ATMac

A PDF to Word converter will only work on text-based PDFs, not image-based ones, but it’s very useful if there is a PDF that you need to convert back to a document format so you can edit it. AnyBizSoft is giving away free licenses via their Facebook page until August 8, 2010.

Amongst updates to the iMac series of computers, Apple yesterday announced an external bluetooth trackpad. This works exactly like the MacBook’s built-in multi-touch trackpad but has a working area of approximately 4.3 by 4.3 inches (11cm by 11cm). A full set of gestures, including the VoiceOver “trackpad as screen” gesture control are available.

Digit-Eyes uses your printer to print barcode labels which you can then associate with text or audio recordings. To read the labels back, you photograph the labels with your iPhone camera and then the iPhone will read the text or replay the audio for you.

Jane Farrall has constructed a great table listing all the important features about all the known assistive/adaptive communication (AAC) applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. She’s actively updating the table in response to feedback, this is a great resource for those looking for information about AAC out there.

Most of the software we review and recommend at ATMac is created by individuals or companies with just a few employees. This “indy” software, as it’s known, is usually available to be tested before you buy it and very reasonably priced but if you want a bunch of different pieces of software it can still add up quickly. How can you best save money when you’re buying software?

Virtually all computer keyboards in English speaking countries are arranged so that the letter keys, if you read from the top-left, start of with QWERTY. What are the alternatives and why would you want to change anyway?

Keyboard shortcuts are a quick way of getting many things done without needing to access the menus or the mouse. If you know to press command-s to save your work, you’ve used a keyboard shortcut. For people who primarily use a keyboard or a switch interface, using keyboard shortcuts can save a lot of time and effort.

It’s been announced that the MacSpeech company has been purchased by Nuance. Nuance are the company behind the Windows product “Dragon NaturallySpeaking“ and other recent Dragon products for iPod Touch and iPhone. So what does this mean for MacSpeech Dictate and the other MacSpeech products? What would you like to happen?