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.

Power’s what assistive technology gives us, really. The power to communicate, to read, to type, to plan, to play, to control things. The power to achieve things that we couldn’t otherwise achieve. Here are some ideas for gifts to empower assistive technology users.

How much stuff is there on your computer that you would be heartbroken to loose? How long would it take you to get your computer going again if the hard drive stopped working? Can you afford to loose that stuff and spend that long with no functioning computer?

Spark is a powerful, and easy to use shortcuts manager. You can use it to set “hot keys” to open applications and documents, execute AppleScripts, control iTunes, trigger menu items, and more.

Computers get dirty. Computers even get wet sometimes. They certainly get soiled despite the best of intentions. Even the most perfectly treated computers need occasional cleaning. Computers that are used all day, carried around, used with sticky fingers, used by multiple people, those ones are even more likely to need a good clean fairly often! Luckily, Apple’s online knowledgebase contains a wealth of articles about cleaning and disinfecting your iMac, Mac Mini, or MacBook.