Vision WeblettersVision Webletter
... a potpourri of items of interest to most everyone. Feel free to share it with your colleagues and others you believe would find the information useful.
1. April 30, 2003: Deadline for AFB Scholarships The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) administers a scholarship program to support post-secondary graduate education for deserving students who are legally blind or visually impaired. It also administers the Freedom Scientific Technology Award that provides opportunities to high school seniors and undergraduate college students who are legally blind and plan to continue their education. These awards are in the form of vouchers to be applied toward the purchase of any Freedom Scientific products, including hardware, software, accessories, training, and tutorials. For detailed
information about these scholarships, and an
application package, contact: Julie Tucker, AFB, 11
Penn Plaza - Suite 300, New York, NY 10001. Tel:
212.502.7661. Fax: 212.502.7771. E-Mail:
Juliet@afb.net.
Web: www.afb.org/scholarships.asp. 2. Laptops Powered by Alcohol? Green energy fuel cells which use chemistry to generate electrical power by breaking down substances such as hydrogen are already being touted as a green power source for the future, especially for cars and other light vehicles. Fuel cells for cars typically use hydrogen but Toshiba has unveiled a prototype fuel cell using methanol that it believes will provide enough power to run a laptop for about five hours. And, compared to hydrogen, methanol is much safer. The company plans to put this fuel cell on sale in early 2004. Fuel cells for cars typically have a large tank that holds the fuel in the best concentration to generate power. Bolting a large tank on the side of a laptop was impractical so Toshiba developed a way to re-use the by-products of the fuel conversion process to maintain its fuel source in the right concentration. When methanol is broken down it generates carbon dioxide and water. The water is used to dilute the concentrated methanol held in the fuel cell's cartridge and keep it at the right concentration. This means that the laptop fuel cell requires a cartridge with a capacity of only 50cc, approximately one-tenth of the size it would need if it only stored methanol in the required 3-6% concentration. The methanol cartridges are about the size of a computer mouse and the prototype of the fuel cell is larger - about the size of a house brick. Toshiba has developed a new material to shrink the stacks where the methanol is physically broken down. It has also developed sensors to monitor methanol concentration and liquid level as well as tiny liquid and air pumps to keep the fuel souce circulating. Average power output is 12W and maximum is 20W. Unused energy is stored in the fuel cell. The methanol cartridges will also be refillable, just like those used in gas cigarette lighters. Toshiba spokesman Yoichi Akashi said the commercial versions will be slightly larger than existing lithium-ion batteries and use the same power interfaces so they should work with older laptops. Existing laptops should get about five hours of work time out of a fuel cell, said Mr Akashi. Laptops that use Intel's Centrino chipset that minimise power use should get up to 20% more time. Future versions of the fuel cell should be able to power a laptop for about 10 hours. As one would expect, Toshiba is also working on fuel cells for PDAs and cellphones. 3. An Easily Programmable Talking Thermostat Those with vision impairment and/or the elderly will find this unique user-friendly Talking Thermostat offers more protection and comfort than found in similar products on the market. Here are some of its benefits and features:
Cost: $199 Installed (regular price is $299); $149 Uninstalled Contact: Bartman, Inc., 257 W. Main Street, Monongahela, PA 15063. Tel: 724.258.9125. Fax: 724.258.2060. Web: www.bartmaninc.com. 4. In Touch With Knowledge: The Educational History of Blind People A unique traveling exhibit, In touch With Knowledge presents the educational history of blind people in four components - Reading and Writing, Geography, Mathematics, and Science. Drawing upon the unique collection and extensive research of the American Printing House for the Blind's Callahan Museum, the exhibitions illustrate the fascinating history of the creative adaptations made to transform the visual into the tactile enabling people to have equal access to education. The exhibit includes original artifacts, reproductions, graphics, tactile-exhibits, and hands-on activities. Braille labels and audio text and descriptions provide accessibility. The components may be used separately or in any combination. This exhibit provides an excellent opportunity for schools, organizations or entire communities to heighten their visibility by drawing attention to individual achievement or occasions, such as an anniversary, graduation, meeting, etc., as well as providing an important educational opportunity for both sighted and blind. For available rental periods, currently scheduled dates, or more information, contact: Carol Tobe, Director, Callahan Museum. Tel: 502.895.2405 Ext. 365 or 800.223.1839. E-Mail: museum@aph.org. Web: www.aph.org/museum. Editor's Note: 5. Listening to Great Material for Free There are a number of great web sites that provide an abundance of good listening. Here are a few you might wish to check out. Voice Print Assistive
Media ACB Radio Comedy
Anyone? Listen Again Unshackled 6. KeyWeb: Portable Internet Browser The new portable Internet browser developed specifically for people who are blind, KeyWeb, takes advantage of commercial Internet browsing capabilities found in the mainstream Pocket PC devices that operate on the Windows CE system. It makes it possible for users of the BrailleNote and VoiceNote with a 56k modem or Internet connection through an office network to navigate to Web sites, click on links, fill out search fields, and purchase information online. The KeySync utility within KeyBraille enables synchronization of a BrailleNote or VoiceNote planner, address lists, e-mail messages and Internet shortcuts with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This provides seamless exchange of information between persons who are sighted and persons who are blind, between the BrailleNote's applications and Microsoft standard PC applications. For more information, go to www.pulsedata.co.nz or www.humanware.com. 7. PocketViewer: Electronic Magnification To Go Reading for low vision people on the go is greatly enhanced with the PocketViewer, a 10-ounce video magnifier the size of a Palm Pilot (5.6" long x 3.4" wide x 1.4" deep). It represents a new concept in video magnifiers. It is truly compact and fits into a pocket or handbag. It displays a quality high contrast image, either black on white or white on black, of 7x on a 4-inch flat panel display. Unlike a 7x handheld magnifier which offers a field of view of about 1.5", the PocketViewer gives the user a full 4" field of view. By lifting or tilting it, the user can reduce the magnification and see more of the object being viewed. With a battery life of just under two hours, this sleek portable magnifier preserves independence while reading food labels in supermarkets, details and price labels in shops, books in libraries, restaurant menus, application forms, phone books, sign credit card payments, read notes and write comments as you attend meetings, read bus/train/plane schedules, read television and radio program schedules, browse through magazines or other materials, etc. Cost: $895 including battery charger and carrying case. Contact: PulseData HumanWare. 175 Mason Circle, Concord, CA 94520. Tel: 800.433.8317. Web: www.humanware.com. 8. 2003 National Goalball Championships The Pennsylvania Association for Blind Athletes (PABA) will host this year's U.S. National Goalball Championships May 29-31, 2003 at Cabrini College in Radnor, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Two other facilities ½ mile away will also be used for goalball games. This is the first time the event has been held on the east coast. The event is quite exciting as spectators can watch blind and visually impaired participants aged 7 to 97 compete for the national title. Admission is free. Although the registration deadline has passed for individuals to sign up, 150 volunteers are needed for this and the Davidow-Northeast Games to be held May 30 - June 1 at Cabrini College immediately following the U.S. National Championships. If you can help, please e-mail w1smith@haverford.edu. Volunteers can sign up for any amount of time from 2 hours to the entire event. Tournament Coordinator is Greg Gontaryk - 610.352.1389 or maverick1@rcn.com. Complete information about these events can be found at www.pablindsports.org. 9. Large Print Book Club Huge Print Press will launch a new project called the Large Print Book Club on June 1, 2003. Similar to a library, the club will loan up to three titles at a time to those who participate in the very affordable membership program. Moreover, most members will qualify for no shipping charges. The initial inventory will include over 1,000 titles. In the meantime, to help prepare for the Club's opening, interested parties are invited to fill out a brief survey at www.largeprint.biz/submission_form.asp. From a list of 100 titles that will be in the initial inventory, select up to 10 titles you would be most interested in reading. You will be under no obligation to join the Large Print Book Club now or in the future. 10. AFB's Directory of Services The 26th edition of AFB's Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons in the US and Canada, along with the updated online version, including all the latest information and search capabilities, is now available for just $69.95 plus S/H. Order Item #6 online at www.afb.org/store or call 800.232.3044. 11. Hermine: The Talking Washing Machine Based on a Siemens washer, Speech Experts of Regensburg, Germany, has built the world's first washing machine that talks and recognizes spoken commands. Introducing itself to users as "Hermine", speech recognition software allows it to understand even complex commands like: "Pre-wash, then a hot wash at 95 degrees, spin at 1400 rotations, and start in half an hour." In a friendly woman's voice, Hermine gives advice on which washing agent to use, how to get chewing gum or wax stains out, and for those who have never done their laundry before, she explains how to sort clothes and how to load the machine. Public reaction is currently being monitored. If positive, Speech Experts is ready to go into mass production. 12. GAO Reports Online The General Accounting Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress. GAO exists to support the Congress in meeting its Constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds, evaluates federal programs and activities, and provides analyses, options, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make effective oversight, policy, and funding decisions. In this context, GAO works to continuously improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal government through financial audits, program reviews and evaluations, analyses, legal opinions, investigations, and other services. GAO's activities are designed to ensure the executive branch's accountability to the Congress under the Constitution and the government's accountability to the American people. GAO is dedicated to good government through its commitment to the core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability. Its reports are accessible and searchable online at www.gao.gov/. The database contains all publicly released GAO reports from FY 1995 to the present, as well as approximately 85% of the publicly released reports for FY 1994 and 3% for FY 1993. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. 13. The BrailleNote Club To encourage BrailleNote and VoiceNote users between the ages of 7 and 17, Pulse Data has launched a new initiative, The BrailleNote Club. Anyone who joins this exclusive club will receive a free BN Club Members Pack and will be able to:
To join, all you need to do is go to www.pulsedata.org/BNClub.asp, fill in the membership form, and the company will put you in touch with other BrailleNote and VoiceNote users worldwide. Its that easy! For more information, contact: Michele Kilgore, Marketing Coordinator, Pulse Data HumanWare, Inc., 175 Mason Circle, Concord, CA 94520. Tel 925.680.7100. Fax 925.681.4630. Web: www.pulsedata.com or www.humanware.com. 14. Accessible Audio Greeting Cards The UK Audio Network has updated its Poetry Online section to include a wider selection of completely free, fully accessible, poems that can be sent as audio greeting cards. Subjects include birthday poems, classic poems, family poems, humorous poems, poems by quality amateur writers, Easter poems, and Mother's Day poems. Make your selection at www.yrguk.com/poetry and enjoy! 15. PDF Magic 2.0 & PDF Magic While the Adobe Systems's PDF (Portable Document Format) files are great for distributing documents to multiple platforms and work really well for non-visually impaired readers, they have not been user-friendly to the blind and visually impaired computer users. The problem of handling PDF files has been so great that the U.S. Government typically offers the documents in multiple formats, one being PDF and the other in Text or Microsoft Word format. However, outside the U.S. Government, most companies only offer documents in PDF format. This is why Premier Assistive Technology, Inc. developed PDF Magic. It takes a PDF file and converts it into a Text or Microsoft Word compatible document, or PDF Magic will read it, with digital voices, immediately. Key features include:
PDF Magic Pro is not limited to just PDF files. It has a unique feature called "Batch Image Processing" that allows you to copy ANY image you want to process into a folder. They can be Bitmaps, JPEGs, or any one of 140 different types. It is important to note that when you process multiple files they can also be any combination file types. With the simple click of your mouse, it will place the text from each image on it's own page in PDF Magic. From there, you can cut-and-paste it into another document or save it all as a brand new document. A downloadable demo is available on the company's website. Cost: PDF Magic 2.0 - $59.95; PDF Magic Pro with OCR - $99.95. Contact: Premier Assistive Technology, 1309 N. William Street, Joliet, IL 60435. Tel: 815.722.5961. Fax: 815.722.8802. E-Mail: info@readingmadeeasy.com. Web: www.readingmadeeasy.com. 16. AFB Identifies Most Livable Cities Livable Community Awards were presented recently to four cities in the United States considered to be the most livable for the blind and visually impaired by the American Foundation for the Blind. The criteria included transportation, pedestrian safety, employment opportunities, housing affordability, and access to services and cultural amenities. Charlotte, North Carolina won first-place honors. Berkeley, California placed second, Kalamazoo, Michigan placed third in the ratings, and New York City was fourth. 17. Hunter Joe Contest: May 1-31, 2003 BSC Games has announced a contest to run through the month of May. Participants will need to be registered owners of the company's recently released Hunter Game. Prizes of cash and software products will be awarded to a winner in each of the three areas of difficulty: Easy, Normal, and Insane. For those not acquainted with this game, Hunter is an action packed arcade game with heavy overtones of an adventure / role-play game. The player's mission is to hunt through 10 back-to-back levels of intense play gathering as many points as possible while trying to travel to the ancient land of Bobo. Players try to be skilled enough as hunters to make it through all levels and obtain the ancient tribal Bobo statue by fighting through the jungle, fishing for food, crossing the valley of tigers, climbing a treacherous mountain, discovering hidden treasure, swinging across a waterfall, and outrunning the pursuit of the ancient warrior Marpoo. Features include:
Cost: $30 For complete contest rules, a downloadable demo (42 MB), and more, go to www.BscGames.com/hunter.asp or contact Justin Daubenmire at support@BscGames.com. 18. HHS Study Finds Better Results in Self-Directed Care The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced April 15, 2003 the initial findings of the Medicaid Cash and Counseling demonstration project underway in Arkansas. The initial findings show what many of us already know -- self-directed care succeeds at protecting recipients' health and safety AND enhances consumer satisfaction. The study, "Improving The Quality Of Medicaid Personal Assistance Through Consumer Direction" carried out by Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, N.J., is available online at www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/Foster_Web_Excl_032603.htm 19. Sony Satellite Radio Receiver On Sale As many know, XM Satellite Radio broadcasts over one hundred channels of digital quality audio into our homes or cars. Subscription to XM Satellite Radio is $9.99 per month with a low activation fee. To take advantage of this broadcast quality, the C. Crane Company is offering the original Sony XM Satellite Radio Receiver at a reduced price of $249.95 - ($174.95 after the mail-in rebate). This price includes standard shipping in the US. Item #XMH (For your Home Stereo); Item #XMM (For mobile use). Contact: C. Crane Company. Tel: 800.522.8863. Web: www.ccrane.com/xm_radio_old.asp. 20. Distribution Note You are encouraged to share this free Vision Webletter with anyone on your mailing list that you think would find it useful. Readers wishing to receive future Vision Webletters in their own mailboxes should just send an e-mail request to visionworldwide@yahoo.com, or subscribe directly at www.visionww.org/journal.htm. Vision World Wide does not lend or sell any of its mailing lists. As this is just a mini sampling of the information contained in our comprehensive 68+-page quarterly journal, Vision Enhancement, you are invited to become a subscriber. More information and sample issues are available at www.visionww.org/journal.htm. All issues of our Vision Webletters are available at www.visionww.org/visionenews.htm Vision World Wide, Inc. * 5707 Brockton Drive - #302 * Indianapolis, IN 46220-5481 * Tel: 317.254.1332 / 800.632.7152 * Fax: 317.251.6588. E-Mail: visionworldwide@yahoo.com. Web: www.visionww.org ***************************************
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Updated April 19, 2003
