Welcome to the November 2022 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly summary of what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of content posted to AppleVis by members of the community - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.
New and Noteworthy App Entries
Ejectify (macOS, US$3.00)
Ejectify automatically unmounts external disks when your Mac starts sleeping and mounts them again after it wakes up.
Current Version: 1.2.1 (September 25, 2022)
Read Ejectify's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
eSpeak-NG (iOS/iPadOS, Free)
The eSpeak NG is a compact open source software text-to-speech synthesizer. It supports more than 100 languages and accents. It is based on the eSpeak engine created by Jonathan Duddington.
This app adds a compatibility layer between eSpeak NG library and Apple VoiceOver.
Current Version: 1.0 (October 10, 2022)
Read eSpeak-NG's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit eSpeak-NG's App Store page
Evidence 111 (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)
Close your eyes and let yourself be immersed in mysterious audio sceneries of this detective fiction.
September 13, 1985, a small town of Farnham, England. Just like every Friday, Chief inspector Alice Wells is on duty. An ordinary night shift is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious phone call - an anonymous caller knows something about the chief inspector that none was supposed to find out.
What will you do in this situation? Will you choose to be kind, curious, courageous or relentless? How the story of chief inspector Alice Wells plays out is solely in your hands!
What is the secret of the long-forgotten file containing Evidence No 111? Decide on the progression and outcome of the detective story!
- Interactive story created in binaural audio
- Intuitive controls utilizing swipe gestures
- Optimized for visually-impaired audience
- Branching decision-based story
- Up to 10 alternate endings
- Download a free demo, full game unlock with an in-app purchase
Current Version: 1.0.2 (November 21, 2022)
Read Evidence 111's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Evidence 111's App Store page
Lifeline: Beside You in Time (iOS/iPadOS/watchOS, US$3.99)
After a lengthy radio silence, Taylor returns at last! This brand new adventure finds the hapless astronaut on the other side of a black hole, relying on you alone to help make life-or-death decisions in a playable, branching story of survival in the depths of unknown space.
But this time, there’s a twist: Players can also choose to communicate with T2, Taylor’s time-warped, alien-infected “evil twin,” helping or hindering as they see fit. Throughout the story, seemingly simple decisions can have profound effects. Make choices using your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, and face the consequences alongside the desperate astronauts.
Writer Dave Justus (Fables: The Wolf Among Us) returns to pen this fourth Taylor adventure -- the seventh overall in the acclaimed, multi-million-selling Green Series. Whether this is your first interaction with Taylor, or you’ve been a diehard fan from the beginning, you’ll discover a deep, immersive story of survival and perseverance, with many possible outcomes.
Current Version: 1.1.2 (June 29, 2022)
Read Lifeline: Beside You in Time's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Lifeline: Beside You in Time's App Store page
Menus4All (iOS/iPadOS, Trial then requires subscription)
The largest network of fully accessible restaurant menus. 500,000 menus in the United States and 250,000 in Canada. Designed for folks that use VoiceOver, large text, Braille and Voice Control. Start with a one time 14 day free trial and pay $2.99 monthly for iTunes subscription including unlimited access to all menus and app all features. Show off your independence by ordering what you like and finding new restaurants and food items whenever and wherever you like.
Current Version: 1.0.4 (November 29, 2022)
Read Menus4All's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Menus4All's App Store page
Vacayit (iOS/iPadOS, Free)
Vacayit makes adventure accessible for everyone. Vacayit helps users easily locate travel opportunities near and far to engage in the world around them in a new and exciting way. Explore a growing collection of unique experiences and immerse yourself in an auditory world from the comfort of your own home. Bookings are made easy with Vacayit—one click and you’re one step closer to your next experience.
WHY VACAYIT?
Anyone and everyone should have the opportunity to experience the wonders of travel. Using voice search, and map search features, Vacayit allows users to browse an array of experiences suited to you. No matter your taste, Vacayit offers a variety of experience types including adventure, arts & culture, attractions, food & drink, nature & wildlife, and accommodation.
Current Version: 1.0.2 (October 17, 2022)
Read Vacayit's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit Vacayit's App Store page
VRadio Online Radio & Recorder (iOS/iPadOS, Free With In-App Purchases)
VRadio is a free radio app that lets you listen to thousands of radio stations online.
Find your favorite radio stations and discover many other from all around the globe. VRadio gives you instant access to many terrestrial radio stations that transmit via the Internet and of course to lots of web-only radio stations. All of the radios are streamed via the internet.
So, what makes VRadio stand out from all the other radio apps? Following are the most notable features. Have a look:
- Wide variety of radio stations of different music genres and categories.
- Information about the currently playing song whenever the radio station supports it.
- Rearrangeable favorites and custom (user) stations lists.
- Recording of your favorite radio talk shows and music.
- Remote playback to Chromecast devices.
- Ability to add your own radio stations. (User Stations)
- Ability to change the behavior of the app from settings.
Current Version: 2.2.2 (June 22, 2022)
Read VRadio Online Radio & Recorder's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Visit VRadio Online Radio & Recorder's App Store page
All recent app entries posted to AppleVis can be found at:
iOS/iPadOS
Mac
Apple Watch
Apple TV
Notable App Updates
Toot (iOS/iPadOS, US$3.99)
Toot! is a client for the Mastodon social network. It is beautiful, and full of character and whimsy.
What makes Toot! special?
- It is delightful. It is full of beautiful design, animation, amusing details and hidden treasures.
- It is fast and robust. It caches data locally to let you read without waiting for slow loading, and it remembers your reading position.
- It lets you be as many people as you like. You can easily switch between accounts with a flick of your finger. It even lets you read timelines on instances you are not logged in to!
- It has the cutest icon.
What makes Mastodon special?
- It is a social network by humans, rather than algorithms and corporate interests.
- It is a social network for humans, rather than advertisers and data collectors.
- It is a social network that is humane, rather than preying on your insecurities and worst instincts.
Current Version: 17.1 (November 25, 2022)
Changes in Version 17.0-17.1
This is the second in a series of releases that implement support for new Mastodon features. More will come in the near future, but this version offers:
- Support for different limits on different servers. Some servers allow longer toots, more attachments, or more poll options.
- Support for editing your toots if your server is on Mastodon 4.0.
- v17.0: Full support for all new types of notifications in Mastodon 4.0, including admin notifications.
- v17.0: Updated to use more modern versions of various iOS functionality. As a result, however, the minimum supported iOS version is now 13.
- v17.0: Bugfixes.
It has also been reported that this app is now “fully accessible and easy to use.”
Read Toot's AppleVis App Directory entry for more information
Recent News and Views
Apple News
- Apple Releases iOS 16.1.2 with Improvements for Crash Detection and Wireless Carrier Compatibility
- Apple Releases iOS 16.1.1, iPadOS 16.1.1, and macOS Ventura 13.0.1 With Bug Fixes
This Month in Podcasts
Quick Tip: How to Configure VoiceOver to Start Automatically when Logging into Your Mac
By default, VoiceOver does not start automatically at the macOS login prompt. In this podcast, Tyler demonstrates how to change this.
Introducing Vacayit, an iOS App That Aims to Make Locating Travel Opportunities Accessible for Everyone
In this podcast, Kushal Solanki introduces us to Vacayit, a free iOS app That aims to make locating travel opportunities accessible for everyone.
From the App Store:
Vacayit makes adventure accessible for everyone. Vacayit helps users easily locate travel opportunities near and far to engage in the world around them in a new and exciting way. Explore a growing collection of unique experiences and immerse yourself in an auditory world from the comfort of your own home. Bookings are made easy with Vacayit—one click and you’re one step closer to your next experience.
Anyone and everyone should have the opportunity to experience the wonders of travel. Using voice search, and map search features, Vacayit allows users to browse an array of experiences suited to you. No matter your taste, Vacayit offers a variety of experience types including adventure, arts & culture, attractions, food & drink, nature & wildlife, and accommodation.
Podcasts by Thomas Domville
Hot AppleVis Content
Here are some of our posts which have got people talking in the past month:
- Introducing our new interactive audio game - Evidence 111
- Introducing the new Menus4ALL app providing 750,000 accessible restaurant menus
- FruitPot 2 Test Flight
- Warning: Rant about just how bad safari still is...
- seeking recommendations for Mastodon Client
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