Orator for BlackBerry Smart Phones Coming Soon

HumanWare is pleased to introduce Orator, its newest software solution Orator for BlackBerry SmartPhones is your BlackBerry® smartphone accessibility solution.A joint collaboration with Code Factory, the leading provider of screen reader technology and maker of Mobile Speak, and Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the award winning portfolio of BlackBerry products and solutions, Orator for BlackBerry Smartphones is design to convert the information visually displayed on the device screen into voice output enabling people who are visually impaired to use BlackBerry smartphones to increase independence and productivity in today's competitive world. In today's world access to information on the go is key and highly related to the ability to communicate via portable mobile solution. The constant evolution of mass-market electronics has been providing more portability than ever before and smartphones are quickly becoming the predominant way that business professionals, individual consumers and students stay in touch with their friends, family and information while on the go. Unfortunately this mobile technology is more design for a sighted world and still creates accessibility challenges for people who are blind and visually impaired.Orator is unique screen reader software that brings your BlackBerry® smartphone to life using state of the art text to speech (TTS) technology with adjustable volume and speech rate to let you access and interact with the Smartphone applications. Orator converts the information presented visually on the device screen into intuitive and familiar speech output. Whether you are at work, home or on the go, Orator will let you manage your emails and contacts, make and receive calls, compose and read text messages and other features while on the go. Powered by Code Factory and design for the new generation of BlackBerry® smartphones with full QWERTY key board, Orator will provide you with a unique mobile communication experience. Orator provides you: •State of the art TTS engine voice output •Auto start mode when the device turns on •Full control over the speed and pitch of the voice •Different verbosity levels to allow users to define the amount of information provided •Keyboard echo settings for text entry •Easy to use command structure •Training mode to help familiarize yourself with the structure•Fully operational during a call •Multi language support •Support documentation on the device
HumanWare is pleased to introduce Orator, its newest software solution Orator for BlackBerry SmartPhones is your BlackBerry® smartphone accessibility solution.A joint collaboration with Code Factory, the leading provider of screen reader technology and maker of Mobile Speak, and Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the award winning portfolio of BlackBerry products and solutions, Orator for BlackBerry Smartphones is design to convert the information visually displayed on the device screen into voice output enabling people who are visually impaired to use BlackBerry smartphones to increase independence and productivity in today's competitive world.In today's world access to information on the go is key and highly related to the ability to communicate via portable mobile solution. The constant evolution of mass-market electronics has been providing more portability than ever before and smartphones are quickly becoming the predominant way that business professionals, individual consumers and students stay in touch with their friends, family and information while on the go. Unfortunately this mobile technology is more design for a sighted world and still creates accessibility challenges for people who are blind and visually impaired.Orator is unique screen reader software that brings your BlackBerry® smartphone to life using state of the art text to speech (TTS) technology with adjustable volume and speech rate to let you access and interact with the Smartphone applications. Orator converts the information presented visually on the device screen into intuitive and familiar speech output. Whether you are at work, home or on the go, Orator will let you manage your emails and contacts, make and receive calls, compose and read text messages and other features while on the go. Powered by Code Factory and design for the new generation of BlackBerry® smartphones with full QWERTY key board, Orator will provide you with a unique mobile communication experience. Orator provides State of the art TTS engine voice output, Auto start mode when the device turns on, Full control over the speed and pitch of the voice, Different verbosity levels to allow users to define the amount of information provided, Keyboard echo settings for text entry, Easy to use command structure, Training mode to help familiarize yourself with the structure, Full operation during a call, Multi-language support, and Support documentation on the device

Serotek's Accessible Event and A New Release of Window-Eyes

Serotek has released Accessible Event, an online platform that makes group meetings ,webinars, lectures and other events accessible to the blind, deaf, and deaf-blind. It works with presentations designed in the Microsoft® Word, Excel®, and PowerPoint® or Adobe® Acrobat®, with those featuring displays in Microsoft Outlook®, or web pages in Serotek SAMNetâ„¢, Microsoft Internet Explorer® 7 or higher, or Mozilla® Firefox®, and with online meeting services such as Cisco WebEx, Citrix® GoToMeeting® and GoToWebinar®, Adobe Acrobat Connect®, Microsoft Live Meeting and more.
GW Micro is proud to announce the release of Window-Eyes 7.1 and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the public beta cycle. Your feedback helps make Window-Eyes the best it can be. Window-Eyes 7.1 is packed with features, including support for Windows 7, support for 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7, enhanced Braille functionality, new scripting features for end users and script authors, and more. Window-Eyes 7.1 also continues to build on the foundation of stability, performance, and reliability. The unrivaled Window-Eyes Error Reporting feature has again proved itself invaluable, allowing resolution of a wide range of issues. GW Micro is committed to ensuring a stable computing environment so that you can get your job done, without worrying about crashes and unexpected reboots. You can rely on Window-Eyes. Read more about the features that Window-Eyes 7.1 offers at http://www.gwmicro.com/Window-Eyes/Latest_Features.

News Bits and Bytes

Freedom Scientific announces that beginning in July, they will ship the new Focus 40 Blue braille display, which is more streamlined than earlier Focus displays and offers Bluetooth connectivity, for $4,495. To read the press release, click here.
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents are becoming increasingly prevalent out there on the web, which is great if, for example, you’ve lost that dog-eared copy of the user’s guide for your mobile phone or you need to get an owner’s manual for a secondhand appliance that you bought on the cheap at eBay. While PDF documents are designed to look just like their hardcopy counterparts, trying to read them with JAWS or some other screen reader can be a dicey business for blind guys. Questions abound regarding which version of Adobe Reader works best and how to effectively use it with screen readers. To help solve these mysteries, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has produced a guide to accessing PDF documents. Entitled Screen reader access to PDF: a users guide, it covers a comprehensive array of topics including finding and configuring the proper version of Adobe Reader, reading PDF documents on web pages, saving them to your computer, navigation tips, conversion to other formats, and many more.

EmpowerTech Alumnus Mitchell Fink Joins Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa’s Staff

Patience, focusing, determination, and faith have landed Empower Tech “alumnus” Mitchell Fink a position on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's staff!

Mitch sends a big thanks to Eric and Empower Tech staff for stressing the importance of learning

Mitch, who has a developmental disability, overcame his obstacle, through hard work and dedication, learned the computer skills necessary to perform his new job at City Hall during his time at EmpowerTech.

He looks forward to the trek downtown on Mondays and Thursdays. The bulk of his position is data entry. He enters certificate requests into a city database and updates any information such as due dates, how the certificates will be received, etc. Mitch is also responsible for filing these requests.

He has terrific bosses and is honored to know our very own Mayor Villaraigosa!

Amber and Best Buddies agency, which were initally contacted by Tawnie at WRC, landed Mitch this incredible job, and provide a great coach, Ashley, to mentor him for now.

EmpowerTech Luncheon June 23rd

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. Recently we had to cancel our annual gala. I must be honest, never in all of my years in non-profit fundraising have I had to cancel an event, so this was a tough one for me to do. In some ways it was akin to me admitting defeat, throwing in the towel to this economy, and realizing that I am not superwoman. But the flip side to this is that I make one mean glass of lemonade! Due to the cancellation we were going to loose our deposit with the hotel, I WAS NOT going to let that happen! So I turned it around and created an 'educational' luncheon. In addition to a delicious lunch and supporting EmpowerTech. For $50.00 you will have the opportunity to learn from labor and employment law attorney Alfred Klein. Mr. Klein’s provocative and interactive program will dispel some of the misconceptions about labor issues pertaining to the employment of individuals with disabilities.Those who attend will receive their CRE and their MCLE. And yes we will be serving lemonade!
For more information contact our office 310-338-1597

All I Ever Needed to Learn I Learned at a Preschool During an AT Class

It is not everyday that you get to spend the morning with a group a preschoolers, well at least for me it's not. Judy will be leaving on vacation before the school year is over and we needed someone to cover her Tuesday morning AT classes. Without realizing I was uttering the words; "I'll do it" I had in fact said, "I can do it. (big question forming in my mind) I can handle a few of her classes while she's gone". They're just kids right? Images of the Little Engine That Could starting forming in my mind and for a week that was my mantra; I think I can, I think I can. You see I don't have any children and I have limited experiences with preschool children, you know the kind...ice cream outings, weekends and overnighters. I have however, been very fortunate to spend time with Judy and Melody assisting them in their various preschool AT classes. The key word here is, "assisting". So yesterday morning I found myself standing in front of one of the schools we work with in Santa Monica waiting for the doors to open so I could introduce myself to 19 preschoolers. Thank heavens Judy was there, she is so wonderfully patient, kind and passionate about her work and her students, I thought to myself how can I possibly fill in for her? I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. We worked with an inclusion class yesterday, this means that both children with special needs and typical children learn side by side...the way it should be. I could go on and on about the little successes I saw yesterday under Judy’s tutelage but I want to keep your attention so I will just tell you about Jack and Jill (not their real names).
I do know that some special needs kids don't take to new people very well and Judy let me know that Jill would probably be one of them. Jill entered the classroom with her teacher and proceeded to stick right by her side until Judy introduced us. I smiled at this little girl with the perfect big blue eyes accentuated by her purple glasses and fell in love. The itty-bitty child paused for a few moments before letting go of her teacher’s hand and then came to sit in-between Judy and I, in front of the laptop on the table. She looked over at me and petted my arm; her teacher told me that this doesn't happen often so apparently Jill liked me too. A year ago Jill had problems walking, she is not verbal and uses sign language to communicate. Today she walks and runs, still uses sign language but I know that in a few years she will be talking up a storm. Judy and she practiced on click and double click with the mouse (part of the computer skills that are taught by Judy and Melody). When her time was up she stood up and looked at both Judy and I and I know if she could have spoken she would have said thank you. Next up to the computer was Jack. Jack is severely disabled due to lack of oxygen at birth. His assistant a brilliantly jovial woman, who believes in Jack and thinks Judy is the sun shining in his life, began singing praises of our Judy and the program. Jack is in a wheelchair, has limited mobility and very poor eyesight and his assistant has to hold his head straight so he can see the computer. Jack is one of the most beautiful blond haired, huge soft-eyed little boys I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. Judy diligently started working with Jack on his attention to the screen and single clicking. Very soon Jill came back to the table and wanted to be involved in the lesson. First she sat on Judy's lap and reached over to pet Jack arm, she moved behind him to sit on Jack's assistants lap again reaching over to pet Jack's arm as though she was encouraging him to click the mouse even going as far pressing his hand to a few times. Due to Jack's medications he timed out after 5 minutes. As his assistant was pushing him away from the table, little Jill slid underneath her arms and helped push his wheelchair. There are no words to describe the course of emotions that ran through me in those few short seconds but I do know this. I went to a preschool yesterday and met these 2 beautiful special needs children, that most in the world would see as disabled but to me they are more abled than most. Hence I have changed my mantra to I KNOW I can. I learned this at on a Tuesday morning at a preschool in Santa Monica during an AT class.

From Tom, the Tech Guy: BARD IS HERE!

BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download page, here! Now officially out of its pilot phase as of yesterday, April 30, 2009, the National Library Service of the Library of Congress has made all of its thousands of digitally recorded talking books available for download through BARD, free of charge to all blind and visually-impaired U.S. citizens with access to a computer, an Internet connection and a digital talking book player such as Humanware's Victor Reader Stream or Plextor's Plextalk Pocket DAISY book player/recorder.
After filling out a simple online application at the Bard website, readers will receive e-mails containing a user name and password as well as a user key which must be installed on their digital book player in order to enable playing of recorded content. Having completed this process, readers may log into BARD and access NLS's catalog of talking books and magazines.
Sporting a simple, no-frills user interface, BARD lets readers search the catalog by keywords such as an author's name or book title, or, if browsing is more to their liking, readers can peruse lists of recently-added books or the complete catalog organized by author, title or subject. Using these methods, it's easy, then, to locate available titles by such authors as Patricia Cornwell, Nelson De Mille or John Grisham, for example, to browse the humor section and locate titles by Tim Allen or Dave Barry, or peruse the music section and find Room Full of Mirrors, Charles Cross's biography of Jimi Hendrix, a must-read for Jimi fans.
In the magazine section, readers can obtain current issues of their favorite magazines such as Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction, Bon Appetit, Contemporary Soundtrack, National Geographic or Sports Illustrated, to name just a few. Back issues of these magazines are available there as well.
Tired of waiting days or even weeks for a talking book or magazine to arrive in your mailbox, only to find that a tape's missing or all snarled up? Go see the Bard and download your book or magazine in mere minutes! Transfer it from your computer to your digital book player and you're good to go! How cool is that?
BARD