Back when I was seven, many things were accessible, and if they weren’t, my grandmother would help make them so.

Not being able to see, my primary way of learning was through reading, touching objects, and listening to explanations. Of course, all my other remaining senses came into play, but hearing and touch were, and are, my primary link to the world not constructed by books.

Even though I had never heard the word Accessibility, I was an early adopter of its concept.

One day, my grandmother took me to a museum that was new in town. It was different from the ones we frequented, and I was very eager to feel exotic artefacts under my fingertips, and experience paintings through verbal descriptions given to me via headset. I eagerly speed-walked with my grandmother into the museum, my stomach full with butterflies over the soon-to-be.

When the tour started, I could sense the body heat of a dozen people beside me. I waited for my grandmother to take me to the artefact so I could explore it. She didn’t. I began to tune into the many exclamations beside me describing how wonderful the artefact was. Why was it so wonderful? I wanted to know too! I wanted to feel it and see what people were talking about. I soon began to cry, and people’s feet shuffled as they turned and stared at me. With steely resolve, my grandmother picked me up and pushed her way to the front of the crowd with my white cane dangling in my grip. When she reached the front, she ducked under the rope and placed my hand on the elegant statue carved with dynamic symbols. People started complaining that a sign said ‘Don’t Touch’. Soon, a stern sounding man cleared his throat next to me.

“Miss? I’m the manager here.”

I felt the air whoosh as my grandmother whipped around. With slicing syllables, she told the manager:

“If you tell my blind grandson to take his hands off this statue, I will take every ‘Don’t Touch’ sign down and burn them all. I will then tell the police what I did and sue you for lack of accessibility.”

nineteen years have passed since then, and I have heard and witnessed countless instances in which companies and people just don’t exert any will to include the blind and the visually impaired whatsoever, unless forced by law.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was a huge breakthrough for our inclusion, but it didn’t merge us with the sighted world. People didn’t want to include us, so often we had to go to special groups, events, and even jobs for the blind. We also had to fight for education as well. Entertainment was, and still is an issue accompanying all the other accessibility barriers.

It took a law in 2010 to make Audio Description available on television. Before the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, we couldn’t watch movies, TV shows, or any visual media with audio description as frequently as today. Audio Description is as important to us as closed captioning is for the Deaf. It opens up a whole new mode of entertainment that we’ve never been able to experience before.

However, there are still a lot of companies that don’t want to offer it, and are not forced to by law. Many of these companies reside in the internet realm, a place the law hasn’t even scratched yet. Audio Description is available on TV, and more DVDs, and even more movie theatres. The law applies to the top 25 TV networks now but will increase.

But even with all this inclusion, no Video on Demand service, such as Netflix and Hulu, has Audio Description.

I’ve wondered why Netflix won’t provide Audio Description, or even accessible interfaces so that our adaptive software can interact with their website and web player fully. I’ve examined this through all different angles, even finding out for myself the cost of describers, and other production costs. It’s not all about cost however. The BBC has shown that cost doesn’t matter when it comes to Accessibility, offering an Audio Description On Demand service through the BBC iPlayer. Many other companies and organisations also show that having audio description on the web is not hard at all. All of these can be found on our audio description on demand page.

It wouldn’t be hard at all to include Audio Description on Netflix. Two methods could be done to achieve this. Closed Audio Description, where the viewers would need to select a language track, requiring less bandwidth and less server space on Netflix’s part. There would definitely be downsides to this as well, such as that Audio Description wouldn’t be able to be available on every Netflix compatible device, such as the Nintendo Wii, as the Wii even has a hard time with closed captions.

Another way is to have a separate blind version of the same movie or TV show, like iTunes has it. But this will require that the film or TV show be uploaded twice. From a technical point of view, this would be the easier thing to do, but who knows, the servers might buckle.

For years, the blind community has asked and even begged Netflix to make their site and service accessible, with accessible web design and Audio Description, but Netflix have said “No” repeatedly, and eventually the blindness advocacy groups just give up.

I refuse to give up though. Which is why I started the Accessible Netflix Project.

Our aim for the project:

Netflix is a popular internet streaming and rental service that streams TV shows as well as movies. It also allows subscribers to rent DVDs. The Netflix platform isn’t accessible and that’s what this project aims to change. With the help of the community we will make Netflix a truly accessible place for everyone to enjoy.

The Purpose (Mission)

1. To provide accessible software and interface to Netflix users

Implement and ensure future accessibility practices and consideration

1. Ensure that relatively all types of disability are taken into careful consideration at all times

These are the targets we want to meet

1. Provide a screen reader friendly experience to all Netflix functions on the PC and mobile devices with all screen readers

Provide an easily navigable interface for the mobility impaired using adaptive technology.

1. Provide easy access to audio described content for the blind and the visually impaired on streaming services as well as DVD selection currently and in the future.

Regardless if it’s inconvenient or costly, Netflix should provide Accessibility solutions. Many blind people pay for a service they can barely use, whether they are a novice or advanced Screen Reader user.

It has been a long 2 years since I began the project. So far, they have told us “No”, directly, nine times and counting.

Determined to have the freedom to enjoy Audio Description on the Internet, a place that has become a utility for my work and entertainment needs, I decided to ask them why they said no. The first time, they said that:

“We don’t have control over the content that makes the Audio Description, so we’re not the people who you should be contacting.”

So, I started contacting studios for the next three months, often going through back door connections to get to producers, and explaining the situation. Seth MacFarlane, the producer of Family Guy, a show that has Audio Description on TV, was one of these connections. I wanted to make it as cheap as possible for Netflix, so I asked these producers if they would simply give the Audio Descriptions to Netflix at no charge. Many, including Seth, agreed to this.

I replied to Netflix with the fantastic news, and this was their response:

Hi Robert,

Thank you for being a Netflix fan and for being so passionate about making Netflix more accessible. At this point we have no immediate plans to add Audio Descriptions to our service. We continuously evaluate this and we will let you know if there’s a change, but don’t expect it to come in the near future.

I don’t understand why they’d say no. Even after contacting 56 different people in the company, they all said the same – don’t expect it anytime soon, even with the studio support.

It deeply disappoints and frustrates me that access to a service that’s so accessible to my wallet is impossible for me to use independently, simply because I require adaptive technology. I can’t even manage the site independently, no matter how many advanced keystrokes I learn or new Screen Reader tricks. Blind and visually impaired people shouldn’t be banished to outside sources to get described content. We are millions and millions strong, and our revenue would help grow Netflix. And, small aside, they’d surely be given excellent publicity for being the first mainstream company to do this.

The accessible Netflix project has grown and, with it, we have dedicated team members who will ensure equal access to entertainment simply because it should have been done a very long time ago. There isn’t an excuse anymore as to why this can’t happen. My team and I are here for entertainment equality and we will continue to be for years ahead.

The ADA was meant to include and not divide. Blind people should have reasons to spend their income. We should be able to laugh with glee with our family, enjoying an Audio-Described comedy. We should be able to proudly call ourselves a Netflix customer. My team and I will do whatever we can to ensure everybody gets past the unnecessary velvet rope and touch an accessible Video on Demand service that is accessible to everybody else. I don’t understand why Netflix doesn’t want to give us that inclusion, and I possibly never will, but I do understand one thing for certain – it should happen. It will happen, with our leadership.

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.

It’s the sentence, “I need that.”

A dictionary has many definitions for the word need. Until October, when I decided to take up a challenge by a friend to not use any Internet for a whole month, I didn’t really understand what I needed or even why I needed it.

In September 2014, the sun speckled the ground with bursts of bright light even though the weather was cold in Chicago. I was sitting in a park with an engineer friend of mine, stealing his fries as we talked about the internship that I applied for but didn’t make. The topic nestled into the internship miss until, suddenly, he blurted out an exclamation of “oh my god, Robbie, you have GOT to read this!”

And so I did, or rather, listened, having limited vision and everything. It was an article that said that killing net neutrality would help the disabled. Verizon was saying that, if the Internet were split into a fast lane and a slow lane, disabled people would have much better Internet. Naturally, the irony wasn’t lost on me. In most cases, no matter how politically correct people wanted me to be ever since I started saying it, a good portion of the disabled populace were very poor, so the idea Verizon had was just utter nonsense.

“That’s a complete fallacy!” I spluttered, shifting my weight so my good eye could stare at Marcus full on in the face. “That’s just plain wrong!”

“I know,” he agreed, but we ranted and raved for a bit, just to make sure our thoughts were out in the open. Suddenly, though, as I was stealing a fry, he commented, “I have an idea. Why don’t I give you a challenge, you know, like a dare?” I liked the prospect of a dare so I accepted his challenge before having the intellect to ask what it was.

“Why don’t you, as a disabled person, live without the Internet for one month, and this means using Internet in schools and in libraries and the like, don’t use the Internet at all for one month.”

And that’s how it began.

Now, my memoir details my journey of living offline. Through my words and reflections, readers will know what adapting to a new kind of world is like. I was soon swept up in a different world, a world that was inaccessible to me and a world that I had to learn how adapt to, on my own since I live in an apartment complex by myself. I really did learn the difference between needing something and wanting the convenience of something.

I assumed I was going to do the everyday things that people did, such as walk outside, even though it was starting to get cold in Chicago. I thought my entries were going to be filled with sentences outlining what I did, rather than what I’d think about and declarations and observations of people. I thought that I’d write more about what I did and why I did it, rather than my observations about the Internet-less life and how it changing everything from communication to education to human interaction.

In the memoir, many aspects of life are examined. Why? Because I had a lot more free time to share with myself. The memoir is a diary that’s intimate and allows for a glimpse into the human psyche before being connected to everyone.

Living offline changed me in many ways that I didn’t even see coming. For the first few days, I needed to get online, I wanted to look up something. I wanted to type in the commands and the search strings that would get me exactly what I wanted, how I wanted it, where I wanted it. Without that power, for a few days, I was utterly lost because I didn’t know how to cope after that power had been taken away.

Even though I felt as though I was going to back down on the first few days, I gave it a shot still, and kept on with the challenge.

The fact is, the Internet is a requirement, especially for the disabled. I experienced much frustration simply because I could no longer do something so basic, such as hooking up a landline phone because I couldn’t download the manual from the website. I had to rely on the sighted population more than I have ever needed to.

This is because there isn’t as much accessible information offline as there is on the Internet. On the Internet I can look up any news I want to look up or any manual, for that matter. Take news content: Writers are not filtered by space and advertising columns so they can pepper the Web page with in-depth reporting and I could read it all.

Mainstream offline media doesn’t tell you about all the news that’s happening or the kind of topics people want to know. The fact is, people want to know. On the radio and TV everything is delegated by space and time. When you have limited options to get information, information becomes a need, not a luxury. I had to cope with losing that by asking more questions from other people and relying on their answers. Sometimes, it was effective. Other times, it left me feeling as if I was being denied information simply because I didn’t use the Internet.

We live, however, in a world that needs the Internet. I learned that the hard way when I didn’t get hired for a job because I couldn’t use the Internet. It really has shocked me how it’s turned into an unclassified utility. Sure, apartment owners are saying it is a utility but not the government, not the people higher up. It should be. Why? Because I know what it’s like, as a disabled person, to live without the Internet for one month. A disabled life without Internet is not a completely independent world. The Internet breaks down barriers, even if we can’t see them.

Serotek’s own Richard Wells recently had the opportunity to attend the American Foundation for the Blind’s 2014 Vision Expo held in Waco, Texas. While he was there, Richard managed to snag some great interviews which he brought back to the team. We are pleased to feature those interviews in this month’s episode of SeroSpectives. Be sure to visit the Websites of the respective organizations mentioned in this podcast so that you can learn more about what they have to offer.

Neva Fairchild talks with Richard Wells about the American Foundation for the Blind’s 2014 Vision Expo held in Waco, Texas.

Richard visits with a representative of HIMS Inc.

Heather talks about the Texas Talking Book Program.

Steven Thompkins talks with Richard Wells about NFB Newsline.

Kathy visits with Richard about the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services of Texas.

Philips Lifeline offers many health aids such as talking prescription information.

Tracey represents the Dallas Services Low Vision Clinic.

Teresa tells us about Ridgecrest Retirement Village.

Learn about emergency preparedness from a representative of the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry.

Jan tells us about the programs available from the Area Agency on Aging.

Welcome to the latest episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Lisa Salinger sit down to discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Joe Steinkamp sits down with AER president Lou Tutt to discuss the success of their latest convention as well as the past, present and future of the organization. Topics discussed in this podcast include:

A T Talk

NVDASR 2014.3rc1 now available for testing, before final release

Results from the 778 people who responded to the first NVDA Speech Synthesizer Survey, now closed.

Every JAWS User Should Have Leasey!

Samsung Is Making An Ultrasonic Cover For The Galaxy Note 4 To Help The Visually Impaired

30 Days with Android

Accessibility Head-To-Head: Android vs Apple

Beyond Braille: 3-D Printed Books For The Blind

10 Things Not To Say Or Do To A Blind Person

Mainstream Matters

This Week’s Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible

iPhone 6: A delicate compromise

NFL Now channel added to Apple TV w/ instant in-game highlights, live events and press conferences, more

Microsoft expected to announce Windows 9 on September 30

Former Microsoft CEO Ballmer steps down from the board

What it feels like to be the last generation to remember life before the internet

Roundabout

The Ice Bucket Challenge: Awareness is Not Money

What People With ALS Think of Ice Bucket Challenge

Pres. George W. Bush Takes Ice Bucket Challenge – YouTube

This Blind Grandpa Is Running 11,000 Miles Around The U.S. To Raise Funds For Cystic Fibrosis

We are again very pleased to be able to bring you a portion of the NFB Assistive Technology Trainers Division meeting. This particular portion of our coverage has proven to be very popular and incredibly informative in past years. And this year is no different. In the first half of this program you will hear Jeff Baser, from Dolphin USA, showing off the new Dolphin Guide, Supernova and discussing the alternative media creation suite.

Jenny Lineback, AT Trainers Treasurer, then leads a panel discussion on some common problems Facility and On Site Trainers face today. Joining her on the panel is Chip from the Colorado Center for the Blind and Jack from the Louisiana Center for the Blind.

While this isn’t the whole Division meeting, the entire audio can be found by contacting the AT Trainers Division directly. Send an email to President michael Barber at michael.NFBI@gmail.com. Or, join the NFB AT Trainers mailing list at

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. The news of the week, your feedback, a book recommendation and an interview with author Shelly Brisbin about her new book IOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch are just some of the things you will hear on this week’s show. Topics covered in this podcast include:

A T Talk

Braille Sense v8.2 Released with Features YOU Asked For!

Book Trade Announcements – Dolly Parton Presents Braille Book To Blind Child

GrabPak introduces line of Braille First Aid Kits

eBay and The National Federation of the Blind Team to Optimize Accessibility of Site, Apps

When Just Listening Is Not Enough: Google Falls Short on Accessibility for the Blind

What Will It Take for Google to Find Its Voice

Comparing the Windows Computer with the Mac

As Technology Marches Forward, Who Gets Left Behind?

Verizon Says It Wants to Kill Net Neutrality to Help Blind, Deaf, and Disabled People

Mainstream Matters

Report corroborates Apple planning to announce new wearable product in October

Apple’s new Lightning spec allows for smarter, better-sounding headphones

Rumor: NFC, wireless charging, improved LTE slated for iPhone 6

Starbucks to Start Offering Wireless Charging in San Francisco

Amazon Prime Subscriber? You Just Got Free Streaming Music

Roundabout

The Top 24 Summer Books of 2014

Vessyl smart cup can tell Coke from Pepsi

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson » E3 2014 Binaural Audio Experiment :

Ricky recommends Room: A Novel Written by Emma Donoghue

Our thanks go out to Andre Louis and Patrick Purdue of PD Audio Productions for the theme music heard on this podcast.

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

Welcome to episode 199 of the SeroTalk podcast. Jamie Pauls, Lisa Salinger and Buddy Brannan sit down to discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie talks with author Scott Duck about his first novel, In Full View. Stories covered in this episode include:

A T Talk

Sendero Group and RNIB Partner to Release Full-Featured GPS App for UK Users

CAVI is looking at offering a short course on NVDA in June for $60 if they get ten students or more

The National Federation of the Blind’s Free Slate Program – YouTube

WAI-ARIA for screen reader users: An overview of things you can find in some mainstream web apps today

Why iPad is the Ideal Learning Tool for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Enlighten Me: Inmates produce braille textbooks for visually impaired

Mainstream Matters

Drop that remote: Nuance to bring voice control to home appliances

Amazon makes 15 more cities eligible for Sunday delivery

Amazon, Twitter link up for easy shopping through #AmazonCart

Google Maps 8 brings lane guidance, Uber integration, and more

Apple iOS 8 Preview: Everything We’re Expecting

Apple hiring efforts point to medical tech integration

Why Beats Music matters: Streaming music services are the future

Roundabout

‘Firenado’: Wind Whips Up Wicked Whirl in Missouri Field – NBC News.com

Burger King offers burgers for breakfast

This Makeup Printer Could Destroy The Cosmetics Industry

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss this week’s news of interest. Then, Jamie visits with Jeremy Curry about the recent merger of AI Squared and GW Micro. Topics discussed in this week’s podcast include:

A T Talk

Assistive Technology Leaders Merge to Expand Opportunities

Ai Squared and GW Micro Merge: Two Old Friends Join Forces

The Penguin Random House/Bookshare Partnership

The popular TapTapSee App is now available for Android

Quick Take: TapTapSee for Android Works Just like the iPhone Version, But Should It?

VoiceOver users: Journey towards accessibility, we are home: Our iOS Fleksy update is now fully accessible.

64 Ounce Games Has Reached it’s Goal

A Review of Chicken Nugget from Accessible Apps

TW Blue. Another accessible Twitter client based on The Qube.

Mainstream Matters

Are we starting to fall out of love with tablets?

Sprint partners with Spotify for music streaming

Sprint introduces its exclusive HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon

Hackers find first post-retirement Windows XP-related vulnerability

Hands-on with Firefox 29: More “customizable,” more Chrome-y

Are You Ready for a Driver’s License for the Internet?

Google’s self-driving cars hit 700,000 miles, learn city navigation

Blind Leading The Blind

Roundabout

How long should adults nap?

The 72 Worst Internet Sayings, Ranked

Listen to the fake sounds that could keep electric vehicles from hitting people

There is a lot to talk about on this week’s podcast. Jamie, Ricky and Joe break it all down for you. Then, Lisa interviews one of the developers of the incredibly popular iOS app DiceWorld As always, your feedback brings it all together, so sit back and enjoy the ride!

The Big Story

Heartbleed: How It Works

The 5 Things To Do About the New Heartbleed Bug

The Heartbleed Hit List: The Passwords You Need to Change Right Now

The Programmer Behind Heartbleed Speaks Out: It Was an Accident

Why is Heartbleed called Heartbleed?

Heartbleed’s lesson: Passwords must die

Welcome to the Post-XP world, but how on earth did we get here?

Microsoft is Still Making Security Updates for Windows XP, But You Can’t Have Them

A T Talk

CSUN: Is It Still the Definitive Access Technology Conference?

SPN Special: Maximizing Potential with Mainstream and Assistive Technologies

CSUN 2014 HIMS Special – Notetaker or iPad: Is It The Wrong Question?

From Applevis: Comparing iOS Devices with Braille Notetakers

From The Tech Doctor: Comparing iOS Devices and Notetakers

Fedora Outlier Announces The Mac Master Series

The popular TapTapSee App is now available for Android

Mainstream Matters

Zombies, Run! | New in Season 3: Player Choice!

Skype TX: Microsoft Targets Broadcasters

Google making Glass available to the masses for one day only

Mailbag

From Kelley Armstrong

Hi, my name is Kelley Armstrong and I live in Texas. First I just want to say I look forward to hearing the serotalk podcast and the three of you do a good job. Now I liked the operating system of windows XP but I have learned windows 8 and games are something I enjoy too. I play all the blind gamers games on my windows 8 laptop without any trouble at all. I do have a windows vista laptop I don’t use it I let my dad have it. I don’t think any of you will believe it but I recently just chunked an old desktop computer that ran windows XP and I have still in my possession a year 2009 dell net book running XP and to be frank I am fearful of turning it on and I am not even sure it can be upgraded to either vista or seven or eight. On a net book everything is external that’s why I don’t think it can be upgraded and no love lost too many security risks. I use an ipad two as my main computer I send and recieve email and do facebook. I go online and shop and check prices and read newspapers, listen to pandora radio and I play games and I like to listen to I blink radio and look at blind bargains. I like my windows eight laptop but if Mack computers weren’t so expensive I wouldn’t mind being a Mack user I built my life in IOS and I love it. I could live with or without a windows computer but if my ipad two were to quit on me I think I would go crazy. I am seeing hiccups in voice over and touch screen issues as my ipad is aging. I am finding my ipad not as snappy as it was when I got it and it was new. It’s a bit sluggish and I don’t know if it’s normal or not. I just think it’s amazing how far computers and technology have come and revolutionized the lives of blind people in general. In the education of blind children and the what use to be hard can and hopefully is easier to teach blind children. I was just starting out in elementary school in the year 1993 and the school really didn’t know what to do with me so they stuck me in the life skills class where mentally impaired and the kids in wheelchairs who cannot talk or comprehend what’s going on. I was neglected by the teachers because at first I didn’t learn abc’s and 123’s like every other five year old kid. Nope I was being told to feel of feathers and button buttons and zipping zippers until my dad threw a walleyed fit and it took a lot of badgering and griping but finally they got the technology and the resources to teach me braille.

From Kelsey Trevett:

Hi SeroTalk gang, I was listening to podcast 194 and had to input my thoughts into a couple of discussions you had on that episode. In particular, your chat about Windows 8,1 (update 1) and the Amazon Fire TV. Windows 8,1 update 1 has been anticipated by techie people for a while now… I mean a long while. Personally, I’ve been a user of Windows 8,0 from day 1 (literally) and so have seen it’s growth and development since October 2012. Windows 8,1 was a welcome update to Windows 8; many of my personal complaints were dealt with and some features were added (AKA put back). Update 1 (or spring update, etc) didn’t bring a huge change to the OS.
Yes, the search and power options controls came to the Start Screen – something Windows’ users have been begging for since it’s launch in 2012 – but apart from that and some minor changes, it seems a rather insignificant update. Sure, there are plenty of small fixes and changes which I’m not complaining about but I can’t see much (as a JAWS user) that really caught my eye (excuse the pun). As you rightly said, I think this is Microsoft’s attempt to back-pedal furiously into what they hope are the open arms of consumers. Unfortunately, I feel that it is too little, far too late. Windows 8 has got itself a reputation and it’s going to be pretty much impossible for Microsoft to shift it. As for the Amazon Fire TV (does it burst your TV into flames?) I have other thoughts. It is great that Amazon have come into the streaming market via the TV; they’ve had very similar services on their Kindle Fire line of products for quite some time now. What I did notice is the inability to access Amazon Music services from the device which is quite a big flunk on Amazon’s part. If you live in the Amazon eco system, you want it all, not just bits and pieces of the world you live in, right? Additionally, I read several articles from Twitter verifying my own fears – the device scores a 0 when it comes to accessibility.
There is no screen reader built-in to the system. This doesn’t leave me without hope; I’m sure that if we petition for long enough (as we did for iOS and Android app accessibility and Fire tablet access too), access to Fire TV will come. I’m not a person who believe wholly in fighting my way to the end; a peaceful approach is more my style. The missing accessibility is possibly for the reason I’ve come up with: “blind people don’t watch TV, do they? Really, they can’t see it!” I loved the April Fools edition of SeroTalk, Triple Click Home and That Android Show; I thought they were great fun and that a great laugh was had by all. Thanks for reading and bring on podcast 200!!!

Kelsey London, England, UK

And another from Kelsey:

Hi SeroTalkers, It’s Kelsey again – remember me? I was the one with the new Nexus 7 and I was diving in from iOS to Android. Well, after a few more months, I thought I’d send another email letting you know how it’s been going with the Nexus 7. I’ve now had the Nexus 7 for four months and am thoroughly enjoying the experience. Surprisingly, I’m finding it strangely easy to live in the Apple, Android and Windows universes all at once! It is easy to know when to use what for checking Twitter, reading emails, etc. The Nexus 7 is my desk device – the device that primarily lives on my desk and occasionally ventures out and about with me. I have done a lot more exploration of Android; I’ve tried some new apps, launchers and other such things. The Nexus 7, for me in any case, has become easier to use the more I get used to Android and the way it works. I’ve changed Talkback to single-tap selection, finding this method easier and more productive. Additionally, I’ve changed more Talkback settings to make it more of the experience that I desire and want from Android. My thoughts on Android haven’t changed although some new ones have come to me during these last months. I’ve found my own way of looking at Android – whatever you want from it, it can provide. You do have to put the effort in though – look for the apps / launchers / keyboards etc; do the research to find out how to perform a task; work out all the sneaky cheats with Talkback and other such things you may want to know. The operating system has a great interface; no customisation is required if the user doesn’t want to. The UI is simple and easy to use and so I feel Android is a good option for pretty much anybody, however good or bad their computer skills may be. My other thought with Android (as I have said before) is to remember that it isn’t going to explode in your hand. This mental advice has been ringing in my head quite a lot recently when fiddling with settings and the like. The device isn’t just going to explode, or fall apart, or whip out an evil hand and hit you round the face for pressing the wrong button. People need to be adventurous IF THEY WANT TO BE. There was no legal document that came with the tablet when you bought it that said: I agree that I have to change ten settings every day or else the evil NexusBot will come and kill me. No, no such obligation was agreed to. Therefore, you can change as much or as little as you choose. Thanks for reading and I hope my new experiences and thoughts will help new users of Android and people thinking of taking the plunge; it is well worth it.

Kelsey London, England, UK

Blog Comment From Dominique

Hey guys, just listened to the April Fools podcast, and also podcast 194. Good job guys, that was awesome. Just a thought, to see how it would sound, you guys should do the next one in complete 8k AM radio form. Deric, and Patric would be good at making a small segment sounding like that, reminds me of the guy that Deric made sing on that one beat and got played on the AM radio station, all by axidant that one time… Keep it up guys! Pease!

Roundabout

Jamie: No Laptops, No Wi-Fi: How One Cafe Fired Up Sales

Cops Found Stolen Laptop After Thief Called Apple Tech Support

‘It’s a Small World’ turns 50 with sing-along

In this CSUN 2014 presentation, Joe Steinkamp, Ricky Enger and Dave Wilkinson demonstrate cloud-based solutions, mainstream tablets, PC’s and iDevices along with assistive technology from HIMS, Inc. and Serotek Corporation for complete access to information from anywhere.

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

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

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

Audiobooks Have Become Cool

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

Maccessibility » Review – iOS 7 and VoiceOver

Liam Erven demonstrates using fingerprint ID in the iPhone 5s

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

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

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

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

Apple goes on charm offensive with new iPhone launch

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

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

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

BlackBerry cuts 4,500 jobs; shares halted on news

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

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

Mailbag

Pete Bossley writes in to say:

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

Roundabout

Japan to fight Internet addiction with ‘fasting camps’

How Siri found its voice

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

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.

Internet Taxation Coming Soon to a Link Near You Syria cut off from the Internet once again No joke: The Onion tells how Syrian Electronic Army hacked its Twitter Twitter API v 1 retirement date extended to June 11 Don’t throw dirt on the grave of Windows 8 just yet Microsoft confirms public preview of Windows 8 in late June What’s new about Windows Blue Windows Start button could make a comeback, Microsoft exec says Tablets devastate laptop market T-Mobile USA moves half million iPhone 5’s in first month, spurs first subscriber growth since 2009 New Apple patent suggests that future iPhones could sport invisible buttons Apple closes in on 50 billion app downloads, offers $10,000 to the person who hits it David Woodbridge: Review of the Accessible Kindle app with VoiceOver NFB Grading of Kindle Accessibility on iOS Chris Danielsen from NFB comments on Buddy’s Kindle opinion post. “Poisoning the Treaty for the Blind” Blind advocates: Hollywood lobbying threatens deal for accessible books Here is a related article from Matt Campbell about HTML5, W3C and DRM Serotek blog post: Consumer Tip: Protect Yourself from Bill Shock A user review of NVDA in the Braille Monitor: My Constant Search for Accessibility The 2013.1rc2 version of NVDA has been released [ChromeVox 27 Released! Math support, ChromeVox context menu, and more] Viber more accessible on iOS but not PC and Mac Looktel Money Reader Gains New Currencies Join CathyAnne on May 18, 4:00 PM for An Introduction to Word 2013

Roundabout

Poll: 90% of parents admit to multitasking while behind the wheel, even with kids in the car Typing with Brain Waves Do you enjoy our SPN Podcasts? You can help us out a whole lot by taking this very short survey.

Amazon Bringing New Accessibility Features to Free Kindle Reading Apps

Kindle for iOS Can Make Siri Read Your Books Aloud (Sort of)

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

Amazon Kindle for iOS Now Accessible to VoiceOver Users by Justin Romack

National Federation of the Blind Comments on Amazon Kindle App

Amazon Kindle Accessibility: What?!

How to get the Kindle for iOS Accessibility Gestures – Quick Reference Guide

New update for Fleksy

Personality, Android and iOS

ChangeReaction 2 Is Released for Windows Operating Systems

Top Reader

Free Webinar: NetEcho by Internet Speech

Five Things I Didn’t Know About Writing a Book

iOS Success: Making the iPad Accessible, A Guide for Teachers and Parents

The Human Error with Humanware

Here are the results of a March 2013 survey of computer users with low vision conducted by WebAIM:

Freedom Scientific Announces Departure of Jonathan Mosen

Eric Schmidt Is Right, Using Google Glass Is Weird — Here’s My Experience

Google joins FIDO’s crusade to replace passwords | Security & Privacy

Google’s virtual assistant invades Siri’s turf

Microsoft ‘Mohoro’ Could Be A Whole New Way To Use Windows

Bloomberg: Jony Ive said to be considering ‘more dramatic’ changes to email and calendar amid iOS 7

How much is too much to pay for coffee with Tim Cook?

Roundabout

I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet

Happy birthday, Web! Public Internet turns 20

Sky News: Blind people ‘have better memories’

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

About Our Presenters

Anna Dresner has written a number of publications for National Braille Press, and is perhaps best known for her work on the books about the iPhone. She also provides part-time technical support for BARD. She homeschools her son, and does a children’s show on Mushroom FM. When she can, she enjoys squeezing in some time for singing and guitar and flute playing. You can email her or follow her on Twitter.

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.

Allison Hilliker lives in Tempe Arizona, and has a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from Arizona State University West. She currently works for Benetech, the nonprofit company that runs Bookshare. She has worked there for over five years in the collection development department. When she’s not working, Allison does assistive technology related podcasts on the Blind Access Journal website. The site covers a variety of tech topics, but it has a strong focus on iOS devices. You may email Allison, or follow her on Twitter.

General Computing

Dropbox 2.0 brings functional drop-down menus to Mac and Windows

Windows Blue confirmed as Microsoft hints at yearly updates

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

The Court of Public Opinion is Not the Last Resort

Aftershokz

Looking for headphones with a safer open ear design so you can still talk with others around you or hear your environment? Aftershokz is pleased to offer a 40 percent discount to SPN listeners. Please be aware that the code is case sensitive, so make sure you enter it correctly during checkout. The code is SPN40 .

Click here to visit the Aftershokz website.

Want to learn more? Listen to or read the transcript: Jamie Pauls interviews Mike Calvo and Buddy Brannan about their experiences with Aftershockz headphones.

Mobile Technology

A keyboard that rises up from flat touch screens

Talkback v3.0 released

Apple introduces two-factor verification for Apple IDs

VoiceOver saved in Apple, Samsung patent battle

From National Braille Press: iOS 6 Updates

What’s New in iOS6?

Navigation

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

Navigating Your Environment Using Sight Compass

Assistive Tech

The passing of Mark Marvel

American Foundation for the Blind Introduces Described TV Listings

Live from CSUN 2013: Serotek brings opinions and interviews.

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.

In our very first SeroTalk podcast for the month of April, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week which include:

Slammer worm slows

802.11g coming!

Linux legal battles

An overview of access on Linux

AS Windows 95 fades, a first look at the new .NET environment

Apple rumor, 20 GB iPod on its way

Mac OS 10.2 coming with no relief for those needing access

A wrap up of CSUN

Pac Mate review

A review of Open Book vs Kurzweil 1000

GW Micro to appear on Main Menu April 16^th, 2003

Ai Squaired releases ZoomText 8.0

Mobile Pal plus GPS

While Ricky and Joe were scurrying around at this year’s CSUN conference, gathering excellent interviews for your listening pleasure, Jamie, Lisa and Buddy sat down together and did the podcast thing. We trust that you will enjoy the results of our musings.

CSUN: It Won’t be Hard to Access BARD with the Upcoming iOS App from NLS

Ananse Productions Gets Fancy with Letter Clever for iOS and Android

LookTel VoiceOver Tutorial

Making Zombies, Run! 2 accessible

Netflix Agrees to Caption All Videos by 2014

Solo-DX

What Will Sequestration Mean for People with Disabilities?

Microsoft’s Office 365: Business users’ top questions (and answers)

Amazon launches Cloud Player app for iPad, iPad Mini

As sink Nook sales, so slumps B&N’s fiscal health

Google’s Andy Rubin: ‘No plans’ to open Android stores

iPad Mini to bury 9.7-inch iPad in 2013, says DisplaySearch

iCloud nearly back to normal after early morning outage

Tim Cook doesn’t like Apple’s falling share price, either

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

Prepaid Carrier Could Be Stuck With $100 Million Worth of Unsold iPhones

Bloody well time, Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

Mailbag

From Robert Carter:

Hi,

In podcast 143, Rodny said that 1password did not allow passwords to be stored in the cloud. This is incorrect. 1password uses Dropbox to store an ncrypted database of your passwords. This allows one to access passwords across platForms and from multiple devices.

I have been working with the developers of 1password to make it fully VoiceOver compatible.

Robert Carter

Typed with BrailleTouch

Sent from my iPhone

From Chelsea Cook

Hi Serotalk Team,

Once again, another great, thought-provoking,  and funny podcast! I listen to SPN every week.

I had some general comments about this week’s show. Regarding the rats seeing in different spectrums, I think that is super cool. As a physics and astronomy student, I get asked all the time how I can do astronomy when blind. What people don’t realize is that optical observations account for very little these days; major things happening in the universe  are usually always in spectrums the human eye cannot process anyway. Once viewed from this perspective, people seem to think it is the coolest thing ever. But imagine if I could look into the night sky and see in a different spectrum than my sighted peers? What do you mean, you can’t see that X-ray binary?

I think fingerprinting the human voice would make dictation a lot more accurate than it already is. At least for me, the conversations with Siri break down when I am tired.

Technology keeps changing. Like Joe, I really, really want an Apple watch. Imagine breadcrumbing your place in a crowded room with your bag, iPhone neatly tucked away inside? then, when you wanted to come back to your spot, you could tell the watch to locate the phone and play the hot and cold game until both devices had found each other and subsequently your seat? Vibrations? Bluetooth? NFC? These are the reasons I write realistic science fiction; wouldn’t it be cool to see ideas come to life that fifty years ago were just dreams? And still no hover car as of yet. Darn!

Regards,

Chelsea

PS. You guys should start a “shownotes book list.” I can never remember all your recommendations

From Michael

Dear SeroTalk land,

I am an avid listener who hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Regarding Podcast 142 on what Ricky mentioned; I find it fascinating how Apple once used unreliable voiceprint technology in Mac OS 9.2 as an account login option, than compared to the technology now days being used for Dictation and Siri.

Alos, I don’t know if people are aware of the iOS app called “Braille Pad” (student or pro). Even though I haven’t had the opportunity to try it myself, I believe it allows six key entry via keyboard and I’m not sure about touch input. I encourage other visually impaired/blind iOS users to give it a try.

However, I am familiar with the Mac version of it, which is called “Braille Writer” (student or pro). Braille Writer Pro makes a descent substitution for Perky Duck on a Mac, but found it currently incompatible with VoiceOver navigation.

Anyways, that is all I wanted to say and hope this is somewhat interesting.

Great job with the podcasting and am looking forward to hearing next week’s episode.

From Michael

————————-

P.S.    I tried to leave an iReport from my iPad, but couldn’t find an Info button, or any other button to create and submit a report, otherwise I would have loved to talk about what I wrote.

Michael’s World

Visually Impaired Student

www.mts.net/~wefour

From James Mannion

Hi everyone,

I really enjoy many of the podcasts on SPN including both That Android show and Triple Click Home. I listened to Serotalk 143 and really appreciated Mike’s comments concerning the horrable inconsiderate selfish Samsung suit. I completely agreed with Mike’s assessment, but find myself looking for anything if there is truly something to go on at this point that gives us reason to be confident that they are not going to have success either there and then here in the US or launch the same thing in the US with or without their success in Germany. Yes it is wrong on every moral and technical level when you consider that the end result they are asking for is for Apple not to be allowed to provide us access and possibly for no one to be able to. Do we necessarily have confidence that judges care about that though. I use my phone for a lot every day and it makes me sick to think that maybe just around the cornor Samsung is going to be taking that away from me in their own selfish inconsiderate persuit of more billions of dollars. I also understand that they are just using us as a pon in that persuit as well. I find myself quite concerned about it wishing I had reason to be confident it is dead and put in its rightful place.

Jim

Another email from James Mannion

Hi,

I have a speaker recommendation for Mike Calvo to check out and review. They are the Vanatoo Transparent one speakers. They are sold on amazon and on their own site, http://www.vanatoo.com/ I have been using them for a while now as computer speakers and I also have an airport express hooked up to them as well for airplay streaming. I would give them a 9 out of 10 for sound for sure. They have numerous connectivity options that prove very convenient. They look fantastic. I sold my Bose Companion 20 speakers after coming across these in a store and buying them that day. The Bose sounded pretty good some of the time, other than when something was playing that hit on that 60 hz bass hump they had and if you could ignore their constant club echo sound. Yes the bose companion 20 sounded amazing for their size, but I didn’t care they were smaller than they could have been and those sound characteristics took something away from them. You might want to check out these Vanatoo speakers. They are pretty cool.

Roundabout

Why Did Bach Go Blind?

Virtual boy teaches autistic children social skills

Blindness not stopping ex-cop

Recommended Reading

As promised, here is a link to the excellent book Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin that Jamie mentioned during our Roundabout segment.

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

Welcome to another SeroTalk Guycast. This time around, Jamie Pauls is joined by Rodney Edgar, Peter Bossley and Mike Calvo. Can anyone guess what story Mike wanted to talk about? Here’s a hint. Mike doesn’t appear until we begin talking about news in the world of assistive technology. As much as you might want to, don’t skip ahead because you won’t want to miss any of our stories this week.

Internet advertisers kill text-based CAPTCHA

Find the McDonald’s/Burger King hack funny? Just imagine full-blown corporate cyberwar

Google warns of an increase in attempted account hijackings

Google Stock Hits $800 For First Time Ever

Google Stores: Google to open retail stores in 2013

Surface won’t dominate but it’s a ‘real business,’ says Ballmer

Bill Gates ‘not satisfied’ with Microsoft’s innovations

Wozniak warns Apple must stay ‘cool’ — or else

Samsung struggles to block iPhone function for the blind

After his Samsung rant, Jamie urges Mike to relax, have an Espresso and listen to some calming music on his Bose SoundLink mobile wireless speaker.

State of Touch Typing – Fleksy goes free

 Window-Eyes 8.1 is now available!

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

Sacred Texts: Where to Get Them in Alternate Media

Microsoft now has a support desk for people with disabilities

New Database Helps Employers Find Employees with Disabilities

QCast: Easy accessible podcasts

Low Vision Shopping Woes – Can You Relate?

Roundabout

A sensational breakthrough: the first bionic hand that can feel

LivesOn: Twitter ghost keeps tweeting when you’re dead

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

In our first podcast of the new year, Jamie, Ricky and Joe ring out the old year and bring in the new with a few surprises thrown in along the way. Stories addressed in this episode include:

SeroSpectives: This year in Assistive Tech for 2012

That Android Show Episode 13: A Long Look At The Nexus 7

The 100 tech trends of 2012, ranked in order

12 Buzzwords You’ll Hear in 2013

Mossberg’s predictions. 2013: Talk Gets Cheaper, TV Gets Smarter

Android in 2013: What to expect  

Twitter Now Valued at $11 Billion, Analyst Says

Foursquare Updates Privacy Policy to Display Full Names

Apple Says ‘Do Not Disturb’ Bug to Resolve Itself on Monday, January 7th

Apple is already testing the iPhone 6 

Is Apple Plotting A Route To A Waze Acquisition? Rumours On The Road Point To Yes

iPad Mini 2 rumors have already begun to spread. Don’t expect them to die down 

What iPad Mini owners hate about the iPad Mini

The netbook may be dead, but there’s no escaping its legacy

Volunteers describe Rose Parade to blind spectators.

New York Times for iPhone Updated with Improved Accessibility

Pat Pound updates her list of 70+ accessible iPhone apps

Mailbag

From Mike Arigo

Hey, merry Christmas to everyone!

I also think the Kindle app needs to be accessible on all platforms, I don’t think anyone will be opposed to that. Joe is right, to say that something is accessible on the platform you use is sufficient is narrow minded to say the least.

Regarding the new mobile accessibility, about the only thing it may provide now for a jellybean user is better braille display support.

Google has released a beta of braille back that now provides grade 2 braille, so that is covered. Other than that, I can’t think of any reason to spend $100 on it. Jellybean provides everything that mobile accessibility provides. If someone still has a phone running gingerbread, it might be worth considering. Since I had purchased it previously, I tried it, the screen reader part of it does work with jellybean gestures now so that’s a good thing. I ended up uninstalling it though because it didn’t offer any advantage.

Blog Comment: Niral Sheth

ITunes 11 has some challenges.

It is impossible to get to the universal access button through the summery tab in iTunes 11.  I was on the phone with a senior level technitian for over an hour and we got no where. Finally I decided to just restore back from my previous settings.  Please get on Apple and tell them that we need to see the universal button in a easier way.<

Roundabout

Samsung’s latest robot vacuum could make its official debut at CES 

The Blind Dog and His Seeing-Eye Cat

After a bit of an absence, Jamie, Ricky and Joe are back with another podcast. Did you miss us? We decided to let the rest of the Serotek team have their say with our 2012 SPN holiday review special. In addition to our holiday review special, Ricky Enger, Mike Calvo and Joe Steinkamp sat down to discuss the current state of mobile accessibility in our latest SPN Mobile special: Scratching the Surface with Mike Calvo.

In SeroTalk Podcast 133, we discuss the top news of the week. Then, Jamie Pauls sits down with Dennis of Aftershokz to discuss the company’s latest generation of bone conduction headphones. And now, it’s time for the news!

Syria suffers Internet ‘blackout’; cut off from the outside world

Apple releases iTunes 11 with “dramatically simplified user interface”

Analyst: Apple’s iPad 4 is not selling well. Why? Blame the Mini

iPod Creator: Scott Forstall ‘Got What He Deserved’

Apple SVP Eddy Cue Fires Richard Williamson For Botching Apple Maps

Report: Apple bumps Android from top spot in U.S. smartphone market on strength of iPhone 5

Apple Sold 11 iPads Per Hour On Black Friday While Microsoft Sold Zero Surface Tablets

Windows 8 off to a slow start with consumers in month one, says NPD

Pricing for Microsoft’s Surface Pro Revealed; $899 for 64GB, $999 for 128GB

RIM’s Stock Up 55% in Past 30 Days on BlackBerry 10 Optimism

AT&T is the worst-rated wireless carrier for the third year in a row, according to Consumer Reports

Google+ chief: Facebook is the social network of the past

Like it or not, nonreplaceable CPUs may be the future of desktops

Every computer term you’ve ever wanted to know, explained in our tech dictionary:

Barnes And Noble’s Nook App Gets VoiceOver And Zoom Accessibility

Everything you ever wanted to know about iMessage – in a braille booklet

New Podcast: YouPlayer: Not Just Another YouTube App for iOS … it’s one that Claims Full VoiceOverSupport!

Navigating the Windows8 Start screen with the Keyboard

Mailbag

Blog comment from Jim

Roundabout

Smart specs may replace guide dogs

the voice behind Siri (interview with Kerin Jacobson)

Welcome to our second annual guycast here on the SeroTalk Podcast. This time around, Buddy Brannan joins Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp to hash over the top news of the week. The stories covered in this episode include:

Microsoft confirms Windows Phone 8 launch on October 29 in San Francisco

Details for RIM’s Blackberry 10 superphone surface

RIM releases BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1

New patent hints at Google Glass wristwatch

iPad mini reportedly in mass production for introduction this month

The iPad Mini Will Have 3G [REPORT]

Apple iPad Mini Could Complicate Things For Windows 8 Tablets

Apple is Now the Second Most Valuable Brand in the World [REPORT]

Wozniak: Apple May Decline, But Not Because It Lost Steve Jobs

National Federation of the Blind Takes On E-Text Pilots

FS Cast 70: Jaws with Flexible Web

JAWS 14.0 public beta 2 including Flexible Web is here!

Blind young people aren’t well connected to the internet … yet

ADA week article: I’m no superhero

Mailbag

Email from Mike Arigo

Hey, great show as always. regarding the maps program in IOS 6, apparently it does not provide automatic turn by turn directions in walk mode. For blind people, this is a major disadvantage. With google maps on android, it provides automatic directions for driving, walking, and even public transit, it will automatically tell you what bus to take and when to exit the bus. I would say Apple’s maps app has a long way to go.

Roundabout

Researchers say Gainesville, Fla., is America’s ‘pirate capital’

Digital music sales set to break record

New Study Links Caffeinated Coffee To Vision Loss

View the Accessible Event archive of our SPN special: Accessibility Anywhere

Here are the links that accompanied the Accessible Event presentation of our SPN special: Accessibility Anywhere:

Our Story at Ten

Lack of Sight Doesn’t Mean Lack of vision.

System Access: the Alternative Commitment

What is the Future of Screen Readers Anyway?

” Mike Calvo at the General Session of the 47th Annual ACB Convention

” Mike Calvo Presents at the General Session of the 68th Annual NFB Convention

Remote Incident Manager

Mike Calvo reviews the iGrill.

Out of the Ghetto and into the Digital Lifestyle

Anywhere, Everywhere, That’s Accessibility

We were the first to say that Twitter would be important.

DocuScan Plus

SeroTalk Podcast Network

The Serotek Ultimatum

Rest in Peace SMA

SAMNet Vets

Anywhere, Everywhere, That’s Accessibility

First Ever Freedom Box Talk.

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

Join us live on Accessible Event this Thursday, August 23, beginning at 9 PM Eastern.

One of the misconceptions about Serotek is that we are a traditional software vendor. that is partially true. Our cloud-based screen reading technology, OCR package, webinar platform and social network are features that have each disrupted the way traditional assistive technology manufacturers meet and mingle with consumers, but for us, it was never enough to drop products into a supply and demand chain to feed our bottom line.

Serotek was launched in response to the elite class system that existed at the outset of the 21st century. If you could spare $1,200 in 2002, you could buy a copy of a screen reader, minus the cost of a software maintenance agreement. If you could fork over almost $1,500 more, you could buy the computer systems that worked best with the expensive screen reader. We rejected the idea that access had to come with a price tag, and we set out to build a line of products that would be equally attainable for all blind people regardless of their income status. It never made sense to us that the only people who could afford to keep their products up-to-date were those with well-paying jobs or active cases with their states’ rehab agencies. Ten years later a number of people continue to agree with us.

Our model of grassroots enterprise has propelled Serotek to a position of leadership in the assistive technology industry. We build products we ourselves use in our personal and professional lives. The fact that the majority of our staff is blind is key in that we know what our customers are looking for and understand what they can reasonably afford.. When we plant new products, we cultivate them with an eye to the community’s reaction, because our community was as responsible for our creation as it continues to be for our mutual success.

Our products are constantly evolving with emerging technology. What is relevant today may be forgotten next week. We count on our examination of breaking developments through our SeroTalk Podcast Network and feedback from you to tell us where we need to pull back and where we need to concentrate our efforts. That is the essence of a community-driven operation.

Today we are excited to see so many choices in how we approach daily tasks. There are several ways to read newspapers, listen to music, chat with friends, and play games alongside our sighted peers. It is now possible to walk into an Apple store and walk out with a fully accessible operating system, and for people who choose not to buy into Apple products, that’s okay because this too is your choice. Now, in a continuing effort to keep pace with the times, we want to give you one more option.

Serotek is a company by the people for the people, and that mentality took us back to the drawing board to think of an even better way to bring you the products you need at a price you can afford.

Consider this: How much will you get for $21.95 these days? Well, you may score a Friday night date to the movie theater if you skip refreshments. You could swing a nice dinner if the restaurant is not too nice and your date agrees to go Dutch. You could maybe buy a gift online for that special occasion, if free shipping is included. These days it seems our transactions are ruled by conditions, but at Serotek, we are going to give you the kitchen sink without sacrifices.

For $21.95 a month, or $240 a year, how would you like all the benefits of DocuScan Plus, System Access, and SAMNet? What would you say if we told you that this incredibly low price will see you through all future upgrades with absolutely no interruption in your service? And, what kind of 21st century operation would we be without these products coming to a mobile device near you?

When we speak of accessibility anywhere, we literally mean it is possible for you to take these tools on the go and have instant access to e-mail, documents, movies, your music library, and social networks from any available computer. Whether from a thumb drive or from the convenience of logging into SA to Go, you have as much access to the information you need as your neighbors. Gone are the days of paying a premium price for access that should by all accounts be affordable to the students, professionals and everyday consumers who demand instant access to online content, where ever they are..

Why step back from conventional pricing structures? Two reasons:

First, your time is valuable. When you call or write, you do not want half a dozen variations. You want a simple price and a compelling list of features to make that price worthwhile.

Second, we want to thank you for making us a leader in assistive technology. With so many choices, you have chosen to invest in our mission of putting cutting edge technology into the hands of as many blind consumers as we can reach. $21.95 a month grants you unlimited access to three competitive products and gives you a stake in the future course of a company devoted to keeping pace with emerging technology. We believe you deserve a permanent place at the table where innovative minds are busy bringing universal access one step closer.

At home, in school, at work, and on the streets, Serotek is working day in and day out to make accessibility anywhere a tangible reality. Will you join our thriving community of thinkers and doers? Visit this link to get started.

Welcome to another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast where Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie Pauls and Stuart Lawler discuss the current state of accessibility with regard to Blackberry phones. Stories covered in this week’s podcast include:

AT

WebVisum Abandoned by its developers

Save Webvisum! and still use it for now.

Previewing Fleksy: A Revolutionary Text Input System for Blind and Low Vision Users of Touch

Vocalizer voices for NVDA

How to Order Walmart Talking Prescription Containers

General Tech

Think Before You Click

What happens when you report abuse on Facebook?

OS X Mountain Lion To Hit Mac App Store On July 19 [Rumor]

 Apple’s Eyes Free coming to Chevy Spark, Sonic

Google ramping up development of Android Siri rival

Confirmed: Flame created by US and Israel to slow Iranian nuke program

RIM Drops Playbook Price By 66%

 RIM Manufacturing Partner Pulls the Plug On BlackBerry Phones

 Microsoft

Why Microsoft’s Surface Tablet Shames the PC Industry

Microsoft Surface shows Apple could be wrong

Windows Phone 8 Unveiled

Windows Phone 8 – What they didn’t reveal at the Summit

 Microsoft just made your Windows Phone device obsolete

Why Windows Phone 8 means the BlackBerry is doomed

Carrier support a must for Windows Phone 8 success

Mailbag

Hi Serotalk,

I hope you’re all well. Just wanted to tell you about a meeting I had the opportunity to attend on Friday at the National Council for the Blind of Ireland. Greg Fields, the Senior Project Manager from Research In Motion’s Accessibility Team discussed and presented the new Blackberry screen-reader.

I must admit to entering the presentation with a skeptical mind, but to my surprise I was actually quite impressed.

Firstly, Greg very much gave the impression that there is now a genuine commitment to accessibility within RIM, that it is now part of the culture from the top down. If this is the case, it can only be good for us. The screen-reader is currently available for four handsets I believe, but there is a commitment to making it available for all future handsets.

The current handsets are operated using the hardware keyboard only, but he envisages, probably after the release of Blackberry 10, that it will also work on touch screen handsets too, and that it could come pre-loaded.

Given the expected disappearance of Symbian phones, and the fact that many people do not like touch only devices like the iPhone, I think that Blackberry could well offer people a great option. I had a chance to play with it for a few minutes, and although I prefer touch screens myself (and love my iPhone), I could definitely see the potential of this software. It seemes intuitive and functional. I personally struggle to type on a small hardware QWERTY keyboard, but those who like them such as Joe might find Blackberry a great option.

He didn’t tell us a huge amount about Blackberry 10, but what he did say sounded promising. As well as the native apps, it seems that they are going to make it as easy as possible for third party developers to make there apps accessible. Many apps may though also be just accessible by accident due to the way the OS works. I won’t be surprised if this refresh does mean that there is room in the market for Blackberry going forward. If it is successful in the mainstream, it could be something the blind community adopt too.

Some useful links are:

www.blackberry.com/accessibility

www.blackberry.com/screenreader

and Stuart Lawler of the NCBI has recorded some demos. His website is:

www.stuartlawler.ie

Keep up the good work.

Regards

Dave

Dublin, Ireland

I just bought the aftershokz with mike (the kind you speak into.)  I had already decided I’d like to try them and Dennis directed me to your podcast which was good in that it confirmed the utility and safety for use with my IPhone.

But, I did have a strange thought while listening:

What would happen if the wearer placed his/her head against that of another person?  Damn, a new way to transfer data, depending I suppose on amount of hair, location and amount of head areas making contact.?

Doug

Hi Ricky,

I just finished listening to your last podcast, (110) .  One  of the small things mentioned on the show was about  the ‘universal off remote .  You said you wanted that, and I thought — so do I.   So I went looking  for one, and found this website.  I think I’ll get one!   They are cheap and small.  They look like they are key chains. 

http://www.tvbgone.com/cfe_tvbg_main.php

Have fun, thanks for the podcast!

Pat

hi, i appreciate your podcasts very much. As you mentioned Blindsquare, here is my favorite iPhone navi app: MyWay Classic. It’s much like the popular Loadstone app for Symbian but even better.

Throughout OSM import, you can have offline access to POI, intersections and streets. For more details see also http://gps.sbv-fsa.ch/, the developers support site.

best regards Pierre-Yves

Roundabout

The paralyzed man who tweets with his eyes, and wants to die

In this week’s podcast, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp must do battle with a thunderstorm and a really loud lawn mower. There is one casualty as a result of the ensuing battle, but the show must go on and so it does. Who is forced off the island, so to speak? What are the top stories of the week? All of that and more awaits you as you listen to this week’s episode!

Entertainment

Dick Clark dies at age 82; fans pay tribute on Twitter

Social Media

Twitter’s no-lawsuit pledge: “We will not join the patent wars”

Why Facebook needs to build a browser

Legal Department

Apple and Samsung to meet out of court for settlement chat

Apple prepared to go to trial in the US over e-book pricing

Internet

Ex-FBI cyberexpert: Potential for digital Pearl Harbor is real

FedEx Office teams up with Google Cloud Print

Windows

5 Computer Maintenance Tips You Should Not Ignore!

Computer Maintenance Tools Available In Windows 7

How to bring the Start menu back to Windows 8

Cell Phones

Verizon’s 4G LTE blankets two-thirds of U.S. population

Next iPhone said to ditch glass for Liquidmetal, arrive in June

Carriers ponder Apple iPhone subsidy uprising: Will it work?

Will Windows Phone 8 makers be more free to tweak the OS?

Ebooks

Publishers Call for Industry Cohesion on Accessible e-Books

Why e-book DRM will die, and why this will make no difference to Amazon and Apple

AT

Learning Ally Audio App for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Product Evaluation: BrailleNote Apex from HumanWare

Roundabout

Are Internet Friends Real Friends?

In part two of our three-part special, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp continue their interviews from CSUN 2012.

 Switch Equipment iPad

Book Share

Optelec

Design Science

Magnisight

HIMS

Job Accomodation Network

Isist

Learning Ally

On this week’s podcast, Mike Calvo joins Jamie Pauls, Joe Steinkamp and Ricky Enger live from the Road To CSUN.

Be sure and listen to all of our CSUN coverage on SPN Radio.

You can also listen to Triple Click Home Episode 4: Beefed Up Book Reader Thing and an upcoming episode of That Android Show coming very soon.

After their visit with Mike, Jamie, Joe and Ricky tackle the news of the week.

AT

Neal Ewers’ Review Of The Olympus Ls100 is now available on Blind Cool Tech.

Extra Extra Read All About It: Exciting Sendero Announcements

Blind Bargains: Ask the Readers: What Would You Pay for a Truly Accessible Phone-based GPS System

@ariadneGPS: Version 2.0 is on the store. Podcast on the web site at http://www.ariadnegps.eu/

Georgia Tech’s BrailleTouch is a Braille writer for iPhone

Apple

Beatles Ringtones Come to Apple’s iTunes Store

Apple’s latest sandboxing deadline delay signals moving goalpost for devs

Rumor Mill

Ignore Microsoft, Office will be coming to the iPad real soon

Smaller iPad in ‘testing stage,’ says research firm

Don’t discount Apple’s interest in a smaller iPad, says analyst

iPhone 5 rumoured for autumn, not summer

iPhone and Android apps now required to have privacy policies

Mailbag

Among the many emails we received for this week’s podcast, Dave from Dublin, Ireland provides a link to some accessibility features of Sky TV, available in the UK and Ireland.

Round About

Google to release heads-up display glasses before the end of the year: what can we expect?

@AccessSanDiego: San Diego Zoo has an Accessibility Guide in Braille! Get it at Guest Relations.

Is Skype a social network? Microsoft’s dark horse has legs…

‘Smart cows’ can text owners when mooood strikes

Contact The Show

Feel free to write us by sending a message to: resources@serotalk.com

Follow the SeroTalk Podcast on Twitter

This week, as Joe Steinkamp sails the high seas and eats food of all kinds, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Lisa Salinger discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Jamie Pauls visits with Mike Calvo about two Bluetooth headsets that work with devices such as an iPhone. Next, Mike reviews a couple of devices which can make players such as the iPod Nano or Victor Reader Stream Bluetooth-compatible.

 CES

What mattered on CES Day 1

5 CES gadgets that caught our eye

Nuance gets jump on voice activated TV

RIM touts BlackBerry PlayBook OS: Better late than never?

Will tablets eventually replace laptops?

What you won’t see at CES: Ebook readers

Stronger Gorilla Glass 2 means thinner touch screens

Apple News

Apple to host January 19 ‘education event’ in New York

iPhone turns 5 years old on January 9^th

Comcast AnyPlay will stream live TV to your iPad

Strong sales of iPhone 4S a precursor to ‘monster’ launch of redesigned ‘iPhone 5’

iPhone cannibalizing Android sales

Self Promotion

Listen to That Android Show and Triple-click Home for the latest Android and Apple news

SeroSpectives: Dining in The Light

Listen to Lisa Salinger share her life-altering story with Debbie Hazelton on ACB Radio Mainstream

AT News

Code Factory’s Mobile Accessibility Free to Sprint Customers [with demo video]

GW Micro has a new GW-Apps list

Feature Writer Alena Roberts – The Quest to Create a Low Cost Braille Display

Upcoming New ADA Rules Will Prompt ATM Overhauls

Navigon v2.01 discussion on AppleVis

Roundabout

Intel Exploring Ways to Help Stephen Hawking Speak

Blame the Internet: London’s burglars won’t even steal CDs, DVDs

What delights the senses more than leftover fruitcake, is more exciting than freezing in Times Square, and will change your life more than another batch of New Year’s resolutions? It’s This Year in Technology. Come join our guests: J.J. Meddaugh of Blind Bargains fame, as well as Joe Steinkamp and Jamie Pauls from Serotek, as they count down the top ten technology-related events that shaped 2011, and reveal their choice for Number One!

JANUARY

show notes page from TMIAT Jan 2011

Stories

Zoom Reader

Hope for Pandora

NVDA needs your help to continue on

Kindle for PC

FEBRUARY

Show notes page for Feb TMIAT

The Cobra Screen Reader emerges

MARCH

Show notes for March TMIAT

ATT to buy T Mobile

Mobile Accessibility for Android released

Launch of Android Access.net

Horizons for the Blind and A T Guys Join Forces to Launch Cutting Edge Product Information using Bar Codes

Here are some additional technology Top Ten Lists for your enjoyment.

The most popular stories of 2011 from Ars Technica

Mashable’s Top Ten iOS apps of 2011

ZDNet’s Top 10 Security Stories in 2011

8 Jokes, Memes and Parady Accounts of 2011

The best and worst of Sci Fi TV in 2011

APRIL

Show notes for TMIT

Mozilla launches the Aurora Channel for new Accessibility features

MAY

Show Notes for May TMIAT

Microsoft dials up Skype

DocuScan Plus launches for the Mac

Bureau of Engraving launches money reader app for iOS

Chromium OS has built in screen reader

JUNE

show notes for June TMIAT

Here come the Chromebooks

JULY

Show notes for July TMIT

code Factory releases the Accessible Browser and Music Player for Android

The BookSense 2.3 update includes Voice Recognition

Blio for iOS released

NVDA gets grant from Mozilla

Apple unleashes a Lion to the Mac App Store

Google Labs shutting down

AUGUST

Show notes for July TIMT

Steve Jobs Resigns

Google Plus Keyboard Accessibility

ACB/Google Survey on computer usage

Nuance acquires Loquendo

SEPTEMBER

Show Notes for September TMIAT

Microsoft talks Windows 8

Facebook launches major redesign

Here is a list of the Top Five things that Serotek has done this past year.

5 DocuScan Plus launches for the Mac

4 iBlink Radio for Android makes Apple Vis Hall of fame

3 SAM Vets Program

2 The launch of SPN, new shows and some guy as a new host of a little old show called SeroTalk

1 The community! It sounds silly but its true. Either you guys passing around the April Fool’s GTO Notetaker announcement, the 13 days of Christmas with matt and the Guide Dogs or the wonderful way people tell other people about our convention coverage or the Rose Bowl parade. The community is at the heart of it all and we sincerely thank all of you!

OCTOBER

Show notes for October TMIAT

Tribute to Steve Jobs

Siri and the iPhone 4s

Kindle Fire, down in flames!

NOVEMBER

Show notes for November TMIAT

OCR add on for NVDA

Robot Guide Dogs?

Google releases Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich

DECEMBER

AT&T withdraws bid for T Mobile

GW Skype

Top Ten list

10 Chrome OS includes ChromeVox ScreenReader
9 Ipplex Releases $1.99 LookTel Money Reader for iOS Devices

8 Google unleashes Android Ice Cream Sandwich with Explore by Touch and other accessibility improvements

7 NFB Blind Driver Challenge
6 GW Skype Released, controversy abounds over ads in software

5 Steve Jobs dies
4 Code Factory Releases Mobile Accessibility for Android
3 Apple to launch iPhone 4S simultaneously with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint
2 Demise of Qwitter accessible Twitter client, replacements emerge
1 Amazon Kindle Fire released, completely inaccessible

If you would like to share your thoughts with us, leave us a message in iBlink via iReport, or drop us an email resources@serotek.com

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Jamie Pauls and Mike Calvo discuss three Christmas gift ideas for the holiday season. Items reviewed by Mike include:

Twelve South PlugBug All-in-One Dual Charger for MacBook and iPad, iPhone, or iPod

Price: $34.99

Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker

List Price: $249.00

Price: $149.40

50 NESPRESSO Capsules Varieties COFFEE NEW

Price: $53.89

The news stories covered in this week’s podcast include the following:

Holidays and Shopping

Having a Secret Santa gift exchange at work? These gifts, all under $20, are useful, memorable, and just plain cool

Why you should avoid cheap tablets

Amazon Kindle Fire owners are reporting a Wi-Fi bug

Hackers hit supermarket self-checkout lanes, steal money from shoppers

More people were affected by a Lucky Supermarkets credit card scam than initially thought

U.S. smartphone owners gravitate towards mobile shopping (survey)

Apple

Apple’s secret code names for iOS revealed

Do you miss Snow Leopard? Lion Secrets can help take you back

The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

System Access: The Alternative Commitment

Apple interested in improving noise cancellation via voice recognition: Apple is investigating the use of user-s…

Downcast v2.5 is now available with iCloud sync support, revamped video player, many bug fixes and much more.

Behringer Announces 700 Pound, 10,000 Watt, $30,000 iPhone Dock..

Browsing

Facebook Accessibility feedback form

Facebook to launch a Subscribe button for websites

Gowalla confirms: Facebook acquires location-based social network

How Google can deal a death blow to Firefox

Avoiding Common Website Accessibility Mistakes

Symantec: Spam is at its lowest level in almost three years

Mailbag

Once again we present emails, BLAB line calls, and iReports from our listeners.

Round About

Vet fights for mobility iBOT has given him

Voice controls let blind gamer ‘hang’ with friends online

Can sitting all day make your butt bigger?

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp once again discuss the top news stories of the week. Stories which we discuss in this episode include:

Big story

Are carriers responsible for mobile tracking software

Tech News Today discusses this story beginning with episode 384.

They continue the discussion in episode 385.

Apple

2 reports of iPhones smoking

You asked for it, now here it is! @LookTel releases a performance update today that significantly improves recognition performance!

iPad, iPhone, iPod touch are children’s 3 most-wanted gifts  

Holida Shopping

The 10 Most Awesome Apps You Need To Buy This Holiday Season

Last Christmas for tax free Internet shopping?: Washington Times | A bipartisan consensus appears to be forming …

The best tech gifts for under $50

Enjoy a feast of the 50 free apps we’re most thankful for

Those barcode-looking things? They’re called QR codes. Here’s what they do.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday euphoria: Clicks cannibalize bricks

How to get notified when prices drop on Amazon

Technology news

Amazon Releases Kindle Source Code

AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile Looks Less Likely Than Ever

Facebook Just Made A Major Deal With The Government To Protect User’s Privacy

WordPress launches WordAds ad program in partnership with Federated Media

Microsoft rolls out public beta for latest Security Essentials

Assistive Technology

Window-Eyes 7.5.2 is Now Available!

NVDA 2011.3 Released!

New enhanced firmware 4.47 for Milestone 312 & 212 DAISY Players / Recorders now available

The BookSense Master is coming soon!  

BookSense Master is companion software for BookSense and BookSense XT…

ZoomText 10 Has Arrived!

@NFB_voice: Good news: you can now access our flagship publication, the Braille Monitor, on @NFB_NEWSLINE!

A new method for solving captchas is in the works. Will it work better than existing solutions?

On SPN

We discuss the following podcasts available on the SeroTalk Podcast Network:

This Month In AT for November

That Android Show 3 This is what a row of books sounds like

Mailbag:

We respond to several emails this month. We always appreciate your feedback, so keep those emails, tweets, calls, and iReports coming.

Round about

Disney Web Access Case Settles Before Trial

Research: Handwriting Communication System Could Let the Visually Impaired Feel Their Messages

New cane for the blind uses Foursquare checkins to locate nearby friends

View show notes for Serospectives: This Month In Assistive Technology For November 2011

Play Accessible Event archive of Serospectives: This Month In Assistive Technology For November 2011

This week, Jamie Pauls, Joe Steinkamp, and Mike Calvo discuss the news of the week. Also, Mike reviews several SoundDock options from bose for iOS and other devices including the following:

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker – Nylon

Bose SoundDock Portable Digital Music System (Gloss Black

Bose SoundDock Series II Digital Music System for iPod (Black

AT

The twitmonger users list is now active. subscribe using twitmonger_users-subscribe@lists.shaned.net

Qwitter replacement in alpha testing. go to: http://twitmonger.shaned.net/ and grab a copy.

I’ve modified Qwitter 4.5.1 to use the new API, so it can now receive direct messages. Also added mentions streaming.

Purchase Hope, the accessible PC client for Pandora which is still in active development by Christopher Toth.

NVDA 2011.3rc1 released!

HumanWare is seeking input on the future of the Victor Reader Stream via Survey Gizmo

ZoomText 10 feature leak alert – introducing the ZoomText Camera!

November 2011 AccessWorld is now live! Holiday edition (gift ideas 4 ppl w/vision loss)

Self Promotion

Serotek Conquers a New Frontier for Blind Veterans.

SeroSpectives Deck the Dogs.. and the Canes Too!

Amazon

New on Suntimes: My review of the Kindle Fire. At last, a great alternative to the iPad.

The Kindle Fire is getting great reviews … except not. Wired: Is This Really The Tablet Everyone’s Talking about?

A Kindle smartphone may be coming in 2012

U.S. authors: Kindle lending library is ‘contract breach’

Amazon’s cloud is the world’s 42nd fastest supercomputer:

Holidays

NFB – National Federation of the Blind Partners with Santa to Promote Braille Literacy:

Assistive Technology for Young Children: A Parent’s Perspective – YouTube

Chicago Lighthouse pairs with electronics retailer to help the visually impaired

Starbucks Holiday Cups Come to Life With Augmented Reality App

Google

DAISY Player for Android goes live, on sales for a limited time. :Darwin Reader Website:

Best Android Apps and options for disabled users

Ivona free update for Android voices

Google Music hits almost all the high notes

Cloud Music Showdown: Google vs. Amazon vs Apple

Apple

Apple launches iTunes Match: music hoarders need not apply:

How to Enable iTunes Match On Your iPhone or iPad: Apple released iTunes Match today, and users can now access t…

More on iTunes Match’s new ID3 tags

Apple Can’t Handle The Demand For iTunes Match, Temporarily Halts New Sign-Ups

Apple kicks off worldwide iPod nano first-generation replacement program

Apple’s iCloud inaccessible for some users

iPhone owners might want to avoid iOS 5.0.1 update

RT @papasangre: I’m back. Hit the App Store now-ish.

Tests suggests iPhone battery issue not a hardware problem

The iPhone 5 Was Real, Says A Source Who Played With A Prototype

Mac OS X has its own sandbox security hole:

Apple fixes iTunes man-in-the-middle security hole

OS X Lion growth stagnates at 16% Mac market share

Web stats indicate Mac OS X Lion still growing very fast

MacBook Air supplies almost one-third of Apple notebook sales:

Sirispective

A Comprehensive Audio Demonstration of Siri

Siri’s security sabotaged, developer releases crack tools

SPN Launches Triple Click Home

Kickers

Support new regulations encouraging service dog relief areas within security @ airports.

[NFBAustin] awesome BELL Video, complete

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Jamie visits with Mike Calvo about the release of his first book, Cloudy With a Chance of Profits.

Purchase Cloudy With A Chance of Profits in the iBook Store.

Purchase Cloudy With A Chance of Profits in the Kindle store.

General Tech

Stanford researchers crack Captcha

Pay Pal Wallet coming soon

Amazon launches a lending library with little enthusiasm from publishers

Microsoft

The end of an era: Internet Explorer drops below 50% of Web usage –

Are Windows PCs already falling to smartphones and tablets?

Windows 7 continues to roll as XP fades away

Social

One in five willing to make Facebook friends with complete strangers

Forget Your Facebook Password? Your “Trusted Friends” Could Help

AT

GW Micro announces the Read Easy Plus

What’s new in Humanware’sKeysoft 9.2

The NLS Materials Development Division Modifies the Digital Talking Book Management Software

Create Accessible DAISY Multimedia with Tobi – Version 1.5 Now Available

Outlook 2010 Keyboard Commands with Jaws, Window-Eyes and System Access is now available from National Braille Press In braille, eBraille, or Word, for $6.00:

The new Blind Mice mart design is now live

Inmates read for the Blind with new recording studio

If you have a Symbian Ana or Belle phone and wish to beta test Mobile Speak, please send us an email to beta@codefactory.es

Apple

Possible culprit and a possible temporary fix found for iPhone 4S battery-drain problem

Customers complaining of audio problems on iPhone 4s

Apple Releases GarageBand for iPhone

Updated information on obtaining a refund for inaccessible iOS apps:

Siri, how much data do you gobble up in a month?

: 10 things blind people can teach us about Apple’s Siri on the iPhone 4S.

If you use Braille with your iPhone, iPad or iPod, there’s a Braille User Group on AppleVis to connect with others:

Apple mulling end of life for Mac Pro line, report says | Apple Talk – CNET News –

Mac Store Apps must adhere  to Sandboxing by March 2011

Google

Gmail changes, again

Google designs, welcome to dullsville

Google Maps to start charging for API usage

Android powerd shoes for the Blind and visually impaired

Mail Bag

iReport from Anthony Garcia on Twitter for the iPhone and PDF reading

iReport Scott from South Carolina on the storage story from SeroTalk 82

Email by mike arigo

Hey, enjoyed the newest pod cast. A few comments. That was interesting about the male and female TTS voices. I’ve heard the Tom voice in some airports, and of course that is mostly what is used on the weather radio as well, though they also have a female voice that is used at times. That impression Ricky did of Daniel was great, got a real kick out of that. As far as the Macintosh not being as good for productivity, I guess it depends on what you want to do. For Office suites, Iwork on the mac is quite accessible, and Open Office is useable, though the way it announces some things takes a bit of getting used to. One spreadsheet program many users use is called tables. As far as Microsoft Office itself, there is really nothing Apple can do about that. Microsoft seems unwilling to develop office using standard operating system controls, and unless they do that, it will never be accessible. Apple has done their part, but if Microsoft Office is ever going to be accessible on the mac, we need to let Microsoft know how important this is to us. Of course, they may just say, our office product works fine on Windows just use that. Of course, that’s not the answer, but Microsoft needs to realize that.

Kickers

Braille Song becomes a reality

Pepsi Sound of Football

Why fingernails down a blackboard cause us to cringe via Wired

Kinnect mod allows for rumble navigation for the Blind and Visually Impaired

A voice-controlled future is finally upon us

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Mike Calvo, Jamie Pauls, Patrick Purdue, and Lisa Salinger discuss the pros and cons of the iPad and the Mac Book Air for productivity. This concludes our four-part series on the Mac Book Air.

AT

JAWS 13 has been officially released!

An Immersion into JAWS for Windows 12 Textbook is now available.

Download Cathyanne Murtha’s Windows 7 textbooks free of charge

Article by Thad McIlroy: Amazon’s Kindle Format 8 versus EPUB 3 [The Future of Publishing]

New post up where we talk about what went right/wrong with making Stem Stumper.

Nokia Screen Reader is based on @codefactory technology. Screenshots

Google

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

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

Google Engineer Apologizes for “Great-Granddaddy of Reply-All Screwups”

Jobs Wanted To Destroy Android

Apple

‘Steve Jobs’ by Walter Isaacson – Review (Janet Maslin / New York Times)

60 Minutes on Steve Jobs: The full video

Apple designer says Jobs made things happen, but stole ideas in the process.  

10 years ago, Apple’s iPod changed how we listen to music. But is the iPod still relevant?

Apple quietly updates MacBook Pro lineup with faster CPUs, graphics

5 AppleVis Users have now recommended Focus for Facebook:

Siri Resources

Siri and iCloud Turn the iPhone’s Notes App into a Powerful Tool

Here’s how to correct Siri if she gets your dictations wrong.

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

Rumor Mill

Apple building prototype televisions for potential 2012 launch – report

Apple rumored to be building iPad 3 with new, smaller dock connector

General

Netflix says it lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers, but revenue hits record high

Ready for a Shortage of Hard Drives?

Massive 15-year study finds no link between cell phones, cancer:

Skype can be used to tie users to illegal download activity

Kickers

The US Labor Department goes social. They have created a Facebook page as a resource for job-seekers. Check it out:

Accessible Taxis Would Lead To Injuries, Lawsuits, Mayor Says

The Top Dumbest Reasons For Not Teaching Braille:

Why computer voices are mostly female:

This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger, and Joe Steinkamp discuss this week’s top news stories. Then, in part three of our Mac Book Air series, Jamie visits  with Mike Calvo about an affordable option for            adding an external drive to the Air, and several options for powering your computer while on the road.

Google

30 Awesome new features in Android 4.0, ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’  

Samsung Galaxy Nexus details: A secret no more

Google Working To Launch Music Store Soon

New Text-to-Speech API for Chrome extensions

Platform Vs Platform

iOS 5 has great features, but they’re nothing Android users can’t get too. Here’s how:

Which is the better default mobile browser: Safari or Android?

LibreOffice gaining momentum, heading to Android, iOS, and the Web

Head To Head: Siri Vs. Google Voice Actions

Apple

Siri ported to an iPhone 4, old phone learns a new trick

iPhone 4S First Weekend Sales Top Four Million:

Voiceover bugs in iOS 5   

Papa Sangre: Hello — we are currently working out with Apple just what’s up with iOS 5 and audio. We’re on it.

Apple Still Working on Allowing Merging of Apple IDs

AppleTV Software 4.4 Includes VoiceOver Enhancements

Dropbox rival touts 50GB free cloud storage for iOS fans

Apple Resources

iPhone User Guide for iOS 5 from the iBooks Store

New In IOS 5: Fine-Tuning The Notifications Center

How to update Twitter or Facebook with Siri

Security

The iConstitution: how to protect user freedom in an app store world

Smartphone Web browsers could become major attack vector, security researchers warn

Amazon

The ACB denounces the inaccessible Kindle Fire

Congress, wary of Amazon’s Silk browser, demands answers on privacy

Kindle Keyboard Version 3.3 Overview

Amazon Rewrites the Rules of Book Publishing

General Tech

RIM unveils new BlackBerry operating system

Microsoft works to win desktop users over to the Start screen

Skype is now officially part of Microsoft technology

AT

JAWS Skype scripts for Skype 5.6 and JAWS 13 beta posted, rev 689. Includes help for script translators.

JAWS scripts for the Sam Encoders have been updated. Get them here.

NVDA 2011.3beta1 released!

Kickers

DOJ Supports Disability Advocates In Taxi Accessibility Lawsuit

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

Blindness doesn’t stop teacher

7 Tech Breakthroughs That Empower People With Disabilities

Toilet paper dispenser prints your Tweets

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

Let’s do some math! On this plan, your Atom-based netbook running Windows XP will set you back about $1160 in total, assuming you’re somehow able to keep your internet usage below 200MB a month. (Note: Nobody does this.) If you want a slightly more realistic plan—a still-anemic 5GB a month—you’ll have to step up to $60 and month, which pushes your cost of ownership to $1640.

Even a modest cellphone plan adds up a to a lot in the long term, but we expect something in return: decent calling plans, effectively unlimited data, and a free, or at least heavily subsidized handset. The only thing you’re getting here is an oppressive transfer cap, some Wi-Fi hotspot access and about $100 off street price on a few modestly-specced netbooks. I guess if you’re set on AT&T’s data service anyway, it’s not a terrible deal, but it’s sure as hell not a good one. [