Yep, you guessed it, this is our fourth of five specials sponsored by HIMS, Inc featuring the latest in things that beep, flash or talk from the NFB and ACB National Summer Conventions. Jamie, Ricky, Joe, Patrick and the stupendous Derek bring you the sounds of the Exhibit Hall florr from both Orlando and Columbus. Remember, to learn more about any of the other voices and companies you may have heard in this show, visit the corresponding links below to be transported to their respective websites for more information.

MegaVoice

Leader Dogs

Freedom Scientific

NLS, National Library Service

Missouri Council Of The Bllind

Vital Source

HIMS Inc

Perkins Braille

GW Micro

AccessAMed

We are only halfway through the audio goodness sponsored by HIMS, Inc that we captured from both the NFB and ACB Summer Conventions with this, our third of five SPN Specials. Jamie, Ricky, Joe, Patrick and lovable Derek bring us more from the Exhibit Hall florrs from both Orlando and Columbus. We also get a second take from a few companies we spoke to in another special who tell us even more than they did in their first appearance. Remember, to learn more about those we spoke to, visit the links below and let them know you heard about them on SPN!

Envision America

American Printing House For The Blind

Gospel Light for the Blind

eTouch Sciences

Statler Center For The Blind

HIMS Inc – Low Vision Options

Fidelco Guide Dogs

Hadley School For The Blind

Humanware

Irie-AT

Welcome back to the second of five SPN Specials, sponsored by HIMS Inc, featuring interviews from the NFB and ACB 2013 summer Conventions. Jamie, Ricky, Joe, Patrick and Derek traveled to Florida and ohio to brave the insane prices of hotel food, oh and to bring you some fantastic interviews as well. Be sure to visit the links below to learn more about the wonderful companies and organizations we spoke to in this Special.

Duxbury Systems

Dolphin Computer Access

ACB Students Homepage

NLS National Library Service Homepage

Ebay

Optelec

The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Hadley School for the Blind

Welcome to the first of five specials from both the 2013 National Federation of The Blind convention from not so sunny Orlando, and the American Council For The blind Convention from ruckus Columbus Ohio. This year we have an all star cast with Jamie, Ricky and Joe, joined by our production team, Derek and Patrick, who were temporarily liberated from their audio dungeons for this event. Together, along with our sponsor HIMS Inc, we bring you the most audio coverage we have ever released in the history of SeroTalk for a single event. We hope you enjoy this and the other four specials to come. And be sure to visit the links below to learn more information about those we spoke to at the Summer conventions.

Dolphin Computer Access

Bookshare

Capti Voice Web Reader

31 Gifts

Lutheran Braille Workers

Optelec

Deque Systems

Project Ray

School of Technology for the Blind

We get in so many emails, blog posts, tweets and of course iReports that we can’t always feature them all in each weekly episode. So, as our tradition dictates, we took some time to put some of these comments together for all to hear. Our sincere thanks to everyone you hear in this special and to all of you who call in, write and tell others about our shows on SPN. And rest assured, we are already gathering up what fell out of the Mailbag for our next Feedback Special at the end of the year!

If you’re ready to add your feedback, do so by sending us an email at resources@serotalk.com, leaving a comment on the blog, or sending us an iReport through iBlink Radio on your Android device or your iPhone.

In this special discussing the state of technology, Ricky Enger is joined by Mike Calvo and Joe Orozco to explore happenings in mainstream and assistive technology.

The talk begins by exploring Serotek’s view on the screen reader in general, and expands to cover specifics about System Access as well as free screen readers such as Voiceover, Narrator and NVDA. The team then discusses the role that the SeroTalk Podcast Network plays in bringing unbiased news about mainstream and assistive technology to the community, and provides a way for AT companies to work together for the benefit of all.

The community talk continues with a discussion of Serotek’s new Socializer, available with a SAMNet or Accessibility Anywhere subscription. After that, the discussion turns to updates in mainstream technology, focusing on accessibility of and availability of ebooks. The Amazon Kindle app was discussed in detail, along with the Nook and iBooks apps. Bookshare, Audible and NLS are discussed, and the group explores what it means for the blindness community to have access to more books than ever before. The group closes with Mike Calvo giving a brief glimpse of the future of Serotek as well as a look at the future of mainstream and assistive technology in the blindness community.

SPN is a household name in the realm of digital information and entertainment. People from domestic and international locations dial into our growing base of unbiased and authoritative headline news coverage. SPN works in tandem with iBlink Radio, the world’s largest repository of up-to-date podcast shows, community broadcast, and localized radio reading services for the blind. SPN is the brainchild of Serotek Corp, itself a blind-owned business with intimate familiarity with setting new standards in the world of business development.

Competing advertisement platforms charge a fortune for one-time hits with singular exposure. SPN deploys highly skilled content producers and on-air personalities to cover breaking events across dedicated podcasts and websites. Take advantage of our competitive rate of $50 for an audio spot on your choice of SPN podcasts, or make the aggressive investment of $250 to splash your message across all six SPN broadcasts reaching a growing base of 16,000 monthly subscribers.

Join the platform of industry leaders. Reach the people you need to hear about your services. Act now to secure your place in the dominant game changer taking the web by storm!

For more details, contact our sales department at: 612-246-4818, or send an email to info@serotek.com.

This year, buy DocuScan Plus for $299, and receive a Cannon CanoScan LiDE110 scanner free. Note: a $15 shipping charge for the scanner will apply. We regret that we cannot ship outside the US for this deal. With DocuScan Plus and your new scanner, you’ll have full access to printed documents and PDF’s at home or on the go. Store your documents in the cloud for easy retrieval from anywhere, and later convert your documents to DAISY, MP3 or BRF. The program works on both windows and Mac, so there’s no need to engage in the ever-popular Mac Versus Windows debate. The LiDE110 scanner is a light and portable USB scanner that’s ready to go the moment you plug it in to any computer. No need to download and install drivers. Just plug in your scanner, open DocuScan Plus from your hard drive or from http://docuscanplus.com/, and you can begin scanning all those holiday letters that are sure to be coming your way. When you’re ready, visit the order page to get started.

If you want DocuScan Plus, and a whole lot more, why not purchase Serotek’s Accessibility Anywhere package for $240 per year. If you do this now, you won’t need to renew your service until January 2014. That means you’ll have two extra months of using  DocuScan Plus, Serotek’s award-winning System Access screen reader, and SAMNet, with access to email, news, thousands of audio-described movies, user’s forums, voice chat and much more. Oh, and SAMNet does have obnoxious Christmas music too, if that’s your thing.

When we say Accessibility Anywhere, we mean it. Use all items in this package from your own computer, or from http://www.SAToGo.com/. If access from a computer just isn’t enough, how about accessing SAMNet from your iOS device? Just download the iBlink Radio app from the app store, log in with your SAMNet credentials, and begin accessing previously scanned documents, streaming radio stations, listening to podcasts and described movies, and even browsing your favorite SAMNet forums. When you’re ready, visit the order page to get started.

Still, Black Friday shopping isn’t just about finding that perfect gift for yourself. Why not give the gift of accessibility this holiday season with a Serotek gift card. You don’t have to brave the holiday crowds to get one. You don’t even have to figure out how to make the gift wrap look pretty. All you need to do is visit http://www.serotek.com/giftcards, and then relax knowing you’ve chosen the perfect gift for that special someone on your list.

Gift cards may be used toward any Serotek product or service.

Wondering how this gift card thing works? Don’t worry. It’s easy! Visit http://www.serotek.com/giftcards to begin. Enter the gift card amount, and then you’ll be taken to PayPal to enter your payment information and complete the purchase. If you don’t have a PayPal account, no problem. You don’t need one to complete the transaction. Once your gift card has been purchased, we’ll send an email to you and your gift card recipient with a coupon code and instructions for using it. When it’s time to place an order, simply visit the order page to get started. When prompted for a coupon code during the ordering process, just enter your gift card code and it will be applied toward your purchase. If the gift card is not used in its entirety for the first purchase, it may be used as many times as necessary to spend all available funds on the card. You may check the amount on your gift card at any time by visiting the Serotek gift cards page and selecting the link to check your balance.

Would you rather purchase your  Serotek products with the assistance of a Serotek representative? Do you want to further discuss our products and services before making a decision? Call us at (612) 246-4818, or toll free at (866) 202-0520, and we’ll be glad to assist you.

Happy holidays from the Serotek team!

Despite various Internet woes, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp manage to discuss this week’s news stories.

Smartphones

RIM unveils BlackBerry Screen Reader for people with visual impairments

HumanWare Announces Changes to Non-Visual Access Software for BlackBerry Smartphones with discontinuation of Oratio for BlackBerry

Skype killing Windows Phone: Nokia responds

How the Blind Are Reinventing the iPhone

Apple

Why Mac Computers Are Becoming More Favorable Among the Blind

Apple may launch $799 MacBook Air this year, claims report

Who wants an iPad Mini? About one buyer in two

Apple HDTV rumor roundup

Apple releases iOS 5.1.1

General Tech

Microsoft angers users by cutting Media Center out of Windows 8

Microsoft SkyDrive vs. Apple iCloud and the folly of cloud poaching

Microsoft developing Kinect-like controller that uses sound waves

4 Ways Your Business Can Avoid Being a Menace on Twitter

Social Security Administration starts providing online statements

For anyone in the US, tell me will be discontinued on 1st June of this year.

AT

There is a new Tech Doctor podcast with Anna Dresner discussing her new iPhone book.

Important notice of future SPL Studio script development         

AccessTalk has a new RSS feed (as of podcast 5)

Victor Reader Stream updated to version 3.5

Mailbag

First we hear from Kevin Barry in the following email.

Both of the Directv IOS apps are completely accessible.

That means completely. No funny workarounds etc.

The iPhone app allows you to program a dvr from anywhere (very useful when halfway around the world or closer) and the iPad app allows that plus direct control over networked boxes plus even some live playback.

I wonder where Joe heard the DTV apps weren’t accessible?

Then we hear iReports from Veronica and Randy Shelton.

Roundabout

Paralyzed Woman Finishes London Marathon

After the news, stay tuned for an interview about the Cisco Academy for the Visually Impaired. Jamie Pauls talks with Joshua Loya and Kerry Hoath.

Welcome to “High Contrast”, the newest offering on SPN, a show that features conversations on topics about living with Low Vision. In this show we introduce ourselves and give you and idea about the visual accuities we have amongst the team. Then we move on to talk about exercise, the new iPad and more.

Running For Fun… And Your Life?

It is easy to be overwhelmed or intimidated by the thought of running for lots of reasons. However, we find out that its easier than you think and there is even an App for that.  

Two legally blind runners to run in Columbia SC races

New England Regional Ski For Light

NPR The New Running Game Where ‘Zombies’ Chase You

What we thought came out of CSUN

Meet The Flick Camera

Video Magnifiers with Vinnie Rappa of Humanware

Talking Video Magnifiers with Enhanced Vision

A Discussion with Brian Smith of Magnisight

You can always find more CSUN12 coverage at the main SeroTalk page

And be sure to check out Blind Bargains as well for their audio coverage of CSUN 2012

The New iPad Is Here! What’s In Store For Low Vision Users?

We know its crazy to think that some out there may not know there is a new iPad in town, however, not everyone knows that there are some key features that are compelling for those with Low Vision. We go In Depth in the podcast about many of the new aspects of Apple’s latest iDevice and below you will find just some of our thoughts on what makes this a good buy.

The New Camera

The original iPad required you to connect a strange add on Camera kit for taking pictures and the iPad 2’s camera wasn’t anything special. But the new iPad sports a 5 MB camera on the back and this opens up a lot of options for picture taking, reading and more.

Here’s Rodney’s thoughts on using the new ipad as a handheld digital camera replacement:

“Rodney has had pretty good success taking still pictures. “You really have to be steady while the iPad tries to focus and remain stable. Using the iPad as a view finder works pretty well for me. I was able to read whiteboards off at a distance pretty clearly. Anytime you zoom, the focus it will get a little blurry in spots because the sensor isn’t like using a DSLR camera. I guess your mileage may vary.”

To zoom you have to spread two fingers like you would on a webpage, i.e. opposite of a pinch or the “multi-touch” gesture. Once you do that move the slider shows up on the bottom of the screen like in other devices.

Viewing from a Distance

Check out Maurie’s “Zoomed In” blog post, entitled “Viewing From A Distance”, from October 2011 to get an idea of how the iPad 2’s camera works for reading and seeing objects from further away.

The RETINA DISPLAY

Of course the biggest new feature of the new iPad is its amazing display. The device now supports 1080p video and even higher resolutions for displaying text with HD quality video. Here are some thoughts about the new iPad’s nifty visuals from maurie.

“The text  is clear and crisp, and some photos are more vivid depending on the photo’s resolution.

Screen text in message containers (i.e. Mail App – the message body; text in Notes text messages in Message App is better, but not drastically better than the iPad1 and ipad2.

HOWEVER, Screen text (5X) outside of message containers (i.e. Inbox list in Mail App, street names in Maps App, web pages in Safari App) is very noticeably crisper on the NEW iPad.  For example, in the Maps App, I pinched to zoom to the maximum level and then used the highest full screen ZOOM level (5x).  The street names were very easy to read.  On the iPad1 and iPad2, it’s readable but fuzzy, making your eyes work harder, like wearing glasses of the wrong prescription.”

To sum up…

Original iPad1

Most notable is that it does not have a camera, so taking photos, and videos is not an option.  Even if you’re not interested in taking photos, the lack of camera will prevent you from seamlessly taking advantage of some apps such as OCR apps, Vision Assist, or object recognition apps.  But, you can take photos and videos from other devices and view them on the original iPad1. The speaker is off to the side of the device while iPad 2 and 3 have the speakers placed on the back of the tablet. You can always use an external speaker dock, or a Smart Cover from Apple, to allow you to hear sound beter on the 2 or 3 though. 

iPad1 and iPad2

Visually, they both have similar screen display quality, for example, magnified text looks about the same (that is to say that text can look a bit fuzzy against the display of the new iPad). But if you use VoiceOver, and the Large text in message containers, this may not be an issue.  But if you want to use it as a large screen GPS, the NEW iPad is the best choice.

NEW iPad

The Retina display, a  good camera and more power under the Gorilla Glass will allow you to take advantage of many apps for the sight impaired, And it’s the best choice for GPS and magnifying maps.

So, the sight impaired are big winners in the release of the NEW iPad, even for the fact that the original iPad and iPad2 are more affordable.

the Vision Assist app for iOS allows you to snap an image of text or an object then scroll, zoom in or apply optional color filters similar to those found with handheld Video Magnifiers.

Rodney and the gang mentioned a GPS app called “MotionX”. To learn more about it, visit their official site. Important Reminder: In order to use GPS apps on any iPad, you will need to skip the WiFi only models as the devices with wireless connections are better for those apps.

App Review: jetpack Joyride

joe Steinkamp takes us on a tour of this addicting free app that allows you to enjoy the power of flight and collect lots and lots of pretty things. From the makers of “Fruit Ninja”, Halfbrick Studios makes a game that is easy to learn and even easier to see if you have Low Vision. Be sure to listen carefully to joe’s Pro Tip for how to earn coins faster and buy up all those crazy Jetpacks!

Keep Up With Our Hosts

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

You can also check out GW Micro 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!

For just $25 per voice, you can purchase UK male and female voices Brian and Amy, American male and female voices, Eric and Jennifer, and now Kendra and Joey — two additional American voices!

Listen to a sample of Ivona Text-to-speech.

If you would like additional options, we also offer RealSpeak, Eloquence, and NeoSpeech voices. Remember, if you’d like to hear how a particular voice sounds reading your favorite text, or you want to know how responsive it is, you can access trials of these voices under the My Account option in your Serotek software. To access this area, press Modifier+F, followed by the letter A. If you have had a trial of Ivona voices previously, your trial has been reset so you’ll be able to sample all Ivona voices again.

Whether you use System Access, the System Access Mobile Network, DocuScan Plus, or all of these, the voices you select will interface seamlessly with all our products to provide you with a quality listening experience.

If you would like more information, please email us at info@serotek.com or call us at (612) 246-4818.

The Serotek Team

Jamie Pauls interviews Mike Calvo and Buddy Brannan to talk about the Aftershokz Bone Conduction Wrap Around Headphones.

Buddy begins the discussion by saying that when these came out, around the time of the Consumer Electronics Show, he thought they would be great for blind people. The reason they are so interesting is that they don’t go in or over your ears. They are small speakers that sit right in front of your ears, and the sound gets transmitted through your cheekbones instead of going through the ear canal. The practical upshot is that there is nothing to keep you from hearing the sounds in your environment. The device is being marketed to joggers, but would benefit blind people as well. Specifically, this seems like it would be especially helpful for GPS applications. These include Smart Phone apps, as well as stand-alone GPS units like the Trekker Breeze and Kapten PLUS. If using Aftershokz with the Kapten Plus, you will need to purchase an adapter to connect the two.

Mike decided to play with these as well, and loves the fact that they deliver as promised. He walked his kids to school while using these, playing music softly in the background, and using a GPS application on the iPhone.

Buddy describes the fit. These are wrap around headphones, which means the band goes behind your neck instead of over the top of your head. Again, they sit in front of your ears. It’s a little disconcerting to hear the audio, along with background sounds.

Mike comments that the audio intersperses with the sounds in the environment, For example, if you are listening to audio of nature sounds, the audio will layer so that you think you are hearing a babbling brook in the distance in your actual space. This is similar to the augmented reality used by Google Maps which uses overlaying visual images. The Aftershokz allows for audio to overlap, like it does in some 3-dimensional audio games. This same 3-D option could be used in GPS applications to provide a more enriched, multi-layered experience.

Mike discusses the experience of listening to music with these headphones. What you’ll get from the standpoint of frequency response depends on the shape of your head. These are comparable to $30 or $40 headsets, and may not be most suitable for audiophiles. They are more for layering sound. How and where they sit on your head will depend on how much bass you will hear.

Buddy discusses charging, button placement, and various styles: The battery is tiny and lasts a long time. The specifications say it lasts 15 hours, but I’ve gotten at least that, if not more. It is charged via USB and takes about three hours for a full charge. There are two controls one for volume, and the other for control of the microphone. These buttons are fairly flat, and may take some practice to use easily. If you have audio playing at high volumes, others will hear it. The sound is similar to hearing a muffled Walkman that is being played loudly. Aftershokz come in three models. The sport model is the basic model, and sells for $59. The model with an in-line mic sells for $69, has noise cancellation, and works with many smart phones. Incidentally, it is easy to use Siri with this model. The final headset is designed for gamers, has a long cord and USB connectivity, and sells for $79.

Mike talks about the user experience, and why a gamer would want these particular headphones. The Aftershokz help them to maintain immersive audio of the game while still allowing them to chat with others playing that same game. Bone conduction technology was originally designed for soldiers who needed to listen to both their environment and radio communications, which is what gamers are essentially doing.

Mike explains the feeling of the overall experience: I would not use these if I wanted to tune out the world and blast my music. Since I got them, I have been using them to enhance my  environment with an audio layer, and wear them for hours. Anyone who is visually impaired will find these extremely helpful. It’s one of the most incredible finds I’ve seen in years! For more information about these headphones, visit http://www.aftershockz.com/.

You are welcome to send email to resources@serotalk.com, leave a comment on the Blab Line, at (866) 997-blab or 2522, or send us an iReport on iBlink Radio.

By Allison Mervis

Introduction

Hi everyone. My name is Allison Mervis. I’m totally blind, and I absolutely love using and helping others to use both assistive and accessible mainstream technologies. I’d like to talk with you today about jailbreaking your iPhone 4S or iPad 2. Until recently I had no idea what jailbreaking was, and I was scared stiff of what the procedure might do to my beautiful and very expensive iPhone 4S. In this guide, I’m going to talk a little bit about what jailbreaking is, point you to some good sources of further information, walk you through the process of jailbreaking your iPhone 4S or iPad 2, and give you some pointers on what to do once the jailbreak is installed. As you read this, please keep in mind that I’m still very much a beginner when it comes to the exciting world of jailbreaking. I might not be able to answer all of the questions that you might have. However, I’ll make sure that you have enough information to get started. The resources I’ll mention throughout this guide should answer any additional questions you might have.

What Is Jailbreaking?

Many of you may be wondering, “What on earth is jailbreaking, and why on earth should I care?” To put it very briefly, jailbreaking is a way of modifying your iOS device in order to remove the limitations to accessing certain files and settings imposed by Apple. It also allows you to access Cydia, which is often called the Jailbreak app store. It contains many apps which for whatever reason, weren’t approved by Apple for distribution within the official app store. It also contains many settings tweaks and extensions. One example is SiriToggles, which once installed, allows you to use Siri to open programs and toggle settings such as WiFi and Bluetooth with your voice. I’ll talk a little more about apps and extensions later.

Types Of Jailbreaks

There are two types of jailbreaks; tethered and untethered. If you install a tethered jailbreak, you’ll need to connect your device to a pc or mac every time you want to reboot. With an untethered jailbreak, all of the files needed to reboot your device into a jailbroken state are installed on the device. I would hate to be away from a pc and be stuck in a situation where I couldn’t reboot my phone, so I will be talking about how to install an untethered jailbreak.

The Wikipedia article on iOS jailbreaking

really helped me to gain a better understanding of what jailbreaking is. I encourage you to read it before continuing with this guide.

Before you start

There are a few things that you’ll want to keep in mind before getting started. First and foremost, jailbreaking is perfectly legal. However, as you most likely read in

the Wikipedia article,

if you send a jailbroken device to Apple for repairs, it may void your warranty. A technician will most likely be able to tell the device is jailbroken when they see the Cydia icon on your home screen. Fortunately reversing a jailbreak is as easy as plugging your device into your computer, selecting it in iTunes, and activating the restore button. This will restore the original Apple firmware. No one who looks at the device after the restore will be able to tell that you’ve ever jailbroken it. Another thing to keep in mind is that once an update to iOS is released, if you update through iTunes, you will lose your jailbroken firmware and Cydia apps, and your device will run the normal non jailbroken version of iOS. It usually takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for a new jailbreak to come out after a new version of iOS is released, because it basically needs to be rehacked. If you find that you really love the new jailbroken state of your device as I do, the wait will be worth it.

I want to reiterate that the jailbreak procedure I’m going to describe is only meant to be performed on an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 running the latest version of iOS, which is currently 5.0.1.

Green pois0n,

the website from which I obtained the jailbreak software,

also contains jailbreak software for older iOS devices. However, I cannot vouch for the accessibility or reliability of these programs. There are many other jailbreaks for older iOS devices available from other websites as well, so feel free to research and choose one which you feel will work best for you. As far as I know, the folks over at greenpois0n are the only ones to have released an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. After you’ve jailbroken, you will still have access to all of the standard features of your device. You’ll still be able to install apps from the app store and sync your music and other content with iTunes and iCloud. All of your apps, content, and settings will still be there after the jailbreak has been installed. If you are a developer, you will still be able to write and submit aps to the app store. However, keep in mind that if you want to install beta versions of iOS for testing purposes, you’ll lose your jailbroken firmware and apps. That’s why it’s important to have a dedicated device for app development and testing.

Technological Assumptions

If you’re planning to perform the steps I’m going to outline below, I’m going to make a few assumptions. Firstly, I’m going to assume that you’re using a Windows PC, and that you’re running a screen reader that has some kind of mouse cursor feature. You should be comfortable using this feature before proceeding. I don’t use magnification software, so I don’t know how accessible the jailbreak software will be to low vision users. I ran the software using System Access on a PC running a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. There is a version of this jailbreak software for the Mac as well, but again, I can’t vouch for its accessibility. I’m going to assume that you’re familiar with navigating websites, downloading files, and extracting zip archives. I’m going to assume that you’re comfortable launching and exploring apps on your iOS device, and that you’re familiar with voiceover gestures, exploring the screen either by flicking or touch exploration, and typing either on the on-screen keyboard or with a Bluetooth keyboard. If you are a Zoom user, I encourage you to give this process a try. However, once again, I can’t vouch for accessibility. Bearing all of this in mind, let’s get started!

Downloading And Installing The Jailbreak

The first thing you’ll want to do is back up your iDevice to iTunes and/or iCloud. This is a good habit to get into even if you’re not planning on jailbreaking. Next, you need to download the Absinthe jailbreak software for Windows from

Green pois0n

Once you’ve loaded the page, activate the downloads link, navigate to the heading that says “For Apple A5 devices on 5.0.1,” and activate the download link for Windows that appears a few lines below it. Save the zip file somewhere on your hard drive, and once the download is complete, extract it. I chose to extract the contents of the zip file to its own folder. Connect your iDevice to your computer via USB. If iTunes pops up, let it finish syncing, and then close it.

The zip file for the jailbreak software contains a data folder, and an executable file called absinthe.exe. Locate this file and press enter. System Access read most of the introductory information in the Window that opened when I ran the program. Your screen reader may behave differently, but all of the information is accessible via the mouse cursor. Make sure the program is maximized, and then activate your mouse cursor. Take a moment to read the information on the screen, and then find and click on the jailbreak button. You may hear progress indicators, and the window may lose focus. If this happens, just alt tab back into it. Keep monitoring the text on the screen with your mouse cursor. The program doesn’t tell you this, but at this point, it’s installing the Absinthe jailbreak app on your iDevice. Your device may reboot, but just let it do its thing. Windows will find it again once it powers back on. After a few minutes, you’ll receive a message stating that you’re almost finished, and instructions to launch the absinthe app on your device. Keep your iDevice connected to your computer, and find and launch the Absinthe app. It was on the last page of my home screen, but don’t panic if it’s not in the same place for you. Keep looking around your home screen, and you’ll eventually find it. The app has an interface similar to a webpage. You’ll see a heading telling you to please stand by while things are set up, and some advertisements. There is no progress indicator within the app, so you kind of have to sit back and hope it’s working. The length of time you’ll have to wait may vary. You’ll know the jailbreak procedure was successful if the device reboots, and if you now have a Cydia app on your home screen instead of the Absinthe app.

My Jailbreaking Experience

At this point, I need to tell you that I was not able to get the jailbreak to take on the first attempt. The first time I ran the Absinthe app on my iPhone 4S, it rebooted within a few minutes, but when I checked my home screen, the Absinthe app was still there. Cydia had not been installed. I rebooted my phone, rebooted my pc, and ran absinthe.exe again. I received a message that recovery was complete, and was told to disconnect my phone from the pc and reconnect it if I wanted to try jailbreaking again. I did that, and this time, the Absinthe app sat there once I launched it, and the phone never rebooted. Since I had recently backed up my iPhone, I figured the simplest solution was to perform a restore in iTunes. After restoring, I reloaded all of my content onto the phone, and tried running absinthe.exe on the pc one more time. This time when I ran the absinthe app on the iPhone, it rebooted within a few minutes, and when I looked at my home screen, Cydia had replaced Absinthe. I closed absinthe.exe on the pc, and disconnected the phone from the USB port. I realize that the account of my initial inability to get the jailbreak to take might discourage some of you, but I included it to illustrate that with a little time and patience, it did work. I want you to have a realistic idea of some of the issues you may or may not face. Everyone’s tech setup is different, so it may work for you the first time. However, if it doesn’t, don’t give up.

Exploring Cydia

Now that you’ve jailbroken your iDevice, it’s time to explore Cydia. Cydia Comes preloaded with a few sources, or repositories, from which it pulls its apps. There’s an app called All Sources that you can install which will populate Cydia with many reliable repositories, thereby allowing you to find even more apps. Let’s start by locating the Cydia app on the home screen and launching it. Since this is the first time you’ve run the app, it will go through some internal setup processes, and will exit. Launch it again, and on The setup screen that appears, indicate whether or not you’re an end user, a hacker, or a developer. The app provides great explanations of what each of those terms means within the context of Cydia.

You’ll notice various tabs along the bottom of the main screen. To add a new source, double tap the manage tab, and then the sources option near the top of the screen.  The screen that comes up will show you all of the sources which are present in Cydia by default. Activate the edit button. This screen allows you to add and remove sources. Activate the add button. You’ll be presented with an edit field in which to type a URL. They already include the htpp://, so type

apt.pwncenter.com/

Find and activate the add source button and give Cydia a minute or so to update the sources with the new repository information. At this point, voiceover might become quite chatty as the new information is added. Once the repositories are updated, activate the done button to exit the edit screen. Activate the back button to exit the sources screen.

Searching For And Downloading Apps

Now it’s time to search for our first app in Cydia, all sources. Activate the search tab on the bottom of the main screen, and type all sources into the edit field. You can activate the search button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. However, just like in the regular app store, the search results area above the on screen keyboard begins populating itself as you type. Locate All sources in the results area and double tap it to get to the details screen. This screen is pretty self-explanatory. Activate the install button, and you’ll be taken to a confirmation screen, which will display details like file size information. Once you activate the confirm button, the download and installation process will begin. You can monitor the installation process on the screen if you wish. Once again, voiceover may become very chatty as the various packages are downloaded and executed. When the installation is finished, there will be a return to Cydia link near the bottom of the screen. If you wish, you can go back to the manage tab and double tap sources in order to see how many new repositories were added.

Some apps will present you with a “restart springboard” link instead of “return to Cydia” after installation. From what I gather, restarting the springboard performs a reboot of sorts. On my phone, it returns me to the lock screen, and appears to close Cydia. Keep in mind that a lot of the apps you install are just extra settings or extensions that you won’t actually see on the home screen. Just like the regular app store, not all apps that you install are going to be accessible. Developers sometimes include their contact information on an app’s details screen. If you find an app that you can’t use due to inaccessibility, by all means contact the developer.

Conclusion

I genuinely hope that you have found this guide to be helpful, and that I’ve addressed some of the concerns and questions you might have regarding jailbreaking. Now it’s time for you to explore on your own. Don’t be afraid, and have fun. You’ll soon feel, as I now do, like you have a brand new phone. Why not search for and install the SiriToggles app that I mentioned earlier? Another one I really like is called five-column Springboard. This is an example of those apps I mentioned which don’t have a user interface, but which do some really cool things under the hood. In the case of Five-Column Springboard, an extra column is added to each page of your home screen, allowing you to have 20 icons per page instead of the usual 16. How awesome is that!

Additional Jailbreak Resources

I want to leave you with a few sources of additional information. The

Green Pois0n blog

is a great place to keep up with jailbreak news and software updates.

AppleVis,

a wonderful website for all things related to Apple devices and programs for people who are blind and visually impaired, maintains a

subsection of their app directory

specifically for jailbreak apps.

AppleVis also has a wonderful

guides page,

an entire portion of which is dedicated to answering questions and pointing individuals to more resources regarding jailbreaking. Please click

here

to go directly to the jailbreak section of the guides page.

Cydia was only recently made accessible, so some of the information in some of the guides regarding its lack of accessibility is somewhat outdated. However, these guides are still an absolutely wonderful resource.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this guide. Again, I really hope you’ve found it to be helpful. I wish to publically thank

Serotek

For allowing me to share my adventures in jailbreaking with you all. Please feel free to follow @allisonfm1985 on Twitter if you would like to contact me. Have a great time unleashing all of the hidden potential in your iDevice!

Yes, you heard right.  we have 13 days of Christmas, and the 13th day is the luckiest day of all. Why? Because beginning at midnight Eastern Standard Time on December 13, you can throw away your SMA. For just $299, get System Access Mobile, and you’ll never have to pay for an upgrade to your screen reader again!

Why choose System Access? It would take us too long to list all the ways in which System Access Mobile is a must-have, but here are 13 reasons.

• Affordability

System Access provides intuitive and powerful access to your Windows applications without breaking the bank, and today it’s more affordable than ever.

• Portability

With System Access Mobile, you get a license for two computers which you can manage at any time, plus a license to install System Access on a U3 thumb drive. This drive can be plugged in to provide instant access to any computer. You can also log in to http://www.satogo.com/ for quick and easy access from anywhere.

• Ease of use

Have you ever wished for a screen reader that was powerful enough to handle your needs, but didn’t require a lifetime to learn? System Access Mobile is just what you’ve been looking for.

• Magnification

System Access provides speech, along with built-in magnification up to 6X.

• Remote Access

Pair your System Access license with a subscription to SAMNet, and you’ll be able to remotely access your licensed computers from anywhere.

• User-managed licensing

Whenever you bring that new computer home, wouldn’t it be nice if you could install your screen reader on it at any time without involving someone else to reset your license key? With System Access, you can.

• Support for HID-compliant Braille displays.

Just as you can use System Access from any computer without installation, you should just as easily be able to plug in your Braille display and do the same. That’s why System Access supports HID-compliant Braille displays. Click here for a list of supported displays.

• Installation without requiring administrative access.

Sometimes you need access to a computer, and you don’t have time to cut through miles of red tape to make it happen. With System Access, you don’t need administrative privileges to use it. That means that if you have permission to use a particular computer, you don’t have to play “mother may I” to grant your screen reader permission too.

• No modification to video display drivers.

With System Access, you can use any computer without worrying whether you’ve altered its visual appeal, as no changes are made to the video driver.

• Portable customized settings.

No matter where you use System Access, your customized settings are automatically available to you. No need to set speech and punctuation preferences on every computer you use. Each time you run System Access, the screen reader will be configured just the way you like it.

• Community Supported Accessible Web (CSAW)

Don’t you hate those web sites with buttons and links that are poorly labeled, or not labeled at all? Wouldn’t it be great if you could fix those sites not only for yourself, but for an entire community? With CSAW, you can do just that. Provide user-friendly labels for sites that don’t have them, and submit your work so that other members of the community can benefit as well.

• * Automatic updates

When keeping up with version numbers and going to a web site to download the latest software loses its appeal, System Access has you covered. Whenever a software update is released, System Access will automatically update with no user intervention required.

• Free upgrades for life.

Does all of this sound too good to be true? It’s not. And best of all, the software is continually improving but you don’t have to pay a dime to access the updates.

For more information about System Access, or to take us up on this one day offer, call us at (866) 202-0520. Or visit us on the web at www.serotek.com

5 Podcast Feeds

There are currently 5 podcasts on the Serotek Podcast Network. Here is a brief description of each show, along with links to subscribe and keep up with each one.

SeroTalk

Winner of the Blind Bargains 2010 Access Award for Best Podcast, the long running SeroTalk podcast is seen as one of the premier shows of its kind within the Blindness Community. BBC’s Ouch Blog listed SeroTalk amongst the top five access related podcasts that they recommend to their readers. SeroTalk’s unique mixture of today’s technology news ,interviews and product reviews has struck a cord with their listeners and it makes the show a “must listen” for those who want to stay up to date on current events.

Visit the SeroTalk web site

Subscribe to The SeroTalk podcast feed

Subscribe to SeroTalk via iTunes

Follow SeroTalk on Twitter

SeroSpectives

SeroSpectives is a biweekly podcast hosted on Serotek’s Accessible Event meeting platform. This show encourages interaction from a live audience. Content relevant to the topics being discussed is displayed along with the audio presentation during the live event. Audience members can ask questions of SeroSpectives guests, and can also chat with each other about the topics discussed on the show. In each podcast, the SeroSpectives team focuses on a single topic, ranging from technology to cooking to fashion.

Visit the SeroSpectives web site

Subscribe to SeroSpectives podcast feed

Subscribe to SeroSpectives via iTunes

Follow SeroSpectives on Twitter

That Android Show

Google’s Android is taking the world of mobile devices by storm. The show   covers the changing face of Android along with providing reviews, tips and interviews of those developers who make the apps that run on Google’s mobile platform. The show airs monthly.

Visit That Android Show web site

Subscribe to That Android Show podcast feed

Subscribe to That Android Show via iTunes

Follow That Android Show on Twitter

Triple-click Home

Triple Click Home is the podcast for those who can’t get enough talk about their iDevices. Each month the show discusses the news, apps and events that impact the Apple user. This show runs monthly.

Visit the Triple-Click Home web site

Subscribe to Triple-Click Home podcast feed

Subscribe to Triple-Click Home via iTunes

Follow Triple-click Home on Twitter

End of Line

“End Of Line” is a light hearted show that celebrates the obsessive nature in all of us. Everyone has a passion for something. Food, books, music or underwater basket weaving. EOL aims to spotlight cultural touchstones and hopefully capture the trends of today while doing so. One full episode airs monthly, and occasional extras highlighting a particular topic are posted.

Visit End of Line web site

Subscribe to End of Line podcast feed

Subscribe to End of Line via iTunes

Follow End of Line on Twitter

Are you still frantically searching for that perfect gift for a friend or family member, and you know that re-gifting Aunt Myrtle’s fruit cake  just isn’t going to work again this year? Or maybe you have some holiday cash burning a hole in your pocket, just begging to be spent on a gift for yourself.  There’s no need to panic, because Serotek has got you covered.  Why not give the gift of accessibility this holiday season with a Serotek gift card.  You don’t have to brave the holiday crowds to get one.  You don’t even have to figure out how to make the gift wrap look pretty.  All you need to do is visit http://www.serotek.com/giftcards, and then relax knowing you’ve chosen the perfect gift for that special someone on your list. 

Gift cards may be used toward any Serotek product or service. How about the gift of quick and easy access to printed documents and PDF’s at home or on the go with DocuScan Plus. The program works on both Windows and Mac, so there’s no need to engage in the ever-popular Mac versus Windows debate. You can also choose Serotek’s award-winning System Access screen reader for use on a desktop, netbook, or from any computer anywhere using a U3 thumb drive. There are no software maintenance agreements for System Access, so you’ll be entitled to free updates for life with your purchase. Become a member of the SAMNet community and get access to email, news, thousands of audio-described movies, users’ forums, voice chat, and much more. You can even transfer SAMNet content to your favorite digital talking book player, like the Victor Reader Stream, PlexTalk Pocket, bookSense, or BookPort Plus. Find out about all products and services available from Serotek by visiting the Serotek web site.

Wondering how this gift card thing works?  Don’t worry.  It’s easy!  Visit http://www.serotek.com/giftcards to begin.  Enter the gift card amount, and then you’ll be taken to PayPal to enter your payment information and complete the purchase.  If you don’t have a

PayPal account, no problem.  You don’t need one to complete the transaction.  Once your gift card has been purchased, we’ll send an email to you and your gift card recipient with a coupon code and instructions for using it. If the gift card recipient already has a Serotek account, he or she can log in to place an order.  If not, the recipient can create an account and then place an order. When prompted for a coupon code during the ordering process, simply enter your gift card code and it will be applied toward your purchase.  If the gift card is not used in its entirety for the first purchase, it may be used as many times as necessary to spend all available funds on the card.  You may check the amount on your gift card at any time by visiting the Serotek gift cards page and selecting the link to check your balance.

Would you rather purchase your gift card with the assistance of a Serotek representative? Do you already know which Serotek product you want, and you’re ready to purchase? Do you want to further discuss our products and services before making a decision? Call us at (612) 246-4818, or toll free at (866) 202-0520, and we’ll be glad to assist you.

Happy holidays from the Serotek team!

Join This Month in AT for October 2011 via Accessible Event

This month, Lisa Salinger is joined by Wade Wingler of Easter Seals Crossroads and the Indata Project, Jamie Pauls of the SeroTalk podcast, and Jeff Bishop of the Triple-click Home podcast which will air on the SeroTalk Podcast Network this month. Here are the top stories from October 2011 that our guests will be discussing.

Out and About

7 Tech Breakthroughs That Empower People With Disabilities:

The Top Dumbest Reasons For Not Teaching Braille:

Accessible Taxis Would Lead To Injuries, Lawsuits, Mayor Says

Misc

Social Security recipients in US will get raise in January, 1st increase in benefits since 2009 – @AP

Cloudy With A Chance of Profits: By Mike Calvo

Amazon

Kindle Fire: Down in Flames! a discussion of Kindle accessibility

The #ACB denounces the inaccessible Kindle Fire

Assistive Technology

JAWS 13 has been officially released!

An Immersion into JAWS for Windows 12 Textbook is now available 

Download Cathy Anne Murtha’s Windows 7 textbooks free of charge:”

NVDA 2011.3beta1 released!

Five podcasts about setting up and using the NVDA screen reader

Mobile Phones That Are Not Apple

Nokia Screen Reader is based on @codefactory technology. Screenshots

RT @codefactory: Ice cream sandwich for Android is out! We are already working on its support with MA. Very exciting!

To learn more about Ice Cream Sandwich, That Android Show Episode 2 Released

BrailleType helps visually impaired to type in Braille on Android phones:

Apple

Steve Jobs’ “How To Live Before You Die” talk at Stanford in 2005 from TED

A Review of the Steve Jobbs Biography

iPhone User Guide for iOS 5 from the iBooks Store:

New VoiceOver Features in iOS 5 | AxS Lab

Siri, Seriously: 10 Ways We’re Really Using Apple’s Voice Assistant [POLL]

AppleTV Software 4.4 Includes VoiceOver Enhancements

Apple releases Lion 10.7.2 with iCloud Support

This presentation powered by Accessible Event.

Listen to an interview with Willie Hoos of Vanda Pharmaceuticals

In this interview, Jamie Pauls speaks with Willie Hoos, who  discusses information about sleep disorders among the blind. Specifically, non-24-hour Sleep/Wake Disorder is explored. In addition to this interview, you can read the 5-part series in the Matilda Ziegler Magazine. You can also view SeroTalk Tech Chat 105, where this subject is discussed in detail.

If you’d like more information about non-24-hour sleep/wake disorder, please visit http://www.24sleepwake.com/. If you are interested in taking a short survey and learning more about participating in a clinical trial of medication that could address this disorder, please call (888) 389-7033.

Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 81: AO Hoo?

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss top news stories. Then, Pete Bossley of the Triple-click Home podcast gives us a quick demonstration of the Siri personal assistant on the iPhone 4S. Finally, Jamie interviews Willie Hoos of Vanda Pharmaceuticals. In addition to the interview, we link to part 2 of a 5-part series on non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder published in the Matilda Ziegler magazine.

Here are the news stories we discussed this week.

Apple

BBC News – What are key features of iOS 5?

iOS 5 upgraders are reporting installation problems:

The release of iOS 5 almost broke the internet

Got the new iOS5 for iPhone? We’ll walk you through how to set up the new features in minutes:

iOS 5 has built-in text expansion! Here’s how to set it up and a bunch of phrases that’ll save you lots of time:

New VoiceOver Features in iOS 5 | AxS Lab

What’s new in iOS 5 for the iPhone by Scott Davert, Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults

Five annoying things about iOS 5 | iPhone Atlas – CNET Reviews –

iFixit iPhone 4S teardown confirms 512MB RAM, updated baseband

Will Your iPhone 4S Work in an iPhone 4 Case? Probably

VO and Siri iPhone 4s manual

Apple releases new store into iTunes for buying Text and Alert tones

Apple releases Lion 10.7.2 with iCloud Support

Apple releases iTunes 10.5 with iTunes in the Cloud, WiFi sync support

iWork for iOS Gets Updated With iCloud Support

What you gain and lose by transitioning from MobileMe to iCloud

Sponsored In Part by Vanda Pharmaceuticals: Improve Your Sleep Quality and Possibly Make Money at the Same Time

Phones

BlackBerry outages spread throughout the world

US senators propose bill to require ‘accurate 4G information for consumers’

Yes, you can ditch your text messaging plan to avoid SMS fees. But there are going to be some challenges and catches:

Facebook:

Facebook: the Law Says You Can’t Have Your Data

Symantec fixes Norton update that blocked Facebook | InSecurity Complex – CNET News

The Virus Infecting the U.S. Drone Fleet Came from Mafia Wars  

Security

Large-scale spam campaign uses compromised webmail accounts and WordPress sites

How to Make Your Google Accounts More Secure

Watch out for a phony Netflix Android app that steals account data

General Tech

Netflix Kills Qwikster

AOL’s chief executive is reportedly making a pitch to sell the company to Yahoo:

Amazon Pushes For National Internet Sales Tax

AT

Ubuntu Linux 11.10 is out with some improvements to the previous version. Take a look at the biggest changes: -…

So Long and Thanks For All The Fish, Vinux Developer Ends His Run /

EPUB 3 Becomes a Recommended Specification

Listen to the new uk-based AccessTalk podcast

Tablet app brings new touch to Braille

Kickers

Putting Emails In Folders Is a Waste of Time, Says IBM Study

Teacher Union Tries To Block Online Courses

Teenager who is Blind throws out the 1st pitch at the NLCS and gets it right over the plate:

Revolutionary New Brain Chip Allows Monkeys To Grasp AND Feel Objects Using Their Thoughts

Six Reasons We Have Bad Dreams

Listen to A Community Tribute to Steve Jobs

The SeroTalk Podcast network asked our listeners to send us commentary on the passing of Steve Jobs. It is clear that Steve had a tremendous impact on many lives, and we’ve compiled stories submitted to us in remembrance of him from listeners around the world.

Our tribute opens with a never-aired commercial narrated by Steve Jobs called Never Think Different. We then hear from Brad Hodges from The American Foundation For The Blind AFBTech, followed by Rick Harmon of the Blind Geek Zone podcast and web site. Next, Wade Wingler from Easter Seals Crossroads and the Indata Project shares his thoughts about Steve. Then we hear from Randy Rusnak of Accessible Devices followed by Rodney and Erin Edgar of the Tech Access Weekly podcast.

Listeners submitted their thoughts via the iReport feature of iBlink Radio, and we play several of those. Following that, we play the inspiring speech given by Steve Jobs to Stanford graduates in 2005.

Members of the SeroTalk Podcast network share their feelings about Steve. We hear from the hosts of Triple Click Home, and then from Mike Calvo, Michael Lauf, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp of the SeroTalk podcast. You can read Mike Calvo’s blog post thanking Steve Jobs and Ricky Enger’s blog post remembering Steve Jobs.

Email Commentary

We received a number of emails from listeners as well. Here they are.

When Steve Jobs helped launch the Apple II, it created the computer accessibility revolution.  Today, the Apple iMac, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch represent the best of built-in accessibility.  It’s very appropriate to celebrate these two landmarks and the seminal contribution of Steve Jobs in ensuring that computers were a tool usable by everyone!

Jim Fruchterman

***

Steve Jobs was an amazing man with an unforgettable story. His ability to develop Apple from a home project in to one of the most valuable companies in the world and constantly revolutionizing one industry after another was nothing short of miraculous. He had a way of enriching lives through his love of science and art. I owe Steve my utmost gratitude for so much of what I have today: my job, my ability to communicate with the digital world, and my appreciation of science and art as a mutual concept. I am truly saddened at his passing.

Hai Nguyen Ly

***

From universal access thru Voiceover to the blind girl in the iPhone 4S video. First we were helped, now we’re target consumers. RIP Steve.

Damon Rose

***

Hello,

Here are a few thoughts about Steve Jobs. As I mentioned this morning, I’m working on an extended blog post that should go up sometime tonight. In the mean time, …

In the past, when asked about my personal heros, I’ve always refused to pick one-half flippantly, half seriously-because I thought I never needed one.

After all, there are so many people from whom I could learn. But the personal turmoil and the sadness of the past 24 hours after Steve Jobs’

death have made me realize how wrong  I have actually been. It is true that, like all blind people, I owe a great personal debt to Steve Jobs for believing in my abilities. That is only incidental however. More important is the fact that, perhaps for the first time ever in this land of technological renaissance, the model that Steve Jobs put together allows a whole community of disabled people to ask all companies to be better -all this without shame and in open-haarted defiance of the conventional wisdom.

Pratik Patel

***

Dear SeroTalk,

I have been listening to your podcasts for the past few months already and must say that it’s great!

I am a visually impaired student who has learnt the code of Braille and live up in the cold province of Manitoba, Canada and have thought that I could contribute some insight of how a blind and visually impaired individual can benifit from using the Apple iPad.

A year ago I was not an Apple fan. I stuck with my Zoom Text and that was that, but have purchased an iPad last year and have found it to be better for a visually impaired person such as my self to use than a laptop or desktop PC.

This is because of VoiceOver. I’m aware that some people arn’t that familiar or used to using VoiceOver, but I have done many presentations and have tutored many students of how to do so. I actually got the Manitoba Education Department purchasing iPad’s for their students who are blind and visually impaired!

 As a fond user of the Apple iPad and the VoiceOver and Zoom feature of Apple products, I just wanted to give a shout out for the next 2 podcasts about the iPad, as I know that 2 other podcasts talked about the MacBook Air.

From Michael Mielniczek

***

I’ve been using Apple products since I was very young. My parents were teachers, so Apple computers were what I grew up with. I remember being so proud of the fact that we had an Apple2gs which had color. I played so many games on that 2gs. Then in the 90’s we got a Macintosh Performa followed by my purple IMac which I took to college. When my vision got bad enough to need a screen reader I abandoned my mac for a PC, but I always hoped I would be able to be a mac user again someday. I got my white macbook in 2009, and my iPhone 3gs in 2010. Apple is the leader in accessibility because they include it in all their products at no extra charge to those of us with disabilities. I think that Steve had a great role in making accessibility a priority, and it seems like with every new product, the accessibility only gets better. Steve Jobs plays a part in my independence, and his contributions to Apple will be missed. I think he led a great life, and I thank him for making a positive impact on the blind community.

Alena Roberts

***

Hello,

My name is Rammaditya from Indonesia. I am a totally blind, and right now I am working as a journalist, book author, trainer, and private teacher. My website is www.ramaditya.com.

It is probably too late for me to send my condolences to Mr. Steve Jobs, but I believe that this message will reach him and all of you soon.

Just to let people know that living in a developing country like mine is rather difficult compared to others, especially when we talk about assistive technology which is considered to be expensive.

I just want to say thank you to Mr. Steve Jobs that has developed such an awesome accessibility features built into the Apple product.

It is, currently, my best option to cover my assistive technology needs, and it sure cuts down the cost I need to provide myself with helping tools.

Again, it is probably easy for people in America for instance, to be provided with assistive technology, but that condition is not the same over here. Well, Mr. Steve Jobs, I just want to let you know that you have become one of the helping hands for me, and I hope, other blind folks around here can take benefit from what you have done.

To all my new blind friends, this is my first hello, and I hope we can keep in touch.

Regards,

Ramaditya

***

I am cross-posting this. I did not know Steve Jobs personally. However, I send my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends, both at Apple and elsewhere. My introduction to Apple came in the early 80’s when my parents purchased an AppleII computer for use by anyone and everyone living at home at the time. For those of us who could not see the screen, there was a speech option. Although it didn’t have quite the variety of features contained in today’s speech synthesizers, the Echo speech synthesizer was very good and we enjoyed using it. We had a little program called Textalker, which spoke text that we wrote. We enjoyed showing it off to family and friends who came to visit. There were 3 of us who used it. When my family and I moved to Illinois, an AppleIIGS computer was purchased by the school district. It had an external Cricket speech synthesizer, which sounded almost identical to Echo if not exactly the same. I have since heard the VoiceOver screen reader for the Macintosh demonstrated on a number of occasions, and my former roommate grew up on the Mac. He is legally blind and is now a very satisfied VO user. Although there are those who perhaps didn’t agree with Steve Jobs, he was a very forward-thinking man and will be missed. Thank you.

Best wishes,

Jake Joehl, IL 

In SeroTalk podcast 80, Mike calvo joins Michael Lauf, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp to talk about the week’s top story – the passing of Steve Jobs. Later in the show, Michael Ricky and Joe cover the top news stories, and we then play a segment from the SeroTalk Podcast network’s newest show, Triple-click Home.

Sponsored In Part by Vanda Pharmaceuticals: Improve Your Sleep Quality and Possibly Make Money at the Same Time

Here are the stories we discussed.

Rest In Peace Steve Jobs

TWiT Live Specials 95: Tribute And Remembrance Of Steve Jobs…

Steve Jobs narrates never-aired ‘Think Different’ commercial

Steve Jobs’ “How To Live Before You Die” talk at Stanford in 2005 from TED

Great CNET TV video by Brian Cooley on highlights of Steve Jobs: A life in technology:

To share your thoughts, memories, and condolences for Steve Jobs, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

Read Mike Calvo’s blog post thanking Steve Jobs.

Read Ricky Enger’s blog post remembering Steve Jobs.

We play several audio clips from users sharing their feelings on what Steve Jobs meant to them.

Michael, Joe and Ricky go in to this week’s top news stories.

Apple video of iPhone 4S keynote: Requires Quicktime Player

Video demoing Siri Voice Assistant

4 Reasons to Upgrade to the iPhone 4S

New AppleCare+ extended warranty covers accidents

AFB AccessWorld now has its own app

Google to the rescue: Productivity comes to the Mac

Fired Up About Kindle Fire

Kindle Fire: Down in Flames! a discussion of Kindle accessibility

Everyone has the right to access knowledge and information

Publishing:

Now available on the Kindle store: and Coming soon to iBooks

Cloudy With A Chance of Profits:  By Mike Calvo

Quick Start Guide to Marketing Your Kindle eBooks Like a Pro

How To Self-Publish On Amazon, Kindle And iBookStore

Accessibility

Making Digital Content Accessible for All with DAISY Pipeline 2 Version 1.0

AT&T Offers Free Version of Mobile Accessibility to its Android Users

HIMS Inc releases 2.3 firmware for BookSense

Five podcasts about setting up and using the NVDA screen reader

Essential Podcasting Tips

Self Promotion

This Month in Access Tech: September 2011, Thursday, October 6 Via Accessible Event

End of Line, Episode 2: I’m The Best at Space

Mail Bag:

This week’s email comes to us from Michael Evers, who says:

Hi,

     On the Serotalk Podcast for October  4, 2011, it was said that the telephone keypad was not accessible  with the most recent Skype update using the iPhone  4.  I installed the latest Skype  update on my iPhone  4, and with a little playing around, I  was able to make a call.  It seems as though the 1 touch typing mode doesn’t  work on the dial pad and so you have to tap twice on the dial pad in order for it to work.  So tell the listeners to try that first and see if that will work for them.  Hope this  helps. 

Misc.

Accessible Gaming Resources:

Accessible gaming | Media Access Australia

Spoonbill Software

Links to Accessible Games

Facebook to remove Discussions tab from Pages

Comments on proposed DOT airline web and kiosk rule due November 25

E-voting machines vulnerable to remote vote changing

Cell networks hold customer data ‘for years’ for law enforcement use

Verizon sues to halt FCC net neutrality rules

Time Warner joins other ISPs in delivering closed captioned streaming movies

Make money online by selling pirated content? These sites do

Tripple-click Home: Episode 0

Join Jeff Bishop, Buddy Brannan and Peter Bossley for a preview of the newest show on the SeroTalk Podcast Network, entitled Triple-click Home

By Ricky Enger

My life was first affected by Steve Jobs when I was nine years old, and  got my hands on an Apple II-E. I had no real insight about the situation at the time. I wasn’t profoundly grateful. I didn’t recognize Jobs as an innovative force whose vision would change the world. I didn’t stop to consider that a speech synthesizer might never have been made for the computer. The only thing I knew was that there were three kids in my fourth-grade class who were cool enough to have access to the cutting-edge technology of a personal computer, and I was one of them. I was able to ditch the loud electric typewriter and use the computer to do my schoolwork, and when I was finished I could play classic games like Blackjack, Lunar Lander, and Oregon Trail. I accepted these things as the natural course, and why shouldn’t i? Though I didn’t know it at the time, that first experience would shape the way I  viewed technology and accessibility from then on. Because of that initial positive experience, I approached each new technology with a sense of optimism, and a conviction                                                      that my ability to use that technology was a right, not a privillege.

By 2008, I had come to understand just how rare it was to find out-of-the-box accessibility in mainstream technology. That’s not to say I understood why technology without built-in accessibility was so prevalent. I didn’t, and still don’t for that matter. I continued to expect to get my hands on a brand-new device and be able to use it without much fuss, and I was often  disappointed in that regard. Then, Apple released the 4^th generation iPod Nano with spoken menus. Finally! Here was a device that was tiny, sleek, sophisticated, accessible, and it even came in purple. Who could ask for more? I no longer had to carry around some bulky and unattractive  device that no one else had ever heard of just to play my music. I didn’t have to feel left out every time someone mentioned the word “iPod”, because I had one too. I was finally seeing accessibility implemented the way it should be, seamlessly and without additional cost or complexity. This time, I did know enough to be thankful.

I’m not going to trace out Apple’s entire history of accessibility, beginning with Voiceover in OS X Tiger and continuing today with Voiceover on Mac, iPhones, iPods, iPads and Apple TV, but suffice it to say that Steve Jobs and his company have remained committed to providing out-of-the-box accessibility. This has profoundly affected my life in ways I can’t even begin to describe. I can walk to a restaurant in a new neighborhood by using the GPS on my phone. I can communicate with my family at home when I’m on the road, and even show them video of the hotel room I’m staying in. I can identify the cans in my cabinet with an app. I can play word games on my phone while waiting at the doctor’s office, and I can hand that same phone to my sighted son so he can play Angry Birds. All these things may sound like simple things that anyone should be able to do without much thought, and thanks to one man’s vision, I can.

Thank you Steve, for understanding that technology belongs in the hands of everyone, not just the geek, or the business guru, or the person with eyesight. Thank you for being such an inspiration through your willingness to take risks that no one else would, and your refusal to accept anything less than the best from yourself and those around you. Thank you for making accessibility as important a part of your vision  as style and ease of use. And thank you for sharing your vision with the world. There will never be another quite like you, but your legacy will continue to give all of us the inspiration to take something ordinary in our lives and make it magical.

Rest in peace.

Kindle Fire: Down in Flames

By Ricky Enger

With Contributions from SeroTalk Staff

The SeroTalk team had a recorded discussion about our thoughts on Amazon and its newest Kindle devices. This post is not an exact transcript of that session, but it is an attempt to collect the views expressed in that conversation and capture them in written form. There are points covered in that discussion that aren’t covered here and vice versa, so if you like, you can listen to the audio in addition to reading this post.

It was just over a year ago when we posted an accessibility review of the Amazon Kindle 3. The accessibility features on the unit were added primarily as a result of legal action by the NFB and ACB against Arizona State University, who used the Kindle DX in a pilot project to test the viability of ebook readers in the classroom. While we weren’t happy that it required legal action for Amazon to sit up and take notice of the importance of accessibility, we were excited that Amazon had at least taken a step in the right direction.. Our review concluded that the Kindle 3 was certainly usable as a reading device, but still needed some work in order to be considered a viable solution for students and professionals. In the review, we gave specific issues for Amazon to improve upon to make the unit truly accessible. At that time, we had very high hopes. We encouraged the community to applaud Amazon’s accessibility efforts and to  support the initiative through any means possible, including purchasing Kindle units and providing constructive feedback to the design team. We were optimistic that by showing our appreciation for Amazon’s efforts and giving useful advice regarding enhancements,we were taking the first step toward a bright, shiny, accessible future. It’s a year later, so where are we now? What improvements has Amazon made to further its initial attempt at accessibility?

A rundown of the New Kindle Devices

On September 28, Amazon announced 4 basic Kindle devices. There are a few different configurations for each device, such as 3g, ad-supported and so on, but we’ll concentrate on the base models. The first model, simply called The Kindle, retails for $79, and the unit appears to have no accessibility features. With that said, there is no speaker on the unit so implementing text-to-speech would be impossible. The next device, the $99 Kindle Touch, does have read-aloud capability but there is no mention of the voice guide system which makes navigating menus on the device possible for a blind person. Still, it may be usable by those with other print disabilities. The Kindle Keyboard, also $99, is a rebranded version of the Kindle 3. To our knowledge, there have been no accessibility improvements on this unit. Last, there is the Kindle Fire. This is an Android-based tablet device retailing for $199. Though no one will have hands-on experience with the unit until its release on November 21, there has been no mention of accessibility on the unit so it’s pretty safe to assume there is none. This is despite the fact that the Android platform does have some accessibility, and a large number of blind people use it productively on mobile devices.

Discontent with Content

For some of us, being denied the opportunity to use the Kindle hardware is a big disappointment. We like the process of getting a brand-new gadget in hand and exploring its capabilities. However, it seems that for the majority of us, the content is what we truly care about. We want the chance to buy an ebook the day of its release, and read it accessibly on the device of our choosing. We want the ability to make notes on a passage in a book and later review those notes while studying for an exam. And it’s not just about books. Amazon offers its Prime members access to streaming music, movies and television shows on demand, and this service is growing at an impressive rate. So what’s the problem? Not only is the content unavailable to a blind person on the Kindle Fire, but it it can’t be consumed accessibly on any device. Amazon made a patronizing attempt at accessibility for Kindle books on the PC by providing a piece of software with read-aloud capability. However, it failed to take in to account that blind and print-disabled people already have assistive technology which does far more than reading a book aloud. No consideration was given to the deaf/blind population and the need to use Braille to access material. No consideration was given to the student who needs to be able to review the spelling of complex words or proper names, neither of which can be done by simply listening to the words spoken aloud. And when it comes to other content, no consideration was given to the thousands of blind Amazon prime members who want to be able to enjoy streaming music and video on demand, just like everyone else.

The “Why?” of Accessibility

We believe that sometimes businesses don’t build  accessibility in to their products for the simple reason that they don’t know how to do so. With these businesses, all they need is to be educated about what accessibility means, and  to be given some guidance on how to implement it. With Amazon, the decision not to implement accessibility has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of information. The company has consistently received feedback from blind users about what could be improved on their reading devices to make them fully accessible. They have received feedback from iOS users requesting that the Kindle app be made accessible, and Apple provides very detailed development guidelines and information on how this can be accomplished. They have received feedback from users who want accessible content on their Android devices, and while the guidelines for accessibility on this platform aren’t as straightforward, they do still exist. They have received feedback about the inability to use their streaming video services or cloud player with a screen reader, along with pointers on how to make the services more accessible.

Still, though they have been made aware of the problem and they have access to the tools needed to solve it, they have not taken any steps to do so. Ok, that’s not entirely accurate. Amazon has made a small  stab  at becoming more accessibility-minded. The company posted a job opening for a program manager with experience in accessibility. Nice move, or at least it would’ve been a year ago when the new product designs were just getting under way. Instead, the job was posted just 6 days before the release of the new devices. Was the decision to advertise for the position made because of a genuine concern about accessibility? We doubt it. We think it’s far more likely that Amazon didn’t want to be called on the carpet publicly for its behavior, and so decided to make a preemptive move to try and convince the gullible among us that it truly has our interests at heart. If Amazon cared a thing about accessibility, the company would understand the importance of incorporating it from the ground up, not bolting on half-baked solutions after the fact in order to appease the legal beagles.

And why should Amazon care about accessibility? Is it because it’s the right thing to do? Is it because blind and print-disabled people deserve access, just like everyone else? Is it because universal accessibility ultimately benefits everyone? Sorry, but no. All those things are true, of course, but they aren’t compelling reasons for Amazon. While individuals who work for the company may be empathetic, the corporation itself is an unfeeling entity whose primary goal is to make money. Anything that furthers that goal is good, and anything which appears to take time and energy away from that pursuit is considered a bad thing. From Amazon’s perspective, the blind community is not seen as a significant market share. At best, we’re considered a time-consuming and expensive legal liability. This has to change. Until it does, lawsuits will continue to be filed against Amazon, and the corporation will continue to do the bare minimum to settle the dispute and satisfy the legal requirements. That, in our minds, is not progress.

The Bottom Line

That’s what it’s all about … the bottom line. Amazon can safely continue to ignore us, unless the company sees a direct effect on revenue that can clearly be traced to its failure to implement accessibility. So how do we make that happen? The first step is to stop believing those who make statements like: “only legal action can solve this problem.” Or how about this one? “The blind community isn’t big enough, or significant enough to matter.” Where has this attitude come from anyway, considering that there are an estimated 180 million legally blind people worldwide, 35 million of whom are totally blind? Granted, all these people don’t have Amazon but a significant percentage of them do. Why have we become convinced that we are a tiny population who cannot effect change? It just isn’t true. Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that the blind community is only as large as the number of people who follow us on social networking sites. Let’s not make the mistake of believing that accessibility is only a blindness-related concern, and that no one else is affected. And let’s not assume just because we advocated for accessibility and were rejected by an unfeeling corporate entity, that the same thing will happen when we bring our cause to empathetic individuals. Corporations may not care, but people do. And they don’t have to be members of the blind community to understand the situation. Amazon can safely ignore one, or two, or three customers who boycott their services, but what happens when thousands, or millions  do? You may be only one person, but you’re a person with a voice. So how can you use it? Here are just a few suggestions, and we would welcome yours as well.

You can read the blog describing the concept of the Kindle fire sale, and visit the web site later created for the purpose of organizing it. You can approach your local newspaper and let the public know how Amazon’s business decisions affect an entire community of paying consumers. You can cancel your Amazon prime membership, citing lack of accessibility as your reason. You can approach content creators and explain that you can’t make use of their content when it is provided through Amazon. You can approach your school system or university and explain how Amazon’s lack of accessibility continues to affect disabled students. You can contact your favorite tech enthusiasts like members of the TWiT Network, CNET Podcast Network, or In To Tomorrow just to name a few, and broadcast your views on mainstream podcasts. You can share this post, and others like it, with people who will make a business case for accessibility right alongside you. You can share your comments on this blog so that anyone who reads it, including Amazon themselves, will understand that it isn’t just a small group of people who care about the issue.  Oh, and let’s not forget, you can contact Amazon directly. You can do so by phone at (800) 201-7575, or by email at kindle-feedback@amazon.com

Or, you can always sit back and wait for someone else to make your world accessible, in which case you’ll be waiting a very long time. In the initial Kindle review, we closed with a statement that is still particularly apt. Don’t just wait for accessibility to happen. Be an active participant in making it happen.

By Ricky Enger

With contributions from Serotalk Staff

The Serotalk team was quite excited to read that Amazon would be releasing the third generation of its popular Kindle EReader, and this time the device would boast several accessibility enhancements.  As soon as the unit was available, we purchased one from Amazon and began the process of testing it in-house.  The unit we chose had both wifi and 3G, and during our testing we used version 3.01 of the Kindle firmware and, a bit later, version 3.02.  We noticed no appreciable difference between the two firmware versions in terms of accessibility improvements. In this review, we will do our best to provide an accurate picture of what blind users can expect when using the Kindle 3.  In addition, with this post we aim to give feedback to the Amazon developers for creating an even better and more accessible Kindle user experience.  While we will give general descriptions of how to use the Kindle in this document, we strongly recommend that you read the User’s Guide if you’d like more in-depth instructions. 

Using the Kindle for The First Time

If you’ve purchased your Kindle using your Amazon account, the unit will come already registered to you, and the name on your Amazon account will be displayed on the screen.  However, it will not talk when you first turn it on.  The accessibility on the Kindle consists of two features: “voice guide” and text-to-speech”. The “voice guide” feature is what you will use to navigate menus and materials on the device, and there is currently no way to enable this feature without sighted help.  To enable “voice guide”, press the menu button which is just above the 5-way navigation control, choose settings, and turn on “voice guide”.  Once this feature is on, it will remain activated even when you restart your Kindle.  While we’re glad to see this feature included, we’d like to see a way for a blind person to turn it on independently.  This could easily be done by assigning a keyboard shortcut, allowing it to be toggled at will.  Other keyboard shortcuts already exist for doing things like adding bookmarks, posting to social networks and so on, and this could easily be added in a firmware update.

Acquiring Content

There are thousands of text and audio books, periodicals and blogs which can be read with your Kindle.  You can transfer your personal documents, as well as Audible content and MP3 music to your device directly from your computer.  The Kindle appears as a removable drive in Windows Explorer, allowing you to copy content from your computer.  When you’d like to purchase new content, there are two ways for Kindle users to do this.  Users can shop in the Kindle store from their computer, or directly from the device itself.  Unfortunately, only one of these methods is accessible for blind users at this time.  Neither the Kindle Store nor the web browser on the device is accessible.  You’ll need to purchase any items you’d like to read using your computer, and those items will then be delivered wirelessly to your Kindle.  When searching for text content in the Kindle store, you’ll want to be sure and read the description of the content you hope to purchase.  The description indicates whether the content you’ve selected allows the use of text-to-speech or not.  If you purchase content with the text-to-speech option disabled by request of the publisher, you’ll be unable to read it accessibly on your device.

Navigating and Reading Content

As mentioned above, there are several types of content which can be read with the Kindle.  These include, but are not limited to, books, newspapers and magazines, blogs, and Audible content.  The Kindle’s text-to-speech feature is used to read text content aloud using the Samantha or Tom voice from Nuance.  The text-to-speech settings on the device allow you to switch between male and female voices, and you can also choose from 3 speed settings: slower, default, and faster.  We found that the default speed sounded most natural for reading, and though the “faster” setting did give us the speed we were hoping for, the speech sounded choppy and uncomfortable to listen to.  However, this is not a function of the device, but rather the text-to-speech engine itself.

Books

To read a book on the Kindle, use the 5-way navigation controller to move through the content displayed on your kindle’s home screen. Note that you can always push the home button from anywhere to take you to this screen.  The Page-up and page-down keys can be used to move through pages on the home screen.  “Voice Guide” will announce the number of pages present on the home screen, as well as the page you’re currently on.  Once you’ve found the book you’d like to read, press the center of the 5-way navigation controller.  Now, the book is open, and you’ll hear its title as well as a percentage indicator of where you are in the book.  In order to begin reading the book though, you’ll need to enable text-to-speech.  Do this by pressing the text key, just to the right of the space bar, and choosing “text-to-speech”: “turn on”, from the menu.  The book will immediately begin reading from the beginning, or from the last place you stopped.  To pause or resume speech, press the space bar.

At this time, navigation within a text is not possible.  You cannot use the page-up or page-down buttons to scroll through text, even if text-to-speech is paused.  You also cannot move through the text using the 5-way navigation controller.  When text-to-speech is off, there are numerous ways to navigate within a book.  Users can press the page-up and page-down keys to scroll through text, the 5-way navigation controller for more fine-grained scrolling, or the “go to” option, accessed by pressing the menu key, to choose a chapter or section.  Unfortunately, the chapters and sections are not spoken aloud by “voice guide” if you attempt to use the “go to” option, and this option does not appear at all once text-to-speech has been enabled.  Also, there is no spoken feedback when scrolling through the document if text-to-speech is off, so none of these options for navigation are available to the blind user.  This means that although you can read a book on the device, it is not ideal for materials such as textbooks, Bibles, or even the Kindle user’s guide, where you may want to jump to specific portions of the text rather than reading it straight through.

Newspapers and Periodicals

As mentioned above, the Kindle can provide access to thousands of newspapers and magazines, and this is where the device really shines, both for the blind and sighted user.  When subscribing to these types of materials, the latest issue will automatically be delivered wirelessly to your Kindle as soon as the content becomes available.  As with books, you may choose the periodical you’d like to read by navigating to it from the home screen.  Unlike books, however, you have a bit more control when navigating this type of content.  When you’ve chosen the periodical you’d like to read, “voice guide” will announce the option to view sections list.  Press the center of the 5-way navigation controller to do this.  Here,  you’ll see a list of sections in the periodical which you can navigate using up or down arrows on the 5-way navigation controller.  When you find a section of interest to you, press the right arrow to hear how many articles are in the section, and press the center of the navigation controller to be taken to the list of articles itself.  Navigate the articles with the up and down arrows, and press the center button on the article of your choice.  Unlike the home screen, where “voice guide” speaks the number of pages that the content list takes up, navigating the article list within a periodical only gives the number of articles in a particular section, but not the number of pages that the list covers.  This means that if, for example, you have a section containing 12 articles and you view the list of articles in that section, you may be initially confused because you only see titles for the first two articles in the list.  Pressing your page-up and page-down keys will allow you to navigate through the remainder of the articles in the list, but there is no indication of when you have reached the beginning or end of the list. 

Once you’ve opened an article by selecting it with the center button,  you’ll need to turn text-to-speech on to begin reading it.  Note that text-to-speech preferences for any content you read are not saved, meaning that you will need to enable text to speech for each bit of content you open, each time you open it.  As previously described in the section on reading books, it is not possible to scroll through text once text-to-speech has been enabled.  In addition, you cannot navigate to and activate any links present in the periodical.  To be able to do this, navigation within documents while text-to-speech is on would need to be supported, and the Kindle browser itself would need to be accessible.  We very much hope to see both these enhancements in a future release.

Despite these issues, we found reading periodicals on the Kindle a very pleasant experience.  In fact, we found reading this type of material on the Kindle preferable to reading it in the browser.  Since the interface for navigating through sections and articles was quite intuitive, and we didn’t have to skip past navigation links or advertisements as we would in a browser, we were able to read periodicals very efficiently with the Kindle.  We also liked the ability to clip an article whose text could later be shared with others.  We couldn’t clip particular passages since highlighting and selecting is not supported when text-to-speech is on, but clipping the article in its entirety was easy.  This is done by selecting and opening the article, and without enabling text-to-speech, pressing the menu button and choosing “clip article”.

Audiobooks

The Kindle supports reading of Audible content which can be purchased directly from the Kindle store and downloaded over wifi, or transferred from the PC when the Kindle is connected via USB.  As with other types of content, you may select the Audible book you’d like to read from the home screen.  After you’ve pressed the center button on the 5-way navigation controller, the book opens, announcing your current position and the remaining time in the file.  To play or pause, press the space bar.  Once the book is playing, you can use the left and right arrows on the 5-way navigation controller to view options, which include the ability to move to beginning, move backward and forward 30 seconds, and move to previous or next section. 

While we believe that an enhancement for adjusting playback speed would be a useful feature for blind and sighted users alike, there are no accessibility concerns with the current implementation of audiobook playback.

Adding Notes and Highlights

One of the best things about reading digital books on the Kindle is the ability to make notes to yourself about a section in a book, or highlight a particular passage that you find especially important.  This is quite useful when viewing study guides, religious texts, or even a book club selection you’re reading and discussing with others.  For the sighted user, Kindle makes it possible to highlight certain passages which you can later revisit, and you can even share these passages on social networks like Twitter or Facebook.  For the blind user, however, using this feature is not supported.  While you can add a note to a book, and later view it accessibly with your Kindle, you cannot associate that note with a particular spot in the book.  Without the ability to view the note in its proper context in the book, this feature is not at all useful at present.  Additionally, linking your social network accounts with your Kindle is not accessible, so the blind user cannot participate in sharing information with others. 

Searching With the Kindle

The Kindle allows you to search the materials on your device, two preloaded dictionaries, and even the Kindle store, using the built-in qwerty keyboard.  We were very pleased to note that this feature is quite usable by a blind person, at least when searching through content on the device.  While we would prefer an option for keys to be echoed as they are pressed, it was still possible for us to accurately type search terms without this. 

There are several ways to search for content, but the easiest way we’ve found is to simply begin typing your word or phrase while on the home screen, and pressing the center button to submit the search query.  You’ll be presented with a list of content containing your search terms, and the number of times the search term occurs within each piece of content.  Select the piece of content you want by navigating to it and pressing the center button, where you’ll be presented with a list of passages within the content that contain your search terms.  A couple of sentences of the passage are read by “voice guide”, which makes it very easy to determine if you’ve found the passage you wanted.  You can select your passage with the center key, and the content will open with the cursor positioned on the sentence in the passage containing your search terms.  You’ll still need to enable text-to-speech to begin reading your content.

While searching content on the device works well, we were very disappointed when searching either of the dictionaries included by default with the Kindle.  Yes, we could find the terms we searched for, but neither of the dictionaries included in the device allow the use of text-to-speech.  Since Amazon certainly has a say in which content is preloaded on the Kindle, it was disheartening to see that no effort was made to include a dictionary usable by blind consumers.  We want to see this rectified in a future release, whether through negotiations with publishers to allow text-to-speech to be used with their books, or through selecting dictionaries which don’t have text-to-speech restrictions.

The Bottom Line

The Kindle has made quite significant improvements to its accessibility since text-to-speech was first introduced on the second-generation unit.  We are very hopeful that Amazon will continue its commitment to accessibility with each new firmware revision of the current hardware.  As things stand, this unit makes an excellent choice for reading newspapers, magazines, blogs and audiobooks.  With that said, there are some major changes which must be made before this device can truly take its rightful place in the homes and classrooms of blind consumers.  While some of these changes must happen on the Kindle itself, there are broader concerns.  Namely, even when the Kindle becomes fully accessible, a disturbing number of authors and publishers do not allow the use of text-to-speech with their materials.  This was brought about when Amazon, under pressure from the Authors Guild, allowed authors and publishers to disable text-to-speech in their materials if they wished.  In negociations with a number of disability groups, including the National Federation of The Blind, the Authors guild proposed two solutions for allowing text-to-speech to be used by the blind and print-disabled community.  One suggestion was that the right to use text-to-speech should cost the consumer extra money, and this suggestion was summarily dismissed.  The other proposed solution was a registration service, wherein a person would prove their print disability in order to gain access to text-to-speech in all published materials.  This system was deemed burdensome by the coalition of disability groups involved in the negociations and was not implemented.  We don’t know if the system was rejected because of privacy concerns surrounding the need to disclose disability, concerns that certain disability groups would be excluded by the proposed system, or some combination of the two.  You can read the Reading Rights Coalition’s description of the issue, and the Authors Guild’s response to get a better idea of the big picture.  Both the items above were posted in April 2009, and sadly there have been no significant changes in the state of things since that time.  With the major improvements we’ve already seen in the accessibility of the Kindle itself, it’s more important than ever that we advocate for full accessibility to its content as well.  For a start, you can sign the petition to allow everyone access to ebooks.  You can contact the Authors Guild directly with your concerns.  You can become involved with the Reading Rights Coalition.  You can contact publishers and authors who have chosen to disable text-to-speech in their Kindle ebooks, and share in your own words how that decision affects you directly. 

Regarding accessibility of the Kindle itself, here are the five essential updates we’d like to see in the next firmware release.

ü  Ability to turn on Voice Guide independently.

ü  Implementation of universal text-to-speech setting, eliminating the need to turn on text-to-speech for each piece of content.

ü  Ability to navigate and select text within a book.

ü  Ability to highlight or make notes on specific passages in a book.

ü  Ability to browse the Kindle store and purchase items directly from the device.

With these changes, we strongly believe that the Kindle will become an invaluable tool in the hands of blind students everywhere, and will be equally appreciated by those who want the freedom to purchase and read a good book, no matter where they are.  These changes cannot happen though without sincere and constructive feedback from the blind community.  It is not enough to say we want a device to be accessible.  We must be actively involved in making that accessibility take shape.  Whether you choose to express your support for Amazon’s accessibility efforts by purchasing the Kindle now or simply by sharing your appreciation for the progress so far, let your voice be heard.  Send your feedback, suggestions, and ideas to kindle-feedback@amazon.com.  Don’t just wait for accessibility to happen; be an active participant in making it happen.