[Nfbk] Random Stories

[Kevin Pearl]

Below you’ll find snippets of things I’ve been reading lately online.  Hopefully there will be something of interest to most of you.  Since it’s me, it leans a bit toward the techie side.  I’ve included the first paragraph in most cases.
Hadley Starts Directory for Visually Impaired Business Owners:

The following is a directory of businesses owned or operated by blind and visually impaired individuals. This directory is designed to provide current and future business owners with inspiration and access to the listed businesses, with the goal of initiating networking opportunities among blind and visually impaired business owners.

In order to be included in this directory, please download the Business Profile form, answer the questions, and email it back to us according to the instructions. ...

Braille Under Siege As Blind Turn To Smartphones:
Like a lot of smartphone users, Rolando Terrazas, 19, uses his iPhone for email, text messages and finding a decent coffee shop. But Terrazas' phone also sometimes serves as his eyes: When he waves a bill under its camera, for instance, the phone tells him how much it's worth. ...
Enabling accessibility in Windows 8:
Windows 8 is a product we design for an incredibly broad spectrum of people around the world. One of the areas where we have worked to deliver an even greater level of innovation is in ensuring that Windows 8, particularly the new Metro style experience, is accessible to everyone regardless of their physical abilities. In this post we will talk about the engineering work that goes into the features we refer to as “accessibility” – though as you will see, many of these features are broadly applicable and just make the product better for everyone. ...
Confessions of a frustrated blind chick:
I am sure, if you asked the people that know me, they would tell you that I have a good attitude regarding my disability. I don't complain, I am independent and I seek opportunities to serve others. I have deep gratitude for the blessings in my life, chief of which are my family and friends. ...

Access to Museums and Parks for Patrons who are Blind or Visually Impaired:
People with vision loss want, and increasingly expect, to experience a museum or park as fully as a person with normal vision. Museums and parks have made great strides in accessibility for patrons who are blind or visually impaired. The use of audio descriptions, GPS devices, and other accessible technologies, along with exhibit design improvements and better information sharing among cultural and educational institutions, have made these resources increasingly enjoyable and accessible to visitors with vision loss. ...

Are You An Adaptive Technology Trainer? Flying Blind, LLC Invites You to Join us by Donating 10 Minutes of Your Time:
Flying Blind, LLC is currently involved in a number of adaptive technology training initiatives designed to optimize adaptive technology training service delivery on a national level. It is our continuing mission at Flying Blind, LLC to provide all vision impaired persons with the necessary products, information, and services that will make their adaptech journey as fulfilling as possible.
 
We feel strongly that the only way to do this is to solicit input from those of you who are already adaptive technology trainers. Only with feedback from those of you who already provide this exemplary service can we hope to attain the type of direction we require to move forward on a number of national training projects which are currently in play. ...

College offers course on assistive technology:
Think back to your college days. Did your university or college offer any classes on assistive technology? I know mine didn't! In it's sixth season, have a look at a course being offered at Stanford University in California. 
Perspectives in Assistive Technology is aimed to "explore the broad spectrum of issues surrounding the design, development, and use of technology that benefits people with disabilities and seniors." ...

People with disabilities & virtual volunteering:
I said it back in the 1990s, and I'll say it again: Online volunteering / virtual volunteering can allow for the greater participation of people who might find volunteering difficult or impossible because of a disability. This in turn allows organizations to benefit from the additional talent and resources of more volunteers, and allows agencies to further diversify their volunteer talent pool. ...

How Can I Talk to My Phone in Public Without Looking Like a Jerk/Creep/Weirdo?:
Having conversations with and controlling your phone with your voice is great isn't it? And yet, this new technology can also be quite unsettling or annoying, at least for eavesdroppers. Although most people could probably guess that you're talking to Siri when you blurt out at your iPhone "Wake me up at 6:30 am!", just in case, here are some guidelines for using voice apps in public more appropriately and comfortably. ...

Hulu Plus Gets VoiceOver Support: Discussion on Accessibility of Content Consumption Gains Ammunition:
Cable and satellite providers ought to be shaking in their overpriced boots as online content providers continue to gain steam with consumers. Many would agree that it’s not too unrealistic to ditch traditional pro content providers for these cheaper alternatives – and have access to nearly identical content.

Our family kicked the cable box to the curb about two months ago, in lieu of Netflix and Hulu. We’re all familiar with how Netflix continues to ignore requests from the blindness community to make its mobile application and desktop site accessible, so I was hardly surprised when I subscribed to Hulu and found its iOS offering to be an accessibility nightmare. But – the story doesn’t end there. ...

Libraries Use Assistive Technology to Help Patrons with Low Vision:

Low vision can impact someone's ability to cook, take medications, get around safely and read. Assistive Technology (AT) can help people with vision disabilities and libraries are at the forefront of using AT to help their patrons with disabilities participate fully. ...

The Librarian: Accessibility on iOS: Make an App for Everyone:
Thousands of engineers have learned how to build iOS applications via Stanford University’s iTunesU series “Developing Apps for iOS”. This comprehensive course is recorded and shared to students around the world. You not only get the lectures, you can download the slides and access the homework assignments....

June 8 2012 deadline to send comments to feds on proposed rules for disability accessible medical equipment.

iOS VoiceOver tip#1 – Labelling:
For those using Voiceover on your iphone/ipad/ipod touch you may come across that frustrating moment when trying to use the screen reader and the voice just spurts out "button" or makes a clicking sound! This won't happen within any of Apple's own apps but unfortunately there are a lot of developers out there that don't think of Voiceover users! 

The Solution
Apple have overcome this problem with a great feature within voiceover to self label buttons, now this may need some sighted assistance if it is an unlabelled button. Here is how to label your icons and buttons using voiceover:-

Step 1: Tap on the unlabelled button or icon (you will hear the voiceover say "button")
Step 2: Double tap with 2 fingers anywhere on the screen and hold down on the last tap, wait a few seconds and voiceover should say "Alert, text field is editing"
Step 3: type desired name within text field.
Step 4: Select save. Now you should be able to run your finger over the button and hear the words you put in. 

Note: If a button or app is already labelled you can still change it to either abbreviate it or have voiceover say whatever you want! 

Also please note you may need to make sure your iOS is updated to latest version,i believe this feature runs on iOS 4+ let me know if not. 
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