Assistive Technology

Doplphin have just released version 11 of their Screen Reader and Magnification software suites (SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and Lunar Plus).  I haven't had a chance to look at it myself yet. However here's a what caught my eye in the new version

• 64-bit Windows Support - I suppose there are ordinary people out there who are using the 64-bit version of Vista. If you don't recognise the jargon, don't worry because you aren't likely to be using it <grin>. Mind you you can't use it a log-in just yet...…

QAC's Sight Village is happening this week - 14-16, July. It's in Birmingham as usual, but in a new venue this year. It'll be interesting to see what this new one is like, since I know the previous met with mixecd views from both visitors and exhibitors. I have to say I was always a bit dubious about it being a Masonic place, but maybe that's just my bias. Anyway, if you don't know about Sight Village, it's the biggest exhibition for visual impairment in the UK. (Actually, the organisers say it …

I've recently taken delivery of a new computer - a Compaq laptop from PC World , by the way - and took the plunge into the world of the latest Operating System from Microsoft. enter Windows Vista. "Ta-da!" So starts my latest learning curve and...

I thought I would share some of that learning here and report back on the implications for Assistive Technology. So watch this space for my experiences of:

• Vista and Freedom Scientific's Jaws;
• Vista and Dragon Naturally Speaking from Nuance;
• Vi…

For those of you not in the know, magnification software "does what it says on the tin". That is,it magnifies the details on the computer screen, typically from two times to 16 times. Most software packages will also allow you to magnify in different ways. For example, magnifying the whole screen as a whole, allow you to split the screen either horizontally or vertically, and some also allow you to use the mouse like a handheld magnified.

The market leaders are probably Magic (from Freedom Scie…