May 2008 - Blind-sysadmins - lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Reminder: Coming Up on Main Menu in a Little Under 9 Hours - CAPTCHA!
by Darrell Shandrow 13 Jun '10

13 Jun '10

Hello Everyone, This announcement represents a friendly reminder for all of you to listen to an important, two hour live Main Menu coming right up later today. Coming up on an exciting two hour live program, we hear from a panel of technology industry experts all about CAPTCHA (visual verification) and other forms of visual authentication, accessibility challenges to existing visual verification systems, the balance between human rights and security, existing solutions for providing reasonable accomodations to visual authentication and emerging accessibility solutions. We are proud to introduce an impressive panel of experts and their primary areas of focus: * Matt May from the Adobe Systems Accessibility Team will discuss his 2005 W3C note on the inaccessibility of CAPTCHA. * Luis von Ahn from ReCAPTCHA at Carnegie Mellon University will describe their accessible solution. * Steve Dispensa from PhoneFactor will tell us all about an innovative, telephone based two-factor authentication system. The accessibility of CAPTCHA (visual verification schemes on the web) and other similar forms of visual authentication is a topic of utmost importance to the blind, visually impaired and others with print reading disabilities. Real, universally accessible solutions are going to require significant amounts of effort, good will and out-of-the-box thinking. We encourage active participation by the blind community, members on all sides of the issue from the mainstream technology industry and those sighted people who care about what happens to us. Here is how to participate in the show: The number to call into the show is 866-400-5333. You may email your questions to: mainmenu(a)acbradio.org You may also interact with the show via MSN (Windows Live) Messenger. The MSN Messenger ID to add is: mainmenu(a)acbradio.org Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is: main-menu-subscribe(a)googlegroups.com Come join an already lively group of users. Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are: Main Menu - http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenu Main Menu Live - http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenulive Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream channel. Follow this link to listen to the show: http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_… Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow The Main Menu Production Team

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ask For IT fields?
by Ibraam Wahib 31 May '08

31 May '08

hello my friends: sorry for this silly question, but am need answer. I'm studying in cavi CCNA and IT essential, I love to work in I-T fields very much. my question what's the percentage of blinds success in these jobs?, and how can I persuade companies in Egypt to accept me? what're the fields now I can join to make training during my study in cavi. thanks for your help. sorry again for wasting your time.

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Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Network Browsing Problem
by vjoey＠comcast.net 23 May '08

23 May '08

Also, when you run ipconfig /all from Andrew's suggestion, check the Node Type. Is it Hybrid? I've seen times where this would be blank, or none (can't remember for sure). Since all of these computers are in a workgroup, with no static IP or DNS, the only way that they will find each other is through a network broadcast. Hybrid mode will allow TCP/IP to look for the destination host in DNS, and if it is not found, it will broadcast for it. Make sure that you can browse network shares from another computer, to make sure that it works. Then, check to see if there is any antivirus or firewall applications on the laptop that may be blocking the outbound netbios connections. Let us know what you find. Great way to start a weekend? ~Joe

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Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Network Browsing Problem
by JoeY 23 May '08

23 May '08

Also, when you run ipconfig /all from Andrew's suggestion, check the Node Type. Is it Hybrid? I've seen times where this would be blank, or none (can't remember for sure). Since all of these computers are in a workgroup, with no static IP or DNS, the only way that they will find each other is through a network broadcast. Hybrid mode will allow TCP/IP to look for the destination host in DNS, and if it is not found, it will broadcast for it. Make sure that you can browse network shares from another computer, to make sure that it works. Then, check to see if there is any antivirus or firewall applications on the laptop that may be blocking the outbound netbios connections. Let us know what you find. Great way to start a weekend? ~Joe

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Network Browsing Problem
by Toner, Barry (LIT) 23 May '08

23 May '08

Hi folks, Hopefully someone can offer a few suggestions for this. It's been bugging me for a few weeks now. I've a laptop that's not able to browse to any of the shares on a local Windows Network. The laptop has XP Pro on it and all the other machines have XP Pro on them. I can ping and connect to the network shares with their IP addresses. Net Bios is enabled on the laptop and it's a member of the same workgroup as all other machines. If I click on My Network Places/Entire Network/Microsoft Windows Network and the workgroup name using the laptop I can only see it in the workgroup. No static IP's or pre-assigned DNS in TCP/IP and I've confirmed that it's using the default/same subnet mask as the other machines. No firewalls enabled on the laptop itself. Have double checked that the Windows Firewall isn't turned on. Any ideas? Thanks, Barry. "Tell me and I will hear, show me and I will see, involve me and I will understand. Chinese Proverb" Barry Toner Placement Systems Engineer Liberty Information Technology Direct Line: 02890 167000 Adelaide Exchange Fax: 02890 445511 24-26 Adelaide Street Switchboard: 02890 445500 Belfast BT2 8GD Email: b.toner(a)liberty-it.co.uk

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Major upgrade of server
by Andrew Hodgson 23 May '08

23 May '08

Hi, I have just done a major upgrade of the Mailman machine, if there is something which appears to be broken, let me know as soon as possible. Thanks. Andrew.

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off topic, sorry need advice?
by Ibraam Wahib 20 May '08

20 May '08

hello group: sorry for these topics but I need your opinion. how's ICDL accessibility and support for the blinds and jaws? in Egypt companies need this certification like my ID card, so I should make it but how? it not accessible is it the same in your country? or have solve? thanks very much. ibraam.

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off topic need help please?
by Ibraam Wahib 13 May '08

13 May '08

hello my friends: sorry I knew that this topic may be not discussing in this group but I've a question and need your suggestions as possible? one of my friends has a center contains of 5 floors, he wants to put a computer and make a screen and sound in every floor! so how we can connect 5 screen or more on the same PC? and the same for sound speakers? thanks very much. ibraam.

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Vmware
by Toner, Barry (LIT) 10 May '08

10 May '08

Hi all, Has anyone been using this within Windows with either Window Eyes or JAWS? Anyone got or willing to write-up a tutorial or record a podcast for the complete newbie? I've just started CBT Nuggets vmware series, but don't want to get too far a-head to find that it will not work under Windows XP with the above screenreaders. Feel free to share your experiences both as a home-user and business-user. Barry. "Tell me and I will hear, show me and I will see, involve me and I will understand. Chinese Proverb" Barry Toner Placement Systems Engineer Liberty Information Technology Direct Line: 02890 167000 Adelaide Exchange Fax: 02890 445511 24-26 Adelaide Street Switchboard: 02890 445500 Belfast BT2 8GD Email: b.toner(a)liberty-it.co.uk

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FW: Six downloadable boot discs that could save your PC
by Andrew Hodgson 09 May '08

09 May '08

Hi, Received this from a list subscriber. These tools look quite good, but most will probably not be accessible directly. I know there was talk a while ago about one of the Linux rescue kits including Emacspeak or Speakup in the distribution, but not sure whether anything came of that. Andrew. From: christophermcmillan(a)hotmail.comTo: christophermcmillan(a)hotmail.comDate: Thu, 8 May 2008 06:22:11 -0600Subject: FW: Six downloadable boot discs that could save your PCMessage from NewsGator subscriber Christopher McMillan: Look at these great Boot CD ToolsPost from NewsGator.com:Six downloadable boot discs that could save your PC Way back in the 20th century, Windows prepared you for the day your PC wouldn't boot. It came with a program that formatted a bootable floppy disk, complete with diagnostic and repair utilities. If you had the forethought to create that floppy while Windows was still working, you were ready when it eventually failed. Alas, the Windows Boot Floppy went the way of DOS (the operating system it actually booted). Modern versions can't make that floppy (they can format a bootable DOS floppy -- if you have the drive -- but without utilities), and DOS can't handle NTFS hard-drive partitions. Since Microsoft doesn't supply you with the ability to create an emergency boot disk, others have stepped in to fill the vacuum. Here are six worthwhile emergency boot CDs, all downloadable, and most of them free. Yes, I know you can't download a CD. Most of these packages come as .iso files -- easily burnable disc images. If you double-click an .iso file, there's a good chance that a program you already own -- perhaps Nero Burning or Easy Media Creator -- will come up and burn it to CD. If that doesn't happen, download and install ISO Recorder. Know Your Rescue OSes Since DOS doesn't handle XP or Vista repairs well, each of these discs boots into one of the following three operating systems. It's good to know a little about them. Windows PE: The official, CD-bootable version of Windows (the PE stands for Preinstallation Environment) makes the obvious choice for this sort of thing. Unfortunately, Microsoft maintains strict control, and few utility authors have received permission to use it. BartPE: Since Microsoft won't share its preinstallation environment, Bart Lagerweij created his own, and he gives it away for free. But to avoid copyright infringement, he can't give you everything you need to create a BartPE disc. The missing elements consist of Windows XP installation files you may or may not already have. Linux Live CD: The name refers to any version of Linux you can download as an .iso file and boot off a CD. But Linux can be an intimidating environment for the uninitiated, it doesn't always handle NTFS well (many versions can read NTFS but not write to it), and it is seldom geared to help with Windows problems. The Six Great Rescue Discs So let's get on with it. I'll start with discs that simply give you access to the files on your hard drive, and work my way up to the powerhouses that can diagnose and repair most boot problems. Puppy LinuxIf Windows won't boot, nothing gets you into your hard drive faster or more easily than Puppy Linux. Puppy isn't the most powerful version of Linux by a long shot, but it's great for accessing NTFS-formatted hard drives -- especially if you're not comfortable with Linux's whole mount concept. Just open the Drives window and select a drive, and Puppy will mount it for you -- in read/write mode, if possible. If Puppy succeeds in mounting the drive with read/write permissions, you not only can copy your files elsewhere, but you can also edit them. Puppy Linux comes with AbiWord, which supports .doc files, and Gnumeric, which supports .xls. And even if it mounts read-only, you can still copy the files to an external drive, most of which are formatted in the universally accessible FAT32 file system. But be careful how you click. Actions that take double-clicks in Windows, such as opening a file, take only one in Puppy. Price: FreeDownload Puppy Linux . BartPEThe BartPE operating system makes a pretty good boot disc on its own, getting you into Windows and letting you access your drive. It doesn't have much in the way of repair utilities, but it has chkdsk, which should probably be the first one you try. And it can run any portable Windows utility (that doesn't require an installation) you care to give it. Creating a BartPE disc isn't as easy as double-clicking an .iso file. You have to download, install, and run Bart's PE Builder. To create a CD, the program needs the Windows 2000 or XP installation files. One place you're sure to find them is an actual Windows installation CD-ROM. But the recovery disc that came with your PC probably doesn't have them. Luckily, if your PC came with XP installed (and thus, not with a true XP CD), the necessary files are probably in a folder called C:\Windows\i386. But I do mean probably, not definitely. However, since the PE Builder is free, you're not losing much if it can't create a disc. Although BartPE's program selection is slim, the PE Builder lets you add other programs to the disc before you burn it. Price: FreeDownload BartPE. Vista Recovery DiscIt looked like Microsoft was finally going to do the right thing. Beta versions of Vista SP1 came with a modern equivalent of the old Windows Boot Floppy--a Start menu option called "Create a Recovery Disc" that burned a Windows PE-based emergency CD. Alas, Microsoft removed that feature before SP1 shipped--but not, fortunately, before NeoSmart turned the disc into an .iso file and made it available on their site. Running on the Vista version of Windows PE, the Recovery Disc is basically a Vista installation disc minus the install files. It even has an "Install now" button that asks for a Product Key before failing. You're better off clicking the Repair your computer button. Among its Vista-only options are a tool for diagnosing and fixing startup problems, a version of System Restore that uses restore points on the hard drive, the restore portions of Vista's backup program, and a memory diagnostic tool. Price: FreeDownload Vista Recovery Disc. Ultimate Boot CD for WindowsThis BartPE-based boot disc comes with a huge selection of tools to access your data and get your PC booting properly again. Some of them are even useful. UBCD takes a long time to load and asks you some odd questions before it's finally up. But once it's there, you can edit the Windows Registry (yes, the one on the hard drive) in RegEdit, recover deleted files, and even run benchmarks. There are several malware scanners, four defraggers, and eight diagnostic programs (including HD Tune and Windows' own chkdsk). This boot CD also includes backup utilities to help you salvage your files. There's a driver backup and a system profile backup whose Web-based documentation no longer comes up. And four separate image backup programs. One of those programs, DriveImage XML, I considered recommending in past articles but didn't because restoring from it requires a second Windows installation--something the program gets with UBCD. The experience of setting up UBCD is identical to creating a BartPE disc -- with the same possibility of failure. But when it works, you get a lot more. Price: FreeDownload Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. Trinity Rescue KitThis is the only Linux Live CD variant I've ever encountered that is intended specifically for rescuing Windows computers. As such, it's no surprise that it's a powerful and versatile repair environment. But it's really not designed for Windows users. TRK's command line interface could humble anyone but the most devoted Linux geek. If you take the time to read the 46-page documentation and learn the program, you'll be rewarded next time disaster strikes. Among the tools that will be at your disposal are a script that runs 4 different malware scanners, a tool for resetting passwords, a Registry editor, a program that clones an NTFS partition to another PC over a network, a mass undeleter that tries to recover every deleted file on the drive, several tools for recovering data off a formatted or dying disk, two tools for fixing master boot record repair programs, and hardware diagnostics. Price: FreeDownload Trinity Rescue Kit. Active@ Boot DiskFinally, we come to a boot disc that offers useful tools, is easy to use, and can be created from virtually any XP or Vista computer. The catch? At US$80, it costs $80 more than the other five options put together. Based on Windows PE, LSoft Technologies' Active@ Boot Disk offers a well-chosen collection of utilities, including image backup and recovery, a CD/DVD-based data backup program (Windows PE and Active@ load entirely into RAM, making the disc drive available for other uses), and a tool for recovering deleted partitions and files. You can change Windows passwords, wipe your hard drive, and choose between three partition managers. A Windows Explorer clone lets you copy files off of the hard drive. You can even bring up Windows' Task Manager, although I'm not sure why you'd want to. And if you're feeling really geeky, there's even a HEX editor. Price: $80 (ten-day free trial period)Download Active@ Boot Disk. PC World is an InfoWorld affiliate. _________________________________________________________________ With Windows Live for mobile, your contacts travel with you. http://www.windowslive.com/mobile/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_m…

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