Despite Apple’s leading efforts in accessibility technology, I have always found iTunes extremely hard to use. Apple’s major focus has been on VoiceOver and screen reader software compatibility. There are many visually impaired computer users out there (and right here) who have not made the switch to a non-visual interface, preferring to rely...
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Adobe has released the beta version of Lightroom 3 for free (until April). If you have been thinking about trying it out, this is a great way to test LR without shelling out big bucks. I am downloading it now, so have not yet tested it, but it is supposed to include flickr integration...
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Wikipanion is a feature-rich access point Wikipedia on the iPhone. it has an intelligent, well thought out interface. Besides support for multiple languages, Wikipanion has smart search and bookmarking features. you can also e-mail your search results to disbelieving friends. Wikipanion is also quite accessible. Not only is the font size adjustable, but you can...
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Apple has worked hard to make progress towards giving blind people access to the iPod system. The big move for Apple is the 4th generation iPod nano, which offers spoken menus and large font with high contrast screen and backlight. Unfortunately for me, this came out just before my last iPod upgrade. Apple paired this...
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WritePad is a handwriting recognition engine for the iPhone from Phatware. WritePad is the free basic app that powers Phatware’s more functional suite of apps, WritePad Affairs, WritePad Events and WritePad Notes. WritePad Supports iPhone and iPod Touch 2.0 or later WritePad is a new custom editor for iPhone that utilizes handwriting recognition input...
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Every so often, I browse iPhone’s app store looking for programs that are useful, interesting and, best of all, free. Very occasionally, I run across an app that may not be useful, but does seem interesting. It is usually the other way around, useful but not very interesting. Recently, I came across the EyeChart...
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Twitter calls itself a a microbloogging service. What the heck is a microblog? Basically, it is a mix of blogging, text messaging and emailing. The New York Times’ David Pogue offere his take on Twitter in Twitter? It’s What You Make It. Pogue is right. Twitter is in the eye of the beholder,...
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As you can tell, I am a big fan of WordPress, which I use to publish this blog. But I am not always at my desk when a good idea for a post strikes. I have been looking into ways to blog on the go, so to speak, even if that just means while...
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A while back, I thought I had a great idea. I still think its is a great idea, but I was beaten to it. One of the major reasons I rarely use magnification software is that I find the process disorienting. You lose either the whole screen or an important piece of it to...
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Every time you bump into a file with a .txt on the end, your PC opens it up in Notepad, Microsoft’s default text editor. Though the font can be changed, the color scheme is restricted to the default Windows color scheme. In this screen shot of Notepad, you can see that I have changed...
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A few days ago, I bumped into what I thought might be an implementation of my accessibility switch idea. This accessibility switch would be a single icon that would turn or off a list of pre-configured accessibility settings. If you ever visit a new computer or need to share yours, you know how...
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As seen on Slashdot, The Future of Things reports that: Researches at the University of Washington have recently developed a system, which for the first time, offers an instantly customizable approach to user interfaces. Each participant in the program is placed through a brief skills test and then a mathematically-based version of the user interface...
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