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by Jackie Ohime LaPorte, Indiana Note: The inclusion of items in this column is provided as an informational service to readers. As with all purchases, readers are expected to investigate thoroughly before making transactions. Send items for possible inclusion in this column to magazine@blindskills.com. American Foundation for the Blind released ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED: A GUIDE TO ASSESSMENT. The book includes an overview of the full range of assistive technology that students can use to manage information in print or electronic formats. This book is designed for teachers of students with visual impairments, members of the IEP team, administrators, technology professionals and anyone who needs to keep up with the ever-changing world of technology. The book is available in paperback and on CD for $49.95. For information, contact AFB Press at 800-232-3044 or www.afb.org/store. National Braille Press released IT'S NOT ON THE KEYBOARD: TYPING SPECIAL CHARACTERS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN WORD. This book will be helpful if you need to type special symbols such as the copyright symbol, the yen sign, or an e with an acute accent and are working primarily in English. Information is provided on how to work in a foreign language, and offers helpful tips for controlling the AutoCorrect feature and creating shortcut keys. The book is available in braille, PortaBook and ASCII text for $5. For information, contact National Braille Press at 800-548-7323 or www.nbp.org. The Talking Voice is an interactive magazine on tape that features recipes, technology, pen friends, dating and interviews with blind people. For a free trial tape, contact Carl Belnap, 900 A. Ash Street, Dayton, OR 97114; Phone: 503-857-5687; E-mail: carlbelnap@yahoo.com. The Hadley School for the Blind is offering two new courses. Finding Employment is a six-lesson course that helps you identify your interests and skills so you can find the career thats right for you. Topics covered include networking, finding job services for people who are visually impaired, writing cover letters and resumes, interviewing, disclosing a visual impairment and requesting special accommodations. Business Fundamentals has eight lessons and covers different types of businesses and their management, human resources, production and operations, inventory and purchasing, accounting, marketing and sales, and customer service. After each lesson, a case study outlines business situations and allows students to apply business concepts to real-life scenarios. For information about these and other correspondence courses available from Hadley, contact Student Services at 800-526-9909; E-mail: student_services@hadley.edu; Web site: www.hadley.edu. Serotek Corporation announced that it will no longer require a fee to upgrade or maintain software in its product line. The company will provide regular upgrades free to all Serotek customers. For information, contact Serotek at 866-202-0520 or www.serotek.com. Optelec released three new products. The Optelec ClearView Generation 2 (G2) now offers: a zero button feature pack with auto zoom, a five directional ultra-flexible arm to 19-inch and 22-inch configurations, a column reading 90-degree turn and pulling flexibility, a 2.5X-65X zoom, customizable with module design, and a high-definition (HD) or Hollywood quality video (HQV) image quality. The price point ranges from $2,095 to $3,695. The Optelec FarView features distance and close-up viewing, high volume reading, 42X zoom-in functionality, a built-in auto-focus camera, memory storage up to 100 images, ergonomic scrolling buttons, six different viewing modes, battery life up to four hours, a 4.3-inch reading screen, and USB/UGA connections. The cost is $1,495. The Optelec ClearNote Portable is connectable to a VGA monitor and laptop, features integrated batteries and light, left/right hand use, powerful 18X optical zoom, auto-adjustment camera of pre-stored settings, remote control settings, mechanical stability, and multiple axis camera rotating flexibility. The cost is $2,495. For information, call 800-335-7970 or visit www.optelec.com. TalkingTabs designs all-audio music instructional products for learning to play the guitar. Lessons are provided on CD. Individual songs cost $10.95 and up. The complete series, GUITAR FOR BEGINNERS, costs $129.95 and is available in rock, R&B, country and Christian editions. For more information, contact TalkingTabs at 800-660-6850 or www.talkingtabs.com. ReadHowYouWant has new titles available in braille, including bestsellers PRAISE SONG FOR THE DAY, the inaugural poem by Elizabeth Alexander, THE POWER OF NOW and STILLNESS SPEAKS by Eckhart Tolle, BEING PEACE by Thich Nhat Hanh and MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE FOR DUMMIES by Patricia Barry. A selection of popular titles is also available for children and young adults. In addition to braille book files, which are priced at $7.99 and $9.99 each, ReadHowYouWant offers more than 2,000 titles from its Classics Library in DAISY format for $9.99 each. For large print titles, visit the Web site and register to receive the monthly newsletter about titles available in large print. For information, contact ReadHowYouWant at 503-922-0778 or www.readhowyouwant.com. GW Micro now supports Java applications through the new WE4Java Window-Eyes script. If you're using Window-Eyes 7.0 or greater, you can download and install WE4Java for immediate access to Java applications. For more information, contact GW Micro at 260-489-3671 or www.gwmicro.com/scripts/WE4Java. The price for the KnfbReader Mobile has dropped. The price for the Reader software is now $995. A new and improved version of the KnfbReader Mobile software is shipping with all units. The latest edition of the program offers significantly better character recognition, a new and improved user interface, language translation with the purchase of an extra language package, and support for the new Nokia 6220 Classic cell phone. Add the cost of the cell phone for $350, which makes the cost for the KnfbReader Mobile $1,345. The price of Talks or MobileSpeak screen reader for the KnfbReader Mobile which grants access to all of the standard functions of a cell phone used in the KnfbReader Mobile system is $295. This means that for $1,640 you can have the KnfbReader Mobile as well as a fully accessible cell phone. For information, contact The Michael Hingson Group at 888-965-9191 or http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com. Voice on the Go is a new service that allows you to use voice commands to listen to, compose, reply, forward and delete your e-mail from any phone. The cost for the service is $5.99 per month. Independent Living Aids is offering a 15-day free trial. For information, visit http://ila.voiceonthego.com or call 800-537-2118. Top of Page |