Tech Times
Spring 2012
LATEST ATS NEWS
1. Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, April 21 for our annual technology fair, Guild Technology Solutions. "Is Off the Shelf Off the Hook?" is this year's theme. We will look at mainstream and adaptive technology, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of each. This year's location for our fair is at our main office at 65 E. Wacker Place. To register, contact David Flament at the Guild..
2. Attention TVIs: Don't forget about Opening Doors, our new workshop series specially designed for TVIs, that teaches you how to use the tools your students will need to be successful in today's technology-based world. You can participate in five different topic areas. Each three-hour class is held at our Adaptive Technology Center and has accompanying CPDUs. The January 26 class, "Devour the World Wide Web with JAWS," covers surfing the web using a screen reader plus resources to help your students. Our February 23 class, "All You Need is a Victor Reader Stream, covers basic Stream operation, navigation keys, recordings, bookmark functions and more. You will also learn the things you need to know about obtaining books from NLS and Learning Ally. Our March 29 class, "Take a Picture and Listen to it Speak," covers Digital Imaging Systems (DIS) and how they can be used to help students access printed materials in the classroom and on the go. To register, contact David Flament at the Guild.
3. Advanced JAWS Workshop: Many of you have asked for an advanced JAWS class and now it’s here! On Tuesday, Apr. 3 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, we show you how to navigate the entire computer screen with both the JAWS Cursor and PC cursor, how to change settings with the Start Up Wizard and how to adjust voice settings. You will also learn how the Settings Center (formerly the Configuration Manager) can be used to customize other settings. To register, contact David Flament at the Guild.
4. Have a new iPhone and not sure what to do with it? Join us on Tuesdays, April 10, 17 and 24 for “Getting Started with the iPhone.” This three-session class for beginners covers how to use the phone, how to use built-in apps and how to enter text using the built-in VoiceOver screen reader. We’ll look at the physical features of the phone and screen layout, plus learn the basic gestures to use your new iPhone! For more details or to register, contact David Flament at the Guild.
5. Making the Change from Windows XP to Windows 7 or to the newer MS Office products? We can help! Join us on Saturday, May 12 for “Windows 7, Word 2010 and Ribbons.” In this class we will explore the new Start Menu, the new File Dialog Box, the Upper and Lower Ribbon and a new method for using keyboard commands. This workshop is for individuals who are familiar with the Windows environment and comfortable with their adaptive technology. Screen reader and screen magnification users are both welcome at this workshop. For more details or to register, contact David Flament at the Guild.
6. Mobility Week at the Guild: As part of mobility week at the Guild in June, we are offering “Have GPS, Will Travel!” Join us at the Guild on Saturday, June 9 from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm for this two-part workshop. The morning session is an overview of the newest Trekker Breeze, Sendero for the Braille Note and options for the iPhone. In the afternoon, we offer hands-on demonstrations of these products out in the wide open spaces of Millennium Park. To register, contact David Flament at the Guild.
YOUR QUARTERLY TIP
This quarter our discussion is centered on electronic book readers. The future is here and it is electronic books. Unfortunately, many electronic book readers are just as inaccessible as print books.
As with most of the electronic book readers on the market, the two most popular products, the Kindle Fire from Amazon, and the Nook from Barnes and Noble, lead the pack in denying access to electronic books for people with vision loss. These devices have no accessibility features whatsoever, unless you count variable font sizes. What makes this even harder to understand is that after NFB and Arizona State University reached a settlement agreement over the accessibility of the Kindle, Amazon made their third version of the Kindle book reader somewhat accessible, and then took it away with the Kindle Fire. All I can say is GRRRR…
We do have the growing market of DAISY book readers like the Victor Reader Stream, BookSense, PlexTalk and BookPort Plus. A great mainstream electronic book reader does exist, and once again it is Apple who answers our call and puts our community on its list of priorities. I am, of course, talking about iBooks on all the Apple iOS devices -- iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
iBooks is a fully accessible, electronic book reading app for your iOS device. You have access to tons of free books and books for purchase through iBooks. Lots of other choices for reading electronic books on your iOS device are also available -- Some apps worth mentioning include OverDrive, Stanza, Audible, Read2Go and LearningAlly Audio. Unfortunately, no book reading app supports books from NLS on any iOS device. Of course, it should come as no surprise that the Kindle and Nook apps for iOS devices are also not accessible.
Finally, on a personal note, I am an avid reader and love my Victor Reader Stream. I am also an iPhone user and appreciate Apple’s efforts on our behalf in the electronic book reader market. Organizations such as the NFB, ACB and AFB are constantly fighting the battle to give us access to all the mainstream book readers. Hopefully, one day the companies that make these book readers will do the right thing and make their products accessible.
MARV'S TECH TIDBITS
By Marvin Commerford
Humanware recently released a new version of the Humanware Companion and firmware for the Victor Reader Stream. Here is the link on the Humanware Site to get these updates.
Humanware’s site has links for all their supported languages. The English section is easily found by using your browser’s heading navigation keys. It’s the second heading on the page and the first level 4 heading. Use the links to download the new companion, Stream firmware, release notes, etc.
I recommend using the latest version of the Companion. The current version is 3.4.6 and it seems to be the most stable version ever. Under the Help Menu, there are options to check for the latest version of the Companion and another to check for the latest Stream firmware. These are good options for users who want to keep their software up to date without having to do it manually.
The new Stream firmware version 3.4.6 has some very nice new features. It is now possible to enable all time jump intervals. So, if you want to have one minute, five minute and ten minute time jumps enabled, you would enable each of them in the menu. The need to keep changing the level in the menu is gone. The “Where Am I” key will now announce the time left in a book section, if the book provides that information, which many seem to do. The music bookshelf now has a text search feature so you can search for songs with a certain word in the title.
Humanware has made one change that is unpopular with some people. The tone control in the non-music shelves is now a pitch control. If you use the tonecontrol for talking books, you may want to skip this version. Humanware will be looking into bringing back the original tone control, as well as having the pitch control.
ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
The I often get asked, “How do you know the answers to our questions?” It is not because I am the all-knowing Carnac or Alex Trebek. It’s because I know where some of the resources are to help me find answers to technology questions. For this issue, I thought rather than answering one of your questions, I would share some of my favorite technology resources.
Your first stop should be the World Wide Web. Tons of help is available on the web including searches, podcasts and online magazines. A Google search is a great way to find an answer fast. For example, typing “keyboard commands PowerPoint 2010” in the search box will provide you with a list of keyboard commands for MS PowerPoint 2010.
Podcasts are an easy way to stay up-to-date with all the changes in technology -- and there are a lot of good ones on the web. Tech Access Weekly (TAW) is a weekly podcast full of tech news. To find TAW, go to: www.techaccessweekly.com . Serotek has a great podcast with a wide range of topics at www.serotalk.com. Another podcast that is not updated as often as TAW or Serotalk, but has some good product reviews, is Blind Cool Tech, www.blindcooltech.com. Also, checkout the other AT companies, as they all have podcasts.
Online magazines are a great source of information and one stands tall above the others. AFB’s “AccessWorld” is a monthly magazine full of great information and product evaluations. You can even search their archives for information in past issues. To read Access World, go to: www.afb.org/aw.
Another option is the tech support line for the company that makes your adaptive technology. After all, they should know more about it than anyone else you can call. Below are websites and phone numbers of some of the more popular adaptive technology manufacturers.
Freedom Scientific (JAWS, OpenBook, MAGic)
Phone: 727-803-8600
www.freedomscientific.com
Ai Squared (ZoomText)
Phone: 802-362-3612
www.aisquared.com
G.W. Micro (Window-Eyes and BookSense)
Phone: 260-489-3671
www.gwmicro.com
Still do not know where to go for answers? You can ask the tutors at the Guild or join our TechExchange email list. Tuesdays, the Guild has an Apple and a ZoomText tutor. Our ZoomText tutor is also here on Fridays. Our PC and screen reader tutors are available on Thursdays. Our Thursday tutors can also help you with other AT products. While you can just drop-in or call, we suggest you set up an appointment. Our tutors are very popular and are often booked with scheduled appointments.
If you are reading this, you are probably already on our TechExchange email list. If not, send an email to David Flament to sign up. Once you are signed up, you can email your tech question to TechExchange. Feel free to answer someone else’s question if you know the answer. That is what the email list is all about -- sharing our knowledge!
Please send a message to David Flament if you do not want to receive this newsletter or if you have any comments or suggestions you would like to share.
