Software Deals, Sales, and News

The much anticipated BARD app is finally here. For me, this means I no longer have to carry more then one device, which in my opinion is huge. I can now access all of my books on my iPhone. So what's the new BARD Mobile app like, and what should you expect?

One important part of setting up VoiceOver is choosing what will be included in the rotor. The rotor options change depending on the app that you're in, but each setting can be very useful for navigating quickly. To change what rotor settings you will have access to, visit the Rotor menu within the VoiceOver menu in settings/General/Accessibility. One of the new rotor settings in VoiceOver is called handwriting. As with many features, there is no explanation of what this does or how to use it, but that's why we have this tutorial.

In June we learned about the 200 new features that would be coming in iOS 7. Most of the announced changes though had nothing to do with accessibility. With this in mind, we wanted to bring you a list of the changes that would be coming for VoiceOver users. To begin let's start with how you set VoiceOver to the settings you want.

GPS apps can be a great asset to the blind, but most of them will only get the person close to their destination. One solution for this problem is to allow the user to set their own points of interest (POI). A new app developed in Australia, called Point Finder, allows users to do just that. The app, which can be purchased for a dollar allows users to set their own POI's and get navigation instructions to reach their POI. If the destination is on a map, the user can interface with Google Maps to get turn by turn instructions. The app uses a continuous sound as the person moves toward the chosen POI. As they get closer, the pitch of the sound gets lower.

Starting tuesday, Windows users will be able to download the first JAWS 15 public beta. The Freedom Scientific website lists all of the changes that are coming in this version of JAWS. Some of the new features include: a new cursor called the touch cursor that allows users to interact with objects found in apps in Windows 8, JAWS specific touch screen gestures in Windows 8, support for Vocalizer voices from Nuance, new FS Reader, automatic detection of braille displays, drivers of third party braille displays included in the JAWS installation, and updated Skype support.

The FS Cast this month features an interview with Eric Damery discussing the new features in the JAWS 15 beta.

Source: tubidy

Paying with your cell phone seems to be the direction that many companies are heading. Paypal has just released a new version of their iOS app that will allow you to pay businesses with your iPhone. The app will search for businesses around you so that you'll know where you can use the app. The interface works great with Voiceover allowing users to pay for items on their phone and transfer money between accounts.

Less than a week after the game launched, the developers of Codename Cygnus have submitted an update to address the concerns about using Facebook authentication to save game play. According to the press release, Jonathan Myers said, "We needed a way to support our dedicated players with the creation of save game profiles online, but requiring a Facebook login from all players was far too much to ask. We really regret it, and we're very happy to listen to our fans and make this immediate change."

Once the update goes through, players will now have the option of saving their game online without having to login to Facebook. The company is also running a limited time promotion that will give players the first episode for free and allow users to purchase all 5 of the episodes for $6.99, a dollar off the price they had at launch.

To learn more about Codename Cygnus, read our review .

Starting today, users of the Victor Reader Stream will now have the option of downloading content from NFB Newsline and Bookshare wirelessly. After downloading the newest firmware version 4.2, users can then enter their credentials in for both services and start downloading content. Users can also get the upgrade by using the Humanware Companion software on their PC.

Other features in this update include support for Windows media and speak audio files, improvements to text to speech and audio playback, and improvements to the automatic software update check.

Humanware is offering a webinar to discuss the new features in this update on September 26. Register for the webinar by visiting the Humanware Events page.

GW Micro has released a free maintenance release of Window-Eyes, version 8.3. This version includes support for Windows 8.1, better support for Windows 8 modern apps, support for Internet Explorer 11 including the spell checker, improved support for apps using the QT5 framework, and numerous stability and speed improvements. It's a free update for those running version 8.0 or later.

Last month we told you about a Kickstarter campaign for a new interactive game called Codename Cygnus. The campaign was a success, and last Friday the game was released on the app store. Over the weekend I had an opportunity to test out the game.

If you are a Learning Ally member and use an Android device, you can now read books from their collection using the Learning Ally Audio App. The app has the same functionality as the iOS app. You can read any book in their collection, download directly onto your device from your bookshelf, navigate by page or chapter, and add bookmarks. In order to use the app you will need to have Android 4.1 or later. Like the iOS version, no search capability is included, so you need to log into the Learning Ally website to add books to your bookshelf. It's available now and is free from Google Play.

Sendero has just announced that they have submitted Seeing Eye GPs 1.1 for the iPhone to the app store. There are a number of changes in this version and the company has decided to reward early adopters of the app by resetting their subscription date to August 20. This means that everyone has been using the app for free since it launched. Below is a copy of the release that discusses the changes and new features.

AI Squared has just released the newest version of ZoomText for Windows8 . Free trials are available for this release, which is only currently available on Windows 8. A Windows 7 version is planned. In addition to the Windows 8 support, support for Internet Explorer 10, Microsoft Office 13, and touch screen devices is included. They have also posted some videos to introduce the new features in version 10.1. We've included the list of new features from their website after the jump.

Support for braille displays on Android is improving with the latest update to BrailleBack. According to the Google Play website, these are the braille displays that are now supported: APH Refreshabraille,
Baum VarioConnect, Esys EuroBraille, Freedom Scientific Focus Blue (14 and 40 cell models), HandyTech (Basic Braille, Active Braille, Braille Star, Braille Wave, Braillino, Easy Braille), Harpo Braillepen 12, HIMS (BrailleSense, Braille EDGE), Humanware Brailliant (1st generation and BI models), Optelec Alva (BC640, BC68, Papenmeier Braillex Trio, and the Seika (notetaker and 40 cell. Several new commands were also added in this release, including a command to search for text on the current screen which works with displays with a braille keyboard. It's available now on Google Play and works with Android 4.1 and later.

Technology has greatly increased the ability for the blind to find employment. Unfortunately, there is still a barrier if the software that companies use is not accessible to their blind employees. The non-profit, My Blind Spot is one of the organizations that tries to eliminate this barrier by providing scripting services so that screen readers can work with software that is unique to a specific company. Their latest project is to make the well known accounting software QuickBooks accessible. They hope that making this widely used software package accessible will open the doors to more jobs for the blind. We've reached out to the developers and will post more info as we receive it.

An organization in Australia has developed a new set of games called Ballyland that help teach children with special needs about the keyboard. Unlike many typing programs, no literacy skills are required. The five games isolate individual keys so that children can learn at a slower pace. According to the Sonokids website, these are the features of Ballyland: "Self-voicing, Spoken feedback, Zoom, Easy recognisable sounds and images, Adjustable colour contrast, and Adjustable response time."

The program is available for PC and will be released for the Mac soon. there is a free trial option or the games can be purchased for download. All prices posted are in Australian dollars.

Google glass may not be available for people to buy, but many developers are already working with the new technology. The company Dapper Vision is designing multiple apps for google glass, including two that are relevant to the blind. According to Engadget, the company is already testing out the apps with visually impaired users. One of the apps would allow the user to take pictures and ask either the crowd-powered Mechanical Turk or twitter what the object is. the other, called Memento, would automatically recite notes to the user about a recognizable scene. For example, the app could warn users about dangerous equipment that they might be approaching.

If you're a fan of old time radio then you might be interested in this campaign on Kickstarter. Codename Cygnus will be interactive and use voice recognition during game play. According to the campaign website, this is what the game play will look like: "We're keeping our UI super simple. The experience is entirely sound and story: Writing + Voiceover + SFX + Music. With either a spoken word or a simple tap on the screen you can listen to the drama unfold in a progression similar to the multiple choice dialogue moments that you find in adventure or RPG games. You get to make decisions about what to do and what kind of agent to be in a world of espionage. Your iPhone/iPad recognizes your speech (or accepts the tap of a button) to trigger and play the next sound file so that the characters react to you as the events and story continue." Since the developers wanted high quality sound, they hired professional voice actors and built their own sound booth to save money. The first episode of the game has already been completed, and if they get funded, they'll start working on the second. At this time, the campaign is just over half way to it's goal and there are 11 days to go.

Watching TV that has audio description can be difficult to find and difficult to set up.
In case you haven't heard, Blindy.tv is designed to allow the blind to enjoy described television on their computers. The website offers five different channels to choose from and the content covers a variety of genres.
A software developer decided that they wanted to make the Blindy.tv experience even better. They have designed an app that you download onto your PC that allows you to watch Blindy.tv without using the website. According to the application's page, these are the features of the app: "On the main form, you will have comedy, drama, scifi, brain, and etc. You can tab to the station you want to listen to and press enter or the space bar on the play button to start playing. There is a stop button, adjust volume, and exit button."

We announced earlier this month that KeySoft 9.3 was coming soon, and today Humanware says that it's available to be downloaded for free. Here's a link to our original post to remind you what new features are included in the upgrade.