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There was a comment on this blog a while back about another website offering audio tours, Sounds for Sights. I don’t think they offer them directly through iTunes, but you can buy them off their website. It seems to be limited now to New York City, but expanding to Boston and DC soon. If...
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Today’s Boston Globe has an article, Audio-tours de force, today on PodGuides, though they don’t use the name. The article talks about one company, Audissey Guides, which is producing digital audio tour guides, though these don’t seem to be avaible directly on iTunes. The Globe is also carrying an AP story, Georgia college pushes...
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I have writtien before about audio tour podcasts, where anyone can make a audio tour of anywhere and distribute it as a podcast to anyone with an iPod. I would like to call on anyone with something interesting to say to create podguides about their favorite places. Whether it is a museum exhibit or...
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The iPodLounge website has an excellent introdcution to using iPods to listen to audiobooks. So, if you have been thinking about becoming an audiobook listener, but have not yet taken that first step, this is for you. If you find this post useful or interesting, please consider buying me a cup of coffee.
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Have you ever tried to change the font in a MS Word document full of equations? It does not work. Well, it works for the text, but not for the equations. To adjust the equations, you have to open each one individually, which is a complete waste of a lot of time. I bumped...
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The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has instructions on ‘How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Readers‘. I have wondered how accessible this blog is. I can access it quite easily since I have tweaked IE to make almost any page readable. Bur I do not know how others see it. I...
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A couple of months ago, the Times’ David Pogue wrote an article, Spending Time to Save Time, about why we do not take enough advantage of available computer technology that could make our lives easier, more productive or both. The lessons Pogue discusses apply directly to adoption of any level of ‘assistive technology’ whether...
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The Times featured an article, With Irreverence and an iPod, Recreating the Museum Tour, a few months back that highlights a great idea. Folks are creating their own audio tours of museums and distributing them as podcasts. This is fantastic for two reasons. First, this open up more possible source for audio tours. Museum-goers...
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According to the New York Times today, Audio Books are becoming both more popular and more acceptable to the reading purist. I hope this trend continues as I rely on audio books for all of my non-professional reading. As the demand grows, so will the supply and variety of good quality audiobooks. If you...
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The technology guy for the NY Times posted some thought about an issue that had not crossed my mind, “But What About the Color Blind?“. I think that browsers should come with some default accessibility option. I do not mean the complicated range of options available now, but a simple on/off switch. This switch...
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AccessWorld has an updated review, A Site for Sore Ears: A Review and Tour of Audible.Com, of Audible.com. I know I have posted about the virtues of Audibble.com before, but this update is worth looking st. If you find this post useful or interesting, please consider buying me a cup of coffee.
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Someone in New Jersey has launched a web-based lending library for audio books, Talking Pages – An Audio Book Lending Library for the Visually Impaired. The aunt of Talking Page’s creator is visually impaired, which isnpired him to start this website to make expensive audiobooks more widely available. Check it out. Don’t forget to...
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Slshdot has a story, Artificial Retinas Bring Vision Back To The Blind, that offers some hope for treating vision disorders. Maybe not for me and maybe not for a while yet, but the hope is there. If you find this post useful or interesting, please consider buying me a cup of coffee.
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Jakob Nielsen, a ‘crusader’ for web usability, wrote a plea,Let Users Control Font Size (Alertbox Aug. 2002), a few years ago. In this article, Nielsen articulates an idea that I have been percolating for a long time. From his column, Consider adding a button that loads an alternate style sheet with really big font...
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The Boston Globe ran an article, Designing websites with senior citizens in mind, about a month ago. These design principles will help all of us, not just seniors or the visually impaired. Hopefully, the continuing demongraphic shift towards an older population will hasten the arrival of more thoughtful web page design. If you find...
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