On the eve of Thanks Giving, I thought it appropriate to dedicate tonight's program to giving thanks to the developers, distributors and instructors of assistive technology without whom, we might not be where we are today. For some, maybe it's a particular assistive technology product that's made the difference while for others, maybe the belief of an instructor, VR counselor, family member, or other person has made all the difference in the world. Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we'll have the chance to give thanks to those who have made it all possible.

Although we had no official topic for tonight's show, the following topics were discussed: Issues with Bookshare books from publishers. overdrive.com and portable players. winrar and compression formats. sunbelt antispyware, designed with access in mind, http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com New Nod32 beta incorporating major improvements in accessibility. The new Serotalk.com blog and podcast. Satogo and firefox. Discounted price for KNFB reader. And of course much much more.

This week, we'll talk about Serotek's new release of System Access version 3, the first screen reader able to run on 64 bit machines. We'll also talk about a note taker alternative I've recently come across, a device that can almost fit in the palm of your hand and which costs less than $400.

As I was unable to host this week's edition of the Assistive Technology Show, I thought I'd repodcast this edition from November 8, 2006, the day after election day. Back then, we were all excited about the up-coming release of Jaws 8, Internet Explorer 7 was causing us access issues and Windows Vista was the new up and coming thing. Although I wasn't able to host the show this week, I hope you enjoy this blast from the past.

Although there was no official topic for tonight's show, the following topics were discussed: Shoutcast, what is it and hosting options from http://www.gwhosting.net. Programs that help you of all things sleep better? http://www.pzizz.com and http://www.soundsolutions.com. The new Plextalk player, anyone have info on it? zoomlink, a possible great solution for folks who are blind and hearing impaired. Hearing aids and the cost of assistive tech. Accessibility of distance education systems such as Blackboard and others. What life is like with a Victor Stream an 16 GB SD card. irti makes a utility to help fix volume control and other sound issues. Windows updates and temp folders, what and where are they? Can they be deleted? And much much more.

Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we introduce you to the world of blogs. Blogs, or web logs are an ever increasing way to receive information. In their simplest form, blogs are a journal, a journal in which news might be printed, or on-going development efforts to a product, or service documented. The art of Blogging, or publishing ones own blog is not restricted to the ultra geeky, however, leading to millions of blogs written by folks just like you and I. You can blog about anything whether it's your own life, your attempts at gardening, a trip you're taking -- anything you can imagine. And even for those things you can't imagine, like rowing solo across the pacific, or hiking the world's highest mountains, someone has blogged about it. On tonight's show, we'll talk more about blogs, what they are, how they're created and where one can find them. we'll also look at different ways to read and manage blogs in addition to answering any questions you may have. So, whether you're interested in blogging, already blogging and want to share what you've done, interested in finding blogs to read, or just want to learn something new, come join me for this week's edition of the Assistive Technology Show. When? The Assistive Technology show takes place Wednesday evening's between 7:00-9:00 PM, EDT (2300-0100, UTC). For more information, or to join the show, please visit the Assistive Technology SHow home page at: http://www.atmaine.com/atshow . If you're unable to attend, but want to listen after the fact, feel free to check out the Assistive Technology Show archives/podcast also available from http://www.atmaine.com/atshow . I look forward to seeing you tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, Steve

Tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, we introduce you to the ever growing world of podcasts. For those unaware, podcasts are audio programs that can be listened to on demand. Basically, you subscribe to programs of interest and with the help of some additional software, the programs are downloaded to your computer. You then have the ability to listen at your convenience, either on your computer, or on a portable audio device such as an MP3 player. Tonight, we'll explore just what a podcast is, how you can go about finding podcasts of interest and what you'll need to do in order to listen. There are literally thousands and thousands of podcasts out there on just about every topic, so no matter what your area of interest, there's a podcast for you.

Although there was no specific topic for tonight's show, the following topics were discussed: itunes, Online television programming Webbie applications, klango.net, Screamer Radio: http://www.screamer-radio.com legitimacy of MP3sparks, Safety when buying online banking and bill pay, and much much more.

This week, on the Assistive Technology show, we look at different ways to listen to audio on the go. In the past, we've discussed using portable MP3 players, the Victor Stream and the new accessible iPod, but what's it like to actually use one of these devices? MP3, OGG, AAC, what's it all mean? How complicated is it to digitize audio, to put it on a portable device and finally to actually listen to it? On this week's show, we'll attempt to answer these questions and much much more. Whether you use a portable device for listening to audio and have experiences to share, or if you're interested in exploring the possibilities of taking audio on the go, this week's show is for you. In addition to your experiences and questions, I'll also be demonstrating the talking menus available in Apple's newest 4TH generation iPod Nano.

The following topics were discussed on tonight's show: voice recording software for sending voice emails, how do you record? winamp VS windows media player and other players, Accessible checkbook programs, keyboard shortcuts and how they sometimes don't do what you think, Paypal and other forms of online payment, are they safe? Changes in ScripTalk, a pill bottle with embedded ID chip, new updates in the Omni barcode reader, And much much more.

On tonight's show, we talk with folks who have made the successful transition from Windows to the Mac operating system. What challenges have they faced? What have their experiences been like and what resources have they found useful while making the transition? These topics and much much more are discussed on tonight's edition of the Assistive Technology Show.

A tutorial intended to walk a Mac user through the process of downloading, installing and configuring the Ventrilo client for use with the Assistive Technology Show server.

On tonight's show, the following topics and more were discussed: Up-coming round table of former Windows users having switched to the Mac. New NLS players, who's building them and who's getting them? Spills, how to possibly save gadgets that accidentally get wet? cooling pads and ways to protect laptops. MacBook Air, is it being considered as an accessible note taker?

Although we had no specific topic for tonight's show, the following was discussed: Discussion of NFB's settlement with Target Corp. thoughts and opinions, Difficulties with updating Winamp, Brief comparison of Winamp and Windows Media Player, T-Mobile's relatively @home service providing low cost VOIP-based telephony, Cellular technology, why GSM makes it easy to choose your own cell phone. The above topics and more were all discussed on tonight's program.

Tonight, I am proud to bring you the Assistive Technology Show in its new home. Due to technical issues experienced with the TC5 conferencing software, I've decided to switch the show over to Ventrilo. Ventrilo is another high quality audio conferencing solution which some of you may remember we discussed a few months back on the show. In addition to bringing you the Assistive Technology Show, Ventrilo might be a good option for those interested in an accessible online conferencing solution for small groups such as a local computer users group, visually impaired support group, or other community. Although there is no specific topic for this evening's edition of the Assistive Technology Show, I thought it best to take the opportunity to make sure people are abel to use the Ventrilo conferencing software comfortably. I'll answer any Ventrilo questions you may have and will assist with any technical issues you may be experiencing with the software. Of course any assistive tech, or general technology questions are fair game, so whether you've got a question, or just want to learn something new, come join me.

Although tonight's show had no specific topic, the following topics were covered: vista's start menu Buying a new laptop, better to go Vista, or XP Pro? Tech announcements from NFB convention What's new in Victor Stream 2.0 update? Already there's issues? bluetooth headsets and their possible use on computers. new NLS format, when's it coming? What devices are known to support it?

Although there was no specific topic for tonight's program, a number of topics were covered including a discussion of the Guide and other menu driven Internet access systems. Is it better to have technology that's easy to use, or technology that's expandable -- why can't we have both? Choice is good, but how much choice do we really have in terms of our assistive technology? On tonight's program, we covered these topics and much more.

in this demonstration, I explain what Ventrilo is, how you might use it and walk you through installing the program and connecting to a server. I then discuss some of Ventrilo's many options.

As I continue to search for an audio conferencing solution that can be used to bring you the Assistive Technology Show, Jerry, one of our regular participants, has kindly offered to let us use his online conference room.  This gave me an idea, why not take the next few shows and evaluate/compare various conferencing solutions?  Although I use online conferencing solutions to bring you the Assistive Technology Show and for teaching, you might use such solutions to conduct a group meeting, a virtual family gathering, to form an online club, or any one of a number of uses.  As with everything in technology, there are many options and many solutions, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. Tonight, we'll examine the Talking Communities TC 5 conferencing solution, courtesy of Jerry.  We'll discuss the various features of TC5 and can compare it to the Ivocalize solution which was formerly used to bring you the show.

In this brief podcast, I provide an update concerning the Assistive Technology Show and the problems being experienced with the Ivocalize chat client.

We use our computers to store music files, family photos, important documents and other things that simply can't be recovered.  Sure, many of us use external drives, USB memory sticks and even secondary computers to back up this data, but how good are these backups in the case of a catastrophic emergency such as fire?  Online storage solutions exist, but often are very pricey and of course there's the question of how to actually restore the data when needed.  Tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, we'll look at a service from Amazon that allows you to store an unlimited amount of data securely online.  Not only is this useful for backing up those important files, but the service can work as a virtual hard drive giving you access to files from wherever you happen to be.  Potentially, this means you could have access to your music library while at work, view your photos while visiting a relative, or just have space to store those files that simply won't fit on your existing hard drives.  So, unlimited space?  Surely there's a catch.  Well, almost nothing good in life is free, but in the case of Amazon's service, you pay only for what you use -- no monthly fees, no minimums, no setup costs -- just pay $.15 per GB -- that's right, only fifteen cents per gig per month.  in fact, my bill from Amazon for my last month's usage was a whapping 45 cents and I'm storing hundreds of files. Tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, I'll demonstrate Amazon's new service and will talk about how to easily get it set up and running.  We'll also talk about other potential uses of the service -- people are using this in ways I definitely haven't thought of and probably never would.  Online storage not your thing?  As always, we leave ample time during the program for your questions and any other assistive technology, or technology related questions.  So come join me, tonight, between 7:00-9:00 PM, EST for this week's edition of the Assistive Technology Show! *** In addition to tonight's announced topic, we also discussed the Prodigy glocometer, other accessible glucometers, issues with the Paypal service and much more.

Although we had no specific topic for tonight's Assistive Technology Show, we covered quite a lot. Some of the topics covered included: Discussion about the Victor Stream How do you prefer books to be read -- synthesized voice, or narration? Discussion of the new A T Maine site layout Click and ship and other online shipping options Airport and security risks -- what would you do if your high priced note taker were confiscated by the airline security folks? What do you use as your note taker? Anything recently changed in the PacMate? Does anyone use alternative braille writers, or is the good 'ol Perkins the best option? These topics and more were covered in tonight's episode.