AccuWeather to Provide Emergency Weather Alert Information to the Blind and Print-Disabled via NFB-NEWSLINE
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and its newspaper service for the blind, NFB-NEWSLINE, have announced a collaboration with AccuWeather, an online weather information service, to provide emergency weather alerts to blind and print-disabled subscribers throughout America. NFB-NEWSLINE is a free audible information access service that provides over 300 newspapers and magazines to the blind. The AccuWeather information service will be offered on NFB-NEWSLINE, giving people who are blind and print-disabled instant access to emergency weather alerts.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), said: "The lack of access to emergency weather alerts has been a persistent problem for the blind, and now with the combination of AccuWeather alerts and NFB-NEWSLINE, an innovative source of this critical information has been created for the blind of America. With the inclusion of the AccuWeather information service, NFB-NEWSLINE continues to be on the cutting edge in providing independent access to much-needed information to the blind of America."
NFB-NEWSLINE subscriber David Denotaris said: "For the first time, I am able to easily gain access to emergency weather service alerts by making a phone call. With the addition of the AccuWeather alerts on NFB-NEWSLINE, I can access the information that I need to keep my family safe. To this day, the alert systems available on television are not accessible to the blind, but now with the AccuWeather emergency warning system on NFB-NEWSLINE, I will have the same information and at the same time as my sighted co-workers, neighbors, and peers."
NFB-NEWSLINE is a free audible newspaper and magazine reading service that provides information to blind and print-disabled readers over the telephone, online, and on the iPhone. For more information or to register for NFB-NEWSLINE visit the NFB-NEWSLINE website, send an e-mail, or call 866-504-7300.
Perkins School for the Blind, Helen Keller National Center, and FableVision Will Lead the iCanConnect Campaign
Many thousands of Americans who have combined loss of hearing and vision may soon connect with family, friends, and community thanks to the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program. Mandated by the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established this new program to provide support for the local distribution of a wide array of accessible communications technology.
The FCC is also funding a national outreach campaign to educate the public about this new program. The iCanConnect campaign will be conducted jointly by Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, the Helen Keller National Center in New York City, NY, and FableVision of Boston, MA. iCanConnect will seek to ensure that everyone knows about the free communications technology and training that is now available to low-income individuals with combined hearing and vision loss. From screen enlargement software and video phones to off-the shelf products that are accessible or adaptable, this technology can vastly improve quality of life for this population.
iCanConnect seeks to increase awareness about the availability of communications technology for this underserved population, so people who are deaf-blind and have limited income can remain safe and healthy, hold jobs, manage their households, and contribute to the economy and the community.
Information about the new equipment distribution program is available online at the iCanConnect website or by phone at 800-825-4595. Additional information is available through the online FCC Encyclopedia.
"With the right technology, people with disabilities can link to information and ideas, be productive, and move ahead," said Steven Rothstein, President of Perkins. "Perkins' most famous student, Helen Keller, exemplified the potential of a person who is deaf-blind. We are proud to have a role in this transformational program."
The CVAA, championed in Washington, DC, by Congressman Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, acknowledges that advances in technology can revolutionize lives. Nearly one million people in the United States have some combination of vision and hearing loss. People with combined loss of vision and hearing as defined by the Helen Keller National Center Act whose income does not exceed 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible to participate in the new program.
"The mission of the Helen Keller National Center is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice," explains Executive Director Joe McNulty, adding, "This critical technology access program accelerates those efforts but only if people know about the resources. iCanConnect is poised to get the word out, coast to coast."
"FableVision's mission is to help ALL learners reach their full potential," said Paul Reynolds, CEO of FableVision Studios. "With this program we advance that mission, helping spread the word about equal access to tools that offer those with hearing and vision loss the transformational power of technology." Reynolds adds, "Now everyone is invited to the technology promise powering the human network."
New Version of Nokia Screen Reader is Now Available on the Nokia Store!
Popular and free application now supports more than 40 devices and 29 languages
The popular Nokia Screen Reader application, which was released late in 2011 for a limited range of devices and languages, has now been extended to include support for virtually all Nokia Symbian devices released in the last few years. In addition, it now supports a much wider range of languages, and it's still a free application.
"We've received fantastic feedback since the launch of Nokia Screen Reader 10 months ago," explains Eduard Sànchez, CEO at Code Factory. "It's been a great leap forward for affordable accessibility, and Nokia is to be credited for supporting the project. However, many users were disappointed that their phone or language was not supported. With the release of Nokia Screen Reader 1.3, we are delighted to be able to greatly extend the availability of Nokia Screen Reader both in terms of devices and supported languages, to once again break down the barriers of accessibility."
Major features of v1.3
- Support for a large number of new devices. The full set of supported devices is now: Nokia 500, 603, 700, 701, 808; PureView 5320, 5530, 5630, 5730, 6120, 6121, 6210, 6220, 6700; Slide 6710, 6720, 6790, C5-00, C5 5MP, C6-00, C6-01, C7, E5, E52, E55, E6-00, E63, E66, E7, E71, E71x, E72, E73, E75, N78, N79, N8, N85, N86, N96, N97, N97; Mini X6 and X7.
- Support for a much wider range of languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Hindi, Norwegian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, Arabic, Croatian, Lithuanian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Hungarian, Malaysian, Serbian, Slovak, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Icelandic. Note that some of these languages do not have a corresponding Nokia HQ voice, so it is recommended to use the Nokia standard quality voice for these languages.
- Added the "Voice" option to the UI, which allows users to choose between the Nokia HQ and the Nokia (standard quality) voices. Nokia HQ will still be loaded by default when Nokia Screen Reader is first installed.
- Support for devices running Symbian Belle Refresh and Symbian Belle Feature Pack 2 (FP2) firmware.
- Support for latest version of WhatsApp v2.8.14, the world's most popular mobile messaging application.
To find out more information about Nokia Screen Reader, please read the FAQ. You can also read the Nokia Screen Reader user manual.
You can download Nokia Screen Reader v1.3 from the Nokia Store (either on your phone via the Store app or by connecting the phone to a computer with the Nokia Suite application installed). Search for "Nokia Screen Reader" to download and install this new version. Note that sighted assistance may be needed to download the application from the Nokia Store. The installation process, however, is completely accessible if you leave Nokia Screen Reader running to guide you through the process.
The Beginner's Guide to Echolocation for the Blind and Visually Impaired Released
The Beginner's Guide to Echolocation for the Blind and Visually Impaired by Tim Johnson is now available on Amazon in large print and Kindle versions.
The main goal of this book is to bring better social awareness to the concept of echolocation and make it a more approachable subject for many who may still be hesitant to try. The book teaches the background, uses, mechanics and science of echolocation and provides some basic exercises to encourage readers to experience echolocation first-hand.
Perkins Products Announces New Multi-Sensory Learning Product to Advance Literacy through Braille
People who are sighted can instantly understand the tactile reading system used by people who are blind with the new portable Perkins SMART Brailler. Until now, only specialists or those trained to read the configurations of raised dots could understand braille. Today, the SMART Brailler allows a classroom teacher, a parent of a child who is blind, or a sighted classmate to hear and see what is being brailled instantly with built-in audio and visual output. Perkins Products, a division of Perkins, developed the new device and is ready to ship to schools, rehab centers, and individuals.
The SMART Brailler comes with a Quick Start Guide and an audio overview. Free training videos will be available online. See the SMART Brailler in action on YouTube. For more information and to keep abreast of the availability of this and other related products, visit the Perkins Products website.
