SPN is excited to bring you audio from the Exhibit Hall floor from the 2014 Blinded Veterans Association National Convention from amazing Reno Nevada. This was our second time to bring our listeners coverage from this event and we would like to express our gratitude to the BVA for inviting us to this year’s convention. We would like to encourage those who may know a Blind Vet, or if you are one yourself, to contact the BVA for more details about their organization and its activities by visiting their website at http://www.bva.org/ or call 800 669 7079.

SPN would also like to thank this year’s Summer Convention sponsors HIMS Inc and Elegant Insights for helping us bring you this, and all the rest, of our Summer Convention specials. Please visit their sites and let them know how much you enjoyed our coverage!

Also, Serotek offers the SAMNet Vets program to Blind and Low Vision U.S. Veterans. This program is free and it has already attracted many to enjoy SAMNet during its availability. To learn more about SAMVets visit http://www.serotek.com/samnetvets or call us at 612 246 4818.

Interviews in this special include…

LogicMark Phone: 866 541 8387 Extension 138

Stay safe with Freedom Alert from LogicMark.

Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation Phone: 860 243 5200

Learn about in-home guide dog training with Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation.

LS&S Phone: 1 800 468 4789

Joe goes shopping for canes and more with LS&S

AbiSee Phone: 978 637 2900

Joe talks portable low vision devices with AbiSee

America’s Vet Dogs Phone: 866 282 8047

Joe talks with representatives of America’s Vet Dogs.

Eschenbach Phone: 1 800 487 5389

Joe talks with Joe about handheld magnifiers and more from Eschenbach.

Audio Eye Phone: 866 331 5324

Take accessibility to a whole new level with Audio Eye.

GH Accessibility Phone: 765 775 3776

GH makes reading books easier on the PC, the Mac and the Web.

eSight Phone: 1 855 837 4448

Learn about electronic eye glasses from eSight.

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

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

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

JAWS 15 Public Beta

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

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

ATI Seminar Subscription

Keyboard shortcuts – Perform common Firefox tasks quickly

Homophones are Not Mistaken in Braille

Keeping Students with Disabilities Safe from Bullying

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

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

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

Apple provides details on Touch ID’s privacy features

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

10 new iOS 7 features for the enterprise

iCloud Keychain Removed in iOS 7 GM

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

Blast Processing

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

Facebook suddenly deletes Social Fixer’s Facebook pages

Facebook testing videos that autoplay in mobile News Feed

Mailbag

From Luis

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

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

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

From Mike Arrigo

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

Roundabout

First Blind Solo Kayaker Goes Down Entire Length of Grand Canyon

Why Do We Clap?

Surgeon live-streams knee repair with Google Glass

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

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

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

New Sendero 2013 line up

VoiceOver saved in Apple, Samsung patent battle

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

Blind Vets Warn Against VA Funding Guide Dogs

A keyboard that rises up from flat touch screens

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

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

Smartphones to outsell feature phones in 2013 for first time

Twitter Killing TweetDeck for iPhone and Android

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

Google at work Amazon Prime competitor

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

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

Minor security flaw found in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2

Talkback v3.0 released

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

Apple’s iPhone might have been a ‘Mobi’

Apple reportedly cutting back on iPad 9.7 orders

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

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

Mailbag

From Snowbunny

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

Roundabout

Pet Peves of the blind and visually impaired

Eat a Banana to Remedy Over-Caffeination

Seeking your opinion: should Serotek Start a newsletter?

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

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

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.

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 to yet another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast where Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp take a look at the news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie visits with Mark Marvel of Blind Ambitions Groups about Blind Ambitions Magazine, a new publication dealing with various blindness-related issues.

News stories discussed in this episode of the podcast include:

General Tech

Apple’s $1 Billion Win Over Samsung: Q&A

5 reasons the Apple-Samsung ruling is GOOD for everyone

Apple-Samsung verdict shows that Microsoft thinks different

Apple Stores reportedly still face budget cuts, unhappy workers

Samsung Ativ S officially announced: 4.8-inch 720p display, Windows Phone 8

iPhone 5 not likely to support NFC, says new report

Looks Like T-Mobile’s Not Getting the iPhone… Again

Mark your Microsoft calendars: Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 launch dates revealed

Inkjet printers, take a bow: Lexmark exiting the business next year

AT

Doing It To Win: Veterans Raise Bar At Paralympics

Documentary Film “Going Blind” To Have September Capitol Hill Screening for US Legislators

A Brief History of Early Talking Books and Players

New NT Art Gallery Exhibit Helps Visually Impaired

Roundabout

Will the elderly ever accept care from robots?

How your tweets may prove you’re a psychopath

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

Joe Steinkamp and Richard Wells recently had the honor of representing Serotek at the 2012 convention of the Blinded Veterans Association in Galveston, Texas..

We are pleased to bring you the final series of interviews conducted by Richard as he visited with many of the vendors who were present at the convention. Please feel free to visit the Web sites of the companies featured in this special.

Guiding Eyes

Logic Mark

Guide Dogs for the Blind

Fidelco

AbiSee

VA Loans

VA Adaptive Housing Grants

Daylight

Our thanks go out to the Blinded Veterans Association for allowing us to bring this content to you.

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

Joe Steinkamp and Richard Wells recently had the honor of representing Serotek at the 2012 convention of the Blinded Veterans Association in Dallas, Texas..

While there, Joe and Richard interviewed several of the exhibitors who were present at the convention. We are pleased to bring you the first of three specials featuring those interviews. Please follow the links below to visit the Web sites of the respective companies and learn more about them.

Visit Spokane

Chicago Lighthouse

Seattle Lighthouse

National Industries for the Blind

IRIE AT

National Library Service

HIMS

America’s Vet Dogs

The Lighthouse of Houston

The World ATM Company

Vet Link

Freedom Scientific

Envision America

VA Vocational Rehabilitation Employment

Our thanks go out to the Blinded Veterans Association for allowing us to bring this content to you.

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

Joe Steinkamp and Richard Wells recently had the honor of representing Serotek at the 2012 convention of the Blinded Veterans Association. Here is the audio from the opening ceremonies of the convention. Our thanks go out to the Blinded Veterans Association for allowing us to bring this content to you.

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.

Welcome back to the SeroTalk Podcast. There’s just a tiny bit of news from Apple on this week’s show. After that bit of news, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the rest of the week’s news stories.

Apple

iPad vs. iPad 2 vs. the new iPad

Apple iOS 5.1: First Take

Apple TV’s new user interface: Hands-on

iPad 3: What we didn’t get

Apple’s next-gen iPad: New battlefields emerge

Google

New Android voice assistant, Robin, rides shotgun

Google may be planning Siri rival for later this year

Google dishing up ‘Key Lime Pie’ for Android?

                                Google+ Hangouts become accessible to the blind

CSUN 2012

Reporting from CSUN in San Diego

5 good news stories from CSUN 2012

Listen to more great CSUN 2012 coverage from Blind Bargains and Blind Access Journal.

CSUN12:  The ultimate user experience

AT

Tween resources

VizWiz: What’s New in Version 1.4.1    

HumanWare Victor Reader Stratus M Version 2.1 – Listening Made Easier

eBooks

The eBook Backlash

 Action Required: Are Your Kids Using Technology in  School?

EU and US team up on e-book antitrust case against Apple, publishers

General Tech

Amazon may be mulling plan to create TV shows

Time to Kill Off Captchas

Mailbag

This week, we respond to more iReports, emails and blog comments from our listeners including yet another endorsement of the Aftershokz wrap-around bone conduction headphones.

Roundabout

With no sight and plenty of lines, blind actors make the scenes

Visually-Impaired Veterans Share Support and Information

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

Happy New Year, celebrate with a tradition with a described audio of the Tournament of Roses Parade! The archive of the audio will remain on the front page of iBlink Radio for a short time.

Ariadne GPS and iBlink Radio inducted into the Apple Vis Hall of Fame

Nominations begin for the Blind Bargains Awards

AT

Orion Status Update

Subscribe to the announce list at orion-announce-request@freelists.org with subscribe in the subject line.

GW Micro Launches GWSkype

JAWS Scripts for Station Playlist Studio have been updated

Stem Stumper 1.8 has been released

Mainstream Access to E-Books–What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Is Still Unclear

Project to create open source Braille display

More than half of Americans think we’ll never go paperless (survey)

Apple

Apple January event to focus on publishing, iBooks, report says

Shopping for an Apple product? Choose refurbished every time

General Tech

RIM has “lost it”: Shareholders call for company break-up, or sell-off

It’s Time to Give GoDaddy a Break [OP-ED]

XP still top OS but Windows 7 hot on its trail

Mailbag

Round About

Mobile devices: Five predictions for 2012

A prosthetic ‘eye’ may help blind see

Wearable Robots Help Paralyzed Warriors Walk Again

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?

On this issue of SeroSpectives, Lisa Salinger is joined by Alena Roberts, a private
contractor and feature writer for the Matilda
Ziegler Magazine, Michael
McCarty, Director of Social Media at The American
Printing House for the Blind, and Serotek’s
own Mike Calvo to discuss the top
stories in technology for November, 2011.

In the Community

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

From blastbay Studios: audio
demo of our upcoming game, Perilous Hearts!

NEW FAQ on Code Factory’s
Noke Screen Reader

Qwitter replacement
in alpha testing called Twit Monger.

A user has modified Qwitter
4.5.1 to use the new API, so it can now receive direct messages and mentions
streaming.

Another Qwitter spin-off: The Qube

Kudos to Qwitter, the program that proves once and for all, that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

NVDA 2011.3rc1
released!

OCR plugin for NVDA:

Japanese
Company Develops Robot Guide Dog

Serotek Conquers a New
Frontier for Blind Veterans:

Braille

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

Top Braille

More information
on Top Braille

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

Cell Phones

From CNETNews: A Windows 8
smartphone could be coming next year

Google unleashes Android Ice
Cream Sandwich Coming Nov. 17

iOS

Oregon Puts iPad Voting on
the Map

http://t.co/sLF5LZ3yUpdated
information on obtaining a refund for inaccessible iOS apps

From Yahooaccess: 10 things
blind people can teach us about Apple’s #Siri on the #iPhone 4S. From macstoriesnet: Apple Releases GarageBand for
iPhone

http://t.co/xIiJa3VPA
Comprehensive Audio Demonstration of Siri

Microsoft

More Accessibility maybe?
Office 365 updates begin to percolate through Microsoft’s line-up Windows 7 continues to roll as XP fades away

http://t.co/3R4YBdKWMicrosoft
Internet Explorer 10 to add spell checking, auto-correct

Apple

Apple confirms Siri isn’t
coming to any other devices as of now

MacBook
Air supplies almost one-third of Apple notebook sales

Conclusion

SeroSpectives is made possible through technology from Serotek
Corporation.

Visit the SeroTalk.com
Blog and Podcast for the Latest Access Technology Information

Email
Resources@SeroTalk.com Your Comments, Suggestions, and Ideas for Future Tech
Chats and Podcast Segments

Download
iBlink Radio, Free App for the iPhone, with Radio Stations and Podcasts Created
by the blind, Radio Information Service and audio Tutorials!

DocuScan Plus
Afordable and Powerful OCR Solution

Serotek Corporation –
System Access Screen reader, SAMNet, docuScan Plus, Remote Incident Manager,
iBlink for the iPhone, and Accessible Event

Try a Free Fully Functional
Seven Day Trial of System Access and SAMNet Today by going to www.satogo.com

AccessibleEvent
Makes Meetings and Webinars Accessible to the blind, Deaf, and Deaf-Blind

© 2011 Serotek Corporation – All Rights Reserved.