Refreshable braille displays have been an integral piece of the access technology landscape for people who are blind and deaf-blind for more than three decades now. Some have taken the form of simple peripherals, "dumb" add-ons that display the text appearing on a computer screen in braille. Others have been far more complex, enabling text input and manipulation as well as relaying vast amounts of vital information regarding the appearance of text.

Still other displays have the built-in features for highly sophisticated personal digital organizers, enabling easy and efficient braille input and output for creating documents, reading books, Web browsing, database management, and a host of other functions.

Braille displays over these 30 years have been available in various weights and sizes (from a few ounces to 15 pounds or so) and have offered as few as one braille cell and as many as 85. Most widely used braille displays, however, have been those peripherals and stand-alone devices featuring between 18 and 40 eight-dot braille cells.

Whether a refreshable braille device features 12 cells or 80, however, one common denominator has been that all cells are arranged in a single horizontal line. While the notion of reading full screens, full documents, and indeed, entire books on a single 18-, 32-, or 40-character line strikes the uninitiated as hopelessly cumbersome, users of braille have found it an easy enough adjustment to make. For braille users, the independence and control afforded by refreshable braille has been so truly extraordinary that accessing desired information in a continuous linear fashion has been a welcome adjustment considered well worth any inconvenience. Any braille user who grew up prior to the advent of refreshable braille clearly remembers the scarcity of braille material and the difficulty of carrying even a few braille books around all day.

With the advent of refreshable braille machines, we braille users could suddenly carry hundreds of books, create and edit our own documents, read and write e-mail, browse the Web, manage databases, maintain calendars, and more and this all in a device less than half the size of a single hard copy braille volume. To have such access to and command of written information in the familiar environment of braille makes that single line, albeit sometimes only long enough to hold a few words, easy enough to tolerate.

Reaching for More

Meanwhile, alongside the celebration of such a revolution in information access, the human imagination stretches to embrace future possibilities. Delicious rumors of a someday, someway, perhaps maybe possible multi-line refreshable braille display have circulated and been on the dream lists of avid braille users for just about as long as braille displays themselves have been in our hands. While countless individuals who read and write braille have adapted to (indeed, sometimes prefer) reading books on a single refreshable line of braille cells, the notion of more than one such line on a display is tantalizing. For reading certain types of material (science, mathematics, or poetry, to name but a few), the availability of more than one line to provide context can, quite simply, enable a reader to comprehend concepts and formats that are, at best, elusive when presented as one continuous braille line.

Center for Braille Innovation

When Brian Mac Donald assumed the role of president at National Braille Press (NBP) in Boston five years ago, he spent a year or so getting the lay of the land, restructuring, stabilizing existing operations, and looking at the future of braille. Already, National Braille Press was offering its materials in electronic as well as hardcopy paper formats, but Mac Donald recognized that more efficient methods for promoting braille literacy were needed. The Center for Braille Innovation was formed to explore and develop ways in which technology could be used to promote braille literacy.

Deane Blazie, renowned pioneer who introduced the first personal notetaker designed for braille users, the Braille 'n' Speak, in 1987, immediately became involved as did Mike Romeo, another access technology pioneer and past employee of Blazie Engineering. By pooling the talents of Blazie, Romeo, and dozens of others contributing input and research, the Center for Braille Innovation has seen two significant projects emerge.

First, a braille tablet called B2G (Braille to Go) is a multi-function robust Android device with a 20-cell braille display, ergonomic braille keyboard, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, onboard microphone, speakers, and the flexibility of installing Android apps to do anything from reading your junk mail to mapping your route to the library. The B2G is expected to be available by summer 2013 and at a price significantly lower than other braille notetakers currently available.

The other project occupying the Center for Braille Innovation has been the pursuit of a multi-line refreshable braille display. National Braille Press is a leading producer of braille textbooks and proficiency tests at all educational levels, where the need for tactile graphical representations is particularly important.

By 2015, Brian Mac Donald explained in a recent phone interview, most educational testing (state proficiency tests and others) will be presented to all students in electronic formats. Thus, students who are blind will need an electronic equivalent, a means of accessing both text and graphical material in a real-time digital environment.

The major stumbling block for individuals and organizations worldwide attempting to address the multi-line refreshable braille issue has been cost. Mac Donald cited, for example, a device funded by the German government that could display a full page but at a per-unit cost of 45,000 euros! Most of that obviously prohibitive cost sprang from the braille cells used.

Piezoelectric cells, the braille cells typically employed in refreshable braille products, are readable, resilient, and expensive. Currently, an 18-cell braille display sells for around $2,000 and a 40-cell display from $3,000 to $6,000. Following these examples, then, a four, five, or six-line display might cost in the range of $25,000 to $40,000, prices which are clearly beyond the reach of most braille users.

Welcoming Nitinol

The Center for Braille Innovation has explored a variety of braille cell construction possibilities, from polymer to rubber bands as Mac Donald puts it, and has finally found what may be the answer.

Nitinol, an alloy comprising roughly equal parts nickel and titanium, is known for remarkable shape memory capabilities. When heated, nitinol wire contracts, but when cooled, it still retains its shape. It is also relatively inexpensive.

In 2012, a prototype display using nitinol for its tactile representation was developed by the Center for Braille Innovation. The display features 5 lines of 40 braille cells, each with an array for a tactile graphic above these lines. The possibilities of such a display, particularly in the realms of science and mathematics, could represent an entirely new paradigm in accessing information and visual concepts for children and adults who are blind.

At this point, no one knows for sure what the resulting unit will look like. Will it have four lines or ten lines or somewhere in between? Will it have a mechanism for depicting bar charts and illustrations above, below, or beside the text? To what extent will the user be able to manipulate the information that the unit displays? These and countless other questions regarding the final product are issues yet to be resolved.

What we know for sure is that Brian Mac Donald and the NBP Center for Braille Innovation are determined to find a solution for presenting students who are blind with digital information, both text and graphics, in an electronic environment equivalent to that of sighted students and at an affordable price. Whether the resulting braille display will be in the hands of users this year or next is still unknown, but what does seem clear is that there will be a multi-line braille display that includes a space for tactile graphical representations, and its cells will be made from nitinol.

The refreshable braille display that is "more than a line" is finally looming in our foreseeable future.

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Fifteen years ago, Mark Nelson was presenting work he was particularly proud of at a national access technology conference. We all know that sometimes, despite the best preparation and skill, technology fails us when it matters most. This particular day, however, his planning paid off. Everything was working exactly right and his audience was spellbound.

"But there was one guy in the second row who just kept asking questions," Nelson recalls. A week later, that "guy in the second row" called Nelson to talk business, and the two have been friends and collaborators since that time.

The guy in the second row was John De Witt, a renowned leader and pioneer in the field of access technology for blind people. Friendships are forged in many ways for many reasons, but some might say that this one was set in motion to one day rescue a product line that fills a vital need among blind and low vision computer users everywhere. This is the story of how two blind guys, each recognizing the absolute power of access technology and each with keen entrepreneurial talent, conjured a business solution that is an all-round victory in the access technology marketplace.

De Witt and Associates

John De Witt's personal history in the blindness field is long and complex, beginning with his coming to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in 1978 where he oversaw the development and distribution of what would be called the Consumer Product division, selling useful products to people who are blind or visually impaired throughout the United States. He would wear a variety of hats at AFB, from overseeing radio information services to establishing a national technology center, but our story here begins when he formed his own company, De Witt and Associates, in 1989.

Initially, the focus of the company was to provide computer-related training to adults who were blind or visually impaired, but De Witt recognized almost immediately that if blind people were going to have any level of opportunity in the rapidly changing employment world, they needed to get up and running with technology early.

"In the state of New Jersey, we began training visually impaired children in grades K-12, as well as working-age adults and older adults in the use of technology," he explains, and the relationship between his company and New Jersey's blindness population continued in that manner for the next 22 years.

At a 2001 national conference sponsored by AFB and held in Pittsburgh, De Witt had another epiphany regarding the whole access technology scene. Yes, visually impaired people needed training to use both mainstream and specialized software. If, however, that training was going to be of lasting value, consistency was essential. If, for example, a student learned to use ZoomText with Microsoft Word as a high school student and then requested training to use Microsoft Excel a few years later, the training would have more staying power if presented in the same manner each time.

Individuals who instruct visually impaired children and adults in the use of technology represent a broad spectrum of humanity and thus a broad spectrum of teaching styles. Following that 2001 conference, John De Witt, who had long recognized that consistency in such instruction was a key element in the success of students, reflected that his company, obviously, couldn't train everyone.

Thus, in 2002, De Witt and Associates launched a new product line, a publishing venture dubbed TrainingWare.

The De Witt TrainingWare materials are clear, concise guidebooks to be used by teachers or self-schooled students in the use of specific pieces of technology. Each book comprises a set of lessons following a consistent format. Lessons are sequential, each building on the ones preceding, and the entire collection more or less follows the old teaching adage of "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. Then tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em."

Each TrainingWare guide includes vocabulary lists, exercises, keystrokes, and quizzes in sequential lessons that build a student's skill and confidence. In other words, all the tools needed for access technology instruction are contained in each TrainingWare guide, giving the trainer more freedom to teach and the student the security of consistent instruction.

Whether used as lesson plans for teachers or guides for students working alone, the De Witt and Associates TrainingWare publications have enjoyed tremendous success in schools and agencies in nearly every state in the United States.

Meanwhile, Mark Nelson …

While De Witt and Associates was continuing to flourish in New Jersey, Mark Nelson was in the western states of the country building an impressive set of skills. In roles ranging from access technology trainer to AT director to chief operating officer while employed by such organizations as AI Squared, the Oregon Commission for the Blind, and the Foundation for Blind Children, he crafted a composite of skills encompassing the access technology field. As a user of both low vision and blindness technology, he knew the products. More importantly, his experience ultimately included the ability to customize software, advise organizations on access tools, and manage a business. In 2011, he decided the time had come to dust off the LLC he had formed three years earlier, called My Digital Apex, and officially launch his own company.

Nelson's Phoenix, Arizona company, My Digital Apex (no connection to the popular notetaker bearing a similar name) provides consulting services and sells a wide range of access technology products. He distributes products that solve employment solutions for people who are blind or who have low vision, creates solutions where none exist and, if necessary, provides the necessary training.

Thus, in one of those beautiful examples of synchronicity that make all of us smile, Mark Nelson and his new company were exactly in the right place at the right time when his long-time friend John De Witt had an unexpected crisis.

Closing the Store

Throughout all its years doing business, De Witt and Associates welcomed the New Jersey Commission for the Blind as a major client. The company provided training to blind and visually impaired people of all ages throughout the state. Like other state agencies around the country, New Jersey's shifted to a "fee for service" model with its 2012 contracts. While the details are somewhat complex, the simple outcome of this shift in business models meant that De Witt and Associates, although awarded the contract to provide statewide training, simply could not survive under the new guidelines. On February 2, 2012, De Witt recalls, he gathered his staff of 20 individuals for a painful announcement. Under the new contract structure, De Witt and Associates simply could not continue. He met payroll that day by tapping into personal savings and, as he puts it, "I fired everyone, including myself."

Rumors of this sad end of an era circulated somewhat rapidly on the access technology grapevine. And now what, many of us then wanted to know, would happen to the popular De Witt TrainingWare materials?

Friendship, Business, and a Win-Win for All

John De Witt called his friend, Mark Nelson. Was Nelson interested in purchasing TrainingWare?

"I immediately knew I wanted to do it," Nelson recalls. "The question was how."

While the details of the transaction are not disclosed, Nelson summarizes the end result this way:

The story [of the transaction] is one about how the world can still be a kind place when two long-time friends just make something great happen.

And "make it happen" is what these two friends and collaborators have done. The complete line of TrainingWare materials is now available through My Digital Apex, and one of the primary creators of those materials is under contract with Nelson's company to continue developing new ones. Currently, TrainingWare materials are available for a range of Microsoft products when used in conjunction with leading screen-reading and screen magnification products. Future materials providing instruction for Mac and iOS devices are planned.

All is Well That Ends Well

Concluding that it was finally time to give retirement a try, John De Witt, at 80, has relocated to Arizona, There, he is near family and also just 40 miles from Mark Nelson. At present, De Witt is researching and writing a book on the De Witt family history (a history stretching from 1295-2013), but he continues to have a hand in spreading the good news of access technology.

Mark Nelson and John De Witt will be making a presentation on their shared philosophy regarding consistency of training at the CSUN Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference on February 27 in San Diego.

To learn more about the range of TrainingWare titles currently available and download a sample lesson, visit My Digital Apex and click on Training Materials.

While 2012 is now behind us, many of its stories and trends will be discussed for a long time. Before we get too far into 2013, let's take a moment to remember some of the most influential and talked about stories from the year gone by. A group of panelists on Blind Bargains helped to select the top stories of 2012, and we've included some highlights as well as some other notable moments and trends below.

One of the overarching themes present in recent years has been the shift from specialized devices toward mainstream technology. While an argument can still sometimes be made for a stand-alone notetaking solution designed specifically for a person who is visually impaired, more and more consumers are shifting toward mainstream devices. The iPhone is the obvious example as it has quickly gobbled up market share once held by the likes of Freedom Scientific and HumanWare. However, a quick glance at a user's typical list of apps gives a reminder of just how many devices are being duplicated or often supplanted by the mobile device. With the exception of content from the National Library Service, practically every major producer of accessible and mainstream books is represented, including Learning Ally, BookShare, and NFB-Newsline. Currency identification, which used to cost $100 or more, can now be accomplished with free or low-cost apps. GPS navigation for travel, optical character recognition for reading printed materials, and even a simple light probe? The list is virtually endless. It's easy to account for thousands of dollars of dedicated technology that is now potentially replaced by a single device.

However, this trend may come with some consequences. Consider that the KNFB Reader Mobile Software retailed for $995 just a couple of years ago as compared with $10 to $20 for OCR programs currently available on the iPhone. Similarly, Sendero and Code Factory charged $795 for their Mobile Geo GPS software, but these days, many phone users have an expectation to pay little or nothing for applications. Because of this, the amount of high-quality apps that directly help the blind or visually impaired may be more limited. If users scoff at paying more than a few bucks for any app, the amount of money that is available to pay high-quality programmers becomes severely limited. Do consumers benefit more from a single device that does a lot of things but not very well, or is it still worth it to pay a premium for specialized software that is specifically designed to meet their needs? This is one of the many questions that will be answered as the market matures.

Apple's iPad models have also been much talked about by agencies and consumers, especially when it comes to the low vision market. With the latest version of iOS, speech and magnification can now be enabled simultaneously, allowing the user to use the mode that makes the most sense for the given moment. With iBooks, Nook, Blio, and others, a near limitless supply of books can be read using the eyes or ears, and pairing a device with a braille display allows for all of this without losing the skills of braille literacy, which are still vitally important to today's students. The biggest weakness to this point has been the productivity tools, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. However, as more tools are developed, the realm of what can be accomplished on one of these devices will continue to increase.

More access technology companies are recognizing the importance of mobile technology and incorporating apps into their products. HumanWare and HIMS both released iPhone apps to facilitate simple communication amongst the deaf-blind albeit with slightly different approaches. HumanWare has chosen to charge $99.99 for its HumanWare Communicator app while the HIMS Chat app is completely free. Both companies are using a mainstream technology to augment their proprietary hardware. It's interesting to see a trade show floor with $4,000 specialized solutions next to a $50 app that does the same thing.

Apple devices aren't the only ones worth mentioning this time around. For a couple of years, Android has been chugging along and gaining a lot of mainstream acceptance. While some diehards have been playing with its built-in and fragmented accessibility for this entire time, it wasn't until Google I/O that others began to take notice. Jellybean brought with it many accessibility changes and signs of encouragement from Google. Braille support, which now includes Grade 2 output, has been added along with a familiar-looking gesture mode.

This year, we learned and reaffirmed a few things about Google. When it comes to access, they won't necessarily get it right the first time, but it is readily apparent that they are listening. It takes a lot to implement a new accessibility mode and realize within six months that the solution from Android 4.0 wasn't good enough. While the Nexus line of devices isn't perfect, we've seen a steady stream of improvements throughout the year: continuous reading mode, customizable gestures, and access to the on-screen keyboard to name a few.

We're now getting to the point that the two biggest mobile operating systems will be accessible, a statement that we've never been able to say before. When comparing Android now to what we had a year ago, a lot of credit needs to be given, and while we always like to see the pace of improvement heightened, it's good to see the progress made.

With all of this talk of phones and mobile devices, let us not forget the regular laptop or desktop computer where a big shift is occurring as well in the screen reader landscape. NVDA, the free and open-source screen access program for Windows, continues to garner more attention, more press, and more users. What was once a fun hobbyist toy has turned into a nearly full-fledged option, often rivaling or surpassing its competition with how it communicates with popular applications.

The perpetual question with NVDA from some involves how the screen reader can continue to survive and if there will be enough funding to pay for further development. One by one, NVDA is working to level the playing field with the legacy screen readers and negating the reasons to choose a more extensive solution. Its design is not for everyone, but new features like the recent addition of PowerPoint support are making it a viable solution for more people, especially those who don't have the funds or resources to purchase another option. If an open-source Web browser like Firefox can survive and evolve, why can't the same happen amongst accessible software? As NVDA gains more believers, more funding will come, and it will continue to evolve.

Meanwhile, VoiceOver development continues on the Apple side while Google has made quite a bit of progress with its ChromeVox screen reader for the Chrome operating system. Even Windows 8's built-in Narrator features noticeable improvements over what was previously available.

As free solutions replace the paid, the same questions that haunt app developers will emerge. Will a free solution be able to provide as much support for specialized applications required for business professionals? Who will a state agency turn to for technical support? What if the funding runs dry and a project ceases to exist? While mainstream software is developed with the expectation that millions may buy, the accessibility market is much smaller. It will remain to be seen how or if the free and low-cost solutions affect the legacy companies, especially as their market share continues to erode.

Unfortunately, some products continue to miss the mark when it comes to providing true accessibility solutions. Have you ever gone to a convention or conference where you see a new product and think, "I bet this was never tested by someone who is blind?" This is the feeling that many get when trying out the various iterations of the Kindle. Amazon has promised increased accessibility on a few occasions, but every attempt has fallen quite short. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) even protested in front of Amazon's Washington state headquarters in December.

It's easy to say that people who are visually impaired should just support those eReaders that are accessible, but short of expensive tablets, these are few and far between. The Amazon problem is magnified by schools, libraries, and other institutions that are increasingly using them for textbooks and other materials. A $500 iPad should not be the only option in this market. We'd like to say that we look forward to changes in 2013, but past experience makes us quite weary to make such a statement.

Despite prior promises, Microsoft continues to offer very little in terms of accessibility for its Windows Phone devices. If this were a new company with no experience when it comes to accessibility, we might excuse them just a bit. However, Microsoft has been, or at least used to be, one of the leaders in working with screen reader manufacturers for Windows computers, so we can't exactly say they just don't know who to ask.

In a year in which more companies are taking notice and improving accessibility for their products, it's sad that we continue to have major failures by companies we thought knew much better. Who would have thought that Microsoft would provide the only major smartphone operating system with no access?

Luckily, our top story of 2012 involves a formerly little-known app called Fleksy and its rise toward prominence and mainstream acceptance. When the designers of Fleksy introduced a new way to type using gestures, the idea sounded pretty novel though some questioned if it would really work. However, after people tried the app hands-on at the summer shows, doubters were turned into believers.

Fleksy quickly became one of the most talked about apps for the blind, but that's not entirely what pushed it to the number one story. Over the past few months, Fleksy has gone from cool tool for the blind to actively pursuing the definite possibility of gaining mainstream acceptance. How often do you see a blindness-specific app receive venture capital funding? Already in 2013, the app made a huge splash at the Consumer Electronics Show, and complete integration with mobile devices is a definite possibility. Fleksy has proven that ideas can be designed that will improve life in our little niche but also be valuable to the greater populous. We salute them for the progress they've made and are excited to see what's next.

For more discussion of the best of 2012, listen to the SeroTalk podcast SeroSpectives: This Year in Assistive Tech for 2012 where yours truly and several other panelists take a detailed look at the past 12 months, and of course, many of the stories in this article have already been covered in-depth right here in AccessWorld.

We hope you accomplished much in 2012, and here's to a great 2013.

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The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is excited to announce the release of AccessNote, the notetaker app for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. AFB Tech, the technology division of AFB, in partnership with FloCo Apps, LLC, has designed a groundbreaking tool for people with vision loss and wants to thank everyone across the country and across the world who provided valuable feedback throughout the development of AccessNote.

Many AccessWorld readers know the original hope was to release AccessNote in the late summer of 2012. However, after getting tremendous feedback from people who are blind or visually impaired, the release was delayed in order to add important features. We do think it will be worth the wait.

Description of AccessNote

AccessNote is a powerful and efficient notetaker that takes advantage of the tremendous built-in accessibility of your Apple devices. For much greater typing speed and accuracy, AccessNote is designed to be used with wireless QWERTY and refreshable braille keyboards. Several powerful customized keyboard commands for both QWERTY and braille keyboards are included that increase speed and efficiency. AccessNote is, of course, designed to be used with VoiceOver, the screen reader that comes with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

AccessNote is priced at $19.99 and can now be purchased from the App Store. AccessNote has many of the features found in traditional notetakers and accessible PDAs. AccessNote creates notes in the .TXT file format, and it can also import .TXT files from e-mail or Dropbox accounts. AccessNote's clean and simple interface uses standard design techniques, so its layout will be familiar to users of Apple products.

Caption: Screen-shot of the AccessNote home screen.

The home screen is called All Notes, which is the heading at the top of the screen. The next element is the "Add" button for adding a new note and is followed by a "Sync" button for synchronizing your notes with your Dropbox account. After "Sync" is the Search field for searching for text across all of your notes. Then, you will find your list of files or notes organized alphabetically or in order of most recently used. Finally, there are three buttons at the bottom of the home screen: "Settings," "Favorites," and "Help." In addition to the text of your note, each note screen includes a "Back" button to go back to the All Notes home screen as well as a "Review" button for going into a read-only mode.

What Sets AccessNote Apart from the Crowd?

Although several other notetaking apps are available, AccessNote is the first notetaking app developed and designed specifically for users with vision loss. AFB Tech evaluated many of the other available notetaking apps but found none to be very efficient or user-friendly to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Features that set AccessNote apart include:

• Seamless Navigation: Customized keyboard commands make notetaking more intuitive and productive than ever before, including quick access to important features like "Search All Notes" and "Search within a Note" as well as several navigation options, including reading by character, word, line, paragraph, and page.
• Automatic Saving: With an automatic save after every few keystrokes, notes will never be lost.
• Cursor tracking: When navigating among multiple sets of notes, users can always pick up right where they left off.
• Unparalleled Simplicity: With a clutter-free interface, users can create, read, find, and sync their notes, making it easier to spend more time with actual content and less time with tools.
• Dropbox Integration: All your notes are always on hand. Dropbox keeps AccessNote in sync with the user's desktop (and other devices), so your notes are always available and backed up.
• Compatibility with Bluetooth Keyboards: AccessNote is optimized for efficiency with the Apple Wireless Keyboard and for today's wireless braille displays.
• A Review Feature: The "Review" button at the top of each note allows you to read notes without worrying about making unwanted edits. You can also simply tilt your device to the left or right to read the previous or next note.
• Options for Larger Text: Users can choose among large 14, 18, or 22 point fonts for their notes, and AccessNote is also compatible with the Zoom screen magnifier feature on the Apple devices.

Customized Keyboard Commands

AccessNote's customized keyboard commands are some of its most powerful features, adding to its overall efficiency and effectiveness. It was initially designed with customized keyboard commands only for the Apple wireless QWERTY keyboard and other wireless QWERTY keyboards designed for use with Apple products. However, after considering feedback from AccessWorld readers and people across the country who are blind or visually impaired, developers decided to also create the braille keyboard commands. After a great deal of research and brainstorming and some assistance from some techie friends across the country (which was greatly appreciated), the developers were able to come up with a solution for braille keyboard users. Here is a list of the customized keystrokes created so far. You may notice that the commands are not the same for QWERTY and braille keyboards.

Customized QWERTY Commands:

These QWERTY keyboard commands are performed by combining the "Option" key with a lower case letter.

• Option + C to create a new note
• Option + R to rename a note
• Option + F to find text within a note
• Option + G to find previous text in a note
• Option + T to speak a note's title
• Option + J to switch to previous note
• Option + K to switch to next note
• Option + M to mark a note as a favorite
• Option + S to read selected text

Customized Braille Keyboard Commands

Braille keyboard commands are performed by combining a braille letter with dot 8 on a braille keyboard. They also must be performed while in uncontracted braille mode.

• Dot 8 + A to move to the top of the note
• Dot 8 + Z to move to the bottom of the note
• Dot 8 + T to create a new note
• Dot 8 + R to rename a note
• Dot 8 + F to find text within a note
• Dot 8 + B to find previous text in a note
• Dot 8 + P to switch to a previous note
• Dot 8 + N to switch to the next note
• Dot 8 + K to mark a note as a favorite
• Dot 8 + C to read selected text

Documentation

A Quick Start Guide for using AccessNote is available onboard the app in the Help page, and the Quick Start Guide is also available on AFB's website. AccessNote's Help page also has a brief tutorial to help you get started.

We Want Your Feedback

We are obviously very excited about AccessNote, and we hope you all go out and buy it as soon as you can. We feel strongly that Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are very powerful, and we want to take advantage of that, allowing students and professionals to use the same mainstream device as their sighted peers are using. We, of course, will be anxiously looking for feedback from those who purchase and use AccessNote, and we are also interested in your suggestions for improvements and new features as we develop future versions of AccessNote.

By the way, we appreciate the feedback we have received from the readers who are using the AccessWorld app, the first iOS app AFB developed in conjunction with FloCo Apps, LLC. We have added several ideas from readers to the AccessWorld app to make it even more convenient. This spring we're adding the ability to search current and past articles, an often requested feature. AFB recently updated the search tool on the main AccessWorld website and will also be added to the AccessWorld app, which is a free app available in the App Store.

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Dear AccessWorld readers,

"What exactly is low vision?" you may ask. Low vision is a term commonly used to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, medications, contact lenses, or glasses. In the United States, the most common causes of low vision are age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. People can also be born with conditions such as albinism or optic nerve damage that can result in low vision. Low vision can have an impact on people of all ages.

Magnification devices, electronic devices, computer-access software, and other access and mainstream technologies are used to help people with low vision maximize their remaining vision or learn alternative ways to do things, such as using their sense of touch or their sense of hearing. As our regular readers know, AccessWorld regularly reports on many of these technologies. For additional information on living with low vision, please visit AFB's VisionAware's Low Vision resources.

In observance of Low Vision Awareness Month, I encourage everyone to have a complete eye exam from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist. Getting a yearly exam increases the chances of early detection and diagnosis of conditions that may lead to vision loss. If you or someone you know has experienced significant vision loss, I encourage you to have a low vision examination.

A low vision examination is quite different from the basic examination routinely performed by primary care optometrists and ophthalmologists. A low vision examination includes a review of your visual and medical history, and places an emphasis on the vision needed to read, cook, work, study, travel, and peform and enjoy other common activities. The goals of a low vision exam include assessing the functional needs, capabilities, and limitations of your vision, assessing ocular and systemic diseases, and evaluating and prescribing low vision therapies. Education and counseling of family and other care providers; providing an understanding of your visual functioning to aid educators, vocational counselors, employers and care givers; directing further evaluations and treatments by other vision rehabilitation professionals; and making appropriate referrals for medical intervention are all a part of a low vision evaluation.

The low vision examination takes much longer than a typical eye exam, but the information gained can be invaluable. No matter what your visual acuity, it is important to understand any diagnosis you may receive and to keep your eyes as healthy as you possibly can.

Sincerely,

Lee Huffman

AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief

American Foundation for the Blind

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This letter is in response to Deborah Kendrick's amazing article, Connecting the Dots: A Brighter Spin on the Future of Braille, from the January 2013 issue of AccessWorld.

As a braille user since the age of four (I'm now seventy-eight), it was wonderful to feel the enthusiasm coming from the author. Yes, I use modern technology, such as computers, the iPhone, audio-watch, and an audio mp3 player, but I like to read my braille book and my braille magazine.

As a radio presenter, I write my scripts in braille. My Perkins Brailler is used every bit as much as my laptop. I present a radio program on the Internet for people with vision loss called "Audioview." I record the show from my home and upload it to the radio station that transmits it over the Internet at www.theglobalvoice.info on Fridays at 5:00 p.m.

To Deborah Kendrick, may I just say, "Well done!" My guide dog gives me mobility, and braille gives me literacy.

Thank you once again for an inspiring article.

Joe

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I was thrilled to read Deborah Kendrick's recent article, Connecting the Dots: A Brighter Spin on the Future of Braille. I have been reading braille since I was six years old. I am 63 now, and needless to say, I am a fanatic supporter of anything braille.

I recognized the importance of braille in my life when I first started college. I was typing an essay, and I realized I could not remember how to spell certain words, such as "possible." I sat there trying to remember if there is one "s" or two. I subscribed to the Braille Readers' Digest and sat down and read it every month. This stopped the creeping illiteracy of not remembering what words looked like. Also, even though grade two has many contractions, I do not have trouble remembering the spelling because I also type.

Sincerely,

Franklin

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

My letter is in response to Janet Ingber's article, Control Your E-mail with Your Voice: A Look at the Upcoming Talkler App from Talkler Labs, in the January 2013 issue of AccessWorld.

I will soon be an iPhone user, I have extensive speech-recognition experience on the PC, and I am a beta tester for popular speech access software.

1. Ideally, you should disable and enable voice over automatically. I would prefer to keep it active at all times, so I can handle error situations.
2. Users should be able to read line-by-line, word by word, character by character, and paragraph by paragraph. They may have to review message headers and read them the same way.
3. How do users handle situations in which they want to select a link and get to a page? This is where VoiceOver comes in.
4. Talkler should ensure that you have a "Reply" command and a separate "Reply All" command.
5. Talkler should tell the user to whom the message is being sent.
6. What about creating message rules / filters? Can Talkler handle this through speech?
7. How does Talkler integrate with Siri?
8. Can Talkler spellcheck e-mail?
9. How does Talkler handle Read Receipts? Will it read message flags, such as "Forwarded," "Replied," etc.?

Any additional information you can provide would be helpful.

Thanks,

Pranav

Response to Letter by Janet Ingber

Hello Pranav,

Talkler is not a fully functioning e-mail program such as Outlook. It is meant to allow the user to listen to their e-mails and perform certain tasks, such as "Reply," "Delete," "Go to Next E-mail," "Skip Forward in an E-mail," and "Mark as Unread." There are other options in the Settings menu.

It is certainly possible to use the app with VoiceOver running, but there is a chance of conflict between the two speech programs. What I've done is turn off VoiceOver by triple clicking the "Home" button and, then, triple clicking the "Home" button again when I want VoiceOver turned on. With Talkler running, you can use VoiceOver to read by line, characters, etc. Talkler does not have that function at this time.

In my AccessWorld article, there is an e-mail address to contact the developer, who takes accessibility seriously and would welcome comments.

Sincerely,

Janet Ingber

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

The Talkler App article in the January 2013 issue of AccessWorld mentions only iPhone applications. Would it work on an iPad or mini iPad? I hope so!

Bill

Response to letter by Janet Ingber

Hello Bill,

Yes, Talkler works with devices running iOS 5.1 or later.

Sincerely,

Janet Ingber

Register Now For the AFB Leadership Conference

Registration is now open for the 2013 AFB Leadership Conference and Illinois AER Annual Meeting. Visit the conference website to register, read the meeting agenda, and reserve your hotel room at the special group rate. Join experts and colleagues for intensive pre-conference sessions on April 18 and full-conference sessions on April 19 and 20.

Topics include:

• Leadership
• Technology
• Education
• Rehabilitation
• Research

Unemployment for People with Disabilities Drops to Four-Year Low, Allsup Disability Study Finds

Fourth-quarter unemployment rate and Social Security disability applications are at their lowest since 2008, and more people with disabilities working would strengthen the Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

The fourth quarter 2012 unemployment rate for people with disabilities dropped to its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. The number of people with disabilities applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) also reached a four-year low according to a study by Allsup, a nationwide provider of SSDI representation and Medicare plan selection services.

While this may seem to indicate that the worst of the economic crisis has passed, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was still 70 percent higher than for those with no disabilities during the fourth quarter of 2012 according to the Allsup Disability Study: Income at Risk.

Specifically, the unemployment rate averaged 12.4 percent for people with disabilities and 7.3 percent for people without disabilities during the fourth quarter of 2012. This compares to 13.7 percent for people with disabilities and 7.9 percent for people without disabilities during the third quarter of 2012. These figures are based on non-seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The discrepancy in the employment rate between people with no disabilities and people with disabilities is concerning," said Tricia Blazier, personal financial planning manager for Allsup. "If more people with disabilities capable of working were provided the opportunity to do so, the trust fund for the Social Security disability program would be stronger. These individuals would be paying into the trust fund just as other workers do."

Beginning in 2013, the projected assets of the Disability Insurance Trust Fund will fall below 100 percent of the annual costs according to the 2012 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (2012 OASDI Trustees Report). The DI Trust Fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in 2016.

At that time, revenues from payroll taxes will cover only 79 percent of benefits. This means there would be a 21 percent cut in benefits to the millions of people with disabilities so severe they are unable to work as well as to their families. At year-end of 2012, more than 8.8 million disabled workers received an average monthly benefit of $1,130.34, and nearly 2.1 million children and spouses of disabled workers relied on average monthly benefits of nearly $334.

SSDI Applications Continue to Decline

While the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is still significantly higher than for people with no disabilities, the number of people with disabilities applying for SSDI has declined for the second year in a row.

The Allsup Disability Study: Income at Risk shows that 638,223 people with disabilities applied for SSDI during the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 726,026 for the previous quarter. The quarterly number of applications has not dropped below this level since the fourth quarter of 2008 when there were 577,306 applications.

In 2012, 2.82 million people filed SSDI applications, compared to 2.88 million in 2011. Applications are now down 3.92 percent from the record high of nearly 2.94 million SSDI applications in 2010. The average age of people applying for SSDI is 53.

"The average age of SSDI applicants is about midway in the baby boom generation, so it's likely SSDI applications will remain elevated," Blazier said. "Because of this, more is needed to educate people with severe disabilities about their SSDI benefits. It's also important that people understand their options for rejoining the labor pool if their condition improves in the future."

Many people confronted with a disabling condition wait longer than they should to apply for SSDI benefits. Often, Social Security disability applicants must wait several months or years before they receive their benefits. For example, nearly 1.89 million SSDI claims are pending with an average cumulative wait time of more than 800 days according to Allsup's analysis of the Social Security disability backlog.

Blazier recommends individuals understand the following:

1. Who is covered by Social Security disability insurance?
   To be covered, a person must have worked and paid into the SSDI program through payroll taxes (FICA) for five of the last 10 years. They also must be disabled before reaching full-retirement age (65-67) and must meet Social Security's definition of disability. Generally, this means being unable to work because of a verifiable mental or physical impairment expected to result in death or which has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 months.
2. When should someone with a severe disability apply for SSDI benefits?
   Anyone with SSDI coverage who is unable to work because of a severe disability expected to last 12 months or longer or is terminal should apply as soon as possible. It can take two to four years to receive benefits during which time many people struggle financially as a result of lost income and, often, mounting healthcare costs. The sooner someone applies, the sooner he or she may begin to receive monthly benefits. They also are eligible for Medicare 24 months after they start receiving SSDI cash benefits.
3. Is SSDI representation needed?
   Individuals can apply for SSDI on their own. However, there are several advantages to having a Social Security disability representative. This is especially true at the initial application. For example, more than half of Allsup claimants are awarded benefits at the initial application level compared to just 34 percent nationally.
4. Can someone with SSDI benefits ever return to work?
   Yes. If a person's condition improves to the point where they can return to work, Social Security offers a trial work period, which allows someone to test their ability to work over at least nine months and receive full SSDI benefits no matter how high their earnings. In addition, Social Security's work incentives include the extended period of eligibility, which lasts 36 months. Once someone's benefits stop because they have substantial earnings, they still have five years in which benefits can be reinstated without going through the SSDI application process again if they must stop working because of their disability. This is known as expedited reinstatement. Additionally, it's possible to continue Medicare coverage for up to 93 months.

Individuals can determine their Social Security disability benefits using Allsup's free online Social Security benefits calculator. For a free evaluation or more information about eligibility for Social Security disability benefits, contact Allsup's Disability Evaluation Center at (800) 678-3276.

About Allsup

Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers, and insurance carriers. Founded in 1984, Allsup employs more than 800 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors, so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. For more information, go to http://www.Allsup.com or visit Allsup on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Allsupinc.

The information provided is not intended as a substitute for legal or other professional services. Legal or other expert assistance should be sought before making any decision that may affect your situation.

Contact:

Mary Jung, (773) 429-0940, mtjung@msn.com

Rebecca Ray, (800) 854-1418 ext 65065, r.ray@allsupinc.com

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, D.C. 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."

White House Announces Audio Descriptions for Public Tours

The White House Visitor's Office recently announced the availability of an audio description for those taking a White House tour. This will give blind and visually impaired Americans and persons with other print disabilities the opportunity to listen to an audio described tour as they visit the historic, public rooms of the White House.

You can read more about the audio descriptions at The White House Blog page.

Eyes on Success

"Eyes on Success," formerly "Viewpoints," is a half-hour weekly audio program that discusses products, services, and daily living tips for people with vision loss. It is available through radio reading services across the US and Canada via three internet streaming services (iBlink Radio, ACB Radio, and The Global Voice) and to everybody else as a podcast. To date, the show has been downloaded in all 50 states in the US, eight Canadian provinces, and over 80 other countries on all the inhabited continents. "Eyes on Success" is hosted and produced by Peter Torpey and Nancy Goodman Torpey and distributed to regional radio reading services by WXXI Reachout Radio in Rochester, NY.

Topics range from detailed descriptions of adaptive equipment and programs, such as screen readers and portable braille displays, to discussions of various accessible reading materials to personal stories of engaging in extreme sports and other hobbies. There's something for everyone on "Eyes on Success."

To find out more about the show, its hosts, listen to programs in the archive, and/or subscribe to the podcast, follow the links at www.eyesonsuccess.net.

In late December, the Talkler app became available in the iTunes store. This article is an update on how the app works in relation to the beta version that was previously reviewed in AccessWorld. Talkler is available for the iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, and 5 as well as the iPod touch 3rd, 4th, 5th generations, and the iPad. According to the iTunes store, the app is optimized for the iPhone 5, which is the device used for this evaluation.

Performance

The same tabs, inbox, tips, and settings are listed on the bottom of the app screen as in the beta version, and the same accessibility is present. Another feature, Auto Pilot, has been added by which Talkler will read each e-mail in succession without waiting for a command.

Talkler understands and successfully executes many commands, including "Play e-mail," "Delete," and "Mark as unread." Its performance is significantly better than in the beta version. During testing the app did well even without headphones or when held to my ear if I was in a quiet area. At no time during the evaluation did the app crash.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a hands-free app to read your e-mail, then Talkler is certainly worth trying. The developers have worked hard to insure accessibility. Since the app is self-voicing, VoiceOver should be turned off. This is easily accomplished by triple clicking the "Home" button. There is a free version of Talkler, so no expense is necessary.

Comment on this article.

The computer and electronics industry has made great strides toward creating devices that are more intuitive and user-friendly. Using touchscreen technology to carry out gesture-based commands and actions is one such advancement that has established a powerful and lasting foothold in the last few years. With the pervasiveness of touchscreen technology on the market today, it would only seem natural for the electronic magnifier (CCTV) industry to follow suit with gesture-based features as well. This is exactly what Sight Enhancement Systems and Issist Assistive Technologies Inc. have done with Flick, a high-end, gesture-based electronic magnifier. Flick can be operated via touchscreen, a computer mouse, keyboard, or a combination of all three. Flick also includes additional features that are sometimes found on other high-end electronic magnifiers, such as near and distance viewing and OCR recognition.

Caption: Flick Camera

Physical Design

Flick has a splashy, multi-color logo that appears on both sides of the black, glossy unit. Included with Flick is a thinly padded laptop carrying case with shoulder strap, a power supply unit, a USB cable, installation CDs for both Windows and Mac, a quick start manual, and a full user manual. A fully licensed installation CD of iZoom, which is a screen magnifier and reader, is also included. The unit is also equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery. There are approximately 8.25 inches of clearance between the baseplate and camera, which allows for an ample amount of maneuverability beneath the camera when used in the close-up viewing mode.

Flick only contains one control on the unit itself: an on/off rocker switch. All other features and options are controlled via the software and hardware configuration of the computer it is being used with. The camera contains a small lens that automatically swivels open when switching from close-up to distance viewing. By default, the lens is in the closed position after the unit is turned on. It also moves into the closed position again when it is turned off, effectively preventing it from being damaged.

System Requirements and Software Installation

The manual states that the Flick software runs on the Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems as well as Mac OS 10.5 or later. The manufacturers are aware that the manual needs updating to reflect that Flick also works with Windows 8 Professional and Windows 8. Flick does not run on the Windows RT platform. Flick also is not compatible with any tablets using an Android or iOS platform. For a more detailed description of the differences between the three versions of Windows 8, read Windows 8 Versions: Which is right for you? from techradar. Flick can be powered by its external power supply or its internal battery. According to the manual, its internal battery takes approximately eight hours to charge. The charge time is significantly longer than the two-to-four hour charge time of other high-end electronic magnifiers, but the charge also lasts for approximately eight hours. Unlike some USB-compatible electronic magnifiers, Flick does not draw down additional power from the laptop or tablet on which it is being used. This translates into longer battery life for the laptop or tablet it is being used with.

For this evaluation, Flick was tested using the following hardware and software configurations:

• Windows 8 Pro using a Mac mini 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core i7 with 4 GB RAM
• Windows 7 Home Premium using an Asus Eee Slate 1.33 GHz Intel Core i5 Tablet with 2 GB RAM
• Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 using a Mac mini 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core i7 with 4 GB RAM

The installation processes for both the Windows and Mac operating systems are straightforward. The installation wizard walks you through step-by-step, easy to follow instructions. If Microsoft .NET Framework 4 is not already installed on your Windows system, you will be asked to download and install it during the installation process. This is a free download from Microsoft. This is not required with the Mac operating system.

A full working version of iZoom, the screen magnifier and reader from Issist, is also included with Flick. During this testing, iZoom was able to run successfully using the Windows 7 platform but did not work with Windows 8. iZoom is also not designed to run on the Mac OS platform. The software program for Flick was able to run successfully using Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 8 Pro, and Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2.

User manuals typically list the absolute minimum requirements needed for a particular product and nothing more. The Flick manual conveniently lists the minimum and optimal system requirements for Windows users, which is very useful if you want a better understanding of the computer specifications needed to run a program beyond its bare minimum requirements. The optimal CPU requirements for Windows are listed as a 2.4 Dual Core processor with 2 GB or more of RAM. The optimal CPU requirements for the Mac OS are listed as 1.6 GHz or more with 1 or more GB of RAM.

Setup and Portability

At only 3.5 pounds, Flick is light and compact and slides easily into the accompanying 14-inch by 11-inch laptop carrying case. When assembled, Flick takes up a relatively small amount of space, which allows it to fit more easily on smaller desks, tables, or countertops. It measures 11 inches wide by 10.25 inches deep. Flick is composed of two components and is quickly and easily assembled. The bottom of the camera arm slips over a fitting on the baseplate and is secured in place with a single screw. The white fitting, the black baseplate, and camera arm have been designed to provide increased contrast to facilitate easier assembly for people with low vision.

Calibrating the camera is essential the first time it is used. This allows you to maximize its horizontal and vertical range. Calibrating the camera is a straightforward process since the manual includes step-by-step instructions. If you are using Flick on more than one computer, it will require recalibration every time you switch computers.

The head of the camera rotates vertically and horizontally, which allows effective panning for near and distance viewing regardless of the level of magnification that is being used. This significantly reduces the need for an additional X-Y table. It is worth noting that there is a small amount of visual distortion when the camera captures the outer extremities of the viewable areas since the image is being captured at a slight angle. As a functional example of how this may impact readability, this translates into text appearing slightly skewed closer to the edges of a page.

Documentation

An 11-page, quick start user manual is available in print. It includes essential information such as assembly, maintenance, system requirements, and software installation for both the Windows and Mac platforms. The full Flick manual, which is available electronically as a PDF on the installation CD and in print, goes into extensive detail regarding the various settings and features available with Flick. Both manuals are accompanied with full color illustrations. Within the Main Menu of the Flick software program is a menu item called Hotkeys, which lists frequently used keystrokes needed to operate Flick. A single-page document used to calibrate the camera is also included in hard copy and electronically. The type size used in both manuals is a 16-point sans serif font. Efforts have been made to provide a more accessible type size for people with low vision. Increasing to 18-point or larger will make the manual even more accessible and will benefit a larger target audience, especially with the initial setup of the unit.

A comprehensive website specifically showcasing Flick is available. Over and above the usual photos and written descriptions that you would expect to see with similar products, links to a number of high quality YouTube videos are available that provide an overview of Flick and practical demonstrations of the features of Flick and accompanying software program.

Features

Flick can be controlled in a variety of ways, including input via a touchscreen-capable computer monitor or tablet, computer mouse, and keyboard. The specific input method used to operate Flick partially depends on personal preference. For instance, if you are a strong keyboard user, it may be easier for you to execute keystroke commands than use the mouse.

Operating Flick via Touchscreen

If you have used a tablet or virtually any modern smartphone, you are probably already familiar with commonly used gestures such as single and double-finger taps, single-finger dragging, pinch, and reverse-pinch. These are a handful of gestures used with Flick to accomplish a list of commonly used tasks, including the ability to zoom in, zoom out, pan left, right, up, and down, just to name a few. The touchscreen-capable ASUS tablet with Windows 7 installed was used to put Flick's touchscreen capabilities to the test. The response time was surprisingly fast. It only took fractions of a second for the Flick camera to react to the panning gestures used on the touchscreen. The reaction time for increasing and decreasing the level of magnification using the pinch and reverse-pinch gestures took anywhere from a quarter of a second to a maximum of approximately four seconds when zooming in from the smallest to largest level of magnification. With a faster processor and more memory, the response time would presumably be faster. A single-finger tap at the top right corner of the screen displays the Main Menu, which provides the customization features in the camera. A single-finger tap on the top right corner displays the Mini Menu. This provides quick access to the operational features of the camera. An additional menu on the right of the screen (called the Read Menu) appears when the Flick OCR reading feature is active. These three menus can all be quickly and easily accessed via touchscreen with a small number of fairly intuitive gestures.

Operating Flick with a Computer Mouse

Zooming in and out using the mouse is accomplished by pressing the right mouse button down while rotating the spin wheel toward you or away from you. The Flick software provides options to modify both the size and color of the mouse pointer. It provides three mouse pointer sizes: small, medium, and large. You are also given a list of seven mouse pointer colors to choose from. The manual states that in order to pan left or right, the mouse wheel will need to be pressed to the left or right. This requires a mouse with a multi-directional spin wheel, but the manual does not explicitly state this. Holding down the left mouse button and, then, moving the mouse in a given direction is another method that can be used for panning the viewable area. A multi-directional mouse wheel requires less physical movement and may, therefore, be more effective for some people. Mice with multi-directional scroll wheels can be found for under $20 in virtually any retail outlet that sells electronics, such as Office Depot. The Main Menu, Mini Menu, and Read Menu can all be easily accessed via the mouse with a left single-click at the top left and top right corners of the screen. The touchpad on laptops can also be used in place of the mouse to control Flick.

Operating Flick with a Keyboard

Some features of Flick can only be executed via the keyboard. For instance, to set the calibration of the camera in Windows, you will need to press Control + Shift + F9 or Command + Shift + W for Mac users. Many of the keystrokes used with Flick are fairly intuitive. For instance, the plus and minus keys zoom in and out, respectively, and the arrow keys are also for panning. You may find that many of the commonly used operations can be more easily controlled using a keyboard with a numeric keypad since many of the commonly used keys are clustered together on the keypad.

Magnification and Image Quality

Flick seems to work best with a resolution setting of 1280 × 768 or lower. The manual acknowledges that graphic performance may be delayed at higher resolutions. The Flick camera website states that the camera's level of magnification is capable of increasing the viewable image by up to 80 times. This number is dependent on the size of monitor being used. With a 22-inch monitor, this translates into 11-point font being displayed anywhere from 3/8 of an inch to 9 inches in height for near viewing. The text remains clear for near viewing even at the maximum level of magnification. The range in magnification of Flick is impressive although, for most users, this alone is only one factor to consider when purchasing a high-end electronic magnifier. Within about three seconds, Flick is able to quickly alternate from distance viewing to near viewing and back again while retaining its previously determined positions. As is expected with a high-end electronic magnifier, auto-focus capability is included, which eliminates the need to manually adjust the focus when changing the camera position.

Caption: Flick Main Menu

It's evident that a considerable amount of thought went into making the software interface of Flick user-friendly for people with low vision. The Main Menu items are all listed in large white text against a black background. When the Main Menu is active, all of the menu items within it can be increased in size using the pinch gesture of a touchscreen or the plus and minus keys of the keyboard. For some users, this built-in feature may decrease (or even eliminate) the need for a screen magnification program if Flick is being used as a stand-alone solution.

Flick also provides the option of having its active window take up the entire screen using full screen mode or portions of the screen using a combination of windows sizes, such as normal window, right half, left half, top half, and bottom half. The Windows keystroke of Alt + Tab, or Command + Tab on the Mac allows you to cycle between the Flick window and any other active programs that you may have running on the computer.

The image quality of Flick's camera is excellent in good lighting conditions although some motion blur, also known as ghosting, takes place when panning. Flick relies entirely on external light since it is not equipped with its own independent light source. The Flick website states that the camera "has exceptional low light performance." The Flick software also offers six color schemes to choose from. Although both of these aspects can certainly be useful, neither of them are a replacement for sufficient lighting in poorly lit environments. This is an especially important factor to consider when considering the fact that Flick is being marketed as a portable solution that can be used in a variety of settings.

Reading and OCR Capability

The Freeze Frame option allows you to take a snapshot of an image, which is automatically saved to the Pictures folder of your hard drive as a PNG file for future viewing. This is done by simply pressing the letter "S" on the keyboard while Flick is the active window. Flick also offers some impressive text-to-speech capabilities through its optical character recognition, or OCR. This feature works in near viewing mode but not distance viewing mode. The manual states that the process of scanning in a page of text and having the text read aloud takes between 10 to 20 seconds. This range appears to be accurate. Using a Mac Mini with Windows 8, it took approximately 14 seconds to read text from the point that scanning began. After an image is scanned using OCR, it is automatically saved in the Documents folder as a TXT file for future retrieval.

Two modes are offered with the OCR option: Reformatted Text and Real Image. Reformatted Text Mode replaces the image of the text with electronic text that is displayed on the screen, and it highlights each word as it is being read. Background color, text color, and text size are additional options that are available with Reformatted Text Mode. Real Image Mode provides the same text-to-speech capabilities as Reformatted Text Mode while retaining the original image of text being scanned. It also highlights each word as it is being read with a red box. Real Image Mode can be a useful feature, allowing you to verify that the OCR is accurately rendering the text that has been scanned while it reads the text. It also provides you with a better sense of what is being read in the context of the material that you have scanned. As mentioned earlier, because the quality of the image is heavily reliant on the lighting conditions available, the accuracy level of the OCR will also be affected by these same factors.

Flick uses the Inova voice, Kendra, for its text-to-speech engine. Three reading speeds are available: slow, medium, and fast. If you use text-to-speech with other programs, such as your mobile phone or screen magnification software, you will likely find even the fast setting to be a little on the slow side.

What Would Make It Better?

1. Add a light source. Flick is a highly portable and versatile electronic magnifier that's loaded with a number of features. One of its greatest weaknesses, especially as an electronic magnifier being marketed as a solution that can be used in multiple environments, is the absence of its own light source. Providing the option of an accompanying light source could make a substantial difference in low-lit environments. Bundling Flick with a low cost LED light that is lightweight and portable and could mount to the Flick arm would make a significant improvement for both reading and scanning purposes.
2. Wider range of faster speech rates. The three available settings for the speech rate of slow, medium, and fast are inadequate, especially for students or employees who are required to access material quickly and are used to accessing speech output more rapidly. Providing a wider range of speech rate settings at the higher end would make a good OCR solution even better.
3. Improved case. The thinly padded laptop case that comes with Flick provides poor protection for a $3,499 electronic magnifier that is designed to be transported from place to place. A hard shell case or a case with additional padding that protects the head of the camera itself would prevent such an expensive device from being easily damaged on a commute or in a school or work setting.
4. Quieter operation. The Flick motor that controls the camera makes an audible, grinding sound and may be a little distracting in quieter settings. Although I consider this to be a minor issue with Flick, it may be worthwhile for the manufacturer to explore options available to further reduce its noise level.

The Bottom Line

Competitors may want to take heed. The Flick electronic magnifier represents a significant paradigm shift with the way that electronic magnifiers can be used. Its successful integration with touchscreen technology incorporates easy to use gestures that allow you to carry out complex tasks with relative ease. A greater number of people, both young and old, are using tablets and other touchscreen solutions on a daily basis. The transferable skills that can be applied to an electronic magnifier solution like Flick make the ease of operating it that much faster and easier. This gesture-based technology also makes this a viable option for seniors who are often intimidated by technology. Over and above its integration with touchscreen-capable technology, the Flick electronic magnifier offers an impressive array of features, and comes with a two year warranty. If you're in the market for a well-designed electronic magnifier that is both portable and easy to use, Flick may be worth considering.

Product Information

Product: Flick
Price: $3,499
Available From: Sight Enhancement Systems
#17, 60 Bathurst Drive
Waterloo, Ontario N2V 2A9 Canada
Phone: (519) 883-8400

Manufacturer's Comments

Thank you for your meticulous and insightful review of our Flick product. We are pleased to respond to the various observations and recommendations described in your review.

What Would Make It Better

1. We are concerned about your prominent suggestion regarding the perceived need for auxiliary lighting when using the Flick in poorly lit environments. Although this seems like a logical assumption, the concern is rebutted by extensive empirical research and by user testing in the field. It should be noted that Sight Enhancement Systems does offer a portable lighting product, the iLite which is used effectively by people with diminished scotopic function and/or people working in no light environments. However, supplemental lighting is not recommended for use with the Flick owing to its "exceptional low light performance" as correctly described in our product literature. This assertion and its functional implications are supported by rigorous testing of the Flick under real-life operating conditions. In developing Flick, we were guided by the standard guidelines for classroom lighting. These standards recognize the following viewing conditions that are relevant for our targeted users:

• a conventional working condition for most classroom activities (average horizontal illuminance light levels is 30±10 foot-candles[1]),
• a minimum of 20 foot-candles in the vertical plane of the whiteboard or blackboard, and
• an AV viewing condition wherein a data projector is used without fully darkening the classroom (a minimum of 10±5 foot-candles at every student's desk).

The platform camera block used in the Flick is rated by the manufacturer for low light conditions of 1.5 lux (~0.14 foot-candles). Under standardized testing, the Flick consistently recognizes and displays or speaks standard text print (10-14 point font serif or sans serif) with 100% accuracy and with optimum digital contrast even when illuminance is reduced to 1.0 - 2.0 foot-candles (or at 10% of the standard level demand for our user case scenario. In summary, the Flick (as marketed and without any supplemental lighting) demonstrates the capacity for unimpeded reading functionality under any and all educational and vocational task lighting conditions for which minimum illuminance maintenance codes and standards are documented (for North American and Europe). Additional lighting is only required when users are working in dark or near dark conditions.

References:

1. California High Performance Practices (CHPS) Manual - 2006 Edition Volume II: Design Guidelines. Available online at http://www.chps.net/content/288/CHPS_II_2006.pdf
2. IESNA School and College Lighting Committee (2000) Lighting for Educational Facilities: Recommended Practice ANSI/IESNA RP-3-00. Available online at webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ANSI%2FIESNA+RP-3-00
3. Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (2000) Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Lighting Handbook - Ninth Edition (Chapter 10 - Quality of the Visual Environment; Chapter 12 Educational Facility Lighting). Available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/46634221/IESNA-Lighting-Handbook
4. Schools Lighting Levels - available online at www.scribd.com/doc/55134575/Schools-Lighting-Levels
5. Sony Colour Camera Module: Technical Manual. Available online at www.goelectronic.com/manuals/fcb-ix11.pdf

6. Zumtobel Lighting GmbH (2008) The Lighting Handbook - 2nd edition. Available online at www.scribd.com/doc/99677227/Lighting-Handbook-08

7. With respect to the Flick speech rate, your observation is perceptive and logical. The current "fast" speech rate point is in approximately 160 words per minute (wpm). This value is consistent with the recommended speech rate for people who read books for radio or podcasts (150-160 wpm). Advanced speech users read at rates up to 3 times faster than this baseline speed and research suggests that about 1.6 times faster (250-260 wpm) is a more suitable "fast" listening rate for average novice readers. Accordingly, we are undertaking to make this change in the near future. Current Flick users will be able to update this feature when it becomes available.

References:

1. Gordon-Salant S and Friedman SDA (2011) Recognition of rapid speech by blind and sighted older adults. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 54(2): 622?631. Published online 2010 August 5. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2010/10-0052) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3034112/

2. Asakawa, C., Takagi, H., et al. (2003) Maximum listening speeds for the blind. Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Auditory Display, Boston, MA, USA, July 6-9, 2003 276-279. Available online at www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2003/paper/67%20Asakawa.pdf

3. The laptop case provided with Flick is lightweight and padded sufficiently for most uses. However, for those users who demand a sturdier case and can tolerate the additional size and weight a hard shell case may be desirable. We will look into this as an option for Flick.

4. Motor noise. Because the Flick camera is driven by motors there can be a whirring noise apparent when large changes in camera position are undertaken. In small position changes the camera is almost silent. There should never be any grinding noise and this is indicative of a fault in the test unit. We will investigate this noise on the test unit to determine the cause.

Other Comments

Flick camera calibration. As noted in the report the calibration process is required when Flick is installed for the first time on any computer. Subsequent use will not require this step and Flick can be moved to any computer where the installation has already been performed. We strive to make our products as simple and intuitive as possible so we will evaluate ways to make the camera self-calibrate in the future.

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