From the BITS Presentations Committee: Hello BITS Members and Friends,

Join us for the next Apple Bytes with Herbie Allen.

When: Wednesday May 28, at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: ACB Community..

Join BITS and Herbie Allen as we take a bite out of the Apple and explore iOS devices, apps, and accessories.
This month, Herbie takes a look at contacts on the iPhone. He will discuss everything from adding people, customizing labels, using the Emergency Bypass feature, setting up favorites, and storing it all in iCloud.

Servers back online. Good news we have recorded over 2,147,483,647 podcast events since ~2015. Unfortunately, recording #2,147,483,648 was a bit of a struggle and happened to fall on a holiday. Everything is good now and the servers are catching back up.

Hartgen Consultancy news.
1. We're very glad that people are using Leasey Sports and Games. People are using it consistently on a daily basis and that is good to know. Baseball by far is the most popular, followed by soccer and basketball.
More sports will be added later in the year and a Leasey feature not involving sports will go into testing in June.
2. Due to our annual holiday, Hartgen Consultancy is closed for most of next week. Orders will be processed as usual but please bare with us during this time.
3. The training course AI Like That series 3 begins in August. AI Like That Series 3: Getting Creative. https://hartgenconsultancy.com/ai-like-that-series-3-getting-creative/

Welcoming @mendi_tech and her backup account. We're glad you're here.

@gocu54 Thanks for letting us know and we have different payment options now so whenever you're ready hopefully the process will be much smoother.

Unmuted Transitions: A Thank You and What’s Next - Unmute https://unmute.show/unmuted-transitions-a-thank-you-and-whats-next/

We have to do a database migration and the servers are going to be in maintenance mode for a few hours overnight. Apologies for the short notice. Be back soon.

We're excited to share that the newly redesigned Audio Description Project website is now live! In the coming weeks, the ADP team will highlight some of the site’s new features, including improved navigation and search functionality. In the meantime, we invite you to explore the new ADP website at https://adp.acb.org.

Attention JAWS Users!

Discover a better way to shop online with Innosearch AI— an accessible platform that makes browsing and purchasing from popular retailers easier than ever.

🗓️ Join us Thursday, May 29 at 12 PM Eastern Time for the "Shop Online with Innosearch and JAWS" webinar, hosted by Vispero.

🔹 Learn to easily navigate Innosearch.ai
🔹 Search for products efficiently
🔹 Make purchases using JAWS

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DAO3PVHtT2OfrK9D-l36PQ#/registration
More info: https://www.freedomscientific.com/training/freewebinars

Registration for the 2025 American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention is officially open for everyone! Hear from ACB Executive Director Scott Thornhill about the benefits of participating in this year’s convention. Details at https://acbconvention.org/

They say the third time is the charm. Let's see if the BITS social media team can get this right before we get fired. 🤣 Sorry about that friends this presentation is in fact open to all. From our Presentations Committee: Join BITS and presenter Melissa Wolf for An Overview of the New NLS Digital Advanced Player 2

When: Wednesday May 21 at 8:00 PM Eastern (5:00 PM Pacific).
Where: The BITS Community Zoom Room.

Join BITS and presenter Melissa Wolf, as she provides an overview of the new NLS Advanced Digital Player 2 (DA2).
This new player from the NLS is designed to replace the previous generation of NLS digital audiobook players and offers features like built-in Wi-Fi for BARD access, Bluetooth connectivity, and a larger storage capacity. Melissa has been participating in the pilot program for the new player, and she will share her thoughts and experiences using the new device. Feel free to consider joining BITS for all of our other members only content. It pays to be a member of BITS. There are always special presentations just for BITS members. To become a member of BITS visit: https://joinbits.org

ACB, the National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the National Disability Rights Network applaud the introduction of the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act.

Read the full press release: https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/disability-advocates-commend-introduction-websites-and-software-applications

Hi Cakers,
We are looking for people to join an early alpha group for the TweeseCake rewrite. Your feedback on our progress so far would be super appreciated.
Please Note: This is very early days and will be nowhere near the completed product. We are specifically seeking feedback on the current state of the Mastodon and Feeds services using the GUI (visible interface) only at this stage.
If you are interested in providing feedback on these specific features in their current, incomplete form, please complete the following form and we will put a group together in a couple of weeks:
https://forms.gle/tHhi2HexSnAsaFB88

For our friends in the #USA from the #FCC: Comments due: June 19, 2025
Reply comments due: July 7, 2025

On May 20, 2025, the FCC released a Public Notice seeking comment on two Petitions for Waiver filed by ClearCaptions, LLC (ClearCaptions), a provider of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) supported by the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund.

Interested parties may file comments by accessing the Electronic Comment Filing System at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. All filings must reference CG Docket Nos. 03-123. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments online may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov.

Link to the Public Notice:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/comment-sought-clearcaptions-petitions-waiver

Link to Petitions for Waiver:
2023 Petition: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10113127486324/1
2025 Petition: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/103120377716828/1

General information regarding TRS is available at: www.fcc.gov/trs and for IP CTS at www.fcc.gov/ipcts. For further information, please contact Stephen Wang, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, (202) 418-1634, or by email to Stephen.Wang@fcc.gov. 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).

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and Michael Babcock, ACB’s Member Services Administrative Assistant, has a special message about accessibility to share. Learn more about #GAAD at https://accessibility.day/.

We’re wrapping up Global Accessibility Awareness Day with a message from Claire Stanley, ACB’s Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs. Let’s keep learning, listening, and improving, because when we design for accessibility, we create better experiences for everyone! #GAAD

ACB is excited to announce that the Website and Software Applications Accessibility Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The timing helped mark the celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) yesterday. Read more at https://www.acb.org/reintroduction-websites-and-software-applications-accessibility-act

Big news for #GAAD2025! 🎉 Accessible online shopping is now built into the Be My Eyes app, thanks to our collab with InnoSearch AI.

Shop products, book travel, earn 2% cash back.

No fees, no barriers. Just tap + shop! 🛒

https://www.bemyeyes.com/news/be-my-eyes-to-provide-in-app-accessible-shopping/

#BeMyEyes #AccessibleTech

Apple Music transfer tool: How to bring your songs, albums, and playlists from Spotify and other music services https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/05/15/how-to-transfer-spotify-amazon-songs-albums-playlists-apple-music

Thank you, @news for mentioning us twice in the May 15 Top Tech Tidbits newsletter. Also, thank you for consistently publishing such excellent newsletters.