Page 2 - Deals & News for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Read on to find out about a new accessible rpg, Serania: Path of the Scion, available now for both iOS and Android

In partnership with the White House's initiative to vaccinate 70% of Americans by July 4, Uber and Lyft will offer free or discounted transportation to vaccination sites nationwide between now and then. Read on to find out the particulars of each company's offer and how to access them.

Steven Scott proudly proclaims to J.J. that he is indeed a "serial podcaster" during this interview. And it is hard to disagree with that statement when you consider the circumstances that led him to the place he finds himself with his career so far. Hear, or read the transcript below, as Steven regales J.J. with highlights from his more than 20 years of speaking into a microphone. Plus learn what is next for the RNIB, Double Tap and all-around Blind guy who talks tech. To keep up with Steven, and to get more information on his new podcast, follow him on Twitter @TechTalkerSteve

Blind Bargains Virtual Exhibit Hall coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit <www.afb.org/aw>.

Apple has announced improvements to VoiceOver's image recognition features among other forthcoming updates, as a part of a Global Accessibility Awareness Day press release.

On the 10th anniversary of Global Accessibility awareness Day, a new nonprofit seeks to take accessibility awareness to the next level and further embed it within organizational culture.

GoodMaps has brought their free outdoor and indoor navigation app to the United Kingdom and Ireland. The successor to Nearby Explorer has been available in North America since last fall.

Blind and Visually Impaired job seekers often must play a guessing game when it comes to the determination if a possible employment avenue will fit within their specific needs for access. That is why J.J. was eager to sit down with Roy Baladi, Founder at Jobs for Humanity, to explore how his organization is looking to build healthy bridges between employers and those interested in employment. Tune in, or read the transcript below, to learn where the drive to assist others came from and where the trajectory may lead to in the future. To know more about Jobs For Humanity, or to browse their postings, visit the Blind.Jobs website

Blind Bargains Virtual Exhibit Hall coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit <www.afb.org/aw>.

I've reviewed your options for managing screen time with iOS, but until recently, did not believe there was an accessible way to do this on windows.

Windows does have solutions to measure screen time built in. However, these are mostly geared towards family screen time management. Options for an individual user to manage their onscreen time are sorely lacking natively. There is no option to set specific apps as active, choose how long you spent in each app, or temporarily blocked distracting apps and web sites.

Recommended by Zapier on this list of The 7 best apps to help you focus and block distractions, The suite of apps by cold Turkey software attempts to change this. Fortunately, unlike other apps of its kind, these are also accessible.

Cold Turkey offers three different apps that tackle the problem in slightly different ways. First, cold Turkey blocker lets you designate apps and web sites as off - limits either for a particular interval of time, until the computer is restarted, or until a password is entered. Cold Turkey Micromanager takes the opposite approach, instead allowing you to choose the apps you want to be able to access at any given time and blocking everything else. Finally, Cold Turkey Writer is a minimalist text editor which forces you to focus on the active document.

Read on for a walkthrough of using all three apps, features, pricing, and of course, accessibility.

J.J. notes at the top of this interview that the BBQast rarely interviews people within the Remediation and Testing sector of A.T. unless the subject of the interview stands out in a very crowded field. That is why he sat down with Samuel Proulx, Accessibility Evangelist for Fable, to discuss their unique approach to commercially available User Centric testing. In this chat you can hear how A.T. users of varying degrees of knowledge can embark on a pathway towards obtaining testing experience through resources provided by Fable. Additionally, those who are seeking something beyond automated testing can find a talent base curated by Fable from their growing community. To learn more about services offered by Fable, visit the company website or Follow them on Twitter @Makeitfable

Blind Bargains Virtual Exhibit Hall coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit <www.afb.org/aw>.

APH will be sponsoring a free symposium for educators, students, and coating professionals Tuesday, May 11 through Friday, May 14. It is free to attend, features panels and talks from blind and visually impaired coders throughout the industry, and will provide resources for blind and visually impaired students and educators. There will be opportunities to win cash prizes and Amazon gift cards as well.

A new version of Voice Dream Reader has been released, bringing new fonts, Bookshare changes, improved cloud services and more. Read more about the update below.

Recently, I decided to experiment with twitter on the web after some lingering frustrations with existing Windows clients. Is it a practical solution? Well... Maybe. Some significant issues exist on the web as well, but Twitter's Webb client has plenty of reasons to recommend it.

Shortly after their most recent screen reader voices survey, Microsoft is launching another survey on your experiences with screen readers. Hopefully, this data will lead to even more advancements in screen reader accessibility and usability in the coming months and years. Read more and take the survey below.

There are products on the market that are so well recognized for what they do that they truly need no introduction to fans of this podcast. But even long-time users of a phentermine for sale product might not be aware some aspects of their favorite Assistive Technology can undergo a slight change during a yearly release cycle. Shelly sat down with Matt Ater, Vice President of Corporate Business Development at Vispero, to talk about some of the recent changes that are coming in an update to ZoomText 2021. The pair discuss the importance of the new Zoomy digital assistant, how user settings now migrate between updated versions of ZT and Matt then demos the functionality of Background Reader. To learn more about ZoomText, Fusion or any of Freedom Scientific's Low Vision products, visit the FS website. Also, be sure to check out the Freedom Scientific Training channel on YouTube as it has tons of great resources on various Vispero products.

Blind Bargains Virtual Exhibit Hall coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit <www.afb.org/aw>.

Our virtual convention coverage is in full swing, with a deep dive into the happenings at Humanware. Joining J.J. in the simulated Exhibit Hall is Peter Tucic, Blindness Products Brand Ambassador, for his first interview in front of the BBQast microphones. The pair discuss all the features in the new Brailliant BI 20X and 40x units along with how they differ from the APH models. They then turn their attention to the Victor Reader Trek and its most recent GPS update. But that is just the tip of the iceberg as they cover more ground, including the recent service outage. To learn more, join the BI-X mailing list at brailliant-bi-x-users+subscribe@groups.io or visit the Humanware website

Blind Bargains Virtual Exhibit Hall coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amoxil offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit www.afb.org/aw.

Starting this month, users will receive a random promo each month on a topic voted on by Aira agents. Read on to find out more about the first promo and how to find out about new monthly promos.

As we lead up to our exhibit hall coverage for 2021, we start with an extended interview and deep dive into GoodMaps. Thanks for listening.

Sponsor; Goodmaps, Maps with a Mission

J.J. interviews GoodMaps’ CEO, Jose Gaztambide to learn about the evolution and
exciting developments at GoodMaps. Tune in to learn more about GoodMaps’ indoor
positioning technology, the philosophy behind developments, and their vision for
the next five years.

J.J. also gives listeners a detailed demonstration of GoodMaps’ free iOS and
Android app, called GoodMaps Explore, with both outdoor and indoor
functionality, by going through pieces of the audio
tutorial that
he and Mike May created. You can experience various features first-hand, to name
a couple, location description, getting warmer, and customization settings.

To learn more:

• Visit the GoodMaps website and join our
  newsletter to keep up to date with us (contact form at the bottom of the
  home page).

• Tune into the GoodMaps YouTube
  channel for
  product demonstrations.

• Follow GoodMaps on Twitter:
  @GoodMaps_A11Y

• Find GoodMaps on
  Facebook

• Email feedback to info@goodmaps.com

As reported ffirst on Blind Bargains, Hims has announced the BrailleSense 6, a new braille keyboard notetaker with 32 cells.

Over the past decade, audio description has become much more prevalent for TV shows, movies, and streaming content. But often, current events, especially those that unfold live, don't get that same treatment. This is just one of the areas which is covered by Talk Description to Me, an informative, dynamic, and casual podcast from Christine Malec and JJ Hunt.

As the hosts put it, the podcast is "Where the visuals of current events and the world around us get hashed-out in description-rich conversations." Listen to episode 222 to learn much more about the podcast, their background, and some of the amazing episodes that have been produced. From breaking political and social issues to descriptions of various dance styles, there's sure to be something you ll find interesting.

To learn more, visit the Talk Description to Me website.

You can also follow them on Twitter: @TalkDescription
or find them on Facebook
or Email feedback to TalkDescriptionToMe@gmail.com

support the podcast on Patreon

Christine also has a personal Patreon for her projects.

Blind Bargains now has a club on the Clubhouse app. Be sure to follow us for engaging conversations about technology and much more. And be sure to stay tuned for much more coming veryy soon.

This is kind of funny. Our last show, episode 220 from December, was in 2020. And now BBQ 221 starts off 2021. Okay, it was funnier when we said it out loud during this show than in print. It s a good thing we have a couple of demonstrations of a new speaker and the Chromecast with Google TV to fall back on instead of us relying on calendar-based humor. There is even an actual honest to goodness real news section for the show this go around. Plus, there is a bit of Sound Off and we ignore all food based New Year s Resolutions in the Last Word . So, charge up those Bluetooth remotes and join us for a new installment of the BB Qast.

It's the end of the line for the I.D. Mate bar code scanners. The email message below was sent out to I.D. Mate customers subscribed to an EnVision America list on January 15th.

Humanware has refreshed their lineup of braille displays, with two models which are much more feature-rich. Read on to find out all about the new Brailliant BI 20X and 40X series displays.

In an effort to understand how screen reader users choose different voices, the Microsoft accessibility team has released a survey. The survey asks questions about how and why users choose a voice, if different voices are used for different tasks, your level of experience with a screen reader, and more. This is a very comprehensive survey, with both selective response and short answer components, that thoroughly investigates the preferences of screen reader users.

Take the survey here

One of the features that received the most attention after WWDC 2020 was the announcement that Apple would be allowing third party recording apps to take advantage of the stereo microphones in newer iPhones. With the launch of iOS 14 in September, this promise materialized. For several months, Apple's own Voice Memos app was the only one to support stereo recording, but a number of the most popular recording apps are now able to record in stereo. Read on for a non exhaustive list of apps to try.

Monoprice has the Monoprice Essentials USB Type-C to Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Cable for $3. Shipping is free. USB Type C is used on many modern laptops and Android devices. Note this particular cable has a Type C plug on both ends. The cable length is 6.6feet.

Accessible Apps has released Chicken Nugget version 4.71, bringing AI image descriptions, new sounds, keyboard discovery mode, more
Popular Twitter client Chicken Nugget recently received a major update, bringing improved image descriptions, new sounds, and other improvements. Read on for an in-depth look at what's new, and information about how to use the latest features.

The presidential inauguration ceremony and related events will be offered with audio description and other accessibility accommodations. Events start today at approximately 11:30 AM, with streaming links available from this page.

Prior to iOS 14, users had the ability to allow or disallow location access on an app-by-app basis. Now, users can also choose to give an app their general location only.

Behold, our 800th piece of audio content on the site. We originally planned this outlandish over the top celebration thingy, but 2020 being what it is, we have opted out of that and we shall just strike our best couch potato poses while binging out on some audio described content instead. Good thing John Sweet and Petr Kucheryavyy, Senior Managers of Accessibility at Charter Communications, are on hand this episode to tell us how we can start our A.D. feast with the free Spectrum Access app. Tune in to hear about the app, the Born Accessible approach the team is taking towards their services and hear demos of Spectrum Access and Spectrum News.

Timecrest a popular iOS game has a long-awaited sequel. Find out more about Ash and get a richer understanding of Alensia in this sequel game 4 years inthe making.

alwayz-on-sale via Amazon has the Sennheiser AMBEO Smart Headset for $99.99. This wired headset, which allows you to record in 3D audio and works with iOS, originally sold for nearly $300.
Joe reviewed this pair earlier this summer, where you can hear the types of recordings that are possible.

Last year David Bradburn, President of Zoomax USA, shared with us the launch specifics for Acesight. in our latest interview Joe gets an update on the progress of not only the Acesight, but a sneak peek at a new product in the wearable line. The duo also discuss the Snow 12 portable Video Magnifier and a quick log entry from the BBQ's unofficial Travel Correspondent. To learn more about the products mentioned in this interview, visit the Zoomax website.

ATIA 2020 coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.

For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit www.afb.org/aw.

If you are a braille reader who uses iOS, a new feature introduced in iOS 14 makes reading even easier. Read on to find out how to configure auto advance.

One of the most revolutionary changes to come to iOS in some time is VoiceOver recognition, an AI powered method to provide information about controls which have not been properly labeled to VoiceOver. Read on to find out more about how to configure and use this new feature.

Do you have trouble finding apps that you've previously downloaded? Do you get tired of scrolling through your many pages of apps? A new feature in iOS 14 aims to help you solve this problem. Read on to find out about the app library.

NVDA version 2020.3 released, bringing new braille tables, stability improvements, new browser content reporting, and more

On October 13, version 2020.3 of the free NVDA screen reader was released. Keep reading to find out all about the new features.
$$

new features

• Turn off the reporting of graphics in the document formatting settings of NVDA. Note that the alt-text of images is still reported, but image/graphic are not announced.
• With the new keystroke NVDA+control+alt+t, you can now toggle nvda touch screen support.
• Support for German braille translation tables have been added.
• Read-only text controls are now detected by NVDA.
• Highlighted content in text and web browsers is now reported in both speech and braille. It can be toggled in the document formatting section of NVDA settings.
• It is now possible to add a gesture to emulate any command in braille by going to NVDA>Settings>Input Gestures>emulate system keys. With emulate system keys focused, tab to add and press it. Then press the key you wish to emulate. Then arrow down until the new command is focused and tab to add. Press the braille key(s) which you wish to set as the new command.
• Handy Tech Active Braille with joystick is now supported.
• "Automatic focus mode for caret movement" setting is now compatible with disabling "Automatically set focus to focusable elements".

changes

• NVDA +f previously reported formatting at the review cursor position and now reports formatting at the system carrot. Use NVDA+shift+f to report formatting at the review cursor position. This information is now also displayed larger visually.
• Focus no longer jumps to focusable elements in browse mode.
• ESpeak has been updated.
• You can now use table navigation in list boxes with checkable list items when the list has multiple columns.
• When in the prompt to remove addons, no is now the default selected option.
• In Microsoft Excel, the Elements List dialog now presents formulas in their localized form.
• Notes are properly reported as such in Microsoft Excel.
• When using the "move review cursor to focus" command in browse mode, the review cursor is now set at the position of the virtual caret.

You can read more, including the bug fixes in this version of NVDA, here.

Welcome to our 6th annual Blind Bargains Holiday Shopping Guide. Once again, we've brought the deals straight to your audio feed. Sit back and relax as some of your favorite merchants, or perhaps some that are new to you, tell you about their latest products and services as well as some holiday deals. We'd like to sincerely thank all of the companies who were apart of this show. Below you'll find information about each company in the order they appear in the show.
We hope you have a socially-distanced, safe and fulfilling Thanksgiving weekend.

It's been awhile since we did a full-on cooking show, and many of our regulars have acquired a growing amount of cooking gadgets and essentials. So we decided to do our biggest cooking show yet, with Shelly Brisbin, Ricky Enger, J.J., and the podcast debut of regular contributor Tangela Mahaffey.

Recently, I have started using Blue Apron, a meal kit service which aims to help people get more experience cooking. Each week, a box of ingredients arrives, and we use the recipes found in the app to create new and exciting meals. Read more about the process below.

New customers can get up to $28 off their first 4 orders ($7 per order) from goPuff by using this referral link.

In order to be more environmentally friendly, we at the BBQ decided to combine our October and November Apple event wrap up shows. It is the podcasting equivalent of removing the charger plug from the box. Okay, seriously, we changed things up a bit and invited Greg Stilson on to talk about the new Macs and iPhones. Greg has launched a few products over the years, and we thought he could speak at longer length about what it takes to do that than J.J. and Joe could. Plus, he brings along the bonus of saying a bunch of new stuff that you have not heard from us on the many hours of wrap up shows we have done in the past. And to borrow an Apple turn of phrase, we think you re going to love it .

Let's Go Shopping started as an event to help shoppers and business owners connect during Covid-19. And, the biggest event yet is scheduled for this week, full of holiday deals.

October is a time for ghouls, ghosts, and game demos. Yep, keeping with a long-standing tradition that happened somewhat organically without us realizing it, we give you another reason to break out the earbuds in order for you to experience life beyond The Vale . And speaking of new experiences, Ricky dropped by the office of beeping and talking to discuss the Nuraloop earbuds with Joe. Lastly, but technically in the middle of the show, we hear from the new voice of the Amazon Echo. Listen in to hear the first ever F bomb hiding somewhere within the minutes of BBQ 216.

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.

Summertime is the perfect season for going to the beach, camping, and of course buying computers. Okay, that last one is more geared towards the tech sector who aren t necessarily going to readily engage in the first two activities mentioned. Join Patrick, Joe and first timer Alex Hall As they discuss how each one of them navigated the computer buying process. Listen in as the trio breakdown what access issues they encountered and what tips they recommend for those about to consider the addition of their own shiny new laptop or desktop.

Widgets allow you to customize your home screen with information most likely to be of interest to you. This might include the weather, news, or calendar vents. Read more about what widgets are, how to add them to your home screen, and some suggestions of native and 3rd party widgets below.

Continuing our coverage of what's new in iOS 14, this article covers the new search function for the emoji keyboard. According to Emojipedia, when accounting for different skin tones and variants, [iOS 14 contains aproximately 3,304 emoji.] (https://emojipedia.org/faq/) This can make finding the correct emoji difficult, especially when using VoiceOver. A new feature introduced in iOS 14 allows you to search for the perfect emoji. Learn how to utilize the feature below.

Welcome to our first article covering the latest and greatest in Apple's new operating system. Instead of a new feature, this article covers the return of an old one, likely to be of use to all students, professionals, and anyone who writes on their phone: the return of accessible spellchecking. Read more about how to use this feature below