The aftermath of the reason Apple event, a musical mailbag and much more awaits you on this week’s episode of the podcast as Jamie, Ricky and Joe talk about the top news stories of the week. After the news, Pratik Patel joins Jamie to discuss the state of accessibility with regard to Windows Phone. All that plus your feedback makes for a jam-packed episode of the SeroTalk Podcast.

A T Talk

Jaws 16 Public Beta 1

Coming Soon: iOS Access for All Update for iOS 8

Find out more about how Drive and the Docs editors are now a lot friendlier for blind and low-vision users

Google Voice and Hangouts learn to play nice together

2-Hour Refund Window For Paid Apps And Games On The Play Store Is Officially Official

RNIB audio logo competition

Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in the trunk

Apple Aftermath

Between Google and Apple, the smartwatch wars are over before they’ve even begun

Some future model of the Apple Watch will probably have more sensors

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Which one should you buy?

Update: iPhone 6 Plus shipping estimates slip to 3-4 weeks

But what if I didn’t want a bigger iPhone?

Hands on with Apple Pay: NFC, barcode scan, on online purchases!

On Death and iPods: A Requiem

Apple puts up support page to get U2 album out of your iTunes

Mailbag

Hello SeroTalk Team, I have some comments For episode 210. First when you guys were talking about drones and indoor mapping early in the podcast all I could think about was seeing eye drones. Its the wave of the future. Next I was watching the most recent episode of Windows Weekly and they had a Microsoft add promoting Kortana on there I think you guys need to listen to. It will have you rolling on the ground laughing, unless your a big Apple fan. One more thing I want to mention. At the end Jamie and Buddy were talking a little about the Apple watch. When I heard the name on the announcement all I could think was “WOW now we have an A-Watch”. Have a good one and keep up the good work.

Greg Wocher(Your friendly neighborhood BlindMan)

Dear Serotalk staff, my name is Tamer Zaid and I’m from Houston Texas and I’m contacting you’all regarding podcast 209 and I want to comment on what Joe had talked about how people that have short term memory don’t have an idea of there spacial surroundings. Never the less, I’m a person that has a slight short term memory issue and I’m just 21 years old and I had accepted that I have this issue and I rely on my parents too take me places like college and volunteer work. I do suffer from walking with the cane just because I just don’t remember a rout from the first time when I do it. I need practice and practice until I finally get how to do it. I do utilize many tools during my day that can help me with remembering things and one tool that I just love is the iPhone. Also, I do really suggest that wearable technology should be around just because it will help me and might help many people that suffer from memory problems. The way I suffer from that dumb short term memory issue is by not remembering a place that you go to the first time. I’m great at using and knowing how to hold the cane, but I lack at traveling. Also, I’m not a multi-tasker and that makes it even worse. So, I just try to udilize my family and public transportation like Metro Lift here in Houston to go places like volunteer work. I just love being independent. Also, I love tactle maps just because I had vision before and I do still remember from my long term memory how things look like. Also, I do remember things that happened to me before I became blind. I do still remember colors and how things look like and I really thing that a person has to have a visual idea about what their touching like a 3d object to understand what it is. See, I don’t have that problem just because I have seen 3d objects and I do understand how they work. Also, I think that this topic should be widely known and discussed among various blind groups. It doesn’t mean I know it that everybody knows it. So, I think that it is a great topic to talk about. Well, thank you for the great work and I thank you’all for the great work that you’all do. You’all are awesome!

Regards, Tamer Zaid

Roundabout

How Social Media Affects Your Brain and Body

The history of Hold Music

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss all the top news stories of the week except one. Jamie and Buddy will discuss the big story at the end of the podcast. All other stories covered in this episode include:

A T Talk

NVDA 2014.3 now Available

BlindSquare now supports @transitapp, and this podcast shows how it works

Transit App ~ Now with Citi Bike, Divvy & Capital Bikeshare! on the App Store on iTunes

For blind bus riders, a new app boosts independence

Voiceover Easy Home Page

New iBooks Textbook Helps Visually Impaired Visit the Stars Through Touch and Sound

Low-Cost Refreshable Braille Device Available in 2016

Unachievable or Unwanted: Why Is ACE Opposed to Accessibility Guidelines?

Mainstream Matters

Google Unveils The Cartographer, Its Indoor Mapping Backpack

The Smart Home Is Going To Be A Huge Boon To Accessibility

Samsung announces the Galaxy Note 4 and new Galaxy Note Edge

Twitter CFO says a Facebook-style filtered feed is coming, whether you like it or not

Tim Cook Says Apple to Add Security Alerts for iCloud Users

9 Awesome Features Smartphones Still Don’t Have

Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now: An early look at how Cortana stacks up (hands-on)

Roundabout

The never-ending story of FXRadio where only your imagination limits what happens

Read lost Charlie and the Chocolate Factory chapter deemed ‘too wild’ to publish

Google’s latest object recognition tech can spot everything in your living room

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

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

Please note this is not an in-person event.

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

Buddy Brannan joins Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger for this episode of the podcast. Along with the top news of the week including an announcement from Serotek, jamie demonstrates our newly-released version of iBlink Radio for the Mac. Stories covered in this podcast include:

Serotek Announces iBlink Radio for the Mac

Why is Skype forcing a software upgrade on all of us?

GWConnect ends August 4

Free Online Training – Using Skype for Windows Desktop with Window-Eyes

Short Skype course from CAVI

Orbit Research and the Transforming Braille Group Announce Agreement to Produce Low-Cost Refreshable Braille Display

NV Access | Speech Synthesizer Survey 1

Mosen Consulting eBook, “iOS 8 Without the Eye”

Announcing: ChAPPters

Redbox agrees to provide better access for blind customers

Revisiting the “Switch to Android full-time” experiment

Microsoft is finally killing support for old versions of Internet Explorer

4 Reasons Microsoft’s Surface Might Bite the Dust

Windows ‘Threshold’ to drop charms, add virtual desktop

BlackBerry still on shaky ground, but it continues to secure lucrative security clearances

Dial-Up Still a Cash Cow for AOL

Apple, Samsung Agree to End Patent Suits Outside U.S.

Report: Sprint to Drop T-Mobile Bid, CEO | News & Opinion

Roundabout

70 Years of Smokey: The Story of America’s Firefighting Bear

Toddler squeezes through White House fence

With an All-Deaf Wait Staff, New Restaurant Asks Guests to Order in Sign Language

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

A SAMNet subscription is required for some features.

What in the World is SAMNet?

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

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

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

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

To help remake accessibility training as we know it, visit http://www.a11y.tv/ to view training subscription options and make your contribution to EZFire’s A11YTV funding campaign.

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they manage to talk about more than just the news from Apple’s WWDC keynote. Never fear, though; they discuss that topic at some length. After the news of the week, Jamie sits down with Mike Calvo to talk about the Philips HD8753/87 Intelia Automatic espresso machine. Topics covered in this podcast include:

A T Talk

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

Mac Master Series FAQ

Introducing Magnificent, a new magnifier app for iOS

Chicken Nugget 2.3: YouTube support, hidden timelines, run at startup, more!

Try the New ZoomText Beta for Windows 7

Google Glass gives the deaf an ASL interpreter, even in the dark

Mainstream Matters

CD Players, Reluctant Technology Learners, and the iPod

Samsung Simband Preview

Google’s prototype electric self-driving car seats two, has no steering wheel

Surface Pro 3 Is Coming

Summary of Announcements from WWDC 2014 Keynote | AppleVis

Roundabout

Legendary author Maya Angelou dies at age 86

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings narrated by Maya Angelou

Long-lost, 1958 recording of Tolkien explaining Lord of the Rings has been unearthed

Mike Calvo’s review of the Philips HD8753/87 Intelia Automatic espresso machine

My review is as much about an excellent product as it is about an outstanding company. Let’s face it. Either the product is decent but the customer service is terrible, or worse, the product sounds great, but the interface is not accessible.
As a coffee aficionado, I was excited about the glowing reviews of the
Philips HD8753/87 Intelia Automatic espresso machine. A quiet grinder,
a smaller form factor, a convenient milk frother and easy programming
are just the beginning of what amounts to an amazing appliance. At a
price north of $1,000, one should expect nothing less, right?
Well, for blind consumers that’s a highly subjective question.
Companies rarely consider the potential blind end user, but in the case of Philips the reception could not have gone better.
My experience actually began before the package even landed on my doorstep. I called customer service to try to make sense of the product. Being the skeptic that I am, I wanted to make sure I would be able to utilize the espresso machine as soon as it came out of the box.
Daniel S, the helpful customer support representative, did not shy away from the challenge of explaining the machine to me when he learned I had a visual impairment. Instead he went and got himself in front of a model similar to what I’d ordered and proceeded to explain the order and function of each button.
Yeah, you could attribute it to the courtesy of one representative,
but later, after the machine had arrived, I called again to inquire
about some functionality of a special drink button I could not figure out.
The next guy proved to be just as friendly and accommodating as the
first guy, effectively proving that at Philips there is a prominent
culture of customer-oriented service. Even better? The PDF manual I
downloaded from the website was readily accessible for my screen
reader. That’s not typical considering the image-only manuals and
tutorials blind customers are accustomed to. Okay but how’s the
coffee? In a word: “AMAZING!” The wide variety of options this machine
provides will yield years of yummy coffee goodness! After all the
help from Philips I was able to set up the machine and enjoy my very
first coffee with absolutely no sighted help. I never can get over the
pleasure of purchasing a product and completing it’s setup
independently. Now here’s all you ever wanted to know abut the
Philips HD8753/87 Intelia Automatic espresso machine: Product
features

Save your favorite coffee settings
You will always get a perfect cup of espresso brewed just for you,
according to your personal preference, thanks to the innovative memo
function to adjust the coffee length, strength and temperature. Enjoy
a superb coffee drink in your favorite cup with just the press of a
button. Play with the coffee’s richness with the HD8753/87’s
adjustable grinder

Different coffee blends require different levels of granularity for
the full flavor to unfold. The grind granularity of this espresso
machine can be adjusted in 5 settings, from the finest grind, for a
full bodied espresso, to the coarsest, for a lighter café crème.

Enjoy coffee without burned taste thanks to a 100% ceramic grinder
Saeco uses ceramic grinders because of their consistent grind without
overheating the coffee bean for an impeccable espresso. Ceramic also
ensures long-lasting performance and a really quiet operation when
grinding your favorite beans.

Easy cleaning thanks to the removable
brewing group The brewing group, a Saeco invention, is the heart of
the HD8753/87.
ensuring automation. The brewing group is easily accessible from the
side. It can be removed effortlessly for cleaning by rinsing under the
tap ensuring maximum hygiene.

Coffee without the wait thanks to the
quick heat boiler The Saeco quick heat boiler technology ensures your
machine is always ready. Now you won’t have to wait between brewing
each espresso, but can prepare coffee after coffee. So, you can share
your new indulgence with friends.

Perfect froth thanks to the dual
chamber milk carafe Enjoy your milk specialties fully automated with
the patented milk carafe with dual chamber technology. Simply pour
milk into the carafe, plug it into the machine and select your coffee
drink. With the dual chamber technology you will always enjoy
professional coffee drinks with dense, long-lasting milk froth at the
ideal temperature from a constant splash-free flow of milk. Avoid
heat loss and fit every cup with the adjustable spout

The adjustable
spout on Philips’ espresso machines will fit every cup and thus
prevents the coffee splashing or cooling down while pouring in your
cup. This way your espresso is always served at the right temperature
while maintaining a clean machine.

Easy cleaning thanks to
dishwasher-safe parts For your convenience, you can put the Saeco’s
drip tray and milk frother or milk carafe in the dishwasher. This will
save time and ensure a hygienic cleaning. You will always have a
clean machine thanks to auto-clean and descaling
Saeco designed this espresso machine to automatically clean its
coffee circuit with water upon starting up or switching off of the
machine. This delivers a great, fresh taste with each cup of coffee.
Regular descaling prolongs your espresso machine’s life.

Technical specifications

Perfect Espresso
Espresso technology • Saeco adapting system • Aroma-system:
pre-brewing

Easy to use
Cleaning and maintenance • Automatic coffee circuit rinse
• Descaling cycle
Usage • Adjustable coffee dispenser
• Cup holding surface
• Rapid steam
• Removable brewing group
• Normal / long espresso option
Energy saving
Energy saving Automatic stand-by

The bottom line? It’s been a gratifying experience. The best part of
waking up might be the shot of espresso to jumpstart the morning, but
my day is made all the more productive when I know that if my machine
has issues, I can call a company that just gets it. No separate but
equal accessibility telephone lines, just helpful people who can
easily bypass the visual impairment stigma and go on about the
business of helping me like any other customer. Thanks Philips! You
certainly have a happy customer here!

About Our Presenters

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

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

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

In The Community

A closer look at iOS 7.1’s accessibility changes

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

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

Announcing the release of Sendero GPS 2014 products!

Solo DX Announces That They’re Closing Their Doors

Speaking of CSUN

New Tech Doctor Podcast: CSUN 2014

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

The Great Big List from the 2014 CSUN Conference.

Audio coverage from CSUN by BlindBargains

SeroTalk’s CSUN coverage,

Sponsored by HIMS.

Mainstream Tech

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

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

Finally, Microsoft brings Office to the iPad

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

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

As the weather is beginning to cool, the tech stories are heating up. Join us for a lively discussion of the newsworthy tech for the month of August, and beyond!

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

About Our Presenters

Mike Arrigo works in the computer field, and provides technical support for church management database software. He loves gadgets of all sorts, but especially computers and smart phones. Aside from that, he enjoys walking, singing, reading and chatting with others. Mike frequently contributes podcasts to various sites regarding Android, iOS, Mac and ChromeBook. Look for his podcasts on The Blind Geek Zone or contact him via E-mail.

Brie Rumery, 43 lives in Jasper, Georgia with her husband Scott, daughter Makayla and their two German shepherd guide dogs. At eight years old, she began losing her sight due to the progressive eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Ms. Rumery experienced first-hand the frustrations of blindness in regards to education, employment and the lack of affordable access technology. However, her determination to be a self-sufficient, independent member of a sighted society gave her the strength and perseverance to learn how to use assistive technology at a young age, be the only blind individual to graduate with honors from her local technical college and to work for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta for nearly ten years. Currently, Brie is a Junior Partner for Fedora Outlier, LLC — an Atlanta based assistive technology firm that believes in providing top quality, better than excellent consulting, teaching and support for Apple’s iOS devices and computer products for the blind, by the blind. As junior partner for Fedora Outlier, LLC, Ms. Rumery wears many hats and the one she is most proud of is the fact that she is the co-author of the firm’s first book, the Old Hat Guide To iPhone Accessibility which tells the story of how she overcame her fear of using the iPhone and that “if Brie can do it then so can you!”. Another hat that Ms. Rumery has acquired is that of being Public Relations Production Manager/Twitter Moderator for two types of unique interview series known as #AccessChat and Follow Friday (#FF) which are produced and moderated by Ms. Rumery via Fedora Outlier’s Twitter Platform. When she isn’t working hard for Fedora Outlier, LLC you can find her sending tweets via Twitter, emailing friends old and new, writing short stories and poetry, spending time with her family and of course using her iPhone. Brie also loves quotations and mantras and the one she uses on a daily basis is her own: “Just Because You Have Lost Your Sight Does Not Mean You Have Lost Your Vision!” If you would like to learn more about Fedora Outlier, LLC, #AccessChat and #FF, or you would like to personally contact Brie, feel free to do so by sending her E-mail, following her on Twitter, or following Fedora Outlier on Twitter.

Android

How Google just quietly made your Android phone more secure – Computerworld Blog

Seven reasons to buy the new Google Nexus 7

Chromecast isn’t a Roku/Apple TV killer — but at $35, it doesn’t need to be

Mobile Tech

How the new Nexus 7 and iPad Mini compare

Zombies, Run! studio will get you to walk to Scotland in neo-noir thriller The Walk

Apple

Apple ‘completely overhauling’ developer site after intrusion

In the Community

The Seeing Eye GPS app is out!

You can find the Seeing Eye GPS User Guide here:

Kickstarter Campaign: The Bradley Tactile Time Piece

Check out this web-based Smithsonian exhibit on the history of people with disabilities in America

Minneapolis woman creates new way to learn Braille – Pioneer Press

Mor information available in the Braille Monitor:

The Death Of Screen Reader Innovation

Screen Reader Failure: Innovation, Deterioration, Despair

General Tech

Mozilla’s Firefox OS: accessibility to be included

Microsoft readies Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 too, confirming the older OS won’t be left behind–for now

Microsoft releases final version of Office 2010 SP2

Leery about the cloud? Chances are you’ve been using it for years

Join Serotek as we take part in an Access chat via Twitter which takes place on August 6 beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern. The event is sponsored by Fedora Outlier. Use the hash tag #accesschat to participate in the event. You can also follow Fedora Outlier on Twitter.

Join Lisa Salinger on August 19 at 8 PM in the Pat Price Tech Talk Training room over at Accessible World to discuss our exciting new SAMNet Socializer. We look forward to seeing you there.

Do you enjoy our SPN Podcasts? You can help us out a whole lot by taking this very short survey.

Speaking of which, we’d love to have you join us, but if you can’t, it’s not the end of the world. An archive will be posted on the SeroTalk blog.

The event takes place this Thursday, January 3 at the special time of 2 PM Eastern. Activate this link to take part in the presentation as it happens or replay the archive once the event is over.