Adventures in Assistive Technology

WritePad, created by the PhatWare Corporation, is a text editor for the iPhone that uses handwriting recognition input. It recognizes cursive, print, and mixed handwriting styles. To enter the text you can simply write with your finger or a stylus on the iPhone screen in either landscape or portrait mode. In addition, you can use simple finger gestures to select text, cut, copy, paste, insert special characters such as space and return, open the spell checker for the selected word, and correct recognized text.

Check out the WritePad website and demo by clicking on the link below.

http://www.phatware.com/index.php?q=product/details/writepad

Posted by cab870 at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

iSpeak It is an audio converter that works with the iPod or iPhone. It loads Word, PDF, Pages, RTF, AppleWorks, text and HTML documents. iSpeak It then uses the Mac's text-to-speech engine and iTunes to convert the text into an MP3 track. It also contains the text as lyrics so you can read along as you listen. iSpeak It also work with web pages and RSS feeds.

You can either by it for $19.95 USD, or get a free version if you sign up to buy another product. Check it out by clicking on the link below.
www.zapptek.com/ispeak-it

Posted by cab870 at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The DirectVoxx Muso is add-on for the iPod and iPhone that is designed to let you access your music with voice commands. The Muso doesn't require any voice training, and lets you demand particular tracks, scan through playlists, pause and resume playing music speaking in natural language like: "play Romantic Traffic by the Spoons." The only problem with the Muso is that it only works with the IPod Nano, and it's price tag is $159.00, making it almost as expensive as the iPod itself. Click on the link below for more information.

http://www.directvoxx.com/Products.htm

Check out the video to see it in action.

Posted by cab870 at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Wednesday, Apple officially kicked off its 2009 back-to-school promotion, which offers a free 8GB iPod touch to students and educational staffers who purchase a qualifying Mac.

Here are the terms & conditions:

• You must purchase your Mac computer and iPod from the Apple Online Store, an Apple Retail Store, or an Apple Authorized Campus Store. Products purchased at other locations are not eligible for this offer.
• Your purchase must be made between May 27, 2009, and September 8, 2009, to be eligible. Your claim must be postmarked by October 8, 2009.
• Your computer and iPod purchases must appear on the same receipt. Online orders may ship separately. In this case, include all relevant invoices.
• The Campus Computer Store is an Apple Authorized Campus Store, and you can find them at the bottom escalator in Lower Place Riel. Visit their website for additional information! http://ccs.usask.ca/

Click on the link below to get the rebate coupon.

http://images.apple.com/ca/promo/

Posted by cab870 at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you know that you can create and save audio files with Kurzweil? The files can be saved in either MP3 or WAV format to be played on a desktop audio player like iTunes. You can also download the files onto a portable MP3 player for when you are on the go.

Check out the instructions for making audio files below:

Download file

Posted by cab870 at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I attended two sessions about the built-in accessibility available with the Mac OSX, and I have to say that I was very impressed. Two people from the Mac accessibility team (yes, they have an accessibility team!) gave the hands-on presentations. The first session focused on customizing view options by increasing font and icon sizes, and magnifying the internet and other applications. Increasing the font sizes doesn't just benefit people with low vision, but also benefits those who have limited mouse skills or use switches. This is because it increases the target, making it easier to click on.

The second session focused on Voice Over, the built-in screen reading system. A brand-new Mac computer uses Voice Over on the very first start-up allowing blind and visually impaired users to use their computers on the spot, without having to install a separate program. It was unclear however, if Voice Over reads PDF and Word documents. Another cool features is a talking clock which reads aloud the time every half-hour.

The presenters also demoed the new iPod shuffle that I blogged about last week. Apple says that they are committed to accessibility, and it shows. This year, the American Foundation for the Blind honored Apple with an Access Award. Check out the Apple website for more information about accessibility features.

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Posted by cab870 at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new 4GB iPod shuffle uses VoiceOver to generate text to speech. The VoiceOver function will tell you the name of the song and artist you are currently listening to, and it will also read aloud your playlists. It can speak 14 languages, from Dutch to Japanese, and while the actual speech is generated by iTunes it is transferred to the Shuffle when you sync it.

Check out the Apple website for more information

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/voiceover.html

Posted by cab870 at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AssistiveWare and Sennott Consulting are working on an innovative Augmentative and Alternative Communication solution for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch called Proloquo2Go. Some of the features include:

• Built-in text-to-speech
• Picture and text based communication
• Over 6000 symbols plus you can easily add your own pictures

Proloquo2Go will be showcased at the 24th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, held in March. I will be attending this conference and have signed up for this session, and I promise that I will give an update on this ground-breaking technology.

Check out the Proloquo2Go website here.

Posted by cab870 at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Podcasts of recent blog entries are now available thanks to Odiogo. Odiogo is a program that generates automatic podcasts using text-to-speech, making online information audible. You can also download Odiogo generated content, which can be listened to on PC and Mac computers, mobile phones and MP3 players. Click on the "Listen Now" button to listen to the podcast entry.

For more information about Odiogo, check their website and blog.

Posted by cab870 at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to the new iPod nano (4th generation) and the latest version of iTunes, blind or visually impaired music lovers can enjoy their music and audio books with the benefit of spoken menus. Apple has introduced spoken menus in the new iPod nano (released Fall 2008). This feature lets blind and visually impaired music buffs browse and select menu items without viewing the screen. Instead, a synthesized voice speaks the names of menus, playlists, artists, and songs. In addition, the new iPod nano has a font size setting, allowing the user to increase the font size from standard to large.

According to the Apple Accessibility website, you will need the following to take advantage of spoken menus:

- iPod nano (4th generation)
- iTunes 8
- Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later
- Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3 or later)

For information about enableing spoken menus in your iPod nano, go to the Apple Accessiblity website:

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

Posted by cab870 at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)