All News and Views

BBQ In Review is our ongoing series of posts that attempts to capture some of the news that falls outside of our podcasts. Think of it as a raw feed of information which undergoes a miniaturization process for what topics that best suit our podcast format. In the past we have left the stories that did not make the cut part of Joe s endless scroll of tweets. But to save time, sanity and Doomscrolling social media for those who wish to avoid that kind of thing, welcome aboard and enjoy the pile of stuff below. Hopefully the reading of these articles will lessen the feeling of FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out, on all the new hardware coming to stores this holiday season.

Events in 2021 continue to switch to virtual formats due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The American Council of the Blind convention, originally scheduled for Phoenix, now joins this list.

The following was sent out today from convention coordinator Janet Dickelman:

What is Modafinil and what is it used for?

2. What you need to know before you start taking Modafinil.

3. How to take Modafinil

4. Possible side effects

5. Storage of Modafinil

6. Package contents and additional information

What Modafinil is and what it is used for?

Modafinil tablets contain the active substance modafinil, which belongs to a group of medicines known as psychoanaleptics.

Modafinil may be used in adults who suffer from narcolepsy to help them stay awake. Narcolepsy is a condition that causes excessive daytime sleepiness and a tendency to suddenly fall asleep in inappropriate situations (sleep attacks). Modafinil can improve narcolepsy and reduce the likelihood of sleep attacks although there may also be other ways to improve your condition and your doctor will inform you of these.

2. What you need to know before you start taking Modafinil
   Do not take Modafinil :

If you are allergic to modafinil or any of the other ingredients of this medicine.

If you suffer from irregular heartbeat.
If you have moderate or severe, uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension).

Warnings and precautions

Consult your doctor or pharmacist before you start taking modafinil if:

If you have or have ever had heart problems or high blood pressure. Your doctor will check you regularly while you are taking modafinil.
If you have ever had depression, depression, depression, severe anxiety, psychosis (loss of contact with reality), agitation, mania (hyperarousal or feeling extremely happy), sleeplessness, hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there), delusions or bipolar disorder, because modafinil may make your condition worse.
If you have severe kidney or liver problems (since you will need to take a lower dose).
If you have had problems with alcohol or drugs in the past.
If you are currently taking hormonal contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, as this medicine may reduce their effectiveness. Your doctor may advise you to use an alternative method of contraception during treatment and even for two months after stopping treatment with this medicine.

Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it contains important information for you.

Keep this leaflet, as you may need to read it again.
If you have any questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
This medicine has been prescribed only for you and you should not give it to other people, even if they have the same symptoms as you, as it may harm them.
If you experience side effects, consult your doctor or pharmacist, even if they are not listed in this leaflet.

Google has rarely repeated themselves when it comes to doing the big reveal for their product or developer presentations. Yet today s 30 minute Launch Night In event was definitely as far as one could go on the opposite side of the energy spectrum of previous Blimp filled performances. And perhaps that was for the best as many of the products were confirmed, thanks to leaks and retailers breaking street dates, rather than announced. An update to the Chromecast line, an original Google Home replacement and two new phones were the stars of the program. While a few services did get a brief mention amongst the various staff driven vignettes.

Below you will find links to Google s own blog with the official details of today s announcements. Additionally, under those links, there is a collection of hands on information about the new products. Plus, a whole lot of Google related news that transpired earlier in the month looms further down the page.

Voting is important, in 2020 perhaps more so than ever. However, the ongoing COVID19 changes mean that this process looks different than it has in years past. Be My Eyes is making accessible voting information available by state in its app. See the text of the Be My Eyes email, and find out about some patriotic items available from the National Braille Press, below.

September seems to have gone a little crazy with hardware events. There was the typical Apple one, a soon to be had Google one, there was the PlayStation 5 And the Microsoft Series X Event. Not to be out done, or it is just multi-billion-dollar peer pressure at work, Amazon held a live event Of their own this week. Revisions to Echo, Fire and Alexa debuted alongside a few new Drones and services. Below are a collection of links summarizing all the recent announcements. Additionally, below that pile of news, you will find a secondary pile that covers more Alexa related information that surfaced prior to the rolling out of new devices.

A new online conference seeks to help educators stay on-trend with assistive technology.

A new software update is available for the BrailleNote Touch Plus. The new update adds the ability to open and read pdf's directly, sign in with google, user guide updates and more.

In our previous BBQ in Review articles we covered news, Interviews and a whole lot of tips to make up for lost time. Yet no true BBQ traditional show would be complete without a Last Word . Or has it happened to be for this post several Last Word entries. It s all here. Cats, food and YouTube clips galore. Enjoy this journey into the oddities of the world wide web that you have come to expect from us at the end of an episode.

Let's Go Shopping, a virtual small business showcase which lets you browse and buy from your couch, is back for round 3. Here's more info.

The ACB And NFB National Conventions are in the books and the BBQ Crew begins their travel plans from the kitchen to the Broadcast Studio? This week we learned that CSUNATC21 Joins ATIA21 In their move to a virtual convention and Exhibit Hall. We are fascinated to learn more about how the largest U.S. A.T. conferences will navigate the realms of accessible learning platforms, after all that s been the focus of many a conference session for years, but until then we offer a glimpse into our previous 2020 convention coverage in the handy lists below.

The tip portion of the show can sometimes be the most difficult to record and that s because we have a hard time settling on one for each episode. And sometimes the one we have in mind won t translate well to audio. So, this post is a list of possible upcoming tips for the BBQ, or it is full of things we were not sure would sound good in the Tips block of the show. Either way, there are a ton of things to learn and try out on your various devices.

What is it and how is it used?

CIALIS is indicated for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction. This occurs when a male is unable to obtain or maintain a firm erection adequate for satisfactory sexual activity.

CIALIS belongs to a group of drugs called phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. After sexual stimulation, CIALIS works by helping to relax the blood vessels in your penis, allowing blood to flow into the penis. The result is improved erectile function. CIALIS will not help you if you do not have erectile dysfunction.
You can buy Cialis online only if you have a medical prescription.

It is important to warn you that CIALIS is not effective in the absence of sexual stimulation. Therefore, you and your partner should stimulate each other in the same way you would if you were not taking an erectile dysfunction medicine.

What should you consider before use?
Do not take CIALIS
if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to tadalafil or any of the other ingredients of CIALIS,
if you are taking any type of organic nitrates or nitric oxide donors such as amyl nitrite. This group of drugs (?nitrates?) are given to relieve angina pain (or ?chest pain?). CIALIS has been shown to increase the effects of these medicines. If you are taking any type of nitrate or are unsure, tell your doctor,
if you have severe heart disease or have recently had a heart attack,
if you have recently had a stroke,
if you have low blood pressure or uncontrolled high blood pressure,
if you have had previous vision loss due to non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition sometimes described as "infarction of the eye".
Take special care with CIALIS
Be aware that sexual intercourse carries a possible risk in patients with heart problems because of the extra strain on the heart. If you have a heart problem, consult your doctor.
Here are some reasons why CIALIS may not be right for you. If you have any of these, tell your doctor before taking this medicine:

If you have sickle cell anemia (an abnormality of red blood cells), multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow), leukemia (cancer of the blood cells), or any deformity of the penis.
If you have a serious liver problem
If you have a serious kidney problem.
It is not known if CIALIS is effective in patients undergoing surgery in the pelvic area or if you have had surgery in which your prostate has been removed (radical prostatectomy without preservation of neurovascular fascicles).

This time, there will be no last-minute wondering. The CSUN Assistive Technology Conference is going virtual for 2021.

Calling the current system unsustainable, AIRA is modifying the terms of its free five minute call offer starting next week.

This past spring, Google released a braille keyboard which works much like that found on iOS, enabling people to enter text in braille on their android devices. Here's how to use it for yourself.

On May 31, Mike May and Kim Casey of Goodmaps, Erin Lauridsen of the San Francisco Lighthouse and J.J. Meddaugh of A. T. Guys joined over 40 people on a Zoom session to compare various audio configurations among the participants. We heard a range of headsets, microphones, and other setups at a variety of price points, and gave feedback on everyone's sound along with tips for using Zoom and other chat systems effectively.

Like just about everything else these days, Apple's worldwide developers conference has switched to a virtual format for 2020. But a variety of new features have been announced across Apple's line of devices, including some new VoiceOver improvements.

Windows 10 version 2004, the first major update for Windows this decade, is here, and while the updates are smaller, there are a variety of new features and bug fixes included.

There are times that necessitate that this site reaches beyond the scope of blindness and technology because of issues that are greater than any accessibility challenge. This is one of those times.