Iconfactory has created one of the best applications for using Twitter for iOS and macOS, and they have also created an amazing set of keystrokes for users who like to navigate applications with the keyboard. Below is a link to Iconfactory’s list of keystrokes that you can use to navigate the Twitterrific application.
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Black Friday deal on iAccessibility Training ($15 per hour)
iAccessibility’s training program is now on sale for $15 per hour for a limited time.Head to our training page at iaccessibility.net/training to learn more and to sign up.
The Parallel episode 9: I just personally need folers
iAccessibility’s Michael Doise was on Shelly Brisbin’s podcast the Parallel this week with Shelly and Mathew Cassinelli to discuss Shortcuts and Siri Shortcuts. Head to the link below to listen and learn more about the podcast.
iAccessibility 1.4 for iOS
iAccessibility is proud to announce that version 1.4 of our app has been released to the app store. This version includes new shortcuts to start and stop playback of our live stream, and a shortcut to listen to our ten latest episodes. You must first perform these actions in the app for Siri to find them, but you can then use the settings app to add a phrase with Siri to activate these features while your phone is unlocked. We have also made bug fixes to the app, and we will have more to come shortly.
Download app: iAccessibility for iOS
iACast Topics
The iAccessibility Community is an essential part of our mission to Make Success Accessible, and to that end, we have decided to post all of our potential topics on the iAccessibility website, and on our subredit at https://reddit.com/r/iaccessibility. What we would like you to do is to like or upvote the topics you would like to see most on our podcasts. This will start now for next week’s recording of episode 101 of the iACast.
We also encourage our community members to create an account at iaccessibility.net and post your own topics. Our moderator team will review the submission and then add the topic to our website if the post passes moderation, so head to iaccessibility.net and create an account.
You can let us know what you are interested in hearing about by using our hashtag of #iACast on Twitter, or by emailing feedback@iaccessibility.net, and we hope that you become part of our wonderful community
The Power of Advocacy: How one Email can Change an Entire Semester
As a college student, inaccessible websites, applications, and materials that put barriers in the way of my equal education have been a staple in my college years. The inaccessibility that I have experienced has ranged from useable with great difficulty to not useable at all. If I am lucky, the website has a few unlabeled elements that I can get through; however, there have been many occasions where I have had to ask for assistance in order to complete my school work.
This semester, I’m using an online discussion forum called PackBack. As I worked my way through the requirements of my course, I noticed that I had a problem. Each post a user publishes on PackBack is assigned a number of curiosity points, which are meant to help assess the creativity and originality of students’ posts. This assists the professor with grading participation, and helps to reduce the number of posts that are unrelated to the topic at hand.
When I published my first post, I encountered a significant problem. Although I tried several different combinations of screen readers and web browsers, I could not see how many curiosity points I had received. My professor requires that each student reach a minimum of 150 curiosity points for the week in order for their posts to count toward their grade. How on Earth was I going to fix this? I was missing out on a key part of the assignment, and the only answer I had was to ask someone with useable vision to look at my posts. I did not feel that this was an acceptable method for me to complete my work.
I began to dig around the site, looking for accessibility statements or documentation, and did not find anything.
As I searched for the website’s contact form, I grumbled and groaned at not only writing yet another email concerning the lack of accessibility of a website that was imperative to the success of my education, but also whether or not my need for accessibility would have any validity in the eyes of the website administrators. I calmly told them what was going on, and waited.
Imagine my surprise when I opened my inbox today. I had a very friendly and genuine email from the company’s CPO, who works directly with the accessibility team. She informed me that she appreciated my report, and she would be sending this information to engineering for a fix. I was told that improvements should arrive within two weeks. Additionally, her response also included the curiosity points I had received on my first three contributions, and I was invited to ask if I needed them again. I was also asked how else Packback could be a better experience for those using screen readers.
I think there is a mark on my chin from hitting the apartment floor. Never before had I received such a swift response that seems to indicate that someone truly cares about accessibility. It just goes to show that, no matter how burned out we are from advocating, no matter how much we feel that our request will fall on deaf ears, we still must try.
iAccessibility Mastodon Instance
Mastodon has become a very popular social networking platform in the last few weeks, and we at iAccessibility decided to try setting up our own instance for Mastodon. You can learn more about Mastodon at their official site, and you can also join our instance at social.iaccessibility.net
Patriot ViewPoint – VR Glasses For Low Vision Users
Over the past several years, assistive technology manufacturers have produced eyewear which has promised legally blind individuals the ability to see more than they ever have; however, each device is designed to work with different subsets of users. I have personally tried the Jordy, eSight, NuEyes, and Patriot ViewPoint Glasses. While attending the 2018 National Federation of The Blind convention, I had the opportunity to use the patriot glasses, and was impressed with the product.
About The Patriot ViewPoint
The Patriot ViewPoint takes an old idea of using camera technologies in a glasses-based form to the next level by adapting current technologies into an amazing product that uses a Samsung Gear VR headset and a Samsung Galaxy phone to magnify what is viewed using the camera. the ViewPoint has been configured with the most up-to-date technology, which offers large eye lenses for the wearer to see through and the Samsung camera in the phone provides the ability to zoom in on objects up close and far away without loss of detail.
The Patriot really does not change any of the controls of the Gear VR, but adapts them to the use case of the software included. The wearer can perform the following tasks with the glasses:
- Zoom in and out using the touch sensitive panel on the right side
- Adjust brightness by flicking up or down on the touch panel
- Read text using optical character recognition
- Change color contrast to best meet your needs
Drawbacks
The Patriot ViewPoint offers some amazing features and some of the best hardware out there, but it also has its drawbacks.
- The glasses do not have a sleep mode, so they must be rebooted every time they need to be used.
- Since they use a Samsung Gear VR headset, the glasses are heavy. This could be problematic if one wanted to use them for an extended period of time.
- The ViewPoint does not have an object locator mode. This would allow for the user to zoom out and find an object then zoom back in to see what the object is.
- It does take some time to zoom. You must flick on the touch sensitive area for each zoom level.
- The ViewPoint is a bit pricy; however, it is more affordable than most devices in this family of products.
Conclusion
Everyone knows that I love new technology, but I must say that the Patriot ViewPoint has changed my life. I would guess that it has changed the lives of many other low vision users out there. By reading this article, you might surmise that the drawbacks are severe; however, it is worth noting that this technology can change over time with software changes and advances in new technology. I personally put these glasses on at the convention, and I could not believe what I could see. I could see what people were doing in the court yard while being three stories up, the intricate details of the hotel bed’s headboard and much much more.
If you are looking for a solution like this then I would really recommend the Patriot ViewPoint over any other device. It has changed my life, and I think it will change yours. I would also like to thank Mr. John Palmer of Patriot Vision Industries for creating such an amazing product, and helping those of us who can use this product to see what we have never seen before.
What’s a Computer? iPad Software
Last year, we started a series of articles discussing if the iPad Pro could replace a more traditional PC solution, and this article continues that series. This time we will be looking at the iPad’s software, comparing the functionality of its suite of applications to the expected norms of those found on a PC.
Productivity Software
Every day, millions use computers for work, school, and hobbies, each with their own needs to be met. Several software packages are used to accomplish these tasks such as Office suites, email clients, and to-do apps. Microsoft Office and Apple’s iWork are two of the most comprehensive packages, including features like a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and much more.
Productivity software is one area where the iPad Pro shines. It does have the Microsoft Office suite and adequate email programs, but unfortunately, you will not be working on Microsoft Access databases, or other advanced Office related activities. However, you can use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint or Pages, Numbers and Keynote in iWork to complete projects. You will also find email programs with organizational features to make your life easier as well. Google has also added its Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps to iOS, so there are even more alternatives to expand the iPad’s usefulness and integration for cross-platform collaboration.
Creativity Applications
Creativity tasks have become very popular with the powerful computers we have today, but can the same tasks be completed on an iPad? PCs and Macs have amazing software programs for creative professionals. Reaper, SoundForge, Audacity, and Logic are powerful tools for sound engineers, while video and photo designers have access to iMovie, Photoshop, and Pixelmator. The iPad Pro has a desktop class processor and GPU that allows creative professionals to make amazing music, and great visual creations while on the go. In fact, the iPad Pro will process 4k video faster than many high performance PCs and Mac, so in this case, the iPad does stand up to PC performance. The iPad Pro also has support for the Apple Pencil, allowing the user to create art on one’s device, then process it through an image editing solution. It also supports annotating documents and creating drawings, whereas a PC user would need a device such as a Wacom for similar results.
Developer Applications
In an ever-increasingly connected world with computers being a mainstay in everybody’s lives, coding has become more prevalent. so Can users code the same solutions on the iPad Pro as they would on a PC or Mac? In short, no. The iPad Pro does not have the facilities for full software development. There are applications to write code, however, the iPad cannot compile apps for iOS or Android using currently available tools at the time of this writing. It seems that Apple may be moving the iPad Pro into the PC space, but it can’t fully be on the same playing field unless it offers the ability to build applications.
Currently the iPad Pro and other iPads have Swift Playgrounds, which lets you play games, and write code, but these code creations can only run on the iPad they are saved on, and can’t run independently. Swift Playgrounds is a start, but you can’t reach the command line or other areas that are important, if not essential, to programmers.
Web developers are in luck though. The iPad Pro has several apps that allow web developers to create websites, and there are now ways that you can test your website on the iPad with help from apps like Pythonista, where you can use Python to create small web servers.
File Management
iPadOS 13 introduces many changes to the Files application that brings it more in line with Finder on macOS. You can now view files in grid view, list view, and even detail view where you can see the file information before you open the document in question. The ability to connect to an external hard drive and a network server has been something the iPad operating system has needed for a long time, and you can finally accomplish this using the Files app. There are a few limitations here, but great strides have been made to update the iPad into a more useful storage device.
Conclusion
The iPad Pro still has some room to grow, but it is much closer to a computer replacement with iPadOS 13. We now have the ability to use automations and shortcuts, along with pro level applications to create productive solutions. We just need to see apps like Logic, Final Cut, and Xcode, and the iPad will be a proper computer replacement.
A New Chapter for iAccessibility
iAccessibility is proud to announce that we have filled out and turned in paperwork to form an LLC. We have received the results, and we are now officially iAccessibility LLC from this day forward.
We are very excited about this news, and we can’t wait to bring you all new products and services in our new capacity as iAccessibility LLC.
In the coming months, we will be converting all services in iTunes to our new name, and we will continue supporting all of our products and services that we currently offer.
As always, please send us feedback at feedback@iaccessibility.net if you have any questions for us.
#iACast 86 – Benefits of Code
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This episode of the iACast is a combined episode with the iA CodeCast podcast where we discuss everything related to code. On this episode Michael, Aleeha, and Jason discuss how coding can be rewarding and an amazing career opportunity instead of it being a chore.
News
We start the show by talking about the new decision by the supreme court that forces Internet companies who sell products in the United States to charge sales tax.
Pics
Each week our hosts pick something in technology they have used during the week.
- Aleeha iPhone 10
- Jason: iOS 12
- Michael: Android Studio
We hope that you enjoyed this episode of the iA Cast and the iA CodeCast. Please let us know what you think by emailing feedback@iaccessibility.net or by using our hashtag of #iACast. You can also follow us on twitter at @iaccessibility1
Aira From a Low Vision Perspective
Aira is a relatively new service that helps the blind navigate their environment and complete tasks by matching them with a trained agent. It has caused quite the stir in the blindness community, and we have heard a lot of success stories from Aira users who have utilized the service to accomplish a variety of tasks. With this in mind, I think it is time for us to find out if Aira is useful for those with low vision. For the purpose of this article, low vision refers to those with severe vision loss, but have enough vision to function with the use of a cane or guide dog, read a computer screen with magnification, and see an environment to know what is around them.
What is Aira
First, lets take a look at what it is and what it isn’t. Aira is a service that matches a person who is low vision or totally blind to a trained agent to complete tasks, or to assist with navigation-based needs. Aira is not the first service like this, but it is the first to build such a solution that works with eyewear. They started with Google Glass, and now offer their own glasses solution.
Keep in mind that Aira is a tool to enhance your independence. It will not replace your mobility tool, and a cane or guide dog will be necessary for safe navigation with the service. Also, Aira will not replace your computer or other office tools that are needed to complete tasks.
What Makes Aira Different?
Aira agents are extensively trained so explorers can complete tasks effectively. The explorer can control how much or how little information they receive from the agent. In my experience, the agents do a good job at determining how much information I need at each given time.
Drawbacks of Aira
Aira is an amazing service, but it has some drawbacks. The most significant drawback of Aira is the price. Plans start at $89 a month in the United States, and this plan gives you 100 minutes of use. Other plans are offered with more minutes; however, each plan gets more expensive as you go. Keep in mind that you are paying for Aira hardware and for minutes each month. The other drawback, in my opinion, is the current hardware itself. The glasses require a MIFI device to connect everything to your phone, and both the glasses and MIFI have to be charged for the user to use the glasses. Aira hopes to make this a more seamless experience with the unveiling of their new Horizon glasses. With that said, no solution is perfect, and I think that Aira has gone a long way to make a solution that is easy for people to use. The company hopes to make the service cheaper for explorers by adding site access to several places of importance.
Aira From a Low Vision Perspective
I have not met many explorers who have some sight, and this was my reasoning for writing about Aira from this perspective. I have had 20/800 vision all of my life, and assistive technology has been an integral part of my success. I personally believed that one should use technology that does not involve human interaction before the use of a service like Be My Eyes or Aira; however, after one week with Aira, I have changed my mind.
While working in the world of rehabilitation, I have found that people become dependent on their technology working a certain way. When the technology no longer works for the user, a person can’t adapt to the changes in technology, and that person is not able to stay competitive in the world of employment.
Aira does not replace your technology, and it is not a piece of technology which you will become dependent on. I like to look at Aira as the bridge to the visual world. Agents can easily and quickly give you the information you need to complete a task, or help you find your way without making you dependent on the service. In other words, Aira is just another tool in your toolbox.
As a low-vision explorer, Aira has enabled me to quickly complete tasks like identifying luggage quickly from a trip, verifying that clothes match for a business outing, or identifying which car is my Lyft. While these are all things that a person can do without the use of the glasses, I find that these tasks can be completed faster and more efficiently with an agent that is describing things to you.
One advantage that Aira gives to all explorers is agents learn how to work with you more efficiently as you use the service. Each time you use Aira, agents make notes on your profile so that other agents can have information available on how to help you get things done more effectively. I have found that the agents know that I am low vision based on my profile, and we are easily able to work together to get a task done. I connected to one agent while attempting to find bath soap at a convenience store. The agent pointed me in the direction of the brand I was looking for. I then put my hand on the box and the agent could tell me what variant the soap was. So while I could see the box and tell that it was the right brand once we found the brand, the agent could then direct me to find the soap I was looking for without saying what I needed or giving to much information.
Photography is a hobby of mine, and Aira can even help with this. Agents can take pictures of whatever the glasses or your phone sees. The agent can help get all possible faces in the frame. Agents can also assist with selfies. Once a picture is taken, the Aira agent can email you the picture so you can save it to your camera roll.
You can also use Aira to find hard-to-see items. An example of this could be if you have an item that blends in to its surroundings. You can describe the item to the Aira agent, and they can attempt to find that item.
Conclusion
Aira has proven itself to be a valuable tool for any blind or low-vision person’s toolbox. As I said earlier, I tried not to like this service as I believe that there should be technology to do what Aira does. I also felt that the price point per month was a bit expensive, but the truth is that Aira is worth every penny. The reason I say that is because of how trained the agents are. I always feel like the agents are there to help you get a task complete as quickly and efficiently as possible, while still being personable to each explorer.
I would like to challenge each and every one of you who are blind or low vision that reads this article to check everything out at Aira Io, and learn about this service. Go in to this experience with an open mind, and I think you will quickly find out how you can make even the basic Aira plan a part of your toolbox and be more effective and productive at your day to day tasks. We will soon have more Aira related articles, and the iACast network will soon feature an interview from Aira, and a dedicated podcast episode explaining how the service works.