Author Archives: dnw

The Parent’s Guide to a Minecraft Server for your kids

A friend of mine posted on facebook wondering if anyone knew about running a Minecraft server, predominantly for her son. Me and my son have been through the experience and we’ve come up against a few hurdles we had to overcome. I thought it might be useful to share what we’ve done. So here itContinueContinue reading “The Parent’s Guide to a Minecraft Server for your kids”

Tactile Watch – ‘Touch Time’

  On Kickstarter is a beautifully designed time-piece called ‘The Bradley’  – made for wearers –  including the blind and visually impaired — to tell time through touch rather than sight. Instead of traditional non-visual designs allowing one to ‘feel’ the watch hands,or rely on audible read time, “The Bradley” uses two ball bearings: oneContinueContinue reading “Tactile Watch – ‘Touch Time’”

Touch and Eye-Tracking in Ultrabook Prototype

 Tobii-Synaptics Windows 8 prototype From an interesting article on Wired: “… even with touch as an input option, accessibility remains an issue for people with limited mobility, or those who suffer from long-term repetitive stress injuries. A prototype ultrabook from Tobii and Synaptics shows what the solution to those problems looks like: a notebook thatContinueContinue reading “Touch and Eye-Tracking in Ultrabook Prototype”

Head-gesture control in iOS7 accessibility options

iOS7 introduces  head gesture control as part of Apple’s accessibility tools. It cycles automatically through every on-screen icon, just like a scanning on-screen keyboard, with the user selecting options by moving their head. The ‘Switch control’ feature, lets you set left or right head movements to trigger Siri, the notification center, control volume, open the multi-taskingContinueContinue reading “Head-gesture control in iOS7 accessibility options”

Apple’s Retina display aids accessibility | TUAW

Macworld blogger Steven Aquino wrote a fascinating piece ..on how Apple’s Retina display technology has helped him — a legally blind individual. ” The high pixel density — 326 pixels per inch — and turning the screen brightness all the way up made it so “even the smallest text was readable, and I was ableContinueContinue reading “Apple’s Retina display aids accessibility | TUAW”

Lifekludger Responds – Stylus choice

  Via Email – On 10 May 2013 15:58, MS writes: Hi! Just came across your blog while doing some research for a stylus for my 8 year old. He has severe cerebral palsy, but is just starting to use a mouth stylus to access the ipad. I was thinking that maybe a head stylusContinueContinue reading “Lifekludger Responds – Stylus choice”

Captioning Telephone

This  Captioning Telephone allows you to “see” the phone calls you cannot hear. It comes with a large display screen and has free voice-to-caption service to produce the text for the captions. No special equipment is required to make it work*, though a high speed Internet connection is required. One good feature is the ability to save captionsContinueContinue reading “Captioning Telephone”

Wheelchair-accessible version of the NYC Taxi

A universal, accessible taxi fleet is something to aspire to, and IMHO Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s push to standardize the NY city’s taxi fleet with a single, universal vehicle is to be applauded. This Nissan vehicle looks the ticket. Though I ‘m not sure how most electric wheelchairs would fit in lengthwise. I look forward to seeingContinueContinue reading “Wheelchair-accessible version of the NYC Taxi”

Doorbell sends SMS Message when Pressed

  Along the lines of the Notifying Doorbell comes another project to enhance a doorbell. This Project from Martin’s Hobby site has details on a Wireless Doorbell that sends SMS Message when Activated. Includes the code for you to make your own. Via: Hacked Gadgets

Notifying Doorbell

[wp_youtube]0IIwuAmIro4[/wp_youtube] From Notifying Doorbell by ClementStorck on YouTube “This project will help you to hack your doorbell to send Push notification and an email with an attached picture when somebody’s at the door. It use the free PushingBox service to delegate all the programming part and make things easy.” “The principle is simple, when someone rings the portal, a pushContinueContinue reading “Notifying Doorbell”

MedFolio – Electronic Pillbox Alerts

The MedFolio Electronic Pillbox is the usual configuration with times and days sectioned in their container, however the differences come in the electronics the box features. Each section features an LED light which glows when you are due to take it, and will stop once the related segment has been removed. The medication can beContinueContinue reading “MedFolio – Electronic Pillbox Alerts”

Snapvoice – Photos With Audio Recordings

Using Snapvoice you can add an audio recording of up to 90 seconds to a single image. I came across SnapVoice and it reminded me of an earlier post on a similar app, VoicePic, and some thoughts I had in that post around Mechanical Turk. I think this would be an excellent way to shareContinueContinue reading “Snapvoice – Photos With Audio Recordings”