Blind Bargains

Blind Bargains Qast 76: andromeda Daydream Assistant


The Google fall event did bring us the new hardware we wanted. Or did it? J.J. and Joe talk all manner of G things in our Discussion Topic. We also have a quick bit of news, "Sound Off" and a tip of course. Additionally, we may have the most disturbing "Last Word" ... perhaps ever.

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In The News:

KeySoft 2.0 for the BrailleNote Touch will Include KeyMath, Braille Embossing, Braille Terminal, More

For Readers in 20 Countries, the Marrakesh Treaty is Now a Reality

AppleVis Unlimited: What's New in Accessible Apps for September 2016

Congrats to BBQ fave Jeff Bishop for being a part of Microsoft's Ignite Confrence. See his panel from Atlanta.

Discussion Topic: Google Event Fall 2016

The rumors were true. Yet a few surprises did manage to spring up at the low key Google event. Here are some of the stories that powered our conversation regarding Android, Chrome, Andromeda and Assistants.

Google Just Tricked Hundreds of Thousands of People Into Listening to a Computer Science Lecture

Pixel:

Google's Pixel and Pixel XL phones are refined, not radical

Google Store financing is not exclusive to the Pixel, available on any purchase $149 or higher

Google says Pixel Launcher is exclusive to Pixel phones, will consider expanding it later

Many Android 7.1 features are Pixel-exclusive, and Nexuses can t get it yet

Buying a Pixel phone means free, unlimited Photos storage for pictures and video at maximum

Confirmed: the Verizon Pixel's bootloader will not be unlockable

DxOMark says the Pixel phone has the best smartphone camera

The Pixel and Pixel XL's cameras do not have optical image stabilization (OIS)

Google's Pixel phones aren't water resistant, and that's inexcusable

How Google's new Pixel phones compare to the latest iPhone and Android competition

Google will walk you through switching from an iPhone to a Pixel

Pixel, Galaxy, iPhone, oh my! Why pay a premium when every phone runs the same apps?

Google Assistant:

Google Assistant will live in three places, each with different features

Google Assistant will open up to developers in December with 'Actions on Google'

Google Home:

Google Home is official: Google undercuts the Amazon Echo at $129

Google Home is smart, loud, and kind of cute

Google Home s biggest challenge will be handling accounts for the whole family

Google Wi Fi:

Google Wifi: Google s second attempt at a home router [Updated]

OnHub will work with Google WiFi mesh networks

Chromecast Ultra:

The Chromecast does 4K: Google announces the $69 Chromecast Ultra

Daydream VR:

Google s Daydream View VR headset is smartphone-powered VR for $79

Daydream VR hands-on: Google s dumb VR headset is actually very clever

Tip: Dark Theme For Apple TV 4th Generation

Joe notes that the new Dark Theme, for TVOS, is quite nice. To enable this feature, go to Settings and from there choose the "General" option. Move down a few spots to the "Appearance" area and select Dark" by clicking once with the remote. Now you will have white text on a dark background. Perfect for those late night binges of audio described iTunes rental content.

Sound Off:

We're still getting in some good thoughts about iPhone and iOS. Here's one email from Jill.

"Hi guys:
I have been having quite a lot of fun lately checking out your podcast and scoping out the app. I have become quite the tech geek lately and have been gobbling up every bit of tech news I can get my hands on especially when it comes to Apple. Yes I am, umm well,a hard-core Apple snob. We have a couple android devices in the house but anytime I have to deal with them they just don't jive with me.
I'm writing to weigh in on the iPhone 7. I got mine last weekend. I am updating from an iPhone 6. I love it! I haven't found much I don't like about it. When I first got it I thought it would take a while to get used to the new home button but it took less than five minutes. I now prefer it over my old home button. I also love having a speaker at the top of the phone. I have been in situations in the past where ambient noise made it difficult to hear and not having any headphones to speak of handy I will place the speaker next to my ear. Previously this made me look like quite the idiot sticking the bottom of my phone up to my ear. Now I can just place the phone to my ear as if I were on a call and hear my phone with no problems. The only downside to this, watch out when you are on a call because you might blow your eardrums out. It is a bit louder but beyond that I think it is actually a richer sound. As for the headphone jack. I couldn't care less. I haven't even used my lightning earbuds yet and don't tend to use any very often since I don't like having things in my ears. I have been planning on getting a pair of aftershocks (yes I'll be in touch soon) so I don't anticipate any future problems.
I originally had no plans on upgrading to the seven. I was going to wait for next years anniversary edition but well you know... there were a few things that lended to the decision to upgrade. First of all when I finally had a chance to check out apples reveal I queued up the podcast. I realized my phone was turned up abit too loud. When I went to hit the down volume button I found it broken. Ha ha funny that. Second, after updating to iOS 10 my iPhone 6 seem to be a tinge sluggish. It just didn't have that Chris quick response that it did when I got it almost 2 years ago.
Again I've really been enjoying the podcast. It's also fun to hear JJ. Him and I go way back. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely
Jill Ogden "

One time "Last Word" contributor, Dominique Stansberry, also has some musings on the subject.

"Hi guys! Sorry I wish I had something for "last word" for you today for some Audio Goodness, sadly I do not, "yet..." but I just thought I'd share a site with you today. As the subject says, it's called BANA. If you already know of it then sorry about that. For those of you that may be intristed, it has a list of the UEB Braille signs if you would like to learn more about Ueb. Believe me, I don't like it as much as some of you don't as well, but it's not going anywhere, that's for sure. I'm typing with my Humanware Brilliant BI 40 right now. It works great, and as Scott said in the last podcast, the annoying iMessage bug really sucks. I'm sure they'll fix it soon, or probably have by now. I do have one complaint that is very anoying when writing. When typing, VoiceOver does not show the prire words that were before your Braille cursor and some times that get's me lost, thinking that I didn't type what I know I typed. It types it, but the only time you see what you've typed is if you press dot's 45+space to translate the Braille then you can keep typing. Anybody have that problem? Well,
I'm off for now. Here is the link dear show note readers. Any audio suggestions, let me know!"

Last Word:

Powerful audio and a mega outlet are the keys to this week's look at the odd and unforgettable.

Wake Me Up When All Star Ends

PLUG - The World's Most Powerful Battery Pack

One might think that the big event thingies are over for the year. One would be wrong as Microsoft is still waiting in the wings to take the stage later this month. New Surface-branded mice and keyboards have leaked to the Tech Press. And rumors, if true, indicate we will see more than one model of SurfaceBook. Hang on to all wallets, we are not done with those holiday wish lists just yet!

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Length: 70:19

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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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