Technology Resources & Reviews

Holiday Gifts for Friends and Family with Visual Impairments

With Thanksgiving officially behind us, many will be focusing on Winter Holidays and gift-giving. If there is a friend or family member in your life with low vision or blindness, some of the resources below may offer a few suggestions for gifts that you hadn’t thought of, or didn’t know where to purchase. Continue reading for some great gift ideas, including gifts from the Iris Network like a copy of Bert's Eye View Coping With Macular Degeneration, or a large print calendar for 2012.

A History of White Cane Safety Day

A brief history of the use of the white cane as both a symbol and tool of travelers who are blind or visually impaired, and the establishment of White Cane Safety Day.

Amazon Kindle Accessibility

With so many great alternatives for electronic reading devices (e-readers), like the Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad, it may be increasingly difficult to determine which one will best suit your needs.  It is important to note that not all e-readers are accessible to readers with a visual impairment or blindness. Although the Amazon Kindle, one of the most popular e-readers, has both Voice Guidance and text-to-speech features, it is not fully accessible. To review the accessibility features of the Amazon Kindle 3 watch the Iris Network video, Kindle Accessibility at http://youtu.be/B7wDV7yfnp0. 

If you’re considering an e-reader like the Kindle or a tablet  such as Apple iPad,  it is... Continue Reading

Tandem Cycling

On June 18-19 Northeast Passage (http://www.nepassage.org) was at Acadia National Park offering demonstration rides on a wide variety of adaptive cycles, including the two styles featured in the video, with David Lee, Assistant Program Director.

This participant had an opportunity to try both the standard tandem cycle and the Hase Pino (http://hasebikes.com) recumbent touring tandem. Like David said it will take some practice to get comfortable riding these bikes. On the standard, the pilot (steering and braking) rides in front, On the Hasebike, the pilot is in the rear. The Hasebike allows the stoker (the rider without steering and brakes) to be positioned in the front seat, while the... Continue Reading

Alternatives to Reading Print Presentation

On Monday March 28, John Majkut, director of the Iris Network’s Low Vision Clinic, and Steve Kelley, Vision Rehab Therapist met up with Paul Dostie, Reference Librarian from Curtis Memorial Library, to present to the support group that meets each month at Thornton Oaks, in Brunswick. Some 40 people were in attendance for the “Support Group for Those Who Don't See Well” hosted by Pat Hart and Anne Marchesse.

The focus of this presentation was alternative means of reading for consumers with vision loss, including Paul’s presentation and comparison of electronic readers such as the Kindle, Steve’s presentation on digital talking books and the National Library Service Talking Book... Continue Reading

Macular Degeneration Month

February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in Americans over the age of 65. According to the Archives of Ophthalmology, April 2004, approximately 1.75 people in the US have advanced AMD with resulting vision loss, and this number is expected to nearly double by 2020. To increase awareness of AMD, Steve Kelley, certified vision rehab therapist at the Iris Network assembled a list of resources briefly outlined in the accompanying video.

Two books clients report are helpful resources include:

The First Years, Age Related Macular Degeneration ... Continue Reading

Maine AIRS Tutorial

This video highlights some of the new features of Maine Airs, the Maine Audio Information Reading Service, a program of the Iris Network. Maine Airs is a group of volunteers who read and record the state's local and daily newspapers, as well as several magazines, for consumers unable to access print.

Some contact information: Steve Kelley, a certified vision rehab therapist presents this video for the Iris Network; his email address is skelley@theiris.org; our phone number is 207-774-6273.

This presentation begins with the Iris Network's Web page which is located at http://www.theiris.org. Approximately ¼ way down the home page is a tab named "Home" that begins the menu. Four tabs to the... Continue Reading

NLS Digital Talking Book Player

With the new redesign of the Iris Network website comes added features for Maine Airs. From the Maine Airs Programming Page at http://www.theiris.org/maine-airs/programming users may listen to Maine Airs streaming live on the Internet or download the recordings to play whenever it's convenient. Many consumers are unaware that the new digital Talking Book players distributed at no charge through the Maine Library Service will play audio files downloaded from the Internet, or from Maine Airs. Now, for example, you can download a recording of the Portland Press Herald, Down East Magazine, or the Bangor Daily News, and listen to it on your digital Talking Book player!

Livescribe Pulse Pen

The Livescribe Pulse Pen (http://www.livescribe.com) is a device the size of a wide pen, that allows users to write notes on special paper notebooks, and record audio information that is organized and linked to the written note.

Trekker Pro and Trekker Breeze

Both the Trekker Pro and Trekker Breeze are GPS products from Humanware, so what's the difference between the two? Humanware won't appreciate the Trekker Breeze being called a "lite" version of the Trekker Pro, but in many ways, that's how this reviewer sees it. Not only is the Trekker Breeze more compact, it is easier to operate out-of-the-box because it has fewer features. Also, the Trekker Breeze is lighter on the wallet-- $895 versus $1695 for the Trekker Pro.