On tonight's show, we discuss computer security: what do you need to know and what threats are real VS hype? And with new security related terms popping up all the time, what does it all mean? Of course most importantly, we'll discuss what can be done about it all, what solutions exist and just how accessible are they? Computer security is an issue that effects us all whether we're heavy Internet users, or just whether we just send the occasional Email. Fortunately, solutions exist for us to protect our computers, solutions that require merely a basic understanding of the types of threats out there.

Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we discuss: windows 7 Apple geniuses VS Microsoft gurus Why everyone should have a cheap USB sound device. VmWare's new Fusion 3 and just what are virtual machines anyway? And much much more.

Whether it's headline, political, sports, or financial, there are a wealth of accessible news sources just waiting to be accessed. Unfortunately, accessing these sources often come with unique challenges due to site design, etc… Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we discuss ways to find and access whatever news interests you and how to access these vast resources efficiently.

"A penny saved is a penny earned" and tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we discuss possible and accessible ways to do just that. Whether it's shopping online, accessibly, printing coupons, or just sharing money saving ideas with others, technology makes it all possible.

Last week, Apple released Snow Leopard, its newest operating system. In addition to numerous performance enhancements, Snow Leopard contains many improvements to VoiceOver. Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we discuss Snow Leopard and take a look at these enhancements.

With its built in universal access features, Apple's recently released iPhone 3GS is causing quite a stir throughout the blindness community. Regardless of how one might feel toward Apple or its iPhone product, the fact that this mainstream device can be purchased and fully accessed right out of the box is simply amazing. This week, on the Assistive Technology show, we not only look at the iPhone and its universal access features, but will do our best to answer any questions you may have about the device. Perhaps you're curious how effective a blind person can be using a strictly touch screen interface, or maybe you're wondering about how one accomplishes a specific task? for these answers and much much more, come join me, this Wednesday for the Assistive Technology show.

Something messed up with the feed when originally posting this show, so am republishing. In this evening's show, we discuss sources of audio books. audible.com: http://www.audible.com Overdrive: http://www.overdrive.com BARD: http://www.nlsbard.loc.gov The NLS digital player. RFB&D: http://www.rfbd.org Librivox: http://www.librivox.org http://www.booksshouldbefree.com The Talking book store: http://www.talking-book-store.com Truly Free: http://www.trulyfree.org Podiobooks: http://www.podiaobooks.com Emusic: http://www.emusic.com Daily Lit: http://www.dailylit.com And much much more.

In this evening's show, we discuss sources of audio books. audible.com: http://www.audible.com Overdrive: http://www.overdrive.com BARD: http://www.nlsbard.loc.gov The NLS digital player. RFB&D: http://www.rfbd.org Librivox: http://www.librivox.org http://www.booksshouldbefree.com The Talking book store: http://www.talking-book-store.com Truly Free: http://www.trulyfree.org Podiobooks: http://www.podiaobooks.com Emusic: http://www.emusic.com Daily Lit: http://www.dailylit.com And much much more.

This week, on the Assistive Technology show, we look at CAPTCHAs, those blurry graphics often found on web forms and which often prove to be huge barriers to web site accessibility. In addition to Webvisum, we look at Solona, a new, highly innovative tool already helping many overcome the barriers imposed by CAPTCHA. Solona, in my opinion, Solona is one of the most innovative and useful services to come along in quite a while.

This week, on the Assistive Technology show, we demonstrate MacSpeech Dictate, the premier speech recognition package for the Mac. We also discuss Windows based speech recognition options, types of hardware that can improve your speech recognition experience and much much more.

Although there was no specific agenda for this evening's program, the following topics were discussed: One handed keyboards Braille watches and other timekeeping devices Adaptive products on Ebay, Amazon and other places. Tim does impromptu demo of Moshi, a clock totally controlled by voice. USing mobile phones as wireless access points -- and just what is "tethering" anyway? 3G, 4G and super slow GPRS -- remember dialup anyone? Verizon Wireless now has battery-powered access point/cellular data device. OCR software. And much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for tonight's program, the following was discussed: Illegal copy of Snow Leopard, just say no. USB sound devices Demonstration of McTwit, an awesome Twitter client. Pam tells us of a 90-year-old KNFB reader user who should be an example to us all. Jessie tells of Twikini, an accessible Twitter client for Windows Mobile. Thoughts on training folks just starting out with assistive tech. Access Technology Institute textbooks, they're fantastic, they're super good and everyone should read at least one. TC5 public directory of conference .

A brief demonstration of the McTwit accessible Twitter client. McTwit can be downloaded at: http://www.empowermentzone.com/mtsetup.exe

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's show, the following was discussed: Overdrive.com updating Symbian devices and knfb reader. Surround sound, virtual and actual. Extracting audio from DVDs, DVD Audio Extractor. Skype 4 and Fideliphone Ventrilo full duplex VS half. And much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's program, the following was discussed: cell phones and providers in canada. Jitterbug games and visual effects. Levelator. Braille Plus. MobileGeo Trekker breeze. And much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's show, the following was discussed: braille plus and bluetooth headsets. netbooks and atom processors, what is this Atom processor thing? Upgrade process for the Nokia N95 Dectalk express, is it still around? Trac phone and other prepaid cell phones. voiceonthego.com and mailtophone.com, a really awesome service.

Although there was no specific topic for tonight's program, the following was discused: How to connect to public wireless hotspots such as those at Starbucks, airports and hotels. System Access's version specifically for netbooks, how does it compare with the standard version? Can standard version be used on netbooks? Defragmentation, it's important to defrag a windows machine, but what about a Mac? How often should defragmentation be performed? Impromptu demo of the Blu Snowball mic, a high quality mic that has become popular of late. Data Rot, what is it and how to avoid it? And of course much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's program, the following was discussed: Discussed the new Safari 4 Dragging and dropping on the Mac, how it's done and why one might want to do it. bose sound systems can be ordered with braille remotes. Powerpoint, how to make music span multiple slides? Windows Live mail finally has pop/SMTP support making it usable from virtually every Email client. Facebook and Twitter, questions about specifics. And much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's program, the following was discussed: What do you think of Vista, is it worth upgrading at this point? Skype and the new version 4. To script, or not to script, is dependence on scripts a good idea? Amazon's new kindle II and the controversy around its text to speech capabilities. www.webscriptions.net www.podiobooks.com And much much more.

Although there was no official topic for tonight's show, the following was discussed: Skype 4.0 and Skype in general, what's it like? Scripts available from www.dlee.org USB mics and weird mic issues. Macbook pros, what do you get for all that money? When running Windows, how do they compare to using non Apple hardware? Pocket pcs vs smartphones and mobilespeak licensing. Icon 2.0 update is out, now supports refreshable braille displays, new Twitter client and much much more.

Although there was no specific topic for tonight's show, the following was discussed: Facebook and my up-coming appearance on ACB Radio's Tuesday Topics. Facebook privacy settings. Accessibility issues in the latest version of TC5. AppleScript, what it is and how to use it. Announcements from ATIA. Talking Checkbook and other accessible financial management software.

One question I'm frequently asked is how, as a blind person, can I use a computer? Often, this question leads to some interesting follow-up questions such as: do you use a braille keyboard? Do you talk to your computer? How does it know what to say? And of course, how did you learn to do all that? Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, I thought it might be a good idea to address these questions. But of course it's not about how "I" use a computer, but how do others access their computers? My hope is that although this information may not really be breaking news to most folks currently participating in the show, tonight's program might serve as a resource for others who are just plain curious.

On last week's Assistive Technology show, we introduced you to the world of social media discussing such sites as Twitter and Facebook. We discussed what social networking sites do, why one might want to use them and how to get started. Tonight, on the Assistive Technology show, we continue that discussion with demonstrations of ways you might use to better harness the power of social media. We'll demonstrate easier ways to interact with social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and will show you how to do it in a way that is both productive and fun. Tonight also marks a slight change in format for the Assistive Technology show, a change I'm hoping will make the program an even more valuable resource.

When I first heard about social networking and sites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, I decided, right there and then, that this was something for the teenagers of today and definitely not something for me. After all, I'm not necessarily chomping at the bit to "hook up" with high school classmates , didn't see the point in telling the world "what I'm doing" and writing on peoples' "walls" was just something my mama told me a long time ago I should never do. Be that as it may, I kept hearing more and more about this social networking thing and so, on a dark and stormy night, it came to pass that I took my first step into the world of social networking. What really surprised me is how many people are taking that same first step, not just curious folks like myself, but music groups and even businesses. Yes, many businesses are now using social networking as a way to both advertise their wares in addition to communicating with customers. Tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, we'll take a look at social networking -- what social networking is and what it's not. We'll also discuss and share experiences about a few social networking sites. Before you disregard this Email and determine that tonight's show just ain't for you, I'd like to say that my journey into the world of social networking has gone much better than expected. I readily admit my initial impressions were wrong and am very happy I gave it a chance. Even if you remain unconvinced, I'd urge you to join tonight's program, if only to learn more of what it's all about.

Although there was no specific topic for this evening's show, the following were discussed: plextalk pocket, Running Leopard on non-Mac hardware, macworld keynote event, Accessible iWorks 9 suite, iTunes going DRM free, New, very expensive macbook ilife humanware having sales on braille products $200 off for month of January audible.com and issues playing samples of books, Possible accessibility coming to the G1, http://is.gd/ePGu accessiblephones.com And of course, much much more.

I'd like to start out by wishing everyone a happy new year! I know that for many tonight will be a night to party, eat good food and hang out with friends. But for the rest of us, those with no friends, or those too lazy to go out anywhere, I bring you another edition of the Assistive Technology show. We won't be having any specific topic for this evening's program, but I thought, it being the end of the year and all, we might just look back at some of the really cool tech products and services that have made 2008 a better year.

Although I will not be able to bring you the Assistive Technology show for this evening, I thought this Christmas concert from 2006 might be a fun repodcast. I remember how much fun it was to present this concert back in 2006 and am hoping some of the new listeners will enjoy it as much as I did back then. So sit back, enjoy the concert and have a merry Christmas. Steve

Although there was no official topic for this evening's Assistive Technology Show, the following topics were discussed: Accessible forums, ReadingMadeEasy OCR products, itunes and screen readers, Podcasts, Interesting and unique online radio stations of possible interest, and much much more.

With the holidays fast approaching, many folks are doing some last minute online shopping. OK, truth be told, some of us, not me naturally, are just beginning their online shopping. But what's online shopping like when using assistive technology? Tonight, on the Assistive Technology Show, we'll look at online shopping, how it works and what challenges you might face. We'll also discuss some possible sources of last minute holiday deals, not that I've been particularly frantically compiling such a list. ;) So, whether you're new to online shopping, thinking about online shopping, or a seasoned online shopper, come join me tonight, for this week's edition of the Assistive Technology Show.