by Billie Jean Keith
The announcement of new products and services in this column should not be considered an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The Braille Forum” cannot be responsible for the reliability of products and services mentioned.
To submit an item for “Here and There,” send an e-mail message to billiejean@2keiths.com. You may call the ACB toll-free number (800) 424-8666, and leave a message at extension 26. Please bear in mind that we need information two months ahead of actual publication dates.
Help Desk
The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind now offers a Technology Help Desk for consumers. This service is available from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To use this service, call (617) 626-7617. The help desk currently supports speech, screen magnification, braille, OCR and notetakers deployed by the Commission’s Adaptive Technology for the Blind Program. If you have questions, contact Joe Lazzaro at (617) 626-7575.
Expanded Guide
“Disability Information at Your Fingertips” is a guide to toll-free telephone numbers and on-line resources for and about people with disabilities. This guide has quadrupled in size since its first publication in 1994. It lists the toll-free phone numbers and web addresses for more than 500 national non-profit organizations and government agencies. There are numbers for telecommunications devices for the deaf, and numbers for bilingual services. Single copies cost $10 and must be prepaid. To order, or for more information, contact Disability Resources, Inc., 4 Glatter Ln., Centereach, NY 11720-1032, or phone (631) 585-0290.
Talking Numeric Pager
CPR Technology is offering a talking numeric pager that displays the number and has both vibration and audio alert tones. The pager can repeat any message stored in its memory, read the message number and time received, has a built-in talking clock and other features. Users must purchase paging services for the device to be operational. For more information, contact CPR Technology, phone (877) 277-5237, visit the web site, http://www.talkingpager.com, or by mail from CPR Technology, 640 Dean St., Brooklyn, NY 11238.
Prescription Drug Benefits for Veterans
Veterans should know about an important prescription drug benefit available from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A 30-day supply of prescription medications costs only $2 through the VA. Disabled or low-income veterans can receive medications at no cost. To be eligible for this benefit, a veteran must have been honorably discharged from military service, must enroll with the VA, and must be seen by a VA physician. The VA may charge for a doctor visit, but your insurance may cover this charge. Veterans who are disabled or have a low income can visit doctors at no cost. If you would like to find out more about this and other health benefits through the VA, call toll-free (877) 222-8387.
If you are a veteran with a visual impairment, call the Blinded Veterans Association. Your vision loss does not have to be service connected to receive free services from the BVA. Call toll-free (800) 669-7079, or (202) 371-8880.
Listserv for Aspiring Broadcasters
If you are 15 years old or older, and wish to join a list called Broadcast Conversations, read on. This list was formed to discuss issues for aspiring broadcasters who are blind, and covers topics such as accessible broadcast equipment and searching for work in the broadcast industry. If interested, send a message to Kevin Wassmer at wasy25@attglobal.net, or call him at (801) 568-9940.
Access to On-Line Learning
Before he left office, President Clinton announced the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Education’s Learning Anywhere Anytime Program to establish a partnership with industry to make on-line learning resources accessible to people with disabilities. According to the press release, the SALT (Standards for Accessible Learning Technologies) Partnership is a four-year initiative to develop and promote open access specifications and effective models to enable people with disabilities to have equal access to the growing wealth of on-line learning resources. Initial partners include Blackboard, Inc., Educational Testing Service (ETS), Microsoft Corporation, Pearson Education, Sun Microsystems, PeopleSoft, Saba Software, and the United Kingdom’s Open University.
For more information, contact Mary Watkins/Media Access Group at WGBH, phone (617) 300-3700, TTY (617) 300-2459, or e-mail mary_watkins@wgbh.org. You may also visit the web site, http://www.wgbh.org/access.
Computer Manuals and Tutorials
A United Kingdom-based computer expert with a visual impairment has written several manuals and tutorials emphasizing keyboard use for more effective computer access for people with visual impairments.
John Wilson, the author of these manuals, sells them for $18 each, with a special price of $50 for five “From the Keyboard” manuals (excluding the tutorials for Microsoft Word and the Internet). He will be happy to e-mail the table of contents for any manuals and tutorials listed below, to enable the computer user to see the comprehensive scope of his work. Send an e-mail to jwjw@cwcom.net.
Titles include: “Using Textbridge Pro 9 and Textbridge Millennium From the Keyboard With Speech To Read Print”; “Using Readris Pro 6.0 From the Keyboard With Speech to Read Print”; “Using TypeReader Pro 6.0 From the Keyboard With Speech to Read Print”; “Using Textbridge Pro 98 and Textbridge 98 Classic From the Keyboard With Speech to Read Print”; “Microsoft Word 97 From the Keyboard the Windows Way”; and “Accessing the Internet From the Keyboard.”
Brailler Repair Service
An ACB member gives high praise about the repair of his 22-year-old Perkins Brailler. According to the endorsement, Mr. Ackley takes the brailler apart, soaks it in a cleaning solvent, then in a lubricant. If you opt to have a full engineering upgrade, any parts that have been improved since the machine’s manufacture will be replaced to bring the machine up to current specifications. The basic service charge is $45. The total for the full engineering upgrade was about $100 (including the basic service charge, new parts, and a new factory carton for shipping the brailler). For information, contact Ackley Appliance Service, 4301 Park Avenue #540, Des Moines, IA 50321; phone (515) 288-3931; e-mail aackley@braillerman.com; web site http://www.braillerman.com.
Free Accessible Software
Justin Daubenmire, a computer programmer who is blind, has released two free professionally produced programs designed specifically to work with screen readers. The programs will run on Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000 and are free to anyone. The free programs are a screen reader accessible MP3 player and a screen reader accessible calendar program. Computer users are welcome to download either program at http://public.surfree.com/rdauben/software.htm.
Do Not Pet Signs
We know that guide dogs should not be distracted or petted while in harness, but the general public does not know. A guide dog user tried many different signs to dissuade people from petting his dog, and after two years trying various signs, he settled on the international one. The sign boldly states “DO NOT” and shows a hand in a circle with a line drawn across the hand. David and Pat Caldwell now make and sell these signs.
Choose either an embroidered sign or one made with permanent paint ironed into the fabric. Both models are bright red and white and are washable. The cost for either sign is $7, which includes packing and postage. Pat Caldwell is a professional seamstress and sews artwork that looks like stained glass. To order, contact David Caldwell, 1925 White St., Nanty Glo, PA 15943, phone (814) 749-8998, or e-mail pavid24@gte.net.
Ideas for New Products Sought
Have you invented or produced a gadget that is helpful to you as a blind person? For the past two years, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has presented awards to people who have suggested or developed the prototype of a product to be manufactured by APH. There are no deadlines or guidelines for submission, since this is not a competition, but an ongoing program because products can take years to develop. The award commemorates the service of Virgil Zickel, plant manager at APH for 27 years.
A list of some past recipients and products may spark ideas. Nancy Rinker designed a lightweight, portable reading easel for visually impaired students; Marcia Gevers designed MasterPlan Calendar, specially designed for low vision needs; and Alex Snow (age 12) devised a binder that helps manage braille paper.
For more information, call Roberta Williams in the public affairs office, (800) 223-1839 or (502) 895-2405, or e-mail rwilliams@aph.org.
Recipes by E-Mail
Get great recipes by e-mail. This free service will provide many different recipes for any dish you want to prepare. To get a recipe, send an e-mail to recipes@recipesbyemail.com, (note, no hyphen in the word “email”). Write your search term on the subject line, such as “chicken,” or “lemon pie.” Leave the body of the message blank. When a list of recipes arrives, note the numbers of the recipes you want, then send another message with only one selected recipe number on the subject line. Send separate messages for each recipe choice. In a matter of seconds, you’ll have results. Now save them or print them in braille, large print or keep an electronic cookbook of favorite recipes.
Music CD for Sale
The Bloomington chapter of ACBI is selling a music CD as a fundraiser. “Light and Shadow” features 18 American and Russian folk songs performed by ACB member Suzanne Ament. Checks for $15 should be made payable to: ACBI Bloomington Chapter, and addressed to Bloomington Chapter, P.O. Box 1131, Bloomington, IN 47402-1131. For information, e-mail byron@indiana.edu.
Graduate Scholarships
The University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), Department of Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education (CARE) has a limited number of graduate student scholarships that pay full tuition and a monthly stipend to help defray college expenses for students interested in master’s degrees in orientation and mobility and/or rehabilitation teaching for people who are blind or visually impaired.
The 42-hour master’s degree program can be completed on a full-time basis in 14-18 months and does not require GRE scores for entrance. While these are non-traditional teaching disciplines, they do not require students to have a teaching background for eligibility. Potential candidates should call Dr. Bill Jacobson, O & M program coordinator (501) 569-8505 or e-mail whjacobson@ualr.edu. For the RT program, call Dr. Patricia Smith (501) 569-3169 or e-mail pbsmith@ualr.edu.
E-Book Technology
AFB Talking Books, the audio publishing arm of the American Foundation for the Blind, and Time Warner AudioBooks have joined forces to produce the first audio e-book sampler from a major publisher using NISO/DAISY technology: a brand-new, digitally synchronized audio and text program, compatible with both computers and e-books. This e-book sampler offers unique navigational features, and displays the book’s text on screen or in braille, fully synchronized with the narrator’s voice. To download the free demonstration of the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., visit AFB’s accessible web site, www.afb.org.
Yarn Info in Braille and Cassette
Huff Services offers an alphabetical yarn list, containing brand name, fiber content, ounces or grams per skein (ball), and how many yards in each skein. “Types of Yarn” in Braille (28 pages) is $10.25, and the cassette version is $5. Contact Kathy Huff, phone (859) 746-0800 during business hours Monday - Friday from 11 AM to 5 PM (Eastern time), or e-mail her at huffservices@juno.com. Orders must be prepaid to Huff Services, 25 Edward Ave., Florence, KY 41042.
Listserv for Visually Impaired Crafters
This new list is in the category of Crafts/Knitting. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail message to VIP-SHEEP-TALK-subscribe@egroups.com.
Internet By Phone
Philmore Productions provides a service that allows access to the Internet including sending/receiving e-mail, browsing web pages and retrieving Usenet articles via a touch-tone phone. Information is conveyed by a computerized voice or can be sent to a fax machine. You may use your own POP3-compliant mailbox or the company can provide you with an e-mail address. For more information, please visit the web site at http://www.net-by-phone.com, e-mail phil@philmore.net, or call toll-free (877) 638-2974.
Braille Into the Next Millennium
Braille literacy is a vital concern of advocacy groups of individuals who are blind and service providers. A 600-page anthology of articles entitled “Braille: Into the Next Millennium” underscores the importance of braille literacy.
The publication, written by more than two dozen international experts, and edited by Judith Dixon, consumer relations officer for NLS, has been published jointly by the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) and the Friends of Libraries for Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals in North America.
NLS readers can order the book in braille and recorded formats. Single print copies are available at no cost from the Reference Section, NLS/BPH, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20542. For more information, contact Robert Fistick, head of publications and media, phone (202) 707-9279, e-mail rfis@loc.gov, NLS web site www.loc.gov/nls.
New Educational Software List
The BlindKid-Software list has been created to promote discussion of educational software and non-violent computer games for children who are blind. Discussion of non-computer games, toys and educational materials useful for working with children are welcome. To join, send a message to BlindKid-Software-subscribe@egroups.com.