WHAT'S NEW AND WHERE TO GET IT

PUBLICATIONS

Choice Magazine Listening is an audio anthology that comprises what its editors consider to be the best of current magazine writing. Each issue contains unabridged works from quality publications such as NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SMITHSONIAN, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, and THE NEW YORKER. The articles, short stories, poetry and interviews are selected from more than 100 magazines and other periodicals and are read by professional vocal talent. Choice Magazine Listening is available on cassette or as a digital download. Choice Magazine Listening is free of charge and published 6 times per year. For more information call 1-888-724-6423 or visit the magazine's website at www.choicemagazinelistening.org.

National Braille Press has a new book available called INTERNET YOUR WAY TO A NEW JOB: HOW TO REALLY FIND A JOB ONLINE by Alison Doyle. This book tells you how to: Create your professional presence online, market yourself as a strong candidate for employers, connect with contacts who will help you with your job search, help prospective employers find you, and use sites like Facebook, VisualCV, and LinkedIn to your advantage. This book will step you through the process of online job searching, professional branding, networking, and career building with advice, tips, and techniques on how to find a new job and grow your career. HOW TO REALLY FIND A JOB ONLINE is available in braille (2 vols.) and PortaBook (CD and downloadable) and costs $11.95.

Also available from National Braille Press is a publication called AMERICAN FLAG. These brilliant red, white and blue flags from KBTI feature tactile stars and stripes. The tactile horizontal red stripes are labeled with the lower case "r" at the far right, and the white stripes are labeled with the lower case "w." The Pledge of Allegiance is displayed in large print over the red and white stripes, in alternating black and white lettering, and is also written in braille over the red stripes. Immediately beneath the flag is a key in braille. Flags measure 7.5 inches by 9.5 inches. AMERICAN FLAG costs $5.00 and is embossed in a choice of contracted or uncontracted braille.

To order any of these publications contact NBP at: 800-548-7323 or visit their website at www.nbp.org.

National Council on Disability (NCD) has released a report entitled "The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities." The report provides a road map for eliminating pervasive barriers to health care, which would improve the quality of life, productivity, and well-being of greater numbers of Americans as the population ages. The report concluded that people with disabilities experience even more substantial barriers to health care than the general American population. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has had limited impact on how health care is delivered, and health care providers continue to lack awareness about how they might help patients with disabilities get appropriate care. The entire report can be read online at the Council website, which is www.ncd.gov. For more information or to receive a print copy of the report, contact NCD's Mark S. Quigley, at mquigley@ncd.gov or by telephone at 202-272-2004.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The Primula 10 cup Speak n' Brew is the world's first talking coffee maker that also understands speech. Speak to set the clock or to program the brew time, which can also be set manually. Speak n' Brew asks when you would like your coffee ready. You say the time, and the Speak n' Brew answers, confirming the time, which also shows in the display. Speak n' Brew retails for $79.95. For more information contact Independent Living Aids at 800-537-2118 or visit their website at www.independentliving.com.

Mind's Eye Travel creates educational trips for people with visual impairments. Their group trips let both visually challenged and fully sighted people tour comfortably and safely. The itineraries are customized for full sensory discovery, and they offer options for sighted guide assistance and independence. Destinations are carefully chosen while keeping in mind the needs of visually impaired and blind travelers. For more information or to see the 2010 trip schedule, contact Mind's Eye Travel, Inc., at 207-542-4438, e-mail sue@mindseyetravel.com or visit the website, www.mindseyetravel.com.

Beginner courses for over a dozen instruments are available in an all-audio format from Bill Brown's Music for the Blind. Instruments covered include piano, guitar, harmonica, violin, banjo, saxophone, and flute. Each course contains at least four tapes or CDs, and prices start at $39. Visit the website www.MusicForTheBlind.com or call 1-888-778-1828 for more information.

Ai Squared is pleased to announce Windows 7 compatibility for ZoomText 9.1 users who make the switch to the new Microsoft Windows 7 platform. ZoomText users can seamlessly transition to Windows 7 without interrupting workflow and productivity. ZoomText 9.18.5 updates are available for download from www.aisquared.com/updates.

Freedom Scientific has released JAWS 11 for both 32- and 64-bit English versions of Windows, including enhanced support for Windows 7. This new JAWS release includes Research It, Word Index, a free software DAISY player, and enhancements specifically for Windows 7, including UI Automation support and improved ARIA support. The new Research It feature lets users quickly access information for any application and immediately return to what they were doing. Use just a few keystrokes to look up information such as word definitions, Wikipedia results, weather conditions, news stories, or even sports scores. An Internet connection is all that is required to use Research It with JAWS 11. There is also a very comprehensive Research It Developer's Guide that shows how individuals or organizations can modify Research It to create their own lookups on the Web or even within their own network for improved on-the-job efficiency. For more information or to learn about the new features available contact Freedom Scientific at: 1-800-444-4443 or visit the Freedom Scientific website at www.freedomscientific.com.

Clarity announces a new $60 version of its WinZoom screen-magnifying software. WinZoom LITE works with XP, Vista, and Windows 7 computers and is similar in concept to related WinZoom products, though with fewer features. For more information visit www.getwinzoom.com or contact Clarity at 925-449-2000.

Oratio is the first commercially available screen reader enabling visually impaired users to access and operate BlackBerry smartphones. While the product was under development, the name was changed from Orator to Oratio to avoid any confusion with an existing product called Orator being manufactured by a telecommunications company in the USA. Oratio represents a joint collaborative effort involving HumanWare, Code Factory, and BlackBerry's developer, Research In Motion (RIM). Oratio will first be released in North America in English, supporting the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone from AT&T. The phone must be running BlackBerry device software version 4.6.1.297 or greater. A single user license is priced at $449. Online purchasing information is available at www.oratio4bb.com. Support for additional BlackBerry smartphone models and languages is planned for subsequent versions of Oratio.

American Printing House for the Blind has a new product, the Turbo 6 Talking Battery Charger. The Turbo 6 charges up to 6 batteries at once and has two charging compartments for flat 9-volt batteries and four compartments for cylindrical AA, AAA, C, or D cells. Turbo 6 announces the compartment number and charging status of batteries as they are placed in the unit, at the press of a button, or when charging is complete. Batteries can be charged in any combination. The Turbo 6 Talking Battery Charger is available in Spanish and English for $190.00. For more information contact American Printing House for the Blind at 800-223-1839 or visit the APH website at www.aph.org.

A new product, The Eye-Pal SOLO, reads "almost anything printed" aloud without a computer--books, newspapers, mail, labels, recipes, bills, directions, even text on a crumpled piece of paper. According to the manufacturer, there is no learning curve, no manual, and no buttons. Just plug it in, place down a book or newspaper, and within seconds, it begins to read aloud. If you need to take a call, the manufacturer says you can wave your hand near the reading material and the system will pause. Repeat the hand movement, and it resumes reading. For more information contact ABiSee, 77 Powdermill Road, Acton, MA 01720. Phone: 800-681-5909. E-mail: ussales@ABiSee.com. Website: www.abisee.com.

Hadley School for the Blind now offers new one-lesson mini courses for busy parents. Offered in large print and online, these courses include: You, Your Child, and Your Community; Beginning the Special Education Journey; and How to Be Your Child's Advocate. For more information contact Hadley at: 1-800-323-4238 or visit the Hadley website at www.hadley.edu.

The Jewish Guild for the Blind offers telephone support groups for parents of blind children. Tele-Support Groups for parents of children with visual impairment are open-ended, informative and supportive discussions of issues and topics of concern for parents raising children with visual impairment. The groups are composed of parents with children who have the same eye conditions, including cortical visual impairment, retinopathy of prematurity, Leber's congenital amaurosis, retinitis pigmentosa, and aniridia. The groups are professionally facilitated and are offered at no cost to parents by phone on a weekly basis. In addition, there are groups intended specifically for fathers of children with visual impairments as well as for high school and college students with visual impairments. For more information or to register contact Jewish Guild for the Blind by phone at 800-915-0306 or on the web at www.jgb.org.