Vibrating cane to help blind people

A team of scientists in Delhi has developed a smart cane for blind people, which uses sensors to give vibration feedback. Around 12million people are living with blindness in India, the largest number for any country in the world. Priced at under $50 (£30), the hope is that the smart cane can help people in developing countries.

SITE - Accessible Technology In The Community

As part of our 'Accessible Technology In The Community' initiative the following may be of interest to anyone resident in the Whiteinch area of Glasgow. SITE is supporting people with sight loss to access technology that will assist them in taking those first steps in digital accessibility and support them in daily living. We have held a number of sessions at Whiteinch Community Centre where participants have had the opportunity to get hands-on with the latest technologies - including laptops, iPads, Google Nexus, iphone etc. The remaining dates and topics to be covered for the next sessions are detailed below. Monday 6 October - Scanning solutions Monday 20 October - Accessible equipment All sessions commence at 10:30 until 12 noon at Whiteinch Community Centre, 1 Northinch Court, Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G14 0UG. If you would like to participate in any of the sessions or wish further information on the SITE 'Accessible Technology In The Community' initiative please call John on: 0770 236 2105 or email [email protected]

Confidance - Blind Dance Group

The blind dance group, Confidance, are looking for new members. The group meets each Monday in Woodside Hall, 36 Glenfarg Street, Glasgow from 7:30 to 9:30. So if you fancy strutting your stuff why not go along to a ‘Taster’ Day’ which has been arranged for Saturday 1 November in Woodside Lesser Hall (enter from Clarendon Street). The taster runs from 1:30 until 3:30 and both visually impaired and sighted dancers are welcome. Further information can be obtained by contacting Margaret Cowie on 0141 772 7005.

New Features In JAWS 16

Freedom Scientific has revealed some of what we're going to see in version 16 of JAWS. Here is a quick summary. First, there is a new feature called JAWS Command Search. This is helpful if you’re looking for a specific command but can’t remember the keystroke used to invoke it. Another feature is the ability to read PDF documents which are just scanned images. We’ve all been in the situation where we open a PDF file and JAWS says that it’s an empty document. In actuality, the document is likely not empty but is a picture or image of the text. This is visually not a problem but screen readers can’t process pictures. With JAWS 16, you’ll be able to read those image files just like any other document or Web page.

Apple Unveils Watch and iPhones

Apple unveiled its new watch on Tuesday. It is a wearable device tethered to the iPhone that will combine health and fitness tracking with communications. The Apple Watch will come in three distinct collections, including a sport edition and an upscale line coated in 18-karat gold. The company also took the wraps off a larger, 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. It also introduced a new mobile payments service dubbed "Apple Pay." Each phone will come equipped with its new payments service, which launches in the United States next month and allows users to pay for items in stores with their phones instead of physically presenting their credit or debit cards. To see a video of the new Apple watch visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/11085922/Hands-on-review-of-Apple-Watch-was-it-worth-the-wait.html

SITE Sight Loss Survey

SITE is a user led organisation which aims to provide support that blind and partially sighted people want. In order to ensure that we provide a service that is relevant, we need your feedback. Please help us by taking part in a short survey which aims to gather information on support services that people with sight loss need most. Your answers will help us to shape a service that blind and partially sighted people require - so if you are either blind or partially sighted or a member of an organisation which supports people with sight loss then please participate by emailing [email protected] and you will be sent the short survey questionnaire. Many thanks.