A Warm Up To My Top Ten A.T. Stories of 2013

My list is done. my so called opinions are actually edited this year, but as we all well know, that doesn’t mean that they will make any sense what so ever. However, before we start reading these stories of 2013, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on matters that influenced my choices.
I write a few things on SAMNet, System Access Mobile Network, to our Community Users about what tech is and does in order for them to get an idea of what our Technical and Customer Support look at when considering a technical request or suggested bug report. The below is one such post that I made recently that sums up just how crazy tech is now then say five years ago.
“An Internet Explorer By Any Other name…
Several people have been giving us some great feeback on issues with internet Explorer and we really do thank all of you for letting us know what you are experiencing with the browser. As a bit of an idea what we look at within Support, here is just a list of possible versions that we have to consider when looking at bugs and testing. I’m posting this in hopes that everyone can be a bit more specific about posting bugs, moreover, its also to let you know that saying IE causes more confusion for some now in the good old modern age of Windows.
Internet Explorer on Windows 7 can be loaded as a 32 bit version and a 64 bit version. And you can load the 32 bit version on a computer running Windows 7 in 64 bit flavors of the operating system. The major changes here are the way that IE handles security and processes in the browser. Due to the larger popularity, and price, of Windows 32 bit based systems… this version is still the most common version encountered and it runs by default on Windows 7 64 bit versions. Mostly, but not exclusively, the 64 bit versions of Internet Explorer are used within large Enterprise based companies and are not recommended for daily use outside these environments. You will find that more breaks with 64 bit IE than works because of the 32 bit default dilemma, and that sites are generally not optimized for the 64 bit versions. You can, and probably will, see strange screen reader behaviors if you choose to use this browser more often.
Next, the version of IE 11 on Windows 8, and now 8.1, is enhanced with Windows Defender and other background processes. Complicating matters is the addition of the Windows modern, or Start Screen, version of internet Explorer. Technically, Windows 8 machines have two browsers. There is the version of IE that you can run from the standard Desktop, then there is the version you can get to if you run it from the options listed on the Windows Start Screen [i.e. by hitting the Windows key and choosing Internet from that section]. Here again we have 32 bit and 64 bit versions of IE. And they both pose interesting, but similar problems, to their Windows 7 cousins. Generally, as in most cases for many of our users, running the Desktop version of Internet Explorer 11 in 32 bit is the way to go and it should provide the path of least resistance for most internet surfing.
Then there is the SAMNet Browser, while based on Internet Explorer, the SA Browser is not exactly the same experience as running native IE. I’m not going to go too far into this, however, it does help us a great deal to hear if you are reporting something within the actual internet Explorer on your Windows machine or if you are finding something that is happening exclusively within SAMNet. They both require their own testing routines and knowing which one is acting strange lets us find an issue, or try to reproduce, it more easily.
Next, remember that not all browsers are created equally. You can’t assume that the internet is just text on a screen anymore. A website will act one way on Firefox, one way on Chrome and something altogether different on Internet Explorer. Web developers do not implement code the same way on various websites and they might even tailor-make a look and feel if they see you come to them with say firefox as the browser. The way this code is written can throw screen readers off if it is too customized. And its why you see some Assistive Technology flourish on some parts of the web more than others. You can aim at using web standards, yet if Web Developers don’t use those standards, it can be an unfun day for all. Therefore, it should never come as a surprise that Screen Reader X acts better or worse than Screen Reader y on a site. The focus for each technology could be aimed at a specific style of audience and those users, for what is perceived as the best way to interact with a website, will see good and bad results if the Web Developer has followed the various Web Standards to the letter. In other words, it’s a crapshoot. If there is a new trend in doing say a menu box, and there is no standard for this new look at everyone wants to use, then its entirely possible that this unfamiliar code will react in altogether unique kinds of ways along all screen reader lines. There isn’t always a way to avoid this or futureproof for it as these things change so often and so fast that what may be a trend today, flyover menus, becomes old hat and forgotten in the next revision of the website in question. For example, oh I don’t know, say Facebook.
There used to be a time where you could say a website, is a website, is a website. But with the way that websites utilize 3^rd party ads that can take up the whole screen until you do a mouse click on them, the way that placing focus on an element can make you almost deaf because the audio is blaring something at you because you placed your focus there for a moment or just the fact that mark at facebook thinks that if the site looks the same for more than six weeks its not hip anymore… well you get the picture. It’s a more interesting world we live in now with Access Technologies and just when you think you have a handle on it, like use the mobile version of Facebook instead, they go and stick ads there making the experience just as confusing as the main site.
Oh, and before I forget to mention, it is very, VERY! Important to let us know if you are using things like Classic Shell on Windows 8, Windows via Boot Camp for Mac or any other way of using Windows on mac hardware. While it might kind of feel or look like your standard copy of Windows, it isn’t. there are specific things that have to be tested for when using those machine configurations and they can be some of the more strange behaviors you will ever see when using Windows with any technology. At the end of the day, no matter what, Windows was designed to run on Windows hardware first and running it in other ways, even something like Classic Shell, is considered a modification and it can cause issues that would not show up if running Windows by the default look and feel on native hardware. Its not only its own animal, it can be its own Zoo entirely!”
As clear as mud no? Well I’ll be mentioning more things like that on my list and on the upcoming “This Year In A.T.” program that will air this Wednesday on SeroSpectives. you can hear that via iBlink Radio or later from the SeroTalk website…
http://serotalk.com/
And if you want to read more posts like this, and hang out with some of the best darn Community members on the internet, run and get the 14 day trial of SAMNet from the Serotek website.
http://www.serotek.com/
Be sure to say “hi” to me on the boards or voice chat rooms!

Poll Question Results And New Non Technical Related Poll Question Added

No clear winner in our last poll. Unless you consider that many people are going to buy something Apple based in their future. In that case, Apple won the poll.

Poll Question: The Next iOS Apple Do’hicky I must get Is..

iPhone 4   3 (15%)
iPad   10 (52%)
iPod   3 (15%)
Mac Mini    1 (5%)
I'll never buy an Apple anything   2 (10%)

I’m actually surprised that the iPhone didn’t score higher. The poll closed shortly before the big Bumper scare 2010 took hold in earnest. Which in my mind will forever be remembered as “the day where Steve Jobbs turned on the press’. Talk about biting the hand that fed you.

This next poll question comes from my days in Vocational Rehab and my own struggles to accept my vision loss. The below question is one that is sometimes asked by some members of support groups for those who are newly Blind or who are losing vision later in life. It can say a lot about what one thinks about vision loss or what they find to be important for self confidence. I’ll provide my own honest answer when the poll closes near the end of this month. But for now, how would you answer the following?

Poll Question: If Given One Wish, What Would You Choose?

Restored Or Perfect Vision
One Million Dollars
Fully Retired At Age 60 Or Lower
A Fully Paid For Home

This is one of those questions I find worthy of being great for a discussion on a podcast. Perhaps that may happen one day. Hint, Hint!

Oh Yeah, That Poll Thing

I haven’t forgot about that box on the top right of the page. Honest! I just haven’t thought of any good questions lately. And I’m not sure that today’s question is good or not. Only time will tell I guess.

Poll Question: If It Had The Features You Wanted, How Much Would You Pay for A Victor Reader Stream Update?

Something close to $20 U.S.   2 (11%)
Maybe around $30 U.S.   7 (38%)
I might spend $40 U.S.   1 (5%)
No more than $50 U.S.   4 (22%)
I'll never buy an update for my Victor Reader Stream   4 (22%)

It wasn’t by any means a scientific poll, however, it did give us some idea of what people thought about the upgrade before the pricing was announced. Remember, to learn more about the update visit Humanware at the link below.

http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/about_us/press_releases/2010_press_releases/victor_reader_stream%3A__new_version%2C_new_companion%2C_new_softpak%21

Poll Question: The Next iOS Apple Do’hicky I must get Is..

iPhone 4
iPad
iPod
Mac Mini
I'll never buy an Apple anything

I’ll set this one for mid July and see how it goes after many get their hands on Apple stuff at this year’s Blindness conventions. Wonder if there will be a clear winner this time around.

By the way.. 7

Some Random Impressions On The iPad

The rise in Blind Gadget Culture was one of the trends I discussed with many in the industry last year. There are a large number of options now available to us on what now seems like a monthly, or weekly, rate for alternatives to what we once considered traditional access. I’m going to stay away, for now, on merits of those claims or the dangers in selecting a standard for any access solution. I do, however, want to throw in two pennies into the hat as to what my initial impressions were on holding this recent “flavor of the month” tech product.

I’ve broken these down into three areas. My mind thought of the device from a Low Vision standpoint, a non visual perspective and a general impression of the device as a whole. I’ll start with the general ruminations first.

General feelings..

It is heavier than I thought. 1.5 pounds doesn’t sound like much, I’m reminded of the weight of last year’s Intel Reader, but it really is when you get right down to the heart of the matter. An iPhone doesn’t weigh as much as the iPad of course, however, there really is quite a big jump when you go from that smaller display to one that is now 9.7 inches. And the 1.5 pounds doesn’t feel all that well in your hands for longer periods of time or for when you are typing long strings or doing detailed tasks or... The weight of the iPad is well distributed, and that is a plus, so you won’t feel like one portion of the device is heavier forcing you to hold it from only one side. I’m just not sure about how I’d carry and use the device when not sitting comfortably at home.

The other thing I noticed right off the bat was the glare. The thing is a fingerprint and glare magnet. Darker settings is where the backlit display really shows its stuff. And there again is one of those odd moments that makes me think about where and when I would use such a device.

The speaker is loud but not really. Using this in public would be awkward with speech for me. I’d have to go the headphones route a whole lot. Even with Netflix, I would be using headphones and that gets old after a while. I also hope the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 will add more voices to Voiceover. The default voice can only take you so far and I’d even say that some who are hard of hearing would have possible issues with pitch and intonation in crowded areas.

Low Vision thoughts..

If you hate a laptop and the way you have to use a track pad with Screen Magnification then you may hate this.. a lot. Swiping the display at higher magnification levels is a slow process at first. I say that because you either pan slowly in the beginning or you warp across the landscape without intending to do so. This could be considered more of a user problem than an issue of UI or how Apple has implemented their version of magnification. Icons within the OS are sharp and easily read, however, the same can’t always be said about the apps. And those who up convert their apps from iPhone to iPad have issues with font scaling anyway. Therefore, a good suggestion would be to go for the ones that are made for the larger display of iPad native support. This may, note may, mean you have to repurchase your favorite apps all over again if they don’t offer a free update to the newer platform.

I find that increasing fonts is better than using the device at 2x or something that would make me have to touch the device more often just to see the other side of the display. Better still, I’d say drop the magnification entirely and rely on the Voiceover to drive you in most areas. Not only would you keep the whole screen in view, but you would have speech to tell you where you have landed in apps and in menus. I mean, you are only going to have to touch the device for input anyway. Using VO with no magnification could make you a faster user than all the finger work it would require to view the device under higher magnification levels.

I honestly believed that the iPad would be great as a Low Vision device. I’m rethinking that now after some brief use of it to try and to complete some basic tasks. It is better than holding the iPod and iPhone up to your nose. The downsides though are that the smaller devices are more portable and a whole lot lighter. And if you have trouble using a 15 inch laptop, or an even smaller 12 inch or less Netbook, the iPad won’t make life any easier for you in the regards of interacting with a computer.

Non Visual ..

I’ll approach this from two angles. Do you want a touch screen the size of a standard 8x10 piece of paper? Do you want to move your finger across a larger area than your iPod or iPhone? Would it make you feel better to have 22 icons spread out over a larger canvas? Then you will love the iPad if you answered “Yes” to any or all of the above.

Placing the iPad in your lap, like a Braille book, negates the weight concerns I spoke of earlier. In fact, not looking at the display fixes a ton of issues really. You can place this on a table and interact with it, where as a visual user would have to sit and point their head downwards to view the display. So, if you can get over the bulkiness of the larger size, and you feel right at home with the Apple touch navigation, then this may work for you. I would say that you may still be a tad faster on navigating on a smaller display. And carrying an iPhone or an iPod is probably a better device for the person on the go. The iPad, however, would be a good coffee table device for casual media surfing.

Overall..

I would say wait. This initial release is like a paid beta cycle. The unit feels rushed. The new iPhone 4.0 OS brings a whole lot more to the table. And, as Apple is prone to do, a second generation iPad will flesh out the unit’s strengths better. Once when developers, and even Apple themselves, know exactly what those strengths really are.

Despite what some have said on the web about this thing, it isn’t a new way of looking at computing. No new paradigms, no new platforms and for the love of black turtlenecks it isn’t something we haven’t seen before. It is what we call in sales a “step up” model. It takes the successes of the other Apple devices and makes them now go to 11. Or, in this case, go to 9.7.

If you are already in the Apple ecosystem, then this unit maybe a good buy for having around the house. Or for when you replace that 6th iPod that totally bites the dust. The bigger display is nice to have for some things. But, for non visual users, you aren’t in a situation where this will make your experience all that much more improved over what we had before April 3rd.

If you are considering a plunge into the Apple Kool Aid party, the iPad may not be the ideal device for your indoctrination to the land of Jobbs. Moreover, if you thought that this device would be better for those in the 4x magnification crowd.. well. I’d suggest going with a cheaper first time purchase in the realm of an iPod.

The truth is, and this is where I completely agree with those who are for and against the iPad, you can’t really say this is a giant iPod until you hold it in your hands. This is the first device I’ve used in a long time where initial experience immediately formed my opinion. And that opinion was intensely personal at first then reflexive later on after I put it down.

I think that is why the iPad doesn’t support multi user profiles at the moment. Apple is aiming this device at the individual user and as a media appliance to secure iTunes’s future. And it does this very well. I give them credit for that. It isn’t intended to replace devices you have now. That too has been communicated by Apple. its when you try to take the unit outside of the scope of what it is made for when you see the flaws over the glossy glare intensive surface that the debate gets more dicey.

Note that I’m also going to steer clear from the saga of the $500 WiFi only versus the 3g aspects of the iPod. That too comes down to personal preferences and your desire to pay $30 a month for iPad wireless access. Best of luck with that decision as it really distorts, for me at any rate, if this machine is worth the cost of admission.

A Look Back At 2009: Part 2

Here are two more stories from the year that was 2009.

Windows 7 and same-day screen reader access

As I said in the Blind Bargains Top 11, the fantastic ability for many players in AT to have launch day versions up and running is unto its self a great story. But in a way it is also a reflection of the times we live in now.

Back when Vista was still in the 5 year gestation phase of development, getting anyone to discuss their plans for betas, let alone full product, releases was like pulling teeth with a rusty pair of plyers. I should know well because many would run and hide from me when I approached their booths at CSUN each year. I believe that was back when I coined the phrase “Look, I know this is like beating a dead horse with a straight cane but.. “. Conversations eventually went like this..

Ranger: “Hi!”

AT Rep: “No.”

Ranger: “no? No to what?”

AT Rep: “You know darn well what. Vista… the answer is no.”

Sheepish looks, and innocent appeals to their nature, with questions like  “What about the children?” usually got me beaten over the head with whatever was being given away that year in the booth. And despite what you might think, those rubber sharks can leave a mark. Glad the famous cookie jars were no where to be found. I wasn’t alone in my barrage of inquiries as a blanket generic statement was memorized by all Reps for distribution in the case where anyone uttered the dreaded “V” word.

Vista’s launch, however, turned out to be an interesting snapshot of how tastes and needs were changing. One particular AT company saw a big jump in the number of users who were either interested in Vista or who were already running the OS with their product via the public beta program. In fact,  if nothing else, Vista and 7 have cemented the need for a public beta because it truly expands the scope of the product prior to its official release. 

The rise in the technical level of Blind users in the last five years is staggering. Just look at the number of good sites, podcasts and social media mavens who have come online and made their voices heard as a result of increased access to both Apple and Windows.  Not to mention Mobile and the drive for more to speak about Blind Gadget Culture. Vista, and now 7, showed many in the business that we Blind folk just won’t sit around waiting for the doors to be open on big named devices and software. Hence the “must have” calls for 7 to be ready with your access solution of choice.

Not to say that it was easy but.. 7 development was not nearly as hard as it was for Vista. 7, despite what some have claimed, is not Vista 2.0. However that particular spherical shaped object didn’t fall all that far away from the tree who spawned it actually. So, minus a few hurdles, existing code could be modified from Vista to give us suitable launch day versions of many AT products.

There is another side to the coin and to borrow a catch phrase from the famous Paul Harvey “Page 2!”.

For around three years now I’ve heard tons of mess about Microsoft and how it should be like Apple in the Mac’s new found approach to access. I’ve sat through more debates on “Bolt On Vs. Baked In”, “Screen Scrape Vs. Screen Grab” and “Off Screen Model Vs. Flavor of the Week” than I can count. Now I believe these discussions to be fruitful but man did they ever multiply.

Moreover, I also have been somewhat of an AT Oral Historian in many offline circles. History does repeat and I find myself being more of a curmudgeon on meetings that show me a utopia where all applications are easy to read and full of wonder. This semi negative pessimism can generally be attributed to the dark humor that surrounds the computer industry as a whole, however, my hands are a bit scarred from previous attempts at sticking them into the fire from previous claims that made similar types of promises. 

I was a user on the front lines of a zillion versions of DOS. I was a user during the infamous stare down with Microsoft over Windows 95. Additionally I’ve survived numerous releases of Office. And I, like Microsoft, have been between the hammer and the anvil several times over the years in regards to access. The tools that were forged over time are ones that let me compete with others on equal footing and I appreciate that access ,for MS, has gained a better focus in the design of products to come. I give pause though if future access means a more Apple like approach.

The strength that has evolved for Windows is that the software  is a ubiquitous platform that has numerous partners who give it ample support. If the restaurant doesn’t serve Coke then sometimes Pepsi will do in a pinch. Or, as we are seeing more and more, if Dr. Pepper is on sale then it scratches the ich on one’s need to be budget conscious. I could extend this flimsy example further about ordering watter instead and the use of NVDA .. Naaahhh…

The point is that you aren’t forced to drink one flavor of soda. I don’t care how good it tastes, eventually, you will find that you need more from your soda in some arena. Having a market of choices means that competition will always force the drive to improve any product. Therefore, we have diet, energy and other drinks you may wish to try to quench your thirst with when looking around for what fits your particular pallet.

Mixing metaphors aside, some feel that this is a dead argument because Narrator isn’t as good as all the other options on the planet. Including the Thunder Screen Reader. What if I told you that Narrator was in the process of getting a serious facelift? Read on..

At CSUN in 2006 a co-worker and I sat in the big ballroom where Microsoft was going to outline their upcoming commitment to access for Vista and Office. The room was all a titter because a press release had also just dropped on Vista and Office 07’s plans to use their Wonder Twin powers in one giant move to co-market their respective launches. There is nothing like the fear and panic in a Rep’s eyes and voice when something gets announced that they had no clue about. And this was the case that day in Los Angeles.

The team was frantically on their cell phones, email and Power Points. Changes looked to be in flux and the phrase “uh, that is what we can say today” was uttered a few more times than it usually would in a similar venue. The course correction for Microsoft came later but that day they discussed the following “Ease of Access” options.    

Minor improvements to Narrator, updated On Screen Keyboard, no change to Magnifier, On Screen Alerts for the Deaf, Speech Recognition and Cognitive Enhancements.

The last one in the list never surfaced. It was demonstrated sure but I’ve never heard hide nor haire of it since 2006. From what I remember, the style of the feature acted in some ways like the methods Screen Magnifiers use to highlight buttons and other controls in modes like Focus Enhancements. Perhaps one day this part of EOA will return. I’d be interested to see it if it ever does. There were many I served in my tech support days who I think who could qualify as the target market.

Anyway, back on track, a lot of the discussion time was given to Vista’s Speech Recognition. It was said that this portion of access was the first to be given the new look and feel for Microsoft. More would come either through Service Packs or in future Windows releases.

And it did. Speech Recognition improved greatly not just in Windows but in Windows Mobile as well. Not the phones mind you, but in the offshoot of Windows Mobile that became Windows Automotive. If you have heard Leo at TWIT talk about Ford Sync then you have heard an ad for Windows Automotive. Microsoft technologies have an annoying habbit of not being integrated across their platforms. They do, surprisingly enough, steal tech from one another for big projects. Speech Recognition tech was just such a high profile project.

Windows 7 advanced Windows Magnifier. If you run in the AERO version of 7 you can enable Magnifier on the fly by pressing the Windows Key with either the number pad’s plus or minus keys. AERO allows Windows 7 to use a full screen magnifier mode instead of the narrow banner ad like strip of magnification found in previous flavors of Windows. The key is the full screen version goes away if you use a Mirror Driver that would snap you back to a non AERO version of 7. Which means you would have to use System Access, or something else, if you wanted to use Windows Magnifier with Screen Reader assistance.

Now follow me here, if Magnifier and Speech Recognition saw an an improvement, what would come next in an upgrade of on board options for MS? Before you answer consider the following items in the paragraph below.

Apple has Voiceover, Google has Talkback and even Linux has.. stuff. Microsoft, and some other big tech names, have given the NVDA project money for future releases. If the current needs for increased security to be built in to future applications remains a constant part of development, then who better than Microsoft to show how that could be done without our current forms of AT?

All signs point north and I’m anxious to see what comes in the talks on Windows 8 in the next 6 to 8 months. Remember that MS has committed to the three year life cycle again. Which means that if true, a public beta will arise from the depths in about 24 months or less. Regardless if it is good or bad, for me I’d have to say bad, a better version of Narrator is coming. and it is coming sooner than some would expect. One thing is certain, as MS improves the state of their products the rest of the Industry will have to justify themselves in new and exciting ways in order to stay competitive with the many free models of AT spawning onto the scene. 

Book Sense

The Book Sense is an amazing piece of kit that I adore. I used an ARCHOS 604 as my main player for years. It has a display that is as big as most hand held Video Magnifiers. And while not sporting speech, it wasn’t Rockbox friendly, it let me change the color and the fonts enough to make it serviceable for what I wanted it to do on my daily commute.

I have many friends with a victor Reader Stream, and I’m in no way putting that device down in the slightest, but it never caught on with me. I was in love with the Book Sense the first day I held it though. The size, weight, interface and that blessed switch for the key lock. mmmm… I pre-ordered mine right then and there. I had no idea how the clock, radio and support for docx. would save my bacon until later on when I made my goodbyes with the ARCHOS.

the $64,000 question remained on if someone could dethrone the King of all Blind friendly players. The question, and some of us in the wings, were stunned by the reception the unit got at its unveiling at Convention.

To say that there was a rush on the G.W. booth would be an understatement. I saw credit and debit cards outstretched eagerly to the gang in the booth. And when their machine went down, the throngs hit the ATMs. It was truly shocking to see how fast they were purchased honestly.

That isn’t my reason for choosing it for the list however. That inspiration springs from this intrepid soul who decided to take an improvised poll on if each person who left the booth already had a Stream in their possession. 60% of more than 20 people polled said they already had a Victor Stream. While this is in no way a scientific method for determining buying habbits, it did show that brand loyalty and the better mousetraps ideals were in a state of upheaval.

It also got me to thinking about the rise of products coming from overseas. Also, how often would someone buy the same thing with similar features rolled through my mind’s lint brush too. Better yet, at what price does it trigger someone to buy the same thing again? Or when is good vs. price vs. good enough helping or hurting the community? I’m all down with the idea of cheaper products, however, I’m not sure if I want to start a product cycle where you replace your treasured items every 20 to 36 months at the current prices seen in the market for lots of things. This thought is why I didn’t go with the iBill on the Top 11 list. It is a cool doo dad. I’m just not sure if it harkens the bountiful harvest that others are hoping for in the cry for cheaper and durible products.

This series centers around me being more opinionated than usual. In no way do I suggest that you subscribed to the points I view here, or anywhere for that matter  on the thoughts that emanate from my fevered brain. I invite you to toss your thoughts into the comments section, email me or hit me up on Twitter. I love to debate these things and I love even more to have someone show me the errors in my ways. Part 3 is in the works, and barring real life, it will be up soon.

Feedback: The “Ranger Procrastinates Yet Again” Edition

I found out that if you semi abandon your blog, for whatever good reasons like life getting in the way or something, the thing you must do is lock down your comments. What a magnet this thing became while I was off doing.. stuff.

While deleting ads, questionable links, more ads, odd random posts in languages I don’t speak and even some ads, I found that there were real comments from real nice people amongst all the chaff. I pulled these nuggets out and I really do apologize for not responding to you sooner.

Here is a comment from the Windows 7 launch day post.

California State University Northridge said...

We have a few college students online from California State University Northridge College and we love your blog postings, so well add your rss or news feed for them, Thanks and please post us and leave a comment back and well link to you. Thanks Jen , Blog California State University Northridge

Thanks for reading. Sometimes I forget just how big the world part of the world wide web can be.

Once at CSUN 2007 someone yelled out to me on the Exhibit Hall floor “Hey there Ranger!”. And three people I had never met before in my life stopped me on the way to my friend to thank me for the blog. The same thing happened at the NFB Convention in Detroit this past year. It makes me feel guilty at not being so prolific in 2009. In fact, it could drive aguy to answer his comments some eight months after they were posted. But I digress.

This comment came from the July/August Poll results on updates and upgrades.

john said...

Hello Ranger. It seems it's been a while since you've written here. And so I'd like to welcome you back to the world of blogging, confusing as it is. It's great that you're back and all, but just to be frank, or steve, or some other guy, I've got a suggestion. No, it really is great that you're back. You put, on the list of upgrades, snow leopard. It's only worth $30 if you already have leopard. So, I'm thinking: is there any other software that may be, just maybe! should be on this list?
Thanks and good times and such,
John

Oh, if Windows 7 was as cheap as 30 bucks then I’d say that without hesitation. It isn’t, but I still recommend Windows 7 to anyone who can run it without the hardware upgrade hassles or the required upgrades for their AT products. Even then you could go with System Access, NVDA or a payment plan through G.W. Micro for Screen Reading. System Access with Windows Magnifier isn’t a bad combo either, however, it can’t replace some of the features found in today’s leading Screen Magnifiers.

Snow Leopard, if you aren’t a Power PC based Mac, can be a wonderful cheap boost to Voiceover access. Except there are some issues with some program compatibility on third party programs, not related to Voiceover, and Boot Camp isn’t Windows 7 friendly yet. In some ways 10.6 has become a little bit like Vista with 10.5 taking the role of Windows XP. I know that is blasphemous to some that I even consider that analogy, however, it is kind of apt depending on if you can or cannot run Snow Leopard. Plus any minor niggles I can make about how Apple acts like Microsoft at times are always worth the seconds it takes me to type them out. 

And now a correction on my Book Sense post thanks to a fellow Blogger at this little site you may have heard of called Blind Bargains.

J.J. said...

NLS support is already there. Perhaps you mean RFB&D support?

Oops, he is right. Not to mention that the keys are now available for the Book Sense as well.

http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=4925

I made a post about music from March that garnered this comment.

Anonymous said...

Hi ranger,
I am not an audiophile, but I agree with you about current recordings. The new Metallica cd was recorded so loudly, that it's actually distorted in some places. What a shame, as it's quite good from an artistic standpoint. I think the recordings from decades past are much more pleasant to the ear, even when compressed into reasonably sized mp3 files. No lower than 160 KBPS for me.

If you look on the net, possibly in some nefarious places, you may find that there is a better recording of the last album. It seems that the masters, depending on your viewpoint of how that is defined by the band or the label, were given to a famous Videogame for their inclusion to their track lists. If you look around for Metallica and Guitar Hero… ahem. Uh, the live tracks could be a better alternative. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Remember that you can leave a comment here on the blog, direct message me on Twitter and forget about me on Facebook because I’m hardly ever there. One social media meem at a time I guess.

July's Poll Results And A Mini September Poll Added

There wasn't much of a doubt about who took the lead on this issue. Take a look at the mindshare a company seems to be cultivating amongst the Blind Community.

July's Poll Question Of The Month: What Cell Phone Platform Do You Want To Buy For Your Next Accessible Phone?

Windows Mobile with Mobile Speak or Talks 1 (4%)

Synbian with Mobile Speak or Talks 7 (30%)

Blackberry with Oraitor 0 (0%)

The iPhone 15 (65%)

Other 0 (0%)

So I guess no one is interested in the Google G1 phones until they have something we can use eh? Well I gave it a shot with the "Other" option. The other number that sort of surprises me a bit is the low number for the Blackberry. I think the new joint venture from Humanware and Code Factory will do fantastic with those Blind people who work in Enterprise level jobs. If you ever want to be a big time manager in a multinational company you will be using Nokia or a RIM device thats for sure.

But now let us go with a short and sweet poll for a few weeks. The age old question awaits us..

Poll Question Of The Month: Which Upgrade Do You Want To Buy?

Windows 7

Kurzweil 1000 Version 12

Apple 10.6 Snow Leopard

JAWS 11

Some varied choices there eh? Well just vote how you feel and we will tackle the rest in a few weeks.

Tweet Weekly Rollup: April 20th Edition

I’m going to take the old “random Goodness” and “Quick News” formats and roll them up into this new post. Twitter has become my default way of posting information for things I don’t want to expand on but feel like they should get some attention on the blog. I’ll go back over the week and summarize the best of the best each Monday.

Mono vs. Stereo: A neat article on how some believe that the original Beatles mono recordings are better than the remixed stereo ones.

http://digg.com/d1oy32

IT Power Up Myths: Should you power cycle your system to save energy or is it better in the long run to leave your system on for hard drive safety? This link gives more information on this and other IT Pro Myths.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/16/1819206

Attack Of The Zombie Macs!: Take that Apple marketing..

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/04/evidence-suggests-first-zombie-mac-botnet-is-active.ars

Office 14 Is Now Office 2010: Paul at the Windows Super Site has updated his Office 14 FAQ to reflect all the news that came out this week about the next version of MS Office Suites.

http://www.winsupersite.com/office/office2010_faq.asp

Office 2007 SP2: Word is that the date for the next Service Pack for Office 07 is April 28th.

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/04/confirmed-office-2010-will-come-in-32-bit-and-64-bit.ars

Firefox Looks Forward: XP support may fade in the next generation version of Firefox that is in early development.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9131576

Follow me on Twitter if you would like to see more information like this in real time. Or review the Tweets whenever you want at..

http://twitter.com/RangerStation

Humorous Mac Related Links For A Thursday

Warning! The links below are NSFW, Not Safe For Work, based on vulgar language. They are funny but if you don’t want to hear foul language then skip this post all together.

Fake Melinda Gates: Recently Mrs. Gates told a magazine about how Bill likes to keep things all in the family with Microsoft products in their home. The team at “Funny or Die” has a field day with this, as you can see from the link below, with a fake Melinda telling the world what it is like to be living without walls.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c010c101ac/bill-gate-s-wife-melinda-has-a-dirty-little-secret

Apple Editing: This Mac ad parody takes a few seconds to sink in but it does detail the Mac experience from an experienced user’s perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvXZVJXIyqM

Macbook Wheel: This one is an oldie but a goodie. And some people actually reported it as real news. The Onion brings us the new Macbook Wheel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Gzq-QEt0s

Catching Up With Headlines

I’ve been under a mountain of news to catch up on since I was ignoring the feeds this week. Here are a few that caught my ear. 

Update To Windows Update: About once a year Windows Update gets an overhaul. This article from Ars tells you what to expect and what to do to avoid the update if you so desire.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/07/03/update-to-windows-update-will-improve-scan-times

July's Patch Tuesday Fixes: Speaking of Windows Updates, here is the list of fixes coming in this month’s Windows Update.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/07/03/microsoft-patch-tuesday-for-july-2008-four-bulletins

Office Update Changes: And not to be outdone by it’s Microsoft Windows cousin Office has made some changes of their own. Read about the move to Cumulative and Emergency Hotfix releases.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/07/01/new-update-schedule-change-revealed-for-microsoft-office

Security Changes In IE8: Oh look. IE8 also has some security changes coming as well. I am starting to detect a pattern this week.

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/ie8_security.asp

10.5.3 Woes: It seems that the Jobbs Reality Distortion Field has waned a bit and the crushing weight of some miscues in this last refresh of the OS are taking hold. Check out this rant on the problems with OSX.

http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/leopard/index.html#d28jun2008

And this one is very ironic when you compare it to the critical mass on Vista.

http://www.fortheloveofgeeks.com/2008/06/28/apples-snow-leopard-whats-the-point/

Google On The Enterprise: Here’s one take on Goggle’s shortcomings from a former Microsoft employee who just left Google only to return to Microsoft. 

http://blogs.zdnet.com/SAAS/?p=545

XP And The Future: The Windows Super Site Blog has a good collection of the articles surrounding the last days of Windows XP public availability.

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/06/30/hasta-la-vista-windows-xp.aspx

LCD Screens Worse Than Cars?: This is an interesting article about the gases that come from the use and creation of LCD monitors versus the emissions from automobiles as it applies to the Greenhouse Effect.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/03/nitrogen_trifluoride_tv/

12,000 Laptops Lost In US Airports: Check out this survey on the staggering number of lost laptops throughout the US Airport system.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=158099&f_src=drdaily

Textbook Companies After Torrent Sharers At Colleges: This ought to make you happy to pay your Bookshare subscription. The Textbook Companies are going all out to stop file shares of their products. See the article below to know more.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080701-campus-copyright-battle-moves-to-textbook-torrents.html

Microsoft Equipt: I believe this was code named “Albany” last year. What is Equipt? Well it is a bundle of Windows Live OneCare, some Windows Live services and Office 2007 Home and Student Edition all in a single box. It also just so happens to be $70 a year. That’s right. A subscription based version of Office bundled with a Security Suite that you can run on three computers at once. Check the link to learn more.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080702-microsoft-equipt-a-software-bundle-costing-70-per-year.html

Quick News: Access World, Firefox And Macs

Access World: This issue focuses on CSUN, Electronic Audio and the Sense View’s Hand Writing camera accessory.

http://www.afb.org/aw/main.asp

Firefox 3 RC1: Ars has a look at what seems to be a great update to Mozilla’s Flagship product.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080519-atantalizing-taste-of-firefox-3-release-candidate-1.html

Apple: The world is a scary place when you can buy a Windows based computer with your Assistive Technology of choice for the same price as a Macbook. Fortune notes in the article below that Apple is selling 66% of the computers/notebooks in the +$1,000 category.

http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/05/19/report-apples-market-share-of-pcs-over-1000-hits-66/?source=yahoo_quote

Seeing What You Aren't Missing

If you check out the links on the "Fueling The Station" area to the right you will see that I have a semi theme going on for April. That seemed to carry over to this post. Because today I found interesting stories about visual stuff that doesn't really jive with the AT focus here, however, it is still something worth a read none the less.

Java: Next to Adobe's PDF one might say that heavy Java *Web 2.0* in browser apps are the true evils of the Internet. In a lot of cases Ad Servers and other Java applets are slowing down the web. Firefox and all of its extensions is one way of dealing with this issue. Some in the Apple Safari development camps may have also found a way to work around these problems as well. See the link below for more info.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080401-javascript-slows-down-the-internet-webkit-to-the-rescue.html

Mac: While most of us wouldn't be phased by a monitor displaying fewer colors.. you have to admit that if you paid a good chunk of money for a Mac for a sighted family member and your new Mac displayed 98% fewer colors than a previous model .. you might be just a little bit upset. You would not be alone either. The link below takes you to an article about a law suit that claims that the new 20 inch Mac monitors have this problem. The links on that page also detail a few other Apple suits as well.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/31/apple_hit_with_another_millions_of_colors_lawsuit.html

Copyrighting Colors?: I get some copyright defense. If Mike Rowe goes out and buys or markets the name Mikerowesoft then getting a call from the legal department in Redmond shouldn't be a shocking situation. However.. T-Mobile claiming that they have the copyright on the color Magenta? I'm not so sure. Learn more at the link below.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/31/deutsche-telekom-t-mobile-demands-engadget-mobile-discontinue/

Apple: Arrgh! Grudgingly Acknowledging Some OSX Admiration...

Some recent events have sadly knocked me off of my trusty old soapbox when it comes to Apple and the Blind and Visually Impaired. none of this info that I am about to impart to you should be taken as me ripping up my "Friends Don't Let Friends Use Macs" signs. Nor should you take it as my recommendation that you run right out and get a Mac Mini or Air or any other nonsense from the button hating so called Tech Mangod Jobbs. Also remember whenever anyone cries "Microsoft is a Monopoly!" and then puts on their iPod they should then, in my humble opinion, find themselves burned at the stake for being a hypocrite. Even with all of this on the table.. Let me now give Apple some credit for doing some things right.

iPhone: I don't like the thing. It is small, difficult to use effectively and it starts a dangerous trek down a slippery slope where access for all gets tossed out because "Aw. Its so pretty". However I can't ignore that this device has become a real and powerful tool for the Deaf community at large. Texting is now their main form of communication and the clarity of the screen for video ends up being a great aspect of the phone for those needs. And in some cases, as I found out a month ago, some Low Vision users can also benefit from the unit as well.

A gentleman I met had won an iPhone through his workplace. He was planning on selling the fancy thing through eBay or Craig's List when his wife suggested that he look at the phone first before giving it away. Now this guy is not a nOOb when it comes to phones. He was using a Blackberry, with a lot of problems of course, so he was skeptical that the iPhone would be any better for his work needs. He was surprised to find out that it was much better than the Crackberry. he said to me that the inclusion of the glass screen, instead of the normal plastic ones, made the image of the phone far brighter than anything else he had seen. Enlarging the icons, changing contrast and the colors on the larger glass screen really made a difference and he now swears by the phone for all of his work related duties.

I, now with a more open mind, did not find it to be helpful for me. but I am currently using a Q with a 30 day demo of Mobile Speak. Plus, for full transparency sake, to me magnifying such a small screen is always a process of diminishing returns. Voice output is, in a lot of cases, much faster than rubbing your nose on a phone. Again.. just me. Your mileage may vary and you might want to journey down to your local Apple Store for a demo if you are looking for a more visual experience with your phone.

Braille In 10.5: Another arena where I have to take my hat off to Cupertino is their new addition of Braille Display support in Leopard. We recently were playing with a new Macbook Pro when we got the bright idea to try this new feature out. We grabbed a Braille Connect 40 and patched it in via USB. To our amazement the Mac found the display and to use a well worn Apple phrase "it just worked". No balloons, boxes, downloads, prompts or restarts. We just plugged it in and "poof!" there was Braille.

With one experiment gone right we decided to tempt fate and try a totally different display in the same work session. We pulled a Freedom Scientific Focus 80 over to the unsuspecting Macbook. We hot swapped the USB connections. And again, to the silence of a stunned office, it worked again in the exact same manner as I described above. We didn't have time to see how accurate the support was and we used only the defaults set in Universal Access. But this impromptu experiment was enough to make all of us say that we would have to find ourselves looking more serious at the Apple systems in the future. When you figure that you can run Leopard with Windows XP and say Serotek's System Access all at the same time with Voiceover for the OSX side of things... well... I again have to give credit where credit is due.

As an appeasement to the Tech Mangod I now offer these links to be sacrificed to the millions. Oh please Great Jobbs do not smite me down with your minions of AT&T!

Braille support update from the Unofficial Apple Web Log

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/05/apple-updates-braille-support-in-leopard/

Page where you can see the Braille Displays supported in Leopard

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306815

The Screenless Switchers Page and Podcasts

http://www.screenlessswitchers.com/

The Mac Visionaries Page

http://www.macvisionaries.com/

Apple: Leopard Security, Leopard Impressions And Leopard Universal Access

This post goes out to an offline friend named Chris. He is one of the few Apple fans out there that isn’t a full on zealot to the “Cult of Apple”. Yes Virginia there are normals out there. So I’ll throw him a bone and post some interesting Leopard news.

Security in Leopard: Ars Technica takes a closer look at the new security features found in OSX 10.5.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/10/24/examining-the-security-improvements-in-leopard

Leopard Impressions: This article from Mac Rumors has been sitting on the Digg Top 10 long enough for me to read it.. so you know it is a slow day for me then.

http://www.macrumors.com/2007/10/23/mac-os-x-10-5-leopard-first-impressions/

17 Universal Access Features And More: Neat blog on AT for the Mac. And this article outlines other features in the recent Apple announcement that would also aid those of us who use Magnifier or Voiceover.

http://atmac.org/2007/10/20/leopard-17-universal-access-features-or-more/

OSX 10.5 Only Apps: So how do you deal with App Compatibility? Why you just ignore it of course. I swear I throw a Mighty One Button Mouse at the next Mac Zellet who cries Vista App Compat FUD. Grr..

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/01/02/list-of-leopard-only-apps-is-growing/

Why things look better when you squint: And we visually impaired people thought it just made us look cool.

http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/070102_squint.html

Office 2007 Review Intro from Windows Super Site: Paul has begun his heroic task to fully review Office 2007. As if he hadn't written enough on Vista. And as good as his reviews are they take some time to write and read. I expect by Easter he should be able to walk away from the keyboard. Then begins Vista Service Pack 1. Until then read his introduction to what I am sure will be a fantastic read over the next month.

http://winsupersite.com/reviews/office2007.asp