Living Blindfully

Latest Episodes:

Episode 46:Plenty of news from Apple's WWDC, facial vision and echo location, Braille displays, and a Twitter bot to get descriptions of images Jun 27, 2020

Show notes

In this week's show:

Opening and contact info,0:00.000

COVID-19 in New Zealand,2:15.595

The audio described Atmos problem is just the tip of the iceberg and it needs to be addressed,3:00.633. To read more about this read my blog post, Atmos Fear.

Masks are interfering with facial vision. How do we use echolocation and facial vision in normal times?,6:03.503

Once again no iOS Without the Eye this year,14:43.227

Plenty of new information about what's coming fromApple,16:30.279

Listener reactions to Apple's announcements,40:21.412

Masks and blindness techniques,45:02.747

Braille displays,48:35.101

Castro questions and tips,49:17.649

Listening to radio with your iPhone at sports events,53:31.455

Origins of the Samsung TV voice,56:19.248

Reassigning of the visual cortex in blind people,56:55.981

Why does Narrator make using Braille so clunky?,58:03.246

Cole Gleason joins us to talk about his new Twitter bot to make images accessible. Follow Cole on Twitter and read his paper that led to the creation of the bot,1:01:54.915

Human Interface Driver for Braille,1:17:42.066

What do iOS 14 audio changes mean for TeamTalk?,1:18:14.135

Masks and echolocation,1:19:00.164

RSS readers for windows, Qfeed from Get Accessible Apps,1:19:40.865

Accessible podcast client for Windows, Qcast,1:23:18.364

Best Twitter client for Windows? TWBlue,1:25:17.912

Where do blindisms come from?,1:26:22.800

Review of the Mantis Braille display from APH,1:27:08.336

Hints on the QBraille from Hims,1:31:05.219

RSS for Windows recommendation Luna,1:32:35.531

WWDC thoughts,1:33:12.144

Masks and blind people,1:35:26.846

The Bonnie bulletin on our anniversary,1:36:32.990

Bonnie's view on latest Braille devices,1:39:16.093

Sonos pros cons and alternatives,1:42:51.822

Echolocation and facial vision,1:53:16.418

Obtaining the Mantis internationally,1:56:10.692

Leasey offers RSS for Windows and much more,1:56:32.175

Using echolocation after being discouraged from doing so at school,1:57:29.747

Sonic guide devices could help with social distancing,2:01:57.757

Keep up with Mosen At Large between episodes. Follow MosenAtLarge on Twitter where you'll get audio extras, links to interesting news stories, sneap peeks about what's coming up and more. If you'd like to subscribe to our announcements only email list, please send email to media-subscribe@mosen.org

Episode 45:Looking at Apple's WWDC Keynote from a blindness perspective Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

In the first ever virtual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team announced changes to all their operating systems and a very big day for the Mac.

Technology experts Anna Dresner and Michael Feir join Jonathan Mosen and Heidi Taylor to discuss the WWDC keynote from a blindness perspective.

What do you think? Are you excited about what's ahead or was it underwhelming? Were there things not announced that you were hoping for? Be sure to send in your views so we can include them on the next episode. Email a voice attachment or written email to Jonathan at MushroomFm.com or call +18646066736.

Episode 44:What's in your Apple Watch dock, Castro just got some epic new Siri smarts, JAWS works around dodgy audio Windows driver issues and preparing for experimental sight restoration Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

Kia ora koutou Mosen At Largers. We are prolific just at the moment and here is our second podcast episode of the weekend. Here's a summary of what you can hear and when you can hear it. Remember also that if you use a podcast app that supports chapters, you can easily navigate between these sections.

Introduction and contact info,0:00.000

COVID-19 in New Zealand,2:15.631

The Mosen At large Podcast is ready for WWDC. Are you?,4:26.533

I have the latest Windows 10 update and Narrator keeps getting better and better,8:01.792

Robin and Jonathan tell us what's in their Apple Watch dock. What is in yours?,10:35.832

What's the difference between a mixer and an audio interface?,30:24.019

Thoughts on Braille displays and notetakers,33:23.887

The Bonnie Bulletin begins with predictions,40:50.869

Bonnie chimes in on our new Samsung smart TV reviewed in episode 43,43:27.896

Tidal plays some music in Dolby Atmos but not from Sonos directly,46:11.845

iOS 14 wish list,47:33.994

My favourite podcast app for iOS Castro just got a lot of new Siri smarts,50:11.516

Castro's chapter support,1:11:37.773

Preparing for experimental sight restoration surgery,1:13:49.716

JAWS 2020 introduces a feature to overcome problems with many laptop Windows audio drivers,1:19:28.470

The Tiffany Report on Braille Screen Input problems,1:26:49.812

Praise for the new Microsoft Edge,1:30:28.732

Closing announcement,1:32:03.734

Episode 43:Review and demonstration of the Samsung TU8500 smart TV from a blindness perspective Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

Kia ora Mosen At Largers.

Recently we had a new arrival at Mosen Towers. It was necessary to return our Sony X8500G and replace it with one from the Samsung 2020 range, the 55-inch TU8500. This TV is the most accessible I've come across from a blind person's point of view.

I'll discuss setting up the TV yourself if you're blind, learning about the remote, discovering the TV's functions, using the accessible programme guide and some of the apps.

Stay in touch with Mosen At large. Follow MosenAtLarge on Twitter, phone our listener line with your thoughts on +18666066736, or drop me an email, Jonathan at MushroomFM.com

Episode 42:Wishes for iOS 14, new Ubiquiti Unifi gear, sight restoration and why blind Sonos Arc users should avoid Sony TVs for now Jun 13, 2020

Show notes

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. It's wonderful to be back again with another week of news and views. Thanks for making this such a great community.

Coming up this week.

Opening and contact info,0:00.000

Receive announcements about Mosen At Large via email. Send a blank email to media-subscribe@mosen.org. ,1:43.614

Follow-up on issues raised in our Sonos Arc podcast,4:24.799

A mini review of our new Ubiquiti Unifi network at Mosen Towers,11:04.013

My top 10 wish list for iOS 14 and some listener views,22:16.358

More thoughts on whether people would take sight if it were offered,51:51.056

Questions about Zoom,1:09:26.147

Exercise equipment recommendations,1:12:59.297

Using a GPS app to make location-specific notes,1:13:59.692

Good experience with the Google Docs mobile app,1:15:12.316

Pocketcasts is a cross-platform podcast app,1:17:28.403

Reddit apps for iOS. Join the Dystopia for Reddit Testflight beta. ,1:19:49.379

iOS Bluetooth keyboard recommendations wanted,1:23:05.241

The case for wireless charging,1:28:48.251

Demonstration of the benefits of using an audio mixer,1:30:06.968

The Tiffany Report looks at Microsoft Teams,1:37:39.168

The Bonnie Bulletin is blasting!,1:42:53.513

Too book recommendations,1:44:29.686

More iOS 14 wishes,1:46:26.144

How are people digitising their cassettes these days?,1:47:14.114

More feedback on Microsoft Teams,1:48:58.806

iOS 14 wishes,1:50:52.594

Use this app in the COVID-19 era to cheer from afar,1:52:10.021

Episode 41:Unboxing and setup of Sonos Arc, and serious impediments to blind people enjoying Dolby Atmos Jun 11, 2020

Show notes

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. Isn't it a pleasant surprise to have something you've been looking forward to arrive well ahead of schedule? Sonos Arc, Sonos's new flagship sound bar with Dolby Atmos, Alexa, Google Assistant, AirPlay and phenomenal sound, is now here at Mosen Towers. I had the Zoom F6 portable field recorder running with a couple of Sony ECM77B microphones as my daughter Heidi, son-in-law Henry and I unboxed it and set it up.

Arc runs on Sonos's new S2 operating system, and while I've not had any issues with Sonos before the S2 upgrade, Sonos and my network are currently not getting on well at all. You'll here how problematic the set-up was for me. I would be surprised if it is this bad for you.

I also want to draw the blind community's attention to some serious impediments you may find when it comes to enjoying Dolby Atmos content. On my TV, you can't enable the EARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) feature and have an Android TV screen reader running at the same time. And to my dismay, I have found that in many if not all cases, audio described content is encoded in 5.1 but not Atmos. You have to turn audio description off to get the Atmos.

I hope you find the podcast helpful. Despite the problems, it is a phenomenal upgrade from my Sonos PLAYBAR.

Episode 40:If you were offered sight tomorrow would you take it? Funny stories about our guide dogs and pets, Sonos users are getting a huge upgrade this week, tips for switching to Android and more Jun 06, 2020

Show notes

Kia ora everyone. On the show this week.

Intro contact and navigation info,0:00.000

COVID-19 in New Zealand and the mask evidence appears to be firming up,1:43.464

Would you take sight if it were offered to you?,4:34.419

Why quarantine if you make masks compulsory?,16:04.321

Some hints for those wanting to switch to Android,17:42.182