Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind ceases production of its Braille and cassette versions Nov 09

Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind ceases production of its Braille and cassette versions in November 2009.  http://bit.ly/4MLv8V

Massage Therapist

Story about Mandy Somer, a massage therapist who is visually impaired.
http://www.ketv.com/news/21694886/detail.html

Mika Pyyhkala from Prague

Listen to an audio of Mika Pyyhkala ording a cab via SMS using his Nokia cell phone in Prague.  http://www.utterli.com/u/utt/u-MTAyODMxNzE

Brice Mellen

Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as Mortal Kombat and is blind.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-07-28-blind-gamer_x.htm

Entombed Online Role Playing Game

Driftwood Audio Entertainment is a company specializing in games for the blind and visually impaired.
Entombed is Driftwood's first project and has been in development since early 2008. In Entombed, you battle to escape a deep and brutal dungeon. Having been thrown into the infamous pit, your only option is to trek deeper and deeper within hoping to find a passage that returns you to the surface. Along the way you'll face menacing goblins, ogres, living statues and countless other fantasy creatures. Choose from several unqiue professions including fighters, mages, rangers, fortune tellers and more. Uncover secret rooms, magical equipment, and hidden features.
Entombed is currently in beta testing and free to play. Download the game from the downloads page and post your comments to the discussion group.

http://www.blind-games.com/default.aspx

News From Top Tech Tidbits

The Eyes-Free mailing list exists to discuss accessible apps for the Android phones:
http://groups.google.com/group/eyes-free

J.J. of BlindBargains.com has unearthed five free games you can play un Twitter: Word of the Day:
http://artwiculate.com/
Trivia
http://twitter.com/twrivia
Calculations
http://twitter.com/twitbrain
Word unscramble
http://twitter.com/beatmytweet
And Tweetstone
http://twitter.com/tweetstones
Stevie Wonder is holding another House Full ofToys benefit concert, with proceeds going for adaptive technology which is donated to students throughout the US who cannot otherwise afford it. Last year's applicants who did not receive equipment will receive first priority. Nine companies have also donated equipment to the fund.
http://www.senderogroup.com/hftform.htm

Here is an article about the free Dragon Naturally Speaking app for the iPhone:
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/12/08/dragon-dictation-comes-to-the-iphone-wow/

Total iTV is a web site offering what is said to be a growing collection of audio-described movies and tv series, both in English and Spanish.
http://www.totalitv.com/

All inPlay BlackJack is now ready. To celebrate, everybody can play the six games at All inPlay free until the end of the year, and there will be six 24-hour tournaments between 18 and 23 December.
http://allinplay.com/

A short interview with Michael Curran, one of the developers of NVDA, is temporarily available for download here:
http://www.rphadelaide.org.au/links/VE.mp3

SeroTalk Tech Chat 44 gave lots of ideas for Accessible Gifts Under $50 http://serotalk.com/2009/12/11/serotalk-tech-chat-44-accessible-gifts-under-50/

An effort is afoot to allow for sharing of special-format materials, primarily braille and DAISY, across borders, thus potentially giving all blind people access to more literature.
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0055.html
Not surprisingly, many interests in the US oppose this plan:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/blind_block

Watch Your Favorite TV Shows Online

From the fredshead blog: New in Fred's Head: Watch Your Favorite TV Shows Online
http://bit.ly/5DIfnU

Accessibility DC

The next Accessibility DC meet-up will be Tuesday, December 15, 2009, from 6:30pm-8:30pm in the Adaptive Services Division.