Feature: Labeling Devices Make Life Easier for the Blind
Identifying objects by touch when both boxes and pills feel similar can be tough for any blind or visually impaired person. For instance, which pill bottle is the High Blood Pressure medicine and which are the heart pills. Which box are the Macaroni and Cheese dinner and which one is the chicken dinner? How about documents? Which document is the letter from my dentist and which one goes to the IRS? Which shirt is the Boston Red Sox shirt and which shirt is the golf shirt? This is where the Penfriend and Touch Memo solve some of these labeling dilemmas.
From www.matildaziegler.com, October 03, 2011
TechNews: AT&T releases Mobile Accessibility Lite for the Visually Impaired or Blind
If you’re visually impaired or you know someone who is, and you want to help them experience their smartphone in an easier way, AT&T has just announced the Mobile Accessibility Lite application by Code Factory. It brings to the table a suite of accessible applications that will allow a user with visual impairment to enjoy common tasks that regular Android users do everyday.
From www.ubergizmo.com, October 03, 2011
Feature: For Blind New Yorkers, a Different and Complex Relationship with Technology
Article which shows the degree to which mobile devices are key enablers for persons with disabilities, especially the blind. There are an estimated 120,000 New Yorkers who are blind and nearly 1 million with vision disabilities, according to estimates from The New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. New York has always been one of the more navigable cities for the blind. People with visual impairments use many of the senses sighted people take for granted but use constantly. They feel the direction of traffic along avenues by the swooshing of cars driving by; count blocks in the grid above Houston Street; note stops on public transportation and listen for subway announcements as the train pulls into stations; ask for directions from their many neighbors on the streets.
From www.capitalnewyork.com, October 02, 2011
USA: Smartphones Get Health-related Apps After FDA Clearance
Mobile Health: When Dr. Brian Froelke joined emergency responders in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., in May, he brought along a Toshiba smartphone with a hairbrush-size gadget attached. The device, made by Redmond (Wash.) startup Mobisante, converts a phone into a pocket ultrasound machine. Froelke used it to examine a pregnant woman who came to a temporary hospital complaining of stomach pain. “It was helpful to reassure the mom that the baby didn’t have any obvious problems,” Froelke says.
From www.businessweek.com, September 29, 2011
TechNews: iPad Apps for Children with Special Needs
Aimed at early years and children with special needs, these motivational apps designed by Inclusive Technology have been carefully selected to meet a range of needs.
From www.inclusive.co.uk, September 27, 2011
TechNews: Web Accessibility and Older People
Older people and web accessibility – not as straightforward as you think? A Slideshare presentation by David Sloan. The presentation covers age-related accessibility issues, including sensory: vision, hearing; motor: dexterity; cognitive.
From www.slideshare.net/sloandr, September 27, 2011
TechNews: iPhone 101: Using iOS Accessibility To Make Text Larger
Following Stevie Wonder's high praise of the accessibility features found in iOS, we thought we'd take a closer look at some of the features available to make using the iPhone a whole lot easier for those who are visually impaired.
From www.tuaw.com, September 27, 2011
Australia: Apps on iPad and iPod Help Special Needs Kids In School
Since the beginning of term two, the school has used software, or apps, on iPads and iPods to provide its autistic, non-verbal and intellectually delayed or disabled students with new ways to engage.
The apps, Look2Learn and Proloquo2Go, allow kids to communicate with touch screens by selecting an “I want” button before pressing a picture of, for example, a water bottle.
From southern-courier.whereilive.com.au, September 26, 2011
mHealth: Health Care Goes Mobile
The rapidly moving fields of medical technology and IT have found unique ways to work together, combining mobile communications with health-related applications. With tremendous potential health benefits, the need for mobile medical apps is clear. However, as this new industry takes off, it is necessary that a regulatory framework be developed to ensure the highest safety standards for these devices.
From themarknews.com, September 26, 2011
USA: Department of Transportation Proposes Accessible Airport Check-in Kiosks
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing to require that many air travel websites, as well as automated airport check-in kiosks, be made accessible to people with disabilities. What should the standards for web and kiosk accessibility be? Which websites and how many kiosks should be covered? How long should companies have to make the changes? Data about the benefits, costs, and feasibility of these changes will be very important to DOT’s final decisions.
From http://regulationroom.org/, September 26, 2011
