Macula Lutea (1999.10) "includes more than 900 links (1999 August), all of which have been tested no later than 1999 February". The directory is alphabetical by country, then by project within each country. This list is owned and operated by Harry Svensson, Director of Research & Development, Tomteboda Resource Centre, who reports it is "probably the largest in the world". We are proud to see Ronolog listed here!
This Web site is one of 261+ sites of The Blind Ring (blind) (2000.01) "In each of its tens of thousands of WebRings, Member web sites have banded together to form their sites into linked circles....
"Keywords: blind blindness visual impairments visually impaired low vision disability
Description: This ring is dedicated to sites that are by and/or for the blind and visually impaired. Home pages, resource lists, companies, and anything else that is related is included. If your page meets this simple criteria, then please --- join the ring!"
This Web site is one of 90+ sites of The Blind and Visually Impaired Ring (2001.02) "To be eligible to join this ring, your site must be for or about individuals with a visual impairment OR you must have a visual impairment."
The license fees from non-disabled users of Ronolog go to [the USA's] National Federation of the Blind. -"Founded in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the nation's largest and most influential membership organization of blind persons. With fifty thousand members, the NFB has affiliates in all fifty states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and over seven hundred local chapters."
NFB's International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind "serves as a nerve center and laboratory to stimulate the use and development of technology for the blind, facilitates comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art technological devices, constitutes a test site for innovative techniques, and functions as a hands-on training center for individuals and other interested persons and groups."
Here is their NFB Computer Resource List (1999.12) listing both hardware and sotware.
"ABLEDATA is a [U.S.A.] federally funded project whose primary mission is to provide information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources to consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers within the United States"
Blindness and Low Vision Resource Center (1999.11) "This page contains a listing of all of the resources relating to blindness and low vision that can be found at the ABLEDATA website."
ABLEDATA product database (1999.11) "The ABLEDATA database contains information on more than 25,000 assistive technology products (17,000 of which are currently available), from white canes to voice output programs. The database contains detailed descriptions of each product including price and company information. The database also contains information on non-commercial prototypes, customized and one-of-a-kind products, and do-it-yourself designs."
RESNA Online Assistive Technology Resources (1999.11) RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, "was founded in 1979 as a not-for-profit professional organization. There are currently over 1600 individual and 150 organizational members."
"Trace is a research center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison which focuses on making off the shelf technologies and systems like computers, the Internet, and information kiosks more accessible for everyone through the process known as universal, or accessible design."
Trace's shareware software list (1999.11) lists low/no-cost software. Some software has been superceded by free software bundled with new operating systems: e.g. The optionally installed MouseKeys facility in Windows 9X seems to obsolete KeyMouse 4.1 ($15.95 + S/H).
TRACEBASE (1999.11) This part of Trace's "cooperative electronic library" lists devices including software for those with low/no vision and low/no hearing.
Their Informational Quick Sheet Index (2000.01) "provides information about assistive technology and computer access for people with disabilities."
"The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), one of Britain's leading and best known charities... helps all blind and partially sighted people in the UK... The first patron of the organisation was Her Majesty Queen Victoria in 1875 and over the years the organisation has continued to enjoy royal patronage, eventually receiving a Royal Charter in 1948... We challenge the disabling effects of sight loss by providing information and practical services to help people get on with their own lives. We challenge all who put barriers in the path of blind and partially sighted people. And we challenge the underlying causes of blindness by working towards its prevention, cure or alleviation."
RNIB Web site map (2001.02) "RNIB's Website is the largest source of information on blindness and partial sight on the Internet in the UK, holding hundreds of pages of useful information."
ACM SIGCAPH, the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computers and the Physically Handicapped "promotes the professional interests of computing professionals interested in the research and development of computing and information technology to help people. The SIG membership (from both academica and industry) focuses on the application of technology to all kinds of disabilities, including but not limited to: sensory (hearing and vision); motor (orthopedic); cognitive (learning, speech, mental); and emotional personnel with physical disabilities and the application of computing and information technology in solving relevant disability problems. The SIG also strives to educate the public to support careers for the disabled." (sic.)
It maintains these Links to Accessibility Resources (2000.07).
"TechKnowledge is the information and referral arm of Georgia Tech's Center for Rehabilitation Technology. TechKnowledge's mission is to disseminate information on assistive technology as well as other issues of concern to people with disabilities, and to help all individuals work, recreate and function more independently."
"Assistive technology and devices are those aids which can help a person with a disability overcome limitations and perform tasks that might otherwise not be possible. TechKnowledge groups these devices under disabilities for the sake of clarity. To find assistive technology and devices to address your needs", use this TechKnowledge search engine (2000.01).
"WebABLE! (2000.01) is the authoritative Web site for disability-related internet resources. WebABLE!'s accessibility database lists hundreds of internet based resources on accessibility. WebABLE! is an initiative of WebABLE! Solutions."
"WebABLE! Solutions mission is to stimulate education, research and development of technologies that will ensure accessibility for people with disabilities advanced information systems and emerging technologies."
The Low Vision Gateway (1999.11) "The Low Vision Gateway was created to be your starting point to access information on the World Wide Web related to the fields of low vision and blindness. The purpose is not to present one approach or bias, but to provide access to all related information on the Internet. Inclusion of a site is not an endorsement. Remember, most of the Internet is not peer-reviewed... This site is sponsored by the Internet Low Vision Society with support and staffing from the Low Vision Centers of Indiana, and through small fees for doctors wishing to be listed in our 'Find a Doctor' section... A mirror low vision site in large letters on black will soon be added. -Richard L. Windsor, O.D., F.A.A.O."
Bookshare.org - a Benetech project (2002.10) "Bookshare.org dramatically increases access to books for the community of visually impaired and otherwise print disabled individuals. This online community enables book scans to be shared, thereby leveraging the collections of thousands of individuals who regularly scan books, eliminating significant duplication of effort. Bookshare.org takes advantage of a special exemption in the U.S. copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications into specialized formats for the disabled... Individual subscriptions cost [US]$25 to sign up, [US]$50 for the annual subscription. Bookshare.org's goal is to break even financially... [But the book collection includes titles with this annotation: 'Membership not required for download (Public domain).']
"If you have digital copies of books that you have scanned in for your own use, you can submit them and enable others to benefit from your scanning effort... Bookshare.org cannot guarantee the quality of the books it provides because it is relying on its community of members and supporters to produce books by scanning... [Currently] 11,062 books are available to members for download... Subscribing members can now download a new public beta of the Text-To-Speech Victor Reader Soft DAISY reader. This new version can read books in synthetic speech using the TTS of the product or work with a user’s screen reader...
"Who can benefit from Bookshare.org?
People who are blind or have severe visual impairments that prevent them from reading ordinary newspaper print, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.
People with learning disabilities such as dyslexia which interfere with the ability to read print material.
People with mobility limitations that interfere with holding or turning the pages of a book."
From time to time, various people write us, including vendors of products and services related to our mission. Sadly, we don't have the opportunity to sample these and form an opinion about them. As a courtesy to correspondents, in the hope that they are sincere and may have things useful to our readers, we list their missives here, edited as we see fit.
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