Blind Bargains

Blind Bargains Qast 14: Apple Watches Time and Relative Dimension in Space


Did you hear that Apple has a new product shipping around the world? Something about a watch we think. Yeah, we are pretty sure it's a timepiece of some kind. So we flipped open our contacts apps and found someone we knew who had one on the way. Lo and behold, Michael Doise will stop by to talk about his new Apple Watch and tell us what he enjoys about the new accessory to your Apple driven life. We also have a tip, your feedback and what J.J. calls "pocket lint" in this week's "Last Word".

Sponsor: BlindAlive

We'd like to thank this week's sponsor, BlindAlive for providing us the motivation and support needed to create this episode. No matter your level of health or fitness, there is an exercise program out there for you. To learn more about these fitness products, and subscribe to BlindAlive's podcasts, visit their website. And remember "Don't just live, be alive"!

In The News:

Beta of TalkBack 4.2 Offers Gesture Customization, Screen Dimming, More

From Cool Blind Tech, Talkback 4.2.0 is in beta, provides a huge upgrade of features based on feedback

Google's Nexus 7 tablet has been discontinued

Blaze EZ Patch Enables Direct NLS BARD Downloads

Blastbay and VGStorm Team up to Release Psycho Strike Audio RPG/Adventure/Shooter

For those who Have Received It, VarioUltra Firmware Released with Contracted/Computer Braille Toggle

NVDA Remote Campaign Wraps Up with Over 13K in Donations, Beta Testing in progress

National Federation of the Blind to Distribute Freedom Scientific s JAWS Training Bundle

Recently Released PenFriend2 Includes Color Labels, More Memory, and Plays Mp3s

National Federation of the Blind Congratulates Anne Taylor on New Position at Microsoft

PetSmart Accused of Discrimination Against the Blind in New Civil Suit

As a follow up to stories from BBQ13, and from Joe's mention during this week's recording, this is Sarah Outwater's post on her troubles with Uber

Roseanne Barr Talks Candidly About Going Blind

A T Guys now has the Odin VI

Discussion Topic: Michael Doise Shows Off His New Apple Watch

It's here and we have a guy who has one. Yes, the newest star in Apple's product lineup fits right on your arm and works with Voiceover and your iPhone. We'll discuss the unboxing, the setup and what it was like using the device during the initial launch weekend. Michael has offered to come back and give us updates on his experiences with the watch, however, you can follow him on Twitter and read his website to stay up to date in real time when it comes to his thoughts on his stainless steel wrist companion.
Also, if you wanted to know even more about the Apple Watch, Joe has a post up now with more than 100 links of news and resources.
J.J. just posted this article as well...
Quick Take: Apple Watch Guideline May Have Unintended Consequences for Deaf-blind

Soundoff

Our friends on Twitter ask the hard questions and pass along the greatest resources. For example, looks like there may be a solution to the Apple Watch demo units not being accessible after all.

@ASquared_Editor: For those interested in accessible Watch Try-ons, Apple's new experience

@blindscouter: you showed us how to do audio description on Netflix. Any idea about HBO now?

We'd love to see it happen as much as you.

In regards to the Baum VarioUltra, Rich tweets

@richcav: I preordered mine in August of 2014-got it in November. I am very pleased with the display and service from Baum. I recently had a broken micro USB port-the display was fixed in just 7 days.

turning to the latest in Android phones

@QEWWilliams: I am very impressed with how well the camera on my #GalaxyS6 does in terms of OCR, it is incredible!

And some other general comments

@JesseTregarthen: Just listened to episode 12 and I can say from experience that the BBQ is very hard to fall asleep to, for me at least.

@Kblackbn: I like the BB Qast, but when you write the name as BBQ, System Access says Barbecue. Looking forward to the next mouthwatering show.

Two comments arrived recently on our article about the new Talkback beta.

darknexus said;

"Been running this on my Moto G 2nd gen for about a week now. A very nice release indeed, and the changes to gesture customization and the way granularity is handled are most welcome. Apparently they really did read the responses to the feedback survey they circulated. For Bluetooth keyboard users though, there is a bug in this release where arrow keys won't read as you move your cursor. Hoping they get this fixed soon. Editing with the screen itself still works so it's an annoyance but not a complete show-stopper."

Peregrine asked;

"I'm probably missing something obvious, but once downloaded, how does one offer feedback? There's nothing shown on Google's download page. Do all comments go to the Eyes-Free list? Thanks."

The Eyes Free list is probably one of the best ways to keep up and offer your feedback. Join the conversation by subscribing to the list.

Christine felt some nostalgia after hearing our A.T. History discussions and sent this along in an email.

"Hello,
Here is some of the assistive technology that I use. Pc computer with the screen reader Jaws (Job Access with Speech) to get all of my work done in a timely manner.
4-track tape recorder to listen to different magazines that I get on cassette tape.
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically handicapped digital advanced player to listen to different magazines that I get on the NLS cartridge and also on the USB thumb drive.
I like all of the assistive technology that I use as I use it all the time meaning 24/7. The technology that helps me get my work done in a timely manner on the computer is the screen reader jaws.
I would like to see you talk about some of the assistive technology that you use. The person that does the commercials who is that and then the person who does at the end of the podcast as well?
Thank you for your time regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Christine Chaikin"
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insightfulpubli

Last Word

Joe emptied out the pockets on his news-gathering sweatpants, and really more for his amusement than J.J.'s, here are some of the links that fell out.
Forget Noise-Cancelling Headphones: Just Listen to Wikipedia Being Edited
List of 50 misconceptions released by London's Ripley's Believe it or Not!
7 songs that will make you happy in an instant
And thanks to @silly_singer for letting us know about this one. A story 4 BBQThe Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before and After Mainstream Tech - Social Media Week

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Length: 92:15

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Category: Shows
Displaying 1 comment.
Russ Thursday, 30-Apr-2015 3:03 PM ET:

Here are some things to be aware of about the Blaze. internet radio and downloading podcasts work very much like the bookport plus and plextalk pocket. The Stream has a much better implementation of internet radio and podcasts. I feel that the Stream has a better way of organizing it's content. For me, the biggest drawback to the Blaze EZ, it has no telephone style keypad. The Blaze ET will have a keypad. Here's what Jenny posted about this on the HIMS list: As for entering text, there won't be as much text entry available in this model. To enter Wi-Fi keys, etc, you will use the arrows to choose your letters/numbers from lists, and you will use the select key to enter it. As you might guess, this isn't a quick method of entry, thus, the lack of entry intensive functionality. This model is focusing on providing access to a variety of content while remaining very simple to operate. Thus, the simplified keyboard and different interface. jenny Here's what Jenny said about Audible: Regarding Audible, it's not quite so simple. audible has absolutely NO development tools for Android. That's not to say they do not have Apps, but they can create apps without releaseing development tools to the public. Thus, we're exploring possibilities as to how to integrate this support. Thanks, Jenny A follow up message on Audible Hello, You are not wrong. However, Audible refuses to create any new plugins to make any new devices work with the old Audible Manager through which such authorizations were installed. We did contact them. But, we cannot force them to do this. I am sorry. I wish I had a better answer for you. But, they generally no longer wish to support that type of platform. In fact, someone recently contacted their tech support about a BookSense, and they were told Audible didn’t support it. I mean, even for players already in place to work via this method, there is not technical support available through audible any more. Again, I am sorry for this news, but I don’t know that we can do anything about it but to wait for the streaming platform they tell us they’re developing. Thanks, Jenny Here's what Jenny said about brf and brl: Hello, I am very sorry, that was a misrepresentation. There is no Braille support on the ET. It supports the same file types as does the EZ. It is for the same reason of not having a translator as I described before. I have listened to the techtalk presentation and I know what Dave said, but he misspoke. I am sorry. Jenny The blaze has 2.4 GHZ 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi instead of dual-channel 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi. The Blaze has bluetooth 3.0 instead of Bluetooth 4.0.


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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.


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