Tech Chat 46 covered tips on how to plan for an unexpected emergency; food, water, first aid kit, concerns of the disabled, caring for pets, staying or leaving, and more.
View Tech chat 46 – emergency Preparedness Via Accessible Event
Listen to 32 Minute MP3 on Emergency Preparedness
Thanks to everyone who purchased Serotek products between Black Friday, November 27 and Cyber Monday, November 30. We were excited to see so many people joining the Serotek community for the first time, and we were happy to see so many long-time customers purchasing SAMNet subscriptions, new text-to-speech engines, and lots more. And for one lucky person, the excitement doesn’t end with the purchase of a Serotek product. Access to digital talking books, music, and content from the System Access Mobile Network will soon be in the palm of this person’s hands. The winner, who will receive a choice between the Victor Reader Stream and the PLEXTALK Pocket, is …
Audrey Farnum from Warr Acres,
If you didn’t win but would still like access to all your content in one small and affordable package, you can still purchase either of these devices without breaking the bank. Purchase the Victor Reader Stream for $329, or the Plextalk Pocket for $349.
For more information about these devices or any other Serotek products, call us at (612) 246-4818 or visit
Happy Holidays from the Serotek Team.
read Mike Calvo’s latest Serotek blog post about the latest overpriced
under-performing product to make its way in to the blind ghetto from Intel and Humanware.
What I Think About the Intel Reader
In SeroTalk Podcast 25, Michael Lauf and Ricky discussed:
i-Blink Radio for the iPhone Lets you Hear Radio Stations, Reading Services and Podcasts
AT&T changes policy to now allow VoIP over 3G for the iPhone
Apple releases iPhone OS 3.1.2 with 3 bug fixes
Microsoft Research demoes five multitouch mice
Windows Mobile 6.5 arrives with new marketplace and cloud sync
Download Free Microsoft Security Essentials Antivirus and Malware
Kurzweil K1000 V12 to Ship in Mid-October
We also spoke with Michael Breyer, auto mechanic and entrepeneur.
This past Wednesday, Apple held a media event to showcase new products. With a musical theme, Apple announced many exciting developments, particularly of interest to people who are blind. With the introduction of the Voiceover screen reader for the iPod Touch and an updated Voiceover interface for the iPod Nano, as well as accessibility updates to the iPhone OS utilized on both the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple clearly demonstrated its commitment to universal access across its product line. In an ironic twist, in fact, the blind community got much of what we have been asking for in terms of access to these devices, while the larger sighted world did not get what they most expected–a camera for the iPod Touch. To my knowledge, this has never happened before.
It isn’t all roses and candy, though. Apple also released iTunes version 9.0, which, while introducing many desirable features, such as the ability to share tracks from several computers in the same household and an expansion of the genius playlist options, also broke accessibility to the iTunes store. Access to the iTunes store has become more difficult and cumbersome on the Mac platform, and it has become all but unusable under Windows.
I have personally been a mac user for a while. (I got a Mac when Tiger first came out with Voiceover, then had some time away, then returned with my current MacBook in 2007.) I in particular, and Serotek in general, have been very excited by Apple’s commitment to universal access across their entire product line. Those of you who follow our blogs and podcasts know that we are thrilled that access for the blind has reached nearly every Apple product. We aren’t talking about just token access either, but real access that allows blind Mac, iPhone, and iPod users to be very productive with these very high profile and very mainstream devices.
That said, accessibility has taken a back seat in this release of iTunes. To say the least, we are disappointed that iTunes has taken an accessibility hit, especially on the Windows side, and especially in light of Apple’s otherwise excellent commitment to universal accessibility.
Just like Apple, Serotek believes that the blind community deserves access to the modern digital lifestyle. We have, over the course of our existence, steadily broken down the walls of our blind ghetto and championed the cause of universal access to mainstream digital products and services. With such a similar philosophy, it’s easy to see why Serotek has been beating the Apple drum since the release of the 4th Generation iPod Nano.
Our slogan, “Accessibility anywhere”, isn’t just a great tag line. It’s something that we at Serotek believe passionately, and it’s what gets us up in the morning. We use this stuff ourselves every day. We understand that our computers and music players aren’t just used for work anymore. The digital lifestyle is more and more pervasive, and if we are to truly be a part of the larger community and finish breaking down those walls, it is imperative that we have the ability to participate fully in our modern digital world. As a company passionate about our right to accessibility of the digital lifestyle, we believe that access to the market leader in the digital music player space is essential. It’s even more essential because Apple’s accessibility philosophy so closely parallels ours.
We wanted access to iTunes under Windows, just as we had before version 9.0 was rolled out, and we wanted it as soon as possible. So, rather than waiting for Apple to fix the problem, we fixed it ourselves. We have done this by providing the accessibility framework for the iTunes store. Beginning now, any blind person has the ability to access the iTunes store using the latest version of Apple’s media management software, with complete access to its entire interface. The ability to use the iTunes store under iTunes version 9.0 is available to any user of System Access or System Access To Go. So, whether you own our stand-alone product or use our free, Internet-based solution, you can take full advantage of all that iTunes has to offer. We therefore invite and encourage all blind people to use our services to access the iTunes store. And with www.satogo.com, you can even use it free–just like any sighted person can.
As exciting as this is on its own, our work hasn’t stopped there. The work we’ve done for iTunes actually goes far beyond solving the iTunes problem. It has the potential to be much more far-reaching.
The new version of the iTunes store is built with Webkit, the engine that runs Apple’s Safari browser. As you may be aware, Webkit (and, consequently, any Webkit-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Apple’s Safari) has been conspicuously inaccessible on Windows. In adding accessibility for iTunes, we have put the pieces together to make Webkit accessible. We will furthermore be contributing this accessibility code to the Webkit community. This means that Webkit- based browsers for Windows have the very real potential to be accessible to us with only a minimum of effort by browser developers. This means more choices for us all, and more choices are never a bad thing.
We at Serotek are happy that the walls between our community and our specialized products, and the sighted world at large, are tumbling down. It’s an exciting time to be blind, and we see real, radical, and wonderful changes in what accessibility means. We are excited to be at the forefront of these changes, and we are enthusiastically tearing down the walls that divide us from our sighted brothers and sisters.
IN SeroTalk Podcast 19, Michael Lauf, Ricky enger and Mike Calvo discussed the BrainPort that will allow blind and deaf-blind people to see with their tongue, HumanWare’s giveaway of four BlackBerry Smartphones, GW Micro’s BookSense book player and audio recorder and the 2009 ACB and NFB conventions. Mike Calvo reviewed the MSI WindTop AE1900.
Doug Hunsinger compares the FoxL and Altec Lansing bluetooth speakers, and raps up the podcast with a comparison between the Sangean HDT1 and Sony XDR-F1HD AM-FM– HD tuners.
Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 19 – Seeing With Your Tongue Plus Five Product Reviews
For the Serotek team, the NFB and ACB conventions are among the most
exciting of the year. Booth staffers at each event spent the week
showcasing the latest Serotek products, as well as meeting new people and
catching up with old friends. It was a delight for all of us to shake
hands, trade stories, and share enthusiasm for technology with thousands
of members of the blind community.
Now that the exhibit halls are closed and we’re all back home, we want to
express our appreciation for the support that you, the Serotek family,
have given us.
As we announced last Friday, one lucky person who purchased System Access Mobile would receive a Lenovo IdeaPad Netbook. And, one runner-up in that drawing would receive a year of access to the SA Mobile Network
to complement their System Access Mobile software.
The runner-up winner is…Arthur Letim of the Philippines! Congratulations
Arthur! We look forward to seeing you in forums and chats, and we are
excited to have you as a member of the SAMNet community.
And the winner, the lucky person to be the envy of everyone while sporting
the sleek, stylish, and powerful Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook is…Hazel
Darvell of Buckinghamshire, UK! Congratulations Hazel! We know you’ll
enjoy living the accessible digital lifestyle wherever you go.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in this week’s contest, and to
each and every one of you who make it such a joy to be a part of this
community.
The Serotek Team
In Tech Chat 23, Shane Jackson gives a 30 minute demo of the iPhone 3G S and answers numerous questions.
Shane Jackson Blog and Podcast – www.BlindWorldBlog.BlogSpot.com
Follow Shane Jackson on Twitter
Email Shane Jackson with Your iPhone Questions.
Listen to shane’s podcast in iTunes by searching for either Shane Jackson or blindworldblog all one word.
Listen to Tech chat 23 – 30 Minute Demo of the iPhone 3G s Plus Many Questions Answered
Join us this and every Thursday evening at our new time of 9PM Eastern or 6PM Pacific in the Tech Room for our weekly Tech Chat, recorded and made available as a podcast. Tonight, our special guest is Shane Jackson, who will be telling us about how to use the iPhone 3G S, and answering your questions. Not a member of SAMNet? No problem, just download and run the program below to join us between 8:30 and 11:30 Eastern.
Download chat client to join us live Thursdays at 9PM Eastern.
It’s convention time again, and whether you’re headed to the
Are you ready to jump in to the accessible digital lifestyle in a big way? Now is the perfect time to do just that. Purchase Serotek’s award-winning System Access screen reader for $499, and be entered in a drawing to win the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook. System Access Mobile provides a license for two computers, plus the ability to install System Access on a U3 thumb drive for the ultimate in portability and accessibility anywhere life takes you. And when you purchase System Access Mobile between midnight EST Friday July 3 and 12 PM EST Friday July 10, you’ll be automatically entered in a drawing to win the sleek and stylish IdeaPad S10 notebook. With a 1.6GHZ Intel atom processor, 80GB hard drive, 6-cell battery, 1GB RAM, built-in high-speed wireless and LAN access, built-in webcam and microphone, and much more, this netbook is the ideal social networking PC.
The winner will be announced at 3 PM EST Friday July 10 via Serotek’s public announcements list.
At about 2 pounds, measuring around 7 inches wide and 10 inches long, the MSI Wind Netbook is no ordinary notebook PC. With built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi connectivity, you can access the Internet immediately. The speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, combined with a 3-cell battery, enables up to 3 hours of battery life for a more mobile lifestyle. Windows XP Home Edition comes pre-loaded, so you’ll have no trouble using all of your favorite Windows applications. The ergonomically designed keyboard is only 20% smaller than a full-sized keyboard, so you can type comfortably whether you’re doing a quick Web search, posting to your blog, or taking notes in class. The 160 GB hard disk provides plenty of room for your music, audio books, and other digital media. The 10-inch wide-screen LCD, with an LED backlight for extra brightness, is perfect for mobile Web browsing. The built-in webcam is ideal for video-enabled chat programs such as Skype. And with the included System Access Atom license, you’ll have accessibility anywhere you go.
With this revolutionary all-in-one desktop PC and built-in touch screen, you can launch all your favorite applications simply by touching the icons on the screen. Including an Intel dual core 1.6GHz Atom processor, 2GB memory, 250 GB hard drive, DVD drive supporting dual layer burning, built-in gigabit LAN and wireless 802.11b/g/n, and SRS premium sound, this unit has everything you need right at your fingertips. If you don’t want to use the built-in touch screen, the unit also comes with keyboard and mouse to access all your applications in the traditional way. The unit comes loaded with Windows Vista Home Basic, and at 18.7 x 1.9 x 14.4 inches, this PC packs a whole lot of power in a sleek and compact design.
Begin taking advantage of these great specials.
if you are a new customer. If you already have a Serotek account, whether as a