An app that retrieves and transcribes images from Twitter, another that facilitates communication for people who cannot use their voices, and a third designed to prevent anxiety attacks earned $10,000 in prizes at the kickoff hackathon for AT&T and New York University's three-month Connect Ability Challenge.
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has awarded its 2015 scholarships to 11 outstanding students who are blind or visually impaired and who are pursuing their studies at institutions of higher education. The grants support one of AFB's most important goals: expanding access to education for students with vision loss.
The awardees are as follows:
Envision announced that it has formed a new partnership with California-based technology company Gimbal, a leading provider of location and proximity-based mobile engagement. This joint partnership will leverage Gimbal's proximity-based technology to work toward improving accessibility for the visually impaired across mass transit networks nationwide.
Microsoft provides a summary of keyboard shortcuts for navigating Windows Vista that computer users who are blind or have low vision may find useful. The links listed include general keyboard shortcuts, as well as shortcuts for navigating dialog boxes, Windows sidebars, Windows Explorer, and Microsoft keyboards. While many of them will be familiar to most users of screen readers, some are unique to Windows Vista. To take a look, visit: <http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/2503b91d-d780-4c80-8f08-2f48878dc5661033.mspx>.
Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech, recently announced that Bookshare.org has been awarded a $32 million grant from the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education, to be delivered over the next five years, for the purpose of making educational texts accessible to students who are unable to read print. Bookshare.org is the membership service through which individuals who are blind or have low vision share the files containing books they have scanned with optical character recognition software, to be downloaded by other members.
Kurzweil Educational Systems has released Version 11 of its popular Kurzweil 1000 software. The newest upgrade offers a number of features, all of which, according to Stephen Baum, vice president of engineering, are features requested by the product's users. Perhaps the most significant highlight is the added ability to recognize forms, reading fields, labels, and text in order, thus allowing the user who is blind to complete a printed form independently. Other highlights include
On the cover of the November 2001 issue of AccessWorld was a photo of Jim Fruchterman, CEO of the Benetech Initiative, heralding the article "Fruchterman Fantasy Becomes Reality." Known to many in the assistive technology field as early as 1989, when his newly founded company Arkenstone brought the first computer-based scan-and-read system to people who are blind with OpenBook, he had moved on by 2001 and was about to launch yet another Fruchterman brainstorm.
Code Factory of Barcelona, Spain, has announced that HumanWare will now be the primary distributor for Code Factory's Mobile Speak Pocket and Mobile Magnifier products. These products provide access for consumers who are blind or visually impaired to off-the-shelf technology such as PDAs and mobile telephones.
Apple's iTunes is one of the most popular music management programs available--allowing users to download, organize, and enjoy music either directly on the computer or by transferring it to an iPod or similar player. Unfortunately, it has also been one of the most frustratingly inaccessible pieces of software for people who are blind to use with screen readers. Brian Hartgen of T&T Consultancy in the United Kingdom has changed all that for JAWS users by writing JAWS scripts for iTunes that make encountering the software a friendlier experience.
Clarity USA has introduced the Junior ultraportable video magnifier, stating in a recent press release that, at $695, it is the least expensive portable video magnifier on the market. Weighing only 11 ounces and with a 4-inch viewing screen, the Junior fits easily into a pocket or handbag. Capable of magnification from 3x to 9x, the Junior offers four viewing modes, including color, and can be adjusted at various angles for reading bills, receipts, labels, or other pieces of information that are encountered every day.