DEAF/BLIND STUDENT HELPS BUILD PORTABLE ELECTRONIC TRANSLATOR - A University of Delaware student, Krista Caudill, who is both deaf and blind is helping to build a portable electronic translator to allow her to communicate with anyone, when an interpreter is not available. A shortage of interpreters in several areas of the country, has presented a barrier to deaf/blind people. The project's goal, financed by the National Science Foundation, is to turn an ordinary laptop computer into a personal translator. The computer will be equipped with a voice synthesizer, speech-recognition software and a "refreshable Braille display." While all of these tools are available separately, they have not been tied together into one unit. Using the device, a person who is deaf and blind could carry on a conversation by typing on the laptop, which would convert the words into speech. The computer would then convert the other person's speech into Braille. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 Aug 98)

VIDEOCONFERENCING CONNECTIONS Via POTS - V-SPAN recently announced the first gateway service connecting telecommuters using H.324 compression (plain old telephone line-POTS) to standard corporate legacy systems or H.320. This will allow business travelers using portable videoconferencing systems to seamlessly connect with corporate H.320 ISDN systems from any location with access to a standard phone jack. (Teleconferencing Business, July/August 98, p. 26)