That Real Blind Tech Show

Latest Episodes:

Episode 81 - Blind Vampires, A Conversation with YouTube's The Blind Life Sam Seavey May 01, 2022

Show notes

Brian and Ed welcome Sam Seavey to the That Real Blind Tech Show Lair. If Sam's name is not familiar to you, his YouTube Channel probably is as Sam produces The Blind Life.

Sam takes us through how he started The Blind Life originally known as The Blind Spot, what made him want to get in to producing videos for the blind and low vision, and his experience with Android devices of all things.

We discuss some of the initial accessibility barriers Sam faced when he launched his YouTube channel, and what some of the challenges he faces producing his channel in 2022.

Sam then shares his experiences being back in person at ATIA and CSUN conferences this year.

Since we are both tech shows, we discuss reviewing products and how we handle a product that we just cannot give a positive review about. We then tackle the common complaint that assistive technology products are overpriced.

Here at That Real Blind Tech Show, our setup is fairly simplistic, as we just work with audio. We were quite curious to learn about Sam's setup for filming video, and how accessible the products he uses are for the blind and low vision. Sam tells us about the first Sony camcorder to have a screen reader built in to it, but hold your horses, as the screen reader is still unfortunately, in its development stages.

While Sam's The Blind Life Channel is completely free to view and subscribe to, he does need to eat, so if you are a fan of his content we discuss the different subscription levls he offers.

We then get Sam's advice for people in our community who have been thinking about starting their own YouTube Channel.

You can keep up with Sam on The Blind Life YouTube and Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, now on Tick Tock if you use this one.

To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.

Episode 80 - A Conversation with Liz Gutman, Head Audio Description Writer for IDC Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

Brian and Ed welcome Liz Gutman from International Digital Center (IDC) to the That Real Blind Tech Show lair.

Liz is the Head Writer for Audio Description at IDC. She explains to us what that entails, how she first learned about audio description, and how she got involved with working in Audio Description writing.

Liz pulls back the curtain a little, and lets us know about her process for writing an Audio Described script. We discuss the difference between good and not so good audio description, and learn that putting together an Audio Described script is more of a team effort than you would think.

We ask Liz if the studios and production companies are aware of the difference between high quality audio description and the other stuff.

We then discuss Brian's experience reading his first Audio Described track and Liz's experience working with him.

Liz then explains to us what her experience was like writing the Audio Described script for Bridgerton. You can read the article that both Liz and Brian are quoted in about Audio Description in the Wall Street Journal.

Liz is now teaching Audio Description writing with her former mentor Colleen Conner and while the current classes are completely sold out, you can learn more about them here. You can keep up with all things Liz by following her on Twitter.

Episode 79 - Wassup, How Do You Like Them Apples! Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

It's an all new That Real Blind Tech Show as the gang is back together and one of us has an all new podcast lair.

We start off discussing the fun back and forth we have been having with our friends over at Blind Guy Talks Tech.

We begin our tech segment of the show discussing how Uber and Lift's initial response to the NYC Subway shooting was to hike all passenger fares in time of an emergency. Did you hear the one about the cops that pulled over a self driving car in San Francisco? We did.

Elon Musk is interested in buying Twitter. His bid came in just a smidge ahead of ours.

In our legal corner this week, some Russians are attempting to sue Netflix over them shutting down in their country.

Zuckhead wants Meta's AR glasses to be Facebook's iPhone moment. Here's a role reversal, Apple is now calling out Facebook for their plans to take 50% from Mettaverse sales. Apple is rumored to be testing a feature that would allow app developers to automatically charge users for subscription price increases. Bad apple, Bad Apple. Are Apple's own privacy concerns getting in their own way of innovation? With WWDC sneaking up on us, we decided to put together a wish list for Apple stock app improvements. You may want to hold off on buying a new Mac anytime soon as Apple is rumored to be working on 9 different M2 Macs.

We then check in on our Android experiences and discuss our thoughts of using the device, the gestures, and whether or not we plan to keep our Android phones.

We then discuss the state of accessibility for a few apps that are really failing pretty miserably.

We then talk about a new topic, NFT's. We actually had to look up what they are!

In honor of Spring Cleaning, we decided to talk robot vacuums. If you have a model you are loving, please do let us know and email us in at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com.

And of course its more of What's Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.

Episode 78 - A Demo Of The Item Chooser and Dictation On The Mac Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

Brian is once again flying solo for another super cool, super useful That Real Blind Tech Show demo. He has the keys to the That Real Blind Tech Show lair, and can get in it any time he chooses.

First a test as the 144th person to email us in at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com wins a million dollars. Full disclosure, there is absolutely nothing true about this previous statement, and no moola is being given away, just testing if you actually read the show notes as Brian mentioned on this episode.

Brian starts off demoing the item chooser on the Mac and how useful it has become in his daily workflow. He shows off the benefits of using the item chooser on the desktop and how it will not work in mail. He goes through using first letter navigation to quickly find emails, and then back to the item chooser in safari and numbers. Brian shows the difference between using the item chooser and web item rotor.

Brian next walks you through using your Jump Command, VO J in finder windows and Mac mail. He demonstrates the issue in Mac OS Monterrey where you cannot get rid of the toolbar in finder windows or you will lose access to your side bar. Brian then shows you how to quickly add a folder to your side bar and dock as well as remove them.

Lastly, Brian shows you how to enable dictation on your Mac and gives an example of how improved dictation is on the Mac.

Episode 77 - A Conversation with Ukrainian Helger Kellanstonian It's Ukraine, Not The Ukraine Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

Brian and Ed welcome in Helgar Kellanstonian to the That Real Blind Tech Show lair for an interview you must hear. And that is all we can say about it in the show notes.

After our conversation with Helgar. Ed vanishes, and Allison and TJ Meloy enter the lair to discuss Android of all things. Yes, Android. Allison and TJ recently purchased Motorola Droids and Brian picked up a Samsung Flip Z3. Hey, it's the 90's all over, and we are flipping phones closed again.

We start off talking about why we wanted to dive in to the Android ecosystem, getting started with TouchID, and the ease of the setup process.

We give you our initial thoughts of the Talk Back screen reader and how steep we feel the learning curve is for new Talk Back users.

We discuss some of the main similarities and differences between VoiceOver and Talk Back. Some likes and dislikes, and some of the first few apps we have downloaded and played around with.

And it's more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.

Episode 76 - Get To Know DeQue Systems, A Conversation With Jon Buonaspina Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

Brian and Ed welcome in Jon Buonaspina to the That Real Blind Tech Show lair. Jon works for DeQue Systems.

Jon begins with telling us what DeQue Systems does, and what his role with the company entails. He then lets us know how someone without a visual impairment ended up working in accessibility.

We then get Jon's thoughts about whether or not the Department of Justice should implement some kind of minimum web accessibility standards, and yes, we hate using the word minimum.

Jon discusses some of the tools he uses when working with a client, and how he learned screen reader technology.

The conversation then turns to Laugh For Sight and The roast of Brian Fischler which Jon was at.

If your company is in need of accessibility fixes, maintenance, help building your companies accessibility team, please reach out to Deque Systems here.

Episode 75 - A Conversation with Aira CEO Troy Etillio and Social Media Manager Jeanine Stanley Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

Brian welcomes Troy Otillio, CEO of Aira and Jeanine Stanley, Aira Social Media Manager to the virtual That Real Blind Tech Show lair. While

We start off discussing what made Troy initially want to invest in the future of Aira.

Jeanine then tells us what she does at Aira as their Social Media Manager.

Troy then tells us about the exciting new Aira Desktop which is in the works and will be launching later this year. Jeanine tells us that Aira Desktop will be coming to both the Mac and PC.

Troy discusses with us how Aira has been handling the worker shortage, and how it has effected them.

Jeanine tells us about the Airacast which you can subscribe to here. Troy then tells us about the sustainability of Aira, and how Aira is working with employers.

Jeanine then tells us about some of the more humorous social media encounters she has had.

Troy then tells us about the benefit of using multiple visual interpreter services.

Jeanine then tells us what she enjoys most about working at Aira.

Troy informs us how you might be able to bring an Aira hotspot to your city or business.

Episode 74 - Musical Chairs: From Tech News to The New Tech Center at the Lighthouse Guild NYC to CSUN and Axe-Con Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

It is a super duper ultimate packed That Real Blind Tech Show lair as Allison, Brian, and Ed are joined by Dr. Bryan Woolenski to discuss the new Tech Center that was recently launched at the Lighthouse guild NYC, this year's CSUN, Axe-Con, and much more.

We start off discussing a recent survey which decided on the happiest places on Earth. What, no Disney Kingdom?

Walgreens is replacing fridge doors with digital screens. Is this leaving the blind further behind? Netflix is claiming people who are sharing their passwords are preventing Netflix from producing great content. Are you one of these horrible people? Some of us are, Microsoft Edge now provides screen labels, err alt text for images. and proud of it. And it looks like the Smart Home of tomorrow will once again be delayed. Does it Matter?

Ed then joins Dr. Bryan in the interview chair as we ask them about the new tech center recently launched at the Lighthouse Guild NYC. We discuss both Bryan and Ed's roles at the Lighthouse Guild NYC, what the Lighthouse Guild NYC hopes to accomplish with the new tech center, and the benefits of all the services the Lighthouse Guild NYC offers its customers.

Dr. Bryan was at CCSUN, so we welcome Ed back to the interviewer side of things, and we discuss what Dr. Bryan enjoyed about CSUN 2022, what impressed him, Gaming, and the benefits of being back at an in person conference.

The musical charts continue as Brian with an I moves in to the interviee chair next to discuss his presentation with Yahoo Fantasy at this year's Axe-Con. Allison and Ed hold Brian's feet to the fire with a Congress like questioning of him.

And of course it is more of What's Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading!

Episode 73 - Uniformitivity Can Be Pretty Cool Mar 09, 2022

Show notes

It's an all new That Real Blind Tech show, join us as we talk some tech and create a new word. Allison, Brian, and Jeanine gathered together in the That Real Blind Tech show lair to discuss the Apple Event and some other tech topics.

We start off discussing the good of social media, and a unique way that people are using Air BnB to help send money to people in the Ukraine.

After discussing the Ukraine, we move on to the bizarre story about a man in Florida who was killed by a co-worker while in a Port A Potty, yes, while in a Port A Potty.

Does your FitBit have you all hot and bothered? Well, you are not alone. And we have heard of cellular networks throttling your connection speed, but now, phones are throttling app speeds, this is a new one. And Dropbox finally got an update out for M1 Macs, but what about M1 Ultra Macs?

Axe Con will be taking place on March 15th to the 17th, and you can catch Brian as part of the Yahoo Fantasy, It's not just a game panel on Tuesday, March 15th at 130pm EST. You can register to attend this massive accessibility focused conference for free here.

Apple kicked off its March event discussing two new colors for the iPhone 13 lineup. Apple must not have gotten the memo as AppleTV Plus is now offering Friday night baseball, of course there would have to be baseball played for this to happen.

The first new product that Apple announced is the iPhone SE third generation. This could be the most popular model of the iPhone for people who are blind. The M1 chip now comes to the new iPad Air.

Apple then announced the launch of the all new Mac Studio. Is it a laptop, desktop, bird or plane? And to monitor or not to monitor? On a more serious note, if someone is buying one of these new Mac Studios and using VoiceOver, should they bump up the Ram on a M1 machine.

We are not sure of the accessibility of the OCR Scanning Pen, and how accurate you need to be with it, but this could be a very promising product for the blind.

You are going to start hearing a lot about Matter, a process that will make all of your Smart Home devices communicate with each other better.

And of course it's more of What's Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.

Episode 72 - Keyboard Commander Demo and The disaster of Catalyst Apps With VoiceOver Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

It's another super cool, super solo, That Real Blind Tech Show demo coming at you. Brian is alone in the virtual lair again, and thanks to an email, decided to put together a demo of the Keyboard Commander for you.

Should you be up on how to use the Keyboard Commander, skip ahead to the second part of the episode where Brian will demo some of the serious navigation issues with the Mac Catalyst designed apps and VoiceOver.

Brian walks you through his set of keyboard commanders that he uses on a daily basis. He then walks you through how to set up a keyboard commander to open a program, and follows that with setting up a keyboard commander to perform some VoiceOver specific tasks like setting different keyboard commanders to control your system volume and your VoiceOver voice volume.

Brian then decides to torture himself, and show you the myriad of issues with Catalyst designed apps and VoiceOver. He starts off with messages, then moves to the Music app, and finally ends up in the worst of all the catalyst designed apps, the App Store.

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