All Cool Blind Tech Shows

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Comics for the Blind: A Spotlight Interview with Guy Hasson from Comics Empower Oct 22, 2015

Show notes

Comics Empower is featured in this weeks Spotlight Interview. The online comic book shop that was created by Guy Hasson. who makes comics for the blind and the visually impaired! After more than 20 years writing for theatre, writing science fiction stories and books, and writing for film, Guy created the indie comic book company New Worlds Comics. Among other things, he initiated the Comics Empower Project, where real people told their real stories about how comics empowered, helped, or inspired them. The real stories showed him how deeply comics empower people for decades. This inspired the creation of the Comics Empower store, the comic book store for the blind and the visually impaired. More than that, it inspired the creation of the exclusive series, Aurora, an adventure sci-fi series with a blind hero. Useful links: First Timer's Ultimate Guide to Comics. Check out the writing competition for blind or visually impaired writers.

VIP Android Event: Enter the Nexus, or “Nexai!” Oct 08, 2015

Show notes

The grammar-precise side of me cringes a little when using the word "nexai," but from an accessibility perspective, it fits well! Join Me, Leo, and Quentin on a Marshmallow expedition in this edition of the VIP roundtable podcast, as Cool Blind Tech dissects the Google event and uncovers an array of nexus devices. First, we have the Nexus 5X. The device features a 5.2 inch screen at a resolution of 1080 x 1920, a Snapdragon 64-bit 808 processor, and 2 gigabytes of ram. It comes in 16 or 32 GB versions. Google also talked up their new always-on OK Google feature, but why not listen to the podcast to find out more? The phone starts at $379 USD. The other phone, The Nexus 6P features a larger 5.7 inch screen, a faster CPU, but at a higher $499 price point. Finally, we spoke of some of the features in Marshmallow, such as the new features for permissions. Find a list of features here, as posted on the Android website. Google also introduced a slew of Chromecast devices. One is the Regular $35 Chromecast which features better wifi with dual-band AC, plus a detachable HDMI cable. Another is the Chromecast Audio , which is also $35 but is geared towards audio-only streaming, through a 3.5 MM aux jack to your stereo or through optical input.

3D Touch On the iPhone 6s: Just Press Deeper Oct 05, 2015

Show notes

In this podcast, Justin goes through how to use the 3D Touch features on the iPhone 6s. He shows us how to do this on the home screen, to peak into things as well as pop into them and finally the settings available for this new feature.

CrowdViz: A Spotlight Interview with the Person Behind the Eyes Oct 01, 2015

Show notes

In this Spotlight interview we feature Akash Khanolkar the CEO of CrowdViz. CrowdViz is an iOS app that unites blind people with our trusted sighted assistants. Blind users can receive immediate sighted assistance by connecting to an assistant and it is as easy as a click of a single button.

Voice Dream reader on Android: A Spotlight Interview with Michael Scott Sep 18, 2015

Show notes

At the very tail end of August, Voice Dream Reader, the wildly popular book reading app, launched on Android. This opens up a huge potential market, ranging from students who want to read college coursework on-the-go, to professionals who drive a lot and need an easy way of reading materials with high-quality voices. Because of the excellent price range of Android devices, you can now own a book reader for under $100. We've interview Winston Chen who developed the iOS application, which has now grown into a comprehensive app. Getting this to work on Android from scratch was a unique challenge, as it requires a great effort and collaboration between features and platforms. Michael Scott developed the Android version of Voice Dream Reader, and it has many of the same functionality as found on iOS: Bookmarks, various high quality voices from Acapela (at the moment, Ivona is expected in a future update), along with bookmarking support, DRM-free Epubs, bookshelf views, Bookshare, Dropbox,One drive integration, visual adjustment of the document's contents, highlighting, built-in web browser... Just what does it take to develop an Android app anyway? How difficult was it to have all of these features migrate over from the iOS world? What are some future plans for the app? Ultimately, what goals might the team have in mind for its purpose? We sit down with both Michael and Winston to talk about the development and story of Voice Dream reader.

Windows 10 Start Menu is Traditional and Trendy Aug 19, 2015

Show notes

Was your most favorite part of Windows 7 the handy search box that you first landed in when you opened it? Were you fighting against upgrading to Windows 8.1 because you could not be parted with your beloved search box companion? Well, not to worry, as Microsoft has heard you loud and clear. The new Windows 10 start menu combines the traditional look and feel of Windows 7 and merged it with many of the modern features of Windows 8. In this podcast, Cory demonstrates how NVDA is navigating the Windows 10 start menu and shows you how to quickly jump to various sections. Get the best of both the Windows 7 and Windows 8 worlds with the new Windows 10 start menu.

NVDA Is Living On The Edge Jul 28, 2015

Show notes

Just when we thought Microsoft’s new modern browser Edge would not be accessible, the folks over at NV Access had to show everyone that NVDA is literally on the Edge. While the functionality demonstrated here is only available at this time in the next release versions of the NVDA software and certainly is not recommended for production environments, the fact that it seems to be working very well gives us a very promising glimpse at what we can expect from Microsoft’s accessibility support and NVDA itself. Give this podcast a listen to hear how NVDA is successfully reading webpages in its virtual browser, just as it always has.

Windows 10 Rises Jul 28, 2015

Show notes

We are back to tell you the latest and greatest when it comes to Windows 10. Join us to hear our take on it and how you can best have an enjoyable experience with this revolutionary new version of Microsoft’s newest release. Cory Martin, Thomas Geczy and Leonid Prazdnik all welcome Quentin Christensen from 22 Point, a blogger and developer who also happens to be writing a book on Windows 10 from a blindness/low vision perspective. To view Quentin's excellent blog, click here. So pull up a chair and join us as we discuss our experiences thus far. Here are the highlights: Windows 10 will launch on July 29th. The release will be staggered releases starting with desktop/laptops, then phones and Xbox. The upgrade path for Windows 7/8 will be free if the upgrade offer is used within the first year, however a single user license is estimated at $129/£99/€135 to start. The free upgrade will be free for the duration of the lifecycle of the product it is running on. Windows 10 is expected to be the last version ever, being upgraded with feature releases as time goes on. There will be a total of 7 versions: IoT, Mobile, Home, Enterprise and Professional, Mobile Enterprise, and Education. Cortana is improved from the early beta days and now has the ability to dictate E-mail, as well as being more tightly integrated in to the OS with a highly polished feel. Microsoft Edge will be the new browser from Microsoft, though for legacy support, Internet Explorer will also be offered. As screen reader users we may need to stay away from Edge for the time being, unless you’re willing to run nightly beta software. Virtual desktops will be offered in Windows 10 and are quite useful, though may pose some key conflicts with other favorite Twitter software in the community. The start menu has returned to an older style, though still offering the tiled approach for the modern apps. The notification center has been greatly enhanced and now replaces notification balloons, allowing the user to scroll through and selectively or collectively dismiss notifications. Screen readers are expected to support Windows 10 at launch, though currently NVDA is pulling ahead of the pack in terms of support. Give the show a listen to hear us discuss all of these highlights and much more. As always, feel free to contact us with any feedback you may have, we’d love to hear from you.

A Keyboard Worth Typing on for Android, Designed with Accessibility in mind Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

If you are a fan of Android, you might be aware of how different the typing experience on most keyboard solutions can be for the platform. Samsung, LG, and even Google all design specific keyboards which differ in the way they present key layouts or even speak some of the names for keys. For some, typing on Android might also seem slower than on rival operating systems. Usually this sluggish behavior is noticed when your finger makes contact with the keys on the keyboard - it takes a few seconds for the screen reader to announce which key you have touched. Enter the Blind Accessibility Keyboard , a $3 app which is designed specifically for blind and low vision users. Unlike most other products, it announces the key your finger lands on by using the default TTS engine on your device. Other customization options, such as the height of the keyboard, labels for specific keys, and even a settings backup/ restore function are provided for advanced users. In our experience, the keyboard can be a hit or miss depending on your device. For slower, more budget phones, typing might be slower or equal to the current stock solutions. For phones that are better with processor speed, it will probably feel faster and smoother. Other issues, such as not being able to hold the delete key to quickly erase text, are being addressed by the developer in a future update.

Adding Web Pages To the Home Screen On iOS – A Very Handy Short Cut Jul 01, 2015

Show notes

In this podcast, Justin shows us how to add web pages to the home screen on iOS. He also demonstrates how to give the icons custom names and launch them. You can support the Cool Blind Tech Community By giving us a 5 star rating in iTunes. CBT would like to thank our loyal listeners for listening to this podcast by inviting you to join our Community and possibly join the CBT Team, where you can submit your own podcasts or articles.

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