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.

Everyone on the podcast team survived Seroween … erm … Halloween with plenty of candy to go around. Jamie, Ricky and Joe take a look at this week’s news, mailbag gets a makeover, and Jamie visits with award-winning contemporary Christian artist Ginny Owens about her new project “I Know A Secret”. You can listen to “No Borders,” the first single from her album and pre-order the entire project on Amazon or iTunes. Visit Ginny’s Website to learn more about what she is up to.

A T Talk

Audio Defence : Zombie Arena | AppleVis

Get a sense of what Audio Defence is like with this gameplay trailer.

An Indecent Proposal for Halloween – FamilyConnect: for parents of children with visual impairments

Braille: What It Is and What It Is Not

Beginning Braille Skills | WonderBaby.org

The updated Bookshare website is live! Learn what’s new and take the video tour.

JAWS 16 has officially been released! Details can be found on our homepage under “Featured News”

My Complaint with Freedom Scientific

Apps, the web, and productivity

Play it by ear: Baseball for the blind

Mainstream Matters

Starbucks just announced big news about delivery

Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health: The $199 all-platform fitness band

Google’s Massive Android Update Will Come With A New ‘Smart’ Lock Screen

Amazon exec: Fire Phone was overpriced

Samsung will ‘fundamentally reform’ its smartphones after dire earnings report

Dabbling in the future of payment: A week of Apple Pay and Google Wallet

MCX’s CurrentC, the infamous Apple Pay competitor, says its already been hacked

Meijer is first MCX member to break ranks, continuing to support Apple Pay

The guy behind Google Wallet is back to change payments all over again

Mailbag

From Jenine Stanley:

You all know I couldn’t stay silent on this one so let me explain the various legally allowable types of animals in public and then the reality.

Under federal law, specifically the ADA, Fair Housing Act, Air Carrier Access Act and Rehabilitation Act, there are two categories of animal that someone may be accompanied by and for which that person may have access rights.

“Service animals”, as of March 2011, are classified as dogs only with some exceptions for miniature horses. People who partner with service animals have access rights under all of the above laws. A service animal must, and this is the key, do work or perform tasks to be considered as such. An animal that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you pet it doesn’t perform a task. Also, tasks and work must be reliable and able to be duplicated.

Emotional Support Animals can be of just about any species or size, save for air travel where there are restrictions on species. The animal generally has no trained tasks but must be house broken and must conform to standard behavior expected of pets in public places.

The only laws that specifically mention rights for people with Emotional Support animals are the Fair Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act. Both of these laws allow people to bring their Emotional Support animals with them on planes and in housing situations. Under both cases, the animal must be prescribed by a mental health professional. This documentation must be presented in very specific ways and the team does not have public access rights.

Where this all gets slippery is when dogs do work such as seizure detection or some of the tasks associated with psychiatric disabilities. If they do tasks that can be repeated and controlled, then they are service animals. If it’s just a random thing the dog, in most cases, does, then it’s not a service animal.

One example in an article I read was of a family who had a lovely and well behaved German Shepherd who helped keep the kids together on family walks. They wanted to take the dog with them into other public spaces so got a service dog vest and called her a service dog. No one in the family had a disability per say. That family admitted to their fraud, sadly most don’t.

I could obviously go on and on about this but technically there’s no difference in access rights between the guide dog and the dog trained to alert someone to low blood sugar or perform a task related to PTSD such as focused grounding when the dog will actively touch or stop the person so he can refocus and shift attention from the distraction to the dog.

The final two thing I do want to note are:

1. With great rights come great responsibilities. This point is all too often ignored by many people, fraudulent or not. If my experienced guide dog is out of control in a public place, I can be asked to leave just the same as if the pocket Poodle yapping at the waitress yet being touted as a service dog, can be removed.

2. Aggression or personal defense has no place in service or emotional support animal work or presence. A lot of people want a dog for such protection and think a little growl is OK now and then. Granted, dogs in and of themselves are deterrents in many cases but specific aggressive behaviors are just not allowed under any access law.

Hope that helps sort of clear things up. the truly frustrating part is that we as guide dog handlers have had to behave and toe the line for nearly 90 years now while all manner of service dog comes along and people just assume they have rights with little responsibilities included. It really drives a rift between disability groups.
Jenine Stanley
jeninems@wowway.com

Blog comment from Dominique

Alan Wheeler well said. That makes lots of since. Prioritize as they say… First, think of saving yourself first, then fun apps after. Otherwise, you’d not be here to play said fun games if you didn’t.

Roundabout

10 Words With Spooky Etymologies

We Are All Confident Idiots

The Blind at Work in an Unusual and Demanding Profession

The team takes a look at the new Apple Mac OS, another check in with Rodney on how he likes his new iPhone 6 Plus then a trip into the world of 4k resolution and beyond. All that and Joe gives into Rodney’s insistence with this month’s app review on High Contrast.

Remember, you can keep up with even more Apple news by listening to SPN’s sister show “Triple-click Home”

Or, for even more up to the minute Apple news, check out the Twitter feed for the show at
https://twitter.com/tripleclickhome

App Review: WWE Super Card

Rodney has mentioned this game enough for Joe to grab it and, be it grudgingly, agree that it’s not bad. Not bad at all. The words “collectable”, “card” and “game” are innocent enough. But adding the letters W, W and E might make one pause. Yet, when combined into the title WWE Super Card, the result is really fun for both fans of the WWE and those who like stat based game play found on so many other mobile apps. The fonts are large, however, some might have problems with the colors on the card’s background images. The game is free and playing a round is fast. It’s out now for both Apple and Android. And, like we said above, it isn’t bad.
Find the app on the Apple App Store at
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wwe-supercard/id775402833?mt=8
And on Google Play at
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.catdaddy.cat22&hl=en

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

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

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

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

Thanks for listening!

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

The new iPhones are out and Rodney has the biggest one there is with the 6 Plus. We get an idea of how much he likes it, there is some talk about viewing iOS8 and another timely App Review by Joe. Check in with the team to see if the Pop Tart, or Strudel, sized phone is the way to go if you are a low vision iPhone user. And remember, if you want even more Apple coverage from SPN, check out our sister show “Triple-click Home”.

App Review: Doctor Who Legacy

The new 8th series of Doctor Who is in full swing, Joe adores match 3 games and we needed an app review for this month. So, a perfect storm of events, brings Joe out of the TARDIS to discuss Doctor Who Legacy. It’s a match 3 game with so much depth and complexity that joe notes it will be hard to find other games to replace it on his iPad and Android tablet. The game features special attacks, you defeat famous monsters from the Doctor Who universe and you can pick up that green dot and move it over to be with its friends. Rather than only being able to move a dot in four directions one space over. This freedom of movement is the best part about the game in Joe’s opinion. Its free, however, there are some nice In App purchases for those who want to move through the game faster. The game has over 50 hours of gameplay with more content being added constantly. Just be sure to visit the settings section and change the way the dots are displayed if you find that the default dots are hard to see.

Mailbag:

Byron notes that the High Contrast Mailable is well behaved when looking at it versus its friends on other SPN shows. And that could be due to a full bag of mail for us to talk about. Like these two emails from John.

“Greetings,

This is my first time listening to High Contrast, and I felt compelled to comment.

My story goes back to the dark ages when I was a teenager. I’ll try to be brief. As for my low vision, I have about 20/400 vision with nystagmus.

I had spent 10 years at a school for the blind before going to a public high school my last couple years. At the school for the blind I didn’t learn mobility skills until my last year there. I was given a folding cane, which I carried stuffed in my jeans pocket through my last two years at public school. I always figured I’d pull it out in unfamiliar territory, but I never had the guts to do it because I didn’t want to be identified as blind.

Somehow I made it through my first year of college. It became obvious to me that I needed rehab training. I was in Nebraska then and went to the rehab center, which required I learn under sleepshades. I’m glad I had that training because it’s easier to discern when vision isn’t efficient for a given task. It’s good to know I can use alternative techniques without shame.

Of course, I learned to use a long, white NFB cane, and I’ve used one ever since. By the way, a long , white cane doesn’t glow in the dark or have a red end. When I went back to college for my second year, fresh out of rehab training, a couple of my friends told me I looked much more confident. They said I didn’t look like I was drunk or on drugs. That was a great affirmation.

These days I use a telescoping cane most of the time. I use it in situations where it may not be necessary because I don’t want there to be any question about me being blind. God forbid, if a car hits me on our busy rural highway, I want the driver to know he or she hit a blind person.

However, I do wear glasses with thick lenses, and this may confuse some people. Nonetheless, it’s much easier for me to explain to people that I’m blind with a little usable vision, than it was in the days of my youth when people didn’t know, and I didn’t know what to tell them.

I often get asked how much I can see. I heard a great answer to this, which I sometimes use. I can see more than you think I can, but less than I think I can.

John”

He then wrote us again with this comment…

“Greetings again,

I forgot in my earlier e-mail to tell you a funny incident concerning carrying my long, white cane.

Recently, we were checking into a motel in Cameron, Missouri, on our way to a family reunion. I was standing in a hallway, waiting for our son to come along. A man stopped and asked if I was going to the cattle sale. I simply said that I wasn’t, and he went on his way.

Since this question had been asked of me one other time, I knew what he was referring to. My cane looks like a show stick used in livestock auctions. In fact, later that day at the reunion, one of my sisters commented how my cane looks like a show stick, at which time I told her of the encounter at the motel.

I wonder if other blind folks in rural areas with canes like mine have had this happen.

John”

Our recent talk about sneeze gards brought in this response:

“OMG! the business card dilemma. The person who ordered business cards for us last time did not check with anyone in my office to verify such important things as actual phone numbers. That not withstanding, this person ordered double sided cards, as you see, we have two organizations that we represent.

Great, I put braille on one side and those people interacting with me in my role for Organization A can read and scan the print but Org B can’t.

Then he got the cards on thick glossy stock. The braille business card stamp we have for our office does not work well on heavy, glossy stock. I now have ghost braille on my cards.

This person was sufficiently yelled at by me and others but I have enough of these business cards to last another couple years.

When I got back from conventions this summer, I did a marathon business card scanning session. this was mostly great but there were a few that never did come out right and one that must have had size 2 font as it had so much info on it. Set the scanner resolution high, people.

I also feel for you guys at buffets. I send my husband up for me and he tries but he only has peripheral vision and well, it’s something but he’s not sure what so try it and if it’s good, he’ll try to remember where he got it.

The sneeze guard is an obstacle on the way out too. I once in my partially sighted days had a big old ladle full of lasagna. I was so proud that I’d even gotten it out of the pan. My arm hit the edge of the sneeze guard as I brought it up an rout and I flipped the thing right onto the sneeze guard. Splat! That was my last attempt at buffets solo.

Jenine Stanley”

And here is a great email from long time listener Pam;

“Hello folks,

Excellent topic! Excellent show. Personally, I have just enough vision to get me in trouble. I do carry a cane when crossing the street. I can see traffic lights, however there are enough idiots on the road these days who think their destination is more important than mine, who run them as much as they stop at them. I can think of two instances, both in Tampa Florida that illustrate opposite examples of identification. First let me explain my eye condition is such that is obvious to anyone looking at me. There are those who think I cannot see anything due to the fact I have clouded corneas along with astigmatism in both eyes. I have had subsequent surgery that has rectified the cornea issue to the extent of giving me the vision I have. I also wear cataract lenses due to having had a cataract removed back in the 90s. My first instance allowed me to use the fact that someone did not know what I could see to my benefit. I enrolled my children in preschool, walked back to the bus stop, asked for help across a small street to get to the stoplight; as it was an unfamiliar area. I was wearing a crucifix given to me by my husband as a Christmas gift. The gentleman who walked with me ultimately stole The chain holding that crucifix from me. He mugged me at the bus corner. I was caring a cane, he figured I could see nothing. What he didn’t know is that I had given him a once over when I ask for his help. I was able to give an accurate description to the police therefore allowing the police to find this man through a crack deal he had made selling my chain for $40. It was returned to me by the grace of God. My second instance has to do with being selected for jury duty. I was also caring a cane in that instance it was more inconspicuous. I carry a telescopic collapsible cane that fit nicely across the center zipper of my purse. While in the jury pool, there was a gentleman who I virtually adopted at his consent allowing me to follow him where he went as we were selected for the same pool. In that situation, the judge and both attorneys have a certain amount of excuses they can use without explanation. All that were present knew I could not see well. Ironically the trial on which I served used a video tape as part of the evidence. While in the proceeding, The attorneys pushed it closer to the jury box for me to see. Though I had my cane with me, it was not prominently displayed giving the impression I was totally blind. I have no doubt those who were in charge of picking jurors paid attention to how I acted and my ability to move with a group of people therefore making a judgment on their own as to what I could see. When the whole thing was over, I approached the judge thanking her for allowing me the privilege to serve given the fact she could have excused me without reason. In a normal situation, I use the vision I have as a defense mechanism. I allow someone to know me before I let them know what I can & cannot see. Hope this helps further your topic. Thanks for reading.

Pam Francis”

Thanks everyone for your comments. It keeps the mailbag purring and oh so happy!

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to

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

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

Thanks for listening!

You missed us, right? You know you did! Never fear; the familiar trio of Jamie, Ricky and Joe are back together to bring you the top news stories of the week. So put on your favorite slippers, grab your favorite beverage and enjoy this week’s SeroTalk podcast. Stories covered this week include:

A T Talk

KNFBReader iPhone App to be Released Alongside iOS 8

Free iBill® currency reader pilot begins in the U.S. Sept. 2

All in Access 17: iBlink for Mac, Dropbox Pro, Giant iPads, and Apple Rumors

FSCast Episode 94 – JAWS 16 New Editions

Here is a direct link to version 6.18 of the Skype 6 scripts for Jaws written by Doug Lee

Here is a 12-minute audio description of the scripts:

The Vario Ultra Braille devices have not shipped yet, but the manual is now available:

New audio game: The Ensign

A Touchy Subject – How Useful are Tactile Pictorials?

Now, a detailed molecular map of the eye to help treat vision loss diseases

Mainstream Matters

Dropbox slashes pricing and boosts storage as competition intensifies

Apple’s September event may be its most significant event in years

Apple’s supersized 12.9-inch iPad to land in early 2015

Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple’s Mastery of the Media

MSN Messenger is shutting down after 15 years of memories

Roundabout

Century-old drug reverses signs of autism in mice

Mindfulness training helps Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers

Harvard Scientists Send the First Transatlantic Smell via iPhone

Maurie is back, to the happiness of Rodney and Byron, and she has brought along a fantastic topic for this month’s episode. Many low vision people struggle with where, when and what times they should self identify in public. Sure, the airport seems like a logical place to carry a cane, however, a trip to the local store might be the place where overconfidence can trump your need for assistance in interacting in that environment. Not to mention when reading the sides of cereal boxes. How did that text get so small anyway? Join us as we talk about examples of self identification, a few trademark ramblings off topic and another game review by Joe that you can play with your eyes open or closed.

Here is the link, to the NPR story, that got Maurie to thinking about low vision self identification

Additionally, from the ACLU, here is a link to a PDF about knowing your rights when talking with the authorities that Rodney found on the Daily Tech News Show website.

App Review: Blindfold Racer

Grab your headphones and driving gloves. It’s time to speed down the track, avoid chickens and turn in your best times with Blindfold Racer for iOS. This free app works with Voiceover and is a great pick up and play kind of game. You will tilt your device to steer around obstacles and barrel through turns. It sounds simple, but can you keep the center of the track between your ears as you avoid the crazy obstacles? Try out the app and see if you can be the ultimate driver!

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

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

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

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

Thanks for listening!

Okay you know how you may plan something out in say, oh I don’t know, an outline? Then, when you start the project, you toss out… say the outline? Welcom to High Contrast 23. In this episode Rodeny, Byron and Joe talk about a great many things. Some examples may include, but are not limited to: Lighting, contrast, hotels, nail guns, Doctor Demento, Steve Austin, roller tips, white pants and of course low vision. All that, and an app review you can play with VoiceOver, on a very unique episode of High Contrast.

App Review: Codename Cygnus

Live the life of a secret agent. Be bold, athletic or clever in your exploits while you battle evil. All while you enjoy an immersive experience on your iDevice. This VoiceOver friendly app has a free option, however, the full game does have an In App purchase.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to

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

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

Thanks for listening!

Join Lisa Salinger and her special guests Chancey Fleet, Jeff Bishop, Joe Steinkamp and Jamie Pauls as they share their observations of this year’s ACB and NFB conventions.

You can also check out SPN’s ACB 2014 and NFB 2014 convention coverage.

Finally, be sure and listen to ACB Radio Main Menu’s convention specials featuring interviews by Jeff Bishop from Las Vegas.

Its finally summer time. Sand, surf, sidewalks, some other S words. You know the time where you venture out of the home and possibly commune with nature. This month Rodney, Byron and Maurie talk about what they use to combat the evil rays of the sun. And we have an app review plus the Mailbag. So sit back in that cheap outdoor lawn chair and join us while we talk sun shades.

Here are some suggestions for where to start on the perfect pair of sunglasses. Remember, you may want to go see these options in person as some may not fit your face well when it comes to wraparound lenses. Also, you may find that red works better than gray on a tint. Or green, or blue. Everyone has their own style as you can see from these examples.

CPF lenses (originally made by Conrning)

Remington Shooting Glasses

Fuel Cell by Oakley

Gunnar Computer Glasses

And don’t forget hats. A good hat can let you avoid some glare issues without having something on your face. And at the pool or beach, it is an alternative to having water spots on your lenses if you rely on sunglasses for summer eye protection.

App Review: Marvel Puzzle Quest Dark Reign for iOS

joe is a bit perplexed. He has been playing this game for more than a month. He hasn’t spent a dime. But he can’t fully recommend this Match 3 title because it’s a low vision nightmare. If you have issues with colors, shapes or text on and odd background… stay away. Or get the app, try it and uninstall. If you do decided that you want to have Iron man, Storm, Black Widow and others beat up the bad guys by matching colors and shapes in spandex, give this one a shot. Its great for the cheap gamer and you can use Zoom on iOS to help you get through the rougher spots on the UI.

Mailbag:

Check out Rodeny, Byron and Ranger1138 on the latest End of Line talking about what you could watch on your TV or tablet this summer. If you don’t like the outdoors that is of course.

Wayne writes in with this comment…

“Morning everyone, Just a handy tip that I thought you might find helpful. I was listening to the last episode when you were mentioning about not wanting pasccodes announcing in public places by voiceover. I am a non-visual user of the iPhone and also don’t want pass codes announcing. There is a good solution though. If you turn on the handwriting mode in the rotor, you will be able to handwrite your passcode in the passcode field. The code is not announced when in handwriting mode on the lock screen. Hope that’s useful. Also, to prevent your text messages announcing in the lock screen, you could disable them in the notifications centre re: turning them off in the lock screen. There’s more inconvenience with this re: the text alert tone will sound but you’ll need to go into messages.I suppose the other option would be to mute voiceover with the double triple tap gesture and turn it on again after the text alert sounds. Keep up the good work at Serotek. It’s all very helpful. Although I am an iPhone user, I do also like to keep in touch with Android developments through that Android Show. too. Maybe they’ll be the option of @That Windows Show@ soon eh? Thanks again for all the effort your teams put into the shows. Best regards, Wayne”

Neat! That was one we hadn’t considered at all. Good catch!

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to

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

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

Thanks for listening!

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

Rodney, Byron and Maurie spoke about the joys, or perhaps lack there of, for low vision users in iOS 7 a few episodes ago. Well, in honor of the recently released iOS 7.11 and joe having a spiffy new iPad Air, the team has reconverged to discuss the latest iOS and its changes made to better aid those with vision impairments. They’ll also talk “Growing up Fisher”, canceled by NBC not too long after the show was recorded, plus the typical unexpected topics that can be so magical on a show like ours.

Here are some things that came up in conversation….

BBC News – Glow in the dark road unveiled in the Netherlands

Rodney mentioned the 8 Bit Classic from Activision. All hail “Enduro’!

Recommended by Byron, Luke and carrie’s “Bad Report” Podcast

Confused about what Ringtone Rodney helped accidentally create? Well, check out the Out Cast for 2012 to hear it in context.

And download it for your very own

App Review: Star Wars Assault Team

Speaking of that new iPad Air, although this game is also on Windows Phone and Android as well, Joe is playing what amount’s to a strange mix of a card battler with a turn by turn RPG set in the Star Wars universe. It’s a free title, however, it will force [ha ha force!] you to consider handing over money at somepoint midway through the game. All your SW Regulars are there with Han, Luke, Chewie and so many Droids. It’s a fun romp, its free and it is great for killing time while waiting in the burger line for lunch.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

Check out Byron’s LowVisionRants.com Website

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to

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

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

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Once again, Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Buddy Brannan talks with the developer of the RiVO Keyboard, an innovative new input system for iOS devices.

A T Talk

Blind Bargains: Results of the 5th Screen Reader Survey from WebAIM Released

Why screen reader detection on the web is a bad thing

Thoughts on screen reader detection

Assistive Technology Detection: It can be done right

Apple ends security updates for Snow Leopard

Apple Releases OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 with Security, VoiceOver, and Other Improvements

New audio game from the Papa Sangre team looking for Kickstarter funding

Beta testers wanted for new audio zombie game. Fill out this form to apply

New album just released: Andre’s Idea Factory volume i

A rugged talking phone: how good is the Convoy 3?

Google’s Project Tango cuts the rug at Mobile World Congress

Mainstream Matters

Everything You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Google’s Voice Commands

Microsoft’s Cortana Described As A Mix Between Siri and Google Now

Microsoft experimenting with free version of Windows 8.1

Mac and iOS users, here’s how to install that major security fix

Apple preparing software update to enhance functionality of iPhone 5s Touch ID

Apple Patents Solar Charging System for Laptops

Apple TV sales topped $1 bilion in 2013, becoming Apple’s fastest growing hardware

For a few days, Apple TV comes with a $25 iTunes bonus

Tim Cook Soundly Rejects Politics of the NCPPR, Suggests Group Sell Apple’s Stock

10 questions successful wearable device makers will have to address

Everything’s Amazing And Nobody’s Happy

Mailbag

Blog Comment from Luis:

Hi SeroTalk podcasters,

I would like to comment in a couple of stories. Well, The first is a question about Fleksy as an alternative keyboard or default for iOS apps. Although I think it is a good thing for this to happen. To be honest, I have not read any of the stories talking about Fleksy as an alternative keyboard. But since a couple of apps have adapted this, I’m just curious as to which Fleksy keyboard is being used? For example, I believe Fleksy was introduced to BlindSquare before the whole controversy of Fleksy Happy Typing and Fleksy VO came up. Does this mean, that BlindSquare has an old version of Fleksy Happy Typing, or did it switch over to Fleksy VO? And if so, when or if Fleksy Happy Typing becomes accessible again, Will all of the adapted apps switch from VO to Happy Typing? I understand that maybe VO is an earlier version of Happy Typing, and if so, then why aren’t the users up in arms with this fact as they were when the people of Fleksy announced the 2 versions. Main Stream and Blind friendly version of the keyboard?

And my comment is related to RoundAbout. When Mrs. Enger and Ms. Salinger were sharing how great of athletes they were 5 years ago when they were in there early 20s. That took me back, when I was in college and played pool with my brother. Back then, I had some sight. But wasn’t a great player. Every time we’d played. At least once, I somehow hit the cue ball too low and at just the right angle. That instead of the cue ball rolling toward a pocket to sink a ball. It took flight and twice just missed a window and the door. Which at one point, someone had just came into the play area and if they would have been standing for a second longer. The ball would have gone between their eyes. So I can relate.

Roundabout

Blind Film Critic Hears Oscar Picks

Steve Jobs to Be Honored With Commemorative Postage Stamp in 2015

A $30,000 Waterbed That Vibrates With Music

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

Welcome to yet another edition of the SeroTalk Podcast. This week, Jamie, Ricky and Joe team up once again to bring you the top news stories of the week. Then, Buddy Brannan interviews Shubham Banerjee, a remarkable seventh-grader who has designed a proof of concept prototype of a very enexpensive Braille embosser. You won’t want to miss this interview, so sit back and enjoy the podcast.

A T Talk

American Foundation for the Blind Announces 2014 Access Award Winners

National Federation of the Blind Commends President Obama for Executive Order on Wages

Get the Picture! Viewing the World with the iPhone Camera (GETPIC)

Screen Readers: A Guide to Punctuation and Typographic Symbols

QuickBooks Desktop Accessibility – How we did it.

from Eyes on Success: Raspberry VI

Indian American 7th Grader Develops Braille Printer with Legos

Mainstream Matters

Comcast Deal Seeks to Unite 2 Cable Giants

TWIT covering the Comcast story

Verizon confirms ‘More Everything,’ brings price cuts, more data, global texting

And the winner of Austin, TX’s gigabit service arms race is… Grande?

Could Cell Phones Stop Drivers From Hitting Pedestrians?

Android Is Not Really Open

Strange bedfellows: Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows

Gates Spends Entire First Day Back in Office Trying to Install Windows 8.1

Microsoft’s Surface 2 cleared for takeoff in cockpit

What Are “Smart” Credit Cards, and Why Are They Coming to America?

No, Flappy Bird developer didn’t give up on $50,000 a day

Our Internet Empathy Problem

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo:

I wanted to comment on the article from the person switching from the mac to Windows. I’ve been using macs since 2008, in 2010 I gave away my pcs and use the mac exclusively at home. I have a windows 7 virtual machine installed but rarely use it. I agree that it’s important to really learn the operating system, not just the screen reader. The concept of interacting can take some getting used to, one setting in voiceover that you can disable is the option to automatically interact with items when using the tab key. When it comes to learning an operating system and a screen reader, I think it’s important that the screen reader stick to making the screen accessible and not changing anything in applications. A friend of mine who was used to using Jaws has recently started using NVDA. In Winamp, jaws allowed you to press space to stop and start play back, NVDA does not provide this, and at first, they were not sure what was going on. This is an example of a screen reader overstepping its bounds. Same thing goes for the Jaws virtual ribin. That has no business even being there. Instead, people need to learn the application commands for doing these functions, that way it works regardless of screen reader.

From Marvin Hunkin:

Hi. I am doing a course via http://www.johnsmiley.com/ And learning java. I have learnt c # from the command prompt. Scripting with php and databases, html , css.

Marvin.

From Chelsea Cook:

Hi Serotalk Team,

I’m kind of behind the curve in listening to your podcasts—quantum physics is keeping me busy. Anyway, I had some comments on a few episodes:

Serotalk 183:

Cool on mentioning the space iBook. I had not seen that article until you mentioned it.

I don’t think I’m breaking any NDA’s here when I say that yours truly got the ball rolling at an internship a couple years ago. I wasn’t directly involved with the signification techniques—that happened after the summer project was over—but I did do some HTML coding to make images accessible. Basically someone would map out visual areas of the screen in HTML and I would add the descriptions, links, and give UI feedback. This system worked quite well on an iPad where you had a bigger screen, but the same principle could be easily applied to an iPhone or Mac trackpad screen. I see lots of potential for maps and other spatial things here.

Funny story: My colleague sent me an HTML map one day, I opened it and commented on how awesome his first try was. He was confused until he remembered that there didn’t need to be an actual photograph behind the map.

Triple Click Home 26: I remember Learning Ally’s math and physics books well. My primary reading medium is Braille; I cannot do math in audio at all! So I had to write down most of the equations anyway. The worst part for me was listening to those old guys read physics books—no stereotypes here—they always seemed to be old guys. Then there were the people who described diagrams with very little detail and you were yelling at the machine at 2 AM: “what is this picture?” Don’t even get me started on finding a specific problem for homework and having to rewind it three times to get the info when you finally found it. I use LearningAlly when I absolutely can’t find a book anywhere else, but I have trouble imagining people who rely on them. Maybe it’s just my field.

Regards, and keep up the awesome work! Chelsea

From Slau:

Hi Jamie,

I saw that you tweeted about your interview with Kevin Reeves on the podcast. I downloaded and listened while on the treadmill yesterday. Nice job and I’m enjoying the podcast in general. Keep up the good work.

I had to write to you to make a slight correction for the future. I know it’s probably a bit confusing but it regards my name. Actually, it’s pretty important to me so I’d appreciate your indulging me in this clarification. My birth name is Yaroslav. technically, it’s spelled with a J at the beginning and a W at the end. Unfortunately, that makes some people, who are unfamiliar with this Eastern European given name, to pronounce it much like I’m sure your screen reader will and that is Jaroslaw.

when my parents enrolled me in kindergarten, the principal took one look at my birth certificate and proclaimed that it would just be easier if they called me Jerry. First, the name Jerry is in no way connected to Jaroslaw. Second, because they took it upon themselves to christen me Jerry in school, my entire school career saw me using that name and it ended up on my social security and credit cards. My friends and family have always called me by my real name which is Jaroslaw or Slavko for short and, still shorter, Slau. I use the letter U at the end because it’s closer to the actual pronunciation of my name which has a soft V sound. Had I used a W, well, people would read it as slaw. Can you blame me for spelling it differently?

Anyway, I’ve long since changed my social security and credit cards to reflect my birth name and I never use the name Jerry. For future reference, I actually, quite literally cringe whenever I hear somebody refer to me as Jerry. It happens so infrequently that the effect is all the more pronounced if and when it does happen. In this case, I think I almost fell off the treadmill with a jolt.

Just kidding

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know in case it ever comes up again. Keep up the great work.

Cheers!

Slau

From Jenine Stanley:

Love the All Ladies show! It’s about time.

Regarding Apple wanting to get more into health and health and medical devices, how about a home unit that can interface with say a doctor’s office to send vital signs.

I have a couple medications that when refilled require me to take a couple hours, most of which is spent riding buses, to go to the doctor’s office and see not an actual doctor but a nurse practitioner and a tech who take my vitals and ask me several standard questions. They need to physically see me to do this.

Why not have a system by which you can do something like a Skype call, so they can physically see you and talk with you, and have a device that will take your BP, pulse, temperature and yes, weight and report those for both your tracking and the medical facility’s use. You could then use the various instruments, BP monitor, pulse/oxygen sensor, scale, etc. to keep records yourself or hook into programs like FitBit.

I do worry about Big Brother seeing that I have a passion for junk food at certain times and scolding me about it, but enough of my excuses for opposition.

This could be a really exciting time for people who have to use annoyingly inaccessible devices like glucose monitors. Why can’t an insulin pump be paired with an IOS app? After all, it’s not just taking the blood and hearing the numbers. It’s tracking and adjusting and controlling our own devices. Same thing with other imbedded medical devices such as pain pumps and e-stim machines.

And while we’re at it, I want a keyboard that will adjust if it notices me making certain typing erros due to hand fatigue. I love, love, love the wireless keyboard that came with my Mac but it isn’t always the best choice for my hands and I too noticed a big jump in hand pain with all of the multiple key commands for the Mac and VO.

Once I figured out though that there are Mac commands to do a lot of the same things and they use far fewer keys, life got progressively better.

Keep up the good work. And yes, I vote for you all to go to Broadway for a play and interviews.

Jenine Stanley

Blog comment from Matt:

I do wonder on this accessibility testing that John will be doing in his business. Will it only be for apps in the UK or both UK and US? Also what is accessible to one will not be accessible to another! So where is they going to get their standard on accessibility? Also it is nice to have usability built in as well as accessibility! These are two different things! I also don’t see why someone would would pay for this when they could just get this done by reaching out to the blind community for beta testers of the app! Because of John advance skills there is lots of things he sees accessible and user friendly that most don’t! So lots of questions on them do this testing and what kind of impact it will have on apps and such in the blind community! JST!

From Greg Wocher:

Hello everyone, I am a type one insulin diabetic. I have been a diabetic for 34 years, since I was four and a half years old. Not having to prick my fingers is something I would pay a great deal of money for. When I was first diagnosed they did not have the little finger prickers like they do now. When I was in the hospital they had to use a steril razor blade to prick my finger to get the blood to test it. They would use the corner and very quickly jam it down on my finger tip. This has given me a phobia when it comes to testing my blood and I don’t do it nearly enough. I hope this gives a bit of perspective to those who do not have to do this and help them to understand why something like this would be priceless.

Roundabout

Lisa Mouse Recovered From ‘Steve Jobs Time Capsule’

Blind card shark amazes with his astounding skills

10 things to know about Shirley Temple

Welcome to a very special episode of “High Contrast” featuring Maurie’s interview with Sue martin. Sue’s recently released book, “out of the Whirlpool”, tells several amazing stories about vision loss and acceptance. Its an inspiring read and we hope this interview also enlightens those who may face similar challenges. Sue is a dynamic speaker, as we found out, during our SAMNet voice chat “Author’s night”. She joined us there as part of the Serotek “In It To Win It” promotion. To learn more about how we promote the Blindness and Low Vision Community through this program, visit this blog post.

A special extended edition of this episode can be found inside the audio book version of Sue’s book. To get her book, with the bonus interview audio, visit the official site for “out Of The Whirlpool”.

App Preview: The Walk

Joe is on a mission. Several actually! Joe is playing the new “The Walk” game on Android but its also available on iOS too. The idea is that as you walk, hence the title, you unlock new missions with bigger and bigger goals of walking a particular distance. As you do this you unlock audio clips of a very big story that involves you, an explosion and lots of voices from the UK. Joe will be doing lots of walking at CSUN, and other conventions, for SPN.. he invites you to join him on your own walk throughout the year and to let him know how you are doing with an iReport or a tweet to him @rangerstation on Twitter. He’ll be giving updates on his progress during the year and together we can all survive … The Walk!

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

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

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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?

It’s the Holidays once again and this time we do two shows in one so we could cover it all. Maurie joins Rodney and Joe in the first half of the episode, then!, Byron comes by to ask our listeners for help in accessorizing his life. Plus, coffee is mentioned. This show has everything including another great app to go get on iOS. Product Overview: VisioBook CCTV

Maurie gives her thoughts on the foldable desktop magnifier With pivoting HD camera for both close range and distance viewing. She used it for many of her work and home related tasks, but did she find it to be the video magnifier of her holiday dreams?

Byron’s Bags And more;

We talked a lot about things that would be great gifts for the unorganized person in your life. Here are just some of the products we discussed;

Grid-It Organizer

Orange Tactile Paint

Variety Texture, Color and Size – Round Stick-Ons 138 pieces

Low Vision Large Dice White with black dots

Pelican 1510LOC Carry On Protector Case with Laptop Sleeve and Accessories Case, 1510-006-190

Pelican 1506TSA Pelilock 1506 TSA Approved

Dell Venue 8 Pro Tablet

Outlets To Go Power Strip with USB – Black by Monster

Belkin 8 Outlet Pivot Surge Protector with 6ft Cord and Telephone Protection

And if you can live with the clutter, these gifts may please others you know instead

Kurig Coffee Maker

PG Tips Tea

Taylors of Harrogate, Yorkshire Tea, 80-Count Tea Bags

Lola Savannah Coffee – Cozy Winter’s Night (Whole Bean)

Thermos Stainless King 16-Ounce Leak-Proof Travel Mug

Tech Access Daily Tip

Thermos 16-Ounce Stainless Steel Travel Tumbler

Coffee Joulies

App Review: Papa Sangre 2

Know this first, you need headphones or earbuds to play this game. Oh, that and you are dead. There is no iphone, there is no outside world. There is just these thoughts in your mind you may just lose and this touch screen. Together, if you are lucky, you can escape with your mind intact as long as you can avoid … penguins. Confused? You won’t be after you hear about Papa Sangre 2.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

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

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

Replay the Accessible Event archive of the show

About Our Presenters Luis Arellano is an instructional assistant for California School Districts and a regular, helpful participant in the SAMNet Community. He enjoys comparing, contrasting, and demonstrating various mainstream technology solutions.

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

Laura Legendary is a speaker, author, and educator specializing in disability awareness, advocacy, accessibility, and assistive technology. Read the Accessible Insights Blog. Most recently, Laura has added entrepreneur to the list with her Elegant Insights Braille Creations. Follow Laura on Twitter at either @Accessible_Info or @ElegantInsights.

In the Community

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

Jaws 15 has been Released

Serotek: a Fresh Season of Updates

FCC adopts TV rules for blind and deaf

Microsoft

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

Do I Need to Stop Using Microsoft Security Essentials?

Windows 8.1: What a difference a year makes

Android

The Google Nexus 5 is finally here. Get all the details

Android 4.4 KitKat is here at last. Take a deep dive into the new OS

Apple

From iPad Air to Mac Pro: everything you need to know about Apple’s fall event | The Verge

Papa Sangre II on the App Store on iTunes

[Technically Speaking

I’m the original voice of Siri’

Amazon Launches Kindle Fire HDX Tablets, Fire OS 3.0

Turn on Accessibility Features on your Kindle Fire HD or Kindle Fire HDX

The latest SeroTalk Podcast contains an interview about the Kindle Fire HDX.

Welcome to this froggy edition of the podcast where show host Jamie Pauls fights with a scratchy throat but prevails nonetheless. Ricky and Joe lend their support as the team talks about the top news stories of the week. Then, a less raspy Jamie Pauls visits with Buddy Brannan about his experiences using the new Kindle Fire HDX with built-in Accessibility. Stories covered in this episode include:

Papa Sangre II on the App Store on iTunes

FSCast Episode 83, October 2013

ZoomText 10.1.2 is Released!

Announcing: Braille Sense U2 MINI

A Demonstration of Some of the English TTS Voices Available to VoiceOver users in OS X Mavericks

A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words

FCC adopts TV rules for blind and deaf

Beyond a gadget: Google Glass is a boon to disabled

Which Android smartphones and tablets will get the KitKat upgrade?

Apple testing Mail update for OS X Mavericks to fix Gmail, stability, and smart mailbox issues

The case against Gmail

Google donates 17,000 Nexus 7s to Hurricane Sandy communities

Apple admits iPhone 5S battery problem, replaces phones

Southwest & Dish to provide passengers in-flight entertainment via Apple’s iPad 2

Amazon increases free shipping minimum to $35

Amazon Offers Low-Cost Kindle Versions of Print Books with “MatchBook”

Amazon will now donate part of your purchase to charity

Roundabout

The Adventure Blog: Blind Adventurer Erik Weihenmayer Temporarily Detained In Peru

The Blind Have A Hard Time Getting Jobs Because Of Social Stigma

Dell has been selling Ultrabooks that smell like cat urine

Welcome to this very spooky edition of the SeroTalk Podcast. Will Jamie, Ricky and Joe be able to pick their way through this week’s maze of stories? Is the mailbag finally over its cold? These and many other intriguing mysteries await you in this week’s episode of the show.

Papa Sangre II (Official Launch Trailer)

End of Line » EOL Extra: Halloween, Ghosts, and the Number 27?

a trip through a haunted maze by Drew Webber

Blind Bargains: Ian Humphreys of Spoonbill Software Has Just Released Six New Games

A Fresh Season of Updates

My experience with an Android product, and my return to the iPhone

Android 4.4 KitKat more for TVs than phones, report says

Samsung patents smartphone-connected ‘sports glasses’ that could compete with Google Glass

Microsoft reportedly testing its own version of Google Glass

Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

The Rave Reviews For BlackBerry’s BBM App Might Be Fake

Samsung Paid Commenters to Write Negative HTC Reviews

The Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than Ever Rely on It, Fewer People Create It

iPad vs. Galaxy vs. Nexus vs. Kindle vs. Surface: Which tablet should you get?

Why Apple’s A7 Chip Will Really Shine in the iPad Air

Mavericks: The end of Macs in the enterprise?

Microsoft cuts another $100 off first-generation Surface Pro price

Mailbag

Blog comment from Russ Kiehne

Listening to The Kindle Chronicles podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/thekindlechronicles/blogListeing to Len Edgerly has a weekly tech tip. One of these tech tips is how to use dropbox with a Kindle fire.

I was wondering, will Serotek be doing An Accessibility Review of The new Amazon Kindle fire hd and hdx with built in accessibility?

From Luis:

Hi guys & lady,

After listening to your episode 174, there are a lot of stuff I would like to reply to. Specially replying to one of your iReports you had. But I rather share something similar that happened in Houston at the beginning of this year.

It relates to your story about the $20, the blind customer. and the good deed. This story, I’m pasting because it also hit home with something that the school I work for has been doing for the past 3 years. That is the campaign of “Spread the Word, to End the Word”. Which relates to the word “Retard”. I won’t bored you with the details. But, with this deed that the employee did towards the blind customer. Here’s a similar news story that a waiter did for a special needs child.

Waiter refuses to serve customers who insulted special needs child Friday, January 18, 2013 Miya Shay

HOUSTON (KTRK) — A waiter at a restaurant near downtown took a stand for a special needs child. Now, support is flowing in from all over, thanking the waiter and the restaurant, Laurenzo’s on Washington. The waiter has been working at the restaurant for about two years, and the family members at the heart of the story have been regular customers about the same length of time. But it’s what took place two days ago that has a lot of people talking. Michael Garcia loves serving his customers. On Wednesday night he greeted two groups of regulars — Kim Castillo and her family, and another group who sat in the adjacent booth. “So we were sitting there and all of a sudden I noticed that the family across from us got up and moved to the back of the restaurant,” Castillo said. “I thought, I wonder if they’re moving because of us?” The Castillo group included five-year-old Milo, who has Down syndrome. But neither Milo’s mom Kim nor Garcia could have imagined why the other family moved. Garcia recalled, “I didn’t think much of it until I heard him say, ‘Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.'” After hearing that, Garcia just reacted. “It was very disturbing,” he said. “My personal feelings just took over and I told this man, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t serve you.'” That family quickly left. But it wasn’t until later in the evening that the Castillo family found out that their waiter had stood up for their son. Kim Castillo said, “What went through my mind was that I was just so impressed and felt so good that somebody would stand up for another human being.” Garcia said, “It upset me because he’s a five-year-old little boy. He’s an angel. He’s precious!” Since then support has poured in, from the Internet and from regular customers. Customer Bill Baker said, “I think he did the right thing — there’s the door.” And most of all, he earned the thanks of a grateful Castillo family. Kim said, “He’s good in our book!” Garcia says if the other customers return, he will serve them just like anyone else. As for the Castillo family, they plan to remain loyal customers.

From Timothy Hornik

Greeting Serotalk Team,


I greatly appreciated the article from Scientific America on why some with visual impairments possess capabilities to understand higher rates of speech. Often people ask me the same questions you all stated if blindness has enhanced my hearing. Instead of entering into a conversation of what happens, the link will help. One thing I have noticed with my ability, it is voice dependent, plus it took a long time to acclimate to the rate. Is this something you all experienced?

When the article mentioned Brain Strokes, it lead me to wonder if they will test for whether neuro-protective or nuero-plasticity factors helps with this phenomenon for those later in life blinded. Some examples of these includes playing music or speaking multiple languages, especially if learned early in life.

To toss in a grey area population, how about those who lose site in their mid 20’s? At this age, the brain has completed its adolescent development. In particular, I am thinking of my fellow war blinded comrades, but will caveat that this depends on the nature of the injury.

Thinking about this population, I am interested in learning your thoughts on the differences between low vision and functionally blind. This topic captivated my attention and have researched it along with talking with a couple of nuero-ophthalmologists at a convention recently.


Thank you for your assistance,
Timothy Hornik

Roundabout

Why We Hate Change

Why you think your phone is vibrating when it is not

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.

Did you know that this little company in Cupertino made this little device and operating system that people like to talk about? Okay, yeah, talk they do and this month the High C crew also throws their .2 updated thoughts in on the new hardware and the latest from Apple from the low vision side of things. And this was pre release iOS7. Expect even more remarks next month!

iPhone 5s Review

iPhone 5c Review

Teardown of the 5c

Teardown of the 5s

Ars Technica’s iOS7 Review

Keep up with all kinds of Apple news by listening to SPN’s sister program “Triple Click “Home

App Review: Dungeon Story

Joe isn’t one to fall in line with trends, he’s not just visually impaired he’s style impaired too, but this Connect 3 fad finally got to him. No, not Bejewled or Candy Crush, the RPG aspects of this addicting app called “Dungeon Story” sucked him right in and kept him playing… for hours. Its free, but there are some nice In App upgrades for real money, and its great for those who like white text on black backgrounds. Draw with your finger and dispatch monsters, collect gold and cast spells. Take your loot and buy armor, swords and prepare for the multiple dungeons that stand before you in this iOS app.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

Follow Byron Lee on Twitter

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

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

Maurie and Jeremy are still enjoying the summer vacation season. But Rodney, Byron and joe pick up where they left off a few episodes ago with some new hardware options for tablets, TVs and scanning. Oh, and be sure to see the Mailbag as it has a fantastic observation from last month’s discussion on recognizing people.

StandScan:

We start the show off with a discussion of this neat cardboard based appliance that rolls in with a $19 or $29 option. While interesting, it may not replace your traditional flatbed scanning solution any time soon. Still, its fairly inexpensive if you want to try it out. Rodney and Erin elaborate more on the unit they tested in a Tech Access Weekly Democast.

Google Nexus 7 and Chromecast:

Rodney continues the plethora of review goodness with his thoughts on the new Google Nexus 7 (2013). He has seen the original Nexus 7, and of course has a few types of iPads lying around, so he is able to give some low vision comparison musings on this tablet. And, even more hardware!, he tells Byron and Joe about his fun with the new Google Chromecast.

As with the Stand Scan, you can hear even more about both devices in another Tech Access Weekly Democast.

And for another take on Chromecast, check out what JJ had to say on the latest “That Android Show”…

App Review: iAssociate 2 HD

Joe needed something to do while waiting for his solara gold and food to restock. His co workers at Serotek had the answer, and the revenge for getting them all hooked on Solara, with the recommendation of iAssociate 2. It seems that their obsession with this word matching game was just as bad as Joe’s for the game he imposed on all of them. And now they want to get all of you on board with their addiction. Soon you will be linking associations with words in ways you never imagined. How is South Park’s Eric Cartman associated with bones and cakes? If you didn’t already know, you will soon as typing in the right answers helps you defeat these fiendish word puzzles.

Mailbag:

We knew the topic of recognition of men and women was something many low vision people experience, however from the blog comment listed below, we had no idea how this could become even more complicated outside the U.S.. Zivan Krisher says: “Hello, In High Contrast Episode 13, you really hit a note with me on the subject of gender recognition. I live in Israel and Hebrew is a gender specific language. Even nouns have a gender let alone words that refer to people. For example a car is female a computer is male. Thankfully we are less formal over here and I do not need to say ma’am or sir to anyone in daily life. The word “sorry” is gender neutral. It’s not as polite as “excuse me”, but can serve well enough. However the word “you” is gender specific. “At” = female “Ata” = male. So a sentence like:” I’m sorry can you please help me…”, Is still loaded with gender. German is also gender specific, but at least when it comes to plural you can use “Sie” witch is actually also the polite way to approach someone you don’t know. In Hebrew, even the plural of you is gender specific, “Aten” = female, “Atem” = male. However unless all the people you’re addressing are female, it is customary to use the male version of plural “you”. (It’s an ancient language after all). So in most cases when approaching more than one person you’re probably safe using “Atem”. I try to sound people out by saying “Shalom” (Hello) first in an attempt to prompt them to say Shalom back to me and reveal their identity or at least their gender.”

Wow, that is wild. Joe adds that the German language has some of the same aspects, but there are easier ways around this if you just address everyone formally. Japan, and other Asian countries, use Honorifics as well. You can learn more by reading this link.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

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

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

Who uses technology and who doesn’t? How many song lyrics can we quote in one podcast? SeroTalk Podcast 166 is once again jam packed with lots of good information with some quirky thoughts thrown in for good measure. After the news, Jamie Pauls visits with Stephen Guerra about the National Beep Baseball Association. News stories discussed in this episode include:

Blind Bargains: HIMS Releases Braille Edge 40 1.1 Upgrade with .RTF, .DOCX Support, More

Twitter has a new dedicated accessibility team

New version of Nearby Explorer, the best GPS app for mobile phones. Here’s what’s New

Nexus 7 receives bug fix update, should solve multitouch and GPS issues

Here is the pitch-shifted version of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic Jolene which Jamie mentions on the podcastg.

Joe may just get his smartwatch yet, Galaxy Gears Sept 4th in neat colors!

Android vs Seri on voice commands

Will it bend? Apple patent application shows off seamless, flexible hinge

New education section launched on Apple.com

Apple reportedly opens up iWork for iCloud beta to all, go try it out!

A Time Machine for Your Ears

Inclusive Gaming

Interview with Donald Katz, CEO & Founder of Audible.com

The Everyday Life of a Blind Technologist

Editorial: Let’s Eradicate the #a11y Hashtag And Replace it with Something Useful

Self-driving carmakers will have to pry steering wheel from some cold, dead hands

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within the next year

Tim Cook made Apple a nicer place to work, but he can still ‘skewer you with a sentence’

Roundabout

Why Ambient Noise Makes You More Productive (And Three Apps That Do It Right)

12 Super Successful People Who Shun Technology

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

If there is one thing that can be said about a SeroTalk Podcast, it is that you never know what you’re going to get. Petting cheetah cubs, riding in self-driving cars and rapping about science are just a few of the stories we cover on this week’s episode. One thing you can be sure of, however, is that the SeroTalk podcast team will get you where you need to go all in one piece. Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss the top stories of the week including:

The Next Chapter

A Review of the Socializer System Access Mobile Network App from Serotek

Entertainment Apps For The Blind And Visually Impaired

Papa Sangre II

Blind games: The next battleground in accessibility

Blind Bargains: Introducing the Cosmo Braille Writer

Life – A tactile comic for the blind

Using the Victor Reader Stream as an audible teleprompter

Now Hear This! Musings of a Blind Hearing Aid wearer

From Fedora Outlier: Managing Your Wireless Settings On Windows & Mac

Campaign for a more accessible Netflix

New release of the Kindle app for iOS adds Accessibility Quick Reference to the FAQ section in Settings

Amazon and Sony Don’t Want to Build E-Readers for the Blind

Blind Bargains: Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be Waived for E-Book Readers

Dropbox Folder Management Using JAWS for Windows

Screen Reader Failure: Innovation, Deterioration, Despair

Roundabout

H E A R and There Audio Magazine: Petting Cheetah Cubs at the Cincinnati Zoo

Science Rap B.A.T.T.L.E.S. Bring Hip-Hop Into The Classroom

What it’s like to ride in a self-driving car

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

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

Summer is still upon us and so we again turn to flights of fancy and log flooms of fun at America’s amusement parks. This time around, Byron lee talks about his day at Six Flags. Then joe offers ways to be a backseat driver or assist the family with apps in the car. Followed by Maurie’s experiences at the Visions conference in Baltimore. Plus a great app review as well. Oh, and there maybe a mention of attending rock concerts both good and bad. Keep your ears open for some crazy remarks this month! Wonder if there is a Six Flags theme park near you? Check out their official site and see…

And the world is yours with Navagon

BlindSquare for iOS

Oakley is Joe’s sunglasses brand of choice

**App Review: Solara

If you follow Joe on Twitter, if you have heard SeroTalk 162 or if you stand next to him in a crowded room, chances are you have heard him mention Solara once or twice or two hundred times a day. He admits he is addicted to this tower building game and he has convinced several others on the SPN Staff to install this iOS app too. Try it and you may find yourself questing with as well!

Check out Serotalk 162 to hear an interview with Paul from Esper Labs.

And hear how Alena Roberts enjoys the game just as much as Joe in Triple Click Home Episode 20.

**Mailbag:

We are saving the majority of the feedback for Rodney’s return, however, we thank Michele for this email; “I have mixed feelings about visiting Disney in Florida as someone with Stargardts. Before I was diagnosed as an adult with Stargardts’s 6 years ago, I visited Disney many times in my life and loved it. When I was there for my anniversary in September 2011, I had a difficult time. The sun is very bright, much brighter than in the Northeast where I live and I had a very difficult time dealing with the brightness even while wearing sunglasses and a hat.. I was there with my husband, who is sighted, but if I were there on my own, I think I would have had a difficult time with needing to read all the transportation signs and the restaurant menus and maybe even getting on and off the rides with unfamiliar steps. Although I loved visiting Disney for many years, I now avoid traveling to locations with very bright sunlight such as Florida. Michelle”

Finally, even though Rodney could not be with us this month, he did pass along this tasty nugget of audio goodness: “Those absolutely fabulous folks over at Tech Access Weekly just released a StandScan review. These people rock! They used Say Text, Prizmo & Zoom Reader.”

**How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast? Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter Follow GW Micro on Twitter. Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com. You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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

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

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

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.

Maurie is out on summer vacation. So what happens when it’s just the men on the show left to their own devices? Well they talk tech, TVs, media and more. Rodney, Byron and Joe discuss their thoughts on the recent E3 Xbox One event, what gadgets they use with their big screen TVs and they even manage to find a way to talk about the 70s game show classic “Joker’s Wild”. Its one hour of plasma and pixels on this month’s High Contrast.

**App Review: Karateka Classic On iOS

Joe takes us down memory lane when you moved from left to right and just beat things up because it was the thing to do in order for you to save the Princess. This landmark game from the early days of the PC is now on IOS and does some pretty good Apple II emulation. Its only 99c and great on the iPad for those who like their “beat’em up” nostalgia.

**How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

Follow GW Micro on Twitter.

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

You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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

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

Summer is right around the corner and that means going outside, having fun and visiting new places. Maurie got a jump start on the season and she is here to tell us about her trip to Disneyworld. And Joe tells stories of his previous travels to the “Happiest Place On Earth” plus some thoughts on Universal Studios Orlando. Rodney chimes in with a controversial topic, Joe reviews a console gaming classic reborn on the iPad and your feedback from the Mailbag. Enjoy your summer!

Maurie has some great posts up at the “Zoomed In” blog that serve as a good companion piece to our discussions. Check out the blog for more or take a look at this Mouse House related post.

Enjoying Disney’s Attractions Despite Low Vision

Here is a link to the article we mentioned about moms hiring the Disabled to let their kids cut in lines at Disney

**App Review: Final Fantasy For iOS

it first appeared on the 80s Nintendo Entertainment System and many who played it had no idea that this little game would go on to be one of the biggest franchises ever. More than 20 years, 14 sequels and countless spin offs later, Final Fantasy evolves to the world of the touch screen interface on iOS. Is it better than using that old controller? Find out that and more in joe’s review.

**Mailbag
Okay, its not really related to any iReports or emails but joe said he would pass it along to prove that the BowLingual existed.

**How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?
Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter
Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog
Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter
Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast
Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter
Follow GW Micro on Twitter.
Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com.
You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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

About Our Presenters Amy Billman is an east to west coast transplant, happily calling California her home for the past four years. She has a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance, and a master’s in human resource management; and her passions lie in both music and HR.

Prior to moving to California, she was fortunate to have a job working in the nonprofit sector, where one of her many responsibilities, was helping clients with disabilities become job ready.

Amy is currently employed as a freelance transcription specialist; where she provides transcription services to clients in the market research industry.

She has owned and operated SpeedDots with her partner Doug, since 2011, and gets to use both her managing skills, and marketing background to run their company. “Our mission and goal,” she says, is to see that all who use iOS devices can truly, “type With Confidence.” It’s not just a slogan! I love educating people on how they can be even more productive with these already awesome and fully accessible devices. “In my spare time, you can usually find me in pursuit of my other passion: kitchen therapy! I enjoy cooking, and feeding people!”

You can follow her on twitter. Or, contact her via email. Visit SpeedDots for more information about our products.

Byron Lee is a Ham Radio Operator (KC9EEK), Broadcast Personality, Audio Engineer, Voice Over Artist, Web Designer, IT Professional, and most importantly, a huge geek! When asked about Byron, people often say “He’s just this guy, ya’ know?”

He is currently employed by Horizons for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired, and is currently working on the DirectionsForMe project, a one stop source for accessible packaging information.

In addition, Byron hosts two Internet radio shows. The Talk Zone is a two hour program about adaptive technology, disability rights, science fiction, pop-culture, and just about any other topic. The Fun Zone is a one hour program featuring comedy music. His shows are simulcast on ACB Radio Mainstream, Radio Free Dishnuts, The Beyond Radio Network, and Dementia Radio. He has also been involved in other radio shows and podcasts such as End of Line, a SeroTalk Podcast.

Justin Romack is a husband, daddy, marketing consultant, drummer and percussionist, and a ranting and raving fan of Texas Rangers baseball, much to the chagrin of his Twitter followers.

Justin owns Ontempo Ideas, a digital marketing agency delivering social media management, email marketing, search engine optimization and copywriting services to brands, businesses and organizations. He’s also the director of marketing and community for Fedora Outlier, LLC, a nationally-recognized provider of consulting, teaching and support for Apple’s array of accessible technologies.

Connect, heckle or stalk Justin online by following @JustinRomack on Twitter, finding Ontempo Ideas on Facebook, circling him on Google+, or connecting to his network on LinkedIn.

US Federal Reserve to introduce new $100 bill, first time with some accessibility.

WebAIM: Survey of Users with Low Vision Results

University of Bath (UK) study finds that congenitally blind people have better memories than sighted

Personality, Android and iOS

High Contrast Episode 10 Reviews Nexus 7 and iPad Mini

Directions for Me is seeking donations.

Amazon Bringing New Accessibility Features to Free Kindle Reading Apps

Did you know you can send documents you’ve scanned using DocuScan Plus directly to your #Kindle hardware or iOS app?

You can read about some of the crowd-sourcing features of the Kindle app–as well as directions to highlight sections and create notes within text–by clicking this link.

Google Now available for iPhone and iPad

The Old Hat Guide to iPhone Accessibility is now available.

Twitter Launches Twitter music App and Service

EasyChirp and SoloDX turn to crowd-funding, and meet their goals.

Sense Notetaker v8.0 Released – HIMS Inc

Zombies, Run! Season 2 is…Live?

We are delighted and proud to announce The Nightjar game — featuring Benedict Cumberbatch — is now on sale

This week, Lisa Salinger joins Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp to discuss the top news stories of the week. Topics covered in this podcast include:

The @AP Twitter feed was hacked and no, the White House has not been bombed.

AP Twitter account is back, but it seems to be missing a few million followers…

Twitter said to be testing two-step security in wake of AP hack

Google: More government takedown requests than ever before

Eric Schmidt: Google Glass not coming to you until 2014:

Don’t hold your breath waiting for NFC on the iPhone. Mobile payments are still in their infancy, says Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook: Customers had to wait too long for the new iMacs after they were announced in October

Apple announces June 10 through June 14 dates for WWDC 2013, tickets go on sale April 25.

Tim Cook Offering Coffee Meeting at Apple HQ in Charity Auction

Voice search coming to Direct TV IOS app.

Netflix Surpasses HBO In Subscribers For First Time – 29.17 Million U.S. Subscribers to 28.7 Million

From Jeffrey’s Soapbox comes a post, “The must have accessible apps for blind android users”

TalkBack Update

Hims Gets It Right With Braille Sense Version Eight

Letter to Humanware: are you killing the Braillenote and hoping no one notices?

We are delighted and proud to announce The Nightjar game — featuring Benedict Cumberbatch — is now on sale

Window-Eyes 8.2 is Now Available

Outlook 2010 from the Keyboard – free basics of using Outlook without a mouse

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo: > I also have a chrome book that Google sent me for testing. If you want to see how the accessibility works, install google chrome on your pc or mac, then install the chromevox extention. The chrome books work the same way. In my view, the chrome book is good at what it does, it just doesn’t do enough. You can play media files and view pictures locally, other than that, you must have an internet connection to be able to do anything with it. It really does not run any applications locally besides the chrome browser of course. So, there is no skype or messenger applications, no local office suites or any games that run on the device. You would need to use web sites that offered this. In a nut shell, I would say the chrome book is an internet appliance in a laptop form factor. For someone who just wants to do email and surf the web, it’s something to consider. Other than that, I would say to go with a full laptop.

> Hi Serotek team, my name is Tamer Zaid and I live in Houston Texas.

> Well, I have a question with which OCR app is officient with blind and visually impaired people to use. Is it Prismo? Or is there other apps such as those? I am a bigg fan of the i-Phone and specially the i-Phone 5. It is so fast! So, have a great day!

From Snow Bunny on Podcast 145: > Hey, guys, yes, I know, I’m way behind, thanks again for having content on demand! That service animal story was doggone interesting, ha ha, I’m a punster too! Owing to having no usable hearing on the left side and total blindness, my orientation and balance are much worse than in prior times and I get disoriented in my home. Do you guys know of a system with, say, some kind of tags which I could place on prominent objects and a handheld device to use to point around a room when I become dizzy and directionally unplugged? The device could speak, saying, “fridge in front of you”, for example. Here is something I came across. Please discuss indoor navigation more on the podcast sometime. Thanks and keep up the great work! Beth

Roundabout

Blind adventurer relies on his ears & a guide to ski. He’s also the first blind person to climb Mt. Everest!

How one man’s life changed from completely disconnecting for ten days:

McDonald’s burger bought in Utah in 1999 looks exactly the same as the day it was first flipped

128-Year-Old Recording Surfaces of Alexander Graham Bell’s Voice

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.

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

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast? Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter Follow GW Micro on Twitter. Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com. You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

Sponsor 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.

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

Global internet slows after ‘biggest attack in history’

Wells Fargo’s website was hit by denial-of-service attack yesterday

Thousands of accounts found to host unsecured passwords, photos, and other files on Amazon’s cloud

MacBreak Weekly 343

Mike Calvo appears on the Wall Street Journal’s Lunch Break Live

The Court of Public Opinion is Not the Last Resort

Nokia Screen Reader  V1.50 is now available  on Nokia Store with full support for Whatsapp v2.9.6

A makeup course for the visually impaired.

The Old Hat Guide to iPhone Accessibility

iPhone and iPod basics with Lisa Salinger

Looking for an accessible RSS feed reader? Introducing QFeed:

An Immersion into Internet Explorer 10 with JFW 14

The passing of Mark Marvel

‘Speed of light’ fibre optic breakthrough hints at faster internet

Windows Blue confirmed as Microsoft hints at yearly updates

RIM founder Mike Lazaridis leaves BlackBerry

Is Windows Phone ready to replace your iPhone or Android?

Some iOS 6.1.3 users hit by battery drain and Wi-Fi issues

Apple lands in Chinese court in Siri patent battle

Sick of manually updating apps on your iPhone? This jailbreak tweak takes care of it automatically

Apple patents gesture control with touchscreen off, for iWatch?

What, exactly, WiFiSLAM is, and why Apple acquired it

Mailbag

From Mary Emerson

Hi,

I enjoyed your discussion of Braille displays. I’ve been using them for decades. At work I used Braille and never used speech. I did this partly because I worked in programming, technical writing, and system support, and Braille provided a great deal of information about formatting and code syntax. As a tech writer, I could proofread my books before they went out for final edits. My main reason for continuing to use Braille is that I am deaf on one side, and although I keep speech in the background, some of it is hard to understand, especially the new voices that sound like the words are chopped up and the phonemes are thrown together with random pitches and tones. I’m glad that Braille devices running Android are coming on the scene; I plan to get one later this year.

Mary

Roundabout

One Day, You’re Going to Die. Here’s How to Prepare for It

Virtual games help the blind navigate unknown territory.

Recommended Reading

Here are links to the Daniel Suarez books Freedom and Daemon, both of which have been frequently mentioned on the podcast.

The gang’s all here, well sort of, but you will have to listen to hear just how this all worked out. Just know up front, everyone gets a turn to discuss the big topic “mac vs. PC”. And joe reveals how the 80’s arcade classics can now fit in the palms of your hands via the iPad. All that and more awaits you in this shorter than usual episode.

Joe mentioned the classic “Switcher Ads” that made fun of UAC. Here is an example of what he was talking about…

And this is the feature that looks a whole lot like UAC that is now in Mac OS called “Apple Gatekeeper “

A great place to keep up on everything Windows is the “Windows Super Site”
Microsoft has built in access like Windows magnifier. Learn more by visiting the Microsoft Accessibility page here

Also, for those who want to stay up on access issues with Apple, check out Apple Vis

Don’t forget about SPN’s own “Triple Click Home”

Learn about all the built in options for Apple by visiting the universal Access page

Here is the product information page for the Mac edition of ZoomText

App Review: Midway Arcade

Midway Arcade
Remember all those loud, echo filled dark rooms with all the half burnt out neon lighting? No, not discos or roller rinks. We’re talking about those places where your pocket change became tokens and where you could be without both in just a dozen minutes or so. Yes, the days of the classic arcade are gone but their legacy can now be found in the palms of your hands either by nabbing the Midway Arcade app from the iOS store or by putting it on a larger than life screen with the Xbox 360 Midway Arcade origins collection. Joe takes us on a quick tour of the iOS app and explains why this one is a must for fans of the 80s.
Midway Arcade origins for Xbox 360

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter
Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog
Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter
Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast
Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter
You can also check out GW Micro on Twitter.
Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com.
You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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 the show! This episode finds Rodney and Jeremy teaming up  with Joe on board [now batting for the absent Maurie]. Don’t worry, she’ll be back with us on our next show! However, it works out great as Jeremy and Joe have been living in Windows 8 for more than a year. So they have lots to talk about in regards to the new Microsoft Operating System from the low vision perspective. We also talk new iPads and Joe has another review of a game for iOS.

A great place to learn more about Windows 8, and a lot more about Microsoft in general, is the Windows Super Site

You can always learn about the latest in the iPad by going to Apple’s web site

Learn about the levels of access on iOS, and they have some great podcasts too, over at Apple Vis.

Check out more about the accessibility of mobile devices in the second of the SPN mobile Device specials

Joe loves Punch Quest for iOS and he thinks you might feel the same. It is free and has In App purchases.

How can you find out what our hosts are up to outside the podcast?

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

Check out Maurie’s writing on the AI Squared Zoomed In Blog

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

You can also check out GW Micro on Twitter.

Feel free to send your feedback on this show to resources@serotalk.com. You can always find the latest on this show and others on the SeroTalk Podcast Network using iBlink Radio for your iOS device or your Android device. You can even leave us an iReport right from the iBlink app.

Thanks for listening!

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