accessibility

Leopard looks great. But what if you can't see?

Leopard is Apple's best-looking operating system yet, from its breezy Cover Flow file browsing to the starry-looking Time Machine backup. It's no wonder visual artists love Macs.

But how well does Leopard work for blind users?

"[Vision-impaired] people who use Macs are mostly in the category of, "My boss says we have to use Macs," or "I'm a teacher and that's what I'm stuck with,"" said Crista Earl, director of Web operations at the American Foundation for the Blind.

Among 10 million visually impaired people in the United States, … Read more

League of Women Voters forbids filming of San Francisco mayoral forum

Update: After writing this blog post, I spoke to The League of Women Voters, and SFGTV and the City Attorney's office. After making these phone calls, I was assured that the public would in fact be able to videotape the debate and on Thursday night, I did see plenty of cameras in the audience. To the best of my knowledge, everybody was provided full access to the debate.

In the city of San Francisco, a dozen people are running for mayor of San Francisco. I am one of them. Most of us are serious candidates pushing real issues and innovative solutions to the city's problems though you might not think so reading the local newspapers or watching the television.

In fact, many people in San Francisco don't even know there is an election next month. Of those who do, many are unaware that Gavin Newsom, the incumbent, is not running unopposed. By all accounts the mayor is running a very quiet campaign, and has refused to participate in any candidate forums or debates. Except one.

Almost all of the candidates, including Newsom, will be taking part in a candidate forum tonight. It's sponsored by the League of Women Voters and will take place at 6:00PM in the Koret Auditorium at the main branch of the public library. The event will be taped by SFGTV, the local government television station, and according to an e-mail I received from Jolinda Sim, the Candidate Forums chair for the League of Women Voters, "no videotaping or flash photography [will be] allowed due to the fact that SFGOV TV is taping this forum for broadcast."

Given that this is a public event being held on city property and pertaining a to government election, the mere suggestion that the media not be granted full access to the event is deeply troubling. The fact that the government is actually involved in taping the forum means that the city is complicit in denying the media access. This is not only alarming, it may even be illegal.… Read more

Share your screen, or help a friend

Have you ever had to talk a relative through a complicated computer task?

"OK, start by opening a command prompt."

...

*crickets*

Support professionals--such as our IT team at CNET--employ software that lets them access PCs and fix problems remotely. However, Uncle Bob's lost photos are just as important as a VP's lost e-mail.

If you're ever in a situation where you want to control another person's PC or let a friend access yours, there are several excellent software programs that allow you to do so. Most are based on the open-source Virtual Network Computing software developed by AT&T. In fact, one VNC project, VNC Free Edition from RealVNC, is led by one of the main developers from the original VNC team.… Read more

A media blackhole in Colorado

Having spent time in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), I wasn't surprised to learn that the agency's highest security prison has denied all media requests for the past six years. Known as the ADX, the super-maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado is home to some of the most notorious convicts in history including Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and the so-called "American Taliban," John Walker Lindh. While simultaneously being very conscious of public relations, the BOP exercises tremendous secrecy under the guise of security.

According to Westword News, there have been exactly 100 media requests submitted to interview inmates at the ADX facility since 2002 and none of these requests have been granted.… Read more

Fire up the remote

LogMeIn. GoToMyPC. Radmin. CrossLoop. MyIVO. Envision, if you will, a fierce battle waged by these multiple armies, a mad melee of digital pikes, longbows, broadswords, dotanuki and, oh, an anachronistic Sherman tank for fun, and you've got a very vivid imagination.

It's also not a bad metaphor for the remote access wars, which are currently roiling in a frothy boil. LogMeIn Ignition is upping their ante. It's a nifty little self-contained program that you install on your desktop, then copy the EXE onto a portable device such as an iPod, flash drive or a BlackBerry. Connect that device to any PC, double-click on Ignition and you've got instant access to any of the machines saved in your LogMeIn account.

Open Access to New Wireless Spectrum?

The Federal Communications Commission in January will auction off perhaps the most lucrative wireless radio space in history. It's like Superman for mobile applications, able to see through buildings better and travel farther than others before it.

First, though, the FCC must write the rules dictating how that spectrum will be used by the auction winner. That means (as things historically go at the Commission) mediating between several powerhouse companies like Verizon, AT&T, and Google who really want to get their paws on this money-making resource. If they're lucky, a little start-up or even consumers will … Read more

Mobile software for vacationing workaholics

There is a particular social type that can't completely relax on vacation without knowing that the means to access their work is nearby. For that courageous bunch, undeterred by their family's best efforts to retreat to the least technological of leafy hamlets possible, is a collection of top-rated mobile productivity software. Happy Fourth of July.

Take data with you The $50 price tag on Documents to Go may seem steep for the casual consumer of Microsoft Office documents, but for Palm users who might need to view Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations by the light of the fireworks, … Read more

Work over the Web

If you're like me, you've got what feels like 60 bazillion things going on at the same time. Trying to sync text documents, digital photos, and bookmarked Web pages (as well as applications and their settings) for when I travel or work from home can be like catching water with a sieve.

Thankfully, there's a wide range of remote access programs out there. Some are free, most cost money, and choosing the right one can be a bit of a pain, so we're going to bring the world of remote access a bit closer to home, just in time for the season. Today we're looking at LogMeIn, GoToMyPC and Radmin.

Next Palm OS not until 2008

Palm won't be able to put out its Linux-based version of the Palm OS until next year, the company said last week.

This is a slip from earlier expectations that it would be out later this year, according to Brighthand. Palm announced in April that it was developing its own Linux-based version of the Palm OS despite a similar project from Access, the company formerly known as Palmsource.

Palm OS, which is actually now known as Garnet OS, has been looking older and older next to newer mobile operating systems such as Windows Mobile, as well as that iPhone … Read more

Cincinnati Bell Wireless launches Wi-Fi/cell service

Cincinnati Bell Wireless has launched a new service that allows people to use one handset that switches between a Wi-Fi and cellular network.

The service, called CB Home Run, works using a dual-mode Wi-Fi and cellular phone that lets users switch between the two networks depending on which one offers the best signal. Cincinnati Bell is using the Nokia 6086 handset, which contains radios for both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. The operator is offering the phone for about $65 with a $15 rebate. It works with Wi-Fi networks in homes and offices as well as with Cincinnati Bell's more … Read more