Mmmm ... there is nothing like peeling off the shrink wrap on the first new show of the year. And we start season two off with a big interview, a tip and all the news we didn't talk about while we were on vacation. Be sure to read all the notes in order to learn how you can be involved in our first giveaway of 2016!
In the News
Get a Sneak Peak at the Next Service from Accessible Apps, Captcha Be Gone
The Hims Braille Edge Joins the UEB Party with Free Update
Updated! The Unofficial Guide to Changing Braille Displays and other Adaptive Technology into UEB
A bunch of new object identification tools, including AIPoly
HumanWare Launches Explore Series of Portable Video Magnifiers
AFB's FamilyConnect Seeks Parents of Blind Children for Paid UEB Focus Group
Survey Seeks Feedback on Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive
Backgammon, Slots among new free games from QuentinC, RS Games
NBP Offers 2016 Braille Valentines that Include a Hint of Popcorn
Interview: Marty Schultz Of Blindfold Games
If you have an iOS device, chances are that you have at least one of Marty Schultz's games installed on your iThingy.
The recent Apple Vis award winning developer has been churning out games on a pretty consistent basis. J.J. sits down with Marty to talk about the history of Blindfold Games, what it takes to develop hit titles for the community and he even gives us a peak at the future.
Tip: Sports Info on Tap
J.J. demonstrates how you can use Siri to learn more about your favorite sports teams.
Sound Off:
We've gotten some feedback from those of you out there who may have had a comment or two about our Top 10 for 2015. Here's the first email Harry sent us about Windows 10.
"Hi there,
Concerning your question about if people are upgrading to Windows 10 or
not, my answer is, I will not.
I am using windows 7, and will not upgrade to windows 10. Too many bugts
in 10, and too many devices that don't work, because there are no
drivers for them.
No thanks, I'll stay with 7.:
And here is a follow up email from Harry,
"Hi J.J.
Well, I have friends with no printer drivers, no scanner drivers, and, you'll love this one, a Microsoft web cam, and he calls Microsoft, and they tell him, "you need to call the manufacturer about this one." Let's see now, the manufacturer is Microsoft who built the web cam, and he needs to call the manufacturer.
So, I will not upgrade to windows 10.
Harry "
Josh wrote in and his viewpoint is not the same as Harry's.
"I upgraded to windows10 from windows7 on my hp Elitebook 6930p laptop. I also added 4 more gigs of ram and a solid state hard drive using the freeware Macrium reflect to clone the old magnetic spinning drive to the new solid state drive. I love windows10 and would never go back to windows7! its excellent!"
Yep, this is one of those situations where the OS works better on newer hardware. Next, an email about Ridesharring.
"Dear Joe and JJ; During the podcast you mentioned a few Apps such as Be My Eyes and others which have multiple benefits for low vision and blind people including UBER and LIFT. I heard that some counties around the U.S. are considering contracting with both Uber and Lift in order to supplement STS and Paratransit services for people with disabilities, because it can be a big money saver for local governments. Have either of you heard about this? Thanks and very happy new year, keep up the great work, Charlie You are the greatest BBQ!"
We've heard rumors about that as well. Joe notes on the show that this might be bad for those who are unable to afford smartphones and their data plans. Moreover, some multi disabled individuals still need a "door to door" service as they may have severe medical needs when taking a ride on public transport. Those big vans are better designed for wheelchairs and for those who cannot easily bend down into a standard sized car. There are too many stories out there about services for the community being altered, scaled down or just plain shuttered. As long as those who need special services can still get them, i.e. those who need the current Paratransit service for medical and other unique issues, many others would probably enjoy having the ability to use Uber or Lyft for their transit needs.
jcast sent in his thoughts on our 5th story from 2015 via the article's comment section...
"While some may have privacy concerns about using these types of services, personally, I can't imagine using such a service for anything I might consider to be sensitive, no matter how secure the service. "
Last Word
We speak about the new voice of the National Weather Service and SNL gives us the first funny clip for this year's initial Last Word.
Everyone involved with the Blind Bargains Qast would like to express our sincerest condolences to Mike may and his family on the passing of his son Carson. We were deeply saddened to learn of the suspension of the efforts of the search and rescue team and we hope Mike's calls for improvements are echoed by others.
Finally, you may have heard J.J. mention a form link at the end of the show for a chance to get a bit of your own Blindfold Gaming goodness. Well, here is the link to that very form.
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Category: ShowsWell, you can use web visume with Firefox if you use the older version of it like version 42 and then set it to never update and just use it for captures only! The other thing is to use Rumola and it is very good and the key is to just use the book mark feature and then you can use it with any browser with an internet connection. This includes IE! So now that I have Rumola for IE by using the bookmark I really have no reason to use Firefox! It is not expensive to use Rumola! I got like 50 or either a 100credits/ captures solving for only 99 cents and they are good for a whole year! So this is not expensive at all! So Just had to throw in my two cents worth on this!
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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.
