By Bernard Maldonado

For over one year, Solona has worked hard to provide the highest quality of Captcha Solving for screen reader users.  Now, I am happy to announce the first adaptive product offered by Solona.

iPhone owners keep reading!

Do you find your fingers dancing around the touch screen of your iPhone?  Have you ever wondered how to make touch screen navigation a little easier on your Apple device?

Solona is proud to introduce a new screen protector that transforms your iPhone touch screen into a tactile keyboard.

Whether you prefer landscape mode or portrait mode, the new Solona Enhanced Screen Protector will function properly and provide you with a tactile map of the keyboard.

Each screen protector is carefully embossed with the tactile effect so that your touch screen navigation is fast and accurate.

Here’s how it works.  Each letter key is elevated with one distinct dot.  Each function key is elevated with two distinct dots.  That way, you can easily distinguish between letters and function keys.  This slight enhancement provides your iPhone with an additional layer of accessibility.

If you are interested in receiving an Enhanced Screen Protector, please read the Screen Protector Page for more information and instructions to order your’s today.  You may elect to send your own for us to process .  We will enhance them free of charge and return them to you via USPS.  The other option is to purchase a set of two Tactile Screen Protectors directly from Solona.

For a fixed price of $19, Solona will provide you with two Power Support brand Crystal Screen Protectors for your iPhone that have been enhanced with the tactile keyboard effect.

iPhones are magnificent devices.  Apple is to be commended for incorporating native accessibility into both families of products.

Most people use screen protectors in an effort to reduce the threat of screen damage and to extend the life and accuracy of the touch screen functionality.

If you are already using screen protectors, then you understand how they work.  Imagine your current screen protector, yet with elevated dots strategically positioned on each key to provide you with a roadmap of your iPhone keyboard.

If you have never used a screen protector for your iPhone, I recommend that you do some independent research.  Discover how other people use them.  Read about how to install them.  Get an idea for how they help extend the life of your iPhone touch screen.

If you would like to enhance your iPhone touch screen with an Enhanced Screen Protector by Solona, please visit the Solona Screen Protector Page. 

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By Bernard Maldonado

Many thanks to Curtis Chong, President of the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science, for extending an invitation come and deliver a presentation about Solona and Captcha during the 2010 Annual NFB Convention in my hometown of Dallas, Texas.

This will be a wonderful opportunity to share the story of Solona:  how it started, where it is, and where it is going.  We will also discuss Captchas and the impact they have on web surfing.

I am especially looking forward to meeting people and listening to comments, suggestions, ideas, and experiences with Captchas and Solona.  Conferences and conventions are a great place for this kind of interaction.

The 60 minute presentation on July 5, 2010 will consist of a prepared discussion, followed by plenty of time for questions and answers.

As the convention gets closer, be sure to check out the published convention schedules and notices for more information.

I will be sure to publish more as the date gets closer as well.

Thanks again to Curtis Chong for the invitation.  It is an honor to be invited to speak and share information about the Solona project with the Division of Computer Science attendees.

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By Bernard Maldonado

As an established script writer and project leader, Jeff will work closely with myself and the other Committee members as Solona evolves as an Internet Accessibility Resource. We have been communicating for several months about the possibility of him coming on board as a member. I’m very pleased that he accepted the offer and I am very excited to start working with him.

Jeff Bishop is an application developer at the University of Arizona and has over 21 years of programming experience in application development, database development and advanced web platforms. In addition to having a wide variety of jobs throughout his career, he is an expert in leading adaptive technologies for the blind including Window-Eyes, JAWS for Windows and other AT related platforms and products.

Jeff is married and lives in Tucson, AZ with his wife and two teenage sons.

The Solona Steering Committee is currently staffed by: Steve Sawczyn, Brandon B, Cara Quinn, and Jeff Bishop.  The purpose of the Steering Committee is to keep up with issues that arise and to ensure that Solona is on the right track with things like:  new & existing service evaluations, trend analysis, user support and operations issues that arise from time to time.

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By Bernard Maldonado

Several people suggested that I release a version of the Tool with an installer built in.

Well, here it is.  Many thanks to Christopher Toth (Qwitter) and everyone who tested this program installation.

It can be found on the Solona page after you login to your account.  The download link is at the top of the page.

This version is the same as 3 – it just has the installer added.  So if you are happy with your installation, then don’t worry about downloading this new version.

You do not have the option to modify the hot key during installation, but you can do this via the program interface.

The menu will ask you if you would like to start the Tool upon Windows Boot.

There will probably be a new version that allows you to set the hot key during setup within a week or so.

I highly recommend reading the Read Me file that gets installed to c:\Program Files\Solona Captcha Tool\ .  It will answer many questions and provides good information about the tool.

If you wish to uninstall the tool, it can be removed by using the Add/Remove Programs interface built into Windows.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Bernard Maldonado

By Bernard Maldonado

I would like to say thanks to Jamie Pauls for taking time to conduct an interview with Steve Sawczyn and myself.  We spent about an hour talking about Solona as well as Captchas in general.

The interview aired on June 20, 2009

It was a great question and answer session and was all impromptu.  Jamie is a great interviewer and a great host on Main Menu

We spent quite a bit of time talking about Solona as a project as well as Captchas and the future of both.

Thanks to Steve Sawczyn for conducting a live demo of Solona during the interview.  His demo is much better than mine!

Link to download interview

Link to stream interview 

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By Bernard Maldonado

Today, Solona.net released Version 3 of the Automation Tool that fixes the remote possibility of an error in IE 8 with Version 2.  As you may know, Version 2 did have a verified known issue, and it was unknown how long it would take to come up with a fix.  Well, it came today.  Testing shows that Version 3 works perfectly.

To get the tool, simply login to Solona.net and follow the link to download the file called solonaV3.zip.

Keep in mind that Solona.net is the only authorized download mirror for this program at this time.

Please let me know of any problems that you have with this program.

I think this tool is at it’s best with the release of Version 3.   I consider this level of automation at it’s best.  The next step of automation from Solona will be an application that takes automation to a new level for all browers.

Having said that, I hope that Solona users will enjoy the improved speed, efficiency, and benefit of this tool over the traditional method of solving a captcha. 

As far as a tool for Apple users:  there still is no plan on the table.  I am still looking for a programmer who can provide a tool for Apple users.  Once it is available, I will let you know.

Thank you.

Bernard Maldonado

By Bernard Maldonado

The new release of the Solona Automation Tool is available.  This release is compatible with Internet Explorer 8.  To get the new tool, simply login to your Solona.net account.  There is a link at the top of the users page.  Be sure to move or delete any old version of the Solona Tool.

The big fix is that a user can now change the hot key and the program will remember that change.  This is good for Window Eyes users.  The issue of finding the icon in the system tray is still up in the air.  Jaws users – please continue to use Windows + B to navigate to the tool in the system tray to change any configuration.  This will be corrected in the next version.

IE 8 Users.  Please pay attention.  There is a known bug in this release for IE 8 users.  Please pay attention.  There are certain websites that do not work with the tool.  The symptom is that you will not hear the camera snap sound when you invoke the hot key.  The tool goes into an infinite loop of screen captures and you will have to manually escape to stop it.  That image won’t work for Solona.  It’s possible that you will never find such a site, but it is a known issue.

There is no known pattern yet for which sites work and which ones don’t.  So far, I know that IBM.com, sun.com, cisco.com do not work.   Honestly, you may never encounter a faulty site.  However, I feel it necessary to mention this bug in full disclosure.  Please let us know about a site that you may find that does not work

This is a very strange phenomena, and we are working to solve this issue.  I can tell you that IE 8 is just a different animal and it will take some trial and error testing to get this bug ironed out.  The programmer and I worked for several days to fix this issue, but realized that it would take more time. 

Having said that, we all believe that this tool is an improvement over the first version in spite of the known bug.  The benefits outweigh the known issues.  The Solona Steering Committee believes that it was better to release this tool now rather than wait for the known issue to be resolved.

The third release will be released as soon as it is stable and addresses the random site issues.

The new tool is located in the page that you see after logging into Solona.  So just login to your account to retrieve it.

 Please leave comments about this tool so that Solona can be a better service.

Thank you again to the Solona Steering Committee for helping to release this tool.  It is a definite improvement and keep in mind that more automation is to come for Solona.

Bernard.

By Bernard Maldonado

On behalf of everyone involved with Solona including the Steering Committee, Operators, and other contributors, I am truly honored and excited to announce that the first automation tool is available for users to streamline the process for solving captchas.
 
In collaboration with a programmer in South Korea, a tool was created that allows Solona.net users to dramatically reduce the time required to solve a captcha.  The new tool, which is called Pick Solona, and runs on Microsoft Windows, allows a user to accomplish all the tasks of creating the screen image and saving it as a specific file with one simple hot key combination.
 
With the availability of this application, users can throw away the original instructions which included alt and print screen, MS Paint, copy, paste, save as 256 color BMP.  All that can be accomplished with a simple hot key now.
 
Another benefit of this tool is that it greatly reduces the file size of the screen print.  That means that the transmission is faster over the Net.  In addition, users can expect to shave off a solid 1 minute from total turnaround time, meaning that sites like My Space might be able to be solved by Solona.
 
This is a truly exciting update for Solona.  It is a major step and will greatly benefit both users and operators.  When Solona launched, it was learning to crawl and stumble around.  Now, Solona is up and walking with confidence. 
 
One interesting note is that even though this is a major step, works are already under way for the next step of automation.  The next release is already being developed and will be even more automated and more streamlined for users.  This is truly an exciting project.
 
To the hundreds of people who trust Solona to solve captchas, and left encouraging notes and feedback of gratitude, I want you to know that you truly were the motivating factor to make this development come true.  It is an honor to give you this tool free of charge.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this break through utility.  To the people who considered Solona a bit clunky and perhaps tricky to understand and use, I certainly understand your position.  However, I hope that you will give a second glance to a service that has good roots and remains steadfast and focused on providing the community with the ability to solve captchas with as much independence and anonymity as possible until such time that an accessible solution is available on websites.
 
After reading all of this, you’re probably wondering……OK, so where is this tool?  How can I get it?  How do I use it?  How do I install it?  How does it work?  Is it accessible with my screen reader?  The tool and a How To Guide are freely available on your “My Account” Page on Solona.  All you have to do is login to your account, and navigate to “My Account”.  You will see a link at the top to donwload the zip archive file. 
 
Download that file to your local hard drive and extract it to a new folder with any name that you like.  Everything you need is in that file.  Before running any executable file, please take a moment to read the file called ReadMe.rtf.

NOTE:  There are no other authorized download mirrors for this file.  The file is freely available under your User Account on solona.net.  Solona does not endorse any other locations for downloading this tool.
 
As always, you are welcome to contact Solona with questions or comments.  Before sending a question about this tool, please make sure that you read the How to document to determine if your question is answered.

Thank you!

Bernard Maldonado

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Solona Steering Committee:  Brandon Bracey, Steve Sawczyn, Cara Quinn, Gene Asner

By Bernard Maldonado

I am very excited to announce that Cara Quinn accepted a seat on the Solona Steering Committee.  She is talented in so many areas – both non technical and technical.

Cara’s background is mainly in the entertainment industry as a Professional Model, a musician, author, and producer on both the East Coast and the West Coast.  In addition to being a passionate entertainment professional, Cara is also heavily involved in the world of virtual reality and gaming as it relates to mobility and orientation in the visually impaired community.  She is a game programmer at Draconis Entertainment.  Cara leads The AGRIP Project, which makes mainstream games accessible to blind and visually impaired gamers.  Cara is also very involved in the Accessibility of the new Apple IPhone 3GS and advocates for accessibility for Mac programs  in general.

As a programmer, Cara will have an integral role related to how Solona.net serves the community of blind Mac users and Captcha Solving Solutions related to Mac products.

Cara is a moderator on several online groups and mailing lists:

Mac Visionaries

VI Phone

Visually Impaired Self Defense

I met Cara when I was seeking an Apple – oriented user group where I could announce Solona.net for blind Mac users to solve captchas.  Cara kindly gave me permission to post a message on the Mac Visionaries group, and we have maintained frequent contact over time.

Again, thank you, Cara, for working with the Solona SC and sharing your expertise and enthusiasm.  Cara’s addition brings the SC up to 4 members including:  Steve Sawcyzn, Brandon Bracey, and Gene Asner.

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By Bernard Maldonado

It is a great honor to announce that Steve Sawczyn has accepted a seat on the Solona.Net Steering Committee. 

Steve is a very active within the Assistive Technology Training Community.  His Company, AT Maine (http://www.ATMaine.com) provides Accessibility and Adaptability reviews and compliance services to many companies, banks, universities, and state rehabilitation agencies, and anyone else interested in assessing, or implementing assistive technologies.

In addition to accessibility training, Steve hosts the A T Maine Show.  The Assistive Technology Show is a weekly round table-style forum devoted to discussing all things assistive technology, or technology related. Whether you have a question, want to talk about technology you’re finding useful, or just want to learn something new, the Assistive Technology Show is for you.  The program is very informal with users generally helping one another.

Steve is very active in the Mac community and provides articles, guidance, and training related to accessibility for Mac users.

I look forward to working with him as Solona introduces new features and addresses issues that arise.  In addition, Steve does fantastic demonstrations of Solona, both on Windows and on the Mac.

So thank you, Steve for working with Solona to make it a better tool for the blind and visually impaired community.

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