The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast

In this Tech Doctor Podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the developer of a feature-rich highly responsive iOS app called
“MBraille.”

Harri Pasanen has 30 years of software development experience His knowledge and expertise has enabled him to develop a very sophisticated and powerful touch screen braille app in only six months. It is clear that Harri does his homework and he knows how to write code that really works well.

Some of MBraille’s advanced features include: grade two translation, intuitive editing and review capabilities, and command line dot commands which allow one to text, tweet, email, Facebook and search google from within the app. This means that writing text and getting it out to the world has never been easier in a touch screen braille app.

Robert and Allison are very excited about MBraille and can’t wait to see what Harri does next to enhance this software even further.

In addition to Mbraille, Harri has written an accessible game, an accessible timer and an accessible calculator. These apps are available in the iOS app store. You can get more information about them and all of Harri’s work by going to his
Website

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Robert and Allison begin this podcast by demonstrating how one can use the Mac running VoiceOver and Safari to play audio and video from a webpage. Websites that use an embedded HTML5 audio or video player are fully accessible with VoiceOver. We highlight some basic VoiceOver concepts and commands along the way. In addition, we show you how to download a currently playing podcast.

Next–with the developer’s permission–we demonstrate an app for the Mac that is at the time of this recording in beta and not yet available. The app is “Downcast.” It is the Mac counterpart to the fabulous
Downcast
podcast listening app that is currently available for iOS.

Even at this stage of development, we are able to demonstrate excellent VoiceOver accessibility. We are very excited about being able to share podcast listening between our Mac and iOS devices.

We do not know when the app will be available but are certain that it will be worth the wait. Thanks Seth and George for giving us permission to sneak preview Downcast for the Mac. We are so excited.

Finally, Robert and Allison encourage everyone to get some experience with the Mac to determine whether or not it is the right computer for you. While we love the Mac, you need to try it long enough to really see how it feels to you. We encourage you to visit a friend who has a Mac or take some time to work with one in an Apple Store.

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In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert share their excitement about all that was announced at the 2013 WWDC keynote event.

Robert And Allison discuss some of the new features that will be available in OSX Mavericks when it is released this fall.

They describe the new hardware that was announced. This includes a refresh of the MacBook Air laptops, new airport extreme and a totally redesigned Mac Pro.

Finally, they turn their attention to what will be coming in iOS 7. This is a redesign of iOS that is both different and familiar at the same time.

The keynote can be streamed or downloaded as a podcast directly from
Apple’s Web Site
Robert would like to give a special thanks to David Woodbridge who published the notes that he took while watching the keynote at 3:00 A.M. in Australia. The notes were a big help when organizing and preparing this podcast. Be sure to keep up with David by reading his
Blog.

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In this Tech Doctor podcast, Robert and Allison speak with Larry Lewis. We begin with Larry telling us about his background in access technology and how he has gotten to the point where he now owns a company called
Flying Blind, LLC

One important aspect of Larry’s business is helping teachers and parents work with their blind and low-vision children to make the best use of current technology. Larry describes some of the ways that the access technology landscape is changing. He discusses the importance of Apple Accessibility and what it has meant for the direction of his business.

Larry has recently published a new book entitled: “iOS Success: Making the iPad Accessible: A Guide for Teachers and Parents.” The book came about because school systems and parents are providing low-vision and blind children with iPads and need to quickly get up to speed and learn what iOS accessibility is all about.

The book provides parents and teachers with the foundation that they need to quickly begin making use of the accessible iPad. Robert suggests that teachers and parents might want to use Larry’s book in combination with
Take Control of Your iPad
This book covers all important aspects of using the iPad but is not written with accessibility in mind.

Larry’s book is available in multiple formats from
National Braille Press

Finally, we discuss the
AfterShokz Bluez
headphones, the
Bose AE2w
Bluetooth headphones and Tim Cook’s excellent question and answer session at
The All Things Digital Conference

We hope you enjoy this interesting and informative podcast.

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