All Deals

It's not often that as a future reader of a magazine that you get to help shape the content. If you are interested in a new lifestyle magazine for the blind, fill out this survey. The questions ask you to think about things you enjoy doing, activities that you find challenging, and even what you have always wished you could do. All participants will be entered to win a $25 gift certificate for Amazon. If you feel uncomfortable answering the survey questions on the website, send an email to polina.steier@gmail.com and they'll happily do the survey with you over the phone. While the survey lists a February 5 deadline, we checked with the creators and they are still looking for responses, so have at it.

Humanware is continuing to expand the number of services that Victor Reader Stream users can access wirelessly. With version 4.3, users can now access Wikipedia and Wiktionary as well as thousands of internet radio stations. According to the press release, Humanware is planning to expand wireless options in the months to come. Their hope is to make the Victor Reader Stream as powerful a tool as they can.

Researchers at Microsoft are trying to understand the intersection of crowd sourcing with people who self identify as disabled. They estimate that the survey should take no more than 20 minutes, and participants have until February 10 to fill out the survey. All of those who finish the survey will be entered to win a $50 gift card to Amazon.

Back in August, we told you about the Coalition of E-book Reader manufacturers asking the FCC to waive the requirements to make their basic e-book readers accessible. Then in October, we let you know that a temporary waiver had been granted to the Coalition while the FCC reviewed the case. Today, we're sad to announce that the FCC has decided to grant the waiver, granting these companies the right to not have to make their basic e-book readers accessible to people with disabilities. According to the Digital Journal, here are some of the requirements that the FCC laid out for which devices would qualify for the waiver: the device must not have an LCD screen, the device must not have a camera, and the device must be marketed as a reading device. The waiver that was granted will last for one year.

At this year's ATIA conference in Orlando, Optilec announced the release of their new portable video magnifier called the Compact Touch HD. The touch screen display allows users to change magnification level, contrast color, and pan through snapshots by using simple gestures on the screen. The Compact Touch HD can also be connected to a larger display to make reading easier. This new magnifier can be ordered today for $995.

At this year's ATIA conference in Orlando, HIMS Inc. announced the upcoming release of their new E-Bot portable video magnifiers. The E-bot can be used to read things up close or at a distance. It also can be used with both Apple tablets, Android tablets, Windows PC's, and Mac PC's. The E-bot can be connected either wirelessly or by USB 3.0, displaying the image from the magnifier on the larger screen. Some of the other notable features include: OCR with built-in TTS for reading documents, a rechargeable battery that can last up to 4 hours, and auto brightness that adjusts to the lighting in your surroundings. Two models will be available, with the OCR features and a remote control included in the ADV model. HIMS will start shipping the magnifiers in March. No pricing was available.

Now that GW Micro has partnered with Microsoft to offer anyone who has Office 2010 or later a free copy of Window-Eyes, they're offering people the ability to become Window-Eyes certified. This certification does not certify you as a Window-Eyes trainer, but it demonstrates to either people you're teaching or an employer that you're really knowledgeable about the software, it's features, and how to use it.

The certification exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions. It costs $99, and you need to get 80% of the test right to pass. If you don't pass, you can choose to take it again, but it will cost another $99. The test is also only currently offered in the U.S., but it's possible that they'll offer it in other countries in the future.

One of the biggest challenges of using a touch screen device when you're blind is typing on the on screen keyboard. Solutions like Fleksy and MBraille have addressed many of these issues, but they don't work for everyone. A team in Israel is working on a whole new way of typing. Their app known as the UpSense Super keyboard relies on gestures rather than a standard QWERTY keyboard design. Think of it as being similar to the handwriting feature in iOS 7.

Along with creating a gesture based typing app, the UpSense Super Keyboard will also allow you to type in braille. At this point, the hope is to release the app for Android and iOS this year, but the team needs more funding in order to bring the app to market. If you want to support their efforts, consider contributing to their Indiegogo campaign by following the link in the headline.

Since I wasn't clear on how the UpSense keyboard differed from solutions that already exist, I contacted the developer Nissan Yaron.

Q: How is the UpSense keyboard different from solutions like Fleksy?
A: Our keyboard works entirely different, it's based on making gestures with the fingers rather than pressing on specific keys.
After calibration, hot zones come under your fingers and make it possible to define between your fingers in a way that doing the same gesture with a different finger will create a different character.
The characters are made in intuitive way so it's easy to remember them and you can also customize them according to your comfort.
For example, typing 'V' is made with the Index and Middle fingers together in an upward movement.
If you want, you can switch it for downward movement or to something entirely different.

In preparation for the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Orlando, Freedom Scientific has just announced a new addition to their Ruby line of handheld magnifiers. The Ruby HD uses LED technology to provide crisp images that can be magnified from 2X to 13X. Users can also choose from 20 different high contrast colors. Finally, users can store up to 80 images and transfer them to their computer, making the Ruby a digital camera as well. This version of the Ruby sells for $645.

Today I came across an app that makes me very excited as a future teacher of the visually impaired. Everyware Technologies, makers of iMove and other apps has just released a new app for the iPad called Math Melodies. It teaches math concepts using stories and music. The app is compatible with both Zoom and VoiceOver so it's a great option for both blind and low vision students. It also works with a braille display for kids that want to practice their braille while they play.

Math Melodies teaches math concepts that range from first to third grade. Users will practice counting, adding, subtracting, and patterns. They will also learn how to explore a table, a concept that is an important skill that can be quite challenging for blind children. The music and sounds are fun and engaging.

The developers are always appreciative of feedback. If you have any suggestions for how to make the app better, or you just want to thank them for the app, send and email to: accessibility@ew-tech.it!

Fleksyy has had a number of changes since it's release. Some of these changes have been positive, and for some of us, the changes have been confusing. Now that Fleksy has opened it's SDK to other app developers, they want to make sure that the app is consistent and easy to use for it's users. For this reason, they've just released a new version of the app called Fleksy VO. According to the Fleksy blog: here are some of the changes that you'll notice in Fleksy VO. You can now tap and hold the top of the screen to bring back the menu, manual typing has been fixed, and you can use long presses for punctuation. In addition, your dictionary from other versions of Fleksy will be ported over, and it will always be free.

Google is expanding it's horizons once again. They've just announced that they plan to design a contact lens that will measure a person's glucose level using their tears. This is an important issue to our community since Diabetic Retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in the US today. As it stands right now, people have to check their blood throughout the day using needles and glucose monitors. This process can be quite challenging when you can not see. Also, using a contact lens instead of a needle would remove the painful aspect of the process. Finally, since the plan is for readings to be taken every second, diabetics would likely know sooner that their blood sugar is dropping, hopefully preventing blood sugar crashes that can lead to serious medical consequences.

The Matilda Ziegler publishing company was founded in 1907 to provide a monthly magazine in braille to the blind. Over the past 107 years, the magazine has been distributed to thousands of people around the world. In 2009, the board of directors decided to change the magazine to a weekly publication. They also stopped production of the magazine in braille and audio, and decided to offer the articles exclusively online. After 4 years of running the magazine exclusively online, the board of directors is now stopped production of the magazine all together while they decide what they want the future of the magazine to be.

I was brought onto the writing team of the magazine in June of 2010. Over the past three and a half years, it has been my privilege to write for the magazine and to share it with people who don't know about it. I think that our team of writers is passionate and knowledgeable, and that the content that we provide is a valuable resource for our community.

If you are a fan of the Matilda Ziegler magazine and you feel like the board of directors would be making a mistake if they shut the magazine down, please send them your feedback. You can write to them at editor@matildaziegler.com or you can submit comments by visiting the contact section of the Matilda Ziegler website.

Last year's announcement from AOL that WinAmp was going away was unwelcome news from users who really like the software. For the blind community, WinAmp was a favorite app to use while hosting online radio programs or as an accessible alternative to iTunes or Windows Media Player. These users may be in luck though. WinAmp has just been acquired by a company in Belgium called Radionomy . According to the press release, Radionomy plans to bring Winamp back and to offer it on more platforms including mobile.

For those who are not familiar with Radionomy, it's a place where people can design their own radio stations and share them world wide. Since they offer a mobile app, I decided to check out the iOS version. I'm happy to report that the app is very VoiceOver friendly, and it is my hope that their radio station design tools will be just as friendly.

the team at Serotek wants to reward it's customers just for buying their products. Today they announced that people who have a SamNet subscription or one of the Accessibility Anywhere packages will be entered to win prizes each month. This month, they're giving away copies of the book "Out of the Whirlpool" by Sue Martin. Visit the <a href="http://www.serotek.com" Serotek website to learn more.

Access to transportation is a critical issue for the blind and visually impaired. When we don't have access to efficient transportation, our independence can be severely impacted. Researchers at Mississippi State University are studying the transportation issues that the blind and visually impaired face in their daily lives. According to the survey website, the information gained from the survey will be used to help policy makers and other groups that serve our community better serve our transportation needs. Those who complete the survey will have the option to be entered to win 1 of 4 $100 gift certificates.

The University of Nevada Reno is conducting a survey on the challenges that the blind face when dealing with social interactions. A team of researchers is currently developing a device that will recognize faces and give the user information about the faces. They hope that the results from the survey will help them determine what information the device should give to the user. The survey is 12 questions long and should take between 10 and 25 minutes to complete.

For a number of years, WebAiM has collected data on the types of screen readers that people are using. This information is very helpful for website developers. The survey will be open until Jan. 15, 2014.

BrailleNote and VoiceNote users now have a new version of KeySoft. The main highlight of this upgrade is that users can write in Nemeth code and have it translated into print. This will make doing math much easier for users of these products. Students can write out their math using the Nemeth code and than provide it to their teachers in a printed format. The upgrade also comes with a tutorial for the Nemeth code for those who need a refresher or for those that are just learning it. The other major improvement in this upgrade is the ability to open and read Power Point 2007 or 2010 files. The upgrade is free and available now for download.

Sendero continues to make changes to their Seeing Eye GPS app, and the third update should be coming out soon. This update comes with many features that users have been asking for since it's release. Some of the highlights include the ability to run the app in the background or with the screen locked, the ability to play music and still get turn by turn updates, getting warmer routes no longer requiring a cell connection, and reduced calls to the server which uses less data and should improve battery life. The app will now also have a $9.95 monthly subscription option for those who want to test out the app, or for those who are unable to pay the larger up front cost of the yearly subscription.