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.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Fast cars and music are just a small part of what we have to offer this time around. After the news, Wade Wingler tells us what’s going on over at the Indata Project. Follow them on Twitter, visit their Website and check out their podcast on iBlink Radio.

Stories covered in this week’s podcast include:

The AT History site seeks to preserve the history of adaptive technology for the blind

Preview of Windows 10 Preview using NVDA

Windows 10 Technical Preview deep-dive: A promise of better things to come

Why Learn Braille as an Adult?

Navigating Immersion Training: Are Sleepshades Blinding Me?

No Barriers Grand Canyon Expedition Reflection

Google’s Conversational Search Gets Smarter, Adds OpenTable Integration

Microsoft CEO Tells Women To Trust The System And Not Ask For Raises

This Week in Tech Episode 479

Amazon to open first physical store

An Overview of iOS 8

What we know (and suspect) is coming in iOS 8.1

Apple’s iPad/Mac/OS X Yosemite event: Here’s what to expect

Apple Reportedly Preparing to Remove Bose Audio Products From Retail Stores

Tesla Unveils New Self-driving Car

Roundabout

David Hasselhoff Makes Dream Come True for ‘Knight Rider’ Fan With Down Syndrome

Peek Inside the World’s Oldest Sealed Time Capsule

Listen To This Woman Sing Two Notes At Once

Isolated vocals: David Lee Roth

Isolated vocals: Joe Elliot

Contrary to the title of this week’s podcast, Jamie, Ricky and Joe don’t spend all their time talking about food–unless you count Apple, that is. After the news of the week, we give you a short preview of an upcoming special featuring Buddy Brannan at this year’s Ameture Radio Relay League convention marking the 100th year of their existence. Stories covered in this week’s show include:

Jonathan Mann already has a song about iOS 8.0.1

Apple releases iOS 8.0.2 to fix nearly useless iPhone 6 models

Will Apple replace your bent iPhone 6? It depends

Apps with HealthKit integration start appearing in App Store following iOS 8.0.2 fixes

The $84.50 Reason Apple Wants You to Buy That Big iPhone

Apple will survive its terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week because that’s what Apple does

AudioBoo rebrands with a bang as AudioBoom with a newlook app

10 iPhone 6/iOS 8 Features I’d Like to See in Windows Phone

What happens to Windows 7 on October 31, 2014?

Enter the Braille-enabled tablet

From Apple Support: Type onscreen braille

Lisa Salinger offers paid iPhone classes and one-on-one training. You can learn more by stopping by her web page.

New Tech Doctor Podcast “Follow the Dream”

Roundabout

The day the Coast Guard saved America

Anonymous Acts of Generosity: What To Do When You Can’t Say Thanks

Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students celebrates 25 years of inspiring children with disabilities

The aftermath of the reason Apple event, a musical mailbag and much more awaits you on this week’s episode of the podcast as Jamie, Ricky and Joe talk about the top news stories of the week. After the news, Pratik Patel joins Jamie to discuss the state of accessibility with regard to Windows Phone. All that plus your feedback makes for a jam-packed episode of the SeroTalk Podcast.

A T Talk

Jaws 16 Public Beta 1

Coming Soon: iOS Access for All Update for iOS 8

Find out more about how Drive and the Docs editors are now a lot friendlier for blind and low-vision users

Google Voice and Hangouts learn to play nice together

2-Hour Refund Window For Paid Apps And Games On The Play Store Is Officially Official

RNIB audio logo competition

Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in the trunk

Apple Aftermath

Between Google and Apple, the smartwatch wars are over before they’ve even begun

Some future model of the Apple Watch will probably have more sensors

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Which one should you buy?

Update: iPhone 6 Plus shipping estimates slip to 3-4 weeks

But what if I didn’t want a bigger iPhone?

Hands on with Apple Pay: NFC, barcode scan, on online purchases!

On Death and iPods: A Requiem

Apple puts up support page to get U2 album out of your iTunes

Mailbag

Hello SeroTalk Team, I have some comments For episode 210. First when you guys were talking about drones and indoor mapping early in the podcast all I could think about was seeing eye drones. Its the wave of the future. Next I was watching the most recent episode of Windows Weekly and they had a Microsoft add promoting Kortana on there I think you guys need to listen to. It will have you rolling on the ground laughing, unless your a big Apple fan. One more thing I want to mention. At the end Jamie and Buddy were talking a little about the Apple watch. When I heard the name on the announcement all I could think was “WOW now we have an A-Watch”. Have a good one and keep up the good work.

Greg Wocher(Your friendly neighborhood BlindMan)

Dear Serotalk staff, my name is Tamer Zaid and I’m from Houston Texas and I’m contacting you’all regarding podcast 209 and I want to comment on what Joe had talked about how people that have short term memory don’t have an idea of there spacial surroundings. Never the less, I’m a person that has a slight short term memory issue and I’m just 21 years old and I had accepted that I have this issue and I rely on my parents too take me places like college and volunteer work. I do suffer from walking with the cane just because I just don’t remember a rout from the first time when I do it. I need practice and practice until I finally get how to do it. I do utilize many tools during my day that can help me with remembering things and one tool that I just love is the iPhone. Also, I do really suggest that wearable technology should be around just because it will help me and might help many people that suffer from memory problems. The way I suffer from that dumb short term memory issue is by not remembering a place that you go to the first time. I’m great at using and knowing how to hold the cane, but I lack at traveling. Also, I’m not a multi-tasker and that makes it even worse. So, I just try to udilize my family and public transportation like Metro Lift here in Houston to go places like volunteer work. I just love being independent. Also, I love tactle maps just because I had vision before and I do still remember from my long term memory how things look like. Also, I do remember things that happened to me before I became blind. I do still remember colors and how things look like and I really thing that a person has to have a visual idea about what their touching like a 3d object to understand what it is. See, I don’t have that problem just because I have seen 3d objects and I do understand how they work. Also, I think that this topic should be widely known and discussed among various blind groups. It doesn’t mean I know it that everybody knows it. So, I think that it is a great topic to talk about. Well, thank you for the great work and I thank you’all for the great work that you’all do. You’all are awesome!

Regards, Tamer Zaid

Roundabout

How Social Media Affects Your Brain and Body

The history of Hold Music

Buddy Brannan joins Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger for this episode of the podcast. Along with the top news of the week including an announcement from Serotek, jamie demonstrates our newly-released version of iBlink Radio for the Mac. Stories covered in this podcast include:

Serotek Announces iBlink Radio for the Mac

Why is Skype forcing a software upgrade on all of us?

GWConnect ends August 4

Free Online Training – Using Skype for Windows Desktop with Window-Eyes

Short Skype course from CAVI

Orbit Research and the Transforming Braille Group Announce Agreement to Produce Low-Cost Refreshable Braille Display

NV Access | Speech Synthesizer Survey 1

Mosen Consulting eBook, “iOS 8 Without the Eye”

Announcing: ChAPPters

Redbox agrees to provide better access for blind customers

Revisiting the “Switch to Android full-time” experiment

Microsoft is finally killing support for old versions of Internet Explorer

4 Reasons Microsoft’s Surface Might Bite the Dust

Windows ‘Threshold’ to drop charms, add virtual desktop

BlackBerry still on shaky ground, but it continues to secure lucrative security clearances

Dial-Up Still a Cash Cow for AOL

Apple, Samsung Agree to End Patent Suits Outside U.S.

Report: Sprint to Drop T-Mobile Bid, CEO | News & Opinion

Roundabout

70 Years of Smokey: The Story of America’s Firefighting Bear

Toddler squeezes through White House fence

With an All-Deaf Wait Staff, New Restaurant Asks Guests to Order in Sign Language

Lisa Salinger joins Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp to discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Buddy Brannan visits with Hoby Wedler, a blind chemist and wine taster. Find out how chemistry and wine tasting come together and discover what happens when a young person doesn’t take no for an answer! Stories covered in this podcast include:

ACB 2014 SPN Special 1

ACB 2014 SPN Special 2

ACB 2014 SPN Special 3

SeroSpectives presents our ACB NFB 2014 Convention Wrap-Up Special

SPN Special: A portion of the NFB 2014 Assistive Technology Trainers Division meeting

ACB coverage from Main Menu

2014 ACB Convention Archives from ACB Radio

David Lepofsky’s American Council Of The Blind banquet speech

2014 National Convention Highlights

AppleVis Extra #23: KNFBReader Mobile

An Open Letter to Mark Riccobono

iOS 8 Is Coming: And We’re Here To Get You Ready With The Master Pack from Fedora Outlier, LLC

Free iBook: Mastering the Macintosh with VoiceOver

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations—Movie Theaters

BlindCoolTechArchive

Apple’s Latest Earnings Report Hints at New Products

Apple seen inching closer to a mobile-payment service

How to Safely Install the OS X Yosemite Beta

Windows 8.1 update 2 reportedly will land August 12

Windows 9 image leaks shows the start menu is back

Nadella Merges Windows Phone, Windows

New Google Maps for Android and iOS Takes a Jab at Foursquare

Fleksy Debuts Version 3.0 On Android, With A Complete Redesign And New Premium Features

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

Roundabout

What’s Up With That: Why Does Sleeping In Just Make Me More Tired?

BBC News – Blind singer learns visual art of conducting a choir

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

Welcome to the 200th episode of the SeroTalk podcast. Our thanks go out to Andre Louis and Patrick Purdue of PD Audio Productions for the new theme music that you will hear on the SeroTalk Podcast from this point forward. Jamie, Ricky and Joe reflect on how far the SeroTalk Podcast and SPN have come over the years. We also discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Lisa Salinger reviews Status Report, an iOS app that lets you read the most recent 100 status updates from your favorite social media services. Finally, Jamie Pauls, Patrick Purdue and Buddy Brannan take a look at the Bradley timepiece. Stories discussed in this episode of the podcast include:

48 billion bucks later, ATnT buys Directtv

Google takes Twitch for YouTube

Peace in our time, Apple V Google

Apple Releases OS X Mavericks 10.9.3

Seven Unsung Built-In Gems of Mac OS X

Apple’s iCloud punishes you for being a good customer

Why high bit-rate and HD audio are all about marketing, not music

iPhone Calls Sound Weird? Try Turning Off Phone Noise Cancelation in iOS

New update to BlindSquare.

Back In The Game

New Access World for may

My Initial Thoughts on the RNIB Navigator App

Foursquare’s Swarm And The Rise Of The Invisible App

Pay for Google Play stuff with PayPal around the world

Psst! Wearable Devices Could Make Big Tech Leaps, Into Your Ear

The Next Big Thing You Missed: One Day, You’ll Google the Physical World With a Scanner Like This

The Trick That Makes Google’s Self-Driving Cars Work

New Urgency for Tighter Drone Rules After Near Crash

a nod to the past, Robot Guide Dogs?

Text-to-911 is here, but it isn’t everything you might think

Windows Phone 8.1 Launching June 24

Microsoft sticking to its guns so far, leaving XP unpatched and exploited

Roundabout

Got Gas? It Could Mean You’ve Got Healthy Gut Microbes

The Utopian Origins of Restroom Symbols

After 32 years, town lifts arcade game ban

A visit to Galloping Ghost, the largest video game arcade in the USA

Welcome to this week’s edition of the SeroTalk podcast where Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie visits with Hope Paulos of Fedora Outlier about all the exciting learning opportunities available from the company. Whether it’s iOS, Mac or Windows, they’ve got you covered. Also, be sure to check out their Delivering Access podcast which is also available on iBlink Radio. Topics discussed in this week’s podcast include:

Why the Windows 8.1 Update probably means no more Service Packs for Windows

Why I can live without Office for iPad

Windows Phone 8.1 Review

Purported iPhone 6 cases suggest design changes afoot

An Amazon Phone for Everyone—FREE!

Smartphone Makers Agree on ‘Kill Switch’ to Deter Thefts

5 ways Graphene material will change gadgets forever

5 myths about Heartbleed you shouldn’t believe

19-Year-Old Canadian Arrested for Heartbleed Hack

Apple says Heartbleed security flaw did not affect its software or services

Attention Pandora users! Pandora Radio 5.3 has broken some VoiceOver functionality. Read more:

Apple Patents Indoor Navigation System Based On Existing Wi-Fi Access Points

Apple Patents Graphical Interface For The Visually Impaired

Google Patents Tiny Cameras Embedded In Contact Lenses

The Rise and Fall of AIM, the Breakthrough AOL Never Wanted

Mailbag

From Brett Wilhelm:

Hi Serotalk. After listening to podcast 195, I wanted to comment on the issue of Braille notetakers versus IOS devices. Before I do, I will say that I am a proud owner of both of an Iphone 4s and BrailleNote Apex BT. I feel I have the best of both worlds, and can be more productive as a result. I’ll now discuss the areas I think my Apex docs best, followed by the things IOS does best.

Apex advantages 1. Instant start-up. The Apex powers on and is ready to work faster. 2. The battery. The Apex has a longer battery life and its batteries are user replaceable. And let’s not forget its longer battery life. 3. The Apex remembers its place in documents. 4. No need for Bluetooth. Unless I need to use it as a Braille display with IOS, there’s no need to use batter-draining bluetooth just to get Braille access to the device. 5. One keyboard, one device. I only need to touch one device.
I never need to move my hands off a keyboard and interact with a touch screen.

IOS advantages 1. The Iphone can be charged via USB, allowing it to be charged from a laptop even when no outlet is available. 2. More stability. Though Humanware has been constantly improving the stability of the Apex since its release, I find myself having to press its reset button on an almost daily basis. 3. App support. As great as the Keysoft operating system is on the Apex, it is not possible for users to design software for it.
With so many great IOS apps, it’s not always necessary to wait for software updates before the device gains more capabilities.

So, I think that IOS and notetakers still have a place in the blind community. I don’t see the disappearance of the notetaker or of blindness-spacific technology completely disappearing anytime soon. I hope you find this email informative and I look forward to more great podcasts from SeroTalk. Thanks, Brett Wilhelm

Blog comment from Jessica Rickards:

Keep up the great work guys! Excellent show, and quite an informative interview!

From Luis:

Hi SeroTalk hosts,

After listening to podcast 195, I wanted to reply about a couple of things mentioned.

First, I do have to agree with Mr. Steinkamp about fragmentation on iOS. It’s funny that he keeps on bringing up the original iPad which stopped receiving updates since iOS5.1.1. However, I did a full comparisons of fragmentation between Android and iOS. I was going to share the direct link. That I posted on a forum that I created over at SAMNet. And sadly because it was over 6 months ago, the post has fallen off the forum. But Apple has fragmented their OS since iOS2 with the introduction to appstore. Where the original iPhone back in 2007 came out. That phone couldn’t nor wouldn’t support iOS2.

Second, the comment about NoteTakers, has been around since 2010. Or even maybe earlier. I know the former CEO of Sero Tek has been against and I quote, “Blind Ghetto Products”, end of quote. But just recently I heard someone mentioning that he himself is now using a BrailleSense U2 Mini. And I know you will have a lot of people writing in about this. So, I’ll try to keep it short. The NoteTaker is as good as the user. If someone doesn’t know all about what the product can do, Then yes the product will be a waste of money. Like an Android or iPhone. Where I work sighted people have smartphones for there everyday tasks. But when I ask how is this feature working out for you? They stay quiet because they didn’t knew their phone was able to do that or they couldn’t figure out how to do it. So they just use the phone, email, and to watch YouTube or play games. While when I asked a student who used an MPower BrailleNote and is now using an Apex. He mentioned he preferred the Apex because it had more features. When I asked him like what or how are you using these features? His reply was, I don’t know I just know I like the Apex because it has more features. And for those who say, it’s just a waste of money. Since Main Stream devices are now accessible right out of the box. The device is, but the apps are only as accessible as the developers make them to be. Then, you’re at the mercy of them until they get around to fixing what they broke in accessibility. So, there is room for both, specially if you rely on Braille displays. Where on iOS Apple may break the ability to communicate with your Braille display as they have done on the last 2-3 OS updates. Or Google which according to an interview from That Android Show. It’s up to to the maker of the display to get it to communicate to your device.

Third, I don’t understand the hate on the front facing camera on the Nexas7, it did a pretty good job when I had to use it with Google Goggles. It was able to identify mostly everything I put in front of it. The same results that I get with my Nexas7 2013 model that has a back facing camera.

And forth, I am with Mr. Steinkamp about the Dice World posts. I rarely will post the generic tweet. More often then not. I will change the tweet to something random so not to bug my followers. Unless I beat Richard Wells. Then I have to brag about that great victory. As a matter of fact, I encourage anybody playing Bupster. To beat him in any and all Dice World games you play with him. He really enjoys giving gold to all.

Great podcast as always.

From Jake:

Hello all. I just wanted to say great job as always! I just had to comment on “It’s a Small World” turning 50. I vividly remember when I was a toddler, my parents and I went to DisneyWorld. This ended up being one of several trips that my family and I would take there. But my parents put me on that boat ride, and I can remember crying my eyes out from hearing that darn song so much. Obviously I got off the ride eventually, but I don’t remember the exact sequence of events that day. I have since grown to love DisneyWorld and Epcott Center. I haven’t been to either in several years, and I don’t believe I was ever at DisneyLand in California. I have also since grown to like that song. One other thing I remember is listening to a record my mom had in her vast collection, and I was fascinated at hearing the song in all the different languages. I definitely agree that the song has a good message. Well, thanks again for another good episode, and keep ‘em coming!

Best wishes, Jake

Roundabout

When Things Look Dark, Country Music Gets Sunnier

The science of seasonal allergies — and why they’re so awful

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

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they reconvene after a bit of an absence to discuss the top news stories of the week. Following the news, we bring you one last interview from CSUN as Joe visits with Chet of Ability Magazine about all they have to offer.

All of Google’s Jokes for April Fools’ Day 2014

SeroTalk Podcast 193: News for April 1, 2014

Triple-click Home Episode 28: Turn Right On “A” Street

That Android Show Episode 26: Your Android Is Not My Android

The Great Big List from the 2014 CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference

If you missed last week’s HadleySchool seminar by ricky Enger on exploring the Socializer, catch the archive here.

The “Re-Invention” of Braille Card Games

Avoiding BT keyboard issues in iOS 7.1

Boston Marathon Visually Impaired Participants Increases to Most Ever

Amazon’s Fire TV Is Powerful, but Voice Search Limitations Hamper User Experience

Amazon Fire TV vs. Chromecast vs. Roku vs. Apple TV

Amazon’s Fire TV: It’s about the off-Prime engagement, e-commerce

Mouse and keyboard-friendly Windows 8.1 update arrives April 8

Windows 8.1 Update 1 Review

Windows 9 ‘Threshold’: Rumors, Release Date, News, Features and More

iBeacons and airports: Results from a real-world test

inMarket lets specific brands, not just retailers, target shoppers using iBeacons in-store

United Nations uses iBeacons to simulate a minefield & raise awareness at NY museum

Mailbag

From Brett:

Hi SeroTalk.

I was listening to podcast 191, and I wanted to comment on some reasons I believe so many people are still using Windows XP. First, I’ll cover some reasons why some blind users still insist on using XP. Games (such as those written by Robert Betz don’t run on more modern operating systems. Other games (such as Grizzly Gulch and Chillingham from Bavisoft) will work on newer operating systems, but users who run them on a modern OS will experience stability issues.

The biggest reason why people (both blind and sighted) insist on staying with XP in my opinion is that they simply don’t believe/understand the security risks. Some users feel that Microsoft is simply trying to snatch their money by scaring them, and that as long as antivirus software is supported, everything will be fine. Also, I believe that more computer users then we might expect don’t understand the importance of Windows Update and the security patches Microsoft releases for supported operating systems. There you have the reasons I was given by friends and family members still insisting on using Windows XP. I’ve done my best to encourage my friends and family members to upgrade. Sadly, some XP users will likely have to face the consequences of staying on XP after support ends, not upgrading until after they’ve experienced malware and data theft. XP’s popularity will then sink, just as WINDOWS 98’s did. I hope you’ve found these comments useful, and thanks for producing such a great podcast.

Roundabout

Helen Keller Letter on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Goes Viral

How I heard for the first time

Why You Shouldn’t Share Those Emotional ‘Deaf Person Hears for the First Time’ Videos

BBC News – Stolen Gauguin painting ‘hung on factory worker’s wall’

Wheelchair Users Can Go Down Stairs with New Invention

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

Roundabout

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

1 in 10 in a survey think HTML is an STD

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

Make music from junk with Mogees and your smartphone

Two worlds collide on this week’s SeroTalk podcast as Jamie Pauls, Buddy Brannan and Alena Roberts–all part of the Triple-click Home team–host this week’s SeroTalk podcast. After the news, Jamie reviews the Braille Edge, the incredibly popular 40-cell refreshable Braille display from HIMS Inc. Visit the Tech Access DemoCast to hear Erin Edgar’s in-depth podcasts on the Braille Edge. Stories covered in this week’s episode include:

A T Talk

A closer look at iOS 7.1’s accessibility changes

Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 7:An Introduction for Blind Users (IPHONE-IOS7)

My top 4 app picks for Braille Users of iDevices in news

Announcing the release of Sendero GPS 2014 products!

Samsung Focuses On Accessibility With An Ultrasonic Case, A Text-Reading Stand And Voice Labels

Made in India: LECHAL, a Bluetooth connected shoe that guides wearers with directions

Senate Bill Updates SSI and Would Help Elderly Poor

Music By Ear

My Son’s Experience with the Perkins SMART Brailler

Mainstream Matters

Chromebooks and education: A perfect match

Google drops its Drive storage pricing significantly, puts pressure on Apple to improve iCloud prices

Amazon ups Prime fee to $99 from $79: Customers likely to absorb it

Starbucks test will let mobile users order items ahead of time

Alena recommends mint.com for managing your finances.

Toyota: Apple CarPlay, yes. When? Not saying, actually

Report: iOS 8 to Include Transit-Heavy Apple Maps Overhaul

iOS 8: Apple considers Notification Center + Messages tweaks, removing Game Center app

New Version of Microsoft Office for Mac Slated for 2014 Release

Concept Video Tips 4.7-Inch iPhone 6 ‘Air’

How to access the combination list/month view on iOS 7.1

How to manually control when Siri listens to you with iOS 7.1

Mailbag

From Jenine:

Hi Serotalk Gang,

You know I had to comment on this one. I had to in part because my employer has invested a lot of time and energy into this show on many levels.

As you probably have read if you’ve read anything about the background of the show, it is based on a real person who got his first dog from GDF back in 1980. His son has made several Youtube videos talking about the making of the show and the concept. One of the things he says is that the show is not meant to represent every blind person or every guide dog team but to tell the story of his family.

His father, who is still around and still uses guide dogs but not from GDF, is one of these larger than life people who can get away with doing things like what you see on the show.

There are a couple places I think where we all have disconnects with the show. the first one is that we are all so excited to see “one of us” in a network TV show that we put a lot of pressure on the show to live up to every concept we have of our group, regardless of the story. A friend asked me recently if African Americans felt the same way about Bill Cosby in the 1980’s when he played Dr. Huxtable. That wasn’t reality for many African americans at that time. It was the story of one family though in one set of circumstances.

Another disconnect with the show is the time frame. the son, D.J. Nash, is trying to adapt stories from his family that happened back when blind people did not have the technology they have now, and because of story telling conventions, Growing Up Fisher is set in the present. Will Mel have an iPhone on one episode? Who knows? Also, and any of us who are long-time guide dog handlers know this, what was acceptable behavior for a guide dog back in 1980 is not acceptable today in some very subtle ways. Yes the general tennants of good behavior are still there but I remember a lot more barking and such being tolerated back in the day. Now if a guide dog barks, the entire room of blind people will start yelling at the handler. Convention Trauma!

I honestly was very worried when I first heard about the show last June. I thought, “Oh crap. How many ways can this go wrong?” Way too many. Our community can be hyper judgmental about these things and it won’t matter what the general public thinks.

I, like Joe, don’t think NBC will keep the show around long enough to have a chance but if it did, how would our attitudes change? I do know that the producers consulted with GDF and local guide dog handlers in the LA area but even then, dramatic license is what it is.

I honestly also have not watched the show beyond the pilot episode yet. I hate network television. 5 minutes of show, 5 minutes of commercial. I liked the banter between the family as it mirros my own whacky family banter. As for the guide dog interactions not always being completely politically correct, let’s be brutally honest. We can all cite times when we’ve done things with our dogs or allowed our dogs to do things that are less than by the book. We even tell stories and laugh about them amongst ourselves. Let someone outside of our community portray that though and it gets uncomfortable.

Finally, I wanted to address the issue of the main character’s “passing” for sighted on the show. Believe it or not, this still happens and people will still try to be sighted when they are clearly not. I see it often when people come to guide dog class. They interview just fine. they look good getting around. then they come to spend 2 weeks or 3 weeks with a bunch of other blind people and they self destruct because OMG, they’ve never had to face their own blindness before in such a public way. they may never have been around real blind people in all their variations.

I see this at blindness consumer conventions too. We as a group tend to have some social behaviors that aren’t quite what you’d expect. Granted, the social conventions work when we’re in big groups, loud voices, training to get places, that is, making a train of people to get places, some of us not being as well groomed or observant of others’ social cues as one might expect. That all can freak people out the first time they experience it. And now they are one of “US”.

Most of the people who “pass” have some remaining vision. I don’t know about the character in Growing Up Fisher, just how “blind” he is. I do know that people can do amazing things in pursuit of denial. I did growing up. Gee, grown up partial? My youngest sister faked her entire last year of high school. No one knew she was totally blind by then because she had good friends who propped her up, and she was good at faking it by then. They knew she had vision problems but …

so the whole plot line of the main character faking being sighted for years is totally plausible. Less so I think back in 1980 than now with the technology but none the less, still going on.

Thanks for discussing the show in a very even manner. I know some people really hate it for a variety of reasons. Is it an ideal portrayal of blind people and guide dogs? probably not. It’s not meant to be though. It’s the story of a family that happens to have a blind father with a guide dog. Novel concept.
Jenine Stanley

From Greg Wocher:

Hello everyone,
I hope you all are doing well. I had some comments about episode 191.
First if you listen to the Security Now podcast you will find out that Steve Gibson, security guru, will not be updating his XP machines to something later. His reason is that there was a recent study that found if you run as a local limited user instead of an administrator on your XP machine you can eliminate nearly all vulnerabilities. If you want to hear more about this listen to the last couple of episodes of SN. So if you still want to run XP give your admin account a good password and always run as a local limited user instead. Secondly in this weeks and next weeks Security Now podcasts they are talking about how well Apple has done its security. It is really amazing what they have done. It is almost enough to make me switch back from Android. Now if they could get rid of that blasted iTunes software I just might switch back. LOL.

Thanks,
Greg Wocher

From Dominique:

Hey guys, listening to episode 190, and lol why not make your own Serotek phone? Just think of it. Aah, the SamNet phone! Buy it today!!! lolz. Just a thought, oh, and it could have the Ricke voice as the Speech TTS. I’d also be willing to give you my voice for that project. Just a thought. Talk later.

Blog comment from Amanda:

Hi,
I love tuning into the podcast and listening to the great stories and news you guys tell. I just have a comment about the show Growing Up Fisher. I have been watching the show and I really like it. I don’t think it’s a bad show at all. I am a guide dog user myself. I sure wouldn’t give my dog to someone when the harness is on either. The creater of this show has a dad who is blind. Don’t know if you guys knew that. I am on Twitter. Ricky and Buddy follow me as well as Joe. I also enjoy listening to Triple Clikc Home. Keep up the great work!

Roundabout

“Tastes Like Happiness”: Why Chocolate Fried Chicken Might Be The Future Of Fast Food

Want to boost your brain power? Walk more

HERO CENTRAL: Girl dials 911 with deactivated phone

Join Jamie, Ricky and Joe as they discuss the top news stories of the week. After the news, Jamie and Buddy sit down to talk about the release of iOS 7.1. Stories disccussed in this week’s podcast include:

A T Talk

29th Annual CSUN Conference on Disability news and info

Blind Bargains: The Updated Blind Bargains Guide to Attending #csun14 on a Budget

Blind Bargains: Meet the Visually Impaired Athletes of the 2014 Winter Paralympics

Blind Bargains: Solo DX Announces That They’re Closing Their Doors

Blind Bargains: Google Updates Text-to-Speech App with New Voices

Screen Magnification Survey

My Initial Thoughts On NBC’s Growing Up Fisher

Mainstream Matters

Weeks before expiration date, Windows XP still has 29% OS market share

Microsoft’s Attempt To Convert Users From Windows XP Backfires

Microsoft Security Essentials to nag Windows XP users

Target tech chief resigns as it overhauls security

Twitter error blamed for mass user password reset

Verizon has most reliable cellular network in test, AT&T has the fastest

Opinion: Does CarPlay go far enough, or should car manufacturers let Apple do more?

Apple Could Soon Make Siri Much Smarter, More Like ‘Her’

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo:

Hi there. First, a slight correction. For the mac, Leopard which was 10.5 was actually the last version of the operating system to work on power pc computers. Starting with snow leopard 10.6, it was Intel only. It’s not too surprising that Apple dropped support for Snow Leopard, it came out in August of 2009, so it’s over 4 years old. Regarding the question of screen reader detection, ideally this should not be needed. Rather, the issues should be addressed at the heart of the matter. All major screen readers support features such as navigating by headings, reading tables, etc. What needs to happen is that the web sites need to use best practices such as putting headings in the right place, labeling their links, etc. Similarly, the screen readers need to keep up with an support the web standards as they evolve. If these things are done, there should be no need for a site to have to detect whether someone is using a screen reader. I’m also not a fan of the separate but equal approach. More often than not, what we get is not equal, it’s not as good. And again, if best practices are followed, there is no need for that in the first place.

From Eugene:

Hi Team,

I’ve been thinking about the topic of screen reader detection, as I’ve read both the survey and Marco’s article on the subject. My comments follow, but I’m quite opposed to the idea, and here’s why.

First, there’s the matter of employment. If a job-hunting organization like DICE can put screen reader detection into their websites, the info that somebody is using a screen reader may be sent to possible employers, and your chances of nabbing a job may be shrunk to near zero. Certainly, a screener in a company may not even bother passing the resume on if they see the addendum about screen reader detection on it. This alone should stop any consideration of this kind of detection, but there is a much more sinister reason.

A screen reader is inherently viral. It must have access to all the processes of the computer in order to grab the information requested by the user. It is also a key logger since this is crucial to its function. A web author can use screen reader detection to not only gain access to the screen reader, but may also (and, I suspect, rather easily) gain access to its functions and turn the computer into a constant source of reportage for the author. He could, with relatively little trouble, plant a bomb in the computer that may do something when a series of keystrokes is pressed by the user. When it comes to the Internet, I am paranoid, and although I know nobody is out to get me personally, they are out to get me impersonally, so this would be a very good way to gain control of a computer system.

The best way for accessibility on the Web to happen is for Web authors to follow the rules which are being sent out. If they do so, and use the Java accessibility protocols and tools, accessibility can almost be built into any application that is written. (The only glaring weakness to this argument is the QT model, which is notoriously inaccessible.)

The tools are out there. They’re easy to use. I know. I’ve done a bit of programming, and it’s very easy for a program to be accessible if you follow the rules. It’s the same way for web pages. Now, it’s time for the developers to wake up, hear the piper and follow his song.

Thanks for the podcasts, and keep the good info coming.

Yours, Eugene A. Hetzer Jr.

From shuiyee

Hi,

I am totally blind and listen to every of your podcast. I am from Malaysia. Sometimes when I listen to all the benefits you guys have in America I wish it would be the same here in Malaysia. We don’t have guide dogs here. I love dogs but because of my country being a multiracial and one is Muslim which they are very afraid of dogs. So its taking a very long time to even implement a guide dog here. It won’t be useful if we train our own dogs because it won’t be allowed in the shops or public transport. I am an adult blind facing chance of losing my job because I was training as a pharmacist when I lost my sight gradually through side effects of chemotherapy. I love reading books too and how I wish we have BARD app to read books. Even kindle app is not available here. Some ebooks that you guys can download for free we are not allowed to download here. I am just commenting that Americans are very lucky to be in America. However, I don’t complain much because I know there are countries that are far worse than Malaysia such as China or India, where there are many cases whereby the eye condition can be treated but due to poverty or lack of medical staff they can’t get it. I’m not even sure if I got the email address correct. So bye for now. Thank you for reading my email.

regards: shuiyee

Sent from my iPod

Another email from shuiyee

hi,

Since I’ve got the correct email I just want to ad my comments about the TapTapSee. I was sad when they started charging too. For us 1 us dollar is about 3.8 ringgit malaysia. So if you guys are paying ten dollars it would be about 40 ringgit for us. So I’ve decided not to use the app then. I wish to use audible too but everything is so expensive as we have to multiply US dollars by 3.8. Also I love your podcast, keep up the good work and hopefully there are many many episodes to come!

shuiyee

Roundabout

Bad brains: some people are physically incapable of enjoying music

What Happens in the Brain When Blind People Learn to See With Sound

Kids attempt to use rotary phone, confusion ensues

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

A T Talk

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

ZoomText Mac 1.0.7 is Released

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

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

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

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

SPN Special: An Interview with Jim Kutsch

VIP Talk: Microsoft is not Last in Accessibility

Mainstream Matters

WhatsApp: the Bomb That Hit Silicon Valley

Google offered to buy WhatsApp for $10 billion

WhatsApp CEO Is Against Whatever Facebook Is For

OneDrive branding rolls out with new clients and new features

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

Apple eyes smart magnets to attach accessories to your iPad

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

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

Roundabout

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

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

Listen to the sound of a public street in 1928

Bernie Krause: The voice of the natural world

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

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

A Toast to GW Micro

CSUN 2014 View Sessions

Comcast Accessibility: More Than Talking TV

New information and picture-taking tips for TapTapSee.

NVDA Add-on for Station Playlist Studio

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

Winamp survives to play for new owner

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

Microsoft to extend Windows XP anti-malware updates one year

Target data breach part of broader organized attack

Starbucks addresses security snafu with update to iOS app

Net neutrality gets a kick in the teeth

TWIT 441 on this subject

Netflix Stock Dives After Net Neutrality Ruling

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

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

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

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

Mailbag

Blog comment from Beth:

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

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

“Amish society” DB 51601

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

From Greg:

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

Thank you,

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

Follow me on Twitter @GWocher

From Pam Francis:

Hi folks,

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

Pam Francis

Blog comment from Russ Kiehne

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Stan:

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

From Mike Arrigo:

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

Blog comment from Tim Hornik

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

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

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

Roundabout

Why Cold Air Smells Different

Chocolate Braille? 3d printer for Chocolate

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

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

Welcome to this week’s edition of the SeroTalk podcast where Jamie, Ricky and Joe discuss the top news stories of the week. Topics covered in this episode include:

News in A T

SeroSpectives: This Year in Tech for 2013

Announcing the AppleVis Golden Apples of 2013

iPad, Not the Most Economical Choice for Blind Consumers

Testing Android Accessibility: I Give Up

App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind

Hey iOS peeps! Now you can school your Android friends in SpellStack . Grab us on the App Store!

Digit-Eyes 2.0 has a completely NEW and simplified user interface design plus NEW other New features

Why Do We Fear the Blind? – NYTimes.com

Here’s the Braille Challenge song

Mainstream Matters

CES 2014: Wearables, connected appliances, automated cars, and curved TVs

Yikes! Target’s data breach now could affect 110M people

Snapchat apologizes for leaked user data, updates app to let you opt out of ‘Find Friends’

Windows 8.1 update images pop up online

Why the Kindle Fire HDX is a far better tablet than the iPad

World’s First Commercially Available Self-Driving Car Launches

Here’s What Happens To Your iPhone In The Bitter Cold

Mailbag

From Pam Francis

Hi folks, I am curious to know whether Serotek as a company makes a practice of reaching out to mainstream app developers to educate them on accessibility of their apps &/or web pages. In most cases, as we all know, paying attention to the tech community it can be achieved without disturbing the “pretty” app or website. As a community, we all are, or should be grateful for the strides having been made in accessibility, opening a world to us allowing for more independence & education to current events etc.

As was so eloquently stated in your latest podcast, one truly needs to find a balance between blindness specific apps & mainstream apps to achieve maximum productivity in any area.

While we praise companies such as Amazon for finally allowing us accessibility to their products & library, I think at year’s end, we also need to take note of the apps or sites that have been broken that may have been previously accessible if for no other reason than by accident. If these previously accessible web pages or apps have been broken due to ignorance of the standards, I would think, if done constructively said developers would be open to modification of their app or website to achieve accessibility as was done prior to their upgrade.

I am also curious to know if any of you know of any site that offers any kind of interactive classes, especially dealing with Android. I am part of the eyes free list. Fortunately, there a lot of knowledgeable folks up there. However, I still have questions that don’t lend themselves to an email, not knowing if or when one will respond. There used to be a chat site called we the people. They were recreational while offering classes in many areas, i.e. helping one to learn a given screen reader etc. I am in no way saying the podcasts aren’t helpful, They are an excellent tool. However, other than the emails written commenting on stories, they are not interactive. Please in no way don’t take this as destructive criticism. It is not meant that way. I also heard you mention speakqualizer. I wish to this day there was a hardware equivalent. Speakqualizer was my first interaction with a computer. I had a friend with no vision who allowed me a temporary stint in his home. He used it with a monochrome monitor. I was used to trying to paste my nose to any screen be it TV or otherwise. This thing forced me to listen. It also allowed one to examine the post before DOS launched. If one knew what they were doing, one could make innumerable tweaks to one’s computer with that thing.

Speaking of early speech software, Who remembers Vert? I had to learn that program in Florida & be proficient enough in it for employment. I still have a laptop around here somewhere with a 20 meg hard drive with DOS 3.3 running Vert & Word Perfect 5.0. I also think there is not enough credit given to instructors who deal with us who have partial vision. There ar those of us who want to use our vision to its maximum, at times without considering the safety or lack of productivity in doing so. I say this because the lady who taught me Vert, actually took away my computer monitor, forcing me to pay attention to my headphones & interact with the keyboard. Without her diligence & perseverance I would not have been able to learn voiceover independently. I still use magnification, yet have learned when it is most productive to use one or the other. I know there’s more, yet I think this is enough for one email. Thank all of you for your tireless work. Sincerely, Pam Francis

From Jenine Stanley:

Interesting discussion of a blog post challenging the use of descriptors for our population.

I have to laugh at our CEO at the Guide Dog Foundation. He is one of the biggest supporters of our community and accessibility there is, but he also likes to have lots of lights on in our facility, even when the people he serves say they cause a lot of glare and such. He’s cool about it when told that they are too bright but here’s an example of how he handles it which I find highly amusing.

CEO walks into room where blinds are drawn because of afternoon glaring sunlight. All of the people in the room are sighted. I am on speaker phone.

CEO Opens blinds. “Sorry, we light dependant people need well, light.”

Everyone squints and says it’s too bright. He closes blinds part way.

I note to group that we as human beings are all light dependant. Some of us just can’t perceive it, which breaks us into a discussion about Seasonal Affective Disorder, that is totally off the point of our meeting.

We often tease our CEO that there’s “light dependant” and then there’s “Really light Dependant”. He asks if that’s the same as partials and totals. Uh, yeah.

Jenine Stanley

Blog comment from Rynhardt Kruger:

Are you able to update the version of Talkback on the device? The newest Talkback lets you enable the old gestures for changing reading granularity. Also, did the “focus speech audio” talkback setting have any effect on the ducking issue?

Roundabout

How gaming can help blind people navigate buildings in real life

The Beauty of Space Comes to the Visually Impaired

Listen to Strange Sounds Recorded in a Hole 5 Miles Deep

About Our Presenters

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

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

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

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

Top Stories — 6-10

Story 10: X+Y = Math Access

SeroTalk Podcast, including an interview on the T84 Calculator

Story 9: A Tasty Google Treat

That Android Show

Story 8: Real Potential in Access to Set Top Boxes

Comcast Website

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

Victor Reader Stream: Second Generation

Sendero GPS

This Year at Serotek

Introducing Our New, Redesigned Website

Serotek Ambassadors’ Club is Launched

Serotek Podcast Network Reaches Highest Listener Count Yet

Serotek Launches the Newly Updated Socializer

The Top Five Stories

Story 5: You Down with UEB?

Unified English Braille to become official code in 2016

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

Apple iOS 7 Page

Triple Click Home

Story 3: The Tap Tap See Controversy

Tap Tap See Review

Triple Click Home Interview

Story 2: The Holy Grail of iPhone Apps

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

Kindle Fire HDX Product Page

Kindle Fire HDX: Usable By the Blind At Last?

Jamie, Ricky and Joe have a lot to discuss in this week’s SeroTalk podcast. Topics covered include:

Blind Bargains: President Obama Declares October 15 Blind Americans Equality Day

HumanWare sees its global development expand through a partnership with Essilor

Lease to Own Option Now available for Adaptive Technology solutions costing over $1,700 from Triumph Technology

Reader’s view: Drive safely, pay attention and watch for the blind

There’s No Such Thing as a “blind Ghetto” Product

Why Can Some Blind People Process Speech Far Faster Than Sighted Persons?: Scientific American

Blind, Yet Now I See

Windows 8.1: What a difference a year makes

Microsoft pulls botched Windows RT 8.1 update, tolerates mediocre Surface 2 review (Updated)

Review: The Kindle Fire HDX Is the Amazon-centric Tablet Finally Done Right

Do I Need to Stop Using Microsoft Security Essentials?

Windows XP users get a year of Chrome support after OS retires

Nexus 5 quietly appears at Google Play for $349

Android 4.4 KitKat tweets hint at Oct. 28 launch

Google Maps for iOS updates with faster navigation, more languages

Tim Cook talks hiring of Angela Ahrendts as Retail chief, says she is ‘best person in the world for this role’

Amazon listing may be hinting at new Apple TV at 22nd Oct event

Mailbag

Jesse writes:

Hey guys. You do a very awesome job with the podcast. I love it! I was just thinking if Ricky did record a voice professionally, Serotek could make it one of the standard voices for system access and it would be your own trademarked voice. Just a thought. Keep doing an awesome job. Jesse

From Mike Arrigo Regarding the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, unless Amazon has changed their position, the device will be fairly locked down. You will not be able to side load apps, which means you could not install braille back or even the google play store. Also, the boot loader is locked with no way to officially unlock it, so installing a different rom would be difficult if not imposible. And, as stated, no access to the google play store. Because of these reasons, it’s not a tablet I would consider. If you want an android tablet, go with the nexus 7. Regarding mobile accessibility on Windows Phone 8, unfortunately this is not a screen reader. It’s a suite of applications, similar to what mobile accessibility is on android. However, on windows phone 8, you don’t have access to the native phone interface or any third party apps. If this is Microsoft’s idea of accessibility on this platform, I suggest they try again. This is not even true accessibility, and considering that IOS and Android provide accessibility for the native interface including third party apps, there’s no reason to go with a platform that only provides this limited functionality. Microsoft needs to do what Google and Apple have done, provide a built in screen reader that works with the native platform interface and built in applications, as well as third party applications that conform to the platform standards.

Here is a link to Windows Weekly episode 333 referenced by Joe

Roundabout

Steve Jobs ‘believed he was a World War II pilot’

19-year-old Dairy Queen manager does good deed for blind man

Thomas Edison’s Talking Dolls Sound Like They’re Possessed By Satan

Recommended Reading

Here is a list of the books which were mentioned in this week’s podcast:

Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

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

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

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

Twitter has a new dedicated accessibility team

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

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

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

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

Android vs Seri on voice commands

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

New education section launched on Apple.com

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

A Time Machine for Your Ears

Inclusive Gaming

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

The Everyday Life of a Blind Technologist

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

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

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within the next year

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

Roundabout

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

12 Super Successful People Who Shun Technology

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

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

Blind Bargains: Survey on the Accessibility of Exercise Equipment

AI Squared has released ZoomText 10.1 for Windows 8

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

Bottom line, disabled people might be better workers.

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

New Windows 8.1 build reveals built-in tutorial and tips

Can Surface be Saved?

Facebook said to be testing its own mobile purchasing program

Five alternative futures for BlackBerry

LG G2 balloon stunt goes awry

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

Why Boston is a hotbed for speech recognition like Siri

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

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

Roundabout

Bone Conduction Technology, Now Found in Your Mouth

Digital era threatens tenuous future of drive-ins

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

Roundabout

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

Sponsor

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

App Review: Midway Arcade

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

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

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

Thanks for listening!

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

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

The Retina MacBook Pro: Faster, stronger, cheaper

Report: Apple May Have Over 100 Staff Working on Smartwatch

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

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

New beta of TalkBack adds single tap back to the app

Skype 6.2 arrives for Windows, Mac

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

Microsoft Airs First Surface Pro Commercial During Grammys

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

David Woodbridge demos Narrator on Surface RT

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

FDA approves first bionic eye for rare disorder

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

The race to fingerprint the human voice

The end of accessibility?

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

iMove

Link for all BBC audio described programming

High Contrast 8, Nose to a box

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

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

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

US restaurant Applebee’s commits ‘social media suicide’

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

In Podcast 139, Buddy Brannan joins Jamie Pauls and Ricky Enger in a discussion of the week’s top stories. Topics covered include:

Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday in the U.S.

Twitter Blog: Today’s turbulence explained

MSN Messenger gets nixed for iOS, Skype says ‘hello’

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet hits U.S. and Canada on Feb. 9  

The PC is Not Dead. Yet.

Amid Declining PC Market, Lenovo Says It Would Consider Bid for RIM, Others

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

Google hints at possible “X Phone” with long battery life, wireless charging, and an unbreakable case

Report: Samsung Galaxy S4 will debut in April

New podcast on iBlink Radio: Android From an Accessible Point of View

Android malware could reach the 1 million mark by year’s end

RIM relaunches app store as ‘BlackBerry World,’ music and video content coming soon

Samsung Goes After BlackBerry in New Ad

RIM tries to keep its business customers ahead of BlackBerry 10 launch

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

Be sure not to miss out on the new update for iBlink Radio v2.2.0. Now supports the iPhone 5!

ACBRadio: tuner8 has been posted to the website

2013 01 16 Touch Type

Screen reader survey

Mailbag

As promised, here is a link to the Lost and and Found Sound series from NPR.

Roundabout

How a Blind Man Conquered the Appalachian Trail Using Technology

Why Bad Grammar Makes Good Passwords

Lisa Salinger joins Jamie Pauls and Joe Steinkamp as they discuss this week’s crop of stories, including the big one that prompted the title of this podcast. Finally, Joe and Jamie have a surprise for those who listen in past the credits at the end.

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

How Facebook Graph Search Can Help Journalists

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

Why Facebook doesn’t need its own phone

Microsoft Office 2013: What to expect on the pricing front

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet is expected to arrive in ‘weeks’

Microsoft’s Surface needs a reboot: Here’s how

Another top retail executive leaves as Apple looks for new head

Specs leak: BlackBerry 10 L-Series shows multiple variants, decent horsepower

RIM Attracts 15,000 Apps For BlackBerry 10 In 2 Days

A User’s Perspective on the Insignia Narrator Talking HD Radio

UEB & You: What You Need to Know About Unified English Braille

Nexus 7 Screen Protectors Survey

Verizon Wireless Introduces Mobile Accessibility App For Customers Who Are Visually Impaired

Mobile Accessibility Survey

Book Review: All You Need and Want to Know about iMessaging

HIMS is Pleased to Release Sense Notetaker v7.0 patch 2 featuring Support for Learning Ally

Download KeySoft 9.2.2 today!

2013 Rose Parade with Audio Description Now Available for Download

ZoomText 10.06

J-Say 11

Time to enroll in CAVI courses

Mailbag

From Mike Arrigo:

Great show as always.

Skype on the Mac is much more accessible than in windows. It has built in features to notify you of things such as receiving messages and when contacts sign in and out. The chat window is an html view so it’s fully accessible. I’ve merged my messenger and skype accounts, and I think this is a great thing. I don’t think text chat is dead yet, just like on a mobile phone, if you want to tell someone something very quickly, text messaging is quicker, and it also allows you to multitask and do other things while having an on going chat.

Regarding the iphone for straight talk, you have to pay full price for the phone I think. I wonder if it’s unlocked. I sure hope so, to pay the price they are charging for a phone that is locked is nothing but a rip off.

Regarding blackberry 10, I wonder if that will be accessible or if it will join the ranks of windows phone 8.

I agree with Ricky about the specialized smart phone. There’s simply no reason for that. The main stream phones that are available are accessible, assuming they use an accessible platform. People need to bite the bullet and learn how to use them the same as everyone else.

From: Ali

Hello,

I enjoyed listening to podcast 137. You guys provided a good perspective.

As far as backing up an iOS device, I still prefer backing up in iTunes, that way, you are certain all your content is completely backed up, and software updates are quicker.

Is there a difference between the Mac and windows version of iTunes? I have only used the Windows version.

Best regards, Ali

Roundabout

1928 video of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, captioned and audio described

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!

Replay the Accessible Event archive of the show

It took three hours and seven people putting their heads together, but we succeeded in counting down the top ten stories of 2012 as compiled by the Blind Bargains team. We even managed to throw in a few extra stories along the way. Here’s how we did it:

The Panel

Joe Steinkamp is cohost of the SeroTalk Podcast

Follow him on Twitter

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.

Jamie Pauls

Producer and host of the SeroTalk Podcast

plays keyboard professionally, and has shared the stage several times with current X Factor winner Tate Stevens. He is a music therapist who has worked with both the elderly and children, and teaches a music Appreciation class one evening a week at a community college. In the current setting, he is best known for his work as Content Director for Serotek

and the SeroTalk Podcast Network.

Steve Sawczyn

is host of SeroSpectives

Léonie Watson is Director of Accessibility at Nomensa, and Chair of the British Computer Association of the Blind. She works with companies around the world to create and implement digital inclusion strategies, and she’s a W3C invited expert working on HTML5 accessibility. Léonie is one quarter of the AccessTalk podcast

 (which is really just a good excuse to get together and chat about technology). According to her Twitter profile she’s also a screen reader user, book addict and tequila drinker, although you know what they say about things you read on the internet! Follow her on Twitter,

visit her website,

or send her E-mail.

Wade Wingler

is the Director of Assistive Technology with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads

in Indiana, and was instrumental in starting Assistive Technology Radio.

The Stories

10. 10 Windows Phone still with No Access

Win Super Site

Link to SeroTalk 129 where we discuss how a Microsoft Surface Phone would fix the issue of Windows Phone 8

9. Amazon Adds Accessibility to some Kindle Models, but falls short

Amazon home page

Link to SeroTalk 135 where we revisit this issue on the week that NFB protests amazon.

8. iPad Refreshed Twice, iPad Mini Added

iPad home page

Link to SPN Mobile Special where we talk about the iPad Mini and iPad 4 in depth.

7. Focus 14 Braille Display Released, Focus 40 Refreshed

Focus page

Link to our interview with Freedom Scientific on the Focus 14, and more, from our coverage of the blinded Veterans Association National Convention

6. GWConnect Updated, causes debate with ad-supported model

GW Micro page

Accessible Event

System Access with Windows 8

Accessibility Anywhere

5. Panasonic Announces Line of 30 UK Televisions with Text-to-speech Capabilities

4. NVDA Releases Several major Updates

NVDA Home Page

3. iPhone 5 released

iPhone home page

Link to SPN’s Triple Click Home for news on all things Apple

2. Nexus 7 and Android 4.1 include major accessibility changes

Link to That Android Show on the Nexus 7

Exoskeletons for people with spinal cord injuries:

iOS Guided Access

Livescribe Smartpen

National Association of the Deaf vs Netflix

Robots for kids with autism

1. Fleksy Blends Assistive Tech and Mainstream Simplicity

On this, our final news-related episode of the year, Jamie, Ricky and Joe settle in to discuss the top stories of the week. Then, Jamie visits with Brian Fishler of Laugh for Sight about Gotham Comedy Radio, a new podcast being launched in conjunction with the SeroTalk Podcast Network.

Listen to Legendary Comedian Robert Klein on the first episode of Gotham Comedy Radio

This is the unedited podcast. The edited version will be coming soon.

Will Kindle E-Books Leave Blind Students Behind?

Amazon, Why Do You Keep Burning Blind Readers?

Amazon Books for All Accessibility Protest

our latest SPN Mobile special: Scratching the Surface with Mike Calvo

An Accessibility Review of the Kindle 3

Kindle Fire: Down in Flames!

podcast 79: What’s Up Happy Rants

Brand new Tech Doctor podcast entitled: Accessible Books

Amazon Instant Video App

Draconis Entertainment Releases Their First Mac Audio Game for the Visually Impaired

FamilyConnect Holiday Guide to Toys, Games, and Gadgets for Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Braille Sonar for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

The must have accessible apps for blind android users

Code Factory releases new mobile Accessibility

Braille typewriters get a digital-era update

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAILLE LITERACY

Facebook now has a dedicated accessibility page

Facebook voting is gone, but privacy issues just get worse

Google CEO Larry Page talks Apple, Android monetization and an eventual Motorola Nexus device

In bringing Office to iOS, Microsoft is playing a dangerous game

Microsoft Surface vs. Google Nexus: The numbers don’t tell the whole story

Microsoft: Surface Tablet to Debut in Retail Stores Soon

Redbox Challenges Netflix With $6 a Month Streaming Service

The future of television has arrived: it’s called the iPad

Apple Could Acquire Navigation Partner TomTom To Fix Maps [Analyst]

CNET 100

Roundabout

Tape runs out for Sony’s portable cassette recorders

Welcome back to another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. Jamie Pauls, Lisa Salinger and Joe Steinkamp have a lot to discuss this week, so let’s jump right into the stories covered on this episode.

National Federation of the Blind Condemns Amazon’s Push to Put Kindle E-books in Schools

Amazon making Kindle Fire more accessible via voice, touch controls

Blind Bargains: An Apology, and the Announcement of 2011 Blind Bargains Access Award Winners

Window-Eyes 8.0 Now Available!

★ iWork for iOS Apps Updated with Improved Accessibility

iPhone VoiceOver Function For People With Disabilities

iPhone vs. Android: One Year Later | Joe Orozco

The advantages of owning an iPad

Tim Cook Explains The Biggest Changes He’s Made To Apple After Steve Jobs

Apple to begin manufacturing some Macs in the U.S.

T-Mobile CEO: Our iPhone experience will be ‘dramatically different’

T-Mobile to end smartphone subsidies next year

Surface sales may exceed 1M in Q4, says researcher

Microsoft’s Android bashing campaign goes down in flames as #WindowsRage trends

Why don’t computer users take passwords seriously?

Twitter SMS bug lets hackers tweet via other users’ accounts

The skinny on Netflix-Disney deal (FAQ)

Roundabout

Apple Promises To Fix iOS 6 Maps For Christmas By Physically Altering Planet Earth [Humor]

Building a sensitive robot, and perhaps a future politician?

Replay the Accessible Event archive of the program

Microsoft

Windows 8: 4 Million Sold in First 3 Days

Windows 8/RT touch interface confuses, frustrates early users

SPN Special: Windows 8

Microsoft confirms Windows Live Messenger retirement in favor of Skype

Why Microsoft’s Tablet Can’t Fail

Windows RT 32GB tablets actually only have 16GB of usable space nullifying storage cost advantage over iPad

Apple

iPad mini and iPad 4: Apple has muddied the waters

iPad Mini review:  The perfect size, but at a price

4th Gen iPad’s A6X Processor Makes It More Than Twice As Fast As Its Predecessor

Third-gen iPad owners: does the fourth-gen iPad irk you?

Apple releases iTunes 11 with “dramatically simplified user interface

Android

SPN Mobile Special: Scratching the Surface with Mike Calvo

Meet Android 4.2

Access Tech

ACB Radio Tuner Version 7 has been published

NBBA 2012 World Series Championship Game Audio

Syntellia raises $900K for its Fleksy keyboard, headed to more platforms

Barnes and Noble’s iPhone App Gets VoiceOver And Zoom Accessibility

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

BANA Adopts UEB

2012 SPN Holiday Review Special

Contacting Our Guests

Send an email to Myrna Votta

Follow Shane Jackson on Twitter

Send an email to Shane Jackson

Follow Lisa Salinger on Twitter

Follow SeroSpectives on Twitter

Welcome to yet another edition of the SeroTalk Podcast where Jamie Pauls, Lisa Salinger and Buddy Brannan sit down to discuss the top news stories of the week. Items covered in this week’s podcast include:

How an Indonesian ISP took down the mighty Google for 30 minutes

Obama faces piracy, privacy tests in his second term

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Microsoft’s Surface a balloting device in one precinct in Virginia

Why you can’t vote with your iPhone: There may be an app for it, but there isn’t an appetite

Amazon Prime give and take: get monthly payment option, pay more

New Tech Doctor podcast “Amazon Kindle Accessibility” featuring Lisa Salinger and Allison Hartley

Borrowing Books with Kindle and Prime by Lisa Salinger

Windows 8 may be ‘safer’, but you’re still not buying it

Report: Microsoft Office for iOS, Android could debut early next year

Microsoft Office for iOS, Android to have Office 365 subscription tie-in: Report

Microsoft confirms Windows Live Messenger retirement in favor of Skype

Windows RT 32GB tablets actually only have 16GB of usable space nullifying storage cost advantage over iPad

Surface with Windows RT is No PC Replacement

Taking Surface to Work

5 Reasons Why Apple’s Stock is Tanking

iPad-controlled street lights coming to London

Apple, publishers cut e-book deal with EU regulators – report

BANA Adopts UEB

Window-Eyes 8.0 Beta 2 Now Available

Roundabout

Climbing 103 Floors On a ‘Bionic’ Leg

After Paralysis, Blind Man Takes 1st Steps with Robotic Suit:

Welcome back to this week’s edition of the SeroTalk Podcast where Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp discuss the top news stories of the week. Here are the links to all the topics discussed in this episode:

Home page of the American Red Cross

iTunes now accepting donations for the American Red Cross Sandy relief efforts

FCC says wireless service is improving after Sandy

iPad Mini review:  The perfect size, but at a price

4th Gen iPad’s A6X Processor Makes It More Than Twice As Fast As Its Predecessor

Apple executive shakeup: Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving the company

iTunes 11 delayed into ‘end of November’

Apple Releases iOS 6.0.1

Meet Android 4.2

Windows 8: 4 Million Sold in First 3 Days

Windows 8/RT touch interface confuses, frustrates early users

Does Microsoft’s New Windows Phone 8 Have What It Takes To Compete With iPhone?

Windows 7 keeps growing in popularity over XP

Freedom Scientific loses lawsuit against GW Micro

An Immersion into Internet Explorer 9 with JAWS for Windows 14

ACB Radio Tuner Version 7 has been published

Station Playlist Studio Scripts 4.01

Version 1 of Scripts for the Tween Twitter client are released!

Syntellia raises $900K for its Fleksy keyboard, headed to more platforms

AppleVis Podcast: An Introduction to the New Apple Maps App in iOS 6

NBBA 2012 World Series Championship Game Audio

SPN Special: Accessibility Anywhere

Mailbag

From James Muirhead.:

Good morning folks,

Thank you for the informative show and your efforts to apply pressure to various

companies, e.g. Amazon and their Kindles.

Although I muse a Macbook Pro and iPhone 5, I lack a simple braille notetaker.

I am still using a very fragile Braille lite as I still find this the fastest way

to input and retrieve specific information, e.g. details during a phone call or notes

on lectures.

I am on the mailing list for the Braille  +.  Again this seems to be a notetaker

and a great deal more.  I suspect that I would not use a great deal of the “more”.

I have been unable to elicit any response from Brian  MacDonald and the B2G notetaker

I am hoping that it will be more directed to elegant ways of notetaking and finding

information within files.  I am very untidy with my filing and make frequent use

of the “global find” in the braille lite, as I know I may have written about a certain

subject, but cannot remember in which file I wrote it!

Your efforts are much appreciated, though not always the humour.  I particularly

like Ricky when she uses her English accent, which she does very well.

Roundabout

Ethiopian kids hack OLPCs in 5 months with zero instruction

This week, Ricky Enger, Buddy Brannan and Joe Steinkamp sit down to discuss the top news stories of the week. Topics discussed in this episode of the podcast include:

Conflicted: The tension in Windows 8

Why Microsoft’s Tablet Can’t Fail

Microsoft Surface RT Review

Window-Eyes 8.0 Beta 1 is Now Available!

Jaws v14 screen reader has been released

MAGic version 12 has been released!

Dotris: A computer game for Braille displays

Blog post: Notes for musicians, vocalists and recording engineers

iPad mini and iPad 4: Apple has muddied the waters

iPad mini: Why Tim Cook’s Apple is a better company than the one Steve Jobs left behind.

Third-gen iPad owners: does the fourth-gen iPad irk you?

Apple’s new iMac will boost ailing desktop division, analyst says

Apple unveils updated Mac Mini desktops

Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Mailbag

Blog posts

bubba says:       

October 24, 2012 at 11:50 am     

hi, she was saying that she had to replace her thermostat and just wondering if she got a talking thermostat? If she did not I think she should check out http://www.talkingthermostats.com/blind.shtml

Marc Baillargeon (pronounced buy are jon) says:            

October 19, 2012 at 3:35 pm       

Just wanted to take a sec to comment on your previous podcast and especially the maps in IOS6. I am in Edmonton, Alberta Canada and my experience has been that at least here the maps work really well when asking for directions or specific routes; as a matter of fact I was talking to a sighted fellow just the other day who hunts at this time of the year about 90 miles west of edmonton. To hunt of course you have to get off the main highway on to side roads which in our neck of the woods are called forestry trunk roads. These roads each have a number designation such as forestry trunk road 145 and they are basically cow paths into the woods where people would go hunt. This guy was so impressed as Apple maps actually had the correct number designations on them so he was able to drop off his buddy on one and then proceed to the one he wanted to get to without difficulty whereas previously with the google maps they were of no use and since all the roads looked the same it took time to find the right ones–he was so impressed with this feature of IOS 6 on his Iphone 4 no less.

Could you guys talk about twitter at some point and accessing it with system access directly or with easychirp? i have found easychirp quite simple to use but can you do it directly with some practice or is easychirp the best thing out there for now on a computer.

Also is serotek planning down the road to put the capability of a pronunciation dictionary into the software; also in some instances I would prefer numbers to be read off individually and not as whole numbers–is this a possibility?

Lastly XM Satelite Radio both in Canada and the US has come out with a new player and if you’re not a subscriber you can get, I believe a two week trial. I am a subscriber and am having a hell of a time trying to figure out and/or access the player; frankly a real pain in the ass for which I’m paying 4.99 extra. It does work fine with the XM app or the IPhone or IPad though.

keep up the great work and why don’t you guys arrange something with the CNIB up here in Edmonton and come up for a visit sometime; we always hear about the American conventions but what about us poor canadians, eh?

All the best!

Marc Baillargeon Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Roundabout

Children’s Media Usage Skyrockets During Past Year [STUDY]

Where do most people accidentally destroy their iPhone?

Japan Develops Smartphone Application That Sends Smells

How the Blind Run Marathons

Welcome back to another episode of the SeroTalk Podcast. This week, Jamie Pauls, Ricky Enger and Joe Steinkamp once again discuss the top news stories of the week. Then, Jamie Pauls visits with laura Legendary of Elegant Insights Jewelry. Stories covered in this week’s podcast include:

Apple v Android: the winner is… the disabled community

Blind Community Raises Awareness with ‘Flash Mob’ Dance

Home Readers  | The gateway to shopping for the blind and visually impaired

Braille Plus 18 User Guide

Window-Eyes 8.0 Public Beta

OptiGuide

An Evaluation of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Using the Nexus 7

Newsweek turns to digital-only publication

Amazon launches Whispercast service to help schools, workplaces manage Kindle devices

Apple iPad Mini: The ultimate rumor roundup

5 Ways to Increase Your iPhone 5 Battery Life

Elop: a Surface phone would stimulate the Windows Phone ecosystem

Microsoft Office 365: More new packages and prices coming in November

Only 6% of Fans Engage With a Brand’s Facebook Page [STUDY]

Facebook partners with Panda Security

Mailbag

Blog comment from Sue

Great podcast as usual. About that article where it talks about blind people not being connected to the net for me I have been pretty lucky. I have been on the net since I was 21 years old which was in 96 which really opened up the door and that is how my husband and I met been married for nine years and loving it. As far as Lee there has got to be some blindness organization where they do something at least twice a month so he can get out and do stuff. I know when I grew up in PA there were two camps I went to during the summer. Also if he got a PC with either NVDA or System access he could at least keep up with what is going on in the world. Not everyone needs or wants a smart phone. I know they are awesome, for me I am mainly here at home and on the PC. My cell phone is a basic one. One of these days am going to get an Ipod touch.

From Christine Diller In Maryland

Good Evening Folks,

I just finished listening to Podcast 128. As always, a most informative presentation, a great job done by all!

While it’s nice having Ricky back, lending her expertise on various points of conversation, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Podcast 127, starring Buddy, Jamie, and Joe! I’ve never laughed so hard in all my life! You guys were awesome, even if my husband found me totally insane, sitting with my earphones in my ears, laughing hysterically over something of which he was totally unaware! Thanks for the hilarious show! Oh yes, much knowledge was gained as well.

Now if I may, a few comments from Podcast 128:

I’m a staunch advocate in educating the general public about blindness and low vision, leaving a positive impression. That’s not to say however, that I haven’t experienced situations where I wanted to scream, tearing my hair out! For example, I was once asked whether my dog cooked for me. Before replying, I had to take a deep breath, biting my tongue! It was so hard not to laugh! My dog and I, along with the individual in question, walked away, both feeling good about how I handled the situation, I think!

Now onto sounds that make one cry. The “fork against a plate” is one which causes me to cringe. Two others though, which drive me up the wall are “listening to someone crunching on an apple,” along with “hearing a person rubbing a page between their fingers, or rubbing pages together while they read.”

Wishing everyone a great week, and Joe, stay away from those emery boards!

From Pam Francis

Hi folks,

Thanks again for another informative podcast.

At the end you asked for sounds that made us cringe or react in any given way.

When I was young, I remember watching a test pattern on a black & white TV & hearing, “This is a test of the Emergency broadcast system.” The subsequent tone used to totally freek me out. To this day, I have schoolmates who have told me of my reaction. I had a very high pitched scream & ran in to a closet. By the grace of God, that menacing tone was replaced when the Emergency Alert system was activated. I still don’t like it; but do not run from the room or mute the channel be it TV or radio.

If I may, I would also like to ask another couple of questions & make another comment.

I have seen several articles posted by you & others regarding windows accessibility without a 3rd party screen reader. Per the surface tablet, if there is minimal accessibility to no accessibility, do you think Windows will have conceded to Apple with reference to tablet accessibility?

Also, if one is not familiar with Android as a platform, What is the learning curve with a Nexus 7 versus an Ipad other than accessibility gestures? I ask this because we are the launch city for Google fiber. Within our installation, we are given a Nexus 7, supposedly to be used as a remote. I also understand they have a conventional remote.

However I hope to use this opportunity to try to familiarize myself with some sort of Android, if for no other reason than to broaden my horizons.

You also made comments referencing wireless carriers having accessibility departments. Though I am a Verizon customer, I have yet to find a dependable link or contact number to get direct accessibility support. I know it exists with AT&T. I have been a Verizon customer for almost 15 years. Through the years, I have seen various phones attempt at accessibility be it gimmicky or intended. Their version of the Talks screen reader was a joke. I am forever disturbed by the customer service reps doubling as tech support reading data base answers from a computer screen rather than having raw knowledge.

I also made a futile attempt at contacting an accessibility team within google. They offer a feedback form with no means of communicating with anyone directly responsible for accessibility.

I am trying to make them aware of the needs of those of us who have such needs that are willing to subscribe to their service.

Apple does have a dedicated team with a dedicated number.

the number is, for your listeners benefit 866-204-3930 Keep up your tireless work for all of us. It does not go unnoticed.

Roundabout

Police use Taser on blind man, thinking his cane was samurai sword

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

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.

Jamie Pauls, Lisa Salinger and Buddy Brannan sit down together and discuss this week’s top news stories. Among other things, here are the main stories covered:

Apple

132-page internal document shows how Samsung set out to copy the iPhone pixel by pixel

Apple vs. Samsung: Influence, or Copying?

Apple freezes AppleID password resets requested over the phone

An in-depth discussion of the above story can be heard on Security Now Episode 364

New iPhone’s Bigger Screen to Have 5th Row of Homescreen Icons?

Why a longer iPhone 5 screen needs to happen

General Tech

Verizon divulges high data plans under ‘Share Everything’

Starbucks aims to take Square, digital payments mainstream

Microsoft Office 2013: Goodbye to adds-in, bring on the apps

Online Radio Service TuneIn Comes To Tesla’s Model S, Now Available On 200 Platforms

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Complete 300K Miles Without Accident, Deemed Ready For Commuting

AT

A Ride in a Cab That’s Optimized for the Blind

Finding and Hiring a Driver

SeroSpectives Special: Mountain Lion

Super Egg Hunt Plus preordering is now live.

Christine Ha: MasterChef Contestant, Writer, and Cook

The Blind Cook – Sightless adventures of gastronomical proportions

Using your feedback to make Narrator work better with touch

A new version of Fleksy is out.

Roundabout

NASA: Your smartphone is as smart as the Curiosity rover

iPhone app aims to help visually impaired

Listen to SeroTalk Podcast 118: Twitigation

A helping of analysis, a smidge of prognostication, a dash of humor and a pinch of sarcasm are all a part of the recipe for this week’s SeroTalk Podcast with Jamie, Ricky and Joe. Your emails and iReports are the icing on the cake. Stories discussed in this week’s show include:

How to upgrade your Hotmail email address to @outlook.com

How new Outlook just made my Gmail usable again

Outlook is nice, but it’s no Gmail [review]

Windows 7 poised to topple XP as leading OS

Dropbox bolsters security: Will businesses be wary?

T-Mobile close to $2 billion deal for its 7,000 towers, report says

Watch live TV on your phone! No, really

Amazon’s cloud music service gets scan and match

What happened to Google’s Nexus Q?

Blind and visually impaired fastest growing iPhone market

Wifarer’s mobile app doesn’t just map the indoors, it maps the objects within

Learn about the excellent work that David Woodbridge does as an Apple Ambassador in the new Tech Doctor podcast

A Blind Trek Through Android – Part 1: Unwrapping the Jelly Bean (Getting Started)

No-C-Notes® Music – Download Digital Audio Sheet Music

NosillaCast #377 Fleksy Keyboard for the Blind, Motion X GPS for Geotagging, @jasonhowell of Tech News Today

AllMenus

Ten Affordable Screen Readers

Feature Writer Alena Roberts – Bring on the Braille

Mailbag

We had so much in the way of feedback again this week, thanks to all of you for your emails and iReports!, that we had to share a few of them here online in the show notes.

From Paul

“Dear All,

I listened with interest as usual to SP #117 and, as a blind person here in the UK (as well as an RNIB volunteer), I felt I had to respond to your piece about the RNIB’s promotional video.

The RNIB used to be called the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

Only very recently in its history did it change its name to the Royal National Institute of Blind People, reflecting a significant change in attitude. Surely the ‘of Blind People’ assertion denotes a sense of ownership and involvement by blind people themselves in the activities of this organisation, as opposed to simply being on the receiving end of alms or other forms of charity ‘for the Blind’. In this context, has the RNIB really shot itself in the foot or, even worse, has it shot the credibility of blind people here in the UK with its emotive promotional material?

Let’s imagine for a moment that none of us has any feelings or sensitivities about what it means to be blind or visually impaired. What is the RNIB trying to do here? It is engaged in the activity of fund-raising. Fund-raising is about money, money and more money. Money is measured in numbers using arithmetic – not by racing pulses or elevated blood pressure which is perhaps more relevant to measuring emotions.

The problem faced by the RNIB is that it is having to compete for funds with the other 180,000 or so charities which exist in Great Britain. The existence of this mind-boggling number of charitable bodies is probably due to the insufficiencies of state-provided services: in Norway, for example, visually impaired people are horrified that we Brits have to go to charities for help to buy expensive assistive technology. In Norway, they get A.T. by right from the state, so there’s less need for the kind of fund-raising which is necessary in the UK. It seems that in the UK, members of the public are more likely to pay for services for ‘the less fortunate’ privately by way of philanthropy rather than by suffering higher taxes to finance public spending on the same services.

Remembering, therefore, that the success of a fund-raising promotion should only be measured in terms of the quantities of cash generated as a result, the real question is whether the RNIB’s current campaign is effective, not whether it is ‘appropriate’. For an organisation which is only in a position to offer services to visually impaired people if they have the funding to do so, staying financially solvent, especially during an economic crisis, is mission critical.

If we are to credit the RNIB or their promotions team with any intelligence (I think we should), perhaps we can give them the benefit of the doubt by understanding that their analyses and projections, following on from hard data through market research, have indicated that the heart-string-pulling technique of immersing poor little Emma in involuntary illiteracy would be the most effective method of persuading the Great British public to part with £3 per month (an amount somehow linked to the provision to Emma of a Daisy player or whatever).

The fact that blind people here in the UK, as well as elsewhere, might view this campaign technique with teeth-grinding, buttock-clenching concern could well be regarded as a price worth paying if the campaign produces the goods and enables the RNIB to do whatever it does. So, assuming that the RNIB’s approach has been precisely tailored to match the prevailing culture and mindset of the British public, perhaps our emotional responses to the promotional material can be regarded more as verdicts on the culture here in the UK, rather than on the campaign techniques of the RNIB.

The big question is, how can a body such as the RNIB continue to promote the interests of blind people if it cannot raise sufficient funds to survive or to provide services which are the basis of its existence?

Catch 22.

The other side of the coin is, of course, that the integrity, esteem and public perception of visually impaired people should not be sold at any price. It might even be possible to argue that if an organisation with the stated aims of the RNIB has to resort to financially rewarding, but socially damaging campaign techniques, it might well be time for such an organisation to review its own structure and costs in an effort to become more efficient so that it need not resort to inappropriate methods of campaigning.

If you were charged with ensuring the financial survival of the RNIB, what would you do and what would you rule out?

Paul”

From Gordon

“Hi everyone,

I have been listening to Serotalk 117 and the chat about the RNIB’s promotional advert.

My first thought was “this is revolting”.  It was so negative in its presentation of blindness and how blind people relate to the world around them.  I very much agreed with everyone’s comments.

However, to be fair to RNIB in some way, here in the UK this is very much an identikit charity advert.  It’s as though every charity appeal promo has been written by the same team of marketeers.  Perhaps there is a group of them in a little dingy room somewhere in the less well-paid quarters of London whose lives revolve around creating tearjerking appeals to the British public to separate our cash from our pockets and propel it into the meedy coffers of the charity sector.

Every ad has the same format, whether it’s for a disability charity, one for the homeless, overseas aid, animals … they are all tearjerkers and present the target as needy, helpless, defenceless and their only hope is the monthly charity aid being sought.  So, this RNIB advert is not so shocking in that context.

Except … a charity like RNIB, which is a membership organisation, should be presenting much more positive images and aims as it does in most of its work.  In this context, the advert is highly disappointing and is very much reminiscent of campaigns and attitudes It is out of step in a very

significant way with the usual campaigns of RNIB.   of previous decades.

Anyway, sending this response gives me a great opportunity to thank all of you involved in producing Serotak and the other podcasts for all of the really enjoyable audio coming out every week and month.  They are so informative and professional, a great pleasure to hear, especially as they are presented in such a friendly and involving manner.  Thanks everyone!

Gordon,

Stirling, Scotland”

From Pamela

“Thanks again for another informative podcast.

I still have major issues with the video you asked for a one word response to from RNIB.

We as visually impaired people deal with enough stereotyping & cynicism among general society without international help. Why is it that the image of a blind person who seems unmotivated or socially inadequate is the image that sticks in one’s mind versus those of us who are high functioning members of society; who on occasion do ask for help when needed?

There are times I wish we as high functioning blind  people who have either, or both held a job &/or run a household & raised a family, functioning as our sighted counterparts could somehow work with less functional blind people to help them integrate to the best of their ability within society.

If we did a better job within our own subculture of helping each other with concerns in daily life, we would not have to respond to such a plea for money from an organization who is obviously working with & for the benefit of blind people; though in another country. They would have a more positive image if we could be pictured helping a newly blinded person adjust to their surroundings rather than picturing them in a dim & dark world.

 I have an anecdote to share that may help you understand why I am so adamant.

I, as I am sure all of you have, done my share of traveling. 2 years ago I went to Seward Alaska alone for a week. I have family heritage there who was a part of Alaskan history. My Great Great Aunt wrote her autobiography while living there depicting most of her accomplishments. The focus of my trip was to retrieve information for my then ailing Mother who had never met her; but had read her book. The information I brought home was not in the book. At any rate, while in Alaska for the entire week I never was asked the age old question “What are you doing so far from home being blind?”

To make you laugh, as expensive as the Alaska trip was, the information, 50 pages & 125 pictures on a CD afforded me by the curator of the local museum cost me $9.

Without a militant attitude, though it has mellowed through the years, I have tried to educate by example. I have no problem with any legitimate organization asking for pledges or donations for their given cause if it is done in a tasteful manner.

Keep up your excellent work.

Scincerely,

Pamela Francis”

From Lewis

Hello Serotalk Podcasters,

I left you a voice mail but I screwed it up royally so here is my attempt at a coherent email.

My reaction towards the RNIB video that you played on Podcast 117 is sadness and anger. While listening to the audio I pictured someone who has nothing left in their life accept for this donated audio book player which has become their life line. This saddens me because here is an organization dedicated to enriching the life of the blind and visually impaired who is choosing to perpetuate society’s misconceptions. This sadness then evolved into anger. As someone who is going to leave the home soon to become independent and perhaps even risking burning bridges with my family this is a slap in the face. How could an organization portray the people they are helping in such a pathetic way? If were an employer who watched the video I would never hire a blind person accept out of pity! If RNIB wants shock value why not create a video showing blind people doing things and living a productive life. Show an Emma, who is playing with her friends, who still rides a bike, who discovered another way to see and then grew up to be successful. Then tell society how with their help more Emma’s can be created.

Thank you for letting me rant and keep up the great work. Oh speaking of independence, I would love to hear a podcast in which Mike Calvo and other Serotek staff discuss their journeys to become independent individuals. I would like to know what they wished they would have known, mistakes they’ve made, and anything I can do to make the road easier to travel.

Take care,

Louis”

From Dick

“Hello Jamie:  First, I want to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed your printing house tour.  I have toured the original printing house three times and the mmuseum twice.  In 1954 in kentergarten, through the third grade, I used the slate and stylus, as well as the hall braille writer. I received a perkins in the fourth grade.  But I digress. Though you did not include it in the audio tour, I hope you didn’t miss the Hall Of Fame.  It includes embossed representations of some of the well-known leaders in work with bllind persons and is very interesting.  I also listened to to the coverage of the ACB Convention through Serotek’s link to ACB Radio.  I have finished the Conventions’

Special Eppisodes one and two, and hope to complete eppisode three today.  Thank you for all the hard work you and others on the Serotek team do to put all this matterial together.  I believe it is very

informative to lots of people.   Dick Seifert, Little Rock, Arkansas.”

From Harry

“Hi Jamey, Joe, and Ricky,

I can’t thank you enough for the great coverage from the exhibit halls of both conventions!

I loved it, because both conventions had different exhibiters, and you got’um all!

I sure look forward to ATIA in January, 2013!

You all take care,

Sincerely,

Harry Brown”

Roundabout

About Emma: our response – RNIB

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“Odor menu” lets blind patrons order food by smell, not braille