GW Micro comes out swinging-- announces BookSense pricing, enters NLS digital book player arena

I’ve been using and loving my Victor Reader Stream since late February of last year. I’ve been hooked on it since day one. The reason I believe this quickly became Humanware’s best-selling product of all time is that they provided a tool that was needed at a time when it was needed most. And, they did it, and kept the price where this was the most bang for one’s assistive technology dollars, by including the most necessary features while leaving off those which were peripheral and/or overly costly. In that process, they created a product which I believe ranks amongst the most revolutionary of assistive technology products for blind people.

All that said, I knew Humanware wasn’t going to be the only maker of products that could read books from the National Library Service. I knew of at least two more products coming down the pipe, but the Stream was here almost a year and a half ago, and it was ready to change lives. Also, nobody knew the exact pricing of these alternatives, either.

The reason I’m writing about this today is that another of these products, which is aiming for a similar launch and reception by the blind community, has hit the ground, and released pricing that can make them a competitor with the Stream.

The product I’m speaking about is the
BookSense
manufactured by
GW Micro.


At $499, the pricing of this product is higher than that of the Stream, but it isn’t out of the stratosphere, especially for a solid assistive technology product. It also comes with features the Stream doesn’t.

If you’re interested in looking at how this digital book player compares to the Stream, you might want to check out
Wayne Merritt’s comparison.
Wayne keeps his overview brief, but he does offer a link for a fuller comparison of the competing products.

Personally, I'll be keeping my Stream. It is still going strong and appears that it will continue to do so for a long time. However, if something were to happen where it broke and I was facing the need to invest in another player, though, I'd have to look both ways before crossing the digital book player street. What GW Micro is sending down the street sounds pretty inviting.

Accessible Event makes meetings and seminars open to all participants, no matter their disability

I’ve been waiting on the following unveiling for a while and am impressed by the results, not to mention, the potential this offers for the future.

The folks at
Serotek
Have rolled out their latest accessibility tool.

As its name implies,
Accessible Event
Makes meetings, seminars, conferences, and other events where participation is contingent on the accessibility to all the participants, truly open to everybody.

You can check out the June 23
press Conference ,
which is, of course, presented as an Accessible Event.


And, if that isn’t enough and you’d like another demonstration of how this neat tool works, check out the Serotek demo of a
staff meeting.

This is a service Serotek is offering to people who have a need to make their program accessible. It is something that I can see a distinct need for for at colleges, universities, and even public schools. There are also the distinct commercial applications at trade shows and conventions. If you’re a presenter and want to sure accessibility, check out Accessible Event. It will provide the ultimate delivery of your message to all audience members.

Access Ability is now on Twitter

Okay, call me slow, or whatever, but I’ve finally caught up to the latest hot thing on the web. Well, sort of.

I’m talking about getting on the tweet train. That’s right, Access Ability is now on Twitter. You can follow me at:
http://twitter.com/AAblog

Be patient, please. Give me time to figure out what I’m doing here, but I want to keep what I tweet pertinent to what Access Ability is about. I don’t figure you really want to know what kind of sandwich I’m eating right now, so I’ll be trying to focus on the content.

Its crazy, but I’ve already got people following me and I’ve not even posted anything there yet.

See you on Twitter!

Thoughts on more access spinning off of iPhone 3.0's accessibility

I’ve still not even checked out the iPhone, with its new, whizbang 3.0 OS offering out-of-the-box accessibility, but I’m here to tell you that there is a lot more than buzz going on about this in the blind community. There is thought and reflection on where this can go from here. To wit, I share two recent blog posts.

First, an intelligent thought is offered by T. Reid in his cleverly titled piece
Accessibility, There’s An App For That!

T. begins by looking at the idea of reading Amazon’s Kindle books on the iPhone, using the already available Kindle app with Voice Over, which would beat the Kindle’s own, now-neutered text-to-speech potential. He also looks at other possible apps that might come from innovation. Read his post to see his thoughts.

And, my good friend Marcus Engel has also stepped into the reality of technology and finally claimed some geekiness wherein he proposes the idea of an
App to run NLS books on the iPhone.

Now, that idea Marc is proposing isn’t just an idle thought. He’s already stepped up to the plate and initiated communications that might get something going here. Read his post to see what I mean. Also, make sure to write an email of your own, encouraging the development of this possible app

accessibility@apple.com

Good work, guys!

Apple gives iPhone accessibility for the blind and does it the right way

In case you missed the groundbreaking news this week, the Apple Corporation has pounded the table and slammed its fist down, announcing heretofore unimagined accessibility for blind people to the iPhone and its popular touchscreen display. I’ve ragged on Apple enough in previous postings about not including accessibility for the blind amongst the many features that it offered on this chic and trendy device, so I feel obligated to give my props to the home of the Mighty Mac for doing it right.

Not only does Apple include accessibility to the iPhone with the upgrade to the 3.0 operating system, but they do it for free. It is built-into the software. That means that there is no additional “accessibility charge,” a price blind people have been subjected to in the past to gain access to information that sighted folks get for the original price of a product. This fee has come in the form of screen readers and service maintenance agreements that hit wallets that are very often already strained. So, a tip of the hat to Apple for not only providing accessibility, but just making it part of doing business.

I have heard that somebody questioned whether the Nokia N82, which is the phone I and several of my friends are using, has become obsolete with the advent of an accessible iPhone. I don't buy that. I think the N82 is a greatly accessible phone, in my own experience the most accessible phone I’ve ever had, and its already bought and paid for. There are aspects of it that nothing on the market can touch, at least not yet, so it is not obsolete. However, it is expensive in itself, just under $300 at best pricing, and also requires an expensive, third party screen reader for nearly $300 to be accessible. With a screen reader, at best prices, one will spend close to $600 and up to $900 from vendors to get an N82 with a screen reader on it.

Now, along comes Apple offering an iPhone for $199 with a built in screen reader. What Apple has done here is put pressure on the market to, not only ante up, but to matche their raise.

As they say, only time will tell. Let’s see what happens. It is indeed an interesting time to be a blind person and experience the wonders of advancing technology.

With all that said, below I offer a roundup of some of the writings on the web about the iPhone’s accessibility.

Here’s the official Apple iPhone Accessibility page where they spell out the use of Voice Over:

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html

Also, here’s the Apple guide on how to use different features on your iPhone.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#basics.introduction

Here’s the Serotek blog where Mike Calvo shares his thoughts on Apple doing it right. Also, make sure to read the first comment on that post

http://blog.serotek.com/2009/06/why-is-it-that-apple-always-seems-to.html

Here’s the Ranger Station’s Post announcing the news. Ranger 1138 is a knowledgeable and experienced “dude in the assistive technology industry” whose insight I truly appreciate and trust.

http://therangerstation.blogspot.com/2009/06/voiceover-comes-to-iphones.html

Here is the Fred’s Head article from the American Printing House for the Blind. It is drawing its information from Apple, but seems to add some personal thoughts as well. The writer of this blog is a savvy writer named Mike McCarty and I personally dig his thoughts on technology and seemingly endless resources of information related to blindness and low vision.

http://www.fredshead.info/2009/06/true-accessibility-for-blind-and.html

And, finally, here’s Darrell Shandrow’s Blind Access Journal post, where he’s collected a few people’s reactions—some in awe and others basically taking a "wait and see" stance, as it sounds like his first couple of commenters are as well.

http://blog.blindaccessjournal.com/2009/06/apple-announces-iphone-accessibility.html

Like I said, only time will tell what evolves from Apple’s investment in accessibility.

Update 06/11/09

Here’s one more post from Mark Taylor’s Candleshore blog. It is not the original work of the blogger, but contains commentary from one person on an email list. However, these are the thoughtful reflections of a person, whom Mark leaves unidentified, but pledges is “one of the most respected names in the field of assistive technology for the visually impaired.” The comments are a good starting point for a discussion of what the pros and cons are of the iPhone versus other tactile smart phones.

http://mark.candleshoreblog.com/2009/06/11/the-accessible-iphone-3g-s-for-the-blind-and-low-vision-a-reality-check

The latest happenings on the Disability 411 podcast

I want to catch you up on the latest happenings at one of my favorite podcasts,
Disability 411,
Hosted by Beth Case.

On the home page, the first posting you will see is a Adobe Flash file of the new D411 promo. I like it. The dialogue features an interaction between a man and woman and is created with synthesized speech. Like everything else Beth puts herself into, it is very professionally produced. I also like that she mentiones three of my favorite people-- Marcus Engel, Mark Zupan, and Sarah Whitlock --in her list of featured guests.

On the most recent D411 episode,
Show 63,
Beth interviews Daniel Berkowitz of DigiLife Media on the subject of eText production.
The title of the show says it all, What is eText?” It is the first of a three parter, so check back for more soon.

If you read much about accessible texts, you might already recognize Dan's name. He is also a contributing member to the
Access Technologists Higher Education Network,
so it should come to no surprise that he is knowledgeable of eTexts.

When I worked as a college disability service coordinator, one of the hallmarks of my time there was that I implemented a push into eTexts for our college. It was beyond me why, in this digital age, a school was not getting material in the most accessible format for its students. Before I arrived there, they were paying readers to record the students’ texts onto cassette. That was a good method for providing access to texts in earlier decades, but this was 2006 and I could see no excuse for that to still be happening in this day and age when more accessible solutions were omnipresent. When I began researching for the push into a digital change for our students, Dan was one of the names I was regularly finding as a resource.

And, as always, there are transcripts available for every audio file Beth posts, even the new promo.

So, go catch up with the latest on D411 and stay tuned for more with Dan Berkowitz.

Security fix in Windows 7 may negatively impact computer accessibility for all Windows users

I’ve known about the following matter for almost two weeks, but have taken a wait and see attitude about writing it up here, to see if anything came out about it on the assistive technology front. I know the subject has trickled out some in A T circles, but I have still yet not heard anything mentioned anywhere about the impact of this change on accessibility products such as screen readers that run off portable, USB thumb drives.

Also, one has to wonder how will the use of Serotek’s wonderful, U3 Smart drive accessibility tool, System Access Mobile, be impacted?

The information I’m worried about is from the Technet blog Security Research & Defense, which touts itself as, “Information from Microsoft about vulnerabilities, mitigations and workarounds, active attacks, security research, tools and guidance,” so I give it some credibility. The subject is a new security fix in the latest release candidate of Windows 7, in a post titled
AutoRun changes in Windows 7

In a nutshell, the post cites that the Conficker virus, and other types of malware, have been spreading via the autorun function in Microsoft Windows. To remedy this from occurring, they have instituted a security fix in Windows 7 that will no longer allow the autorun function to come up when USB devices are plugged in.

That wouldn’t bother me, except that this includes thumb drives that give portability to screen readers and allow users to use virtually any computer. The post does share the difference in autorun and autoplay, which makes sense, but it is pretty clear that this will keep the latest version of Windows from running portable applications from a jump drive, but still allow them to run when launched from a CD or DVD.

And, if you’re sitting there grinning, saying that you just won’t upgrade to Windows 7, the post also states that this fix will be made available to Windows Vista and XP as well. I don’t see how we’re going to avoid this change. I don’t know when this will happen, but figure it will come as one of those Windows automatic updates.

I’m not a total geek, so some of the language in the article is not always clear to me. It does raise the issue of U3 smart drives, which I use in training students on using System Access, but I’m not totally clear how that will be affected. I’m happy to append this post with more information if anybody would care to enlighten me.

I know that there are other options, such as System Access’s ability to burn a CD to run the program, but I have liked the portability of just popping in a thumb drive.

I’ve been using thumb drives for access for a couple of years for my own use when away from home. When training, I’ve actually begun to carry around three drives in my pocket. On one, I have System Access; on another, I have JAWS, which I use with a couple of students; and, on my most recent addition, I’ve got NVDA, the open source, screen reading program, which I demo as a free alternative.

I hope I’m not coming across as some Chicken Little on this subject. Its just that I know there are many applications which run on thumb drives, including many assistive technology programs and I’m just trying to either get some answers or discussion going on a matter that I’m afraid is going to negatively impact computer accessibility for many.

The future is near: NLS pilot digital talking book program to become Braille and Audio Reading Download

Here’s an update on the digital talking book program from the

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

I’ve posted here before, talking about the great benefits of the program and also sharing that the digital talking book program was in a pilot phase. Also, that some time in the future, that this would transition away from being a pilot program.

Well, the future is now, or it will be as of April 30, 2009.

The
Braille and Audio Reading Download
Or BARD, (the acronym it will be heralded by,) will be operational as of April 30, 2009

For your information, the BARD’s URL is:
https://nlsbard.loc.gov

Here are the details from the informational email sent out by the NLS:

Users who know their passwords will be able to log on to the new site; users who rely on their browsers to remember their passwords will need new ones (follow instructions in Section II). All user accounts will be migrated to the new system, so you do not need to reapply. All materials previously downloaded will remain usable, so you will not need to redownload your reading material.


1. Unlimited downloading. The BARD service will no longer limit the number of books and magazines that you may download. Any account holder may download any item at any time. During heavy demand, however, NLS may limit the number of simultaneous downloads for each account.


2. New logon page. The site login will now use a form rather than a dialog box. It is the same type of logon found on most internet pages and should be immediately familiar to users of other sites. This is an important note for screen-reader users.


3. New search functionality. BARD searches will yield more effective results. The use of multiple search terms will return only results containing all of the terms.


4. New "Most Popular Books" list. By selecting the "Most Popular Book" link from the home page, users may access a list of the top twenty most downloaded books on the BARD service in the last ninety days. Fiction and nonfiction titles will be listed separately.


5. Redesigned magazine section. The "Recently Added Magazines" link will now display links to only the most recent issue of each magazine. Magazines older than one year may be accessed from each title's magazine archive. Links to the archive are at the bottom of each magazine's page.


Section II. Take the following steps to access the new site:


1. You must know your login ID and password to log on to the new site. For all users, your login ID is your e-mail address.


2. If you know your login ID and password, you will not need to do anything. Simply access the new site,
https://nlsbard.loc.gov,
starting Thursday, April 30.


3. If you have forgotten your password, you must obtain a new one before you can log on to the new site. Since the new site has a different address from the pilot site, you cannot rely on your web browser to automatically log in to BARD.


4. If you do not know your password but you are able to automatically log on to the pilot site because your browser knows your password, you must choose a new password. To do so, select the link "Update My Settings" from the site home page. From the settings page, select the first link, "Change Your Password." Enter your new password twice, and then select the "Change Password" button. Remember this new password to access BARD.


5. If you cannot log on to the site because you do not know your password, you may have a new one sent to you. Access the password recovery page at
https://www.nlstalkingbooks.org/cgi-bin/public/dtbscripts_v2/recoverpw.cgi.
Enter your e-mail address and then select the "Send Me a New Password" button. A new temporary password will be generated and sent to your e-mail address. Once you retrieve the password, log on to the site and choose your new password. Remember this new password to access BARD.


6. If for some reason you are not able to use any of these options, please send a request for a new password to
NLSDownload@loc.gov.
Because of the anticipated large number of requests, please expect your new password within two business days.


The last day of availability of the pilot site will be Tuesday, April 28. The service will not be available at all on Wednesday, April 29, to allow user accounts to be migrated to the new site, which will be available on Thursday, April 30.

NLS appreciates all who have participated in the pilot test. Your feedback has allowed us to continuously improve the site and to plan future expansions, such as the inclusion of braille books. Though the pilot phase is ending, we remain open to your feedback about the BARD service. Please send your comments to
NLSDownload@loc.gov.

Send questions or requests about the book and magazine collection to your library.