If you are a BITS member, check the member perks section for your discounts. This is for all BITS members that wish to take advantage of the offers we provide. You must be a BITS member to get to this section of the web site.
BITS will be offering our life time half off sale yet again. $100 for a life time of access to technology, mentorship, discounts, community, free software, members only courses, opportunities to make money with our partners if qualified and much more! The sale starts the Wednesday before ThanksGiving and runs through Giving Tuesday! Anyone around the world is eligible for membership.
For our friends who utilize the BARD service from NLS we hope sharing this will be helpful:
Minimum software requirements for future BARD upgrades
NLS continues to update its infrastructure to make improvements to BARD. To take advantage of these improvements, patrons’ devices must be running one of the more recent versions of the BARD software.
Listed for each of the platforms or products below is the minimum required version. If your preferred platform or product is not running at least the minimum software required version, it will not be able to connect to BARD after December 31:
BARD Mobile for iOS: v. 2.2.5
BARD Mobile for Android: v. 2.1.1
BARD Mobile for Fire OS: v. 2.5.6
NLS eReaders: Current software, v. 3.0
BARD Express: Current software, v. 4.0
DA2 Player: v. 1.2.1
Note: There are no minimum software requirements for accessing the BARD website or using the My Talking Books skill.
We strongly encourage everyone to keep their devices running the latest version of the BARD software to take advantage of security updates and performance improvements. If you require assistance discovering which software version you are currently using, please contact your cooperating network library.
Thank you,
The BARD Support Team
Another one for our friends in the #USA, from the #FCC:
At the FCC’s Open Meeting on October 29, 2026, the FCC will consider, among other items, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on modernizing the Commission’s accessibility rules to ensure they are technology-neutral and forward-looking, reflect the current marketplace, and provide flexibility for developers to innovate and incorporate accessibility. The NPRM also seeks comment on any marketplace barriers that impede accessibility, opportunities for improving communications accessibility and usability, and specific barriers to accessibility that have been identified in other proceedings.
The FCC’s Open Meeting is scheduled for 10:30 am ET, and will be held in the Commission Meeting Room, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, and streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live. Open captioning and sign language interpreting will be provided for this meeting. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. E-mail your request to fcc504@fcc.gov or call (202) 418-0530.
DRAFT Eliminating Accessibility Barriers NPRM:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/eliminating-accessibility-barriers
For general information about the Commission’s accessibility rules, visit www.fcc.gov/accessibility. For specific information about this proceeding, contact Stephen Wang, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at Stephen.Wang@fcc.gov or (202) 418-1634. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at 844-432-2275 (videophone).
For our friends in the #USA from the #FCC:
On October 7, 2026, the FCC submitted its eighth Biennial Report to Congress, as required by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). The purpose of the CVAA is to help ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to fully utilize emerging communications services and equipment and better access video programming.
The 2026 CVAA Biennial Report examines the accessibility of telecommunications and advanced communications services and equipment over the past two years.
Link to the 2026 CVAA Biennial Report:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-2026-cvaa-biennial-report-congress
For general information about the CVAA, visit https://www.fcc.gov/cvaa. For further information, please contact Molly Burgdorf, Disability Rights Office (DRO), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) at (202) 418-2173 or Molly.Burgdorf@fcc.gov or Stephen Wang, DRO, CGB, at (202) 418-1634 or Stephen.Wang@fcc.gov. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432‐2275 (videophone).
For our friends in the #USA from the #FCC:
On October 8, 2026, the FCC will be hosting a ceremony to celebrate the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) and recognize the winners of the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA). The celebration will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC Headquarters, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC.
The ceremony will also feature the release of the 2026 CVAA Biennial Report to Congress and panel discussions on emerging and AI-driven technologies for accessibility and the Commission’s continued support of advancements in accessibility. Additional information about the October 8th ceremony, including the agenda with a list of panelists, is available at https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2026/10/2026-cvaa-and-aaa-celebration.
The event is open to the public, and registration is not required. The event will be streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live. The meeting will have open captioning and interpreting services. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Send an e-mail to FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530.
General information about the CVAA can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/cvaa. General information about the Chairman’s AAA, including prior winners, can be found at www.fcc.gov/FCCAAA or send an email to FCCAAA@fcc.gov. If you have specific questions about the October 8th event, please contact Ike Ofobike, Attorney Advisor, Disability Rights Office, at Ike.Ofobike@fcc.gov. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).
In attempt to get future beta versions to a select few, let me know if you are interested. I will be setting up a private google group for this purpose so we can catch minor or even major issues ... Again, sorry everyone. DM me if interested or send an email to support@community-access.org.
A Reminder from the BITS Presentations Team:
Protecting Ourselves from Scams and Other Security Concerns with Chris and Kim Nova.
When: Wednesday September 30 at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: The Zoom Meeting Platform.
The internet allows us to conduct tasks with greater independence than we may have thought possible a couple decades ago. It also let's us communicate with people from around the world, play games, place orders, and so much more. But sadly, the online world is also filled with scams around every corner.
and that's where this presentation from Chris and Kim Nova of Mystic Access can help.
Chris and Kim are totally blind assistive technology professionals who have spent years studying scams and how they work. They'll discuss several scams you may encounter including those that appear in your email inbox, web browser, and via your dating profiles. They'll also talk about scams that may occur while shopping online, as well. Scams aren't just online, however; they show up in snail mail, too. Chris and Kim will mention how check washing works, as well as other sneaky scams that show up in hard copy form. Most importantly, though, they'll discuss ways to protect yourself online and off, and share how to remain aware and cautious while still enjoying your activities. This will be an informative presentation with plenty of time for your questions.
This presentation will take place on Zoom.
Registration is required using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/m8qxaejMQDme_BkNeyeVsg
If you would like to make sure you never miss the link to a BITS event, join the BITS Announce list, open to BITS members and non-members alike. To subscribe, send an email to:
Bits-announce+subscribe@groups.io
To find out more about what BITS has to offer or to join us, visit:
Just a friendly reminder from the BITS Presentations Team:
Introducing NVDA Coach, with presenter Tony Gebhard.
When: Tuesday September 29 at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: The Zoom Meeting Platform.
Join Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS), as we welcome Tony Gebhard for an introduction to NVDA Coach, an interactive, in-NVDA training system that teaches screen reader commands through guided, hands-on drills with real-time feedback.
Built by an assistive technology instructor for absolute beginners.
This presentation will take place on Zoom.
Registration is required using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MmxtNqvHRTa7iBd0bIBZ1A
QUILL Radio 3.03 will also get Westwood One streaming capabilities for sports broadcasts.
Does anyone have any feedback for QUILL Lite? Major changes are coming in version 1.1 with significant AI features and more. If you have suggestions or ideas or bugs to report please let me know.
Four fixes coming today in QUILL Radio 3.03, a fix to moving stations to provide for fastr playback, re-added the stop button, fixed documentation links from the Help menu and self-updating for portable versions after 3.03 ships, so 3.04 and beyond will self update.
The very rich documentation for QUILL Radio Version 3.0 is posting soon on http://www.quillforall.org. There are lots of changes in this release and we think you will like it but the community will tell us most certainly. Constructive feedback is highly encouraged, valued and sincerely appreciated. QUILL Cast is next after this releases!
Major apologies for the release of QUILL Radio 3 last evening. We pulled it early this morning to fix some dependency issues on some systems and will be releasing 3.0.1 later this evening. In addition, we fixed a checkbox issue in the Innosetup installer as well.
QUILL Lite is released and available for download - http://www.quillforall.org.
VoiceOver tip that changes everything on iPhone: learn the rotor. Put two fingers on the screen and twist like you're turning a dial. Set it to Headings, then swipe up or down with one finger to jump heading to heading. No more swiping through an entire page to find what you want.
From the BITS Presentations Team:
Protecting Ourselves from Scams and Other Security Concerns with Chris and Kim Nova.
When: Wednesday September 30 at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: The Zoom Meeting Platform.
The internet allows us to conduct tasks with greater independence than we may have thought possible a couple decades ago. It also lets us communicate with people from around the world, play games, place orders, and so much more. But sadly, the online world is also filled with scams around every corner.
and that's where this presentation from Chris and Kim Nova of Mystic Access can help.
Chris and Kim are totally blind assistive technology professionals who have spent years studying scams and how they work. They'll discuss several scams you may encounter including those that appear in your email inbox, web browser, and via your dating profiles. They'll also talk about scams that may occur while shopping online, as well. Scams aren't just online, however; they show up in snail mail, too. Chris and Kim will mention how check washing works, as well as other sneaky scams that show up in hard copy form. Most importantly, though, they'll discuss ways to protect yourself online and off and share how to remain aware and cautious while still enjoying your activities. This will be an informative presentation with plenty of time for your questions.
This presentation will take place on Zoom.
Registration is required using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/m8qxaejMQDme_BkNeyeVsg
If you would like to make sure you never miss the link to a BITS event, join the BITS Announce list, open to BITS members and non-members alike. To subscribe, send an email to:
Bits-announce+subscribe@groups.io
To find out more about what BITS has to offer or to join us, visit:
From the BITS Education Team:
The BITS Education committee is announcing the course Teaching and Typing Math presented by long time Professor Betsey Doane. She will be assisted by Rebecca Skipper. The intended audience includes assistive tech instructors who want to improve their training capacity in this area, as well as other BITS members who want to use math more efficiently and productively.
Empower your visually impaired students to engage mathematics with confidence and independence. This practical session equips trainers with the skills to navigate mathematical expressions in Word and on the web, compose and edit Nemeth code braille within the JAWS Braille Math Editor, and produce math expressions efficiently using speech. Participants will also explore split braille techniques and be pointed to comprehensive graphing with the Desmos calculator, including audio graphs, and the export of properly sized graphs into Word. Attendees will leave prepared to deliver these essential tools to their students and elevate accessible mathematics instruction. It will be required that you update Jaws and the Focus Braille display to the latest versions. The Braille math editor works with several displays but is best with the Focus and very good with the Brailliant. Students are expected to know how to operate the displays; the course will cover using the Braille math editor.
The course will be given each Tuesday starting on October 6 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time and will run through at least October 20 or October 27 depending on the need.
Please note: when registering it's important to check the box for each date of the course in order for your registration to be successful.
To register for this course please fill out the form at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-xRGRsUUSjyT843_NbMhVw
If you would like to make sure you never miss the link to a BITS event, join the BITS Announce list, open to BITS members and non-members alike. To subscribe, send an email to:
Bits-announce+subscribe@groups.io
To find out more about what BITS has to offer or to join us, visit:
From the BITS Education Team:
Basics With BITS - Using Built-In Screen Magnification On Windows
When: Saturday September 26 at 1:00 PM Eastern (10:00 AM Pacific).
Where: The Zoom Meeting Platform
Join us for an introduction to Microsoft Magnifier, the built-in Windows magnification tool. We will explore how to start and use Magnifier, adjust magnification
levels, work with Full Screen, Lens, and Docked views, change tracking and display options, and use Magnifier's reading features. We will also discuss
using Magnifier alongside JAWS. This session is designed for anyone who would like to learn more about the accessibility features available through Windows
Magnifier.
This event will be held on Zoom.
Registration is required using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Wq1roFkaRza7CV6_whIjag
If you would like to make sure you never miss the link to a BITS event, join the BITS Announce list, open to BITS members and non-members alike. To subscribe, send an email to:
Bits-announce+subscribe@groups.io
To find out more about what BITS has to offer or to join us, visit:
From the BITS Presentations Team:
Introducing NVDA Coach, with presenter Tony Gebhard.
When: Tuesday September 29 at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: The Zoom Meeting Platform.
Join Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS), as we welcome Tony Gebhard for an introduction to NVDA Coach, an interactive, in-NVDA training system that teaches screen reader commands through guided, hands-on drills with real-time feedback.
Built by an assistive technology instructor for absolute beginners.
This presentation will take place on Zoom.
Registration is required using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MmxtNqvHRTa7iBd0bIBZ1A
If you would like to make sure you never miss the link to a BITS event, join the BITS Announce list, open to BITS members and non-members alike. To subscribe, send an email to:
Bits-announce+subscribe@groups.io
To find out more about what BITS has to offer or to join us, visit:
https://joinbits.org/