The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast

In this Tech Doctor episode, Allison and Robert talk with Deborah Kendrick about an extraordinary column that Deborah wrote for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper called
Old-school Braille needs image update

Deborah wrote the column after returning from the first ever Braille Summit where 100 braille experts gathered to discuss the future of braille.

Deborah, Allison and Robert explain how important braille is to them personally and professionally. While acknowledging the value and importance of talking devices and audio books, the podcasters conclude that audio-based technology is not a substitute or replacement for braille.

Given that braille is the only written language for people who are blind, it is most unfortunate that fewer blind people are learning braille today than ever before.

We believe that braille must once again become a critical component of every blind person’s education. Every student be they sighted or blind needs to be proficient in written language. We must help parents, teachers, rehabilitation professionals and even blind people realize that braille is the key to literacy for anyone who can’t see to read print.

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In this podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the frequently mentioned but rarely heard from man who ultimately won Allison’s heart.

Jeremy Hartley shares his extensive background working in technology and music.

Allison shares the story of out the couple met online. Both partners talk about how their relationship has evolved into the happy marriage that they now enjoy.

Thanks Allison and Jeremy for sharing your story. The courage to be honest, the willingness to be vulnerable and the power that comes from using technology to improve our lives is what the Tech Doctor podcast is all about.

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In this Tech Doctor episode, Robert and Allison talk with, Michael Manesh, the developer of
Instabrowser.
This iOS app very well may replace Safari as your favorite browser.

Michael designed Instabrowser to load pages extremely fast and to render text in a clean and simple format. It works much like the read it later Instapaper app but operates on webpages in realtime. The table of contents button instantly creates a list of the relevant articles on the page and one can immediately jump to the desired article.

It didn’t occur to Michael that VoiceOver users could benefit from Instabrowser. When I contacted him, however, he had Instabrowser working extremely well with VoiceOver just within a few days. Michael describes the process of making the app accessible and encourages all developers to make their apps work with VoiceOver.

Allison grabs her iPhone and demonstrates just how well Instabrowser works. You get to hear just how fast and efficient it is to locate and read articles with this browser.

One of the ways that Instabrowser achieves such speed and efficiency is that it doesn’t load java script. This means that some pages don’t work well with the mobilizer version of Instabrowser, in such cases, simply tap a toggle button and the webpage is fully loaded just as if you were working in Safari.

Instabrowser is an excellent alternative to Safari and the work that Michael has done to make it fully VoiceOver accessible is greatly appreciated. To learn more about Instabrowser,
Click Here.

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In this podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the prolific podcaster, Blogger, software support specialist and overall Apple enthusiast Kelly Guimont. This time, however, Kelly is here to tell us about a fabulous project called “App Camp For Girls.”

In this week long day camp, junior high school girls learn all about developing and marketing iOS apps. Their teachers are women who are employed in the technology industry. The girls learn by developing their own app that actually runs on an iPod Touch. At the end of the week, they pitch the app to a group of women investors. The girls learn teamwork by working together in groups of four. This is a wonderful opportunity to show girls what they can do.

To learn more about this project visit
App Camp For Girls

To read stories of successful app developers, visit the sister site
App Stories

Thanks Kelly for telling us about this amazing project.

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Allison and Robert spend this podcast describing their experiences with the new iOS app from the Sendero Group called
Seeing Eye GPS

Robert and Allison discuss the user interface, provide detailed descriptions of their experiences both walking and driving with the app. They discuss onboard versus server based maps, the appropriateness of a subscription based model and describe the importance of having a blind person take on the role and responsibility of becoming the navigator for a sighted driver.

We think this app is excellent and encourage every iPhone user to give it careful consideration.

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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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In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert speak with access technology specialist Chris Grabowski. Chris has recently launched a new access technology training and consultation business called
Mystic Access

The first product from Mystic Access is a comprehensive Sense Navigation GPS tutorial. Sense Navigation is the GPS software that runs on the Hims Braille Sense family of products.

Prior to starting Mystic Access, Chris worked for many years providing technical support for the Sendero Group which developed the Sense Navigation software for Hims. Chris’s years of experience and thorough understanding of what people need to know to get the most out of the Sense Navigation software is evident in the quality and content of the tutorial. We feel that this tutorial is essential for anyone who owns a Braille Sense and wants to make the most of the Sense Navigation GPS software.

The tutorial is available in mp3 audio format and can be purchased and downloaded from the
Mystic Access home page.

In addition to running the new business, Chris is a fellow podcaster. When you check out the
Mystic Access Podcast
be sure to listen to a recent episode where Chris provides a sample of the SenseNav tutorial. The podcast is available through iTunes or via your favorite podcast listening client. Simply do a search for “Mystic Access.”

In addition to contacting Chris through his website, you can follow
Chris On Twitter

Thanks Chris and best of luck with the new venture.

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