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CHUM hospital staff say they have to ration Kleenex due to budget constraints

ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/ch…

CAQastrophe. They want to privatize Quebec healthcare


Staff at Montreal hospital say they have to ration facial tissues due to budget constraints

An employee at Montreal’s CHUM hospital says the facilities are rationing Kleenex for patients to save on costs. Instead, some staff are handing patients brown paper towels or toilet paper to blow their noses and dry their tears.
Erika Morris (CTVNews)

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My youngest, who is the true #eurovision fanatic in the family is of the firm opinion that everything is better with traditional instruments. Considering that I was a teenager in the 1980s, the era of folk punk, I can only agree.
So, of course, we have playlists. And I might have listened a lot to them lately. Because this is playing in my head. #folkpunk
youtu.be/RSMMU2wX0Bk?si=qJtO7W…

5MIINUST x Puuluup - (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi | Estonia 🇪🇪 | Grand Final

Subscribe and 🔔 to Eurovision 👉 https://www.youtube.com/user/eurovision?sub_confirmation=1 ​5MIINUST x Puuluup from Estonia performed ‘(nendest) narkootiku...
YouTube
#Eurovision #folkpunk
This entry was edited (7 months ago)

mastodon - Link to source

Aira’s AI Visual Interpreter | Trusted Testers Waitlist Now Open

Over the last year, thousands of members of the blind and low-vision community participated in the Build AI program — shaping the future of accessible technology. Now, in collaboration with Google, we’re announcing Aira’s AI Visual Interpreter powered by Project Astra.

This conversational AI tool provides real-time visual assistance. Whether you’re checking what’s on your thermostat, finding your keys, or identifying what’s in your fridge — Aira AI sees and responds naturally.

Ask:
“Is this milk expired?”
“What temperature is my thermostat showing?”
“Is this the blue shirt or the black one?”
It’s instant, interactive, and backed by professional human Visual Interpreters.

We're launching a trusted testers program to give early access to those who want to explore what’s possible with conversational visual AI.
Join the waitlist → aira.io/projectastra/

#AiraAI #ProjectAstra #AIForAccessibility #BuiltWithCommunity #GoogleAI

A dark blue background with glowing lines frames two logos—Aira’s “a” and Google's Project Astra icon—followed by the headline: “Sign up for early access to the Aira AI Powered by Project Astra.” Below, smaller text explains that Project Astra, developed by Google, partners with Aira for AI-augmented real-time visual interpreting. A rounded button reads “Sign Up for Early Access.”

Project Astra - Aira

Powerful Al Visual Interpreting. Join the Waitlist Now! Join the Waitlist Meet Project Astra: A research prototype exploring breakthrough capabilities for Google products—on the way to building a Universal AI Assistant.
Aira
#googleai #airaai #projectastra #aiforaccessibility #builtwithcommunity

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While at #SightCity yesterday, I was introduced to a line of Braille displays called b.note by Eurobraille. Intriguingly, they are powered by a Raspberry Pi, using Debian Linux as their OS. Apparently there's a developer mode, which allows users to connect to it via ssh, and even extend functionality using Python scripts. I'm already in the market for a new display and now very strongly considering getting one of these, especially since I quite liked the keyboard and Braille modules as well.
#SightCity

reshared this

in reply to Alex Hall

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Robin Kipp has moved

@alexhall But yes, this display does use the more traditional piezoelectric Braille cells. I was personally happy about that, as they do feel very similar to the Handy Tech Active Star which I'm currently using, and which is also sadly in the process of slowly falling apart. To be fair though, I have been using this display for around 10 years, which means it has actually outlived all the other tech on my desk right now.
@Alex Hall

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🦊 Mozilla oznámila konec personalizovaných funkcí služby Pocket. Zůstává jen základní ukládání článků, ale končí doporučení, tagy a další funkce.
📚 Naštěstí máme na Oscloud alternativu: Wallabag!
Open source, s tagy, archivací, offline čtením a plnou kontrolou nad daty.
✅ Ideální čas přejít.
docs.oscloud.cz/apps/wallabag/
#opensource #pocket #wallabag #oscloud

Wallabag - Oscloud Docs

Oscloud je váš osobní cloud a hosting webových aplikací.
docs.oscloud.cz
#opensource #wallabag #pocket #oscloud

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Join us next week for “Color in CSS” with Aubrey Sambor, Lead Front End Developer.

Mark your calendars: May 29, 12pm ET.
a11ytalks.com/posts/2025-may
#A11y #Accessibility

Color in CSS | A11yTalks

What are the new color options in CSS, and what do they add to the variety of color choices we already have? How do these new color options help to make your site more accessible?
a11ytalks.com
#a11y #Accessibility

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All those years of forcing unwanted Pocket integration into Firefox end with an unceremonious shut down.

Pocket didn't even get to star in its own obituary, as Mozilla unwinds itself from anything that isn't its ai/advertisement business - meaning that Fakespot (which Mozilla bought just over 2 years ago) is also on the chopping block.

"This shift allows us to shape the next era of the internet...vertical tabs, smart search and more AI-powered features on the way"

blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/bu…


Investing in what moves the internet forward

Our independence means we have to be intentional about where we invest our time and resources so we can make the biggest impact.
Mozilla (The Mozilla Blog)
in reply to Sarah Jamie Lewis

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Sarah Jamie Lewis

I also feel the need to point out a few months back, when I and others were criticising Firefox's new terms of service / privacy / AUP policy as being overbroad, inappropriate, and down right unethical (it still is)...one of the main category responses was "oh they are only saying they need to collect these categories of data, and require this ridiculously over the top license, things because of integrations...like Pocket"

mmm hmm.

mastodon - Link to source

Mozilla is shutting down Pocket, its read-it-later service.

May I recommend @wallabag as an alternative? I've used it happily for years.

blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/bu…

#Firefox #Pocket


Investing in what moves the internet forward

Our independence means we have to be intentional about where we invest our time and resources so we can make the biggest impact.
Mozilla (The Mozilla Blog)
#firefox #pocket @wallabag
This entry was edited (7 months ago)

mastodon - Link to source

1/2 "Slovenka porazila aj mužov, v Himalájach vyhrala jeden z najťažších triatlonov na svete. Dokázala to ako prvá žena v histórii

Trénuje v Bratislave popri práci a hovorí, že nie je vrcholová športovkyňa. V Nepále však dosiahla prelomový úspech."

🔒dennikn.sk/4652608/slovenka-po…

#triatlon


Slovenka porazila aj mužov, v Himalájach vyhrala jeden z najťažších triatlonov na svete. Dokázala to ako prvá žena v histórii

Peter Kováč (Denník N)
#triatlon

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On June 14, the current U.S. president will spend millions on a birthday parade for himself. Sorry, I mean a birthday parade for the U.S. army. If you want to join Womens' March on that day and help there be more participants in a march than watched the dumb parade, check out the event page here: womensmarch.com/kickouttheclow…

Kick Out the Clowns - Women's March

The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change.
Women's March

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As we are making good progress on #accessibility for GNOME Calendar lately (big thanks to @TheEvilSkeleton there) I have now rewritten and updated the description of this meta ticket to reflect the current status: gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-c…

15 of 28 checklist items completed as of May 22nd, 2025, based on what issues I've been able to find so far.

#a11y #GNOMECalendar #GNOME #keyboardnavigation #screenreaders #Linux


Improve keyboard navigation and annotations throughout the app for better accessibility (a11y) (#1036) · Issues · GNOME / gnome-calendar · GitLab

GNOME Calendar is not known to be very accessible nor keyboard-friendly. This is a list of currently known
GitLab
#a11y #Accessibility #linux #gnome #screenreaders #gnomecalendar #keyboardnavigation @TheEvilSkeleton 🇮🇳 🏳️‍⚧️
This entry was edited (7 months ago)

reshared this

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Amazon introduces AI-powered audio product summaries for easier shopping aboutamazon.com/news/retail/am…

Amazon introduces AI-powered audio product summaries for easier shopping

The new AI shopping experts help save time by compiling research and providing product highlights for customers from product pages, reviews, and insights.
Rajiv Mehta, Vice President, Search and Conversational Shopping, Amazon (US About Amazon)

Tamas G reshared this.

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Attention JAWS Users!

Discover a better way to shop online with Innosearch AI— an accessible platform that makes browsing and purchasing from popular retailers easier than ever.

🗓️ Join us Thursday, May 29 at 12 PM Eastern Time for the "Shop Online with Innosearch and JAWS" webinar, hosted by Vispero.

🔹 Learn to easily navigate Innosearch.ai
🔹 Search for products efficiently
🔹 Make purchases using JAWS

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
More info: freedomscientific.com/training…

A promotional graphic for a webinar titled “Shop Online with Innosearch and JAWS.” The image shows shopping bags on a laptop keyboard, with the word "SHOPPING" displayed on the screen. The right side of the image includes text that says: "Learn how to navigate Innosearch.ai, search for products, and make purchases all using JAWS!" A red button at the bottom says “Register now!” and a red label at the top reads “webinar” with a play icon.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Shop Online with Innosearch and JAWS. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Innosearch offers an online shopping experience that makes it easy to shop for and purchase products from many popular retailers all on one website. Join us on Thursday, May 29 at Noon ET as we discuss this accessible platform.
Zoom

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#XMPP Community

The next XMPP #Sprint in #Berlin starts tomorrow! 23rd - 25th May 2025 - it is open to all interested.

More details: wiki.xmpp.org/web/Sprints/2025…

:xmpp: :xmpp: :xmpp:

#jabber #chat #interoperability #rtc
#opensource #decentralization #standard

#xmpp #opensource #Jabber #chat #interoperability #decentralization #Berlin #standard #rtc #sprint

Nicoco reshared this.

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Just saw an FB post about using ultrasound to stimulate regions of the brain, to enhance memory, cognition, etc. Turns out this is an actual field of study, transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/…

Just reminded me of Star Trek S03E14 Whom Gods Destroy

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) and Transcranial Unfocused Ultrasound (tUS) Neuromodulation: From Theoretical Principles to Stimulation Practices - PMC

Transcranial focused ultrasound is an emerging technique for non-invasive neurostimulation. Compared to magnetic or electric non-invasive brain stimulation, this technique has a higher spatial resolution and can reach deep structures. In addition, ..
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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If someone were to invest development resources into the Open Source ecosystem right now, improvements to which area would benefit the user experience across all device form factors (desktop, laptop, mobile etc.) the most? You can name both individual applications, libraries and subsystems as well as broader topics like e.g. "messaging".

#linuxmobile #linuxdesktop #opensource #mobilelinux #linux

A picture showing a Linux phone connected to an external monitor, mouse and keyboard Image licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by Purism
#linux #opensource #MobileLinux #linuxmobile #linuxdesktop
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