To submit questions to Bill Kociaba, drop him a note at [kociabafitness@gmail.com.][1] You can also visit his site at kociaba-fitness.com. Or, feel free to leave your comment below. You may also use your iBlink Radio app to leave an iReport.

To tell you the truth? It’s too much work to be anyone other than me.

I’ve got a confession though.

When I started writing, that wasn’t the case at all.

I turned into some Shakespearian writing hack, only with about 50,000 less words than old Willie sported in his vocabulary.

Gee, I hope that didn’t bother you I called William Shakespeare, Willie.

See, that’s what I mean. If he were here at my desk, and I was writing about him? I’d still call him Willie, or Will, or maybe even Bill.

I mean no disrespect at all. If he found it offensive? I’d call him what he wanted, of course.

Even though I’m easy-going and lay back, when I began writing I was either too rigid or swung the opposite and became this flowery conversationalist.

Decades ago, I copped a major offense at my creative writing instructor who said I was writing too flowery. I tried to change my style during the writing course, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get it in my head.

You know what I did?

I asked myself, “Why am I beating myself over the head with this stuff? Why don’t I just write like I talk? Why try to be someone I’m not?”

Little did I know it back then, that’s what the market would look for in writers years down the road.

Here’s the deal. If you’re going to write about a new headset for instance, what sounds better…?

“The XL5 Super Boom headset sports a rigid body for durable use. The 2.5 cm built-in woofer perfectly balances the high treble for a pleasurable listening experience anywhere.” We’ve coated the earpieces with a special moisture resistant polymer to prevent premature unit breakdown.”

Or…

“Whether you’re jamming in the park while jogging, rocking out in the library studying, or drowning out your mom’s oldies while in the car; the bass will sound like it’s rattling the fenders off and highs that put you on stage with the band. The XL5 Super Boom won’t break if you drop them either. We’ve tossed them on concrete from 25-feet over 100 times and they still rock! Sweat on them all you want while working out, we’ve moisture proofed the grills and speakers, so you’re good to go.”

Bottom-line? Write more like you speak than you would if submitting your college thesis. Because, it isn’t your English prof you’re writing for, it’s your buying customer.

Then, be prepared to offend the grammarians in your life.

Proper grammar is best practice, but we do talk in sentence fragments, start our conversation with “but, or “and, and use slang you won’t find in the dictionary.

Of course, there are certain writing environments which lend themselves to lean either way, and I’m being pretty casual here. The point is, people respond more to a casual tone than one they feel they are being talked down to, or swimming in technical or corporate speak.

I’ve seen comparisons time over, including my own experiences where conversational tones beat out tech talk.

Years ago, I wrote an e-mail campaign for an organization. One of the board members thought it too casual. This person tossed down the white glove, re-wrote it, and submitted it to the board for review.

Guess which one the board wanted?

My campaign is still used to this day.

The board member who re-wrote my piece is articulate, educated, and has an art background… A very capable person.

But, for the project we were working on, to get the best results it called for a fun, casual tone.

Here’s a tip to help overcome this Shakespearian phenomena when sitting down to write.

Imagine you are sitting across from your mom or a friend. Then, just relax, and write like you’d talk to them. Imagine them listening to you, nodding their head, getting every word.

You might even imagine them asking questions about the topic. If you get one? Mark them down. Those questions might well be your customer’s questions. If so, you’ll need to answer them in your content.

When you’re done, go back to fix up glaring grammar errors, take out as many instances of “that” or words ending in “ly,” and other similar unproductive boo-boos.

Try this technique on your next content piece. Taylor it to your industry and the level of your readers, but stay under the eighth-grade reading level. If you can get to the fifth-grade, even better.

It’s not about dumbing down or writing unintelligently.

It’s all about being understood and identifying with your customer or client.

Hey, even those fancy suits gather at the coffee pot or water cooler and talk in a casual tone about their lives or company events.

You’ll dramatically improve your readership if you write conversationally. Of course, there is a lot more to content writing than tone, but this is a foundational element which… sets the tone… pardon the pun.

Until next time…

Live like you’ll never get hurt, dream like nobody is watching and above all… try-try-try until you succeed!

We learn How infrared energy works, how an infrared thermometer
Differs from a conventional thermometer, and his very interesting story about why a “regular sighted normal guy” decided to develop products for the blind.

If you’re interested in purchasing an infrared talking thermometer,
Phil has graciously given the SeroTalk community a discount. When
You purchase directly from the Brookes technology website you can
Use the coupon code
Serotek
When checking out. If you have questions or would like more information you can contact
Brookes technology via the following methods. Website http://www.brooks-technology.com/ phone:408-781-4577 during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm central time.

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device, the Kindle Fire, the Mac or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

 
* Her training at age 15 vs age 31
*   incorporating strength training into her swimming
* Her next competition
* Must have supplements
* shooting for her fourth Olympics

Additionally he offers a fool proof plan for setting and achieving your personal goals.

                ### Contact Bill!

                To submit questions to Bill Kociaba, drop him a note at [kociabafitness@gmail.com.][1] You can also visit his site at kociaba-fitness.com. Or, feel free to leave your comment below. You may also use your iBlink Radio app to leave an iReport.

Get all the latest news on the latest injuries and how they will affect the Pursuit of the NBA Finals.

The NHL Playoffs are also heating up, which teams are still alive on their push to win the Stanley Cup?

As the Champions League boils down to just four teams, find out who AZ and JDR pick to win the prestigious tournament.

Hear who gets our Technical Fouls of the week as well as our book recommendation of the week.
Get in Touch!
Find us on Twitter
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For comments, questions and criticisms of the show, please e-mail them to resources@serotalk.com Tweet them to @SeroTalk, or use your iBlink Radio app to send us an iReport! You could end up on the show!

In this special Joshua Loya speaks with independence Science. He also speaks with a representative from Optelec, Humanware, Tobiidynavox and Aira as well as some other surprises.

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device, the Kindle Fire, the Mac or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thank you for listening!

In this special Joshua Loya speaks with some Sensotec representatives about Knfb Reader. He also chats with Harpo American Thermoform Corporation and Hims as well as a few other nuggets.

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device, the Kindle Fire, the Mac or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

In this special, Joshua Loya speaks to Steve baum from Kurzweil Educational systems He also has a chat with Mark Solomon of AiSquared, and a representative from AccessAMed along with some other surprises.

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device, the Kindle Fire, the Mac or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

The problem is, we have an astronomical unemployment rate among the blind, and the fact of the matter is a lot of us are not in a position to take advantage of the latest tech trends. This is why I am writing this overview of how to stay reasonably up to date without breaking the bank.

A few quick notes.

Note one: This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to every single blindness related low-budget item on the market.

Note two: I am not employed by, or in anyway compensated by any of the companies linked to in this post.

Note three: This article is meant for blind people spending their own hard-earned cash. If you are receiving services from vocational rehabilitation then you may have other options.

Low budget computers.

The Apple Macintosh has been taking the blind community by storm over the last several years. Many are sold by a screen-reader built in to the operating system. I have personally used a mac as my primary platform for the last half-decade. However, if you are someone who is not in a position to fork over at least $900.00 then you may feel left out of the loop. For a low-budget individual even a $500 computer is akin to flying to the moon.

There are options though, and some surprisingly good ones. This article is an excellent overview of computers for the blind They offer windows 7 desktops and laptops for well under $200. The machines come with clean versions of windows 7 (IE no crapware) and with several apps pre-installed. It is worth noting that some of the desktops come with a 17-21 inch monitor which may be beneficial to a low-vision user. Note: customers are only aloud to purchase one PC from Computers for the Blind at this time, so it is prudent to have a good idea of whether a desktop or laptop better meets your needs.

Another option for those who are mobile minded is the HP Stream. This laptop (available in an eleven or thirteen inch model) is in the $200 price range. It also comes with one free year of Office 365 personal, and a $25 gift card: effectively giving you an extra $95 in value with your purchase. These units are not meant as primary PC’s, but used in conjunction with a desktop from computers for the blind, the Stream can be an effective mobile option The HP Stream can be purchased from amazon and I can’t wait to get my hands on one. If you are wondering about the quality of a device such as the HP Stream check out the review from Paul Thurrott

Warning I highly recommend purchasing the signature addition of the HP Stream or any windows machine. These are available mainly from the Microsoft store, although some can be found on Amazon. Signature addition PC’s do not have all the extra garbage programs typically found on the average windows computer. Not having to deal with such pre-installed trash dramatically speeds up ones computer. More importantly, it drastically reduces the amount of cursing and death threats most of us make toward our new PC’s wile wasting hours upon hours of uninstalling junk software.

Other great low-budget PC deals can be found on Amazon, and others. Blind Bargains is a great place to find deals on PC’s and many other items.

Now that I have this new computer, how do I make it accessible?

The units from Computers for the Blind come with Non-visual Desktop Access, NVDA already installed, along with demo software of other screen-readers and screen-magnifiers. “But I didn’t get one of those, I got a good deal on a computer from Amazon, now what do I do?”

Well, my friend you have plenty of options. You can install the aforementioned NVDA. You can check out the many options offered by Serotek. They have choices to fit almost any situation. You can also investigate Window Eyes which is free if you own an addition of Microsoft Office 2010 or 2013, or if you have a subscription to Office 365. All of these are great options, and the serotek solution can even include an OCR scanning program, which paired with a low cost flat-bed scanner, can provide access to one’s daily mail as well as many other forms of paper documents.

“what about us low-budget low vision users?” I didn’t forget about you guys, but I am not a low vision user, I do not feel qualified to write on that topic.

Mobile Gadgets.

I’ve chosen to lump phones, tablets, and other hand-held devices together in this section.

The aforementioned iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the hottest new devices on the market, however they are rather pricy–especially for those of us who use prepaid wireless service. Prepaid services often offer the same amount of coverage as the big-name carriers, but with much cheaper monthly plans. THe drawback is that the consumer must purchase a device without the option of financing or contract subsidizing. This means the latest iPhone is out of reach of most of us low-budget users, but like the PC options listed above their are still great choices.

Talking MP3 Players offer several low cost IOS and android smartphones as well as some accessible basic flip phones. The Android devices come with Talkback already set up and ready to use. While the devices offered are a couple of years old; they still offer access to the majority of the modern applications popular in the blind community.

If you choose to go the Android rout I recommend Android 4.4 KitCat or higher. If you opt for IOS make sure the device in question will run the apps you want and need. For example: the new Voice Dream Writer program only runs on IOS 8 and above. The oldest iPhone that supports iOS 8 is the iPhone 4S and running this version of the software is rather buggy.

If you are hoping to use the Voice Dream apps, or the KNFB Reader, Android isn’t necessarily a bad option as both companies have stated they plan to create Android versions of their applications. If you want a device with BARD support then you should probably stick with the iPhone. I think humans will establish a colony on Mars before NLS creates an Android application.

Much of what has been said about phones can be applied to tablets. There are numerous low cost tablets running Android and Windows. The same Android advice applies here, and if you are looking at a Windows unit I give you two items to remember.

1. Go with the signature addition. You’ll thank me later.

2. Make sure your screen-reader of choice supports touch navigation, otherwise you’re stuck with having your tablet constantly paired with a keyboard.

On the IOS front you may have some luck. There are several iPad models currently on the market, and with some diligence you may find one in your price range. You can also pick up an iPod touch, but it is worth noting that the iPod Touch hasn’t seen a hardware refresh in a long while.

If you are looking for a device that will just play music and Audible books then you have many cheap options. You can pick up an iPod Nano, or check out the selection from Talking MP3 Players

Even portable Daisy players can be had for a bargain if you are willing to skip out on some of the more modern features. The 1st generation Victor Stream and the original BookSense still fulfill their intended purpose quite admirably. They are commonly sold through various classified sections throughout the AT community.

Lastly, their are tuns of affordable accessories for all of the products mentioned. Many can be found through Talking MP3 Players, AT Guys and through Amazon and others. . It is worth mentioning that the customer service offered by Talking MP3 Players, AT Guys and others is well worth the occasional higher prices as opposed to sites like Amazon.

Closing Thoughts

I recognize that not every piece of advice offered here will fit every situation, but I hope the references mentioned will help those who are in a similar situation as my own.

Some might be saying, “well, these devices will be slow, and you can’t run everything on them.” Wile that may be true in some cases, I believe the solutions discussed can help a lot of blind people be more productive, and ultimately find meaningful employment.

You may also be wondering if I take any of the advice offered. I hope to purchase a machine from Computers for the Blind, (I had to sell my macbook) as well as a new phone. Furthermore, in case anyone doesn’t think work can be accomplished on the hardware just take note of the fact that I’ve written this article on my iPhone 4S with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard.

If you have questions or feedback feel free to contact me on twitter. @Jeffyoung_

For instance, just this past week my wife and I are at the snack bar talking about what’s for dinner and she says…

“Yeah, we could light up the grill, put on some ka-bobbys and…”

Ka-bobbys? In less than 5-seconds I made the connection from Kabobs to what marketing is not. Hang with me a second, I know it sounds crazy at first.

Kabobs, sometimes called Shish Kabobs, are skewers of meat and veggies or perhaps all meat or all veggies often times grilled to perfection over a hot bed of coals.

But, what they are made of is irrelevant. What I’m looking at is what the name Kabob is, and what it isn’t.

My wife called them Ka-bobbys, and my sometimes screwy mind immediately thought…

“Ka-bobbys? What about KaRoberts?”

I thought, how off is that? KaRobert just takes all the fun out of the name, takes all the summer out of the experience, and is taking something fun and conversational and making it stuffy and formal.

Who cooks up KaRoberts? No one, it sounds almost cannibalistic.

And that is just what your web copy can be, cannibalistic by being too formal, no fun, and the emotional experience in its consumption is like dressing up in a corporate suit, grabbing a heaping bowl of communion wafers and a glass of warm water to sit down for the game, or movie night. I think the boys would be a little shocked and headed to the sports bar, or the girls would be asking, “What is up with you girlfriend?”

For example, if I were to say:

“When you utilize my services, I’ll optimize your content to maximize your potential on the market. The benefits of securing a reader’s actions are the epicenter of your business’s concern, and that is the target in our partnership.”

Peee eeeeew! Can you smell the Ka-Roberts burning here? Someone get some water to cool this thing down and get them off the grill.

What I should have said was:

“Want search engines to put you as high as they can? I know the web optimization secrets to make it happen. Look, I know every business wants to increase sales, and, bottom line? It all comes down to turning people into customers by getting them to find you when they are looking, and click those links and buttons on your web site, e-mails, and other direct response pieces.”

See the difference? Why is it people immediately run to the thesaurus to fill up their mouths with what they are not?

It isn’t fooling or impressing a reader anyway. All it does is glaze their eyes over and put their wallet out of reach.

So when you’re writing any marketing piece, unless it is specific to a field which demands technical speak, get out the coffee pot pen and begin to write just like you chat while waiting your turn to fill your cup. In other words, write more like you talk, not like you swallowed a dictionary.

There are other techniques within marketing such as the “lean in,” transition, and others, but we’ll save them for future posts.

Until next time…

Live like you’ll never get hurt, dream like nobody is watching, and above all… try-try-try until you succeed!

Join Jamie, Lisa and Buddy as they discuss the top stories of the week. Then, Joe Orozco talks health and fitness with Bill Kociaba. Join Bill as he works out on Blind Cafe and let’s get fit for the holidays!

A T Talk

Comcast announces Talking Guide, a Siri for your cable box; teases smart home features

A Touch-Free Smartphone the Disabled Can Control With Their Heads

Refreshable Braille gets an engineer’s touch

Braille Authority of North Amaerica offers a free new publication to help readers transition to the new UEB code

Blind U.S. Army Captain Teaches Us to Keep Learning and Serving!

NVDA now supports Goldwave 6

Jazz up therapy with the MusicGlove!

The holiday gift guide issue of AccessWorld is now available! Gear up for the holidays here

When should we react, when should we let it go?

Mainstream Matters

YouTube’s Music Key: Can paid streaming finally hook the masses?

Microsoft Rolls Out Skype for Web Beta

Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don’ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life

iPhone 6 outselling iPhone 6 Plus by 3-to-1 margin in US

Nexus 6 smartphone marks first carrier release

Google Glass Losing its Glitz? Early Adopters, Developers Quietly Skulking Away

Why You Should Ignore Everything You Have Been Told About Choosing Passwords

Mailbag

Blog Comment from Dave:

Hi guys! I really enjoy the show! You all do a great job presenting in a way that is quite entertaining. Totally agree with the observations of Mr. Whitaker. Remember those dogs are not guide dogs if the harnesses are elsewhere. That is your driver’s license equivalent! I was going to put these comments into an I report and voice them, but considering the poor quality of mobile phone connections, I believed it served better if they were written, so there you are! Early happy Turkey day to the team, and please do keep it up!

Blog comment from Jake:

Hi everyone. I just listened to podcast episode 219, and I’d like to comment on the ending segment where Buddy Brannan interviewed Art Schreiber. That segment was fun. I am a huge Beatles fan, and it was cool hearing Art describe his and John Lennon’s monopoly games. Sometime I want to go to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, but for now I will just have to dream about it I guess. Art’s book sounds excellent. Anyway, great podcast as always and keep ’em coming! I love iBlink Radio!

Listen to Lisa’s interview with Fleksy on SeroTalk Podcast 214

Roundabout

10 Little-Known Units of Time

How 18 inmates at California’s notorious San Quentin prison learn to code

Five-year-old passes Microsoft exam

The Twitter song

When Apple launched the original iPhone, there wasn’t anything quite like it. iOS transformed the way that consumers interacted with cell phones, and the App Store unleashed an unprecedented wave of developer creativity. This creativity and ingenuity has lead to leaps forward in accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

Independent Living Resource Center Of San Francisco, in partnership with The Serotek Corporation, will be providing live commentary on today’s Apple event.

Please note this is not an in-person event.

Various community leaders including Mike Calvo, Founder of Serotek, Derek Zarda, Assistive Technology Educator, and Jessie Lorenz Executive Director of ILRCSF will be providing commentary on what may be the most accessible version of iOS yet. Please join us today at 1 PM Eastern as we continue the dream of Steve Jobs, who had a vision of a world where technology erases limitations. Live tweeting and bloggers welcome!

SPN is elated to bring you the third of our three specials from the 30th Anniversary celebration of AER at their International Conference, just steps away from the Alamo and the Riverwalk, in San Antonio Texas. We would like to thank AER for their invitation to come and stroll the Exhibit Hall floor. And we urge our listeners to visit the website to learn more about this, and the next event in 2016, as more of the session audio can be found on the site soon.

We would also like to thank our Summer Show 2014 sponsors, HIMS and Elegant Insights, for helping us bring you the hours of audio you hear from these specials. And, if you enjoy our content, be sure to leave us a comment or write us at resources@serotalk.com as your feedback shapes what we cover on SPN.

This special contains interviews from the following…

Joe shares a HIMStastic morning with Dave

Dan Brown talks Humanware and Education with Ricky

Joe gets a clear view of Optelec’s products

Zoomtext, Window Eyes and much more with Scott More from Ai Squared

Ricky goes back to school with TSBVI

Joe celebrates AER’s achievements with Valley Gifts and Awards!

Ricky gets descriptions of places and things with TapTap See

SPN is pleased to bring you the second of three specials recorded from the Exhibit Hall floor of the 30th Anniversary International AER Conference from San Antonio Texas.

While these interviews are more geared towards a Vocational Rehab or Education Professional, we believe that the information is also directly relatable to those in school or college. Or for those who have, or who are looking for, employment. Please pass along the links to this, and our other two specials, to those you may know who could benefit by hearing this type of information. And be sure to let us know what you think of our coverage by leaving us a comment here on the blog.

Also, we’d like to thank our fantastic SPN Summer Show Sponsors HIMS Inc. and Elegant Insights for their support in bringing you these interviews.

Interviews that can be found in this special are…

Sue Martin and Ricky talk about life, work and stepping “out of the Whirlpool”

Joe takes a closer look at products from Enhanced Vision

Ricky reads the signs with MDI Traffic Control

Joe views Canada and their adjustment to the Texas Heat with ESight

Looking towards VR Horizons with Ricky

Joe gets some exercise running the bases with Beep Kickball

Ricky learns chords and more with Perkins eLearning

Maxi Aids catologs much with joe

Bling, rings and more when Ricky peruses Jewelry in Braille

Ricky practices her multiplication tables with Braille Math

Okay you know how you may plan something out in say, oh I don’t know, an outline? Then, when you start the project, you toss out… say the outline? Welcom to High Contrast 23. In this episode Rodeny, Byron and Joe talk about a great many things. Some examples may include, but are not limited to: Lighting, contrast, hotels, nail guns, Doctor Demento, Steve Austin, roller tips, white pants and of course low vision. All that, and an app review you can play with VoiceOver, on a very unique episode of High Contrast.

App Review: Codename Cygnus

Live the life of a secret agent. Be bold, athletic or clever in your exploits while you battle evil. All while you enjoy an immersive experience on your iDevice. This VoiceOver friendly app has a free option, however, the full game does have an In App purchase.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network

using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again–our podcasts would not be what they are without feedback from our listeners. Once again, we take the time to feature some iReports that didn’t make it into our podcasts. It’s just our way of saying thanks for being you!

That’s right! You can now enjoy all of your favorite iBlink and SAMNet content across all of your mobile devices on IOS, Android, and now Amazon’s Fire OS. Enjoy enhanced access to your SAMNet account and community through the all new SAMNet Connect feature. Download content so you can play it while you’re on the plane or in an area with spotty connectivity. Switch from device to device and never lose your place in your favorite podcast, audio-described movie, or other content.

A SAMNet subscription is required for some features.

What in the World is SAMNet?

System Access Mobile Network (SAMNet) is the world’s largest consolidation of entertainment and social networking for the blind community. Unlike other online social networks, the system is completely accessible. Your monthly or annual subscription unlocks thousands of Internet radio stations, personalized news, blogging, a personal web site, forums, chat rooms, and e-mail.

As a subscriber you will also receive services designed specifically for the System Access screen reader. These include remote control of your home computer, and our innovative Remote Training and Support feature. With Remote Training and Support, for example, users can connect to each others’ computers to provide training and technical assistance or work simultaneously on a document or project. No other assistive technology provides this degree of functionality from the convenience of a single subscription. Note: Not all features of SAMNet are currently available on all platforms. Stay tuned as we continue to increase access to SAMNet features in the coming months.

For more information about SAMNet or to register for a free trial visit: serotek.com/samnet

Get the new iBlink Radio for your Apple devices from the iOS App Store, Android devices Google Play Store, or the Amazon Kindle Appstore

We would like to thank HIMS Inc. and Elegant Insights Braille Creations for sponsoring this year’s NFB convention coverage.

K1000 Version 14 should be out by the end of the year

Learn about updates to Nearby Explorer and more from The American Printing House for the Blind

Cooking, music listening and more available from the AT Guys

Dolphin products now include NFB Newsline and more

Baum introduces the VarioUltra Braille Display

Joe and Eric talk Jaws 16 from Freedom Scientific

Ricky talks with Bruce of Discover Technologies about access to SharePoint

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. The news of the week, your feedback, a book recommendation and an interview with author Shelly Brisbin about her new book IOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch are just some of the things you will hear on this week’s show. Topics covered in this podcast include:

A T Talk

Braille Sense v8.2 Released with Features YOU Asked For!

Book Trade Announcements – Dolly Parton Presents Braille Book To Blind Child

GrabPak introduces line of Braille First Aid Kits

eBay and The National Federation of the Blind Team to Optimize Accessibility of Site, Apps

When Just Listening Is Not Enough: Google Falls Short on Accessibility for the Blind

What Will It Take for Google to Find Its Voice

Comparing the Windows Computer with the Mac

As Technology Marches Forward, Who Gets Left Behind?

Verizon Says It Wants to Kill Net Neutrality to Help Blind, Deaf, and Disabled People

Mainstream Matters

Report corroborates Apple planning to announce new wearable product in October

Apple’s new Lightning spec allows for smarter, better-sounding headphones

Rumor: NFC, wireless charging, improved LTE slated for iPhone 6

Starbucks to Start Offering Wireless Charging in San Francisco

Amazon Prime Subscriber? You Just Got Free Streaming Music

Roundabout

The Top 24 Summer Books of 2014

Vessyl smart cup can tell Coke from Pepsi

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson » E3 2014 Binaural Audio Experiment :

Ricky recommends Room: A Novel Written by Emma Donoghue

Our thanks go out to Andre Louis and Patrick Purdue of PD Audio Productions for the theme music heard on this podcast.

Replay the Accessible Event archive of This Month in Tech for May

Jeff Bishop is an IT Accessibility Analyst at the University of Arizona. He describes himself as a “Developer, technologist, Window-Eyes scripter, Broadcaster and family oriented guy” and is probably best known for his broadcasts on various community radio stations.

Janet Ingber has been writing for AccessWorld since 2005, and cohosts two podcasts on How to be Blind. Her new book, “Learn to use the Mac With VoiceOver” is now available from National Braille Press. Janet has a Masters Degree in Music Therapy and provides services for adults who have developmental disabilities. Additionally, she is certified as a special education teacher. Janet lives in New York City with her husband, daughter and guide dog, Jack.

Byron Lee is a Ham Radio Operator (KC9EEK), Broadcast Personality, Audio Engineer, Voice Over Artist, Web Designer, IT Professional, and most importantly, a huge geek! He is currently employed by Horizons for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired, and is currently working on the DirectionsForMe project, a one stop source for accessible packaging information. In addition, Byron hosts two Internet radio shows. The Talk Zone is a two hour program about adaptive technology, disability rights, science fiction, pop-culture, and just about any other topic. The Fun Zone is a one hour program featuring comedy music. His shows are simulcast on ACB Radio Mainstream, and several other online radio stations. Byron has also been involved in other radio shows and podcasts, and is a frequent contributor on the SeroTalk Podcast Network. Find out more about Byron on his website or take a look at his newest project, the Low Vision Rants Website.

In the Community

HIMS Inc. Releases New Pocket-sized Media Player that Gives Blind and Visually Impaired Near-Instant Access to Printed Text

The Penguin Random House/Bookshare Partnership

BlindSquare celebrates two years; releases Version 2.0.

General Tech

Amazon, Twitter link up for easy shopping through #AmazonCart

Text-to-911 is here, but it isn’t everything you might think

Windows Phone 8.1 Launching June 24

WWDC

Information on iOS 8 now added to the Apple website

Information on OS X Yosemite now added to the Apple website

Apple publishes Swift programing language guide on iBooks

32 Hidden Features in Apple iOS 8

About Our Presenters

Shelly Brisbin is a writer, editor, podcaster, and cocktail enthusiast. Her current project is iOS Access for All, a comprehensive guide to accessibility for Apple’s iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Shelly’s career in tech journalism spans 25 years, 12 books, hundreds of articles and blog posts for leading tech publications, and several stints on the editorial staffs of leading trade publications and Web sites. She served as editor-in-chief of Blogger & Podcaster Magazine, networking editor for MacUser Magazine, and online editor for online learning company, Powered, Inc. and Hoover’s Web sites. Her podcasts include the award-winning Shelly’s Podcast, and App Store Pundit, an iOS app review show. Her cocktail writing appears on this blog, and at the sadly departed The Spirit World. When she’s not working, Shelly spends time with her husband and cats in Austin, Texas, watches ancient movies, and reads books. You can follow Shelly on Twitter, or get updates about her book.

Liam Erven is best known for the computer games he produces for blind users. Games are released via his company, LWorks. His latest endeavor, Audio Archery, is now free for Android and iOS. Follow Liam or LWorks on Twitter for the latest updates.

Rick Harmon manages various email lists related to blindness and technology. He also runs the Blind Geek Zone website and Podcast. Since their launch in 2006, the site and podcast have served as portals to hundreds of free tutorials and demonstrations for the blind community. While he did the majority of these, he has selected high-quality submissions by others for inclusion as well. In 2007, Rick began offering paid training and support services, both in person in his local area, and by phone. Follow Rick on Twitter.

In The Community

A closer look at iOS 7.1’s accessibility changes

Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 7: An Introduction for Blind Users

Battery drain problems in iOS 7.1, and how to fix them

Announcing the release of Sendero GPS 2014 products!

Solo DX Announces That They’re Closing Their Doors

Speaking of CSUN

New Tech Doctor Podcast: CSUN 2014

NosillaCast #463 Travel Tech, Boom, Omnigraffle, ChargeDr, Tack-Tiles, BigGrips, UbiDuo, WHILL, CSUN Disability Expo

The Great Big List from the 2014 CSUN Conference.

Audio coverage from CSUN by BlindBargains

SeroTalk’s CSUN coverage,

Sponsored by HIMS.

Mainstream Tech

Google drops its Drive storage pricing significantly, puts pressure on Apple to improve iCloud prices

Amazon ups Prime fee to $99 from $79: Customers likely to absorb it

Finally, Microsoft brings Office to the iPad

Ricky and Joe hit the ground running just as soon as they arrived at this year’s CSUN convention. This year’s CSUN coverage is sponsored by HIMS Inc. We trust that you will enjoy the first nine interviews to come from this year’s convention. Be sure and check out the links to the various companies represented in the following interviews. They include:

HIMS Inc

AFB

Alexandra Vision

American Thermoform

Computer application specialties

GH

Maxi Aids

Tactalis

Telorion

Welcome to our first SPN special from CSUN 2014. Joe and Ricky were both so excited about this year’s CSUN coverage, that they got started a bit early. They sat down with representatives from Dolphin, Humanware and AI Squared to find out what those companies would be showing off at this year’s CSUN convention. Be sure to visit the Websites of these companies to learn more.

Replay the Accessible Event archive of the show

About Our Presenters

Luis Arellano is an instructional assistant for California School Districts and a regular, helpful participant in the SAMNet Community. He enjoys comparing, contrasting, and demonstrating various mainstream technology solutions. To hear some of these comparisons and keep up with his other activities, you can follow him on Twitter.

Mainstream Tech

Comcast Deal Seeks to Unite 2 Cable Giants

WhatsApp: the Bomb That Hit Silicon Valley

Forget the iWatch, Apple’s next big thing is health

Samsung Galaxy S5 made official: 5.1-inch HD screen, fingerprint scanner, and heart rate monitor in tow

Community News

FDA clears first drug for blindness sleep disorder

The New Generation Stream: Wireless access to over 36,000 radio station + Rich Media Content

Indian American 7th Grader Develops Braille Printer with Legos

Buddy Brannan’s interview with Braigo’s developer in SeroTalk 188

Results of the 5th Screen Reader Survey from WebAIM Released

Summary of survey results

American Foundation for the Blind Announces 2014 Access Award Winners

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it certainly was not short on news. Come join us as we take a look at the outstanding happenings in the world of technology.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger are joined by Lisa Salinger to discuss the news of the week. Then, Lisa interviews Jamie about his work as a music therapist.

A T Talk

Blind Bargains: NVDA 14.1 Beta Release is Now Available with Powerpoint 2013 Support, More

ZoomText Mac 1.0.7 is Released

More Accessibility enhancements coming to A Dark Room for iOS in March

Blind Bargains: Fedora Outlier Starts a New Weekly Series Called There’s An App For That

AppleVisPodcast audio Digitize Your Vinyl Records With Amadeus Pro for the Mac

AFB: Take our quick survey & be eligible to win an iPad mini!

SPN Special: An Interview with Jim Kutsch

VIP Talk: Microsoft is not Last in Accessibility

Mainstream Matters

WhatsApp: the Bomb That Hit Silicon Valley

Google offered to buy WhatsApp for $10 billion

WhatsApp CEO Is Against Whatever Facebook Is For

OneDrive branding rolls out with new clients and new features

Windows XP is at death’s door and users need to move on

Apple eyes smart magnets to attach accessories to your iPad

Third-party SDK for iOS lets you replace Apple’s keyboard with Fleksy’s

Amazon’s long-rumored Apple TV competitor to launch next month?

Roundabout

New York company says it can beam free OUTERNET Wi-fi to every person on Earth

Blind man wins free McDonalds for a year after sinking three-pointer

Listen to the sound of a public street in 1928

Bernie Krause: The voice of the natural world

Our very first SPN special of 2014 featured Buddy Brannan’s trip to New Yourk along with our friends at HIMS Inc. to take part in the dedication of the first UN Accessibility Center. While Buddy was in the neighborhood, he paid a visit to The Seeing Eye. He brought back a lot of audio from that trip, and we are pleased to bring you the first installment. Buddy had the opportunity to sit down with Jim Kutsch, the president of the school. We trust that you will enjoy their conversation.

Join us live on Accessible Event this Thursday beginning at 9 PM Eastern.

About Our Presenters

Erin Edgar is a lawyer currently working for Legal Aid, which is a non-profit lawfirm that assists low-income clients with various issues. She and her husband, Rodney, co-host a podcast called Tech Access Weekly which focuses on news and events  in assistive and mainstream technology. She also co-hosts the Book Hoarders Annonymous Podcast, which is dedicated to book lovers of all persuasions. Follow her on Twitter, or reach her via email.

Jason Meddaugh is a cofounder of BlindBargains.com, one of the most popular deals and news websites for the blind and visually impaired. He also manages A T Guys, a website featuring low-cost tech gadgets and accessories. He is also a cohost on That Android Show. Follow him on Twitter.

Jamie Pauls, [Producer and host of the SeroTalk Podcast, plays keyboard professionally, and has shared the stage several times with current X Factor winner Tate Stevens. He is a music therapist who has worked with both the elderly and children, and teaches a music Appreciation class one evening a week at a community college. In the current setting, he is best known for his work as Content Director for Serotek. You can follow him on Twitter.

Joe Steinkamp is cohost of the SeroTalk Podcast as well as several other SPN podcasts. You can follow him on Twitter, and can read his personal Top Ten list on his blog.

Top Stories — 6-10

Story 10: X+Y = Math Access

SeroTalk Podcast, including an interview on the T84 Calculator

Story 9: A Tasty Google Treat

That Android Show

Story 8: Real Potential in Access to Set Top Boxes

Comcast Website

Stories 7 and 6: A Tie! Between two A T Giants

Victor Reader Stream: Second Generation

Sendero GPS

This Year at Serotek

Introducing Our New, Redesigned Website

Serotek Ambassadors’ Club is Launched

Serotek Podcast Network Reaches Highest Listener Count Yet

Serotek Launches the Newly Updated Socializer

The Top Five Stories

Story 5: You Down with UEB?

Unified English Braille to become official code in 2016

Story 4: Love Em or Hate em, Apple Gets People Talking

Apple iOS 7 Page

Triple Click Home

Story 3: The Tap Tap See Controversy

Tap Tap See Review

Triple Click Home Interview

Story 2: The Holy Grail of iPhone Apps

Story 1: Amazon Helps and Fights A T in the Same Breath

Kindle Fire HDX Product Page

Kindle Fire HDX: Usable By the Blind At Last?

What did Jamie get for Christmas? What dark secret do we reveal about Joe? Those questions are answered and more as Jamie, Ricky and Buddy discuss the top news stories of the week. After the News, Lisa Salinger brings us a review of the Knit Touch Glove.

That’s all just our way of saying “Happy New Year!”

News in A T

Kindle Fire HDX: Usable By the Blind At Last?

Feature Writer Alena Roberts – The Year of the Book

ZoomText Mac Free Update

MBraille 1.7.2 updated to include Facetime calling support and bug fixes

Seeing Eye GPS 1.3 includes 17 notable changes and a NEW Monthly subscription option

Participate in this year’s screen reader usage survey from webaim.

Chicken Nugget 1.0 released

Predictions and Promises

7 Huge Tech Trends to Expect in 2014

Eric Schmidt unveils his predictions for 2014

Apple’s Tim Cook promises ‘big plans’ in 2014

Moving Forward

Windows 8.1 closes in on Vista among desktop OS users

IE 11 snares 10 percent of desktop browser traffic

Report: Smart Thermostat Maker Nest Now Worth $2 Billion

New lease on life? AOL reportedly selling Winamp to Radionomy

Moving Backward

Samsung shares suffer rocky start to 2014 as profit growth expected to slow

Wells Fargo downgrades AAPL based on gross margin concerns

Seeking Closure

Nokia says final sayonara to Symbian and MeeGo apps as store freezes updates

Apple Samsung patent lawsuit may finally be nearing an end

In Flux

Ricky: Marketers Learn to Play by Facebook’s Changing Rules

Why Microsoft Must Embrace Android to Save Windows

One year later, the booms and busts of CES 2013

Roundabout

Perkins History Audio Recordings, Perkins School for the Blind Archives

Steve Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson crowdsources new book on digital innovators

2014: Let’s all try to do better this year

Each year, we at Serotek look forward to bringing you the Tournament of Roses Parade witgh audio description courtesy of the Los Angeles Radio Reading Service. Judging from your reactions, you look forward to this event as much as we do. As an extra bonus, Los Angeles Radio Reading Service has a few extra Braille programs of the parade that they are willing to give away, so drop them an email if you would like one.

Recently, Serotek’s own Buddy Brannan had the opportunity to join HIMS Inc. in New York City where they took part in the dedication of the very first UN Accessibility Center. Jamie Pauls sat down with Buddy after he returned from the trip to discuss his thoughts and experiences. Buddy also shares some interviews with several people involved in the project.

After you have finished listening to Buddy’s commentary, go hear to learn more about the UN Accessibility Center and watch a video of the inauguration activities.

By Buddy Brannan

Anyone who has been following the Serotek blog, SeroTalk, or even just me, will know that Amazon has taken a fair bit of heat over the Kindle and its halfhearted, lackluster, token efforts toward making Kindle content usable by people who are blind or visually impaired. It’s probably fair to say that many of us thought that Amazon wouldn’t ever make its content available to us in any meaningful way; its seeming unwillingness to do so in the face of complaints, demonstrations, and lawsuits against some of its institutions using its Kindle readers in pilot programs bolstered our belief that some miracle would have to happen before we were able to use Amazon Kindle content in any meaningful way. Sure, there was some rudimentary text-to-speech capabilities in some Kindle models. However, it wasn’t possible to independently activate it, some content didn’t read with it, and even if a book you wanted to read did work, access to many of the platform’s other options were unavailable. Moreover, enough detail, such as word or single letter navigation, was unavailable, making use for more than pleasure reading impossible.

Enter the Kindle app for iOS. I used to joke that it was 99% accessible. The only thing that didn’t work was the actual book reading, but everything else worked perfectly. All of that changed just a few months ago when, one fine day, we all received a pleasant surprise: a Kindle reading app that would read Kindle content and gave blind people the ability to use most if not all Kindle functions. The community was ecstatic! Finally, we would have access to the couple million titles available to everyone else. This, we said, was our Gutenberg. We hoped that this newly realized access to ebooks heralded Amazon’s turning the corner, and we would at last see even better access to Kindle hardware next.

Imagine our delight when we read the announcement that the Kindle Fire HDX would be coming, with new features, a higher res display, and by the way, it would have features for people with print impairments. Anticipation, excitement, and yes, still some skepticism. After all, a leopard can’t change its spots, right? What would we really get? Would it be more of the same, or would we see something like what we got with the iOS app? Being one who was very critical of Amazon’s efforts (or lack thereof) in this arena, not to mention being a gadget freak, I picked up a Kindle Fire HDX myself just a couple weeks after its release. So how does it stack up? Are we going to be pleased or sorely disappointed? To be fair, I haven’t explored everything about the device. There is plenty I don’t know about it. Even so, it leaves a decent first impression. It’s a good solid start, understanding that there’s plenty of room for improvement. Bottom line: I don’t hate it, which is, let’s be honest, about as close to a ringing endorsement as one can expect. And it’s a lot better than we’ve gotten in past years.

Physical Description

The Kindle Fire HDX is about the size of a paperback book, though of course, a lot thinner. Officially, it’s 7.3″ X 5.0″ X 0.35″ (186 X 128 X 9.0mm) and weighs 10.7 ounces, or masses 303 grams. (The cellular capable version is slightly heavier.) I don’t know about any of you, but official specs don’t usually mean a lot to me. If you’ve seen an iPad Mini, The Kindle Fire HDX is slightly smaller and slightly thicker than the Mini. The back edges are beveled. With the tablet in landscape mode (sideways), you’ll find stereo speakers at either end of the top back beveled edge. On the left edge, near the corner where the speaker is, you will find a single button, which locks the unit or powers it on and off. Directly opposite, on the right edge, again near the speaker, are two buttons, one above the other. These are the volume up and down buttons. Having control buttons on the edges, in the back panel around the beveled edges, seems a little strange at first glance, but it really does work out all right. It does seem a bit strange to have the on off button at the bottom of the tablet while in portrait, and the volume up button to the left of volume down, again in portrait mode, but with the tablet held in landscape mode with the speakers toward the top, the arrangement makes sense. Again with the tablet in landscape mode with the speakers facing away from you, the left edge has a micro USB port for charging or plugging into a computer, while the right edge has a stereo headphone jack. The front of the Kindle is all touch screen, with no physical buttons at all.

Setting Up

The first question in my mind was whether or not I could set up the Kindle Fire HDX without sighted assistance. This is indeed possible. Once the tablet powers on, hold the power button until you hear three piano notes. This is the power off screen. Simply hold two fingers on the screen, spread slightly apart. If you’ve done it correctly, you’ll be advised to hold your fingers a bit longer on the screen, and then Talkback will start. The first thing you get is a tutorial on the basic gestures used to navigate the interface. This is pretty much straight up Talkback, so if you’re an Android user,, it is likely you’ll feel right at home. It is possible to turn on the screen reader at any time, not just on initial startup. This is done as mentioned above, from the power off screen. One thing though, if you temporarily disable the screen reader as documented, you can’t easily turn it back on. So if you’re going to hand it to a friend who doesn’t need a talking tablet, go through the accessibility settings and disabled the screen reader completely. You’ll then be able to turn it back on much more easily than you would if you just disabled it.

Typing took a bit of getting used to. It seems you have to lift your finger pretty well dead center on a key, or it won’t register, giving you a high-pitched beep. This beep lets you know that doing a swipe up will bring up some other interface element, but to me it just said “I didn’t get that letter”.

The Home Screen

The home screen is divided into five parts:

The status bar has the time and battery percentage if you turn that on. You can do a three finger swipe down from this to bring up notifications and change settings. * A row of buttons to select different kinds of content, such as apps, books, audiobooks, music, and so forth. All the buttons don’t fit, so this area scrolls left and right as you swipe through it. * The carousel is a big area that rotates through all of the available books, apps, music, and documents. The most recently accessed ones are first. Swipe to the left or right to change to different items. * The home screen: This is a grid of applications or other content that you always want to be available. You can add to or subtract from this grid with a tap and hold on any item. This brings up a context menu to allow you to add or remove or delete entirely. If you want this to take up your screen and make the carousel disappear, you can do so by scrolling up from the home screen grid. * The menu bar usually has buttons on it for search, menu, and back.

Usage

I was able to read books, play music, watch movies, and install and use apps. I was also able to browse the web, though the built-in browser isn’t nearly as easy to use as Mozilla Firefox is. You’ll have to get Firefox from a third party app site though, more on that in a minute. You are supposed to be able to read a book continuously, or you can review it in any amount of detail. Reading continuously with the latest update was a bit hit and miss, and the most I was able to get the Kindle to read nonstop was a chapter. Reviewing is done by dragging your finger around the screen. In one way, this is great, since you can really get a good idea of how a page, or a book, or an app, is visually laid out. Getting the exact information you want, such as a specific word, will take some practice, maybe even a lot of practice. Also, note that, unlike with Voiceover, if other audio is playing (such as music or a movie), screen reader output does not cause your other audio to duck. This may make some things difficult to do while listening to audio content. Some gestures are a little difficult to get used to. For instance, some actions require you to draw a circle in order to select a specific action, or a level of navigation granularity. Fortunately, it’s not picky about how perfect your circle is. Also, of course, with auto rotate turned on (the default behavior), the gestures are relative to the tablet orientation. I also found that some gestures, such as the home or back gesture, or the swipe down to get the status display, had to be quite exaggerated in order to properly register. One thing that made using the Kindle Fire HDX easier for me was to turn the autorotate feature off and lock the orientation into portrait mode. It really is OK to do this, as apps such as Netflix or Amazon Instant Video, which require a landscape orientation, will automatically rotate to accommodate. In all other cases though, the screen stays the way you lock it. I’ve been asked about how usable the Netflix app was. I’m pleased to say that one can select content and watch movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, I was unable to do anything more than start a show and watch all the way through. Part of this was because of the absence of audio ducking, and part was due to not being able to find the player controls. I also started an Amazon Prime video, but truthfully, I didn’t play with it much more than to determine that I could start and play and pause a movie. For the record, it was “Contact”. I do have to say that audio was quite good, considering the Kindle Fire HDX’s compact size. I was also able to navigate my Amazon music library, select tracks, and play them. This could be a great little music player for those of you with a lot of music purchased from Amazon. Again, all content is available from the carousel. It is also available from the category buttons at the top of the home screen.

Speaking of categories, There was one thing that was unclear to me when I first started with the Kindle Fire HDX. That was determining what was displayed and what was not when viewing content by category. For instance, I couldn’t figure out why some third party apps I installed were shown as installed but weren’t showing in my list of apps. It turns out you can display content that is either locally installed or available from the cloud. Some stuff available from the cloud also happens to be on your local device, but the reverse isn’t always true, especially when you’re talking about third party stuff. And speaking of third party apps

Amazon has an Android marketplace, it’s true. However, apps there may not be the same version available from other places. I saw, for instance, a later version of ES File Explorer than was available on the Amazon app store. For this, you may want to install a third party app store. Google Play is not supported, although there is at least one article that tells one how to at least get some Google services. This is an exercise left to the reader. I installed another app store called 1Mobile, from which I was able to find lots of free apps. These installed fine on the Kindle Fire HDX, although you have to be sure to set your security settings to allow this. Again, exercise for the reader. I definitely recommend Mozilla’s Firefox browser. Browsing with the built in browsers possible, though I admit to not spending a lot of time with it. I admit to a certain bias against Web browsers that reside on tablets and phones, but I’ll use them if I don’t have a desktop or notebook computer easily at hand.

Things To Improve

As I’ve said before, Amazon has a good start on providing an accessible reading experience on their hardware. I have not tried pairing with a braille display, nor have I tried pairing with a bluetooth keyboard,but I understand both are possible. Anyway, as with all things in their first run, there is still room for improvement. For the screen reader, a greater speed range would be something I’d like to see, and I think others would agree. I have mine set to the fastest speed, and it’s comfortable for me, though I wouldn’t mind a bit more. I know others would like more than a bit more. The Ivona voices are quite nice. I don’t know if other voices, like Espeak, or Acapella, or Realspeak, are available or not, but I’m sure that everyone has preferences in this regard.

The voice for reading books now seems to agree with the voice for the screen reader, which is to say, they’re the same. While this is true, it’s possible to make the book reading voice go a lot faster than the screen reader voice. The fact that the voice itself is the same for both book reading and screen reading is good. The speed choices need to likewise agree. I’d like to see the previous granularity gesture introduced again, or allow a choice. Selecting the menu,then drawing a circle to find the right granularity, seems overly complicated to me, especially for something that may well need to be done often.

Duck other audio when it’s playing and the screen reader is talking. Maybe this is a wanna have rather than a gotta have, but sometimes audiobooks or music really do compete in volume with the voice, and it isn’t possible to adjust them individually.

Things I haven’t Done

I haven’t used the Amazon app to buy anything, nor have I purchased from the Kindle store on the Kindle Fire HDX. I have purchased Kindle content from the computer, and it shows up beautifully on the tablet. This is true both of Audible books and Kindle books. I haven’t done a lot of Web browsing, certainly no more than necessary. See my above bias against tablet browsing.

I haven’t completed a kindle book, though I have lots of them to work on.

Bottom Line

I don’t hate it. I don’t love it yet either, but I could, given a bit more time and a bit more polish. The audio from the speakers is quite good, not to mention pretty punchy. I could easily see watching movies on this, or listening to audiobooks. Once automatic continuous read works reliably, I could even see reading Kindle books with it. With a bit of practice, I think I could get to where I was looking up words, highlighting, making notes, and the rest. I’m not nearly as comfortable editing or typing on it, but I expect that would come with more time as well. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for a new computer user, or for someone who needed to use it as a serious productivity tool, at least, not yet. I still believe that it has potential though, and I will be watching updates and improvements eagerly.

What would the SeroTalk Podcast Network be without our faithful listeners? We don’t even like to think about such things. Once again, we are pleased to showcase some of the feedback we have received from many in our community who didn’t get recognized this year. While we’re at it, we throw in a bit of the strange and perplexing as well. Enjoy!

Replay the Accessible Event archive of the show
About Our Presenters
Jeff Bishop describes himself as a “Developer, technologist, Window-Eyes scripter, Broadcaster and family oriented guy” and is probably best known for his broadcasts on various community radio stations.

Jeanine Kay Lineback is a speaker, advocate for blind people, usability and accessibility tester, and entrepreneur. She specializes in the fields of assistive technology and employment training.
In August of this year Jeanine was hired by Knowbility Inc, a company specializing in web accessibility training and testing, as their Access Technology Specialist. Recently she took over the role of The Director of Digital Rights Management for the company. You can read more about Jeanine’s passion for equal access to technology and her involvement with Knowbility.
In addition, Jeanine is the CEO of Lineback Enterprises LLC providing high quality technology and employment training services to blind youth and adults.
Follow her on Twitter or contact her by email

Joshua Loya is a martial artist, hypnotist, and NLP Master Practitioner living near San Diego, California. He currently teaches classes at Guardian Quest Martial Arts. He holds 3 2nd Degree Black Belts from Master Scot Conway, the supervising master instructor of the school. Joshua is a regular contributor to The Blind Post Online Classified News, and also volunteers his time with the Cisco Academy for the Vision Impaired. He is available for public speaking, as well as private and group coaching, martial arts instruction, and NLP and hypnosis sessions via Skype, phone, or in person. You can learn more about him by visiting his website or following him on Twitter.

In the Community

Holiday Gift Ideas for Children and Adults with Vision Loss

TapTapSee Goes Subscription-based: Option 1) 100 Picture Pack for $7.99. Option 2) 1 Month of Unlimited Pictures for $9.99.

The new release of the Voice Dream app is out! Now supporting DAISY 2.02 audiobooks, zipped mp3 files, better PDF text extraction and large library

Experience Descriptive Audio at the Theater with a New iOS App MovieReading

Ringing in the Holidays with a Special Promotion!

RIP Winamp: iconic media player to be discontinued December 20th, 2013

Mobile Technology

Android 4.4 KitKat review: designed by Google, for Google

Kindle Fire OS 3.1 Integrates Goodreads, Introduces Chromecast-like Second Screen

FCC to consider proposal allowing airline passengers to make cell phone calls above 10,000 feet on some planes.

Is Voice the Key to Wearable Technology?

Join the event live this Thursday, December 5, beginning at 9 PM EST.

Will these crazy Operating System updates ever end? It seems like that is the talk of all the Community these days. So the team gave their impressions on two Apple related OS updates and one on a Microsoft driven version change. And next month, no kidding, Google has Kitt Katt for Android. Happy Holidays everyone, just belly on up to the progress bar! Program Note: Maurie mentions that a Zoom Text update would be released soon to fix an issue in Windows 8.1. At the time of recording, this had not happened. Since then, it has and is out now. To learn more visit AI Squared’s page at

iOS Impressions:

Rodney had a lot to say on the subject of the recently released iOS 7.03. He also gathered some great resources on it and the other tech we discussed this month.

Heed these 10 expert tips for mobile app design

Finding Flaws in iOS 7

Apple releases iOS 7.0.3: iCloud Keychain, iMessage fixes, sensor fixes, Touch ID improvements

From iPad Air to Mac Pro: everything you need to know about Apple’s fall event

[OSX Top Gun, er um, Mavericks:

5 things to do before upgrading to OS X Mavericks

Apple OS X Mavericks 10.9 review

The other free update, Windows 8.1:

Windows 8.1 Review

Windows Weekly Episode 333

App Review: Arcade Ball

The app once known as Ski Ball HD has undergone a face lift, new management but same great game play of you flicking a ball down a long lane into a series of rings at the end of it for tickets and tokens. Its free, its easy to learn and if you don’t mind some bright colors, it’s a great time waster on iOS. How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com.

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!