Skype version 3.6.0.159 beta Now available

Skype version 3.6.0.159 beta is now available and one place where you can download it from is at
majorgeeks.com/Skype_d4245.html.

Here are the changes in this version:

Feature: Linking MySpace profile in Skype
Feature: Display MySpace avatar in Skype
Improvement: Improved audio quality on low speed internet connections
Improvement: Improved presence
Change: Computers with Dual Core CPU's will send 640x480 by default
on video call
Bug fix: Audio settings not displayed correctly
Bug fix: Microphone level adjustments made during the call were not
remembered for next calls
Bug fix: Full screen video windows was movable
Bug fix: Skype crashed when user enabled and disabled video many
times in short timeframe

Releasing Way To Go by Sendero Group, Accessible Talking Maps for the Blind

Enjoy the power of becoming "unlost!"
DAVIS, CA, (October 24, 2007)

Sendero Group, developers of the "Cadillac" of
accessible GPS systems for the blind, announces
the release of Way To Go, a maps only version of
their award-winning accessible GPS. This new Way
To Go version allows the user to have fun
exploring his or her environment and to develop
location literacy in the process. And, consider
it a stepping stone to the independence of a full Sendero GPS.

Features include:

· Explore rural roads and city streets,
intersection-by-intersection with a tap of your arrow keys.
· Record personal Points of Interest and
add rich audio content like restaurant menus or museum descriptions.
· Hear your direction of travel. Check the
odometer for distance traveled.
· Search a 15 million Points Of Interest
database in North America for everything from
airports to zoos. and choose one as your destination.
· Create and follow a route manually or
automatically to that destination.
· Easily save and print or emboss routes to take with you or to share.
· Join a community of independent blind
explorers and know the "Way To Go" before you step out the door.

For more information, come see Way To Go at an
upcoming conference, visit

http://www.senderogroup.com/shopwtg.htm

call 1-888-757-6810 or Email
Maps@SenderoGroup.com

SoundRTS 1.0 beta 9e released

Yesterday, the developer of Sound RTS has released yet another version of this amazing free game.

Here are the changes:

- new multiplayer map: frontier by Bryan Smart
- archers now have 10 hit points instead of 8
- AI players are now allied in multiplayer maps
- added global_food_limit to the map language (set the maximum food of a map)
- if title isn't found in the map, the title of the map is the name of the map file
- when a battle ends in a square, a summary is sent to each concerned player
- the message telling that a player has quit a game cannot be missed now
- fixed bug with unit recruiting cancellation and food
- fixed bug with save game and big maps
- fix sound volume bug with compass directions in first person mode
- fixed bug where the server doesn't stop when it cannot register on the servers list
- fixed bug where the food limit was not updated in the client when a player quit the game

You can
click here
to go to the Sound RTS website and grab the game or you can
click here
to go to the Sound RTS page on
tbrn.net
and grab it from there. If you decide to grab it from TBRN, your download will go much faster than if you downloaded it on the Sound RTS Website.

Guide To Using GMail

David Bailes has created a guide to using GMail with JAWS which is quite comprehensive. It gives instructions on how to accomplish tasks using the basic HTML view. You can find the guide by clicking
here.

Montezuma's Revenge Beta 4 Released

Yesterday, USA Games Interactive has announced that Montezuma's Revenge Beta 4 is out. You can head on over to the
USA Games
website to download this beta.

Here are the changes:

Added USA Games logo sound to startup.
Added Snake die effects to LoadSounds().
Added snake die to UseSword().
Added kill skull to PlayerLand().
Added kill snake to PlayerLand().
Added kill spider to PlayerLand().
Fixed bug with killing snakes in PlayerLand().
Fixed bug with killing spiders in PlayerLand().
Fixed bug with torch timenot getting reset when player is killed.
Fixed bug with torch time not getting reset when warping to new levels.
Removed UseSword() code from RunLeft() and RunRight().
Removed UseSword() code from WalkLeft() and WalkRight(). Created KillEnemy() function.
Set player attack range to 2.
Added KillEnemy() to GameLoop().
Fixed bug with enemies sometimes not attacking the player.
Set enemy attack damage to 25 times game difficulty.
Set potion restore health to 100.
Set force field damage to 25 times difficulty level.

Montezuma's Revenge Beta 3 Released

TodayMontezuma's Revenge is available for public testing. To find information or to download this demo, you can
click here
to go to the website. To download the demo, you can
click here.

Here are the changes:
Added name and version announcement to MainForm_Load.
Cleaned up speech strings.
Removed monsters from map.
Fixed bug in voice menu that prevented the user from seeing all Sapi 5 voices.
Changed jump key to space.
Changed run key to control.
Changed temple ambience.
Created new start level sound.
Created new dirt step effects.
Created new level intro sound.
Converted background music and background ambience flags options to integer variables.
Fixed bug with saving and restoring ambience and music settings in user registry.
Added new player torch sound effects.
Rewrote UpdateTorches() to use the GameLoop timer.
Replaced sandy flor with dirt and gravel floor.
Recompiled level 1, level 2, and bonus level 1.

I think the game is coming along nicely. One thing I noticed when I first hit enter on the game and played it was the execution time. When I was up and down arrowing through the menus, I noticed it was much more responsive and during the game, same thing. I also noted the key changes. Instead of hitting control plus the arrow keys to jump, it has been changed to space bar and any arrow key. To run, you now need to hit control plus any arrow key.

Sound RTS Version 1.0 Beta 9 Released

Today, the developer released Version 1.0 Beta 9 of the Sound RTS game.

Here are the changes in SoundRTS 1.0 beta 9a:
- I extracted the maps from the code to allow people to write multiplayer maps (trigger maps have been extracted too but may change and will not be documented
for now);
- I boosted the archers (the damage will be 2.5/4 be instead of 1.5/2.5);
- bug or balance problem: the time needed for training units and researching tech or building upgrades was 3 times to fast;
- bug: when there is no goldmine left and the computer needs gold, the game hangs;
- bug: map 1 and map 2 are imbalanced, because of the goldmine distance;
- bug: incomplete summary of enemy units (ex: mages and dragons are forgotten);
- bug: to many alert messages during fights;
- I added a keyboard shortcut: control pageup/pagedown to go to the previous/next conflict zone;
- bug: interactivity slowdown during a combat;
- added F3: say time
- added control F3: minute bell on/off (off by default)
- Control Home/End, control +/- of the numeric keyboard: increase/decrease the voice relative volume
- now the computer AI in aggressive mode knows the starting squares and attacks them first, instead of attacking the opposite square only
- bug: a running server is not removed from the servers list after 12 hours anymore
- bug: the servers list guesses wrongly the IP address of the servers in some rare cases (solved by using www.whatismyip.org)
- I added a save-game feature for single player games, with one save slot
- I added the ability to invite 1 or more computer AI of various strength in a multiplayer game, or in a single player game on a multiplayer map (now it
works the same as multiplayer games)
- bug fixed: the training sounds and the researching sounds caused the game to slowdown, because of the combat slowdown mode; the combat sounds slowdown
mode is now off by default (press control F6 to enable it)
- bug fixed: When a player has more than one barracks, the food limit is near maxed, and the barracks recruits a queued unit, the food limit is not always
respected. In some cases, the player will be able to recruit a group of units that have a higher food requirement than the player's food limit.
- I wrote a map making guide.

If you would like to check out what he has planned for the next version, you can
click here
to view the full entry in which I got the changes from.

My opinion of this release will follow shortly. The direct link to the download of this excellent game is
here.

Spoken Text

From
TheRangerStationBlog
I got introduced to a free service named
Spoken Text
which is a website that let's you convert many formats in to audio at no cost. You can put it on your IPod or an MP3 player. Some of the formats include, TXT, PDF, Powerpoint, and HTML. I have created an account to try this service out and I was quite surprised to find it extremely acccessible when using assistive technology like screen readers. There are no adds and the sign up process was very painless. I just had to answer a couple of questions that was related to my disability. From those questions, I gathered, that they cared about people with disabilities. I urge you all to try it out and give feedback to the people who make Spoken Text.

jaws version 9.0 public beta released

jaws 9.0 has been released in public beta. These are the new features, and bug fixes
• JAWS 9.0 Features
• Update Enhancements Included as of Build 9.0.353 (4 October 2007)
• Enhancements in JAWS Version 9.0.348 (1 October 2007)
JAWS 9.0 Features
list of 22 items
• JAWS Startup Wizard Update
• HTML Formatting Retained when Selecting, Copying, and Pasting
• State of NUM LOCK Key when JAWS Starts
• Performing an Action Stated in a Balloon ToolTip
• Newly Designed Adjust JAWS Options Dialog Box
• Third Party Script Developers
• Outlook 2007 Calendar
• Windows Mobile Device Center Support
• Foreign Language Detection in Forms Mode
• New WhizWheel Tracking
• Better Performance with Microsoft Word
• Bookmark Detection using Navigation Quick Keys in Microsoft Word
• Braille Proofreading Indication in Microsoft Word
• Braille Bullet Type Indication in Microsoft Word
• Speech and Sound Schemes in Microsoft Word
• Unit of Measure in Microsoft Word
• List Embedded Object Command in Microsoft Word
• Split Button Announcement in Microsoft Office Programs
• Gmail Interface Support
• Laptop Layout Keystrokes Update
• New Commands for Yahoo! Instant Messenger 8.1
• New Basic Training for JAWS 9.0
JAWS Startup Wizard Update

The JAWS Startup Wizard is a helpful tool that contains a series of dialog boxes. It lets you quickly configure some of the more commonly used JAWS parameters.
This can save time since you do not have to search multiple menus and managers to customize your copy of JAWS.

The Startup Wizard automatically runs the first time you install a new version of JAWS. However, you can always access it by selecting the Help menu in
the JAWS application window. The primary JAWS functions are organized into the following groups in the wizard:

list of 6 items
• Training settings
• Speech settings
• Run JAWS settings
• Keyboard settings
• Verbosity settings
• Braille settings
HTML Formatting Retained when Selecting, Copying, and Pasting

JAWS 9.0 will now properly copy the contents of a Web page to the virtual buffer, and retain all the HTML formatting and markup when pasting the information
into an HTML formatted e-mail or Word document.  This break through in screen reading means that you can now copy and paste content and retain its formatting,
colors, and active hyperlinks, but does not include any of the other JAWS messages, such as the number of items in a list, and so on. What you paste is
essentially the same rendering that a sighted user would see. Plus, you have the added advantage of being able to use JAWS HTML commands to read and navigate
the Web content when pasted into an e-mail message.

In addition, JAWS still provides a way to select copy and paste in the traditional manner of stripping out the formatting if you choose. You will find this
option to toggle in the new Adjust JAWS Option dialog box (INSERT+V). You may also wish to take advantage of the personalize settings option (INSERT+SHIFT+V)
feature in JAWS to set up certain behavior for specific URLs while leaving the default set with the new solution that includes all the formatting.
State of NUM LOCK Key when JAWS Starts

JAWS uses the numeric keypad to perform numerous speech functions such as Say All (INSERT+DOWN ARROW), Say Word (INSERT+NUM PAD 5), Say Line (INSERT+UP
ARROW), and so on. The NUM LOCK key is turned off by default so that you can easily use these functions. However, you may have a job that requires extensive
use of the numeric keypad, in which case, you must always turn on the NUM LOCK key after JAWS starts.

Starting with JAWS 9.0 you can control the initial state of the NUM LOCK key when JAWS starts. This is only available in the Default.jcf file.

There are two ways to configure the state of the NUM LOCK key. You can find this choice in the new Start Up Wizard and can modify at any time.  Alternatively,
you may make this adjustment directly in the Configuration Manager with the following steps:

list of 5 items
1. From the JAWS application window, press ALT+U to open the Utilities menu.
2. Press C to open the Configuration Manager.
3. Press ALT+S to open the Set Options menu, and press K to open the Keyboard Options dialog box.
4. Press M to jump directly to the Initial State of NUM LOCK Key option.
5. Use the ARROW Keys to select one of the following numeric keypad options:

list of 3 items nesting level 1
• Turn off at startup:  This is the default value.  When chosen, the NUM LOCK key is off when JAWS starts.
• Turn on at startup:  The NUM LOCK key is on when JAWS starts.
• Do not modify:  JAWS uses the current NUM LOCK key setting.
list end nesting level 1
Performing an Action Stated in a Balloon ToolTip

A system tray balloon ToolTip is a way for applications to inform you that an event has occurred or an action is required. Often these ToolTips state that
you need to “click here” to perform a certain task, such as downloading updates for Windows. With JAWS 9.0, when such a message appears, you can now press
the JAWS left mouse button (NUM PAD SLASH) to immediately act on the message before the ToolTip closes.

In JAWS 8.0 and earlier, to select a balloon ToolTip, you had to enable the JAWS cursor and navigate to the ToolTip. Often the message would close before
you could find it. As you can see, it is much more efficient to use the JAWS left mouse button.

Newly Designed Adjust JAWS Options Dialog Box

The Adjust JAWS Verbosity list has been updated with the newly designed Adjust JAWS Options tree view (INSERT+V). Instead of showing items in a list format,
the reorganized dialog box uses a logical tree view format. This grouping is sure to help new and experienced JAWS users understand the relationship between
various JAWS settings. At a minimum, the tree view consists of the following expandable groups that are common to all applications: General Options, Reading
Options, Say All Options, Editing Options, and Braille Options. Note that the Synthesizer command, which temporarily turns speech on or off, also resides
at the main group level.

Items that are specific to an application appear in their own group at the top of the tree view. For example, if you press INSERT+V while in Internet Explorer,
the Internet Explorer Options group appears above the other groups.

The tree view is expanded by default when you open it to allow for first letter navigation, thus continuing the ease of use found in the original Verbosity
list design. If you would rather have it collapsed, press TAB to navigate to the Expand Tree View on Open check box and uncheck it. You may also navigate
through the tree view using the RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW keys to expand and collapse groups. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to move up and down
in the tree.

JAWS 9.0 also now includes built-in help messages for each item found in the tree view. As you navigate items in the list, simply press TAB to move to the
Read-Only edit window at any time for a help description of the current item.

For other examples of the new format, press SHIFT+INSERT+V to open personalized setting for a Web page. This allows you to quickly access settings that
control how JAWS behaves on a specific Web page.  Press CTRL+INSERT+B, which allows you to open and quickly adjust braille options, to see another case
of the tree view format.
Note, there are scripting options that you can examine by visiting
jaws headquarters

Outlook 2007 Calendar

The user interface for the Outlook 2007 Calendar offers challenges for Assistive Technology products. In JAWS 9.0, we have addressed these challenges and
provided access directly to the Outlook 2007 Calendar without the need of providing a special interface to sit between Outlook and the screen reader.

list of 11 items
• You can create an appointment for a specific time slot by pressing ENTER on the time slot.
• When you navigate to an appointment, JAWS announces the appointment’s title, time, busy status, and location.
• JAWS announces time slots as you use the UP and DOWN ARROWS to move through the current day.
• You can use TAB and SHIFT+TAB to jump between appointments.
• Use LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW to move between days.
• When in Day View mode, JAWS announces the day, the date, and the number of appointments scheduled.
• In Work Week, Week, and Month View modes, JAWS announces the total number of all day events and timed appointments within that range.
• Press INSERT+A for a summary of event and appointment counts for the current day, work week, week, or month.
• Press INSERT+A twice to place a list of all events and appointments for that range into the virtual viewer, where you can get an overall view of meetings
and appointments for that period. You can also copy this information to the clipboard for further processing.
• The new Calendar support also makes shared calendars on exchange servers accessible.
• The Calendar supports regional layouts to handle international date formats.

Windows Mobile Device Center Support

In Windows Vista, ActiveSync has been replaced with this the new Windows Mobile Device Center. JAWS 9.0 is the first screen reader to offer full accessibility
with Windows Mobile Device Center found in Windows Vista. Using JAWS, you can now easily establish partnerships, install new software, manage what is synchronized,
and manage media transfers without needing to manually navigate these screens with the JAWS cursor.
Foreign Language Detection in Forms Mode

If text in a form field of an appropriately-tagged HTML page appears in a different language, JAWS is able to recognize and switch to that language when
speaking the text.  
New WhizWheel Tracking

Functionality for Freedom Scientific’s WHIZWHEELS® has been expanded to allow tracking of only the Braille cursor.

list of 2 items
• Pressing down on both wheels simultaneously switches from Track Focus mode to Track Braille Cursor mode.
• Use the left wheel to move up and down, just as traditionally one might use the left hand to track line position on a braille page.  Use the right wheel
to pan left and right without wrapping to the next line – no more confusion as to where the line starts and ends.
list end

Better Performance with Microsoft Word

Freedom Scientific has made significant performance increases with Microsoft Word 2007, Word 2003, and Word XP by revising and updating the way JAWS works
with these applications. This includes the streamlining of scripts and internal code, which results in enhanced responsiveness with total accuracy when
navigating and editing documents. Both Windows XP users and Windows Vista users will enjoy this improvement in speed and accuracy without missing out on
the most powerful screen reading solution in both speech and braille.
Bookmark Detection using Navigation Quick Keys in Microsoft Word

With Navigation Quick Keys turned on (INSERT+Z), you can now use the B keystroke to move to the next bookmark and the SHIFT+B keystroke to move to the previous
bookmark in a Word document. JAWS will announce if no bookmarks are in the document.
Braille Proofreading Indication in Microsoft Word

JAWS now has grammatical error and spelling error options available when using braille to read Microsoft Word files. Once you turn on a specific proofreading
option, it remains enabled until you reset the option.

Note: When using braille, you must first enable the Active Follows Braille option. It is located in the JAWS Options tree view under the Cursor Options
group in the Braille Options group. DOTS 7 and 8 will be raised under the misspelled word.

To enable proofreading options, do the following:

list of 5 items
1. Open a Word document.
2. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
3. Press the letter B until you hear JAWS say, "Braille proofreading indication - Spelling errors."
4. Press the SPACEBAR to toggle between the following options:

list of 4 items nesting level 1
• Spelling errors only
• Grammatical errors only
• Spelling and grammatical errors
• No spelling or grammatical errors (default setting)
list end nesting level 1
5. Close the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
list end

Braille Bullet Type Indication in Microsoft Word

The Bullet Type Indication feature was introduced in JAWS 8.0. It allows JAWS to announce different bullet styles that appear in a Word document. This same
functionality is now available in braille so that bullet styles can now be identified using either multi-cell symbols or an asterisk (*). By default, the
Braille Bullet Type Indication feature is off, which only uses asterisks to symbolize bullets styles.

Note: When using braille, you must first enable the Active Follows Braille option. It is located in the JAWS Options tree view under the Cursor Options
group in the Braille Options group.

To enable braille bullet type identification, do the following:

list of 5 items
1. Open a Word document.
2. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
3. Press the letter B until you hear JAWS say, "Braille bullet type indication - Off."
4. Press SPACEBAR to turn on this item. JAWS now uses multi-cell symbols to show bullets.
5. Close the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
list end
Spelling Error Detection in Microsoft Word

In JAWS 9.0, Spelling Error Detection is a separate option that controls if JAWS detects and announces misspelled words while reading through a Word document.
In previous JAWS releases, spelling detection was combined with grammar error detection. Spelling Error Detection is off by default. If braille is in use,
the default is to mark spelling errors in braille.

Note: When using braille, you must first enable the Active Follows Braille option. It is located in the JAWS Options tree view under the Cursor Options
group in the Braille Options group. DOTS 7 and 8 will be raised under the misspelled word.

To change spelling detection options, do the following:

list of 5 items
1. Open a Word document.
2. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
3. Press the letter S until JAWS announces “Spelling Error Detection – Off.”
4. Press the SPACEBAR to toggle between the following options:

list of 3 items nesting level 1
• On: Spell checking is enabled.
• On + Count: JAWS announces the number of spelling errors per line.
• Off: Spell checking is disabled (default setting)
list end nesting level 1
5. Close the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box.
list end
Unit of Measure in Microsoft Word

JAWS can now report the PC cursor position and other related measurements using a unit of measure that you specify regardless of the Word document's default
measurement units. The Measurement Units feature allows you to configure JAWS so that it reports the cursor position, tab stops, and indents in a unit
of measure to your liking. The default value for this feature is in inches.

To change the preferred unit of measure, do the following:

list of 5 items
1. Open a Word document.
2. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
3. Press the letter M until you hear JAWS say, "Measurement units - Set to inches."
4. Press SPACEBAR to toggle between the following options:

list of 6 items nesting level 1
• Set to inches (default)
• Set to pixels
• Set to spaces
• Set to points
• Set to millimeters
• Set to centimeters
list end nesting level 1
5. Close the Adjust JAWS Options tree view.
list end
List Embedded Object Command in Microsoft Word

In Word, the keystroke for the List Embedded Object command is now CTRL+INSERT+SHIFT+G. In releases prior to JAWS 9.0, this keystroke was for the List Graphics
command.

Split Button Announcement in Microsoft Office Programs

JAWS now identifies split buttons, in both speech and braille, that are available under the Microsoft Office Button. The Office Button is located in the
upper-left corner of Microsoft Office 2007programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access. For an example of split buttons using JAWS, do
the following:

list of 3 items
1. From a Microsoft Office 2007 program, press ALT+F to open the Office Button.
2. Press DOWN ARROW to navigate to the Print button. JAWS announces Print split button.
3. Do one of the following:
Press ENTER to print or press SPACEBAR to open the Preview and Print pane.
list end

Gmail Interface Support

JAWS now supports the Gmail interface, which means that it is no longer necessary to revert to the basic HTML interface. While this is still in development,
it will allow you to locate objects on the screen, such as Compose Mail, and then press ENTER. Previously, it was necessary to use the JAWS Cursor to select
these items.
To activate an item, do the following:

list of 3 items
1. Log on to your Gmail account.
2. Move to an item, such as Compose Mail, and press ENTER.
3. If there are more items on a single line, similar to what you see with the Settings menu, you must use the ARROW keys to navigate to the items and then
press ENTER.
list end

Laptop Layout Keystrokes Update

The Left Mouse Button Lock (CTRL+8) and the Right Mouse Button Lock (CTRL+9) keystrokes, which are available when Laptop keyboard layout is selected, have
changed.

The new keystroke for Left Mouse Button Lock is CTRL+WINDOWS Key+8.

The new keystroke for Right Mouse Button Lock is CTRL+WINDOWS Key+9.

New Commands for Yahoo! Instant Messenger 8.1

The following JAWS commands have been added for Yahoo! Instant Messenger 8.1:

list of 3 items
• ALT+X, where X is 1, 2, 3,...,0, which allows you to review the last 10 Yahoo! IM messages. Note that ALT+1 opens the most recent message, and ALT+0 opens
the 10th message.
• ALT+NUMPAD 5 twice quickly opens a Web link that appears in a Yahoo! IM message.
• When having an IM conversation, TAB lets you switch between the typing window and the message display pane located in the Instant Message dialog box.

list end

New Commands for Yahoo! Instant Messenger 8.1

The following JAWS commands have been added for Yahoo! Instant Messenger 8.1:

list of 3 items
• ALT+X, where X is 1, 2, 3,...,0, which allows you to review the last 10 Yahoo! IM messages. Note that ALT+1 opens the most recent message, and ALT+0 opens
the 10th message.
• ALT+NUMPAD 5 twice quickly opens a Web link that appears in a Yahoo! IM message.
• When having an IM conversation, TAB lets you switch between the typing window and the message display pane located in the Instant Message dialog box.

list end
fixes
list of 15 items
• Resolved the reported issue where JAWS would begin to fail in reading many items like the List of System Tray items (INSERT+F11) after coming out of Hibernation or
Standby mode.
• Resolved a reported problem with the Microsoft Outlook 2007 Inbox. JAWS would sometimes fail to speak the item you landed on when moving rapidly across
entries with similar attributes such as Unread.
• Resolved an issue reported in Outlook Express where selecting text in reverse order using CTRL+HOME, would not display the expected results in braille
until doing a screen refresh.
• Resolved a problem reported in Microsoft Word and Outlook 2007 where text could be skipped during a Say All when preceded immediately by a period followed
by a comma.
• Resolved reported problems associated with reading by sentence in Word and Outlook 2007 where sentences could be repeated.
• Resolved an issue in Outlook 2003 and Outlook XP when moving and reading by Paragraph with CTRL+DOWN ARROW or CTRL+UP ARROW when in Compose mode of an
e-mail.
• Resolved an issue where JAWS was reporting the section and page number in Word 2007 and Outlook 2007 when landing on a blank document or e-mail.
• Addressed a long standing issue where JAWS would sometimes fail to announce Copy, Cut, or Append to Clipboard. Once in this state, the only way to get
it to properly report the message was to restart JAWS.
• Changed the behavior in the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box (INSERT+V) in Word and Outlook 2007 so that if the user changes or toggles the item "Say All,
using Line, Sentence, or Paragraph," JAWS now makes the change persistent across JAWS sessions.
• Resolved several reported problems in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.
• Resolved a reported problem in Outlook 2007 where JAWS was not automatically reading e-mail when the Messages Automatically Read option was enabled using
the Adjust JAWS Option dialog box (INSERT+V), if you were moving forward or backward through mail messages using CTRL+PERIOD or CTRL+COMMA.
• Resolved a reported issue in Outlook 2007 when using the Say All command (INSERT+DOWN ARROW), while in a composition window of an e-mail message, could
leave Navigation Quick Keys on after stopping the Say All.
• Resolved reported issue in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Outlook XP where users were not able to activate links in Plain Text messages.
• Resolved an issue reported where reading the table of contents in Word documents could fail once moving away from the table of contents and then returning
to it.
• Resolved a reported problem of Say All only reading the top line of the Read-only Help window in the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box (INSERT+V) if you
activated the dialog box while in Word 2007 or Outlook 2007. Note: Users of Outlook 2007 will hear a message about an unknown function call if they press
INSERT+V while focused on Outlook 2007 in build 9.0.353. This is being resolved for the next post and should not hinder the use of the software at this
point.

list end
list of 6 items
• Resolved an issue in Word forms, where JAWS was reading the F1 automatic Help messages prior to reading the status bar help text. This will now be reversed.
• Added option in the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box (INSERT+V) for Word to give users the ability to disable F1 automatic Help messages.
• Updated INSERT+F1 context-sensitive help and INSERT+H Hotkey help in new Outlook 2007 Calendar support.
• Resolved a reported issue where using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW in the Outlook 2007 Calendar while in Month View was sluggish.
• Resolved an issue reported where pressing ENTER twice, in a multiline edit field in Internet Explorer while in forms mode, would result in messages happening
if you then type a number, as if Navigation Quick Keys had been turned on.
• Added help text for the "Information Bar Messages Announcement" item found in the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box (INSERT+V) while in Outlook. Note: Users
of Outlook 2007 will hear a message about an unknown function call if they press INSERT+V while focused on Outlook 2007 in build 9.0.353. This is being
resolved for the next post and should not hinder the use of the software at this point.

list end

Enhancements in JAWS Version 9.0.348 (1 October 2007)

The following enhancements are some of the many items reported by users that are addressed in this update.

JAWS
list of 6 items
• The Skim Reading feature correctly reports and maintains modified color and text attributes.
• JAWS now allows the mapping of Unicode characters to multiple-cell braille entities.
• When a ToolTip appears, pressing INSERT+TAB announces the ToolTip and flashes the ToolTip in braille.
• If you issue the Say All command (INSERT+DOWN ARROW) while in a dialog box, JAWS will announce the current line just like the Say Line command (INSERT+UP
ARROW). Previously if you performed a Say All in a dialog box, JAWS was silent. If you want to hear the entire contents of a dialog box, you can still
use the INSERT+B command.
• The ZIP directory's Browse button, which appears in the General Options dialog box of the Settings Packager, is correctly announced by JAWS.
• The access key for the Startup Wizard, located under the Help command, is now the letter Z instead of the letter S.
list end

Adobe Reader
list of 1 items
• When navigating through tables in an Adobe Reader document, JAWS announces when you enter a nested table. JAWS also states the nesting level, the number
of columns, and the number of rows in the nested table.
list end

Eudora E-mail
list of 2 items
• Certain mail messages that users submitted to Freedom Scientific caused Eudora to unload or crash while running with JAWS 8.0. This has been fixed in
JAWS 9.0.
• JAWS scripts for Eudora have been modified so that JAWS automatically starts reading when a message is opened. The scripts also allow the use of the new
Options tree view format (INSERT+V).
list end

FSReader
list of 2 items
• JAWS now correctly identifies URL links that appear in DAISY books when reading with FSReader.
• When conducting a Find in a DAISY text book, JAWS now reads the line automatically when it lands on the line where the word is located as expected.
list end

Microsoft Excel
list of 6 items
• When using the JAWS Cursor in Microsoft Excel, cursor movement now behaves normally. For example, if you issue the CTRL+HOME or the CTRL+END commands,
the JAWS Cursor moves to the top or bottom of the worksheet.
• JAWS now announces when a region of a worksheet is selected when using the CTRL+SHIFT+8 command.
• The Virtual Viewer now closes when you press ESC in Excel.
• When using the JAWS Cursor to navigate a context menu, JAWS correctly announces each item in the menu.
• When using the Laptop keyboard layout, the CAPS LOCK+UP ARROW keystroke correctly speaks the current line, and the CAPS LOCK+UP ARROW keystroke pressed
twice quickly correctly spells the current line.
• JAWS now correctly speaks the help message when Formula mode is activated.
list end

Microsoft Internet Explorer
list of 1 items
• JAWS announces the row and column headings when moving between columns (CTRL+ALT+RIGHT ARROW or CTRL+ALT+LEFT ARROW) in a table.
list end

Microsoft Office
list of 6 items
• In Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Access, the AdjustJAWSVerbosity script has been replaced by the AdjustJAWSOptions
script (INSERT+V).
• When you press F6 to move from one pane to the next in a Microsoft Office 2007 application, JAWS correctly announces the name of the pane. This did not
always happen in JAWS 8.0.
• JAWS can navigate Office 2007 floating toolbars, for example, the Apply Styles dialog box (CTRL+SHIFT+S). Press F6 to navigate between panes, and use
the TAB and ARROW Keys to move within a pane.
• JAWS now announces the status of ribbon buttons in Office 2007 applications. For example, if the Bold button is selected in Word 2007, JAWS says, Bold
button pressed.
• JAWS now reads text entered into the Search Help edit box when you press F1 in an Office 2007 application. JAWS also reads the history in the edit box
when you press the UP or DOWN ARROW keys.
• The Office Assistant is no longer available in Office 2007. As a result, the Close Office Assistant keystroke (CTRL+INSERT+F4) is only valid for Office
2003 and earlier applications.
list end

Microsoft Outlook
list of 12 items
• When in the body of a Microsoft Outlook 2007 message, the Say Active Cursor and Position command (ALT+DELETE) now reports the correct cursor information.

• In Outlook XP, the Say Character Phonetically command (NUMPAD 5 twice quickly) now speaks characters phonetically. This was an issue in JAWS 8.0.
• When composing an HTML formatted e-mail using Outlook 2003, JAWS can announce the formatting used in the message, for example, Heading 1, Normal style,
and so on. To enable this feature, press INSERT+V, and then choose On for the Style Changes option that is nested in the Formatting group of the Microsoft
Outlook Options group.
• JAWS recognizes capital letters in e-mail addresses.
• JAWS correctly announces the controls of the Rules Wizard dialog box in Outlook.
• When in a new e-mail message, INSERT+H displays the correct Hot Key Help message when in the cursor is in a header field.
• The problem reported regarding empty Virtual buffers when replying to an e-mail message has been fixed.
• JAWS correctly reads all button labels in the Account Settings dialog box.
• JAWS now reads the static text in the Opening Mail Attachment dialog box that appears when opening an attachment.
• Information bar messages in Outlook 2007 are announced by JAWS.
• Resolved reported issue of JAWS not reading list items that appear in the Custom View Organizer dialog box in Outlook 2007.
• JAWS now accurately speaks and brailles the labels for all fields in the Create a New Contact dialog box in Outlook 2007.
list end

Microsoft Word
list of 1 items
• When using Navigation Quick Keys in a table (INSERT+Z, T), the > and < keys will move you forward out of a table or backward out of a table.
list end

Windows Explorer
list of 1 items
• When navigating through a tree view in the Folder Options dialog box, JAWS correctly announces items in the tree view.
list end

Windows Live Messenger
list of 2 items
• In Windows Live Messenger, JAWS now reads all contact information available in the Contacts menu.
• The status of check boxes in the Create a Group dialog box are announced when you navigate to a check box or toggle its setting using the SPACEBAR.
list end


Windows Vista
list of 1 items
• JAWS correctly reads and navigates the Move File dialog box when cutting and pasting files in Windows Vista.
list end


Faisal's Comments:

Based on the various fixes, and enhancements with jaws 9, I think its probably worth downloading this version release of jaws. I can't wait to use all the various features it now has with word, and the outlook 07 calinder.
Visit
www.fsactivate.com to see if you are licenced to use jaws nine.


Ka's Comments:

I don't think that it is worth upgrading to JAWS 9.0 even with improvements over the previous version. This is because there are no breakthrough features although none the less, they are certainly useful. I think the most dramatic change in JAWS is when JAWS 5.0 was released. Since then, I feel that Freedom Scientific has been just piling new features and fixing bugs. If you also read
The Blind Access Journal
you will find that both our opinions are alike even though he words it better than I do.

Team Talk 3.3.1 Released

A couple of days ago, Bearware released a new version of Team Talk wich for those who don't know, Team Talk is a voice chatting client that is 100 percent accessible with all screen readers. I wrote a review of it a while ago on it. The website to check it out is
bearware.dk