Some flotsam from the TwitterSea:via GrayBit v2.0 is a Grayscale Conversion Contrast Accessibility Tool. Basically, it converts a web page to grayscale so you can see how much (or little) contrast is in the page design. Contrast is important for readability, a key accessibility for the visually impaired. What’s GrayBit Do? GrayBit is an online accessibility...
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Here is a short video clip from the Today Show about a young woman with Usher Syndrome. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Please consider walking with me at the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ Visionwalk 2009 here in the Triangle. If you find this post useful or interesting, please consider buying me...
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Hi. My name us Tim and I am an addict. Addicted to public radio, that is. The alarm clock radio, the shower radio, the kitchen radio, the car radio. Even iTunes. Now the iPod Touch. The Public Radio Exchange has released a fee iPhone app, Public Radio Tuner, that finds and streams US...
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I garnered some First Impressions of the New Kindle DX from the NYTimes’s Gadgetwise Blog. According to the post, the new Kindle DX’s main feature is its larger size. The DX has a 9.7-inch display, which the company says is 2 1/2 times the size of the Kindle 2. But the device doesn’t feel...
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Free Digital Clock is a nifty little app for the iPhone. It turns the iPhone into a bedside digital alarm clock. Colors are customizable and the app swivels smoothly from portrait to landscape mode. From its web site, Rock iPhone: A free version of the favorate nightstand appliction – Easy Clock. Turn your iphone/ipod touch...
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Google Experimental Search has a great experiment for the visually impaired. Accessible View is one of several experimental ways to access Google search results. The first key feature of Accessible View is keyboard navigation. Second, the selected search result is magnified for easier viewing. There is automatic integration with your screen reader or talking...
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I am putting a team together to walk with me at this year’s VisionWalk here in the Triangle. VisionWalk raises money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which specializes in researching cures for retinal degenerative diseases. I have one of these conditions, Stargardt Disease, so you can see why I am doing this. The walk is...
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Product manuals are frustrating. For, as my dad puts it, they are usually written in a language tantalizingly close to English. Just as irritating, manuals are often printed in tiny font sizes, making them very inaccessible. A few years ago, I was looking for a misplaced manual in vain. So I went on the web...
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Spotted on Fred’s Head, a blind artist supports the fight against blindness: J D Lewis Wildlife Prints: A Unique Vision of Nature. “Hello. My name is John Lewis, owner of JD Lewis Wildlife Prints. Once a dedicated wildlife artist and graphic designer, I have long since set aside my paint brush to pursue other career ventures....
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The Cost of Ink or Why History Trumps Common Sense Open up Microsoft Word or most web sites and the type is laid out in black against a white background like most books or newspapers. Like most books or newspapers? Why? Dark ink on white pages made more sense than white ink on dyed pages...
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Call me crazy. I carry my own meteorologist around in my pocket. I check the temperature, outdoor conditions and the forecast several times a day. I guess I am crazy. But the iPhone’s Weather App is a great personal meteorologist. Well designed,, it lays out lots of information in a simple, easy to read...
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Bloggers come in all shepes, sizes and abilities. For the visually impeired and blind, blogs and blogging present unique challenges. To meet and discuss these issues, there is a online group of these bloggers. Visit Blind Bloggers to find out more. Blind Bloggers is a quiet, but very helpfrul, group of bloggers. Member range in...
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From Glenda Watson Hyatt’s Do It Myself Blog, here are 3 Tips for Making Your Hyperlinks More Usable. How many times do you skim an online article or blog post, looking for interesting or relevant links? Individuals with sight impairments using screen readers (software that reads aloud text on the computer monitor) can have the...
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Spotted on Slashdot, Stem Cell Treatment To Cure the Most Common Cause of Blindness. Specifically, this treatment, if it passes the trials, should be a cure for AMD, age related macualr degeneration. As I have a form or juvenile macular degeneration, I have high hoped for some broader applicability. The Times Online reports that...
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As spotted on MacWord’s iPhone Central, Ars Technica is reporting that iPhone OS 3.0 to feature voice control and feedback. Various voice-related features, under the codename “Jibbler,” have been discovered in the version of SpringBoard set to ship with the next update to Apple’s mobile operating system. …. Not much information is known at this time, but...
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