Access and Technology Briefly

New Internet browser allows users to talk to their computer to be launched later this year

Opera Software from Norway is developing a new Internet browser that allows users to talk to their computer. The new browser incorporates IBM's ViaVoice technology, allowing the computer to ask what the user wants and the listen to the request. The demonstration version is only available in English, and the company plans to launch the product for sale later this year. For more information, please visit the Opera Software website at http://www.opera.com/ .

14 sailors with disabilities participate in the Halifax tall ships festival on accessible vessel

The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the tall ship Tenacious, a British vessel with a crew of 32 that recently landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia after a 12-day trip from New London, Connecticut to participate in the city's tall ships festival, had a crew in which fourteen members have physical disabilities.   The Jubilee Sailing Trust, a U.K.-based charity, raised funds to build the ship with accessibility features that include brackets that can fasten a wheelchair to the deck, wide decks and powered lifts, as well as a speaking compass for people with visual impairments and vibrator alarms for those with hearing impairments. The entire Winnipeg Free Press article can be read on the DPI website at http://www.dpi.org/en/resources/articles/08-04-04_tallship.htm .

U.S. Access Board releases revised ADA Accessibility Guidelines

The U.S. Access Board announced the release of new design guidelines that cover access for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The guidelines update access requirements for a wide range of facilities in the public and private sectors covered by the law, detail how accessibility is to be achieved in new construction and alterations and provide specifications for various building elements and spaces, including entrances, ramps, parking, restrooms, and telephones, among others.  The new design document is the culmination of a comprehensive, decade-long review and update of the Board's ADA Accessibility Guidelines, which were first published in 1991.  Revisions have been made so that the guidelines continue to meet the needs of people with disabilities and keep pace with technological innovations. For more information, please visit http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba.htm .

AT Works : Online Tutorial Series

Assistive technology resources and services can be very effective tools to help expand employment opportunities and enhance prospects that someone will be successful in reaching his or her employment goals. One way to explore ways that AT can be used is through case study scenarios that describe how technology resources or services were used to deal with accommodation issues. Actual case studies have been used to create a web-based training resource that rehabilitation and education personnel, students in pre-service training programs, consumers, technology specialists or others can use at any time. The online course is free, and CRC continuing education credit is available for those persons that successfully complete each exercise. For more information, please visit http://www.techconnections.org/training/webcourse/ .

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