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Archive of Past Feature Articles

2011 Feature Articles

Kinect Effect Reaches Into Hospitals, Senior Centers
In the year since Microsoft launched Kinect for Xbox 360, the controller-free device has been adopted and adapted for a growing number of non-gaming uses, many of them in the healthcare field.
(December 2011)

Microsoft commits to improving accessibility in New Zealand
Microsoft New Zealand has signaled an increased focus on accessibility solutions by making a significant donation to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind and announcing the availability of Microsoft Office add-ins for people with a hearing or vision impairment.
(December 2011)

Free add-ins boost accessibility for Office 2010 users
Microsoft wants to make sure customers of all abilities can use Microsoft Office to get their work done. Today, we're happy to announce that STAMP and Save as DAISY Word 2010 are out of beta and ready for everyone to use!
(December 2011)

Make talking books within Word: Save as DAISY for Office 2010
Save as Daisy for Office 2010 which allows users to convert Word documents to digital talking books makes working with Microsoft Word easier for people with print disabilities, and so helps them better meet their information needs.
(December 2011)

Announcing STAMP: a new accessibility add-in for PowerPoint 2010
STAMP, an add-in which lets PowerPoint 2010 users quickly and easily add closed captions to video and audio files (first released as a beta version last spring) has been newly released.
(December 2011)

School for the Blind Bridges Distances With Microsoft Lync
Microsoft Lync is helping students at the Washington State School for the Blind learn algebra and software programming remotely. See also Microsoft Lync 2010 Accessibility
(December 2011)

Microsoft India Extends Support on World Disability Day
On World Disability Day Microsoft India announced efforts to help close the gap between the general community and people with visual, hearing, and learning impairments.
(December 2011)

Empowering people with disabilities—a look at Latin America
On the 19th anniversary of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Hernan Rincon, President, Microsoft Latin America, reflects on Microsoft's accessibility mission and the progress his region is making in helping people with disabilities realize their full potential.
(December 2011)

Accessibility at the Partners in Learning Global Forum
Microsoft hosted more than 700 innovative educators from around the world discussing the future of technology in education November 7 in Washington, D.C.
(November 2011)

Microsoft honored at FCC for accessibility training resources
Microsoft received a Chairman Award for Advancement in Accessibility in recognition of the company’s work in creating a set of accessibility tools and training resources for developing accessible software, equipment and websites.
(October 2011)

Back to School: Personalizing the PC so students can see, hear, and learn more comfortably
Going back to school means preparing for a new school year full of possibilities. While not on every traditional back-to-school checklist, making sure student technology is prepped and personalized for students is worth remembering.
(September 2011)

Blind Ambition: How one student changed classroom learning for low vision students
This inspiring video shows how Imagine Cup winner, Note-Taker, enables low vision students to take notes in class with the assistance of a custom-designed portable camera, a touch-screen Tablet PC, and Microsoft OneNote.
(July 2011)

Touching children's lives with Microsoft Surface technology,
"Surface evangelist" helps develop applications to support diagnostics and treatment of autism worldwide. More about Microsoft Surface technology which uses a touch interface and requires neither a monitor nor a mouse.
(June 2011)

Microsoft Support for Accessibility
Microsoft Live@edu blog: At Microsoft we’re committed to accessibility and have been investing for more than 20 years, making a tremendous impact on the lives of people with a wide array of difficulties and impairments. We believe that all students—regardless of physical ability—deserve access to technology that enables them to realize their potential.
(March 2011)

Microsoft Announces New Accessibility Offerings
Microsoft announced three new advances in accessibility in San Diego at the 26th International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference
(March 2011)

2010 Feature Articles

Enabling Students of All Abilities to Realize Their Potential has been a Microsoft goal for more than 20 years. Anthony Salcito, VP of Education at Microsoft, talks about our focus on making computers easier to use and technology has become an essential part of learning for students of all abilities.
(November 2010)

Windows 7 and Office 2010 Make Accessibility More Affordable
Jamie Mayo, a senior rehabilitation engineer in the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Engineering Program, sees the value of Windows and Office accessibility every day in her work with people who experience many different types of disabilities and impairments. Read also Mayo's recommendations for affordable assistive technology solutions.
(October 2010)

Back to School: Making Sure Students with Disabilities Can See, Hear, and Use their PCs
Supporting educational success includes making sure students' PCs are comfortable to see, hear, and use.
(August 2010)

How do you learn to use Microsoft Windows if you can’t see?
New book, “Windows 7 and Vista Explained: A guide for blind and partially sighted users,” helps computer users with visual impairments learn to use Windows 7 and Windows Vista from a non-visual perspective.
(July 2010)

Empowering Americans with Disabilities Through Technology
This Microsoft TechNet Blog addresses the White House announcement of a renewed commitment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires access to the federal government's electronic and information technology for people with disabilities, as part of the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
(July 2010)

DAISY Consortium, Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, and Microsoft Partner on eBook Accessibility
A Japanese-language version of the free Microsoft Word add-in that enables the creation of Word documents in DAISY format is now offered. The add-in is used to create ebooks and learning materials in the widely used DAISY format.
(April 2010)

Virtual Senior Center Enhances Lives of Homebound Seniors
Microsoft, the City of New York, and Selfhelp Community Services use technology to create an interactive experience between homebound seniors and local senior centers. View video.
(March 2010)

Microsoft Showcases Assistive Technology for Seniors
New York and other cities are working with Microsoft to bring computers, webcams, and other high-tech gear to the homebound elderly.
(March 2010)

2009 Feature Articles

Baby Boomers Want Technology That Fits Their Lifestyle and Values
Futurist Michael Rogers explains how new research by Microsoft and AARP may change industry perceptions of how aging computer users help determine the survival and evolution of technology products and services.
(December 2009)

Simple Loop Helps Special Needs Kids Control Their Mice
Microsoft employee Mike LaManna was surprised to find few adaptive solutions for special needs children who had trouble using computer mice. Using creativity, trial and error, and some helpful coworkers, LaManna set out to change that.
(April 2009)

2008 Feature Articles

Inclusive Innovation Showroom Opens to Demonstrate Accessibility
A new Inclusive Innovation Showroom, designed to demonstrate how accessibility features in Microsoft products and assistive technology solutions developed by Microsoft partners can make it easier for anyone to see, hear, and use a computer at work or at home, has opened on the Microsoft Redmond campus.
(October 2008)

2007 Feature Articles

Preserving Dreams: Inventive Rehabilitation Counselor Enables Patients to Gain Back Their Independence
For more than a decade, Curt Johnson has served as a rehabilitation counselor with the UW Medical Center. Johnson, who likes problem-solving and mechanical tinkering, brings a unique set of skills to a challenging job.
(December 2007)

2006 Feature Articles

Connecting People with the Right Technology Has a Positive Impact On Their Lives, and Mine
Joanne Castellano is the director of TECHConnection, a program of Family Resource Associates, a nonprofit organization in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, that assists people with disabilities and their families.
(September 2006)

Vista from an Accessible View
Logan Olson, 21, says the speech-recognition software she tried out at Microsoft would help in her work publishing a lifestyle magazine for young women with disabilities. By Benjamin J. Romano, Seattle Times technology reporter.
(August 2006)

Injured Iraq Vet, Using Technology that Helped Him Recover, Aims to Help Others
Technology is playing an important role in helping mitigate the effects of injuries sustained by U.S. Marine, Jonathan Kuniholm, in Iraq on New Year's Day 2003. See also press release.
(May 2006)