Hi Dan.

This is my first post too. So expect some rash statements from a rank
newbie.

> I'dthink some sort of database would help where I could put the idea
> in a comment field along with some keywords to bring these ideas up.

I recently installed Emacspeak (you'll find it and a host of stuff
-- such as some speech-to-text software -- at http://leb.net/blinux/
) for a friend of mine. It provides a full auditory user interface to
Emacs, and Emacs can provide database access. The emacspeak homepage
is at http://simon.cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/emacspeak/emacspeak.html

>     But what about when I'm walking down the street and an idea hits?  It
> seems that only a tape recorder or digital recorder.  I would presume a speech
> to text software would help with this.  Does anyone have any experience with
> this?

Well, my friend has a braille'n'speak from http://www.blazie.com/
It's about half the size of a fat diary. You type braille into it via
an 8-key keypad, and it can read your typing back to you. Back home,
you can download what you typed into the computer.

> Are there specialized information management utiltiies that I can
> use that are morecompatible with screen readers?

How about Linux? Sophisticated database technology is available, and
usable in text mode.

>      HOme:
>     Okay, financial software.  I'd like to use Quicken, but a lot of the
> informational screens are not 'text' and hencfe not readable.  Further, there
> are the same problems with it as with a datamabase manager - trying to get the
> screen reader to read - easily - only the parts of a 'register' or a
> ffinanaical datasheet?

Emacs has a spreadsheet called Dismal (what a dismal name), which is
speechified via Emacspeak.

--jean                                       . .. ..... ///\oo/\\\