Here at The Chicago Lighthouse we are big fans of Zoomax's products as they combine great features and great prices. We're glad to see the Butterfly, our latest acquisition from them, is no exception. This 3.5" portable electronic magnifier features 5 color modes, 1.5x to 15x magnification and a freeze frame mode. The thing that we really like though (and that gives it its name!) is the butterfly shaped stand on the rear of the unit. This stand puts the screen at an angle towards your eyes, making the device very ergonomically well designed and comfortable to use. 

Check out our video about the Butterfly then call us at 1-800-919-3375 for more information! 

The Lighthouse has just received a new desktop CCTV from Zoomax, the company who introduced the Butterfly, Snow and Snow 7 HD electronic handheld magnifiers, and we like. 

The CCTV is called the Panda and comes in a striking black and white color scheme (hence the name!). Containing all the features you would expect such as 17 different color modes, 2x-70x magnification and a 19" monitor, the Panda is an attractive CCTV with a good image and is really easy to use.

And now for the best part (drum roll please).....the Panda retails for just $1695! That's a great price for a quality CCTV like this and makes it one of our favorite choices for an entry level, good quality unit. 

Easier to look after than a pet Panda, the Panda CCTV might be just what you or a loved one is looking for!

We've been talking a lot about accessible television recently, and today we came across another great service that can make it easier for people with a visual impairment or who are blind use their television - X1 from Comcast!

This service introduces some great features for the blind and visually impaired, such as an accessible television guide, accessible menus and accessible DVR control so you never have to miss your favorite shows again or find what channel they are on :-)

In addition, a problem to many people with a visual impairment may have finally been solved - Comcast have introduced a voice activated remote control! no more struggling to find the correct button, simply speak into the remote to have it change channels, start recording, suggest things to watch and a lot more. 

We think that this service has a lot of potential for helping people with visual issues access and use their television more easily, potentially increasing their quality of life and happiness. 

For more information on this service, visit http://www.comcast.com/x1


We are always getting questions about television and hope that our recent articles can help with some ideas on how to make watching television easier and more fun as a blind or low vision individual. As always, feel free to comment or call 312-997-3649 with any questions!

Let's face it, everyone likes to watch TV, but for the person with a visual impairment this can be a difficult task. For those with a central or peripheral scotoma it can be hard to see faces of the people on television, and easy to miss important action happening on the screen. 

Audio described television (which we talked about last week with regards to Netflix) can be one helpful tool for this problem. A narrator describes the action on the screen so even if you can't see it you can imagine what is happening through the narration. 

However there are other options out there. One device is magnifying television glasses designed to magnify at distance. Sit in your easy chair with these on and the television will appear twice as large, which may be just what you need to better see what's happening. 

If these are not enough, a spectacle mounted telescope can be prescribed which would allow you to magnify objects in the distance to an even greater extent - however bear in mind that as you magnify your field of view will become smaller, meaning you may not see the entire television screen at the same time and will have to move your head around as you are watching. 

Tom Perski from The Chicago Lighthouse, now 62 and having been legally blind since the age of 21, offers some advice from his own experience - "I have found the best way to watch television is to use a smaller television and sit closer to it" He says. "Many people think a larger television will help, but it is hard to see the whole screen. If you have a smaller television and sit right up, relative distance magnification makes it appear much larger"

Tom adds "If you have central vision loss it is more effective to use eccentric viewing (your peripheral vision) to look at things. I find it best to sit at an angle to the television in order to help with this".

So as you can say there are many possibilities. Call us today at 312-997-3649 to discuss what might work for your individual needs!

The market for small portable electronic magnifiers has just got better with the introduction of a new device - The Butterfly from Zoomax. Zoomax has already impressed us with it's Snow and Snow 7 HD  handheld electronic magnifiers, and the Butterfly continues their impressive track record.

Smaller than either of the Snow's, the Butterfly features a 3.5 inch screen and weighs only 4.2 ounces making it ideal for taking around in a pocket or a purse. The magnifier also boasts 1.5x - 15x magnification and 5 different color modes.

The magnifier also has a fold out stand shaped like butterfly wings so yo can rest it on whatever you are reading without having to hold it up.

We love this magnifier as it is simple to use and really portable. Zoomax has a history of making great electronic magnifiers, and this is certainly no exception! At $299 we think this is great value for money and an essential tool. Call 312-997-3649 for more information!

The Tunity app is a great new resource that is proving to be very popular, and even better it's free! But what is it, I hear you say? Tunity is an app that lets you stream audio from your favorite TV Channels through your phone. What's the point of this, I hear you say?! Imagine you are in a noisy sports bar and want to listen to the game they are showing on the TV - just start up the app and listen from your phone! Or imagine you are in the waiting room at the airport and want to listen to the TV's they always have playing but muted - start up the app and enjoy!

We think this is really good option for people with a visual impairment as it would allow them to listen to television channels in situations where they may not be able to see the television. Peter Tucic, my esteemed colleague, used the app at a bar over the weekend and said it worked great!

In order to start streaming the audio from the television simply point the phone at the television and take a picture of the screen. Once done, the audio will start playing through your phone. From the website (http://www.tunityapp.com/)

What is Tunity?

Tunity allows you to scan a muted Live TV and get the audio streamed directly to your phone.

What do I do?

Simply scan any Live TV for one second and the app will identify the channel and stream the synchronized audio.

Where can I use it?

It's perfect to use at a sports bar, gym, airport, waiting room, and even at home.

Does it work for every channel?

Currently the app supports 48 channels (Tap �Supported Channels� on the Settings page for an up-to-date list.)

The app is free on iOS and Android so why not give it a try!

As Cyanogen moves along a new path (apparently with help from Microsoft) phone maker OnePlus is working on its own flavor of Android, and now it has a name: OxygenOS. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much else beyond promises of going back to the drawing board with software that is "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." That's good to hear though, and matches up with the alpha build seen earlier this month. In classic OnePlus style, the tease just sets up another tease, and we're told more information is coming on February 12th, so mark your calendars.

After Cyanogen parted ways with OnePlus due to its exclusive deal with Micromax in India, OnePlus announced that it will coming out with its own ROM. The Alpha build of its own ROM was released by OnePlus on December 31 and got a fairly positive response from the community. 

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What if I say that while just sitting in a sofa in your room can can do your office work by changing your room compeletly into your office or, what if you can see beyond your Laptop's or PC screen.

Microsoft on Wednesday in a Windows 10 even announced it's new technology breakthrough "Microsoft Hololens". Watch this Beautiful Video:

A thing that will change the way you think about technology or see technology. It comes with a new innovation i.e. 3-D Holograms which changes your room into windows app store, minecraft or your office Virtually. 

It uses no wires no Smartphone no nothing. It has all of it's own i.e. CPU , GPU and a dedicated Holographic Processing Unit. Therefore needs nothing to run it has all of it. The best part is it is not bulky like Oculus rift. It combines the feature of both Google glasses and Oculus Rift or the VR Gear.

You can also draw something during a Skype call and the user on the other side can see it and also can help you fixing something. The company has plans to build software for HoloLens, but it will be, as with all things, up to third-party developers to build the killer apps that make the headset a must-have. Microsoft�s quest to reclaim its former status as the de facto computing platform provider continues.

It sounds very odd but Microsoft is now the most interesting hardware companies. Yes, it builds X-boxes, Surfaces, Smartphones, Large touch displays and now a nerdy Goggles.

Price? Formal launch date? Partners? First killer app? All of those are critical unknowns, and Microsoft has a long road ahead. But what it has built to date is impressive, fun and challenging.

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Source:TechCrunch

The Connect 12 from Humanware is a fantastic new device combining the convenience of tablet technology with low vision features. Based on an Android tablet, the Connect 12 runs the Prodigi software meaning good quality near magnification, fast and accurate OCR and ease of use. An optional extra is a wireless distance camera which can be used to magnify the whiteboard, look out the window or whatever else you might want to see.

Once you have finished on the Prodigi side it is easy to exit to the Android side and use Android's built in accessibility to access the internet, send and receive emails, take pictures, read books and so much more. Fantastic for students or those wanting a really portable do-it-all device, check out the video below to see it in action!