[Nfb-science] iphone reference text and searching wikipedia

[John Miller]

Hello,
This is John Miller.
I am president of the Science and Engineering Division of The National Federation of the Blind.
I recently found my iPhone 4S a useful tool in conducting web searches for technical information.
As you may know, a new book is available from NBP on using the iPhone.
I ordered the book in both braille and MS Word versions and have found it quite helpful in adding to my iPhone skills. 
The name of the book is Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 5 for Blind Users by Dresner and Martineau.
The link to buy the book is: http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/IPHONE-IOS5.html
This text is dedicated "To Apple, for their leadership and including assistive technologies as 
standard features in their products."
I echo the sentiments of the authors. 
Apple has proven that a successful business model is to include accessibility as part of a consumer
product.Using Siri, I conducted a search on Wikipedia for the equation of a sphere and found the correct
information.
I said "Search the web, Wikipedia, equation sphere."
I selected the first link and soon came to the equation x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = r^2.
This is the information I needed.
Wikipedia is a valuable tool for STEM professionals.
I would welcome hearing your successes and challenges gaining answers in STEM using either Wikipedia
or iOS devices.Very best,
John Miller