Technology

Access IT magazine

Summary: Subscribe to our monthly magazine about IT.

• In this issue - July 2008
• From the cutting room floor
• Previous issues
• Useful links

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The monthly magazine about technology for blind and partially sighted people. This magazine is for you whether you are just getting started with IT or are an experienced user.

The magazine is packed with articles about new services, the latest software, internet developments and what’s happening with digital TV.

Available in braille and by email, price: £0.60 per issue. How to order Access IT.

In this issue - July 2008

• Code Factory's Reading on the go competition
• Roberts Concerto radio
• Speechissimo discontinued: cross-grade offer to GhostReader and Infovox
• Major employers launch accessibility taskforce
• New NVDA Miscellaneous Dependencies package
• Free update for v9 users of Supernova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus
• Help with audio and video CAPTCHA research
• Win a $2,000 accessible digital makeover from Serotek
• Migrating from WCAG 1.0 to WCAG 2.0
• Making YouTube easier and more accessible
• Victor Reader Stream and Stream Companion Version 2.0 release
• RNIB Surf Right Toolbar - beta version available
• First impressions of freesat and the Humax digibox
• New products from RNIB
• Technology: Threat or saviour?

From the cutting room floor

Opera 9.5 web browser ready to roll

Opera Software has released version 9.5 of its web browser. The new version, currently available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD and the Intel version of Solaris, is available to download from the vendor's server. According to Opera, it has "made the fastest browser in the world even faster".

One of the most conspicuous features is the new look. Opera Software has given its browser a dapper new standard theme. Some the elements of the user interface have also been rearranged. Some of the functions in the view symbol bar have been moved to the status bar, which is now once again activated by default.

Perhaps the most important innovation is 'Quick Find'. The browser now records not just the URL and title of websites visited, but also the complete text. If the user types a term into the address bar, Opera lists all sites visited which contain this term. On request Opera Link saves a PC's bookmarks and speed dial web sites on an Opera server and synchronises then with other desktop Operas, including the Opera Mini browser for mobile devices, which has supported this feature since version 4.

Opera 9.5 checks sites visited against the Haute Secure database, which offers users additional protection from phishing attacks.

Version 9.5 also includes 10 security updates with an emphasis on certificate management. Support for Extended Validation (EV) certificates and automatic downloading of trusted root certificates have been added, and SSL v2 and weak ciphers disabled. The security notification scheme has been redesigned to distinguish between EV, standard SSL and HTTPS sites with issues, and a fraud warning appears for blacklisted sites. Certificate handling and the certificate repository have been improved. Other security changes include the elimination of bugs that allowed cross-domain image reading, cross-frame location manipulation and page address concealment.

For developers, Opera has released a preview version of its Dragonfly developer toolset. It includes a whole series of useful aids for web developers, such as DOM and CSS inspectors, a JavaScript debugger and an error console and command line.

For the visually impaired, Opera has added a 'basic' implementation of the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) standard and an experimental screen reader, specifically for Window-Eyes, JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. Opera 9.5 also includes dozens of other new features. Details of these new features can be found on the Opera 9.5 information page.

Duxbury 10.7

Duxbury Systems and Design Science have announced that version 10.7 of the Duxbury Braille Translator incorporates the ability to translate mathematical equations created in Microsoft Word using versions 5 or 6 of MathType.

BlindBargains gets simpler

Dean Martineau tells us that a mobile phone version of the BlindBargains site has been created. It is "simpler to navigate for anyone using a computer with a screen reader".

Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1

Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1 has been released for testing. It has improved web browsing features, a powerful and accessible scripting feature and other enhancements. Also, as of the release of this beta, Window-Eyes will use a new version of the EloQuence speech synthesizer.

Spam vs accessibility

Henny Swan, a member of RNIB's web accessibility team, has been drawing attention to an interesting article by Joe Dolson on Spam vs Accessibility. She says, "He touches on CAPTCHAs, audio CAPTCHAs and various alternatives that provide levels of protection to various degrees and what they mean in terms of accessibility."

Spybot beta with accessibility improvements

Another snippet from Dean Martineau: "Spybot Search and Destroy version 1.6.0.25 beta is now available, and this version of the popular free anti-spyware tool is supposed to include accessibility improvements."

Tips for buying an external hard drive

Type your way to Fred's Head Companion for tips on purchasing an external hard drive.

Previous issues

• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008

Useful links

• Technology articles and updates
• Other RNIB magazines
• Buy computing products from the Online shop.

Content author: technology@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 05/08/2008 17:41