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As the time has come to begin transitioning to Unified English Braille (UEB) in the US, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly discuss how to change various adaptive technologies to UEB from US English braille. Many pieces of assistive technology already support the UEB code, it s simply a matter of enabling them. Below is a list of the more common devices and how to make these changes. note that stand alone braille displays such as the Focus, Smart Beetle, Brailliant BI, etc, do not have specific settings for UEB, as these devices only receive input/output from the device they are connected to. Also note that these instructions apply to the latest version of the hardware/software listed, your results may vary on older models or versions of software. It is also assumed you know how to navigate and select various options for the hardware/software listed. A comprehensive guide to each device is beyond the scope of an article. Please consult user documentation for further support as needed.

Inclusive Android has posted a survey to gain user feedback on the accessibility of Google's office products including Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. The survey applies to versions of these programs both on mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android as well as personal computers. Results will be shared with Google's accessibility team. Follow the link on this post to take the survey. Note: this survey was not created or endorsed by Google.

We're almost halfway through the Blind Bargains annual look at the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories
You can go here for our previous stories Number 7 involves an unexpected screen reader surprise.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, Joe Steinkamp.
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. You can go here for our previous storiesWe continue on with our 8th big story of 2015.

We've started counting down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp. You can go here for our previous stories For number 9, NVDA gets a new voice and much more.

The ballots are in and the votes have been tallied. It's time to count down the top 10 biggest and most influential stories of 2015. This year's panel included Jeff Bishop, Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, Chancey Fleet, J.J. Meddaugh, Jamie Pauls, and Joe Steinkamp.
Each panelist gave us their opinions on the biggest stories in assistive technology and we've compiled their votes to create our annual list. We'll reveal a new story each day on the way to number one and announce the winner on the next Blind Bargains Qast. Let's start out with number 10.

Thanks to two popular online gaming sites, you can enjoy some new games with your friends near or afar this holiday season.
Over at QuentinC's Game Room, Backgammon has been added as their 25th game title. The classic dice and strategy game can be played with two humans or one person and a bot. Meanwhile, RS Games has added a basic slot machine game as well as a version of the number game 99. Both gaming sites can be played on a variety of platforms and are free to use.

The Holiday Odyssey - Three kids, a dog and an epic quest to light a ridiculously giant tree. This is the premise of Target's Holiday Story book, a completely accessible experience on their website. Narration, sounds, captions, and alt text are included for both English and Spanish users as they read the 49-page story, narrated by Neil Patrick Harris. It's accessible both on your computer or mobile device. Take a break from your day, and check the link on this post to read the story. When you arrive at this page, use the Settings button to set up the story to your liking before you begin Thanks to Steve for the tip..

AI Squared has released Window-Eyes 9.3, a free upgrade for the screen reader. This version includes much-improved read to end feature, OCR support for a variety of file types and the screen, support for additional braille displays, and an overhauled spell checker experience for Microsoft Word. It's a free upgrade for users of Window-Eyes 9.2. Follow the link on this post to learn more or to download an upgrade or demo, or read on to read more from AI Squared.

Braille embossers don't often see major changes, but a new feature from Index is believed to be a first for modern braille printing. The forthcoming V5 line of their Basic, Everest, and Braille Box models will support printing directly from mobile phones and tablets. No details are included on which devices will be supported. V5 models will begin to ship in early 2016 starting with the production Braille Box model followed by the consumer oriented Basic and Everest models. Owners of current V4 embossers will also receive some of the new mobile functionality with a 2.0 firmware update scheduled for early 2016.

Researchers are developing a glove that they say will help the blind sense and grasp objects. According to a press release, "The technology will combine vision, tactile, force, temperature and audio sensors and actuators to help the wearer pre-sense an object - telling its location, feeling its shape and size - and then grasp it."

It can potentially be used to help in navigation, or for finding door handles or picking up a glass. Ambitions seem to run further than helping the blind, however. "Not only will this device help blind and visually impaired people, the methods and technology we develop will have great potential in advancing small and wearable robot autonomy with many potential applications in space exploration, military surveillance, law enforcement and search and rescue," Yantao Shen, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada Reno. We've linked to the press release from this post.

A new study is exploring the attitudes of visually impaired people regarding seeking psychological services. The study is being conducted by a graduate student at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education. According to the call for participants, "It is very rare to find research which investigates the attitudes and perspectives of the visually impaired on seeking psychological services."
The survey is listed as taking 45 minutes, though some participants report finishing it in half the time. Those who complete the survey will be entered in a drawing for one of three $25 gift cards. Follow the link on this post to take the survey. More information is included below.

It's still over three months away, but you can begin to plan your CSUN session calendar now. Next year's event will be held from March 21-26 in San Diego. The main conference sessions are on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and encompass a wide array of assistive technology topics. Follow the link on this post to view the over 300 sessions approved for the conference.

After a long delay, an update to Android's default Braille support has been released with a variety of new features. Google's Android Team has released BrailleBack 0.95.1 to the Play Store, it's the first update in two years. This version includes support for Unified English Braille (UEB), support for more braille displays including the Hims Smart Beetle and the Harpo Braillepen 12 Touch, and support for TalkBack custom labels. We've included the complete changelog below. Updated documentation has also been posted to Google's website.

If you have a VarioUltra from Baum, the latest free update fixes some major bugs. Version 1.32 allows you to once again connect to more than two Bluetooth devices at once, one of the major selling points for the unit. A limitation that only allowed for up to two Apple devices to be connected via Bluetooth has also been removed. Check below for the complete list of changes and bug fixed in this release. Thanks to Rich for the tip.

HumanWare has released a free update for the 2nd generation Victor Reader Stream. This release allows you to record Internet radio streams in a variety of sound qualities, supports the mass deletion of podcasts, and includes several additional text-to-speech voices. It's a free update for all current stream owners and can be downloaded wirelessly or manually. You can read the press release or view the changelog below.

With little fanfare, a new FCC ruling that requires emergency information on television stations to be presented in audio form has gone into effect. As of November 30, The Audible Crawl rule requires that information such as weather alerts, disasters, widespread fires and power outages, and other large-scale emergencies be presented on the station's Second Audio Program or SAP channel, interrupting other audio such as descriptive video or Spanish language programming. The rule applies to all television markets, regardless of whether or not they are currently broadcasting descriptive audio content.

Implementation of the service seems to have flown completely under the radar for many, with recent searches finding few examples of television stations advertising the new feature. Some stations, such as South Dakota's KSFY, focused their announcement of the service entirely on how to avoid hearing the spoken messages. An article from TV News Check details some of the troubles that stations have endured in implementing the new service, namely a lack of available technology.

We'd be hard-pressed to find many assistive technology users who love everything about .PDF formatted files. If you have experiences good or bad to share, a new survey seeks your input. The survey, titled PDF and the User Experience, is a means to provide your feedback on the accessibility or lack thereof of PDF files and is being administered by Karlen Communications. Follow the link on this post to take the survey, which closes December 31.

As has become tradition with each new release of iOS, AppleVis has published their list of accessibility bugs that have been fixed or introduced in the latest update. Version 9.2 of iOS was recently released as a free update and includes the ability to open the app switcher by using 3D Touch on the left side of the screen for iPhone 6S and 6S Plus users. In addition, at least a dozen accessibility bugs in a variety of applications including iMessage, News, and Mail among others. Outside of accessibility, iOS 9.2 is mainly a bug fix release. Check the link on this post for the complete list of changes.

Last Thursday, NBC made history by partnering with Comcast to provide an audio description track for the Wiz Live, believed to have been the first time this has been done for a live television event in the United States. Ratings for the musical itself were also quite high for NBC, so they have decided to re-air the musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz on Saturday, December 19 at 8 PM Eastern. While we are unable to officially confirm, this encore airing is also likely to include the audio described track. It's available from any NBC station which supports audio description, which should include the top 60 television markets and many other affiliates.