News, Links and Commentary
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
mIRC and Text To Speech
People wanting to participate in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) but find it hard to type and read the conversation might like to try using mIRC with an MS Agent and listen to the conversation. More information on how to do this can be found at The use of Agents with mIRC at mIRC's UK site.
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Sunday, January 25, 2004
Free Virtual Magnifier
The Virtual Magnifying Glass 2.00 is a free, open source magnifier for use with Windows.
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The Link Trail to Accessibility
On a chase for an easier way for people to choose to listen to our Internet Relay Chat discussions, I was reminded of Ronolog by a member of the RPList. I'd forgotten to check my own site on Access to the Internet for People Who Have Vision Impairments and so I decided it was time for a page update.
Australian government sites now listed are the National Office for the Information Economy's People with Disabilities site and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's 'World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes.'
Accessibility checkers can be used in tandem with other Web design programs and two of these are now listed. Adobe GoLive - Accessibility gives news of how basic accessibility checks can be performed using Adobe's Web design tool GoLive. UsableNet's LIFT for Macromedia Dreamweaver is available and can help Web designers create accessible and more usable sites as part of the design process.
Vision Australia, a non-proft agency for people who are blind and vision impaired, is now offering Web Accessibility Training around Australia. Through their site I learnt of two other useful organisations concerned with Web accessibility. The first is OzeWAI, an Australian Web content accessibility forum that organises conferences and discusses issues via an e-mail discussion list. The second is the Web Standards Project, which aims to work towards standards that allow everyone simple and affordable access to Web technologies.
And finally, I discovered (also through Vision Australia's site) UsableWeb. UsableWeb offers over 1000 links on information architecture and usability. The site is no longer updated with new links but the maintainer still cleans out dead links.
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Australian government sites now listed are the National Office for the Information Economy's People with Disabilities site and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's 'World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes.'
Accessibility checkers can be used in tandem with other Web design programs and two of these are now listed. Adobe GoLive - Accessibility gives news of how basic accessibility checks can be performed using Adobe's Web design tool GoLive. UsableNet's LIFT for Macromedia Dreamweaver is available and can help Web designers create accessible and more usable sites as part of the design process.
Vision Australia, a non-proft agency for people who are blind and vision impaired, is now offering Web Accessibility Training around Australia. Through their site I learnt of two other useful organisations concerned with Web accessibility. The first is OzeWAI, an Australian Web content accessibility forum that organises conferences and discusses issues via an e-mail discussion list. The second is the Web Standards Project, which aims to work towards standards that allow everyone simple and affordable access to Web technologies.
And finally, I discovered (also through Vision Australia's site) UsableWeb. UsableWeb offers over 1000 links on information architecture and usability. The site is no longer updated with new links but the maintainer still cleans out dead links.
Saturday, January 24, 2004
British RP Society's New Web Address
The British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (BRPS) has changed Web address and I have now updated my List of International RD Organisations accordingly. The BRPS site includes useful articles on RP and genetics and how to help young people cope with RP.
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Monday, January 19, 2004
Beep For Your Keys
A friend recently discovered that The Great Ideas Finder Home Page are featuring Sharper Image Design's "Now You Can Find It!" Wireless RF Electronic Locater as a hot product. The locator helps to locate easily lost items, such as keys, a stereo remote or spectacles that have a special adhesive beeping receiver disc attached.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Lutein Recommended Addition to Diet But Not As Supplement
Lutein, a nutrient that may help prevent retinal degeneration, is the subject of a Newsday.com article which quotes regular RPList poster Dr Gislin Dagnelie of the Johns Hopkins University in the US ('Lutein OK in Diet, Not as Supplement', January 13, 2004). Although the article recommends that people include lutein in their diet, rather than take it as a supplement, there is as yet no research that suggests supplemental lutein is detrimental to your health. More spinach and fetta pasties for me, I guess.
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Monday, January 12, 2004
Chatting with JAWS and Microsoft Chat
For those people wanting to visit Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels/rooms using the screen reader program JAWS, Rhonda McQuick provides instructions and a download of Microsoft Chat on her Jaws and Microsoft Chat page.
IRC channels/rooms specifically for people who have retinal degeneration are listed on my RD chat page. Australians who have retinal degeneration are also invited to join us in the #ozrplist channel.
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IRC channels/rooms specifically for people who have retinal degeneration are listed on my RD chat page. Australians who have retinal degeneration are also invited to join us in the #ozrplist channel.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Nutrition Navigator from Tufts
Tufts University in the United States provides a quick way to find and learn more about Web sites giving information on nutrition. The Nutrition Navigator allows you to browse a directory of nutrition-related sites according to your needs (for example, sites relevant to seniors or to health professionals). Each directory listing includes a brief review and a link to a more detailed review. Within each category, the sites are also listed according to a rating ('Among the Best', 'Better than Most', 'Average' or 'Not Recommended'). Ratings are based on an evaluation of the content and usability of the site, with particular attention given to the accuracy of the information given. Nutrition Navigator's search facility is handy for those people wanting to find out more about a specific nutrition-related site.
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