Richard Turner's Home Page

Welcome to my web site. The primary purpose of this site is to offer some help to other Window-eyes users. There are a few things of interest to others, I hope.

I have been using Window-Eyes since 1994 and Vocal-Eyes a few years before that. I decided that a web site was the best way to share the set files I have created, and/or modified, for a variety of programs. You will find links to set files for several versions of Window-Eyes

The other reason for the page is to share some of my other interests. So, below you will find links to some resources, quotations, musicians and whatever else I decide to add. I hope you find something interesting and possibly even useful.

In case you are wondering why I have "42" in the name of my web site. It isn't that there were 41 turner.coms ahead of me. My favorite number is 42, thanks to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I have a small sound sample from the BBC Radio version of the book: answer.wma

Window-Eyes Set Files

I have updated the GoldWave sets for Window-Eyes 7.1.1 and added some extra files. I also have the information about using GoldWave to tag MP3 files.
GoldWave 7 set files

I have added a few set files for Window-Eyes 6.

Window-Eyes 6 Set files

Window-Eyes 5 and 5.5 set files

Window-Eyes 4.5 set files

Alternate sound files for some Window-Eyes 7 scripts

I have two zip files to offer. One is a set of four alternate sound files for the SecondGlass script including a text file giving a brief explanation of each sound and its length. The other is to replace the hourly_bong.wav and hourly_chime2.wav sound files for the hourly chime script. These are Big Ben's hourly chime, plus the hourly gong.
Big Ben Chime.zip
SecondGlass-sounds.zip

The BookSense

The BookSense is simply the best portable DAISY player to come along, in my humble opinion. Out of the box, it plays more file types, with a far better voice, than any other device out there. You can check out the details at: GW Micro BookSense

iPod Touch

In November of 2009, I purchased an iPod Touch 64GB. I liked the idea of having a built-in screen reader, PDA functionality, as well as a music and audio book player. I am now using the iPod Touch daily and loving it!

For those who are not familiar with the iPod Touch, it has the same firmware as the iPhone, only it is not a phone. The Third Generation iPod Touch came out in late 2009. They are the 32 GB and 64GB models. They have Voice Over built-in, which is the Apple Screen Reader. Most of the apps (short for applications) that come from Apple are quite accessible with Voice Over. The Touch comes with programs like:

• Calendar, which allows you to manage your appointments and synchronize them with Outlook 2003 or later.
• Manage your Contacts that also synchronize with Outlook 2003 or later.
• E-mail that synchronizes the settings from Outlook 2003 or later. It will synchronize Notes from Outlook. You can send and receive messages as long as you have a WiFi connection. It does not synchronize your messages.
• Voice Memos, which allows you to record Voice Memos and is fully accessible with Voice Over.
• Music, which is where your music from your iTunes library is stored on the iPod Touch.
• App Store, where you can download and install other apps, both free and for purchase.
• Maps, which doesn't actually do GPS, but you can get turn by turn directions by putting in a starting and ending address and using the "forward" button to get directions for the next turn.
  There are many others, but that gives you an idea.

While the Touch is not a phone, you can install a free app from Skype and use the Skype calling features on it so long as you have a WiFi connection. Granted, the touch screen interface takes some getting used to and it is not for everyone, but it is one of the more exciting, off-the-shelf accessible products to come along.

GigDaddy

If you ever wanted to have an easy to use, extremely handy, multi-track recording studio at your finger tips, then I'd recommend GigDaddy version 1.4.

Guy Stewart, who wrote GigDaddy, took it upon himself after just one request for improved Voice Over accessibility to his programs to:
* Learn all about Voice Over
* Make all the basic changes to make GigDaddy more accessible
* To do advanced work to create an accessibility overlay to make GigDaddy one of the most accessible apps in the iTunes store!

At one point, he even sent me an e-mail asking for Voice Over gesture help because he was trying to use his phone without looking...

The end result of his devoting his Memorial Day weekend to making GigDaddy accessible is a great, multi-track recorder and mixer that is completely accessible.  At $2.99, it is a great deal.
Here is the link in the app store: GigDaddy in the app store

Here are some links that you may find helpful:

• AppleVis--provides feedback from users on accessible apps, guides, tutorials
  
• Acccessible iPhone Apps, most work on the iPod Touch as well.
  
• The following link is for the IOS4 User Guide in Word format contained in a zip file: iPhone_iOS4_User_Guide.zip
  
• Apple's page accessibility on the iPod Touch.
  
• Developer site for making their apps accessible
  
• The web site for the VIPhone users' group list
  The VIPhone list is focused on the iPhone, but there are lots of iPod Touch users and many of the discussions are relevant to the Ipod Touch and the new iPad.

Dual Electronics GPS Cradle and Battery Pack for the iPod Touch

The Dual GPS Cradle and Battery pack (from now on referred to as the Cradle), costs about $200.00 and is available through the Apple on-line store: Dual GPS Cradle
or through their toll free number: 1-888-692-7753 or as they put it 1-888-myapple.

The Cradle comes with a car windshield mount and charger that fits into the cigarette lighter.  It also includes a USB cable for charging and synchronizing through the computer.  The user guide is on a small multi-sectioned card.  it is about the size of a business card and folds out to quite a few sections.  

I'm going to start with a detailed description of the Cradle itself and some tips on using it with Voice Over.  Then, I will give a detailed description of the Windshield mount and how to get the sound through your car speakers.

The Cradle

The Cradle measures: 5 inches tall, 2.25 inches wide and .5 inches thick at its thickest point.
The GPS receiver is at the top of the Cradle on the back side.  their is a slight slot-looking indent, which is the receiver location, I believe.  In my tests, it doesn't matter if it is in a pocket or not, the accuracy is excellent!
The front side is smooth with two arms that curl up and over slightly to hold the Touch in place.  At the base of the Cradle, is the connector that the Touch slides into.  
The Cradle is almost exactly a half inch longer than the Touch.  In that half inch, there is two volume buttons on the front.  The left one lowers and the right one raises the volume.  On the bottom, there is an earphone jack and the Mini-USB port for charging and synchronizing.  On the back, is a button that will light up the 4 LED indicators to show the battery level of the Cradle.  Below that is a three position switch.  If you have the back of the Cradle toward you, the left position is GPS mode, middle is off and right is Battery charge/Sync.

Inserting the Touch

Remove any case you may have on the Touch, put the Touch on the Cradle just above the arms so it is flat against the smooth part of the Cradle and slide it down between the arms with the connection/home button toward the bottom of the Cradle.  At the end, it is a snug fit, so make sure and press it all the way into the connectors in the Cradle.  

Removing the Touch from the Cradle

This is a bit tricky.  You have to do your best to get a grip on both sides of the Touch, preferably just about the Touch's own volume switch and pull, slowly.  I sometimes have to work it just barely slightly side to side to get it started.  After you've taken the Touch out and put it back in multiple times, it gets a bit easier.  But, of course, you want it to remain snug so it won't ever fall out.

Using the Touch in the Cradle

If the Cradle switch is in the off position, the Touch will be on its own power and the sound will come through the Touch's own speaker, so the headphone jack on the Cradle will not be functional.

When you want to use the battery pack, do the following:

• put the Touch in the Cradle while the Cradle's switch is in the off position.
• Turn off Voice Over.
• Slide the switch to the Battery Charge/sync position.
• Wait about 5 or 10 seconds and turn Voice Over on.

The Touch is now using the Cradle's battery and will use it until it runs out when it will then switch to its own battery.  The Cradle's battery ran for at least 6 hours for me.  When the Cradle's battery runs out, you are back to just running on the Touch's battery and the sound coming through the Touch's own speaker, etc.

To use the GPS mode, follow the same steps as above, turning off Voice Over before switching to GPS mode, then waiting 5 or 10 seconds and turning Voice Over on.  Note: the Cradle is now running the GPS receiver and the Touch is using its own battery.  So, you won't get any longer battery life while in GPS mode.  

Using The Windshield Mount

The Windshield  Mount comes in two parts.  A suction cup with a lever that will adhere it to the windshield like it is cemented in place.  The other piece is the Cradle Holder, which is what the Cradle fits into. For sake of simplicity, I'll refer to the suction cup portion as the Windshield Mount and the Cradle Holder as the Holder. The Windshield Mount has a piece on the end with four tabs.  Those four tabs fit into the holder and snap into place so the Holder is securely fastened to the Windshield Mount.

The Cradle slides into the Holder  much like the Touch slides into the Cradle, though much more easily.  Once tightly in place, there are two jacks on the base of the Holder.  The one on the right side when you are facing the windshield, is the one for the charger and the one on the left is the earphone jack.

IF you have a stereo in your car that has an auxiliary input, you can  purchase a cable that has the 3.5 MM plug on both ends to connect them.  IF you have a car with an old cassette machine and no auxiliary input, you can purchase an adapter that is a cassette shaped device with a cable coming out of it that has the stereo 3.5 MM jack on the end.  Plug that into the earphone jack on the Cradle and put the cassette into your player and you now have the sound from the Touch/GPS coming through your car speakers.

Free Screen Saver

I also have a recording I made of the Pacific Ocean that makes a nice sound file for the free gPhoto Show screen saver. The recording was made at Lincoln City, Oregon from the second floor of the Inn at Spanish Head. The screen saver allows you to pick what images appear on the screen and also allow you to have any sound files playing. If you like that idea, you will find the link below the sound file. If you want the sound file, just right click on it and select "Save target as" from the context menu. Pacific_Ocean.mp3 59,678 KB

gPhotoShow - Free Slide Show Screen Saver

Olympus DS-40 review/demonstration

The new Olympus Digital Voice Recorders with the speaking menu are great! Below is an MP3 file of my demonstration/review of the DS-40. There is also a link to my summary document of the features, prices, etc.

ds40demonstration.mp3
olympus_recorders_summary.doc
DS-30_40_50 manual in PDF

accessible games

Accessible games Here you can read about some of my favorite accessible games.

Quotations

Quotations Here you can read some of my favorite quotations.

HUMOR

I recently received a variation on the old Abbott and Costello "who's on first" routine. I decided to produce it with different speech synthesizers using Window-Eyes and GoldWave. The link below will play the mp3 file. Enjoy.
Hu's in China.mp3
Here is the text version in an MS-Word document: Hu's_in_China.doc

Resources

Free CD burning software

Infrarecorder is an open source, free, cd burning package. It burns audio and data CDs or DVDs as well as ISO image disks. You can read about it at:
InfraRecorder page

OPTACON

I recently learned that the OPTACON has an active users' list, places to repair them, and a movement to get a new OPTACON type machine created. If you are interested, here is some information.

OPTACON Repair in the U.S.

Richard Oehm
Oehm Electronics
2194C GALVESTON AVENUE
SAN JOSE, CA 95122-3617
Tel: 408-971-6250
FAX: 408-271-9188

OPTACON USERS' LIST

To subscribe to the OPTACON users' list, send an e-mail with the word subscribe in the subject to:
optacon-l-request at freelists.org
by replacing the word "at" with the @ (at) sign.

Bible Study Resources

I recently discovered a Ministry that is providing a vast array of Bible Translations, study materials and reading materials for free to print disabled people. It is called Optasia Ministry. Here is a partial quote from his web site:

Our Vision:
We aim to provide resources that will help equip Christians with disabilities to serve in Christ's church.

We provide biblical study tools and other ministry resources in a digital form that can be read by screen reading computer software, giving persons with visual disabilities access to materials that are not usable for them in print form. A list of available material is listed on our web site or is available by contacting us.

Because we are operating under the Chafee Amendment of the US copyright law we are able to provide copyrighted material free to those who qualify for our services. Those wishing to receive our material will be asked to affirm that they have a visual disability or other disability that necessitates the use of the alternative formatted documents we provide.

WordWeb Pro

Wordweb is a dictionary that you can have running in the background to make it easy to look up definitions, synonyms, etc., from just about anywhere on your computer. It is very screen reader friendly. Check it out at: www.wordweb.info

BLIND WORLD

www.BlindWorld.net
BlindWorld.net is a great resource that collects articles around the issues of blindness from sources all over the world. One of my favorite parts is the medical information. They find current articles on cutting edge research concerning all aspects of vision.

MOPIX

Information about Mopix, (Descriptive Video for movie theaters

Lazy Pup

www.lazy-pup.com Lazy-Pup offers a basic obedience dog training course in plain english via E-mail, plus lazy stuff, humor, news, garden items, jokes, and interesting articles. We work like a dog to inform and entertain you!. Put your feet up on the coffee table and enjoy!

Counseling

Columbia Pastoral Counseling, a great resource for affordable counseling in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon.

For Openbook users

In the distant past, I had noticed some conversation on the Openbook Users List concerning the sound files for Openbook. Below you will find my suggested alternatives for the start and exit sound files. To hear them, just click on the link. If you want to down load them, just right click on the link without activating the link and select "save target as" from the context menu.

You can use these sounds with the "splash.exe" file in the Openbook folder by editing the shortcut for Openbook to point to splash.exe instead of obu.exe. Even though the splash.exe file is still there, Freedom Scientific is not really supporting it at this time. IF that doesn't work for you, I came across another way to start Openbook with sound. Joshua Griffith has written a small file called "play.exe" that plays a wave file and then closes. I wrote a batch file that plays the logo.wav file and then runs obu.exe. If you can use batch files, you can down load oblogo.zip below, unzip it into your Openbook 6 folder and change your shortcut for Openbook from obu.exe to oblogo.bat. It works great on both my Windows 98 SE and Windows XP home systems.
oblogo.zip

BookPort

For anyone interested, the link below will take you to a cheat sheet for learning the basics of the BookPort. If you wish to know about the BookPort, there is a link for American Printing House after the cheat sheet link.
BookPort Cheat Sheet

Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard

Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard and the Braille Note PK

RGB and Hex values

I wasn't sure where to put this info, so it ended up here for now. I discovered a good list of the RGB and Hex values for colors and re-formatted it into a table. I found this list because I was asked if there was a way to change the font color in WordPerfect 10. I did find how to do that, but it requires the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values to be entered. Since there was not an accessible list in WordPerfect; I started hunting. Here is what I found: RGB and Hex color values.

MUSICIANS and other entertainment

Musicians Here are some of my favorite musicians who have a Pacific Northwest connection.

Lynn Manning's Weights

Lynn Manning is a successful playwright and actor who tells his story through his one-man, autobiographical play WEIGHTS. This is a powerful play that deals with his being blinded, adjusting to this new way of being in the world and the frustrations of dealing with the rehabilitation system and other people's perception of blindness. You can listen to a performance from the Kennedy Center by following the link below and clicking on the `Play this Performance' link.
Lynn Manning at the Kennedy Center
You can also now order a CD of Weights as well as read more about Lynn at his web site: www.lynnmanning.com

"The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying.
There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
--Douglas Adams, from Life, The Universe and Everything, p.59

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