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May 31, 2006

De Witt & Associates Assistive Technology Update

In April 2006, our Midland Park, NJ headquarters were visited by Clarence Whaley and Bill Herzler of GW Micro who demonstrated the Braille Sense, SmallTalk Ultra, and some of the many new features of Window-Eyes 5.5.

The Braille Sense is a modern note taker with a 32-character Braille display. Some of the Braille Sense' outstanding features are:

The SmallTalk Ultra is a pocket-sized Windows XP computer with a 1GHZ processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 30GB hard drive. Clarence says they're jumping off the shelf, and we can see why.

We were also impressed by the new Excel support contained in Window-Eyes 5.5. We've not had a chance to put it through its paces yet, but we'll review it in time for our summer newsletter!

Visit De Witt & Associates

Posted by Marten at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)

Mobile Speak Pocket and Mobile Magnifier

Humanware and Code Factory announce distribution agreement for Mobile Speak Pocket and Mobile Magnifier.

The HumanWare Group of Christchurch New Zealand, and Code Factory of Barcelona Spain, today announced that they have entered into a partnership to bring access to Pocket PC and PDA Phone devices to blind people in HumanWare's largest markets.

The agreement means that HumanWare has become the exclusive master distributor for Mobile Speak Pocket, and the soon to be released Mobile Magnifier, in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. HumanWare can also offer these products to customers in the UK and Canada.

"We're delighted to be able to offer this exciting product to customers", says Jonathan Mosen, who will be Product Marketing Manager for Mobile Speak Pocket at HumanWare.

"HumanWare aims to offer a variety of quality blindness products to meet the needs of our customers, ranging from products that provide a completely blindness-specific experience through to solutions that empower people to make the most of off-the-shelf technology. With Mobile Speak Pocket and Mobile magnifier, we have the best product in

the industry to meet the needs of those who wish to purchase off-the-shelf PDAs and run Pocket PC applications such as Pocket Word, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Excel, Pocket messenger, the Audible Player, Pocket Skype and more. We'll be bundling Mobile Speak Pocket with a range of hardware, including some exciting new Braille technology to be announced shortly."

Jonathan Mosen says today's announcement is particularly significant for customers of cellular networks using the CDMA standard.

"Blind people have had good access to some GSM-based hardware for some time, but those who wish to use networks like Sprint, Telecom New Zealand and Verizon did not have a truly accessible option until the arrival of Mobile Speak Pocket. Now, blind people have as much choice in terms of their cellular provider as do the sighted."

Jonathan Mosen emphasised that Mobile Speak Pocket is an addition to the existing products offered by HumanWare, and that all current HumanWare products remain under very active development.

Code Factory's Chief marketing officer, Irja Emma Gerdes, says Code Factory welcomes the chance to work closely with HumanWare.

"Both Code Factory and HumanWare have a reputation for innovative user interface and strong product support. With HumanWare's extensive reach in its major markets, Mobile Speak Pocket will be even easier to obtain with quality local support."

About Code Factory

Code Factory was founded in 1998 and is situated in Terrassa, Barcelona. Code Factory's success lies in giving excellent customer support and to respond immediately to the needs of the end users. Among our customers are well-known companies and organizations like ONCE and carriers like TMN, Vodafone, Redcom, SFR and many more. Good partners

help us to provide excellent text-to-speech technology for our products and to incorporate Braille devices into our software. For more information, visit www.codefactory.es or call +34 93 733 70 66. Code Factory has also launched a website for the Mobile Speak Pocket user community, which can be accessed at www.mspusers.com

About HumanWare

HumanWare designs and manufactures innovative technology for people who are blind, deaf-blind, visually impaired and learning disabled. Formed in 1988, HumanWare exports approximately 98% of its products worldwide to more than 30 countries. Sales offices have been established in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and the company supports a strong distribution network throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

For more information, visit Humanware

Posted by Marten at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

FreedomBox Featured in AFB AccessWorld

The May issue of AFB AccessWorld focuses on accessibility in the home, and FreedomBox is featured in two in-depth articles by Deborah Kendrick, AccessWorld staff writer. The first, The Liberty to Use a Computer: A Review of the FreedomBox, is a complete review of FreedomBox software featuring System Access. The second, Who’s Using the FreedomBox?, is a series of in-depth interviews with real FreedomBox users. You’ll see first hand how FreedomBox and System Access are making a difference in these users' lives.

The word is out on what has been, up until now, a well-kept secret. FreedomBox and System Access mean never having to learn a screen reader!

Posted by Nancy at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

Theater By The Blind

Theater By The Blind presents William Shakespeare's HAMLET, directed by Ike Schambelan. Get $25 tickets (regular price $35) when you use discount code SMART online at http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=HAM2 or when you call 212-868-4444.

"Playful, punchy, contemporary ... An admirable, often intriguing production ... with actors who show signs of having actually analyzed Shakespeare-s language ... the audience can understand the meaning of every word." - The New York Times

"A well acted marvel of economy and energy. Fresh and accessible. Involving and engaging." - nytheatre.com

This sleek, visceral, clear production leaps back over 400 years of encrusted tradition to Shakespeare's rules - much faster running times than you would expect, actors playing more than one role and talking to the audience at any time.

A prince receives a charge to avenge his father's murder and wonders if he really saw a ghost or unjustly suspects his uncle. HAMLET's about seeming, acting, fired by showmanship, flauntingly theatrical. People try to improve Shakespeare by inflating - more soldiers, longer processions. Theater By The Blind strips the artifice, the veneer, to reveal the meat, the bones, the life. It takes two and a half hours to do a cut but very complete HAMLET with six actors playing six archetypes: King, Queen, Prince, Counselor, Lover and Friend. It's now. Royalty means Kennedys sailing, Charles and William playing polo, Armani, Monaco. It's got a contemporary voice and a tempo that soars and engages.

"An extraordinary troupe designed to defy expectations." - The New York Times

"One of the most enjoyable companies in the country." - The New York Post

"Long purveyors of quality drama." - The Village Voice

The Company:
George Ashiotis, Melanie Boland, Nick Cordileone, John Little, Pamela Sabaugh, Nicholas Viselli
Director, Ike Schambelan; Set Designer, Merope Vachlioti; Costume Designer, Christine Field;
Lighting Designer, Bert Scott; Fight Director, Matt Opatrny; Stage Manager, Ann Marie Morelli

Theater By The Blind is a critically acclaimed company made up of both visually impaired and sighted theatre professionals. Founded in 1979, the company's mission is to change the image of the blind from one of dependence to independence, to fight the stereotypes and misperceptions associated with blindness, and to show how vibrant, fluid and exuberant the visually impaired can be. Theatre By The Blind is the only theater in the United States doing quality professional work to achieve this goal.

Performance Schedule - HAMLET
Through June 11, 2006
Tue - Thu at 7pm, Fri & Sat at 8pm; Sat & Sun at 3pm

Theater Five
311 W. 43rd Street, 5th fl
New York, NY

Tickets are $25 (regular price $35) when you use discount code SMART online at http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=HAM2 or when you call 212-868-4444.

For more information, visit www.tbtb.org.

Braille & large print programs available.
The theater is wheelchair accessible.
Vision-impaired patrons may tour the set 45 minutes before curtain.
If you would like wheelchair access or a set tour let us know at 212-243-4337.

Posted by Nancy at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2006

"Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce" is 2006 National Disability Employment Awareness Month Theme

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao this week announced that "Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce" will be the official theme for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is celebrated nationwide.

"The 2006 theme — "Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce" — highlights the fact that workers with disabilities are an underutilized and ambitious group of Americans eager to pursue their career dreams," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This theme echoes the President"s New Freedom Initiative which has been out in front in recognizing the need to promote greater job opportunities for workers with disabilities."

The private sector; federal, state and local governments; and advocacy organizations can now use the theme to plan events and programs that showcase the abilities and skills of employees and job candidates who have disabilities.

"This year"s theme reflects the fact that increasing the opportunities for Americans with disabilities in the workforce can produce far-reaching, positive results for employers," said Roy Grizzard, assistant secretary of labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).

ODEP is the nation's first assistant secretary-led office that specifically addresses policies that impact the employment of people with disabilities. For example, ODEP has developed methods for the 3,500 One-Stop Career Centers nationwide to serve people with barriers to employment, including people with disabilities. Collaborating with sister DOL agencies — the Employment and Training Administration and the Civil Rights Center -- ODEP developed a disability checklist to assist with implementation of Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act at the local level.

Contact:

U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
Phone Numbers:
1-866-4-USA-DOL
TTY: 1-877-889-5627

Posted by Nancy at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2006

Workforce1 Career Expo 2006

Workforce1 Career Expo 2006

June 20, 2006
10:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M
CUNY on the Concourse
2501 Grand Concourse, 3rd Floor
Bronx, New York 10468

For more information contact Joel Mejia at (917) 493-7010
or jmejia@hiredisabilitysolutions.com


June 23, 2006
10:00 AM – 3:00 P.M.
LaGuardia Community College
29-10 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, New York 11101

For more information contact Cathy Hampton at (718) 557-6753
or champton@hiredisabilitysolutions.com

Posted by Nancy at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2006

New Business Writing Course at Hadley

May 10, 2006

Student Services The Hadley School for the Blind
Phone: 800.323.4238 or 847.446.8111
Fax: 847.446.0855
Email: student_services@hadley.edu

Business Writing with Success Winnetka, Ill. Improving business communication is highly important when it comes to being successful in your career. That's why a new course "Business Writing," offered by The Hadley School for the Blind, will greatly expand your skills.

Hadley's new tuition-free course "Business Writing" helps you produce business writing that achieves its purpose. Available in large print and online (coming soon in braille and on audiocassette), this course improves your business-writing skills while you study at your own pace and in the comfort of your home.

This course's four lessons present the information and practice you need to write successful business communication. Successful completion of a Hadley Basic English course or adequate competency, as determined by the English Skills Diagnostic Test, is a prerequisite for this course. Also, you need to be able to type using a typewriter or a computer keyboard. The first lesson explains how to organize information and create well-constructed paragraphs. Lesson two focuses on writing style and appropriate tone. Introducing the appropriate structures and formats for memos, email, and business letters, Lesson three provides hands-on practice working with such business correspondence. Finally, Lesson four shows you how to write a short business report. Lessons must be submitted in typewritten or Word Processed format.

"Writing business correspondence shouldn't be a task people dread doing," says Angie Sveum, instructor for "Business Writing." "Learning to organize ideas into the different basic types of business correspondence presented will put those enrolled in this course well on their way to successful business writing." This course is open to students in the Adult Continuing Education Program and High School Program. Why not enroll in this course now so you can write business communications with confidence? To do so, just call Student Services at 800.323.4238 or enroll online at www.hadley.edu. Editor's Note: The Hadley School for the Blind is the single largest worldwide distance educator of blind and visually impaired people. Since its founding by William Hadley and Dr. E.V.L. Brown in 1920, all of Hadley's distance education courses have been provided free of charge. Today, the school serves more than 10,000 students annually in all 50 states and 100 countries. Hadley relies on contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations to fund its programs. Visit us on the Web at www.hadley.edu.

Posted by Marten at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2006

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES SOUGHT ON THE IMPACT OF THE ADA

The national network of ADA & IT Technical Assistance Centers, also known as DBTACs, is seeking comments on experiences with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in employment, building access, or access to public services to help the Centers identify training gaps and issues needing increased technical assistance. To participate, go to http://www.adata.org/comments.aspx.

Posted by Nancy at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2006

AdvantEdge Reader

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Assistive Technology Center in Sacramento has announced the release of the first complete portable scan-and-read system for the blind and print challenged.

The system, named the "AdvantEdge Reader", combines several mainstream and adaptive technologies in order to achieve the goal of a pocket scan and read solution.

ATC founder Robert Leblond defines the company's mission as searching for off-the-shelf applications that can be made to work for the blind and visually impaired. Leblond has held this philosophy for nearly 2 decades, and in the 1980's pioneered the concept of Braille transcription through scanned and faxed documents.

Today's release is promised to be a breakthrough in reading technology, combining powerful applications with ease of use. "There is another company working on a similar solution", Leblond says, "but the thing is so hard to use as to be impractical."

The AdvantEdge Reader, on the other hand, is the essence of simplicity. The user merely inserts the material to be read into the scanner. The material is scanned, recognized, converted into readable format, and read automatically. There are no other steps.

ATC has, for several years, been adapting scanners for use by the blind. Most recently, ATC has adapted the Visioneer strobe scanner. This is a tiny, portable scanner. The problem has been finding a small enough device to host the conversion and speech programs.

This is where the SmallTalk computer comes in. SmallTalk is a hand held uPC enhanced with the screen reading software "Window Eyes", by GW Micro, an Indiana corporation of some stature in the blindness field.

Assistive Technology Center took the modified Strobe Scanner, figured out how to install it onto the SmallTalk, and then added the proper recognition program and hardware driver to create the AdvantEdge Reader.

While other companies have tried to devise portable readers from the ground up, Leblond frowns on this approach. "The trick is to make yourself aware of the technologies available, and to merge them appropriately, and to add a bit of your own, if necessary." He says.

The best part is that, in addition to being the first portable scan and read system, the AdvantEdge Reader is also a full Windows XP computer. The Reader has a docking cable that allows it to be used as a desktop computer replacement. The docking cable connects to an external monitor, printer, network, keyboard, firewire devices, and more. Additionally, the Reader features internal Bluetooth and Wireless LAN technology.

To order, or for more information, please contact the Assistive Technology Center via phone at 916-381-5011, or e-mail sales@atechcenter.net.

Posted by Nancy at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2006

The ICDR Seeks Comments at Public Meeting

Steven J. Tingus, Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education, and Chair of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is pleased to provide you with notice of an ICDR public meeting and request for written comments with respect to the federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda.

We are pleased to inform you that the ICDR, authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, is holding a meeting to seek comments from the public with respect to the federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda. This dialogue with the public is of critical importance, and we are encouraging individuals with disabilities, persons who represent service providers, service provider organizations, disability and rehabilitation research and policy groups and representatives of advocacy organizations with specialized knowledge and experience, to suggest specific ways to improve future research for individuals with disabilities. The ICDR is also interested in hearing from individuals concerning how well the existing federal research programs are responding to the changing needs of individuals with disabilities.

The meeting will take place May 23, 2006, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th Street N.W., Washington DC, 20036 Telephone: (202) 393-1000.

The meeting will be open and accessible to the general public. Public comments will be analyzed, along with other sources of information, to make recommendations for future research directions and to coordinate the federal research effort in disability; however, the ICDR cannot respond individually to comments.

All individuals planning to attend the public meeting, including those presenting comments, must make reservations by May 9, 2006, by contacting Robert Jaeger, using the contact information below. Individuals who wish to present comments must request time on the agenda, which will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants will be allowed approximately five minutes to present their comments.

Prior to the meeting, participants must submit written copies of their comments, along with any other written or electronic versions of supporting information, such as agency or organization policy statements, recommendations, research findings and research literature. Walk-ins must bring two written copies of their comments. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call (202) 205-4475. Individuals who need accommodations for a disability in order to attend or participate at the meeting (i.e., interpreting services, assistive listening devices, material in alternative format) should notify ROBERT JAEGER by May 9, 2006.

Robert Jaeger, Executive Secretary, ICDR U.S. Department of Education 550 12th Street, S.W., room 6050 Potomac Center Plaza Washington, DC 20202-2700 Telephone: (202) 245-7386 Fax: (202) 245-7633 Robert.Jaeger@ed.gov

Posted by Nancy at 07:15 PM | Comments (0)

AccessChicago - BACK FOR 2006

SAVE THE DATE
AccessChicago, the Midwest’s largest exposition of products and
services for people with disabilities, is BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!

Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Location: Navy Pier • Festival Hall A
600 East Grand Avenue, Chicago

Time: 12 noon to 7:00 p.m.

For more information, contact the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities at (312) 746-5773 (Voice), 312-744-7833 (TTY) or visit www.cityofchicago.org/disabilities.

CITY OF CHICAGO
Richard M. Daley, Mayor
Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Karen Tamley, Commissioner
Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Field Office
2102 West Ogden Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60612

Posted by Nancy at 06:45 PM | Comments (0)

Workshop by the Arthritis Foundation and the Harlem Independent Living Center (NYC)

Date: June 1, 2006
Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Location: 289 Saint Nicholas Ave (bet. W124 &125)
Ring: Bell #21 – Lower Level

RSVP to Dj Riddy at (212) 222-7122

Learn at this introductory workshop:


TRAVEL DIRECTIONS

By Subway: A, B, C, D to 125th St Bus: BX15, M2, M60, M100, M101 to 125th & St. Nicholas Ave

Posted by Nancy at 06:09 PM | Comments (0)