BREAKING NEWS!!

June 2006 Assistive Technology Day event will provide a demonstration of the new Kurzweil National Federation for the Blind Reader. This hand-held device will take a picture of the text and read the text back to the user. It reads printed documents, letters, memos, pages from books, address labels, package information, and instructions. It reads an entire page or a few lines for identification, stores thousands of printed pages, transfers files to desktop and laptop computers or Braille notetakers, and reads documents from computers or other devices. Come to GSA on June 21st from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. presentations are one hour long starting at 9 a.m and ending at 3 p.m. in room 1216.

THE NEW BUY ACCESSIBLE DATA CENTER is now available FOR VENDORS to register, manage their accounts and register their products and services at http://emgbaw.altarum.org/DataCenter/. Vendors should also refer to the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). The purpose of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template is to assist Federal contracting officials and other buyers in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial "Electronic and Information Technology" products and services with features that support accessibility.

GOVERNMENT PURCHASING AND PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS should refer to the Buy Accessible Wizard to conduct your market research, such as to locate products and services that support your requirements development and procurement selection processes. This is also the web-based tool to help users determine and document Section 508 requirements that apply to a particular E⁢ acquisition.

New to Section 508? Start here with answers to your basic questions.

The Quick Reference Guide to Section 508 Resource Documents is available to assist government officials in making informed decisions about Section 508 related procurement.