The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast

In this episode of The Tech Doctor podcast, Robert visits with Anna Dresner.

Anna is the author of numerous books and publications. Many are technology related and are available through The National Braille Press.

Anna is currently employed as a technical support specialist for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Robert and Anna discuss the new line of iPods from Apple. They discuss and demonstrate some of the highlights of iOS4.1 with an emphasis on the new accessibility features.

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In this Tech Doctor podcast, Robert Carter shares a presentation that he made to the Blind Information Technology Specialist (BITS) organization during the

American Council of the Blind’s

national convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

Robert explores the accessibility of products made by Apple. He expresses appreciation to some of the pioneers who developed hardware and software to make the Apple II computer accessible in the 1980’s.

Robert then demonstrates and describes how Apple has made its current product line accessible to people who are visually impaired. He explores the accessibility of the Apple Macintosh,  the iPod, iPhone and the iPad.

The podcast includes a humorous song, some samples of speech synthesizers and a brief audio clip where Steve Jobs talks about Apple’s commitment to universal access.

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In this podcast, the Tech Doctors continue their Windows 7 and Mac OS X comparison series.

Jenny boots Windows 7 with no screen reader loaded and demonstrates what it is like to work with the built-in Microsoft screen reader called Narrator.

Robert powers up the Mac and explores getting started with VoiceOver.

Throughout the remainder of the podcast, Jenny uses a third party screen reader called JAWS. The Tech Doctors tradeoff exploring the desktops and file management options of the two operating systems.

Finally, Jenny and Robert discuss maintenance and backup. Robert talks about two pieces of third party software for the Mac called Cocktail and SuperDuper. Jenny mentions Microsoft Security Essentials which is free antivirus software for Windows 7.

Stay tuned for part three of this series when the Tech Doctors show what it is like to work with email, browse the web and use other popular applications in both operating systems.

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In this third episode, the Tech Doctors begin a series of podcasts where they will do a head to head comparison of Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

Robert begins by thanking folks who have emailed us. He discusses a few of the other podcasters who have been kind enough to mention us on their shows.

Check out Michael Lauf and Ricky Inger who do an excellent podcast for Serotek

Next Robert and Jenny thank Allison Sheridan of the most informative and entertaining NOSILLA Cast for her kindness and awesome support.

Robert thanks Erin and Rodney Edgar for mentioning us on their Tech Access Weekly podcast.

Finally, Robert expresses appreciation to Jamie Pauls, host of Main Menu, a weekly technology broadcast on ACB Radio for rebroadcasting the second Tech Doctor podcast.

We next explain what an operating system is and we explore the different flavors of Windows 7 and the one flavor of Mac OS X.

We then describe how Windows is copy protected and Mac OS X is not. We compare the cost of Windows computers and Apple computers. We talk about how sellers of Windows machines bring the cost down by installing trial software.

We then discuss the installation and setup of the two operating systems. While both include built-in screen readers, we look at the fact that VoiceOver on the  Mac can offer speech feedback during installation and the Windows Narrator screen reader cannot.

Next we discuss the additional cost of purchasing a Windows screen reader versus the no cost screen reader that is built-in on the Mac.

Finally, we talked about some advantages of running Windows. Software like the System Access Mobile Network and the Fire Fox browser are not accessible on the Mac.

Stay tuned for part two of the series where we will fire up our screen readers and dig in to the details of accessing both operating systems.

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In this podcast, the Tech Doctors take their
Apple iPad
and
Apple iPhone
in to the Tech Doctor operating room and examine them side by side.

Jenny and Robert approach the two devices from the perspective of VoiceOver users. They demo several apps and speculate about whether or not the larger iPad’s screen offers a significant advantage for people who are blind.

Thank you for all of your feedback about our previous podcast.

We want to hear from you. Our email address is
techdoctor123@gmail.com

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In this first podcast, the Tech Doctors–Robert and Jenny–introduce themselves and examine two fully accessible state-of-the-art digital players/recorders.

The
PlexTalk Pocket
and
Book Port Plus
share identical hardware. Through discussion and demonstration, the Tech Doctors explore important differences in the user interfaces.

Just below this post, there are two links for listening to the podcast. The first link will open up a new window and play the podcast immediately. The second link allows one to download the podcast to the computer.

To have the Tech Doctor Podcast automatically download whenever a new episode is available, paste the following line in to your favorite podcatcher.
http://dr-carter.com/?feed=podcast

Thanks for visiting the Tech Dr. Blog and Podcast where learning is all in your head.

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