Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

EBU Access Cast


Feb 21, 2020

Welcome to the 19th episode of the EBU Access Cast. This is the second episode that you can listen our podcast in chapters in your favourite podcast player. Find out with us which podcast players support EBU Access Cast chapters.

 

Mario shared with us his experience about Focus 40 Blue 5th Gen refreshable braille display from Freedom Scientific. The device is light, small, sturdy and it can have 5 simultaneous bluetooth connections and one USB Type-C. It works both as braille display and notetaker and it is very responsive when used with a screen reader. Our regular listeners know from previous episodes that Mario is a musician and that he plays string instruments so he likes that the firmness of the dots can be adjusted on Focus 40.

 

NVDA 2019.3 is Out and it brings many new features, changes and bug fixes. Screen curtain and focus highlight are the default feature of NVDA now and you can predefine the shortcut in the input gestures menu. At the end of the episode you can hear our demo of the new features in NVDA. Note, however, that add-ons that were not updated to be compatible with the new NVDA will not work anymore and you can check the status on the NVDA add-ons repository. Mario shared with us a tip about the NVDA add-on updater that can automate the process and download updated NVDA add-ons for you.

 

The New, stable Chromium-based Microsoft Edge is Available And compatible with NVDA 2019.3 and JAWS 2020 February update. It starts with number 79 and it comes with the Windows update or you can download it as standalone installer. The new Edge is much more responsive, uses less resources, provides more shortcuts and the interface is very intuitive. You can check the information related to accessibility of the new Edge and the list of Edge shortcuts on the Microsoft page.

 

The Microsoft Accessibility Webinars demonstrate How To Use Various Microsoft applications With Assistive Technology. You can find 12 episodes from this sirie in the archive and we hope that Microsoft will do more similar webinars in the future for customers with disabilities.

 

Raspberry Pi Becomes More Accessible With The Addition of Orca screen reader.

 

APH announces new products:

Chameleon 20 braille device which main purpose is to help blind students in tclassrooms, Mantis Q40 refreshable braille display combined with the querty keyboard, handheld video magnifier with OCR functionality and 2 different desktop braille embossers PixBlaster and PageBlaster that can print braile text and tactile graphics.

 

We shared with you the results of a study done in UK Regarding The Accessibility Of The Online Shopping Experience that shows that persons with disabilities find difficulties in buying online groceries, train tickets, clothing, ordering food delivery, booking rooms in hotels or finding information and purchasing tickets for leasure or sport activities.

 

Envision AI is coming to Google glasses

with the known Envision AI features: OCR with TTS, scanning products, recognising images and the plan is to add new features like video calls. The interface will be accessible with a special screen reader done for this particular glasses. We hope that we will be able to test the product at special events dedicated to asssistive technologies for visually impaired persons in Europe.

 

Stay tuned with us! Send us comments or suggestions via Twitter or e-mail and we will get back to you as soon as possible.