While programs such as Medicaid and SSI (Supplemental Security Income) enable millions of people with disabilities to live independently, such programs have traditionally prevented recipients from establishing savings accounts. Any amount over $2,000 in excess cash could mean the end of SSI or Medicaid benefits.

When the Achieving Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act was passed in 2014, people with disabilities could, for the first time, build savings without jeopardizing other benefits. Account holders can contribute up to $15,000 per year to an ABLE account, pay no taxes on the money, lose no benefits and, best of all, use the money whenever needed for purposes identified as related to disability. There is no penalty for withdrawing money from an ABLE account to be spent on housing, food, medical expenses, transportation, technology, or any other need associated with the account holder's disability.

A growing number of states (39 of 50 at this writing, with California scheduled to launch as the 40^th state on December 11) have established ABLE account programs. Many states allow qualified residents from anywhere in the United States to participate. Ohio and Virginia, for example, invite participants from any state, while Florida's program is open to residents of that state only. If your own state has not yet established an ABLE account program, in other words, and you meet the qualification guidelines, you can establish an account in any state that welcomes outside participation.

ABLE Account Eligibility

Anyone who was born with a disability or acquired a disability before the age of 26 is eligible to establish an ABLE account. Your ABLE account will not impact your SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, or other benefits. While it is not necessary to be receiving such benefits as SSI or SSDI to establish an ABLE account, being a recipient of such benefits provides automatic qualification for enrollment. If your onset of disability occurred before age 26 and you are not already receiving SSI, SSDI, or Medicaid, a physician's letter certifying disability will suffice for proof of eligibility. While enrollment in the ABLE program can be done for a beneficiary of any age, disability onset must have occurred prior to age 26.

Contributions to an ABLE account can be made by anyone, but total annual contributions may not exceed $15,000. Parents of a person with a disability, for example, can open an account for their child and invite friends and family to contribute to the account on birthdays or graduations. Qualified individuals of any age can open an ABLE account for themselves and be the sole contributors. If an account reaches $100,000 and the beneficiary is receiving Medicaid, Medicaid will not be interrupted. However, at the $100,000 point, SSA benefits will be suspended (not discontinued) until the account falls below that $100,000 threshold again. At any time, spending the savings in an ABLE account for purposes that do not qualify as disability-related expenses can be taxed and/or incur a penalty. The range of qualifying expenses, however, is so generous that incurring such penalties would be somewhat difficult to do.

Employment and ABLE Accounts

As tax-advantaged savings accounts, ABLE accounts are not just for people who are in school or have not yet found employment. Some ABLE account holders use the accounts to save for graduate school, specific technology, a home, or a modified vehicle. Some, however, are people who are employed, usually self-employed, and are using the ABLE account savings option as a kind of retirement account.

If you are blind or low vision and do not have a 401K, you can establish an ABLE account for retirement savings. If you find at some point that you need the funds in that account, for a new braille display or emergency medical expenses, for instance, you can access the money without penalty. Another advantage for ABLE account holders who are employed is the option to contribute an additional $12,000 annually (over the already allowed $15,000) as a work contribution.

Online Accessibility

To keep maintenance costs low, most business conducted with ABLE accounts is done online. Each state with an ABLE program has its own online presence.

I visited two of these sites, Virginia and Ohio, and found both to be relatively easy to navigate using JAWS 2018. You will need to supply your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. If you plan to make contributions from a bank account, you will need the account number and the bank's routing number. (The routing number is a nine-digit number that appears on checks associated with the account. Alternatively, a simple phone call to your bank can get you the routing number.) You will be asked to check wither or not you have a disability that occurred before age 26, and whether or not you are receiving Social Security benefits. If you are receiving benefits, that fact serves as your certification of eligibility. You will be asked a series of questions to indicate your disability and, if you did not check that you are receiving benefits, you will need to supply the name and address of a physician to certify your disability. It's a pretty straightforward process, and completely accessible. Approval takes only a day or two.

Your initial contribution needs to be at least $50. You can set up automatic contributions (to have a certain dollar amount taken from your bank account each month) or simply make one-time contributions when you choose. Anyone can contribute to an ABLE account for a single beneficiary.

ABLE accounts are investment accounts. You are given options for the level of risk you wish to take with investing your money. Bank Safe, while earning the smallest amount of return, is the only level that is FDIC insured. Otherwise, conservative, moderate, and aggressive levels are identified for investing. You can assign specific percentages of your money for each type of investing or assign all of it to one level. You can rebalance (reassign your investment levels) up to twice a year.

When looking at rebalancing options and/or transaction history, I did run into an accessibility roadblock. Each time, however, I called the toll-free customer service number and was given appropriate information to navigate successfully.

Further Information

An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged savings option for any person with a qualifying disability. As of this writing, more than 25,000 Americans with disabilities, many of them employed, have established ABLE accounts, totaling $120 million in assets. If it turns out that you need money from the account for qualifying expenses, you can withdraw without paying taxes or penalties. You can contribute up to $15,000 annually, an additional $12,000 if employed, and you can choose to invest your money with or without risk. You can enroll in your own state or any one of several other states that invite enrollees nationwide.

For additional information, the ABLE National Resource Center, managed by the National Disability Institute, provides a list of states offering ABLE programs and a comparison tool for selecting a plan. Visit the ABLE National Resource Center online or call 202-683-6094.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

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Do you have an older, outdated version of JAWS or ZoomText you neglected, or found difficult to afford, to upgrade through the years? Or perhaps you'd like to use the Freedom Scientific screen reader or magnifier, but find the initial price difficult to afford and you are not currently agency sponsored? The company, now called Vispero, has begun offering a new way to obtain the home versions of JAWS and ZoomText—via yearly subscriptions.

The Freedom Scientific Annual License works the same as an Office 365 subscription. You can install MS Office on several different computers, and use it for a full year; afterwhich you must renew your license. During the license period, you will receive all upgrades and new versions of Office. You can still purchase the latest version of Office, but you are not eligible for version upgrades—you need to purchase a new copy for each version.

JAWS and ZoomText offer Software maintenance Agreements (SMAs) which entitle you to receive all version updates for two years, and if you own a recent copy of JAWS or ZoomText, purchasing an SMA is still likely the best way to go. However, if you haven't kept your screen access software up to date, you may wish to consider a JAWS or ZoomText annual license, because, in effect, you are starting over with a fresh, new copy of the latest software versions.

(Note: currently, JAWS and ZoomText Annual Licenses are only available in the United States.)

Here's how to purchase a JAWS or ZoomText yearly license:

1. Visit the Freedom Scientific eStore.
2. Choose your desired product: JAWS Annual License or ZoomText Annual License.
3. Select your license period: one, three, or five years.
4. Add your desired license to your shopping cart and complete the purchase.
5. You will receive an e-mail from the Freedom Scientific Software Licensing Team containing your product serial number and a link with instructions to guide you through downloading, installing, and activating your new license and software. Select the "Register and activate your software here" link.
6. Sign in or register as a new user by entering the same e-mail address you used to purchase your license, then complete the remaining fields, and create and confirm a password.
7. Press the Register button. Then, return to your inbox and select the link in your verification e-mail.
8. Selecting this link will return you to the Freedom Scientific Licensing Portal. Sign into your account and press the Activate This Computer button.

A special activation file will be downloaded to your computer.

When the download completes, open your downloads folder. The activation file will begin with your name.

1. Press Enter on this file and you will be guided through the installation process for your licensed Freedom Scientific product.
2. Follow the prompt to restart your computer.
3. You are finished. Your licensed Freedom Scientific software is now installed and running.

You can install your new software on up to three computers. If you swap out a computer or need to use a friend or relative's computer you can use the license portal to deactivate one of your three installations and authorize another.

Pricing

JAWS Annual License is $90 for one year, $270 for three years, and $450 for five years.

ZoomText with Speech license is $80 for one year $240 for three years, and $400 for five years.

As a bonus, the end date for all licenses purchased on or before January 31, 2019 will be extended until the end of January, 2020.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

Comment on this article.

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Last month featured our annual holiday gift guide. Recognizing that AccessWorld readers, just like the rest of the population, are sometimes serious procrastinators, I wondered if I could pull together a list of attractive recommendations for the last minute shoppers among us. Gifts, after all, are not necessarily limited to physical, brightly wrapped packages. There are plenty of wonderful gifts that might sail through cyberspace or from just one heart to another.

The following are the results of some brainstorming and exploration. There may be something here for that friend or loved one who is so difficult to please or who was inadvertently left off a gift list… or even for yourself!

Magazine Subscriptions

One of the most memorable gifts of my childhood was when a friend's parent signed me up for a subscription to a braille magazine for preteen girls. Every month, through the mail, that gift brought pleasure again and again. If your gift recipient is a patron of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), you might consider signing them up for one of the dozens of braille and audio magazines available free of charge through that service. The collection features magazines to appeal to every age and reading taste, including such popular favorites as People, The New Yorker, Good Housekeeping or Humpty-Dumpty (audio) or PC World, Parenting, Playboy or Spider (braille), and many others for both kids and adults. If your friend or loved one is a new braille reader and interested in news and current events, a fabulous weekly braille publication is Syndicated Columnists Weekly available from National Braille Press for $24 for one year or $45 for two years.

Other Subscriptions

There are, of course, subscriptions that bring other kinds of entertainment.

If you are already an Amazon Prime member, you know firsthand the many benefits that particular subscription brings. If not, it is definitely something worth considering for yourself or a friend.

For $119 annually or $12.99 per month, an Amazon Prime membership delivers a host of benefits including free two-day shipping anywhere in the contiguous United States, over two million musical tracks, and Amazon Prime video. For entertainment value, the Prime Video component alone may make this subscription worthwhile for a blind or low vision person. A streaming video service (some shows can also be downloaded), Amazon Prime is a treasure trove of TV shows and movies, many of which feature audio description, which can be viewed on your smart phone or tablet as well as your computer or TV. If you heard about that Emmy-winning series, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," for example, it's all right there on Amazon, free to Prime members, and includes great audio description. Other popular series are "Bosch," (based on the Michael Connelly thrillers), "Man in the High Castle," and "Downton Abbey."

Additional benefits of the Prime membership include two-hour Whole Foods delivery in Austin, Virginia Beach, Dallas, and Cincinnati, and same day delivery of many pantry items in a variety of cities.

To give an annual or three-month Prime gift membership, you can visit this page. From there, you can add a Prime gift to your cart, enter the recipient's email address, and place your order. The recipient's email address doesn't need to be associated with Amazon.com. The gift will begin on the day your recipient redeems the membership. If you're ordering the Prime gift for yourself, you'll need to end your existing membership before redeeming the gift membership.

Pick of the Litter

If you have ever wanted an entertaining way to educate others about blindness or guide dog travel, this independent film turned blockbuster is perfect! "Pick of the Litter" is a small documentary about one litter of five puppies, born on the San Rafael, California, campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind. With humor, honesty, and moments that will have you scrambling for the tissues, audiences follow the paths of these five puppies to find out which one or ones will make the cut to be an actual graduating Guide Dog. After making the circuit of small film festivals, the movie was released into 24 major markets in late August, and is finally available for purchase on DVD. You can stream it from iTunes or Amazon or, better still, buy the DVD to give as a gift. Price is $19.89. Buy from Amazon Smile and indicate Guide Dogs for the Blind as your designated Amazon Smile charity, and a percentage of the proceeds will go to the school.

Speaking of Charities

Another thoughtful gift for anyone on your list is to donate to a favorite charity on behalf of that person. You don't have to look very far for worthy options.

Try your favorite guide dog school, school for the blind, blindness organization, or regional library for the blind. If you like the idea of narrowing your focus to a more specific purpose, one that has caught my attention recently is an initiative delivering canes to blind people in countries where cost puts such essential tools out of reach.

James Boehm, a Peabody College of Vanderbilt University graduate student in human development Clinical Mental?Health Counseling, is involved with such a project. He and his wife Wendy will be delivering 100 canes and solar-powered talking Bibles to blind people in Kenya next March. To contribute on your own behalf or on behalf of another, contact James Boehm. His endeavor is affiliated with Global Cane, a 501C3 organization.

Shared Experience

Most of us have known the dismay of not having enough time to spend with people we love. To fill that void, try giving a gift of experience. Buy tickets to a movie, play, concert, sports event, or special festival, and email or deliver them to the gift recipient with a note to put your the event on their calendar. If one or both of you aren't fond of being in crowds, make a similar date to watch a movie or play a game in one home or the other as a treat. Round it out with a commitment to order from your favorite UberEats venue to enjoy a meal together as well.

No cash? No worries. Chances are you have a skill or talent that could benefit someone who doesn't share that ability. If cooking is your thing, make a commitment to cook your recipient's favorite meal. Other gifts of time might include watching someone's kids, cleaning a house, building a bookcase, or organizing a pantry.

And, to bring it back to technology, how about a gift certificate promising to teach your favorite non-techie how to send tweets, browse Facebook, or shop online?

It's been a rough year in many parts of the country and the world. Whether you have money to spend or time to shop is not nearly so relevant as whether or not you can distribute a bit of kindness in the direction of others.

Whatever you celebrate have a wonderful holiday season.

AccessWorld is our gift to you!

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

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iOS apps from Amazon and Target have been designed to simplify the holiday shopping process. Both retailers stock so many items you may find exactly what you want without having to visit a lot of stores either online or in person. Both Amazon and Target started giving holiday deals and shipping discounts way ahead of Black Friday.

No matter where you shop online, make sure you only use reputable websites and apps. Always shop online with caution.

For this article, I used an iPhone X and the latest version of Safari on iOS to review the Amazon and Target apps.

Get the Apps

The Amazon app for iOS can be found here, or you can also type "Amazon" into the App Store's search box. The Target iOS app is here, or type "Target" into the App Store's search box.

The Amazon iOS App

The Amazon app's main screen has many links on the page including Deal of the Day, Deals Recommended for You, and Trending Deals. In late October, there were 29 pages of links including many to find general gifts or cool tech gifts. Even with this much content, information was clearly labeled without a lot of clutter. Headings navigation was inconsistent; navigating by link or by flicking worked better.

At the top of the app screen are several buttons: Show Navigation, Home, Your Notifications, and Cart. Next is a search box followed by options to scan a bar code and talk to Alexa. The Show Navigation Menu, Home, Search, Your Notifications, and Cart buttons always are found at the top of each screen. The Back button is always at the top left of the screen.

The Show Menu button brings up a new screen with many options including Your Orders, Your Lists, Your Account, Customer Service, and Shop by Department. Activating this last option brings up a very extensive list. Selecting a department will bring up a new screen with even more options. For example, I selected the Pet Supplies department. The new screen had the option to shop by Pet Type or Best Sellers or to search in Pet Supplies. In Pet Type, I selected Dog. The next screen gave me an extensive category list including Food, Treats, and Toys. I selected Treats and got a new screen with both options to search by type and information about sale prices on some treats.

The Home button brings you back to the Home Screen. The Your Notifications button opens a screen containing information about your orders, messages, and deals. There is a Continue Shopping option near the bottom of the page. The Cart button presents a screen with items in your cart. There are options to delete an item, save it for later, and change the quantity ordered.

I decided to purchase a Fingerlings Untamed Dinosaur Raptor, a relatively inexpensive interactive toy.

I entered "Fingerlings Untamed Raptor" into the search box and activated the Search button that is near the bottom right corner. If you flick right from the top of the screen, you cannot get to the results. Links were not displayed in the rotor and headings did not work either. Get to results by first touching near the bottom of the screen. Then use headings navigation and flicking. Flicking works in both directions.

Each result had the item's name, manufacturer, customer rating, price, and shipping information. I chose the Razor (purple) Raptor. Activating the item's link loaded a new screen with the same information as on the results page, plus information that the item was in stock. Next were a quantity pop-up button and an Add to Cart button. There was also a link to add the item to my list. Below that was a Frequently Bought Together option, where Amazon recommends another item. In my case, it was another Fingerlings Raptor. If I bought both items, I would save some money.

I found the easiest way to navigate this first part of the results page was to flick right or flick left. Navigating by forms and headings was inconsistent.

Headings navigation accessed major sections of the page including Products Related to This Item, Have a Question, and About This Item.

Under the About This Item headings were three additional headings: Item Description, Features & Details, Important Information, and Safety Warning. Information in this section was clearly presented and there were links to watch product videos and to get additional information. Below that, there were options to read reviews from other customers and view questions and answers about the product.

When I activated the Add to Cart button, a new page loaded with a notification that the item was added to my cart, along with buttons to Proceed to Checkout button and Close. The Close button brought me back to the previous page.

The checkout process is straightforward. If you already have an Amazon account, you can quickly place your order.

Getting Help with the Amazon iOS App

The Customer Service section is located within the Show Navigation Menu, near the bottom of the screen. The Customer Service screen has many help topics to review. Near the bottom is the heading Need More Help, followed by a Contact Us link. When this link is activated, on the new screen is an edit box for your phone number and a Call Me Now link. Between the edit box for your number and the Call Me Now link is the estimated wait time. At noon on a Saturday morning, the wait was three minutes.

You can also contact Amazon's automated help system at 866-216-1072.

Conclusion

Amazon's iOS app is a very good option for finding items on your holiday gift list. It is relatively uncluttered and there are many search options. The only problem was not being able to use headings navigation initially on some of the screens. Live customer support is also a plus.

Personally, I prefer Amazon's app to its website and accessible website.

The Target iOS App

Target's main screen has many clearly labeled links. At the top of the Home screen is a search form and an option to scan a bar code. Next are many options including Kids Daily Deals, Trending Offers, and Celebrate with Deals. There are ten pages of information on the main screen. The best way to insure you have read every section is to flick with one finger, because headings navigation is inconsistent and the rotor did not have link or form options for the main screen.

At the bottom of the main screen are five tabs: Shop, My List, Wallet, Cart, and a tab with your first name. On all screens, the search option is always at the top of the screen and tabs are always at the bottom. The Back button for getting out of a tab is in the upper left. By default, the Shop tab is selected and it brings you to the main screen. The My List tab has items that you add to your list while shopping. The Wallet tab contains information on coupons and other benefits.

The Cart tab contains any items you have added to your cart. It may also show you items that you have recently viewed, but not yet added to your cart. The last tab contains your profile, redeemed offers, payment cards, orders, and more.

The search button is at the bottom right corner. I entered the same search terms into the search form as I did on the Amazon app, "Fingerlings Untamed Dinosaur Raptor." As I typed, I heard the number of search results. By the time I was on the last word, there was only one search result. Unfortunately, it was not the item I wanted.

I then searched for a wireless charger for my iPhone. I typed "Belkin charger" into the Search box and received 50 results. I refined my search to "Belkin wireless charger," and performed a new search. This time, I received 26 results. Results could be navigated with the Headings item in the rotor. Under the name of each result were the customer rating and how many reviews were posted.

I selected the Belkin Boost UP wireless charger. The next screen showed images of the charger, but they were not labeled. Headings navigation did not work, and there were no rotor options for links or forms. After the images were the same information about customer rating followed by shipping and discounts. There was also a Ship It button. Use this button to add the item to your cart, as opposed to picking up the item at a Target Store. Next were three buttons: Product Details, Highlights, and Ratings and Reviews. The Product Details button loaded a screen with basic information about the charger including that Belkin worked with Apple to engineer this product. Information about weight, volts, and battery was also listed.

The Highlights button activated a screen which gave more information including which phones can be used with the charger and that the charger comes with an AC adaptor.

The Ratings & Reviews button will launch a screen containing customer reviews. Past the Ratings & Reviews button was a button for the return policy. Next were headings for what customers who shopped for this item also bought and headings for related offers.

Once I added the item to my cart, it appeared in the Cart tab. At the bottom of the Cart screen was a checkout button. The checkout process was straightforward.

Getting Help with the Target iOS App

The Help Center option is at the bottom of the screen in the last tab, the tab with your name on it. The Help Center screen has many categories including Help about Shipping and Help about Return Policy. The bottom option is Help about Call Guest Services. You then need to go through two pages to get the number, 800-591-3869.

Conclusion

Target's app works well, but it does have issues with headings navigation. Information is clearly displayed without a lot of clutter. There is more than one way to search. If you have an iPhone that supports Touch ID or Face ID, you can use it for authentication. Live help is there if you need it.

As with Amazon, I like using the Target iOS app more than its website.

The Bottom Line

Both Amazon and Target have done a very good job with their iOS apps, though improved navigation by headings would be extremely useful. Both apps contain a lot of information without a lot of clutter. My recommendation is to check out both apps and determine if you have a preference. I use Amazon more, because it has so many different items, but Target is still an excellent option.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

Comment on this article.

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Dear AccessWorld readers,

Are you still looking for the perfect holiday gifts? Never fear, AccessWorld is looking out for you. In this December issue, Deborah Kendrick provides even more suggestions for holiday gift giving in her article, Holiday Gift Guide for the Last-Minute Shopper. Another article for those looking for the perfect holiday gift is Janet Ingber's article, Amazon and Target Have One-Stop Apps for Holiday Gifts. In addition to app usage tips, this article speaks to how apps can often provide a simpler, more streamlined shopping experience than full websites.

If you need additional ideas, select the Back Issues button near the top of the AccessWorld page to check out any past online holiday issue of AccessWorld. There are holiday gift guides in the November and December issues of past years that are still relevant today.

Another article from AccessWorld's back issue archives that may have special importance for you this time of year is Jamie Paul's December 2017 article describing accessible diabetes management strategies. This season is always filled with tempting cakes, pies, cookies, and all sorts of culinary goodness, and it is important to keep moderation in mind, especially if you have elevated blood sugar levels.

If you happen to be doing some cooking this time of year, you may also want to revisit Deborah Kendrick's November 2010 review of the Directions for Me website, Website Evaluation: Directions for Me, a Gift to People Who Can't Read the Box. This article may help take the guesswork out of preparing those holiday meals by having package directions available at your fingertips. Yes, the article is eight years old, but the information is still good, and the website is still active.

A lot has happened in this past year of technology, from smaller changes to hardware and software, to exciting new accessible apps and advances in vision research. One additional exciting event for the AccessWorld team was receiving its fourth consecutive Honorable Mention Eddie award at the 2018 Folio Awards in the Digital, Non-profit, Standalone Magazine category. For more than 20 years, the Eddie & Ozzie Awards have recognized excellence in magazine editorial and design across all sectors of the publishing industry.

This year, a panel of judges narrowed over 2,500 entries into a pool of roughly 800 finalists. In total, 263 awards were given out across 33 categories. The awards are broken into four main categories: Eddies and Eddies Digital for the best in print and digital editorial, and Ozzies and Ozzies Digital for the best in magazine and website design. The Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Awards celebrate excellence in editorial and design across multiple markets. This awards program is the only one of its kind to honor both magazine and digital design and journalism in the consumer, business-to-business, association, regional, and non-profit sectors. Winners and honorable mentions were recognized in October in New York City at a celebratory luncheon at The Folio: Show held at the Midtown Hilton.

The AccessWorld team works hard to bring information to our readers, and we are honored and humbled to be recognized again this year.

We here at AccessWorld have done our best to keep you updated and informed in 2018, and the team certainly hopes you have enjoyed reading the publication and have personally benefited from our coverage of the technology and issues most relevant to people with visual impairments.

If you have benefitted from information presented in AccessWorld, we would like to know about it. We would appreciate you sharing how information in AccessWorld has been of benefit to you, your student, or someone you care about. Please send your story to us; we are always excited to receive your feedback, and we sincerely appreciate you reading AccessWorld.

Also, in this season of giving, as the Editor-in-Chief of AccessWorld, I would like to ask for your support. The American Foundation for the Blind and, in turn, AccessWorld, depend in large part on private donations from people just like you.

If you read AccessWorld and can do so, please consider making a gift to AccessWorld. Your donation will help us continue our work on behalf of people who are blind or visually impaired.

Each dollar you donate allows us to continue to do the following:

• Review assistive and mainstream technologies, websites, and mobile apps
• Provide technology resources and support for everyone affected by blindness or visual impairment, including senior citizens, parents, families, and friends
• Offer a hub of technology information for professionals in the vision loss field

AccessWorld is here for the millions of people living with blindness and low vision because friends like you are here for us. If you would like to donate to AccessWorld, please visit the AccessWorld donation page. I ask for your assistance and ask that you encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to join in our efforts.

I would also like to thank our generous readers who donated to AccessWorld last year. Your contributions helped us to have our most successful year ever.

The AccessWorld team wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season. We look forward to bringing you the latest in tech news in the coming year!

Best regards,
Lee Huffman, AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
American Foundation for the Blind

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This message is in reference to Bill Holton's November 2018 article, A Look at the New Narrator, Microsoft's Built-In Windows Screen Reader.

[The article] was well written and gave Microsoft appropriate praise for the substantial work it has done with regards to their screen reader. I also appreciate one of its senior program managers with direct involvement was quoted on several occasions.

I remember AccessWorld product reviews from the early 2000s where both positive and constructive feedback was provided. I believe the cell phone articles of 2004 were prime examples of this. Companies were involved in these pieces as well. I hope AccessWorld will provide constructive feedback in the future. Admittedly, I was disappointed when things like lack of Bluetooth braille support, lack of a keystroke to toggle speech on the fly, and the paragraph keystroke needing further refinement weren't mentioned. I'm sure Microsoft is receiving this feedback but it would've been nice to see that a major organization like AFB was providing it as it carries more weight than the average consumer.

Sincerely,

Greg Rogers

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This message is in reference to Deborah Kendrick's November 2018 article, AccessWorld 2018 Holiday Gift Guide.

Deborah did it again; great job on the holiday gift guide.

Regards,

Mike Cole

Announcing the 2019 AFB Leadership Conference

February 28–March 1, Crystal Gateway Marriott

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is pleased to present the 2019 Leadership Conference, which will cover the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of blindness and offer many opportunities to learn from the best and brightest minds in our field, make new connections, and reunite with old friends.

Held annually, AFBLC attracts established and emerging leaders in the blindness field. Conference attendees include technology experts, corporate representatives, university professors, and researchers. They come from diverse organizations and institutions spanning the public and private sectors.

The conference will have five primary areas of focus, including leadership, aging and visual impairment, education, technology, and employment. We are pleased that the National Rehabilitation and Training Center on blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University will hold its State-of-the-Science conference during AFBLC, presenting research findings on important aspects of employment and visual impairment. An exciting program is being finalized and will be released soon, so please check the AFBLC page for updates. The 2018 AFBLC attracted approximately 400 attendees from 40 states and four countries.

Attendees will receive a special group rate of $195/night at the Crystal Gateway Marriott. Reserve online through our dedicated reservations page. If you prefer to speak with a reservations specialist, please call 888-236-2427 and reference our conference to get the group rate.

If you are interested in sponsorship, advertising, or exhibiting opportunities, please contact Amanda Kolling directly.

United States Department of Labor Launches New Public Service Announcement Highlighting Importance and Value of Employees with Disabilities

As part of its annual commemoration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the US Department of Labor recently launched a new public service announcement that highlights the importance of helping workers who become ill or injured remain active in America's workforce.

Featuring baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr., the announcement, entitled "Working Works," highlights four individuals sharing their own stories of working together with employers, healthcare professionals, and others to ensure that continued employment is an early part of the conversation, often during the recovery process. Ripken appears with former Baltimore Orioles head athletic trainer, Richie Bancells, who supported Ripken's efforts to overcome injuries and set the Major League Baseball record of 2,632 consecutive games played.

"National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a time to emphasize the importance of ensuring all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, can put their skills and talents to work," said Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy. "This public service announcement illustrates how the nation's job creators and workers who experience illness or injury can work together to empower America's workforce."

Working Works is the fourth in a series of PSAs produced by the Campaign for Disability Employment.

Each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates employers who are committed to a workplace that welcomes qualified people with disabilities. Learn more about the 2018 NDEAM observance, including the event's official 2018 poster.

Sendero Announces Transfer of GPS Solutions to Aira and the Lighthouse of San Francisco

Sendero recently announced its plan to sustain the navigation technology developed with funding from ten federal grants and user input over 19 years. Many of you have been on the journey with Sendero to create independent travel tools since 1999 and even earlier at Arkenstone. One of Sendero's goals from the beginning was to make accessible navigation affordable and ubiquitous. The next chapter in that evolution will be with two organizations dedicated to independent travel, Aira and the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco.

Recently, Sendero announced the transfer of its iOS mobile navigation products to Aira, the company with the latest independent access to information. Mike May says, "Charles LaPierre and I founded Sendero in 1999 to provide ourselves and all blind people independent access to location information. The challenge to do that is as relevant today as it was 19 years ago. Accessible GPS in conjunction with Aira and its AI assistant, Chloe, provide a synergistic solution to full navigation access."

We would also like to announce that the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco will take over the Sendero Maps and GPS product. Sendero CTO, Charles LaPierre said, "I am thrilled that Sendero Maps and GPS products will continue under the stewardship of Aira and the Lighthouse. In 1993, when I developed the first accessible GPS back-pack prototype weighing 10 pounds, I said 'in 10 years it will be the size of a Sony Walkman(TM), which will fit in your hand'. I am honored that my university project 25 years ago evolved into the 'Swiss Army knife of life' smartphone version of today."

Atlas Speaks from Arkenstone was the first accessible digital map product in 1995. That turned into Sendero Maps and GPS, which the San Francisco Lighthouse is taking over to complement its T-Maps tactile maps product. There is no better way to learn a neighborhood than to have the detail of digital maps and the geographic overview of a tactile map.

Details of these product transitions will be forthcoming. All your products will continue to work the way you expect. The mobile apps are slated for new features. All support inquiries can still be directed to _iPhone@senderogroup.com as before.

The Sendero Maps software will remain the same but will now be available from the Lighthouse, which will also host the legacy BrailleNote and Braille Sense software. Other aspects of this transition will be announced by Aira and the Lighthouse as they come about.

National Braille Press Announces Opening of Submissions for Touch of Genius Prize

The National Braille Press's Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation is now accepting entries. The Touch of Genius Prize was developed to inspire entrepreneurs, educators, or inventors to continue the promotion of braille and tactile literacy for blind and deafblind people worldwide. This prize can be granted for innovative and accessible computer software, Android applications, iOS applications, or tactile hardware that promotes braille and/or tactile literacy. NBP encourages all applicants to think outside the box to what can be used to help improve the lives of blind people.

The winner of this prize will receive up to $20,000, which will help them to continue to innovate in the fields of technology and education for blind people. Frank Gibney and the Gibney Family Foundation, helped fund and establish this award in 2007, inspiring people to go beyond what was thought possible.

The deadline to apply is January 11, 2019. Full application details and more information can be found at the National Braille Press website.

The Gigi & Carl Allen Envision Research Institute (ERI) is Calling for Letters of Intent to Apply for its Next Round of Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

Launched in 2015 with a goal to restore function to those who are blind and visually impaired, the ERI provides access to funds, facilities, mentors and prospective study subjects for postdoctoral research into the functional implications of vision loss, impact of early screening and access to treatments, methods of optimizing rehabilitation therapies and development of accessibility technology. Fellowships last for a minimum of one year and maximum of two, pending a review of the first year's progress and results, and are primarily carried out on-site at the Wichita, Kan.-based ERI, however fellows may travel to his/her mentor's institution for up to six months to establish a collaboration and receive additional training not available at the ERI.

Applicants for research fellowships must hold a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, OD, OTD, JD) in engineering, computer science, psychology, vision science, epidemiology, social sciences or related fields at the time of the award. Qualified individuals interested in applying for an ERI Fellowship must submit a CV and a Letter of Intent, not to exceed two pages in length, no later than 12:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, December 7. Letters of Intent must contain the following:

• Description of the applicant and his/her background
• Brief description of the intended research project and how it addresses the mission of Envision
• Proposed external mentor(s) and what new training they would support for the fellow
• List of topical areas relevant to the research (for guiding appointment of the selection committee)

Invitations to apply will be sent in mid-December 2018, with applications due January 25, 2019. Awards will be announced in February 2019, with the Fellowship expected to commence by Spring 2019.

The ERI is a uniquely attractive place to conduct postdoctoral vision-related research, as it affords an opportunity for immersion in Envision's many Wichita-based resources, among which are the Bicknell Envision Vision Rehabilitation Center, the Cathy G. Hudson Envision Child Development Center, the William L. Hudson BVI Workforce Innovation Center supporting employment accessibility for individuals who are blind and visually impaired, and other programs catering to the quality of life needs of those who are blind and visually impaired. Information about the Fellowship Program, including a Fellowship Handbook with details on the program overall as well as on the application process, can be found at the Envision Fellowship website. For further information, write to research@envisionus.com.

Updates for ZoomText 2018 and Fusion 2018

VFO recently announced the November updates for ZoomText 2018 and Fusion 2018. The November updates deliver a new batch of enhancements for using ZoomText 2018 and Fusion 2018 with popular applications, including Chrome, Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365, and Skype.

These free updates for users of ZoomText 2018 and Fusion 2018 can be downloaded and installed over top of previous ZoomText 2018 and Fusion 2018 installations. You can also use the auto update feature which will alert you to the update on the next restart of ZoomText or Fusion.

To update ZoomText 2018

Follow these steps to download the full installer for the ZoomText 2018 November update:

1. Go to the ZoomText Legacy Product Downloads webpage
2. In the section titled "ZoomText 2018," choose the "All Languages" download link.
3. When the download is complete, launch the installer to perform the installation.

You can also use the ZoomText update wizard to get the ZoomText 2018 November Update. On the ZoomText 2018 toolbar, choose ZoomText > Manage License > Check for Updates. This will launch the update wizard and walk you through the ZoomText update process.

To learn about the changes in the ZoomText 2018 November Update, see the ZoomText and Fusion 2018 release notes.

To update Fusion 2018

Follow these steps to download the full installer for the Fusion 2018 November update:

1. Go to the ZoomText Legacy Product Downloads webpage.
2. In the section titled "Fusion 2018," choose the download link for the language that you need.
3. When the download is complete, launch the installer to perform the installation.

To learn about the changes in the Fusion 2018 November update, see the ZoomText and Fusion 2018 release notes and What's New in JAWS 2018.

Though smartphones, tablets, and computers have become increasingly accessible in recent years, fully accessible televisions are a more recent phenomenon. Amazon has entered the accessible smart TV arena with two lines of televisions from Insignia and Toshiba that use the Fire TV software as the TV's operating system.

We reviewed the preview version of VoiceView, the screen reader found on the Fire TV in September 2016, and it has improved since that review. Having used my own Fire TV Stick, I was excited to hear the operating system had been included on a television. For this review, I used the Insignia 32 Inch Fire TV Edition (Model NS-32DF310NA19). Note: Toshiba offers a line of televisions that also include the Fire software and that other screen sizes are available with the same operating system.

In this review, I will discuss the television's hardware and software with a particular focus on using the device's television features, but will also discuss using the Fire TV operating system and the VoiceView screen reader more broadly.

Hardware and Documentation

Before discussing the television's functions, lets first look at the hardware itself. The TV is a traditional flat screen television with a single button that serves as both power and an input button found on the underside of the TV towards the front and left. Most of the available ports are found on the left side of the TV. From top to bottom, these are: a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a Digital Optical Audio output, a USB port, and three HDMI ports (1-3 from top to bottom).

On the back of the device, you will find an area containing the coaxial antenna/cable connector, a set of RCA audio/video connectors, and an Ethernet port from left to right respectively. To the far right of the back of the device you will find the power connector.

The TV sits on two bases, each at the far right and left. These are slightly curved inward and the back is slightly shorter than the front so it is easy to determine which should be attached to which side. Screws hold the bases in place and the holes in which these should be inserted were decently tactile, so I had no problem attaching the bases without sighted assistance.

The remote is similar to a Fire TV or Echo remote but with a few additions that may make it somewhat unfamiliar. If you are familiar with a Fire TV remote or have read a description of such on the VoiceView help page, you will likely be able to determine what the buttons on the top portion of the remote do. I could not find a detailed description of the TV remote online, but VoiceView provides a detailed and helpful description after it is launched.

In addition to the buttons found on a Fire TV remote (Microphone, Left/Right/Up/Down navigation ring, Select, Back, Home, Menu, Rewind, Play/Pause, and Fast Forward) the remote contains a dedicated TV button, vertical volume rocker, mute button, and a set of rectangular buttons which launch various streaming services such as Prime and Netflix. A power button is in the top right of the remote.

The TV has both a quick start guide and a manual. Both are available on the Insignia product page in PDF format. The PDFs are not tagged but the automatic tagging provided by Adobe reader provides decent access to the guide and manual including linked sections in the manual.

The main problem I encountered when reading the manual and guide was diagrams tended to be jumbled. Note: the manual and guide are meant to provide instructions for the TV itself but have little information on the Fire TV operating system. The VoiceView for Fire TV user's guide provides a solid description of VoiceView and an overview of the Fire TV operating system. This PDF is also tagged properly for screen readers. The TV has a few more functions than a traditional Fire TV streaming device, but the majority of the interface is identical.

Setting up the TV

When you first activate your TV, you will hear a series of sounds in fairly rapid succession. Once you begin hearing a tone playing on a wide interval, you can then turn on VoiceView by holding down the Back and Menu buttons for 2 seconds. The "BACK" and "MENU" buttons are the left and right buttons in the row of three small buttons above the Navigation Ring. After activating VoiceView, you will be asked if you would like to listen to the VoiceView tutorial. The tutorial contains a description of the Fire TV remote, a key describer, and a series of tips for using VoiceView. I was happy to see the remote was described in detail, but more extensive directions regarding the use of VoiceView would improve the tutorial.

After the tutorial, you will need to set up the TV. All options here are accessible. During this step, you will connect to your wireless network, choose if you would like to sign into an Amazon account, set your language, and choose a few other minor settings.

VoiceView Overview

Before diving into the Fire TV operating system, it is worth exploring the functions of the VoiceView screen reader. When you navigate around the interface, VoiceView will provide information on what you have currently highlighted as well as other hints and extra information. For example, when I highlight a movie or TV show, I will first be alerted to the item's name and, after a pause, navigation information for the current screen or item followed by information about the selected item such as synopsis, rating, etc. If VoiceView is speaking, you can stop speech by pressing the Play/Pause button or move through the extra information being provided by pressing the Rewind or Fast Forward buttons. You can also have extra information and navigation instructions repeated by pressing the Menu button. Because of this, you will need to press the Menu button twice to activate its original function.

In addition to interacting with the interface directly, VoiceView offers Review Mode which functions similarly to the browse modes you may find in a Windows screen reader. This mode can be toggled by holding the Menu button until VoiceView says "Review Mode On/Off." When in this mode, you can move linearly through the content displayed on screen with Left and Right and change your navigation granularity with Up and Down. As an example, I heard an item spoken I couldn't quite understand. After turning on Review Mode I used the Right key to move to the item and, once there, cycled the granularity with the Down key until I heard "character." Then I pressed the Right key again to hear the item character by character.

Review Mode contains several granularity options including Character, Word, Heading, Link, Form Control, List, and List Item. Note that the granularity options that deal with HTML elements such as Heading and Link only appear when that sort of content is available on screen. Review Mode is particularly helpful if you are using one of the Web browser apps available for the Fire TV.

If you have low vision, the Fire TV also includes a screen magnifier and high contrast mode. The screen magnifier can be activated during setup by holding down the Back and Fast Forward buttons. The magnifier has 10 different magnification levels and magnifies all non-video content, including captions. New to the magnifier is an indicator that will appear when changing zoom levels, displaying where you have zoomed to on the overall screen. If you would like to learn more about the low vision features on the Fire TV, visit the Fire TV Accessibility page.

The Fire TV Launcher

The Fire TV launcher is the main interface of the Fire TV and allows you to access the various functions, features, and apps on your TV. Across the top of this screen are seven tabs: Search, Home, Your Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, and Settings. When you press the Home button, you will be placed on the Home tab in this row. You can use Left and Right keys to navigate this row of tabs and the Down key to enter a tab. The Home, Your Videos, Movies, and TV Shows tabs have several categories arranged in rows. The Up and Down keys move you between rows while Left and Right move through items in a row.

The Home tab will likely be the area on which you spend the majority of time and the first several categories there are of particular interest. Note that some categories only appear after you take a particular action. For example, the Recent category only appears after you have watched content or opened apps.

The first row when moving down from the Home tab is Featured. This is similar to a carousel you would see on a Webpage in that it cycles from item to item at a regular pace. In addition, each item focused will begin playing a trailer of that item, though you can choose to have the preview audio and video content not play automatically in Settings > Preferences > Featured Content.

Moving down, you will find the Recent row. This will contain a mix of content and applications you have recently opened. Beneath Recent, you will find the Your Apps and Channels row. This will list a combination of the apps you have downloaded and the channels you have subscribed to. There are shortcuts to download the most popular third-party apps preloaded in this list including Netflix and Sling TV. Note that a See All option appears at the end of this row of items, which will launch a grid of all of your apps and channels.

Below this row you will find a sponsored advertisement followed by the On Now category. This row will only appear after you have scanned for over-the-air channels and displays the channels that are available to you. As you focus channels, the current program will begin playing and VoiceView will inform you of what is being played as well as the percentage of the program that has currently passed. For example, if you were viewing a show at 10:15 that lasted for 30 minutes, it may say something like "Nightly News, 50%." It may be the quality of the antenna I am using, but it takes a moment for the current program to load, which causes VoiceView to stutter a bit which can make it difficult to understand what program is being played at times. Fortunately, other, more effective methods for selecting channels to view will be discussed later. If you would like to watch a channel in this category, pressing the Select button will begin regular playback.

Below this category you will find the list of inputs found on the TV. These include Antenna, HDMI1-3, and Composite. Helpfully, if you have something connected to one of the ports on the TV, it will be displayed first in the list of inputs, though HDMI ports are listed in their proper order if you have multiple HDMI devices connected. Below this category you will find a series of rows listing various shows and movies.

If you return to the top of the screen and view other tabs, Your Videos, Movies, and TV Shows, you will find similar lists. The key row of use in Your Videos is Your Watchlist, and the Genre rows in the Movies and TV Show tabs, which allow you to launch lists of content in a particular genre. One bug I encountered when viewing genre lists is once you have opened a particular genre, the previously selected item is read before the item you have moved to. For example, say I am focused on "Bosch" and move one item to the right. I'll first hear "Bosch" spoken before the item that is now highlighted.

The final two tabs are Apps, which will be discussed later, and Settings. The Settings tab contains a single row of settings menus; selecting one will launch a vertical list of those categories. The Back button is helpful here as it will back out of settings menus.

The Apps tab allows you to download apps for your device, though be aware, since these are developed by third parties, they may not be accessible using VoiceView. The main addition to the Apps tab is a set of three sub-tabs called Featured, Games, and Categories. The Featured and Games tabs are similar to the rows of suggested content you would find in other main tabs while the Categories tab lists a series of app categories that will launch a separate page of apps when activated. Note that the first row under the Featured and Games tabs do not speak their titles with VoiceView but are carousels of cycling items similar to the first row under the Home tab.

Selecting an app will launch a details screen where you can download it, read information about the app, and see reviews from others. Note that the details screen for an app is accessible but has incorrect row labels e.g., the Reviews row is titled "Trailers and Screenshots".

The Search tab allows you to search for content across the Fire TV interface. You can use the on-screen keyboard, the Voice Search feature of the remote, or a connected physical keyboard. The on-screen keyboard requires you to use the arrows to find a character before entering it, so I used a wired or wireless USB keyboard the majority of the time. A list of search suggestions will appear below the keyboard. Note that there is a bug that causes there to be one more item reported than exists in the list. For example, if I search for Football, I might hear an item read as "Football, 1 of 19" when there are only 18 actual search suggestions. Once you select a search suggestion, you will be taken to a screen containing rows of your search results from various categories including streaming content and apps. If you use the Voice Search feature, you will be taken directly to this screen. Also, if you ask the Alexa service on the TV to play a specific program, it will immediately play without the need to find it in a list of search results.

Watching Live TV

Before watching live over-the-air TV, you must connect an antenna and scan for channels. Do this by navigating to the Settings menu or by pressing the TV button on the remote. This will usually take you to the TV guide but will take you directly to the option to scan for channels the first time you activate it. After the scan, you can view the channels through the previously mentioned On Now category in the Home tab or launch the TV Guide with the TV button on the remote.

When you launch the TV guide, you will be placed in the list of channels and the name of the current program will be read. You can navigate among channels with the Up and Down keys and navigate through the programs on a channel with the Left and Right keys.

Once you start playback of a channel, you can press the Down key to show the On Now row from the Home screen. This allows you to change channels; arrow to the channel you want and press Select. If you press Left or Right, you will rewind and fast-forward the currently playing channel. The Select button also serves to pause the program. This means that you can use the ring and Select button in addition to Rewind, Play/Pause, and Fast Forward.

Audio description on the TV is supported, and I can highly recommend the American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project as a good source for finding audio described content. When a program is playing, press the Menu button twice quickly to open options. Here, select Captions and Audio Languages and then select the option titled Audio Languages. Now, select the item labeled "Spa Ad". If this item is titled something else for you, the audio description track is commonly on the Secondary Audio Programming channel, sometimes labeled "Spanish." If you would like to adjust the volume of the audio description track in comparison to the TV audio, you can do so in the Accessibility menu in the Settings tab.

Watching Streaming TV and Streaming Audio Description

You can stream media from many different services, some of which will have audio description. For this article, we will primarily focus on watching items available using Prime as other streaming services do not follow the conventions of the operating system. For example, Netflix seems to have its own screen reader that takes over when in the Netflix app, while YouTube uses a Web interface through the Web browser on the system. For this reason, setting up audio description and even navigation can vary from app to app. Note that for an app such as Netflix, all the context you would need to operate it successfully is presented as you interact with the app.

When a Prime title begins to play, there is far less speech than when using live TV, as you are only told the name of the playing movie or TV episode, something I prefer. In addition, the play/pause and seek controls are the same as those described previously for live TV.

If you would like to enable audio description for Prime titles, the process is similar to that described for Live TV, but a current bug makes the steps far less obvious. When a program is playing that has audio description, you must first enter the menu and navigate to Surround Sound Preferences. From here, you will be taken to a screen where you can select the language that you would like, including audio description. Note that there is an option titled "Subtitles and Audio Languages," but this only contains the subtitles options. When I first encountered this bug, I was completely confused as the help page for audio description for Prime content directs you to the subtitles and languages settings.

Amazon confirmed it is aware of the bug and is working to correct it. This is a fairly minor bug, though without the proper instructions you may be entirely stumped on how to correct the issue. Though only temporary, it would be extremely helpful if a note was added to the audio description help page describing the bug and the altered steps currently needed to enable audio description.

The Bottom Line

The Fire TV is my first choice when watching Prime content, but because of the more cumbersome apps such as Netflix and the YouTube web interface, I find myself going elsewhere when looking to watch content on these services. For apps that support streaming from a smartphone/tablet to the TV, such as Spotify and YouTube, streaming may be a more efficient option.

Aside from a few minor bugs, the Fire TV operating system is quite accessible, and the VoiceView screen reader is a solid method for navigating. Because of this, I was excited to see if this accessibility translated to the television-specific aspects of the device. I was happy to find that TV-specific functions were accessible and the TV provided speech for other very useful features, such as informing the user if an input was connected, and speaking when the television was turned off. If you are looking for an accessible TV for a person with vision loss this holiday season, The Insignia Fire TV edition is a great choice.

If you find the Fire TV operating system a bit daunting, it is possible to jump to TV-specific features such as the Channel Guide and Inputs using a long press of the Home button on the remote, and these items will be displayed in a simpler vertical menu. I did encounter lag in some cases, primarily when using the Web browser app. From a more mainstream perspective, the sound on the TV is clear but with little bass, and I did not encounter any wireless connection issues during my testing. Like most other complex electronics, it can be useful to check out the reviews on Amazon to be aware of what others have experienced using a product before you make a purchase.

Product Information

Televisions that contain the Fire TV operating system are produced by Insignia and Toshiba. Below, I have broken down the available TVs from each company

Manufacturer: Insignia
Screen Size - 720p or 1080p: 24", 32", and 39"
Price: $149.99-$249.99

Screen Size - 4k UHD: 43", 49", and 55"
Price: $329.99-$449.99

Manufacturer: Toshiba
Screen Size - 720p or 1080p: 32", 43", and 49"
Price: $179.99-$349.99

Screen Size - 4k UHD: 43", 49", and 55"
Price: $329.99-$479.99

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• Outstanding Summer Showcases for Technology: ACB and NFB Annual Conventions by Deborah Kendrick
• Obtaining Accessible Cable Television: A Frustrating Experience by Janet Ingber

More by this author:

• The UniDescription Project: Seeking to Bring Unity to the World of Audio Description
• Highlights from The 2018 American Foundation for the Blind Leadership Conference

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles that will describe and evaluate the accessibility of streaming entertainment devices and associated services. For these reviews, hardware and software provided by the services was used to access several popular entertainment channels. The evaluation includes the accessibility of the services and devices themselves, as well as audio description offerings for the channels used in the tests.

The NVIDIA Shield is often seen as the cream of the crop of multimedia streaming devices. Though this is largely due to its advanced hardware suitable for high-intensity gaming, the hardware box has also gained many fans for its wealth of streaming and multimedia capabilities, and support for both local and remote media sources.

The Shield runs on a modified version of Android TV, currently based on Android 8.0. Because of this, Google's TalkBack screen reader is the driving force for speech accessibility on this device. As you will learn during this review, this is both a good and bad thing.

Shield Hardware

The NVIDIA Shield is a small, rectangular box with a couple of tapered edges on the top. It features an HDMI port, two USB ports for plugging in external storage, an Ethernet network jack, and a proprietary power jack. Like many of the other boxes in this category, the Shield connects to your television using an HDMI cable. It's worth noting that an HDMI cable is strangely not included, so you will need to purchase or locate one to set it up.

You can control the Shield using the included remote or the Gamepad controller included in the Shield Gaming Edition. I found the remote far simpler to use for basic tasks. It features a standard four-way D-pad on the top with a Select button in the middle. Below this are two rounded buttons with Back on the left and Home on the right. Below this is a larger, concave Voice Search button, which brings up the Google Assistant. Finally, below this button is a vertical slider that you can use to control the volume of whatever you are watching or of TalkBack. Slide up on the tactile control to raise the volume, or slide down to lower it. You can also double-tap on the slider to play or pause media. It's a surprisingly intuitive control once you get used to it.

Shield Setup and Configuration

For me, setup was relatively painless with speech guiding me through the major steps. This may not always be the case however, as TalkBack can only be turned on from the initial setup screen by holding down the Back button for 10 seconds. If you end up on another screen or are trying to use a device that is already set up, you will need to reset the unit to factory defaults to enable speech independently.

After being prompted to select the desired language, you will be asked if you have an Android phone. If you do, you will be able to skip several setup steps as information such as your Google account and Wi-fi password can be copied over. If you do not have another Android device, you will need to enter this information manually. For situations where it is necessary to enter text, an on-screen QWERTY keyboard is displayed. Use the Arrow keys to move around the keyboard to locate letters and then press Select to insert the letter. I found this process simple to grasp, though there was seemingly no easy way to edit my entry other than finding the Delete button to erase the last-entered character. Moving the cursor to the right side of the keyboard located the necessary button to move to the next screen, often called Next or Continue.

One setup screen that presented some confusion was the page that recommended default apps. TalkBack spoke the apps as I arrowed around the screen, but would not indicate if an app was checked or unchecked. The only way to determine if any changes were made was to move to the button labeled "Install three apps," which would change based on the number that was selected. Alternatively, one can choose to skip this screen entirely and download apps later.

A nice touch included during the setup process was a getting started tutorial which was spoken properly. The Shield also downloaded several software updates and updated its built-in apps, a process that took 10-15 minutes total.

Accessibility Features

At this point, you may want to adjust the speech rate and other TalkBack settings. To do this, load the Settings menu by holding down the Back button for about a second, and then pressing Down Arrow until you reach Accessibility settings. From this screen, you can turn TalkBack off and on and control many of its settings. You can also select the text-to-speech option to change the speech rate, pitch, or the desired voice. This is one advantage of having an Android-based product, as some third-party voices available for Android such as ETI Eloquence from Code Factory can be used on the Shield for no additional cost. Not all Android voices are available for Android TV, however.

Several other TalkBack settings are available, including audio ducking, speech volume, and verbosity options.

Aside from TalkBack, accessibility settings are included for captions, though no option for audio descriptions could be found. An experimental high-contrast text mode is also available. It's worth noting that Android's braille support has not been duplicated on the Shield, as the BrailleBack app is not available for Android TV devices, a huge oversight in my opinion.

Navigating the Menus

Once you have completed setup, you will be placed on the Home screen, which displays a selection of your installed apps, recommendations for things to watch or listen to, and several other controls. In most instances, similar items were placed in rows, which meant that pressing the Up or Down Arrow key would move between sections of the screen. For instance, one row included YouTube video recommendations based on my account, another featured Netflix suggestions, and still another pulled radio stations from Google Play Music. These will naturally depend on the apps and services that you have installed, and the recommendations will depend on how often you use these services. You can customize the Home screen and choose which apps will display this information. A Play Next row near the top of the screen will include shows or channels you have recently watched or favorited among other recommendations.

In addition to interacting using the Home screen, you can use the large Voice Search button on the remote to request content. For instance, you can say "Play 'House of Cards' on Netflix" or "Play Lukas Graham on Spotify," assuming you have the appropriate services configured. This worked well until I gave it a request where multiple services could provide the same content. I was asked which app I wanted to use, but my cursor sometimes became stuck when attempting to move between the choices. Because the Google Assistant is on board, most features of the Google Home are also available, including search, games, and measurement conversions among others.

You can also use a Google Home to control your Shield, including its volume. Alexa support is also available, though this involves some additional setup on Amazon's Alexa app and a free NVIDIA account to make it all work.

Installing Apps

The Shield comes with a few of the most popular apps, and thousands more are available from Google Play. Not all Android apps are available for Android TV, and apps that are accessible on Android are not necessarily accessible on the Shield.

The Apps list can be accessed by long-pressing the Home button. Near the top of this screen is an option to "Get More Apps" which allows you to search Google Play for apps and games. Similar to Android, you can also search for apps from Google Play's web interface on a computer and install them wirelessly to your Shield.

Popular Services and Shield

Just as Shelly Brisbin did in the first part of this series, we will evaluate the accessibility of popular entertainment services on the device being discussed, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and ESPN.

In a bit of a surprise, Netflix posed numerous problems when used on the Shield. The login process went through without a hitch, with accessibility hints provided for the on-screen keyboard. Hopes were quickly dashed, however, when the main screen offered absolutely no speech. The only way to play Netflix content is through the items on the Home screen or the Voice Search button. This presents several limitations, including the inability to play a show by season or episode or to browse titles effectively. Audio description is available for Netflix titles, but must be enabled on the account using another device since there is no way to get to the Netflix settings on the Shield.

Amazon Prime Video surprisingly also did not work, with a direct acknowledgement that TalkBack was not supported. I was presented with a notice that I would need to use another screen reader to use Prime Video on this device, though to my knowledge, there are no other screen readers available for the Shield. Amazon's VoiceView is not available on non-Amazon devices. The developers of this app are keenly aware of TalkBack but chose not to support it in the current iteration of the app, a disappointing decision.

YouTube provided a seamless and simple interface on the Shield, which is not surprising since the device runs on Google's Android platform. I was able to browse trending videos, search for things to watch, and navigate the playback controls using the app. YouTube does not currently include audio-described content unless the content owner has specifically uploaded a described version of their video.

ESPN was also a surprising bright spot on the Shield. To authorize ESPN, a code is displayed on the screen, which can be focused using TalkBack. This code is entered on a website where you can use your television provider to log in. Once this is all set up, the arrow keys can be used to browse content including live shows and archived games. Short of a few unlabeled buttons, the app was generally easy to use.

Put another way, the two apps that worked well on Roku, Netflix and Prime Video, were the two that presented the most difficulty on the Shield. The reverse was also true.

The Bottom Line

I really wanted to love the Shield. As an Android user, the idea of a powerful streaming box that is tied into Google's apps and services has a lot of appeal. But the lack of application support makes this a frustrating experience for TalkBack users. TalkBack on Android TV has not matured to the level of its phone brethren. There is no way to read the entire screen, navigate by word or character, or easily toggle speech. Some of these are possible by connecting a Bluetooth keyboard, but this is not a contingency that should be required for regular use.

The NVIDIA Shield TV retails at $179, with a gaming edition that includes a gamepad controller available for $20 more. Until accessibility is improved, I would recommend you shield yourself from this solution until more improvements are made.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

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Related articles:

Roku Sticks, Players, and TVs: Access to Multimedia Streaming Devices Part 1 by Shelly Brisbin, Podcasts to Go: How to Play Podcasts on your iOS Device by Janet Ingber.

More from this author:

ATIA at a Glance: What We Saw at the 2018 Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference, There's No Place like Google Home: A Review of Google's Voice Assistant.