[NFBV-Historic-Fredericksburg] Crier May 28

Thu May 28 18:29:40 UTC 2020

HISTORIC FREDERICKSBURG CRIER May 28th

Bon Jour – I hope this Crier finds you and yours well. Thevirus has caused much sorrow for many families and if that includes yours, I amvery sorry. In addition to the emotional losses, many have lost financially dueto job disruption. I fervantly hope and pray the worst is over and better timesare just ahead.

     Sue and I arefortunate that between our pensions and Social Security we have a stableincome. While the income is stable, there are some health concerns that havetaken up much of our time the last two months. I learned that I had a leakyheart valve when I took a football physical at the age of 14. The how and why,who knows. It has been leaking for 60 years but several hospital visits andtests in April and May indicate it is time to address the problem. It has keptus busy and I have not sent out many Criers. Today’s Crier will refer toseveral valuable bits of information in Blind Abilities that I hope you haveseen. I have not tried them all yet but I think I see a great value for thevisually impaired. I hope you enjoy.

     Before I talkabout the Blind Abilities, I first want to mention some I-phone news. If youhave an older I-phone or have not gotten a smartphone, check out the I-phone SEthat has come out recently. The I-phone 11 is pretty pricey for many. The newis less than $500 and is now on sale at Best Buy for $349. I think gettingextra memory is also very reasonable. Apple builds in accessibility and thelearning curve is smooth. The APPS you can get, many for free, can really aidyou in your daily life. I am still paying off my 11 or I would be pounding onBest Buy’s door. I hope this bit of news is useful.

     The first BlindAbilities I want to talk about is the latest, it just dropped. In this episode,the gang talk to a young woman who created her job at Google and now leads theaccessability group there. I should mention that I do little with Google stuffand therefore I  am  ignorant of many of there products. Lastspring when the NFB sent out there materials for convention it was Googleformat and I wondered who would use that. I guess that just showed myignorance.

      As you listen tothe podcast or go to the website, you will hear about a new APP for yourtoolbox of daily aids. It is called Look Out and it is for Android  and it sounds like Microsoft Seeing AI forI-phone with some extras.

Believe in Yourself. Jyotsna Kaki , Google’s Accessibility Testing Program Manager, joins theThat Blind tech Show team in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about Googleand accessibility.

     Go to the linkbelow or go to BlindAbilities.com. There is another podcast below that hasanother APP that will sync up with movies and give you Audio Description evenif the TV provider does not.

Go to  https://blindabilities.com/?p=5914

    That Blind TechShow: Don’t Blame It On The Dog. In this show the gang have their usual banterbut most importantly they talk about streaming and the new APP from Spectrum.The APP is free in the APP store and is called Spectrum Access. You do not haveto be a Spectrum customer to use it. I have downloaded it but not used it yet.As I understand it, you open the APP and choose one of the hundreds of movieslisted that you are about to watch. You activate the APP and when the movie youstart to watch it will sync with the movie and you will have Audio Descriptionthrough your phone and no one else needs to hear it. This is great for when thechannel the movie is on a channel that does not broadcast  Audio Description. Sounds great.

Go to: https://blindabilities.com/?p=5911

     I hope I havegiven you some things to think about while hold up in the house. I hope in thenot too distant future we can sit around in a room and discuss and interactfreely. Till then be safe.

Dick

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