Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 216: Cranial Course Correction
Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk podcast where Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Lisa Salinger talks with Tyler Thompson, an adaptive technology instructor from New Mexico about iFidget, a soon-to-be-released free app that will unobtrusively alert a person to body movements such as rocking. Stories covered in this episode of the podcast include:
A subscription free version of Sendero’s Seeing Eye GPS app for iOS is now available for $299
Chicken Nugget 2.4! Better filtering! Better conversations! More stable! Loads of new good things!
Young Ham Recognized for Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired
SPN Special: 100 Years of Amateur Radio
Windows10 Technical Preview – Peering into the future.
Accessibility for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
Apple iPad Air vs. iPad Air 2: Is It Worth the Extra $100?
Features and Bugs of OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Whose Responsibility is Accessibility?
All the New Stuff in Android 5.0 Lollipop
A list of all the Google Now voice commands
Google reveals our embarrassing voice search habits
HBO to Offer Standalone Streaming Service in U.S. in 2015
Watch out, HBO: CBS launches standalone Web TV service
Facebook Safety Check Confirms You’re Okay During a Natural Disaster
Mailbag
Greg Wocher Writes: “Hello SeroTalk Team,
I want to apologize right off the bat because this is going to be a long e-mail. There were so many things in the latest episode that brought back memories. First, Ricky yes it was me that sent in the long e-mail about braille a couple of weeks ago.
When Joe mentioned the mall and Sharper Image I could not help but think about how I use to go to the malls when I was younger and had eyesight.
I use to love to go and look at all the shops. I remember going into the various stores that carried items that you did not see in the regular stores. There was one I cannot remember the name of but it use to carry unique gadgets of various kinds. For example, little unique tool sets in something like a golf bag. I also went to the mall for BDalton books, Walden books, Electronics Boutique and the arcade.
Concerning Pop tarts, my favorite is the frosted brown cinnamon sugar ones. Also when Ricky mentioned chocolate mint pop tarts I thought of York Peppermint Pop Tarts. Sounds good doesn’t it? LOL.
When I had sight I used to play video games a lot. I had the SNES, N64 and the original PlayStation. My family even had the Atari 2600 which we used to play games like Pong and Pitfall on as a family. I even have a working SNES here at the house that my niece and nephew used to get out every once in a while and play Super Mario and Donkey Kong on. I used to have, and may still have somewhere, a system I want to see if Joe remembers. It was called the Turbo Graphics 16. It was competing with the SNES and the Sega but never did catch on. Well that’s it for now.
Have a good week everyone.”
Jenine Stanley
Says: “Oh how I remember installing Windows, from 95 on, with the many floppy disks.
I actually miss one aspect of Windows 95 and 98, the custom Office Assistant in the MS Office Suite. OK, it wasn’t necessarily very helpful as assistants go but in 95 there was a dolphin who made all kinds of cool noises when stuff happened. There were many choices for your Office Assistant but the dolphin was the most fun.
Then I think it was in 98 and office 97 that the dolphin went away and was replaced in our house by the cat. It was this white cat which appealed to us as we have always had pure white cats. The cat was great because when you got an error in Word, say, it would hiss. Our cats talked back to it.
I’m sure there are probably different sound schemes for the Mac that I have not discovered yet so maybe the dolphin can return to my computer. My home Windows 7 machine had a lovely beach soundscape on it but alas, no such thing for the Mac and not enough memory to run it on the work laptop.
Maybe we can get a MailBag soundscape going. Now that’s frightening.”
From matej Augustin
“Hellož!
I finally tried out the NVDA screen reader. It’s… interesting. One of the things I don’t like is the Espeak voice. So, if any of you are using NVDA, could you tell me which voices/tts engines are you using?
There are a few suggestions on their website, but I would still like to hear your input.
Also, some tips and tricks for new users would be helpful.
Thanks in advance and keep up the good work”
Roundabout
Why Your Privacy Matters, Even If You’re Not “Doing Anything Wrong”
10 Grammar Mistakes People Love To Correct That Aren’t Actually Wrong
Video games which open the door for the blind to play
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I found the comment, veiled though it was, that was directed at the NFBs resolution regarding IOS apps being accessible interesting. I belong to the NFB and one of the things I remember being told during the days when everyone was screaming that every TV show should have an audio description (DVS) was that people needed to pick their battles and that there were more important issues than audio description. It sounds like the people who voted in this resolution need to be reminded to choose their battles. Not every IOS app necessarily has to be, or is going to be accessible. Nor do I need them to be. Take for example a game like pet rescue saga. I’m sure it’s a fun game and all, and that’s fine, but I don’t *NEED* it to bee accessible. With Apple’s new health feature, there are apps I would rather see be accessible, especially since I have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. I’m more worried about apps that can assist me in maintaining my health being accessible than I am playing a game where I rescue animals. So, yeah, let’s worry about the necessary apps first, then the fun and games.
Alan Wheeler well said. That makes lots of since. Prioritize as they say… First, think of saving yourself first, then fun apps after. Otherwise, you’d not be here to play sed fun games if you didn’t.