Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I liked An Overview Survey of Home Appliance Accessibility by Aaron Preece and Neva Fairchild. Thank you for addressing this topic. I totally agree on the importance of home appliance accessibility. [Connecting appliances to a mobile app] can make things easier, especially for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Whirlpool has its Duet line of washers and dryers. They provide audible beeps that tell the user what actions to take if the door of the washer is open. The newer Whirlpool Duet washers…have some very important features [, including] the clean washer cycle. This special cycle uses higher water volumes in combination with a fresh washer cleaner or liquid chlorine bleach to thoroughly clean the inside of the washer. Steam washer models also utilize steam to enhance cleaning in this special cycle.

The clean washer cycle … will determine whether clothing or other items are in the washer [before proceeding]. … If any items are detected in the washer, RL (remove load) will be displayed.

…Whirlpool's Duet washers [also…] have [a] door lock mechanism. This [prevents] the user from opening the washer door during operation. … If you damage the door lock mechanism, the washer will not operate.

Thank you for making this publication accessible for people who are blind and visually impaired.

Valentin Bernal

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Thanks for a great read, Best Android Apps for People with Low Vision by Shelly Brisbin

I've been using Android for 15 months now. During that time I've been constantly amazed at the number of apps I've found in the Google Play store that have worked well with TalkBack. I've only found a couple that I've not been able to make use of but there's no doubt about it, accessibility in each successive release of Android OS was improved.

I hear statements about the lack of accessible Android apps and I believed those when I started using Android. At first when I tried Android I gave up, but that was three years ago […] and now those statements about Android accessibility are both mythical and thankfully laughable.

All this means of course more choice for the individual and more choice in the devices that the individual can use.

Dane Trethowan

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I very much appreciate your hard work and great articles. ?I can't tell you how much I've benefitted through the years from your product evaluations and news items, both as a blind consumer and as a vocational rehabilitation counselor.

I recently upgraded to Mac from Windows. Your articles and Janet Ingber's book Learn to Use the Mac with VoiceOver: A Step-by-Step Guide for Blind Users have been true lifesavers, so to speak, with this process.

I have also enjoyed your medical related articles. ?I haven't come across any recent reviews of the current crop of digital players, though, such as the new Victor, the new players from HIMS, the product from APH, etc.

Is this a task you could address for us?

Right now, I have two aging Victors which have served me very well.

Even so, I'd like to have some info to decide which player might be the best replacement for my needs when the time comes.

Thanks again for your great articles and hard work.

M. Todd Morando

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Thanks for such an intriguing look into what hopefully will be the future for most blind people who desire the use of such technology in the article, Repairing or Replacing the Optic Nerve: New Frontiers in the Vision Technology Research, by Bill Holton. Please keep us posted on this and any other companies or institutions involved in this wonderful research, including details regarding how to participate in clinical trials or betas.

Beth Terranova

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Repairing or Replacing the Optic Nerve: New Frontiers in Vision Technology Research by Bill Holton is an interesting article.? I hope the cell regeneration proves successful, but it sounds risky.

Sorry, but that second approach, the tiles implanted on the visual cortex, no thanks.? That scares me silly.?Sounds freaky, not very good vision, and very glitchy.?But if someone wants to be a Guinea pig and can handle it, more power to him or her—and I wish them the best of luck.

David

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

Thank you for AccessWorld.

I especially like the recent article, Repairing or Replacing the Optic Nerve: New Frontiers in Vision Technology Research, by Bill Holton. He referred to his previous review of Argus II, which has only sixty pixels. Please ask him to review the device developed in Tubingen, Germany. It has 1,500 pixels and is reported to be very successful.

James Slagle

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

A Day in the Life: Technology that Assists a Visually Impaired Person through the Day by Bill Holton is a fun article, thank you for it. All these great technological solutions represent fine and of course ever-changing potential for us as blind individuals. Arriving at just how to actually use them seems to me to be the province of those among us with the money, the motivation, the network of instructional possibilities or knowledgeable friends willing to teach us. This article reminds me of the tales of streets of gold, just over those mountains, just across that ocean. My friends who are at my age have this or that product, but we are often living as we did getting to our age, with an exception here or there.

Cost: I have a Trekker, about $700; a talking thermostat, $150 before installation, add another $200 to 250 [for installation]; and a bar code reader, $1,300 (oh and it's only okay, lots of … common everyday things are not recognized); a color identifier, $100, and it's all right, not great; I have an Apple TV, but I kind of forget how to use it, and not only that, the setup and iTunes, let's see, when will my kids be over again? I'm glad to know my cable box and DVR might be accessible, ah but as it stands now, my TV and cable box are inaccessible—well unless I'm motivated to watch the thing, and really I'm not. And hey, NVDA is free, kind of, but I'm really so locked in to JAWS I mean it feels like an investment, I have to confess, I'm not really in a big hurry to learn iOS and NVDA; oh I have the books all right; I bought those books.

You have done your job, informing us of what's out there. We will or we won't make fabulous use and keep up with changes. Progress has been made and the responsibility is on us to get with those products and services that will help us be independent. I have to admit I am not quite as liberated as this article would have me be. The work-arounds we do are still considerable; the question is, How much do we care? Note takers, braille displays, CCTVs, iDevices, I'm glad they are there. In time maybe I'll learn them, maybe not. Cost deserves one more mention, it is said that I can have GPS for free on my smart phone. Ah, but my phone is anything but free. So we decide some things with no clear sense of how to be the best consumer, your article does let us see the range of possibilities. For that I thank you.

Mike Cole

Freedom Scientific Announces Apple iOS Training Bundle

Freedom Scientific has released the Apple iOS Training Bundle, a new training solution specifically designed to teach people with visual impairments how to use VoiceOver and the Apple iOS on devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

This solution, provided in DAISY audio format, contains over 10 hours of one-on-one training on a 2GB SD card along with a PLEXTALK portable DAISY book player. All training is performed by certified instructors from Freedom Scientific.

Training includes setting up an iPhone, using gestures and Siri, and important apps including iTunes, iCloud, Safari, Calendar, and the App Store.

The Apple iOS Training Bundle is available for purchase immediately. It costs $599 and ships on a 2GB SD card along with a PLEXTALK portable DAISY book player. For more information, please visit the Freedom Scientific website or call 800-444-4443. Please stay tuned to AccessWorld for an in-depth evaluation of the training bundle in an upcoming issue.

Announcing the Publication of Accessibility Requirements for People with Low Vision

Accessibility Requirements for People with Low Vision describes what people with low vision need for electronic content, tools, and technologies to be accessible. It includes an overview of low vision and describes specific user needs. Additional information is available from Accessibility for People with Low Vision. The document is a Public Working Draft. Readers are encouraged to send comments or questions.

US Department of Labor's New Web tool Helps Employers, Recruiters Ensure Accessibility of Online Applications and Recruiting Systems for Job Seekers with Disabilities

The US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy recently announced the launch of TalentWorks, a free online tool that helps employers and human resources professionals ensure accessibility in their web-based job applications and other recruiting technologies for job seekers with disabilities.

Created by ODEP's Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT), TalentWorks provides general background on accessibility and e-Recruiting, as well as practical tip sheets for making online job applications, digital interviews, pre-employment tests, and resume upload programs accessible. PEAT created the tool after its national survey of people with disabilities found 46 percent of respondents rated their last experience applying for a job online as "difficult to impossible."

Christopher P. Lu, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor, formally unveiled the new tool during his keynote address on March 22, 2016, in San Diego at the 2016 International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference hosted by California State University, Northridge.

M-Enabling Summit Conference and Showcase Will Be Held June 13–14, 2016 in Washington, DC

The M-Enabling Summit, a conference and showcase promoting accessible technology and environments for seniors and users of all abilities, will be held on June 13–14, 2016 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, in Washington, DC.

With its theme of "Accessible Technologies and Environments for All," the 2016 M-Enabling Summit will provide a platform for empowering mobile technologies and focus on next-generation innovations and breakthroughs for users of all abilities. Supported by major disability and senior organizations, as well as industry associations and the private sector, the Summit is expected to attract hundreds of participants from more than 40 countries, underlining the global scope of new mobile opportunities for users and developers alike.

The Summit's program will focus on accessibility innovations, with over 120 speakers, private sector leaders, app developers, policy makers, mobile accessibility experts and disability advocates sharing their knowledge and experience.? Confirmed presenters include representatives of leading organizations facilitating the accessible technology market.

Experts will discuss accessibility solutions highlighting four major tracks: Mobile enabling solutions, IoT and Smart Cities, Innovation, and Scaling up Accessibility for Business and Government.

2016 M-Enabling Summit key topics:

• Mobile enabling solutions leveraging latest OS and human interface features
• IoT, Smart Homes, and Smart Cities
• Wearables
• Ecosystem in support of Innovation
• Scaling up accessibility in large organizations
• Compliance trends
• Higher Education best practices in leveraging information technology for inclusion

The 5^TH edition of the M-Enabling Summit is organized in cooperation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Complete agenda

Register now

Proposal to Unleash the Set-top Box

The FCC recently released a notice seeking public comment on a proposal that is intended to allow consumers to buy the set-top box used to access Cable and Satellite television on the commercial market as an alternative to leasing it from their provider. According to the FCC proposal, the intent is to give consumers the opportunity to choose how they access their television service. For example, under the new proposed structure, a consumer might watch their cable or satellite service through the provided set-top box or app, or they might choose to purchase a set-top box or app sold by a third party. The FCC is proposing a series of rules to foster competition in the pay TV market and to ensure that consumers' privacy is protected while also protecting service providers against theft of their programming.

The outcome of this FCC effort also has direct implications for people with vision loss. As a result of the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, cable and satellite providers are required, by the end of 2016, to provide an accessible set-top box to their customers with vision loss when requested. The FCC proposes to include accessibility requirements and it seeks input on how to do this for commercial boxes. It also seeks input regarding the best way to handle apps or software programs that enable access to cable or satellite television since it may not be able to regulate an app-based program. The deadline for filing comments is April 22, and the deadline for filing reply comments is May 23.

If you are interested in these or other happenings at the FCC, you can search their website www.fcc.gov for press releases, rules and explanations. You can also file complaints about communications services, including accessibility. There is also a site designed for consumers at https://www.fcc.gov/consumers.

Take the AFB FamilyConnect Short Survey!

AFB FamilyConnect staff requests your assistance and participation in a survey for its website. The goal of FamilyConnect is to provide an online community for the parents of visually impaired children, and to provide parents, grandparents, and other caretakers a place to find the comprehensive and up-to-date resources and support they need, 24 hours a day.

To help us improve FamilyConnect services and outreach we have hired the respected outside evaluation firm of Rockman et al to develop a survey to help us better understand the needs and perspectives of individuals like you who have accessed the site.? We also want to assess the level of your satisfaction with site features, as well as capture any knowledge or tangible benefits you, your child, or family may have acquired as a result of your interactions on FamilyConnect.

Again, the purpose of this survey is to provide information, which can help us monitor and improve the quality of FamilyConnect for you or your child as well as for future users.

The survey should take no longer than 15 to 20 minutes to complete. By completing this survey you will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.

In addition to the survey, we may, at a later date, ask some of you to participate in a follow-up phone interview with the evaluator. Interview participants will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Please note that all data that we collect will be kept completely confidential. We will not use any identifying information in our analyses or reports. No one other than the evaluator and AFB staff will see this information.

If you have any questions about this survey please contact Scott Truax.

Thank you for your participation and support!?Your feedback will provide useful information to AFB in our efforts to continue to help you and your loved ones manage the practical and emotional challenges of blindness and visual impairment.

Take the FamilyConnect 2016 Survey

If you are looking for information on Macs, Apple TV, the Apple Watch, or iOS devices, chances are extremely good that a podcast or blog post from David Woodbridge will be able to answer your questions. His podcasts are very user-friendly and spoken in a clear and pleasant voice. Most of his podcasts concern Apple products but he also does presentations on non-Apple tech products such as keyboards and speakers.

Woodbridge lives with his wife, Ellen, and two sons, ages 9 and 10, in New South Wales. He has four other children from a previous marriage and a granddaughter. He works for Vision Australia, that country's first national blindness agency. Vision Australia is located in Sydney, a one-hour train commute from his home. He records podcasts both at home and at Vision Australia.

Woodbridge described himself as five feet eleven inches tall, with brown hair that is going gray. His eyes are blue and he said that he is slightly overweight. He added, "When you've got a tech job and you're sitting on your backside all day, you really need to keep moving." The activity tracker feature in the Apple Watch is one of the reasons he purchased the product.

Born four weeks premature, Woodbridge was sighted at birth, but progressively lost vision as he grew older. He learned braille when he was 8 years old. Though he does not have any useable vision, bright sunlight still hurts his eyes. During his final year of high school, he had the opportunity to take a computer course. He explained, "It wasn't an official course; it was this professor of computing who wanted to, I guess, prove to the world that blind people can do computer science." He did well and as a result wanted to study computer science at the University of Sydney. Unfortunately, people discouraged him by saying he did not have the technical aptitude to do anything with computers or computer science. Instead, he got a degree in social work. He spent the next four years doing alcohol and drug counseling.

In 1990, Woodbridge received a phone call from the Royal Blind Society, one of the organizations that merged into Vision Australia, offering him a job as a technology resource officer. Fortunately for the blindness community he accepted the position and he is still there today. His job responsibilities include working on the Help Desk, providing technology information to people who are blind or low vision. He gets most of the calls regarding Apple products. He also records his podcasts and is grateful that Vision Australia gives him the time to do them. He explained, "I've got to be in the right frame of reference to do a podcast, so if I'm feeling touchy or irritable I'm not going to do a podcast because it comes over in your voice." He also does "Talking Tech," a weekly radio program about technology for blind and low vision. Every two months, he does "Tech Bytes" in order to update Vision Australia technology services staff on the latest tech information. He also does workshops for outside agencies and Vision Australia staff.

Woodbridge is part of a small group of volunteers that works closely with Apple in Australia. He explained, "The fact that I can pick up any Apple product and actually use it out of the box, which is what I've been saying almost from the word 'go,' it's a real game changer." He continued, "This morning my Mac didn't start properly so I just rebooted and it worked. Sometimes VoiceOver goes off and I just press Command + F5 to turn it on again or [if that happens] with the Apple TV, [by] triple clicking the Home button. There's no other product series, whether it's mobile, desktop, TV, smartwatch or anything else that gives me the level of accessibility that I need. The other reason why I've got it here in my house is if my sons have trouble with their iPad or my wife has trouble with her Mac Air and so on, I know as a blind person I can independently troubleshoot that technology and get it up and running for them again."

It is his opinion that the most important technological advance for the blind has been mobile technology: "When I look back before 2009 I actually think 'how did I keep up with all the technology trends and information that go on before I had a smartphone?' I literally live with my iPhone. It comes off the bedside table at 6:00 am and it's with me till about 11:30 pm at night. I'm always checking my tweets, news, other e-mail sources, Safari, etc., etc." He added, "It's easy to deal with my job, podcasts, and everything else. I think the expansion of mobile technology and the fact that we now have full access to most of the stuff that people with sight can also do on mobile technology, for me that's the major big one I think."

When preparing for a podcast about a new device, Woodbridge tries to decide what people want to do first. He explained, "You don't want to read the manual, you want to get your hands on it. I play with a device for at least six hours and when I'm feeling comfortable with it, I'll do a podcast on it." He continued, "I don't like doing podcasts that cover every single miniscule feature. Sometimes I'll do it, but most of the time I won't." He approaches new software and new upgrades in the same manner. "For example, when I did the podcast on the updated Twitter client for the Mac, I mainly did it to show that it's now accessible, so I didn't go into direct messaging, lists, search, etc. As long as people know it's accessible you don't have to waste your time trying it out yourself because I just did the demo."

If necessary, Woodbridge will do an extremely detailed podcast, such as on the TimeBuzz app for the Apple Watch. He explained, "That to me is one of those revolutionary apps that changes things. The TimeBuzz app changes how you use an Apple Watch. I've literally got a vibrating watch. That's why I spent so much detailed time on that one. Most of the time it's an introductory overview of what I'm doing a demo on."

When it comes to Apple hardware, Woodbridge gives mixed reviews. Asked about the new MacBook, he said it was a bit underpowered: "I much prefer a software improvement than a new piece of hardware. I enjoy the new Apple TV because it's an Apple TV with new software that runs on it." He does have an issue with the new Apple TV: that the beep sounds that accompanied presses of the Siri button were removed. He said, "That's just a good user confirmation that you've held the button down long enough to start talking to the Apple TV. I've noticed now when I'm talking to the Apple TV it's mishearing me because I'm talking too quickly after I've held down the button. If I had the beep I'd be absolutely bang on target."

Woodbridge isn't sorry he purchased an Apple Watch. He said, "I just wish when they did the update for the software that they truly made the apps run on the Apple Watch, not the fact that you had to keep them loading off the iPhone." He added, "The two things I'd love to see in the next generation of the Apple Watch are independent GPS, so you've got a GPS chip in the watch. I'd also love to see a cellular chip in the watch so you can use it as a mobile device making and answering and calling straight to the watch without needing the iPhone." He also wondered why Apple didn't put an FM radio into the Apple Watch, explaining that there was always one in the Nano. He described a situation when the radio could have been very useful. "I think it was last year we had a really bad blackout here. We had really bad storms for a whole week and the only radio we could get was your normal FM radio. There was no Internet access, no mobile, no nothing. I just thought that if I had the FM radio in my watch, at least I could have listened to all the weather reports and all the information about emergency services."

Though Woodbridge is a big fan of Apple products, he is also honest about their products. "Just because I absolutely love Apple and I don't use any other products in my house, that doesn't mean every now and again I'm going to get a little bit irritated with them. The whole house is almost like an Apple showroom." He has a Time Capsule, two MacBook Airs, an iMac, two iPads, two iPad Minis, and two Apple TVs. This does not include Apple Watches and iPhones. There are also keyboards and speakers. He last had a Windows computer at home in 2011. Though he does not have Windows on any of his Macs, he does use Windows at work because there are databases and other information that he can access only with Windows.

Woodbridge has a black Labrador retriever guide dog but sometimes uses additional mobility methods. For example, when traveling by train he also uses a cane to check the distance between the platform and the train. "About 10 years ago I had an accident falling off a train, between the train and the tracks. I broke three ribs when I hit the tracks. When I walk along the platform, I guess because I hurt myself so badly, I always have the cane out to the right a little bit just to make sure I'm not going too close to the edge."

He also sometimes carries a Miniguide, a small hand-held device which uses ultrasound to detect objects. The unit vibrates faster as an object gets closer. Woodbridge has advice for people wanting to review his podcasts. He said, "If you still want to see my old podcasts, particularly on the Mac, Apple TV, and the ones on the Apple Watch, go to AppleVis and use the links in there to get access to my podcasts that way." He adds that the Podbean site is more difficult to use. "The reason why I don't do so much with VoiceOver with the iPhone and iPad is that there's so much out there already."

David Woodbridge's blog and podcasts are excellent resources for the blind and visually impaired, especially for users of Apple products. Give them a try; they are well worth the effort, and they're free!

Find David Woodbridge Resources

David Woodbridge's Blog

Podcasts are available at davidwoodbr.podbean.com or applevis.com

Twitter: @dwoodbridge

Comment on this article.

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• The Fourth-Generation Apple TV: An Accessibility Evaluation for People with Visual Impairments by Shelly Brisbin
• Richard Beausoleil: A Musician Harmonizing with Technology by Deborah Kendrick

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• Using the Audible Accessible Website and iOS App
• Focus on the Hospitality Industry, Part 2: Using Your iOS Device to Book a Hotel Room

When Trevor Thomas lost his sight 10 years ago, he heard a lot about all the things he could no longer do. Most of those "can'ts" involved the activities he had loved best all his life.

Since boyhood, Thomas had immersed himself in what he calls extreme sports. At age 3, he started skiing. Over time, his activity dance card included hiking, mountain biking, racing Porsches, sky diving, and more. Sometimes, he pursued the sports he loved in the company of others, sometimes not. The constant was his love of risk-taking and testing limits, particularly the limit of his own physical endurance.

Then, a rare autoimmune disease changed the game. Overnight, he was significantly visually impaired. At the end of eight months, he was totally blind.

He had finished law school with the dismaying albeit crystal clear recognition that he had no desire to practice law. He had embarked on that educational journey with a fascination for our legal system, but finished his law school education with a certain disdain for corporate practices and billable hours.

"I never took the bar exam," he explains. "And I never will."

He had lost his sight, lost interest in the career path that had taken years of study to complete, and now had naysayers apprising him of his new options, which ranged from limited to nonexistent. A blind guy, ran the conventional wisdom, could forget about all those outdoor sports activities.

Telling the Story with Miles

Some 20,000 miles later, those who believed Trevor Thomas was no longer a hiker were obviously mistaken. Since losing his sight, he has hiked more than 20,000 miles, including all 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail and the 3,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. Before losing his sight, he says he was barely a recreational hiker, camping in the back country for a weekend here or there. Today, the shorter spells are the ones he spends off the trail.

The first several thousand miles Trevor Thomas hiked with a sighted partner. But his partner failed to show one day in Colorado, and the idea of getting a guide dog began to take shape. If he intended to continue rigorous long distance hiking and intended not to turn over the control of when and where he could do that hiking, Trevor concluded that a trained guide dog was the only reasonable solution. He needed eyes to see what lay ahead on unpredictable trails, and his own eyes weren't working.

His background in corporate sales gave him plenty of confidence and conversation so, thinking it was a matter of signing up, he picked up the phone and began calling guide dog training schools. Living in North Carolina, it only made sense that he began with schools nearest the east coast.

One after another, the schools rejected his plan. A guide dog, they told him, could not handle the kind of stress and terrain he was describing. His plan, they said, was dangerous and irresponsible. They weren't in the business of training dogs for hikers.

Then he called Guide Dogs for the Blind. He explained again his love of hiking and his desire to use a guide dog to help him navigate the trails. The reaction, a novel one by now to his ears, was one of challenged curiosity. They didn't know if it would work, but they were almost as interested as Trevor to find out.

A Match Made in Heaven

In October 2012, Trevor Thomas returned home with his new hiking partner, a black Labrador named Tennille. While in training at the Guide Dogs for the Blind school in San Rafael, California, Trevor and Tennille completed the same coursework typical students complete. He learned to command Tennille through town and across streets, to make turns without encountering obstacles, and to locate doorways and stairs.

They also hiked trails in the John Muir Wilderness, using the same signature positive reinforcement techniques employed by the school to teach Tennille to alert Trevor to landscape elements needed for his hiking safety. Tennille's first significant hike with her new partner was 1,000 miles of the Mountains to Sea Trail, hiking from Clingman's Dome in western North Carolina to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. It took two and a half months and no one, not even Trevor Thomas, knew for sure whether Tennille could return to guiding him through city work after that adventure.

She did. On the trail, Tennille carries a backpack with about 3 pounds of her doggie essentials: her bowl, her boots, her Ruffwear, and her favorite elk antler chew toy. Trevor now carries between 38 and 42 pounds, including food for both himself and Tennille, a two-person tent, stove, water purification system, and a few pieces of essential technology.

Trail Preparation

Time spent in the back country ranges from one to seven months for Trevor Thomas, and he estimates that he spends one hour of preparation time for each mile on the trail.

To prepare, he sits down with his expedition coordinator who has gathered every available guidebook and topographical map of the trail. With excruciating detail, the trail is outlined in writing, noting every possible touchable marker available. A cliff, a boulder field, a road to cross, a stream, or river. That detailed course description is then emailed to Trevor's iPhone and serves as his audio navigation on the trail.

"If I know I have about 3 miles to go before a designated turn," he explains, I know from time and my own cadence when we've gone about 2.5 miles of that distance. I then begin to echolocate and follow Tennille to identify the touch marker that tells us when to turn."

Tennille has alerted him to countless dangers, from cliffs to boulder fields to rattlesnakes. "I'm the big picture guy," he summarizes, "and she is the detail girl."

He does not carry GPS equipment. Besides the rapid burning of batteries, he says that much of the terrain he hikes would not be clearly marked by GPS software anyway. Instead, both he and Tennille constantly send Google Earth pictures of where they are back to his expedition coordinator, who can then confirm that they are where they expected to be.

"I'm really not very tech savvy," Trevor says. He owns every Apple product — iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, and a MacBook—but says that he doesn't use any of them with any significant level of sophistication.

The emailed trail instructions documents can be saved to his phone and thus don't depend on a cellular signal. For emergencies, he carries a satellite phone, which enables him to call anywhere at any time.

When not on the trail, Trevor says that Tennille absolutely requires walking at least 10 to 15 miles daily. And he has taught her some pretty amazing city tricks as well.

"In the grocery store," he boasts, "she can identify at least 25 different products." He says he can direct her to find pharmacy, deli, coffee, wine, bread, and more, and she does each flawlessly—encouraged, of course, with praise and a treat for each success.

Sponsorships

Trevor Thomas says that his future will always include hiking. The former corporate sales representative and law school graduate is now a professional hiker and fulltime ambassador for a host of outdoor and canine products. He and Tennille are sponsored by companies such as Marmot, Big Agnes, Ruffwear, Cliff, Taste of the Wild, Ahnu, and Camelbak, among others. They don't accept sponsorship from any product they don't use or fully support.

To read more about Trevor Thomas and Tennille or follow their next adventure, visit Trevor's website.

Comment on this article.

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In the March 2015 issue of AccessWorld, I reviewed Choice of Robots, a title in the Choice of Games series. Choice of Games is a style of interactive fiction where the player reads through a story, and makes selections along the way that change the narrative in various, and sometimes unpredictable ways. Each game in the Choice of Games series must be downloaded separately, if one decides to play on a mobile device.

In this article, we will take a look at another series of interactive fiction games, this time from Delight Games LLC. Delight Games is similar to Choice of Games in that the player works through a story, making choices along the way. Delight Games, however, provides a more unified experience by offering all of their games in one app. The entire library of games is shown in a menu featuring several series of games. The first volume of each series is playable for free, with subsequent games in the series available for purchase. It is possible to purchase a lifetime subscription to all current and future games for $49.99.

I tested the Delight Games app using an iPhone 6 running iOS version 9.2.1, and played through the first game in the Detective's Choice series. There are currently three games in the series, with more games under development. I purchased the second Detective's Choice game for $0.99 from within the Delight Games app. When I made the purchase, I was told that I had purchased Wizard's Choice 2 rather than the game I intended to buy, but when I checked, I had indeed purchased Detective's Choice 2, which was my intent. I also confirmed that I had not, in fact, purchased Wizard's Choice 2, which costs $1.99.

Each series of games in the Delight Games library is shown as a heading, with games listed below each series title. Other series besides the aforementioned Detective's Choice series include Monster Myths, Wizard's Choice, Zombie High, Bionic Bikini, Witch Saga, Solo Books, and Children's Books. Games in the Delight Games series are often referred to as books rather than games.

When playing a Delight Games title, it is important to be aware that you are playing a specific character with certain attributes, and not a character of your own choosing. For example, in the Detective's Choice series, your character is a 1930s hard drinking detective who has an eye for the ladies. If you try to make choices that a gentleman with the highest moral standards would make, your character will stumble all over himself and you will not be as successful at game play as if you took the character's personality into account when making choices. That said, there are still many choices available that will change the outcome of the game in interesting ways.

The Delight in Delight Games

I began playing my first Delight Game title, Detective's Choice 1, while sitting in a bowling alley while my wife supported several of her middle school students who were participating in a tournament. With one earbud firmly in place and VoiceOver slowed down to around 50 percent or so, I soon found myself engrossed in the story.

In the first Detective's Choice game, I played the character of Jack Jericho, a 1930s-era detective who is hired to solve a crime involving the murder of several girls in a burlesque dance troupe. Sissy, the dancer who hires Jack to solve the murders, becomes a target of the killer, and things get really interesting from that point on! All dialogue in the game was very tasteful, and I did not find myself playing an extremely violent or sexually explicit game, which might make some players uncomfortable.

During game play, I was easily able to read all elements of the screen, including my current stats, which included money, cool, life, and rage. These stats changed as game play progressed, and helped me to know how well my character was doing. The one VoiceOver issue I encountered was that in order to access the list of choices for each turn, I often had to do a four-finger tap at the bottom of the screen to ensure that I was on the last page of dialogue in order to see the list of game play choices for a particular turn. Starting at the bottom right corner of the screen, if I flicked left until I came out of the list of options available along the bottom of the screen, VoiceOver's focus went back to the story, and I had to repeat the process of doing a four-finger tap at the bottom of the screen all over again to get back to the list of options. This did not happen all of the time, but it happened quite frequently. Although I would like to see this issue fixed, it was by no means a show-stopper for me, and did not significantly slow down my game play experience.

Very occasional use of music and sound effects occurred when playing the game, but this did not happen often, and did not impede my ability to hear VoiceOver. I have no idea whether or not any graphics appear on the screen, but my guess is that very few if any show up at all.

Eventually, the bowling tournament ended, and it was time for me to be on my way. After shutting down the game and returning to it later, I was pleased to see that my place was automatically saved. In fact, according to the developers, game play is saved across all devices. You reach various checkpoints in the course of gameplay, and it is possible to return to these should you manage to get yourself killed, which is entirely likely. My character found himself dealing with black magic and dodging bullets, among other dangers. There is a Game History menu available at the top of the screen that allowed me to jump back to previous choices I had made. Jumping back to a previous point in the game cost me one coin. Coins are awarded for various achievements, such as finishing games, signing up for the Delight Games newsletter, and following the company on Twitter. It is also possible to purchase coins with an in-app purchase. In addition to coins, the player is awarded a number of life points at the beginning of the game being played. These points change to reflect the character's health status.

In the first Detective's Choice game, I learned that my character, Jack, had some knowledge of black magic, that he had been a cop, that his wife had died, and that he had been accused of her murder. In beginning the second game, I learned that his wife had died due to some sort of paranormal activity. As I play through the remaining games in the series, I am sure that my character will continue to develop. I find this aspect of game play particularly appealing.

The Bottom Line

I find the Delight Games interface and plots to be quite engaging. I enjoy the ability to track my character's health as well as other attributes, such as the "cool" factor. There are tons of achievements available from within the game, and VoiceOver tells me whether or not I have been awarded a particular achievement.

Except for the occasional extra step required to see the list of choices available during game play when using VoiceOver, I found all elements of game play to be very accessible.

If you enjoy playing interactive fiction, but don't enjoy solving extremely hard puzzles at every turn, I would encourage you to play through the titles in the Delight Games series.

Product Information

Delight Games LLC
Playable on phones, tablets, and PCs
Available on these platforms:

• Google Play
• Apple App Store
• Windows Phone
• Windows Store
• Amazon
• Nook

Price: The app is free. The first game in each series is free with a minimum $0.99 in-app purchase for each additional game in a series. A full subscription to all games is $49.99.

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There is a lot to be said for built-in screen access, such as is provided on iOS, Android, Chrome OS, and Mac OS X. Even Windows has its built-in (albeit limited) offering, Narrator. On the other hand, there is also a lot to be said for third-party solutions, such as JAWS, Window-Eyes, and NVDA. The built-in solutions don't always play well with new software that relies on non-standard ways of doing things. They catch up when they can, but third-party screen readers remain in a constant race to see which one can be out of the gate first with new solutions to new problems.

Historically, one-on-one technical support has also been the province of the third-party access companies, though this has changed dramatically during the past several years as both Apple and Microsoft have begun offering telephone and email support for their accessibility products. (Google remains conspicuous by their absence: they still rely on crowd-sourced accessibility support.)

As any user of a screen reader can tell you, there is a difference between learning the functions of a screen reader's various commands and actually using them to compose documents, surf the web, and generally get work done. The major screen reader companies go to great lengths to provide resources to help their users, including this repository of free webinars from Freedom Scientific, and this roster of Window-Eyes webinars from Ai Squared.

For the built-in access solutions, the blindness community has needed to step up and crowd source their own resources, which include dozens of excellent podcasts, mailing lists, and websites devoted to helping one another with screen access needs. There are also a number of books that take deep dives into getting things done using accessibility. We've reviewed a number of these titles here at AccessWorld. One of my personal favorites is iOS Access for All by Shelly Brisbin (full disclosure: Ms. Brisbin has subsequently joined the AccessWorld writing team).

The latest addition to my personal access bookshelf is My Mac Pages: A VoiceOver Guide to Word Processing, by the husband and wife team of Anne and Archie Robertson. The couple has taught many classes on running Pages with VoiceOver, and Ann is a frequent and well-respected contributor to the MacVisionaries Google Groups list.

Formats and Contents

The downloadable .zip file contains three copies of the book: an ePub version, a Pages accessible file, and a PDF file. I opened the book on my iPhone using Voice Dream Reader. I like the way it handles searches. I also wanted to follow along as I read using my own copy of Pages.

My Mac Pages teaches the Mac version of Pages, available for free from the Mac App Store. The book does not cover the iOS version, which is a shame. I think a few tips and tricks would have made an excellent concluding chapter.

Another thing you will not find here is a VoiceOver tutorial. This book assumes that the reader has a fairly comprehensive working knowledge of how to use the Mac screen reader. There is little hand-holding when it comes to navigating text or issuing commands. A few examples: The authors instruct the user in any number of situations to "bring the mouse." Only once do they mention that this means synching the mouse cursor to the VO cursor, and that the key command to do so is VO + Command + F5. In another place the authors advise the reader to create Hotspots to help navigate quickly to certain screen controls, but a text review describing what a Hotspot is and how to create one is not provided. There is, however, a handy appendix listing the VoiceOver commands the user will need to work effectively with Pages.

I find this style of assuming the reader knows VoiceOver both respectful and quite refreshing. Most beginning VoiceOver users will likely as not confine their document creation and editing to the Mac Text Edit app, which is a fairly powerful word processor in its own right. Text Edit is a great arena to learn about VoiceOver; Pages is not. Indeed, most VoiceOver tutorials use Text Edit, Safari, and Mail to demonstrate the various VO features and commands. From laying out a company newsletter to composing a research paper with citations, users of Pages with VoiceOver usually have a specific set of tasks they need to accomplish. Many of these tasks can include some fairly complex document creation and layout options, including color selection, image placement, table creation and editing, and custom page and font layouts. Happily, with My Mac Pages in hand, you will be prepared to do all of these and more.

It would have been useful for the authors to publish the book's table of contents on the book's sales page, instead of providing just a summary of the topics covered. A sample chapter would also have been nice to find.

Needless to say, this is not the place to publish a complete table of contents, but here is my own sampling of chapter titles not otherwise discussed in this review:

• Making Placeholder Text
• Inserting a Signature
• Tables
• Charts
• Managing Footnotes
• Tracking Changes
• Audio Clips
• Movie Clips
• Password Protection
• Creating an ePub Document

The book concludes with five comprehensive appendices:

• Styles Preset Pickers
• Style Formatter Elements
• Chart Types
• Character Palette
• Essential VoiceOver Commands

Much of the information in these appendices is covered in the main text, but it is useful to have it all gathered here for quick reference when you need to know what a feathered brush line looks like, or which frame might look most attractive around an embedded image.

The book is divided into bite-size chapters, each focusing on a specific task or Pages feature. The first eight chapters focus on basic setup and document creation, taking the reader all the way from the Welcome screen to spell checking, saving, and printing a document. Along the way the authors describe how to accomplish these various tasks using VoiceOver. They offer any number of VoiceOver tips and tricks. For example, in the Preferences menu, they suggest the user increase the default zoom level from 125 to 200 to enable the VO command to announce the position of the insertion point more accurately. Later, while discussing the "Shadow Toggle" button, they note: "Although this claims to be a button, it is actually a sort of checkbox but you can only learn its state by bringing the mouse and pressing VO-F5 to speak the item under the mouse. When it's checked, a shadow is displayed above the text giving the appearance of solid letters, casting a shadow above and behind them." This is great stuff, and not just because of the VoiceOver tips.

Advanced Functions

As individuals with visual impairments, many of us are reluctant to delve into fancy effects such as font shadowing, line drawing, shape insertion, and image placement. But what if your job or grade depended on your being able to perform these tasks?

In My Mac Pages not only do the authors offer extensive, step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish these sight-intensive tasks without sight, they also point out problematic areas, offer workarounds when possible, and most importantly, they describe in detail what the results will look like in the document. This is one of the great strengths of a close collaboration between a sighted author and a blind author.

For example, the authors write: "Let's say you want an arrow pointing left with the word 'Home' in it, to point to a picture of your new house." This is a complex undertaking, involving image and text box creation and pinpoint placement, shape editing, and color selection. It can all be done accessibly, and step by step, the authors show you how. I do wish they made more use of bulleted lists, however, to make instructions just a bit easier to follow.

Nearly all of the elements available in Pages each have a dedicated "formatter" which does just that—formats the look and arrangement of everything from an individual chart to an entire style sheet. Each is discussed in detail in the book's final 15 chapters. Again, the authors do an outstanding job of combining features with physical descriptions. For example, from the Style Formatter chapter under "shadows:"

Reflection Applies to Image, Text Box, Shape, Line and Movie. When this checkbox is checked, a translucent inverted image appears below the object, fading into the background color with increasing distance. The visual effect is that of an image reflected in a pool of water. The higher the value set in the slider, the more visible the reflection, and any text below the object covers the reflection.

Final Thoughts

My Mac Pages is not a tutorial, it is a combination users' guide and reference book. Do not plan to work your way through this book in a single session, or even two or three. I learned new tricks to improve the look and layout of my documents from the very first chapter. I will definitely keep this book close to hand whenever I work in Pages.

To sum it up in a single sentence: If you work or plan to work with Pages with VoiceOver, you should definitely purchase this book.

Product Information

My Mac Pages: A VoiceOver Guide to Word Processing, by Anne and Archie Robertson
Cost: $35
Available from: Mosen Consulting

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There are few tasks more associated with using a computer on a regular basis than word processing. Whether it's jotting down a favorite recipe, making note of an important phone number, or writing a research paper, every accomplished computer user needs to become familiar with the concept of writing and editing documents. Of all the programs available for this purpose, none is more widely used than Microsoft Word, especially if you are a Windows user. Over the years, Microsoft Word has grown into a very robust, but also a very complex, piece of software. For a blind person who does not have the benefit of intuitive, visual help to figure out how to complete a task using Microsoft Word, it is necessary to learn a dizzying array of keystrokes, tips, and tricks in order to complete necessary tasks.

There are various resources for learning how to use Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Word in particular, but some of them are costly. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the free alternatives for learning to use Microsoft Word do not take the needs of the blind computer user into consideration.

Lynnette Tatum knows full well how much work is required to learn to use Microsoft Word. Knowing is one thing, but being able to do something about it is another thing entirely. In her more than 20 years as a Microsoft instructor, Tatum received praise from her students for the well-organized notes she handed out in her classes. As she began to lose her sight, she realized the importance of learning to use Microsoft Word's many keyboard commands, rather than relying on the mouse.

As a result of her many years of teaching, Tatum decided to collaborate with developer Michael Doise of iAccessibility to create an iOS app that would aid blind users of Microsoft Word in learning to use the program. The result, in fact, was an app that can be useful to any user of Microsoft Word without regard to visual acuity.

How MLWordTips Works

MLWordTips is available for the iPhone and iPad at a cost of $4.99, and consists of a series of 21 short lessons. Each lesson focuses on one aspect of using Microsoft Word, with a little humor and encouragement sprinkled throughout. When the app is launched, you are presented with a series of buttons, each of which takes you to the specified lesson. The app resembles an e-book, or perhaps a quick reference guide containing clear, concise information about how to use Microsoft Word. Headings and lists help keep all of the material found in this app orderly and easily digestible.

Main Screen

We will take a look at each of the 21 lessons provided in the app, as well as a category labeled "Essentials."

The About Screen

The About screen gives a brief description of MLWordTips and allows the user to visit Lynette Tatum's website where she has posted several blog entries on the process of developing the app. In addition to Tatum's site, the app's About screen also provides a link to iAccessibility, the website maintained by Michael Doise. Since Safari is loaded when you launch these sites from the app, it might be easiest to simply close out the web browser and go back into MLWordTips when you are ready to continue exploring the app. When I left Safari and went back into the app after visiting the two websites mentioned above, the web pages continued to be visible in the app until I activated the "Close" button to leave the About screen.

In the upper left corner of the About screen, there is a "Share" button that allows you to post a short description of the app along with its URL to social media. Along with the button that takes you to the About screen and a heading stating the app's name, the MLWordTips main screen contains the following buttons.

Introduction

This screen gives a brief description of the app's purpose, and provides an "Essentials" button at the bottom right corner of the screen. This button is visible in most every screen of the app. We will discuss "Essentials" later.

The Document Window

This lesson provides a description of Microsoft Word's main document window. Headings are provided for the various sections and subsections of this screen. In fact, this is true for all lessons within the app. Topics covered in the Document Window lesson include the title bar, the ribbon/command bar, the backstage menu, and the status bar.

Simply activate the "Back" button found in the upper left corner of the screen when you are finished with a lesson to return to the app's main screen once again.

Cursor Movement

This lesson discusses the purpose of the cursor in Microsoft Word, and provides keystrokes for moving around in a document by character, word, line, and paragraph.

Quick Editing Techniques

The very basics of editing are covered here, including how to insert and delete characters and spaces, and how to use a space character to separate two words that were previously joined together.

Saving Your Document

In this topic, only the most basic aspects of saving a document are discussed. There is no discussion of how to move to various folders on your computer to save files in specific locations. I would hope that a future version of this app would include more content in this area.

Opening a Document

A bit more information is given here than was the case in the previous topic, including a brief mention of the Backstage menu. I would still like to see more attention given to navigating among folders and drives on one's computer, however.

Closing a Document//Starting a New Document//Exiting the MS Word Application

Starting a new Word document, closing existing documents, and exiting Microsoft Word are all covered here. It could be argued that these topics should be separated out a bit more, but the concepts are simple, and the instructions are brief, so perhaps placing all of these items under one topic makes sense.

Selecting Text in MS Word Is a Shifty Business

The title of this lesson is just one example of the humor that makes this app sparkle in a way that it otherwise might not. There are lots of good shortcut keys and tips for selecting text presented here.

Inserting the Date and Time

Adding the date and time to a document can sometimes be necessary, and this lesson walks you through the process, including how to change default date and time options.

Spellchecking Your Document

There are a number of options available in the spellcheck dialog, and this lesson provides an overview of how to make good use of the Microsoft Word spellchecker.

Formatting Your Document

Two lessons are devoted to character formatting and paragraph formatting. Perhaps these two lessons could have been combined into one, but there is no reason why they should not be separate. The basics of bolding, italicizing, underlining, etc. are covered, along with making sure that paragraphs are aligned the way they should be.

Printing Your Document

This very short lesson introduces the concept of printing a document and encourages the student to explore the print dialog box in order to discover more options.

Changing Font and Size

This section of the app introduces the concept of changing font type and size, as well as changing paragraph styles in your document. As is the case throughout all of the lessons in MLWordTips, important keystrokes are included.

Changing Case

This lesson gives an overview of the three most popular cases in Word: upper case, lower case, and initial case. This is an example of a Word feature that, although simple to use, might be hard to locate if you really needed to use it. This app contains many nuggets of information for even a fairly advanced user of Microsoft Word.

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Text

Anyone who works with a word processor for any length of time will eventually need to move text around in a document. The concepts of cutting, copying, and pasting text are discussed briefly but thoroughly in this lesson.

Finding and Replacing Text

As with cutting, copying, and pasting text, finding and replacing text are important skills for any Microsoft Word user to have. Pretty much everything you need to know about these actions can be found in this short lesson.

Inserting Page Numbers

Inserting page numbers is not something you will need to do every day, and for that reason, you might not always remember how to do it. This section of the app is where you would go in order to refresh your memory.

Adjusting Line Spacing

Most of the time you won't need to change line spacing in a document, but if your college assignment needs to be double spaced, you can quickly find out how to make the change by consulting this lesson.

Applying Bullets and Numbers to Lists

If Microsoft Word is allowed to add bullets and numbers to lists automatically, this feature can either be a time-saver or a real headache. If you want maximum control over the process, this lesson will help you make the desired changes to your document.

Switching Among Open Documents

This very short lesson shows you how to switch between two or more open documents in Microsoft Word. It's as simple as that!

Controlling Yourself in MS Word

This section of the app provides a list of Control key and letter combinations used in Microsoft Word. Examples include Ctrl + A to select everything in a document, and Ctrl + S to save a document.

The Essentials Screen

Except for the main screen of the app, you will find a button in the bottom right corner of every MLWordTips screen labeled "Essentials." Activating this button reveals a list of three topics—cursor movement, auick editing, and selecting text. A "Close" button exits the Essentials screen. When viewing any of the three Essentials topics, the "Back" button at the top left of the screen takes you back to the main screen of the app again.

The Bottom Line

I personally like the approach taken by the creators of this app. It serves as part quick reference guide and part tutorial. I don't find the $4.99 price to be unreasonable, since I would easily pay that for a braille quick reference booklet from other sources.

Navigating the app with VoiceOver on my iPhone was very straightforward. There is a lot to cover when talking about Microsoft Word, and I hope that even more content can be added in future versions of this app. If MLWordTips never sees another update, I still feel that it is worth the price, even for someone who feels that they have a good grasp of using Microsoft Word, but would like a handy reference tool close by in case a seldom-used feature of Microsoft Word is needed.

Product Information

Product Name: MLWordTips
Operating System: iOS
Price: $4.99

Developers: Lynnette Tatum & Michael Doise

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In an age of easy access to digital versions of printed content and readily available audio consumption options, it's common to hear braille advocates lament the demise of braille literacy, especially in educational settings. If this year's International Technology and Persons with Disability Conference (CSUN)—held March 23 to March 26 in San Diego, California—was any guide, braille is making a comeback, and users will soon have a number of new hardware options to choose from, in several price ranges.

In the CSUN exhibit hall, it was clear that assistive technology vendors now rely on modern hardware and operating systems as the basis for their accessibility products. We saw many devices based on tablets running Android and Windows 10, providing a combination of accessibility to these mainstream platforms, and clever features of specific interest to people with blindness and low vision. Here is AccessWorld's take on the most interesting products on display at CSUN. Some are available now, while others appeared in prototype form with promised availability later in the year.

Amazon Fire OS 5

Though Amazon's Fire tablets use the accessible Android operating system, their interfaces are far less accessible than stock Android, due to customization and the lockdown of standard Android accessibility features like TalkBack. The brand-new Fire OS 5 operating system changes that, adding an Amazon-built screen reader, called Voice View. With Fire OS 5, all compatible Amazon tablets, as well as the Fire TV, are now accessible to blind users. The Fire OS also includes low vision features, including text magnification. You can read Kindle books, watch Amazon video, and install compatible apps on a Fire tablet, with prices starting as low as $49 (8 GB, with advertising). Pay more to get faster Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, more storage, and better displays. You won't get the full Android experience on a Fire tablet, but the range of Fire tablets offers plenty of options for consuming media from Amazon and elsewhere.

Orbit Reader 20 Braille Display

Among a bundle of braille hardware products that have been in development for years, the Transforming Braille project device has probably been the most anticipated. With the goal of delivering an inexpensive braille display to a wide range of users and markets, the Transforming Braille Group's most recent prototype, the Orbit Reader (named after the company that's building it), was presented in a CSUN session, and was available for hands-on demos in the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) booth. APH, along with Perkins School for the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind are the three US organizations participating in the project, and each will have a role in marketing the device, inside or outside the US. Once the device is available, APH will be its retail distributor in the US. Orbit Reader is a 20-cell, 8-dot display and simple notetaker, whose low price is possible due to its unique refreshable cell technology and slimmed-down feature set. There's Bluetooth support, an SD card slot, and a USB port, but no Wi-Fi, for example. The device weighs less than 1 pound, and battery life is listed in the specs as one day of use. An APH spokesperson indicated that actual use could provide nearly a week per charge, depending on how the device is used. APH estimates the US retail price will be around $500, and that it will be available in the fall of 2016.

NeoBraille Notetaker

The new Neo Access NeoBraille Notetaker doesn't skimp on hardware features. The 32-cell, 8-dot Android-based unit sports 3 GB of RAM, 64 GB flash memory, AT&T LTE, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, two USB ports, and a mini-HDMI port. It weighs in at 1.5 pounds, and measures 9.25 by 5.9 by 0.75 inches. It uses the Android 5.1 (Lollipop) operating system, and includes a suite of productivity and entertainment apps created or provided by Neo Access. Because Neo Access cannot guarantee the accessibility of third-party apps, it is not possible to download apps from the Google Play Store onto the NeoBraille. This limitation may be a deal-breaker for advanced users and for those looking for a full-featured Android experience, but it may provide peace of mind in educational environments. The cost is $4,995. NeoBraille is distributed by IRIE-AT in the US.

BrailleNote Touch Notetaker

Like all lovers of technology, blind geeks can be an impatient lot. Many fans of HumanWare's braille devices have wondered why the company hasn't released a new product in awhile. One answer seems to be that the HumanWare folks have been busy building a truly unique device. The BrailleNote Touch is a full-featured notetaker, that not only includes the "brains" of an Android tablet, but its touch screen, too. Like the MBraille app, or Braille Screen Input for iOS, the BrailleNote Touch allows you to enter braille on the touch screen, guided by HumanWare's patent-pending TouchBraille calibration system, which intelligently determines where your fingers are onscreen, and which dot combinations you're trying to make with them. The BrailleNote Touch is 10 inches wide, with braille cells in front, and a 7-inch touchscreen behind the cells. To the left and right of the 7-inch screen are additional touch-sensitive areas available for braille input. If you would rather enter braille with traditional keys, put the notetaker in the included Smart Case, which is topped by buttons that activate the touch surface, when used to enter braille. Like HumanWare's other braille devices, the BrailleNote Touch uses a version of the KeySoft operating environment. Though familiar, the new KeySoft has been rewritten to support the advanced features of the new device. The device features two USB ports, an SD card slot, and HDMI port. There's an 8 MP camera, and a pair of stereo speakers. 802.11g/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a GPS receiver provide connectivity, and the device also includes an accelerometer. HumanWare touts the fact that the BrailleNote Touch is Google Play certified, which means its specifications match those of standard Google-approved tablets. The BrailleNote Touch will be available in May, in 18- and 32-cell configurations, for $3,995, and $5,495, respectively.

Braille to Go

Braille to Go (B2G) from National Braille Press (NBP) is another braille project that has taken a long road to release. The 20-cell, 8-dot braille computer is lightweight (20.3 ounces), and offers a respectable array of connectivity features. Based on Android 4.2 (Jellybean), the B2G can be useD alone or connected to an iOS or Android phone. Hardware features include 802.11g Wi-Fi networking. Bluetooth, USB host, and micro-USB ports, a 5-MP camera for OCR, an SD card slot, stereo microphone, and stereo speakers. NBP estimates that the 5400nMh battery should last one to two days under normal use. A slot provides support for GSM or CDMA wireless radio (not yet available, and sold separately.) The B2G is available now for $2,495.

Canute Electronic Braille Reader

Another entry in the reduced-cost braille sweepstakes is Bristol Braille's Canute, a multi-line device that the developers hope can become a "Kindle for blind people." The Mk8 prototype, available for hands-on demos at CSUN, is about the size of a desktop scanner, and features eight lines of 32 braille cells each. That's 256 cells per page, at a cost estimated by Bristol Braille of $4 per cell. The Canute isn't a braille display, but a reading oriented device to which you add BRF files via USB. The multi-line design makes the device an interesting option for viewing tabular information such as a calendar, or computer code. In development since 2012, the Canute is being produced by Bristol Braille Technology, with testing and other contributions from the Braillists, an independent interest group based in the UK, which takes on a variety of braille-oriented projects. The Canute's software API is already open source, and Bristol Braille says the hardware spec will become available to all, via a CERN license. The company says the first shipping Canute devices will become available to members of the Braillists, later this year.

ElBraille

The variety of braille products on display at CSUN led some showers to lead with the question, "What is it?" Knowing that a device is intended to display braille doesn't quite cut it. In the case of ElBraille, developed by Elita and embraced by Freedom Scientific, it's a Windows 10-based docking station that works with Freedom's Focus 14 braille display and JAWS. ElBraille includes the same Perkins keyboard, along with the other keys found on the Focus, and can be used with the braille display, or on its own. Based on a tablet motherboard, ElBraille has 2 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of internal storage, along with 32 GB of additional built-in storage, reserved for the operating system and supporting files. There's also an SD card slot, and USB port. There's Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and a slot for a 3G GSM radio. When docked to a Focus 14 display, the ElBraille combo weighs in at 1.6 pounds. You can also use the device, undocked, as a fully functional Windows tablet running JAWS. For information about ElBraille, email Elita. The company says an English-language website will be online soon. Pricing and availability are not yet known, but prototype units are expected to be available this summer.

Dot Smart Watch

It was probably only a matter of time before wearables made their way into the assistive technology world. Many (but not all) mainstream fitness trackers and smart watches lack accessibility features. And, if Dot is right about its smart watch product, plenty of blind users will prefer to have braille on their wrist, along with the expected connectivity to smart phones. Dot's smart watch prototype, which seems a long way from being ready for market, features four six-dot braille cells, and is promoted as a combination fitness tracker and smart watch, with support for iOS and Android phone integration. Dot hopes to sell the watch for $290, and says it intends to ship the product later this year. Dot is currently seeking testers. If you are interested, contact them at Dot Incorporated.

TrySight Mercury Magnifiers

When you think of portable video magnifiers, it's sometimes hard to differentiate one from another. They do the same basic thing and come in a predictable range of sizes. TrySight's Mercury series magnifiers stand out from the crowd because they combine magnification and OCR scanning with a 7- or 10-inch Android tablet that not only provides connectivity to the internet, but also offers a means of customizing the device's interface in ways that add value for users with low vision. The Android-based Mercury magnifiers (there's also a 5.5-inch unit without the OS) lie flat on custom stands. The legs of the 10-inch unit slant at approximately a 45-degree angle, making it easy to write, or move what you're reading, under the unit. TrySight has obscured the Android operating system under its own software, which features speech, as well as large, brightly colored icons for controlling the magnifier and OCR functions. These are not the only Android-based magnifiers on the market, but they are among the smallest, giving them a portability advantage. The Mercury 7 is $995; the Mercury 10 is $2,495.

The CSUN Takeaway

The annual CSUN conference usually provides the best snapshot of what's new in tech products for users with visual impairments. Buyers, rehabilitation agency professionals, and even fellow vendors and distributors use the CSUN exhibit hall and vendor showcase suites as a guide for making decisions in the coming year. This year's event provided perhaps the clearest look at what to expect from assistive technology products in some time, as well as lots of innovation, especially in braille. It's also good to see standard tech hardware, like Android tablets, finding a place in assistive technology, and hopefully putting at least a little downward pressure on retail prices.

Editor's note: Reporting for this story includes contributions from members of theBlind Bargainspodcast team, which produced extensive audio coverage of CSUN 2016.

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