This approximately 18-minute podcast represents a brief run-through of the new Blio ebook reading app for iOS developed by KNFB Reading Technology, Inc. While the Blio app is VoiceOver accessible, I have reached the following observations, which are clearly demonstrated in the podcast: The app is sloppy and clearly not ready for primetime. I’m surprised… Finish Reading New Blio for iOS app: A Brief Demo
SoundHound restored VoiceOver accessibility for its blind customers in the app’s June 16 version 3.6.3 update. This approximately 14-minute podcast demonstrates the improved navigation and reading of music identification results. The update represents a significant move in the right direction. While all information is now available by flicking through the results window, its unstructured layout… Finish Reading Updated SoundHound App Restores VoiceOver Accessibility
In this approximately 30-minute podcast, I demonstrate the use of the VizWiz remote-assistance iOS app to successfully identify items in the kitchen. This podcast is meant as a preliminary effort to demonstrate practical real-world VizWiz applications for blind and visually-impaired people. Please stay tuned for additional coverage of this amazing free app. Listen or Pause… Finish Reading VizWiz: A Wizard to Help in the Kitchen
This is a collaboration effort between No Eyes Needed and Blind Access Journal, two leaders in blindness advocacy and the mobilization of efforts to improve accessibility in mainstream products, services and resources. Our goal today is to share insight on the current state of accessibility within the popular iOS music identification app, Soundhound. We will… Finish Reading SoundHound Asked to Roll Back Accessibility Declines and Open the App’s Ears to Blind VoiceOver Users
Have you suddenly discovered you can no longer use the “table index” feature of your iDevice to navigate large lists like contacts and music alphabetically? The rotor gesture may be the culprit. Follow these written steps or listen to the podcast to learn how you can easily fix this issue. Open the Contacts App If… Finish Reading Fixing the Broken Table Index on iOS Using the Rotor
I had an enlightening conversation with Dr. Robert Stepp, where I learned that the Braille 2000 translation software for transcribers is accidentally accessible but not marketed for use by blind people. I think we ended on a positive note, and I hope many of you will find this an interesting look at how some small companies in our own field employ many of the same arguments as the mainstream technology industry to explain why they are not fully accessible.
Finish Reading CSUN: Braille 2000 and Accidental Accessibility
Derek Bove from AI Squared described and demonstrated the company’s new ZoomReader app that can use the camera in the iPhone or iPod Touch 4 to magnify and read text using optical character recognition. While some totally-blind people with excellent camera skills may find this $20 app useful, it is marketed to those who have partial sight.
Download, Play or Pause – ZoomReader Finish Reading CSUN: Zoom In and Read on the iPhone
Index Braille CEO Björn Löfstedt told me all about the refresh of the company’s popular Basic and Everest Braille embossers. The updated features in the new hardware include front-panel status LEDs, multi-lingual speech for the user interface, network printing and USB connectivity.
Finish Reading CSUN: Index Modernizes the Basic and Everest Braille Embossers
I spoke with Jason Castaneda from American Thermoform Corporation, who discussed and demonstrated the Braille and Print embosser and the Swell-Form tactile graphics machine.
Finish Reading CSUN: Braille and Print on the Same Page and Tactile Graphics
Just in case you’re thinking there’s nothing new and innovative in the field of hardcopy Braille production, Index Braille is here to turn heads with the new 800-pages-per-hour Braille Box! I spoke with Björn Löfstedt, Index Braille’s CEO, about this fast, quiet $13,000 Braille embosser that should find a home in many Braille production houses around the world.
Finish Reading CSUN: Churning Out the Dots at 800 Pages Per Hour on the Index Braille Box!