I have blogged before about how much I enjoyed Joe Abercrombie’s books and about my quest to have them released as audio books (See Best Served Cold (& Audible), The First Law Series Going Audible and Best Served Audible). Abercrombie reports today on his blog in “First Law Audiobooks” that...
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Apple’s new iPad has had me doing some thinking about its potential impact fro the visually impaired, particularly for blind photographers. Reading an article today (thanks, Dad) about a new e-book reader software, Blio, soon to be put out by a company run by Ray Kurzweil, prompted me to consider a new issue, accessible...
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Back in March of 2006, I contacted the author of an economics book that I was interested in reading. This was part of a personal campaign to encourage authors to produce audio editions of their books, blogged here.  The author graciously responded, offering to bring the subject up with his publisher. I have heard...
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One of my favorite new authors is Joe Abercrombie. A few year ago, he published The First Law trilogy, a dark fantasy series, followed recently by Best Served Cold, a novel set I’m the First Law world. I picked up the first nook in the trilogy a few years ago in paperback and was...
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Speeding up a recording used to make it sound like Alvin & the Chipmunks. Growing up, I had a cassette player for the blind that had a variable speed playback control. Being a kid, I used it mainly for entertainment value. Fun was...
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Spotted on The Mac-cessibility Site, Anazon’s Kindle team is working on some accessibility improvements. The main focus seems to be on voice feedback during navigation. The lack of an audio interface meant that the Kindle text-to-speech feature, Talk to Me, would not be accessible to blind users without the help of a sighted person....
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I read a lot. I always have. But as my eyesight has deteriorated, I have had to find alternative ways to get my fix. Audiobooks have been key, mostly bought from Audible.com in recent years. Lately, smartphones and dedicated e-book readers have begun to offer an accessible alternative. There is still a big trade-off...
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http://www.vimeo.com/3192599 Shortcovers will be an app for mobile devices, including the iPhone, that turns your device into an e-book reader. The release date is imminent (allegedly). I still am unconvinced that mobile device screens are big enough for sustained reading. More details when the app arrives. If you find this post useful or interesting, please consider...
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Spotted on Slashdot, Author’s Guild Says Kindle’s Text-To-Speech Software Illegal. “The Author’s Guild claims that the new Kindle’s text-to-speech software is illegal, stating that “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. “That’s an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.” Forget...
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Last week, Google announced that its Book Search would be available for iPhone and other mobile device users. I like to read, so I thought I would see how it works and how accessible it is. I looked at another e-book reader, Stanza, in an earlier post, so I will look at the differences. As...
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The NY Times, along with every other news source, is reporting on the new version of Amazon’s e-book reader, the Kindle.Buried among all the other changes is one important accessibility feature: text-to-speech. According to the Times: Giving Voice to the Kindle: The Kindle 2 also has text-to-speech built in. “Any book, blog, magazine or personal...
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If you are getting caught up in photography and want to ride the minimalist (Strobist) wave, as good a place to start as any is Kirk Tuck’s Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography. Along with the Strobist blog and lighting guide, this is a detailed, useful, practical, concrete, and helpful guide to getting...
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I have begun compiling a list of books (and DVDs if there are any) by and/or about blind photographers. Blind Photographers, named for the flickr group for visually-impaired photographers, currently only has four titles, including Seeing Beyond Sight and Shooting Blind. Please check it out. PS Let me know if you have any additions. If you...
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Scanning through the Personal Tech section of the Times, I bumped into an interesting tidbit, “Tip of the Week – Turn Your iPhone Into an e-Book – NYTimes.com“. I have an iPod Touch (the iPhone sans phone), so I ws intrigued, though remaining skeptical, by this tip. I just downloaded the app, Stanza, to...
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