User testers Needed For New Enabling Technology App

Are you willing to help a new project, called ‘Spatial Memories’, being developed by EDINA at the University of Edinburgh? They are developing a new concept App that would run on an iPhone and that is designed to remove barriers to independence in helping people in way-finding, in travelling to places such as work, training or unfamiliar places in general. The project is part of the ‘Good to go’ competition managed by Jisc TechDis. ‘Good to Go’ is about increasing independence in unfamiliar or challenging environments by giving people easy access to the information they need when they need it. If you are enthusiastic about technology, gadgets and smartphone Apps in particular, then you may be just the person to help them develop their App. By taking part you will be able to: Gain experience evaluating and contributing to the design of an App during it's early Proof of Concept development, See the App develop, Introducing ideas and improvement you suggested, Learn how App progresses from a concept to implementation by evaluating early, prototype versions and talking to engineers about your ideas to improve it. In addition EDINA will offer volunteers a £15 voucher for Google Play / iTunes to thank them for your help. If you are interested in being involved in helping Edina to develop a new enabling technology app between now and August 2014 then contact Ben Butchart at: [email protected]

Mac Training Workshop

Discover Your Mac Thinking of buying a Mac or do you have one already? We’re eager to show you some Mac basics and share some tips and tricks. Come and see how easy it is to get started, stay organised and get the most out of your Mac using the accessibility features built in to every Mac. This workshop will take place on Wednesday 25 June from 10:00 to 12 noon at our premises in Bath Street, Glasgow - full contact details and address below. The workshop will last approximately 2 hours and places are limited so book your place now! Book your place by contacting John on 0770 236 2105 or by email [email protected] Workshop Venue: SITE ℅ 'The Alliance' 349 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4AA

3D-printed Braille phone created by London business

A London-based company has begun selling a Braille mobile phone to help blind people stay in touch with friends and family for just £60, thanks to cheap and easily adaptable 3D printing techniques. The company already sells extremely simple, cut-down mobile phones that only have a handful of buttons and no screen. There are separate buttons labelled with the name of family members or any other preset, and dial and hang-up buttons. The devices are designed for either children or the elderly, who may need a simplified interface, or for business applications where users can be restricted in who they are able to call with a company phone. Full article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10840318/3D-printed-Braille-phone-created-by-London-business.html

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Global Accessibility Awareness Day Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of the day is to get people talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) accessibility and users with different disabilities. The target audience of GAAD is the design, development, usability, and related communities who build, shape, fund and influence technology and its use. While people may be interested in the topic of making technology accessible and usable by persons with disabilities, the reality is that they often do not know how or where to start. Awareness comes first. At SITE we fully agree with the importance and necessity of accessibility for everyone effected by sight loss and we will play our part in increasing awareness amongst our members, organisations, employers and agencies for greater accessibility. Visit the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website at http://globalaccessibilityawarenessday.org/gaad.html

Ai Squared and GW Micro Merge

Ai Squared and GW Micro Merge the maker of ZoomText and sitecues; and GW Micro, the creator of Window-Eyes, have merged into one company. With this merger, the companies will combine their talents to better assist computer users who are blind or visually impaired. ZoomText is the world's number one screen magnifier and text-to-speech software package that allows people who are visually impaired to use a computer with ease. Window-Eyes is a popular screen reader that enables people who are blind to be fully independent on the computer by translating visual information into speech and/or braille. The need for assistive technology continues to grow. According to the World Health Organisation, over 285 million people in the world are considered visually impaired; 39 million of those are blind, and 246 million have moderate to severe visual impairments. "The merger of Ai Squared and GW Micro brings together two companies that offer great solutions for the millions of Microsoft customers around the world who are blind or visually impaired," said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft.