Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Tackling the Research Paper: Tips and Tools for Success for People with Vision Loss, by J.J. Meddaugh, which was republished in the July "Back to School" issue, is a great article. Can you share any tips or articles related to proofreading a document using a screen reader?

Thanks,

D

Response from AccessWorld Associate, Aaron Preece

Hello D,

Thank you for reaching out to AccessWorld with your question. There are certain settings you can change to make it possible to accurately edit a research paper using a screen reader.

First, turn on All Punctuation: Many screen readers will have a punctuation verbosity setting where you can adjust how much punctuation the screen reader will read to you. Even though it can be distracting when reading for information, using this setting will allow you to check your writing for proper punctuation.

Second, adjust settings to get the maximum amount of information regarding your text. In addition to punctuation, it is possible for your screen reader to give you a great deal of information regarding your text including font name, size, color, and alignment. The way that these settings are structured will vary across different screen readers, so the following pages on the most commonly used Windows screen readers may be helpful:

I hope this information is helpful.

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

In response to Bill Holton's Accessible Personal Finance: Dollars and "Sense" for Blind and Low-Vision Seniors:

In your coming review of finance products, could you please do a comparison of access banks? For instance, USBank is an online bank that has an accessibility policy and strives to be accessible in all areas, which I think ought to be highlighted. No, I do not use this bank. However, some banks are more accessible than others. Wells Fargo is pretty accessible, whereas Navy Federal Credit Union could use some help with its online tools. I saw that you mentioned WealthFront; could you also please review Betterment?

Also, I'm looking for some accessible personal finance management tools (e.g., Quickbooks). For instance, I formerly used You Need a Budget, but find now that it is inaccessible with VoiceOver.

Just some ideas. I hope these are helpful and useful. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering my suggestions.

Best regards,

Channelle Heth, Esq.

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Hey just wanted to drop a quick note to express my appreciation for such a well written article in memory of 40 years of Apple, Happy 40th Birthday to Apple: A Look Back at Apple's Progress by Janet Ingber.

Furthermore, my appreciation as a reader for some time goes to each and every person who has contributed such excellent quality of writing and reporting in the name of accessibility, dignity, and independence to all those who are blind and/or vision impaired across the globe.

Keep up the great work all of you.

Cheers

Haroon Probst

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

In response to the article What Facebook Wants You to Know about Automatic Alternative Text by Bill Holton:

I am wondering if this technology could be used in Rosetta Stone, which is a language learning program? The blind are not able to use it due to it using pictures to learn.

Sincerely,

Renee M Zelickson

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Choose the Right Electronic Magnifier, Part 1: Identify Your Priorities, by Shelly Brisbin and Lee Huffman is great. I actually work with patients every day to help them pick the right video magnifier. One great "transportable" is the Topaz PHD by Freedom Scientific! (This is what I have for college!)

Carrie S. Morales

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

In response to What Facebook Wants You to Know about Automatic Alternative Text by Bill Holton:

This has been very helpful to me and I look forward to more detailed information. I was wondering when we will be able to have our devices read text on a photo. There are a lot of shared photos that have the written word as a picture and I can't read that. Thanks for all you do.

Sharon Chism

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

In response to What Facebook Wants You to Know about Automatic Alternative Text by Bill Holton:

Most impressive, can we look forward to OCR?

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Let me first start off by saying how much I enjoyed reading the article, A Review of the 6dot Label Maker from LoganTech: Potentially a Braille User's Dream. It is always a treat to read material by Deborah Kendrick. Next, I really appreciated how informative and detailed oriented the article was in describing the various aspects of the 6-dot Braille Label Maker. It is writing and information like this that is so helpful for a person contemplating the purchase of any product and especially assistive technology. Let me lastly say that I am in full agreement with Debora and her colleagues when considering the price of the product. Wow! Sticker shock to be sure. I really appreciate what AccessWorld does and I am glad that the magazine is featured prominently in Top Tech Tidbits, a weekly online publication of Flying Blind LLC.

Thank you and best regards,

Chris Foster

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Thank you for a well-written review, A Review of the 6dot Label Maker from LoganTech: Potentially a Braille User's Dream by Deborah Kendrick. My experiences are somewhat different as I owned an original product from several years ago. When they offered a trade in, I was happy to go along for the ride. Seemingly they changed the size of tape the unit will take, down to 3/8. My unit never provides a right-hand tab. However, the worse aspects are the three wasted cells on the left of a produced label. And even the left arrow will not rewind enough to save tape. I would need to cut with scissors, as I may only have room for 4 characters across an SD case. Also, unless I space once after beginning a new label, it will jam most symbols together.

Thanks,

Sherman Oaks

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