Audio Player Blind Bargains Qast 63: Guardian Guide Cats
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- Blind Bargains Qast 63: Guardian Guide Cats
News about conventions, a timely tip plus a couple of music clips in the "last Word"... you would think we might be back to a regular series of shows or something. Don't worry, "Summer is coming" and that will put a damper on that for a bit. until then, sit back and relax with episode 63 including an interview with the app developer of "Guardian Circle".
In The News:
Google Posts Video of 140 Developer Talks from #IO16 including 3 Focusing on Accessibility
American Council of the Blind Convention Pre-registration is now Open
A Mock Election: We Tested 3 Modern Voting Machines for Accessibility
The Perkins School for the Blind and Raizlabs Aim to Solve the Last Inch Problem with GPS
Dictation Bridge Makes Prototype Available for all Users
Startup Disrupter Robinhood Makes their iOS Stock Trading App Accessible
A Free way to Gain Access to Skills to Make you More Employable is now Available
Free Access to Digital Accessibility Courses for People with Disabilities from Deque
Interview: Guardian Circle
As they put it, Guardian Circle is "A free app that lets friends, family and neighbors protect each other." It's ideal for situations where you may need some help but calling 911 would be just a bit overboard. It's available now for iOS and Android and accessible with screen readers. We speak with founder Mark Jeffrey about the app and its possible uses especially for someone who is blind or visually impaired. In addition to the website, Guardian Circle is on Twitter @Guardian_Circle
Tip:
The latest release candidate of NVDA will now alert you to spelling errors as you type. J.J. demonstrates how this feature works and also how to turn it off in case you find it annoying.
Sound off:
John Wesley Smith left us this comment on the show notes page for episode 62 shortly after its release. he wasn't the only one who ran into this of course. But remember, with Windows 10's initial install and up to 30 days after that, you can roll back to your previous OS if you need to for whatever reason.
"Hey Guys, I was one of those who got caught by the automatic update to Windows 10. I wish this stuff wouldn't happen so late at night. It happened May 15th, and it created a bit of chaos the first couple of days; but for the most part it hasn't created the nightmare I expected. I wouldn't have chosen to upgrade until later, but now that it's here, I'll stick with it. I don't plan on rolling it back to Windows 7. I figure that would create more problems than dealing with the changes. There are still several things to tweak along the way, but I'll cross those bridges when I get there."
Next, Luis has some thoughts on Ride hailing apps;
"Greetings BBQ Hosts,
I would like to comment on the Uber topic you discussed in episode 61. I know we as blind individuals would like to be treated equal and not have a company go out of their way to accommodate us. As if they forgot about us, and at the last moment added accessibility to the blind. I know what I am going to say won t be favored by most, but here goes anyways.
I don t see why the constant suing of share rides for discrimination. We say we want to be treated equal, but when a service like Uber denies a ride to one with a guide dog. We cry bloody murder. When they had put out Uber Assist, which is meant for riders with disabilities and not just the blind. After talking to some of my local Uber drivers. They commented that hardly anyone with a disability uses Uber Assist. And many of the Uber Assist drivers are properly trained to deal with people with disabilities, including those with guide dogs. However, Uber Assist is slowly dying. Not because Uber doesn t want to give that service anymore. But because the people using Uber Assist are people that have no disability and thus those drivers are loosing money. Because of the area that I am at, the area is all spread out. So when one uses Uber Assist, they go from one side of town to another. Normally drivers wouldn t mind because they understand that Para Transit isn t always reliable. But just like with a flavor of M&Ms or ships, if the flavor isn t a hit. Then it gets pulled. Same as Uber Assist, if not many disabled riders use Uber Assist. Not Uber, but the drivers will volunteer to drive that service. And go back to drive for regular Uber where the money is made.
One final thing. I have seen on FaceBook and Twitter about fake service animals. And again, I m going to mentioned that the following may not set too well with some. But some of the guide dog handlers are responsible for the fake service animals. Even though they are the ones behind the campaign to stop fake service animals. The reason for that statement is, after talking to a Lyft driver and asking him about service animals vs fake service animals. He mentioned, because of some people getting offended when they ask for something extra to prove that the animal is legit. The person complains to the office, and all it takes is one complain before the driver gets pulled from the service. They don t even check if the harness is a legit harness that a service animal would be waring. So, because of all of this rules and laws of what a public place or service can or can t ask. A lot of companies don t even ask anymore about the service animal, because they are afraid of getting sued. Which then gives all service animal handlers a tough time when encountering these fake service animals.
Great job on the podcasts, keep up the awesome work."
Thank you sir! Perhaps Lyft's latest feature to schedule a ride up to 24 hours from when you want it could have a checkbox for assistance needs? And if Uber would follow along and copy that from Lyft? Well here's hoping that could happen as it may help all sides involved and move us one step closer to no longer relying on community-funded transit for some types of rides.
Lastly, because we've mentioned our friends "Down Under" a few times, a podcast recommendation from Steve Pattison;
"Hello,
I just thought I'd pass on this link to a podcast on SoundCloud called "The DC Washup Podcast" in case you want to mention it and put it in the show notes for a future edition of the Blind Bargains Cast. The podcast comes from a group of Australian correspondents from the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) who are currently living in the USA and they discuss US politics from an Australian perspective. A new episode comes out just about weekly. There are 14 episodes available so far. They plan to release episodes regularly up until the presidential election later this year.
https://soundcloud.com/abcnews/tracks
Feel free to mention this on your podcast if you like and to edit my message for clarity etcetera if necessary.
I really look forward to hearing each edition of the Blind Bargains Cast and find the information each edition contains interesting and informative."
Last Word:
Cats and music once again dominate the last part of the show... okay, the internet too.
Pink Panther in a Major Key
Spongebob West
Pickles the guide cat helps visually impaired owner around the house
WWDC is only a few weeks away. We'll see if next week holds more rumors in the run up to that event. Have a great week everyone!
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