Over recent years we have become more aware of smart homes, and what could be perceived as the good, bad and the ugly when we think about security and accessibility. While I have heard positive things (to some degree) about the accessibility of specific apps, accessibility as well as making connected home devices as secure as possible is still something which is still in development. What follows is my attempt at what an accessible user interface would look like, and how it would function, and how security would be managed.
Assistive Technology
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Like most folks, I have always been a bit of a social animal. I delighted in dining with friends at our local Periodic Table Supper Club. I liked walking around the block with a neighbor friend and talking to others in their front yards. I enjoyed traveling with my wife wherever and whenever we wanted. And, we absolutely loved it when our kids dropped by the house. That was then, this is now.
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I've just read about a new GPS app that sounds very interesting.
Called MyWay, it's been developed by the Swiss Federation for the Blind, and supposedly works like Loadstone on Nokia phones.
It is described as a GPS orientation aid which provides distance and directional information to a selected point of interest. These might include an address from your address book or a point on a self-defined route.
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Fleksy is getting better on an almost daily basis as its betas reach testers. It's pushed my bluetooth keyboard to the sidelines and while it would be better if we could bring it up in each and every application instantly instead of typing in a separate application (if Apple had allowed it), that might not be quite far-off. Syntellia has made Fleksy's SDK available to developers, meaning they can integrate it into their products. Also, the first few developers that apply for the SDK will get it free of charge.
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TapTapSee, an app which has been free since its release over a year ago, has now begun to role out a paid service. According to it’s Twitter feed and website, Users can choose from either a monthly subscription of $9.99 with no limit to the amount of images one can submit,, or they can pay $7.99 for 100 pictures. The 100 picture count does not have a time limit.
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Introduction
This post was partially inspired by This article and others like it which give general advice about seemingly less known features of an iDevice. You will also find blog entries on other tech topics scattered throughout the internet which have similar tips for pretty much any mainstream type of technology. TO add to this body of literature, I have compiled 10 useful tips for braille users of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad below.Post Date:
For quite some time, deaf-blind users of iDevices have been able to use face to face communication with the public through the notes app. This consists typically of an iDevice (iPod, iPad, or iPhone) paired with a braille display and bluetooth keyboard. The deaf-blind person can then type using the braille input keys on their display, while the sighted and hearing person types on the bluetooth keyboard. All text shows up on both the braille display and the screen of the iDevice.
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We are pleased to announce the winners of the seventh annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards.
Since their launch in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards have afforded blind and low vision users of Apple products the opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making and maintaining great and accessible applications over the given year. The response of past nominees and winners to this recognition from blind and low vision users shows how winning an AppleVis Golden Apple has become a tremendous honor.
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As members of the AppleVis Editorial team, we are often asked, “What apps would you recommend?” Or, “What are your favorite apps?” With this in mind, here is an alphabetical listing (navigable by headings at level 3) of the top 10 iOS apps from several of our editorial team members, along with links to the rellavent AppleVis App Directory entries, if available:
AnonyMouse
1. Newsify ~ Google Reader RSS News Client 2.Post Date:
Those looking for an accessible OCR app for their iDevices may very well be in luck. Text Detective is a new, fully accessible app that was released to the U.S. iTunes store yesterday.
According to the app's description, Text Detective will allow one to scan printed documents--and edit, email, or copy the resulting text to other apps--all in a completely accessible interface. While the app is designed mainly for the iPhone 4S, it can run on other iOS devices as well--including iPads.
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Following Syntellia's recent announcement that it would be making it’s Fleksy predictive touch keyboard available to other developers to incorporate in their own iOS apps, the first 4 apps to take advantage of this have now hit the App Store.
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This review was completed after 10 days of use. Most of my comparison will be with the iPhone SE 2, since that was the phone I had been using previously. For the sake of clarity, when referring to the previous generation of iPhone SE released in 2020, it will be referred to as the iPhone SE 2. Apple refers to the current model of iPhone SE simply by that name. This was also true of the first and second generation.
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It was a shocker. When Google announced that Google Reader will shut down on July 1st, apart from the usual cycle of disvelief and sorrow the first thing which came to my mind was what to use after Google Reader's demise. On the one hand, Google Reader provides an easy way to read RSS feeds in a synchronyzed way regardless of one's platform of choice.
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Yes, it's too big a dilemma to be ignored by VoiceOver users. While sighted iOS users can easily rely on app reviews to determine if an application works the way they want, VoiceOver users should solely rely on websites such as AppleVis -- the most comprehensive repository of app reviews from the viewpoint of the visually impaired, a couple of email lists and the very occasional mention of VoiceOver support on the App Store before making a purchase.
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To the tune of Twelve Days of Christmas
On my first time with VoiceOver, VO gave to me,
a way to pause, with Control key.
On my second time with VoiceOver, VO gave to me,
two modifiers, and a way to pause, with Control key.
On my third time with VoiceOver, VO gave to me,
three tab keys waiting, two modifiers, and a way to pause, with Control key.
On my fourth time with VoiceOver, VO gave to me,
four fun Commanders, three tab keys waiting, two modifiers, and a way to pause, with Control key.
On my fifth time with VoiceOver, VO gave to me.
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Take the Size Difference with a Grain of Salt
There is a very slight difference in the thickness of the iPhone 6S when compared to the 6. And because it's thicker, just like with human beings, that means it weighs slightly more. However, until I held the 6s in one hand and the 6 in another, I couldn't really tell that there was a difference in the weight or girth of the phone. Take this with a grain of salt then, quite literally, as that's about the difference in thickness between the 2 devices.
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I am totally blind and wear Made For iPhone (MFI) hearing aids, in my case the Oticon OPN S 1. My primary method of input on iPhone is Braille Screen Input, but when working on more complex documents, I use my Apple Magic Keyboard.
Until last Friday, I was running an iPhone 10S Max, but I have now upgraded to an iPhone 11 Pro Max.
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A Message from St. Nick
Shortly after a quick stop at the Island of Misfit Toys, I always visit the good little boys, girls, geeks and nerds of AppleVis Land. It is difficult to know exactly what to bring you every holiday season, but I am rather fortunate. Members of AppleVis Land love to share their opinions, and that is clear both from the forum postings, as well as their wish lists sent to the North Pole.
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Here in the UK we have a saying that goes roughly like this - you can wait ages for a bus, to then find that 2 come along at the same time.
Replace ‘a bus’ with ‘an app to help the blind identify objects and situations that they encounter in their daily lives’, and you have what is about to happen in the iTunes App Store.
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For the second year running, AppleVis has been nominated in the category for the "Best Blindness-related Website or blog" in the Blind Bargains Annual Access Awards.
We are very flattered by this, and would like to thank all of you who nominated us.
This will be the 5th time that Blind Bargains have invited the blindness community to vote for the best products, innovations and technologies, and as always there are some difficult choices to make.