Newsletter Archive
Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (FITA)
Improving the quality of life of disabled persons through ICT24th December 2005
Contents
Software of the Month : Lego World Builder / Toolbar Cop/ Text Aloud V2.0
Website of the Month : Onelook Dictionary
Question Box (Hints & Tips) : Rice researchers discover Google Desktop Search flawArticles :
- Ability or disability?
- ICT the enabling tool
- Judge Hits Spammer with $1 billion fine
- Electronic Texts
Software of the Month
Lego World Builder
Created by the mad geniuses at Gamelab [gmlb.com], Lego World Builder is a free, online, Flash-based, real-time strategy game that uses virtual Lego bricks. No, really. Using your computer and a mouse, your goal is to put together, take apart, and reconstruct vehicles in order to complete 35 different game levels. Lego World Builder sounds simple, but as the levels progress the game gets infinitely more difficult and progressively more time-consuming.
Toolbar Cop
Need to clean up Internet Explorer? Here is the tool you've been waiting for.
We used it to remove the remnants of a download manager that was hanging around long after the product was uninstalled.http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm
Text Aloud V2.0.
This new release of the Text Aloud software, helps you to read text on your computer aloud by using a Text-to-speech SAPI engine. In fact Text Aloud comes with at least three different SAPI engines to choose from. Obviously high quality, human quality SAPI engines such as the AT&T Natural Voices must be purchased. Text Aloud in shareware mode allows you to try the software for about 20 days. One of the greatest ability of Text Aloud is to convert and save the spoken text in three different formats. *.wav, *.mp3, and *.WMA. When you convert the spoken text into one of the mentioned format, you can easily import these audio files onto your portable media player and listen the files where you want. You can also vary the speech rate, and pitch of the speech engine. The software can also monitor the clipboard so text copied into the clipboard can automatically spoken.
To download a demo copy of the software visit: http://www.nextup.com/
Website of the Month
Onelook Dictionary
Onelook provides quick online dicitonary ànd translation services. Never stop learning! OneLook is sponsored in part by KnowledgeNews, which is presently accepting introductory membership for its educational/information services. Subscribe to receive daily emails covering the fascinating world of history, science and culture.
Question Box (Hints & Tips)
Rice researchers discover Google Desktop Search Flaw
Researchers at Rice University in November uncovered a security flaw in Google's recently released desktop search tool. Google Desktop is a downloadable program that creates an index of material on a user's computer, including e-mail and individual documents. When that user does a Google search of the Web, the application incorporates local resources from the index in the results. In what began as a student project to investigate how Google Desktop works, two students and a computer science professor found that the application could be fooled into sending results from a local index to Web sites, allowing a hacker to see them.
The problem would only reveal small portions of information, and no attacks using the flaw have been reported. After being notified by the researchers of the vulnerability in late November, Google patched the flaw and began offering a new version of the search tool in December. In addition, the application includes a feature that allows Google to update the software without user input or even knowledge about the upgrade.
Articles
Ability or disability?
My name is Manuel Longo and on the 21st September 2000 I had a brain-stem stroke. This is a very devastating stroke as the brain-stem connects the brain to the spinal cord and therefore all muscles are paralised. The heart keeps beating, but that`s about it and the patient usually does not survive. I went into a coma for 4 days and was kept breathing by a respirator.
At first I could not move at all, but over time I regained breathing and the respirator was removed and eventually I regained head movement – which is very useful. I use a chin-operated wheelchair and (more importantly) I use the computer hands-free.
To do this before I used a home-made device that gave me mouse movement. Then a program called Point `N Click (available free from http://www.polital.com/pnc/) generates mouse clicks for me and when I need letters I use another excellent program called Click N Type (also free from http://www.lakefolks.org/cnt/) – which is a virtual on-screen keyboard. The home-made device used a small laser mounted on an old spectacles frame. At first we used laser pointers as found on keychains but these lost power after a week, so a search (on internet of course) to find a good laser was done.
Eventually we found what we wanted from Maplin Electronics in UK, and two were ordered (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=5620&TabID=1&source=
15&WorldID=&doy=27m11) which has proved very reliable (I am still on my first laser).Eventually a commercial mouse alternative was found (http://www.naturalpoint.com/smartnav/index.html - isn`t internet useful?) which works very well and is also quite cheap.
Then (about a year ago) a laser-operated keyboard (called LUCY) was found (via internet of course) - http://headlight.nl/web/engels/lucy.htm and was ordered through a UK supplier (http://www.keytools.com/) . The laser-keyboard is not cheap but it is full of features and, more importantly, it uses no software or drivers – the computer “sees” it just as an external keyboard plugged in the PS/2 port. Also LUCY can emulate a mouse and since it uses no software it will keep working when Windows crashes.
With these devices I use an ordinary computer (in my case a laptop) and with this setup so far I have found nothing I can`t do on the computer (except games of course).
Contributed by Manuel Longo
ICT the enabling toolThe preceeding article proves the great benefits inherent to the proper implementation and use of ICT and assistive technology. It is important to realise that the gadgets and technologies covered would be meaningless if we disregard the value of the person and the positive attitude exhibited in circumventing and surmounting functional limitations.
Some have come to believe that ICT has not delivered the promise of enabling disabled persons, increasing independence and providing access to education and employment. This is not the case.
It is undoubtedly true, that notwithstanding the availability of information resources and increased general awareness, many still manage to create barriers to accessibility, at a physical, social and technolgical level.I do not think it is technology which is failing us, at this point. The culprits are society, and specifically the people behind the projects, who persevere in creating barriers to access. Obvious examples are an inaccessible retail outlet, inaccessible class rooms, a cryptic software interface or an inaccessible website.
Basic ICT knowledge is important in ensuring greater access to information to most disabled persons. These would otherwise not have such easy access to the same information via traditional means. At a different level, ICT jobs are attractive to disabled persons, because these jobs tend to be of a clerical and less physically demanding nature. Depending on the specific ICT job requirements, they can also be set up to conform to a routine schedule, and carried out in a safe environment.
These ICT jobs require more advanced ICT knowledge and disabled persons should be given all possible opportunities to receive the necessary education and training to qualify for these jobs. When disabled persons are given the chance to participate in society, the ancient discrimantory stereotypes will be proven wrong.
Judge Hits Spammer with $1 billion fine
A federal judge in Iowa has issued fines totaling $1 billion against three spammers, marking what some observers believe is the largest judgment handed down to spammers. The ruling came from a case filed by Robert Kramer, operator of a small Internet service provider in eastern Iowa. Kramer, whose company serves about 5,000 customers, filed suit against 300 spammers, alleging that they send his subscribers upwards of 10 million spam e-mails per day. The judge ordered three of the defendants to pay damages under a state law that allows for fines of $10 per spam message, and those amounts were then tripled under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Cases against other defendants are still pending. In his ruling Judge Charles R. Wolle ordered Arizona-based AMP Dollar Savings to pay $720 million, Florida-based Cash Link Systems to pay $360 million, and TEI Marketing Group, also based in Florida, to pay $140,000.
No attorneys for any of the defendants were present during the trial, and the plaintiff's attorney conceded it is unlikely his client will ever collect any of the damages.
Electronic Texts
Google has announced agreements with major libraries to digitize books in their collections and make them available online. Google is funding the project, which is said to have strong support from founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who said that such dissemination of information has always been one of their goals.
Under the arrangements, Google reportedly will scan all of the eight million books at Stanford University's library and all of the University of Michigan's seven million texts. For the others involved in the project--Harvard University, Oxford University, and the New York Public Library--only portions of the collections will be scanned. For books whose copyright remains in effect, Google will scan the entire text but make available only selected portions online. Books whose copyright has run out will be available in their entirety. The announcement follows similar programs from the Library of Congress as well as Amazon to digitize content of books.
Disclaimer
The reader is responsible for the use of information contained herein and its safe and lawful use. This includes work policies and restrictions applicable to the computer environment specific to the user. Descriptions of products or services are for information purposes only. FITA makes no claim, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the information presented here, the performance of products and services, or any results that may be obtainable by their use. FITA also does not necessarily endorse the specific content or positions contained in the articles shown or referred to.
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Last modified: Friday, February 3, 2006
