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.

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 7

le heck of a lot on the SeroTalk Weekly podcasts. So I will just say that I still believe the ones who will have more mainstream acceptance of any autonomous vehicles is Google. The year saw Google get permission from Nevada to allow the Google car on the streets for testing, the unit has performed extremely well and the only wreck in a Google Car has been when a human was driving which says a lot. While I think the number seven story from the panel serves as a neat accomplishment, in the end, if we are ever to have a “Knight Industries Two Thousand” or “K.I.T.T., it will have to come from someone like Google and it will not allow anyone, not just the Blind, manual control. Plus, as my friend Jeff Bishop pointed out to me on Twitter, can you even imagine the insurance rates on a car like the one described in the link below to the panel’s seventh story?

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6446

It is back to the focus on mobiles for what I voted as my seventh story…

Nokia Partners with Code Factory for Free Screen Reader
The return of the licensed technology model made a comeback in 2011. Moreover, this story also shows the power for having accessibility on board as demonstrated by Google’s Talkback for Android and Apple’s VoiceOver. To remain a viable choice for Education or Government purchase, there must be access. And we now have journeyed from an expectation to a demand for it in the realm of mobile devices. But before you say “whatever, that’s a dying platform anyway” please realize that Symbian is a very large platform still in the EU and other countries outside the US. This deal allows those who rely on those phones to continue to have access until the next big thing migrates their way.

My Top Ten Of 2011: Number 7

le heck of a lot on the SeroTalk Weekly podcasts. So I will just say that I still believe the ones who will have more mainstream acceptance of any autonomous vehicles is Google. The year saw Google get permission from Nevada to allow the Google car on the streets for testing, the unit has performed extremely well and the only wreck in a Google Car has been when a human was driving which says a lot. While I think the number seven story from the panel serves as a neat accomplishment, in the end, if we are ever to have a “Knight Industries Two Thousand” or “K.I.T.T., it will have to come from someone like Google and it will not allow anyone, not just the Blind, manual control. Plus, as my friend Jeff Bishop pointed out to me on Twitter, can you even imagine the insurance rates on a car like the one described in the link below to the panel’s seventh story?

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6446

It is back to the focus on mobiles for what I voted as my seventh story…

Nokia Partners with Code Factory for Free Screen Reader
The return of the licensed technology model made a comeback in 2011. Moreover, this story also shows the power for having accessibility on board as demonstrated by Google’s Talkback for Android and Apple’s VoiceOver. To remain a viable choice for Education or Government purchase, there must be access. And we now have journeyed from an expectation to a demand for it in the realm of mobile devices. But before you say “whatever, that’s a dying platform anyway” please realize that Symbian is a very large platform still in the EU and other countries outside the US. This deal allows those who rely on those phones to continue to have access until the next big thing migrates their way.

My Top Ten Of 2011: Number 8

I’d be super silly not to agree with the panel’s choice for the number eight story. After all, I do co-host a podcast on Google Android accessibility with That Android Sho. Er, available from www.thatandroidshow.com and you can follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/thatandroidshow if you want to know more. But, plug over, here is the link to the number eight story.

http://blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=6434

My number eight story is my version of the pannel’s selection for number nine. I look at it from another side of the coin. A one dollar coin if you will.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing Launches EyeNote App to Help the Blind and Low vision
App Developers, especially on the Android platform, must wrestle the monster of being a better app that costs someone money over the option of a free alternative. Look Tell, who burst onto the scene with some labeling it as one of those “must have” apps, ran headlong into this when the release of a free competing money reader app hit the iOS App Store earlier this year. To their credit, Look tell has expanded on to reading the currencies of other countries, however, this does again show that you cannot always rely on the creed of “One app, one task, 99 cents”. To hold onto users you must either invest in a suite of like-minded apps, thereby driving up the price, or you stay with the creed at your own peril.

Feedback: Apple, Apple And Apples

One of the nice things about my new job is that it allows me to talk more on TRS about a wide array of subjects. Of course, knowing me the way you all do now, I have to get some older topics out of the way first. However, the cool thing is that I’ve got some dynamite comments to reflect back on this time around.

I actually do love the rant in this comment, from the last look back at 2009 post, below. john has posted in comments before, but this one is a bit more topical with a recent podcast I completed on the subject covered by john.

John J Herzog said...

Hi ranger. As always, you've written a thought provoking blog post. What caught my attention was the part about an actual monopoly as opposed to a perceived monopoly.
First, I want to acknowledge your point. Apple's voiceover is in deed the only game in town for the IPhone, IPad, and IPod. If you don't like it, you'd best be looking for a different device. However, I think there is a critical reason why most users, myself included, don't mind the VO monopoly, but do hold a grudge against other screen readers we perceive as monopolistic. . Put simply and bluntly, voiceover works, and works well. It is my experience that the competition does not. As an example, I had talks 4, and updated to talks 5 on my nokia phone. I still cannot use it with the internet, because I keep getting an error that says scrypt alert, undefined value. When doing a read all, it crashes the internet, and I must manually retype the address again to go back to the page. Sometimes talks does this, and sometimes it doesn't.
But it's not just talks, it's mobile speak as well. Neither screen reader supports nokia maps for effective GPS use. Want a compass app? Forget it. Compass pro, though highly recommended by nokia users doesn't work with either product even when phones can support the program. Want a shoutcast and internet radio playing app? Muahahahaha foolish mortal! LCG jukebox, again a major selling app on cymbian doesn't speak a single iota with mobile speak or talks. Yet, these products market to us like they have so much more functionality than the previous version because they implemented a half baked touch interface, or added more keystrokes to the internet.
Now, you could make the argument that I am being too hard on the screen reader developers. After all, they are just a few people, and it's immensely challenging to keep up with an entire platform that moves on without consulting you. I agree with this, but to me, it feels like they're not even trying. Where, on either screen reader web site, do you find a list of evolving support for third party applications? Code factory has a list, but it has long since stagnated.
Where, on either screen reader's web site, do you find tips and how tos of making difficult apps more compatible by changing settings? I don't see any.
I know this has turned into ranting, which is not the aim of the blog post. But, in my mind, this is the most obvious reason why I glare angrily at other screen reader companies, and readily accept voiceover, flaws and all. I know that mobile speak and talks have creative people behind them, but to me, the creativity just doesn't show through when compared to all the functionality of apple's device.
Is it a mistake? I don't know. But until something dramatic happens, I don't see my attitude changing any time soon.

oh John, I don’t disagree at all. I’m really worried about the lack of access in Windows Phone 7, the loss of other platforms by other players and just where does all that leave Mobile Speak and Talks anyway? Google fragmentation almost pales by the comparison. it too is a major concern for mobile phone access.

We cover a lot of those ideas, and more, in Tech Chat 66. in this podcast, I do a bit of explaining about my position on the way I feel on these matters. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

http://serotalk.com/2010/07/30/tech-chat-66-is-the-iphone-4-worth-the-upgrade/

This next comment comes from my April post on iPad first impressions.

Pete said...

I really do agree with your comments about Magnification. This is I really ran into problems. not swiping so much, as I'm used to doing that with the trackpad, but in text composition. I couldn't get the magnification set right to see both the onscreen keyboard *and* the text I was trying to type. I don't really need the keyboard magnified. It's plenty big enough for me to see. It's the *text* I couldn't see. But if this all will make me a better voiceover user, than hey I'm there! Speaking of, do you think practicing with trackpad commander on the Mac is more like VO on the ipad? or is it more just moving around the screen with the cursor, or a bit of both? One comment about where this fits in though, It really can also function as an ipod, and because of the big screen, a really good one for the low vision user. I'm also recommending this as a beginner computer with a mac paradigm for those who're really not ready to take the "big" leap.

This is where having years of Screen Magnifier use bites me where it hurts when it comes to using Voiceover and Magnification. I’m used to the way that Windows, Magic and Zoomtext approach focus navigation. In fact, panning features in Lunar have spoilled me as well. I just can’t wrap my head around the way that Apple wants me to use these things at times. And I find myself often going completly over to Voiceover fully. Mostly because of the focus issues mentioned above. It is super hard to describe, however, it something I advise Low Vision users go into an Apple store and experience for themselves. Especially if you are a high magnification level user. It can be frustrating until you round off the rough edges of iOS and OSX.

Or, I’d also suggest that readers take a look at how Voiceover handles text in Groups and DOM modes. This is way different than the way Windows Screen Magnifiers can read text. I’d even go so far as to say it is a must for those who use focus enhancements for the reading of controls, lines of text or menus. Plus, be careful what you check under Universal Access as to where the viewable area will jump to in pointer navigation. Threw myself badly in Leopard a few years ago by checking a few boxes I shouldn’t have in the choices offered. If was like eating three chilidogs and riding the Feris Wheel that turns you upside down while it takes you up and down at the same time. Thank goodeness for the “restore to defaults” option!