community for the blind:-)'s Journal

rop_heart @ 11:39pm: Uninstalling Avast!!
I recently decided to uninstall
Avast!!
From my computer. When i do this however, it says "There was an error during uninstallation", then it has the "Finish" button. It's still installed. I've looked on the website, and there is an uninstallation tool, but you have to run windows in "Safe mode". Apparently, I wouldn't be able to do this on my own though.

Do any of you know how i could uninstall Avast?

Thanks.
Cross posted to my journal.

leaffan @ 1:45pm: JAWS with Office 2007
Hi there. I need to use JAWS with MS Office 2007 at work. Which of versions 8 or 9 would be most suitable, or would there be a difference? I hate version 10 with a purple sassion, so it's out of the question; also, I tried it on the work computer with disastrous results with most of our other software. Any help would be appreciated!

aurora_nebulosa @ 8:55pm: DVS Online
Does anyone know where I can find DVS movies online? My main reason for desiring to locate them is to show some sighted friends of mine what I mean when I talk about DVS.

sunrise22 @ 12:17am: IM posting on lj..what is more accessible?
Hi all!
First of all, I hope everyone had a nice fourth of July.
I have a question concerning IM posting here on lj.
I have windows programs, and there are five "clients," that I can choose from. However, I'm not sure what one to choose. I have Jaws 9.0 (still debating if I should get jaws 10..)..and I have windows XP.
So, which one do you think I should pick? does anyone have IM posting here on lj?
Below is the list of clients lj has for windows:
Miranda IM
Pandion
Pidgin
Psi
Trillian Pro

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also, as well as are there any other functions I can use this client for?

read2781 @ 10:06am: Desiring information about Oklahoma City
I applied for a job as an assistive technology specialist in Oklahoma City and had a phone interview yesterday. The rehab director was very impressed with my qualifications and experience and told me she would be looking very hard at my resume, etc. I won't know anything for about a month.

I'm interested to know if anyone in this community lives in the Oklahoma City area. If so, what can you tell me about the city -- transportation, housing, etc.? The woman I spoke with told me that transportation is 20 years behind where it should be, but I'm not sure what she means by this statement.

Thanks for any thoughts and info anyone might have about the area.

lilmizmombassa @ 3:47am: Student teaching, anyone?
Hi all,
My name is Caitlin. I'm entering my senior year at a small liberal arts college, and I am a double major in English and Secondary Education. In January of 2010, I will start my student teaching, which is a graduate requirement for the education program. I was just wondering if any of you had any experiences with student teaching and how you adapted different scenarios in the classroom? Though I am not the only blind student in the history of my college, I am the only legally blind student that has ever student taught. (We had a woman with low vision graduate from the School of Education in the early '90s.) I have never observed a blind teacher before, and have some general knowledge on how I want things adapted in my classroom someday, but it is an entirely different arena for student teaching. Any experiences you could share would be greatly appreciated!

rop_heart @ 1:37am: Upgrading Talks?
I want to upgrade my version of Talks to 4, but i'm not too sure if it'll work.

I have been told that if i download a trial version of 4, which is all there is, then since i have a licenced version already on here that 4 will be a full version. Is this true?

Thanks.

Cross posted to
blindpeople
and
blcellphone

sunrise22 @ 9:31am: Are you "disabled," and single?
Hello all!!

Are you disabled and single? Are you looking for love, a relationship, friends, romance or just a one night stand?
I've recently created a LJ community for people that have a disibility and that are single.
disabledsingles
It doesn't matter if you are straight, bi-sexual, gay, transgendered... Also, it doesn't matter what you are seeking!
You don't have to have a disibility in order to join....
The reason:
I'm a 24 year old single blind woman. I tried searching for communities on lj that could help people that are single with disibilities out.
Sure, lj has a lot of "personal ad," communities but nothing for people with disibilities.
It seemed like whenever I would tell someone that I'm blind one of two things would happen:
-They'd say it's not a problem and then I'd never hear from them again.
Or
-They would just ignore me or feel sorry for me...
And, I for one do NOT need pitty!
disabledsingles
was created for the simple reason of bringing together people with disibilities (as well as people with out disibilities..) in order to give us a place to chat. To chat about dating, relationships, social networking, finding partners and whatever else we can come up with.

So, feel free to join!!!!
disabledsingles
Tell your friends! :)

pookems @ 4:04pm: I know it's not exactly ground-breaking technology, but does anyone know of someone who might want a Braille N Speak 2000? Especially K-12 students.

passionflower55 @ 10:10am: yahoo email question
I have been using yahoo mail for about four years with no problems, but now i am encountering some, so i was hoping that some of you have encountered and figured out the same thing.

I have never used yahoo messenger, but a few weeks ago, my msn contacts were imported in to my yahoo messenger, which i havent even downloaded, so i don't know why this happened. I understand that yahoo and msn messengers are synonomous, i use my yahoo id for my msn screen name, but i have always IMed using window's live, so i don't know if it is a promotional thing or what, but every time i check my email these annoying messages keep popping up saying something like "___ sent you a message." So if there is any way to get rid of this it would be greatly appreciated. Each time i look, i only get the option to download yahoo messenger.

Also, whenever i type an email, letters are literally left out when i go back to proofread. I am pretty accurate when it comes to typing, so missing letters in almost every word is not something i am used to, and it makes it incredibly annoying to type, so for the time being i have just been copying and pasting from ms word. I am seriously considering just getting a gmail account, but i like yahoo other than this, and i have accumulated tons of contacts, and i use email for so many things that i would like to try to fix this problem before i just give up.

I know this is long, but thanks for any advice.

summer_dolphin @ 9:37pm: Office Communicator 2007 and JAWS 10
Hi. I am using JAWS 10.0 at work and our company has been using Microsoft Office Communicator since about April, although I haven't tried it because I don't know how accessible it is.  Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

rocky_hughes @ 11:25am: Hello to all, I am Rocky and new here and I love this site.  thankfully i found this site and now i can enjoy talking to other blind people as well.
I just  was wanting to say hello and i hope we can all be friendsi need a good friend some times. and since i just lost my guide dog i fill very lost now. and some times sick as well. sorry for rambling... good luck to all today and  shall we all chatt later own.

kl1964 @ 1:11pm: Cell Phone Saga Continues
Okay, after much hemming and hawing, I've begun to warm up to the idea of getting a phone with Mobile Speak through the AT&T $89 plan. I'll have to leave Verizon, and I don't like that, but my options with Verizon are somewhat limited, not to mention expensive. As far as the phone, I'm leaning toward the Nokia 6650. Does anyone use that phone, and if so what do you think of it? I'm open to any suggestions phonewise, I'm such a neophyte at this, walking around with my LG 4650. *G*

snowdaysroq @ 9:19pm: The promised Iphone update
Hi Guys!
I have been playing with my Iphone since I got it on Friday morning and I am loving it!
There is a learning curve, because you have to get used to typing on the touch screen, but now that I am getting the hang of how things work I am really pleased I made the switch! Apple has done a great job over all at making the phone accessible.
The voice quality is excellent (Iphone comes with a female voice which is easy to understand) and many apps from the app store are accessible.
All apps which come on the phone are accessible though they do take some time to learn. So far, I have found sending text messages to be the most confusing thing, but I have now mastered it and can do it reasonably quickly.
For anyone interested in learning more about the Iphone, there is a listserve for blind users who have made the switch at viphone@googlegroups.com
Also, I am happy to answer anyone's questions and will write a more detailed entry tomorrow when I am actually functioning! :)
The bottom line, though, is that the technology is amazing, and apple has really done an amazing job at making the phone fully accessible.

passionflower55 @ 11:53am: an at&t phone question
I am talking to a woman who has lost her vision, and she has not learned how to use jaws and the internet, so i told her that i would ask for her. She is using at&t and is looking for an out of the box accessible phone that she can since for lack of funds to purchase a smart phone. I don't use at&t, so i don't know what they have available that is out of the box accessible.
thanks

sunrise22 @ 12:31am: Jaws virsion 9 and the new internet explorer..
Hi all!
I have a questions about Jaws virsion 9 and the new internet explorer 8.00.
My computer says I need to update it in order for the new internet explorer to be installed on it..however, how accesssible is jaws with the new internet explorer? I'm afraid to install something that big on my laptop ( especially now I don't know anyone that fixes computers like I used to..) so I don't want to screw anything up. Should I be concerned or am I just being paranoid?
Any help would be appreciated!

kl1964 @ 1:21pm: Some Help on an Oldie But Goodie
I am in the process of activating an LG VX4650 that I plan to use temporarily until I figure out what new phone I want to invest in. I know most (probably all) folks here have moved on and up from thismodel, but just in case I do have a question. Can anyone refresh my memory on how to add contacts into the phone book? It's been a long time since I've done it, and I can't remember. Thanks in advance for any help.

passionflower55 @ 8:10am: spss psychology data software
I am a psych major, and i am beginning my research classes in the fall. Is spss accessible with jaws? i am using jfw version 10 if that makes a difference.

Thanks

rop_heart @ 12:23am: Magazine Article help!!!!
In my journal, i have wrote about
This Group
Well on the 24th of June, which is next Wednesday, they are having a meeting type thing. They have asked everyone to write a 500 word article about anything we like, as long as it is related to visual impairment. It is for a magazine article they are producing.

Can ayone please suggest anything i could write? I was thinking about the lack of accessible books, but i'm not sure if that would be 500 words, and i'm not sure how to start it either.

Get any suggestions right along this way!!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!

passionflower55 @ 6:02pm: verizon phone
My upgrade eligibility begins in august, and i want to get an accessible verizon phone. So, what is out there that is good? I am not interested in changing service providers. Also, how have you guys dealt with the whole deal that verizon gives you a free phone every two years? Are any of the options accessible, and if they weren't to your liking, or not accessible, was verizon willing to reach a middle ground by helping you towards the accessible phone you wanted because of the limited options for blind people, or were you expected to pay for the accessible phone in full if it was not one that you became eligable to receive for free?

thanks

dougjournal @ 3:55pm: questions about Jaws, Word and the Internet
Hi, this is Doug.  I'm blind and hard of hearing, and I use Jaws for various functions including email, the Internet and word processing.
I recently had some difficulties trying to close Microsoft Word.  After doing some extensive work editing a file, my computer would freeze when I tried to close Word, and I would get a message saying the program wasn't responding.  After several attempts to close the program, I got an error message and a dialog with a few choices, including don't send or send error report.  When I chose to send the error report, I was directed to a Web page about installing Microsoft updates that would help prevent the problem in the future.  We started downloading some of these updates, but the issue continues from time to time.
A couple months ago I installed the latest version of Jaws 10, but found a few glitches, including the inability to turn off typing echo and set punctuation to None.  In the global voice settings, punctuation was already at None, but Jaws still spoke the punctuation wherever they occurred.  In the configuration manager, typing echo was already off, but Jaws still spoke the keys I pressed.  Do you know what might be the problem in this latest version of Jaws, that's corrupting these voice settings and configuration dialogs so they don't cooperate like they did in earlier versions of Jaws?
Another issue in Word has to do with Jaws announcing styles, margin locations, number of inches, etc.  This is very annoying when I'm editing the document--I want to hear the text of the next line immediately, not a bunch of numbers and other tutor messages.  Do you know how I can set the configurations so Jaws won't keep giving me that unnecessary information while I'm editing a file using the arrow keys?
From time to time I encounter a Web site where I'm signing up or creating an account, and I'm prompted to enter a visual image or set of numbers to verify myself.  I'm not only blind but hearing impaired, and the audio challenges are hard to understand so I can't type in the correct words or numbers.  How can a deaf-blind user get past these issues without sighted help, or does it always take the help of someone with vision or better hearing?
I look forward to your answers to these issues soon.  Thanks.

snowdaysroq @ 10:11pm: Iphone 3gS anyone else making the switch on Friday?
So I ordered the new Iphone which is accessible with Voiceover. I am so excited to get my hands on it and give it a try! I was just getting extremely frustrated with mobile speak and with my motorola Q's constantly braking. After some thought I decided it was time to give the Iphone a try partly because I am pretty much exclusively mac based at this point, and I needed something which would work seemlessly with my mac. Also, it will be wonderful to have a phone which works directly out of the box with out needing to install and deal with third party software just to make it accessible.
Call me crazy, but I have enough confidence in apple's products to feel completely comfortable making the switch. I will be happy to update you all on how I'm liking my Iphone as much as time and my crazy grad school schedule permit. If you are interested in my experience with it just let me know! Four days! :) I can't wait! I have been eagerly awaiting an accessible Iphone for two years now!

blindvi @ 12:09am: Blind VI Now on Twitter & Facebook!
More ways to promote/support Blind VI and spread the word about the website!

Twitter
http://twitter.com/BlindVI
Blind VI now has a twitter page! Please follow Blind VI! This is a great tool for those who have no time to read a long lengthy blog entry. Lots of people can read stuff on their mobile phones so this is something new that could be a positive for the website. Once you're following Blind VI's twitter page, spread the word by telling your entire followers list to follow Blind VI!

Facebook Fan Page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Blind-VI/37535532979
Everyone's doing it! Please place Blind VI as one of your fan pages! Click on Become a Fan and then click on the SHARE button and share Blind VI's fan page info to all your friends on facebook. And ask them to become a fan to Blind VI as well to support the website.

rop_heart @ 12:26am: Grrrrrr!!!
I'm having major problems with
Windows Live Messenger
Let me explain....

Remember in
In My last Entry
About how I told you that i got a new laptop? Well it's going grand. The only problem is that today i was about to talk to someone on Windows live, and
i had changed my status to "Available" after just lurking, and it wouldn't respond. This is even happening when i install the old version. Does anyone
know what could be up?

I have a Samsung laptop, with Windows vista Home premium, or whatever way you say that.

Please please help!!!!!!!!!!!

By teh way, i have to restart the whole systim then once it doesn't respond. The "Windows Live mail" option works perfectly.

Thanks again.

Cross posted to
[Bad username: blind people]

hilikme @ 2:54pm: Music Sharing Programs?
Ugh, so I'm having some troubles...

I had usually always used Bearshare 5.2.5 (even with jaws 10) with no issues whatsoever, but just the other day, my Bearshare started to not connect to the network, so I reinstalled it and ever since then, jaws (8 - 10) won't read the download and search lists at all, not even with the jaws cursor.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is there any other good music sharing programs that are jaws 8 - 10 compadible?

Thanks!