Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

By Alice Lipowicz © Federal Computer Week, Falls Church, Virginia — The National Federation of the Blind is accusing the Education Department of failing to comply with accessibility requirements for disabled people on the department’s USALearns.org Web site. The 50,000-member federation filed the administrative complaint Oct. 27 with Education that alleged violations of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, according to a news release…. READ ARTICLE

PRNewswire, ATLANTA — The cutting-edge of assistive technology–including both commercially available and next-generation AT products–will be showcased at the Assistive Technology Pavilion at Abilities Expo (www.abilitiesexpo.com/atlanta) on November 6-8, 2009 at the Cobb Galleria Convention Center. Thousands of people with disabilities, their families, caregivers and healthcare professionals are expected to attend this free, three-day expo and conference for a taste of the latest technologies, techniques and tips for improving their physical, technological and social environs. The following products–many of which are still in development–will impact people of all ages with a wide range of physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities…. Auditory Menus and Deaf911 Phone: Exciting demonstrations of experimental technology currently under development for people with visual and manual limitations (Auditory Menus) and hearing loss (Deaf911 Phone; Robotics technology: Displays on robots that retrieve and deliver objects using a laser pointer. Visit www.abilitiesexpo.com/atlanta/pavillions.html for more.

By Vicki Santillano © DivineCaroline.com — There’s a dream I had years ago that has always stayed with me, mostly because it was so unlike anything I’d experienced before. I dreamed that I was sleepwalking down a hallway painted in the most vibrant colors I’d ever seen and covered in an unrecognizable, hieroglyphics-like language. Upon waking, I marveled at my brain’s ability to create such fantastic imagery that I’d never seen in real life. And then I wondered what brains come up with when their hosts have never seen anything in real life…. READ ARTICLE

By Karen Meyer © WLS-TV, Chicago — The next wave of textbooks will be downloadable and easy to carry. This summer Kindle DX came out with adaptable textbooks for everyone, including people with visual impairment. From experts in the field of adaptive technology for people who are blind and visually impaired, the reviews of Kindle DX are mixed. They hope improvements are made to accommodate different levels of vision impairments. Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka provides educational services to people who are blind and visually impaired all around the world. Students don’t come to school, they are taught by phone and computers using standard textbooks. A device like Kindle DX would be ideal, says Andre Lukatsky, director of computer services…. READ ARTICLE

By Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong © The Nation/Daily Xpress, Thailand — “The blind are not helpless – all they need to be successful is the courage to develop their special talents,” says a 21yearold Mahidol University student, just back from Canada where she won the prestigious Maple Prize. A third-year piano student at MU College of Music, Ubolwan “Paeng” Piakaew performed from September 30 to October 4 at the second International Piano Concert by People With Disabilities, in Vancouver. She thrilled the judges with her own composition, “Beautiful Canada”, based on a Canadian folk song with a mix of Thai sounds, and walked away with the Maple Award and the US$300 cash prize…. READ ARTICLE

By Jack Massarik © Evening Standard, London — “Record companies? Who needs ’em? They don’t even send CDs round to radio stations any more,” protested the blind superstar whose latest album, snappily entitled The Genius of José Feliciano, is available only from his website. After 45 gold or platinum albums and six Grammy awards, the Godfather of Latin music had every reason to complain but the rest of his show was serendipity all the way…. READ ARTICLE

By Michael Field © Stuff.co.nz — When Michael Erasmus talks about his pies looking “pleasing to the eye” it’s surprising. The 22-year-old baker is totally blind in one eye and has only five percent vision in his other eye. His blindness was caused by a condition which affected his optic nerve from birth…. READ ARTICLE

© Contactmusic.com — Blind opera star Andrea Bocelli has become the latest star to release a holiday album for this Christmas (09). The singer has teamed up with Reba MCEntire, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, British opera star Katherine Jenkins and The Muppets for tracks on his new release My Christmas. The album, released on 3 November (09), will be Bocelli’s first Christmas disc…. READ ARTICLE

© CBC News, Canada — By day Tim Doucette is legally blind and can barely see across the street, but when darkness falls he can see far into space. The Moncton, N.B.-based computer programmer was born with cataracts, and surgeons removed the lenses in his eyes when he was an infant. The procedure left his eyes overly sensitive to light, but also gave him superior night vision…. READ ARTICLE

Baltimore, Maryland — The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and Carlos Mora, a blind resident of Baltimore, Maryland, filed an administrative complaint today with the United States Department of Education. The complaint asserts that one of the United States Department of Education’s Web sites, U.S.A Learns, violates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act because it is inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech screen access technology or Braille displays to access information on the Internet. Because of the inaccessibility of the U.S.A Learns Web site, blind people cannot access or navigate through the content of the English vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation lessons that are offered through the site…. READ PRESS RELEASE