WHAT'S NEW AND WHERE TO GET IT

Publications

National Braille Press has a new book called SOCIAL NETWORKING AND YOU: TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND LINKEDIN. It is designed to help a user of assistive technology learn about these three social networking sites. The book describes how these sites work, types of things you can do on them, commands and strategies for navigating them with screen readers, and pointers for handling specific situations using JAWS, Window-Eyes, System Access, and Voiceover on the Mac. The book is available in braille, eBraille, text, and DAISY formats and sells for $12.00. To purchase, contact National Braille Press at: 800-548-7323 or visit their website at: www.nbp.org.

HOW WE SEE IT: A BASIC GUIDE TO LOW VISION IN CHILDREN is a resource which includes: An understanding of vision, different categories of vision loss, and ways in which loss can affect function. The book also offers practical information about preparing children for low vision examinations and describes some common environmental adaptations. HOW WE SEE IT costs $20.00 and is available in print and electronic form. To purchase this book, contact Perkins School for the Blind at: 617-924-3434. Visit the Perkins website at: www.perkins.org.

Magazine of the Month and Young Adult Magazine of the Month are two NLS programs which allow subscribers to receive a different magazine each month on audio cassette. Some of the magazines subscribers may expect to receive are: AIR AND SPACE, CLEAN EATING MAGAZINE, PEOPLE, CRITTERS USA, GAME INFORMER, and SEVENTEEN. To receive a free subscription to either program, contact your cooperating talking-book library.

Horizons for the Blind provides a wide variety of accessible books about crafts, gardening, food preparation, and other recreational topics. Braille and large print books are available in subject areas such as origami, plastic canvas, latch hook, knitting, crocheting, tatting, plants and gardening, and health resources. For more information, contact Horizons for the Blind at: 800-318-2000. Visit the Horizons website at: www.horizons-blind.org.

Products and Services

Perkins Products has introduced the new carrying case for the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped/Library of Congress (NLS) Digital Talking Book Player. Manufactured by Executive Products, the soft, black, form-fitting case fits snugly around the talking book machine and has a storage zipper compartment for cartridges. The case has been designed to enable the user to utilize all keys, ports and compartments on the machine. The carrying case costs $39.95. To order, call 978-462-3817 or visit the Perkins website at: www.perkins.org.

Freedom Scientific has added the ONYX Deskset XL to its ONYX line of portable video magnifiers. The Deskset XL's camera is mounted on an arm which telescopes to lift it so that it can easily be focused on the whiteboard or the teacher in the front of the room. The mounting arm has three axes; it swings in a 350-degree arc, and the camera rotates 350 degrees on the end of the arm to look in any direction. The camera can be focused on the desktop directly in front of the user or moved to the side of the monitor to increase the work area.

The unit comes with either a 17-inch or 19-inch monitor, which can be raised, lowered, or tilted to the most comfortable position. Using the RF remote control, the user can zoom in and out and adjust brightness without disturbing the camera. Because it does not depend upon infrared technology, there is no need to aim this remote control directly at the Deskset XL.

The user can lock focus, freeze the frame, adjust the number of reading lines, view images in full color, or select one of four enhanced modes for reading text: 1. Black on white; 2. White on black; 3. Yellow on blue; 4. Yellow on black.

The entire unit readily collapses to fit into its lightweight rolling case for transport. The ONYX Deskset XL produces clear magnification of up to 71 times and offers three distinct viewing modes: distance view, document view, and self view. The 17-inch model sells for $2,595 and the 19-inch model is $2,795. For complete product specifications, visit www.LowVisionSolutions.com or call Freedom Scientific at: 800-444-4443.

Independent Living Aids has added a new product called the Snapfon ez ONE Cell Phone. The phone is described as easy to use and has large keys marked in large print. It displays numbers in an easy-to-see 28-point font. Spoken confirmation is provided when numbers are entered on the keypad. During emergencies, the phone doubles as a high-intensity LED flashlight. Sighted assistance is needed for setup. The Snapfon ez ONE Cell Phone is an unlocked GSM phone that can be used with GSM compatible carriers worldwide. The phone requires a SIM card to operate. Because it also works with pre-paid SIM cards, it can be used without a contract. The Snapfon retails for $99.95. For more information, contact Independent Living Aids at: 800-537-2118 or visit their website at: www.independentliving.com.

i.d. mate Summit is a portable "all-in-one" talking bar code scanner that aids visually or print-impaired individuals with the identification of items via the product’s bar code or UPC. Using text-to-speech, it allows users to access an on-board database of product descriptions. For products which are not part of the database the user can employ digital voice recording technology to create a tailored set of recorded voice messages. The user can also quickly add additional voice recorded information to existing products. Features include: SD memory card compatibility, memo recording, multiple databases, rechargeable battery, on-board help, and fully adjustable voice parameters. i.d. mate Summit costs $1,299. Contact En-Vision America at: 800-890-1180 or visit their website at: www.envisionamerica.com

HumanWare has added a new model to its line of Victor Reader Stream portable DAISY and MP3 players/voice recorders. Victor Reader Stream CD Edition combines the VR Stream with a custom CD player accessory. Stream CD Edition is for people who do not have a personal computer. It provides a simple mechanism to transfer a DAISY book from CD onto a portable audio playback device without the use of a computer. Just attach the CD drive to the Stream, load the CD book, and press a single button to copy it to the Stream. The Stream CD Edition has the full feature set of the standard Stream so if users want to go beyond just listening to their DAISY CD books, they can enjoy other types of audio or use the voice recorder. The CD player accessory is also available for purchase by existing Stream users. The Victor Reader Stream CD Edition costs $449. For more information, contact HumanWare at: 800-722-3393 or visit their website at: www.humanware.com.

WebVisum is a browser add-on which is intended to make the web more accessible to people with limited vision. It offers community-driven tagging and page enhancements, Automated and instant CAPTCHA image solving, and built-in helper functions for easier page navigation. WebVisum may only be used with the Firefox Internet browser. The Service is free, but you must create an account before using it. For more information or to register, visit the WebVisum site at: www.webvisum.com.

American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has begun accepting orders for the Book Port Plus. (Editor's Note: This product is based on a piece of hardware which is identical to the Plextalk Pocket, a digital player/recorder manufactured by Plextor. By adding custom firmware, Project Leader Larry Skutchan and his APH colleagues have given the new product some of the feel and features of the once popular Book Port, along with the characteristics of the newer hardware. No direct upgrade path is being offered to owners of the original Book Port. End of note.) Book Port Plus is a new product which allows users to read digital Talking Books, play digital audio, read computer files, and make recordings. The reading controls let you read a wide variety of books in both audio (human speech) and text (synthetic speech) format. Book Port Plus sells for $299. For more information, contact APH at: 800-223-1839 or visit the APH website at: www.aph.org.

Solona is a suite of Internet-based tools to assist visually impaired individuals to use the Internet independently. (Editor's Note: The free tools provide help with solving those annoying web barriers which require the user to type a string of characters pictured in an image which cannot be spoken by a screen reader. These images, which are known by the acronym CAPTCHA, are designed to prevent automated systems from filling out forms on the web and monopolizing services intended for human users. According to the not always unimpeachable Internet source Wikipedia.org, CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. End of note.) Each tool within Solona is human-powered. When users submit an image to be solved, a sighted human operator is on the other side to translate the image. Solona offers three tools: CAPTCHA Solving Service (CSS), Remotely Analyzing and Interpreting Visual Elements (RAIVE), and reCAPTCHA Training. The CAPTCHA solving tool provides a way for users to independently solve inaccessible CAPTCHAs. RAIVE is a service that allows a person to submit an image of anything, or any kind of digital file along with a question. An operator reviews the "package" and delivers an answer to the question based on the information on the image or in the file. All Solona services are free. Users must register in order to use Solona. For more information visit: www.solona.net.