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In Memory of Calvin Wooten

On January 5, we said goodbye to Calvin Wooten, a former AFB board member and Migel Medal recipient. Calvin was one of my all-time favorite people. He was born in Alabama and lost his sight in early childhood. He was a self-made man and a brilliant entrepreneur. He started Wooten Piano Company, a business that he owned and operated for 50 years, and later founded Wooten Enterprises, a real estate investment company. Calvin was more than a successful businessman and blindness advocate, he…
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics

Sign the Prescription Drug Risks Petition: A Matter of Life and Death

Each day millions of people with vision loss put their lives—and the lives of those they care for—at risk because they can't accurately read labels on prescription medications. Shockingly, there are no federal guidelines to ensure that retail pharmacies provide drug information that is accessible to people with vision loss. Being able to read a prescription drug label isn't a convenience—it's a matter of life and death. That's why AFB staff are mobilizing on Capitol Hill, meeting with…
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics

GPS...I don't remember that fraternity

Ah, campus life. Dormitories, dining halls, and...GPS? The newest school staple for co-eds with vision loss is a talking Global Positioning System (GPS). Some of you readers might not be familiar with GPS, how it works, or its level of effectiveness so you should read AccessWorld®'s—AFB's online technology magazine—review< of Sendero GPS 3.5 for BrailleNote. Now, back to school. Florida State University recently completed mapping its campus so that various important spots can be picked up by…
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics Getting Around (O&M, Transportation, and More)

Good things coming out of Carnegie Mellon

Earlier this month a friend sent us an interesting article from the Carnegie Mellon newspaper about a new technology developed on campus to make it easier for people who are blind to go shopping. According to the school's paper, the technology works as follows: "Imagine a blind man walks into Entropy [Carnegie Mellon's campus store] and wants to pick up a bottle of mustard. As he walks past one aisle to another, he uses a UPC-reading Baracoda pencil integrated with his phone to scan the…
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics Assistive Technology

Braille Bug I Love You's

It's that one day of the year when everyone's talking about love... and we have a cute, creative way to celebrate here at AFB. If you visit our Braille Bug web site, you can e-mail braille love notes (like the "I love you" above) to your friends and loved ones. The recipient of your note will be taken to a page where they can easily decode your message. We think it's a fun, different way to say I love you. Rumor has it Cupid likes it too.
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics Arts and Leisure

Online Shopping Makes for a Happy, Hassle-Free Holiday Season

Holiday shopping is right around the corner and this year I'm doing mine online. Long gone are the days of mile-long lines, busy sales clerks, and crowded stores; online shopping is convenient and hassle-free. One of the things I like most about shopping on the web is that the majority of sites contain useful descriptions of their products and are very accessible to people with vision loss. A recent review of online shopping sites in AccessWorld® shows that most e-tailers are actually ahead of…
Author Carl Augusto
Blog Topics Accessibility