A Tip for Your NLS Talking Book Player

So, I've found lots of tutorials for the NLS Digital Talking Book Player, and there is a built-in guide and manual. However, the one thing I have not seen mentioned is how to get the serial number and version of your player. This is needed for getting downloads specifically for your player, such as an RFBD user authorization key to play your RFBD books on your NLS Digital Talking Book Player (yes you can do this!). So I thought I'd make a quick note of how to find your serial number for this.

1. Turn your player on without a cartridge or flash drive in the player.
2. Press the Sleep button (the half-moon) ten times until it says "Serial Number."
3. Write down your serial number for future reference. It will repeat the information (serial number and version) until you press the play/stop button (the large, bright green button between the bottom arrow buttons).
4. Now you have the serial number of your NLS player, you can enter it to authorize it to play RFBD books!

Straight Talk about Vision Loss

While visiting the National Federation of the Blind website's audio/video center, I came across a great program called Straight Talk. This is a web-based video series hosted by the NFB Jernigan Institute's executive director. It discusses "issues surrounding blindness and vision loss," according to the NFB page about the series, found at NFB Straight Talk. The latest in the series was recorded at the 2010 NFB National convention in Dallas, Texas, and is about Blackboard 9.1, the version that many schools use today.

Just a Little Game to Busy Your Mind

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I'm just sitting there bored, waiting for a book or movie to download, waiting for a webpage to load, or just waiting for a phone call. I hate just sitting there, but really don't want to do anything sometimes...so I play a little game called Finger Panic.

This game is free and so very simple. It doesn't have any instructions, so you have to either do trial and error or...well, read my post about it, because I'm going to give you a few hints about the game.

First of all, you are placed at random in a five by five square grid. You are trying to find the orbs (I call them orbs, they are just a sound, really. The creators call them crackerjacks). Every time you get an orb, the timer speeds up. It doesn't tell you how long you have left, which means you can't panic at the last second, so just play every second as if it is your last!

Now, a hint. When you run into a wall, it gives you a boom sound. Find a corner, where the boom sound is on two sides when you try to go in those directions. From there, scan the rows back and forth by hitting an arrow key four times one way, over the next way, and on. For example, I might start in the bottom left corner. I go up four times, right once, down four times, right once, up four times, etc. until I get to the far side. Then I like to switch it up, left four times, down once, right four times, etc. You have to be very fast to get many. My high score of yet is 700 (you get 50 points for each orb you collect, so that's 14 orbs).

The game can be found at BSC Games.

enjoy!

New Outside Descriptions at Walt Disney World!

My boyfriend and I are planning for a week-and-a-half trip to Orlando next year. There are three reasons. First, my bf hasn't been since 1989 and I haven't been since 1999 (I was there for the Millenium celebration, and his first visit in 1979 was a month after Walt Disney World first opened). Second, we both need a nice vacation, especially with the coming school year (both of us have been out of school for a while). Third, the National Federation of the Blind will have their annual convention in Orlando next year. Oh yea...there's a fourth reason, then: It will be WDW's 40th anniversary celebration year.

In light of all these reasons, we have been doing a lot of research on the accessibility of WDW based on our multiple needs. He has severe allergies to evergreens, so Fort Wilderness was out, and I have chronic pain and mobility impairment that will mean using a wheelchair part-time at the theme parks. These needs were easily met with the wonderful accessibility of Walt Disney World. However, we were not fully satisfied with the accessibility for blind people. Being both legaly blind, navigation and orientation would be important; I also need description to keep up with the visual cues on rides that I would otherwise miss out on. Now we will be completely happy, as not nly does WDW have audio description of rides, they also have audio descriptions of outside areas! No more getting lost, I thought, as I read the article (see below). I'll let the article speak for itself, and I hope you will find as much pleasure in this new access at Disney World as my boyfriend and I will when we go next year.

If you have some vision- click on the link as there are graphics and
pictures showing what the device looks like and such.

Here's the text of this article:

Outdoor Audio Description Technology for Guests with Disabilities
Beginning on June 27, guests with visual disabilities will be able to
explore Walt Disney World theme parks in a whole new way. Using a
Disney-designed Assistive Technology Device guests will now be able to
explore the parks accompanied with an audio description of all the sights.
This easy-to-use device is obtained at any theme park guest relations
window. It is offered at no cost with a refundable deposit. It comes with a
headset and strap so you can hang it around your neck. Disney conducted a
number of focus groups with organizations for the blind to help them create
an easy to understand machine that can be mastered in a few minutes.

I spent an hour today with an Assistive Technology Device (ATD) at Disney's
Hollywood Studios. As I walked from area to area, the ATD would come alive
and vibrate as I passed hidden sensors. Then it would provide me with a
fairly accurate description of my location. For example, it would announce,
"You are on Pixar Place near the restrooms" or "You are in Animation
Courtyard between Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Playhouse Disney." If at
any time I needed a reminder of where I was at, I could push a button and
the ATD would repeat the last announced location.

Another button provided me with a general description of my surroundings.
When the recording finished, I was given the option to hear more information
in six categories. These were (1) a more detailed description of the area,
(2) nearby attractions (3) nearby restrooms, (4) nearby restaurants, (5)
entertainment, and (6) shopping. From these, I could drill down for even
more detailed information.

Another automatic feature of the ATD is Attraction Descriptions. When I
boarded Toy Story Mania, the ATD started automatically and provided me with
a detailed commentary of all the sights along the way. I never had to push
any button.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I've included a short audio
clip from the Haunted Mansion. The first voice you hear is that of the Ghost
Host. Following our disembodied spirit is the ATD voice describing a few of
the sights.

The ATD can also be used by the hearing impaired. Although I did not get to
try this feature, I was told it works in all attractions and the ride or
show's dialog is automatically displayed on the screen.

I spoke with Bob Minnick, Manager - Facility Safety and Accessibility. I
asked him if the ATD could be easily updated as things are constantly
changing at WDW. He told me that Disney partnered with WGBH Boston in the
development of this device. I was assured that all Disney needed to do was
provide a new script to WGBH and an updated recording could be made an
uploaded in very little time. When I asked if these devices would be
available at the resorts, Bob told me that Disney's objective at the moment
is to bring Disneyland online with the ATD. After that, they will assess the
demand and need for further expansion.

Disney has patented and licensed this new technology and is eager to make it
available beyond the theme parks. To that end, it's already being used at
the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, The Hall at Patriot Place, and the Dallas
Cowboys Stadium.

Walt wanted Disneyland to be enjoyed by everyone. Through the years, his
company has strived to bring magic to all. Here are a few examples of how
the Imagineers are constantly looking for ways to improve the guest
experience.

In making a drinking fountain wheelchair accessible, it also makes them "kid
friendly." And Braille maps can be found in all four theme parks.

All Walt Disney World transportation is wheelchair accessible - all buses
have hydraulic lifts and the docks all "float" so they are always level with
the watercraft. The buses also have closed captioning, announcing
destinations and other pertinent information.

A number of guest rooms are available with height appropriate vanities and
easy access tubs and showers. Text telephones are obtainable for the deaf.

Swimming pools have sloped entrances so that aquatic wheelchairs can easily
roll into the water. This shallow area also provides toddlers with an area
to splash with safety.

At the golf courses, specially designed carts are available to allow just
about anyone the ability to play a round.

At Blizzard Beach, a special gondola can accommodate a wheelchair for a ride
to the top of Mount Gushmore.

Special viewing areas have been set aside on a first come, first served
basis along the parade routes. Even the Grand Marshal vehicles can
accommodate a wheelchair so just about anyone can be included in the
festivities.

Disney is always looking for new ways to retrofit older attractions. A
special Jungle Cruise boat was updated with a lift for wheelchairs. And
newer attractions are also getting into the act. Since loading and unloading
can take longer in these cases, Toy Story Mania was designed with an
auxiliary loading area so folks can take all the time they need to get
situated.

Many of the live shows offer sign language interpreters. These are presented
on certain days and at certain hours. You need to check with Guest Relations
for exact days and times.

I have to admit, when I attended today's press event, my eyes became a
little misty when I saw all that Disney is doing to bring the magic to
everyone. I take so many things for granted and I was moved that Disney does
not. They strive to include everyone they can.

For more information about touring the parks with special needs, check out
the AllEars.Net section for guests with special needs
as well as Disney's webpage: WALT DISNEY WORLD GUESTS WITH DISABILITIES

Posted by Jack Spence on June 23, 2010 5:00 AM

A Unique Resource For the Blind of the World

The National Federation of the Blind says it best when they call the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind a “unique resource for the blind of the world.” This center, located at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland reviews technology, both products created specifically for the blind and products created for the mainstream market but which is accessible in one form or another, sometimes completely accessible, either through intentional universal design or by chance (such as the iPod Shuffle, a media mp3 player that is accessible because it has no screen, though the design was intended for people who are doing active exercise and cannot pause to look at a screen. The latest version of the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Shuffle 8.0 is even more accessible, as it has a Voiceover that tells the user the title and author of the song and has a folder feature.)

The staff at the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind evaluates, demonstrate, and train people in the use of the products they have. If you are able to visit the center, as I did on May 17, they can demonstrate the products in person. While there, I learned about various note takers, testing weights and ease of use. Because of my quickness to fatigue and pain, a note taker that is easy on my body and not too heavy is very important for me. However, I had very little access to the variety of note takers that are available on the market today. Before visiting the technology center, I had only seen three: the BraillePlus, the PacMate, and the BrailleNote, and had not had the chance to test any of them, as they are essential parts of the owners’ lives. So, when I was given the opportunity to visit the National Center for the Blind with a group from my state, I was overjoyed, knowing I would get to see many different note takers and test them. I was in for a surprise!

The technology center tries to have one of every product available that is accessible to the blind in some fashion….that includes two long tables full of note takers and similar electronic interfaces, dozens of ways to print, type, and read Braille, and hundreds of products for reading, writing, and daily living. I had limited time, so I concentrated my time on the note takers there, and had no chance to see the rest.

However, I still have the chance to learn about the other products, as do the millions of blind people who cannot go to the center in person because of distance, finances, or any other reason. The staff can also consult with blind people, professionals, or family members via phone. Some of the questions they get asked often, according to the NFB’s website include:

What do I need to get a blind person on-line and connected to the Internet?
How can I make my website accessible to the blind?
What electronic note taker is “best” for a person who is blind?

The website says they welcome questions, and the staff I spoke to in person was very welcoming and friendly, as well as knowledgeable and helpful. The Center is located at 200 East Wells Street at the Jernigan Place in Baltimore, Maryland. Their phone number is (410) 659-9314, x5. Further, they can be reached via fax at (410) 685-565, or via e-mail at access@nfb.org. For more information about the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, visit the NFB's site for the Center.

NABS Online Center

The National Association of Blind Students, a division of the National Federation of the Blind, has many conference calls to talk about various topics. The latest call (which ended about an hour ago) was called Philosophy 101 and was about the NFB philosophy. Before now, the only way to listen to the conference call was to call in from your phone. If you’re like me and don’t have long-distance for free, then you have to get patched through on someone’s three-way or not get to listen. Now, however, there is a quick and easy way to listen to the conference calls through online streaming or downloadable podcasts afterwards.

The organization’s new online center can be found at this link , and has links to podcasts and live streaming during a conference call. It even tells you when there is a conference call going on!

Remember the last post talked about the NFB discussion groups at nfbnet.org? Well, NABS is one of those groups that has a listserv there, and joining that listserv will gain you access to announcements of when the conference calls will be, as well as a multitude of topics of interest to students, whether in high school years, undergraduate years, or graduate years. Give it a try, and you might find yourself learning something useful!

NFB Discussion Groups

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has a huge variety of discussion groups for blind people and their families. Nearly every U.S. state has a group, and some states have several. For example, North Carolina has a group, plus there is a North Carolina Association of Blind Students group. The range of topics runs the gammit from albinism to guide dog ownership to careers (and specific careers, like journalism and teaching) and parents of blind children, as well as having a few general discussion groups (like blindtalk). To find the full list of NFB discussion groups, go to NFB.org , click on "Topic Index" and then on "Discussion Groups". This will bring you to a page that will tell you how to join or change your settings for a group. You do not need to be a member of the NFB to join these groups; they are open to everyone. However, many of the topics are related to NFB philosophies and advocacy projects. I am currently a member of blindtalk, NFB Science, NFB Krafters Korner, NABS, NCABS, NAGDU, and several others. I have to constantly choose whether the topic is something I really want to get involved in, because most of the groups are *very* active, especially the NABS (National Association of Blind Students), NFB Krafters Korner, and NAGDU (National Association of Guide Dog Users) lists.

I know that's a small topic for this week, but I'm still trying to find more really interesting programs and software for you all!

~Jewel

YeoSoft Text to Speech Recorder

Ever wanted a quick and easy way to record what you typed up, whether it’s a grocery or shopping list, notes you took while doing a phone interview, or notes you typed while listening to a book, movie, or speech? It takes forever if you hold your recorder up to the speaker, and the sound is not great. Using a text to speech recorder is a much better way of converting your text files to MP3 files. I found quite a few on the Internet Archives, and tested most of them, but only one was easy to use with a screenreader, and allowed me access to all of the program’s features. Some of them were hard to figure out, and a few of them did not have full access via screenreader.

Yeosoft Text-to-MP3 , which can be downloaded as a free trial,> appears to be fully accessible with the JAWS screenreader. A friend noted that it is very difficult with NVDA, however. Please comment and let me know how it works with other screenreaders (WindowEyes, ScreenAccess, etc.)

What the Future Holds

I know it has been over a week since my last post here on the Treasure Chest for the Blind blog. Let me tell you what’s going on with me, and what I’m researching for future blog posts.

Of late, I’ve been having a lot of physical problems. I have gone to two neurosurgeons, had three MRIs (and have another scheduled of my spine soon), and tried various medications and diet changes. I continue to deteriorate, now unable to walk more than a few steps or stand for more than a few minutes without getting exhausted and hurting. Washing the dishes leaves my back screaming with pain, and walking to the bus stop requires a nice long rest at the end. I’m hoping for a diagnosis soon, as well as a referral to a pain clinic soon. In the meantime, I am trying to get used to the idea of becoming a part-time wheelchair user. I don’t like the idea, because I can’t use my cane from my wheelchair, so I’m dependent on others to push my chair for me…I don’t like that dependence. I’m hoping to go to a service dog school soon. I think a guide/service dog would help me keep my independence. The guide dog would not only guide, but would assist with balance when I am standing or walking, and assist with pulling the wheelchair when I have to use the wheelchair. I will be talking to people from Guide Dog Foundations and Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York, and Leader Dogs (I believe in Michigan). I don’t think I’ll be able to go to the Seeing Eye, due to my physical limitations.

I’m also preparing for college to start in the fall. I will finish the entrance exam this coming Wednesday, and then I need to get with an advisor to go over class choices. I’ve already made a list of the classes I want, but they may not be the best for me to take. In May, I’ll have a technology assessment, to hopefully get a PDA (either a BraillePlus or a PacMate, preferably), as well as an embosser, a scanner and printer, VictorReader Stream, a full version of JAWS, and various other sundry items I’ll need for college. I’m really looking forward to starting at school. I’m hoping to start a work-study in the spring also, either in the Disability office or in the library.

I am also planning several vacations with my boyfriend and friends from the National Federation of the Blind. Next month, I will be going with a group to the NFB Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where we will participate in workshops, tour the Independence Market, and meet Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the NFB. This trip is paid for already, and all I have to do is pack my stuff and show up at the pick-up location. Then, sometime in June, my boyfriend and I want to go out to the beach, possibly to see the wild ponies on the islands off the coast of North Carolina. We both love nature and animals, so that should be great fun. We haven’t even started planning for this, but it shouldn’t be too hard, being just a quick weekend trip.

The big trip we are planning is going to be next June/July. My boyfriend and I, along with several members of the local NFB chapter, will be going to Orlando. We will be staying at Disney World for five days of relaxation and fun, then attend the NFB National convention. As next year will be the 40th anniversary of Disney World, it will be very exciting. It will also be my first national convention, and I can’t wait! But it will be a lot of work planning for this trip. Thank goodness, we have the help of Cheryl Echevarria, an independent travel consultant who absolutely loves Disney World, has been there many times, and is a member of the NFB herself, so she knows a lot about what we want and how to do it. If you are planning a trip any time in the near future, you should talk to her, too. I’ll write a separate post about her after an interview (with her permission). But in the meantime, her website is http://Echevarriatravel.com, and her toll-free number is 1-866-580-5574. She is very nice, and has already been of great assistance, and we haven’t even got very far into the planning!

As far as research, I’ve been evaluating various freeware programs, many available from the Internet Archives. I’m particularly evaluating an exam/text maker, several business card makers, and contact managers. There are also text-to-audio and text-to-PDF programs. The text-to-audio program, Text Sound, available from the Internet Archives, does not seem to work, but it may just be me. It is accessible, allowing you to use hotkeys to add and edit files and convert them to audio. If anyone wants to give it a try and let me know what they think, it’s available on the Internet Archives at < http://www.archive.org/details/tucows_221944_TextSound>. For some reason, all my files failed to convert.

I have also become the pleased owner of Day by Day Professional. It is definitely awesome, and I am slowly but surely converting my address book over to the program’s build-in contact manager. I highly recommend this program for its ease of use, full accessible features, and inexpensiveness. Day by Day Professional is available from www.blindsoftware.com for $39.95 (including all fees). It will come via e-mail for download, and you will also get a hardcopy CD of the program as a backup.

So, it may be awhile until my next blog post about a product, but I assure you, I’m working on it. I’m trying to find the most accessible, easy-to-use programs at the lowest cost, so look forward to thorough evaluations of programs I find.

Until later,
Jewel

Today's Post: Why It's Late

Ok, first off, I just want to let you guys who read the blog know that the blog post is so late this wweek because I have been a bit sick. I was in the Emergency Room on Thursday night severely dehydrated after having been rather sick Wednesday, and very sick Thursday. After some fluids, anti-nausea medicine, and a pain killer for the empty-stomach cramps, all through an IV, I was sent home with directions to take some anti-spasmodic and anti-nausea medicines as needed, and stay on a liquid diet for 24 hours and the enxt day (today) keep to a simple diet, and return to a regular diet Sunday. Well, I started eating solids again last night, some crackers with my soup, and so I'm back on some solids today. I'm still a big fatigued, and drinking lots of Pedialyte and sports drinks for the electrolytes, and hope to be completely better by Monday.

So, while I had the previous blog written Tuesday night, I was not feeling well enough to get on my computer for long starting Wednesday. I apologize for the belatedness of my posting, and promise to try to be more prompt in the future, to get my posts out every Wednesday, as is my goal.

~Jewel

NFB ShareBraille

Do you have shelves full of Braille books that you don’t want to trash, but never read any more? Maybe you are just starting out your Braille library and want a less expensive way of getting your own books. Either way, NFB ShareBraille is the place for you!

This website, NFB Share Braille , is a free service of the National Federation of the Blind. The concept is simple. Say you outgrow that Babysitter’s Club collection you had in elementary school, or you no longer want that Spanish textbook that you couldn’t find a new home for. You go to NFB ShareBraille, register for free, and add your book to the Available Book list. When someone clicks a link showing interest in the book, you send the book to them via Free Matter for the Blind, and voila! They have a new book, and you have more room for new books.

The other way around works just as easily. If you are looking for books to add to your small (or large) collection, go to the Available Book list, and if you find one you want, click its title, then on the information page, there is a table at the bottom with links to get the book. Then the person with the book will send it to you.

I got some great books this way, including Braille.com and Beyond (which I plan on passing on soon) and Florence and Michelangelo (which has become a permanent part of my collection, as it is a great little treasure).

It is easy to navigate around the NFB ShareBraille website, and enjoyable to see what books are available that I might be able to get. I like to check it all the time, to see what’s new. So should you! Check it out, and share your books or get shared books from other Braille users!

Save on Prescriptions for Your Guide Dog with Wal-Greens!

Does your guide dog take high blood pressure medication or eye drops that are human medicines altered for canine use? Wal-Greens has a prescription savings club that covers pet prescriptions. For an annual fee of $20 for an individual or $35 for a family membership (which includes yourself, a spouse, children under 23 years old, and pets), you can save a significant amount of money on over 5,000 brand name and generic prescriptions, including pet prescriptions. Members also get ten percent rewards on Wal-Green brand items and photo-finishing services.

One member of the National Association of Guide Dog Users says she used to pay $25 for one mont’s supply of her retired guide dog’s high blood pressure medication (a human prescription altered for canine use). Now, she pays $11 for 2 month’s supply. After the $20 annula fee, that’s a savings of $214 on just that one prescription! Now that’s true savings.
For many prescriptions, you can get 90 days’ supply for $12, less than a dollar a week.

The only drawback is that people who get Medicare, Medicaid, or Tricare (military insurance) or excluded from the program for their prescriptions, because federal law forbids it. However, these individuals can still get an individual membership for their guide dog, as the guide dog doesn’t receive Medicaid, Medicare, or Tricare…just the person! So you can still save on your guide dog’s prescriptions, as the NAGDU member does. Signing up your guide dog as an individual is a $20 annual fee, and will cover only that dog’s prescriptions.

To learn more, go to Wal-Green’s Prescription Savings Club Overview or visit your nearest Wal-Greens’ pharmacy and ask about the Prescription Savings Club.

BlindSoftware.com: Two Very Helpful Tools

As I’ve said, I’m a research geek. Even my Vocational Rehabilitation counselor knows this. When we first met, I told him that I love to research, and offered to help him with anything, should he have any problems to research. Well, just my luck, he did! As a counselor, he has many appointments and also goes out into the field to meet with people, taking his laptop along with him. However, he didn’t have a reliable planning calendar that he could take with him wherever he went, and he was having trouble figuring out how to use Outlook Calendar to its full potential. I found him a tutorial for Outlook Calendar, but now I’ve found something even better!

BlindSoftware.com has a planning calendar called Day by Day Professional. This program is created by a blind programmer, and all the features are fully accessible via screenreader. He even has some really easy-to-remember hotkeys programmed in, such as CTRL+A for adding a note for an appointment and CTRL+N or P to go forward and backward in the calendar by day, week, month, or year. And you can always press CTRL+t to go back to today. This calendar has a great reminder system that is quick and easy, and also acts as an address book. Plus, you can download four audio tutorials created by the programmer that give step-by-step directions for using Day by Day Professional. At $40, this program is an inexpensive way for students to keep track of classes, study groups, sport events, and homework assignments, for families to keep track of who has what activities when and who’s turn it is to do what chore, and for professionals to keep track of employee meetings, appointments, and due dates for projects. Speaking of families, by the way, purchasing a single copy of Day by Day Professional gives you the ability to create multiple accounts. Thus, each family member can have their own planning calendar and their own reminders, and each person can have a password for access to that calendar. With a 15 day trial, there’s nothing to lose, but I bet once you try it, you will wonder how you survived without it; I know I do! I’m getting my copy very soon.

A complimentary program is called Talking Clock. This program works like your standard talking watch that announces each hour, except for one thing…it can also announce half hours or every fifteen minutes. I have been a lot more aware of how long I spend on the computer since I started using this program. My favourite option is the Big Ben mode. I always wanted a grandfather clock that chimed the hours, and with this program, that’s just what I have! The extra advantage to having this program over a real grandfather clock (other than the lower price of $20 and the lack of upkeep requirements) is that when you don’t want to be interrupted by the chimes, you can just turn it off and presto, no more clock. This program is also on an atomic clock, so keeps perfect time. It will even change for daylight savings time. I never realized that my clocks were all five minutes off; not any more!

Both of these programs can be downloaded as a 15-day demo or purchased via the website, 3 comments:

Jim Kitchen Games: Five Stars and Two Thumbs Up!

Growing up, we didn’t have much money for video games, but we played lots of board games and interactive games. Monopoly and Battleship were among the most popular, though I loved to play Mastermind, if I could find anyone to play it with me. BopIt! And Memory were also favorite of my siblings and me. Nowadays, though, everyone plays computer games, and physical board games are almost a thing of the past, especially the expensive Braille editions of board games. I mean, who has the $150 to just throw out there for a Braille copy of Monopoly when they are on a fixed income, like many blind people are.

Okay, okay, I’ll get right to the point. Don’t want to pay for those expensive Braille board games, but want to play them in an accessible, enjoyable way? Jim Kitchen has made some amazingly awesome games! I have seriously spent hours playing the Monopoly game he created with my friends, and have created three boards of my own with the cool board maker. Yes, there are already nearly forty board games to choose from, but I wanted a Holiday board that went from “Happy New year! (Go) through Christmas in July (Free Parking) to Christmas (Boardwalk). The most enjoyable board for me and my friends has been the Harry Potter 2 board. I edited it to make Jail “Azkaban” and Income Tax “Decree 121: Everyone must pay room and board” and it has turned into great fun for hours of “I’m paying rent at the joke shop; you better give me some fizz bangers and canary custards!” and “You must have murdered your duel partner; you just got a Duel (Chance) card that says Go to Azkaban!”

But Monopoly is only one of his great games. There is also Yahtzee, which has a really easy scoreboard that you can check at any time in your turn. Yahtzee also includes Double Yahtzee and Triple Yahtzee. Mastermind and Battleship are great versions of those childhood favorites, and Simon Says will test your hand-ear coordination as you try to remember if the pattern was Dog-Cat-Lion-Lion or Dog-Cat-Lion-Cat. I got to level 32, but I got lucky and had seven dogs in a row!

Other classic games include:
Concentration- can you remember if the match was at A6 or D6?
, Hangman
Snakes and Ladders
The Game of Life, changed to ease of use on a computer and with realistic inflations
Skunk- a dice game where the ones on the dice are replaced by skunks, and you have to get to a designated score, but if you get a skunk, you lose that turn’s points, and if you get two skunks, you lose all of your cumulated points
Star Mule- a Galactic drug dealing game
Trivia, with categories ranging from astronauts to the World Series. You can also create your own trivia files. I think this will be an awesome studying tool for when I tart college.
Pong, an audible version of the very old game

Admittedly, sports games don’t really interest me, but I tried out the football game for ease and coolness factor. A quick hint that I wish I had known: hit F5 to hear the special keys (Function keys, mainly)). The background crowd was too loud for me to hear the beginning speech very well, but that was quickly fixed once I learned how to lower different voices. I don’t know how to play football, and never was good at it, but this game seemed simple enough. My team gained 29 yards after two turns, but the other team intercepted, and it went downhill from there. I’m sure football fans would do much better. Other sport games include golf (with a huge number of courses to choose from) and baseball.

There are also a few adult games. One I won’t describe, as I find it too vulgar for the blog, but the other is not too bad. It’s called Spanker, and you have to listen to where the girl’s voice is coming from (left speaker, right speaker, or right in the middle), and hit the corresponding arrow key to “spank” her. It is an adult version of BoppIt!, which is also available. This is also a great hand-ear coordination tool. Not trying to brag, but my highest score is 103 swats. If you get higher, leave a comment with your high score! There is a rumor that Jim Kitchen is working on a version of Spanker with male voices for us girls, and maybe even a mixed male and female voices. Just a rumor, of course.

There are other programs, like some racing games, a few clock and timer programs, and a Braille reference that will tell you what that contraction you can never remember is.

Overall, I have found that the games are enjoyable, easy to play, and require very little reading of instructions if you already know the basic concept of the game. Even if you don’t, you will very quickly. There are three types of games: Windows Sapi5 text-to-speech, self-voicing, and screen reader-friendly. I like the Sapi5 text-to-speech games, because they are put into a menu listing that makes it easy to go through all the programs available to run. It uses the Sapi5 that nearly all PCs have these days. They are great for people who don’t have a more advanced screen reader, too, and I find the Sapi5 voices easy enough to understand (you can choose from five different voices). The self-voicing games are great for people who don’t have a screen reader, too. I’m not particularly joyful about the screen reader-friendly DOS games, but they do work, and they aren’t bad. I just had trouble getting them to run, as I don’t know how to work DOS very well.

All of Jim Kitchen’s games are *free* and can be downloaded at his website:
Kitchens, Inc. .

If you enjoy the games, be sure to e-mail Jim Kitchen and thank him!

Look forward to many other reviews of accessible computer games, including PCS Games and VIPMud.

An Alternative to Print Phone Books

Since the phone book is in such tiny print that most people with low vision can’t read it, let alon blind people, the only good alternative is 411 directories. Can you imagine a Braille phone book? Oh dear…that would be hundreds of volumes that would have to be reprinted every year…a blind person would come home to find a pile of Braille as tall as their door waiting for them! And sighted people thought they had it bad with the multiple copies of phone books they get constantly…

So, if phone directories are the best alternative to a phone book, you should expect to pay for each 411 call through your phone provider, right? Wrong! In this post, I will talk about free 411 phone directories, as well as the ones provided by such phone companies as AT&T and Verizon. Let’s first look at the 800 numbers you can call for phone directory services.

The first phone directory number I learned is called Free 411. It can be reached at 1-800-FREE-411. For those of us who can never remember what number stands for what letters (like myself), that’s 1-800-373-3411. This 411 service provides easy access to phone book directories at the touch of a finger. They provide directories for residential numbers (your famiy, friends, and neighbours), businesses (the local store or mall), and government (your public library, Social Security office, or Human Resources office). They also offer weather reports, movie listings by movie and theatre, humour and gossip, horoscopes, a contest for a $100 Wal-Mart gift card, and a free call option for a 5-minute phone call to anywhere in the world. The drawback of this service is all the advertisements. Between each step of the service, there is a approximately half-a-minute to one-minute advertisement for companies like Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Wal-Mart and other sponsors of the service. This is the company’s way of providing this free phone directory.

The second phone directory that I use and enjoy is called Tell me! It can be reached at 1-800-555-TELL (1-800-555-8355). This phone directory does not have the advertisements that Free 411 has, but they do not have many options for phone number searches. This phone service only provides business phone numbers. The other services available at this phone number include traffic reports, stock quotes (which does have an advertisement), a news center that has a few articles each day with real people’s voices, not synthesized speech) provided by ABC News, sport updates (also has advertisements), entertainment (including a free Blackjack game with a Sean Connery-synthesized voice), travel (connections to airlines, hotels, taxi companies, and more), and a list of popular shortcuts. It even has a time function in case you forgot your talking watch at home. If you find a business you want, it will give you the phone number, address, and step-by-step directions from any address.

I love Tell Me! And its voice-activated menus, but I use Free 411 to access residential and government directories. Between the two, I can always find the phone number or address I need. Now if only they had a bus service directory of similar proportions in my area!

NFB-Newsline: News at the Touch of a Button

When I first became blind, I found it very hard to keep up with the news each day. At the time, I could use a handheld CCTV (closed-circuit Television that magnifies print) to read the newspaper, but because of formatting and the strain on my eyes, I rarely read the daily paper. In fact, the only time I can remember being really interested about something in the newspaper was when a friend wrote a Letter to the Editor and wanted my opinion on it.

These days, though, I read the Raleigh News & Observer nearly every day, along with a number of others...the Washington Post, New York Times, the Economist, Science News, and newspapers that I would never have access to otherwise, like the Anchorage Daily News and Lexington Herald Leader. Why would I read these, you might ask. Sometimes, the most fascinating news come from local newspapers. I have read articles about a huge variety of topics, from a man who is blind and paralyzed who got a new leash on life through the use of a foreheaad mouse to the problems that Alaskans have with bears wrecking the inside of their cars looking for food...who ever knew? I have never been so informed about the news and interests of people all over the United States and all over the world (the Economist writes news from all over the world, as does the New York Times and several other national magazines).

The NFB-Newsline, sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind, along with state sponsors that vary by state, is a news-by-phone service available to the print disabled (people who are blind, dyslexic, or otherwise unable to read regular print). To get access to the phone service, you must first register. You can call the NFB-Newsline office at 1-866-504-7300 or go to the website www.nfb.org/nfb/Newspapers_by_Phone.asp for more information. It is free to register. Once you are registered, you can access the service at 1-888-882-1629 (there are also local numbers that vary by state). The first time you access Newsline from a phone, you will be required to enter your user ID number and PIN. After that, however, you can simply press 1 on the number pad to login.

When you login, you can access any of the newspapers available. My suggestion is first to press 9 from the main menu, which will take you to the tutorial articles. This will give you a thorough tutorial of what numbers to press when, what features you can access, and how to change the voice type, pitch, volume, and speed. There is also a new feature that allows you to e-mail a single article to your inbox by pressing the pound sign and 9 in rapid succession. You have to have your e-mail address registered with NFB-Newsline, but you can do this when you register for the service.

There is also a way to access NFB-Newsline on the Net. The website is www.nfbnewslineonline.org. I have not tried this service yet, but I was told it is the same as the phone service, except that you don’t have to use the phone to access it (Duh!). So, if you try NFB-Newsline Online, be sure to let me know if you like it!

There are some downsides to NFB-Newsline, though. It's only available to people in the United States and Puerto Rico, and not all newspapers are available. Puerto Rico, for example, has no newspapers on NFB-Newsline, for lack of funding. Puerto Ricans have access to the newspapers from the states, as well as national magazines, but there are no local newspapers available.

NFB-Newsline is a great supplement to other methods of reading the news, such as listening to the news on TV, reading on-line articles, and listening to local reading services. in my area, Triangle Radio Reading Services reads articles from the newspaper and magazines, sales papers for grocery, department, and pharmacy stores, and reads from novels. Other resources for news include magazine subscriptions through the National Library Service or other organizations and word-of-mouth news from family and friends.

Check out the NFB-Newsline. It's free, easy, and informative!

Also look forward to these topics:
Magazines in Accessible Formats
News on the Web: What’s Accessible?
Local Reading Services: Who Has Them, and How Do They Work?

Blind Mice Mart's Movie Vault
www.blindmicemart.com

Are you tired of asking your friends to describe scenes when you get together to watch a movie? Do you want more DVS (Descriptive Video Services)? Check out Blind Mice Mart's movie vault for thousands of recorded DVS movies in mp3 format! There is a wide variety of movies, from black-and-white oldies to modern favourites like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series (six of seven). Best of all, the movies are free. The only downside is for people with some usuable vision; because the movies are in MP3 format, they are audio only. Therefore, there is no visual. This has not been a problem for me (I'm unable to see what's on the screen anyway), my friend who has some residual vision (he has 20/200 vision), or my sighted friends who "watch" these movies with me. Because it has DVS, which describes all the important visual actions (such as someone gesturing instead of speaking), seeing the movie is not necessary for enjoyment. In fact, a few of my sighted friends have told me that they prefer these DVS movies because it lets them use their imagination more. I think of them as half way between an audio book and actually being there.


Go to the Blind Mice Mart website at www.blindmicemart.com, go down to the heading that says “Blind Mice Movie Vault,” click on that, and you'll go to the movie vault page in a seperate window. It is seperated into headings that are easily navigated by screenreader users. The actual download part takes a little getting used to, though, because of all the advertisements in the download page.

On the Movie Vault page, the next from last Heading gives basic instructions for downloading. I do one thing different, and that is that when I get to the Sendspace popup window after pressing “Regular Download,” I press the N key (for non-link text) until I hear “Note” and arrow up. There is a blank line, then a graphic, another blank line, and the next line is the download link. I find this faster than tabbing up from the bottom.

Another Note: Some of the movies are categorized differently. For example, while Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is under the C Heading, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is under the T heading (for The). So, if you don’t find the movie you are looking for at first, try it under alternate alphabet headings. So, you might look under the S heading for “The Sixth Sense,” but it’s under the T heading for “The,” and while some of the Agatha Christi movies are under A for “Agatha,” some are under the actual name of the movie (for example, the Number heading for “13 for Dinner”)

If you have any trouble with the DVS movie vault, let me know, and I’ll see if I can help! Enjoy your movies and being able to talk to your friends about the movies you watched and could actually understand.

Look for future posts in this blog about:
The National Library Services’ DVS services
Movie Theatres that have DVS
Organizations’ work toward access to DVS for theatres, DVDs, and television programs

When these posts are added, I will make the above into links.

Introduction to the Blog

Hi! My name is Jewel, and this is my blog. I'll tell you a bit about me to start, then about my plans for this blog.

I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am 25 years old, and am planning to start college in the fall to work towards a degree in Elementary Education, after which I hope to get a Master's degree in Special Education of the Visually Impaired. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I enjoy working with little ones especially. Couple that with the ongoing need for certified, educated teachers of the blind, and that brings me to my decision to be a TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired). I am an avid reader.I read everything I can get my hands on. I really don't like audio books, though...they put me to sleep. I read Braille, and love it. I can read my book on the bus, while waiting for the doctor, sitting around in the living room chatting...anywhere I want! With audio books, I can't do that. I can't listen to someone talking and read an audio book. I know some people can, but not me. And I can't bring my audio books anywhere I want (until I get my Victor Stream Reader, that is). Audio has its advantages, like being easier to get, more affordable, and portable if it's a digital book (not a book on tape from the library), but Braille is so much more fun to read. But I'm not going to go on and on about Braille. Just know that I am an advocate of Braille and teaching Braille to blind children.

At 23 years of age, I became legally blind due to a chemical burn to the face. My vision is now 3/350 in the right eye only (left eye has only a little light perception). Why am I telling you this? Because this blog is for the blind, by a blind person. I have been blind for nearly two years now, and while I am certainly no expert on the matter, I have learned much in the past two years. You see, I am a research geek, for lack of a better name. I love all things research. I love to find new things; I love to learn new things.

So, the whole point of my blog will be telling people about all the great things out there that you may not know about! From games to tutorials to programs and more, I'll tell you about what's out there. That’s why it’s called a Treasure Chest…I want it to be a treasure chest of information. So stay tuned for each exciting new or lesser known product, program, game, or website!