New Magic 11.0 Public Beta Now Online

Freedom Scientific has just posted a new version of their Magic 11 public beta. To get it hit the link below.

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_MAG110_beta.asp

Also there is a new update to JAWS as well. You can learn more about that at this link.

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/jaws.asp

Random Goodness: K1000, Humanware And PAC Mate

Kurzweil K1000: Version 11’s .02 patch was released on December 27th. You can download the patch through K1000 or hit the link below for the release notes and the direct link to the download.

http://www.kurzweiledu.com/downloads_k1000_updates_ver11.aspx

Humanware: More changes at the top as the company announces its new reorganization changes.

http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/about_us/press_releases/copy_of_humanware_reorganizes_its_operations

Freedom Scientific: The company has updated the PAC Mate Omni page to detail the registration process for upgrading your unit.

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/PACMateOmni_Upgrade_Info.asp

Vista SP1 RC1 Refresh Hits The Net .. For Some People.

It was all over the net yesterday that the new RC Refresh that went public was the new thing to play with for those of us who like to break their perfectly working installs of Vista. However it is 64 bit only at the moment. And currently no Blindness AT Venders support 64 bit Windows. So I can't break anything right? Well wrong. For fun, and in hopes that it will see a 32 bit version of the Refresh, I uninstalled SP1 RC1. Sadly nothing broke. It all went swimmingly. Go fig.

If you are interested in the update or if you just want to see the files and the fuss hit the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=529d992a-d69e-4c73-9213-7a7f3852c0ca&displaylang=en&tm#AffinityDownloads

Vista: December Patches, Disc Defrag And Sales Numbers

Not many people in my inner circle joined me on my mad quest to load Vista SP1 RC1 last month. In the long run I get paid to do this kind of thing. So I understand why some of my friends didn't come into the deep end of the pool with me. For those of you who also didn't take the plunge you might want to download the official, which I guess in a way means their safe, patches for compatibility and the like for December 2007. You can find out more about them from the Windows Super Site Blog link below.

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/01/04/necessary-december-2007-updates-for-windows-vista.aspx

But if you *did* run the SP1 RC1 for Vista then you can take advantage of the new Disc Defrag tool. One of the things I learned when catching up on podcasts during the holiday break was the newly revamped Defrag will now let you choose drives and other options not found in the original release of Vista. Never mind that you had this functionality in XP... but I digress.

And all that Vista bashing by PCWorld and others didn't seem to have an effect on Vista sales. Looks like the crys of Windows ME Part II may be for naught. It seems that the adoption rate, while not as high as projected, is still better than the detractors had speculated earlier in mid 2007.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080106-despite-problems-consumers-choosing-vista-over-xp.html

On a side note. Office 2007 has outperformed expectations. In some of the figures I read in November and December it was said that 9% of all users of the Office Trial end up converting it to a full version.

Of course if you decided to skip Vista and Office 2007 I would like to remind you that the betas for Office 2009, IE8 and even possibly Windows 7 [thats the Windows to follow Vista] are all coming sometime in 08. Ah the software circle of life continues..

Dolphin Official PR On 8.02 And Win A Free SMA Contest

I mentioned this update last month, however, here is the official press release with a bit at the bottom about how to win a free SMA.

***

FREE Update to Version 8.02 for Version 8.01 customers

Dolphin is delighted to announce the release of version 8.02 of Supernova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus. These free updates are available to all existing version 8 customers and are packed with usability improvements and bug fixes. Plus we’ve sneaked a couple of extras features in there for you as well. Read on to find out what’s new for you.
What’s new in Version 8.02
How do I Upgrade to Version 8.02
Tell Dolphin what you think and win of five FREE SMA’s

What’s new in Version 8.02?

Below are just some of the new features and benefits you will discover with Version 8.02:

1. The user will now benefit from a huge advancement in Virtual Focus. Your Virtual Focus position will be remembered even when the browser window is covered up or minimized. This means that the Virtual Focus will remember your position when browsing web pages across the multiple tab function in Internet Explorer 7. It will even remember your position(s) if you are using multiple browser windows when comparing information across several different sites. This applies to SuperNova and Hal.
The Braille line displays in Word have been developed. Now when an area of text within Word is highlighted the Braille line will display this highlighted section. This applies to SuperNova and Hal.
The installation process has been redesigned to ensure a fluid and quick process of installing the software. This applies to SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus.
The default colour used for highlighting the Virtual Focus and Document Read position has been changed to create a higher contrast for the end user. This applies to SuperNova, Hal and LunarPlus.
A large selection of bug fixes have also been included that improve the user experience for XP and Vista users. This applies to SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus.
How do I Upgrade to Version 8.02?

This update will be available as an “Update from Internet” and should automatically download and update (For this automatic update please ensure that your update from internet option is enabled. This can be checked or turned on in your Dolphin Control Panel by clicking in Maps, Automatic Update Settings, then please set the upgrades option to check daily, weekly or monthly).

Tell Dolphin what you think and win one of five FREE SMA’s

If you are a Hal, Lunar, LunarPlus or SuperNova user and you would like the opportunity to win one of five FREE Software Maintenance Agreements (SMAs) for your Dolphin software, please fill in our questionnaire by linking to http://tinyurl.com/26snxa

December's Poll Results And The First Poll Of 2008

I guess the results below just add more weight to that old adage "Its a Wintel world and we just live in it".

December's Poll Of The Month: My Next System Will Sport Which Processor?

Intel Based System - 13 (76%)

AMD Based System - 3 (17%)

It will be one of those OLPC or other Linux styled boxes - 1 (5%)

"Other" like Transmeda and the like- 0 (0%)

I wonder if some opinions will change when the ATI and AMD relationship continues in the multi core era. And just in case you were interested I am a NVIDIA Intel fan for many years. Although my recent issues with Vista support does have me on the fence for my next purchase.

This month's poll question came to me as I carried 300 CDs in 1 box up a flight of stairs during last month's move.

Poll Of The Month: At What Bit Rate Do You Archive Your Music?

128
  192
  256
  320
  Lossless ..  I Have Gigs Of Space!

And while we are on the subject of music Ars has a not so surprising article on holiday sales.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071231-ho-ho-horrible-music-sales-plunge-20-percent-this-christmas.html

Also Rolling Stone has a nice primer on dynamic range compression and the effect it has driven into our ears in the MP3 generation.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17777619/the_death_of_high_fidelity

Accessorize Your Life With The Sense View Hand Writing Camera

Before I start... Most 3 to 5 inch Hand Held Video Magnifiers are for spot reading tasks. I mean you aren't going to read or write the "Great American Novel" under them in most cases. With any Video Magnifier there are limitations either technological or physical in nature. Having realistic expectations about what you want and what the technology can actually do will be the key to finding the right fit for you and your vision. Always, always and oh yeah ALWAYS! try before you buy anything! With that said...

Looking for a way to spend some of that holiday cash that Santa left you? Do you have my CSUN Pick from 2006 on hand? If the answer to both questions is "Yes" then you may want to think about picking up the Hand Writing camera accessory for the Sense View.

                                                  

Picture of a Sense View with the camera attached [on left] and a Hand Writing Camera by its self [on right]

The camera attaches to the right side of your Sense View via the expansion slot. As you can see from the picture above the camera is small and it is surprisingly lightweight. There is really only one way to attach the camera. And once you get it onto the unit you won't have trouble connecting it the next time you need the attachment. After you have it on board you can toggle the camera on and off by the use of the power button located on the front side of the camera. Don't worry about finding the button as it generally faces you when holding the unit to where the main power is on your left and the Snapshot button is at the 12:00 position. Once on board you will find that the easiest way to tell that you have the camera on is to look at the lights under the unit. When you turn the Hand Writing camera on the lights located on the Sense view will go dark and the lights on the Hand Writing camera will light up. Toggling between the main camera and the Hand Writing Camera can be performed on the fly by turning the Hand Writing Camera on or off. Sliding the camera off your Sense View may be difficult at first, however, the connection feels firm when it is attached to the main unit.

Now a few minor quibbles. When you have the unit attached one of the lips on the clamp that holds the camera onto the Sense View almost, but not completely, covers the button for switching color modes. If you read in say negative color and you write in true color then it might take some doing to toggle between the modes at first glance. The pouch that contains your new camera is something you might lose easily if you don't cary a bag or if you don't tie it on to a case for your Sense View. And for some users out there they might find writing left handed has its own drawbacks, however, when do leftys get a break anyway? Still for the low price this is worth a look for those of you who already have a Sense View. And if you are considering one you might want to throw this in with your purchase. 

Here's the link to the page detailing the Sense View Hand Writing Camera..

http://www.gwmicro.com/SenseView/Handwriting_Camera/

And to see the specs for the Sense View see the link below..

http://www.gwmicro.com/SenseView/Detailed_Specs/

Quick News: RAM, WHS, Office 07 And Adobe On Adobe Action

In Classic Star Trek's "Trouble With Tribbles" Scotty has a famous Geek quote used often by some of us in our Unit. When Engineer Scott is told that he must remain in his Quarters until further notice by Kirk after a bar brawl with the Klingons his response is "That will give me time to catch up on my technical journals". So it is for me, and a few others, during the Holidays in the biz. Of course the upside is that I get paid to play with the latest in Assistive/Adaptive/Access Technology. And that is a job that is hard to come by easily these days. So the benefits far outweigh the romanticism that comes with being a Government Drone. no wait.. that's not right is it? Change Government to Borg for Star Trek reference sake. Oh well here's some of the interesting stuff I have come across this week.

Laptop Specs And Vista: When I did my talk at NFB Computer Sciences in July of 06 I told the crowd to shoot for 2 GB of RAM for Vista. Roboret SinClaire, who was also on the panel, wasn't too thrilled with me over that and a few musings I had about Office 07. My mindset at the time was that eventually the hardware would have to come up to meet the demands of the software in a very short time as developers took advantage of their new play toys. Below is a Slashdot article that pretty much comes right out and says that Laptop OEMs are leaning to a GB standard configuration for RAM.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/07/12/22/076211.shtml

Windows Home Server: Earlier this year I stated that I wanted a WHS for the Holidays. The quick move to a new orbit for TRS kinda put the kibosh on that desire. However having my own office at home is a super cool trade off though. And in retrospect it may prove to be all for the best as the post linked to below shows that there may be some big issues with WHS.

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2007/12/22/serious-windows-home-server-concerns.aspx

Office 07 SP1 Isn't A Gift: This one goes out to all the non Admins out there who thought I was just whining about the various product Service Pack progress bars and the like earlier in the month. The link below shows that I am not the only guy online perplexed with all the updates, and their eventual testing, showing up at one time during the Winter Break. It also gives a very realistic reason for this wealth of updates.

http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/business_applications/office_2007_sp1_isnt_a_gift.html

Adobe On Microsoft Watch: It has been one year since Adobe went all crazy in the acquisition department to play catch up with Google and Microsoft. One rumor had it that Adobe realized that ODF threatened PDF and so they needed to be more than the company who just annoys you with constant Adobe Acrobat Updates. Macromedia and other purchases have now allowed Adobe to bug you even more with even bigger lists of updates as a result of this buying spree. Sarcasm aside, here is an interview that Karen McCall would love on where Adobe is going. i mention Karen's name because at the top of the interview they jump right into Macromedia integration possibilities with Acrobat. Love that accessibility! Oh and this runs as an embedded player at the top of the page with direct links further down. Just a warning..

http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/podcasts/adobes_acrobat_act.html

Karen's web site: I would be remiss if I also didn't give a shout out to some of Karen's work on Adobe and Office access. Her Main Menu appearance from April 07 is worth a listen as well.

http://www.iprimus.ca/~martha/table.htm

Vista Tip: Shift + Right Click/App Key = Hidden Options

I am catching up on podcasts during the Holiday Break. But one of the few podcasts that always gets bumped to the front of the pack is Windows Weekly at TWIT. Recently Leo and Paul added Vista Tips as a weekly feature. Some of them I have already posted under the label "Tips". This one, however, is one I didn't know about at all.

In Windows Explorer or in general folders you can hold down the Shift Key when Application Key/Right Clicking to find two new options in the list of the context menu. Doing this tip in various areas of Vista will bring you a host of different choices. In the Start Menu you can do this to see options like "Run as Administrator" and "Add to Quick Launch". Another example can be found when you place your focus on a text file in Documents you will see that a new option called "Copy As Path" is available. Can't remember those long path names? Now you can just copy them into a file for later use. Another option that can come up if you place your focus on say a folder is "Open Command Window Here". You can imagine how useful this can be for Networking. Not to mention the reminder that some way some how DOS is always with us.

To hear this particular podcast where the tip came from hit the link below.

http://twit.tv/ww44

Updates All Around: Dolphin, Magic, mPower and Ai2

Santa is truly out doing himself this month. Just when I think I have seen my last install shield for the year... Oh what am I saying. I'll be doing the whole "Family Tech Support Guy" thing during most of my Holiday Break. Oh well it is nice to be loved I guess. Ha!

Dolphin 8.02: The new update for the Dolphin line of products has gone live this week. The updates includes better IE7 support and some Vista service changes. Find out more from the link below.

http://yourdolphin.com/newsitem.asp?id=248

Magic 11.0: An update to the Public Beta has arrived and it sports a ton of new stability tweaks. Rumor on the street is if all goes well for the team the product should see release in the next month or sooner. hey! Just in time for ATIA 08.

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_MAG110_beta.asp#Update

Keysoft 7.5 B#28: Humanware has released a new build of 7.5 to correct an issue some mPower units were having with printing from the USB connection. Non mPower units need not download this update. Find the notes on the update at the link below.

http://www.humanware.com/en-new_zealand/about_us/press_releases/keysoft_7.5_build_28_mpower_now_released

Ai Squared: The gang in Vermont is really doing some neat stuff that is more community based in tone on their News section. I think its worth the read.

http://aisquared.com/News/index.php

Also Dean's December 20th issue of Top Tech Tid Bits has a lot of good info this week that I don't usually cover here at TRS.

http://www.topdotenterprises.com/tidbits.htm

If you don't subscribe to his newsletter then go read his archives. And then go subscribe! I've said it before.. howe he can do this weekly is beyond me. I did the whole newsletter thing monthly for a while and quite frankly it drove me crazy. Access World has it right with an issue every 2 months. However I have been asked if I would reconsider my absence from the newsletter game. I won't say "never again" because that will just jinx me into doing it again. If you remember those posts and you think I should do it let me know in email or comments.