Full Issue: AccessWorld April 2019

Editor's Page: Announcing a New and Improved AFB Website

Dear AccessWorld readers,

AFB and AccessWorld staff and authors are just back from the country's largest access technology conference, CSUN, which was held for the first time in Anaheim, California, March 12 through March 15, with the pre-conference beginning Monday, March 11.

As we do each year, AccessWorld has conference coverage for CSUN in this issue; be sure to read the article by J.J. Meddaugh and Shelly Brisbin. AccessWorld is also pleased to be sponsoring Blind Bargains' podcasts from CSUN 2019, so be sure to check out all the latest CSUN coverage from Blind Bargains either by visiting its website or downloading Blind Bargains' apps. Podcast transcripts are also available on its website for those who prefer text.

With all the excitement around CSUN and accessibility, I am also pleased to let you know that AFB has unveiled a newly redesigned website that maintains the organization's proud history of accessibility, while making it even easier to find the wealth of information users have come to expect from AFB.org.

AFB was a pioneer in developing accessible websites, long before it was common practice. The new website carries this tradition forward, using a system that has a working group devoted to developing ongoing accessibility improvements. What's more, the system's structure gives AFB an opportunity to contribute to future accessibility developments, in keeping with its mission of being a leader in creating a world of no limits. The site's accessibility for people with visual impairments extends to all the back-end programming and editing functions that make the site run.

What visitors to the website will notice is a fresh, clean look and feel, with high-contrast graphics and a design that adheres to all accessibility guidelines, including functionality for screen readers. The content is simplified and streamlined, maintaining the rich experience users appreciated in the previous site, while making everything easier to find.

This newly redesigned, Drupal 8 website has been optimized for use on tablets and mobile phones. As AccessWorld readers, you need to know that due to the new, easier-to-navigate website, AFB has discontinued support for the AccessWorld app. We sincerely appreciate your downloading and using the app in past years, and we believe you will have an even smoother experience using the new web version.

Find us on the new AFB site by navigating to the new AccessWorld landing page. We understand some readers may prefer an "app-like" reading experience. For those folks, we invite you to bookmark the AccessWorld homepage on your mobile device and use the bookmark icon like a traditional app icon. Below are instructions for creating a bookmark.

Steps for Bookmarking AccessWorld on an iPhone:

  1. Open Safari and navigate to the AccessWorld landing page.

  2. Select the Share button from the row of buttons at the bottom of each Safari screen.

  3. In the list that appears, select the option "Add to Home Screen."

  4. You will be taken to a popup where you can choose the name of the icon that will be added to your Home screen. When finished, select the Add button in the top right corner of the screen.

  5. When you select the Add button, you should be taken to your Home screen on the page where the icon is located.

In the coming months, please look forward to new, more interactive AccessWorld content and features.

As we move through this transition, if you have any feedback or questions, please send me an email.

Best regards,

Lee Huffman

AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief

American Foundation for the Blind

Access Technology on the Move: CSUN 2019 Presents an Array of New Options for People Who Are Blind

J.J. Meddaugh and Shelly Brisbin

After nine consecutive years in San Diego, the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference traveled a few hours north for its 2019 edition. This year’s event, presented at the Anaheim Marriott, featured two exhibit halls, a variety of platinum sponsor suites, and thousands of participants seeking out the latest technology trends.

This year’s show was void of many of the big show-stopper product announcements that have filled these pages in the past. Some companies, including HumanWare and APH, had already blown their cover at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference in Orlando, and you can learn more about what’s hot in 2019 by checking out our coverage of that event. That said, there was still plenty to talk about, including some new and updated apps and a variety of devices.

As in the past, we’ll include links to podcast audio coverage from Blind Bargains throughout this article. Each podcast also includes a transcript.

Feel Your Surroundings with a TMAP

GPS and other electronic navigation aids can be indispensable tools while traveling, but sometimes it’s just helpful to get an overview of your neighborhood without going anywhere. The TMAP project, a collaboration between the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco and the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, enables users to receive embossed maps of a few city blocks or an entire neighborhood.

As Lighthouse’s Scott Blanks explains in this podcast, recent improvements have made these maps even more useful. For one, they now include pedestrian pathways, bike paths, and trails, which are represented by dotted lines. More detailed maps can also include building shapes, which are embossed as filled-in raised splashes on the page. These features, as well as the map’s scale, can be customized to produce a map that is most beneficial to the user’s needs. Maps include both braille and large print markings, as well as a key that explains the abbreviations for streets included on the map. The data comes from the free OpenStreetMap service, which can be updated by anyone but has spotty coverage in some locations, especially for the pedestrian paths and building shapes features. Check out the TMAP website linked above for information on how to obtain a low-cost map for a location of your choosing.

Google and Microsoft Help You Look Out at What’s Nearby

The power and variety of apps that can describe your surroundings continues to grow. Google released the long-awaited identification app, Lookout for Pixel devices on Android. The initial version can help users locate objects, identify bar codes, and read text. You can also take a snapshot to have a scene described to you. When we tested this feature the response ranged from effective ("computer laptop") to wildly inaccurate (“origami paper"). One unique feature to the Lookout app is the identification of nearby objects using a clock face, with notifications like “tableware at 12 o’clock.” If you have a supported device, it’s worth including Lookout in your list of identification apps, though the functionality is not as fleshed out as others in this space.

Perhaps the app that has broken the most ground in this space is Microsoft’s Seeing AI, the wildly popular Swiss army knife of scene description and recognition tools for the iPhone and, now, the iPad. Seeing AI now lets you explore objects by touch. Imagine a photo of a person standing next to a tree with a bench in the background. With this photo on the screen, a VoiceOver user can move a finger around the phone or tablet and each object will be spoken as it is touched. This allows for a greater level of spatial awareness and a better understanding of photos and images. With further advances in object recognition technology, careers like photography become much more viable for a person who is blind. Seeing AI is available for free from the iTunes App Store.

We heard a lot of people talking about Bose Frames, despite the fact that the audio company did not have a noticeable presence at the conference. Bose Frames are stylish glasses that beam sound through your temple, allowing for an immersive audio experience that only you can hear while not masking the sounds from your surroundings. What makes the frames a more compelling option is the promise of augmented reality audio experiences, made possible through mobile apps and censors on the glasses.

AIRA is one company jumping on this bandwagon with their remote assistance app. As Greg Stilson explains in this podcast, the glasses include an Inertial Measurement Unit, essentially a censor that can relay the position of your head to your phone or in this case, a remote AIRA agent. This will allow the agent to more efficiently convey directional information, such as the location of a building or street light, and have this info updated in real-time.

An Updated Portable Computer with Braille: The ElBraille

Computer hardware specs are always improving, often leaving assistive technologies in the dust. The Elita Group has updated the ElBraille, a Windows 10 dock for the latest version of the Focus 40 Blue braille display, to use a recent version of Intel’s Compute Card, an ultraportable computer with a modern processor and specs. Users can either use the Focus braille display as a stand-alone unit, or snap it into the dock for full Windows functionality with the JAWS screen reader. This approach allows for the hardware to be updated at regular intervals according to the Elita Group’s Adi Kushnir. When compared to using a separate laptop and braille display, another advantage to the ElBraille approach is the 17 to 20 hours of expected battery life with Wi-Fi enabled. It will be sold by Freedom Scientific, a part of the Vispero Group, for $5,695 including the Focus 40 Blue braille display, a price that puts it in line with the BrailleNote Touch Plus from HumanWare and the BrailleSense Polaris from HIMS.

Braille at 360 Cells

Speaking of braille devices, we have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel for the Canute, the 360-cell, multiline braille display from Bristol Braille Technology. The first production units are currently being shipped to distributors and the display should be available soon for around $2,000. Put another way, that’s under $6 per cell, compared with the $75 to $100 per cell cost of traditional braille displays. While the Canute prints braille at a speed that is closer to a braille embosser than a traditional interface, it might be ideal for a variety of uses including tabular data, musical scores, and even images. You can listen as Ed Rogers and Dave Williams explain more about the long road to production in this Blind Bargains podcast about the Canute.

A Throwback Simple Smartphone

When I was handed the BlindShell Classic, a candy-bar style phone with distinctive physical buttons, I thought I had jumped in a time machine and landed in 2008. The company’s aim is to offer a feature-packed mobile device for users who want to use some of the modern features of a smartphone but are not comfortable using a touchscreen.

The phone features a standard numeric keypad along with several additional buttons for navigation and answering and ending calls. Features include a phone dialer, contacts, email support, an FM radio, voice recorder, book player, and a color identifier. While it runs a version of Android, this is not apparent to the user and it's not possible to access other Android features beyond those included in the custom software. This is by design, according to BlindShell Consultant Sam Seavey, and is intended to give users a simple and consistent interface for the most-used phone features. Dictation is available for text messages and email, and the device supports 802.11N Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. I found the speech to be clear and quite responsive when pressing keys, and menu navigation was reminiscent of classic Nokia or Windows Mobile phones. And, yes, a headphone jack is still included. The phone is currently compatible with GSM carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile, with support for CDMA carriers including Verizon and Sprint expected before launch. Look for the BlindShell Classic in the United States later this summer for around $400 to $450.

Dozens of Entertainment Choices from a Single Box

The same users who appreciate the BlindShell phone may also enjoy VoxiWeb’s VoxiTV, a set-top box and software package offering a simplified interface for accessing dozens of entertainment and information resources. Services like Spotify, Bookshare, and YouTube can be accessed using a consistent menu interface from a remote control. Over 70 services are included, ranging from music and podcasts to weather and newspapers. The remote includes standard navigation controls as well as media buttons for adjusting playback and volume. It’s available for 600 euros, or about $675 US. Listen to a demo with VoxiWeb CEO Fabien Jeannau on this podcast.

Wear Your Magnifier

Several companies showed the latest versions of wearable devices that can provide magnification for people with a variety of low-vision needs. Each falls into one of two general categories: glasses-mounted cameras and VR headset-based units powered by a smartphone. We wrote about the Zoomax Aceight in a February 2019 AccessWorld article about ATIA, and it was on display at CSUN, too. Most other wearables on the floor were based on headsets, and though these weren’t entirely new for 2019, their prevalence seems to be growing. the IrisVision wearable consists of a Samsung VR headset and smartphone. It’s intended for people with central vision loss of the kind caused by macular degeneration, as well as users with field restrictions caused by glaucoma or RP, according to IrisVision. The updated platform, now called IrisVision Live, provides OCR with speech, and can project text in large print as it speaks. The device now includes voice commands for basic functions, like zoom and brightness. There’s also Google Assistant functionality, with support from Google and from Samsung engineering. You can watch and search for YouTube videos on the headset, and there’s a photo gallery for viewing and saving pictures you take. IrisVision customers can obtain tech support from service providers who can connect to the device remotely. Owners of existing IrisVision devices can be upgraded to the new software. To learn more, see this podcast with IrisVision’s Tom Persky.

TrySight’s ViewPoint is also based on a VR headset. It includes speech recognition and OCR. Voice commands allow the user to zoom, change color scheme, and adjust brightness, among other options. It’s priced at $2,995. Customers can try the ViewPoint for 60 days, free, to be sure it’s right for their needs. Blind Bargains learned about it in this podcast.

More Tablet Choices

TrySight was among several companies showing off portable magnifiers based on tablets. We’ve seen Android and Windows tablets before, but this year, iPad-based devices made their debut, featuring the brand-new, high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro from Apple. The device provides magnification, OCR, and speech within apps from the vendor, and full access to the iPad when you leave the app. TrySight says it offers the only iPad-based OCR and reading software, though we found at least one other vendor offering iPad-based OCR. The foldable stand is metal and weighs less than 3 pounds. The product includes a carrying bag. It’s priced at $3,995. TrySight also sells Windows and Android-based tablets in smaller sizes.

PatriotVision has also added an iPad-based tablet to its magnifier lineup. The Patriot Pro 12.9, currently based on the previous-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro—with an update to the current model coming within a month, pending a new stand design—includes magnifier and OCR software with speech. The Patriot Pro uses Apple voices, and offers a distance-viewing mode, along with reading support. The device weighs eight pounds, including the foldable stand. Blind Bargains spoke with Charles Palmer about the Patriot Pro. He said Android is easier to work with as the basis for a tablet magnifier, but customers, and even institutions providing equipment for people with low vision, prefer the iPad. Palmer says the iPad screen is also superior, which matters in magnification. The Patriot Pro 12.9 is $3,995.

If Windows is more your speed when it comes to operating systems, check out LVI's three-camera ML Tab. It’s based on a Windows Surface Pro tablet, but also includes an optical distance and reading camera, mounted on an arm above the tablet. In total, there are three cameras. The tablet is mounted on a foldable metal stand that includes a reading plate, as well as the camera arm. Below the tablet are physical high-contrast buttons you can use to control the magnifier software. The button functions are duplicated with touch gestures, allowing you to zoom, switch color schemes, or control the cameras. The ML Tab includes OCR and speech, which can be started with a simple gesture. It’s priced at $4,395. The Blind Bargains interview with LVI's Charlie Collins is here.

New Traditional Magnifiers

Traditional CCTVs and portable magnifiers continue to make the scene at CSUN. American Printing House for the Blind is now selling a portable unit called Jupiter, developed with Vespero. The foldable unit features a 13-inch screen and weighs 8 pounds. The magnifier includes reading, distance, and self-view modes, and a light whose brightness is adjustable. Jupiter has 35 color modes. The $3,200 package includes a carrying case.

German magnifier maker Reinecker was showing off several new magnifiers, but none are currently available in the US. The company was hopeful that they would be able to announce US availability soon.

Conclusion

The CSUN Assistive Technology Conference remains the preeminent venue for technology leaders and pacemakers to connect and share developments about the latest advancements in technology. The increasing presence of mainstream companies shows that accessibility is becoming an important component for many more websites and apps. Accessibility experts are becoming more integrated across teams and companies instead of being siloed and ignored. The road to equal access remains long and arduous, but conferences like CSUN prove that there are many victories to be celebrated in the world of access technology.

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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A Profile of Jeff Bishop, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Deborah Kendrick

You may not think that one person can be both a computer nerd and popular—but it's possible!

In reflecting on his own growth and development as a programmer, Jeff Bishop describes himself as a seventh-grade nerd at the Arizona School for the Blind, writing programs and figuring out how things worked. In contrast to the socially awkward, unstylish stereotype that you might think of when you hear the word "nerd," however, Jeff Bishop has an irresistibly warm and open spirit that draws others to him. His gratitude for where life has led him is profound. When he talks about computers, he sounds like a friend describing something wonderful, and you want to know more.

Today, Jeff Bishop is a program manager on the Windows Accessibility team at Microsoft. The idea for this AccessWorld article was sparked by an Internet presentation Bishop gave on improvements that had been made to the Windows Narrator screen reader. If there is one tiresome statistic that everyone connected with blindness and low vision has heard all too often, it is the 70-percent unemployment rate for people with visual impairments. What is it, I wondered, that leads one person who is blind to a job he loves, a job where his talent is clearly respected and where he has the joy of knowing he is contributing to a product’s usability for his peers? Why does he continue to be employed while other people with visual impairments do not? What are the steps that lead to success—and how can currently unemployed people with visual impairments learn from someone who has taken them?

Early Life and Attitudes

Jeff Bishop has always worked. He has always expected to have a career and earn a paycheck. His perception of the origins of his success are clear.

First, growing up as a blind child, his parents encouraged him to do everything he possibly could. He rode bikes. He roller skated. He played hard and worked hard in school.

His parents, he says, were absolutely involved in everything he did and encouraged him to reach higher. When a serious bout with spinal meningitis put him behind in school, requiring that he repeat the first grade, he struggled initially to learn braille. His mom worked with him every night at the kitchen table, learning enough braille herself to be a valuable coach.

His mom’s determination that he learn to read and write braille was critical, he says, as braille has had a tremendous impact on his career. In high school and college, before we had electronic braille, he lugged around multiple oversized volumes of braille books. Math, in particular, he says, would be impossible without braille. Later, as braille displays emerged, he has always used them in his work. From using that first 20-cell Versabraille II, to displays boasting 80 cells or as few as 14, braille has been essential to Bishop's professional success.

Both parents grasped every opportunity to encourage him to stretch mentally and physically. At the grocery store, his mom told him the prices of things and he added them mentally for her, using the math tricks his dad had taught him.

One day his dad told him they were going camping. When they arrived, it turned out that the core plan was to teach Jeff to water ski. He revels in the memory, describing it as a perfect example of how his parents never treated his blindness as an dead end, but rather a prompt for finding a detour. They dug in to find workarounds for anything that he wanted to do.

When he became interested in amateur radio, his dad studied theory with him. And when he became interested in computers, it was his dad who researched and found which product in the exploding field of home consumer electronics might be most accessible to a kid who couldn’t see the screen.

"Braille makes it possible to see layout and design in a way that I can’t imagine would be possible for a blind person otherwise,” Bishop says. “I see it as an absolutely essential tool to do my job."

For Those Before Us

Bishop attributes success to those who built the platforms he depends upon in his work. Louis Braille, of course, who invented the tactile reading system, and Dr. Abraham Nemeth, who invented a system for reading and writing mathematics in braille, are at the top of his list. He also has a long list of computer professionals, blind and sighted, who forged paths for him to follow.

"I owe my job today to all the many giants who came before me," he says, rattling off names like Ted Henter (creator of the original JAWS screen-reading software for DOS and founder of the company that is now Vispero), Doug Geoffray (formerly of GW Micro), Glenn Gordon and Eric Damery (Henter-Joyce), Clarence Waley (GW Micro), and 1980s tech support people like Randy Knapp and Christopher Gray (Artic and Telesensory Corp. respectively).

Finally, Jeff attributes his ongoing success to the colleagues and supervisors he has had on every job who have believed in his abilities and provided reinforcement for his efforts.

"They say it takes a village," Jeff says, "and in my case that has been true. … I have always had the support and collaboration of those around me.”

He cites examples of colleagues getting onboard with innovating and discovering alternative methods for him to approach what could have been inaccessible computing environments.

Career Path

Jeff Bishop's first computer was a Commodore 64 where Jeff cut his teeth in basic programming and assembly language and enjoyed old-style Infocom games when he wasn’t studying for school. Jeff continued to study programming in high school and even partnered with schoolmates to develop a way of getting computer code output using Morse code. "There were short beeps and longer beeps," he says, poking a little fun at those rudimentary beginnings. (It worked well enough that he got an A in the class.) Bishop also received assistance from others to read the computer screen, which laid the groundwork for his future career.

He studied computers in college, both at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, but went to work before graduating. He had married, was beginning a family, and was offered an opportunity to work as a technical writer for Interactive Information Systems. On a 20-cell braille display in Tucson, he worked on mainframes that were on the east coast. It was the beginning of a long and happy career working out accessibility wrinkles with the support of fellow workers.

Next, Bishop had an opportunity to move to California to work for Disney’s Imagineering. He would be writing the software that was used by developers to track the building of thrill-seeker rides like Space Mountain.

Always moving forward, he worked for the coding industry, the automotive industry, on software used to screen new employees, and more. When Microsoft opened a call center in Arizona in 1995, he went to work for his favorite company for the first time. Until then he had been using Artic Business Vision, JAWS for DOS, and an 80-cell braille display that made layout entirely feasible for a blind person. Windows was introduced shortly before his 1995 job with Microsoft began, so he was excited to learn Windows and the program he supported, Microsoft Access. Coworkers and supervisors were quick to help him innovate and problem solve, always working around accessibility issues. Sometimes, he recalls, he was able to perform necessary tasks in Access faster than the sighted customer he was coaching.

In 2001, he had an opportunity to go to work for the university of Arizona, a job that would hold him longer than any previous rung on his career ladder.

At the University of Arizona, Bishop became an IT analyst, working on student information systems and learning management systems. Most tools were fully accessible. When technological barriers meant his career was temporarily thrown into disruption, he was moved to work on a fully accessible platform called Desire to Learn.

Even beyond the work environment, Bishop has found generous support. As professional and advocacy opportunities required that he do more public speaking, he enrolled in Toastmasters to polish his skills. Like most people blind from birth, gestures and facial expressions were not instinctive for him. "Sighted people do things with their hands, their eyes, their faces to help communicate ideas," he says, "that we as blind people aren't always aware of." Toward the goal of learning those visual nuances, he recalls a time when a fellow toastmaster stood behind him while he delivered a speech, in order to coach him through newly learned gestures.

Moving to Washington

Bishop says that his 16 years at the University of Arizona were great years, but in 2017, he was offered the opportunity to work for what many in his field might see as a career pinnacle, Microsoft. He and his wife moved to Kirkland, Washington in July of 2017. Bishop is totally blind, has always worked, and is currently at the top of his game. In his new role as a program manager on the Microsoft Windows accessibility team, he is exploring and innovating ideas that benefit blind and low vision computer users everywhere.

He attributes his success to 1) parents who believed in his abilities, 2) learning to read and write braille, and 3) always being surrounded by people who are supportive of his work and willing to innovate and collaborate when workarounds are needed. And how has he managed to tap into such supportive environments? He is thoughtful for a moment and then explains: “When something doesn’t work for me—a form isn’t accessible, for example—I explain that to others. I try to do it gently and clearly, and the result is that I am teaching them something and they are usually teaching me as well. Sharing that needed approach to make something accessible to me makes me more effective, but it makes other members of my team more effective as well. It’s important to be careful and to be kind."

Bishop is effusive with gratitude, for the mentors and “giants” who paved the way, as well as for sighted coworkers who work alongside him. “I have always been so lucky to work with tremendous, amazing people. I am so thankful for that.”

What he doesn’t say is that his own nature goes a long way toward enlisting that appreciated support from others. He clearly learned at an early age to give as well as take, to teach and encourage others to innovate with him rather than demand. He is generous with his time, giving back by advocating for other blind people in his role as a board member of the American Council of the Blind or making online presentations to share information that might enhance the lives of other blind people. His easy manner and affability are a winning combination that entices others to engage in problem solving with him, and are qualities that aspiring blind professionals in any field would do well to emulate. Bishop loves his job, and the rest of us will undoubtedly benefit from the talent he brings to enhancing computer accessibility.

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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AW Asks the Experts: YouTube Accessibility

Bill Holton

AccessWorld authors strive to stay current and keep our accessibility skills sharp, but we don’t know everything. That's why we're launching the “AW Asks the Experts” series, where we go to those in the know to get you, our readers, the inside track on accessibility and tech. Though we can't offer tech support to individuals, we do welcome your general accessibility questions for, and feedback on, this series.

This article was prompted by a reader question that can be paraphrased as: “What’s up with YouTube? Why is the website so complicated and difficult to use with a screen reader?”

To help answer these questions we consulted with Hueiyen Tsai, Program Manager for YouTube Accessibility. We covered YouTube in general and its layout and some of its most perplexing features. Toward the end of the article you'll find some resources that may make your YouTube video watching more accessible.

The Basic YouTube Experience

“Yes, the YouTube webpage can be very complex and confusing to users of access technologies,” Tsai agrees. “There is a tremendous variety of selections to be presented and considerable functionality to explore and use.”

A quick “sight” tour reveals that the top of each page includes a navigation bar with a "Skip Navigation” button and search region. Various functions, such as "Create a video or post" and "YouTube apps," and commands, such as screen Messages,” “Settings,” and "Sign in,” are also at the top of each page. After that, the web interface splits into either two or three columns, depending on whether you're on the homepage , a search results page (where you see the results of a search you've requested), or a watch page (where you actually watch videos). The left navigation will either be shown or hidden via the "Guide toggle button," although it is displayed ("selected") by default. The Guide provides a list of links that are marked as heading level 3, to take you to Home, Trending (list of trending videos), your Library (which includes all your playlists), and various other quick links. The rest of the page is a series of video thumbnails, unless you're on the Watch page, where the layout is different.

You can usually reach the first video with a few taps of your screen reader’s heading quick nav key, but of course things may change. Google is known for adjusting its interface on a regular basis.

What you will find and where depends on whether or not you are signed in. If you do not have a Gmail account or if you haven’t signed in, the first level 2 heading will offer up a collection of “Trending" videos. These are videos that have proven popular over the past many hours and days. Each video is denoted by a level 3 heading, so it’s easy to go from one to the next. Recommended videos are found at the next level 2 heading, and "Recently Uploaded” at the next.

Once you have signed in with your Gmail account your homepage results will look much different. “We use your search history and watch history to give us a better sense of what videos you would like to see on your homepage,” says Tsai. You may also find various offers to subscribe to special interest channels dynamic collections of videos grouped by producer, topic or theme that you might be interested in subscribing to and receiving notifications for. There is almost always a “Not interested” button, which will make these recommendations disappear…at least for a time.

The YouTube Player

After many years of Flash, the YouTube player now runs entirely on HTML5. Begin any video by pressing Enter or the Spacebar on the title and the player will autoload and begin video playback. YouTube often inserts an ad before the beginning of the video. You can often skip this ad after a few seconds. It can be tricky to find the Skip button while the video is still playing, but a couple of presses of the Tab and Shift+Tab keys will often navigate your screen reader to this button. Tsai reports that Google is actively looking for a more accessible way to notify screen reader users when an ad can be skipped and then help to skip it.

YouTube incorporates many keyboard shortcuts, most of which use either a single character or the shift modified key, such as M for mute/unmute and Shift+N for the next video. Your screen reader will doubtless interfere with some of these commands, so be sure to use your bypass key before pressing < (greater than) to speed up video playback or J to skip ahead 10 seconds. For JAWS the bypass key is JAWS+3; for NVDA it’s NVDA+F2, and for Narrator it's Narrator+3.

Unfortunately, YouTube does not currently support “Application Reserved Keystrokes,” which perform an auto-bypass of certain single-key web shortcuts.

Here is a complete YouTube web player keyboard command list. This list can be accessed anytime on YouTube by activating the Settings menu and then Keyboard commands, or by simply pressing ? (question mark).

As you Tab through the YouTube player you will find many options besides Play/Pause, including Share, Like and Dislike this video, and Next and Previous video. There is also a seek slider for volume.

YouTube Channels

As we mentioned earlier, once you have signed into YouTube and begun watching videos you will be asked if you wish to subscribe to various channels. Channels are collections of videos assembled by a YouTube user. They may contain all of the user's own videos, such as the Microsoft Channel, or a user may assemble a curated list of third-party videos, such as the humor of George Carlin or funny pet videos.

Once you click on a channel, you are presented with the various videos that have been collected there. You can watch them in any order and you can subscribe to the channel to make it easier to summon the next time you use YouTube.

Want to find a good channel that matches your interest? Start at the YouTube Channel Official Site, where you can search for and subscribe to channels

If you search for the term “audio description,” along with videos about audio description you will also find a list of YouTube videos that have been described by the producer of that video. Currently, YouTube does not have a way to add audio description in a secondary language channel.

YouTube Playlists

Playlists are your own collections of videos that you want to watch now or save for later. Perhaps you'd like to make a collection of your favorite music videos and then play them one after the other automatically you can make a playlist to do so. You may also find videos on other websites with the offer to “Watch Later as (your account name)" These videos are saved into a special “Watch Later” playlist on YouTube. Videos in the “Liked Videos” playlist are just that: videos where you have clicked the Like button.

How screen-reader accessible these and other YouTube features are may vary, depending on which browser you are using. Naturally, Tsai recommends Chrome, both for PCs and Macs. For Chrome OS users it’s the default. Other browsers, such as Safari, Firefox, Edge and IE may have issues with this or that feature.

Getting YouTube Accessibility Help…and Offering It

Google offers a central help center for all accessibility and a disability support team, where you can get help with various products, including YouTube, via either email or chat sessions. I used this service when I could not figure how to retrieve a list of additional videos when I subscribed to a channel. The tech was friendly and followed up with pertinent questions. After several chat exchanges and a few emails they used the screen reader I myself use to figure out the solution. You can see the final email with the solution in the last section of this article.

According to Tsai, “one of the hurdles to implementing better accessibility is a paucity of feedback from our users.” Did you know you can become an Accessibility Trusted Tester and offer your feedback and suggestions on new and updated Google products? Or sign up to participate in Google accessibility studies as a potential subject for a future Google Research Study?

A Little Extra Access: Resources for Using YouTube with a Screen Reader

JAWS users may be interested in downloading and installing a free set of YouTube scripts produced by Doug Lee. Use these scripts to help skip ads, check remaining time, mute a video, and other commands that aren't easily accessible. For example, with the scripts installed, typing { (left brace) followed by the S key will skip the remaining ad. Typing { followed by C will take you to the YouTube channel that owns the current video. These commands only work on a video page.

Another way to watch YouTube videos more accessibly is to visit and bookmark the YourTube Accessible YouTube site from povidi. You can also go to the Povidi homepage and search for the accessible YouTube link. (Be warned: visiting YourTube.com directly will lead you to a different site that makes extensive use of popups.) YourTube creates an accessible skin for the YouTube platform. All of its controls are accessible. It achieves near-complete YouTube accessibility using headings, links, buttons, combo boxes, and slider controls. The only control missing from the site is a button to skip ads. But you won’t need it. The site does an excellent job of removing nearly all of them for you!

Getting a YouTube Channels List of Videos

Here is the final email I received from Google’s accessibility support:

I did some testing on my side for you and seem to have found a solution to the issue. Meaning I found a way to access the YouTube page which displays all videos uploaded by a channel, using JAWS 19.

  1. Search the YouTube channel you are searching for or alternatively navigate to the channel name if you are currently watching a video from the channel.

  2. Select the Channel name.

  3. This should bring you to the channel page.

  4. Navigate by pressing Tab until you find the home tab button.

  5. Once you have found the home tab button please press the right arrow key to navigate across to the videos tab button.

  6. Select the videos tab button.

  7. You can then use the Tab key to navigate through all of the videos that have been uploaded by that particular channel, and select at will any one you would like to play!

Note: I found it easier to use the JAWS CTRL+F “find” command to locate the channel name and the Home tab of the channel, and the Down Arrow or CTRL+Right Arrow key to move from there to the Videos tab.

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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Job Hunting with Your iOS Device: A Review of the Indeed and Monster Job Search Apps

Janet Ingber

Thanks to job search apps, it has become much easier to look for employment. You no longer need to wait for the newspaper’s Want Ads section. Now, you can search for employment opportunities from the comfort of your smartphone.

This article evaluates the Indeed Job Search and Monster Job Search iOS apps, from the popular employment sites Indeed and Monster. For this evaluation, I used an iPhone X with iOS 12.1.4.

Indeed Job Search

Indeed Job Search is free and works with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS 10.3 or later.

Indeed claims it is “the most comprehensive search engine for jobs.” According to their App Store entry, they offer jobs in over 60 countries in 26 languages.

Getting Help

Indeed does not offer help through the iOS app, but does have a Help Center on the website. Once on the Help Center page, select "Help for Job Seekers" where you'll find a support form you can use to ask a question about the app or site.

Getting Started

When Indeed is launched, there are three options: Sign in, Create Account, and Use Without Account. If you already have an account with Indeed, you can use that to sign in. Creating an account is easy. You can sign in in with Google or Facebook or create a separate account. If creating a separate account, you will be asked to enter your email address twice and a password once. When the Create Account button is selected, the next screen will load with an option to create an Indeed résumé. If you do not want to do this, the Cancel button is near the bottom of the screen.

You will receive a verification email from Indeed as part of the account creation process. In the email, activate the “Confirm your Indeed account” link. After doing so, you will receive a welcome email.

The next screen has a job search form consisting of an edit box for job title and keywords, a location edit box, and a Find Jobs button. Below the form are links including My Jobs, My Subscriptions, and another link to create your résumé. There is also a link to Change Country. In general, the Back button in this app is on the bottom left and the Home button is on the bottom right.

Activating the My Jobs link for the first time loads a screen asking Indeed to send push notifications. Once you start using the app, when the My Jobs link is opened, you'll find sections including Next Steps, Saved, Applied, and Offered.

The My Subscriptions link leads to a list of emails that Indeed will send you, such as an email with recommended jobs. Recommended jobs are based on the jobs you've clicked on. You can also receive emails with relevant job opportunities based on your résumé. Select or deselect items with the appropriate check boxes. Remember to save your settings.

Creating a Résumé

Indeed provides the option to create a résumé using the app. Unfortunately, the form is somewhat cumbersome and flicking from item to item does not always work. The rotor, set to forms, doesn’t work, so you will need to glide your finger on the screen. You'll enter information using edit boxes, radio buttons, pop-up buttons, and pickers. Information can be dictated into some but not all of the edit boxes.

The résumé form consists of three sections. The first section is where personal information such as name, email, and highest degree, is entered. The next section is for entering information about your education. The final section is for work experience. You also have the option of uploading your résumé.

Searching For a Job

The job search form is on the Indeed main screen. The first control is an edit box for entering a job title, key words, or company. The next control is an edit box for entering a city, state, or zip code. The final control is a Find Jobs button.

In addition to writing for AccessWorld, I am a Board Certified Music Therapist and New York State licensed Creative Arts Therapist. I typed “music therapist” in the first edit box and “New York City” in the second. When I executed the search, the next screen loaded and VoiceOver immediately said, “Music Therapist jobs in New York, NY.” This was the heading at the top of the screen. Below the heading was a pop-up button for salary. VoiceOver said, “Double tap to activate the picker.” By default, All Salaries is selected. Next is another picker pop-up button for choosing distance and another for choosing job type, such as full or part time. A third picker is for experience level, such as entry or senior.

Next is an option for more filters. You can choose how jobs are sorted, such as relevance or date. The first job that came up was a Director of Occupational Therapy. This was not a relevant job, even though I sorted by relevance. I am not trained as an occupational therapist. That was the only job listed for me.

Instead of writing “music therapist” in the search box, I wrote “music therapy,” which yielded more results. The first was a Music/Recreation Therapy Leader. Selecting its link brought up a new screen with information about the job. Within the job listing was the indication, “Your résumé matches this job.”

After the job information were options to Apply Now, Save this Job, and Apply Later.

With headings navigation I was able to go quickly through all the jobs that met my criteria. Each listing included position, agency, location, when the job was listed, and an option to save the job. If you can apply for the job with your Indeed résumé, that will be indicated.

Activating the Save link on a job brings up information about the position that may include reviews of the company, the job description, and required qualifications. There is also a link to apply for the job. Get back to the list of jobs by activating the unlabeled button at the middle of the top of the screen. VoiceOver says, “Button.” If you decide to put this job in your My Jobs section of the Home screen, make sure to save the job at the bottom of the information screen and select the link to add to My Jobs.

After entering your job search once, the next time the app is opened the Home page will be different. At the top is a New Job Search link. Below that link are the words “Recent Searches.” This is not a link or heading. Do not flick to the next option. Either navigate by links or slide your finger down the screen. There will be links to the search criteria you previously used. The most recent search criteria will be listed first. In my example, the first result was Music Therapy - New York City. To access your previous searches using another method, from the New Job Search link flick right and you will land on a link to edit your search criteria. If you keep flicking right, you will find your previous search criteria.

Conclusion

Indeed is a good app overall, but be aware that not everything is clearly labeled or in order. Although creating a résumé in Indeed can be time consuming, you can use it to quickly apply for many jobs. You also have the option of uploading your résumé. If I were looking for a job, I would use Indeed.

Monster Job Search

The Monster Job Search app is free and works on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch running iOS 10.3 or later. Monster Job Search claims to be the highest rated job app.

Getting Help

Help is not available through the app. The Monster website has a Contact Us link which leads to their help section. This section does include an email form you can use to ask a question.

Getting Started

The first time the app is opened, at the top of the home screen are the words “Find Better." Double tapping on these words does not yield any results. Next are two buttons: Create New Account and Log Into Existing Account. You will need to flick right from the top of the Home screen to find these buttons. A forms rotor setting is not available on this page. Next is a More Options button, but activating this button did not perform any actions. The final button is Continue with Facebook.

The account creation form is simple, asking for first and last name, email address, and a password. As with the Home screen, you can't navigate by form controls. Next are requests for Monster to use your location, send push notifications, and the like.

Finally, there is a screen to upload a résumé. Monster does provide the option of creating a résumé from within the app. Go to the Profile tab to do so.

If you already have a résumé, the easiest way to add it is to put it into iCloud Drive. Once you activate the button to locate the résumé you will be placed in iCloud Drive. From there, find your résumé and select it.

Searching for a Job

Once your résumé uploads, a new screen will appear with your name, email, an edit box for your city, and an edit box for your phone number. Since my uploaded résumé has my number on it, that part of the form was already entered.

At the top left of the screen is a graphic labeled “Bold Check.” Activating it loads a new screen where you will answer questions about the type of job you are looking for. The first screen has an edit box for entering your ideal job title. I entered “Music Therapy.” The next screen has an edit box for entering preferred job location. Your current location, if you gave permission for Monster to use it, is another option on the screen. Select it to put it into the edit box. The next screen is for choosing types of jobs such as full time, part time, and contract.

The following screen says, “Welcome to Monster.” You are instructed to swipe right if you are interested in a specific job. Swiping right did not do anything. On the same screen was a Skip button.

The new screen, Recommended Jobs, has a button labeled “Filter Unused.” Activating this button loads a new screen where a user can set preferences for type of job, distance radius, minimum salary, and job posting dates. Here you will encounter additional accessibility issues.

It's not possible to navigate by form controls on this page. The first control is Date Posted. By default, “Anytime” is selected in the edit box. Change this by first double tapping on the edit box. Then, select your choice from the picker at the bottom of the screen. After making your selection, flick left until you find the Done button and select it.

Next was text offering the different types of jobs including full time, part time, and contract. I tried to access some kind of control to make changes, but did not have any success. With sighted assistance, I learned that each control was in a separate box and the entire control was grayed out.

The next control was Radius. Use this to choose how far you want to travel for a job. Flicking right, after you hear the distance that is chosen by default, you'll find a control that will say a percentage and then the word "adjustable." Flicking up on the control will increase the distance and flicking down will decrease it. VoiceOver will speak the new percentage, but you will have to flick left to hear the distance in miles. Once you have made your change, flick right until you locate the Done button and select it.

The final control is for choosing a minimum salary. Voiceover will say that the minimum salary is set to $120,000. VoiceOver also says “Allow Unspecified Salaries.” Flick right until you hear VoiceOver announce a Switch button. By default, it is on this option. Choosing a minimum salary is done with another percentage control. However, this time, although the new salary is displayed on the page, VoiceOver cannot read it. There is no Done button for this control. When I activated the Reset button, my changes for date posted and radius were saved, but my minimum salary was not. Even with sighted assistance and with VoiceOver turned off, there was no change.

The Recommended Jobs screen has four tabs at the bottom of the screen: Feed, Matches, Conversations, and Profile. The Feed tab is selected by default. Here is where preferences and job listings are located. The Matches tab is where information about jobs, including those you have applied to and saved, can be found.

The Conversations tab has messages. I received a welcome message from Monster inviting me to let them know if I had any questions. I wrote them about the accessibility problem with choosing a salary. Even after two weeks I did not receive a reply.

The final tab is Profile. If you have not uploaded a résumé, you can fill in information. You can also edit your information, handle your account, and change job title.

Listings on the Recommended jobs page could not be navigated by headings. For me, there were jobs posted such as occupational therapist and psychologist, though I am not licensed for either of those professions. Monster provided more incorrect jobs than Indeed.

Using the Search form, I entered “Music Therapy” in the search box. Results were a shipping clerk and an executive assistant at a music company. I changed the criteria to Recreation Therapist and got a few useful results.

On the results page, it sounds like VoiceOver is reading several job selections. However, with sighted assistance I learned that there was only one job visible on the screen at a time. There are two ways to navigate results. From the bottom of the screen swipe left until you hear buttons to Pass, Save, or Apply. Above the buttons is information about the job being featured. Those three buttons will appear after every job listing. In order to view more jobs, you will need to choose one of those options for the current job.

Another way to navigate results is to keep flicking right, from either the top or bottom of the screen, until you hear a job title. Double tap on it to find the information. Get back to the main screen by activating the button labeled “Gray Arrow Down” in the upper left corner. Each listing contains basic information about requirements, job duties, and company information.

Conclusion

The Monster Job Search app has significant accessibility issues. Although it is possible to navigate job results, it is significantly easier to do so with Indeed.

The Bottom Line

Indeed is significantly easier to use than Monster. Although it can be difficult to fill out a résumé on Indeed, with some patience it can be done. The layout of job listings is definitely easier to navigate on the Indeed app. I received many more relevant search results on Indeed as well, along with job notifications sent directly to my email inbox. Not all emails were relevant, but I did not need to go into the app to read them.

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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FreeStyle Libre: An Easier Way to Manage Diabetes As a Blind Person

Jamie Pauls

In the February 2017 issue of AccessWorld, I wrote the first of a series of articles relating my experiences with diabetes management as a totally blind person. In that article, I shared my struggles when it came to performing finger sticks in order to regularly monitor my blood sugar. Since that first article was written, I have become more adept at getting enough blood to successfully check my blood glucose, but I still find the process to be tedious at best, and downright frustrating at worst. There have been many times when I didn’t bother to check my sugar before bedtime. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to know the truth, but rather that I anticipated the lengthy ordeal ahead of me. It was easier to go to bed and promise myself that I’d check first thing in the morning. I might keep my promise to perform a finger stick first thing the next day, or I might wait until halfway through my day to check my glucose level. It wasn’t at all unusual for me to go two or three days without checking my blood sugar at all.

If I managed to perform regular blood glucose checks at home for a few days or weeks, I almost never checked when I was out and about. Juggling my blood glucose meter, lancets, test strips, and tissues for wiping away excess blood was often more trouble than it was worth. Finally, I needed to check my blood sugar somewhere private enough that the whole world didn’t hear my glucose meter announce the results of the test, or else add a set of earbuds to the list of things to keep track of.

To be fair, my Prodigy Glucose meter gave accurate results, something I was able to verify when I visited my physician for checkups. If I managed to regularly check my blood sugar, I was able to predict what my A1C would be when my lab results came back based on the readings from my Prodigy meter. There are lots of tools on the Web that will convert the average number on your glucose meter to A1C results.

As a type-2 diabetic whose blood sugar tends to run high, I soon learned that I couldn’t always guess whether my blood sugar was high or in target range for me if I didn’t perform finger sticks and test my glucose levels. I usually had some idea of what my average glucose readings were over a three-to-six month period of time, but I still waited with nervous anticipation and even dread for my next doctor visit.

Several months ago, I began hearing from blind people who were using a wearable continuous blood glucose monitoring sensor that interfaced with a glucose meter. This device was the FreeStyle Libre from Abbott Labs, a company located in Canada. These blind individuals were using OCR programs such as Seeing AI on their iPhones to read the screen of the FreeStyle Libre reader in order to get their most current blood glucose readings. While I applauded their willingness to jump through some hoops to use the FreeStyle Libre, I didn’t feel that I would gain that much by switching from my current method of checking my blood sugar. It wasn’t until an iPhone app that obtained readings from the FreeStyle Libre sensor was released in the US that I became truly intrigued with this product.

There were some blindness-specific podcasts that talked in basic terms about the FreeStyle Libre, but I walked away with more questions than answers. I gave my friend Jeff Bishop a call. Jeff had used another continuous glucose monitoring system for some time, but he had recently switched to the FreeStyle Libre. My phone conversation with him answered many of my questions, and I knew I was ready to give the FreeStyle Libre a try. A Twitter conversation with Caroline Toews, another blind person whom I knew also struggled with performing finger sticks and who had made the switch to the FreeStyle Libre before the release of the iPhone app, convinced me even further that I was making the right choice. Both Jeff and Caroline used words like “life-changing” to describe their switch, and I knew these individuals to be people not given to hyperbole.

Along with my personal conversations, I began watching a ton of YouTube videos about The FreeStyle Libre. None of these were produced by blind people, but I gained a lot of valuable information from them. Most of these videos were from individuals who simply shared their impressions, and were not videos professionally produced by Abbot Labs.

The FreeStyle Libre is not currently available without a prescription from your physician, so I needed to talk with my doctor, who was willing to let me try out the system. My local pharmacy was able to obtain the sensors for me, so I was off and running.

As with any continuous glucose monitoring system, Abbott recommends that you have a backup system that allows for traditional finger sticks. There are several reasons why this is important with the FreeStyle Libre. One reason is that if your readings are extremely high or low, you need to verify the result with a finger stick. Another reason is that the FreeStyle Libre measures glucose levels from the interstitial fluid found under the skin of your arm—the only approved site for wearing the sensor—which causes the glucose level reading to be a bit higher than that of a finger stick. Finally, although the sensor checks your blood glucose level every minute or so, it gives an average of the last 15 minutes when you scan with your iPhone in order to get a reading. This means that the FreeStyle Libre is a bit behind an actual finger stick. If your blood sugar is dropping rapidly, you will need to stick your finger in order to get the most current number.

Abbott would like for you to purchase their reader along with the replaceable 14-day sensors you will use, but I chose to keep my Prodigy talking Glucose meter since it was more accessible than Abbott’s reader. Since my insurance does not cover the cost of my FreeStyle Libre sensors, I pay a little over $80 a month for two 14-day sensors.

Setting Up the FreeStyle Libre Sensor As a Totally Blind Person

For me, applying the FreeStyle Libre sensor to my arm couldn’t be easier, although I had my sighted wife observe the process during my first two sensor applications. In the box, you will find a sensor applicator and the sensor pack itself along with two alcohol wipes for cleaning your arm before applying the sensor. I alternate between my right and left arm each time I apply a new sensor so I don’t have any issues with skin irritation. I have had absolutely no problems in this regard. The only approved site for wearing the FreeStyle Libre Sensor is the back of the arm. As a blind person, I wasn’t quite sure exactly what this meant. After showing one of Abbott’s official YouTube videos to my wife, we determined that I would place the sensor on the upper part of my arm. As a point of orientation, I will explain things this way: I am currently wearing the sensor on my left arm. As I run my right hand across my left bicep and past the large bone in my upper arm, my sensor is located on my arm just in front of where my arm curves around to the underside. When I scan the sensor with my iPhone, I activate the Check Glucose button and hold the phone flat next to my arm. It doesn’t have to touch. I move the phone toward the back of my arm until it hovers over the sensor. It takes almost no time for me to feel a haptic vibration and hear a tone that lets me know the sensor has been scanned. I am then able to read my current blood glucose level using VoiceOver on my phone. More about that later. First we need to apply the sensor.

The sensor applicator is a plastic cylinder that has a cap on top. Unscrewing the cap reveals the part of the applicator that contains a spring-loaded needle. No worries. The needle doesn’t stay in your arm. It is used to insert a filament under your skin that monitors your blood sugar. After the cap has been removed from the applicator, peel the plastic top from the sensor pack. One YouTube poster described this as akin to removing the top from a can of Pringles potato chips. The sensor pack is round except for one area that comes to a point. The outside of the sensor applicator contains a tactile line that must be lined up with the point of the sensor pack. The applicator fits inside the sensor pack, and you press the two pieces together until they click. Then, pull the pack away from the applicator and discard it. Next, use one of the alcohol wipes to clean your arm, and let the area dry. Finally, place the sensor applicator, which now contains the sensor inside, on your arm, and press down firmly. I have literally never felt any sensation at all when applying a sensor. After I hear the click of the sensor leaving the applicator, I hold it on my arm for a few seconds to make sure the adhesive on the back of the sensor has caused the sensor to stick tight to my arm. Next, gently pull the applicator away from the sensor, something that will require almost no force at all. You are left with a sensor on your arm that is about the size of two quarters stuck one on top of the other.

As I go about my daily routine, I am almost never aware of the presence of the sensor. Even sleeping with it on my arm isn’t an issue. I will very occasionally feel a bit of pull if I move my arm just right, and I have bumped the sensor a few times. I experience almost no discomfort, and I have never been able to dislodge the sensor from my arm. Even after 14 days of use, the sensor is still stuck tightly to my arm when I pull it off. There is a slight amount of discomfort when pulling the adhesive tape off my arm, but nothing to dissuade me from using the sensor. Although there is some residue on my arm when I remove the sensor, I’ve never had any issue with the sensor coming away but leaving a large amount of adhesive behind. Also, I’ve never been aware that the filament under my skin has come out of my arm when I remove the sensor. Everything happens in one quick motion.

Using the FreeStyle LibreLink iPhone App

Prior to applying your first sensor, you should download the free LibreLink app for your iPhone. There are a few things you will do during setup of the app, including setting up a free account on the Web. This allows your data to be downloaded and printed later, or you can simply show your phone to your doctor on your next visit. Among other things, you can see graphs of how your glucose levels are doing, view a log book of recent scans, and add notes about meals you have eaten, etc. I have not played with adding notes to the app.

After you have applied a sensor, you will activate the button in the app that allows you to scan a new sensor and go through the process of scanning as though you were taking a glucose reading. It takes one hour for the sensor to be available for actual scanning. The sensor may be less accurate during the first 24 hours of use, but I have found that things settle down more quickly than this. There are times when I have found the reading from the sensor to only be one point off from the results I get with a finger stick and my Prodigy meter.

It is necessary to scan the sensor with your phone no more than once every eight hours in order to avoid gaps in data that is stored for later examination, but I scan much more frequently. One YouTube poster stated that they scanned 40 times a day. Unlike other continuous glucose monitoring systems, the FreeStyle Libre does not push information to your phone or its reader. In other words, you will not be notified if your blood sugar is too high or too low. You must scan the sensor in order to obtain a reading.

VoiceOver reads the results of scans with no problem. There is a setting in the app that allows your results to be read automatically as soon as you scan. Also, this setting tells you whether your glucose levels have been trending up or down, and how quickly or slowly this is happening. The automatic read-out is too slow for my liking, so I use VoiceOver. Unfortunately, VoiceOver does not give any indication about which direction your levels are moving. I hope Abbott Labs will add this ability in a future update to the app.

I don’t find some of the app’s reports to be friendly to access with VoiceOver, but considering the visual nature of these graphs, I’m frankly not surprised. I am able to easily read average glucose levels for 7, 14, 30, and 90 days. VoiceOver only indicates blank areas of the screen when selecting these different averages, but a query of the screen lets you know where you are. For example, you will hear “54 of 90 days” to let you know how many days of data are available for the period you have selected.

The log book is very straightforward and lets you review results from scans you have made on any given day.

I have not asked my sighted wife to view graphs of my blood glucose trends, but I plan to do that in the near future in preparation for showing these reports to my doctor. I have not had the FreeStyle Libre system long enough to be able to present these results to my physician.

Final Thoughts

When I got my first FreeStyle Libre sensor over the holidays, I didn’t feel like spending the money for a second one as soon as the first expired—something the app notifies you of, by the way. I had developed a habit of regularly checking my blood sugar since using the sensor—you can’t check too often—and I thought I might be motivated to do finger sticks since I saw how valuable this information really was. I stuck myself faithfully for about a day. When I was able, I purchased another set of sensors, and I don’t plan to let myself run out going forward.

I find that I now monitor my glucose levels the way any conscientious diabetic should—in the morning, at night, and before and after meals. Even if I don’t always actively scan, I do so regularly enough that I have no gaps in data so I can feel confident about average glucose readings. I did not purchase Abbott’s reader, but it is worth noting that the reader and iPhone app do not share data with one another. When activating a new sensor, you must scan the sensor with the reader first and then with the iPhone.

I find the sensor to be easy to apply without sighted assistance, and I am almost never conscious of the presence of the sensor on my body. Abbott Labs says you should not keep the sensor submerged in water for more than 30 minutes at a time. I am not a swimmer, but those who are might want to take this into account when considering whether to use the FreeStyle Libre system.

To my knowledge, there haven’t been any updates to the LibreLink app since I installed it, and I will admit to having some concerns about how committed Abbott Labs is about accessibility. If an update breaks accessibility in this app, I am definitely out of luck.

Also, not all blind people are smartphone users. Abbott needs to consider creating a talking glucose meter for those who can’t afford, or simply choose not to use, smartphone technology.

When I look back on the stress I felt at needing to learn how to stick my finger and get blood on a regular basis when first diagnosed with diabetes, I can’t help but think about how much more time I could have devoted to learning about managing my disease through healthy eating and exercise while letting the FreeStyle Libre monitor my glucose readings. I would have been better able to regularly check my blood sugar, especially in those early days of treatment.

I find the FreeStyle Libre to be a truly liberating, life-changing product. I hope that Abbott Labs can work with the blind community to make a great product even better in the future through steps such as improving the accessibility of the app and creating talking glucose meters for those who choose not to use a smartphone.

Product Information

FreeStyle Libre sensors come in 10- and 14-day options. I recommend the 14-day sensor. Prices will vary depending on where you get the sensors and whether your insurance will pay for some or all of the cost. The sensors are currently available only with a prescription from your physician.

Get the LibreLink smartphone app here. The Android app is currently under development.

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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The Hunger Pains: A Review of the DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats Food Delivery Apps

J.J. Meddaugh

It’s nine o’clock and you’ve been way too busy to even think about dinner. Now you’re starving and just want to get some food as quickly as possible. In the past, this situation may have led to ordering a pizza or some subpar Chinese food, often the only options available for delivery. But this is 2019, and an expanding category of food delivery apps has emerged to offer just about any food imaginable delivered within the hour.

In an attempt to help solve the question of “What’s for dinner?”, I undertook the terribly onerous task of ordering lots of food in order to research this article. It’s a hard job, but someone had to do it. In order to find out who was the best at delivering the bacon, I focused on four of the most popular meal delivery apps and services, each of which allows you to order from a variety of restaurants: DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. These apps are some of the largest players in the restaurant delivery space, and also have the most nationwide coverage. Even if your favorite isn’t covered here, many of the tips and recommendations in this article will also apply to other food and restaurant delivery apps.

The Basics

Food delivery apps operate under a basic premise. You use an app or website to browse a restaurant menu and choose the items you like. After you place your order, it's relayed to the restaurant. The restaurant prepares your order while a driver is dispatched to pick up your food. The effectiveness of this approach varies widely, and the results can range from receiving your items within 15-20 minutes, to finding out a half-hour later that the restaurant no longer carries the item you ordered.

Signing Up

The sign-up process for each of the sites is quite simple, and involves providing your phone number or email address along with some basic information, such as your delivery address and any special instructions for finding your place. Payment information is collected when you order and can be saved for future meals. Each of these apps will offer some sort of bonus for signing up, such as free delivery or a few bucks off your first order. If you have a friend who has ordered from a service before, ask them to send you an invitation, and then both you and your friend can save a few dollars on your next meal. As you will see below, it’s advantageous to use multiple services if you are going to regularly order delivery, as pricing and promotions will vary from week to week.

The Meat of the Process

If you’ve never ordered food using an app before, the process is very similar to online shopping, with your items being added to a cart as you browse. Restaurants are usually listed by category or feature, or may be suggested based on your prior orders. Most services will show you the delivery fee up front, with places that are closer to you featuring a lower fee. Not all restaurants are available on all services. For example, Uber Eats and Grubhub partner with specific restaurants that choose to join the service to provide a more seamless experience.

Once you have selected a restaurant that you are interested in, you will be shown their menu. Popular items and dishes you have ordered before may be highlighted. Once you select an item, you may be given the opportunity to customize it. For example, if ordering a burger, you might be asked about desired toppings, side items, or if you want a bun.

Once you are satisfied with your order, you checkout by entering in your payment details and any other special instructions. You also have the opportunity to leave a tip directly on this screen, though you could also choose to tip in cash when the driver arrives.

While on the checkout screen, pay attention to the various fees that are being charged. These can easily add up and make the entire experience cost-prohibitive, especially for a single user. Often, the fees will be grouped under a single item, such as “Delivery fees, $8.63.” Selecting this item will often expand this display to show a breakdown of all of the fees that are included. Some of the charges that you may see include:

  • A delivery fee for the order itself, ranging from a couple of bucks to $7.49 or more

  • A service fee based on the items in your cart, often a percentage of the total bill

  • A low order fee, typically $2, for orders under $10 before fees

  • A surge or busy fee in cases where there is high demand for delivery and not enough drivers, similar to surge pricing or primetime fees from Uber and Lyft

  • Your tip for the order (many of the other fees do not get directly passed on to the driver)

As you can tell, it’s quite possible for a small order to be dwarfed by lots of extra charges. I added a delicious-sounding Western BBQ ‘n Bacon Steakburger from Steak ‘N Shake which was listed at $5.29. After the delivery, service, and low order fee, as well as a modest tip, the total was well over $15. This is one reason why I will often bounce between delivery apps, as I can often find a promotion available that will counteract some of these charges.

The Waiting Game

Once your order has been placed, the anticipation from your stomach begins. Thankfully, the apps generally do a good job of keeping you updated of the progress of your food. You will typically be informed when your food has been prepared, when your driver has been sent, and ultimately what time your food will arrive. If there is a problem with an item on the menu, an occurrence more common with DoorDash or Postmates because of outdated menus, your driver or a company worker will contact you to discuss alternatives.

Once you are alerted or notice that your food is about to arrive, it's best to be outside of your building or location to meet the driver. Their goal is to deliver as many meals as possible, and meeting them at the vehicle or door will expedite this process for everyone. Similar to locating your Uber or Lyft driver, the apps will offer a way for you to contact your driver and help you to locate the vehicle if at a location with a lot of traffic or cars pulling up. Since the entire transaction is handled on the app, there is no receipt to sign or fill out. You only need to take the food from the driver and enjoy.

Is Accessibility on the Menu?

This would not be a complete AccessWorld article without talking about the accessibility or lack thereof of the four apps. As I said earlier, I have successfully ordered a variety of items from all of these services with varying amounts of ease and frustration.

Uber Eats seems to be the one service that has intentionally paid attention to the accessibility of their mobile apps. On the iPhone, the app makes considerable use of custom actions in the VoiceOver rotor. This allows you to swipe right and left to move between restaurant categories and then swipe up and down to move through items in each category. This approach is a bit unconventional when compared to using headings and other simpler forms of navigation, but it was easy to follow once I got used to it. While the Android app lacks advanced navigation options (headings on a restaurant menu would be helpful), it too was not difficult to follow and ordering was simple, with all major buttons and controls labeled properly.

While I was able to order food from the other three services, they all exhibited a variety of accessibility quirks and took some time to get used to. DoorDash includes a variety of unlabeled buttons, and it was difficult to scroll around the list of restaurants. Grubhub on Android somehow managed to actually make the names of restaurants and food items hidden to screen reader users entirely, covering them up with useless text and descriptions. Postmates on the iPhone made it really difficult to browse among restaurants, with many scrolling and navigation issues present throughout. That being said, all of these services are usable with practice, and the availability of a restaurant or deal on a particular app may make it appealing on any given night.

All of these apps also feature websites where you can place an order instead. Here, Grubhub is the easiest to follow, and you can browse through restaurants and menu items using headings on your screen reader of choice. The DoorDash website also was relatively simple to use for browsing menus and ordering.

Another nice accessibility implication of these services is how they increase the availability of accessible restaurant menus. While not all menus will be 100 percent current or accurate, an online menu can go a long way to help you figure out what types of food are available from a restaurant and the expected price range. Thanks to these and other websites, I’ve now been able to flip the script and be the person reading the menu to the table at a restaurant instead of a sighted friend or colleague.

One area that could be improved for all of these services is the screen that shows the location of your driver. As might be expected, this is usually conveyed using a map, which is not usable for users who are blind or visually impaired. While the estimated delivery time is usually available, having a way to know where the driver is at any given time would improve the experience, especially when trying to direct them to a hard-to-find location.

Other Things to Chew On

While delivery services can offer extreme convenience, it's worth deciding if the added cost is worth it. I could have the sandwich shop that is four blocks from my house deliver my dinner, or spend five minutes walking each way and pick it up myself for much less money. It’s easy to get into a habit of letting food delivery replace grocery shopping, going out to eat, or even leaving the house at all. This can potentially lead to both social isolation and financial stress. On the flipside, these services can help people in cities with inadequate public transportation or few easily walkable options, and may make it easier to enjoy a wider variety of restaurants. For busy professionals or families, they can give you more time to get things done or to be with loved ones.

Wrapping Things Up

Delivery apps have expanded to towns and cities large and small, and are eager for your business. This has led to an opportunity to try new restaurants and cuisines and basically get just about anything you desire brought to your door. While the accessibility of most of these services could be spiced up, these apps can still go a long way to offering an easy answer to the question of “What’s for dinner?”

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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A Review of the Jitterbug Flip and Smart2 Accessible Cell Phones from GreatCall

Steven Kelley

In 2006 GreatCall entered the cell phone market with a flip phone and cell service targeting users who wanted more accessibility and simplified phone features. GreatCall's first two cell phone models shaped an emerging niche of phones designed specifically for older adults. When AccessWorld first reviewed the Jitterbug in 2007, the two available models featured high-contrast buttons, larger display fonts, higher volume levels, and the option of having an operator place a call or provide basic assistance, like adding contact information to the digital address book.

Purchased by tech retailer BestBuy in August 2018, GreatCall and Jitterbug continue to offer phones to users who seek a simplified cell phone experience.

Physical Description

Jitterbug still offers a flip phone, The Jitterbug Flip. A flatscreen smartphone, the Jitterbug Smart2, was recently added to their lineup.

Jitterbug Smart2

The Smart2 cell phone uses the Android operating system, and functions like any other Android phone, with icons on the screen and apps for e-mail, web browsing, Facebook, and others. These features are packaged beneath a large-print, high-contrast menu structure that combines the power of a smartphone with a straightforward menu system prioritizing the most common tasks such as making a phone call, sending and receiving texts, and taking a picture.

Physically, the Smart2 is a large phone at 3 inches wide, nearly 6 inches tall, and .33 inches high. This format provides 5.5 inches of screen. The body of the phone is almost entirely made of black and gray plastic, and is manufactured by TCL, the same company that makes Alcatel and BlackBerry phones. Although it is a sizable phone, it fits comfortably in the hand and at 5.6 ounces, seems light for its size. It's not water resistant, and the plastic case may not be as durable as those of other smartphones on the market.

When facing the phone, there is a standard headphone jack on the top, a volume toggle and power button on the right side, and a USB port on the bottom for charging and file transfer. The USB port is the old standard, meaning there is only one way to plug in the cord. The newer USB-C port allows the cord to go in either way, would certainly have been a nice touch on this phone.

The battery is embedded in the phone so it's not possible to swap batteries at will; however, the "standby intelligent battery saver,” enables the battery to last several days by placing the phone in a virtual sleep mode when not in use. A SIM card slot and an SD card slot are both found beneath the back cover with the battery. Users can add up to 16G of memory to the on-board 16G in order to store photos.

Jitterbug Flip

The latest version of the Jitterbug Flip, like the Smart2 is manufactured by Alcatel. True to the original Jitterbug models, this phone maintains the easy-to-use clamshell design with large, high-contrast buttons, increased font sizes on the menus, and a substantial 3.2 inch, 480-by-320 color display when the phone is opened. The display is bright and offers good visibility, even outdoors. When the phone is closed, there is a second display on the front, nearly 1.5 inches square with the current time and notifications. The Flip is available in two colors, red or gray.

Overall, the phone measures 4.3 by 2.2 inches, and is .7 inches deep. A standard headphone input is on the left side, near the top, and below it, a USB port. Like the Smart2, this is the non-reversible micro USB, so the cord has to be oriented properly to fit in the port. On the right side, near the top, is a button to engage a bright, useful flashlight, and below this, the volume toggle. The keyboard is backlit, and each number has both a raised number and a raised rectangle around the key. Couple that with the backlit numbers on a black background with plenty of space between each key, and the keyboard is much more accessible than most other cell phones.

At the bottom of the keypad is a red 5Star button, which will contact a live operator if the user has enabled the add-on Health and Safety Package (starting at $19.99 per month). The Smart2 also has a 5Star button on all screens, including the initial lock screen. When enabled, the 5Star service connects users to a live operator 24/7 who will triage the call and contact emergency services, if needed. Operators have access to the user’s location through GPS. For users without the Health and Safety Package, pressing the 5Star button will result in a follow-up prompt requesting confirmation to call 9-1-1. Pressing the Yes button will confirm and place the call. Even without the 5Star service activated, this is a quick, simple step to get 911 assistance.

Documentation

If you are one of those individuals who has been longing for the return of the printed User Guide, the Jitterbug may be just your product! The Smart2 was packaged with a 25-page Quick Start Guide, and a 121 page User Guide. The Flip also offers a generous 140 page User Guide, and a 14 page Quick Start Guide. Although both guides were printed with a legible sans serif font slightly larger than newsprint, many readers will be reaching for a magnifier to read these guides.

The Smart2 offers some additional documentation from the main menu. Selecting All Apps > Support from the Home screen, followed by View Learning Center, will bring up a wide range of topics about phone and app use.

The Flip does not offer a Learning Center, but the menu structure and navigation are quite easy to use, relying exclusively on Up and Down Arrow buttons and a Yes and No button to navigate menu items and return to the main menu. There are far fewer menu items available on the Flip, making documentation on the phone perhaps less essential.

Operator and Customer Support

GreatCall customer support had high and low points during the initial activation. The high points included fast connection during support hours to a live operator who was both courteous and easy to understand. Dialing 0 on the telephone keypad also connected me to an operator. My question about 5Star service resulted in a transfer to customer service.

My Smart2 activation required several calls to the customer service number at 800-820-3558. My first call was an early morning, Eastern Standard Time call that was answered by a recording that sounded as if it were left over from the holidays two months prior. The recording provided their business hours in Pacific Standard Time. Late that evening, and at least an hour before the stated time of support closure, my call again resulted in the cheerful, but dusty, holiday greeting. The following day, when I did reach a support person, she explained that business hours from the activation menu differed from those of regular customer service. This was not at all clear from the recorded message and detracted from the otherwise positive service I experienced from customer service reps during business hours.

Online activation is available using a computer for $25 or by phone with an operator for $35. I completed my Smart2 activation using the GreatCall website to save the $10. It required four calls to customer support to resolve error messages that came up during the phone’s initialization with the GreatCall network. For a time this took us out of the friendly, high-contrast Jitterbug setup prompts and into the world of Android command-line prompts in a much smaller font! These issues were ultimately resolved on the last call by getting prompted through a hard reset of the phone. This may be a rare experience, and the customer service rep was patient and helpful, but this process could be daunting for some users, including those new to cell phones.

Menu Navigation and Accessibility

Jitterbug Flip

Like its predecessors, the latest Jitterbug flip phone offers enlarged fonts and good contrast from five possible color settings. Visually, the text, menus, and keyboard on the Jitterbug Flip are perhaps the best available on a clamshell-style cell phone. Accessibility seems to end there, however, with the increased font size and added contrast. Although the Flip offers a Voice Dial menu item from the main menu, it does not offer additional screen reading accessibility.

When you select Voice Dial, you are prompted to say the name of the contact to call (from your address book). You are then asked to verify the name, and the call is placed once you've verified. Although the Jitterbug lacks the spoken menu features of some other flip phones, a phone call can be placed or received easily using the touchpad alone. Menu items such as the Phone Book, Call History, and the like will be inaccessible for text-to-speech users.

Smart2

Out of the box, the Jitterbug Smart2 required activation using a printed serial number and several introductory screens, none of which offered the option of starting TalkBack, the screen reader that is built into Android smartphones. You can activate screen magnification, text-to-speech, and other accessibility options by selecting Phone Settings, from the Home menu, followed by Android Settings > Accessibility. Although the basic Jitterbug menus are not part of the standard Android operating system, Magnification, TalkBack, and Select to Speak all seemed to work well. An experienced Android TalkBack user may know to try pressing and holding two fingers to the screen to enable TalkBack during the Android system setup. That said, an experienced TalkBack user is probably not going to be the typical Jitterbug user, so setting up the phone, out of the box, as a screen reader user will probably require a sighted assistant.

Apps and Features

Jitterbug Flip

Perhaps the strongest selling point for the Jitterbug Flip is its simplicity and ease-of-use, so, not surprisingly, it offers limited and easily accessible features. From the main menu users may access Phone Book, Magnifier, Text Messages, Camera, Games, Settings, Phone Info, My Photos, and Voicemail.

Magnifier

Magnifier is a handy application that turns the camera into a portable electronic magnifier. It is certainly no replacement for a dedicated handheld video magnifier, but it will be effective for some users and may be a great tool to tackle the printed User Guide.

Phone Book

The Flip's Phone Book contains your contacts' names and phone numbers. Entries into the Phone Book may be made from your GreatCall account or by dialing 0 for the Personal Operator. The Personal Operator is available to any Jitterbug user, but unless you have the Ultimate Health and Safety Package ($34.99 monthly) you will be charged $.99 for each call and the calls will use your plan minutes. In addition to adding contacts into the phone book, the Personal Operator can also place calls, look up a number, transfer you to customer service, and other actions.

Smart2

The Jitterbug Smart2 puts a user-friendly menu over the slightly more complicated Android operating system. The basic menus are text-based and use high-contrast, larger fonts. Some of the apps, like Text Messages seem to be built for the Jitterbug and incorporate higher contrast. Others, like Internet, take you to a standard Google app, such as Chrome or YouTube.

Most of the apps that are likely to be used frequently, like Phone, Camera, Text Messages, Internet, Email Messages, and Phone Settings, appear on the customizable Home screen. At the bottom of this screen is the menu item, View All Apps. When selected, View All Apps opens an alphabetical list of apps that can be scrolled through with a flick up or down. Ironically, the Smart2, with its superior camera, does not have something like the Flip's Magnifier app, although the Camera app with its built-in zoom might be used as an electronic magnifier in a pinch.

At the bottom of each screen, three buttons appear left to right, as constant menu items: Back, Home, and 5Star. Although my current Android phone has both Back and Home buttons at the bottom of each screen, they are small and not always visibly present. For new smartphone users, this consistency with screens and menu items on frequently used applications may make things easier.

Prices and Calling Plans

Where to begin? GreatCall offers a wide range of services aimed at seniors that go beyond voice minutes, texts, and data usage. GreatCall offers a range of service plans coupled with Health and Safety packages that range from $19.99-$34.99 per month. Customers may also select elements of these packaged services and add them to their basic cell service for costs ranging from nothing to $4.00 per month. Both the Flip and Smart2 require a one-time activation fee of $35 if done over the phone with an operator, or $25 if done from the GreatCall website.

Flip

The Jitterbug Flip sells for $74.99 from the GreatCall website. Service plans for talk and text start for as little as $14.99 per month for 200 minutes of talk time on the Flip. Selecting the Ultimate Health and Safety Package for $34.99 per month gives you a 50% discounted rate for the Unlimited Talk and Text Plan, which brings that charge down to $20 month. So for $54.99 per month, you can talk and text as much as you like and have unlimited access to the 5Star and Personal Operator services.

Smart2

From the GreatCall website, the Jitterbug Smart2 retails for $112.49 (discounted from the regular price of $149.99). For as little as $15.49 per month, a Smart2 user can get 600 minutes of talk time, 300 texts, and 40 MB of data. Like the Flip services, adding the Ultimate Health and Safety Package reduces other service fees by 50%, so the monthly charge for Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data plus the Ultimate Health and Safety totals $74.99. As with the Flip, users may select from a combination of talk, text, and data plans and combine those plans with a Health and Safety Package or select individual services.

The Bottom Line

The Jitterbug Flip will appeal to the user with moderate vision loss, where high-contrast and a larger font size make the phone more accessible. But keep in mind that while the Jitterbug Flip’s basic calling functions may be performed non visually by learning the keyboard, texts, reviewing the call history, changing settings, and other functions will be difficult without access to a screen reader on the phone. Text-to-speech accessibility is certainly not new on flip phones and would be a great addition to the Flip.

Although the Flip has limited features, $54.99 per month for unlimited talk and text, plus 24/7 access to a live operator and the features of the Ultimate Health and Safety Package seems like a reasonable cost. Some of the accessibility features the phone lacks may be compensated for with access to a live operator to update the phone book, look up numbers and dial a call, if needed. In addition to the 5Star operators who can alert emergency services and locate the user by GPS, the Urgent Care feature provides access to certified medical professionals for health-related questions, assistance with prescription refills, and the like. In addition, a new partnership with Lyft transportation service permits users to request Lyft transportation by dialing the operator.

The Flip is an easy to use flip phone that may add an extra level of security to complement an independent lifestyle.

As an entry-level smartphone, the Smart2 offers users a more user-friendly version of an Android smartphone. The Smart2 packages all the expected smartphone features of email, web browsing, calendar, Google apps, and more, into a basic, large-display smartphone. It also includes the standard Android accessibility features of Screen Magnification, TalkBack, Select to Speak, and more, to make the phone useful for screen reader users and those requiring additional magnification and contrast.

Like the Flip, the Smart2 offers a la carte packages of services for health and independent living that may be added to the basic cell services of talk, text, and data. Because smartphones require the addition of data service to plans, it will cost as much as an additional $20/month for unlimited everything on the Smart2 versus the Flip.

As an entry level smartphone, the hardware for the Smart2 was less than impressive with its plastic case and sluggish processor speed. That said, its accessibility performance with TalkBack was superior to the entry-level ZTE used by some other cell phone companies.

Jitterbug has done a good job of improving menu design and increasing the ease-of-use for newcomers to the world of smartphones. There is certainly a growing demand for the competent delivery of the types of services available through the GreatCall Health and Safety Packages and for quick access to an Operator to assist with communications tasks when needed. Because of all the features a smartphone brings to the table and the learning curve that necessarily goes with it, it may be worth asking, before making a purchase, if web and email on the go are critical for you. If not, the simplicity, quick access to an Operator, and the independence-promoting service of the various Health and Safety Packages might be a better value on the Jitterbug Flip than the Smart2.

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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<i>AccessWorld</i> News

AFB Applauds Senate Introduction of the Access Technology Affordability Act

On behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind, we applaud Senators John Boozman and Ben Cardin for their introduction of the Access Technology Affordability Act, which would create a refundable tax credit of $2,000 to offset the costs of accessible technologies designed for people who are blind or visually impaired. As we have seen time and time again, having access to the proper assistive technology plays a crucial role in lives of people with vision loss in every facet of their lives, from school, mobility, career, community and aging with dignity and independence.

We thank the Senate champions, along with our colleagues in the National Federation of the Blind, for pursuing this critical initiative that would enable all blind Americans to live a life of no limits.

Google Now Available on BeMyEyes

One of the most impactful news items emerging from March's CSUN conference was a joint announcement from Google and BeMyEyes. Doubtless you are already well familiar with Google and its many products, such as Search, Gmail, the Chromebook, YouTube and the Android mobile operating system. If you are not familiar with BeMyEyes, however, you definitely need to be. BeMyEyes is a free mobile app, available for both iOS and Android, that uses a one-way video stream to connect sight-impaired users with a network of over two million volunteers around the world who will "lend you" their eyes to scan or read anything from a building address to the cooking instructions on a package of instant oatmeal. We've covered this app extensively here at AccessWorld, beginning with A Review of the Be My Eyes Remote Sighted Helper App for Apple iOS and Be My Eyes Now Available for Android.

Along with offering volunteer assistance, BeMyEyes also enables you to connect with specialized help. They began this service by offering the ability to chat and show your screen to the BeMyEyes technical team and Microsoft's Accessibility Answer Desk. Now they've added a third player: Google.

Members of the Google Disability Support Team will now offer video product assistance from most English speaking countries between 8 am and 5 pm, Pacific. Simply launch the BeMyEyes app and choose the "Specialized Help" button to begin your support session.

BeMyEyes Google support is offered in addition to their chat and email support. (Note: The CSUN BeMyEyes announcement came after press time for the AccessWorld Asks the Experts article in this issue.) According to Kyndra LoCoco, Partner and Community Programs Manager for Google Accessibility, "Even if you're using a Google product on an iPhone, we'll help you with accessibility support." Of course to do this you'll need a second device—one to demonstrate the issue and another to make a BeMyEyes video connection. You may already have both an iPhone and iPad or Android tablet. If not, and you feel you may need BeMyEyes help on your mobile device, consider purchasing an inexpensive used phone or tablet. Ask friends and relatives. One of them may be happy to pass along an old phone or tablet collecting dust in a drawer. Just make sure it includes a video camera.

If you plan to use BeMyEyes for computer or mobile device support, another purchase you may wish to consider is a flexible tabletop tripod. It's much easier for a support technician to help you with your screen when the camera is steady. Using a tripod also leaves your hands free to type or swipe without having to set down your connected device—and they aren't budget busters: several models can be had for less than $20.

The M-Enabling Summit 2019

The M-Enabling Summit conference and showcase promoting accessible technology and environments for seniors and users of all abilities, will be held June 17-19, 2019 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, in Washington, DC. The Summit is the annual meeting place for all who create and contribute to accessible ICT products, services, and consumer technologies.

With its 2019 theme of "Accessibility: Transforming Users' Experience," the 2019 Summit will provide a platform for empowering technologies and focus on next-generation innovations and breakthroughs for users of all abilities.

New accessible technologies are rapidly transforming the way users interact with digital interfaces. These technological advances are becoming an essential differentiator in gaining a competitive advantage. The M-Enabling program is designed to give participants the tools, knowledge, and networking opportunities to take advantage of this rapidly expanding market of assistive and accessible technologies.

Bringing together professionals, corporations, service organizations, and thought leaders, the M-Enabling Summit is an all-inclusive conference and showcase featuring innovative technology, mobile applications, connected devices, and services for more than one billion users worldwide.

Registration

The M-Enabling Summit offers a discounted early bird registration rate through April 27th. Register today.

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) Version 2019.1 Released

NV Access, the developers of the free and open-source NVDA screen reader have released NVDA 2019.1. Highlights of this release include enhanced compatibility with a number of programs including the Chrome and Firefox web browsers as well as Microsoft Word and Excel. Beginning with this version of NVDA, add-on developers can specify which versions of NVDA the add-on supports. If the add-on does not support the user's version of NVDA, it will not be installed or loaded. This is intended to avert possible issues that could occur as NVDA is updated in the future. If you would like to see a full list of additions, changes, and bug fixes, visit the What's New in NVDA page.

Letters to the Editor

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I read the March issue of AccessWorld about the leadership conference. All sounds good, but outside of many major cities the blind and visually impaired are still not finding suitable employment. Most people I meet have never heard of AFB. Transportation outside of major metropolitan areas is still a challenge for blind persons trying to get to a job or to other appointments. I have RP but have earned a master's degree and acquired technology skills at the Carroll Center in Newton Mass in 2000,but I still cannot find a good job due to a poor New York State economy. ... I get silence when I apply and potential employers find out that I have a blindness condition. Public ignorance about blindness and adaptive technology is still great.

Tom Malone

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This message is in reference to Bill Holton's article, Three New Techniques for Treating Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

I would like to mention another radiation technique. I have recently filed a patent titled "Deuteron Therapy.” Like protons, deuterons are charged particles that can be very accurately “focused” onto the macular vasculature, and because charged particles stop dead after they reach their intended range, downstream tissues are barely affected. However, the potential advantage of deuterons over protons is that for shallow depths—like the macular vasculature—the lateral conformity and range cut-off characteristics of a deuteron beam are much better than those of a proton beam, in fact they approach the characteristics of a carbon-ion beam. Deuteron beams can either be generated using existing proton cyclotrons, or cyclotrons specifically configured only for deuteron treatments. If radiation is effective for wet-AMD, then deuteron beams should have ideal characteristics for this kind of treatment.

Robert Zamenhof

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This message is in reference to Aaron Preece's March 2019 article, Drink Accessibly: A Review of DigitalPour and Untappd, two Beverage Menu Apps

Thank you for the review of our mobile application this month.

I wanted to thank you for pointing out the limitations that you discovered. 

We are going to turn on VoiceOver and see if we can pin down the oddities that were referenced so we can make the needed changes. 

We are a small company based out of Portland, OR and take great pride at providing our customers and their mobile users a great service that they enjoy using. 

Your feedback helps us, so thank you! 

Best,

Lisa Marcus, Chief Executive Officer, DigitalPour

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This message is in reference to Bill Holton's March 2019 article, Book Review: Getting Started with Google Suite: A Brief Overview of Google's Most Popular Productivity Apps by Lisa Salinger, Kim Loftis, and Chris Grabowski

Thank you for your thorough review of this book. The Mystic Access team, Chris in particular, initially created the Google Suite Audio tutorial for me as a custom tutorial.

Although I believe that Mystic Access has done a thorough job with both tutorials, I would encourage students and employees to consult Google’s YouTube videos and documentation.

Have you considered contacting the Mystic Access team to address some of the concerns you mentioned in the interview? They are very responsive to feedback.

Thanks.

Rebecca Skipper