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VoiceView improves vision-impaired access on budget-priced Kindles

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Earlier this week Amazon introduced text-to-voice accessory ‘VoiceView‘ to its more affordable Kindle models, starting with the Kindle Paperwhite (7th gen). Up until now, this feature was only available on the company’s more expensive Kindle Fire tablets.

A girl laying on the grass reading a kindle

Taxonomy: 
Digital technology
News
Audio navigation
Affordable
Blind or vision impaired
News
Inclusion
Audio description
Digital media and technology: 
eReaders
Amazon Kindle 3

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Apple Store adds new access section in time for Global Accessibility Awareness Day

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Individuals with impairments can now find third party accessible accessories for Mac, iPad and iPhone devices to suit their specific needs under the newly launched ‘Accessibility’ section on the online Apple Store.

A selection of Apple’s accessibility accessories with the word ‘Accessibility’ in the centre

Taxonomy: 
Digital technology
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Affordable
Sensory impairment
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
News
Digital media and technology: 
iOS
Mac OS X
iPad
iPhone

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Public Sector web and mobile app accessibility to become law in Europe

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Last week, three years since its proposal, it was agreed that public sector web accessibility will now become a legal requirement in Europe; an improvement that will make a huge impact on the community.

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Taxonomy: 
Digital technology
Web
International policy and legislation
News
Practical web accessibility
Law
Legal
Legislation
Digital media and technology: 
Policy
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Web browsers

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Highs, challenges, and the road ahead: A podcast with Alex Varley

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Alex Varley was the CEO of Media Access Australia since its inception and has been an active advocate for inclusion in the changing media accessibility landscape over the years. In his final interview just before he left the organisation, Alex shares some of his high points and talks candidly about how web and digital access has changed over time and the challenges that await us just over the horizon.

A head and shoulders photo of Alex Varley

Alex Varley believes that web and digital access is slightly less of a problem than it used to be, but in all too many cases, accessibility is still an afterthought and can be one of the first things to be dropped when organisations try to cut costs.

Taxonomy: 
News
Q&A
Personal profile

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ACCAN calls on networks to use windfall to improve accessibility

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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has called on the free-to-air networks to use some of the windfall from a 25% cut in licence fees announced in this year’s budget to increase captioning levels and introduce audio description.

A woman holding a remote control pointing at a TV

Taxonomy: 
TV & video
News
ACCAN, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network
Sensory impairment
Blind or vision impaired
Deaf or hearing impaired
Captions
Closed captions
Audio description

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Deaf Society’s president appointed as new Disability Discrimination Commissioner

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Last week, it was announced that the Deaf Society’s president and former CEO of People with Disability Australia and manager of the Australian Centre for Disability Law, Alastair McEwin will become the new Disability Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

A head and shoulders photo of Alistair McEwin. Image attribute: The Disability Council

Taxonomy: 
News

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Uber's new accessibility features create job opportunities for Deaf and hearing impaired drivers

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Uber has recently improved its app’s accessibility for drivers who are Deaf or hearing impaired, removing communication barriers so that they can have an equal opportunity to become an Uber driver.

A man holding a phone with the Uber app displayed, standing in view of a busy road

What is Uber?

Uber is an online transportation network that allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.

Taxonomy: 
Professional services
Digital technology
News
Deaf or hearing impaired
Inclusion
Digital media and technology: 
App reviews
iOS
Android
Smartphones
Android smartphones
iPhone

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BBC publishes research on improving live caption timing

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The BBC has released details of experiments it has undertaken which prove that it’s practical to reduce the delay in live captions appearing on the screen.

Young woman watches the TV with captions

Live captions, which are created as a program goes to air, are often frustrating for viewers because there is a delay (on average around 5 seconds, but sometimes much longer) between the audio and the captions appearing.

Taxonomy: 
TV & video
News
Television
Digital TV
Broadcast-mixed
Deaf or hearing impaired
Captions

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Movies with AD on iTunes, May 2016

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Last month we provided an up-to-date list of audio described (AD) movies in the Australian iTunes store. Some of the listed titles had specific versions that were marked: (For blind viewers). However, there have been some very recent changes to the way that some movies with AD are presented on Australian iTunes.

A computer tablet displaying a video library rests on the keyboard of an open laptop

Taxonomy: 
TV & video
Video
Digital technology
News
Cinema & arts
Film
Movie
Digital Video Service
Blind or vision impaired
Audio description
Digital media and technology: 
iOS

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