Braille Live

Braille Displays Promise To Deliver The Web To The Blind
North Carolina State University researchers take the first steps toward making an affordable and more dynamic Braille display By Larry Greenemeier Scientific American, April 5, 2010

The Web’s wealth of information would lose some of its luster if you read it only one line at a time. Yet this is exactly how blind and other vision-impaired people today must experience the Web when they use electronic Braille displays connected to their computers.
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40 Year Old Discovery Could Define Future of Computing
BBC NEWS
HP outlines memory of the future By Jonathan Fildes
Technology reporter, BBC News
The fundamental building blocks of all computing devices could be about to undergo a dramatic change that would allow faster, more efficient machines

Researchers at computer firm Hewlett Packard (HP) have shown off working devices built using memristors – often described as electronics’ missing link. These tiny devices were proposed 40 years ago but only fabricated in 2008. HP says it has now shown that they can be used to crunch data, meaning they could be used to build advanced chips.

That means they could begin to replace transistors – the tiny switches used to build today’s chips. And, crucially, the unique properties of memristors would allow future chips to both store and process data in the same device.
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Verisign Rolls Out New Website Verification Service
VeriSign is introducing a certification service that confirms whether a business is legitimate and that their Web site is free of malware.
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Rogue AntiVirus Comes With Tech Support
In an effort to boost sales, sellers of a fake antivirus product known as Live PC Care are offering their victims live technical support. , once users have installed the program, they see a screen, falsely informing them that their PC is infected with several types of malware. That’s typical of this type of program. What’s unusual, however, is the fact that the free trial version of Live PC Care includes a big yellow “online support” button.
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Security chip that does encryption in PCs hacked
SAN FRANCISCO – Deep inside millions of computers is a digital Fort Knox, a special chip with the locks to highly guarded secrets, including classified government reports and confidential business plans. Now a former U.S. Army computer-security specialist has devised a way to break those locks.
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Malware Research Group Spins Off From Harvard
SAN FRANCISCO – A research organization that tries to warn computer users about programs that do sneaky things on their computers has spun off from Harvard University. StopBadware says it will operate as a standalone nonprofit with funding from Google Inc., eBay Inc.’s PayPal and Mozilla, which makes the Firefox Web browser. It was initially set up as part of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

StopBadware issues what it calls “badware alerts” about corporations whose applications do what the organization deems unwanted and harmful things to users’ computers. For instance, it once put AOL on its badware list because downloads of the AOL program automatically came with other software the group said consumers don’t necessarily need or want. The organization also targets purveyors of spyware and other forms of malicious software.

The idea is to warn users before they access a site with such a program. The Firefox browser, for instance, has used the StopBadware list to power some of its built-in security tools. The list also is meant to pressure companies to change their tactics.

The group, based in Cambridge, Mass., said it decided to break off from Harvard because it had grown beyond its roots as a research project. “There is still much to do,” executive director Maxim Weinstein said. “Badware remains a growing problem, but in the past few years, there’s also been a growing sense that this is a problem we — the Internet community — can and should work together to address.”

Note From Accessible Devices:
This is a tool that you definitely want in your Spyware arsenal. Unfortunately not every feature of the site is easily accessible. When using some features you may need to seek sighted assistance.

Visit The Stop Badware Website

Mobile Speak 4
Mobile Speak 4, Now Available!
Cross Platform, Touch, Multi Voice and Ready for the Next Generation
Terrassa (Barcelona), Spain, January 27, 2010
Today, Code Factory introduced Mobile Speak 4, a revolutionary screen reader for anyone who wishes to enhance his/her use of a mobile phone. Read the rest of this entry »

Exclusive Network Flaw Causes Scary Web Error
SAN FRANCISCO – A Georgia mother and her two daughters logged onto Facebook from mo bile phones last weekend and wound up in a startling place: strangers’ accounts with full access to troves of private information.
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A framework for making virtual worlds accessible to the visually impaired

Sapre, Manjari. Proquest Dissertations And Theses 2009.

Virtual Worlds have virtually exploded in popularity and have experienced significant commercial success. Read the rest of this entry »

The Big R’s Cell Phone Ring Tone Center
The Big R frequently surprises us with some rather unique sound products. We’ve decided to share some of his cell phone ring tones with you. You may download, free of charge, any of the ring tones on this page. However, be aware, we do not provide any form of tech support for them. Be sure to choose the correct one for your phone as you’ll find both the IPhone and conventional phone ring tones here. Read the rest of this entry »