rotor bugs with someone who'd only just started to grasp using mail, and I've had to talk people through enough broken websites or random screen reader failures to know that pain all too well. If someone won't do well with no "get me outta here" button, though, they can pick up an older iPhone, or an 8. There are still options, and those who don't want to pay the early adopter/beta tester tax don't have to.

To sum up, I think Joe's points are that Apple is making changes just to make them, and that making new interfaces usable doesn't mean they're efficient to use. I'd say that they have to keep changing things, or they don't make as much money, and making money is why any for-profit exists. Besides, remember all the people saying how boring the old phone design was, when it didn't change in three years? As to usability, being a Touch Bar user, I absolutely agree. But what I've come to think is that Apple makes products for the majority, and in line with what they see as the future. Then, they make those as usable as they can. Sometimes, that's an ultra-efficient experience, like the actions rotor or braille screen input. Sometimes, it's less than great, like the Touch Bar. But just as visually impaired people don't always get the best experience, neither do sighted people. Is everyone happy with the notch in iPhone X, or the fact that MacBook Airs still lack retina displays? Not at all. Taking the good with the bad is part of owning any product, though, whether one is sighted or blind.

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind or start an argument. I just wanted to offer my own thoughts on this, providing some possible rationality for what I took to be somewhat undeserved criticism of Apple. I'm not saying, and will never say, that Apple is perfect or that everyone should use their products. I've tried to talk people into going with Apple, but just as often, I've told them Windows, or Android, or Roku would be their best choice. I've never suggested someone buy an Airport router, and I don't go out and buy the latest shinies just because they exist. I want to sometimes, but I don't. I'm also happy to criticize Apple when they deserve it, such as their not including USB-C adapters with the 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro, or the release of past iOS versions with important accessibility bugs not yet fixed. I'm not a fanboy (at least I hope I'm not) despite how my Twitter feed may slant. But I wanted to respond to these tweets, so there we go. I know plenty of people will probably disagree, and that's great. These are important discussions to have, especially as we're in the early days of what is likely to be a new iPhone paradigm. Just remember that Apple is a business, and not one whose aim is to produce accessibility-specific technology.

Earlier this week, I presented a brand new workshop on conversational assistants at the library where I work. Our discussion-based tech events are a chance for blind New Yorkers to explore what's new in accessible technology, And I was pretty excited to share how Google, Apple and Amazon have designed simple, conversational interfaces that work well for blind and sighted people alike.

When Microsoft announced its plans for 2017, one of those plans was to implement support for braille displays through Narrator. With the release of the Creator's update, Microsoft has begun delivering on this promise. According to the December 2016 blog entry, "The (Windows Creators update) beta will support braille displays from more than 35 manufacturers, using more than 40 languages and multiple braille variants, including grade 2 contracted braille."." How well has that come to pass with the public release? Read on to find out my experiences from installing and running various devices on the new Windows 10 update.

VAUX is the first battery-powered speaker designed specifically to house the Amazon Echo Dot. Its cordless portability, enhanced audio quality and beautiful modern aesthetic lets you enjoy VAUX anywhere in your home environment. Plug, Play. Enjoy.

Some of today's braille displays do a lot more than just display braille, but which one is right for your needs? In this in-depth article, I compare the VarioUltra (VU) from Baum and the Braille Edge from HIMS. I chose These 2 units because they both have 40 cells of braille and are what the market seems to now call "smart displays", a term given to devices which do not perform all of the functions of a traditional notetaker such as playing music, GPS navigation, downloading email directly to the device, or browsing the internet. At the same time, these devices are able to accomplish more than just connecting to an external gadget such as a computer, tablet, or smart phone. While these braille devices are in the middle in terms of functionality, they're also in the middle in terms of their price point when compared with other categories of braille devices. This article will examine both the Braille Edge and VarioUltra for their connectivity, support while connecting with some external devices, their internal applications, and physical appearance.

The holidays are usually a fun and happy time. You sing carols around the Festivus pole or holiday tree. You countdown the hours until midnight during New year's Eve with that shiny new Apple Watch. And you reflect back on the year that was with a sense of reverence. Um, yeah, that is how it is meant to be unless you factor in the party pooper of all years 2016. Not even the company Steve Jobs built was immune to the harshest of years as you will see in the stories below. Moreover, and I cannot underscore this enough, I had to quit capturing links for this edition because it was frankly making me depressed. Dogpiling, kicking you when you are down or even opportunistic doesn t begin to summarize the wide array of sadness that comes from Apple watching these days. Here s hoping that 2017 brings us an Amazon Echo competitor, foldable iPhones plus self driving iCars!

BEFORE YOU READ THIS!!!!!

The Blind Bargains Qast can t thank enough our friends, fans and cast of Regulars. Chancey, Jeff, J.J., Joe, Liam, Patrick, Scott, Shelly and Ricky all work hard to bring you information and entertainment that we think our Community will enjoy. Our Sponsors deserve a huge round of applause as well, as their support allows us to bring you event coverage. However, and most importantly, you, the listener, matter most of all. Submissions, emails and social media mentions have enabled us to grow our download numbers by 30% over 2015 s download numbers. We can t wait to see where we will go in 2017, however, we can t go anywhere without your feedback. Please feel free to send us your ideas and suggestions to feedback@blindbargains.com or leave comments in the section below. Or, as you will read shortly, click on those shows and interviews that interest you the most. Your input shapes BBQ even if all you do is pass along a link to our content.

A cooking column? This may be one of the last things you'd expect me to embark on but here we are. First of all, let me be completely honest. I am not a chef, nor do I know a lot of the intricacies of gourmet cooking. I do know that I like good food and meals which are simple to create. With these things in mind, I was enamored with the idea of the Instant Pot pressure cookers for their ease of use and the possibility of making all sorts of delicious dishes using only one pot. To learn more about the basics of the Instant Pot, check out Blind Bargains Qast 78 where Ricky Enger and myself discuss and demo the appliance in depth. And if you wish to purchase one, check out this page on Amazon which usually has the best prices.

This is the last of our normal format shows for the year. That means the "Year In A.T. 2016" is right around the corner. But before we push out Old Man Winter, for Baby New Year, we will begin to think about our soon to be left by the wayside New year's Resolutions. BBQ Regulars Ricky Enger and Lisa Salinger are on board to talk about fitness devices and their access. There is also a tip, "Last Word" and an A T Guys discount code for those who have waited to the last possible minute to nab their holiday gifts. Make yourself a warm cup of Cocoa and nestle up by the roaring fire for this episode of the Blind Bargains Qast.

Spoiler warning, as we thought, this episode is full of event talk. Jeff Bishop, who just so happened to be on the actual Microsoft Campus during the big event in NYC, gives his impressions on many of our technology topics. We also managed to fit in some news and a "Last Word" too. So grab your dongles, sit back and relax while we discuss Apple and Microsoft.

It seems like we are going to have yet another first mover advantage debate in our community. Yep, Windows versus Mac is new again. Android versus iOS was over before the war even started. Now we can add Amazon Echo versus Google Home into the fray as many out there have started to form factions on which Digital Assistant they would like to use for asking everything from How far is the Taco Bell on 3rd street? to ordering an Uber to take you to get a crunchy taco on 3rd street.

September 19th seems so long ago.
Back in those halcyon days of a month and a half ago, when I knew another Apple event was on the horizon, I mused that I would have little to post other than the iPod turning 15 years old. Maybe a few articles on the new mac OS would be in order. And, if it made the street date, I'd have some things to post about iOS 10.1. Sure, there would be the 4th quarter earnings report to ponder. And I'd end the article with something funny in regards to the headphone jack.

then 2016 happened with its ability to upend everything you know and expect in a rational universe.

This week we have part 1 of an extended interviewwith musician Ginny Owens, news and an important update in "Sound Off". Due to the recording schedule, we won't be discussing Microsoft or Apple's recent events. Rest assured, in episode 80, we'll dive right into that for sure. Darn the tech gods and their not adhering to our calendar of events!

Perhaps you are sitting patiently with a tracking number in hand waiting for the delivery of a shiny new product that has winged its way from China, designed by Cupertino of course, and will be the greatest thing you have ever owned ... until the next Apple keynote, in which you will start the buying process all over again like so many salmon swimming upstream. It is the "Circle of iLife" in perpetual motion. Or, you might be clicking in to see what links I've compiled for launch day based upon my previous posts under this banner. in either case, welcome to a few stories from around the net that deal with the subject of Apple.

We've featured the GoVision in our CSUN coverage, however, Joe hasn't gotten up close and personal with the unit for our BBQ fans until now. Paul shows Joe how the versatile arm of the device can allow a user to get up close and personal with their text no matter how close or far away it might be from the camera. Hear how GoVision differs from eBot and why you should consider this transportable unit if you find that you need a more deskbound Video magnifier solution. Need to know more? Head on over to the product page at the HIMS website.

2016 summer convention coverage is generously sponsored by HIMS, Inc., makers of the Blaze ET, BrailleSense U2, and the GoVision. Go make it happen with GoVision, the new transportable video magnifier with optical character recognition and the ability to enlarge and customize files, photos or videos from your cell phone, tablet or computer. For more information, visit http://www.hims-inc.com
HIMS: Lifestyle innovation!

One of the mentions in Monday's Apple WWDC keynote was the addition of Sling TV, a subscription service that brings over 20 popular channels to your device for $20 per month. With this news came the announcement of a promotion that new subscribers can receive a 32GB Apple TV for $89 when three months of service is paid for in advance ($60). This is a $209 value as the device itself sells for $149. You're basically receiving a free three month trial with a purchase of an Apple TV.

Sling TV offers over 20 channels in its base package that includes ESPN, HGTV, TBS, TNT, and more. You can add up to an additional 65 channels such as HBO, Cinemax and more. If you ve been looking to cut the cord, this is a great way to get started. Use the provided link to take advantage of this offer. Note some users report having accessibility issues with this app as it currently stands.

Recently, I had the opportunity to test three of the latest voting machines equipped with accessibility features. The Michigan Bureau of Elections held a Mock Election which allowed testers and poll workers to experience each of the machines and tabulate votes for both disabled and non-disabled voters. From my testing of the three machines, it was apparent that the usability of each system ranged from pleasant to downright frustrating. Below are some initial impressions of each machine, presented in the order they were tested.

Before we begin, we would like to thank our sponsor HIMS for their wonderful support of BBQ. To learn more about the lifestyle Innovations, from low vision to Braille, visit the HIMS Inc. website.

This week Ricky and Joe provide a review of the I.D. mate Galaxy, the newest model in the popular I.D. mate Bar code Scanner line, from En-Vision America. We also have a Twitter tip, "Sound Off" and the opposite of "Inbox 0" in the "Last Word". So get ready to separate your tuna from your cat's can of tuna with BBQ 60!

Among the announcements at Apple's latest event, was the introduction of the iPhone SE. IT has most of the same features as the current flagship 6s and 6S Plus models, but was much smaller. After learning of this announcement, I became intrigued. As an iPhone 6S user since September of last year, one of the few complaints I had about the 6S was its size. While I could get used to the larger phone, and kind of did, it always felt a bit too big for my liking. While an increase in battery life with the 6S Plus models were something I wanted to have, and having more real estate to work with Braille Screen Input is a nice feature, I could buy a battery case for less than the cost of the difference in price. TO add to that, Braille Screen Input isn't something I make very heavy use of. These were the things I considered when weighing the 6S against the 6S Plus.

Anyone who has ever listened to Joe on a podcast knows that he is an avid gamer. In this conversation with Ian Hamilton and Adriane Kuzminski, who is a sound designer, Joe really geeks out. This audio is for the serious gamer, or anyone who wants to become aware of what is available in the world of gaming for blind people today, and what developments are on the horizon.

Find our conference coverage and weekly podcast on our audio page, and discover how to access our content from your mobile devices by visiting our apps page.

Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2016 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Joe sits down with Brian and Louise Hartgen to talk about upcoming updates to Leasey, the set of productivity tools for Jaws 14 and up that have been developed by Hartgen Consultancy. In addition to productivity, Leasey now sports some very engaging games. Louise talks about her plans for the future of Leasey game development.

There is a lot more that Hartgen Consultancy has to offer, so be sure and listen to this very informative interview.

Find our conference coverage and weekly podcast on our audio page, and discover how to access our content from your mobile devices by visiting our apps page.

Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2016 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Before we begin the show this week, our thoughts and prayers go out to Rick Reed and his family. Sadly, Rick passed away this week and he will be greatly missed by many in our community. We were lucky enough to have Rick on two of our programs. He was featured as a panelist in last year's NFB AT Trainers Division Meeting as well as BB Qast 25.

A hardware review? yep, J.J. has the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and he found an interesting way to test one of its features. Patrick takes us on a tour of the Disney app that sports audio described content. And there is a tip, "Sound Off" and the infamous "Last Word all on episode 56.

It's once again time for what has become a bit of an annual tradition around here. Every March when we talk endlessly about CSUN, the largest assistive technology conference for the blind, we hear from people who would love to go, if only it was within their budget. With room rates over $200 a night, a nearly $500 registration fee, plane tickets, meals, and other expenses, the cost often seems prohibitive. With this in mind, we've updated our list of tips for enjoying the conference on a budget.

The Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter connects to any PC powered speaker, home stereo system, or AV receiver with a RCA or 3.5mm jack and essentially turns the system into a Bluetooth speaker setup that is capable of receiving audio streamed from any device that features the Bluetooth chip. The adapter comes with integrated long range wireless , meaning that audio can be streamed from approximately 50-feet away from the device, a perfect range for the average house.

The Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter also ships with the ability to pair multiple devices at once, meaning simultaneous pairing of a smartphone and a tablet is possible. That pairing is also made extremely simple with an easy pairing feature, and automatic re-pairing when the device is switched on. Given how useful this little device is, and given the fact that there s no requirement to tinker with wires and altering existing audio setups for wireless compatibility, it s pretty much a no-brainer purchase for anyone looking to make a set of speakers wireless.

So if you have an old stereo system that you just don t use much because of the need to connect your audio source to it using a wire, this $27 investment will give your system a whole new lease on life.

Have you ever wanted to record a phone call? If you've ever thought that recording a call on an iPhone is something that could be of benefit to you, then you might want to check out this new iPhone case.

Available for $29 as part of an Indiegogo campaign that s hoping to raise $30,000 in order to get started, the Just In Case call recording iPhone case is actually a self-contained device that doesn t connect to your iPhone at all, and that s what makes it so useful.

While obviously providing somewhere to keep your iPhone, the Just In Case iPhone case has a well-placed microphone that is capable of capturing both your voice and that of the other caller and then saving the call as an MP3 to the included 2GB SD card. Buyers can, of course, put their own, larger card in there, but given the fact this is audio, we expect 2GB to be plenty for most.

The case not only records audio but also timestamps it for later retrieval, and the JIC only has two buttons, making it super easy to use. One button is the start/stop recording button, while the other is to initiate playback through a speaker on the back of the case. There s a rechargeable battery included that is said to be good for 8 hours of use. That $29 is early-bird pricing, so if you think this is something that you may want, now would be a good time to get your order in before the price goes up. JIC is available in red, black, blue, white, yellow, and green. It's designed for iPhone 5 and above, and will start shipping in May 2016.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp.
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. The 4th biggest story of the year may not impact you just yet, however, its footprint could be felt for years.

We're about halfway through the Blind Bargains annual look at the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories
Let's go to panelist Chancey Fleet for our number 5 story.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. Our 6th story of the year may prove to be more relevant than some might initially think when the word "Android" is mentioned.

As the time has come to begin transitioning to Unified English Braille (UEB) in the US, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly discuss how to change various adaptive technologies to UEB from US English braille. Many pieces of assistive technology already support the UEB code, it s simply a matter of enabling them. Below is a list of the more common devices and how to make these changes. note that stand alone braille displays such as the Focus, Smart Beetle, Brailliant BI, etc, do not have specific settings for UEB, as these devices only receive input/output from the device they are connected to. Also note that these instructions apply to the latest version of the hardware/software listed, your results may vary on older models or versions of software. It is also assumed you know how to navigate and select various options for the hardware/software listed. A comprehensive guide to each device is beyond the scope of an article. Please consult user documentation for further support as needed.

We're almost halfway through the Blind Bargains annual look at the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories
You can go here for our previous stories Number 7 involves an unexpected screen reader surprise.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Joe Steinkamp.
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. You can go here for our previous storiesWe continue on with our 8th big story of 2015.

We've started counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories For number 9, NVDA gets a new voice and much more.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp.
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. Let's start out with number 10.

So you updated all the iDevices to iOS 9.02, the Macs all have OS 10.11 downloading, and you just unsubscribed from Apple Music. With all that done, and no new Apple TV to buy just yet,
what is an Apple fanboy or fangirl to do? I mean we are still like six months away from a second version of the Apple timepiece and only a short 11 months before we know all about the iPhone 7 through all the rumor sites. Dark days my friends are now upon us... dark days indeed. I guess we'll just have to pass the time with a metric ton of information, tip articles and those odd Apple related stories we find in the Apple Rundown.

I recently upgraded to the iPad Air 2, and with upgrades comes the need for yet another case. There are some cool case designs on the market, but I really wasn't interested in spending $50 to $100 on a case for a device that I'd likely only have for the next year or two. I wanted an affordable case that would still offer basic protection for my tablet. Turns out, the $11.99 iPad Air 2 case from Fintie fit the bill.

Our first resource post on Windows 10 debuted shortly after the initial launch of the new operating system one month ago.
With 75 million devices now running Windows 10, and Windows Insider builds back on the fast ring for the bleeding edge crazy testers,
Microsoft is ramping up the hype machine for the launch of Office 2016. That release might garner its own fanfare, however, we thought we would revisit Windows 10 with another list of informative links and resources. We've broken out the topics again for those who want to just drill down to the "How To" section. Enjoy!

The American Printing House for the Blind recently announced they have paused hardware development of the Braille Plus 18 notetaker. This is the second generation in the Braille Plus line of products, currently running Android version 2.3.

I've been a happy owner of the Bose SoundLink Mini, a powerful Bluetooth speaker that's small in stature. So when I learned that its successor, the SoundLink Mini II, included text-to-speech and a speakerphone, I figured it would be worth the upgrade. And for the most point, I'm not disappointed in my decision.

For The Early Adopter In All Of Us, Here's A Whole bunch Of Information On Windows 10

Microsoft launched the next version of Windows on July 29th.
And the likelihood of you not hearing about this in the media, on the web or from that family member who calls you up at the most inopportune time to ask that tech question is virtually nill. MS hopes to have rolled out the new desktop operating system to one billion, that is billion with a big letter B, devices during the initial phase of the "Upgrade Your Life" blitz. The reviews for the new OS have been mostly positive and you might be wondering if you should take a dive with all the insane people who like loading new software on Day 1. To that end, and on Blind Bargains Qast 25, we offer a plethora of links to help you make that decision on whether to stay or to jump on, or off!, the electronic bandwagon. We even broke them out into sections in case you wanted to just read about Cortana or see what some of the Assistive Technology companies have on tap.

The following was submitted by Scott Davert.
It's been 3 years since Apple has released a new iPod touch, and it's an update I've been hoping for and mostly given up on seeing. There were rumors of a new iPod to be announced last year which proved to be untrue. At which point, many thought the iPod 5 was the final model. While I understand the need for iPads, and certainly the value they bring to some users, I really didn't see the point in having a larger touch screen for myself. It's less portable and I'm totally blind, so really the only advantage would be more text on each page of the screen when reading books that used to require page turning with braille displays. However, with iOS 8, this is no longer an issue, as VoiceOver now has the option to automatically turn pages when using a braille display. Although I had an iPod 5 for quite some time to offset the use of my iPhone, it was starting to get a little sluggish with iOS 8.0, particularly with regard to braille keyboard input, requests submitted through Siri, and the carrying out of functions such as OCR using the KNFB Reader. With some dismay, I had almost accepted that I may have to use an iPad Mini, when Apple announced the new iPod 6.

Jet.com is a different kind of online shopping experience that aims to change the mindset of how people shop online while giving some great deals to its customers. As a user during the beta test period for the store, I've been able to put the site through its paces and so far, there's a lot to like.

Whether it's locating the nearest pharmacy to the workplace or exploring a route from the living room couch, blind navigation enthusiasts have a myriad of GPS solutions available at their fingertips. Sendero Group is known for their GPS solutions for the iOS mobile platform and BrailleNote products from HumanWare. Sendero PC Maps, which has been around for a few years, receives periodic updates and enhancements, making it a viable solution for those seeking accessible and fully functional virtual navigation software for the Windows desktop environment.

Justin Fagel joins Shelly to show off the new Ace Plus OCR device, now from Freedom Scientific, on the Dallas exhibit hall floor. Hear a detailed description of the device, as well as the speed at which it scans, in this product that sports both features for low vision and braille display support. The device was previously branded by ABiSee and its home is now at Freedom Scientific. Find out more about this and other devices for blind and low vision by visiting the Freedom Scientific website.

HIMS Inc., where your needs are our solutions, has generously sponsored our coverage of ACB15. Learn about the E-bot magnifier, the Blaze line of DAISY players and the Smart Beetle Braille display by visiting the HIMS website. Want more audio like this? Check out our audio page for our weekly technology podcast and more.

We recently acquired a new speaker in the office from Bem Wireless, the Bluetooth Speaker Wristband. I've always been a bit of a techie so naturally I was really excited to tare open one of these things and check it out.

According to USA TODAY, Amazon has introduced free shipping for small and light products that weigh under 8 ounces and cost less than $10. The low-cost fulfillment service means no minimum order is required and customers do not need to be members of Amazon Prime to get the free shipping. The new program is officially called Fulfillment by Amazon Small and Light. Items will take four to eight business days to arrive.

Amazon is now offering free-of-charge same day delivery to those who are subscribed to its Prime service. If you were lucky enough to already be using the same day delivery, the standard $5.99 fee that used to be applied has been dropped for those who currently subscribe to Prime.

Items on the Amazon website will be marked as being available for same day delivery. Customers need to checkout and pay for their order before 12 noon to get the item the same day; otherwise it will arrive the next working day. Qualifying orders must be more than $35 in total and delivery has to be in one of the 14 metropolitan areas that are part of the same-day delivery network.

Use the provided link and enter your zipcode to see if your city is included in the new service. Be sure to check back from time to time if your city is not part of the network, they'll be adding new cities as the program expands.

A simple sentence added to Apple's App Store Review Guidelines may have unintended consequences for deaf-blind users. The one sentence section 10.7 reads "Watch Apps whose primary function is telling time will be rejected". There's a fringe use case that Apple may not have thought of however.

Scent is one of the most powerful of our five senses. It can warn us of danger and trigger precious memories. According to the consumer market research firm NPD, 80 percent of men use some kind of scented product and 54 percent of men report using a fragrance on a daily basis. It can be overwhelming when purchasing cologne. You can't walk into a department store without being besieged by a barrage of competing scents. Below is some general information about fragrances which should help you when deciding on cologne.

A warning to you gentle reader, this post contains nothing but Apple Watch links. If you are tired, bored or just plain don't want to hear any more about the thing... you may want to skip this one. Some people are already on "burn out" at this early stage of the product's life cycle. After collecting more than 100 links on this accessory, I can honestly say, I'm a bit on overload about the subject myself. Therefore, the next edition will contain no Apple Watch news. Well, unless the devices turn peoples arms blue or allow them to become superheroes or something. Fat chance I could ignore stories like those. So, barring supernatural origin stories of the comic book variety, this post will have to do for those wanting news about Apple Watches. Oh, and listen to BBQ 14 because we talk about it in that show as well. Happy reading!

Brain hurts... too ... many Apple ... Watch ... links! Can't type sentences without ... ellipses. Can only post ... How Tos!

You could say that the world was on watch last week for news about the new updates to iOS and Mac OSX. Of course, some may be excited about the upcoming WWDC in June. However, let us just get the other news out of the way and then we'll jump into the linkapalooza about the new Apple timepiece. That way those who want to skip, avoid or ignore those stories can while leaving those who pine for their pre orders the ability to drool until the bauble arrives in their local Apple store.

Before I get to this week’s colum, I would like to answer a question and reply to a comment I have received. Louis D asked my opinion about Old Navy. I am not a huge fan of Old Navy. Old Navy’s quality isn’t up to par compared to The Gap and The Banana Republic. If you want your clothes to last for years to come, I wouldn’t shop at Old Navy. That being said, Old Navy is a great place to shop for trendier items. I had a comment regarding this column’s intended targeted audience…. I am a male and while I try to provide some general information in each column that isn’t gender specific, this column’s intended targeted audience is men. Please keep the questions and comments coming and I will try my best to answer them. Now to this week’s column.

The Intel Compute Stick, a snazzy $180 dongle that can turn anything with an HDMI port into a full-fledged Windows computer, made a bit of a splash when it touched down at CES 2015. Now, it's landing for real, preorders have started at Amazon.

The device features a Quad-core 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of solid state storage, running Windows 8.1. It will be available on May 6th, and we can't wait to mess with one to see if it can run with NVDA. Imagine having a computer connected to your TV with a screen reader and everything! If it works, it's exciting to think about all the things we'll do with it. Sighted assistance will be needed to get NVDA started, but that's the only negative thing I can find about it at the moment.

The collective internet has the general opinion that some news comes along in pairs or even threes. Today, on the 5th birthday of the iPad, we'll take a look at a few stories that either directly conflict, or conversely, complement one another.

In my last column, I showed you how to find inexpensive clothes for a good price. Now, I will discuss two basic fashion guidelines and one basic thing we all should know about our skin.

It's been a little more than a week since we last dove into the whirlpool of Apple news and events. And you would think, with pre orders for the Apple Watch still weeks away, it would have been quiet during that time. Well, um, not so much it seems.

What's in a name? Quite a lot, actually. For Superman and mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, it can define who he is and what he does depending on which persona he has adopted at any given time.
For Clint Eastwood and the classic Speghetti Westerns, the man with no name" signified that the movie's protagonist was powerful beyond a simple label or surname. Thanks to our amazing listeners, and their helpful comments on a recent survey, our little series has a moniker that not only rolls off the tongue easily, and trust us that helps in podcasting a lot, but it can mean a great many things when you hear it spoken. With that said, and thanks to Alex Hall for the suggestion, we are delighted to bring you episode 9 of the Blind Bargains Qast ... or BBQ!

I love finding a bargain. Who doesn’t? If you shop wisely, you don’t have to break the bank to feel and look marvelous!! Before I go on, let me tell you the difference between cheap and Inexpensive clothes. To me, cheap clothes are poor quality. They typically fade, shrink, pill up and don't last. However, Inexpensive clothes are good quality clothes that will last. Please don’t be fooled….. There are some designer brands that make cheap clothes. My clothes are relatively Inexpensive. I can't afford to buy cheap clothes.

Yes, I'm one of those people. Leave me a message in my voicemail box and I might check it once or twice a day. Send me an Email message however, and it's quite possible I'll read and reply to you within 5 minutes. I'm definitely not the world's most organized person, and yes, sometimes messages and requests do slip through the cracks. But over time, I've developed a few strategies for managing the pile of messages that end up in my in-box. Here are a few of these.

In this special, join James McCarthy, President of HIMS Inc. as he discusses the E-Bot portable video magnifier. The unit allows for reading, writing, and near and distance viewing, and the advanced models have OCR support. The unit has a number of options for displaying materials, including a standard monitor, an iPad, and an Android tablet demonstrated here. We thank HIMS for their generous sponsorship of our CSUN 2015 coverage. To learn more about the latest from HIMS, you can visit the HIMS website, and you can also follow HIMS on Twitter and check out their Facebook page.

Find our conference coverage and weekly podcast on our audio page, and discover how to access our content from your mobile devices by visiting our apps page. Do you like what you hear on our podcasts and conference coverage? You can help us out by taking this very short survey.

Hello, my name is Jywanza and I have been blind since the age of 15. I was born and raised in New York City but currently reside in Indianapolis, Indiana. My interests lie in reading, traveling, dining out and I especially love clothes and beauty products and learning about them. I own over 500 tops, over 200 pair of pants, over 90 pairs of shoes, 15 sport jacket/blazers, 8 suits, over 100 pair of socks and underwear and countless beauty products. When I moved from NYC in January 2006, all of my clothes weighed almost 1800 pounds, Yes, almost 1800 pounds..... That's equivalent to moving 6 new-born baby elephants. I always care about what I am wearing and how I look no matter where I am going and always look put together.

It's a post Apple event week and we're going to examine how the Kool Aid buzz wore off faster than expected in the press. So I'm warning everyone upfront that this week's links will be more negative than positive, as the stock market analogy of buying and selling on hype applies to what gets clicks for Apple news stories. Except in the rumor department that is... Pink iPhones anyone? Yeah, that might be a thing now that gold is starting to lose its luster.

Jet lag, day light saving and then an Apple event on top of all that. It's been one wild week and a half for JJ, Joe and Jeff. It is a good thing that Jamie came along to keep everyone on task this go around as the group sits down to cover some of the highlights in the world of Assistive Technology. We'd like to thank our partners at AFB, Blindy.TV and HIMS Inc. for their support in bringing you audio and stories from sunny San Diego and CSUN 2015.

Problem:
Weekly rundown needed after CSUN 2015 coverage. Lack of motivation and energy precludes this from happening.
Solution:
Take all those "how to" links and non-time-sensative resource articles, bundle them all up and add a review from Jan Brown. Poof, column achieved!

In this interview, Marc Solomon, sales engineer for Site Cues joins us for a discussion and demonstration of the product. A number of improvements have been made since the program's launch over a year ago, and we hear about a number of sites successfully utilizing the technology. Learn more by visiting the Site Cues web site, or by calling the AISquared main number at ((802) 362-3612.

Be sure to check our audio page for more exhibit hall coverage, and check out our new weekly podcast for news and features about technology and beyond. Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2015 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind. Enjoy our Podcasts? You can help us out by taking this very short survey.

Let's see... there was the official return of VLC to the iOS app store, iAssociate saw some updates and, oh I know, some small mention of an event in March for news this past week. An event I say? Yeah, nothing major I'm sure considering that we have a launch of a new product in April. I doubt anyone will be covering it really. But, and this is a mighty big but, if you are interested in hearing Tim and co go on and on about time pieces you will want to catch the stream of the event on March 9th at 10 AM PT.

It's time for what has become a bit of an annual tradition around here. Every March when we talk endlessly about CSUN, the largest assistive technology conference for the blind, we hear from people who would love to go, if only it was within their budget. With room rates over $200 a night, a nearly $500 registration fee, plane tickets, meals, and other expenses, the cost often seems prohibitive. With this in mind, we've updated our list of tips for enjoying the conference on a budget.

The Weekly Apple Rundown: Apple Pay It Forward Edition

It is a darn good thing I'm not held to a hard deadline on this series. No really, it is, as putting this week's look at Tim and Jony's exploits into focus was a continuing saga with more happening every day ... y'know, like a little franchise from a galaxy far, far away. More on how that reference fits in this week's stories later on.

This year, many consumers and companies will need to make some tough decisions when it comes to their summer convention planning. For the past several years, the two major consumer organizations, the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind have held their national conventions on separate weeks, a departure from past practices. But this year, likely through sheer coincidence, both conventions are being held the second week of July, posing a particular dilemma for technology companies and the consumers who wish to see their products.

Valentine's day is right around the corner, as in this Saturday. And if you haven't found a gift yet, you better get to it! Looking for a last minute Valentine's day gift to let your sweetheart know just how you feel about them? Satisfy your lover's sweet tooth with some yummy chocolate goodies! Here are our favorite picks of the finest Valentine's day chocolate gifts that can be ordered from Amazon and shipped straight to your door within a matter of days.

Another week and another round of wild rumor and barely sourced speculation awaits you in this week's Rundown. Let us begin with the stories that may, or may not, have anything to do with that strange camera-laden car mentioned last week.

Welcome back everyone to the news that was, and wasn't in some cases, for that little 'ol company that has most of the money on the planet. More on that in a moment.

A new ultraportable braille display was the biggest news at the Hims booth during the recent Assistive Technology Industry Association conference in Orlando. Named the Smart Beetle for its connection options, it can simultaneously connect to up to 6 devices at once, 5 Bluetooth and one USB 2.0. Beetles have 6 legs, thus the use of the nature-inspired name.

Microsoft stole most of the week's news with their announcement of Windows 10, Office 16 and those Holo Lens thingies. However, we still have some interesting reads this week regardless.

CES is over, so that must mean its time for Macworld. Alas, that event is no more but you sure couldn't tell by the amount of news we have in the run down this week.

We've made it to number 1! Thanks for following the top 10 stories of the year in assistive technology, as voted on by our panel: Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Number 1 was a pretty simple choice for us this year, and we discussed it in detail on the This year in Assistive Technology podcast which you can listen to now. So without delay, the top story of the year.

Those who have been reading our Top Ten lists over the years know that we like to get an idea of what other stories are making news in the general field of Assistive Technology. And who better to ask than a former panelist Mr. Wade Wingler of the INDATA podcast and social media feeds. Take it away Wade!

In the 80s the board game of choice was Trivial Pursuit. And all you needed to play was a dining room table, a board, a six sided die and all these little pie wedges that fit neatly into a six sectioned pie. You rolled a die and answered trivia questions from one of six genres, determined by where you landed with your dye roll. But now it’s 2015 and surely someone has found a way to put all that into your hand, right? Enter Trivia Crack.

It's the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and that means stories from all parts of tech, from currved televisions to wireless connections for your toothbrush of the future -- except from Apple of course. They don't attend CES. However, they always manage to slip into the news cycle either by luck, chance or just plain shrewd countermarketing. Here are just some of the stories that involved the company this week.

Just one more to go. we continue our written recap of the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Number 2 is actually quite a bit related to number 3.

Did you get our This year in Assistive Technology podcast? You can listen to that now and know the top 3. Meanwhile, we continue our written recap of the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Number 3 involves a colossal merger.

We're winding down our countdown of the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Next up, a very active story on social media.

We're in the middle of counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Number 5 is a familiar entry on our list, but for slightly different reasons.

We're in the middle of counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Let's turn to Joe for his take on our number 6 story, which involves a 12-year-old wiz kid.

Happy New Year. We're counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Coming in at number 7 is a potential huge break-through for accounting.

We're counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Number 8 involves one of the biggest free giveaways in recent memory.

We're counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014 on Blind Bargains. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Next up, an entry from Google at number 9 which doesn't directly involve Android.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2014. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one. SO without delay, let's get started with number 10 and a popular new braille display.

As a website who has been covering holiday deals for the past 8 years, we'd like to think we know a thing or two about Black Friday sales. As you start to plan your shopping strategy, there's a few Black Friday truths you should be aware of that could help you in your quest for the best deal. Here's five things to consider.

A few years ago, a good friend of mine, Joe Steinkamp, came to me with an idea. What if we put a few people together and record a show talking all about Android. At the time, I thought he was a bit crazy since after all, the number of blind users on an Android device was likely somewhere close to 0. Even if a few of us could successfully fill an hour talking about Google's fledgling operating system, who would actually listen? It was this willingness to think outside of the box that drove the popularity of the SeroTalk Podcast Network.

Blind Bargains extends its sympathy to the family and friends of Fred Gissoni, who retired from the American Printing House for the Blind in 2011 after 23 years of service.

Fred L. Gissoni was 84 years old and lived in the Crescent Hill area of Louisville, Kentucky. Fred contributed 60 years of service to people who are blind and visually impaired. Fred was known across the United States and around the world for his brilliant intellect, inventiveness, and impish sense of humor. He was born in New Jersey. Blind since birth, he did not, as he told it, go to one of the five widely renowned schools for the blind in that area, but rather, to a resource room in a public school, first in Garfield, NJ, and later in Hackensack. He was interested in amateur radio at age six or seven, and that marked the beginning of a lifelong passion for all things technical. He passed away Sunday, September 21, 2014.

In 1956, Fred took a job with a subsection of Kentucky's Department of Education. His boss was the legendary Tim Cranmer. Gissoni and Cranmer learned the abacus together, and Gissoni wrote detailed instructions for its use. That book, Using the Cranmer Abacus, is still available from the American Printing House, as is the abacus itself. Fred also wrote and taught a course on use of the abacus for the Hadley School for the Blind.

In terms of the technology blind people are using today, what stands out most notably in the work of Fred Gissoni would probably be the development of the Pocketbraille and Portabraille, collaborations of Fred Gissoni and Wayne Thompson, while the two were colleagues at the Kentucky Department for the Blind.

The Pocketbraille was built to be housed in a videocassette box (one for a VHS cassette, which was state-of-the-art in the mid 1980s.) One could enter data from a Perkins-style keyboard and hear it spoken through speech. When Fred learned of a braille display manufacturer in Italy, the project grew into a refreshable braille device called Portabraille. The Kentucky Department made only 12 Portabraille units -- two of which enabled blind people to retain their jobs. Rather than making a profit from the machines themselves, Gissoni and Thompson sold the detailed instructions for building the device for $5. Deane Blazie's interest in those plans, led to the birth of the Braille 'n Speak.

Fred was particularly proud of the Janus Slate, the double-sided interline braille slate that holds a three-by-five index card for brailling on both sides. When asked about the name of this product, he said, Well, Janus was the Roman God of portals. But I like to tell people that he was the Roman God of braille, and since we didn't actually have braille for several hundred more years, he didn't have much to do. That is vintage Fred Gissoni banter.

Other inventions he developed for APH were also small items including a pocket braille calendar and a gadget he called FoldRite, which simplified folding an 8-1/2 by 11 sheet of paper into thirds. When asked about his accomplishments, one of the things he mentioned his introducing Larry Skutchan to APH.

Fred always used an abacus and was never without a slate and stylus. Batteries die and chips fail, he said simply. On the Fred's Head web site, APH refers to him as a legend. He shared his tips, techniques, knowledge, genius, and generous spirit with blind people everywhere for more than 80 years. Fred's world of knowledge eventually became what is now the Fred's Head from APH blog.

Chec out a 2009 interview with Fred from Deborah Kendrick in AFB's AccessWorld.

A memorial service is being planned for the near future. In lieu of flowers, contributions are requested to American Printing House for the Blind, UCHM for food, or the Crescent Hill United Methodist Church. See more and sign his guest book at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?n=fred-l-gissoni&pid=172536773&fhid=10680#sthash.DC1xF6rC.dpuf.

Instacart
is a grocery delivery startup that launched in 2012 and currently <a
href="https://www.instacart.com/locations">operates in New York, San
Francisco, DC, Chicago, Boston, LA, , Austin, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta and
parts of Connecticut. But is it accessible for the blind? Guest writer Chancey
Fleet took the platform for a spin to find out. Her thoughts are below.

I'm a sucker for new delivery services. Anything that can make life a bit more convenient for me will usually get a look and often becomes a part of my lifestyle. So when Amazon introduced its Prime Pantry service, a means for getting nonperishable food delivered for a small flat fee, I decided to give it a spin.

The Amazon Trade-In Program allows customers to receive an Amazon Gift Card in exchange for over a million eligible items including DVDs, CDs, video games, electronics, and books. The process is easy and convenient with free shipping, an immediate offer, and no required registration or listing.

Depending on your location, Trade-in submissions may take up to 10 business days to arrive before your submission is processed. The packages you sent can be tracked anytime in
Your Trade-in Account.

Once your item is received and verified, you'll receive an e-mail notification within 2 business days informing you whether your items were accepted or rejected. You can find the status of your trade-in anytime in Your Trade-in Account. Once your trade-in has been paid, you'll see the amount when viewing your
gift card balance.

In general, all items must be in at least acceptable condition and the item you wish to trade in must match the exact version on the product page on Amazon.com. You can find the full condition descriptions by visiting the Eligible Products and Condition Criteria page at Amazon.

When using the pre-paid shipping label, shipping trade-in items is completely free, and there are no other fees. When submitting a trade-in, customers will print a pre-paid U.S. Postal Service shipping label for sending in all items. If a trade-in item is not accepted, and is returned, there is no cost for return shipping.

This sounds like a great way to unclutter your home from items that you no longer want. Click the provided link to learn more about this program.

Image Searcher has brought their popular image identification app TapTapSee to the Android platform so I decided to take it for a spin. For a first effort, the app looks quite polished and works as advertised. Taking advantage of some of the features of Android would make it even better.

Many readers have expressed an interest in attending this year's CSUN conference, the largest assistive technology conference for the blind. But with room rates over $200 a night, a $500 registration fee, plane tickets, meals, and other expenses, the cost may seem prohibitive. With this in mind, we've updated our list of tips for enjoying the conference on a budget.

It's time for the number one in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Without further delay, here's number 1 from a few different perspectives.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Number 2 involves another highly-anticipated app release.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. We turn to Joe for our number 3 story, which involves a free app going paid.

There was no wow factor with this year's release of new iPhones. There was no truly awesome feature in iOS 7 like Siri a couple of years back. But Apple still got everyone talking, whether you love the iPhone or admonish it. Many blind people who have never touched a computer were buying Apple devices because of the possibility of the promised land of accessibility. And new apps like Sendero's Seeing Eye GPS and the NLS BARD app made these devices even more powerful.

Joe has a slightly different take.

There are a few things of note here beyond the general "Apple does it again' remarks.
Firstly, no one say a thing ever again to me ever about iOS nonfragmentation... ever!
in one fell swoop, Apple not only fragmented the ecosystem more between iPad, iPad
Mini, and iPhone, they went on to break the iPhone model of distribution too. The
5c seems, on paper, to be a good idea for those people [like me] who don't want their
biometric data in the hands of any large monolithic companies. The hardware changes
from it to the 5s, namely 64 bit support and the motion chips, due mean that we once
again have a performance difference along the various devices that can run iOS. So,
when you think about say iOS 7 testing you have to think along the lines of, ahem...
iPod testing
iPad 2 testing
iPad 3 Collector's Edition testing
iPad 4 testing
iPad Air testing
iPad Mini first gen testing
iPad mini with Retina testing
iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c and 5s performance testing
mind you its still not as crazy as the average year of Samsung devices in Android,
but still, the idea some clung to out there that Apple had no fragmented experience
for users rates right up there with the classic denial of "security through obscurity",
given that most of the world's malware comes from Adobe via both Windows and mac.
Besides, those people end up putting Windows on the mac anyway making the hole "macs
don't get viruses' thing kind of moot.
As a whole, and you will be shocked, this doesn't really bother me. No really, my
recommendation has always been to buy the Apple product you think you can afford
then choose the next model up to avoid compatibility or memory issues later on when
Apple votes your device off the "models we Support in version x" island. Long time
watchers of Apple, and I do consider myself one of those, have known this for years.
However, apple has many new devotees coming on board and to watch them all struggle
with confusing messaging and multiple models was somewhat funny to see in what used
to be a "pick up and go" purchase philosophy under Steve jobs.
These days, if you aren't low vision, talking Apple got just a little more complicated
as to what device would fit a person's needs. But if you are low vision, iOS7 did
one heck of a number on you between the color scheme and the icon/motion in iOS 7.
I have not been asked for Android tablet and phone recommendations more in any year
than in 2013 due to many in the low vision Community having general frustration with
what came about in the latest version of the Apple Mobile OS. The lure of larger
screens, more customization and things like nova Launcher did much to sway some out
of the land of the Genius Bar.

For this and many other reasons too verbose to print here, the latest generation of iphones and iOS 7 falls at number 4 on this year's list. What's in our top 3? Tune in later today to find out.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. We'll be counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and anounce the number one on Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern on Serotalk. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Alena is back with number 5 and a new braille code.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. We'll be counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and anounce the number one on Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern on Serotalk. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Alena has a tie at number 6 which involves two popular names in assistive technology with new releases.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. We'll be counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and anounce the number one on Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern on Serotalk. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Number 8 involves some encouraging news from Comcast.

It's time for another post in our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. We'll be counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and anounce the number one on Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern on Serotalk. In case you missed them, here are our earlier stories on the countdown. Joe has our number 9 story which involves a tasty candy bar.

It's time for our annual look back at the year in assistive technology, the Blind Bargains Top 10 Stories of 2013. This year's panel included J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Alena Roberts, and Joe Steinkamp. We'll be counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and anounce the number one on Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern on Serotalk. SO without further delay, let's get going. And wouldn't you know it, we have a tie at number 10.

Amazon takes $5 off orders of $35 or more when you make a wish list and share it on Facebook. That's one of the easiest ways we've ever seen to knock $5 off your order at Amazon. Deal ends December 15.

Amazon takes $5 off orders of $35 or more when you make a wish list and share it on Facebook. That's one of the easiest ways we've ever seen to knock $5 off your order at Amazon. Deal ends December 15.

Amazon has Just announced that they will begin offering Sunday delivery via the U.S. Postal Service. It starts in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas and will later roll out to a large portion of the U.S. in 2014. Immediate future cities will include Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix. That means that Amazon Prime members who order on Friday can now receive their items on Sunday. Amazon customers can add millions of eligible items to their cart and will see the Sunday delivery guarantee at checkout when available in their region.

At Best Buy retail stores, trade in any old iPad and receive a gift card
towards a new one with a value of up to $350. That's only the second such iPad trade-in deal we've seen in nearly a year, and the best we've seen from Best Buy. Your used iPad must be in working condition and without any broken parts or cracks to get the offer. Deal ends November 9.

On Monday Amazon quietly announced that it will raise the Free Super Saver Shipping order minimum for purchases
from $25 to $35. Although this change doesn't affect Amazon Prime customers, it poses a potential stumbling block for holiday shoppers hoping to scoop up cheaper products without the hassle of shipping charges. And sadly, this news comes just a week after Best Buy similarly introduced a minimum purchase requirement for free shipping. Click the provided link to learn more.

According to The Verge, Amazon wants to bundle Kindle ebook purchases with Audible audiobooks. The company has announced a new shopping tool called "Matchmaker" that scans your ebook library and finds which ones are compatible with Whispersync for Voice. The service, first announced last year, allows readers to pick up at the right spot when switching between reading and listening to books, across devices. Amazon says it's doubled the selection of Whispersync for Voice titles to 30,000, and with Matchmaker you'll be able to add a narrated copy of a book to your Kindle ebook with one click for $3.95 or less. For now audio playback is only available on the Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, and Kindle Keyboard, as well as iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.

The Coalition of E-reader Manufacturers, which includes Amazon, Kobo, and Sony, has filed a petition with the FCC, seeking exemption from some of the accessibility laws for advanced communication devices. With the provided link on this site, you can read a summary of the petition from the FCC. You can also read the legal filing from the Coalition's lawyers. You can also The Coalition of E-reader Manufacturers, which includes Amazon, Kobo, and Sony, has filed a petition with the FCC, seeking exemption from some of the accessibility laws for advanced communication devices.

With the provided link, you can read a summary of the petition from the FCC and the legal filing from the Coalition's lawyers. You can also Read instructions for filing electronic or paper comments. The FCC will take public comments about this issue through September 3.

Apple has pushed an over-the-air update to its popular Apple TV device that adds a few new “channels” to its app lineup. The Vevo music service has been added, along with the Disney Channel, Disney XD, The Weather Channel, and a Smithsonian app. Apple has steadily been adding content to the Apple TV with recent updates that included WatchESPN, HBO Go, and SkyNews. Time Warner Cable is also reportedly working on an app to be added later this year. The new “channels” join established apps on the Apple TV, which include Hulu Plus, Netflix, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Vimeo, youTube, and Flickr. Don't have an Apple TV? Click here to purchase one from Amazon for $94.99 with free shipping.

Apple has revamped its AppleCare Support website and launched a new layout, offering a 24/7 chat option, large, easy-to-click buttons and a simpler design. (The chat function is only available for products that are subject to AppleCare; Users are required to enter in the serial number of the affected product.) Note: Users with products that aren't covered by AppleCare can choose to either purchase a one-time support incident for $19.99 or request an exemption.

The page features links to each of Apple's products, including Macs, iPods, iPhones, and iPads, as well as a number of services including iTunes and other
apps. When clicking one of the aforementioned categories, the site will offer further options. After an issue has been selected, customers are able to choose from several different help options, including a phone call with Apple Support, a live chat session, or an in-person appointment at the Genius Bar or other Apple Authorized Service Providers. For more information, check out this article at 9to5Mac.

It's not often I write an editorial calling for collective action, but one certain issue has bothered me long enough. It's time to get rid of the #a11y hashtag on Twitter and replace it with something much more meaningful.
For those who are not familiar, a hashtag is a shorthand way of grouping tweets together by a topic. The NFB13 and ACB13 hashtags for the national consumer conventions in the United States are a good example of where this idea works well. One can search a hashtag to find related tweets on a topic. Plus, a quick look at the hashtag gives the casual viewer a good idea of what it represents. It is this latter point where the #a11y hashtag falls on its face.

Apple recently launched its USB Power Adapter Takeback Program, as noted by The Verge. Started after a Chinese woman's fatal electrocution, the program allows consumers to trade in potentially faulty third-party USB chargers and receive a new official Apple power adapter for $10 or the local monetary equivalent. Apple's offer is currently scheduled to end on October 18; click the provided link for more information.

Below is a follow-up post to last week's guest editorial by Chancey Fleet. We look forward to reading your reactions to Chancey's post in the comments.
When I submitted my editorial post about encountering name tags at an event designed for blind people, I made the extremely difficult decision to refrain from identifying the institution where the event took place. I am heartened and thrilled to tell you that we have mutually decided to open this conversation up for real. Please meet the welcoming and talented staff for education and access programs at New York City's Museum of Modern Art.

The following is a guest editorial by Chancey Fleet. We look forward to your reactions in the comments.
I went to a place yesterday to take part in an event organized by sighted people but advertised as for blind people. It does not matter to this story what particular place it was. It does matter to me that the feedback we give to our friends and colleagues who are sighted — to use the parlance of the moment — be delivered, where possible, without the public calling-out, the "gotcha" element if you will, that is perilously attractive to most of us when something goes wrong and we have the Internet to tell about it. "Gotcha" is always an option when restrained feedback isn't catalyzing change. When I left this place, though, I felt hopeful that change, or at least real conversation, is possible.
So, just a place.

Many readers have expressed an interested in attending CSUN, the largest assistive technology conference for the blind. But with room rates over $200 a night, a $500 registration fee, plane tickets, meals, and other expenses, the cost may seem prohibitive. With this in mind, we've compiled some tips for enjoying the conference on a budget.

Many of you have asked us questions about the Insignia Narrator Talking HD radio,
recently available at Best Buy. While this item is currently out of stock,
we thought we'd bring you a review from a user since you may come across one of these radios
and wonder about its accessibility. Thanks to Bill from The New Vision Store
for giving us permission to use the following.

We've made it. It's time to reveal the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on Thursday at 2 PM Eastern. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. For number one, we go to the biggest app release of the year, but it was about so much more.

We're one story away from revealing the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on Thursday at 2 PM Eastern. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 3 takes up up the coast to another major player.

We're almost done revealing the top stories of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on Thursday at 2 PM Eastern. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 3 takes us back to Infinite Loop.

We're continuing to reveal the top stories of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on January 3 at 2 PM Eastern. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. For number 4, we go open-source and Joe has the story.

We're over halfway to revealing the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on January 3. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 5 concerns a possible breakthrough for accessible televisions.

So it would appear that the end of the world was not actually December 21, 2012 and that we've made it to 2013. We hope you're enjoying the first moments of the new year. It's a year that promises to bring us many interesting stories to talk about. But what exactly will happen, you say? Well, frankly, we don't have much of a clue, but it's fun to speculate, isn't it? Here's a few predictions for the coming year.

We're well on our way to revealing the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one, which will be revealed on SeroTalk live on January 3. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 6 concerns a popular ad-supported and low-cost software program, and we go back to Joe for his take..

We're well on our way to revealing the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one. Also, we've partnered with SeroTalk and will be participating on their year in review show coming in early January, so stay tuned. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 7 is all about portable braille displays.

We're continuing to reveal the top stories of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one. Also, we've partnered with SeroTalk and will be participating on their year in review show coming in early January, so stay tuned. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Coming in at number 8 is the dominance of Apple tablets.

We're on our way to revealing the top story of 2012 in our Blind Bargains top 10. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one. Also, we've partnered with SeroTalk and will be participating on their year in review show coming in early January, so stay tuned. In case you missed them, you can read our earlier stories on our countdown. Number 9 involves another colossal accessibility failure of the year.

Another year has just about come and gone, and with it comes our annual chance to reflect and count down the most influencial and talked about stories of the year. This year's panel included participants from across the assistive technology scene: Darren Burton, Jason Meddaugh, Wayne Merritt, Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp. We'll post a new story every day until we reach number one. Also, we've partnered with SeroTalk and will be participating on their year in review show coming in early January, so stay tuned. So without further delay, let's start our countdown with one of the biggest failures of 2012.

We've made it! It's time for our number 1 story on our annual look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. And now, number one.

We're just about done with our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. Number 2 is all about the Twitter drama and we go back to Joe Steinkamp for the story.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. Number 3 involves perhaps the most amazing iPhone yet.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year and will announce the number one live on Serospectives Thursday night. Number 4 takes us back to Android for a new program from a familiar face.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year over the coming days and will announce the number one live on Serospectives Thursday night. Number 5 belongs to one of the saddest days in the history of computing, and Kevin Reeves is here to talk about it.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year over the next week and will announce the number one live on Serospectives Thursday night. Number 6 belongs to a new Skype client that got many people talking.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year over the next week and will announce the number one live on Serospectives Thursday night. Number 7 is live from Daytona.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year over the next week, and will announce the number one live on Serospectives next Thursday. Number 8 takes us to the land of desserts.

We're continuing our look at the top stories of 2011. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of the year. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. Here are our earlier stories in case you missed them. We're counting down the top stories of the year over the next week, and will announce the number one live on Serospectives next thursday. Number 9 involves one of the most influencial apps of the year.

Oh what a year it has been. Just as other years will be remembered for their breakout stories, this year may be remembered as one which brought more questions than answers. This also became evident in our voting for the top 10 stories of 2011, where no clear winner emerged. But as the saying reminds us, the show must go on. Our panel of Blind Bargains and Serotek contributors each independently submitted their votes for the top stories of 2011. This year's panel included Joe Steinkamp, Jamie Pauls, Kevin Reeves, Matt McCubbin, and J.J. Meddaugh. We'll count down the top stories of the year over the next week, and announce the number one live on Serospectives next week. So without further hesitation, let's start off with number ten, involving a new Google operating system.

Coffee is great, but it can be a pain to deal with. While some romanticize the daily ritual of preparing delicious coffee made with french presses and other premium methods, most people just want a decent cup of joe. Drip coffee is somewhat convenient, but the taste usually isn’t great and drip makers brew in bulk. For many people single serving coffee makers are the way to go. Here are the major brands compared.

There are many enhancements to iOS 5 that are not directly related to
accessibility. Features such as the ability to now update your phone's firmware over the air, Apple's new iCloud service, a feature called
reminders, iMessage which lets iPhone users communicate with one another
via iOS’s own messages program, a revamped notifications system, support for Face Time over 3g, and many more. Scott Davert expertly guides us through the many accessibility enhancements included in this latest release in this guest column.

I've invested a lot of time trying to find the best deals on groceries. It kind of goes with the territory. So when I first heard about Savings Angel, a service where you pay to have access to grocery deals, I was a bit skeptical. Why would I, a person who is trying to save every penny possible, pay for a service which lists grocery deals? But now, I've been a Savings Angel customer for nearly a year and feel it to be worth every penny.

It’s Grace Hoath back with you for another instalment of how to make money from your recliner. I have to apologize for the lack of columns the past two weeks. I was sick and without internet and when I recovered I had to catch up with my work at the Cisco Academy for the Vision Impaired. I also want to thank those who have been writing me with feedback and requests for assistance. Remember, if you have any questions or are enjoying these columns my email address is on my website at the bottom of this article. If you have missed the previous two columns I strongly suggest you go back and at least read the first one to see what this is all about and to get your free email address so that survey companies can communicate with you.
This week we will be talking about a company called Opinion Outpost.

It’s Grace Hoath back with you for week two of our series on making money from your recliner. Thanks so much for those of you who wrote comments keep them coming! If you haven’t read part one, I would strongly recommend you to do so for the basics, and to get your free email address so that you don’t clog up your personal email.
Today we will be talking about a company called Survey Savvy. This company is a good starter because it’s surveys are very simple and accessible. They are unique in that when you do not qualify for a survey you get put into a drawing to win many small prizes instead of a small number of large cash prizes. This means you are actually fairly likely to win something even if you don’t complete the entire survey.

If you are browsing this site you are probably blind and interested in having more disposable income. Online surveys are a fairly easy way for a blind person to make some extra money without ever leaving home. My name is Grace Hoath and I have been doing online surveys for the past seven years or so. I was a bored college student looking for creative ways to make money. I bought myself a $29.95 membership to a survey company database and spent the next few weeks filling out registration forms. Within a couple of months I had checks, gift cards, and free samples coming to my dorm room.
Fortunately for you, you don’t need to buy a membership to a database to get started. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my favourite survey, pay-to-click and pay to read programs with you. I will also explain how to sign up for each company, how to maximize your earnings, and go over any accessibility pitfalls. Survey work won’t instantly make you rich, but if you put a little time into it each day you will reap nice rewards.

As we previously reported, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic recently changed their name to Learning Ally, prompting much discussion in the blind community. As a follow-up, we present an editorial from Bill Meeker, who gives some insight on the change. His comments are printed below with his permission.

Many readers have expressed an interested in attending CSUN, the largest assistive technology conference for the blind. But with room rates nearing $200, a $500 registration fee, plane tickets, meals, and other expenses, the cost may seem prohibitive. With this in mind, we've compiled some tips for enjoying the conference on a budget.

This is it, the culmination of our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. Next, it'll be your turn. The Blind Bargains Access Awards will let you sound off and vote for your favorites. Number 1 involves a very unfavorable phone launch.

We're almost done with our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, the rise and fall of Blio.

We're nearly done with our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, a less than bitter divorce.

For much of its existence, Hims was an unknown quantity in the United States. In fact, many users associated the BrailleSense, BookSense, and other portable products with GW Micro, often incorrectly attributing them with their creation. In 2010, however, Hims began to ramp up its U.S. presence by increasing its visibility at trade shows and later with the establishment of its own office in Austin. So it really didn't come as much of a surprise when Hims and GW Micro severed ties in October.

While the news itself wasn't much of a shock, the ripple effects now and in the coming months will be a rather interesting story to watch. Hims has assembled a staff of U.S.-based individuals for its tech support and repair departments, but will they have the experience in marketing and supporting products which GW Micro provided? An agreement with Sendero for future development of the SenseNav GPS products is certainly a good start. And what will GW Micro do now that much of its hardware division has been eliminated? In a possible turn of events, GW Micro may continue to sell some Hims products, at least while it has stock on hand. And there is talk of future hardware partnerships down the line. GW Micro is also launching new services for script development, in an effort to diversify its business. 2010's biggest divorce may also be one of the biggest stories to watch in 2011. It's number 3 on our year-end countdown.

We're continuing our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, another partially accessible mainstream product.

We're into the second half of our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise
important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry
experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon
and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one
item every day until we reach number 1. Number 5 is a sad note on this year's list.

We're continuing our annual look at the most influential, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, it's all about Apple.

We're continuing our annual look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, the ups and downs of Android accessibility.

We're continuing our annual look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, a Different Approach to Buying a Screenn
Reader.

We're continuing our annual look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Today, Jamie Pauls contributes his thoughts on a new OCR solution at number 9.

Today, we begin our annual look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2010. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon and Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog to help create our list. We'll present one item every day until we reach number 1. Unlike last year, there was no cut and dry runaway story of the year, and the lists of our contributors varied widely. So let's dig right in with number 10, a major GPS setback.

A few short years ago, we became wowed, taken away, and otherwise enamored with a new product, a product which promised to transform the printed word and bring access to the next generation of reading devices. The KNFB Reader, launched by KNFB Reading Technology, allowed executives to read hand-outs in a conference room as soon as they were handed to them. Travelers could read boarding passes at the airport or the type of shampoo at their hotel room. Students could maintain the edge required to graduate. For many satisfied customers, the KNFB Reader in its various forms has met and exceeded these expectations for nearly half a decade.

Nearly three out of four people are unable to use Google’s audio CAPTCHA service, according to research conducted by Blind Bargains. The audio CAPTCHA is intended for use by persons who are blind or visually impaired and is a requirement for accessing several areas of Google’s website, including creating accounts on the Gmail service and resetting account passwords.

A press release from a Canadian distributor for Olympus came across our screen earlier today which included a lot of hype but perhaps even more false information about the upcoming release of the DM-4. This makes us question the integrity of the distributor and any other statements they may make. So we would like to ask our readers if overblown or partially false press releases will cause you to not buy from a particular distributor, or if this is just an accepted part of the game. After the jump, we first reprint the original press release and then our comments and corrections. Let us know what you think in the comments.

We read with excitement of a new service from Openlibrary.org which aims to offer accessible DAISY titles to the blind, low-vision, and print-disabled communities. While services like Bookshare have provided a library of thousands of titles in electronic format for the past decade, the new offering has the potential to put the necessity for accessible books in the forefront of many who may not have realized the need previously. While the site has potential, it will need to expand greatly to become relevant. Luckily, a donation drive is helping to jumpstart the collection.

Most people would argue the time machine has not yet been invented and offer plenty of arguments to back up that claim. While they may be correct in a physical sense, one need only look at some of the assistive technology companies and their system of sales territories to find plenty of examples of philosophies that should be left in the past. We contend that companies that still rely on territories to protect their dealers in 2010 are engaged in a backwards and outdated line of thinking.

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.

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.

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.

It could be de described as the biggest botched software release of the past five years. Oratio, Orator, or whatever they're calling it these days has finally been released by Humanware with a price tag of $449. Promised since 2007, the software brings access to Blackberry smart phones. Correction, make that one AT&T Blackberry smart phone. If you bought any Blackberry phones, including some we listed as deals last summer because of the planned screen reader compatibility, you can toss them right out the window. The Blackberry Curve 8520 from AT&T is the only currently-supported phone. The Verizon Wireless or Sprint 9630 Tour, or the T-Mobile 8520 Tour are not on the supported phones list. There's also some lively discussion over on the Accessible BB website about the lack of Humanware involvement in their mailing list. No official Blackberry mailing list is known to exist at this time, other than an announce-only update stream. Still interested? orders are being taken now. If you have comments or thoughts on Oratio for Blackberry, please post them.
Here's a quote from a message on the Accessible Blackberry list from list owner Carlos Palomino:
"No matter what has taken place from July until
today, one thing has remained constant, and that is Humanware's shady
business practices and abhorrent public relations methods. So, whether
we waited patiently for news or attempted to gather info from the
company itself, we were ignored. And being the largest collection of
potential customers, it seems aweful inconsiderate and blatantly stupid
to take such a stance against us."
Other things to note about Oratio are after the jump.

Here's the moment you've been waiting for. In part 3 of our Intel Reader review, we pitted the Intel Reader against the KNFB Reader Mobile to measure their speed, accuracy, and performance. Listen to this audio comparison from Matt Mccubbin and J.J. Meddaugh to see how both performed on six types of documents. We also determine the time it took for each unit to process the images. The speed test results are after the jump. We'll be performing these same tests on other reading software and hardware in the future.

This is it, the number one story on our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. Now, here it is, number 1.
You can hear more commentary, as we count down the top 11 live along with Jamie Pauls on Main Menu, repeating for the next 24 hours and then available on-demand on ACB Radio Mainstream.

We're nearly through our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. Now, we present number two in our list, leaving just the top story of 2009, which we'll post later today.
Number two is the biggest product launch of the year from an assistive technology company. You can hear more commentary tonight when we count down the top 11 live along with Jamie Pauls on Main Menu, at 8 PM Eastern, 5PM Pacific on ACB Radio Mainstream.

We're almost through our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, Rick Harmin, from the Blind Geek Zone blog and podcast, provides commentary and his opinion on our number 3 story, the most controversial story of the year. You can hear more from Rick when we count down the top 11 live along with Jamie Pauls on Main Menu, Friday night at 8 PM Eastern on ACB Radio Mainstream.

We're over halfway through our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, the fate of the SMA>

We're over halfway through our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, Amazon's Kindle promise.

We're continuing our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, it's all about Windows 7, baby.

We're continuing our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, we focus on braille literacy.

We're continuing our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, we look at a new breakthrough in the world of free books.

We're continuing our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, we look at potentially the biggest letdown of 2009.

We're continuing our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1. Today, we look at a popular new online colaberation tool.

Today, we begin our year-end look at the most influencial, ground-breaking, or otherwise important stories of 2009. In addition to our own staff, we consulted with some industry experts including ACB Radio Main Menu's Jamie Pauls, the Blind Geek Zone's Rick Harmon, Ranger from the Ranger Station Blog, and the Fred's Head Companion's Michael McCarty to help create our list. We'll present one item every day through New Year's day, when we'll reach number 1.

The holidays will certainly bring us lots of presents and tidings of comfort and joy. But in the spirit of Christmas and dreaming big, there are some things I�d love to see from companies and groups serving the blind and visually impaired. So, I present to you my Christmas wish list.

With the release of Window-Eyes 7 and GW Micro�s support for a versatile scripting language, the need has come for classes to teach potential programmers how to make the most of the new features. This isn�t to say that one couldn�t learn to script without taking a class, but for those needing a refresher or who learn better by hands-on teaching, the two-day class offered is a godsend. I was quite impressed with the Window-Eyes script writing class, which I was a part of last month.

If you're like us, you've avoided updating to the latest and most bloaded version of Windows Live Messenger and stuck with the original and cleaner interface of the original Windows Messenger. But recently for many, an annoyance has popped up, asking for a display name every time you sign in. If this happens to you, read on for the simple steps to fix the problem.

Last month, we began our countdown of the 25 most popular websites serving the blind and visually impaired.
We analyzed data from Alexa Internet�s online website rankings to present our list. The ranks given are the overall site rank amongst the entire Internet. If you missed the first two installments, they�re linked on the bottom of this post.

Today, BrailleNote mPower users and the public at large received their first view of Humanware�s new breed of PDA devices. While many are quick to discount the Apex as overpriced, outdated, and meaningless, we can�t hardly blame Humanware for the new release. And while users are quick to scoff at the price, the machine brings some welcome competition to the blindness-specific PDA market which I�m glad to see.

One of the biggest challenges faced by a blind traveler is obtaining a concept of their surroundings. The availability of Braille maps has been rare if not nonexistent. Thanks to a partnership between the Tactile Map Automated Production (TMAP) Project and the San Francisco Lighthouse, one can now obtain hard copy maps for any address in the United States for a small fee. After seeing the results for an area near our home, we were quite impressed.

Earlier this week, we began our countdown of the 25 most popular websites serving the blind and visually impaired.
We analyzed data from Alexa Internet s online website rankings to present our list. The ranks given are the overall site rank amongst the entire Internet.

There are hundreds of websites on the Internet with information, products, news, or other services for the blind and visually impaired. But which are the most popular? We analyzed data from Alexa Internet s online website rankings to present the top 25 most popular websites for the blind and visually impaired. While no single site had a ranking of less than 100,000 (the lower the ranking, the better), nearly two dozen sites are within the top one million most popular websites on the Internet.

All this week, we�ve been covering some of the basics of EBay, the world's most popular auction service. Links to the other articles in this series can be found below. We�ll wrap up this series by discussing some of the best categories to shop on EBay as well as some to avoid.

All this week, we're covering some of the basics of EBay, the world's most popular auction service. Links to the first three articles in this series can be found below. This time,, we�ll talk about how you can be more careful in choosing a reputable seller.

All this week, we're covering some of the basics of EBay, the world's most popular auction service. Earlier, we talked about Buy It Now and shipping prices, and links to those articles are below. This time,, we�ll talk about the art of sniping.

All this week, we're covering some of the basics of EBay, the world's most popular auction service. While many terms and features may be old hat to some of you, we feel it worth the time to explain some of EBay's most used features to new users or those needing a refresher. Today, we�ll talk about prices and shipping.

All this week, we'll be covering some of the basics of EBay, the world's most popular auction service. While many terms and features may be old hat to some of you, we feel it worth the time to explain some of EBay's most used features to new users or those needing a refresher. Today, the Buy It Now option.

There are two types of blind people in the world. Those who own a Victor Stream and those who don�t. The decision on whether or not to purchase the new Book Sense from GW Micro may largely fall on which of these groups you come from.

Well, the day has finally arrived. It's been an unprecedented 14 months since the release of any version of Window-Eyes, and now users around the world will get to decide if the wait was worth it.
Follow the link to read the entire article.

It's been awhile since All-in-Play, the company known for its online multiplayer card games, has released anything new. But the outcry from many users for "something else" has finally been answered in the form of a game that has nothing to do with cards. Follow the link to read the entire article.

A new kind of checking generic valium 5mg has been introduced that provides unlimited refunds
of surcharges from automatic teller machines, allowing blind people to use any talking
ATM free without fee or extra charges. Kelly Pierce explains how to do it and which banks offer this very useful service.

So the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference has come and gone, leaving memories of sunny days, palm trees, a talking parrot, and, oh yes, lots of new technology. After sifting through the press releases, the interviews, the hype, and the looming credit card bills, we are happy to report of a genuine shift in the market for technology for blind and visually impaired consumers. Check the link to continue reading the article.

These days, blind computer users are gaining more and more options for free access to technology. But in our latest article, we discuss some of the reasons that one should consider paying for a screen reader compared with downloading one for free.

Much has been written about the inaccessibility of some of the legal services for downloading music. But in the latest in our series of articles, we discuss the ease of use of Amazon's new MP3 offering. The service offers pure MP3 downloads with no DRM restrictions for 99 cents a track or less. Select the link on this post to read our article.

Searching for the absolute best deal for an item is not
as hard as you might think. In the latest of our series of articles, we detail some
of the methods we use to find the bargains that are posted to the site.

The advancement of accessible
cell phones has sparked a lot of interest in the blind community. We've written an
introduction to cell phone access for new and advanced users alike. Read it to learn
more, or send it to a friend who is curious about how a blind person can use a cell
phone.

We've written a detailed explanation on how to get around the sell an item form on
EBay. Selling on EBay is actually a relatively simple process, and this guide will
hopefully help in simplifying it.