all categories Deals, Sales, and News

As one of its daily deals, Amazon takes up to 70% off a selection of school and office supplies, with prices starting from $7.49. Plus, Prime members receive free shipping. (Non-members can spend $49 to qualify for free shipping; otherwise, shipping starts at around $5.) Deal ends today.

M_B_McCarty via eBay has the Hand Crafted Wooden Shutbox Game, with 9 Numbers, Dice Included for $29.95 with free shipping. This is the classic Shut The Box game, hand crafted by Roger Schaf of Louisville, Kentucky. Made of all natural wood with a felt playing area, this game will bring hours of fun to your entire family. See link for full description. A braille option is available, email seller for more information. Roger is a visually impaired woodworker and has sold his products at many conventions.

M_B_McCarty via eBay has the Handcrafted, Wooden Tactile Tictactoe Game for $13.99 with free shipping. This classic game was handcrafted from all natural wood in Louisville, Kentucky by Roger Schaf, a visually impaired craftsman. Because the x and o shapes are completely tactile, it's perfect for the blind or visually impaired. Pieces fit onto pegs, which makes it easy to pass from one player to another. Makes a great gift!

Amazon offers downloads of Clive Barker's Weaveworld Kindle eBook bundled with Audible narration for $2.98. (Check the Audible narration box on the product page to receive it.) That's $21 under the lowest price we could find for these items purchased separately.

Quick Ship Electronics via eBay offers the open-box Apple iPad Pro 9.7" 128GB WiFi Tablet in Space Gray, model no. MLMV2LL/A, for $599.99 with free shipping. That's $38 under the best deal we could find for a new one.

ThinkGeek has the Microbes of Love Plush Bouquet for $49.99 plus shipping. Love is in the air. And when love is in the air, microbes will thrive. It's just a fact of nature. So, why not just go with it and have fun? It's easy to have fun when those microbes can't really make you sick, can't infect your friends or loved ones, and can't make you do anything except smile 'cause they're just so dang cute. It's easy when the microbes are part of this plush bouquet! In each Plush Bouquet - Microbes of Love, you'll get six plush microbes. Each one will fit in the palm of your hand. Though mini, they are actually almost a million times bigger than life size. You'll be happy they are just plush when you look at the microbes you'll get. Happy VD Day, everyone!

Best Buy offers the 5.8-lb. HP 17-x114dx Intel Kaby Lake Core i5 2.5GHz 17.3" Laptop, model no. Z4P14UA, for $399.99 with free 2-day shipping. That's $80 off list and the least expensive 17" laptop we've seen with this CPU. Features include an Intel Kaby Lake Core i5-7200U 2.5GHz dual-core processor, 17.3" 1600x900 LCD, 6GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, DVD burner, 802.11n wireless, 3-cell battery, and Windows 10 Home 64-bit. Note: Neither Best Buy nor HP list Bluetooth among its specs; that's a rare omission for a laptop of its class.

Amazon offers Prime members the Kensington LM550 16" Laptop and Tablet Briefcase in Black, model no. K62611WW, for $29.95 with free shipping. (Non-members can spend $49 or more to qualify for free shipping; otherwise, shipping costs $10.04.) That's the lowest total price we could find by $62. It features padded compartments that accommodate laptops up to 15.6" and tablets up to 12", multiple interior pockets, a rear slip pocket, dual metal clasps, faux leather construction, adjustable shoulder strap, and carry handle. Note: This item usually ships within two to five weeks.

Walmart offers the RCA 0.9-Cubic Foot Portable Washer in White, model no. RPW091, for $199 with free shipping. That's the lowest total price we could find by $65. It features a stainless steel drum, LED display, four wash cycles, and a quick-connect sink adapter.

Here's something for your guy for Valentine's Day. Walmart offers the adidas Men's Pure Game 4-Piece Bath Gift Set, model no. 31993295141, for $7.48. If possible, choose in-store pickup to avoid the $5.97 shipping fee. That's the lowest price we could find. It includes 8.4-oz. and 16-oz. 3-in-1 shower gels, a 3.4-oz. after shave, and 4-oz. body spray.

Hayneedle via Walmart offers the Bond Falling Water Indoor/Outdoor Fountain for $199.99 with free shipping. That's the lowest total price we could find by $35. It measures 17.72" x 15.75" x 39" and features LED illumination in the lower pool.

Amazon offers downloads of Napoleon Hill's Think And Grow Rich Kindle eBook for free. That's the lowest price we could find by a buck.

Happy Tao via Amazon offers the Lumsing J05 Business Handsfree Earphone in Black or Silver for $19.99. Coupon code "FEU396CV" cuts it to $9.99. With free shipping. That's $18 off list, and the lowest total price we could find. It features CVC noise reduction 6.0, integrated multi-point technology, and Bluetooth 4.1. Deal ends today.

Dictation Bridge, an open-source, crowdfunded tool which aims to enable accessible dictation of text using screen readers, has released a public beta of its add-on for NVDA. This version works with both Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Microsoft Speech Recognition, the latter available for free with modern versions of Windows. Users can speak text and have it typed into their favorite app, or control NVDA itself with commands for Dragon. JAWS and Window-Eyes add-ons are still on the roadmap for the near future.
You can hear more about Dictation Bridge on Blind Bargains Qast 55 where we interviewed Lucy Greco. For more details about the features below, check out the Dictation Bridge Public Beta page.

Captcha Be Gone, an online service which can decipher most visual CAPTCHAs on web pages, is now available for the Chrome web browser. This is in addition to support for Firefox and Internet Explorer which is already included. The service was launched last July and is available via a $3 monthly or $33 yearly plan. Both of these are introductory prices and may go up in the future.

If you had aspirations for attending both major blindness consumer organization national conventions, you can do this in 2017 and even have time to come home in-between. The National Federation of the Blind will once again hold their convention at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort though it will be later than in past years. Convention activities start on Monday, July 10 and continue through Saturday, July 15. This is the site used for the 2011 and 2016 conventions.
The American Council of the Blind's 2017 Conference and Convention is actually a day shorter than in past years, stretching from June 30 to July 7. It will return to the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nev. just outside of Reno. The ACB was last in Reno in 2011.
NFB online registration typically starts March 1 while ACB registration usually launches in May. Hotel reservations for both conventions can be made now. Check the links above for info.

Be My Eyes, an iPhone app which provides visual assistance to blind and visually impaired users, says that an Android port of their app is imminent. The original Be My Eyes app was released just over 2 years ago and was one of the first in a line of crowd assistance platforms. According to a recent Email, The app is now served over 32,000 blind and visually impaired users with the help of more than 450,000 sighted volunteers.
You can select this link to be informed of the release of the Android app.

Recently, Google's Eyes-free team released version 5.1 of the TalkBack screen reader for Android devices. This version is the first to only run on Android 5.1 and newer, which encompasses most current devices. Those running Android 4.4 or earlier received a bug fix release, version 5.0.7, which is said to be the last for these devices.
TalkBack 5.1 includes a list of minor improvements including announcing of page load percentages in Chrome, an assignable shortcut for the Quick Settings Panel, and improvements for scrolling in large lists. We've included the message from the Eyes-free mailing list below.

As one of its daily deals, Best Buy offers the Beats by Dr. Dre Beats EP On-Ear Headphones in four colors for $64.99 with free 2-day shipping. That's the lowest total price we've seen. (It's the best deal by $33.) They feature in-line volume controls and microphone and are compatible with iOS devices. Deal ends today.

Various merchants via eBay cut up to 40% off a selection of fitness trackers, smartwatches, and accessories during its Fitness Tech Sale. (The banner advertises up to 40% off, but we've found greater discounts within.) Plus, all items receive free shipping. Save on brands like FitBit, Garmin, Jawbone, Scosche, and Withings.