Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog

Dear readers,

iOS 6 arrived on the scene Wednesday for all of us who were not privileged enough to be developers or beta testers. According to Apple there are more than 200 new features.

As with the previous release of a major iOS upgrade (from version 4 to 5), there are many enhancements to iOS 6 not directly related to accessibility. In this release, they include FaceTime over cellular networks, a redesigned App Store, a revamped settings menu, direct Facebook integration, a Do Not Disturb feature, among many others.

At the beginning of August, beta testers began to announce to the internet at large that the YouTube application had been removed from their devices when they installed the fourth beta of the upcoming iOS 6.

For quite some time, deaf-blind users of iDevices have been able to use face to face communication with the public through the notes app. This consists typically of an iDevice (iPod, iPad, or iPhone) paired with a Braille display and Bluetooth keyboard.

I just finished listening to the reports from the floor at Amazon’s press conference. Here’s the upshot. Amazon is coming out with a range of new Kindle devices, and is enhancing their services for those devices.

So, this is new for me.  I’ve been holed up in my office writing fun articles about technology, and necessary reports about technology, and well, just generally writing a great deal about all different aspects of access technology.

For many reasons, people who are blind  or deaf-blind find it necessary to convert files from one format to another. For example, converting a graphical PDF file to an accessible format such as Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), digital braille (.brf) or plain text (.txt).

Presented byMichael D. Barber, Rehabilitation Technology SpecialistIowa Department for the Blind

Recently, the access technology team received our brand new Nexus 7, the famous Google tablet running Jelly Bean OS.  Our curiosity got the better of us - we had to immediately open this new and shiny thing.  Here is what we discovered.  The tablet size and the form factor are extremely attractive and fits well in small