Kelly & Company

Every week, the iHabilitation Man appears on Kelly and Company, an afternoon entertainment and lifestyle show on Accessible Media Inc.    Accessible Media Logo

This page contains links to the apps and technologies presented each week by the iHabilitation Man. If there are apps that you would like to have discussed, click here to let us know.

Enjoy!

October 16, 2018

Since we’re traveling this month, we have a chance to play with Westjet Connect. It’s very accessible!

The music app in iOS12 lets you find a song by typing a few words of the lyrics into the search  box. It’s that easy.

More books have become available in accessible format as the EU has ratified the Marrakech Treaty.

A comprehensive WordPress Course is now available from Mystic Access.

A new method for 3D printing of tactile maps developed at University of Florida. Could this technology also be used to generate tactile screenshot diagrams for touch-screen devices?

October 9, 2018

This week’s feature:

The iHabilitation Man’s presentation at the CNIB London Community Hub on Friday, October 12th.

More on Balance for Blind Adults and why The iHabilitation Man would probably not exist without it.

Narrator update, plus, possibilities for touch-screen enthusiasts with Windows Surface Go:

Windows 10, Version 1809 has been released and is being gradually sent out to Windows 10 users. The Narrator screen reader has received a lot of improvements, and the new User Guide is here.

Using The Tile App:

Better tiles now available including replaceable batteries and more!

Recording of First Hadley “Tech it Out”:

Hadley now holds monthly technology discussions. Here is a recording of the first one. Find out more about The Hadley School.

October 2, 2018

The Roomba 980 accessible vacuum cleaner from iRobot.

  • Weighs about 9 pounds
  • About $900
  • Various models and feature sets
  • Can be controlled with iPhone iRobot app, Google Home or Amazon Alexa
  • Schedule cleaning times
  • Type of cleaning you want done
  • Set up virtual barriers
  • Turn on halo (dog dish avoidance)
  • Has onboard camera and sensors

Check out this quick demo by Randy Rusnak from the “Accessibility Moving Forward” podcast.

Or listen to this podcast from Mystic Access about the unboxing and complete setup of the Roomba 960

Resources for Siri Shortcuts

First, David Woodbridge summarizes the progress he has made in creating Siri shortcuts, and this YouTube video provides instruction about the Shortcuts app:

A summary of Accessibility of Apple Watch Series 4

iMore tells us ‘What Apple Watch Series 4 Means for Accessibility‘.

KNFB Reader Version 3.1

This update brings better file management, more effective handling of PDF documents and other fixes.

September 25, 2018

Following Kelly’s visit to Baltimore for the NFB/Baltimore Orioles event last week:

Here’s more about The National Federation of the Blind and its Accessibility Switchboard. It’s a comprehensive database containing a collection of resources to facilitate integration, serving consumers, agencies, government and industry.

Follow-up info for new Apple product releases:

Spotify raises download and device limits

  • From 3.3 to 10K songs downloaded
  • 3 to five devices
  • Personal library limit of 10k songs remains

September 18, 2018

This week’s feature: What’s new from Apple

  • Apple Watch Series 4 and three new iPhones
  • Click here to download “iOS12 Without the Eye” by Jonathan Mosen (highly recommended)
  • Always more from Apple via the WWDC App
  • Complete roundup in Applevis blog

Accessibility coverage in podcasts such as:

First impressions of BrailleMe and where to order http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/BRAILLE-ME.html?id=KmYAAP6k

Looks like BliTab is back

A braille and graphics tablet for around $500

Spotify raises download and device limits

  • From 3.3 to 10K songs downloaded
  • 3 to five devices
  • Personal library limit of 10k songs remains

September 11, 2018

How to make your Google Home bilingual.

The “WayAround” app for digital labeling tags is now available for Android. See iHabiliation’s extended walk-through of the iOS version.

Skype 8 can now record calls from within Skype.

Brian Hartgen has updated his free JAWS scripts for the Zoom platform.

Mystic Access offers six modules, around six hours of training, on iOS for $475 as a digital download. And they’re offering six more modules via live weekly trainings for $15 each.

For $19.95, the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind offers a personalized tactile map of the surroundings of any address.

September 4, 2018

Keyboard alternatives for iPhone or iPad.

The Anova Sous Vide precision cooker with Wifi and Bluetooth from “Audio Pizza – More Than Just A Sound Bite”

“Fire in The House”

Blind Bargains News Items

  • Envision AI 1.5 has new real-time scanning features
  • FlickType 2.5 has more new gestures, self-voicing, spelling and shortcuts.
  • APH Word Puzzles needs desktop beta testers.

August 21, 2018

Udemy online learning platform

  • 80,000+ video courses
  • programming languages: Python and Java
  • personal development classes: design, drawing, writing and yoga
  • more than 24 million students
  • courses in over 2,000 topics
  • New courses, on cutting-edge topics like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain
  • both free and paid courses
  • Once enrolled in a course, you have lifetime access to the content
  • 35,000+ expert instructors teaching in 50+ languages
  • Personalize experience with speed controls and closed captioning

Mostly accessible.

A recent course from Coursera, “Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education“

Free and available to those who teach and want to make their classwork available to those of all abilities.

Personal Diary

Simple, and fully accessible. Just search for it in the app store.

New Music Streaming Services Now Available on Google Home, Pandora Premium and Deezer.

GTT Toronto Summary Notes for the 2017 Fall and 2018 Spring Seasons are Now Available Online

Contains individual links to the following topics:

  • Internet basics
  • Aira
  • CSUN conference reflections
  • TTC apps
  • Accessible gaming
  • All about Android
  • Amazon Echo and Google Home
  • Online shopping
  • ScripTalk and Shoppers Drug Mart
  • Fitness technology

The American Foundation for the Blind recently launched Learn Tech

This is an access initiative that features free online tutorials to help people who are blind or visually impaired improve computer and technology skills. The newest examples: Tutorials on NVDA, Google Docs and Google Drive.

Audio Description has arrived on Amazon Video.

The feature is available on Fire TV, Fire Tablets, iOS devices, and Android devices.

August 14, 2018

“Inside 1” Windows Tablet tactile braille tablet for Deaf-Blind Users

  • Windows 10, 64 Bit
  • 4GB RAM, 128Kb SSD
  • 256Gb Micro-SD card reader
  • Gorilla glass touch-screen
  • 32 cell braille display
  • Braille keyboard engraved in glass
  • Vertical grooves either side of braille keyboard for gestures
  • Engraved line for panning and routing
  • Inclusive single device communication
  • FF 2MP and RF 5MP cameras
  • 5 MM headphone jack
  • Mike and stereo speakers
  • Wifi and Bluetooth
  • Mini USB, USB 3.0 and HDMI
  • 8 hour battery life
  • NVDA preinstalled
  • App suite called “Home”. Independent of Windows

More about Twitter’s forthcoming API changes and their effect on third-party apps.

(from Blindside podcast #98)

  • Native app for push notifications
  • Windows clients not affected
  • Why Twitter is doing this
  • API’s may shut down
  • Twitterific working with MicroBlog, etc.

Good Skype news: The total abandonment of version 7 has been put off for an undetermined time!

And here are keyboard shortcuts for those wishing to move forward with Skype 8.

Ihabilitation news

  • CNIB Windsor presentation via Zoom, August 21
  • CNIB Braille conference presentation, October 18.

August 7, 2018

From Applevis

  • Happy 10th Anniversary, App Store!
  • Apple Releases iOS 11.4.1 with Improvements to Find my AirPods; HomePod Also Gets an Update
  • Your iPhone now does Morse code, thanks to Google’s Gboard keyboard
  • Twitterrific pulls the watch app, Today view & push for tweets from latest update
  • Apple schedules Q3 2018 earnings release for July 31st
  • Amazon’s iPhone app uses computer vision to identify and replace screws and other parts
  • Tip: How to use USB Restricted Mode on your iPhone or iPad

Listen to the podcast here.

Dolphin Easy-Reader updated

Changes in Version 2.1

  • 2 new libraries are available through EasyReader: RNIB OverDrive (UK) and Libro Parlato (Italy).
  • Stability and performance improvements have been made for downloading and reading books from KDD (Czech) and Project Gutenberg libraries.
  • Privacy and security improvements to ensure EasyReader is compliant with the latest General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) including options to update your communication preferences at any time.

Read Dolphin EasyReader’s AppleVis App Directory entry for more information

Lodestone GPS updated

Current Version: 1.3 (July 21, 2018)

  • Route support has been added. Routes are like a list of checkpoints but have a defined order and direction.
  • An explore mode has been added. This is similar to the exploration mode in the old Symbian version. This mode lets you explore points around your current location or a specific point by compass direction.
  • The speed of importing points has been doubled.
  • A share option has been added to point actions to allow a single point to be shared.

July 31, 2018

This week’s feature covers everything from object recognition to comparative shopping.

Camfind was the world’s first mobile visual search engine and now it has more new features. The app, which has not had any updates in quite a while, has released an all new version.

 

A new patent filed by Apple is called Spatial Headphone Transparency (a.k.a. acoustic transparency or HearThrough mode). It uses microphones to include ambient sound which makes it seem  As if headphones are not being worn. This effect is created because the ambient sound is combined with music, and played back in a new mix. Thanks to digital processing it sounds like the music is coming from speakers above your head rather than through headphones.

Facebook has experienced a $118 billion drop in its market value,  because of growth slowdown and concerns around privacy standards. This is the worst single loss in stock market history. The company has concerns around growth rates, and that expenses will exceed income in 2019. Also, Facebook and WhatsApp continue to be blocked in China, the world’s biggest consumer market.

Interesting interviews from Blind Abilities

  • Peter Walters – A Nuclear Scientist and Venture Capitalist: His Journey from Education to Employment
  • TVI Toolbox Presents: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Carving His Pathway Towards Success, Meet Simon Bonenfant
  • A Morning with Tony Gebhard: An Extraordinary Musician, and a Dynamic Individual – Can You Say Metal?
  • Meet Aira’s Agent Analyst, Patrick Lane – An Overview of the Aira Services Compliments of the Completely Booked Podcast
  • That Blind Tech show #19

Blind Bargains Podcasts

  • Audio: Wait, Walk And Cross The Street With Polara
  • Audio: Rein In Kiosk Navigation With Storm Interface
  • Blind Bargains podcast 149

iAccessibility podcasts

  • Special Interview With the Creator of WayAround
  • Special Interview With Patriot ViewPoint Creator John Palmer Gallery
  • Unbox Cast 19 – Horizon Glasses

July 24, 2018

  1. Check out Chirp, the full-featured Apple watch Twitter client. Listen to a “Blind Abilities” interview with the developer here.
  2. Jonathan Mosen has updated his Aira blog to include all the newest features.
  3. Google is conducting many accessibility research studies. To participate, follow this link.
  4. New wireless braille embossing from Irie-AT.
  5. Check out “The Blind Life” channel on Youtube with over 400 videos about assistive tech and daily living tips. Especially useful to those with low vision.
  6. For more summer conference reporting, RNIB Connect Radio covers news from Sight and Sound Technology and begins coverage of Sight Village 2018.
  7. South-western Ontario residents may be interested in attending The Canadian Federation of the Blind of Ontario summer social barbecue on Saturday, August 18th. It is being held at Gibbons Park: 2B Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario, picnic site 4. Hamburgers, salads, chips, desserts, and drinks are provided. Cover charge is $10 to help with the cost of food and picnic site. You can send Email to sitedblind@hotmail.com for more information, or complete the RSVP via this Google form. There is also a public Facebook event.

July 17 2018

This week, among other things, we feature podcasts produced during and after the NFB and ACB conventions.

From Blind Abilities, we have Interviews with:

  • Humanware
  • Amazon
  • and a successful massage therapist/Aira user.

From Blind Bargains, we have interviews with:

  • Duxbury
  • and Braille Design.

Companies like Mystic Access had convention specials without even being at the conventions. Even if you missed these sales, check out what Mystic Access has to offer. Specials like those offered during convention won’t be seen again until around Black Friday in late November.

Want to know more about NFB and follow its activities? Visit nfb.org. You can also subscribe to “The Nation’s Blind” podcast.

The June edition of Applevis Unleashed features:

  • Free trials for non-subscription apps
  • Turning on Apple’s new messages in iCloud
  • Removing suggested contacts in mail

June 26, 2018

The Blind Side Podcast 90, discusses:

  • “The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search” Mosen Consulting’s latest audiobook about making the most of Google search
  • Mushroom Escape, the old-time radio drama station, returns, and
  • an extended interview with Neal Ewers about the history of accessible audio production, accessible technology and more

Interesting podcast from the team at iAccessibility discussing techniques for coping with the constant and rapid changes in the world of technology and accessibility.

June 19, 2018

  1. This week we start with an app to help you write better English: Garner’s Modern Usage English Dictionary
  2. New USB Standard Aims to Make it Easier to Use Braille Displays Across Different Operating Systems and Hardware
  3. The iSee Podcast, recently featuring a series of episodes about the Apple HomePod. Also covers Google, Amazon home automation, Apple Watch and much more

From Applevis

  1. How to play fun audio games with Google Assistant
  2. Making daily tasks easier with IFTTT (if this, then that)

June 12, 2018

This week we feature two pieces of additional coverage of Apple’s 2018 World Wide Developers Conference, courtesy of Applevis Podcast 56 and Podcast 57.

A different slant on WWDC comes from Shelly Brisbin’s Parallel Podcast – a mainstream podcast with a sprinkling of accessibility. Shelly is the author of “iOS Access For All”, a book that is updated for each new iOS version.

And from Blind Abilities, yet more perspectives on WWDC in “That Blind Tech Show” Episode 17

From Applevis

  1. Check out the “Applevis Unleashed” podcast for May 2018.
  2. An Applevis podcast tells us how to download all of your iCloud music to your iDevice in a single procedure.
  3. How to delete old and inactive devices from “Find My iPhone”.
  4. How to tell if your iPhone was originally purchased new, refurbished, replacement or fancy/personalized.

From CoolBlindTech

  1. How to know which iPhone you have https://coolblindtech.com/how-to-know-which-iphone-you-have/

 

Cool Apps this Week

Travel Ear: Listen to the sounds of the world in 3D stereo

Blindfold Video: Take a video by simply opening the app!

 

June 5, 2018

First, a Hands Off Our Harnesses update.

  1. Please visit to read the minutes from the May 10 “Moving Forward” meeting. There will be a Memorandum of Understanding between the coalition and the Canadian Centre for Disability Studies.
  2. We also posted the latest Air Passenger Protection Regulations consultation paper to do with the Transportation Modernization Act which just received royal assent.

What’s new in accessibility from Apple’s 2018 World Wide Developers Conference

Jonathan Mosen’s Top Ten Wishlist for iOS12

 

May 29, 2018

For Apple, this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day was all about education. (For more about GAAD: Global Accessibility Day events.)

Here are a few articles:

From 9 to 5 Mac

From Tech Crunch

From Mashable

From Apple Insider

Apple brings Everyone Can Code to schools serving blind and deaf students

Google and Alexa

Google Home will soon Let You Talk Through A Phone Menu system.

Amazon just added two features to Alexa’s calendar abilities 

Blind Abilities

Job Insights #4: Apps With Productivity in Mind for Education and in the Workplace

Blind Bargains

BBQast 145 for May 20

May 22, 2018:

For the best news browsing experience ever, on iPhone or iPad, try Google News.

Whether you have an Apple Watch or not, SleepWatch can help you monitor and improve your sleep habits.

Windows April 2018 Update and Freedom Scientific Products

Learn the official version of ‘What’s new in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update‘ from the Windows Experience Blog.

From the Freedom Scientific Blog comes “Freedom Scientific Software and the Microsoft Windows 10 Spring Creators Update. What You Need to Know“.

Upgrades for ZoomText and Fusion are available to make them compatible with the new version.