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.
iOS and iPadOS Apps
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As blind iPhone users who live in the United States, we really are spoiled, as most of the limited content out their about VoiceOver is directed at us. So when my colleague Jackie Brown at AppleVis wrote a great blog entry that primarily focused on iPhone Sports Apps for those living outside the U.S., my first thought was what about us U.S. sports fans? Yes, I know quite self centric of me, but hey, I’m an American and aren’t we known for being self obsessed?
All kidding aside, I wanted to put together a list of the best sports apps for those MLB, NFL, college football, NHL, and NBA fans.
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Just a quick heads-up to let all our U.S. readers know that AT&T has launched its own "Voice over IP" app.
The AT&T Call International App will let you use your existing wireless service to make cheap international long distance calls with your iPhone. There’s no monthly recurring charge, prepaid balance or commitment term required.
Not being in the U.S. myself, I cannot access the app, so do not know how accessible it is.
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Audible has become the latest inductee into our iOS App Hall of Fame.
Our congratulations go to all of the team at Audible. Considering that Audible is part of the Amazon Group, we can only hope that this recognition will spur them onto making their Kindle iOS app accessible!
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Q: Why is a laser beam like goldfish?
A: Because neither one can whistle.
That was a line from Mike, the joke-telling computer in Robert Heinlein's classic novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Reading this book made me curious about the current state-of-the-art for computer generated humor. And what, if any joke apps might be available for my iPhone.
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My 86-year old dad has been living with me since August. At the breakfast table this morning, he politely requested that we set the thermostat a bit warmer at night. The cold season is upon us here in mid-northern latitudes, and his elderly body just can’t handle it. To be honest, his request was not all that polite. He’s a former truck driver, which influenced his choice of vocabulary. As a result, his exact request can’t be printed here.
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In this post I would like to discuss my experience of recently beginning an online course of study. Before beginning this course, I had heard about online courses, but I had never explored the area.
Signing Up
In my case, signing up to an online course was as straight forward as completing any online purchase. It was just a case of providing my personal details and payment information.
I completed the sign-up process on my iPhone in a matter of minutes. Soon after I was sent confirmation of my payment, and the following day I was emailed login credentials.
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We are pleased to announce the result of the public vote to decide which apps should be the next inductees into our iOS App Hall of Fame.
Inductions are staged twice each year and are our community's opportunity to acknowledge and reward the passion and hard work that developers put into creating great apps which are both fully accessible to blind and low vision users and which place powerful tools into the palms of our hands.
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The BBC are reported to be releasing their long-awaited iPlayer app this Thursday, February 10th.
For now there will only be an iPad version, but it is possible that a version for the iPhone might follow. The iPlayer app will also only be available in the United Kingdom for now.
It is reported that an app for BBC America will be released later this year, perhaps as early as July.
We can only hope that this app proves to be more accessible than the BBC's news app.
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Be My Eyes - helping blind see, an iPhone app which aims to connect blind users in need of assistance with sighted volunteers via video-conferencing, will be launching worldwide on January 15, 2015.
According to the Be My Eyes website, the app works as follows:
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Apple has announced the winners of this year's prestigious Apple Design Awards; and it's thrilling that two of these will be familiar to most in our community - Be My Eyes and Voice Dream Reader.
The awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. This year, Apple divided the finalists into six different categories: Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation.
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The Be My Eyes app is set to gain a new feature called the Virtual Volunteer, powered by OpenAI's recently announced GPT-4 model. This new tool has the potential to be a game changer for people with visual impairments, providing a virtual sighted assistant that can generate context and understanding for images in the same way as a human volunteer can.
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Ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting next week, Apple has today announced the 36 finalists for this year's Apple Design Awards; and it's great to see that in the running are three apps which will be familiar to most in our community - Be My Eyes, Blind Drive, and Voice Dream Reader.
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We are pleased to announce that the winners of the twelfth annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards are Be My Eyes, Timecrest, and Zanagrams.
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Introduction.
In this post I would like to focus on the topic of social media, and how you can use the said medium on your iOS device with VoiceOver. I also want to dispel any misconceptions that social media is a complete no-go area for members of the blind or visually impaired community.
Social media is often subject to a lot of negative press and criticism, and in some cases such coverage and opinion is justified. However, I believe that social media is a fantastic form of modern media and source of information when used appropriately.
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One of my favourite aspects of owning an Apple device is the ability to listen to sport on the go, and receive alerts within seconds of a change in the score. If you are a football or sports fan like me, check out these apps for your iOS device.
SkyGo
If you live in the UK, and subscribe to BSkyB, then SkyGo is a free app you can download from the App Store and access with VoiceOver. You can assign this app to two devices at a time in order to receive Sky services. If you want more nominated devices, then you would have to pay an additional fee.
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When I heard the news of the recently released $0.99 Bluetooth OnOff app, an application which allows iOS users to turn bluetooth on and off quickly without going to Settings/General/Bluetooth, some thoughts came to my mind. First and foremost, I hope Apple doesn't remove this app from the App Store as it's quite easier to alter a feature like Bluetooth this way without delving into Settings. I also hope to see the same official apps for the WiFi and the Airplane mode switch.
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When you think of audio games, the Blindfold series of iOS games from Kid Friendly Software probably come to mind. Certainly, the Blindfold Series of games have been a huge hit within the blindness community. With over 80 titles now available, it makes sense that blind and low vision users around the world would flock to these games.
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The Braille Institute of America has launched a new iOS app that aims to make it easier for the vision-impaired to find useful apps.
Visually Impaired Apps (ViA) claims to fill the need for "a one-stop shop of useful apps that help visually impaired people stay connected and engaged with the world".
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At the end of each month the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month - either for the first time or where there has been a significant update - and decide which of these we think is the most noteworthy.
Considering how much its release has been anticipated, it should come as no surprise that BrailleTouch is our choice for January.