I know that sounds really drastic but it is true. Why should we care though? Because, fact is, disabled people need the internet.

There are a lot of things that make me want to question all humanity, simply because it seems that common sense is becoming more and more a luxury than anything else today. Why? Today, I read an article that’s just promoting nothing more than false intentions.

I’m on twitter a lot and I read what my followers post a great deal. When I saw the article about the notion that Verizon was fighting against Net Neutrality to benefit the disabled populace, I didn’t have anything clever to say. I didn’t have a retort to utter. I didn’t even have a tweet to formulate in wake of this. Ladies and gents, there’s simply no other word to describe what they are claiming and the propositions that they claim, other than one. It’s a word that fits all, I believe, given this context and the huge array of just false debauchery that Verizon is trying to cook up.

LIES.

If you have not heard about the FCC and their latest plan to destroy the internet do a Google search for FCC and net neutrality. You will get some really interesting articles that basically outline what their new rules will entail.

It’s a proposal that would ban Internet providers from blocking or slowing down access to websites but may let them charge content companies for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users.

It sounds good on paper and in a simple sentence like that. It’s not. I will briefly explain why.

Anything can be abused, including this new law. Internet service providers (ISPs), like Comcast or AT&T—believe that, as providers of internet access, they should be able to distribute bandwidth differently depending on the service.

They’d prefer, for example, to create tiers of internet service that’s more about paying for priority access than for bandwidth speeds. As such, in theory, they could charge high-bandwidth services—like Netflix, for example—extra money, since their service costs more for Comcast to provide to its customers—or they could charge users, like you and me, extra to access Netflix. They can also provide certain services to you at different speeds.

For example, perhaps your ISP might give preferential treatment to Hulu, so it streams Hulu videos quickly and for free, while Netflix is stuck running slowly (or we have to pay extra to access it). If you don’t think that won’t wrack up a huge bill, you are wrong.

How many people use cell phones and access Facebook, twitter, Netflix, ETC. This will affect everything that’s connected to the internet and they can all have a separate charge attached for that device to access websites and content.

This will also affect your tablets, game systems, ANYTHING that is hooked up to the internet. Knowing the USA, those fees can be taxed. enough said.

Imagine that Verizon or AT&T don’t like the idea of Google Voice, because it allows you to send text messages for free using your data connection. Your cellphone carrier could block access to Google Voice from your smartphone so you’re forced to pay for a texting plan from them. Or, they see that a lot of people are using Facebook on their smartphone, so even if they have the bandwidth to carry that traffic, they decide to charge you extra to access Facebook, just because they know it’s in high demand and that they can make a profit.

Obviously this will be great for people who have money spilling outa their pockets and who live in a financial bubble ignorant of the rest of us but I don’t think the FCC remembers that not everyone has money, If this rueling gets past it will ban some disabled people from using the internet. Let’s be real here.

Take SSI. How much is your internet bill per year now and how often do people on SSI rely on the internet and websites that host special content like Facebook, for social collaboration and school websites that often hold YouTube videos, which can have a steep price on it too on top of your internet bill if net neutrality is killed.

People on SSI or even SSDI won’t be able to pay all of that, given the fact that disabled people use the internet more than anything else for more than just socializing. People host teleconferences on Facebook, promote goods on blogs, the list goes on and I should not even have to point these out.

These ISP;s certainly won’t remember that not everyone has money because they want to have the money and they will want to have the money that they think they should have any way that they can get it, including charging people like you and I to use an email provider that isn’t with your default ISP like, for example, if you’re using Comcast and you look at your Gmail. Comcast could charge you to access Gmail even though Gmail is free.

The reason why blind people use Gmail is that it offers a lot of customization. For example, it offers free IMAP and POP3 access to mail clients. Yahoo does not.

This is why I say that Verizon is spewing illogical banter. There’s a stereotype about us Americans that say, frankly, we are greedy.

Verizon and Comcast really want to have this new rueling passed just so they can get more money and the fact that Verizon is using disabled people as a valuable excuse to justify why they want to kill Net Neutrality just so they can have more money really makes me, well, disappointed at my own country.

Hears the claim Verizon makes. Without a fast lane, disabled Americans could get stuck with subpar service as Internet traffic increases.

The issue that’s a constant problem isn’t even about the speed of access but, rather, the simple act of accessing something. I don’t understand how this will help us access something such as a website that isn’t designed to be accessible or obtaining some key information that’s in an accessible element on the inaccessible or partially accessible website. Since the internet often has inaccessible websites, even today, we would just turn to the phone, or, in my case, text one of my minions to look something up for me, adding a winking smiley at the end just because. The issue of speed doesn’t even culminate into a logical fit within this particular claim, if people really knew about screen readers and magnifiers and such. Instead of slower speeds dolling out a subpar service it’s the incomplete and botched content that we cannot access because developers didn’t make whatever accessible.

If there were, indeed, a way for ISPs to create two lanes of internet access, one slow, with costs to use all these demanding sites like Netflix and such, and one fast, combined with services like Facebook, it would ban a lot of disabled people from accessing some very key information all together all because of costs that would be designated by the ISP and then that would be yet another contender blind and visually impaired activists would have to constantly advocate for.

State rehabilitation will not pay for internet as is, and that’s just one monthly cost to access all websites and services. If this were to actually be enforced people with disabilities wouldn’t have access to certain sites at all because of the high costs that will, without a doubt, be determined by the ISP.

This could lead to loss of employment, fewer educational opportunities because this will affect schools too, and overall fewer productivity and would make the unemployment rate for disabled people increase because a lot of disabled people work from home, using many sites and services every day that wouldn’t be able to be accessed because, oh no! The bill is really high!

Speed is not the issue and it infuriates me that Verizon even uses that as a claim. If people know about screen readers, magnifiers, and accessibility issues with software and sites then they will see right through this fallacy. If they don’t know about disabled people and access technology it would be a simple conclusion that would make sense in their minds even though its hugely false, that speed would help us.

Access is an issue but the irony is access would be an even bigger issue, coupled with taxes and stuff, I’m sure, will be added onto these extra speed costs and costs to access content, thereby bridging the disabled homeless and otherwise on an even wider separation all because of money. Access won’t be an issue, it will morph into a barrier, one that will always be up.

This is just for work. Could you only imagine how disabled people wouldn’t have access to sites like twitter, where news is happening all day, every day? Oh my god!I don’t even want to entertain that nightmare.

I just cannot believe that Verizon would even say such a disingenuous thing. It won’t help disabled people at all. It would ban some from even using the internet, even some who are not disabled. I don’t think people who work at these companies know that not everyone works at Verizon or otherwise, but hey, in America, it’s all about the money. It’s all about the money.

The SPN team has a lot to be proud of–hundreds of hours of content, some great interviews–but most of all, we value you, our listeners. We take this special opportunity to recognize the love you have shown to us and try to return that love and appreciation in a very small way. This SPN special salutes you, our listeners. Thank you all for everything you have done for us!

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk podcast where Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Lisa Salinger talks with Tyler Thompson, an adaptive technology instructor from New Mexico about iFidget, a soon-to-be-released free app that will unobtrusively alert a person to body movements such as rocking. Stories covered in this episode of the podcast include:

White Cane Safety Day

A subscription free version of Sendero’s Seeing Eye GPS app for iOS is now available for $299

Chicken Nugget 2.4! Better filtering! Better conversations! More stable! Loads of new good things!

Young Ham Recognized for Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired

SPN Special: 100 Years of Amateur Radio

Windows10 Technical Preview – Peering into the future.

Accessibility for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Apple iPad Air vs. iPad Air 2: Is It Worth the Extra $100?

Features and Bugs of OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Whose Responsibility is Accessibility?

All the New Stuff in Android 5.0 Lollipop

A list of all the Google Now voice commands

Google reveals our embarrassing voice search habits

HBO to Offer Standalone Streaming Service in U.S. in 2015

Watch out, HBO: CBS launches standalone Web TV service

Facebook Safety Check Confirms You’re Okay During a Natural Disaster

Mailbag

Greg Wocher Writes: “Hello SeroTalk Team,
I want to apologize right off the bat because this is going to be a long e-mail. There were so many things in the latest episode that brought back memories. First, Ricky yes it was me that sent in the long e-mail about braille a couple of weeks ago.

When Joe mentioned the mall and Sharper Image I could not help but think about how I use to go to the malls when I was younger and had eyesight.
I use to love to go and look at all the shops. I remember going into the various stores that carried items that you did not see in the regular stores. There was one I cannot remember the name of but it use to carry unique gadgets of various kinds. For example, little unique tool sets in something like a golf bag. I also went to the mall for BDalton books, Walden books, Electronics Boutique and the arcade.

Concerning Pop tarts, my favorite is the frosted brown cinnamon sugar ones. Also when Ricky mentioned chocolate mint pop tarts I thought of York Peppermint Pop Tarts. Sounds good doesn’t it? LOL.

When I had sight I used to play video games a lot. I had the SNES, N64 and the original PlayStation. My family even had the Atari 2600 which we used to play games like Pong and Pitfall on as a family. I even have a working SNES here at the house that my niece and nephew used to get out every once in a while and play Super Mario and Donkey Kong on. I used to have, and may still have somewhere, a system I want to see if Joe remembers. It was called the Turbo Graphics 16. It was competing with the SNES and the Sega but never did catch on. Well that’s it for now.
Have a good week everyone.”

Jenine Stanley
Says: “Oh how I remember installing Windows, from 95 on, with the many floppy disks.

I actually miss one aspect of Windows 95 and 98, the custom Office Assistant in the MS Office Suite. OK, it wasn’t necessarily very helpful as assistants go but in 95 there was a dolphin who made all kinds of cool noises when stuff happened. There were many choices for your Office Assistant but the dolphin was the most fun.

Then I think it was in 98 and office 97 that the dolphin went away and was replaced in our house by the cat. It was this white cat which appealed to us as we have always had pure white cats. The cat was great because when you got an error in Word, say, it would hiss. Our cats talked back to it.

I’m sure there are probably different sound schemes for the Mac that I have not discovered yet so maybe the dolphin can return to my computer. My home Windows 7 machine had a lovely beach soundscape on it but alas, no such thing for the Mac and not enough memory to run it on the work laptop.

Maybe we can get a MailBag soundscape going. Now that’s frightening.”

From matej Augustin

“Hellož!
I finally tried out the NVDA screen reader. It’s… interesting. One of the things I don’t like is the Espeak voice. So, if any of you are using NVDA, could you tell me which voices/tts engines are you using?
There are a few suggestions on their website, but I would still like to hear your input.
Also, some tips and tricks for new users would be helpful.
Thanks in advance and keep up the good work”

Roundabout

Why Your Privacy Matters, Even If You’re Not “Doing Anything Wrong”

10 Grammar Mistakes People Love To Correct That Aren’t Actually Wrong

Video games which open the door for the blind to play

Welcome to our second NFB 2014 HIMS special. This time around, you get two presentations in one as Dave and Andy demonstrate the Blaze EZ, HIMS’ new book reader with OCR and more. Then, they discuss the latest updates to the BrailleSense firmware that powers HIMS notetakers. There’s a lot to learn, so let’s get started.

We would like to thank HIMS Inc. for being one of the sponsors for this year’s NFB convention coverage.

In this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast, Facebook breaks stuff, Twitter resets stuff, Apple releases new stuff, and blind people complain about stuff. If that isn’t enough to keep us busy, Mailbag gets itself into a real mess! After all that, it’s time for …

Roundabout

Wedding photographer Chris Thornton captures Mr and Mrs Potato Head’s marriage

1 in 10 in a survey think HTML is an STD

Toilet stolen from hotel room, Cops have nothing to go on

Make music from junk with Mogees and your smartphone

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

A T Talk

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

ZoomText Mac 1.0.7 is Released

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

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

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

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

SPN Special: An Interview with Jim Kutsch

VIP Talk: Microsoft is not Last in Accessibility

Mainstream Matters

WhatsApp: the Bomb That Hit Silicon Valley

Google offered to buy WhatsApp for $10 billion

WhatsApp CEO Is Against Whatever Facebook Is For

OneDrive branding rolls out with new clients and new features

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

Apple eyes smart magnets to attach accessories to your iPad

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

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

Roundabout

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

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

Listen to the sound of a public street in 1928

Bernie Krause: The voice of the natural world

In this week’s episode, Ricky Enger is joined by Lisa Salinger and special guest Alena Roberts of the Tripple-click Home Podcast. After the news, Jamie Pauls talks with Kevin Reeves about his new album Remember to Forget.

A T Talk

FDA clears first drug for blindness sleep disorder

Appcessible.net

Talking Apps Podcast

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

Latest Chicken Nugget adds a bunch, changes behavior of reply command

Kevin Reeves: Remember to Forget

Technology Extends Theater’s Thrills to Blind Patrons

Switching back to Windows

Mainstream Matters

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

Will iBeacon Change the Way We Shop?

Olympic Athletes Requested to Cover Apple Logos During Opening Ceremony Because of Samsung Sponsorship

Will Satya Nadella Spin Off Xbox, Nokia, and Surface?

Microsoft invests $15 million in Foursquare

Newegg’s answer to Amazon Prime: $50 per year for expedited shipping

How we ruin social networks, Facebook specifically

Stream the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Mailbag

From Jenine Stanley:

I was going to just do an I-Report about this topic but then I just had way too much to say. Surprise.

I could not agree with Joe and Buddy more on this topic of learning adaptive technology, or any technology for that matter. I was very lucky to have been taught by two people who came into adaptive tech as programmers and had their learning styles influenced by that world in which you learn concepts, not keystrokes.

My first computer instructor was someone many old time assistive tech people will know, Clayton Hutchinson who wrote the Verbal Operating System screen reader for DOS. He was very big on people learning concepts and how programs worked. The first thing I was taught to do when opening a new program in DOS was to go through the menus. What were my options? What were the hot keys if any?

Even before that though, I had to know how to do things like read a line, read a character, move from word to word, search for text on a page. Notice these were not things taught by key command but by concept. I had to then learn the key command.

Sequences might go like this:

I need to know what to do when X happens. read the current line to see what the computer is telling you to do. (Not, press X keys to hear what to do.) Now move up one line to see if there’s any other info available.

That method worked really well for me and before long I was a tech trainer, showing people how to use Word Perfect. I found it very frustrating when the majority of people I worked with would rather just be told what to do each time than try to figure things out using the basics. They were terrified to explore and try out keystrokes and just wanted to know what keys to hit when. This did not help them advance in their jobs as I had to come back every time they had to do a new task.

Years passed and we moved from DOS to the Windows environment. I met my husband who is also an old Unix programmer. Although he had already begun his journey into assistive tech using screen magnifiers, he did not understand screen readers. we both went into Windows relying on our “transfer of skills and knowledge”.

One of his favorite phrases is “You don’t have to go back to Driver’s Ed every time you buy a new car do you?”

I truly do think this approach of just focusing on key strokes is incredibly harmful on so many levels. I see people who don’t even know how to find the info that tells you which of those magical key strokes to use. They would rather ask their sighted family or coworkers to tell them or do it for them. This is not helpful in a job situation.

I have a wonderfully caring and talented coworker who is convinced she can’t understand computers and has to just be told the keystrokes. I know better and have seen her do so much more. finally when she was moved to an office where she could not readily ask people every time she got stuck, she began ever so slowly to figure things out. She’s still terrified to make a mistake but now we are looking at changing her screen reader and she is sort of like a deer in the headlights. I keep telling her it’s no big deal. Both screen readers do basically the same things, just different ways. Focus on what you want to do, not the exact keys to get there.

I also truly believe this way of learning is what eased my transition from my Windows desktop machine to the Mac. When I’d get overwhelmed with commands, I would back up to what I really needed to do. Now, after about 2 weeks of owning this MacBook Pro, it’s my primary computer and I love it. does it do everything as easily as my windows machine? Not quite. It’s different. It does not crash every day though nor does the screen reader just stop working for no reason. Does it read things as easily? Not yet but only because I can’t remember the commands to do so quickly enough.

what I truly don’t understand about so many people I encounter using assistive tech is their fear of trying things. I see people who are paralyzed in front of their machines, afraid to even press a key without being told exactly what to do. then they need so much encouragement afterward to try the next thing. That’s what ended my career as a tech trainer for office tasks. I just couldn’t stand that kind of behavior.

So people, try things. explore. If you screw it up and it stops talking, turn it off and try again. No one will die. Trust me.

From Jane:

Re: Microsoft Superbowl ad: What actually happens in that ad? When I watched it, I just heard a lot of voices, but I had no clear sense of what was happening, except for … a phone call? Or someone getting hearing back, or something near the end. I watched it on YouTube after the fact. (I never watch the Superbowl since the two times I watched and my team lost. I am a curse on football.)

Programming as a foreign language: When I read the article last weekend, my first reaction was “No way!” But then I had to stop and think. I am fluent in Spanish, know a little French, and where have those skills gotten me? Currently unemployed, hoping to get a job in customer service answering phones. I really wish I had worked on computer programming in high school and college. Any free courses out there that you can point to?

More power to a state that wants to help their young people be future-proofed and able to adapt.

BTW, I do not intend to whine or complain. I am at leas tin the door for this job, and I’m better off in that respect than many people, blind or otherwise, I’m sure.

Jane

Roundabout

Red Hot Chili Peppers explain why they faked Super Bowl performance

GoDaddy quitter: My boss was stunned

Police: Art thief among 2 held in violin heist

Join us for another guycast as Jamie, Buddy and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. Topics covered in this episode include:

A T Talk

HIMS Releases E-bot Portable Video Magnifier Compatible with Tablets and PC’s

The Intro to the Raspberry Pi course from Cavi

Blind Bargains: AI Squared Releases SiteCues: A Simple Way to Add Accessibility To Your Website

Blind Bargains: Review: Chicken Nugget, An Accessible Twitter Interface for the Next Generation

Microsoft’s Super Bowl ad reminds the world why its software matters

Microsoft disability scholarship

Mainstream Matters

Report: Satya Nadella To Be Named Microsoft CEO

Microsoft faces new brand dispute over OneDrive name

UK government plans switch from Microsoft Office to open source | Technology

5 Takeaways From Apple’s First-Quarter Earnings

Apple’s iBeacons hitting a Grand Slam in 2014 with Major League Baseball

iOS 7.0.5 is here… but only for iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in China?!

Angry Birds website defaced following reports it enables government spying

Google warns of bug that might have deleted some of your Gmail messages by mistake

Google Glass finally works with prescription glasses, frames cost $225

Samsung ‘Galaxy Glass’ wearable reportedly set for September reveal

Facebook’s Toying With A Radical New Idea: Letting You Be Anonymous

A Facebook Campaign Simulated Alzheimer’s, and It Will Stop You in Your Tracks

Ready or not, here come the new Internet top-level domain names

Mailbag

From Lyndon Dunbar:

Hi, Here is my response to your request for information for those of us who have taken online course exams with locked down browsers.

I completed my bachelor’s degree online through Western Governors University, an online university based on competency based learning.

When completing exams for online courses through WGU, the testing browser would be locked down, and we would have a separate webcam with a proctor watching us take the exam. If the proctor felt that we were looking away from the screen, possibly at notes, the exam would be shut down until the concern could be resolved.

As a visually impaired student, the accessibility issues that I had with online tests was the small text size of the tests, which could not be enlarged much.

Hope my experience with online testing helps.

Thanks for your time! Lyndon Dunbar

From Ali Moosa

Hello, I enjoy listening to the Serotalk podcasts. You guys do a great job, and you guys provide a good perspective. The topic of digital book players, such as the Book Sense, the Stream, and Plextalk Pocket has been coming up a lot on the podcasts recently. As you guys say, preferences change all the time. My personal opinion is, there are a lot of things I prefer the Book Sense and the Stream for. In the event that you want to create your own folders, and simply copy and paste the files without importing them into iTunes. I like iDevices for applications. You can subscribe to podcast feeds with the Plextalk Pocket. I find it makes it easier to carry a dedicated device to listen to podcasts, books, and music in an event that you need to save battery on your phone. Thank you, Ali Moosa

Blog comment from Jake:

Hello to the Serotalk team. I really enjoyed episode 185. I would like to talk Apple. I am typing this comment on the Mac Book Air that I got on the 27th of December of last year. This is my first experience with Apple products, aside from the AppleIIE back in the day. I also got to borrow a sister’s iPod for not quite half a day while having a tooth pulled. But anyway, I love my Mac Book Air. I think the things which probably influenced me the most here were the 4-part Mac Book Air review done by Mike Calvo some time ago, and hearing Voiceover being put through its paces on a number of podcasts. I applaud Apple for including Voiceover at no additional charge to the customer in all their products. It is an excellent screen reader, and I trust it will only improve over time. I am still learning things, but I’d have to count myself as a satisfied Apple customer. In addition, my 2 experiences at the Apple store in my area were very pleasant. The first time there was of course to try out some of their computers, and then to take this one home. I then went back for a one-on-one session with a very helpful trainer. I haven’t yet had time to look through the stuff on here about Apple’s history due to outside commitments, but I will definitely check it out.

From Pam Francis:

Hello, I heard your interview with the developers of Fleksy. I think you guys let them off the hook. I realize as interviewers of guests, you have to be professional. Yet, there should have been enough of us that were upset enough with their creation of a separate app that it should have come out more so within your interview. I do believe they made their money on the backs of the blind community. Granted, I agree when an app is more widely used it’s price can come down, yet those of us who paid full price for it, should be refunded given the fact that now we no longer can take advantage of the original app we paid for. As I stated in my original email, why should there SDK issues BR problem? Also, per your interview, & per their answer, they specifically stated they made a different prediction engine for those of us who use voiceover. Is our language any different because we’re blind? Does that not segregate us? This was the part where I thought your interview basically said “” it’s okay “”. We are different because we are blind. Doesn’t the Ceretec mission statement talk about unifying us within society by creating adaptive tools that will allow us to integrate successfully within society? If in fact that is the case, you have contradicted your own mission statement. I took their app off of my phone. I will ask them for a refund. I will not patronize a company who claims to be Integral for everyone yet separates the very people they charged the most for their app. They also had the gall on their blog to say their new Fleksy VO app would be free forever. I do think, their initial intentions were good. I also think they figured out that we as a blind community would except something different than what they would create for a sighted community. We as a blind community have had to “” settle “” for whatever we could get for many many years. Most recently, we have made great strides integrating with technology out-of-the-box. I also think Ceretec as a company, given the way the original Fleksy was revered by your team who is in a small way a representative of us as a blind community should forward any email you get To them.

Pam Francis

Roundabout

Skinny Puppy Billed Government For Torture Songs

Burgers with Chocolate Sauce Coming to Japan

The Science Behind Why Diets Just Don’t Work, and What To Do Instead

Join us for this week’s edition of the SeroTalk Podcast where Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie talks with Jeremy Curry of GW Micro about Window-Eyes for Office, the program whereby anyone running Microsoft Office 2010 or later can get a free copy of the Window-Eyes screen reader. Topics discussed in this week’s podcast include:

GW Micro Announces Global Window-Eyes Initiative for users of Microsoft Office

A Toast to GW Micro

CSUN 2014 View Sessions

Comcast Accessibility: More Than Talking TV

New information and picture-taking tips for TapTapSee.

NVDA Add-on for Station Playlist Studio

Blind Bargains: Review of TeleTender: Accessing the Internet Using a Phone for Free

Winamp survives to play for new owner

Announcing Fleksy VO for iOS. A new keyboard for VoiceOver users.

Microsoft to extend Windows XP anti-malware updates one year

Target data breach part of broader organized attack

Starbucks addresses security snafu with update to iOS app

Net neutrality gets a kick in the teeth

TWIT 441 on this subject

Netflix Stock Dives After Net Neutrality Ruling

The battle for the home: Why Nest is really Google’s new smart home division

Apple CEO Tim Cook handing out autographed iPhones at China Mobile launch

Facebook Paper expected to soon deliver news on mobile | Internet & Media

You can now do everything in this Radio Shack 80’s ad on a phone

Mailbag

Blog comment from Beth:

Regarding the article entitled “Why Do We Fear the Blind?” – from the NYTimes.com

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Amish”? Peacefulness, joy, a bucolic setting, good health, right? Well, yes, of course but there is much more than that. Turns out, the above ideas about the Amish are stereotypical. I am reading a very interesting book about the Amish and some intriguing realities about their lives have been imparted to me. This blog post is not meant to be a book review, I will post the book title and BARD number here so you can read it if you wish.

“Amish society” DB 51601

Here are a few things I have learned and, again, these are generalizations. Some of the Amish are rule-bound, with even some innocuous doodad on their horse harnesses being an offense. These strict rules can breed hostility and anger, which are often suppressed, since these emotions are not to be shown. It is now my understanding that mental illness is rather common among the Amish, which surprised me, again, a stereotype on my part. The book also stated that the Amish seem so gentle to tourists because, for a brief time, there can be conversations about the outside world, which interests many Amish and they can relax and converse normally, without having to think about rules. Also, there have been many church splits among the Amish, which make for family and other social upheavals and bitter fighting, which can last for generations. Some Students long to go beyond the eighth grade but can’t readily, which produces turmoil. So, wow, the Amish are just like the rest of us at th e core of things. Stereotypes are surface things, they always have some truth to them but look beyond the surface. Beth

From Greg:

Hello everyone,
I have a quick question, or maybe not so quick, for all you guys and dolls there at SeroTalk. With all the news you cover, how do you keep up with it all? Ok maybe I have a second question here. Where do you guys get all your news that you cover? I know of some sources like Engadget and sites like it but what are some others you guys use?

Thank you,

Greg Wocher(My last name is pronounced like poker with a w. So it is pronounced Woker)

Follow me on Twitter @GWocher

From Pam Francis:

Hi folks,

I think the biggest reason, if there is one for general society to “fear the blind” is lack of education along with the stereotypes portrayed in movies & other media. We are supposed to be musical, as have been Stevie Wunder & Ray Charles.
For those who are old enough to have seen the movie, A patch of blue, the blind girl in that movie was cast as an uneducated helpless imbecile.
Those of us who have been employed, live on our own & function within normal society; though we may need adaptive tools are seen as “amazing.”
Though the ADA has made strides with reference to various means of accessibility, no legislation can force acceptance.
I also think mainstreaming in schools has a double edged sword. Though it allows the person who is blind to interact with sighted piers, it does not offer valuable skills one needs to function in the world without a sighted family member.
I was exposed to both public school & the state school for the blind. I am thankful for both experiences; as it taught me when & how to ask for the help I needed at the time I needed it.
Given today’s technology, I still find people who find it unbelievable that I am able to use a computer & a normal smart phone.
A quick story to validate my point is this.
I did the normal traditional Christmas meal for my daughter & grandkids. My 5 year old grandson asked me to bake him a blueberry pie. While at our Christmas table, he innocently asked, “Grandma, how can you do this if you are blind? I was prepared to answer his question on a level he could understand, however my daughter chastised him for asking such a question.
I only hope the next generation of people who happen to be blind are treated with a little more respect than our generation has been. We all have to earn what we get in this world, be it material or respect for our character.
We shouldn’t have to go uphill to attain the same accolades our sighted piers take for granted.

Pam Francis

Blog comment from Russ Kiehne

After reading “iPad, Not the Most Economical Choice for Blind Consumers” and Testing Android Accessibility: I Give Up”, I’m glad I ended up buying a refurbished ipad mini. It has more volume and better sound than my ipod touch, victor reader stream booksense and plextalk pocket. With being able to lock the screen while playing audio content, I get much more play time than with my specialized players.

With the bard mobile app, I can read nls books on it. Books can be directly downloaded to the ipad mini. This can’t be done on my specialized players.
It’s going to be a while before bard mobile comes to android!

With the audible app, I can read books from audible. Books can be directly downloaded to the ipad mini. I can’t do this with my specialized players.

With the Kindle app, I can read Kindle books from Amazon. I can’t do this with my specialized playrs.

With voice dream reader, I can read books from bookshare, unprotected epub and other file types. I use it to read multi-part mp3 audio books.
What’s nice about voice dream reader, you can download books from both bookshare and Project Gutenberg directly to the ipad mini. I bought the optional neospeech voice to make it sound just like a booksense when reading any text based file. Voice dream reader is supplied with Acapela. I can switch between Acapela and neospeech. I can’t see buying a second generation victor reader stream in order to download books from bookshare to it. With the specialized players I have, I can’t download books from bookshare to them. Is there an app like voice dream reader for android?

With the downcast app, I can download podcasts directly to the ipad mini. I can subscribe and unsubscribe to podcasts on it. With my plextalk pocket, I can’t subscribe and unsubscribe to podcasts on it. With the other two specialized players i have, I can’t download podcasts to them. Is there an app like downcast for android?

My ipad mini is now my favorite device for reading books, downloading and listening to podcasts and old time radio shows.

From Stan:

Your article and discussion about perceptions about those of us that are blind really hit home with me. I was mainstreamed before mainstreaming became in vogue in the 60’s and 70’s in Pittsburg California.
Recently, I decided to touch bases with a former classmate. During the first couple of conversations things went well. The individual even told me that I should keep in touch. I noticed that during our third conversation that things changed abruptly. It was like I was having a conversation with a brick wall. Because I’m facebook friends with the sister of the individual concerned, I asked her what his problem was?
Here was the answer that I received. “I don’t understand Stan’s situation.” He further stated that he hoped that my feelings weren’t hurt. That didn’t exactly make my day. I really hate dealing with fake people.

From Mike Arrigo:

Happy new year!
I found Chris’s article about giving up on android interesting. He was actually on the eyes free list for a while, so many of us responded to his messages when he wanted to know how to do things. I think in some ways that his expectations are not realistic. Sure, 100 percent accessibility would be nice, but, we don’t have that on any platform.
If we go by his logic, than we should give up on windows, unless you use narrator for everything, you have to install and use a third party screen reader to use windows. Also, in many cases, we tweak our windows system, such as disabling some of the animation, or the arrow interface so the screen reader works better. The fact is, on every platform, you will need to use some work arounds to access everything you want. The main question is, on android, are you able to do every major task you could want such as phone calls, text messages, twitter, facebook, listening to music, email, etc. The answer is yes. I don’t think it matters whether you use the built in applications or need to install third party apps, especially when most of the third party apps are free. As Ricky said, that’s one of the great things about android, you can configure a device exactly the way you want it.

Blog comment from Tim Hornik

With regards to the comments from the Eyes Free Google Groups from Chris, I definitely understand his perspective. Android ventured a long way into the land of accessibility for the visually impaired. However, it has a little more to go within its stock set of apps before it will reach a level of ease for those transitioning or first time smart phone users. Yes, I have picked up a Nexus 7 a couple of months ago, and have enjoyed the experience.

However, for Droid to truly become a great competitor against iOS, two things must happen. First, the assistive technologies trainers, professionals, organizations, and similar must adopt Android as an alternative device for mobile computing. In my experience, only a few of these blind rehab specialists have embraced Android and offer it as an option. Secondly, the pool of resources needs to grow a bit more. I understand the difficulties with the various incarnations of Android, Sandroid, etc out there, but compare that to iOS. Maybe later on this year, this gap will shrink tremendously, especially as websites and resources like That Android Show, HTB2.com, Wolfdream De-Mystifying series, and numerous other websites and communities mature.

On a side comment about the security stuff, I could swear that some company called Serotek has this program called Socializer that has users inserting their social network login information for various accounts. Wait, I believe they also have some cloud service for storing OCR’ed documents. BTW, I use both. Anyways, I am weary about the NSA stuff, but care more about private companies who store and monitor my stuff. But this is my digital life, and not my real life. You can take all of this stuff away, and I am still me. Unless, we get to the point with neuro chips and our ghosts get hacked by the puppetmaster.

Roundabout

Why Cold Air Smells Different

Chocolate Braille? 3d printer for Chocolate

Lessons On Blindness, ‘For The Benefit Of Those Who See’ : NPR

For the Benefit of Those Who See: Dispatches from the World of the Blind: Rosemary Mahoney

About Our Presenters

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

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

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

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

Top Stories — 6-10

Story 10: X+Y = Math Access

SeroTalk Podcast, including an interview on the T84 Calculator

Story 9: A Tasty Google Treat

That Android Show

Story 8: Real Potential in Access to Set Top Boxes

Comcast Website

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

Victor Reader Stream: Second Generation

Sendero GPS

This Year at Serotek

Introducing Our New, Redesigned Website

Serotek Ambassadors’ Club is Launched

Serotek Podcast Network Reaches Highest Listener Count Yet

Serotek Launches the Newly Updated Socializer

The Top Five Stories

Story 5: You Down with UEB?

Unified English Braille to become official code in 2016

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

Apple iOS 7 Page

Triple Click Home

Story 3: The Tap Tap See Controversy

Tap Tap See Review

Triple Click Home Interview

Story 2: The Holy Grail of iPhone Apps

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

Kindle Fire HDX Product Page

Kindle Fire HDX: Usable By the Blind At Last?

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss the top stories of the week. Topics included in this episode include:

News in A T

National Federation of the Blind Applauds Landmark Ruling in Authors Guild v. Google

2013 Holiday Gift Ideas for Children and Adults with Vision Loss

NVDA 2013.3rc1 released for testing!

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

Sendero GPS LookAround for iOS gets a nice update and goes free:

iTunes Store Now Accepting Donations for Philippine Typhoon Relief

Mainstream Matters

BlackBerry interim CEO: It’s time to reclaim our success, not dwelling on the past

Internet Explorer chief is stepping aside for ‘something new.’ IE will now be run by Windows Phone lead Joe Belfiore

Best Buy halts all HP Chromebook 11 sales, other retailers ‘out of stock’

Facebook Pushes Password Resets After Adobe Hack

Apple releases iOS 7.0.4 with fix for FaceTime call drops

Amazon to Offer Sunday Delivery Via USPS for Prime Members

Nexus 5 Review: The Best Android Can Offer Especially For the Price

Android 4.4 KitKat review: designed by Google, for Google

An iPhone user’s guide to experimenting with a Nexus 5

Mailbag

Blog comment from Dave (

I for one wasn’t surprised by the clamour about Taptapsee going subscription. Many of the common accusations are right on. Yes, it should have been subscription from the start. Simply saying no one knew how popular it would become doesn’t wash. No one knew how popular Jaws would become, and it’s always been a commercial product. I’ll grant that this trick is somewhat new to the tech world, but it isn’t new especially to the blind world. I’ve lost count of the various small startup phone access solutions that have been popularised over the years simply because they were free. All of them have followed the free gaging popularity model before going subscription, after which, of course, popularity dropped precipitously to nonexistence. No, sighted people don’t have to pay, but then again, they wouldn’t even bother with it in the first place because they have no need for it. Yes, disabilities are expensive, so it’s equally true there ain’t no free lunch. I can remember my first experience
downloading Jaws. It was 15 Megs in size and took two hours to download with a dialup connection. I will eventually subscribe to taptapsee both because I need it and because it’s the right thing to do. But would be entreprenewers should take notice also, that simply using the free model to promote a product will only work until people feel they’ve been burned too many times by effectively falling into a trap that they made. For me, it is easier and more justifiable to afford taptapsee than it is a Netflix subscription that offers no audio description.

From Pam Francis

Hi folks,
I would like to take issue with Ricky & her statement of being blind is more expensive.
Serotek as a company has championed accessibility on all levels.
You have your own subscription service that has been subscription based from its inception. I have no issue with it being subscription based. You had the foresight of what it would cost to maintain servers etc. I only wish I could use it. As a mac user, to my knowledge, you don’t support Macs. However, back to my initial comments.
Philanthropy is nice, yet, for a company to develop a service that could be very essential to a blind person’s independence, making it free, then per there own lack of foresight having to charge a subscription is truly disingenuous to those who have grown to depend on the service.
I can’t imagine there isn’t some sort of grant available for this service’s maintenance in order to maintain the service as a free service for the sake of equality.
We all make choices as to what we pay for per month for our given lifestyle. However, with the advent of technology, we are able to buy or subscribe to most anything our sighted counterparts have access to. By the grace of God, I don’t need it for general pictures per the little vision I have. However, I can see a use for reading appliance screens etc.
It hasn’t been that long ago we as blind people were dependent on state agencies to fork over thousands of dollars for equipment related solely to employment. For those who chose to stay home & raise a family, for the most part, mainline accessibility was a dream.
I continue to support your podcasts & appreciate all of your hard work.

Sincerely,
Pam Francis

From Mike Arrigo

Well, I am glad I have found favor with the mail bag and that my messages do appear regularly on the show, smile.
I have actually purchased the swype keyboard, it’s well worth the $3.99. For the android users on the show, I guess that would be Ricky and Joe, I’m curious if you have experienced the issue with the default google keyboard where you find a letter, you lift your finger and that letter is not typed. The google keyboard is very picky about having your finger in exactly the right spot. The swype keyboard is much better about that, I have set it as my default keyboard and have not looked back. The speech recognition also works very well. Find the option to switch to voice input and lift your finger to dictate, then double tap the bottom part of the screen when you are done. It also announces when the keyboard is opening and closing. Also, if you have the suggestion feature enabled, you can slide your finger above the letters and move in a circle to read the suggestions, when you lift your finger, that word is inserted. It’s well worth the purchase in my opinion, I really cannot think of anything bad to say about it.
I was also disappointed at some of the comments on the email lists about tap tap see becoming subscription based. Come on people, it’s not like they are charging several hundred dollars, what they are charging is very reasonable, it drives me nuts when people expect to have everything handed to them for free. I agree with being treated like everyone else, and I don’t think we should have to pay extra to make a product accessible. But this is a bit different, Tap Tap See is providing a service, it’s not required to use the device, but something extra. The people that develop and make the service work need to make a living too. I think these people who are making a big deal out of this need to step back and look at the big picture for what it is.

Roundabout

Driverless Cars Are Further Away Than You Think

Why It’s So Hard To Crack Down On Distracted Driving

Terminally ill boy, whose hometown celebrated an early Christmas to fulfill his last wish, has died

San Francisco to call on ‘Batkid’ to fight crime

Batkid saves the day in San Francisco

In this podcast, Serotek’s own Matt Campbell drops by for his regular visit to the show. Did you know there was a pattern to his appearances? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to see what it is. In addition to referencing several stories, Jamie, Ricky and matt mention quite a number of books and authors. There are too many to mention here, so you’ll want to take notes as you listen. After the news, Lisa Salinger tells us about The Serotek Ambassadors’ Club and how you can become a member. Stories discussed in this podcast include:

NLS BARD Site Back Online Despite Government Shutdown

Is Congress catastrophically broken, or is it doing exactly what it was designed to do?

Zoom H6 Recorder Review

The New iPhone 5c and Walk-Through of the Initial Setup Process for VoiceOver Users

The Journey Toward Braille: Potential and Limitations of using Braille with iDevices

Dr. Abraham Nemeth, inventor of the Braille math code, dies at 94

The technological terrors of Tom Clancy

Valve Steam Machines, Steam Controller, and SteamOS: Visionary or Vapor?

Valve details specs for Linux-based Steam Machine prototype gaming PCs

Goodbye Microsoft Security Essentials: Microsoft Now Recommends You Use a Third-Party Antivirus

Why the blue screen of death no longer plagues Windows users

Facebook makes statuses editable… but is this open to abuse?

Facebook Pushes Passwords One Step Closer to Death

iOS 7 nausea and cybersickness: What causes it, and why it’s a sign of things to come

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo

Thought you might be interested in this. It’s an interview with Susan Bennett who is definitely the voice of Samantha. I actually emailed her from her site, told her who I was and mentioned that her voice is used in a lot of products for blind people. She actually wrote back, she had no idea that her voice was so well known to blind people. She was actually very happy that her voice had made such a difference for us, regardless of whether you like Samantha’s voice, the person who created it sounds like a really nice person. http://tube.majestyc.net/?v=fL5s3pNJECk

From Aaron Linson

Hey guys, I’ve been a faithful listener to all of the Serotek podcasts. I have a point to make on the button issue with portable reading devices. As a college student I find my book port plus to be invaluable to me. I can jump through a book as fast if not faster than a sighted college student. I also find that I’m faster with the book player than a touch screen., pushing a button is faster than swiping and the kickback is instantaneous where as a flick takes a millisecond longer. Just my thoughts and opinions.
Thanks, Aaron Linson My vision is good, it’s just my eyes that are not

From Timothy Hornig

Greetings,

I appreciate the information and stances you all took with regards to visually impaired owning and using firearms. As long as the 2nd Amendment stands in it current interpretation and regulatory stances, we as a demographic should be allowed the ability to receive training, licensure, and ability to legally use them. Earlier this year, I received the chance to go turkey hunting, where my guide and I scored two birds. The ability to do this comes in large part due to the iPhone and a system called iScope (http://www.iscope.com)./ Before actually heading out, it took a little bit of time to work out our communications preferences with targeting.

Likewise, those who wish to own personal handguns should go through the most thorough set of training possible. However, I strongly concede to the point that these individuals, regardless of their personal abilities, should really look at the difference between owning for personal safety/defense and owning to own. A handgun in the hands of an ill-trained or familiarized individual is more dangerous to that person then in the hands of an highly trained person. As a reminder, it is perfectly fine to ask your local police department, firearm store, or shooting range to potentially store your weapon if you have concerns of home storage.

As for the iPhone 5S, one thought comes to mind, vid for I’ve Got a Golden Ticket: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_uSlEEPSk

Enjoy, Tim

Roundabout

In new TV role, Michael J. Fox a pioneer

Fake Service Dogs, Real Problem

‘I’m the original voice of Siri’

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

Welcome to what turned out to be one of the longest SeroTalk podcasts ever. Jamie, Ricky and Joe had a lot to say about this week’s news. Also, Alena Roberts brings us an interview with the developers of the iOS game CodeName Cygnus. Of course, your feedback is the icing on the cake and we have a lot of mail for you to read this month. Let’s get started, shall we?

Blind Bargains: The New Kindle Fire Has New Accessibility Features , Perhaps for Real This Time

Amazon Launches Kindle Fire HDX Tablets, Fire OS 3.0

2013: The Year of Books for Blinks

Sony Walkman Range Updated With New Android 4.1 Equipped Devices

Reading Kindle Books on Your iOS Device: A Quick Reference Guide

Bookshare now available through the CNIB Library!

Please upgrade to FaceBook version 6.5.1 to get notifications read back with VoiceOver on iOS.

Disney tightens up resort disability program

Stevie Wonder Speaks Up For Children With Disabilities

Blind Bargains: NBC Announces Over 100 Hours of Coverage for the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics

Web Engineer: “Help Apple shape the future of UI interaction patterns and accessibility on the Web.”

Talking Windows 7 Pre-installation Environment

Unveiling the Serotek Ambassadors’ Club

Accessible Games

New RPG puts players in the shoes of a blind hero

? Three Monkeys Development Trailer

Three Monkeys – Yoska Monologue

Wewrite

Papa Sangre Sequel To Star None Other Than Famed English Actor Sean Bean

Valve fires up SteamOS, its bid for living room PC gaming

Valve’s Steam Machine prototype to ship early to 300 lucky players

Gaming with the kids is gaining popularity according to new report

T-Mobile dropping BlackBerry from in-store retail selection

BlackBerry Accepts $4.7 Billion Buyout Offer

Unofficial iMessage app for Android appears, likely unsafe

Bill Gates: ‘Control+Alt+Delete’ Was a Mistake

Mailbag

Mike Arrigo writes:

Lots of good stuff covered in this show. I do hope the NLS app comes to android soon as well. I’ve heard rumors that the company they contracted with to develop the app really messed things up, so it could be a while, but I hope that’s not the case, but I do wish they would have released them both at the same time. Since I got my iphone 5 in July, I will not be upgrading. My next phone will probably be a galaxy s 3, the s 4 still costs more than I am willing to pay but the 3 has great hardware specs still. I upgraded to IOS 7 the day it came out, it is working fine on my iphone 5. I agree with Jamie about the new app switcher, it’s much better I think. Really though, if this was an overhall of the platform, I don’t notice anything really major. Itunes radio is nice. Admitedly, I’m disappointed that some of the limitations were not removed. You still cannot change your default keyboard, I was really hoping that would be permitted. You still cannot install other system voices, I will talk more about voices in a minute, and there is still no file management, this is something every other operating system, whether mobile or desktop provides. I’m not saying I want IOS to become Android, but I do want the ability to customize my device the way I want it, and I don’t want a brick wall between me and it’s files. Transferring content to an iphone is still much more difficult than it needs to be. Ok, regarding voices. The reason there are some differences is because IOS 7 is using a new version of the vocalizer TTS engine. Previous versions used what is called vocalizer automotive, IOS 7 uses the newest version, it’s called vocalizer expressive. For some languages, the voices are totally different now, and some users are not happy with the new voices. I read the post of one user who is actually thinking about switching to android because the voice in his language is awful. He likes the acapela voices for his language, but again, you cannot install those as system voices like you can in Android.

From Jordan Gallacher

Hello, A couple of comments about iOS 7 after listening to your most recent podcast. First, I am happy to say there was an update to the Facebook app that fixed the problem of not being able to get to the notifications. Here are the things I don’t like about iOS 7. First, for some strange reason, my e-mail messages are all now starting at the end of iPhone for my signature. I liked it better when it would automatically start at the top on the first blank line. Here is my two biggest problems I have noticed with my bluetooth keyboard. As you mentioned, the Control key does not stop the speech like it used to. My other issue is that my F11 key is not working as it was in iOS 6 to get back to the Home screen and open the App Switcher. Annoyes me that I now really can’t be across the room from my phone and get back to the Home screen using my bluetooth keyboard. Other than those issues, I have been quite happy with iOS 7. Hopefully enough people complain about the things that are not working right that Apple will have to fix them, especially the bluetooth keyboard issues. Regards, Jordan

Jenine Stanley says:

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the Echo demo. You succeeded in either bringing back memories or inducing PTSD, not sure which at the moment.

I got my first computer back in 1988 and I agree with Ricki about the sheer novelty of having a thing that echoed your keystrokes and that you could actually, in some cases, manipulate faster than a sighted person.

I was fascinated with linguistics at that point in my life and began taking classes at Ohio State with the hope of working on synthetic speech. Of course the Linguistics Department was not exactly aware of synthetic speech back then and directed me toward the computer folks who didn’t know about it either. Ah, once again way ahead of my time.

Then I went to work for a company called Computer Conversations which made the Verbal Operating System VOS. We also worked on a speech synthesizer called the Verbette. Yes, that really was the name and no I did not come up with it.

The speech was based on the same chip set used in most of the synthesizers at that time, I believe the SSI1 chip. What we did that was slightly different was to add controls for articulation and inflection which were soon added to synthesizers like the Artic products. It was also a parallel port device about the size of a pack of cigarettes. I still have one of the first run models in my computer junk museum box.

Part of my job on that project was to go through the pronunciation tables to correct or tweak anything to give the speech a more Midwestern accent as opposed to East Coast or Valley Girl.

From there I was sparked to find more, different and better speech synthesizers. OK, don’t shoot me but I loved the Double Talk and Triple Talk. Yes, they could be annoying but for the time, they offered a much more fluid, natural sounding speech. I don’t speed speech up much but I do mess with pitch and tone.

Then we got to the point where software based speech was not only possible but varied. Yay! I must own a ton of software synthesizer programs from the really good, Ivona and Nuance, to the really scary, too numerous to mention. My current favorite, which has been on my desktop PC for a couple years now, is Ivona’s Kendra. Ivona’s Joey is on my work laptop.

I really like the male Siri voice with the new inflection. Oh how I wish that one was available for Voice Over. I’m using the Irish English Voice Over for now, though I do like the South African voice.

And yes, I too loath Samantha! She sounds way too much like a former coworker at another job whom I could not stand.

I can only imagine the voice actors convention, a bit like running into NLS narrators at national conventions. You stand there in the elevator listening and think, “Hey, that guy sounds familiar. Who is he?”

Then you realize you’re staring at Jack Fox. Oops. Luckily he found it funny.

Then you run into a voice you can’t stand and say so, not knowing said narrator is standing about 3 feet away. Again, oops.

My final foot-in-mouth moment happened when I was browsing the APH booth at a convention a while back and asked one of the people his name. Roy Avers spoke up and I blubbered that he sounded nothing like he did when reading. I got the feeling he heard that a lot because he just sighed and went on processing my order. Gee, even telling him he was the voice of Isaac Asimov didn’t help. Imagine that?

Jenine Stanley

Bob Reid says:

Hi once again. If you look deep into the comments on the Youtube video, it is suggested that Susan C. Bennett is the old voice of Siri and Samantha and not Allison Dufty as so many are assuming. Apparently, Steve Jobs chose her personally. This could very well be the case as Susan’s lower register matches Samantha, “s’s” included. Check out the demos on her website. http://www.susancbennett.com/ Bob.

Wayne Mills writes in to say:

Hi Ricky, Jamie, Patrick and Joe,

I’m not really prone to sending mails (except for my other one) but I felt I should write because I was really worried about you all after this podcast. What has happened ? It seemed like I had entered an IOS twilight zone where I didn’t recognised what you were all saying about IOS7. It felt as though you had all woken up on chrismas day and didn’t get the Christmas present you thought you were going to get!

I thought I should offer a bit of support for IOS7. After reading my own mail though, I realise I sound like an Apple fan boy but I’m not really – just saying what my actual experience was on installing IOS7. I do say that I am a loyal customer though simply because of the huge difference the iPone and Mac has made to my independent lifestyle. It essentially has reached the status of being a personal assistant in many respects.

I’m using the 4S and I’m not really able to say that there is any significant slowing of my phone. Possibly ever so slightly spongy on the odd app but nothing significant. It is certainly not creaking and cracking under the strain of IOS 7. I wonder if almost full memory may be responsible for the slowing that others have reported on their devices.

Having said that, I do wonder if there might be a deliberate attempt to slow the OS slightly as mentioned in order to encourage an upgrade to the 5S. The Os was not a significant installation size and I don’t see anything that I would think would be taxing on the hardware really that ought to result in some people’s reported experience. §.

Patrick, I want to put your mind at ease in relation to Daniel’s voice. That nasty voice that starts on initialising IOS7 is just an initialisation voice. Once configured, you simply choose the high quality voices you want to use. don’t forget, the blind community were asking to be able to choose multiple voices and Apple have provided that. I have chosen the English; Irish; Australian and French high quality voices that all work perfectly well. I have had no stuttering or difficulty. I can change them through the rotor for the material I am reading.

Do remember, the compact voice for IOs 6 was also not pleasant to listen to unless you were using the high quality voice for the region you are in. .

What about the improvements in Siri? The voice recognition is much improved. You can ask Siri to read your mails as a group; by subject or by sender’s name or date received. You can send an e-mail interactively. You can also perform these tasks for messages. Because the voice recognition is much more accurate, it is a much smoother activity and not quite the fight we used to have at times in IOS 6.

Siri will also get information from Widipedia when you want to know about a particular subject and this feature often provides the immediate answer to many questions. You can go to the full article if you need to.

What about the handwriting feature? Of course, many blind people have acquired their sight issues later in life. the handwriting feature allows a person who has difficulty with a touch keyboard to handwrite their pass code; their mail or text message. Even a letter if they wished. The handwriting feature can also teach a blind child about the shapes of print for signature etc. In my case, I have used a mixture of all three input options. the handwriting option is really helpful to input the passcode because it does not announce the key press. Great when I’m in a public place. ll

I am a blind user of the phone so don’t know much about the low vision issues but I believe there are options to increase contrast and boldness in the accessibility settings and that these do offer significant improvement to the standard screen. That may help some people with the visual issues of the screen depending on their eye condition. I’d be interested in knowing if these options do offer any significant improvement generally.

Joe, I do like you and you are a bonnie lad but I think you are developing your very own Android distortion field – it might be the same Apple distortion field that has mutated and infected your space ! I think Apple ring tones seem to bother you a bit but like other devices, you can just download some more if you’d like you know. Just like other mobiles.

I know you like to evangelise about Talkback and how its open source contributions mean that there are advantages in the updating of its software. Of course that is true but only to an extent. The updates you refer to have been developing for some years now and they are still not equal to the OS integration of voiceover. Having said that, I am really pleased that there is competition for its own sake in terms of building our opportunities for mainstream inclusion in design.

I also have to say that it is not quite fair to say that there is closed communication in the Apple environment.I have e-mailed developers and Apple on a number of occasions and have found all to be open and willing to respond to concerns and interest. Apple developers do seem to be keen on responding to accessibility issues when they are made aware of them and an Apple market means that they can direct accessibility to a clearly identified disability group re: their time and intellectual investment..

Anyway, just throwing a thought into the ring just to get Joe to bite …

Thanks to you all for your show, always good to listen to at triple speed on downcast !

Warm regards Wayne

Roundabout

Maybe You Get Bad Customer Service Because You’re a Bad Customer

Audioboo / brief demo of Milton, an electronic memory game

Blind man’s guide dog dies after pushing young boy from path of speeding car

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

In this week’s episode, Joe tries to run and hide from all the Apple frenzy, but Jamie and Ricky talk him into sharing his thoughts. Believe it or not, Apple news isn’t the only thing on this podcast. Topics discussed in this podcast include:

BARD Mobile for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on the iTunes App Store

End of an era. APH no longer sells a cassette player,

Audiobooks Have Become Cool

What’s new in iOS 7 accessibility for individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or who have low vision

Maccessibility » Review – iOS 7 and VoiceOver

Liam Erven demonstrates using fingerprint ID in the iPhone 5s

Listen to Triple-click Home Episode 22 featuring our interview with Jonathan Mosen

Look in the iOS 7 folder of iBlink Radio for more iOS 7 resources

The Apple Braille Crisis. It’s Got to be Fixed for the Kids

Apple TV 6.0 released with iTunes Radio, AirPlay from iCloud, iTunes Music Store, more

Apple goes on charm offensive with new iPhone launch

Apple’s iOS 7 includes a surprise: a ticket to the next generation of the internet

3 percent of American adults still cling to dial-up Internet

Not fast enough, not broad enough: The US Internet in 2013

BlackBerry cuts 4,500 jobs; shares halted on news

No Update on Microsoft CEO Search, but Company Divides in Five New Business Segments

Here is a link to the Apple II e emulator discussed on the podcast

Mailbag

Pete Bossley writes in to say:

I know I’m late commenting on this one, but here goes:
I’m not in favor of laws that preclude people from carrying, owning, buying or otherwise participating in and with firearms based on their blindness alone. I believe that it is a fundamental right that we possess. That having been said, owning and using a firearm safely are responsibilities that shouldn’t be taken lightly. By blind people or sighted people alike. And like it or not, a firearm is one of the more dangerous objects out there that are in common circulation. It is important to understand that bullets can and do travel significant distances and in unpredictable directions when they strike solid surfaces like brick and pavement. So, in short, a blind person should go out and get some quality professional training, and I would venture to say that they probably need 5 to 10 times the training that a sighted person may, simply in order to understand the risks involved. Then they should carefully weigh the risks, keeping in mind their special limitations, in addition to the criminal, civil, and moral liabilities attendant to exercising that right, and then make an informed decision. As an aside, I totally agree with Ricky’s comments regarding legislating responsibility. Having some significant personal experience in this Arena I really want to urge caution on this particular issue for folks…

Roundabout

Japan to fight Internet addiction with ‘fasting camps’

How Siri found its voice

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

This week, Jamie, Ricky and Joe return to their familiar places on the podcast. Topics discussed in this week’s episode include:

Extra Extra, Read all About it: the NLS Bard Mobile app is on its way!

JAWS 15 Public Beta

NCBI Podcast #16 Features Sendero GPS, the Serotek Socializer, and more

Amazon.com: Out of the Whirlpool: A Memoir of Remorse and Reconciliation eBook: Sue Wiygul Martin: Kindle Store

ATI Seminar Subscription

Keyboard shortcuts – Perform common Firefox tasks quickly

Homophones are Not Mistaken in Braille

Keeping Students with Disabilities Safe from Bullying

National Federation of the Blind Comments on Gun Ownership by Blind Individuals

Apple launches iPhone 5C: Color, costs aimed at emerging markets

2015: 64-bit ARM chips in iPhone 5S serve up taste of Intel-free future for Apple

Apple provides details on Touch ID’s privacy features

What’s right (and wrong) with the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s

10 new iOS 7 features for the enterprise

iCloud Keychain Removed in iOS 7 GM

OS X 10.8.5 update more than doubles 802.11ac file transfer speeds

Blast Processing

Microsoft’s Cortana shapes up to take on Siri, Google Now

Facebook suddenly deletes Social Fixer’s Facebook pages

Facebook testing videos that autoplay in mobile News Feed

Mailbag

From Luis

Hi Jamie, Joe, Ricky, or whom ever else that will join this week’s podcast,

After just finishing listening to Podcast 168 and listening to RoundAbout. The last story covered about the Simpson’s creator finding funny with his cancer fight. It reminds me about a story on CBS’s Today show back in February. On how creative a cancer survivor became with his wealth. Here’s the story that I got back then from a Houston morning show. By the way, as far as I know, no one has located the treasure yet, but be aware. That people have needed to be rescued when trying to follow the clues. Enjoy.

This Riddle Will Lead You To Millions! If You Can Solve It! Sarah Pepper February 28, 2013 A man was dying of cancer and so he hid a box with jewels and treasure in it! He wrote a riddle and if you can solve it the treasure is yours! I know, sounds like “The Goonies” but it is legit, it was on the “Today Show”! Here is the riddle. “The Thrill of the Chase”. As I have gone alone in there And with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, And hint of riches new and old. Begin it where warm waters halt And take it in the canyon down, Not far, but too far to walk. Put in below the home of Brown. From there it’s no place for the meek, The end is drawing ever nigh; There’ll be no paddle up your creek, Just heavy loads and water high. If you’ve been wise and found the blaze, Look quickly down, your quest to cease But tarry scant with marvel gaze, Just take the chest and go in peace. So why is it that I must go And leave my trove for all to seek? The answers I already know I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak So hear me all and listen good, Your effort will be worth the cold. If you are brave and in the wood I give you title to the gold. Happy hunting!

From Mike Arrigo

The plextalk update is really good. Samantha actually sounds decent now, that was a change that is long overdue. I used to have a tech net subscription and I’m also sorry to see this disappear. It was a great way to get access to Microsoft software at a good price, and it’s how I got windows 7. I don’t know, some of the decisions Microsoft is making these days do not seem to be in their best interest. I have yet to hear anyone say that they really like windows 8, now they’re purchasing Nokia’s hardware division, and they’re discontinuing a service that is clearly still in demand. they are going to have to rethink some things if they intend to remain competitive.

Roundabout

First Blind Solo Kayaker Goes Down Entire Length of Grand Canyon

Why Do We Clap?

Surgeon live-streams knee repair with Google Glass

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

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss the news of the week. Stories covered in this podcast include:

Blind Bargains: Survey on the Accessibility of Exercise Equipment

AI Squared has released ZoomText 10.1 for Windows 8

Announcing the Newest Inductees into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame

Bottom line, disabled people might be better workers.

Windows 8.1 shipping, online and physically, on October 18th

New Windows 8.1 build reveals built-in tutorial and tips

Can Surface be Saved?

Facebook said to be testing its own mobile purchasing program

Five alternative futures for BlackBerry

LG G2 balloon stunt goes awry

Why iPhone 4C didn’t make sense but iPhone 5C just might

Why Boston is a hotbed for speech recognition like Siri

One month with iOS 7: An old soul with style and substance

As Promised, here is a link to the Song Mitochondria by Those Who Dig

Roundabout

Bone Conduction Technology, Now Found in Your Mouth

Digital era threatens tenuous future of drive-ins

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

While Jamie is enjoying a bit of R and R after all of our convention coverage, Joe, Ricky and Lisa hold down the fort and produce yet another stellar episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Along with the top news stories of the week and your feedback, Joe visits with the developers of Solara, an iOS-based strategy game from Esper Labs. Our thanks to them for taking the time to visit with us this week. Be sure to follow them on Twitter and express your appreciation for their hard work.

Check out our SPN Special: HIMS NFB Workshop Part 1

Listen to our SPN Special: HIMS NFB Workshop Part 2

Listen to our latest SPN Special A T Trainers

SPN Special: Using the SAMNet Socializer

want to hear more about the #Socializer? Check out @RangerStation and Ricky_Enger on ACB Radio’s Main Menu.

want to use SAMNet and the Socializer with another screen reader? Here’s what you need to know

EOL Extra, Noms Edition: Victory Is Life!

You can now view the show notes and listen to the audio of This Month in Tech for June

There’s a demo of the upcoming DirectionsForMe app on the current @serotalk episode. Check it out!

Great article on the truly global ramifications of the WIPO treaty on accessible formats.

AI Squared has just launched a ZoomText Certification Program. There are two tiers of certification: Essentials and Professional. Here’s a link with more information

HumanWare Announces Prodigi: a Breakthrough for People Living With Vision Loss

Infovox 4 now available from Triumph Technology

The Seeing Eye GPS app is out!

You can find the Seeing Eye GPS User Guide here

On the GPS topic Chris Grabowski has produced “SenderoMaps, More than a Map Manager, Comprehensive Audio Tutorial” from Mystic Access. This is over 2 hours in length and goes through the features of the program. The introductory price is $19.95.

Mike Arigo Comparing Nearby Explorer and Sendero Seeing Eye GPS

Official #GWMicro #SocialEyes for Facebook Page, $50 annual, pre-order for $25, to be released early next week

Thank You For Using The Internet! We Regret To Inform You That Your Free Trial Has Expired.

T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Plans Promise Early Upgrades, but the Devil’s in the Details

Chinese woman electrocuted by iPhone may have used an unauthorized charger

Recharging iPhone blamed for another serious shock in China

Study Finds iOS Apps Just As Intrusive As Android Apps

Android 4.3 pops up on a Nexus 4 bought from Craigslist

Microsoft’s Making More Money From Phones, but a Lot of That Is From Android Patent Payments

Microsoft takes $900 million hit for unsold Surface RTs in 4Q13 earnings

Roundabout

OMG, kids these days: Digital tools don’t make students better writers

rom @gigaom: “British scientists have claimed success in charging a smartphone (a bit) through the use of…

‘Pet Flipping’ Is Now a Thing

Someday Your Guide Dog May Have Their Own Wearable Technology

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

Each month, members of Serotek’s System Access Mobile Network are able to participate in live training sessions on how to use various aspects of SAMNet. These training sessions are conducted by our own Lisa Salinger and are made available for on-demand listening later. We are pleased to bring you Lisa’s demonstration of the new features of the SAMNet Socializer. Once you have listened to this training, try out the new features of the SAMNet Socializer for yourself. If you aren’t already a member, {why not begin your seven-day free trial today?

This week’s podcast is packed with a lot of great content. After Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week, Jamie visits with Duyahn Walker about a recent television interview where he talks about playing video games from a low-vision perspective.

Facebook announces video on Instagram

Facebook’s Video Ads Now Likely Delayed Until Fall

Amazon adds group gift cards to Facebook

Microsoft on Xbox One reversal: Dude, E3 held us up

LG phone to sport always-on voice commands in 2014

Big Apple TV update adds HBO GO, WatchESPN, Sky News and more

Apple Updates Siri’s Response To Possible Suicide Risks

What’s Wrong with the iOS 7 Icons? by Ian Storm Taylor

OS X Mavericks First Impressions: A Little Good Going a Long Way

Introducing MBraille, the most feature-rich braille app on the app store.

Outdoor Play Tips for Toddlers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Blind Bargains: Buy Your Version of Chicken Nugget Today

Blind Bargains: Purchase “Record Tech Demos Like A Pro” by Jonathan Mosen for $19.95

Vocalizer for NVDA driver 3.0.5 is available.

AN objective look: iOS vs. Android for the visually impaired.

Google Glass Already Banned In Many Places Months Ahead Of Release

One year later, the Nexus 7 has gone from the best to worst tablet I’ve ever owned

Feedly Launches New Cloud Platform to Replace Google Reader Ahead of July Shutdown

Google Fiber spawns startup renaissance in Kansas City

Roundabout

Google Patents Image-Capturing Walking Sticks

Edgbaston Queen Elizabeth Hospital offers doggy daycare for blind patients

In this podcast, Jamie pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week including Apple’s WWDC keynote.

Reddit, Mozilla Join Coalition Demanding End to NSA Snooping

Chirpify Goes Beyond PayPal To Bring Direct, In-Stream Payments To Facebook, Twitter And Instagram

Bing’s U.S. search market share continues to climb

Amazon’s New Grocery Service: For $299, You Never Have to Leave the House Again

What I learned about the Xbox One from E3 | E3

Microsoft exec on Xbox One: No Internet? Get an Xbox 360

Download Chicken Nugget twitter client

Qube update available, works with new Twitter API. Start The Qube and auto update, alternatively, have an installer

iOS 7 looks great, but can it lure this Android user?

Editorial: The subtexts of Apple’s WWDC keynote

iFixit finds a plethora of minor tweaks inside the 2013 MacBook Air

Why the MacBook Air didn’t get a Retina display

Apple’s Rising Star: Craig Federighi

Report: Apple Ads Not Working Very Well

As Apple reorients its Maps, Google forges ahead

Our Position on the Posting on AppleVis of Information about Beta Versions of Apple Software

Roundabout

The OrCam: A Portable, Wearable Visual System for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons

Hands-free texting still distracting for drivers

Blind cyclists take to the track in Bristol »

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

The NFB13 agenda is now available online! Start planning your convention schedule now

Screen Readers at a Crossroads

Huawei Vision with Ray

There has been a significant update to TapTapSee

Introducing the new Socializer from Serotek

A brief tour of the Samnet Socializer

Developer suspects Facebook app is behind iPhone battery drain

Why you should always read the small print from Facebook

Fired Zynga Staff Hits Reddit to Talk Life Before the Massacre

WWDC 2013 Rumor Roundup: iOS 7, OS X 10.9, iRadio, and New Macs

New iRadio Ad Details Surface Ahead of Expected Launch Next Week

Eight changes I want to see in iOS 7 | iPhone

Apple vs. Samsung: It’s Thermonuclear War

HTC bleeding continues: Operations chief reportedly steps down

Microsoft goes public with Windows 8.1 upgrade policies

Amazon plans big expansion of online grocery business

Bose Reveals SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker And QuietComfort 20 In-Ear Headphones With “Aware Mode”

White House defends snooping of Verizon phone records | Security & Privacy

Mailbag

Thanks guys for the shout out. Here’s some info from the guide dog training perspective on taking your dog to an amusement park.

First off, the parks aren’t obligated to watch your dog while you go on the rougher rides so if you want to ride things like roller coasters, you may want to take along a person to serve as the dog holder while you ride. Know your dog before you go is really the key to going to any type of tourist attraction. If you’re going with people who can do sighted guide or if you want to ride a lot of rides and so do the rest of your party, making use of the amusement park kennels is a really sound alternative. Most kennels will require a health certificate which you can get from your vet at home prior to your trip.

So, what rides are safe for dogs? This really depends on your dog and if there’s anything that bothers him or her. Simple rides that just involve a sort of train car moving through things may be fine but there may be loud noises, deep booms, things flying around over your head, virtually or in reality, that can set some dogs off.

As dogs get older they tend to get more sensitized to loud noises and may shake, pant or even try to escape.

Of course any ride you need to wear a restraint on isn’t one that’s safe for your dog. Most general amusement park rides like trains, monorails, trams and such are fine and don’t require seatbelts. They have enough floor space for the dogs to lie down comfortably. This was certainly the case with the Disney World Frontier Land train, the Monorail, the boats on It’s A Small World and the tram on the energy Ride.

Some of the other rides like the dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom might be a little rough for some dogs as the car simulates movement but again, that’s an individual dog decision.

I was told that if we did visit Animal Kingdom and did the Safari train, the dogs must be lying down and could not sit up and watch the animals. That’s fair as these animals might be distracted by the dogs.

One of my dogs hated anything that looked or smelled like a horse and would go into a barking, growling jag upon seeing one. I didn’t test it but suspected that it went for things like elephants and hippos too.

Back to the park trip, you want to make sure your dog is well hydrated. We found many water stations for people and dogs in Disney.

Then there’s the relief issue. Disney has set places for service animals to relieve. They are scattered throughout the parks and any cast member can tell you where the nearest one is. We found several with no problems at all. We also found misting stations for people that sprayed a fine mist of water. We let the dogs walk under these as well and it helped to keep them both cool.

Finally, remember that your dog is going to be working very hard if guiding you through an amusement park. There are people going every direction, most of whom are oblivious to your presence. The dog will be doing a lot of weaving, dodging and stopping. Be sure to praise a lot during the day.

If you’re at a park for multiple days, give your dog a break in the kennels for a half day or so to keep from exhausting him or her.

We were worried about burnt paws too but whatever they pave the Disney grounds with stayed fairly cool. Then of course it rained and that was a moot point. Check your dog’s feet throughout the day to make sure they haven’t gotten burned while standing in line. Now there’s a good excuse to take the short line route.

If you don’t know about the accommodations for a particular park, ask. Most major parks and park chains do have information about service animals and kenneling. Your guide dog school will also most likely have some information or know who to call to get it. If you have questions about your particular dog’s abilities to handle things in an amusement park environment, by all means call your school and talk with the training staff.

I’ve had my dogs in a number of parks and other tourist venues over the years, including a jeep ride in sedona, Arizona that rivaled some roller coasters. Looking back, I might not have taken my then older dog on that one but he faired well, better then me actually.

Just use common sense, don’t get so caught up in the experience that you forget the other living being with you, your dog, and have fun!

Jenine Stanley

Roundabout

Domino’s Pizza testing pizza-delivering drones

Pepsi vending machine takes Facebook love, not money

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

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

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.

Cara Quinn embraces a wide variety of artistic and technical interests. She enjoys a successful modeling career which allows her to express herself in print and promotional venues.
She teaches guitar, performs, and composes in a variety of genres with a focus on loop-based music, and enjoys mixing elements of rock, pop, jazz, and progressive styles. She has also created compositions for plays, documentaries and short films and has engineered and produced projects for musicians who sought rich and progressive sounds for their music.
Cara manages two very busy mailing lists: VIPhones and MacVisionaries. She is also involved in various podcasting endeavors and develops software for Looktel and Draconis Entertainment Contact Cara via Twitter or email.

Windows 8.1 given first official outing, and yes, the Start button is back

Microsoft confirms public preview of Windows 8 in late June

Screen readers “see” websites differently than sighted people do. Why links should have real text

NVDA 2013.1 has been released, with support for PowerPoint, an improved laptop keyboard layout and some enhanced Braille support

Captcha Fail Leaves Blind People Unable To Sign ‘We The People’ Petition To Help The Blind

The Top 5 Announcements From Google I/O

Tablets devastate laptop market

Google’s virtual assistant invades Siri’s turf

Audio Archery has been released for iOS

And Android

New Podcast: Audio Archery: Use Your Ears and Reflexes to Hit the Target with this New iOS Game

Twitter API v 1 retirement date extended to June 11

Cross the streams with Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype messaging and more with Socializer. Accessibility Anywhere.

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

Join Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp as they discuss the top news stories of the week which include:

What Tim Cook’s cryptic comments at D11 can tell us about iOS 7

Apple unveils new 16GB iPod touch

Gmail is changing! Say hello to tabs

Google Likely to Replace Android with Chrome

Google plans ‘wireless balloons’ to spread the Internet

Face recognition API for Google Glass to be released this week

Google and Facebook reportedly in talks to buy Waze for about $1 billion

Facebook announces verified profiles and pages

Windows 8.1 given first official outing, and yes, the Start button is back

#NewYork City adopts new #International Symbol of Accessibility

Screen readers “see” websites differently than sighted people do. Why links should have real text

Regulators issue sweeping new rules to help disabled use television technology

Captcha Fail Leaves Blind People Unable To Sign ‘We The People’ Petition To Help The Blind

Blind sixth-grader from Muskogee OK headed to ScrippsBee with her family by her side!

New Podcast: Audio Archery: Use Your Ears and Reflexes to Hit the Target with this New iOS Game

Mailbag

From Jenine Stanley: Perk or service? Here’s a theory about why people might see some things like being able to bypass Disney lines if you have a disability, or being able to have your service animal with you, as perks and hence something to desire enough to fake disability over.

I think people see us going about our business in particular with our guide and service dogs and hey, we look pretty normal, whatever that means. We’re at Disney or somewhere else doing what everyone else is doing. So why do we get special things like the ability to jump lines?

People seem to have forgotten the limitations that we have as the reason for these things, i.e., needing my dog to guide me versus just bringing it along as a fun thing to do with my pet; or, not being able to stand for long in the heat, or not be able to tell when lines are moving and stay in the flow as a reason to get me out of that stream and into something I can better manage.

This is probably not making a lot of sense, but I think many of us are in this sort of parallel universe of being capable, regular people, until we’re not.

We’ve been having a lot of home improvement work done lately and the contractors have learned quickly that though I can’t see anything, describing it even marginally usually gets the point across. Then they forget that oh yeah, they really should move the pile of stuff on the driveway that I wasn’t expecting to be there and tripped over.

The one that still gets me the worst though are those people who say things like “It must be nice to take your dog everywhere.”

My response is swiftly becoming “It would be better to have working eyes and a car. Wanna trade?”

Or:

“I wish I could take my dog everywhere.” Usually said by a 20 to 30 Something.

My response: “Well, I wish I had your eyes and your car. Again, wanna trade?” Jenine Stanley

From Jenine Stanley: More On Disney I, my partially sighted husband and our two guide dogs went to Disney world, particularly EPCOT, for the day on May 19 with two sighted friends. It was honestly a mix of getting pulled out of line and not. The first ride we went on in EPCOT was the Energy Adventure or something like that, commonly known as the Dinosaur ride. We didn’t register with Guest Services or anything special because we just weren’t going to be there that long. I wish I’d gotten one of the receivers but given how hard it rained, good thing I didn’t.

Pulling us aside was fine in this case because it allowed the people on the tram portion of the ride to explain the car layout and such. Our friends got to come with us.

Then I wanted to ride Mission Space, the fast version, so one of our friends and I left my dog with the other two and started the “line adventure”! Yep, because I had no cane and was doing sighted guide, they probably had little to no idea I was totally blind until we had to stand in specific places and do specific things. My friend did a great job of letting me know where to look and what to do. I then teased her that they wouldn’t realize I was blind and just think we were really, really good friends.

Next we did the walk through the different lands and I have to say, the restaurant staff in China was outstanding at describing menu choices and such.

By the time we finished lunch and headed for the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, it was pouring rain. Fine, no big deal as everyone was wet. We took the Frontier Railroad and were immediately shepherded over to the front of the train to wait with a little guy and his mom. He had CP and used a wheelchair. He was getting to drive the train which was way cool. My husband was ready to go help him as he loves trains. Granted, I hadn’t heard your show yet at that point of course and it was just a little weird to be there under those circumstances but frankly, cramming into a train car with large wet retrievers is really best done with friends only so this worked out OK.

Finally we decided to ride It’ S a Small World. Here we were sent into a shorter line but I think it wasn’t special at all, just the shorter of 2 lines for groups who wanted to stay together.

Regardless of how much or how little assistance we got, I am still completely amazed at how Disney has developed this science of moving people. Even when we waited in the longest line, it moved steadily. I stopped hanging onto my friend at times and had to pay attention.

Joe’s point is a good one about having the service of skipping the line for folks who aren’t used to doing lines yet as a blind or partially sighted person. Lighting was probably a huge variable too in some of these lines, making it even harder to stay with the flow.

What I found most disconcerting though at Disney was the total oblivion of my fellow park visitors. My poor dog worked his furry bum off dodging people, strollers, packages and stuff. It was harder than his annual Fifth Avenue walk at Christmas in NYC.

I was body slammed by several people who were looking around at all the sights, recording video, doing who knows what. Most of them never acknowledged that they even ran into me or my dog. They were in the Disney stupor. It was scary.

That said, the dogs did a masterful job and I never would try it with a cane, though it could be done I’m sure. I’d find myself, especially in the lands in EPCOT, drifting into that Disney stupor as we passed through the different music, smells and such. Usually that’s when someone would plow into us though.

All in all, It didn’t feel as if we were being singled out for anything and it was nice when people actually knew the rules about the dogs and such. In the scheme of moving that many people, maybe it is just efficacious to have such special services. I’d be curious to see the Disney data on such things as you know they have to be keeping such data on line times and things to improve service. Jenine Stanley

From RJ Edwards: Comment on the Disney disabled persons scam Good Day,

 I have been to Disney a number of times with friends and family. I have used the disabled line a few and I have not. I do think it is a great service. However I think it is important to note and mention that there is a similar service offered to the non-disabled community called Fast trip. This service is at a cost where the service for the disabled is free. Therefore I believe that if your gonna pay for the service then you should then pay for the fast pass and leave the line for disabled individuals alone. The more people that attempt this scam the longer the lines for us disabled folks becomes and therefore renders the line pointless. I do see Ricky's point about hiding the visibility of the disabled community. However, I do also think it might be also a liability issue for the parks as well. Some of the main entrances to these attractions are rather tricky to navigate. especially for someone who has a walking disability. I myself have taken a tumble or two on some of the rides. However does that go into they should designed a better entrance or let them use the disabled access. All things to ponder. Thank you for your time.

From Beth For “SeroTalk podcast 154”: Mailbag: Address correction Hi, on the podcast, you gave the Kindle feedback address without saying “Hyphen” or “dash” and I went to the show notes and found the address written correctly, you may want to correct it in a future podcast.
Here is the address:

kindle-feedback@amazon.com

Thanks. Beth

From Beth For “SeroTalk Podcast”, mailbag: All-in-one accessory for desktop Macs and PCs and for smart phones Hey, guys, I’ve been wondering and researching: Is there a Bluetooth or what I call long distance USB device with a full-sized keyboard, mouse, medium-sized monitor and good speakers? That way, you could control your desktop or phone from a distance, you also wouldn’t have to buy a laptop Mac or PC unless you wanted to. Keep up the great work! Beth

From Catherine Turner: No queuing for disabled people Hi,

I was interested in your item about some parents paying for their children to avoid queuing at Disney World by going with disabled people. I find this sad, not only from the view that people with money to spend can’t bear for their precious children to stand in a queue for a while, but also the poor impression the policy as a whole gives the public of disabled people. Of course there are sometimes impairment-related reasons why queuing for a length of time would be difficult for some people (fatigue, pain) but this doesn’t apply to all disabled people. I’m not saying they policy of allowing disabled people to skip queues is wrong, but it should be flexible enough so that someone can choose to queue if they want to and from your discussion it doesn’t seem that this is the case. I expect a lot of people will choose to skip the queue, but people certainly shouldn’t be pulled out of the queue – apart from anything else, what about people with invisible impairments? Give people the choice an let them decide. It might seem a small thing to get concerned about but in a world where most of us are unemployed and I, for example, (as a blind wheelchair user using a power chair and a cane at the same time) can’t go down the street without someone either complaining about my existence or, at the other extreme, congratulating me for (it seems) getting out of bed in the morning, small impressions matter. I feel that true equality means taking an equal share of the bad, unpleasant or tedious things in life and queuing at Disney World should be no exception – unless the person has an impairment-related reason why queuing is a problem for them.

Thanks for the show, I only recently subscribed and am glad I discovered it – great podcast.

Catherine (Colchester, UK)

From Wayne Mills: Cues Hello Ricky, Jamie and Jo,

I thought I’d just chip in to the debate on disability and queuing re: preferential treatment.

For me, I’m afraid I have to line up with Ricky. There are some quite subtle implications surrounding perception of blind and visually impaired persons in society today. We have the greatest opportunities as a community given the solutions offered through assistive technology whilst at the same time seeing no improvement in the employment statistics of blind persons.

There are interesting social tensions even within our own community re:what is the social identity of the blind community? I am a chap with RP who could see well as a younger man / teenager but have become blind in my mid-late 40’s. As my vision worsened, I built skills that maintained my independent travel and have made full use of the various technology available to maintain my independence. I believe I have achieved a well balanced view of my own life and abilities (although I might need to ask my wife what she things?)

However, social amenities such as theatres and cinema still want to treat me in a charitable way. For example, I am married and when we go to our local Theatre, they want to allow my wife free admission because they see her as my carer. I say my wife is not my carer, we are having a night out together and I am taking my wife out for a lovely evening meal and Play. I insist on paying for us. Naturally in a very pleasant and amenable manner (smile)

I am employed and so do not require a discount – as Ricky said, if I were unemployed, I would accept a reduction on the basis of low income and not on the basis of being blind. By the way, the theatre does offer live audio description and does allow me to go on stage before the show to touch all the props and locations. That is actually helpful to knowing what costumes are being worn re: texture etc.

However, we also have a community with variable abilities. Some in transition because of acquiring blindness and others who have fully transitioned from loss of sight to either maintaining independence or greater dependency. I believe this is often informed by what message we have internalized as sighted persons becoming blind re: I can and will maintain my lifestyle and preferences or I have lost the ability to do this activity or that activity. There are also the challenges of accepting resources such as a white cane or braille re: psychological adjustment to the public presentation of being blind.

In some ways, we are continuing to see a form of disability apartheid. Women and black people needed to assert their rights as equal human beings in recent decades and with this, expectations and social readjustment re: social roles and beliefs changed. As a community, we do need to take responsibility for the personal message we project and reinforce to a sighted community that wants to be empathic with our challenges but also needs to recognise our strengths and abilities.

Of course, I do want to be sensitive to those who are experiencing changes to their vision. with the associated emotional impact of this. However, the emotional and psychological impact of sight loss can inform the decisions a person makes in engaging with their challenges. Not an easy thing.if a person believes loss of sight equals loss of dignity and personal freedom when trying to understand their experience, then we enter that cyclical reinforcement of wider social beliefs that the blind community needs help rather than empowerment..

Thanks for the chit chat everyone . One Nil to Ricky (soccer reference). Big smile

Roundabout

Spelling Confessions: Words We Still Can’t Spell

Start your to-do list with what you’ve already accomplished and trick your brain into getting things done

Coffee vs. beer: which drink makes you more creative?

South Florida man reaches rare milestone: He’s donated 100 gallons of blood

The Decline of Eye Contact

NVDA has a new Web site

NV Access: Our Mission

Vocalizer Expressive voices for NVDA

Prizmo OCR App for iOS Enhances VoiceOver Support

20 Quick Tips to get you Started with your First iPhone

Earl: An Evaluation of the Newspaper-Reading App from Angle LLC

OneNote Blind – Microsoft Office accessibility for the visually impaired

Making LinkedIn More Accessible

Sense Navigation mp3 Audio Tutorial

Google’s products dig deeper into people’s lives

The Top 5 Announcements From Google I/O

Google Play Books Gets User Ebook Uploads and Drive Support

Google Maps adds better directions, suggestions, and 3D Earth rendering

How BlackBerry is riding iOS and Android to power its comeback

Siri tells users: Get to the point

Generate Random Passwords on the iPhone with Siri

iTunes 11.0.3 update beefs up Miniplayer’s album art

New Mac spyware signed with legitimate Apple Developer ID

Roundabout

Apple reveals details of 50 billionth App Store download

Scansoft & Acapela voices duke it out.

Disabled Fury Groes At Happiest Place On Earth

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

Roundabout

Why sighing makes you feel better What did the Big Bang sound like? Take a listen

Sponsor

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To learn more about these amazing headphones, and to read about the new Bluez with wireless options, visit Aftershokz.com. You can also catch SPN’s own Mike Calvo, from last year, reviewing a pair of the Aftershocks that he uses in his daily work.

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

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss the top news stories of the week which include:

Facebook invades Android’s Home

Report: Google Prepping Cheaper Nexus 7 for Summer Release

Countdown clock: Microsoft marches toward its Messenger phase-out

Microsoft’s Windows Blue looks to be named Windows 8.1

SkyDrive app is Microsoft’s ‘new normal’

Amazon extends AutoRip to vinyl records

Amazon Hires Former Windows Phone Exec to Work on ‘Something Secret’

Rumor has it that Apple’s iOS 7 development is delayed

Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones

Tim Cook’s apology did its job. Apple earns respect in China.

The first call from a cell phone was made 40 years ago today

April Fools’ 2013: From Twttr to Google Nose to Nokia’s microwave

Serotek Introduces TrikeTech For Tots

A BlindBargains Exclusive: Milieu Smartphone for the Blind Community

SeroTalk April Fools Podcast

Dropbox 2.0.4 adds workaround for screen readers

Walmart Expands Program to Provide Talking Prescription Containers

J-Tools will be re-released and will be free!

Rebuttal to Mike Calvo on WSJ Live

Aftershocks

Looking for headphones with a safer open ear design so you can still talk with others around you or hear your environment? Aftershokz Headphones utilize Bone Conduction audio that lets you listen to your favorite tunes, or SeroTalk network podcasts, yet still be able to hear your nearby surroundings. You can get 40% off if you use the promotional code SPN40 at the checkout area on the Aftershokz website just for being a listener of this very podcast!

To learn more about these amazing headphones, and to read about the new Bluez with wireless options, visit Aftershokz.com. You can also catch SPN’s own Mike Calvo, from last year, reviewing a pair of the Aftershocks that he uses in his daily work.

Mailbag

From Jake:

Hello Jamie, Ricky and Joe. I just got through listening to your April Fool’s Day podcast and loved it. I do indeed remember Vocal-Eyes, although I used it a few years prior to 2003 at a Jesuit college I attended which is no longer in existence. Vocal-Eyes was a great screen reader though. I can remember I had an Audapter speech box and how cool it was playing with all the parameters. I cannot remember what make the computer was, but obviously I used DOS. It is indeed amazing to think how far we’ve come in terms of assistive technology. Happy 4/1/13 to Serotek!

Jake

Blog comment: Aleeha Dudley

Wonderful podcast as usual! Let’s see: cn 2003 I was 10 years old and used borrowed computers running Windows XP. I used a Braille N’ Speak in classes and that was the extent of it. I now own a Windows 7 Dell laptop, an iPhone, iPad mini, iPod Shuffle, BrailleNote Apex, BookSense and Brailliant display. Thank you Apple for not staying in the accessibility dark ages. I don’t know what I’d do without my Apple stuff. Once again, a great podcast as always and I look forward to more awesome content from the SeroTalk team!<

Roundabout

Guided By Touch: Indianapolis Museum of Art Tours

Google Glass Early Adopters Want To Build Learning, Healthcare, Accessibility & Safety Apps

This week’s show presents yet another guycast with Jamie, Buddy and Joe. As you might expect, there is no shortage of opinions on all the stories discussed below. Send us an email, leave an iReport via iBlink Radio, or leave a comment on www.serotalk.com to give us yours.

New Sendero 2013 line up

VoiceOver saved in Apple, Samsung patent battle

An Update on the Seeing Eye app Being Developed by the Sendero Group

Blind Vets Warn Against VA Funding Guide Dogs

A keyboard that rises up from flat touch screens

White House: You have a right to unlock your cell phone

Rumor: T-Mobile to move to no-contract model soon

Smartphones to outsell feature phones in 2013 for first time

Twitter Killing TweetDeck for iPhone and Android

Facebook unveils redesigned, cleaner News Feed coming to iPhone, iPad & Web

Google at work Amazon Prime competitor

Get ready for used digital goods stores from Amazon & Apple. patents.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 rumored to use eye-tracking software

Minor security flaw found in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2

Talkback v3.0 released

How to Prevent Accidental Spending on In-App Purchases on Your iPhone

Apple’s iPhone might have been a ‘Mobi’

Apple reportedly cutting back on iPad 9.7 orders

iPhone 5S rumored to launch in August, new iPads in April

Apple’s iWatch may be unveiled this year, Bloomberg says

Mailbag

From Snowbunny

Hey, guys, great podcast!  You asked who doesn’t have Dropbox these days.  Well, Yours Truly, for one.  I’ve never been comfortable with the premise of Dropbox, you can walk a fine line regarding legality pertaining to what you have and send people on Dropbox.  Seems to me this was mentioned on a long-ago Serotalk podcast.  Copyright issues need to be taken seriously here.  Thanks too for the upcoming CSUN shows, can’t wait!  Beth

Roundabout

Pet Peves of the blind and visually impaired

Eat a Banana to Remedy Over-Caffeination

Seeking your opinion: should Serotek Start a newsletter?

Complete Serotek’s survey for your chance to win an iPad Mini

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

About Our Guests

Rick Harmon is currently working with Fedora Outlier, and 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 tinclusion as well. In 2007, Rick began offering paid training and support services, both in person in his local area, and by phone.

Jeanine Lineback hails from the great state of Texas, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a certified Access Technology Trainer, and holds certifications in HTML and CISCO Information Technology Essentials. 

She began her career at the University of Texas at Austin, as an Adaptive Technology specialist. She was the technology Coordinator at the Colorado Center for the blind in the 90’s. She owned her own company, Computer Concepts Plus, where she contracted with vocational rehabilitation as an assistive technology trainer, wrote JAWS scripts for private companies and did some SQL database programming. Over the years, she has worked for several private assistive technology vendors, providing training and tech support services. Until recently, Jeanine was a technology and career guidance instructor at the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center, which is the residential vocational rehabilitation center in Texas.

Jeanine decided to return to entrepeneuership and in January of 2013, she began her own company, TekSolutions, a division of Lineback Enterprises Inc. Lineback Enterprises Inc. is a consulting and training company. The focus of the TekSoulutions division is to provide high quality assistive technology training, usability/accessibility testing services and educating the world about what blind people do in their everyday lives with technology. The company motto is, “Technology and people are our passion!”

When not working or taking an online course, Jeanine enjoys reading or watching science fiction, playing music with friends, swimming and outdoor activities. She was married in 2011 and lives in Austin, Texas. You may contact her via email, Twitter, Facebook and on LinkedIn.

Joshua Loya works as an Access Technology Specialist at the San Diego campus of Braille Institute of America. He is also an assistant instructor at the Guardian Academy of Martial Arts in Spring Valley, California. Despite being completely blind since 1996, he has earned 2^nd  degree black belts in Guardian Jujutsu, Guardian Karate, and Guardian Kobujutsu. He also holds a green belt in Guardian Kempo, the advanced program offered by the Guardian Academy, and is one of only three students to be given Guardian Kempo rank under the new system rules. Joshua has also worked as an assistive technology trainer and consultant for blindness specific and mainstream organizations.

Learn more about Joshua by visiting his website or following him on Twitter.

General Computing

Screen-Less Mobile Computers: Talking Changes Everything

Study: Facebook fatigue — it’s real

New timeline for Microsoft to move millions from MSN Messager to Skype

Seeking your opinion: should Serotek Start a newsletter?

Mobile Tech

iOS 6.1 brings back bug that gives anyone access to your contacts, photos

iTunes U crosses 1 billion downloads—have you used it?

Samsung struggles to block iPhone function for the blind

Navigation and Travel

ANNOUNCING: APH’s Nearby Explorer Android app, a GPS-enabled app for the blind.

You can also read the user’s guide to NearbyExplorer

Sendero CSUN Sessions are posted – Seeing Eye GPS demos, product releases and more.

iMove: a free GPS app is released.

 Live from CSUN

Ananse Productions Gets Fancy with Letter Clever for iOS and Android

LookTel VoiceOver Tutorial

The BARD Mobile app is coming.

CSUN interviews are now streaming on SPN: Available on SAMNet, the web, and iBlink Radio.

Medical Tech

FDA approves first bionic eye for rare disorder

A sensational breakthrough: the first bionic hand that can feel

Complete Serotek’s survey for your chance to win an iPad Mini

Welcome back to yet another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. As always, Jamie, Ricky and Joe have plenty to say about the stories covered in this week’s show, and your comments always make us exercise our brains as well.

iOS 6.1 brings back bug that gives anyone access to your contacts, photos

The Retina MacBook Pro: Faster, stronger, cheaper

Report: Apple May Have Over 100 Staff Working on Smartwatch

Amazon beats out Apple and Google as most trusted U.S. company

Android v4.2.2 adds fixes Bluetooth and adds Google Now widget

New beta of TalkBack adds single tap back to the app

Skype 6.2 arrives for Windows, Mac

New timeline for Microsoft to move millions from MSN Messager to Skype

Microsoft Airs First Surface Pro Commercial During Grammys

Microsoft’s ‘getting started’ guide for Surface tells you everything you need to know

David Woodbridge demos Narrator on Surface RT

Report: Twitter Now Charges $200,000 For Promoted Trends

FDA approves first bionic eye for rare disorder

One step closer to a Star Trek Jordi LaForge Visor? Rats see in infa red

The race to fingerprint the human voice

The end of accessibility?

New Tech Doctor Podcast Entitled: “iPhone Typing Competition” Listen at your own risk.

iMove

Link for all BBC audio described programming

High Contrast 8, Nose to a box

Filmed in 1967, Walter Cronkite shares predictions for “Home Office of the 21st Century”

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Tough decision to make? Pretend you’re advising a friend on what to do

US restaurant Applebee’s commits ‘social media suicide’

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

In this episode, Jamie Pauls returns to the host’s chair and is joined by by Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp in a discussion of the week’s top stories.

Screen-Less Mobile Computers: Talking Changes Everything

ANNOUNCING: APH’s Nearby Explorer Android app, a GPS-enabled app for the blind. Check it out here

You can also read the user’s guide to NearbyExplorer

Read Across America

Braille publisher launches blog to promote literacy

New Tech Doctor podcast entitled: BrailleTouch

Dell plans to take company private – Feb. 5, 2013

A Tale of Two Competitors’ Responses to the Dell Buyout

Apple: We’re in “active discussions” on returning more cash to shareholders

Surface Pro versus MacBook Air: Who’s being dishonest with storage space?

Is Windows 8 heading to a smaller screen?

Amazon Introduces Amazon Coins, a Virtual Currency

Why Amazon wants its own currency

USPS Dropping Saturday Mail Delivery Starting Aug. 1

We still need mail as well as e-mail

How Your Brain Tells You to Take a Break

Study: Facebook fatigue — it’s real

Please take this screen reader user survey and help spread the word about System Access.

Replay the Accessible Event archive of SeroSpectives: This Month in Tech for January

About Our Presenters

Jeff Bishop describes himself as a “Developer, technologist, Window-Eyes scripter, Broadcaster and family oriented guy” and is probably best known for his broadcasts on various community radio stations.

Dr. Robert Carter is a psychologist at Texas A&M University. Before coming to Texas in 1989, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Florida.

As a graduate assistant, Dr. Carter ran an accessible computer lab where he taught blind people to use the Apple II. In his doctoral dissertation, he studied the decision-making process that rehabilitation counselors go through when they select access technology for their clients.

Since 1975, Dr. Carter has been involved in the testing and development of dozens of access technology products. He frequently speaks publicly about access technology.

At present, Dr. Carter is the host of “The Tech Doctor” podcast where he helps his listeners make sense of the ever-changing and complex landscape of accessible technology. You can keep up with him by following him on Twitter.

Rodney Edgar is a low vision IT Professional in the banking industry. In 2009 he co-founded the Tech Access Weekly podcast which discusses a variety of accessible technologies. He is also the host of High Contrast on SPN, technical director of Tech Access DemoCast, and shameless promoter of the Book Hoarders Anonymous podcast.

General Tech

12 Buzzwords You’ll Hear in 2013

Ticketmaster dumps ‘hated’ Captcha verification system

Amazon’s latest acquisition could bring dictation back to Kindle devices

Facebook

New Facebook Graph Search gives users power to slice and dice info from friends

How The New Facebook Search Is Different & Unique From Google Search

Microsoft

Microsoft Messenger Service not going anywhere just yet

Microsoft Office 2013: What to expect on the pricing front

Microsoft Office 2013 review: Designed for tablets, but great for everyone

Google

Google looks to ditch passwords for good with NFC-based replacement

Report: Samsung Galaxy S4 will debut in April

Blackberry

BlackBerry Z10 review: a new life, or life support?

Apple

Apple iPad jumps to 128GB, starting at $799

Apple releases iOS 6.1 with more LTE carrier support, Siri/Fandango movie ticket purchasing, iTunes Match song downloading

? AppleTV 5.2 Update Brings Accessibility Changes

Access Tech

Volunteers describe Rose Parade to blind spectators.

New BookShare Tools Announced at ATIA 2013

Announcing the release of BookSense 3.0.

HumanWare – The all new Victor Reader Stream

AFB’s AccessNote for iOS has been released.

BrailleTouch has been released

Detailed image descriptions now available

Please take this screen reader user survey and help spread the word about System Access.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the podcast where Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. We also respond to your emails, blog comments and iReports as we go along. Enjoy!

Microsoft Messenger Service not going anywhere just yet

Skype Switcher Tip: Use Compact View

Report: New, cheaper iPhone could cost as little as $99

Walmart now offers iPhone 5 on Straight Talk’s no-contract unlimited plans

T-Mobile rips up contract on unlimited data plan

Consumers pay the hidden costs for the ‘free’ app ecosystem

Happy Birthday, iTunes

RIM has made ‘notable progress,’ but ‘still a lot to do,’ says analyst

Facebook stock cracks $30 ahead of event next week

Size matters: Lenovo unveils 27-inch tablet

Kickstarter had a monster year with nearly $320 million in pledges

Audi: We’re ready to test autonomous cars on public roads

NHTSA details new sound requirements for hybrids and EVs travelling under 18 mph

Nuance hopes to make cross-platform voice recognition a reality with Project Wintermute

Will voice recognition make touch obsolete? Intel says yes

things I learned by pretending to be a blind Internet user for a week

We Live In a Sighted World, Like it or Not.

SixthSense, a new 3D sound horror shooting game for iOS which is playable by the blind

HumanWare Lowers Prices on BrailleNote Notetakers by Roughly 20 Percent

Building a Better Smartphone for the Blind – but can we count on accessible apps to go with it?

2012 DVD Hot Picks, All with Audio Description

Mailbag

From  Jenine Stanley

I’m listening to the End of Year in Tech special and enjoying the discussion very much. Regarding the discussion of the viability of NVDA as a screen reading option from vocational rehabilitation services, I can’t speak directly to that screen reader’s power and flexibility but I can speak to the general practices of especially state-funded rehabilitation services in buying technology.

It is so rare to find someone within a state rehabilitation agency that actually has a solid working knowledge of the capabilities of screen readers beyond what the manufacturer tells them in a structured demo. This is why it’s so hard to get them to look at any alternatives from the Freedom Scientific products, until now. The magic word in this new scenario isn’t functionality. It’s FREE!

With budgets for state services shrinking to nearly nothing, being able to access a free product gets that case closed a lot faster than providing a high-featured screen reader that costs over $500 at least along with added costs of training in the use of that screen reader. Whether it actually works for the person’s needs or not is often irrelevant.

I know there are conscientious rehab professionals out there who don’t do this but sadly they are few and far between and as state services consolidate and use personnel who have little experience with blindness providing services, as is the case with some VA centers who have eliminated their VIST coordinators, those people will look at cost versus functionality.

Blog comment from Luis

Hi all, I wanted to respond to a couple of stories you touched on.

First about the Android Nexus 7 mic problem. The issue is still there. I tried to patch the Nexus 7 to a recorder to get the full affect of the sound for a recording. And I did so after Jelly Bean 4.2.1 came out. I thought it was the cable that I was using and traded it for another. But the same interferance was in the background. Then I listened to this podcast and was because of you Jamie, Ricky, and Joe. Did I found out the issue was within the unit not the cables. Thank you for that.

Also would like to comment on Ricky’s pondering of how Twitter seems to be more popular with the blind community over FaceBook. I believe that the reason for Twitter being more popular with the blind then FaceBook, is because of the client. You had clients like Qwitter and now The Cube that make it easy for the blind to be on Twitter. Without any ads for us to put up with. That’s on Windows use, then you have iOS users. Who have apps that give them a similar experience. The popular app has always been TweetList but now something similar would be Twitterrific. Avoiding the default Twitter app that has more stuff for you to flick through while reading your timeline. While FaceBook has no type of client for the blind to view or reply, or post on Windows like Twitter does. Nor are any of the apps for iOS as good as the Twitter apps. Although the default FaceBook app for iOS has come far when accessability is concern. But also, and I’m not sure if I’m alone with this. But the timeline for FaceBook isn’t always consistent. You may be looking at your timeline one minute, and comeback 30 minutes later. And you’ll see some new posts mixed with the same posts you saw 30 minutes before. And at least with the mobile version of Facebook, and the FaceBook app don’t always show the same posts at the same place of your timeline.

And perhaps it’s this that draws blind users to be more active on Twitter then on FaceBook.

Have other comments to make on other stories. but think I went to long. Great job starting off the new year.

Roundabout

Find Out If an Interview Is Going Well by Asking the Interviewer About His or Her Job

Tech Doctor Podcast: Sounds From Antarctica

This week, Ricky Enger takes the host’s chair where she is joined by Buddy Brannan and Lisa Salinger. After the news, Jamie Pauls visits with Marissa Slaughter, social Media Coordinator for Fred’s Head from APH.

Wickedpedia: The dark side of Wikipedia

1 in 4 tablet owners say it is now their primary computer

Not Just the Fax: 10 Office Technologies on Their Way Out

Early adopters experiencing issues with Apple’s iPhone 5

Consumer Reports checks out Apple Maps, and isn’t happy

The Best Apple Map Alternatives Aren’t Found In The App Store

Some early iPhone 5 adopters stuck by Lightning – literally

Many Android owners plan exodus to the iPhone (survey)

Researchers bypass NFC access control with smartphone

An Immersion into System Access

Designing for Accessibility: Q&A with Jeff Wieland

The Qube 1.0 Beta 4.3 with full SndUp support is now available for download:

News regarding the Android Team-FM App

Hadley Seminar: Accessing Facebook On Your iPhone

If you have Facebook, join the discussion on Amazon’s wall about the lack of Kindle accessibility.

Cinemark Installing Audio Description Technology Across the United States

Presidential Candidates To Skip Disability Forum

Tech-savvy ways to follow the elections (video)

Roundabout

Managing Diabetes With Your iPhone: Glooko Now Supports 17 Different Glucose Meters

A “life-changing” invention from the West Bank

On this week’s podcast, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp reunite after a couple weeks of summer convention coverage to talk about the top news of the week. Stories covered in this episode include:

The Cloud

Microsoft moves your Office to the cloud

Amazon Cloud Goes Down Friday Night, Taking Netflix, Instagram And Pinterest With It

AWS Power Outage Raises Questions About Reliability Of Public Cloud

General Tech

The dark side of QR codes

@facebook.com addresses are free; hence, we must all want one.

With friend-finders like these, Facebook may find itself sued

RIM bets on quality, not speed, as it fends off death spiral

AT&T’s Next Ridiculous Move Is Going To Outrage iPhone Users

Sony’s latest Walkman lineup sizzles

Windows 8 launches October 26

AT

dequeSystems is announcing Amaze, free technology that makes Web sites accessible via browser plugin.

Serotek’s Accessibility Anywhere package

Fleksy

TextDetective

AccessNote: AFB’s New Note Taker for Your iOS Device

New HumanWare iPhone app will get deaf-blind and sighted people talking

Apple

Massive Apple patent win could kill off Android completely

Apple granted patent for Google Glass-like device

Apple’s App Store flub causes dozens of iOS and Mac apps to crash

Mailbag

1

Greetings,

I want to thank you for your podcast feeds. I am a recently 50 year old and newly blind guy due to a stroke and loss of oxygen to my optic nerve. I was listening to episode 115 and Lisa mentioned “Web analysis for accessibility” can you tell me what it is and how to obtain a review?  I am a Government employee and hesitant to raise a red flag when the problem maybe me and not the web developer.

Second comment also to Lisa; On acceptance.  Like many in the beginning I searched for a cure but, figured acceptance was better than avoidance and false hope.

Again thanks for your enlightenment into the new world of blindness.

Ray Williams

2

Hi guys,

You were asking in Serotalk 115 about the new Apple Podcast app for iOS. I downloaded it and at first thought it was great. I love that you can subscribe and stream podcasts without having to download them for example, and it’s nice to divorce from the Mac. The interface is quite visual but there is a list view option which is easier with VoiceOver, and the podcast search works much like the app store etc.

However the more I use it, the less I like it. Some controls are confusing, there’s no syncing and it’s very slow and sluggish. For example when I unlock the screen while playing a podcast, hoping to access the controls, it can take some time to become responsive. In fact at one point while listening to Serotalk 115 it took over 30 seconds to become responsive, and then crashed. I nearly threw the iPhone across the room in frustration and relised it was high time I went to the app store and bought Downcast, which so far I love.

It has its good points though and is only version 1.0 and I’m sure it will improve.

One quick point on the importance of Braille which Buddy spoke passionately about. I’m very new to Braille myself but totally agree. I recently wrote an essay for college on Educational Policy, and in doing so I came across a quote in my reading which said something to the effect of:

If you said that sighted children no longer needed to learn to read and write, and could learn everything they need through television and audio, people would rightly call you crazy. Braille is just as crucial for blind children.

Regards,

Dave

Dublin, Ireland

3

Hey, great show as always.

Actually, with regard to the galaxy nexus, Apple may have blocked it from being sold in the United States. Read about that the other day.

The accessibility in Android 4.1, jellybean looks very exciting. I don’t have the galaxy nexus, but have several phones running cyanogen mod, which is an after market rom, hopefully it will be available in a couple months. Don’t know if you’ve seen this, but here is a link to a youtube video demonstrating the new accessibility features, it’s definitely something to look forward to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3HliaMjL38

4

Hi This is maureen McEntee. I’m sure Twitter could be a social outlet for him, but that’s not what i want to discuss here. I had an uncle whom i was very close to, he had a massive stroke, which left him unable to communicate. so i know what that locked in syndrome is all about. When i would go to the nursing home to see him, he would look at me and cry, because he wanted to say things to me that he couldn’t. If he got mad enough, he could curse someone out, but it was barely understandable. When it came time to decide whether or not to use artificial means to keep him alive, my Aunt said his mind works let him answer, he was able to say no!!!!! in an angry voice, because he just didn’t want to be here anymore. I feel very strongly that we, as human beings should have the right to end our lives when we choose with dignity. When our dogs or cats get old and sick, what do we do? We take them to the vet and have them given a needle and put to sleep, they don’t suffer and they die with dignity and they go peacefully It’s painful for us, but kinder in the long run. I’m sure alot of people don’t agree with me, but this is just my opinion, having lived through the locked in syndrome. with someone i love. and always will.

5

Is there any Web site that can be easily navigated with a screen reader to compare phone talk and data plans? It’s all so confusing to me. I heard your last podcast talking about data plans etc. for the different providers and I am thinking about purchasing an iPhone 4S in September but am overwhelmed by the choices of plans out there. Keep up the good work. Your podcasts are very informative and interesting but still have plenty of humor. Thanks.

Jo Anne Stombaugh

Roundabout

Visually-Impaired Teen Starts Clever Braille Menu Business