Date of Meeting: April 13, 2019
Where: MIT 77 Mass. Ave., building 5, Room 134, Cambridge, MA
When: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by President Frank Ventura. Following introductions the minutes were read and accepted with two minor changes: change ACB to BSCB, and state that the training for social rehab clients is available at the Carroll Center through June 2019.
The following announcements were made. Jerry said we are continuing to increase our membership. If you are not sure if you paid dues, please call or email Jerry.
Bob Resnick stated our current balance is $6880.90. You can pay dues at vibug.org with a pay pal account or by using a credit card. As Bob usually attends meetings remotely you can send him a check, or he can make some other arrangement if needed.
Tim stated we have a new wireless mike so that people on line will better hear questions asked.
Frank stated if there is any interest in doing technology related VIBUG field trips to places like the MIT museum and technology related things in the New England area he would be interested in feedback and conversation and that members can also express interest on the VIBUG support list.
Also if you are a zoomtext or Jaws user Vispero (VFO) now has pay as you go for purchasing Jaws upgrades. For people who are behind on SMA's this may be a good option. There was a general feeling that if you are current on your SMA's it may be better to stay with the old model.
Maria Rueters stated David Kingsbury has a new book out, Using Microsoft Word with Jaws or NVDA which you can purchase at NBP.
David said it is available in braille, as an electronic download in Word, and in a Daisy file, with cost between $18 and $20 depending on format. The book is based onWindows 10, Jaws 2019 and office 365 or 2016.
Jerry stated Anna Dresner has a new book about using and setting up short-cuts with siri.
John Smith stated that the maker of Voice Dream now has a new OCR product, Voice Dream Scanner which is very low cost.
Scanner Pro was also discussed.
Tim talked about magnetic cables which are sold by the Harbold Company at: http://www.Harbold company.com
If you are running ofice 2016 and Jaws 2019 the spell-check is not working, so use Jaws 2018 to spell check your document in word.
Jerry talked about Picture Smart which does work fairly well with Jaws.
Jeffrey Drucker demonstrated the Wilson Mini Recorder, Version 3.
Jerry Berrier demonstrated the App "to-do) by Microsoft.
Tim Cumings demonstrated the "talking Laser Tape Measure" made by Elephant Num, from Amazon.
Sarah Barton from Olin College of Engineering demonstrated their web application Via which will help people with vision impairments explore the city more and to plan routes ahead before going out.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Jeanette Kutash, Vibug Clerk