Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Bill Holton's May 2019 article, Voice Dream Scanner: A New Kind of OCR.
We don't get as much print rubbish as we used to, but it is pleasing now to promote a product that tries to fulfill a need without breaking the bank. I've been a supporter of this developer, in part because he is responsive when needed.
This app is worth the money, even with imperfect scans. With this developer's track record, I anticipate it will continue to improve sooner than later. It is superb!
Cheers,
Dave
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I Just read the April AccessWorld on my Echo Dot and it's not quite as good as reading using the app, but I love that it reads from the top to the bottom. I looked up the Alexa commands on NFB and, after reading almost the whole issue, made some changes to the voice and speed that will make it even better for future issues. I do plan to follow your suggestion to add AccessWorld to my Home screen on my iPhone so I can read when I am away from home, but I suspect that AW will be lunch time reading material at home from now on.
Neva Fairchild
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I'm writing in regarding two things. First off, the new AFB website is very nice. The layout makes it much easier to find things. When I tested it out with VoiceOver on my MacBook Air, I found some broken links. One of these was the link to the "Job Seeker's Tool Kit," which I have been wanting to get for a little while. But having said that, I really like the new website design thus far and will definitely do more on your new site as time permits.
I also want to comment on Getting the Job Done with Assistive Technology: It May Be Easier Than You Think by Jamie Pauls in the May issue of AccessWorld. I have used computers for a long time, with various pieces of assistive technology throughout the years. I am super-impressed at the progress that has been made. Currently, I'm using a mid-2013 MacBook Air on a daily basis. This has Apple's latest operating system. VoiceOver has worked great for me thus far, and it's so wonderful that Apple has fully integrated it and their other accessibility solutions right into their products. I never even thought I could use an iPhone, due to its flat-screen nature. But I got my first one last year, and it has indeed been a great addition to my life. I'm still learning things on it, but have started taking it with me wherever I go even if I choose pants that day that don't contain pockets! Thanks again for yet another great issue, and keep up the nice work.
Best regards,
Jake Joehl
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to J.J. Meddaugh's article, Audio Description in Theaters: Making Theaters More Accessible.
My name is Kim and I am completely blind. I have been a huge fan of audio description in theaters since I saw Star Wars: The Phantom Menace when it premiered in theaters. I love going to first-run feature films in my local theater and, even if I sometimes do get audio enhancement instead, the problem is usually easily corrected. I just wish some theaters wouldn't have one headphone set for audio description and another for audio enhancement, because it makes things kind of confusing. If there is an issue, however, the manager usually gives me free passes for another movie. As far as audio description on my iPhone, ActiveView is an excellent app that provides audio description for certain first-run feature films. All you have to do is select the movie you want to see, tap on "Audio Description," which will then download the track to your phone, and, when the film begins, use your AirPods, Apple earbuds, or any other Bluetooth headset to enjoy the movie. I can't believe Avengers: Endgame isn't available through this app, but it takes time to let studios know what's available! Happy movie watching.
Dear AccessWorld editor,
Deborah Kendrick’s article, An Interview with Michael Hingson, CEO of the DoMore Foundation in the May 2019 issue of AccessWorld was well worth reading. She offered information on his childhood and his journey to where he is now. In fact, I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Hingson in person when he came to speak to the students at FSDB (Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind). He was such an encouraging man with a kind spirit and a passionate heart for blind folks all around the world. I even met his former guide dog. Furthermore, being blind does not stop you from pursuing your future careers. In closing, he mentioned his experience at the World Trade Center with his former guide dog, Rosell, detailed in the book Thunder Dog. That touched my heart. Even before he came to speak, I read Thunder Dog on the school's Victor Reader Stream, which was given to me during my years at high school. I also listened to an audio clip of him speaking at a previous NFB convention. That book, in and of itself, is well worth reading, as it provides an overview of his life, what he learned as a blind individual, and what he had to do in order to survive the September 11th attack. Overall, nicely done, and I look forward to reading more articles on inspiring people like him. Thanks!
Juan Alicea
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This is Gary Olson from Powell, Wyoming. I am employed as an Outreach Consultant for the Visually Impaired by the Wyoming Department of Education. I want to say that I look forward to reading many of the articles in Access World each month, especially the product reviews. I just finished reading the pieces about Michael Hingson and Jeff Bishop, which I thoroughly enjoyed. A former colleague and I had the pleasure of meeting Michael at ATIA a few years ago and I have also read Thunder Dog.
Your staff does a great job! The articles are always well written and informative. I've used several of the products that have been reviewed and have found the reviews to be both fair and accurate representations of the products. The article on the Voice Dream Scanner app is one example. I love that app!
I look forward to more interesting articles in the future. I will be retiring in July after 25 years with the WDE. However, I will continue to keep up on new developments concerning assistive technology for the blind. This is something I, as a totally blind person, am passionate about!
Kindest regards,
Gary Olson
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I am very unhappy about the discontinuation of the AccessWorld app. It was so convenient to just open the app and read articles or even continue reading where I left off. Is there any possibility that you guys might bring the app back? I would open the app and there would be the latest issue of AW right there at my fingertips. Now with the website scenario, one has to open a browser on phone or PC, type in the URL or access history to go to the AFB-AW site. So guess what, I don’t read the articles as much as I did. If it wasn’t broke, why fix it? Having the app does not preclude you from having the site. Is it that you are wanting to collect analytics of who visits the AW site? Well, I don’t believe that I am that unique regarding my feelings on your discontinuing the app.
Signed
Very disappointed!
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Bill Holton's May 2019 article, Voice Dream Scanner: A New Kind of OCR.
This is a superb article. Bill really knows what he is doing; his writing is clear, concise, and easy to follow. Way to go folks.
Don
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
In a letter to the editor in the May addition of AccessWorld, Christine Pentland writes about her father’s frustration with the Jitterbug phone. Both Verizon and Sprint offer phones made by Kyocera that are fully accessible to people who are blind. They are flip phones. The keys are easy to feel. The built-in screen reader is called ReadOut. Either company can enable this feature when the phone is being set up. After that, the person who is blind can use all of the features on the phone. The synthetic speech leaves a lot to be desired, but the speech is intelligible. The phone has been a good solution for my elderly mom.
I really enjoy AW, especially the detailed product reviews.
Best wishes,
Lena Joy
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
Please keep up your great work on this magazine. All of you are doing a wonderful job for us. I especially enjoy the tech articles. Speaking of tech, I can no longer find an “entire issue” link to capture the entire magazine for reading on my ancient Victor. Is there a new trick I have to pull off to accomplish this now? Change is tough on us old geezers, you know. I thought the old site was just fine.
Sincerely,
Confused in K.C.
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Deborah Kendrick's article, A Review of the 6dot Label Maker from LoganTech: Potentially a Braille User's Dream.
I read your review of this labeler, and I think that out of all the reviews I’ve heard, or rather read, this is probably the most complete review I’ve seen. If I had the right one, I definitely don’t think I could’ve described it as well as you. And yes, the users guide is not entirely complete. For one thing, the company releases periodic firmware updates for this product, and there is into step-by-step guide on how to apply these updates. However, because of the issues mentioned in your review, that’s one reason that I immediately fell for this thing. I work at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a proofreader at the printing house at the Cincinnati facility. Anyways, a couple of years ago, a couple of representatives came by with one of these to do a live demonstration. When I saw how easy it was to use, and how quickly it can produce labels, I fell head-over-heels for this thing, and when an opportunity came to buy one, I immediately seized it. As for those other caveats you mentioned, though, I have one more. This labeler can also jam, and the only way to fix it is to send it back to them. However, because this product is still fairly new, the company still fixes them for free, regardless of whether or not they are within the warranty period. And another nice thing is that the turnaround time is fairly quick. That having been said, I really do think that with further refinements, this product really could be a braille user's dream!
Ryan Miller
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in reference to Bill Holton's April 2019 article, AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility.
I’ve never found it difficult to use YouTube with JAWS. You forgot to mention the comments section of each video. While JAWS is a little sluggish when you first start writing a comment, it will adapt quite quickly. Of course being totally blind you don’t get any visuals while listening to a video but there is enough out there to keep one clicking for hours. I have even learned to use Microsoft Access from a YouTube course.
George N.
