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

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

Please note this is not an in-person event.

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

The news of the week, a wayward mailbag and elocution lessons are all a part of this week’s podcast, and our interview with The National Federation of the Blind’s Curtis Chong is the icing on the cake. Topics covered in this week’s episode include:

A T Talk

Walgreens Now Offers Talking Prescription Labels for Blind Customers

Assistive Technology Design for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired Survey

CiscoVision Wiki | Main / 2014 Semester 2 Course Offerings

iOS Access for All | Your comprehensive guide to accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. by Shelly Brisbin

Learn to Use the Mac with VoiceOver (MAC)

Knowing What Is Good About the iPhone and What Is Not

My comments on the Braille Monitor Article concerning the iPhone | Thoughts from David Goldfield

GWKB2058 – McAfee Found to Block Important Functionality in Window-Eyes

Unexpected loss of ZoomText activation

Mainstream Matters

Apple’s HealthKit Is a Huge Headache for One Startup

iOS 8 will let you scan credit cards via the camera

What Android 4.4.3 could mean about the future of Android updates

Microsoft stock price hits 52-week high, suggests market approves of Nadella

Why an Amazon Phone Makes Sense

Roundabout

Blind? Listen to this 9-year-old: ‘Accept it and live life as is’

No Barriers Grand Canyon Expedition 2014 Jamie mentioned that he plans to read Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See: My Story by Erik Weihenmayer.

19 Rare Recordings of Famous Authors

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

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

As the clock races toward Christmas day, are you still frantically racking your brain to figure out what to buy for that special person in your life? Once again, the Serotek team comes to the rescue with our annual holiday review special. As you listen to the podcast, be sure to follow the links below to learn more about the respective products discussed in this podcast–and Merry Christmas!

Lisa Salinger starts us off with a discussion of the FitBit One

She also mentions MyFitnessPal which has become more accessible of late.

Joe Steinkamp reviews the Keurig K75 Platinum Brewing System

The K 75 is a great gift for the person who wants a brewing system if, and this is a big IF!, they don’t mind memorizing menus and buttons. The unit sports a blue backlit screen with hard to see text. And it has a menu system for changing things like cup sizes and the like. Yet, for the package as a whole, it comes with lots of accessories and it has 72oz of coffee or tea at the ready. Its kind of big too, possibly due to the built in K-Cup tray underneath, so you can’t hide it behind the toaster. All and all, it’s a great gift to give someone [especially if you find it for under $149] but you may just want to stick with the Travel Keurig models if you want to avoid all the frills, menus and memorization.

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

Next, Ricky Enger discusses four devices that will make your life easier in the kitchen.

Polder 6631-75 Stainless-Steel Sink Strainer with Extending Rubber-Grip Arms

Artisan (2 pk.) Non-Stick Silicon Baking Mat Set. 16 5/8″ x 11″

Edge of Glory Knife Sharpener

Alton Brown Salt Cellar

Buddy Brannan interviews the developer of The Bradley Braille Watch

Matt Campbell helps us be more productive with the Asus Transformer Book T100.

Richard Wells introduces us to Lee Oscar harmonicas.

Finally, Jamie Pauls reviews the Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the SeroTalk Podcast. Once again, Jamie, Ricky and Joe pontificate about the news of the week. Then, Jamie sits down with Mike Calvo, director of the AIR Foundation to discuss his recent trip to Columbia and the foundation’s efforts to provide tablets to blind school children in that country. Stories covered in this week’s podcast include:

News in A T

National Federation of the Blind Receives Grant from National Science Foundation

Latest from fleksy about the problem which has caused the app to become unusable

Delivery drones are coming: Jeff Bezos promises half-hour shipping with Amazon Prime Air

Thinking Outside the (Gift) Box

ATU131 – Holiday Shopping Special Episode – Part 1

Online Shopping – Tips from Online Shopaholics

Guide for Individuals with Vision Impairments

FSCast Episode 84, November 2013

This Blog Post is just FREEQING Awesome!

More from the “Comings and Goings” department. My departure from Mushroom FM

The End of an Era, Reflections and Explanations re #MushroomFM

Ringing in the Holidays with a Special Promotion!

Mainstream Matters

Holiday shopping season begins on Thanksgiving

How Shopping Malls Are Adapting In An Online World

Tablets dwarf other holiday tech gifts in CNET survey

30 Days with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 2: It’s a Keeper

The Everything Store, review: The rise and rise of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

Android KitKat: It’s not so sweet for Nexus 4 users

Google chairman Eric Schmidt writes an Android switching guide

What is (still) wrong with Microsoft’s Windows Phone strategy

BlackBerry’s COO and CMO Are Leaving in Executive Shuffle

Mailbag

Blog comment from Mike

I’ve been listening to your show for quite a while, and I really love both the range of subjects and the format. However, halfway through this show I couldn’t help but wonder what got into you. Why do you provide a platform for a person who apparently feels the need to insult every person who for whatever reason takes a more critical position to TapTap See’s latest move, apparently beleiving that anybody who disagrees with his ridiculously oversimplified interpretation of the criticism just has to be mentally ill.

I find this sort of thing completely unacceptable. I’m not going to go into the underlying discussion, you covered a lot of it in the relevant podcast, but I would appreciate it if in the future I could listen to your show without becoming a target of the unreflected ragings of some Monday-morning-football-coach. In my opinion, mutual respect is essential in a public forum, and when you turn from people voicing their opinions to people raging at the rest of the world for not agreeing with their own point of view, then there’s not much point in listening any more. And at least for this episode I definitely lost my taste for it.

From Mario:

I think it’s worth mentioning that there is a petition to help Winamp stay alive, whether thru AOL making it open source via GPL3+, or improving/continuing it’s legacy. http://savewinamp.com/

there is a link to sign the petition. first/last name, email address, street address (or PO Box), city, state, zipcode are required and a comments area is optional.

allot of blind and sighted users I know use Winamp for more than just playing audio/video files.

Roundabout

From Top Tech Tidbits – Dinosaur Discs: Folk Music in America

Check out @Dreamy_lyrics: Screen Locked, Screen Locked

App Saves the Day after Student Robbed at Gunpoint

In part 1 of the HIMS NFB workshop, Jenny Axler and Scott Hegle demonstrate the new features of Braille Sense and Voice Sense notetaker version 8.0 including Dropbox, YouTube, RSS, Excel Viewer and the new Quick Browser as well as enhancements to Twitter and the Word Processor.

To learn more about HIMS INC., you can Follow HIMS on Twitter

Or Like them on Facebook

The SeroTalk Podcast Network would like to thank HIMS for sponsoring this year’s NFB and ACB convention coverage.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

April 1, 2013

Serotek, the leading provider of internet and digital information accessibility software and services, announced its contribution to the ongoing push for the blind to drive independently with the TrikeTech for Tots program. The challenge of developing technology to allow the blind to drive independently has been tackled by such groups as Google and The National Federation of The Blind, each of whom have a different approach to how the task could be accomplished. While both groups are making major strides toward their goal, Serotek feels there has been something fundamental missing from the projects so far.

“As blind adults, we’ve grown up believing we could never drive”, said Mike Cuervo, CEO. “And society believes we can’t drive either. So even when we get the technology right, there’s going to be a cultural bias to overcome. What needs to happen is that blind drivers should know without a doubt that they can drive from a very early age, and the public needs to see lots of blind people driving safely and independently.”

From this forward-thinking philosophy, the TrikeTech for Tots program was born. Serotek has partnered with Radio Flier to produce the self-driving tricycle, allowing blind preschoolers the freedom to drive independently, a freedom long sought after by their adult counterparts.

“At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to go about doing this,”, said Rusty Mettles, who is perhaps best-known for his work on Serotek’s GTO notetaker.. “All I knew was that kids make me a little uncomfortable. They’re so loud, and most of them don’t even know what a user interface is. We just have nothing to talk to each other about. So when Mr. Cuervo told me I’d be working on this project, my real motivation was to give these kids the power and ability to vacate my vicinity as rapidly as possible.”

That motivation quickly paid off. Before long, Mettles had outfitted the Radio Flier with censors for advanced obstacle detection and avoidance, a smart phone with GPS, and sophisticated software to tie it all together. “With adults, they usually know where they want to go and have the technical know-how to enter that in to a smart phone,”, explained Mettles. “But with kids it’s more complicated. They may know what they want or where they want to go, but how are they going to express that?” Mettles finally settled on voice recognition as the user interface for the tots. He has christened this combination of breakthrough technology Sat-Go … Sat in honor of the satellite technology, and “Go…” is obvious, even to a child. “The kid just mashes the horn on the tricycle, and whatever they say next gets recognized.”, he said. But Mettles didn’t stop there. “I realized that the tone of the voice was at least as important as the words spoken.”, explained Mettles.

With this in mind, he  developed software to analyze the tone of voice and calculate what he calls WQ, or Whininess quotient. “WQ helps us determine what speed to travel. The kid does pedal, but sometimes we provide a little motorized help. If WQ is high, we need to get the kid to their destination as quickly as possible before a full meltdown occurs. But if WQ is low, we can allow the child to pedal themselves and get to the destination at a more leisurely pace.”

To see this technology in action, we took a few moments to observe Debbie Anne Lennox, the preschooler specifically picked by Mr. Mettles to test the device, for reasons known only to him. We asked the young girl what she thought about her new toy. “I wanna go home!”, she shrieked, and with that, the tricycle zoomed away toward her parents’ house, with little Debbie clinging desperately to the handlebars.

Unfortunately, there were some initial problems with the prototype. For while it headed in the direction Debbie Anne specified, it did not go very far.

“It was never designed for indoor environments like my office,” stated a muffled Mettles, while flat on his back. If it were, it would have navigated safely around the large jar that contained my extensive marble collection… All twenty thousand, nine hundred and forty-two of them to be exact. For that matter, it would have also gone around me!” Luckily, Mettles just had the wind knocked out of him, and we believe that the tire tracks across the front of his shirt give it a whimsical appeal that it previously lacked.

The trike did make it safely out of Serotek headquarters, with little Debbie giggling and honking her horn. It was at this point we saw the second serious technical flaw. The sounds of Debbie Anne’s laughter soon turned to anguished wails: “Gotta go! Gotta go! Oh no oh no oh nooooooo!”

We are unsure what caused the TrikeTech to start spinning in frantic circles, resembling a dog chasing its tail. It could be that the technology was unfamiliar with the tone of hysteria in the child’s voice, or it could have something to do with the excessive amount of moisture pooling under the device. “Moisture and technology were never meant to mix!” declared Mettles while fleeing the scene.

Despite it’s setbacks, there has been a vast outpouring of support from an unexpected corner of the blind community. Senior citizens have gotten wind that a new device, the GeriaTrike is being developed to meet their needs.

“If a person has been blind all his or her life,” explained Cuervo, “The idea of driving something as powerful as a car may be too much. Since many sighted seniors bike to keep in shape, we wanted our blind seniors to have the same options.”

I think it’s a lovely idea,” stated Myrtle Shleppenhauser, a long-time customer. “It’s the kind of thing Serotek is so good at… Finding new and exciting ways to bring family together. It will be such fun to go for a ride with my little Granddaughter, Debbie Anne. She’s got her TrikeTech, and I hope to have a GeriaTrike real soon. And best of all, I can attach the collapsible rolling cart for my GTO right to the GeriaTrike, and I’ve got everything I need.”

To learn more about TrikeTech for Tots or the GeriaTrike, send us an email at resources@serotalk.com, comment on our blog, or leave an iReport on iBlink Radio from your Android or iOS device.

This week, Jamie, Ricky and Joe are reunited for yet another look at the top stories of the week. Topics discussed include:

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

Unfortunately, the changes to Dropbox brought with them some regression in accessibility. Here is a tip for Mac users on how to restore some of the app’s earlier functionality.

Survey for the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

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

Navigating Your Environment Using Sight Compass

American Foundation for the Blind Introduces Described TV Listings

Getting Down with Downcast

Accessible Prescription Labeling: A chance to be heard!

Rubin out, Pichai in as Google’s new senior vice president of Android

Google Now for iPhone and iPad outed in leaked, then pulled, YouTube video

Google reaches $7 million settlement with states over Street View case

Seattle Bar Bans Google Glass

Samsung outguns Apple in marketing, report says

Nokia: A Microsoft Surface Phone Could Screw Us

iPhone users watch far more online video than Android users

More Americans opting to cut cord on traditional TV

Apple’s iWatch Will Measure More than Time

Standalone ‘Twitter Music’ discovery app may launch on iOS this month, says CNET

For first time, US military says it would use offensive cyberweapons

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo:

Hey, great show, a good healthy exchange of opinions for sure.

I agree with Joe about the samsung and Apple wars. These people who are making Apple look like a saint because they made their products accessible are not seeing the entire picture. Yes, Apple has done a great job of making their products accessible, but, when it comes to the Apple Samsung law suits, Apple started it. They sued Samsung first, now Samsung is fighting back, and, unfortunately, our community is stuck in the cross fire. This is really the tip of the iceberg though.

The fact is, all consumers lose out because of these silly law suits.

The entire patent system needs to be completely redone, the issues in question never should have been patented in the first place. I really hope I am wrong here, but how much do you bet that when the Galaxy S 4 is released, Apple sues Samsung over that as well?

I hope unlocking your phone is made legal again, that never should have been outlawed in the first place. My solution to that is to simply purchase phones that are factory unlocked, then this isn’t even an issue.

The FCC and the Department of Justice have both approved t-mobile’s buy out of metro PCS. Though Metro is a CDMA provider, apparently the plan is to move them to GSM and eventually LTE, probably the right thing to do since GSM and LTE are the world standard.

From Timothy Hornik

Greetings,

In order to expand upon your discussion about the various pieces of legislation currently residing in Congress, I included the links to a couple of bills. While I agree with the sediments of the BVA and the participants of Serotalk episode 145, it is always more intriguing to read the bills themselves first.

S. 3689 – Senior Airmen Michael Malarsie Act http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?packageId=BILLS-112s3689is

H.R. 183 – Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.183:

Whenever one discusses treatment modalities for mental health related conditions, one must use the concepts of person-in-environment, strengths perspective, and no singular method will cover the full spectrum. Additionally, a common line that describes the VA fairly well is that if you seen one VA, you only seen one VA. I mention this as the above represents legislation from the Federal Government to the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement a specific therapeutic intervention (service animals) either in a pilot format or as a prosthetic device.

Please note that Congress did not pass an Act forcing the VA to adopt Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolong Exposure Therapy (PET), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or any of the other evidenced based interventions. All of these arose from years of research examining the theoretical basis to implementation procedures. Then the professional medical communities obtained the necessary training and certifications to utilize the treatment, and implement it it at their station.

Along this line, many VA’s and nearby organizations pursued private and established Federal grants to evaluate and execute unconventional therapies such as music, equestrian, sports/recreation, and Western to Native practices (for example Angel Fire).

The VA already possesses several major issues. These include resolving the backlog of claims, managing and evaluating services and interventions already established, and budget cuts that will cause a reduction in the ability to establish new programs.

Finally, studies have shown measurable positive outcomes for  service animals, so we cannot discredit the concepts. However, techniques ranging from meditation to prescription marijuana possess equal amounts of efficacy, but we do not hear about Legislation to create Zen Centers or hooka lounges on VA campuses. This is where community based organizations enter into the treatment process to offer these services. To add in a new perspective, let us look at our strongest allies, England, and the methods their Veterans employ to receive aid. While their medical system provides a baseline of care to all residents through universal healthcare, welfare organizations like Blinded Veterans UK, provide a bulk of the rehab care for the specific needs of the targeted populations.

The department of Veterans Affairs should remain as an organization with the goals to care for the health and mental health needs of the Veteran population. However, a line must be drawn to indicate what constitutes as appropriate rehabilitative practices and devices to meet the needs and not the wants of the population. Similarly, the VA operates under many of the same restrictions imposed by MEDICAID/MEDICARE, therefore one must remember those limitations with services provided.

Thank you for your assistance,

Timothy Hornik

Blog: http://www.samobile.net/users/timothy.hornik/

Roundabout

Everybody Plays! How Kids with Visual Impairments Play Sports

There are now hours and hours of reading, podcasts and videos online about CSUN 2013. And a few of those who were on the floor of the Exhibit Hall gathered to reflect on some inside baseball discussions on what were the big stories and who you should watch in the realm of Assistive Technology.

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

Jason Meddaugh is a cofounder of BlindBargains.com,

one of the most popular deals and news websites for the blind and visually impaired. He also manages A T Guys,

                        a website featuring low-cost tech gadgets and accessories. He is also a cohost on That Android Show.

Follow him on Twitter

Pratik Patel

is the President and CEO of EZFire, a firm dedicated to promoting usability and accessibility to devices, web sites, software, and other electronic material. He is the current chair of the Information Access committee for the American Council of the Blind

and serves as the President of ACB’s New York affiliate. His background includes legislation, access to assistive technologies, accessible books and other instructional material as well as many different forms of new devices. His Recent efforts include the implementation of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which includes accessibility to videos, interfaces to televisions, DVR’s, and other mobile software and devices.

Darrell Shandrow is a blind accessibility evangelist, Internet radio

broadcaster, assistive technology instructor, and technical writer living

in Tempe, Arizona. As the publisher of the Blind Access Journal blog and

podcast, he is part of a team of advocates, assistive technology

instructors, and reporters including Karen Shandrow, Allison Hilliker,

Jeff Bishop, and special guest contributors exploring accessibility and demonstrating revolutionary new technologies for the blind.

He also co-hosts the Desert Cafe radio show on ACB Radio

Interactive every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Arizona and Pacific Time, where all

listeners may enjoy good music and great conversation with friends.

Keep up with the latest happenings by following him on Twitter.

Joe Steinkamp is cohost of the SeroTalk Podcast and End Of Line. You can also find him from time to time on SPN’s own That Android Show and High Contrast.

Follow him on Twitter

The Panel’s picks for the Big Stories of CSUN 2013

JJ’s Picks

1. TI-84 Plus and others helping to further STEM accessibility Hands On with the Accessible TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator

2. Accessible GPS Comes to Modern Cell phones Hands-On With the Nearby Explorer GPS Software from APH

Sendero Announces Features, Preview for Seeing Eye GPS for iOS (no audio)

And…

3. The next generation of braille and notetakers and a full-page braille display B2G Android Notetaker Nearing Release, National Braille Press Offering up to$20,000 for App Developers

For more information visit this link

Pratik’s Picks

1  Microsoft’s customer support for people with disabilities  “Hearing and Seeing the Customer Experience”  Session recording:

2. Presence of consumer electronics industry at CSUN due to CVAA

3. Free Sight Compass App Helps you Navigate Hotels, Bathrooms, and More

Darrell’s Picks

1. Judy Dixon from NLS talks with Allison Hilliker and Darrell Shandrow from the Blind Access Journal all about the upcoming BARD Mobile iOS app and gives us an exclusive look at an early alpha version of the exciting new talking book reader.

2. Bookshare announces the release of new Web Reader functionality that allows members to read books in a web browser without the need for additional apps or software.

3. Soon-to-be-released BrailleSense firmware version 8.0 will add Dropbox support, giving the note taker a new, unique connection to the mainstream world of technology.

Joe’s Picks:

1 Optelec new touch screen display that can be retrofitted on to older ClearView Video Magnifiers going back to 2005

2 LVI using USB 3.0 to connect their stuff to mac/Surface and other devices

3 ABI See Eye Pal ACE and its dual camera approach

Finally, if you desire even more coverage, JJ suggests listeners visit the Curb Cut blog’s CSUN 2013 coverage page.

In Podcast 140, Ricky Enger, Lisa Salinger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. Topics covered include:

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

U.S. Carriers Rally Around BlackBerry 10

Ticketmaster dumps ‘hated’ Captcha verification system

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

Windows Weekly 297 discussing Office 2013

Is Windows 8 a bad OS for tablets? It’s time to decide…

Microsoft Surface Pro 64GB comes with only 23GB of available storage space

Apple iPad jumps to 128GB, starting at $799

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

★ AppleTV 5.2 Update Brings Accessibility Changes

Barnes & Noble Plans to Eliminate 30% of Stores Over Next 10 Years

Serotek has a shiny new Web site

Triple-click Home Episode 14: “Now Peter”

SPN Special: 2012 Outtakes

New BookShare Tools Announced at ATIA 2013

Announcing the release of BookSense 3.0.

Braille Sense U2 and U2 QWERTY are available at a promotional price of $5,595 (plus $45 shipping) through June 30th.

HumanWare – The all new Victor Reader Stream

AFB’s AccessNote for iOS has been released.

BrailleTouch has been released

Facebook Accessibility is now on Twitter

White House Announces Audio Descriptions for Public Tours

Detailed image descriptions now available

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo:

I’m not sure how many consumers actually attempt to unlock their phones. Most people do not know what an unlocked phone is when I mention it. People should do their research more, as I have mentioned previously, the benefits of unlocked phones are many. I think making unlocking cell phones other than through your carrier gives carriers too much power. There are no laws that require carriers to unlock their phones, so if they decide they don’t want to do this, you are stuck.

All the more reason to purchase unlocked phones in the first place.

Many countries have laws requiring carriers to unlock your phone once your contract is complete, unfortunately the United States is not one of them.

I agree with Ricky about Google’s NFC thing. I don’t like the idea of replacing my passwords with some kind of chip.

Blog comment from Sue:

Hello. Love the podcasts as usual. Jamie, you mentioned that you have a drawer filled with floppy disks, and so do I, Well a few months back I got a windows7 computer and love it. Well I do have a lot of stuff on floppy disk about 40 of them. I needed an external one and I got one on Amazon the HDE external floppy disk drive was I think around 10 dollars or so. I just installed it and it is quite easy to use. It comes with a small disk and some paper instructions, but for me I plugged it in to one of the usb ports on the computer and it just works. So thought I would recommend it it for anyone who still has a bunch of floppy disks around and still use them.

Roundabout

Kids See Through the Challenges of Blindness

The Experiences of a Guide Dog owner and his dog on their first cruise

Staying in touch with the home front: Technology in the midst of war

Here is a link to the Blinded Veterans Association Web site

Here is a Wikipedia article on Paradigm Shift

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow Maurie Hill on Twitter

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

Follow Rodney Edgar on Twitter

Check out Rodney on the Tech Access Weekly Blog and Podcast

Follow Jeremy Curry on Twitter

You can also check out GW Micro on Twitter.

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

Thanks for listening!

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

Microsoft Messenger Service not going anywhere just yet

Skype Switcher Tip: Use Compact View

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

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

T-Mobile rips up contract on unlimited data plan

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

Happy Birthday, iTunes

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

Facebook stock cracks $30 ahead of event next week

Size matters: Lenovo unveils 27-inch tablet

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

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

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

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

Will voice recognition make touch obsolete? Intel says yes

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

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

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

HumanWare Lowers Prices on BrailleNote Notetakers by Roughly 20 Percent

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

2012 DVD Hot Picks, All with Audio Description

Mailbag

From  Jenine Stanley

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

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

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

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

Blog comment from Luis

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

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

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

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

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

Roundabout

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

Tech Doctor Podcast: Sounds From Antarctica

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

Wickedpedia: The dark side of Wikipedia

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

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

Early adopters experiencing issues with Apple’s iPhone 5

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

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

Some early iPhone 5 adopters stuck by Lightning – literally

Many Android owners plan exodus to the iPhone (survey)

Researchers bypass NFC access control with smartphone

An Immersion into System Access

Designing for Accessibility: Q&A with Jeff Wieland

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

News regarding the Android Team-FM App

Hadley Seminar: Accessing Facebook On Your iPhone

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

Cinemark Installing Audio Description Technology Across the United States

Presidential Candidates To Skip Disability Forum

Tech-savvy ways to follow the elections (video)

Roundabout

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

A “life-changing” invention from the West Bank

As with all good things, CSUN 2012 has come to an end—except that it doesn’t really have to end quite yet. Perhaps you attended this year’s CSUN conference and didn’t get to do quite everything you wanted, or maybe you didn’t get to go at all and would like to experience some of the excitement from the comfort of your own home. With over three hours of interviews conducted by Joe Steinkamp and Ricky Enger now available on SPN Radio, you can immerse yourself into the world of CSUN 2012 any time you like. Feel free to write to us at resources@serotalk.com and give us your thoughts on this year’s convention.

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, 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