When The rubber Begins To Meet The Road

Well CSUN has come and gone again with some out there starting to get the hang of the App Economy, life on a tablet and the treasure hunt for new revenue beyond the old traditional Voc Rehab model of “just build it and they will buy it” channels. If anything, March began the changes for many on the run up to convention and the dawn of the second half of the year consumer sales season. You can hear that in much of the interviews and conversation from the SPN coverage. You haven’t listened to the SPN coverage? Oh my, are you in for a treat!

CSUN 2013 Special 1

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/08/csun-2013-convention-special-1/

CSUN 2013 Special 2

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/09/csun-2013-convention-special-2/

CSUN 2013 Special 3 with the amazing Ricky Enger and some guy she knows holding a microphone

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/10/csun-2013-convention-special-3-accessibility-on-a-budget/

CSUN 2013 Special 4

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/11/csun-2013-convention-special-4/

CSUN 2013 Special 5

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/12/csun-2013-convention-special-5/

And the fabulous wrap up show with JJ, Daryl “The” Mr. Patel and myself…

http://serotalk.com/2013/03/17/csun-2013-in-review/

It was a real blast presenting, attending and navigating the show this year and I’m looking forward to seeing where they hide the registration tables next year. If the trend continues, in a broom closet on the 4^th floor I suspect.

And, what a treat it has been over the years to be able to expand on some mild musing in electronic text to a full on TWIT like panel of the events. Even though I don’t update the blog nearly as often as I once did, you can still keep up on things in AT via my Twitter feed or SPN. It’s the same thing I’ve been saying all these years in an esier to skip ahead to the good parts format. Oh, and End of Line, it is the true guilty pleasure for those of you who have known me all the way back to the pathfinder and Well Engaged board days in the 90s. Remember, a geek admits who they are and a nerd is in denial.

http://eolshow.com/

Top 10 Stories Of 2012 Part 2

Okay, who had February on the betting pool? Personally I had march for the next post. And, in all honesty, that almost happened. I, sheepishly admit, misplaced my notes for the second half of the Top 10. No really. Crusing through a backup draft version is how I even can list the below information. Its kind of the digital equivalent of a dog eating my electronic homework right? Oh well…

During the span between posts, we did have that awesome “Year in AT” special. It has some great commentary on the year that was and it was a ton of fun sitting down with the gang to jaw about the big stories. You can find the archive at this link:

http://serotalk.com/2013/01/04/serospectives-this-year-in-assistive-tech-for-2012/

Returning to the countdown,

5. Panasonic Announces Line of 30 UK Televisions with Text-to-speech Capabilities

Here’s the blurb from Blind Bargains…

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7852

And I didn’t have much to say about it. So, quite rightly, it was not used for the article. Its not pretty, however, these were my thoughts at the time.

It’s good to see that this kind of access has arrived. I just wish I liked the construction, menus, remotes, sound and picture of Panasonic’s sets more. Still, in a form of competing features, voice input has been coming to other set makers in order to jump ahead of any Apple entry into the space. I’m hoping that they will take a nod from Panasonic and not make these features something extra you have to pay for by making it a standard across the product line. Kudos for Panasonic reaching out. And sorry Panasonic for being a Samsung fan when it comes to Televisions.

Not much has changed and I said something like the above when I introduced the story on our podcast. Its neat and I hope it starts a trend. Years of selling televisionin the 90s has colored my likes on TV makers though.

4. NVDA Releases Several major Updates

Thoughts from the panel can be found at….

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7873

If you didn’t read my thoughts there, here they are!

If this isn’t the year where NVDA hit critical mass in the public conversation of Screen Readers, then 2013 will be that year. The fledgling screen access solution has continued to gain a following and it has also managed to promote some unique features that have others using it in their daily toolboxes for fixing what ever needs accessed on the web and elsewhere. The issue that faces NVDA is the continuation of secure funding in order to keep those bits and bytes flying around the web. If you haven’t already, then please go to their site and donate. As I’ve said before, nothing on the web is free. And NVDA needs Community support to provide the services that they do so they can be responsive to the constant updates that come with Windows and it’s

Of all the stories we covered in the podcast version of the Top 10, this was my favorite group discussion of all of them. If you want to hear it, jump to about the 2 hour mark to get thear plus th ecomments on the other two top stories.

3. iPhone 5 released

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7874

I’ve said on SeroTalk a few times that I saw the iPhone 5 as a lesser story than the iPad 4 and iPad Mini release. And I even think that, in 2012 at least, the release of iOS 6 isn’t that big of a story. So far in 2013 that may not be the case if they keep patching the darn thing. We’re a long way from “antenagate” yet I still wonder how the old guard, silly trap we all fall into and more on that in a bit, would have responded to anything past the iOS Maps dilemma. Anyway, this was my paragraph to JJ on iPhone 5.

The lighter, thinner and new dock connector sporting iPhone 5 is more of the same. The A6 chip makes voiceOver and Siri run faster or better. But many of the phone’s improvements matter more to those who have low vision. Where the story gets interesting is that the form factor of the phone had to change in order to compete with Android, whose market is now bigger outside the U.S. market, and Apple for the first time in a while is playing defense to its rivals. Apple isn’t in trouble by any measurement of where it was in 1999, however, Apple is now facing the fact that it has lost the “Wow” factor with phone buyers to breakout hits from Samsung like the Galaxy S 3 and honking big phablets like the Galaxy note. At the end of the day, if you had an iphone and you are at the end of your contract, chances are you’ll get whatever the current gen iPhone offers. Even if it detracts from the experience you just had with loss of features and new $30 accessories along the way. Acceptance of this kind, along with the Roach motel nature of the ecosystem, is a dangerous thing for users. With that said, they sold a lot of them. Does that continue with a 5s, 6 or beyond in 2013? Only time and sales will tell.

Yes, the iPhone 5 sold well… in the U.S.. And yes, those numbers are very impressive. At launch though. Videogame consoles have the same problem with product cycles. You sell huge at launch then the numbers can dive off a cliffe. Just ask Nintendo and Sony about their last two product releases. For me, the fact that the iPhone 5 did well in the launch months isn’t a story. That it sells well until June is more the key here. Because, gentle reader, pent up demand and cashing in on those who skipped a generation matters to Apple’s bottom line. While great sales numbers, again I admit, the problem is that the iPhone continues to cost more to make and means less of a margin for the company at the end of the day. Therefore, just like with videogame consoles, the longer life of the handset… the more money the company makes. That means the 18 million iPhone 4s units sold last quarter actually represents a better number to Apple than the 5. Okay, that and it means that in 20 months those 18 million better buy the iPhone 6s or whatever it is in the Holiday 2014 season at any rate.

Apple has to worry about two things now. The first is getting beyond being a U.S. centric sales company. They are working hard on that now with pushes into China and that crazy rumored cheaper iPhone for Emerging markets. The second though is something every company faces and that is the retention of your customer to the brand. Like it or not, but the competition has caught up to Apple. And I’d even say they have jumped ahead in some places. The wild card moving forward is that Tim cook’s Apple is not Steve jobs’s Apple. Trying to parse things in the “what would Steve Do?” mental hopscotch game isn’t just impossible, since we couldn’t know what he was thinking on a good day in the past, but Cook has made some drastic changes to make the exercise pointless before you ever lace up the running shoes. For the first time in a long time, Apple is worth watching for no other reason as to see how they will respond to the market pressures over the brand that dictated what the mobile industry had to do to keep up with them for almost a decade.

Remember, you can hear some great commentary about all things Apple at “Triple Click Home”

http://tripleclickhome.com/

2. Nexus 7 and Android 4.1 include major accessibility changes

Behold the article link to the blind Bargains story

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7875

And here are my thoughts from that article:

Google, in 2012, demonstrated they could change the conversation in the mobile marketplace. If it wasn’t Samsung selling like gangbusters with the Galaxy S 3 and Galaxy Note lines, and taking the number one phone maker in the world title to boot, it was Google its self-having hits with the Nexus 4. Tablets also saw competition from Google with the amazing Nexus 7. And in the cases with the Nexus 7 and the nexus 4, along with the Samsung aided Nexus 10 and other nexus models, Google won the war on Android’s biggest issue with version fragmentation. This is key as jellybean 4.2 offers a very viable and welcome improvement to the level of access previously seen with Talkback. For those who have been Android loyalists, this release may bring a mixed bag in its more iOS Voiceover approach to access in Explore by Touch. But for those wanting to have options and a more Apple like experience, this version of Android should be the very lowest version number considered when dipping a toe into the water of Android devices. Also, the Nexus 7 is way more cheaper than an iPad mini.

Well if that wasn’t a lengthy thing to read on the subject, ahem, you can also check out the huge nexus 7 special we did on “That Android Show” for even more about the device. It’s the best, and most affordable, way to keep up to date on stock Android. Also, it’s a good starting point for those who want to begin to learn the OS but not lock themselves into a two year handset contract in the process. You can catch the Nexus 7 special here…

http://thatandroidshow.com/2012/12/23/that-android-show-episode-13-a-long-look-at-the-nexus-7/

Drum roll please!

1. Fleksy keyboard for iPhone

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7885

No other story in 2012 hit on so many levels. Here’s a company whose app went from being Blindness related to having mainstream success with a product that could be used universally. That is except for the fact that the iOS ecosystem really demonstrated its limitations to both sets of users as the functionality desired is not allowed by Apple in iOS. Then you have the possibility of the app moving to Android and doing everything it couldn’t do on iOS. Plus, the gang at Fleksy is just a great group of people. Making the success even better all the way around. Sure some may not have been thrilled about the price drops, the options on iOS initially but the company has been very forthcoming about what is possible and what they see as the potential in their future releases. This drive in their outward facing efforts, especially in social media, has been astounding, and for me, this app’s triumphs in so many arenas are why I believe that it was the biggest AT story in 2012.

And to hear our SPN interview from the show floor of the NFB 2012 National Convention, warp on over to the SeroTalk page at:

http://serotalk.com/2012/07/25/convention-2012-special-episode-2/

Oh, before I go, I said I would show you all my votes for last yer’s ballot. They were not too far away from where the panel landed.

1 Fleksy keyboard for iPhone

2 Nexus 7 and Android 4.1 include major accessibility changes

3 NVDA Releases Several major Updates

4 iPad Refreshed Twice, iPad Mini Added

5 Focus 14 Braille Display Released, Focus 40 Refreshed

6 Firefox accessible on Android

7 Windows 8 Released, includes some more built-in access

8 Jaws 14 Released with Flexible Web

9 HumanWare Releases Deaf Blind Communicator App for iOS Devices

10 GWConnect Updated, causes debate with ad-supported model

11 Amazon Adds Accessibility to some Kindle Models, but falls short

12 Panasonic Announces Line of 30 UK Televisions with Text-to-speech Capabilities

I’ve got one more post about 2012, found that one in my backup files as well, to come in march. Its more lighthearted and fun though. And more ‘inside baseball’ for how we do things on the podcast front.

The Top 10 Blind Bargains AT Stories of 2012 Part 1

I’m always honored and flattered to be asked to help with this famous list over the years. To be able to give back this year with content and links from the SPN podcasts was even more of a thrill for me. It may sound crazy, but it never gets easier to pick these 10 stories, but putting them into a publishable format does become somewhat of a second nature to me now. And others will point out that I have no shortage of opinions. Therefore, two thirds of a massive undertaking complete! Now it just comes down to reading more than 200 articles and remembering 200 hours of recorded audio. Wait… what? Crap, note to self, be less talkative in 2013.
This year. To save on time and space, I’ll break it up into two sets of five stories. Then, just to be unique, I’ll follow it up with my own list that naturally differs a bit from the final one set by all the judges. Oh, and you can hear us discuss the official list on SeroSpectives: This Year In AT too. Here’s a link for that in case you are interested.
http://serotalk.com/
Now let’s review the bottom five of the list…
10. 10 Windows Phone still with No Access
Here’s what was said over at Blind Bargains
http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7837
My thoughts are below…

On the surface level, ha! See what I did there? I should be more dismayed about this than I actually am. But when you kill the Microsoft Kin off in a matter of weeks from its launch, you rebrand Zune into Xbox Video/Music and you thumb your nose to those who joined you on the Windows Phone 7 stopgap train to Windows Phone 8, I honestly can’t get too upset about this beyond the issue that we expect that most major players are now coming to the table with something on board their new platforms. I can honestly say that the Amazon Kindle issue bothers me more on the fact that the install base is just a bit bigger than that of the Windows Phone platform. Okay, a whole lot bigger actually.

The train wreck that has been Windows CE, er um Windows mobile, no wait Windows Phone is such a long and winding tale that it actually is too complicated and involved for me to encapsulate the sad saga into a readable, and still vastly uninteresting, story here. Suffice it to say, it isn’t and hasn’t been good. And subsequent releases have been getting worse for AT Users. The fact that some are now saying that Windows Phone 8, for the mainstream, is monumentally and profoundly better is astounding but not so earth shatteringly astounding to me that I pine away at night in hopes of getting some sort of screen reader access on the thing. The former Rehab Engineer in me says I should care. The Tech Pundit next to him says I should care. The advocate for the Blind guy and gal agrees with them. But the other voices of my multiple personality disorder had a vote and the consensus was “Um… nah”. So, while I know that employment opportunities that require this platform are closed off until screen reader access arrives, I’m just beyond getting upset about Windows 8 Phone. Now that Windows 8 thing, on the other hand, I’ll get back to that later in the Countdown articles. For now, Microsoft could do us all a favor by releasing a Windows Phone based on the Surface technology. At least the improved narrator would probably let you send and get a call? We speculate on that in SeroTalk 129.
http://serotalk.com/2012/10/23/serotalk-podcast-129-its-complicated/
9. Amazon Adds Accessibility to some Kindle Models, but falls short
A ton of interesting comments over at the Blind Bargains page for this story.
http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7838
My opinion is below…

As we’ve speculated on SeroTalk, we think that relying on the built in Android access isn’t a full proof plan to providing a suitable solution to the problem. And it doesn’t solve the issues for those using the Kindle app on other devices and platforms at all. So, waiting for Amazon to fork Android v4.2 isn’t the answer as this built in solution still may not work well with Amazon’s kindle hardware products. Minus a big operating system update, a redesign of the software and a commitment from Amazon to fix the issues for the Fire and other platforms, this story will continue to be a relevant one in 2013.

We have a great roundtable discussion on this, and we also link to our previous coverage on our distain for Amazon’s previous dropping of the E Reading ball, in SeroTalk 135. Which just so happens can be found at the very link below.
http://serotalk.com/2012/12/19/serotalk-podcast-135-chock-full-of-christmas-cheer/
8. iPad Refreshed Twice, iPad Mini Added
Direct link to the Blind Bargains article
http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7840
And you know I’ve got an opinion for this one….

Apple is at a very critical time in their transition from unexpected record highs to expected continuations of record highs. The iDevices are no longer unique, some would say iOS is showing its age and when you make more than 100 million of anything you really can’t be considered a boutique company anymore. Apple is now where sony was in the 80s. The bigger question is can Apple avoid being the Sony of the new millennium? Fragmenting your products, rapid releases of new models and not establishing product differentials were the first things Steve jobs fixed when he returned to Apple. The releases of these new products does cast a shadow on the old saying “history Repeats”. For those who need the AT spin on this story, fragmenting product lines means that only the people who can afford to purchase the latest Apple anything will be able to enjoy the best VoiceOver experience as new chips make all of Apple’s products run faster and better with VoiceOver. And before you disagree with me on that, try a 3gs on iOS6. Or take my less than 3 year iPad 1 out for a spin on iOS 5.1. Apple makes money on hardware and this trend won’t change at all in 2013 with iPad Mini 2, iPad 5 and iPhone 5s all on the horizon

I plan on elaborating about this and other Apple related viewpoints, in later posts. For now, to the chagrin of my friends at Triple Click Home, my initial thoughts on this subject can be heard in audio form with the “SPN Special: Scratching The Surface With Mike Calvo”.
http://serotalk.com/2012/11/28/spn-mobile-special-scratching-the-surface-with-mike-calvo/
7. Focus 14 Braille Display Released, Focus 40 Refreshed
Here’s the link to the Blind Bargains article
http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7841
My take is …

The buzz about, the desire for and the product spotting in the wild of the Focus 14 have been on full display at almost every event I attended in 2012. People want a small, cheaper display that works well with JAWS and still pairs to other devices like an iPhone. And this unit may just fit the spot, and the pocketbook, for many looking for this kind of display. There are many options in the 20 cell and below field, however, it sure seemed like Freedom Scientific was able to capture a lot of the conversation in this arena during 2012 with the release of the Focus 14.

And here is a link to our audio interview with Freedom Scientific from the Blinded Veteran’s Association National Convention coverage that goes into more detail about the Focus line.
http://serotalk.com/2012/08/28/blinded-veterans-association-2012-convention-special-1/
6. GWConnect Updated, causes debate with ad-supported model
To read what people have said in the comments section for this story, visit
http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=7843
here’s my take on the story

We in the blindness Community want to emulate the mainstream in everything we do. And everyone is on board… until the need for revenue of some kind comes into the conversation. This is even truer when it comes to advertising. The visual world is bombarded by ads in movies, in magazines, on YouTube videos and now on the walls of restrooms in restaurants. When it comes to ad spaces in the mainstream, almost nothing is sacred. However, when a company tries to offset the cheaper cost of providing an access solution through the use of ads… people who aren’t exposed to this mainstream way of how the internet works get upset. The New York Times experimented with placing their content behind a pay wall. Facebook is constantly in trouble for trying to capitalize on their platform with ads. And even Skype its self has ads within its opening views and has even considered ads before a call is connected. If selling ad space means that G.W. Micro can continue to offer and update a good service at a lower cost, then I don’t begrudge them at all from wanting to do so. It’s the way the internet works. Nothing is ever truly free online.

If we continue to adopt mainstream solutions for solving our real world needs then getting used to how real world technologies make their money is part of the deal. What G.W. Micro is doing is not unlike what a 3^rd party Twitter client used to do before Twitter got all crazy with changes and locking down their API. The term that G.W. micro is applying here exists in program development and it is known as the “Freemium” model. No, I’m not making that up. See this article to know more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium
The point is that what they did is about as real world mainstream as it gets and it is going to be the future for many programs you are going to use moving forward. Either the “free” tag in iOS with paid “In App” upgrades or things like G.W. Connect. As budgets grow tighter, traditional markets disappear and the way the web just changes so darn much, this is just a way of the world and adapting to the new playing field isn’t something I think people will grasp as the norm for a little bit longer. But it really is normal and, to me, that is a good thing. In a few more years, as AT Users become more exposed to this mainstream concept, it will just become common place. For now, it’s a big story because it’s new to many who don’t encounter it as often as our sighted peers.
I’ve got the other five stories coming later in the week, and after that big podcast I mentioned above where we cover all ten with a great panel of guests, so check back to read those and my own version of the year’s biggest later.

Hmm, Is This Thing On?

If you are a long time reader of this blog, if there is anyone left out there to read this blog, you will know that it is now time for my annual “I’m back” and my “I’m going to really post more often’ speeches. And, quite rightfully too I may adde, you would in real life “Laugh Out Loud’ and say “Right Ranger, whatever”. And I’d do the same if I saw this post from your side of the screen. Except, this time I’m sorta kinda really going to do the “more posting” thing. And here’s why.
After 10 years of being a Government Drone I found that sitting down and creating a long winded report on just about anything was easy. The state of Braille Drivers, the fun that was a new operating system’s lack of access, the ride in on the bus, you name it, I could write a memorandum of understanding around 5 pages or more in Aerial point 12 on matters with very little thought about doing it … and consequentially put into the content as well. In my defense, I was trained to do so by other Government types. There may have been a natural predilection to doing so, but the spark was refined by those “in the know”. Refined? Okay it was honed by those who taught me how to be a public employee. Yet years of experience in the field of that writing style did give me the ignition point to start this little’ol blog. To every cloud and all that.
Nonetheless, I found when I left my old job, that the fire and the desire to blog was diminished and replaced with my long gestating need to podcast. After all, I was a Radio Communications guy in my first vocational career and talking over typing was always more my non button down shirt speed. And it required less spell checking. And it came with a more relaxed dress code. And a whole lot of access to hot looking people in the music industry. Anyway, it was a long time ago and all those damaging photos have been destroyed. By me, before the days of Geocities and ransomware were perfected.
Ahem, back to my story, micro blogging [a term now replaced by a dozen others in the Social Media sphere] was awesome. It was easy to do from just about anywhere and it allowed for more immediate interactions with my readers. Which is odd because in general, I tend not to want to do the social thing as much in the so called real world. Regardless, the pull of Twitter was way too strong and I found that I could keep most of my minor musings down to a series of 140 characters. Then, the original thought behind this blog now realized, I could be quicker in passing along interesting and somewhat relevant content about the things I covered here in just a matter of clicks and copy/pastes. Woo Hoo! It was what I always wanted and it was, for many who really know me offline and hoped I’d be more, concise. A trait I imagine some who listen to podcasts I’m on would wish I could emulate from time to time on various soapbox topics that do mor than “wake the dragon” [Game Of Thrones quote implied].
The concept of doing a traditional blog post, yeah I just used those words right next to one another, just didn’t come together as easy as it once had after jumping off to the adventurous world of things like Twitter and the 6 month dalliance I had with Facebook. By the way, a pox on you and yours mark SuckerBerge. Cough, cough.
Gone were my needs to roll on in seven thousand words of prose about this or that and the deficiencies or advantages of this or that. Not to mention, written words tend to live longer on the interwebs of today and they are searchable too. Generally, people let you slide a bit more when you get things wrong in podcasting. Unless you are in a room full of avid listeners and they’ve barred the door for the next hour. Then, magically, people’s memories for your mistakes will far outweigh your own abilities to remember that comment you may or may not have made about bar code scanners you might have offhandedly said when trying to be semi worldly on the matter six months and almost one hundred recorded hours later from saying aforementioned bar code comment that really should have been edited for time originally. As I said, generally people are more cool about audio mistakes where as written ones can haunt you. Side note, I’ve gone back and deleted all the positive comments I made about Windows Vista. Like anything after Battlestar Galactica’s fourth season, be it all forgotten and not remembered. Although, there is a joke in there about Windows 8 and the BSG phrase “all this has happened before”. But I’m not making it here. Or, am I?
While I still enjoy the Twitter and Podcasting thing, a lot, my lack of recreational writing ran me into a honest to goodness brick wall when it came to having to write something for a non work related request. I was quite stumped and literally at a “loss for words”. Again, snicker away you beloved long time readers and listeners, at my aging inability to fire my neurons. Time catches up with us all.
My old reliable thought provoking tricks of enjoying some relaxing heavy metal music, reading a semi interesting book about an unrelated subject, downing a pot of really good coffee, a long walk, none of it clicked. Thankfully the white noise of the isolation chamber, you may also know this as “the bathroom shower”, allowed me to reach a mental plateau above the crazy mental blocks on my path to writing nirvana. But what I came away with was a profound and deep residing sense of shock that when I needed a base hit, not a home run, I couldn’t even manage to tap in a bunt [I’ve moved on to sports metaphors and sorry to those who only get my Sci Fi/Fantasy ones]. I frankly had let my skills lapse when it came to escapist writing and I’m sure it was tied to stress and lack of real world practice of writing 7 pages on the importance of User Interface Guideline changes. As silly as it is, doing that kind of writing kept my other skills sharp in the same way that podcasting is reviving all my old intuitions about broadcast scheduling and program flow.
Therefore, as some sort of personal self-actualized epiphany at the base of Maslow’s pyramid, I realized that I really do need to get back into the batting cage and take a swing at a few pitches [still on the sports stuff]. I have to experiment a bit and try a few things. Look down some dark corners and see where it all takes me. I’m, by self-admission, a bit of a compulsive person who likes to ride the pendulum of extremes to find the balance and middle ground. Its why I’m so contrarian at times. I want to throw out an off the wall viewpoint to see what others think. So while I will still lean on Twitter and podcasting first, I need to come back here and dabble.
I don’t know what I’ll write about. I’m not sure it will be any good. I can’t promise it will be about Assistive Technology at times. And I hope to get better at doing the writing thing as I lace up my shoes and pick up that Louisville Slugger. I just hope I don’t end up with a Golden Crown of my own [back to Game of Thrones references again].
If you want to come along for this odd journey, please keep your slates and styluses in the car at all times. If you want to just follow in order to make a countdown clock to the day I again fess up that I’ve not blogged here in forever, put five bucks down on my guess for December 30^th 2013. Betting opens on February 1^st. This year we’re accepting Google Wallet. It’s a trial thing, don’t get used to it.
Before I go, warning authentic podcast plug imminent, I’m extremely proud of all our SeroTalk podcasts. I’m especially proud of two series that hold a personal place in my heart. I say publicly that “End of Line” is a show I wanted to do. It’s a fun walk around the day to day conversations I have with Ricky Enger and, when we have time to do the show, it’s a true window on who I am offline. Plus it proves to my mother that all those years of Science Fiction devotion weren’t for nothing. The surprising number of downloads also prove that “we are not alone’ in our crazy desires when it comes to food, books, TV and music either. If you haven’t already, and if you are even mildly curious about who I am outside the industry, chek out the show. And if not, then just run through the show note links as there is enough there to keep you entertained for hours.
http://eolshow.com/
If “End of Line’ is a show I wanted to do, then “High Contrast” is a show I had to do. For many years I lived in denial about my vision loss. I did much to avoid facing it and I did even more in doing silly things to put up a good front. Time really does bring wisdom along shotgun with it in the Taxi Cab of life. And this series lets me help tell stories about what it is like to have to straddle the line between sight and no usable vision. I’m incredibly grateful to have Maurie, Jeremy and Rodney on the show as each have brought their own experiences to the program in unique ways. We weren’t sure what we had at first, but now we are really exploring some amazing topics and themes. If you need a great example of this, check out maurie’s discussions on treatments for her eye condition as I think her story may be inspiring to many who have questions about the consideration of restoration procedures.
http://serotalk.com/2012/12/10/high-contrast-episode-6-recalculate/
I’ll be back with my version of the Top Ten Stories of AT for 2012 shortly. But as an act of contrition, and to make things look a little more modern, I’ve updated some of the links on the sidebar with new sites and stuff I’m enjoying at the moment.

My Top Ten Of 2011: Numbers 3, 2, 1 And More

I wanted to make sure the podcast archive was online before I finished my poll results here on TRS. To hear myself, J.J., Jamie and Lisa discuss the year that was in AT, click on the link below to be taken to the SeroSpectives podcast archive.

http://serotalk.com/2012/01/06/this-year-in-assistive-technology-for-2011/

And now, as the late Paul Harvey was known for saying, “the… rest of the story’. Here is the story that was chosen for the number three position.

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6454

And my choice was the number 2 story selected by the panel.

Demise of Qwitter accessible Twitter client, replacements emerge
notoriety is a fickle thing. And it doesn’t always bring about fame and fortune. It can, as seen earlier this year, bring on headaches and forking of a project. Quitter demonstrated the beauty and the pitfalls of Open Source. It also, unfortunately, showed the darker side of a community enraged with some forms of snarkyness that the internet is never in short supply of on just about any subject. There are lots of fingers to be pointed in various directions for the “who and the why”, almost as many as the various offshoots of Quitter actually, and this too shall pass into obscurity like so much other “Twitter Drama’. For now though, it was one of the bigger stories of 2011.

Here is the link to what was said on Blind Bargains about the Quitter story.

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6451

To make things fun and confusing, here was what I chose for number 2.

Apple to launch iPhone 4S simultaneously with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint
The story here isn’t VoiceOver, iOS5 or even the passing of Steve Jobs. No, the acceptance of voice control with a TTS engine by the mainstream in the passion for Siri far and away is the highlight of what otherwise is just the same old iPhone in a relative modified shell. For years this technology has been available but it took the Apple marketing team to make it cool enough to use. The question is, where does Siri go after the novelty wears off? That we may see in 2012 because Siri, like iCloud, is still in beta.

Lastly, the panel and I were in sync with the number 1 story. Here is the link…

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6453

With my thoughts being…

Amazon Kindle Fire released, completely inaccessible/Amazon releases accessible Kindle for PC
this one is just so frustrating and infuriating. There is no good reason why the largest online retailer, who had months of time prior to this product’s launch, should have released the Kindle Fire without some form of access. Even using Talkback, as the Fire relies on a modded version of Android at its core, would have been something. But the fun doesn’t stop with Amazon there. the cheapest and newest of the kindles does not feature a speaker nor TTS. And the release of the Kindle for PC, with its considerable drawbacks, should have been the “Spector of Doom” for what was to come in 2011. It’s funny that many try to pit Apple versus Google on the Mobile Accessibility Wars when it really seems that Amazon is the bigger offender of anyone seeing how they have poor access on just about every platform they touch. More than anything else, Amazon’s approach .. or lack thereof.. on Access is the biggest story in Assistive Technology in 2011.

I want to thank the guys at Blind Bargains for asking me back for my third go around with this look back at the year. And it was really great fun to be able to do this in person and in podcast form. I hope you enjoyed the panel’s feedback and I invite you to continue to listen to the “This Month In AT” shows as they end up being the genesis for this conversation for the end of what will be in 2012.

My Top Ten Of 2011: Number 4

Before I forget, you can catch the rest of the Top Ten from all of us on the panel during our “This Year In AT” show on SeroSpectives. To learn more go here…

http://serotalk.com/2011/12/30/coming-soon-this-year-in-assistive-technology-for-2011/

Also, be sure to follow Lisa on Twitter…

https://twitter.com/#!/serospectives

the picks I have are now starting to mesh with the rest of the group as you can see from the Blind Bargains article link.

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6452

And here is the full paragraph I submitted that had a little more, and probably too much per my usual, commentary.

Code Factory Releases Mobile Accessibility for Android
one of the bigger stories in 2011 has to be the products that came from the Spanish shores of Code Factory. TV Speak, the licensing of technology for Nokea phones, updates to their existing product lines and of course the introduction of Mobile Accessibility for Android devices. Even more stunning was the decision to unbundle the Accessible Browser, arguably one of the best features of the MA suite, as a separate standalone download on the Android market for 1/5 the price of MA. Code Factory has truly shown that they can thrive in the new world of Accessibility. Kudos!

My Top Ten Of 2011: Number 5

2011 will be this odd sort of year where I’ll look back at those 365 days and scratch my head as to what was the “next big thing” in the areas of trends or innovations in Assistive Technology only to come away with a blank stare. Because nothing really stood out. Well nothing that did not jump right out at me and say “hey! Right here! I’m Number one!”. Even the panel’s choice for number five has a need for some time and distance before one can say what the impact is, or was, or will be?, on the landscape of Assistive Technology.

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6449

Some will argue that the story linked to above should have been the number one.. of any lists, polls, discussions, musings, water cooler quarterbacking or well-meant conglomerations of the Sub-Genius [hail bob reference here]. Or, like comments made by Dark Nexus made on the panel’s stories, one may wonder just how we arrived at our decisions anyway. Coin tosses, slips of paper drawn from a box or dart boards were not used or harmed in the making of our Top Ten I can assure you. and I can see why someone would wonder “why?”. My only answer is that when looking at this stuff all day, all week and okay all year, you can lose the forest from the trees. Inside baseball happens with every tech podcast and blog, therefore, I will lay that down as to part of the “why?” in my selections. However, in the case below the decision purely came from the splash on social media and the remarks made at the summer shows. To say this was a quick way to get someone to comment, okay a sure fire way honestly, would be an understatement. And this is why I chose this story for number five.

RFB&D Becomes Learning Alley
What’s more confusing than an odd series of letters in an abbreviation for a long running service? Well for starters this name change comes to mind at the top of that list of possible answers. While the name reflects a broader focus, it still remains a mystery to some out there why this was the choice for rebranding. However, it did make for some interesting conversations in the confusion of the word “Ally” for the various screen readers. A five, “come and stumble down the learning Alley with me”. Trust me, if you are reading this without a screen reader, it’s a funny phrase.

My Top Ten Of 2011: number 6

The number six story from the panel was the buzz around the new GW Skype. I’ve already tossed my thoughts on that here on TRS, however, here they are again in the Blind Bargains link.

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6448

My pick for number six is one that I was sad to report on this year.

Solona CAPTCHA Service Goes Offline
Community based ideas are awesome. They inspire, they evolve and they can bring about change for so many. Solona not only provided a great CAPTCHA service but they also introduced the iPhone and iPad user to the world of affordable Braille Overlays for iDevices. Solona will be missed.