This month's news items reflect the excitement and increased product activity associated with the two major blindness consumer organization conventions. Both the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and National Federation of the Blind (NFB) conducted their weeklong annual membership meetings in early July. The assistive technology companies, as well as other groups that want to bring products and services to our attention, set up shop in the exhibit halls of the NFB and ACB convention host hotels. Here are some of the highlights as noted by AFB TECH staffer Bradley Hodges.

AFB CareerConnect Seminars

AFB CareerConnect presents two new, free online seminars for professionals working with children and adults with visual impairments.

Session 1: What's Next…Postsecondary Training Preparation for Students with Visual Impairments

Release Date: June 15, 2010
Length: 90 minutes

You Are Cordially Invited!

July is convention month, and this year, the AccessWorld team extends our special invitation to attend AFB presentations and activities at the annual conventions of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the American Counsel of the Blind, and the National Federation of the Blind.

Wayfinder Access GPS System Discontinued: Future of Product Dims

The German telecom giant, Vodafone, has purchased Wayfinder, the cell phone-based GPS technology provider. Just as suddenly it appears that the plug has been pulled on any future development of Wayfinder.

Neil Barnfather, owner of TalkNav, the largest distributer of Wayfinder, posted the following statement on the Access Mailing List.

Dear All,
I had hoped to have more definitive information for you before having to make a statement about this.

Accessible TV Technology

Obtaining access to television programming information is important to those of us who cannot view on-screen information. Recent and on-going efforts in the United Kingdom may provide a tangible solution to this well-documented problem.

Movies at Home for Everyone

A recent partnership between WGBH of Boston and Sony Pictures of California spells good news for movie lovers who have difficulty seeing key elements on the screen. Beginning this September, all Sony theater releases with Descriptive Video Service, when made available in DVD or Blu-Ray formats, will include an additional audio track containing the description. WGBH pioneered Descriptive Video Service in 1990, with the launch of description added to some PBS television programs.

NFB Newsline on Demand or in Your Pocket

NFB Newsline, the popular telephone-based reading system, now offers two new ways of receiving nearly 300 newspapers and magazines. With NFB Newsline on Demand, users can navigate any of the available newspapers or magazines online and select an entire newspaper or section to be directly e-mailed to their e-mail accounts.

Kindle 2

When Amazon.com announced, on February 9, 2009, the release of its new Kindle 2 handheld e-book reader with the addition of text-to-speech capabilities, people who are blind became interested in this inaccessible device. Unfortunately, the text-to-speech capability does not work in the Kindel 2's menus, so it cannot be operated by a person who is blind. Then, the Authors Guild lodged complaints that the feature would interfere with audiobook rights.

CSUN Highlights Aging Population

The CSUN conference, which takes its name from its sponsoring organization, the California State University at Northridge, has been one of the most revered events showcasing assistive technology for people with disabilities for more than 20 years. At its 2009 event, March 16–21, CSUN will host its first DATE (Design, Access, Technology, and Education) Symposium, examining the particular issues of elderly users of assistive technology.

Desire2Learn Offers Accessibility

According to the October 20, 2010, posting on the Access Technology Blog, the National Federation of the Blind has evaluated the Desire2Learn Learning Environment version 9.0.1 and is reporting it to be accessible for instructors and students. This software has not been evaluated by AccessWorld, but it reportedly provides access to tasks including checking grades, creating and taking quizzes, completing assignments, viewing course content, changing preferences, and navigation to courses, among others.