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FileDir 2.7 released

June 26, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe

Version 2.7
Released June 26, 2007

Fixed a corrupt zip archive being created when its location was in a
subfolder of the current folder.
Fixed Home, End, PageUp, and PageDown not working with the JAWS cursor in
the optional scripts.

Enhanced the wild card capability of filters. Previously, a * character
could be at the beginning or end of a pattern, or both, but not in the
middle (a limitation of the SQL parser built into the .NET Framework). This
restriction has been programmed around, thus allowing a pattern such as the
following:
calendar*.doc
As before, multiple, alternate filters may be separated by a | character,
e.g., calendar*.doc|*bill*

As before, Shift+T says the type of the current item in the Windows
registry, as well as its attributes such as ReadOnly, Hidden, or System.
A new command, Control+Shift+T, shows all "extended properties" of a file or
folder item that are available to Windows Explorer. Depending on the type,
32 possible properties may be examined as follows:
Name
Size
Type
Date Modified
Date Created
Date Accessed
Attributes
Status
Owner
Author
Title
Subject
Category
Pages
Comments
Copyright
Artist
Album Title
Year
Track Number
Genre
Duration
Bit Rate
Protected
Camera Model
Date Picture Taken
Dimensions
Episode Name
Program Description
Audio sample size
Audio sample rate
Channels

Categories: Uncategorized

Coming up on Main Menu and Main Menu Live for the week of June 27

June 24, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

This week on Main Menu and Main Menu Live we focus on organization with a
Calendar, Windows Vista speech recognition, portability in traveling with
GPS and assistive technology techniques for being more efficient.

In the first half hour of Main Menu we hear from Brian Hartgen from T&T
Consultancy Limited. For those of you who are JAWS users and who are using
Office 2007 you will be especially interested in this. Brian will be
announcing here on Main Menu a set of scripts that will be available for
purchase at Sight Village 2007 giving complete access to the Outlook 2007
Calendar. In addition, Brian will talk about a low cost JAWS script
solution to Windows Vista's speech recognition interface. He will spend a
bit of time demonstrating this functionality as well.

In the next half hour on Main Menu we will hear from Earle Harrison all
about the new Way Finder Access GPS Navigation solution recently made
available for Mobile Speak Symbian phone customers.

When we visit a web site or open a document, we do much more than simply
listen to the entire text as it is spoken aloud. During the second hour on
Main Menu Live, Chris Hofstader and Karen McCall will talk with us all about
the efficiency and productivity related aspects of using screen readers and
other assistive technology. When a web page opens, what techniques do you
employ to quickly access only the information you need? This is your chance
to learn from the pros and share techniques of your own.

This will be the last Main Menu and Main Menu Live for the next few weeks as
the Main Menu production team takes some time off over the summer to spend
it with their families. We will be back in August with much more great
content.

Here is how to participate on the show. The number to call into the show is
866-400-5333. You can email your questions to mainmenu@acbradio.org. You
may also interact with the show via MSN Messenger. The MSN Messenger ID to
add is mainmenu@acbradio.org.

Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the
topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the
Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is
main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com. Come join an already lively group of
users.

Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu
Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:

Main Menu –

http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenu
Main Menu Live –

http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenulive

Main Menu and Main Menu Live can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00
Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal/GMT on Wednesday mornings on the
ACB Radio Main Stream channel. To listen to the show, just click this link:

http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=8&MMN_position=14:14

Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team

Categories: Uncategorized

JAWS for Windows 8.0 Update Released, Many Users Disappointed About Unresolved Issues

June 21, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Today, Freedom Scientific has released their fifth update to JAWS 8.0. Many users are continuing to report unresolved issues, including the following:

  • Blank virtual buffers in Adobe Reader, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and other applications.
  • Unexplainable crashes pointing to FSBraille when no Braille display is in use.
  • Persistent canned responses and lack of responses on issues reported to technical support.
  • Various concerns with Windows Vista support:
    • Many dialogue boxes are not readable except by way of the JAWS cursor.
    • Issues accessing Windows Mail included in Vista.
    • Problems reading the sliders in the Windows Vista Volume Control.
Categories: JAWS

Coming up on Main Menu Live for the week of June 20th

June 18, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

This week on Main Menu Live we will be presenting quite a variety of topics.

In the first hour we hear from Woody Anna Dresner from the National Braille
Press. A new book entitled "Google It! A Guide to the World's Most Popular
Search Engine" has been released and is based on Jonathan Mosen's audio
Google tutorial. We bring her on to talk to us all about this new book and
all things Google.

Next we hear from Steve Bauer, a familiar voice to many who listen to all of
the streams here at ACB Radio. We bring Steve on to talk all things radio,
that being commercial radio and HD radio. Steve works for a commercial
radio station and we ask him to talk about the issues he faces from a
blindness perspective in that area of his work.

Buckle your seatbelt everyone as we race Into the second hour on Main Menu
Live. We will talk with Che Martin from Blind Adrenaline Simulations. This
is a new accessible game software company and they are just about ready to
launch an exciting new game for everyone called Rail Racer. This is both a
single and multi-player game that is soon launching. Come listen as we
interview Che all about the game, his career, what the development process
is like in developing the game and much more, including your phone calls.

The number to call into the show is 866-400-5333. You can email your
questions to mainmenu@acbradio.org. You may also interact with the show via
MSN Messenger. The MSN Messenger ID to add is mainmenu@acbradio.org.

Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the
topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the
Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is
main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com. Come join an already lively group of
users.

Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu
Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:
Main Menu – http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenu
Main Menu Live – http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenulive

Main Menu and Main Menu Live can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00
Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal/GMT on Wednesday mornings on the
ACB Radio Main Stream channel. To listen to the show, just click this link:

http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=8&MMN_position=14:14

We will be live for this week so this week expect to see the podcast feed
only updated on the Main Menu Live feed.

Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team

Categories: Uncategorized

System Access To Go on the Job

June 16, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker
I used System Access To Go for the last three hours of my work shift yesterday afternoon to exchange e-mail correspondence and moderate a web-based technical forum.  The results were quite impressive; I was able to complete these tasks as efficiently with SA To Go as I normally do using JAWS.  It is refreshing to see that a company like Serotek is able to keep innovating, pushing the envelope of accessibility and possibility.
Categories: Serotek

Ask YouSendIt to Make its Plugin Accessible Within Replay A/V 8.20

June 15, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Applian has just released Replay A/V version 8.20 with support for the use of YouSendIt for the purpose of exchanging recorded files. It turns out that the plugin providing this capability has been written by the YouSendIt folks. It is currently inaccessible to those of us who rely on screen readers. We ask all of you to send e-mail to freesupport@yousendit.com asking them to remedy this lack of accessibility. I am sure Applian colaborated with YouSendIt to make this work, so it is quite disappointing that accessibility was not made a requirement for integration with Replay A/V.

Categories: Uncategorized

Independent Living Aids Sues American Council of the Blind, Assistech and Maxi-Aids for Assault, Libel and Slander

June 14, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Here we go again… It looks like we have yet another lawsuit in the blind community. Independent Living Aids has filed suit in Federal Court against the American Council of the blind, Assistech and Maxi-Aids for assault, libel and slander after the publication of an article in the April 2007 issue of the Braille Forum entitled PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: FIGHTING FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. ILA wants $25 million bucks! The following is a letter circulated by Chris Gray, President of the American Council of the Blind:

June 13, 2007

Dear ACB Members and Friends:

As the result of an article published by the ACB in the April issue of the Braille Forum, we have been sued by Independent Living Aids in Federal Court, New York.  While it is the policy of the ACB not to comment on pending litigation, nonetheless we hold very precious the principle of free speech. We are confident that at the end of the litigation, ACB will be vindicated. Our mission as advocates for the blind and visually impaired will not be hindered by this litigation.

Thank you all for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Chris

Skype 3.2 Update, Skype 3.5 Beta and New JAWS Scripts Now Available

June 14, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Doug Lee has made Revision 455 of his JAWS scripts for Skype available at http://dlee.org/skype.

This revision now supports the new Skype 3.5 Beta, which features a new, exciting, more accessible text chat facility. It is now possible to navigate in chat windows using the arrow keys!

Two new versions of Skype are now available.

Skype version 3.2.0.163 is now available and one place where you can download it is at http://www.skype.com.

Here are the changes in this version:

feature: Added Latvian localization done by Intars Students
improvement: Audio calls improved
change: Do not accept multichats from unauthorized contacts
change: IE plugin updated
change: Extras Manager updated to version 1.2.0.261
bugfix: CCleaner removed 2 Skype related registry entries
bugfix: Tray icon menu not translated during login
bugfix: Skype crashed on password change notification
bugfix: On rare occasions, Skype crashed when opening options.
bugfix: Skype may have crashed in large multichats
bugfix: NTLM proxy authentication did not work

Also Skype version 3.5.0.107 beta is now available and one place where you can download it is at http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-beta.

This is a direct link to the .EXE file for Skype 3.5 beta. Here are the changes in this version:

feature: Auto redial
feature: Call Transfer
feature: Device Indicators
feature: Edit chat messages
feature: Message history loading granulated
feature: Private Telephone Numbers
feature: Send contacts inside chat
feature: Visual indicators for Audio In / Audio Out in options
feature: Show examples of notifications / alerts in options
feature: Added Latvian localization – Intars Students
feature: In-Client Hardware store button
change: Extras Manager updated to version 1.2.0.261
change: Options categories smoothly slide open and close when changed
Updated language files: Arabic (Eriksen Translations Inc.), Bulgarian (Nikolina Filipova & Nikolay Filipov), Czech (Petr Silon), Danish (Eriksen Translations Inc), German (Claudius Henrichs & Dick Schiferli), Estonian (Eve Loopere), Greek (Panagiotis Sidiropoulos http://www.magenta.gr),French (Fabrice IMPERIAL & Bruno Lépaulard), Italian (Daniele Conte), Japanese (Mayu Shimizu), Hungarian (Mark Bender & Laszlo Koncz & Gabor Stefanik),Latvian (Intars Students), Lithuanian (Viktoras Kriukovas), Norwegian (Stig Auestad), Dutch (Kees Koenders), Polish (Karol Szastok), Portuguese-Portugal (Francisco Ferreira), Portuguese-Brazil (Leslie Predrotti), Finnish (Heino Keränen), Swedish (Anders Olsson), Russian (Eriksen Translations Inc), Romanian (Péter Henning and Mónika Iancu), Turkish (Ömer Emin Dede)

Categories: JAWS, Skype

GAO Releases Report on NLS Plans for Digital Conversion of Talking Book Program

June 14, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

The GAO has just released its highly anticipated report covering plans by NLS to convert the Talking Book Program to a Flash based digital format. In summary, the report seems to criticize the costs associated with current NLS plans, suggesting potentially more cost-effective alternatives. A brief analysis of this report indicates that many of the recommended alternatives may be just as accessible as current plans. It also seems NLS agrees with the findings in the report and will take steps to address the concerns outlined. One is left to wonder if there will be a delay in implementation of the digital conversion and/or the needed funding of this project in light of this report. The language of this report is rather neutral when compared with other communications on this issue in the blind community.

Serotek Releases the World’s First Web-based Access Technology Tool for the Blind

June 13, 2007 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Janelle Schulenberg

Tacet Consulting

612-720-1068

janelle@tacetconsulting.com

Serotek Makes Web 2.0 Accessible to the Blind

Technology Company Introduces SA To Go

Minneapolis, Minn. – June 13, 2007 – Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services, announces the public beta release of a web application called SA To Go (System Access To Go), the first product to make Web 2.0 accessible to the blind and the visually impaired. SA To Go is a web-resident product stemming from Serotek’s award-winning System Access software. More than a screen reader, System Access requires no installation and provides complete control of your e-mail, makes web surfing easy, and offers intuitive access to Microsoft Office productivity tools like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. SA To Go makes System Access available on the Web for instant operation and has no permanence on the using computer. Users can now access System Access software anytime, anywhere that Internet access is available.

“We believe SA To Go will revolutionize the way blind people use the computer,” said Mike Calvo, CEO, Serotek Corporation, “That’s why we felt it critical to leverage the power of Web 2.0 to continue to fulfill our promise of accessibility anywhere.”

SA To Go provides instant accessibility. Once online, users can visit www.SAtoGo.com and it appears in seconds. When finished, the user simply closes the program and any personal information vanishes leaving the host computer completely unchanged.

“Microsoft applauds Serotek’s innovation with respect to access for all,” said Daniel Hubbell, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation, “SA To Go is a revolution for people who need access to computers away from home.”

Because of technologies like Fonix’s text-to-speech and its small size, SA To Go loads within seconds giving the blind user the same access on the go as his sighted peers. And since SA To Go is a true web application, accessibility is no longer an expensive option; companies that want to provide public accessibility to customers can do so for a fraction of the cost.

“Serotek’s new SA To Go application gives blind and visually impaired users quick, convenient access to PC functions,” says Tim K. Hong, VP of Sales, Fonix Speech, Inc. “SA To Go incorporates Fonix text-to-speech, which is optimized to provide clear, intelligible TTS voices without using large amounts of processing power or memory. Fonix speech technology is a good fit for Serotek’s System Access Mobile applications.”

Serotek is putting the system out for public Beta because they are encouraging user input. The company can imagine hundreds of applications but believes users will direct its true potential.

“We think we’ve only scratched the surface of the potential of SA To Go,” says Calvo, “That’s why we’re inviting users to take it for a spin and let us know how they think it might be applied.”
The company will be surveying users on a regular basis and encouraging users to e-mail their ideas and comments to SAToGo@serotek.com.
To participate in the public beta, users can go to http://www.satogo.com and follow the instructions. Immediate accessibility will lead the user through the registration process. For more information about Serotek and its family of System Access accessibility tools, visit www.serotek.com.

Serotek Corporation

Serotek Corporation is a leading technology company that develops software and manufactures accessibility solutions. Committed to the mission of providing accessibility anywhere, Serotek launched an online community specifically designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Since then, Serotek has introduced several powerful, affordable solutions that require minimal training, including System Access, for which it was awarded the prestigious da Vinci award for innovation in universal accessibility by the National Multiple Sclerosis Association. For more information, visit www.serotek.com.

Fonix Corporation

Fonix Corporation (OTC BB: FNIX), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an innovative speech recognition and text-to-speech technology company that provides value-added speech solutions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fonix Speech, Inc., currently offering voice solutions for mobile/wireless devices; interactive video games, toys and appliances; computer telephony systems; the assistive market and automotive telematics. Fonix provides developers and manufacturers with cost-effective speech solutions to enhance devices and systems. Visit www.fonix.com for more information, or call (801) 553-6600 and say “Sales.”

Microsoft Corporation

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com.

Categories: Serotek