Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I found Ike Presley's article, A Review of Freeware and Shareware Screen Magnification Software for Windows to be very helpful. I am exploring computer technology for instructional purposes.

I appreciate AccessWorld's efforts with posting this information for the benefit of others. Thank you for that.

I post Learning Resources on EduNorth, which is my professional database.

Best wishes,

Damian

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

After reading Deborah Kendrick's January article entitled, John Blake, New CEO of Freedom Scientific, I am left wondering. Since nothing was said about Mr. Blake's level of sight, one is left to believe he is a fully sighted person. I am also wondering if blind people would have had more faith in the company if a blind person had this position.

Best regards,

Phil Parr

Response from AccessWorld author Deborah Kendrick:

Hello Phil,

You raise a very interesting point, and I am a bit dismayed I did not include this fact in the article.

Yes, John Blake is indeed sighted. And yes, I did neglect to mention the fact in the profile.

Your comment is worthy of reflection.

Thank you for your comment — and for reminding me to include all relevant facts in my work.

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I just read Deborah Kendrick's January 2014 article, John Blake, New CEO of Freedom Scientific, and it kills me to write a comment on an article that is a bit critical, because I usually enjoy Access World articles and know you are working hard to keep us informed.

I have gone over the John Blake article looking for interesting or provocative points between the lines, but I'm not really finding any. It's good to gain access to a new CEO of an access technology company, especially Freedom Scientific with it's being a company that develops products we all use every day, but I'm struck with how very little is revealed here. Yes, he is new and needs to listen and learn. Yes, he wants to keep doing the good things the company is doing, and sure, he's looking ahead. But if that's what he's got to say, then in a way Freedom has responded to your inquiry with as close to a "no comment" as Mr. Blake might dare.

JAWS, for one, has many of us less than happy. If Blake said, "Well, one thing we plan to do is really get after bugs in JAWS." I would feel easier about the check I'm going to write for the updates I've been holding out buying the last few years. They make the very best braille display? What makes him say that?

What indeed lies ahead? This portable device's development, this digital picture taking for the purpose of reading printed material, this need for better tactile graphics, this desire for many of us to someday be able to afford a braille display, can all stand some attention from one of the few companies working in the access technology field. In the changing environment, does Freedom Scientific see a role for its particular take on technology? And how are things, financially speaking, investor speaking, resource-allocation speaking? Portable technology and, of all things, touchscreens have become very popular, so where are the makers of blindness-specific products looking for ways to be involved?

I would have been very intrigued and much happier to have seen Mr. Blake speak of more specifics and provide readers with information about Freedom Scientific's future goals.

Respectfully,
Mike Cole

Tax Assistance for People with Disabilities

Another tax season is at our door! The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has provided information about the online tax products and services available for taxpayers with disabilities.

Last year more than one million accessible forms and publications were downloaded, in large part because organizations representing people with disabilities actively promoted their availability.

You can go to the IRS Accessibility page to download forms, publications, and other products, and you can check out tax-related videos in English and American Sign Language on the IRS YouTube page. The IRS highly recommends checking the website often as it is continually growing the number of products accessible to people with disabilities.

Please contact Maureen Goulder, 804-916-8850, if you have any questions or need any additional information.

Mark Your Calendars for the 2014 AFB Leadership Conference in New York City

The 2014 American Foundation for the Blind Leadership Conference (AFBLC) is scheduled for February 27–March 1 at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. Conference attendees can take advantage of a low group rate at the centrally-located hotel and join colleagues new and old for three days of informative and thought-provoking sessions led by leaders in the field. Visit the American Foundation for the Blind Leadership Conference page for the latest information on this conference, which draws hundreds of professionals from across the country and around the world.

The 3rd Annual M-Enabling Summit to be Held June 9–10, 2014, in Washington, DC

The only global conference and showcase exclusively dedicated to accessible and assistive mobile solutions for seniors and users of all abilities, the fastest growing user group in the mobile market place.

The Summit provides an opportunity to network with over 600 high-level government and industry leaders in an environment dedicated to cutting edge technology, solutions, and the sharing of innovative ideas.

Held in cooperation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the 2014 Summit is a must-attend event for anyone participating in this fast expanding market

In the spotlight at the 2014 Summit:

1. Mobile and social media leap forward in accessibility
2. Mobile at the center of smartphone development
3. The next generation of wearable gear
4. Opportunities for users of all abilities with BYOD (bring your own device)
5. Adaptive user interfaces
6. Market opportunities for new services for seniors and people with disabilities
7. How leading corporations promote consumer apps for users of all abilities

Window-Eyes to be Free for Microsoft Office Users

GW Micro, Inc. recently announced that it is partnering with Microsoft to make Window-Eyes available to users of Microsoft Office at no cost. Window-Eyes is a screen reader that enables people who are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled to access Windows PCs via speech and/or braille.

GW Micro and Microsoft have collaborated on this global initiative, available in over 15 languages, to enable anyone using Microsoft Office 2010 or later to also use Window-Eyes for free.

"This significant change in the way we are doing business reflects the changing perception of accessibility and also technology in general. Rather than wait for the world to change, Microsoft and GW Micro are leading the way," said Dan Weirich, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GW Micro. Weirich believes this technology can help millions of people gain access to their PC, and that providing Window-Eyes free of charge will open a whole new world of assistive technology to many people.

"By partnering with GW Micro in this endeavor we are demonstrating Microsoft's ongoing commitment to provide all of our customers with the technology and tools to help each person be productive in both their work and personal lives." said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft.

Eligible customers, using Microsoft Office 2010 or higher, will be able to download a full version of Window-Eyes. The website provides download instructions as well as additional details about this offer.

For more information please contact Dan Weirich, 260-489-3671

When you want or need to learn to do something new, finding a book on the topic is always welcome. That said, for most of us, reading an instructional manual or step-by-step how-to book wouldn't qualify as pleasure reading, but when one of the smartest guys in the field of access technology for blind people teams up with the most innovative and dedicated publisher of braille, it's reasonable to expect the unexpected. Jonathan Mosen's Tweeting Blind is, of course, intended to serve as an instruction manual, a guide to teach the rest of us how to use Twitter, one of the most popular social networking systems in the cybersphere. The result is a book that not only informs, but also engages the reader on every page.

AccessWorld readers may well be familiar with Jonathan Mosen. We first heard his charming New Zealand accent on ACB Radio's "Main Menu," and the style that was so easy and pleasing to the ear and brain in 1999 continued through other work, including podcasts and management roles for two of the industry's major players, HumanWare and Freedom Scientific. Jonathan Mosen is now back in his native Wellington doing his own consulting work. Social networking being what it is, Jonathan is every bit, and perhaps more, connected to his friends and fans now as he has ever been, and in Tweeting Blind, he encourages the rest of us to join the dance and shows us how. Because he writes in that generous "just one of the mates" voice, each step he gives sounds almost simple, enough so that you will keep turning those pages to the end.

Book Overview

Twitter is a social networking tool that combines blogging with text messaging. It allows participants to send out messages ("tweets") of 140 characters or less on any topic, ranging from what flavor tea one happens to be sipping to one's views on genocide. Anyone on Twitter can sign up to follow anyone else, from your coworkers and neighbors to celebrities and heads of state, from sports teams to publications to corporations. If you like (or dislike) one of those 140 character comments, you can re-tweet it, thus widening the circle of people reading the original tweet. You can see who else is following someone whose tweets you particularly enjoy and thus follow some of those people as well, and thus the network expands.

In Tweeting Blind, Jonathan Mosen tells us how to set up an account from a computer, an iPhone or iPad, an Android device, or any combination of tools. He walks us through the various steps involved when working from any given platform and, as tedious as that sounds as you read this sentence, he does it in such a way that it sounds logical and fun!

He tells us how to find people to follow, compose tweets, send direct messages to individuals, and lots more. One element that renders this instructional book so highly readable is the use of examples, many of them whimsical, that Mosen employs to clarify particular points. The effect is charming and, better still, effective for learning.

The book is designed in such a way that you can read it straight through, as I did, or just dive in anywhere for the material that specifically meets your needs. If all you need, for example, is some guidance for setting up your Twitter account using an iOS or Android device, then you only need to go to one of those chapters respectively. The occasional repetitions that are the result of this structure are, you might say, points that warrant repeating (such as cautionary words to prevent embarrassing yourself in the land of tweeting, considerations if you're looking for a new job, etc.).

The Many Roads to Tweetdom

Examples and explanations incorporate a bit of lighthearted humor just often enough to keep the reader engaged and, again, to feel that the author is just a regular guy sharing something that he finds useful and entertaining. Since Jonathan Mosen is blind and the book is written for people who are blind, complete detail is always included regarding keystrokes, gestures, and the general accessibility and appearance of various pieces of the overall Twitter picture.

The author covers the access tools that have been developed for computers and iOS devices to make the Twitter experience more expedient. With each of these, he provides all of the essential information along with some comment regarding each tool's usefulness. He provides step-by-step explanations for using various Twitter clients, includes keyboard shortcuts where applicable, and does it without ever inspiring drowsiness!

Conclusion

Jonathan Mosen and the National Braille Press (NBP) are to be congratulated on this marvelous addition to the libraries of those computer users who are blind. NBP has long been committed to developing instructional materials aimed at making a variety of technological endeavors more navigable for blind people using various accessibility tools. In this instance, even if you aren't sure whether or not you want to join the social network party with your very own Twitter account, you will have a far better understanding of what the fuss is all about after reading this book. The book, like Twitter itself, can be just plain fun.

Book Information

Title: Tweeting Blind, by Jonathan Mosen (National Braille Press)
Price: $19.95
Available formats: Hardcopy braille, DAISY CD, eBraille CD, and downloadable braille or DAISY formats. (Accessible PDF and RTF versions can also be purchased directly from Jonathan Mosen at his website.)
Available from: National Braille Press, 800-548-7323, ext. 520.

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When the new iCloud Keychain feature was announced at Apple's June 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference, it was met with great excitement. Available since late October 2013, iCloud Keychain is a management tool that can help you get your passwords, authentication, payment, and login information under control across all of your Apple devices and computers.

Keychain Functions

According to Apple's FAQ, "iCloud Keychain keeps your Safari website usernames and passwords, credit card information, and Wi-Fi network information up to date across all of your approved devices that are using iOS 7.0.3 or later or OS X Mavericks v10.9 or later."

Passwords, user names, wireless account information, and Internet accounts are automatically transferred when the Keychain is enabled. You have control over which information should be used. For example, you do not have to provide all your passwords and you do not need to provide credit card information. If you do want your credit card information stored, every time you use the website linked with that credit card, you will be asked to enter the credit card's security code.

Security and iCloud Keychain

According to Apple, iCloud Keychain is protected with "industry standard encryption techniques." You do have the option of not storing your information in the cloud. If you choose this option, do not enter an Apple security code during the Keychain set-up process. The drawback of going this route means that Apple will not be able to recover your Keychain information if you lose it.

Setting Up Keychain

If you have not upgraded to iOS 7.0.3 you will be prompted to set up the Keychain during the upgrade. If you have previously chosen not to use the Keychain, but now want to use it, here's how to set it up:

On an iOS Device

1. Go to Settings/iCloud
2. Activate the "Keychain" button
3. Locate the edit box to enter your 4-digit iCloud security code
4. Locate the box to enter your cell phone number or any other phone number that can receive an SMS message. Apple will send you a verification code for setting up the Keychain on your Mac and other devices.
5. Now go to Settings/Safari/Passwords/AutoFill. You will find several buttons. Make sure the button that says "Names and Passwords" is on. If it's not, do a one-finger double tap to activate it.
6. Next is a "Saved Passwords" button. Activating this button will open a new page where you can view all your saved passwords and decide whether they should be saved. If you want to delete some user names and passwords, activate the "Edit" button in the upper right. Select the items you wish to delete by doing a one finger double tap. Once you have selected the items you want to delete, activate the "Delete" button in the upper left of the screen. The deleted items will also automatically be removed from your Mac and any other devices.
7. Next is a button labeled "Always Allow." If this button is activated you can have AutoFill on even if the website requests that passwords not be saved. Think carefully about making the decision to use this feature.
8. The next button is a "Credit Cards" toggle. If it is in the off position, activating it will bring up a prompt to create a passcode lock if you do not already have one.
9. The final button is "Saved Credit Cards." When this button is activated, a screen appears with buttons to edit and add credit card information. If you add a card, the following information is required: card holder's name, card number, expiration date, and a description. This last field can say anything you want. When all the information is entered, activate the "Done" button in the upper right. If you have changed your mind, the "Cancel" button is in the upper left.

On a Mac

You must have OS X Mavericks on your Mac to use iCloud Keychain.

1. Using the Apple menu, Dock, or Applications folder, go to System Preferences and activate the iCloud tab.
2. Select the Keychain checkbox.
3. Enter your Apple ID password and activate the "OK" button.
4. You will be prompted to enter and re-enter a 4-digit security code of your choice. If you do not want your information stored in the cloud, activate the Advanced tab and choose "Don't create security code."
5. You will be prompted to enter a phone number that can receive SMS messages.
6. You will be prompted, but not required, to set up a passcode for when your Mac has had a period of inactivity or sleep. If you do not want to create a passcode, activate the "Not Now" button.

Setting Up Your Mac After You've Set up an iOS Device

1. Using the Apple menu, Dock, or Applications folder, go to System Preferences and select the iCloud tab.
2. Check the Keychain checkbox.
3. Enter your Apple ID and Password to set up the Keychain.
4. Select the "Request Approval" button. A verification code will be sent to the initial device you set up. Enter the code in the edit box.
5. You will be prompted to add your Mac to the list of devices for your Keychain.

Managing Passwords in Safari on a Mac

To view a list of your passwords on a Mac, open Safari and go to Preferences under the Safari menu. Choose the Passwords tab. The first item in the Passwords tab is a checkbox to allow Safari to auto-fill user names and passwords. Next is an edit box labeled Passwords. Type in a URL. If a password has been saved for that site, it will show up in a results table to the right of the edit box.

Next is a table containing a list of websites, user names and passwords. At the top of the table is a checkbox that says, "Show passwords for selected websites." Make sure this box is checked or Safari will not display the passwords. When you check the box, you will be required to enter your computer's password. If you want to delete a password, there is a "Remove" button next to each entry.

Adding Credit Cards

If you want to add credit cards, open Preferences under the Safari menu. This time, activate the AutoFill tab. There are several checkboxes for using contact information, credit cards, and several other features. If you want to add credit cards, make sure the credit card box is checked. Next to that box is a button to edit credit cards. Activating the button brings up a form similar to the one on iOS devices (see above). Once the information is entered, activate the "Done" button. If you want to remove a credit card, select it and activate the "Remove" button.

Adding Additional Devices

You can add additional devices to the Keychain. Each additional device needs to be approved by the first device you set up. Simply follow the prompts and fill in the requested information. For example, if your first device was your Mac, that's the device that will have to approve all subsequent devices.

Using the Keychain

If you visit a website where your login information has been saved, there is no need to enter it again. If you want verification, review the contents of the password edit box. On iOS devices, VoiceOver will give the number of bullets entered in the password edit box. On the Mac, you will hear clicks. Just activate the "Login" button.

Once iCloud Keychain is enabled, whenever you go to a new website Safari and all iOS devices will ask you whether you want to save the login information for the new site.

If you saved credit card information, activate the credit card entry box and a list of your saved cards will appear. Choose the one you want. You will have to enter your CVV (security) code for the card.

Conclusion

The new iCloud Keychain feature is a definite convenience. If you use it, you no longer have to remember all of your passwords. You can also have Keychain create passwords for you, or you can make them up yourself.

Although it is a bit of work to set up the Keychain, it is a very useful option.

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First, there was the iPad running Apple iOS. Next, Google chimed in with itsAndroid-powered Nexus 7. Now Microsoft has tossed its hat into the competitive ring of touchscreen devices with their line of Surface tablets running Windows 8. I spent several weeks putting a second generation Surface Pro 2 through its paces. Here's what I found.

Surface 2 (or RT) versus Surface Pro 2

The Microsoft Surface 2 comes in two flavors: the Surface 2 (called the Surface RT in its first incarnation) and the second-generation Surface Pro 2. The Surface Pro 2 is basically an Intel Core i5 Windows 8 touchscreen computer that will run Windows Store apps on the main tiled interface, and also nearly all Windows desktop applications, including third-party screen readers such as JAWS, Window-Eyes, and NVDA.

The Surface 2 runs a slightly different RT version of Windows that is optimized for an Arm processor. Arm processors are the power-conserving chips found in most cell phones, tablets and other touch devices.

Both models will run apps you download from the Windows Store, but the only standard Windows desktop applications that will run on the Surface 2 are the pre-installed versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote. The Surface Pro 2 offers free access to the online versions of these popular applications, but to install the complete desktop version of Office you'll need to obtain and install a licensed copy.

At least for now, the Surface 2 does not run any third-party screen reader, and for that reason alone I don't recommend purchasing one. That said, if a friend or family member should offer to let you use theirs to read a Word document, check your e-mail, or do a quick Web search, I would not hesitate to give it a try, especially if you've spent some time honing your Narrator skills on your main Windows 8 computer.

The Surface Pro 2: Specifications

The Surface Pro 2 measures 10.81 by 6.81 by 0.53 inches, weighs 2 pounds, and includes:

• Front and back video/still cameras
• Dual microphones and stereo speakers
• One USB 3.0 port
• One HD video out port
• One micro SD card reader
• Non-user-removable battery
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.0.
• Ambient light sensor
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Magnetometer

According to specifications provided on the Microsoft site, you should be able to get up to 7 hours of video playback, and 7-15 days idle from a fully charged battery.

The screen resolution is 1920 × 1080. You can opt for certain combinations of 64, 128, 256, or 512 GB of storage with 4 or 8 GB of system memory.

A Guided Tour

Holding the tablet in landscape mode, at the right side of the top edge you will find the power button. The left edge contains, from top to bottom, a 3.5mm headphone jack, the volume rocker switch, and the USB 3.0 port. Uppermost on the right edge you will find the micro SD card reader, which you can use to add up to 64 GB of additional storage. Bottommost on this edge is the HD video out port. Between these two is the magnetic power connector, an inch long trough where you connect lengthwise the metal tip of the wall plug adapter.

On the back of is a two-position kickstand used to hold the tablet at upright angles optimized for use on your lap or a table or desk. Finally, on the lower edge, you will find a second magnetic connector, this one for the optional Surface keyboard.

The Surface Keyboard Covers

The Surface Pro 2 does not come standard with a keyboard. It will work with most Bluetooth keyboards, but you may also wish to consider a dedicated Microsoft Surface keyboard cover that will protect the screen and turn it off automatically when you fold it closed.

There are two types of Surface keyboard covers, the Touch Cover and the Type Cover. Most blind and partially sighted users will want to avoid the standard Touch Cover, a flat pressure-responsive keyboard that offers no tactile orientation. It might be possible to use this keyboard if you marked most or all of the keys with raised dots, but I think a better solution is to spend a bit more money on a Type Cover. This full laptop-size keyboard has raised keys and a clickable mouse track pad in the center of the palm rest. It doesn't add much heft or thickness to the tablet, but the full-size keys have sufficient separation. The keyboard cover attaches and detaches easily via the magnetic connector on the bottom edge of the Surface. There is a satisfying click to let you know the keyboard is properly seated.

Open the kickstand and position the Surface and keyboard cover in a laptop configuration and you're ready to type. Need a few minutes to perform a few touch gestures? You can reach out to the screen and perform the commands just like on any other Windows computer with at least four screen touch points, which are required to use Narrator. You can also replace the kickstand and fold the keyboard all the way around, so that the keys are now facing away from you. Gripping the Surface in this manner will invariably cause you to press down on several of the keys, but it doesn't matter. When you fold the keyboard cover completely open and hold the Surface tablet style, the keyboard auto-disables itself and the Surface presents a touch keyboard whenever it's time for data entry. I found this configuration extremely useful for switching between keyboard and touch modes.

First Impressions

As mentioned, with a Type Cover attached and the kickstand in place, the Surface Pro 2 basically has the functionality of a fairly snappy, Windows 8 touchscreen notebook computer. The keyboard lies very flat on a surface or your lap, and at first this can take a bit of getting used to. The weight distribution also feels a bit awkward at first. Most of the bulk is in the Surface itself, and using it on my lap I always had the feeling I could easily tip it backwards, despite the kickstand.

The Surface Pro 2 would make an excellent computer for someone who travels frequently, since it would fit well on an airplane seat tray. I would be reluctant to use it on a too-small classroom desk, however. A better alternative for screen-reader users would be to pair the device with a Bluetooth keyboard and Bluetooth headset, which would allow you to stow the Surface itself under the desk, or inside your backpack.

The tablet is squared off at the edges, so it doesn't have quite as sleek a feel as an iPad or Google Nexus. The build quality is excellent, however, and it felt solid in my hands. The speakers have a rich sound with average volume.

The magnetic charger is a definite plus, since it will help prevent accidentally pulling the device off a table and damage to the power jack. It's a bit fussy to orient the power tip correctly, but there is only one way it will fit and you can definitely tell when it's properly seated.

You can install the screen reader of your choice on the Surface Pro 2, though currently only two, JAWS and NVDA, offer any touch-gesture support. For this review I did not install a third party screen reader.

Microsoft Narrator

In Windows 7 and most earlier versions, Microsoft Narrator could best be described as a screen reader of last resort, something you invoked when your real screen reader stopped working and you needed to diagnose the problem and hopefully get it fixed. With Windows 8, however, Microsoft has upgraded Narrator's functionality to the point where it can almost (but not quite) be considered a full-fledged screen reader.

The improvements begin with the voices. Windows 8 features a suite of high-quality text-to-speech voices, including three English voices: Hazel, Zira, and David. Personally, I find the David voice to be among the highest quality voices currently available from any source. You can adjust voice speed, pitch, and volume, and there is also an option to lower the system volume whenever Narrator is speaking. I quickly disabled this option, however, as it tended to be a bit sticky. For example, playing a Netflix movie, the volume would stay lowered, making dialogue all but inaudible.

Microsoft has also made Narrator easier to invoke. Before, you had to go through the Ease of Access Center to start Narrator. Now, on any Windows 8 computer or tablet with a connected keyboard, all you need to do is press the Windows Logo Key + Enter to toggle Narrator on and off. Caps Lock + Escape also turns Narrator off.

It is also possible to toggle Narrator on and off on the Surface using a touchscreen command. You do this by pressing and holding the onscreen Windows Logo Key, located midway across the bottom edge of the touchscreen, while concurrently pressing the hardware volume up button. I found this extremely difficult to accomplish. Usually it took me a number of tries, especially when trying to turn Narrator on with no speech feedback. Instead of having to find a special spot on the screen, I think a much better choice would have been to use something like a three-finger touch and hold while pressing the volume rocker.

The Narrator Command Set

You can view a full list of Narrator commands by pressing Caps Lock + F1 on any Windows 8 tablet or PC, or by logging on to the Narrator website. Touchscreen users can call up the same list by tapping three times with four fingers.

Narrator now sports a full set of keyboard navigation and voice synthesizer controls, most of which use Caps Lock as the modifier key. (If you need to press Caps Lock while you are working, press it twice in quick succession.) You can change the keyboard shortcuts for any command, but here is a list of a few of the defaults to demonstrate the breadth and level of functionality:

• Caps Lock + H Read document
• Caps Lock + I Read next paragraph
• Caps Lock + J Jump to next heading
• Caps Lock + F3 Jump to next cell in row
• Caps Lock + F2 Show commands for current item
• Caps Lock + Minus Decrease voice speed

Using the Surface Pro keyboard and Narrator, I was able to accomplish all of my basic computer tasks: checking and replying to e-mails; browsing the Web; creating, revising, and reviewing Office documents. I could also easily navigate the Windows 8 tiled interface, purchase and use most Windows Store apps, and modify system settings.

One Narrator annoyance I did experience on occasion occurred when I ran the app for Netflix or Audible. Often Narrator would go dead silent for an extended period of time, much longer than it should have taken to gather my account information from the cloud. No progress beeps were emitted, and if I tried toggling Narrator off and back on again, I often received this error message:

Another Ease of Access application is preventing Narrator from supporting touch. To use touch with Narrator, close the application and then re-enable Narrator by pressing Windows plus Volume Down on a slate or Caps Lock plus F11 on a keyboard. To continue using Narrator, please plug in a keyboard and press the Space key.

This is a rather awkward error message. Apparently I have to close an application I cannot access with speech, then turn Narrator back on and try again. Luckily, pressing the Spacebar, and perhaps Escape a few times, tended to clear things up. But this is not what I want to hear after I get all settled in for the evening on my sofa using touch gestures to listen to a recorded book or play a movie.

Narrator Touch Gestures

Of course one of the main reasons for considering a Windows tablet is so you can access and use your favorite Windows applications without being tethered to a keyboard. To that end, Narrator provides a fairly comprehensive collection of speech-enhanced touch gestures. Some add speech to pre-existing gestures. A one-finger drag in from the right edge of the screen, for example, calls up the Windows 8 Charms menu where you can access your computers settings; Narrator announces "Charms Menu." Dragging down from the very top of the screen with one finger causes Narrator to announce options to make the current app go full screen, or to close it and return it to your running apps list. Continue to hold after Narrator says "Close," and after a second or two you'll also be given the option to end the app and remove it from active memory.

As with Android and iOS, dragging a finger slowly across the Windows 8 touchscreen causes Narrator to voice the item located directly beneath your fingertip. A one-finger double tap opens the app, activates a control, or summons the touch keyboard, depending on your location. Audible clicks and pops confirm your actions, though you can turn these off in the Narrator settings menu.

Performing a one-finger swipe to the left or right advances you one item in that direction. For example, on the Start screen, swiping right advances your touch point from app window to app window, a double tap then opens the app. You can move by headings, links, tables, paragraphs, lines, words, characters, and screen items such as app windows and controls. Moving among these options is done by performing a one-finger swipe up or down until you reach the one you want. Perhaps Microsoft should consider adding a separate gesture that would allow you to swipe left or right to change voice, speed, and other Narrator options currently buried in the Narrator settings menus and only quickly available using a keyboard.

Using the Windows 8 Touch Keyboard with Narrator

In the Narrator settings you can choose whether you want to use the Windows 8 touch keyboard in standard mode (swipe until you find the key you want, then one-finger double tap to enter it), or in touch mode (slide your finger until you find the desired key, then lift your finger and the key is typed automatically). The touch keyboard is well laid out, with numbers/symbols and emoticons accessed by touch toggles. All of the emoticons are labeled.

With no physical keyboard attached, the touch keyboard popped up automatically whenever I double tapped a password or other Windows Store app field that required data entry. Strangely, however, it did not appear when I double tapped the edit area in either Notepad or MS Word. There is no Narrator or Windows 8 gesture to summon the touch keyboard. I had to locate and double tap the difficult to find toggle button at the bottom, midway right, of the touchscreen. Also, swiping around the keyboard, I occasionally called up the Windows Charms menu, and by the time I got it closed, I had also turned off the touch keyboard and had to find the toggle button again. Small snippets of text are quite doable with the touch keyboard, but if you plan to do a lot of text entry, you will definitely want a Type Cover or Bluetooth keyboard.

Using Narrator with Microsoft Office

Currently, a Windows tablet is the only one that will run Microsoft Office, an absolute must-have for many work environments. I tried Office 365 with the Surface Pro 2, with mixed results.

As with other software, using a touch-type cover or an attached USB keyboard causes the tablet to work like any standard laptop. Using touch, however, results in some unique accessibility challenges. I never was able to review a PowerPoint file using Narrator and touch gestures. When I loaded in an Excel file the only navigation available was by item element, and swiping left or right only allowed me to navigate column to column on the same spreadsheet row. I could not easily navigate up and down from row to row.

MS Word performed much better. I could navigate via all the standard elements, characters, words, paragraphs, etc. Table navigation was limited, however. Entering a table, no matter which mode I chose, I could only go left or right until I reached the end of a row, at which point another swipe would move to the beginning or end of the next or previous row, depending on which way I was swiping.

I did enjoy the way Narrator handles cut and paste in Word and other text-rich apps. With the cursor at one end of the block of text you wish to highlight, you perform a one-finger triple tap, which places you in text-selection mode. Use normal one-finger swipe gestures to move to the other end of the text you wish to highlight. Then perform a four-finger single tap, which enables you to access controls to Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, or Read Highlighted Block.

Narrator: Conclusions

With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft has provided a new and greatly improved Narrator. It is by no means a full-featured screen reader, but I suspect that a casual PC or Windows tablet user could perform most essential tasks, checking e-mail and Web browsing, with little difficulty. It's also a useful emergency screen reader when your main screen reader crashes, and I would encourage all Windows 8 users to spend some time familiarizing themselves with Narrator's various commands and hotkeys before they are needed.

I also believe that with the current release Microsoft has positioned Narrator exactly where it needs to be: good enough, but not too good.

Currently, the vast majority of employers use Microsoft Windows. Many rely on custom programs and interfaces, which often lack "out of the box" accessibility. Happily, there are a number of third party companies who compete for the opportunity to support sight-impaired users of these software packages and custom interfaces, and when a new standard, such as ARIA, is introduced, they race to be the first to support it with advanced scripting and public betas to implement new screen reader functions and features.

If Narrator had more features, it would probably drive Freedom Scientific, GW Micro, and other makers of screen readers out of business. We would then be at the mercy of a single company, Microsoft, to make the inaccessible accessible. Without any real competition, I suspect this would happen in a much slower timeframe than it does now.

True, these third party screen readers can be expensive, but how many people with visual impairments are employed today because they are available? For those who can't afford the expensive readers, there is the free NVDA screen reader, and now, with Windows 8, a new and improved Narrator.

The Bottom Line

Starting at $899 without a Type Cover (which start at $119.99) the Surface Pro 2 is a bit on the expensive side, but keep in mind that it provides the functionality of both a laptop and a tablet. Add a Bluetooth keyboard and USB sound card and it transforms into a fairly snappy desktop computer.

As a tablet, I found the Surface Pro 2 to be not quite as intuitive and easy to use as an iPad, but considerably more accessible and less frustrating than a Nexus 7 Android tablet. Windows users who are visually impaired and who wish to extend their computer use to a tablet without learning iOS or Android will enjoy the Surface Pro 2. You can run all of your favorite Windows Store and Windows Desktop applications for both work and play from the convenience of your couch. Though it's true that Narrator's touch gestures do not enable 100-percent access to MS Office applications, third-party screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA are adding additional touch support with each new release. Worst case, you can always flip the Type Cover or a Bluetooth keyboard into place to work past nearly all accessibility snags.

Product Information

Product: Microsoft Surface Pro 2
Price: starting at $899.99
Available From: Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Tiger Direct, and other major retailers

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The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has released BARD Mobile, an iOS app designed to play the talking book titles available from the BARD website. These titles are also available, and used to be only available, on special cartridges designed for the Digital Talking Book Players produced by the NLS. Now, it's possible to play these titles on iOS devices. BARD Mobile has been highly anticipated, since the NLS is the last of the three major producers of accessible electronic books (Bookshare and Learning Ally are the others) to make their titles accessible on iOS devices. For this evaluation, I used an iPhone 4S running iOS 7.0.4.

Documentation and Initial Setup

The documentation for BARD Mobile is available online and within the application itself. The guide is thorough, easily accessible, and well organized, with headings that make for easy navigation. Almost every aspect of the application is described in the guide. The only missing item is the fact that books can be transferred to BARD Mobile from your computer using iTunes.

When you open the app for the first time, you will be presented with the BARD Service Agreement screen. The window where the agreement is displayed does not encompass the entire page but stops at the bottom quarter of the page. Below this window, there is an "Agree" button on the left side of the screen, followed by a "Start" button that is centered at the very bottom of the screen. To proceed with the initial setup, you must first activate the "Agree" button, and then activate the "Start" button. The "Agree" button will be labeled as "Selected" when it has been successfully activated. If you attempt to activate the "Start" button first, an alert will appear instructing you to agree to the agreement before proceeding.

After you have agreed to the Service Agreement, you will be taken to a Sign In screen. This screen contains a "Back" button in the top left corner of the screen that will take you back to the agreement. Next to the "Back" button is a heading labeled "BARD Account"; below this heading is another labeled "Login Information," followed by the user name and password text fields where you can enter your BARD credentials. At the very bottom of the page is a "Done" button that stretches the width of the screen. This button is hidden by the on-screen keyboard, so in order to see it, make sure to click the "Done" button on the keyboard itself when you've finished entering text.

Acquiring Books: The Get Books Tab

The BARD Mobile home screen is separated into four tabs that are always displayed at the bottom of the screen for easy access. They are (left to right): Bookshelf, Get Books, Settings, and Now Reading. After you have logged into your BARD account, you will be placed in the Get Books tab, which provides access to the BARD catalog of digital talking books and braille books. The screen boasts a simple layout: the various options are arranged in a single column that extends across the entire screen for easy navigation. The first item at the top of the screen is the Get Books heading, followed by an item that opens your Wish List. Following the Wish List item, there is a heading labeled "Recently Added Titles." Below this heading are items that display recently added audio books, audio magazines, braille books, and braille magazines. At the bottom of the screen there is a heading labeled "BARD website." Below this heading is an item labeled "Browse BARD," which allows you to navigate the BARD website. To download books from this screen, they must either be in your Wish List or in Recently Added Titles; there is not a standard search function on this screen.

The Wish List and the Recently Added Titles items are nearly identical in layout. These screens begin with a heading with the title of the screen and the number of items listed for the given category. For example, the heading might read something like: "Wish List. 1 item." The Wish List screen has an edit button on the far right of the heading that when activated, allows you to delete unwanted books from the list. The Recently Added Titles screens have a table index so that you can quickly move through the list; an edit button is not present on these screens. The books on the Wish List and Recently Added Titles screens are in a single column; activating the title of the book will produce an alert that asks you if you would like to download the book. Beside the book title is a "More Info" button that launches a details screen, which lists the title, author, annotation, narrator, total time, and book number. Below this information there is a "Download" button that immediately begins the download when activated. If the book is in your Wish List, it will disappear from the Wish List and appear on your bookshelf. If it is in one of the categories under Recently Added Titles, it will appear on your bookshelf and remain in the list of recently added titles that you were browsing. Between the book title and "More Info" button will be displayed the percentage of the download that has been completed. Only one book can be downloaded at a time; therefore, if you add others they will be listed as "Queued for Download." Once a book downloads, a chime plays and an alert is displayed notifying you that the book has finished downloading.

The "Browse BARD" option at the bottom of the Get Books screen allows you to navigate the BARD website so that you can search for titles and add them to your Wish List for download. When browsing the BARD website, there is a heading at the top of the screen labeled "BARD." To the right of this heading are "Back" and "Forward" buttons. On the left is a button that will return you to the Get Books screen. The main tabs are also still displayed at the bottom of the screen. The BARD Mobile website is almost identical to the standard BARD website, with one minor change. Instead of a "Download" option after a book's description, there is an "Add to Wish List" option. It's important to note that you can't leave the BARD website when browsing using the app. Therefore, those links that would leave the BARD website can't be activated.

It's possible to transfer books from your computer to the BARD Mobile app using iTunes. With your iOS device connected to your computer running iTunes, navigate to the "Apps" radio button on the iOS device's control screen. You can then tab to File Sharing Apps where you can select apps that can receive files. After selecting "BARD mobile" you can activate the "Add" button to add files to the app. To add talking books and BRF files to the app, you must add the ZIP file containing the book or it will not be processed. There is no indication that the book is being added to your bookshelf; once the book has been added, you will hear the chime that indicates a completed download and the book will be in the proper place. BRF files from sources other than BARD, such as Bookshare, can be added to the app.

The Bookshelf Tab

The Bookshelf tab organizes the books you have downloaded into 5 categories (left to right): Audio Books, Audio Magazines, Braille Books, Braille Magazines, and Help. These categories are arranged in a single column that stretches across the entire screen. Above the categories list is a heading labeled "Bookshelf. Select category" and to the right of this heading is an "Edit" button. The categories display the number of titles they contain. Activating the "Edit" button will allow you to reorder the categories; a "Done" button allows you to return to the default screen when you are finished adjusting the categories.

The help category has a single item that launches an HTML version of the User Guide. The only other item on the screen is a "Back" button to return to the categories screen.

Each category screen begins with a heading at the top of the screen with the label of the current category and the number of items it contains. To the left of the heading is a "Back" button to return to the categories screen and an "Edit" button on the right. Below the heading lies a search field that allows you to search for either a title or author within the category. Below this are tabs that allow you to sort the titles in your bookshelf category by (left to right) title, author, and latest. The selected tab will be announced as "Selected'" by VoiceOver. Below these tabs are the books in the category, arranged in a single column stretching almost the width of the screen. A "More Info" button lies to the right of each title. You can open a title by activating it or by activating the "More Info" button and navigating to the "Read" button. The More Info screen contains the same information as the Details screen when you are downloading the book, but the "Download" button is replaced by a "Read" button at the bottom of the screen. If you would like to delete a title, you can activate the "Edit" button, whereupon a "Delete" switch button will appear to the left of the titles listed in the current category. You must first activate the switch button for the book you would like to delete which causes a "Delete" button to appear to the right of the title. Activating this second button will delete the title. When you are finished deleting titles, you can activate the "Done" button that is in the same position as the "Edit" button to return to the default screen.

The Now Reading Tab: Audio Titles

Once you have chosen an audio title to read, you will be taken to the Now Reading screen. There is a heading at the top of the screen labeled with the name of the current title. To the left of this heading is a "Navigation" button. Below the heading is the name of the current section or chapter, stretching across the entire screen. Below this information, the elapsed time and the total time of the title are displayed, followed by a left/right slider that allows you to adjust the reading position by percentage. You can use a single finger flick upward to move the position forward and downward to move the position backward. When using this method, the position will be moved in increments of ten percent. You can also use a double tap and hold gesture followed by sliding your finger left and right to move the slider manually.

The bottom section of the Navigation screen contains controls found on the physical digital talking book player from the NLS. The controls are arranged similarly to their positions on the physical player. Below the slider and at the far right of the screen is a "Bookmark" button. Activating this button inserts a bookmark at the current reading position. You can remove a bookmark by activating the "Bookmark" button within 5 seconds of the bookmark position when reading, and by activating the "Bookmark" button when the reading position is exactly at the same position of the bookmark when the title is stopped. If you use a double-tap gesture, VoiceOver will simply say "Bookmark" without alerting you that you have added or removed a bookmark. If you use a double-tap-and-hold gesture, then release, VoiceOver will announce either "Bookmark added" or "Bookmark Deleted." On the row below the "Bookmark" button are (left to right) the "Previous," "Menu," and "Next" buttons. The menu button cycles through the various navigation levels when activated and it is labeled with the currently selected navigation level. "Previous" and "Next" move you backward and forward by the selected navigation level. For most titles, you can move by Chapter, Phrase, and Bookmark. Triple tapping on "Previous" or "Next" will move by two of the selected element. Double tapping and holding on either "Previous" or "Next" will begin moving either forward or backward by the selected level with an announcement every five elements (e.g., "Five chapters" then a moment later, "Ten chapters.")

Below this row is another row of three buttons: "Rewind," "Play/Stop," and "Fast Forward." If you double tap on either "Rewind" or "Fast Forward" you will be moved five seconds either direction. Triple tapping will move you by ten seconds and double tapping and holding on one of these buttons will begin to move you by increasingly larger increments forward or backward. The increments are as follows: twenty seconds, one minute, five minutes, fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, and one hour. Once you reach one hour, you will steadily move forward at this increment. When you pass a marked section such as the beginning of a chapter, you will hear an additional tone to alert you to this. The "Play/Stop" button will play a tone before either beginning playback or stopping playback. You can use a two-finger double-tap to stop and play the current title. If you use another app that uses this gesture, you must close and reopen BARD Mobile to associate the gesture with BARD Mobile's playback. The final row on the Now Reading screen consists of a "Speed/Tone" button with an adjustment slider. You can select which will be changed with the slider by activating the "Speed/Tone" button. The currently selected element will appear as the label of the button. You can use a single finger flick upward or downward to adjust speed by 25 percent. To adjust the speed slider manually, you can use a double-tap-and-hold gesture followed by sliding your finger left or right. Tone can be adjusted in the same manner; however, the increment is single numbers from −4 to +6. Single finger flicks upward and downward adjust the increment by one element, e.g., if the Tone is set at −4 and you flicked your finger upward, it would move to −3. Adjusting the tone or speed using this control will only adjust the speed or tone for the current title.

The Navigation Screen

The navigation screen allows you to move directly to a specific section in the currently active title. At the top of the screen is a heading labeled "Navigation" with a "Back" button on the left and a button labeled "Skippable" on the right. Activating the "Skippable" button will move you to a screen where you can choose to play or skip skippable items. These include page numbers and footnotes; these items are not always marked in NLS titles. Adjusting this option will only affect the current title. Below the "Navigation" heading are three tabs that determine what level of navigation will be displayed: Contents, Page, and Bookmark. The Contents tab will display the marked sections in the current title, such as chapters. If an item is not valid for the current title it will be dimmed. Below the tabs are listed the marked sections associated with the currently selected tab in a single column extending across most of the screen. A table index that allows you to cycle quickly through the displayed sections is on the far right of the screen. Some sections will have subsections and these will be marked as "1+." You can double-tap and hold on one of these sections to expand the section. Double tapping on the section will simply move your reading position to that position. Once you have expanded a section, it will be labeled "1-." The section in which the reading position resides will be marked as "Selected." When you view navigation elements under the "Contents" tab, they will either be prefixed by "1" or "1+" followed by the section name. A bookmark will have the Bookmark number, the time where it is located, and the title of the section in which it resides.

The Now Reading Tab: Braille Titles

BARD Mobile can also display BRF files. You will need a braille display to accurately read these files and search for keywords in a BRF file. When you are reading a braille title, the Now Reading screen is topped by a heading labeled with the name of the currently active title. A navigation button lies to the right of the heading. Just below this heading is a search field where you can search the body of the title for text. Upon searching you will be taken to the first instance of your search term. If you set the navigation level to Search Keyword, you can move to further instances of your search term by using the "Previous" and "Next" buttons at the bottom of the screen. Just below the search field is a display where the braille text is displayed a single line at a time. Each line is considered a separate element, therefore, you can flick through the contents of the BRF file one line at a time. If you flick right with one finger from the search field, you will be placed at the top of the text even if you were previously at a line further along in the file. Below the display is the current volume you are reading followed by the page and line number on a line below the volume number. BRF files from NLS are marked with the amount of volumes they would be if they were printed in physical braille volumes. If you flick left with one finger from the current volume, you will be placed at the end of the BRF file. At the very bottom of the screen are "Previous," "Menu," and "Next" buttons. The "Menu" button cycles through various navigation elements and is labeled with the currently selected element. The elements available are somewhat different from those available when you are listening to an audio title: page, line, volume, bookmark, and search keyword. The Navigation screen is identical to the Navigation screen when reading an audio title, with different tabs (Volume, Page, and Bookmark) and neither a "Skippable" button nor a table index.

The Settings Tab

You can customize various settings in BARD Mobile under the Settings tab. A "Settings" heading is at the very top of the screen, followed by a column of settings categories: Audio, Visual, and User Account. Below the settings categories you'll find the BARD Mobile version number.

Audio Settings

The Audio Settings menu allows you to adjust various settings that concern audio playback. The settings are arranged in a single column with an "Audio Settings" heading at the top of the screen. The first setting is Speed. The current speed is listed in plain text above the adjustment slider. Below this is a slider that adjusts the global speed of audio playback. The default speed is 100 percent, the minimum is 50 percent, and the maximum is 300 percent. The next setting is Tone. There is a text label listing the current tone above an adjustment slider. Tone can range from −4 to +6. The normal tone is simply marked "Normal." Below the tone control is Background Playback. This option allows you to determine if BARD will continue playback if the device is locked or if you leave the application. Next is the Auto Lock During Playback setting. This setting determines if your device will auto lock after a certain amount of time while BARD is playing a title. The next setting is the Skippable setting. This setting determines if certain elements such as footnotes and page numbers will play during audio playback. The next setting is the Verbosity setting. This setting determines if BARD will play audio announcements when you activate controls with VoiceOver deactivated. For example, if Verbosity is activated, BARD may say "Bookmark Inserted" when inserting a bookmark with VoiceOver disabled. The final setting on the Audio settings screen resets all of the settings to their factory default.

Visual Settings

This settings screen has two options below the "Visual Settings" heading. The first is Font Size. This option launches a screen where you can select the font size. The options are small, medium, large, and extra-large. The next option is the Contrast setting. This option opens a screen where you can set the foreground and background colors. The options are: black and white, white and black, black and yellow, and yellow and black. The first color is the foreground color and the second the background color. Below the contrast setting is a Restore Defaults setting that will restore the factory default visual settings.

User Account Settings

The User Accounts settings screen contains two options. The first is labeled "BARD Account" and will launch a screen with your user name and password in two text fields. To change accounts, change this information. The next option is an item labeled "Download over Mobile Network." When this setting is activated, you can use your mobile data connection to download titles. A "Restore Defaults" button resides below this option and will restore the account settings to their factory defaults.

The Bottom Line

BARD Mobile is a fantastic app that performs extremely well. I encountered only one bug throughout my testing of the app (when browsing the BARD website from the Get Books tab, the VoiceOver cursor moved from the page content to the Get Books tab at random intervals). The tone and speed adjustments are well implemented and do not degrade the audio quality when raised or lowered from their default positions; loss of audio quality when adjusting speed and tone can be a major issue for apps that play audio books. The layout of the tabs, particularly the Now Reading screen for audio titles, is clear and logical. Because the Now Reading screen is similar to the physical player, learning where functions are located is intuitive and easily grasped. Reading braille titles using BARD Mobile is simple and easy to understand. The app remembers your place accurately when you leave a braille title and return to it. It could be somewhat easy to lose your place in the braille document because flicking into the braille reading area from either the volume number or the search field places you at the bottom and top of the document respectively. The search field can be used to quickly return to your previous position if this does occur and being mindful of the danger would make losing your place easy to avoid. Overall, BARD Mobile is a wonder and the developers at NLS should be applauded for developing such a well-executed app.

Product Information

Product: BARD Mobile
Developer: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; Library of Congress
Price: Free

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