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

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

Thanks for listening!

Have you ever been curious about the magic that goes into creating a podcast? We thought some of you might be, so before SPN completes its revamp of the old format, we thought we’d give you a rare glimpse of our virtual studios.

Coming up: The history, the mechanics, and the people responsible for making the SeroTalk Podcast what it became.

For comments, questions and criticisms of the show, please leave a comment on this post, e-mail them to resources (at) serotalk (dot) com, Tweet them @SeroTalk, or use your iBlink Radio app to send us an iReport!

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

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

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

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

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

Where the heck is SeroTalk 229?

That’s been the gist of an increasing number of e-mails to the SeroTalk team, for which we are grateful, and at long last, we have some developments to share.

Join Hope Povenmire on an interview with Mike Calvo concerning the upcoming changes to the network. We’re remodeling the party palace, and we think you’ll like what you find in the months ahead. Or, you should, considering you’re going to be a more active part of it.

But, tune in to decide for yourself.

As always, for comments, questions and criticisms, please leave a comment on this post, e-mail them to resources inbox,, Tweet them @SeroTalk, or use your iBlink Radio app to send us an iReport!

Serotek proudly announces the first public release candidate for DocuScan Plus V3, a powerful and affordable OCR option with cross-platform support. Before we deem it final, we’d like you to help us kick the tires. You do not have to be a current Serotek customer to participate, but note that certain features may only be available for customers who have pre-ordered the product.

New features

• Updated OCR engine
• OCR for other languages, including: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (including Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish
• Bookshare integration
• Improved heading detection
• Place marking within large documents
• Ability to import documents in popular text formats so users can convert them to DAISY, MP3, or Braille, and store them in the cloud; formats include: .epub, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, .html
• Ability to open image files, including: .jpg, .png, .tiff, .gif, .bmp
• Ability to open documents in DSP directly from Windows Explorer
• More efficient processing of long PDF documents
• Better consistency in functionality and UI between the Windows and Mac versions
• Better support for third-party screen readers in the Windows version; users can use DSP in conjunction with a third-party screen reader rather than putting the screen reader to sleep.

Install the Release Candidate Now!

The installation process will be intuitive. Remember, you do not need to use System Access as your screen reader for DSP to work. Feel free to stick to your own screen reader on Windows.

Download the Windows Release Candidate here. The RC is a part of our normal Windows installer. Simply choose the correct package at installation.

Download the Mac version here.

Full documentation will be provided upon final release. But, don’t panic. Our products are traditionally designed to be as intuitive as possible, beginning with the installation.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact technical support.

What better way to ring in the unofficial start to the summer season than a comprehensive look into cruise vacations? For some, this multi-billion dollar industry adds up to the perfect vacation. For those who have never been on a cruise, it might sound more like the perfect nightmare.

Our guest on this SeroTalk Extra is Bill Kociaba–who, in addition to a wealth of knowledge on all things health and wellness, knows a thing or two about those floating cities on the sea.

Show Highlights

Among other topics, we discuss:

• Hey, aren’t cruises generally for the newly wed or the nearly dead?
• Why would I want to vacation on a ship and not a resort?
• What are the various types of cruises?
• Before I get excited, how much does it generally cost?
• What does the price generally include?
• Okay, so maybe I’m on the fence. What’s the best way to book a trip?
• What are the passport requirements, and what other logistics should I consider?
• What should I pack?
• Are there such things as healthy meal options aboard these ships?
• What kind of medical services can I count on while aboard?
• Fine fine, but what if I spend the whole trip feeling seasick?
• What can people possibly find to do to stay entertained aboard a ship?
• What’s the one cruise and/or excursion I should consider taking?

Additional Reading

So, are you interested yet? Fantastic! Check out these helpful articles:

Repositioning Cruises: How to Get a Luxury Cruise for Cheap

How can you land a $400 room on the Celebrity Reflection for just $62 a night? Keep reading.

Imagine finding a luxury hotel room that costs just $62 a night, a price that includes all of your meals and a view of the ocean from your private balcony.

Sounds like a pretty great deal right? Well, it’s for real.

That’s the kind of nightly room price you can find when booking a vacation on a repositioning cruise. Read more.

How to Save Money on Your Next Cruise

Sometimes you have to make a choice: go for the easy cruise fare, or spend a lot of time searching for the perfect rock-bottom rate. With multiple lines
offering a range of ship classes with sailings every single week of the year, you can go nuts researching all the possibilities and picking the best offer. Let us help you simplify. Here are our top 10 tips for saving money on your next cruise. Follow our advice, and you can be confident you’re not getting
gouged on your vacation bill. Read more.

How to Save Big Money on Cruises

The cost of vacations at sea can quickly add up — but it doesn’t have to. The trick to saving big money on cruises is to shop smart and make the most out of the deals and discounts cruise lines and related industries have to offer. With a little savvy ahead of time as well as on board, you can have a blast for less during your next floating holiday.

Step 1

Score heavy discounts by booking your trip during wave season, which lasts from January to March. This is the time of year when the cruise lines offer lots of money-saving enticements to persuade travelers to book vacations. You don’t have to travel during wave season — you just have to book the trip. Committing at the beginning of the year during this deal-heavy season can get you various extra perks, such as onboard credits, cabin upgrades and free airfare. Read more.

Get in Touch!

Have any tips of your own? Have you been on a cruise and want to share your experience? Or, did you go on a cruise and hated it? Send us your feedback!

For comments, questions and criticisms of the show, please leave a comment on this post, e-mail them to resources (at) serotalk (dot) com, Tweet them @SeroTalk, or use your iBlink Radio app to send us an iReport!

This week’s book Audible recommendation is Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would “unwind” them.

Conner’s parents want to be rid of him because he’s a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev’s unwinding has
been planned since his birth, as part of his family’s strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely
companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

If they can survive until their 18th birthdays, they can’t be harmed – but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a
world gone mad, 18 seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges listeners’ ideas about life – not just where life begins, and where it ends,
but what it truly means to be alive.

Download your free copy at AudiblePodcast.com/SeroTalk

Headlines

These are some of the recent headlines since we last chatted:

Cyanogen partners with Microsoft to integrate Bing, other MS services

What’s next for Microsofts Universal Apps

Google and Facebook change their algorithms

EU to investigate transparency of internet search results

Many Government Tiplines Not Encrypted

Match.com’s HTTP-only login page puts millions of passwords at risk

Verizon introduces new ways to customize FiOS TV subscription

Facebook unveils phone app Hello

This ‘Smart’ Pillow Connects To Your Phone And Uses Speakers To Help You Sleep

MIT’s Media Lab develops new “NailO” fingernail trackpad

IKEA Introduces Wireless Charging Furniture; Going to Hit Markets Soon

FBI and TSA Warn Airlines to Watch Out For Wi-Fi Hacks

Accessibility Talk

Congratulations to this year’s AFB Access Award Winners

Including Microsoft, but what’s this opinion by NFB Computer Science President Curtis Chong claiming Accessibility at Microsoft More Challenges than Victories

And a response from Chris Hofstader: Accessibility and NFBCS: More Questions Than Results

But, don’t come down too hard on the NFB. Among other projects, they’re tackling Indoor navigation

And they’re not the only ones. Video Game found to help the blind navigate buildings

And this guy’s planning on replacing guide dogs with drones? Eelke Folmer uses human-computer interaction research to help blind and visually impaired people

Finally, some audio description! Netflics Dare Devil accessible to the Blind After Complaints Check out these additional articles for helpful tips. Instructions to toggle descriptive audio & control Netflix videos in Chrome on the Mac And, How to Enable Audio Description on Netflix for iPhone, Android, and Apple TV

Maybe it’s not such a bad time to be blind. What say you? What it’s like to go blind And Am I Really Blind? Adapting to Adaptive Technology

Human Interest

This guy says Disability will be conquered this century. Don’t believe him? Suit yourself, or, freeze yourself, because this 2 year old was cryogenically frozen by her parents.

Mailbag

We weren’t able to cover all the feedback in the recording, but here is some of the feedback that made it out to us before release:

From Jenine:

Hi Gang,

Yes, a couple of these robot guide projects have been done before, mostly in Japan.

Maybe this one though will prove a bit more realistic. It seems when people try these kinds of things with the focus on blindness, they allow all sorts of stereotypical experiences of blindness to interfere with the actual use of the device. even when they include blind people in the testing, their focus often goes wrong, sideways somehow if you know what I mean.

Having a larger sample of people and experience to work with, plus a pretty demanding population, First Responders who are used to their equipment working, as well as having life and death in the balance, will hopefully yield a bit more gravity to the product.

In other words, everyone can relate to being in a smoke filled building and needing help to find someone or the way out or stairs or whatever. They don’t inflict their own perceptions about things like blindness on to that experience as they would if creating for just “the blind”.

And hey, if this robot happens to also help blind people by becoming a robot guide, great!

I just keep thinking of K9 from the Dr. Who series.

Can I get one with anatomical features and fur? If so, I want a dire wolf guide, though I hear they are pretty big.

Sadly, given that most of the trouble with fake service dogs is with those claiming to be for emotional support or things like allergy detection, the robot guide wouldn’t help. Nice thought though.

Jenine Stanley

From Louis:

Hello Joe, Katie, and Laine,

I am listening to episode 227 as I’m typing this, and I’m enjoying the show immensely. I think each of you bring a unique opinion to the table, so keep up the great work and bring on the controversy!

I was talking to someone the other day, and I expressed my frustration with how ignorant/oblivious the general public can be towards people with disabilities. I’m sure you’ve experienced the being talked to like a toddler treatment, or the let’s grab your arm and drag you in this direction treatment, just to name a few scenarios. The response I received was that the struggles we are experiencing are similar to the struggles women and African Americans experienced as they fought for equal rights. How do you feel about the parallels being drawn between the trials of these three groups?

As the conversation went on, we touched on the topic of blind people being compared to certain blind celebrities. For example, I had someone tell me that it’s great that Stevie Wonder can have people help him everywhere. If someone is a disabled celebrity, do you think they have a greater duty to show the world what we are capable of, rather than cementing certain stereotypes? Also, if they do not have certain skills, like say mobility skills or independent living skills, is it their fault for showing their inadequacies to the public and not seek the training that would make them more independent?

Last question, when is it okay to be mad/annoyed, and when should you just grin and joke about public misconceptions?

Thanks for reading my musings, and I hope to hear your thoughts.

Louis

From Josh:

Hello all. I really enjoyed Serotalk Podcast 227 and the Triple Click Home extra on the Apple watch. I wanted to share my opinions on assisted suicide and the usefulness of Braille. As a Bible believing Christian, I believe all human life is precious because I believe that God is the creator of life. I am therefore categorically opposed to assistive suicide regardless of the circumstances. As someone who has undergone two craniotomies as well as several other operations, I understand the agony and depression pain can cause. I also know that God has taught me many important life lessons through pain. While I will take advantage of a sight restoring method if one is created, I am also thankful for my blindness and problems, because they’ve made me a more mature person.
I also take some issue with Joe’s definition of literacy. As an avid reader of audio books, I believe that while reading is important, it doesn’t have to only mean recognition of how letters look. While I am not advocating for the use of audio books only, I don’t think the question should be either or, but both. I realized that reading textbooks in Braille was slo and absolutely inefficient for me in high-school. On the other hand, if I couldn’t read braille signage, I’d be in big trouble! Have a wonderful week,

Josh in Illinois

From Jesse, regarding the SeroTalk Extra Tech Chat episode:

Hello everybody,

I really enjoyed the special. It is nice to hear a bunch of people get together and hash things out. It was an informative, and sometimes slightly heated, debate. Overall, I thought it went well. Mike might have become a little aggressive in defending his opinion but that is just how it seemed from my end. I just wanted to give my thoughts on what was discussed in regards to the future of AT if we continue on this road to mobile devices.

While I think Apple should be held accountable for its actions now that it has become a provider of assistive technology, I slightly agree with Mike that we can’t hold them to the same standard. This is because Apple doesn’t have as much experience with accessibility as third-party assistive technology companies have. Most of these companies have been dealing in accessibility for a long time and also, they only make assistive products. To my knowledge, Apple hasn’t been dealing in this market as long as companies like Freedom Scientific or GW Micro and even though Serotek hasn’t been around as long as some of the pioneers, Accessible products is what they do. I do not, however, think we should continue to give Apple a pass. In this fast-moving world of technology, Apple has been in the AT business quite a while and it is time they really start getting it right.

I worry that we will have the same problem with Microsoft. I have not played with previews of Windows 10 but I have heard that Narrator is improved and I assume Windows wants to eventually have integrated accessibility like Apple has. If Matt Campbell says it is going to become difficult for third-party screen readers to “hook and hack” as we move toward a more mobile lifestyle, and who would know better than somebody who has to do the hooking and hacking, we may have to rely on an integrated screen reader. I see two solutions to the worry of having no other choice than substandard screen readers.

The first, which was mentioned on the podcast, would be for blind programmers to grab the opportunity and offer their services to these companies. I think this will be the answer to Apple’s problems.

The second would be for Microsoft to purchase one of the existing assistive technology companies or at least the screen reading and magnification sectors. These are companies with products which work already and who know a lot about what they do. This way, we could unbox our Microsoft product and have JAWS, System Access, NVDA or WindowEyes integrated into the OS. Sure, it would eliminate choices but it looks like that is inevitable anyway. It beats getting stuck in the same situation with Windows where we have a fully functional screen reader but find ourselves overlooking inexcusable mistakes because we are just glad to have access.

I apologize that this message is long-winded but I really wanted to get my thoughts out there and ask the question of why Microsoft doesn’t just save a lot of hassle and buy something that already works. Great job on the podcast and I hope it can keep informing people for years to come.

Regards,
Jesse Tregarthen

From Keith:

Hi everybody!

I found podcast 227 to be exciting and informative.

Regarding guidedog robots, that might possibly be interesting or maybe not, but because we don’t actually have them around to see what reactions are, its hard to say one way or the other.

Regarding what Joe had to say about that Social Security article, I find myself thinking that one day we will either have increased taxes, or one day actually no Social Security.
In 2016, we’re going to be seeing lots of babyboomers retiring.
Then we’ll see more and more continue over the next several years to retire, leaving the rest of us to deal with what economic situation this will ultimately create.
I for one, don’t believe that we’ll have Social Security forever.
And I think that it is about time that people started thinking about relying les on the Government to take care of tere futures mmoney wise, and started thinking about other ways of making a living so that you can be in charge of your own future.
Personally, I see entrepreneurship as the solution, I believe in empowerment of people, rather than employment being the ultimate answer.

However, that being said, I think that for those that choose employment, that’s awesome.

Whatever works best for you ultimately despite my opinion is what matters here.

But I’m curious what the rest of you think.

Does anybody agree or disagree or have any other thoughts about Social Security ultimately not being something that will continue to exist?
As more people lean on Social Security, I think we’re going to see money disappear from the program.

Pensions are an old concept as well that no longe rapply to most young folks today trying to find work.

Then we have the issue of defined contribution retirement vs defined benefit plans.
Most folks aren’t even putting anything in to their retirement plan.
And at the age of 65, the IRS will require taxes to be paid on those plans.

So, ast o if we’ll have enough money int he long term to keep thigns going the way they currently work?

I believe no, but would like to see what the rest of you have to say.

Thank you for another awesome podcast and I look forward to the next one.

I enjoy the stile of the new voices on the podcast as well, and like hearing all your different perspectives on the topics that come up for each show.

Sincerely,

Keith

From Gary:

Hi Joe,

I listened to your excellent Serotalk podcast this evening. During your discussion of Braille, my impression was that you were coming very close to equating Braille and literacy. There is little question that were one suddenly able to become a proficient Braille user, few would decline the opportunity, including me. Braille is a skill I would like to have developed when I was young. However, when I did try to teach myself as an adult, my success was minimal. Even so, the little I did learn was very useful.

Having acknowledged the point that being able to use Braille efficiently would be a very good thing and further knowing that young blind children learning Braille would be a good thing as well, please do not suggest that learning Braille is the only path to literacy. The notion that not knowing how to read and write using Braille is somehow equated with not being able to become fully literate is silly and quite wrong.

I also think that is a deep rabbit hole you head down when you suggest that using readers or text to speech or other electronic methods is not reading. Since few written materials were originally produced in Braille, having them converted to Braille and then reading the Braille is not much different than having them converted to speech. You come close to arguing that your accommodation is better than my accommodation which is another one of those silly arguments.

Thanks for the time and effort you and the others devote to making the podcast available to those of us who enjoy it a lot. I always look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide this feedback.

Gary Crow

p.s. Your point about Braille and better spelling is quite likely very true.

From William:

i am pretty frustrated with Sero talk podcasts. I like getting information from serotalk but its become a chore to slog through long podcasts of often dubious conjecture about what Apple or Microsoft will do in the future in oreder to get to where some actual useful information is conveyed. How about splitting a 90 minute podcast into segments sent as separate episodes? That would allow us to spend our time on the stories and comments that were useful to us and skip over those stories or opinions that we may feel are wasting our time because they are of no particular interest to us?

Secondly, on the matter of Braille, an opinion was expressed and agreed upon, that if one did not learn Braille one was illiterate. That comment was surely not meant to be as offensive and bigoted as it sounded to those of us who loss sight later in life and have never learned Braille proficiently. One who takes advantage of electronic text and does not know Braille is far from illiterate. I assume this comment was made in an off hand manner and was not well considered.

I also found the comments on the future viability of social security disability benefits to be based in a lack of depth of understanding of this rather important but complex issue and seemed to reflect the commentators political bias then any real understanding of the issues involved.

I would love to see SPN use its fantastic resource of talent to do “how to” podcasts”. How to use our dvices to the fullest, how to navigate unknown places, how to use excel as a blind person, for example, or any number topics where your resource of knowledgeable talent can be put to use making great tutorials. I think that would make SPN a real winner.

sincerely,

William Austin

Special Note

In response to the Braille feedback, there’s a blog post response here you can check out and join the dialogue.

Get in Touch!

Want to connect with our hosts? Tweet us! Katie @holnan, Laine @laine_amoureux, and Joe @ScribblingJoe.

For comments, questions and criticisms of the show, please leave a comment on this post, e-mail them to resources (at) serotalk (dot) com, Tweet them @SeroTalk, or use your iBlink Radio app to send us an iReport!

On this episode, the audiobook recommendation from Audible comes to us via Katie, who recommends Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz, which you can download for free at AudiblePodcast.com/SeroTalk.

SPN has been growing in leaps and bounds. Would you rather only receive the material you care about? Check out our Subscriptions page to sign up for the specific content you want.

Tech Headlines

These are the tech headlines that popped up since we last got together:

Microsoft’s new Surface 3 tablet: Hands-on review

Verizon Wireless Customers Can Now Opt Out of ‘Supercookies’

TrueCrypt security audit is good news, so why all the glum faces?

Microsoft will not enable Do Not Track by default in Project Spartan

Apple Watch for Sale in Retail Stores by Reservation Only, No Walk-In Sales

Apple will let you trade in your Android phone toward a new iPhone

Gmail for Android Gets a Combined Inbox View, Better Search, and More

Want to secure your social info? Facebook shows you how

Amazon takes on Angie’s List with handymen for hire

Comcast Speeding Up Its Broadband With 2-Gigabit Fiber Service

Samsung patents tech that lets you control your phone with your eyes

9th Circuit rules Netflix isn’t subject to disability law

Accessibility Talk

Don’t forget! Registration for the 8th annual ACVO/StokesRx National Service Animal Eye Exam opens April 1

Of course, the announcement may be irrelevant since ‘Robot on reins’ could soon replace guide dogs

Facebook Wants Your Business To Learn From Its Accessibility Efforts. You’ll note Joe expresses a bit of skepticism. Of course, after recording, the AFB’s AccessWorld® comes out with a positive take on the site’s accessibility. Check that out here.

Elsewhere in tech accessibility, or evolution, we have Five years ago the iPad changed clicks to touches – but another tablet revolution is coming.

And on a more serious note, here are 7 huge disability issues you may not know about, or at least your general peers may not be aware of them.

And, it seems the question persists: Is Braille Obsolete?

By the way, did you hear our very own Laine is being honored this month? Laine Amoureux – National Achievement Awards

Human Interest

In human interest, A Blind Mman Flies a Plane for the First Time But, what about everyone else? When You Realize You’ll Never Get Your Dream Job.

From the Mailbag

From Juan:

Hi guys,
Thank you for your good work. A shout out goes to my paisano Joe Orozco, and another shoutout to the pretty ladies who make The podcast possible. I liked the comment about how Audible portrays hispanics with a thick accent. I live in California, but when I attended the Louisiana Center for the blind, I received negative feedback from those around me over there, as they weren’t accustomed to being around a Mexican American. I do believe that as being blind and Mexican-American, I am as equal as those who are black, white, Asian and cited.

Juan Avila

From Jenine,

Hello Joe, Katie and Laine,

So everyone enjoy your mobility choices and remember, practice makes, if not perfect, at least pretty darn good.

Thanks Jenine, and here are some relevant articles you guys may enjoy reading on the subject of service animals:

• The 4-legged Scandle no one is talking about
• What businesses need to know about service dog law
• What Working a Seeing Eye Dog has Tought me

From Brad:

Interesting items again this time crew.

Good job again this time boy and girls.

SeroTalk Extra Feedback

Listen to our SeroTalk Extra Tech Chat Edition episode.

From Mike Arrigo:

Enjoyed the show about the Apple watch. I won’t be getting one for several reasons. For one thing, I usually don’t buy the first version of anything, I would rather wait and let them work the bugs out first.
Second, I just don’t see the point. What would a watch give me that my phone doesn’t already do? It may sell at first just because it’s a new thing, but I agree that it’s a solution in search of a problem.
I think Mike is right about IOS 8. It’s ok now, but I am so glad I waited until after several updates before leaving IOS 7. Even on mac OS 10.10, there are still a few issues that it has compared to 10.9. If Steve were still here, I’m sure he would have never tolerated that kind of quality.

From Dave:

Hi, Dave from Vincennes In.
One comment as far as pc versis mobile phone/tabs. I like 3rd party s.a’s because of the bigger variety of voices. You don’t have that option of 3rd party voices with mobile phones or tabs. With maybe, one exception. I was attrackted to My Iphone because right from the factory it had some voices so I can opporate the phone and alot of apps. I like neo vlice paul for my lap top wich, is a windows computer but Paul is not available for my Iphone. Keep up the great work Serotech!

From Ken:

Hello SeroTalk Team,

Introduction

I normally restrict comments for podcasts like SeroTalk to resources for people asking for help finding products or services. My views tend towards the unpopular and since I am not within the Assistive Technology community are condescendingly dismissed as being from an uninformed dullard. This is a simplified paraphrase of the adtual comments about the points that I make but the purport is correct.

Personal History on Commenting