Martin,
yes Adrian and all note takers have to be sincerely thanked and
appreciated for his tireless work on behalf of 'blind tech' in particular.
Also other folk as Dave for example who may not be active on the group
are out there beavering away in the 'service' of those who are blind and
visually-immpaired advocationgt and imparting their wonderful superior
knowledege whenever or whereever they can.
I for one have learned so much from all of this and look forward to more
very helpful tech learning indeed for many more years to come.
Tony
On 18/02/2024 13:10, mrmartinkelly20@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Full marks for efficiency Adrian!
*From:*fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf Of *Adrian
*Sent:* 17 February 2024 21:58
*To:* fb-exchange@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [fb-exchange] Re: FB Exchange Cork Meeting 17/02/2024
I love to be efficient so, if you don't mind, I use this chance to thank Martin, Jackie, Ken, Cearbhall, Tony, Paul, and everyone else who finds the notes useful. In case you don't, I still thank you for reading them.
PS: Cearbhall, I'm surprised too!
Regards,
Adrian
On 2024-02-17 17:12, Adrian wrote:
FB Exchange Cork Meeting minutes 17/02/2024
Welcome to the FB Exchange Cork gathering on the 17th of February
2024, a relaxed weekend session. We ventured into a variety of
topics today, with a focus on technical matters which are at the
forefront of this minutes. We were joined by 10 members, and
apologies were noted. Today, your note-taker is Adrian.
Upcoming events:
We discussed the forthcoming Uncontracted Braille Course offered
by VI, commencing on Friday the 23rd via Teams. For further
information, please visit:
https://vi.ie/event/uncontracted-braille-course/ or contact
training@xxxxx.
Don't miss out on Tuesday at 11 am on Midland Radio 103 - Tune in
to Anne Marie Kelly's documentary on Sightless Cinema. Listeners
can access the broadcast by asking Alexa to play the station or at
https://www.midlands103.com/ ;(if that's the station's website. Ger
can confirm.)
Friday 1 March 3 pm at Hugh Lane Gallery: In the Dark – a live
audio play – brings to life dramatic turning points in the lives
of five people who are blind or visually impaired.
https://hughlane.ie/whats_on/in-the-dark-live-performance-1mar2024/
Technical matters:
During our discussion on OCR functionality, Cearbhall mentioned
that this feature is available in NVDA and likely in JAWS as well.
Stuart added that Voiceover OCR is a capability. This feature
allows users to capture screenshots containing a picture with text
in it, which is then automatically recognized and copied to the
clipboard for pasting into a text editor. For NVDA, an addon is
required, which can be found here:
https://addons.nvda-project.org/addons/ocr.en.html#:~:text=To%20perform%20OCR%2C%20move%20to,in%20the%20%22Miscellaneous%22%20category
Martin shared his difficulties using the new VI Hub skill for lady
A devices, and others confirmed experiencing similar issues.
Bookshare was discussed. This is the free book library available
for people with reading disability including those visually
impaired. It is available at https://bookshare.ie/.
It integrates both with the Voice Dream app for iOS and Easy
Reader for Android, but also it allows you to download the book in
different formats and use any compatible software. This led to the
discussion of various voice models available and the Audible app
which Cearbhall said he struggled with while reading a certain
book. Borrowbox is also a good option for books.
An extensive discussion about how important is one get the skill
of using TalkBack or Voiceove. Alxa was also covered and how it helps.
While discssing about PC or laptop preference, people agreed the
challenges of using laptop keyboards. It was recommended to
utilize an external Bluetooth or wired keyboard with well-raised
and clearly defined keys. Adrian particularly recommends a Dell
keyboard for its excellent design and usability.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-multimedia-profile-Keyboard-580-ADGV-Black/dp/B07W2XJPDS/ref=asc_df_B07W2XJPDS/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=394280480146&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=779454070978923214&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9181192&hvtargid=pla-845542589758&psc=1&mcid=ac2d08ec7e0d321dba07f5fd5a0ef283&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=88750752904&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=394280480146&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=779454070978923214&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9181192&hvtargid=pla-845542589758
<https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-multimedia-profile-Keyboard-580-ADGV-Black/dp/B07W2XJPDS/ref=asc_df_B07W2XJPDS/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=394280480146&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=779454070978923214&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9181192&hvtargid=pla-845542589758&psc=1&mcid=ac2d08ec7e0d321dba07f5fd5a0ef283&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=88750752904&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=394280480146&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=779454070978923214&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9181192&hvtargid=pla-845542589758>
Various other topics:
Cearbhall engaged the audience in a discussion about their
preferences in board games. He mentioned a friend who is
developing board games and expressed interest in knowing what
types of games the VIP community enjoys and how these games can be
made accessible. Chess and Monopoly were among the games
mentioned. The conversation then delved into the accessibility of
chess, with further exploration on methods to make it accessible.
For more insights into how blind individuals play chess, you can
visit: https://ibca-info.org/how-visually-impaired-play-chess/
If the notes are accurate, the individual is also interested in
creating the board game called Fidchell, known as the Irish game
of kings.
https://emeraldisle.ie/the-rules-of-fidchell#:~:text=The%20ancient%20game%20of%20Fidchell,predates%20chess%20by%20many%20centuries.
Conversations also veered into topics ranging from holidays and
weather to even touching on a bit of politics.
The meeting has ended. Now, brace yourselves for a flood of
appreciative emails to the list — members are all eager to shower
it with praise for the note-taker! While I appreciate your kind
words, let's spare our inboxes from exploding, shall we? Feel free
to drop me a line in private if you must. Thanks, folks!
Regards,
Adrian
