Miscellaneous Deals, Sales, and News

When the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 1997, it was specified that all children with vision impairments should learn braille unless there was a legitimate reason for them not to. However, the number of students who are actually learning braille is continuing to fall despite this requirement. In May,26 senators sent a letter to the Department of Education explaining their concern about the very low rates of braille literacy. Wednesday, the Department of Education issued a statement clarifying the guidelines that school districts must follow. One important change that will hopefully increase braille instruction is the rule that having access to other media such as audio or computers can not be used as an excuse to deny braille. Read the statement from the NFB and the letter from the Department of Education by visiting the link provided.

traveling independently for those of us who can't read the street sign either means having accessible GPS or memorizing where we are. Knowing where you are is an important skill, but it would also be useful if the street sign was accessible. The city of Sydney is currently testing out a prototype of their new street signs which will feature braille and raised letters. They are working with blind citizens to make sure that the signs are readable and that they will be placed in consistent locations on intersections. This change could make travel more safe and appealing to those with vision loss.

JJ Lucia-Wright, a member of Extreme Clowning, an organization that helps the deaf/blind experience entertainment in an accessible way has created the first Star Wars convention that is just for people with disabilities. The convention will take place later this year in Peterborough England. Attendees will be able to tactually explore costumes from the films, meet costume characters and actors from the films, and even get to experience a droid. There will be sign language and tactile sign language interpreters on hand. Donations to the Kickstarter campaign will be used to support the many volunteers that are going to make the event possible. Is this a cool idea, or just a bit weird? Sound off in the comments.

independent living aids offers EARTH DAY SAVINGS up to 20% off during its Weekend Warrior Specials sale! Items include:

Aquamaster Indoor/Outdoor Waterproof Clock, SALE PRICE: $51.95

Braille Tactile Map of USA with List of State Capitals, SALE PRICE: $15.25

Braille Tactile World Map and 5 Continent Maps, SALE PRICE: $29.95

Braille Talking USA Jig Saw Puzzle, SALE PRICE: $18.95

Deluxe Talking Pedometer, SALE PRICE: $7.95

eBay seller missourijack2 has a Perkins Brailler starting at $240. Or Buy it now for $265.00.
Shipping adds $20.00.

From the eBay listing: Perkins Brailler in great working condition. Everything works on this machine, it Brailles fine, the back-space key works fine, paper rolls into machine with no problems. This machine has a flaw in the paint on the top of the machine. It looks as if something was set on the paint at the factory before the paint dried. There is a hexigon pattern in the paint. It does not effect the function of the Brailler in any way, so if you don't care about a flaw in the paint, you can buy this fully functional Brailler at a great price. Listing ends April 4 if not sold sooner.

Do you have a success story to share regarding the use of one of HumanWare's products? Tell them in your own words before June 8, 2011! Not only could you see your story posted on their website, but you could also win a Trekker Breeze talking GPS or a $300 HumanWare gift certificate!
To submit your story, select the link on this post.

Kohl's has posted their online Black Friday sale including nearly 500 online deals.
There's lots of great buys on apparel, home items, toys, cosmetics, and much more. Plus, use coupon codes CONTACTFR to get free shipping and EXTRA20 to save an additional 20 percent off your order. In an effort to make the Kohl's ad more accessible, we've included direct links to all 490 deals. Sale ends today.

The National Federation of the Blind Convention in Dallas was the highlight for nearly 2,500 attendees this past week. And while we could only do and see so much, there were certainly some things we learned from this year's conference. Here's our list for 2010.

Freedom Scientific has filed another lawsuit, this time against Enhanced Vision, makers of magnifying products. In summary, Freedom Scientific aledges that Enhanced Vision has wrongfully used their name to profit from their business, for instance, by buying the Freedom Scientific keywords on advertising platforms and linking to the Enhanced Vision website. Enhanced Vision has also used Freedom Scientific in their metatags, which are often used by search engines.
We've obtained the full text of the complaint, which was converted into a text format. Some minor errors may exist, as we did not proofread the OCR output. Below is the full complaint.

Attention supporters of Braille literacy through electronic Braille and the
right for consumer choice.

The above link will take you to a petition created
by the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science and Open Braille API Initiative. This petition vehemently opposes the Secure and Compatible Braille Display driver signing polacy recently announced by Freedom Scientific. Please follow the below link to read more and if in agreement, show your support by adding your name and optional comments.

At Blind Bargains, we're big fans of Amazon Prime, the website's membership club offering free two-day shipping. First of all, there's no $25 minimum order to get free shipping. We've ordered $3 packages of batteries, $10 CD's, and many other items without paying an additional cent for shipping. Furthermore, Prime offers us an assurance of when items will arrive. With two-day shipping for free, we know exactly when to expect the items we order. Amazon will display the day the item will arrive on the product page while logged in. If we need something faster, overnight shipping is available for $3.99 per item. Combine this with Amazon's one-click ordering, and the $79 annual membership becomes an indispensable tool. You can try it free for a month using the link on this post. Also, split the cost with up to four family members to save more money. In our opinion, once you go Prime, there's no turning back.

APH offers discounts on several items in their Fall Harvest sale. Of note, they seem to be clearing out a lot of Handi-Cassette II players and accessories, including half off on the rechargeable batteries, instruction tapes, and battery clips. They are also offering $10 off titles in the Verbal View series which teaches Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Internet techniques. Some braille books and cookbooks are also included. Sale ends December 31.

Recently, J.J. Meddaugh made a presentation in the Accessible Devices chat room concerning the BCScan website and associated programs which allow users to scan and identify products using bar codes. The archive of this presentation is now available and linked from this post.

Serotek is offering a huge prize package to one lucky person who fills out a short survey on accessibility products. The winner of the Summer Sizzle contest will receive, among other items, a complete System Access screen reading package, an Asus EEE ultraportable PC, a copy of Mobile Speak (any version), and a Victor Reader Stream. The survey is only one page and is quite simple. Contest ends September 1.

ILA has posted several new items to their specials page. Among them is the Ove Glove Hot Surface Handler, a kitchen glove which can withstand very high temperatures, a Seiko braille watch, several magnification aids, and a big-button phone. Deals end May 31.

Independent Living Aids offers free shipping and handling for purchases of $50 or more with coupon code "FREE05". It's one of the few such coupons we've seen from this site, which sells primarily blindness and low-vision products. The coupon is only good when placing orders online. Deal ends April 30.

When I was a kid, I remember the thrill of receiving various braille sports cards. These cards featured the player's name and a vignet of information in braille in addition to the regular picture and info in print. While new cards are no longer made, many EBay sellers sell the ones from years past which you can view in our braille sports cards category on the Auction Gateway. While a blind child today may not recognize all of the names, they'll certainly still be thrilled to receive some of these as gifts.

If you're looking to make some quick cash, or don't know what to do with your unused assistive technology, why not sell it to us. We'll buy many popular items including notetakers, embossers, phones, and other useful items. Look over our list to find out what we may pay for your stuff.

While searching today, we ran across Mobile Space, a well-maintained blog focussing on accessible mobile phones, primarily for the Symbian operating system. Recent posts include a review of the N81, links to applications that work well with the phone, and thoughts and updates from Code Factory and Nuance. It's definitely worth an add to our RSS reader, and we recommend you give it a look.

As one might expect, the Ranger Station blog is starting to pile on CSUN coverage. Already, several press releases are posted, and we'd expect to see more as the week unfolds. Be sure to check out this great resource for CSUN news and commentary.