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#iACast 75: Aira

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Aira App Icon

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It’s been a while, but the iACast is back with another lively episode. On episode 75, Aleeha takes over the host spot with guests Jason, Chelsea, and Scott to talk about a service that is taking the blindness community by storm, Aira. We discuss how each of the hosts were introduced to the service, what it’s all about, and we demonstrate the app for iOS. Along with the Aira iOS App, there is also an Android App that is available. We talk about what Aira is, what it isn’t, and ways of accessing the service in a productive, safe way. Join us and let us know what you think by sending an email to feedback@iaccessibility.net or by mentioning us on Twitter.

#iACast DemoCast 15: Tile

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Picture of Tile device. Device is a white square with rounded corners with the word Tile in a light grey. It also has a round hole in a corner for a key ring.

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Everyone loses track of things. Whether it’s your keys or your luggage, it can be difficult to find. That’s why, on this episode of the iA DemoCast, Aleeha demonstrates a cool and mostly accessible solution to this all too common problem: the Tile. Tile is run by installing a free app for iOS  orAndroid and then pairing small square devices to your phone, which can then be attached to whatever you want to keep track of–even your dog! On the show, we demonstrate pairing a Tile, along with adjusting its various settings. As always, let us know what you think by leaving a comment or mentioning us on Twitter!

The PawdCast 5: Owner Training Your Guide Dog and Delta’s new Policies

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A Guide dog in Harness

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Welcome back to another episode of the PawdCast. This episode contains a lot of very useful information, so let’s get started

First, we interview Julie Johnson, who has trained several guide dogs herself. She is the owner and operator of her website, Guide and Service Dogs,, as well as her Blind Mice Mega Mall store On The Go, which sells handmade equipment beneficial for any guide or service animal user, and some of which is beneficial for pet owners as well.  Julie is also the author of her own book, Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman’s Quest to Train Her Own Guide Dog. During our conversation, Julie does mention the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test as a well-known puppy test that she uses on her own perspective puppies.

During the second half of the show, we invite Marion Gwizdala, president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users, to talk about Delta’s new regulations regarding Service and Support Animals. As of the publication of this podcast, the meeting with Delta Airlines has already occurred, and more information will be forthcoming. Stay tuned to the Twitter feed for more details. Please enjoy the show, and feel free to leave feedback for us in the comments, on social media, or by sending an email to pawdcast@iaccessibility.net.

#iACast 68: CES 2018 and Combined Apple Apps

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CES 2018

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Welcome back to the latest episode of the iACast. We’ve been gone for a while, but here’s an episode sure to inform and entertain. This week, it’s all about the Consumer Electronics show, held in early January. We’re joined by hosts Michael, Aleeha, Jason, Matt, and, for her iAccessibility debut, Allison Hartley! Here’s some of the stuff we found among the many products from this year’s lineup.

Kohler’s $6,000 smart toilet

Kohler’s smart mirror

This $16,000 robot uses artificial intelligence to sort and fold laundry …

Somnox’s robotic pillow is designed to snuggle

Our second topic of the show deals with Apple reportedly merging iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps in 2018. Join us for a very lively discussion, and leave your feedback in the comments or on social media.

Managing Your Busy Life: Accessible Task Management Apps

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Task management apps Reminders iOS icon

We get it. Managing all that you have to do in your busy life can be a difficult task. That’s why I have gathered four task management apps for analysis here on the iAccessibility Report. I’ll be analyzing Apple’s Reminders app, Things 3, WunderList, and Trello. All are very powerful apps, with very unique feature sets. Let’s dive right in.

Apple’s Reminders App

This one needs little introduction. It’s been a part of the iOS experience for many years and it’s the one that many users turn to for access to all their tasks in one spot. On the up side, this app allows the user to use Siri to add reminders to any list, set time sensitive reminders, and even set location based reminders, such as “remind me to call the doctor when I get home.” Time sensitive reminders appear on the screen when they are due, and managing the notifications on the Apple Watch is easy. The app is available on all Apple devices, but there is no availability for Windows or Android. Also, when checking off items, the app does not appear to work in a way that is helpful. The boxes are checked, but the items do not immediately disappear from the list. As someone who gets overwhelmed by large lists of things to do, I don’t want extra items hanging around once I’ve taken care of them. A workaround for this is to simply swipe up and delete the item, but it will not show up in the completed list.

Things 3

This next app happens to be one of my favorites. Things 3 offers a great deal of functionality, but the interface is quite simple. It has Siri integration, although the language you need to use is definitely a bit clunky. The user can create multiple projects, which are categories for different lists. Checking off items is very easy: simply double tap on the checkbox and the item moves to your logbook, where all completed tasks go once removed from their lists. The app also has the ability to import tasks from the reminders app to assist in easy transition. The app is $10 for the iPhone version, $20 for the iPad version, and $40 for the Mac version, making it a definite expensive solution. Also, the Mac app does not appear to be accessible at all, but I have been talking with the developers, who are working on a solution for this issue. The iOS apps also have some problems, but are not unusable.

Trello

Here’s a very interesting approach to task management. Trello is a free app for many different platforms, including Windows and Android, that allows you to create and share boards: groups of cards, which are like tasks, with whomever you want who has the app, making it ideal for cross-platform collaboration for work, school, or any other project. It does not rely on checkboxes, but rather uses drag and drop to organize cards, which I find a little clunky but which others may find handy. I’m a checklist kind of girl when it comes to these things, so Trello isn’t my favorite, but it’s here and it’s very accessible on all platforms.

WunderList

The final app in this throwdown is Wunderlist: To-Do List & Tasks. It appears to be very accessible on all platforms, has the ability to have multiple lists, has collaboration features like Trello, and makes things disappear with a satisfying little sound when you check them off. I have found free apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. I am very happy with this app, as it combines the simplicity of Things with the sharing features and low price of Trello. It appears to be the best of both worlds.

Conclusion

There’s an app out there for everyone, and I hope this article helps you if you’re looking for something to make your life just a little easier. Did I miss your favorite? Let me know in the comments or mention us on Twitter with your thoughts.

 

#iAcast UnboxCast 14: Google Home Mini

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On this episode of the iA UnboxCast, Aleeha, Jade, Jason, Matt and Michael unbox and set up the Google Home Mini Smart Speaker. This competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot was on sale for $20 for Black Friday, but still remains on sale for $30 currently. We review the layout of the Google Home app, which is required to set up the device.

#iACast DemoCast 14: Installing Windows on a Mac Accessibly with Bootcamp

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Windows flag for boot camp in black and white colors

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On this episode of the iA DemoCast, Jason and Matt demonstrate the installation and setup of Windows on a Mac with Bootcamp. As they talk about in this podcast, the process can be completed accessibly without sighted assistance, unlike older versions of Windows.

#iACast UnboxCast 11: VP Columbia Braille Embosser

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VP Columbia at an angle on white background

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On this episode of the iAUnboxCast, Aleeha unboxes the VP Columbia Braille embosser from ViewPlus with commentary from Jason and Michael. At the time of this posting, the embosser is still selling for $1495 on the ViewPlus website. This is a 100 character per second, interpoint, tactile graphics embosser. Aleeha goes through the initial setup of the device, including giving a demonstration of the sound of the embossing and the text-to-speech voice.

Access Your Movies From All Your Accounts with the Movies Anywhere App for iOS

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Movies Anywhere

Recently, a new app was released, in collaboration with Disney and several other movie studios, called the Movies Anywhere app. It’s available for iOS and Android, and offers some unique functionality for blind movie lovers. You can sign into Amazon, Google, and iTunes to link all your accounts together. For a limited time, if you link your Google Play Movies account with the app, you will get access to five free pre-selected movies. How, though, can a user access audio described content? The answer is this: once all your accounts have been linked, go into iTunes on your Apple device, access your purchased movies, and, voila!, you have access to your purchased movies from all platforms, enabling audio description for those that have it in the iTunes store, even if you bought them elsewhere.  So, essentially, you can use the Movies Anywhere app as a method of collecting all your movies into one place, but don’t use it to watch them if you want audio description. Access them from the iTunes app and you’re all set!

Texie for iOS: Does it Work as Advertised?

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Texie App Icon

This morning, I discovered an app called Texie for iOS. The app claims to be able to perform quick text recognition, kind of like the Short Text mode of Seeing AI. It’s free do download, but, in order to perform scans, you must purchase credits, which start at $0.99 for 100 scans. You get a few extra credits with this purchase (I think I received 10 extra, giving me 110.)

The app is a bit misleading, however. There are no instructions when you start it for the first time, only a blank home screen for VoiceOver users. There are tabs across the bottom: Home, Settings, IAP (the screen where you can purchase credits), and Info.

The home tab allows the user to scan. Although blank to VoiceOver users initially, the app will emit beeps when it thinks it’s recognized text. The trick is to find the button that “text found, click screen to read” button. This cannot be found by flicking left and right, and the user must use explore by touch to locate it. If, however, the user turns VoiceOver off, they can tap anywhere on the screen other than the tab bar at the bottom to recognize the text. Once the text starts to read, there is no good way to stop it other than using a two finger double tap to start other media or going to the home screen.

The settings tab allows the user to replay the last scan, change the mode from single to multipage, or clear the current pages. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the speech rate or voice.

The IAP tab allows the user to purchase more scan credits. Finally, the info tab explains a little about the app.

In conclusion, I don’t really believe this app, even with its claim to read well written handwriting, is worth the price with the availability of Seeing AI and KNFB Reader. The OCR is not as good as the other two, and it does not automatically read as Seeing AI does. The accessibility is a little iffy, and it uses online OCR, which just isn’ helpful with a slow data or WiFi connection. The app is fairly new, and my hope is that it will continue to improve and find its place among its competitors.

Maybe it’s not Apple with the problem: Maybe it’s us

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iOS 11

A few days ago, I discovered an article written by someone in the blind community criticizing a new feature that has been implemented in iOS 11.

Background:

In iOS 11, Apple has implemented a new feature dealing with the way VoiceOver manages the Actions Rotor in the Mail App. If you are familiar with the way the App switcher worked in iOS 10, you’ll recognize this behavior. Now, if you delete one message or perform any other action on it, that action will stay selected until you manually change it. This is a big change in behavior from before, when the action would return to the default setting after performing an action on a message.

What we’re seeing now

The blind community has become very divided and upset over this feature. Claims have been made that this is inconsistent with typical rotor behavior, that it is half-baked, that it’s a step backward in accessibility, and that it sets a dangerous standard for Apple to model.

The reality is this: this new feature is a change. It is a deviation from the typical behavior that we have seen in the rotor for years. Unfortunately, it seems that members of the blind community find it difficult to deal with these changes and retrain their brains. This is a big part of being successful in the world: we must have the capability to adapt and problem solve. Things will not always remain the same. We cannot expect Apple to hold back on a potentially game-changing feature just so that its user base does not have to deal with a new environment. The feature is a huge productivity boost for those of us who delete a bunch of emails at once, receiving hundreds of messages a day from mailing lists. It’s faster than selecting the edit button then selecting the messages to delete. The feature is buggy, yes, but it will continue to improve, that is, if we don’t stop it in its tracks from our constant complaints.

Yes, people struggle with the rotor. Yes, older people may have difficulty, but if we are going to train someone in using technology, it’s less about training them in how to do something than it is training them how to solve problems that come up. No one can plan for every single situation that arises. No one can teach for every single possible quirk, crash, or inconsistency in an operating system. Apple’s operating system has never been aimed at the older age group specifically, so comments that I have seen about this feature being detrimental to older blind folks is ridiculous. We, as blind people, have a hard enough time getting mainstream developers to listen to us and make their products accessible without complaining that advances they’re trying to make in our productivity are bad things. Let’s learn to adapt and remember that sighted people have to deal with these changes, too. With each new OS release comes new features, new ways of doing things, and, in some cases, new bugs, for all people, not just the disabled. It’s not just us who have to learn. If we insist that things remain the same, how can we expect companies to develop new and innovative technology for us? How can we expect anything to get any better without a little brain retraining every now and again?

#iACast UnboxCast 9: 4th Generation Apple TV

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AppleTV 4th generation

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On this episode of the UnboxCast, Aleeha and Michael unbox the ever popular Apple TV 4th generation from Apple. Aleeha goes through initial setup of the device, as well as its settings. We also demonstrate downloading and setting up an app from the App Store.

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