New Microsoft Accessibility Website

Accessibility Services, Assistive Technology Products 1 Response »
Jul 272010

Microsoft is pleased to announce the new Microsoft Accessibility Website

Access Button

Access Button

which was recently redesigned and released.  A key goal of the website is to make it easier to find information either by product name or by type of content such as Tutorials, Guides, and Centers.

The website features information about different types of assistive technology and the ability to purchase those, along with Demos and Tutorials on how to use the products.

Also featured, is the new Accessibility Today video.  You can view this video to find out more about Microsoft’s efforts to create technology that is accessible to everyone.

Posted by jtutton at 8:17 am Tagged with: , ,

Accessibility features for IBM Lotus Symphony

Accessibility Services No Responses »
Jul 262010
IBM Lotus Symphony Software

IBM Lotus Symphony Software

IBM Lotus Symphony software is an office suite for creating, editing, and sharing word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.  The software is available free of charge, and offers accessibility features to support individuals with disabilities.

Accessibility features help users with disabilities to use information technology products successfully.  The following list provides more information about the IBM Lotus Symphony accessibility features:

  • Access to all functions by keyboard.
  • Improved readability of screen contents.
  • Zooming of on-screen user interface for menus, icons, and documents.

Accessibility features of the Lotus Symphony software allows all users to effectively use the software and provides a free software for users to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Visit the IBM website to download the Lotus Symphony software to your computer.

Posted by jtutton at 8:16 am Tagged with: , ,

FREE Accessibility Webinar

Accessibility Services, Online Workshops No Responses »
Jul 202010
Access Button

Access Button

Hans Hillen from TPG is presenting a Flex Accessibility Webinar in conjunction with Adobe.

What: A FREE Adobe Flex Accessibility Webinar

When: July 21, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. EST

Where: To attend, simply join in the meeting room at http://seminars.adobe.acrobat.com/a11y, no registration or password required.

Captions will be available during the webinar.

You can visit the Adobe website to leave any comments or questions  you may have about the event.

Join the meeting room on July 21st to learn about web accessibility!

Posted by jtutton at 8:12 am Tagged with: , ,

New Readability Tool Built Into Safari 5

Accessibility Reviews No Responses »
Jul 132010
Safari Reader

Safari Reader

Readers, a new feature of Safari 5, removes visual distractions from Web pages.  These distractions can be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities or anyone that gets distracted by many advertisements and images strung along the outskirts of a webpage.

Safari Reader removes advertisements and other visual distractions from online articles.  This enables the reader to get the whole story and nothing but the story.

It works like this: While browsing the web, Safari detects if you are on a web page with an article.  If you click the Reader Icon near the web address field, the article will appear instantly in one continuous, clutter-free view. You are then able to see every page of the article, without the other advertisements and images there to cause a distraction.  Onscreen controls also allow you to email, print, and zoom while viewing the article.  You are also able to change the text size, to read more easily, and Safari will remember your setting the next time you view an article in Safari Reader.

You can find out more information about how to use this feature by visiting the Apple Website.

Posted by jtutton at 9:27 am Tagged with: ,

Indiana University Helps Students with Disabilities Succeed

Accessibility Services No Responses »
Jul 062010
Indiana University

Indiana University

The Indiana University School of Continuing Studies (SCS) distance education program offers opportunities for people with disabilities to further their education outside a traditional classroom.  The distance-learning program helps students to achieve their high school or higher education academic goals through online courses and one-on-one support from instructors and staff.

SCS offers:

  • Two general studies undergraduate degrees
  • One adult education graduate degree
  • More than 195 university and more than 100 high school courses
  • A high school diploma
  • Professional development

“Our program is perfect for individuals who may not want to, be able to, or work best in a classroom environment to work in their own environment at their own pace. We allow an entire year to complete a course, where most universities are strictly on a semester timeline.”

–Eileen Balliet, SCS disabilities coordinator

The distance education program also offers the following accommodations: a reader and/or scribe, audiotaped or enlarged-print exams, adaptive hardware and software, and more.

To learn more about this program, visit the Indiana University School of Continuing Studies website or contact Eileen Balliet at (800) 334-1011 or eballiet@indiana.edu

Posted by jtutton at 10:02 am Tagged with: , ,

Apple iPhone 4 Shows New Accessibility Features

Accessibility Services 5 Responses »
Jun 302010
Apple iPhone 4

Apple iPhone 4

As Apple launches their iPhone 4, new accessibility features will be available to help people with disabilities.  Accessibility features provide support for vision, hearing, and physical and motor skill disabilities.  The following are some of the new accessibility features that the new Apple iPhone 4 will provide:

Screen Reading with VoiceOver: Instead of memorizing keyboard commands or pressing tiny arrow keys, the iPhone 4 allows you to simply touch the screen to hear a description of the item under your finger. You are then able to double tap, drag, or flick to control the iPhone.  VoiceOver speaks 21 languages and works with all the applications built into the iPhone4.

Support for Wireless Braille Displays and International Braille Tables: The new Apple iPhone 4 supports more than 30 bluetooth wireless braille displays -no additional software needed.  The iPhone 4 includes braille tables for over 25 international languages.

Typing Improvements: Touch Typing is an optional, new way for blind or visually impaired people to type of the onscreen keyboard. With Touch Typing, you can run your finger across the keyboard, listening to VoiceOver speak each letter aloud. When you get to the letter you want, lift your finger to select it.

Zoom and Magnify: Zoom on the iPhone allows users to magnify the entire screen of any application up to five times normal size.

White on Black for Higher Contrast: If you prefer higher contrast, iPhone 4 lets you change the display to white on black.

Support for Closed Captioning: iPhone supports the playback of open captions, closed captions, and subtitling. Captions appear onscreen just like the closed captions you see on TV.

Find out more information about the iPhone 4 on the Apple website.

Posted by jtutton at 1:29 pm Tagged with: ,
Older Entries Newer Entries
© 2012 Indiana Assistive Technology Blog Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha