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Progress was made when ATM's first got braille, and then they were even more usable once they started talking, but the machine still spit out a paper receipt. Wells Fargo is now going to start offering you your receipt either via email or text message. The company is doing this to help cut down on paper waste, but it ends up being a great option for the blind. Customers must have an online account with Wells Fargo to be eligible for the new receipt options.

To celebrate Independence Day, AI Squared is offering a discount of 15% on all orders. You can get the discount by either using the code: INDEPENDENCE, or by calling 800-859-0270 and mentioning the word independence. Happy shopping.

When the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 1997, it was specified that all children with vision impairments should learn braille unless there was a legitimate reason for them not to. However, the number of students who are actually learning braille is continuing to fall despite this requirement. In May,26 senators sent a letter to the Department of Education explaining their concern about the very low rates of braille literacy. Wednesday, the Department of Education issued a statement clarifying the guidelines that school districts must follow. One important change that will hopefully increase braille instruction is the rule that having access to other media such as audio or computers can not be used as an excuse to deny braille. Read the statement from the NFB and the letter from the Department of Education by visiting the link provided.

traveling independently for those of us who can't read the street sign either means having accessible GPS or memorizing where we are. Knowing where you are is an important skill, but it would also be useful if the street sign was accessible. The city of Sydney is currently testing out a prototype of their new street signs which will feature braille and raised letters. They are working with blind citizens to make sure that the signs are readable and that they will be placed in consistent locations on intersections. This change could make travel more safe and appealing to those with vision loss.

There are a number of braille typing apps available for the app store, but some might say that none of them are perfect. Maybe MBraille will be the braille app of our dreams. The developer hopes that it will be released in the app store next week. Some of the features, according to the AppleVis post include: ability to type in contracted or uncontracted braille, ability to post to Facebook and twitter, ability to send emails and make calendar appointments, and copy and paste text to the clipboard. The post also points out that the app will be free for those who just want to type and tweet, but if you want the full list of features then the app could cost $30.

Echolocation is being talked a lot about these days. There's a new book on how to teach yourself to echolocate, and now from Swiss researchers, there may be an app coming soon that would map out a room using echoes. The app would be able to map out a simple room to help orient the blind person. The technology could also locate a person within a room because everyone's echo is unique. This could make finding our friends or learning the layout of a room that much easier.

Apple announced today that it's adding new content to the apple TV. If you have an HBO Go account, which requires you to be subscribed to HBO, you can now watch content on your apple TV. They have also added ESPN content. In both cases, you need a cable or satellite subscription to access these new features. Note that some people are reporting that the sign-up screen for HBO Go is not accessible with VoiceOver. Let us know your findings in the comments.

JJ Lucia-Wright, a member of Extreme Clowning, an organization that helps the deaf/blind experience entertainment in an accessible way has created the first Star Wars convention that is just for people with disabilities. The convention will take place later this year in Peterborough England. Attendees will be able to tactually explore costumes from the films, meet costume characters and actors from the films, and even get to experience a droid. There will be sign language and tactile sign language interpreters on hand. Donations to the Kickstarter campaign will be used to support the many volunteers that are going to make the event possible. Is this a cool idea, or just a bit weird? Sound off in the comments.

Christopher Toth, maker of Hope the Accessible Pandora and Q-read, has added Chicken Nugget, an accessible PC twitter client to his website. The app is still in beta, but you can now download the beta from the website. You can also purchase an official copy of the app for $15.00.

On Friday, Microsoft released its new version of office for the iPhone and iOS devices.
The app is called Office Mobile for 365 Subscribers and as the title suggests,
the app is only for current 365 subscriber's.
There is a way to buy a one month's or year's subscription within the app or on Microsoft's site. Students can also get a special 4-year license for $79.99. According to a post on Apple Vis from Bryan Jones, the app is usable, but there are a number of accessibility issues.

Contrary to what many may think, watching TV is something that many blind people enjoy. At this point though, getting access to the program guide, or something like On Demand from Comcast is pretty much impossible. There are even more hours of audio described programming available then ever before, but in order to turn on that feature you have to go through a set of visual menus. Comcast has decided to address this problem, and they demonstrated their first talking cable TV interface today. According to an article from Comcast, "The ability to navigate the program guide as the interface speaks channel names and numbers, time slots, and program details empowers customers to explore all that Xfinity TV has to offer." The interface will even have a button on the remote that will turn on descriptive audio if it's available. The design is still a prototype, but Comcast hopes to have it available in the near future.

At this point, in order to provide gene therapy for eye conditions affecting the retina, doctors have to insert the genes behind the retina because there are no viruses that are strong enough to get to all of the photo receptor cells that will need fixing. This procedure can be very dangerous. This may soon no longer be a concern though. A team of researchers at UC Berkley have created a virus that will effectively deliver the virus to the photo receptor cells and the needle does not have to go to the back of the eye. This will likely make the therapy more effective. Human trials are in the works. Via UC Berkeley

Amazon has been offering fresh groceries in the Seattle area for a couple of years which is great for Seattle and no one else. Since prime memberships have increased significantly over the past few years, Amazon is going to try out a new version of prime in Los Angeles. For $299 a year, Amazon will provide free delivery of fresh groceries as long as your order is over $35. Imagine never having to go grocery shopping again and having the power of Amazon at the same time. Via Time Business

We have known for quite some time that twitter was going to change it's API and potentially make many twitter clients no longer work. As of June 11th, Easy Chirp and the Qube no longer are working. Q-Continuum, the developer of Hope the accessible Pandora and Q-read has come out with a new twitter client called Chicken Nugget. This link will take you to a dropbox page where you can download the file. The app is still in beta.

AI Squared has announced that the newest version of Zoomtext, version 10.8, is now available. For all current users of Zoomtext 10, this is a free upgrade. Some of the changes include: improved reading support for Outlook 2010, great improvements in Excel 2007 and 2010, and better support of IE 8 and Firefox. Depending on your settings, the update may happen automatically or you can select update in the menu.

VOStarter, the first app to offer training on the VoiceOver screen-reader for iOS has just been released to the app store. Developed by Michael Doise, VO Starter offers tips and hints navigating various iOS elements such as buttons, text fields, tabs and more. It also allows one to practice interacting with these different controls. VO Starter is currently free for a limited time.

HumanWare has released the HumanWare Communicator, an app designed to allow a sighted person to comunicate to a deaf blind individual using an iOS device and a braille display. The deaf blind individual writes messages on the bluetooth braille display, and the sighted person is able to respond using the touch keyboard. All interaction appears both on
the deaf-blind person’s refreshable Braille display, as well as visually on the screen of the iOS device. The HumanWare Comunicator app costs $99.99, and is available now from the iTunes app store.

Here's a nice deal to go along with the savings we posted on Jeans from Kohl's.

Kohl's is now offering 20 to 40 percent Off Select Athletic Shoes for the entire Family. Click the link on this site to browse the deals that end on July 28.

Humanware offers the Trekker Breeze for $729.00 with free shipping. That's $200 off the regular price!

Imagine doing your neighborhood chores freely without having to depend on other people, without having to count your steps or always worrying about getting lost. Breeze tells you where you are, where you are going and what is around, such as stores and public services. Click the link provided or call 1 800-722-3393 to learn more. Deal ends June 30.

Independent Living Aids is offering some great deals on telephones during its Mother's Day Sale with some items shipping for free! Two items of note include:

Braille Speakerphone with Large Numbers, SALE PRICE: $26.40. The large numbers on the keypad of this phone are raised, and have accompanying symbols in Braille.

JV35 Amplified Phone with Jumbo Buttons & Braille, SALE PRICE: $111.95 with free shipping. An outstanding telephone that satisfies the needs of both the hearing and visually impaired. Buttons are High contrast with Braille and voice announcement of each number as it is dialed.