Introduction to NVDA, the free screen reader

I'm hoping to be awake for this, as I've been intending on learning NVDA for a while now because, first of all, it is free and, second of all, many accessibility and assistive technology experts advise knowing more than one screen reader, as all screen readers have weaknesses, and a web page or program that might not work well with one screen reader, may well work better with another.
Note: In a previous mention of this event, I gave the incorrect date: the correct day is later today.
For the webpage listing these and similar online events, including direct links to Zoom info go here
http://nfbp.org/zoom-meeting-calendar
Thursday, July 2
8:00 p.m. EDT | NVDA Training with Chris
Learn how to use NVDA, the free screen access software for Windows.
For questions, please contact Chris Westbrook at westbchris@gmail.com.

Zoom Meeting ID: 215 988 0888
URL: https://zoom.us/my/nfbpennsylvania
One tap mobile: +13126266799,,2159880888#

And if, like me, you tend to fall asleep early, recordings of many of these NFB webinar events can be found on the archive page:
http://nfbp.org/archive

Mass Commission for the blind to host webinar on assistive technology

I just spent three full days with an instructor from the Carroll Center, stuffing my brain with lots of new information about how to use programs I was unfamiliar with, such as Office 365 and Google Suite, and learning how to use older programs, such as browsers, more efficiently, and the most important thing I relearned about assistive technology is it is always improving, so you can always learn something new. Also, my inner Hermione still gets excited about things like the improved Office 365 spellchecker (it reads and spells the word or punctuation in context).

MCB Virtual Town Hall on assistive technology
Friday, July 10
9 A.M. TO 10:30 A.M. EDT
( Zoom and phone info below the cut )

Apple's iOS14 is is filled with accessibility improvements

by Jon Porter
https://www.theverge.com/21302891/ios-14-accessibility-improvements-disabilities-hearing-blindness-motor-control

Excerpts:
Apple’s new operating systems — like iOS 14 and tvOS 14, which are due to be released later this year — include numerous features that should make them easier to use by people with disabilities. Apple announced the new features as part of its Worldwide Developers Conference this week, and
Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenaquino/2020/06/24/heres-an-overview-of-whats-new-in-accessibility-from-apple-in-2020/#568ac6f22cb7
and CNET
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-packs-new-accessibility-features-ios-14-airpod-pro-audio-tweaks-back-tap/
have rounded many of them up.
These improvements range from new features like sound recognition to improvements to Apple’s existing accessibility features like its VoiceOver screen reader. It’s a substantial list that should make Apple’s products easier to use by those with hearing, sight, motor disabilities, or others.
Sound recognition
https://www.theverge.com/21300261/ios-14-update-smoke-alarm-sound-detection-accessbility
in iOS 14, for example, will let you tell your phone to constantly listen out for 14 different sounds, including doorbells, sirens, smoke detector alarms, or a crying baby. It’s a feature that could be helpful for people who are hard of hearing or deaf by making them aware of critical sounds earlier than they might have done otherwise. (Apple warns against relying on the feature in “high-risk or emergency situations,” however.)

....There’s a trend running throughout many of these features, which is although they’re designed to make devices easier to use for people with disabilities, they can also have benefits for everyone else. People with disabilities should always be the focus when designing accessibility features, but their benefits can be much wider-ranging.

Next up, FaceTime, which will now be able to
detect when someone is using sign language,
https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-14-preview/features/#main:~:text=Sign%20language%20prominence,prominent%20in%20a%20Group%20FaceTime%20call.
and automatically make that person the focus, making their signing easier to see....

Zoom advice, Freedom Scientific webinars, NVDA testers wanted

Here are more technology-related links from this week's Top Tech Tidbits. You can
subscribe and read the entire newsletter online at
https://www.toptechtidbits.com/tidbits2020/07022020/

Top Tech Tidbits is conducting a poll on their Facebook page asking their readers how many use more than one screen reader
https://www.facebook.com/toptechtidbits/app/126231547426086/?app_data=%7B%7D

TTT has a disclaimer regarding malfunctioning Zoom links from last week's newsletter, and offers the following advice:
you can circumvent this behavior currently, on any device, by opening up the Zoom Meeting App directly (or visiting https://zoom.us/join), pasting in the Zoom Meeting ID number, and then clicking the "Join" button. The Meeting ID number should always be the series of numbers immediately following the letter "j" within the Zoom Meeting link that you've been provided.
If you still have questions, this free one hour and twenty one minute course from LinkedIn Learning, which provides professional grade audio and video, as well as complete transcripts for each course, may provide answers:
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-zoom/stay-connected-with-zoom-meetings

NV Access is looking for testers for the forthcoming NVDA version 2020.2 as they develop support for a new braille display, support for 1Password and improved performance with Windows OneCore voices
https://www.nvaccess.org/post/in-process-25th-june-2020/

WebFriendlyHelp has added accessibility directions to Dropbox's help on
Request fiels from anyone via Dropbox
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/request-files-from-anyone-via-dropbox/

Freedom Scientific has upcoming webinars which include a Q&A on low-vision devices, how to access FS training without using a computer, and an introduction to technology for teachers who are teaching blind and low-vision students.
https://www.freedomscientific.com/training/freewebinars/?utm_content=130235926&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-2382446636

Blind Bargains Cast 211 has a plethora of links to more info about iOS accessibility features
https://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=21985