tips

Dancing Around the World of Barcodes with Digit-Eyes

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Kevin Chao demonstrates Digit-Eyes, an iPhone app that scans the barcodes found on commercial products and enables the creation and use of audio or text labels that can be easily attached to items found in the home, on the job or at school.

Digit-Eyes relies on the iPhone’s camera to scan barcodes. Correct positioning of the iPhone is critical for the successful use of Digit-Eyes, Noogle Noggles, oMoby or any other app that uses the camera. There is a learning curve for most blind people who wish to use these apps, but employing a systematic approach and staying patient can really pay off in the long run.

Follow these steps to start scanning with Digit-Eyes:

  1. Find and double tap the Digit-Eyes icon on the Home screen.
  2. Flick to the right to locate the Scan button and double tap it to get the party started.
  3. Digit-Eyes immediately begins scanning and a ticking sound is heard to let you know it is working.
  4. While Digit-Eyes is scanning, position the iPhone so that it is lined up with the product being scanned and follow our camera-handling tips for best results.
  5. You will hear a beep and VoiceOver will speak the name of the identified item when the scan has completed successfully.
  6. If you are unable to complete the scan after several minutes, flick to the right to find the Cancel button and double tap it so you may try again later.

We thank Nancy Miracle, president of Digital Miracles, the company that develops and sells Digit-Eyes, for providing some quick tips for successfully using the iPhone’s camera:

  • Make sure the screen curtain is not enabled. Digit-Eyes can’t see anything when the iPhone’s display is blank. Triple tap using three fingers to toggle the screen curtain on and off.
  • Make sure there is light for the camera to acquire a good image. If you are indoors, it may be necessary to turn on a light.
  • Place a finger immediately to the right of the camera, which is located in the upper-righthand corner of the iPhone when it is facing away from you. This will help you line it up with the item to be scanned.
  • Place the iPhone approximately two inches above the object and gradually move it upward. The recommended approximate distance varies according to the device being used. Place the iPhone 3 G S approximately six inches away from the object being scanned. The iPhone 4 should be placed between six and 12 inches away. The new iPod Touch should be placed 12 to 20 inches distant.
  • Never move the iPhone from side to side while scanning. The camera’s automatic focusing technology apparently can’t capture a good image under these conditions.
  • Gradually turn round objects like bottles, cans and jars clockwise or counterclockwise in increments of 60 degrees while scanning. Simply scan the four sides of rectangular and square objects. In most, but not all, cases, the barcode will be found on the front or back of a box.
  • The barcodes on many grocery and other products typically found in stores may be located in unexpected places. For example, the barcode may be located on the bottom of a box of breakfast cereal. It may be helpful to think about the way a product might be positioned on the conveyor belt in the grocery store during the check-out process to determine where to look for its barcode.
  • Keep in mind that the camera in the iPhone does not work like the ID Mate or other products based on laser barcode scanners. Using products like Digit-Eyes is going to require a great deal of patience and practice in the beginning while you learn effective techniques for estimating the correct distance between the iPhone and the item being scanned and lining the iPhone up with the product so that a clear picture can be taken.
  • The Digit-Eyes website contains exhaustive information and tutorials covering the effective use of the product. It even gives you the ability to print practice sheets of barcodes you can scan with your iPhone.
  • Nancy and I discussed Digit-Eyes and the iPhone’s camera in depth in a two-part interview broadcast on the July 24 and July 31 episodes of ACB Radio’s Main Menu technology show.

Have you found a technique for using the camera that works well for you? Do you have an interesting story to tell about how Digit-Eyes and other camera-based iPhone apps have helped increase your independence? If so, please share it with us in the comments.

Download, Play or Pause – Dancing Around the World of Barcodes with Digit-Eyes

Posting Ratings and Reviews in the iTunes Store Using VoiceOver on the Mac Demystified

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Some blind users of Apple’s built-in VoiceOver Mac OS X screen reader have reported an inability to rate content or post reviews in the iTunes Store. Apple has responded with a solution that has been confirmed to solve the problem effectively.

The trouble is found in the way the ratings widget interacts with VoiceOver, said Nate Doss, a member of Apple’s executive relations team.

“Each review requires that you rate the product you wish to review,” he said. “The normal VoiceOver command for pressing a button does not set the star rating. Instead, you would have to try the “Move Mouse Cursor to VoiceOver Cursor”
command (Control Option Command F5) which would then set the star rating to whatever rating desired.”

Doss said there is a secondary issue involving notification of blind users when the content on a dynamic page has changed.

“To start writing a review, there is a link that you press called ‘Write a Review’ or ‘Be the first to write a review’,” he said. “When you press that link, the review writing tools are revealed within the page, but the application does not notify VoiceOver that the page was changed. This is a common problem with websites that use JavaScript to change the part of a web page instantly without reloading the entire page. From your perspective, there was no change in the page. However, if you were to explore the page, you would discover that there are new elements on the page.”

Doss said Apple’s developers are aware of this issue and are working to fix it in a future update.

Follow these steps to rate a product in the iTunes Store:

  1. Browse to or search for an app, podcast, song or other content in the iTunes Store.
  2. Follow the link to view its page in the store.
  3. Move down to the “Rate this application:” section of the page.
  4. Move to the desired star rating you wish to assign.
  5. Press Control+Option+Command+F5 to move the mouse cursor to the position of the VoiceOver cursor on the desired star rating.
  6. If you explore past the end of the star ratings, you will now see a description of that rating. For instance, “it’s great” will be displayed if you positioned the mouse cursor on the “rate five stars” option. If this description is not present, you have not succeeded. Try again.
  7. Move back to the desired star rating and press the typical Control+Option+Space Bar command to rate the content.
  8. If you explore past the end of the star ratings, you will now see the word “thanks.” This means you have successfully rated the content in the iTunes Store. If you do not see “thanks,” you have not succeeded. Try repeating these steps.

Follow these steps to post a review in the iTunes Store:

  1. Browse to or search for an app, podcast, song or other content in the iTunes Store.
  2. Follow the link to view its page in the store.
  3. Move down to the “Customer Reviews” section of the page.
  4. To start writing a review, follow the link called “Write a Review” or “Be the first to right a review.”
  5. Follow the steps previously described for rating content.
  6. Fill out the title and text body as appropriate.
  7. Move to the Submit button and press the typical Control+Option+Space Bar command to post the review.

We thank Apple for their diligent work in getting to the bottom of this perplexing issue.

Update:

Another solution exists that enables posting of reviews without the extra mouse cursor movement command. It involves changing VoiceOver preferences that affect its cursor tracking behavior everywhere on your system. This supplementary solution may not be the right one for everyone.

Follow these steps to modify VoiceOver preferences so that the mouse cursor always follows the VoiceOver cursor:

  1. Press Control+Option+F8 to open the VoiceOver Utility.
  2. Press Control+Option+Down Arrow to interact with the categories table.
  3. Press n to move to the Navigation category.
  4. Press Control+Option+Up Arrow to stop interacting with the categories table.
  5. Press Control+Option+Right Arrow until you hear “mouse cursor.”
  6. Press Control+Option+Right Arrow once more to move focus to the popup associated with this field. The default setting is “ignore VoiceOver cursor.”
  7. Press Control+Option+Space Bar to open the popup.
  8. Press down arrow until you hear “follows VoiceOver Cursor.”
  9. Press Control+Option+Space Bar to select the option to have the mouse cursor follow the VoiceOver cursor.
  10. Press Command+Q to close the VoiceOver Utility.
  11. Post reviews in the iTunes Store at will.

Pairing the iPhone 4 with the Freedom Pro Bluetooth Keyboard

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The Freedom Pro Bluetooth keyboard from Freedom Input may be used as an alternative to the touch screen for typing text. This can be particularly helpful for performing text entry tasks such as taking notes and writing e-mail.

As of June 28, Freedom Input has not provided instructions for connecting the keyboard to the iPhone in its knowledge base or manuals. This document provides those instructions in a format that is especially useful for blind people.

The gestures and instructions in this document assume VoiceOver is enabled.

Preparing the Keyboard

Follow these steps to prepare the keyboard for use:

  1. Place the keyboard on a desk or other hard surface and orient it so that the rough plastic end is to the left and the rectangular raised button is to the right.
  2. Press in on the button to release the keyboard and open it to its full size.
  3. Locate the hinge on the top of the keyboard near its middle.
  4. Locate the indented lever to the left of the hinge and pull it to the right using a fingernail. This keeps the keyboard open during use. Move the lever back to the left before folding the keyboard.
  5. Locate the raised, round, vertical battery cover at the far left end of the keyboard.
  6. Pull the top half of the battery cover forward and up until it has been removed.
  7. Insert two AAA batteries flat-end-first.
  8. Replace the battery cover.

Pairing the Keyboard with the iPhone

Follow these steps to pair your keyboard with the iPod Touch or iPhone:

  1. Disconnect the iPhone from the data cable so it is not docked or plugged into the battery charger or computer.
  2. Turn on your iPhone.
  3. Tap the Home button.
  4. Double tap Settings.
  5. Double tap General.
  6. Double tap Bluetooth.
  7. Move to the Bluetooth button and make sure it says “on.” If not, double tap the button to change its status. The iPhone will start searching for available Bluetooth devices.
  8. On the keyboard, locate the two slide switches near the lower left-hand corner.
  9. Move the top switch to the right to select HID (Human Interface Device) mode.
  10. Move the bottom switch to the left to turn on the keyboard. Move it back to the right anytime you won’t be needing to use the keyboard.
  11. Locate a small hole immediately above the two slide switches.
  12. Using a pen or stylus, press and hold the button in the reset hole for four to five seconds. This makes the keyboard discoverable so it can be paired with the phone.
  13. Flick left or right around the Bluetooth screen on the iPhone until you find the Freedom Pro Keyboard button.
  14. Double tap the button to start the pairing process.
  15. Listen carefully to VoiceOver until you hear four numbers. Remember these numbers.
  16. Enter the numbers you heard on the keyboard and press the enter key.
  17. VoiceOver should say the keyboard has been paired. Double tap the OK button.

Now that the keyboard has been paired successfully, you can use it to type in apps such as Mail and Notes. Simply locate Mail or Notes on the Home screen, double tap and start using the Freedom Pro keyboard anywhere you would normally have to use the on-screen keyboard.

Major thanks go to Jon, a technical support representative with Freedom Input, for his patience and thorough assistance with the Bluetooth pairing process on the keyboard.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post if you encounter any problems following these instructions or I can help in any other way.

Download Instructions for Microsoft Security Essentials

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Microsoft released its new free anti-malware Security Essentials product to Genuine Windows users Tuesday. The company’s Web developers forgot to make sure that the download process was intuitive for its blind customers. While browsing the Security Essentials Web site, people who rely on screen readers feel or hear a link containing the following text: “A38FFBF2-1122-48B4-AF60-E44F6DC28BD8/mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-vista-win7.” Microsoft representatives have been asked about this concern, and a response from the company’s public relations staff is anticipated in the near future.

Until Microsoft corrects the download process, an alternative exists for blind users to gain access to the software. Follow these steps to download Microsoft Security Essentials:

  1. Visit the Microsoft Security Essentials Web site.

  2. Select the “Locales and languages” link.

  3. Press the screen reader keystroke to redraw or refresh the interpretation of the screen’s contents. This command is Insert+Escape for JAWS and System Access, and Insert+Backslash for Window-Eyes. This step is critical in order to view the information that has changed on the dynamic Web page.

  4. Select the country in which you are located from the combo box.

  5. Select the link appropriate for the 32- or 64-bit operating system you are running. The download process begins.

MSI Wind U100 Function Key Commands

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The MSI Wind U100 is being utilized by a growing number of blind college students and professionals who require a full-featured computer that is nearly as portable as one of the specialized note taking products on the assistive technology market. A number of special function key commands enable quick access to important features such as the adjustment of audio output volume, screen brightness and wireless networking.

The special function key commands are entered by holding the FN key, the farthest key on the leftmost end of the bottom row of the keyboard, while pressing one of the function keys on the top row. The following is a list of the available function key commands:

  • Enable or disable support for multiple monitors: FN+F2

  • Enable or disable the touchpad: FN+F3

  • Decrease screen brightness: FN+F4

  • Increase screen brightness: FN+F5

  • Enable or disable the built-in web cam: FN+F6

  • Decrease audio volume: FN+F7

  • Increase audio volume: FN+F8

  • Mute audio: FN+F9 (Be very careful!)

  • Switch between slow battery saving and regular CPU speed: FN+F10

  • Switch between Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and no wireless support: FN+F11

  • Switch into standby mode: FN+F12

Pay particular attention to the following notes covering the features controlled by the function key commands:

  • Turning off the touch pad remains effective only until the MSI Wind reboots. It is necessary to do this again after a reboot.

  • Decreasing the screen brightness will not completely disable the screen.

  • Exercise care when muting the system audio. The setting applies everywhere, including the screen reader, and lasts through a reboot.

  • When toggling wireless connectivity, observe the following conditions and sounds as you press FN+F11:

    • JAWS says “F24”, Wi-Fi is enabled and Bluetooth is disabled.

    • JAWS says “zoom”, two ascending tones are heard and Bluetooth is enabled.

    • JAWS says “zoom”, two descending tones are heard and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are disabled.

  • After entering standby mode, press the power button to resume normal operation. You may need to select your username to complete the Windows Logon process.

The MSI Wind has been in regular service here at Blind Access Journal as a portable workstation and note taking device for almost two months. We continue to recommend this netbook as a possible substitute for traditional, expensive, specialized note taking products from the assistive technology industry.

Exploring the AT&T Motorola Q9H Keyboard

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This is a short article covering how to find all the special keys on the Motorola Q9H phone. It is very much a work in progress. All feedback to editor@blindaccessjournal.com is appreciated. Thanks go to Jeff Bishop’s son Brian for his assistance with several previously “unknown” keys.

Orientation

Place the phone face up with the small QWERTY keyboard on the bottom. In this orientation, you should find the following items in order, from top to bottom:

  • Small round speaker representing the telephone receiver.

  • Large smooth display screen covering approximately three inches of the surface.

  • A set of tactile lines in a cross-like formation, followed by a circle with dots followed by a second set of cross-like lines.

  • The QWERTY keyboard.

Special Keys

The Motorola Q9H has a number of special keys that are not found on the traditional computer’s keyboard. These will be described in reference to the orientation provided above.

Soft Keys

The phone has a number of “soft keys” that perform special functions when pressed. It is important to know how to use these keys in order to do anything useful with the phone. The soft keys are located below the display screen and immediately above the QWERTY keyboard. They are tactilely differentiated using those cross-like sets of lines mentioned earlier. Remember, there is a set of cross-like lines on the left-hand side of the phone, followed by a raised circle with dots followed by another set of cross-like lines. It is critical to understand this configuration, as it is the basis for the following description. There are a total of 8 soft keys. Four of these keys are located on the cross-like structure on the left side of the phone, while the second group of four are located on the cross-like structure on the right side of the phone. For ease of reference, we will refer to the cross lines on the left side as the first quadrant and the cross lines on the right side as the second quadrant. The cross lines themselves are *not* the keys. Pressing on these lines won’t do anything. Instead, these lines help to differentiate the keys. Instead, the keys are immediately to the sides of these lines. The keys are “soft” meaning they are
made up of the phone’s smooth front surface and they may be defined to perform different functions, depending on the situation in which the phone is operating or the software program you are using at the time you press them. Each set of cross lines can be seen as a tactile X-Y graph. There is a soft key in the upper right-hand corner, another in the upper left-hand corner, a third in the lower left-hand corner and a fourth in the lower right-hand corner of the grid.
It should now be possible to fully describe the names and locations of these keys from a blindness perspective.

Let’s start with the first quadrant of cross-like lines, those on the left side of the phone.

  • Dial (Send) – The Dial key is pressed immediately after entering a telephone number in order to complete the call, much as it is on a traditional cell phone. Keep in mind it may also have other functions in different circumstances. The Dial key is located in the lower left-hand corner of the set of cross-like lines in the first quadrant (the left-hand side of the phone).

  • Home – The Home key performs many critical smartphone functions, most essentially for us it represents the MobileSpeak screen reader command key you press before many other keys to issue special accessibility related instructions. The Home key is located in the lower right-hand corner of the set of cross-like lines in the first quadrant (the left-hand side of the phone).

  • Left Soft Key – The Left Soft Key performs different functions depending on the situation. In many cases, it is used as an OK or Done button you may press to confirm that you want changes to be saved, etc. This operates in much the same way as the Continue, OK or Next buttons found in the dialogue boxes of many typical Windows applications. The Left Soft Key is located in the upper right-hand corner of the cross-like lines in the first quadrant (the left-hand side of the phone).

  • AT&T Symbol – This key activates the phone’s built-in default Opera Mobile web browser, pointing it to the AT&T web site. It is located in the upper left-hand corner of the cross-like lines in the first quadrant (the left-hand side of the phone).

We now move on to the second quadrant of cross-like lines; this set is located on the right side of the phone, to the right of the circle with the four tiny tactile dots.

  • Back – The Back key is most often used as its name suggests, to back out of actions you decide not to perform. It operates as a backspace key in any situation where you find yourself editing text, as well as a Back button in the Internet Explorer Mobile web browser. In many cases, it may also be used in a similar way as the Escape key is pressed on a computer’s keyboard to choose a cancel button in a dialogue box. The Back key is located in the lower left-hand corner of the set of cross-like lines in the second quadrant (on the right-hand side of the phone).

  • End – The End (hangup) key is used to do just that, conclude a phone call. If no call is in progress, it moves focus to the Today screen, which is similar to the Desktop on a Windows computer. The End key is located in the lower right-hand corner of the cross-like lines in the second quadrant (on the right-hand side of the phone).

  • Envelope (Mail) Symbol – This key may enable the user to quickly open their e-mail application, though we haven’t noticed that it does anything when pressed on our phones. It is located in the upper right-hand corner of the cross-like lines in the second quadrant (on the right-hand side of the phone).

  • Right Soft Key – The Right Soft Key performs many different functions, depending on the situation or the application you’re using at the moment. In some cases, it operates as a cancel key, while in other cases, it opens a menu. The Right Soft Key is located in the upper left-hand corner of the cross-like lines in the second quadrant (on the right-hand side of the phone).

The Circle

The Circle is a special grouping of five keys located between the first and second sets of cross-like lines. They consist of up, down, left and right arrows and an enter (select) key. Careful exploration will indicate that the circle contains four small, tactile dots. These dots reside on each of the arrow keys, which are located in a logical position representing their direction of navigation. The middle of this circle contains a smaller, slightly raised round key. This is the Enter (select) key. It is used to select choices in menus, as a real enter key when entering text in some scenarios and in many other cases where one might press Enter on a computer’s keyboard.

QWERTY Keyboard

The QWERTY keyboard is a grouping of 37 keys found immediately below the soft keys and the circle. It enables entry of all alphanumeric characters as well as punctuation using a special Function key. The keyboard does not include a numbers row as would be found on a typical computer keyboard. Entry of numbers is described shortly. There is a tactile dot on the f key. Given the compressed nature of this keyboard, it is potentially useful to list out each key by row from top to bottom and left to right, with the first row representing the top of the keyboard, as found immediately below the soft keys and the circle.

  • Row 1: q, w, e, r, t, y, u, i, o, p

  • Row 2: a, s, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, Enter

  • Row 3: Function, z, x, c, v, b, n, m, . (period), Shift (Caps)

  • Row 4: Calendar, Contacts, 0, Space Bar, Music, Camera, Speaker

The space bar is slightly domed and elongated in comparison to the other keys.

Entering Numbers

As we have already observed, the QWERTY keyboard in this phone does not include a separately defined numbers row. This situation is an unfortunate side-effect of the phone’s small size, though we are rather impressed with the keyboard in general given this constraint. Numbers are entered using a specific set of keys, preceeded by the Function key. For instance, pressing Function followed by f would enter the number 5. The keys assigned to numbers are as follows:

  • e, r, t = 1, 2, 3

  • d, f, g = 4, 5, 6

  • X, C, V = 7, 8, 9

  • The number 0 is entered by pressing the Function key followed by the key immediately to the left of the space bar.

Dialing the Phone!

Of course, the most important thing we want to do with our phones right away is to dial. Dialing is performed from the phone’s Today screen using the number keys previously indicated without preceding them with the Function key. When the Today screen has focus, it is assumed that you wish to dial rather than enter text. Follow these steps to place a call:

  1. Press the End key to ensure the Today screen has focus.

  2. Enter the numbers without using the function key. For example, press g, e, e to enter 611, which is usually the number used to contact the service provider.

  3. Press the Dial key to place the call.

  4. The numbers will continue to work without the Function key while you are on the call.

  5. Press the End key to hang up.

Simply press the Dial (Send) key to answer an incoming call.

This document completes the exploration of all the keys found on the front of the Motorola Q9H smartphone. Just as it is critical to know how to type before one can use a computer, it is essential and highly recommended to thoroughly learn the location of all these keys before delving into the use of this phone and MobileSpeak.

An Accessible Way to Manage Permission of the Programs on Your Computer to Use Skype

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This morning I received a call from a fellow blind Skype user asking for help with one of the program’s few significant accessibility quirks. He had installed a new program for automatically voicing Skype events, yet he could not figure out how to access the automatic prompt for allowing the utility to use Skype. This dialogue box is, in fact, inaccessible in all recent Skype versions. If you are a blind screen reader user who wishes to allow another program to use Skype, you are not out of luck. It turns out that an advanced configuration option exists to manually specify which software on your system is permitted to access Skype. Follow these steps to control the use of Skype by the software installed on your system:

  1. Run Skype or open it from the System Tray in the usual manner. In JAWS, press JAWS Key+F11, down arrow to Skype, press enter, down arrow to Open Skype and press enter to open the program’s main window.

  2. Press alt+t to pull down the Tools menu followed by p to access the Options dialogue.

  3. Down arrow to Advanced Settings.

  4. Press shift+tab three times to select “Manage other programs’ access to Skype” and press the space bar to open this window.

  5. Press tab to enter the list of programs about which Skype is currently aware. Arrow up and down this list. Notice that the program’s name is given along with information indicating whether or not it is allowed to use Skype.

  6. Locate a program whose settings you wish to change.

  7. Press tab to select the Change button and press the space bar to open the window.

  8. Press tab to move into the group of two radio buttons used to determine whether or not the selected program is permitted to use Skype. If desired, press down arrow to change to the opposite setting.

  9. Press tab followed by the space bar on the OK button to accept any changes made to the program’s status.

  10. Press tab three times followed by the space bar on the OK button to accept all changes made for the entire list of programs.

  11. Finally, press shift+tab twice to select the Save button followed by the space bar to save all changes made in Skype’s Options dialogue box.

Resolving the "Click to Run ActiveX Control" Error in Internet Explorer 7.0 When Playing Audio on Web Sites

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For quite some time now, I have been experiencing the annoying “Click to run ActiveX control” error message when playing audio from various web sites, including those providing audio CAPTCHA alternatives. In some cases, the browser would crash completely after pressing the OK button. An example of a page that can cause the issue is the FormShield audio CAPTCHA demonstration. Thanks to Jeff Bishop for finding and resolving this rather frustrating issue. Follow these steps to reset Internet Explorer to its factory defaults, associate all media types to Windows Media Player and reconfigure your desired media player.

Reset Internet Explorer

Warning: Resetting Internet Explorer returns it to original factory defaults, deletes all temporary files and disables browser add-ons. Though resetting Internet Explorer is recommended to assure full resolution of media and other browser issues, you may wish to skip this first step to see if you can resolve the issue without performing a full browser reset. Follow these steps to reset Internet Explorer to its factory default configuration:

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

  2. Press Alt+T to open the Tools menu.

  3. Press o to open the Internet Options dialogue.

  4. Press Shift+Tab to move to the list of Internet Explorer tabs, then press End to navigate to the Advanced page.

  5. Press Shift+Tab to move to the Reset… button and press Enter to begin the process of disabling add-ons and completely resetting the browser to its factory defaults.

  6. Follow the confirmation prompt by pressing Tab to another Reset button and pressing enter.

  7. Press Tab to move to the Close button and press Enter.

  8. Press OK to restart Internet Explorer.

  9. It is necessary to reconfigure Internet Explorer’s accessibility settings. Press Alt+T followed by o to return to the Internet Options dialogue.

  10. Press Shift+Tab to move to the list of Internet Explorer tabs, then press End to navigate to the Advanced page.

  11. Press Tab to navigate into the Settings tree view.

  12. Press down arrow to navigate to the “Always expand ALT text for images” checkbox and press the space bar to activate this setting.

  13. Press down arrow to navigate to the “Move system caret with focus/selection changes” checkbox and press the space bar to activate this setting.

  14. Press Shift+Tab twice to navigate to the Apply button and press the space bar.

  15. Press Shift+Tab twice to navigate to the OK button and press enter.

Configure Windows Media Player as the Default for all File Types

  1. Press Windows Key +M to minimize all applications and focus on the desktop. If Windows Media Player is not found on the desktop, press the Start button, select All Programs and choose Windows Media Player.

  2. Arrow to Windows Media Player and press Enter to open the application.

  3. Press Alt+T to pull down the Tools menu.

  4. Press o to open the Options dialogue.

  5. Press Control+Shift+Tab three times to navigate to the File Types page.

  6. Press Tab to navigate to the Select All button and press enter.

  7. Tab to OK and press enter.

  8. Press Alt+F4 to close Windows Media Player.

Reconfigure File Type Associations on the Desired Media Player

If you do not use Windows Media Player exclusively, it will now be necessary to reconfigure the associations in your preferred player. For example, follow these steps to select all file types in Winamp:

  1. If you are not already on the desktop, press Windows Key+M to minimize all application windows and return focus to that location.

  2. Arrow to Winamp and press Enter to open the application.

  3. Press Control+P to open Winamp’s preferences dialogue.

  4. Press down arrow until you reach File Types. These options are found under the General Preferences branch of the tree view.

  5. Press tab until you reach the All button and press the space bar. This selects all audio and video file types for association to Winamp.

  6. Press Shift+Tab until you reach the Close button and press enter to dismiss the preferences dialogue.

After making these changes, you should find that audio CAPTCHAs and other web sites that play inline audio and video content will function properly without presenting the “Click to run ActiveX control” error message or crashing the browser.

Update: Accessible Version of CallBurner

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It appears the CallBurner team has not yet made their accessible version available to the public. Since many of you have asked how you can get started right away, please feel free to download a copy of the accessible version. Since this version of CallBurner is not currently provided on the company’s web site, this software should be considered to be a beta release, with all the “play at your own risk” caveats that status entails. Stay tuned for another update as soon as the CallBurner Team has informed us of the public availability of the accessible release.