Dear AccessWorld readers,

Happy Holidays! For our United States readers, Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and a number of winter holidays are just around the corner. This season generally means travel for many and with the COVID-19 pandemic still ravaging the world, I hope you stay safe and healthy if you are planning to travel during this time. In celebration of the holidays, this issue of AccessWorld brings you several articles regarding shopping and gift giving.

First, Bill Holton brings us a gift guide with a focus on the kitchen. For this article, he consulted with Dale Campbell, host of the Cooking in the Dark radio show and owner of Blind Mice Mart. The article is full of useful devices to make cooking more efficient and enjoyable; there are several that I plan to pick up myself.

Next, Deborah Kendrick brings us her yearly gift guide for people with vision loss. This year's guide focuses on technology, and as a bonus, all gifts can be obtained from businesses with owners who are blind.

Finally, Janet Ingber offers her yearly accessible shopping guide, which details several shopping apps and their accessibility or lack thereof. This year, Janet has focused on Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond, and PetSmart.

In addition to the holiday focused articles, Steve Kelley has produced a review of the eSight low vision wearable. There are now many devices that provide video magnifying capabilities, as well as much more, in the form of a portable headset. The eSight 4 is the first of these devices to be reviewed in AccessWorld. For some time, I have been very interested in featuring this class of devices in AccessWorld, so am quite excited to bring this article to you.

Finally, Janet Ingber has produced a thorough breakdown and review of the newest iOS operating system, iOS 14. This version of the operating system brings many significant new mainstream and accessibility features which Janet discusses in detail.

I would also like to remind AccessWorld readers of the excellent bug tracker for iOS by AppleVis. Here, AppleVis keeps track of the bugs that are currently present in iOS that relate to accessibility for blind or low vision users. It seems that since iOS 7, there are generally several severe accessibility related bugs introduced with each new operating system version. These bugs are usually fixed quickly, but before updating my device I always review the report for the latest operating system to make sure there aren't any bugs that will have a significant negative impact on me.

I usually avoid asking for donations in these pages, but since it is the season of giving, I would like to humbly ask you to remember AFB if you are considering a charitable donation this season. The reason that we have been able to offer AccessWorld for free to everyone for the past 20 years is due to the actions of individuals. Aside from project-specific grants, AFB doesn't receive government funding. The bulk of our funding comes from donations made by individuals. In addition, the vast majority of the support that keeps projects like AccessWorld active comes in the form of donations of $25 or less. December 1st is GivingTuesday and if you are planning to make a donation, I would again humbly ask that you remember AFB and AccessWorld when you make your decisions.

From everyone on the AccessWorld team, Happy Holidays! We hope that this season brings you happiness and that you stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Aaron Preece

AccessWorld Editor in Chief

American Foundation for the Blind

Bill Holton

The Holidays are a time of celebration, gift giving, and perhaps just a few too many holiday treats. In this article I combine the treats and the gift giving to offer a shopping list of a baker’s dozen handy kitchen gadgets and accessories for the chef with a visual impairment—or maybe you’ll just want to treat yourself!

When I think of blind-friendly cooking, the first thing that comes to mind is the long-running ACB Radio program “Cooking in the Dark,” from Dale Campbell, proprietor of Blind Mice Mart. Not only does Dale stock a wide inventory of unique and helpful kitchen tools and gadgets in his webstore, he demonstrates many of them on the program he cohosts with Cheryl Cummings. So when I set about compiling this wish list of accessible kitchen gear, I naturally consulted with the chief cook and bottle washer himself. Consequently, some of the items described below are linked to their Blind Mice Mart listings, though many can also be found elsewhere.

The Department of Weights and Measures

Following recipes is easier when you can measure and weigh ingredients accurately and accessibly.

The Pourfect Braille 9-Piece Measuring Cup Set

Ever tried to measure out 2/3 of a cup of sugar using a 1 cup measure? The 2/3 cup measure is marked, but that doesn’t help much. This 9-piece Cup Set includes measures for 1/8, ¼, 1/3, ½, 2/3, ¾, 1, 1.5, and 2 cups. Each cup is labeled in both bold print and braille. It’s available in five colors from BlindMiceMart for $18.25

Braille and Tactile Measuring Spoon Set

This set of four nesting measuring spoons includes a ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon measures. Each spoon is marked in both braille and tactile print. Available from Maxi Aids for $9.95.

Braille and tactile measuring spoons are great for sugar and spice and other things nice, but if you’ve ever tried measuring out a tablespoon of olive oil for spaghetti sauce you know what a messy affair this can be. When I mentioned this problem to Dale Campbell he offered a useful suggestion, which I pass along here.

“There are plastic syringes used to give medicines to infants. I had a friend help me mark the plunger so I know exactly how much to draw it out to fill a teaspoon or tablespoon, and then I can squirt it directly into the mix”.

Ask your local pharmacist to suggest a product. You can also search for “baby medicine syringes” on Amazon, Walmart.com or other web stores.

Talking Kitchen Scale

Whether you are a baker measuring out precise amounts of flour and sugar, or wish to measure portion sizes to accommodate a special diet, a kitchen scale is essential. The VOX 20 talking scale ($42.99) is designed to be used by the visually impaired. It speaks in English, German, French, and Spanish. Use it to weigh up to 11 pounds / 20 grams with an accuracy of 1 gram. There is also a tare function so you can weigh your bowl or other container and have it automatically subtracted from your ingredient or portion weight.

Along with using his for the kitchen, Dale finds this product indispensable for calculating postage for BlindMiceMart parcels.

Slicing and Dicing

Many blind cooks avoid slicing and dicing as much as possible, worried the cutting might extend to their fingers and hands. Here are three products to help trim the hazards of food prep.

Offset Serrated Knives

Most chefs will tell you that you are less likely to cut yourself using a sharp knife than a dull one. That may be true, at least in theory. Of course the counterargument is the fact that a sharper knife cuts deeper. A sharper knife also seems to offer less tactile feedback as it slices through food, or skin. A serrated knife seems to provide a tad more friction and resistive feedback as the serrations cut and tear across the meat or vegetable. So whenever I needed to slice an onion or London broil I used to always reach for a serrated knife. It was often a bit too short for comfortable slicing, but a longer, serrated bread knife was much too awkward. Then I discovered the offset Serrated knife. The blade comes in many sizes, and the handle is raised--which is to say offset-- an inch or so, which makes both slicing and dicing considerably easier. Offset serrated knives come in a wide variety of sizes and qualities. Here’s a link to a Guide to the best in class.

If you do plan to give any knife to a friend, remember, traditionally, you are supposed to ask the recipient for a penny in payment, as according to Buddhist lore, giving sharp implements as gifts--or writing about it--can bring bad luck to the recipient.

Presto Salad Shooter Electric Slicer/Shredder 

One way to avoid a lot of slicing and dicing is to purchase a food processor. They tend to occupy a lot of counterspace, however, and require plenty of rack space in the dishwasher for the various blades, lids and containers. Myself, when I have a lot of slicing and dicing to do, I pull out my trusty Salad Shooter ($48.49.) There was a time when you couldn’t watch a TV program without encountering an ad for this device, with its ear-worm “Salad shooter!" jingle. The product seems to have slipped from public awareness, but it’s still available. Basically, the Presto Salad Shooter uses a feeder tube to direct food onto a circular cutting or grating cylinder. I can slice a potato into thin scalloped slices in about five seconds with the device, or grate a half pound of cheddar cheese nearly as fast as I can push it through the feeder tube with the plastic pusher. And the way the Salad Shooter is designed, I do not believe it’s even possible to cut yourself using the device. The Salad Shooter is portable, it stores on a cabinet shelf, and takes up a lot less room in the dishwasher.

Kitchen Mandolines

Ever wonder how your favorite burger joint gets those uniformly thin onion slices? They use a mandoline, which, basically, is a horizontal blade you swipe the onion, potato or other food over to make slices or juliennes as thin or thick as the adjustable blade allows. Sounds dangerous? It can be. Which is why Dale recommends the Professional Mandoline ($58.49) that features a safety hand guard to help confine your slicing to the food.

Hot Stuff!

Does your heart race just a bit when you open the oven and get a blast of 450 degree heat so you can check your frozen pizza? You can’t hear the cheese bubbling, so you barely touch it with the tip of a finger. Yikes--that’s hot! “Whenever there’s a chance you might need to touch some hot food set a small bowl of water on the counter,” Dale suggests. “Dip your finger in the water before you touch that hot cheese, or the burger you’re not sure flipped completely over in the skillet. The water will sizzle before your fingertip.” You might also consider:

Grips Mitts

Traditional square potholders are great…if you can see the grab handles of that hot casserole dish, and if you’re sure you aren’t going to graze a higher oven rack and wind up burning the back of your hand. Cotton oven mitts offer extra protection, but they can be cumbersome, and after a few washings they can get pretty ragged. The Cooking In The Dark Grips Long Baking Mitts Set ($45.00) are made from a non-porous material called FLXaPrene that not only blocks heat, it also stops bacteria growth and prevents stains that cause bacteria buildup. They are long enough to protect both hands and forearms from steam, grease and even icy water ranging from 500 degrees down to 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Their thin construction also helps you identify what’s being touched--“is that chicken breast on the grill skin side up or down?” They can also be tossed onto the top rack of your dishwasher.

Talking Oven Thermometer

Is that T-bone I’m grilling rare, medium or well done? Is my roast chicken cooked to temperature? An oven thermometer is a must have for safe and accurate cooking, and here’s one that talks. Insert the probe of this Talking Cooking Thermometer ($34.25) into meats, liquids, or anything else you want to gauge, wait a few seconds, then press the "talk" button to hear the temperature spoken voiced in a clear female voice. Measures 58 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit.

Liquid Level Indicator

Kitchen scalding isn’t limited to the oven and range top. What if you want to pour a cup of steaming t coffee, tea or cocoa? Vision impaired individuals often rely on the changing sound when a glass or mug is filling to alert them when the container is nearly full. Newly blind persons may not yet have mastered the technique, and those with hearing loss may also find this difficult. Many blind individuals dip a finger into the glass or cup to help determined when it’s time to say when. But here’s a better solution. Place this Liquid Level Indicator audible and vibratory ($15.29) gauge on the side of a cup, glass or jug and the sensors will let you know when the liquid gets to the top, through a series of beeping sounds and vibrations. Even better--this device offers two separate alerts--great for when you want cream in your coffee. Pour your favorite French roast until you hear the first beep, then top off with cream until you hear the second.

Home, Home on the Range Top!

Let’s round out our accessible kitchen shopping guide with a few items to help on the stovetop.

Pot Watcher

They say a watched pot never boils. What they don’t tell you is that if you get distracted, or wander into another room, a “listened for” pot can boil over before you know what happened. But toss a pot watcher into the mix, and when the water begins to bubble this simple glass disk will vibrate and start rattling, the faster the boiling the louder the rattle. At less than $9.00 for two at Amazon, the Fox Run Glass Boil Alert is the ideal budget gift for the blind or hearing impaired person on your holiday list.

Double Silicone Turner / Tongs

Flip your food easily with this wide silicone spatula with a silicone coated wire coil clamp head that acts like a turner and tongs all in one. Great for gripping and turning burgers, chicken, fish, steaks, chops, sausage patties & links, eggs and much more! The Double Silicone Turner / Tongs ($16.00) is heat resistant up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and has a Push/pull locking mechanism to keep the turner closed when not in use.

Double Sided Flip Pan

There are professional chefs who can flip a pan and have an omelet fold and land perfectly. If this isn’t you--I can’t successfully flip an omelet, even with a pair of spatulas--then you might wish to consider a divided, double sided pan. Divide the eggs into the two halves of the pan. Add cheese, ham and other fillings and cook until set. Flip the pan in half, cook a bit longer, then enjoy a perfectly cooked omelet. Or pour pancake batter into half, then do a double flip to turn the pancake over. You can find divided pans nearly anywhere kitchen gear is sold. For example, Home Depot offers the Gotham Steel 7 In Non Stick Ti Ceramic Pancake Bonanza The Easy for just $19.99.

Filling out the Baker’s Dozen

The 13th item in a baker’s dozen is that extra treat for sampling, and here’s a tasty delight you may wish to sample for yourself.

Home Appliance Labeling and Overlay Systems

Without a doubt the kitchen would be a much more accessible place to prepare holiday treats if your oven, microwave and dishwasher were more accessible. These days a growing number of these appliances have forgone knobs in favor of flat, touch controls. Here at AccessWorld we try to keep you updated on advances in accessible kitchen appliances. For example, in the February 2020 AccessWorld I reviewed the new Black + Decker Talking Toaster Oven. Two months before that fellow AccessWorld author Janet Ingber offered up an in-depth look at Amazon’s Alexa enabled, voice accessible microwave oven which can be had for just $59.99. We’ll keep you updated on accessible kitchen appliances, but in the meantime you may wish to consider a set of Home Appliance Labeling and Overlay Systems (HALOS)

HALOS are tactile adhesive icons that can replace the Braille dots used by many vision impaired individuals to help operate the microwave, oven, dishwasher and other household appliances. There shapes indicate their function. For example, an X for Stop and an Up Arrow to increment a setting up one notch. HALOS are also available in multi colors, which will help those with low vision. Custom tactile overlays can also be created to fit your individual make and model appliance. HALOs sets and custom templets can be purchased here.

Have you found an indispensable kitchen helper not mentioned in this article? We’d love to hear about it.

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

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• A Review of Dinner Delivered: Accessible and Easy Ways to Receive Meals Direct to Your Door, by Kim Loftis and Chris Grabowski by Bill Holton
• Accessible Guitar Instruction and Music Resources by Bill Holton

More by this author:

• Review: Get Cracking with Chrome for Windows, by Dean Martineau
• Assistance May be Right Next Door: A Review of Nextdoor.com

November 2020 Table of Contents

Deborah Kendrick

It’s that time of year again and never before in our collective memory has there been such a confusing holiday season.  Do we gather with loved ones or not is certainly the first question on most of our minds. And, once we figure that out, the pandemic also weighs in when it comes to selecting the best gifts.

Gifts that require going somewhere – such as theater tickets or museum memberships – might not be the best choices right now, since so many venues are operating on limited schedules or not open at all. And, of course, if your gift recipients are blind or low vision, the social distancing required in such facilities pretty much negates the pleasure of the experience.

Games that require playing with others in an up-close and personal way may not be the most satisfying gift choices in 2020 either. But enough of this talk about what doesn’t work! There are plenty of great gift ideas in 2020, and many of them can be delivered to you or your favorite recipient for under $100.

Keep it simple, keep it clean

In this era of COVID-19, we all know the rules: wash your hands, wear a mask, stick to small gatherings and distance yourself from others. Bottles of hand sanitizer and canisters of bleach wipes don’t make very thrilling surprises, but there are items which can add to the rule of simplicity and cleanliness while adding a spark of joy as well.

One of the first rules learned by folks new to vision loss is the importance of maintaining order. Being organized also makes it much easier to disinfect the surfaces around you.  Here are a few items which will bring a smile to the blind technology lover.

Talking smartphone sanitizer

What do all of us touch thousands of times every day? Our smartphones or tablets or other mobile devices. In response to this fact, devices employing ultraviolet rays to disinfect phones and other small object grew quickly in popularity with the pandemic. 

Two unique models available from Mystic Access offer voice prompts to tell you when the disinfecting process has begun and when it is complete. One model offers aromatherapy as well, and both can accommodate other small items – think cash, keys, credit cards, or other tiny items you touch all the time. Choose between a five minute version with aromatherapy or fifteen minute version with wireless charging capabilities. $65 from Mystic Access, www.mysticaccess.com or call (716) 543-3323.

Other items to keep desk clutter under control are cables and chargers. Choose three nylon braided cables with reversible micro usb connectivity or three for USBC, each trio $20 from Mystic Access.

There’s nothing like bags and pouches for organizing your items – from technology to jewelry to any other collectible – and Guidelights and Gadgets have bags of just about any size for every occasion. All are genuine leather and affordably priced. From tiny bags to hold ear buds, dog treats, or a spare key, to the new crossbody roomy leather chest pack with upright phone pouch ($55) for convenience when using AIRA and Be My Eyes, there’s a bag to fit your needs. Email your questions or orders to Barry Scheur, bscheur@scheur.com, or call him at (617) 969-7500.

Little packages

Smaller items can mean less clutter, too, and there are a number of small products available to add productivity to the access technology user’s life. The Orbit Writer, a six-key braille input keyboard that can connect to your smart phone or tablet is small enough to fit in a purse or pocket. Buy the Orbit Writer Bundle from Guidelights and gadgets, and you’ll get the keyboard, pouch, and recorded tutorial (Contact Guide Lights and Gadgets for pricing information)

Of course, not everyone likes to type in braille. For that time when we can travel again and need lightweight products (or just because some people like cool technology that comes in tiny packages), A T Guys sells a nifty foldable QWERTY keyboard. This keyboard can pair via Bluetooth with your Windows, iOS, and android devices, or plug in to one of them via a USB cable. Weighing just one pound and folding to the size of a print paperback, this keyboard offers a full qwerty layout – including F1 through F12 keys, and some dedicated keys for switching among your various devices. The Plugable folding keyboard, Model bt-key3xl, comes with its own carrying case and sells for $55. Available from A T Guys](http://www.atguys.com), (269) 216-4798.

A unique approach to boosting the sound of your smartphone or portable book player is the Soundbox. No wires, no Bluetooth or other connection is involved. Just place your device on top of the Soundbox and enjoy the gigantic boost in volume and sound. Choose the basic Soundbox, $25, or the new Soundbox Stereo Amplifier, $45, both from Guidelights and Gadgets.

Even if you and yours aren’t traveling like you once did, no one wants that feeling of dread that a dead iPhone can inspire. The Harbolt Company offers two new portable chargers from Mophie, 4000 or 6000 MAH, that are similar in shape and smaller in size than most smartphones. Each has an onboard lightning connector and one USB port. From $30 to $45 from The Harbolt Company, sales@harboltcompany.com or call (409) 633-2572.

Handmade Products

Michael Baldwin is a stay at home dad who has hand crafted the kitchen cabinets and a variety of pieces of furniture enjoyed by his wife and children in their Nebraska home. His most recent creations, cutting boards hand crafted in a brickwork pattern from end grain cherry, mark the beginning of his taking his artistry to market. In varying sizes, ranging from approximately 8 by 11 inches to 12 by 15 inches and priced from $50 to $100, these cutting boards will delight the cook in your life. Michael welcomes conversation about custom sizes to fit your needs. To order, email him at mbaldwin577@gmail.com.

Sparkle

For the jewelry lover in your life, combine beauty with braille with a unique design from Elegant Insights. Key tags, zipper pulls, necklaces, bracelets, bling for your purse or your dog’s collar – all can be personalized with braille and/or engraving. Customize charms for wine glasses or tags for suitcases and anything else that invites sparkle. See product options here or call owner Laura Legendary at (702) 605-1265.

For Those Who Bark Under the Tree

Guidelight Dogs has tons of gift ideas for dogs and their humans. For guide dog handlers, lights that attach with Velcro to harness handle or strap will add a bit of safety to your nighttime walks. Owner KaeAnn Rausch loves to talk about dog toys and has ones to meet the needs and wants of pets and service dogs from large to small and mellow to mighty. Dog toy orders over $20 are 20 percent off. Of special interest to guide dog handlers will be the Training Bundle. This package includes a leather waist pouch, pick-up bags, clicker, dog treats, and more, $30 till December 15. To discuss dog toys and more, contact owner KaeAnn Rausch, GuideLightDogs@gmail.com Or call her at (781) 286-1696.

Shirts and Donations

The company Two Blind Brothers (that was indeed founded by two blind brothers) prides itself on selling shirts softer than any others. T shirts, turtle necks, hoodies and more, made of a unique blend of cotton, bamboo, and spandex, each sporting the embroidered braille name of its color, and giving a portion of proceeds to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Check them out at here](http://www.TwoBlindBrothers.com).

And of course, you can always give a gift to a favorite organization in honor of someone you love. The National Federation of the Blind, American Council of the Blind, your favorite guide dog school or the American Foundation for the Blind, are just a few examples of worthy nonprofit organizations benefiting blind people who would welcome your holiday donations.

Finally, please note that every product referenced in this holiday gift guide is sold or made by a blind artist or entrepreneur. Support them. Support one another. And have a beautiful and peaceful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other celebration - and wave goodbye to 2020 with joy and health and safety!

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

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• The 2019 AccessWorld Holiday Gift Guide by J.J. Meddaugh
• 2020 Senior Solutions: Low-Tech and No-Tech Tools for Independence by Deborah Kendrick

More by this author:

• Simple Sounds: A Review of the Sangean PR-D17 Radio
• A Profile of Ron Brooks, Vice President, Transit Market Development, American Logistics

November 2020 Table of Contents

Janet Ingber

Welcome to AccessWorld’s online holiday shopping guide. Online shopping provides an easy and safe way to purchase gifts for family, friends, guide dogs, and pets. But in these difficult times, don’t forget to support your local businesses.

In this article, I will review iOS apps from Amazon.com, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and PetSmart. Links for Android versions of these apps will be included. All the apps make use of the vertical scroll bar. It is located on the right side of the screen. Due to the rapid pace of app updates, there may be some changes in the apps between the time I wrote this article and when it is published.

No matter where you shop online, make sure to use only legitimate apps and websites. Regrettably, there is an increasing number of scammers trying to separate you from your funds.

Amazon.com

The Amazon iOS app is available for devices running iOS 12 or later. The Amazon App for Android Requires Android 7.0 or later. For this article, we will be focusing on the iOS app. This app was previously reviewed in 2018, but since that time, there have been changes in both layout and descriptions.

App Layout

If you do not have an Amazon.com account, there is an option to create one when the app is opened. The sign-in link is also on that screen.

Once you are logged in, there are several search options: putting your query in the edit box, searching using an item’s bar code, and searching by voice.

At the bottom of the page are four tabs: Home, Your Amazon.com, Cart, and Menu. When navigating these tabs I found that not all rotor options were available all the time. For example, although I have links in my rotor, they were not always available. I had this issue with forms and tables as well. Headings were always available, but did not always work well. I found that touching on a link sometimes made rotor links, forms, and tables available. Once I was in search results, the rotor options all worked.

The Home tab has search options and information about Amazon’s products such as Echo and Fire sticks. Further down the page is a list of similar items that you have previously purchased, Deal of the Day, and related information. The easiest way to navigate in this tab is by links. Navigating by headings and forms does not provide the same amount of information.

The Your Amazon.com tab has a list of your previous orders, wish list, shopping list and any other lists you created.

The Cart tab shows what is in your cart, gives other information including items you saved for later, and describes Amazon’s return policy. The Menu tab contains account information, your orders, lists, and an option to shop by department. When you land on this tab, VoiceOver gives a very good description of what is contained within.

Finding a Gift

For this article, I chose to buy a cocktail shaker. I entered “cocktail shaker” in the search box and found many results. Using the rotor’s Forms option, I found different ways to sort them including by Price, Brand, and Category. Navigating by headings worked well for reviewing results. Within the results were bar sets and single cocktail shakers. Each result had the item’s name, brand, size, number of stars, number of reviews, and price. The final item in the result was delivery information. I selected a cocktail shaker and activated its link. With Forms navigation, I quickly found the buttons for quantity, adding the item to my cart, and a button to Buy It Now. Using Headings navigation, I found the item’s “About this item” section. Further down the page was information about similar products. There is a “Customer Reviews” section that can be located using Headings navigation.

After reviewing product information and checking out reviews, I added the item to my cart. VoiceOver said that my cart now had one item.

Next, I activated the Cart tab where I found buttons to check out, delete the item, or save for later. There was also a link to compare with similar items. The checkout process was straightforward.

I performed the same search but instead of using the edit box, I searched by voice. The voice search uses Amazon’s Alexa. You do not need a separate Alexa enabled device such as an Echo to do this. I got the same list of results, but was unable to sort them.

Getting Help

On the app’s home screen, there is a Menu tab in the lower right corner of the screen. Once it is selected, the Customer Service link is the last item on the page. The first part of Customer Service has a list of options where you can choose what you need help with. There are many options. At the bottom of the list is an option called, “Something Else.” There is also an option to search for help articles. Activating the “Something else” link loads a new page with more suggestions. At the bottom of this link is an option called, “I need more help.” Selecting it brings up a page with an option for chat or to have Amazon call you.

Conclusion

The Amazon.com app is very good for online shopping and their live customer support is a plus. Although it has some rotor issues, they can be overcome by flicking right and left. Once in search results, it is easier to navigate. The voice search worked well, but I could not find where to sort results by different parameters. The search edit box is easy to use and does allow for sorting.

Bed Bath & Beyond

The Bed Bath and Beyond app is available for both iOS and for Android. The iOS app requires iOS 12 or later, and the Android app requires Android 7.0 or later. For this article, I will abbreviate Bed, Bath & Beyond with BBB&Y.

This company sells much more than items just for your bedroom and bathroom.

In this app, rotor options for links, forms, and tables did not work throughout the app, with one exception, the More tab, located at the bottom right corner of the screen. In the rest of the app, even when headings were available, they were not always spoken.

App Layout

When BBB&Y’s app is first opened, there is a search box at the top of the screen. Below it is an option to scan a bar code. Next is an option to view your cart. Following this are two tabs: Featured and Categories. There are several more options on the screen including a Login button. Selecting this loads a new page where you can login if you have an existing account or you can create an account if you do not already have one.

At the bottom of the screen are five tabs: Shop, Registry, My Offers, Idea Boards, and More. The Shop tab is the home screen. Further down the page is a list of popular categories such as Dining, Kitchen, and Home Decor.

The Registry tab is used to set up a gift registry and to find out which items have been purchased. In this tab, you can also view someone else’s registry to see what they would like to receive. The My Offers tab is where you can check to see available coupons, sales, etc.

The Idea Boards tab is where you can save items and group them together. This tab also lets you write notes about each item. The More tab has options including Track Orders and Customer Service.

Finding a Gift

I decided to buy an air fryer so I entered those words into the search form and selected the Search option at the bottom right corner of the screen. When the new page loaded, the words Air Fryer were at the top of the page and below that was a search button. Activating this button gave options for searching by picture or searching by bar code. Since I did not want either option, I activated the cancel button.

Further down the page was a sort button that offered parameters including price and top rated. There was a filter button that had choices including capacity and brand. Below the filter option was information about store pickup.

Next were the listings which met my search criteria. Each listing included the item’s name, price, rating, and number of reviews.

Activating the product link brought me to a new page with photos, pickup information and, after scrolling past many pages, was specific information about the product. Further down was the button to add the item to my cart. Within the listing were offers on similar products.

The cart page showed my item and other items I might like. There was an order summary with approximate shipping costs. The checkout process was straightforward.

Getting Help

The More tab has a link to customer service. Live help is available at: (800) 462-3966. You can also browse topics or email customer service.

Also in the More tab is an Accessibility link. Activating it brings up a form to email Customer Service about any accessibility issues.

Conclusion

BBB&Y’s live help is a definite plus. The app is useable but might take extra time because of navigation issues. Being able to navigate by headings, links, and forms would make this app easier and faster. It requires extra time to flick around on the screen. To review an item, you need to scroll down past photos and other information to get item details.

PetSmart

The PetSmart iOS app is available for devices running iOS 12.4 or later The Android app requires a device running Android 7.0 and later. PetSmart has many options to get something for your dog, cat, bird or exotic pet. Be aware that there are some significant accessibility issues. For example, Rotor options for headings, forms, and links do not work on this website. In addition, the button to choose whether you want store pickup or the item shipped to you does not work with VoiceOver.

App Layout

PetSmart’s app loads with a list of various types of pets and asks you to select your pets, so you can receive special offers, videos and more. I could not find a way to get out of this screen so I selected dogs. No VoiceOver feedback was given to let me know that was what selected. There is a Save button at the end of the page and that button could now be activated. A new screen loaded where I had the option to not receive notifications. The next screen had options to choose a store and allow location services. There are five tabs on the bottom of PetSmart’s Home Screen: Treats, Services, Shop, Treat Trail, and Sign In. Use the Treats tab to sign up for PetSmart’s loyalty program. The Services tab contains information about Grooming and Training. The Shop tab is self-explanatory. The Treat Trail tab has your shopping cart. The Sign In tab has options including purchase history, Settings, and autoship. Once you create an account or log into your account, the Sign In tab now becomes an Account tab.

Finding a Gift

Go to the Shop tab. At the top of the screen is a search box. You can enter a search request and activate the Search button in the lower right corner. Results are located below the search box. Results show price, description, manufacturer, and whether there are promotions.

Double tapping on a result loaded a new screen with more information about the item, reviews and ratings, promotions, and an Add to Cart button. This screen took a few seconds to load. Another way to search is to search by animal. For example, I selected dogs. When the new screen loaded, there was a category list including toys, dental, and treats. After selecting a category, items in it will be displayed.

I selected a dog toy and tried to add it to my cart, but when I checked, the item was not there. I went back to the result screen and found information about picking up the item at a store. There was also an unlabeled button to view shipping options, but I could not get them to come up. With sighted assistance, I learned that near the bottom of the screen is a rectangle with a button for choosing a store or shipping options. However, when I used VoiceOver to select the button, I just got an edit box to change my zip code for store pickup. With VoiceOver off, I also had shipping options. However, I needed several attempts to activate the unlabeled button. The button is approximately 3/4 inch from the bottom of the screen, above where the charger plugs in.

When creating an account, there was no sound or VoiceOver verification that the button was selected. The edit boxes did work.

Getting Help

I could not find any type of customer service or support in this app. However, I did find a phone number on their website: 888-839-9638. They also have email help and a list of answers to commonly asked questions. PetSmart also has an Accessibility mode and a form to email them for Accessibility help.

Conclusion

Although PetSmart’s app has many products for many different kinds of animals, it unfortunately has accessibility issues. Not all features work well with VoiceOver, especially the button to select pickup or shipping. There is no option for support from within the app. Fortunately, there is support on their website. H2 The Bottom Line Amazon.com is the clear winner in my opinion. It is the most accessible app in this article. Their enormous inventory makes it easy to do a lot, if not all, your shopping on one website. Bed Bath & Beyond comes in second. They offer a wide variety of products. Their live help is a plus. PetSmart is a distant third. The lack of VoiceOver feedback when filling out forms and the fact that the button for choosing pickup or shipping isn’t accessible presents significant accessibility issues. Since there is no live support in the app, it takes extra work to find the phone number on the website.

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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November 2020 Table of Contents

Steve Kelley

The latest version of the eSight, the eSight 4, is different, very different from previous eSight models. The eSight 4 is one of a number of wearables for users with low vision, that are worn like glasses, or goggles, essentially putting a video magnifier right on your nose. Look across the room, out the window, at a book, adjust the magnification, and you have a device that magnifies what you’re looking at, and under the best of circumstances makes it easier to see.

Common complaints for wearables, in general, are that they are heavy to wear, look like ski goggles or masks, get warm from the electronic gear, and are designed to use sitting down because they cover your eyes, and the peripheral vision you’d use for safely walking around. The eSight 4 seems to be designed in response to many of these complaints—it’s a wearable that is more comfortable, looks more like eyewear than a mask, is controlled wirelessly, and does not completely cover the eyes, so peripheral vision is available. In addition, the headset is designed in such a way that the visor can be pushed up and out of the way when not being used.

Out of the Box

The eSight 4 comes in a sturdy carrying case which contains the visor mounted to what is called a “halo comfort band", that goes around the head, 2 battery packs that attach to the headset directly in back of the head, a charging cable for the batteries, a wireless remote, printed User Guide and Quick Start Guide.

The headset has adjustments for the halo comfort band so it can be adjusted to fit the wearer’s head, and another adjustment for the visor to position it closer or farther away from the eyes. This adjustment allows users to wear their prescription glasses beneath the visor. Another adjustment on the visor allows it to tilt in toward the face or further out. While the eSight visor covers less of the face than some of the other wearables, it is worth noting that when being used the visor looks like large opaque sunglasses.

How it Works

An 18-megapixel camera is mounted on the visor, just above the nose. Two independent, 1280 by 960, OLED high resolution screens are built into the inside of the visor, one for each eye. The headset  contains 3 integrated speakers, a power and context button, and a small touchpad on the right arm of the visor that can be used to perform some of the major functions. A separate, wireless, remote is used for the full range of functions. At the very back of the headset, a Li-ion battery pack is plugged into a quick-connect port. The eSight ships with 2 batteries, each said to last for 3 hours of continuous use and recharged with the included USB cable. A great feature incorporated into the headset is that the headset holds a small charge which provides plenty of time to disconnect one battery and plug in another, without shutting down or disrupting use.

The headset and visor adjustments are really well designed. The little weight of the battery in the back seems to offset the weight of the visor. That coupled with the adjustments on the visor and the headset really make the eSight comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.

The eSight has many advanced features built in—it connects to Wi-Fi for automatic software updates, is Bluetooth enabled so it will connect to an Android or iOS eSight app, can take pictures, connect to the TV with an HDMI cable, etc., yet it can also be quickly used right out of the box without a lot of technical fuss. Press and hold the power button for a couple seconds, the screens on the visor start up and the user is put into “Live Mode.” Use the up and down arrows on the remote or a slide forward or back with a finger on the touch pad, and magnification is increased or decreased. The image quality is good and automatic focus keeps things sharp as you glance from object to object, from near to far.

Fine Tuning the Picture

Touch any button on the wireless remote to turn it on and connect when the eSight is on.  The remote enables users to customize the eSight to their vision and preferences. The menu options are spoken with an adjustable volume, using the up and down arrows and the Back button on the remote.

Press the Menu button to cycle through the main menu items. These include:

• Live View- looking through the camera.
• Gallery- the file folder where captured images and videos are stored. The eSight comes with 256 Gigs of onboard storage!
• eReader- where electronic texts are located. This does not include support documentation which is tucked away under the Support menu. Connect eSight  via USB to a computer, and transfer PDF files into the eReader directory to view with eSight. Note: the eReader does not include text to speech.
• Settings- includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth set-up, configuring various viewing modes, sounds, language, and the overall appearance of menus.
• Support- electronic user guides, training videos, device information, and adjustments to customize the screens to user’s eyes.

It’s worth pointing out that the magnification in Live View enlarges to 24X. When the support documents are loaded into the eReader, the maximum magnification level is 10X, which for this reader was just enough at maximum zoom to read the documents, and text to speech was not available. For many users, this documentation will be easier to read using the printed version with eSight, or downloading them from the website. Additionally, in the Settings>Advanced>Appearance>Size option where the font size for the menu is selected, at the highest of the three settings available, “Extra Large,” this user found the size just adequate for reading visually, and some users will want a larger font to accompany the text to speech.

One of the first settings to configure are tucked away under Support>Onboarding. Here the user will find, “Adjust eye to eye distance,” and “Adjust screen to eye distance.” Both settings allow the user to customize how they view the screens.

eSight has several preconfigured reading modes for different viewing or lighting conditions. These modes include: Indoor; Outdoor; Reading, TV/Theater, and two custom modes. In each one of these modes, the user can further customize the view by setting brightness and contrast and color filters for each mode. When in Live View, holding down the context button for a second will switch to Modes/Filters, and the up and down arrows will move through the Mode options. For example, if outdoors you may want to select the full color outdoor mode, and then when returning indoors to read a magazine, you may want to switch to the reading mode, where you may have set-up a high contrast mode configured for white text on a black background.

Is eSight Right for You?

eSight is designed for the low vision user who might also benefit from a video magnifier. The eSight website suggests eSight is useful for those with a visual acuity between 20/60 to 20/800, and “in some cases up to 20/1400.” An initial meeting with an eSight partner or a call to an “eSight Advisor” will help determine if eSight may be useful for you. If no partner is nearby, eSight has an option for a trial in the home with some one-on-one support by phone or video to give it a try. A non-refundable chage of $99 will be incurred for shipping, handling, and cleaning if the eSight is returned and not purchased after the trial.

My Take on eSight

The ability for the new user to get the eSight out of the box and working in the basic Live View mode was impressive! The overall comfort of the halo headband and visor must be one of the best for comparable wearables. The inclusion of two quick-connect, 3-hour rechargeable batteries means that the eSight can be worn all day long at work, school, or for most any extended activity requiring a magnified view. These are great forward steps with this technology.

Overall, the image quality of the camera was good, with very little hesitation in the video as you look around from object to object. In lower light situations, at night, with indirect lamplight, the image became grainier. This was not obvious when outdoors or with daylight lighting up a room. The touchpad on the right arm of the visor is a great feature, eliminating the need to have the remote all the time. It has a line of bumps before and after it, so with a bit of practice was easy to locate. Swiping forward and backward, up and down, did not seem to offer the same precision as the remote buttons, however. It is entirely possible that with practice, these gestures become more precise. In the meantime, users may want to keep the remote handy or download the app for their smartphone, which can then be used instead of the remote.

It will be exciting to see where eSight goes as it continues to develop the eSight 4. For example, text to speech is currently available for the menu items only, and the eReader does not yet offer OCR. It seems like the next step here might be to offer OCR for photos that contain text, and to include text to speech for electronic documents. The sound quality from the 3 speakers mounted in the headset is good, so it’s easy to imagine listening to text being read out loud as it scrolls across the visor’s screens.

At $5950 retail the eSight 4 costs significantly less than previous eSight models and has made plenty of updates. If you’re looking for video magnification in a head-mounted wearable, be sure to check out some of the new features here.

November 2020 Table of Contents

Janet Ingber

After much anticipation, Apple released iOS 14 and iPad OS 14 on September 16, 2020. These new operating systems have many accessibility and mainstream improvements. iOS features are for the iPhone. iPadOS has all the iOS 14 changes plus additional features specifically for the iPad.  When iOS 14 is mentioned, iPadOS 14  is included. You must have iOS 13 or iPad OS 13 in order to upgrade. The new operating systems have both improved accessibility and improved mainstream features. That being said, older iPhones and iPads may not support all the new features.

Accessibility

There are new accessibility features for VoiceOver users, low vision users, braille display users, and people with hearing loss.

VoiceOver Recognition

VoiceOver has new abilities to improve the accessibility of images, text, and apps. Go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver/ VoiceOver Recognition where there are three buttons: Image Descriptions, Screen Recognition, and Text Recognition. Turn any of these three buttons on to enable it. There is an additional button for choosing a feedback method. Screen Recognition is the newest feature. When active, it can turn some inaccessible apps into accessible apps. Voiceover Recognition works with iPhone XS and above.

Voice Control

There are two new English voices that can be used for Voice Control. Go to Settings/Accessibility/Voice Control and make sure Voice Control is enabled.  English (United States) is the default voice. A new screen will load with two additional options: English (United Kingdom) and English (India). The new voices need to be downloaded. Select a different voice if you wish.

Back Tap

You can now tap on the back of your iPhone to perform a gesture. There are two gestures: double tap and triple tap. For each of the gestures you can choose a corresponding action. Go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver/Commands/Touch Gestures. Scroll down to Back Tap. Select double tap or triple tap. A new screen will load with a very extensive list of commands and select the one you want. You will be brought to the back tap screen. The assigned gesture will be next to the Back Tap command. You can repeat this process with the other (triple tap) gesture. I set double tap to go to the next heading and triple tap to go to the Home screen. I found that if I did a triple tap on an app in a folder, it closed the folder. Repeating the gesture brought me back to the Home screen.

Actions Available

There are now three options to choose from when actions are available. Go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver/Verbosity. Scroll down to Actions. The options are: Speak, Play Sound, or Do Nothing.

Braille

Braille has two useful new features. Go to Settings/Accessibility/Vision/VoiceOver/Braille. iOS 14 supports braille auto panning. This means you can explore more braille text without having to activate the pan button on your refreshable braille display. Also, the Chord duration can now be adjusted.

Magnifier

If you use Magnifier, you now have more options and tools including customizing controls, choosing filters, and the ability to put Magnifier on your Home screen. Go to Settings/Accessibility/Magnifier to turn this feature on.

Hearing

If you have a hearing impairment, there are some new options for you including  Sound Recognition and  Headphone Accommodation. For Sound Recognition, Go to Settings/Accessibility/Hearing/Sound Recognition. This new feature lets your iPhone listen for specific sounds and will alert you when they are detected. Some of the sounds are: Siren, Baby, and Dog. This feature must be turned on for it to operate. You can select as many sounds as you want.

Headphone Accommodation is available only for users of supported Beats and AirPods headphones. It lets you customize the sound in your headphones. Go to Settings/Accessibility/Hearing/Audio/Visual/Headphone Accommodation. By default this feature is turned off. When it is activated you have options for adjusting sounds coming through your Beats or AirPods. Check out the hearing section for more improvements.

Mainstream Features

There are numerous changes to the mainstream features including addition of an App Library and the ability to put Widgets on the Home screen.

App Library

The App Library was one of the main features of Apple’s 2020 WWDC. It organizes all your apps into Apple’s predetermined categories. They are: Suggestions, Recently Added, Social, Entertainment, Games, Utilities, Productivity & Finance, Health & Fitness, Information & Reading, Shopping & Food, and Other. The Recently Added category is self-explanatory. Apps that you frequently use are in the Suggestions area. For the other categories, the three apps you use most will be displayed. Next is a folder with all the remaining apps for the category. The only way to move by category is by Containers. This is a feature that used to be only available on the iPad. You will need to put Containers into the rotor. Go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver/Rotor and select Containers. Double tapping on the folder within the category will bring up the list of all the remaining apps in alphabetical order. At the top of the App Library is a search box. Type or say the name of the app you want. The result will be under the search box. If you want to get an alphabetical list of all of your apps on your device, double tap on the search box. Do not enter text or dictate text. All your apps are listed in alphabetical order. There is a section index on the right side of the page. In the process of cleaning up and organizing your home screens, you may want to delete or move an app. There are now two buttons: Delete App and Move to App Library. As before, choosing to delete the app will remove it and all of its data. Apps can be deleted from within the App Library, where the only option is delete. Do the reverse to bring the app back to your home screen as follows. Put the device in Edit mode. Drag the app to where you want it.

You can now hide any or all of your home screens. On my iPhone I have four screens of apps and folders. I moved everything to the first screen and decided to hide the rest. Nothing was deleted. Hide a screen by first putting your device in Edit mode. Next, go to the page number on the bottom of the screen and double tap it. A new screen will load and VoiceOver says, “Home screen page hiding.” Each screen number is listed and VoiceOver will say if it is visible or hidden. When you are finished, select the Done button in the upper left corner. This action is not permanent. Make a screen visible by first putting your device in Edit mode and the same screen with the screen numbers will return. Double tap on the ones you want to be visible again.

You now have two options for where newly downloaded apps can reside. Go to Settings/Home Screen and flick right to Newly Downloaded Apps. The Add to Home Screen option will put the app on your Home screen and in your app library. The other option is App Library Only.

There is one more choice under this section. You can add app notification badges into the App Library. By default this feature is turned off.

Choosing non-native Apps for Mail and Web Browsing

You now have the option to use a different mail app or browser than Apple Mail or Safari. For either one to work, the replacement app must be downloaded to your device. Go to the app store to make sure the app you want is available.

Microsoft’s Outlook and Google’s Gmail are alternatives to Apple Mail. Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox are alternatives to Safari.

I downloaded Google’s Gmail iOS app from the App Store and then went to Settings and selected the Gmail App. A new screen loaded with several options including a button labeled Default Mail App. Selecting it gave me the choice to choose Gmail as the new default app. Since I did not want the change, I selected the Cancel button. Use the same steps to install a different web browser.

Adding Widgets to the Home Screen

Widgets are a quick way to get information without needing to go into an app. You may already have some in your Today View. In iOS 14, widgets can now be added to the home screen. However, you will need room on the screen to add them. A small widget takes the same amount of space as four apps. Medium and large widgets take up more space. When you add one, it will land in the upper left corner, shifting other apps down and to the right.

Add a widget by first putting your device in Edit mode. Go to the top left corner of the screen, where there is now an Add Widget button. Selecting it loads a screen with many widgets. There is a search form at the top of the page. While going through the widgets you will hear the widget’s size if there is more than one version available. The size represents how much information you can get from the widget. You might also hear Stack or Smart Stack. This means two or more widgets are on top of each other. Once you find a widget that you want, double tap on it and VoiceOver will speak the widget’s contents. What the widget says depends on what it does. For example, there’s an Apple Music Recently Played widget that  tells you the last songs you played on your device. At the bottom of the screen is an Add button. I added the widget and as expected it moved the apps on my Home screen. Widgets can not be dragged to other locations on the screen.

If widgets are stacked, you will hear information only on the top widget. Find the next widget you want and start the editing process. Just as you would edit an app, drag the second widget to the first widget and under Actions, choose Stack. Whichever widget was last activated is the one which will be on top the next time the widget is activated. Flick up or down to the other widgets in the stack. You can also create a Smart Stack. Your device will guess which widget you want to use at a particular time. Widgets are deleted the same way as apps.

Apple Music

The biggest changes in Apple Music are the location of the Library tab and the addition of a new Listen Now tab. The tabs at the bottom of the screen are: Listen Now, Browse, Radio, Library, and Search. Personally, I preferred to have Library at the bottom left of the screen.

The For You tab is gone and has been replaced with the Listen Now tab. This tab brings together selections that Apple Music thinks you will like. It also shows what has been recently added and recently played. There are also radio stations that can be accessed from the Listen Now tab. A lot of content is presented but fortunately there is a vertical scroll bar on the right side of the screen. Using Headings or Containers will not get you through all the content in this section. You will need to change pages. The My Account information is at the top right of this tab. If you are looking for a particular mood or activity playlist, you can search for it with Apple Music’s Search feature. For example, I put “relaxation music” into the search box and got many results.

Apple’s new Auto Play feature will automatically choose similar music for you after your selection of song, album, or playlist has finished.    Music chosen will be from your library and from Apple Music’s vast collection.

Back Button

If you double tap and hold on the Back button of an app, you can quickly move out of the app. This feature is particularly good for apps such as Apple Music, where there are many screens. For example, I went to Library/Artists and selected Billy Joel. Then I selected an album and chose a song from the album. I did a double tap and hold on the Back button and three options were available: Billy Joel, Artists, and Library. I chose Library.

Voice Memos

In iOS 14, you now have the ability to organize recordings into folders. At the bottom of the screen is the option to create a new folder. Once the recording is finished, flick up or down for options including Add to Folder and Favorite.

This new version of Voice Memos has the ability to decrease ambient noise in your recording. Open the recording and then select More Actions. Next, select Edit Recording. Then select Enhance.

Translate

This new app lets the user speak a phrase in one language and have the device quickly speak it in another. The first time you use the app, there is information about how it works. There are two buttons at the top of the screen. The first default button is labeled “From English” and the second default is “To Spanish.” Change the languages by double tapping on either button. The next screen will display a list of language options. At the bottom of the screen are two tabs: Translate and Favorites. The Translate tab is selected by default.

Below the language buttons is an edit box to enter text. Below that is a Listen button. After selecting the Listen button, say the phrase you want translated. Next do a two-finger double-tap. The phrase will be spoken. You can use rotor settings for words or characters to read the spelling of the translation. Activate the Favorites tab to add the phrase to Favorites.

Messages

There are some new features in Messages. You can now send audio messages without going into the Messages app. Tell Siri to send an audio message to whomever you want to send it to. Siri will say, “Recording.” Speak your message and when you are done, stop speaking. When dictating your message, do not pause too long between words or sentences because Siri will stop recording.

Messages can now be pinned to the top of the Messages list. If you frequently text with the same people, the person’s name can be pinned at the top of the conversation list. By doing it this way, you do not need to scroll down to find their texts. Select their name and flick down once to Pin. You can also flick up, but it requires more flicks. Once on Pin, double tap to select it. That person’s conversations will automatically appear at the top of the list.

Another new feature is In-Line reply. If you are in a group chat and want to send a message to one person in the group, find the person’s name and flick down to reply. Select it and write your message.

Searching for Emojis

It is now easier to find emojis. Bring up the emoji list. Under where text is inserted is a search box for emojis. Type in the name or dictate of the emoji that you want and if there is an match it will be listed. Double tap on the emoji and it will be added. This works well with Messages, Apple Mail, and Facebook.

Exposure Notifications

This new feature is in the Settings menu and by default is not activated. When activated, you can receive public health notifications about exposure to COVID-19. You can read detailed information about how this feature works by selecting the “How Exposure Notifications Work” option. If you choose to turn Exposure Notifications on, go further down the page to the Continue button. On the next screen select your country. If another screen loads after that, you’ll be asked to select your state or region. Not all states, regions, and countries have information available.

Password Security

Apple encourages their users to either use generated passwords or use passwords that are not easily guessed. Go to Settings/Passwords/Security Recommendations. Right below the Security Recommendations button is a list of passwords that are recommended for change. When the Security Recommendations option is activated, a new screen will load. The first control is Detect Compromised Passwords. This feature is on by default. When on, your iPhone can alert you if it detects compromised passwords. Next is a High Priority heading. This is a list of all your app and website passwords. As you go through the list, Apple will give you the reason your password should be changed. Examples of reasons to change include: using a common word, having the same password for multiple websites, and using a password that is easily guessed. Directly under each listing is the option to change the password.

Blocking Trackers

Apple has added a Privacy report in Safari. Get to it by first selecting the Format Options button at the top left of the screen. Next, flick right to Privacy Report and select it. Flick right to find out about websites you have visited and which trackers are tracking you. Further down the page are two buttons: Websites and Trackers. The Websites button is selected by default. There is a list of websites that have been contacted by trackers. Double tap on the tracker’s name to get more information about which trackers were prevented from following you. Select the Trackers button and a list of trackers will be on the page. Select the name  to find out which trackers have been prevented from following you.

Conclusion

It is definitely worth upgrading your iPad or iPhone to iOS 14 or iPad OS 14. The new accessibility improvements are very helpful. The changes for mainstream apps bring many new features. Once you upgrade, go through Settings carefully to check for changes and additions.

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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November 2020 Table of Contents

Annual NVDA virtual conference to be held December 4-6, 2020

The NonVisual Desktop Access virtual conference (NVDA Con) will be held December 4-6, 2020. NVDA Con is a virtual conference held online each year by the community of users of the NVDA screen reader. The conference presents sessions on various topics related to NVDA, offers spaces where NVDA users can network, and ends with a keynote address from the developers of NVDA.

As mentioned, the conference is held virtually using audio conferencing software available on various platforms and is free to attend for all. Note that times should display in your own time zone. To learn more about the conference and listen to recordings of past conferences, visit the NVDA Con homepage.

United Airlines Redesigns Mobile App to be More Accessible for People with Visual Disabilities

United Airlines today launched a redesigned version of its mobile app, with new enhancements intended to make travel easier for people with visual disabilities. Throughout its award-winning app, the carrier has increased color contrast, added more space between graphics and reordered how information is displayed and announced to better integrate with the screen reader technologies like VoiceOver and TalkBack that are built into most handheld devices and read aloud on-screen messages and notifications. By restructuring the way the information is organized on the app, screen readers are better able to convert text to audio in the proper, logical sequence, allowing customers to better understand and navigate the app. According to the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center, more than 25 million Americans have self-reported travel-limiting disability.

“The parts of the travel experience that we all take for granted like checking luggage, getting your flight status and accessing a boarding pass can still be a challenge for someone with a visual disability,” said Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President for Technology and Chief Digital Officer, United. “These new accessibility enhancements are part of our continuing commitment to level the playing field, unlock all the customer benefits of our app and give people with disabilities more independence while traveling.”

Visually impaired customers will notice that these changes make it easier to manage all aspects of day-of travel, including check in, viewing reservation details and flight status, bag tracking and more. Ray Campbell, a member of United’s digital team who’s visually impaired and sits on the board of the American Council of the Blind, played a key role in helping redesign the app, and walks through how these changes make flying easier for him in this video.

“Optimizing mobile apps for tools such as VoiceOver and TalkBack has been a game changer, allowing people with visual disabilities to fully utilize smartphone technology in their daily lives,” said Campbell. “It’s just as important for someone with a visual disability to easily access day-of-travel information and features as for any other customer. By improving the accessibility of the United app, we are truly living out United’s mission of caring for all customers.”

Beyond the accessibility changes, the United digital team enhanced the current offering while keeping the features that helped the app win a Webby People’s Voice award in 2019.

• For our MileagePlus® program members, the app now features a refreshed account experience for members to easily check balances, track Premier® progress, explore MileagePlus benefits, access past activity and more, all in one place.
• The airline is also expanding a popular feature previously only accessible to MileagePlus members. Now, all 37 million customers who have the United app will see a contextualized home screen starting 48 hours before their flight which provides dynamic updates based on where a customer is in their travel journey. For example, customers can see the boarding status of their flight on their homescreen, access personal device entertainment onboard with one click, find a link to a map with gate-to-gate directions for connecting flights and click a quick access button to track any checked bags upon arrival.
• United made slight tweaks to navigation based on customer feedback to make the app more intuitive, including making the bottom navigation persistent throughout the app. Another example is the “More” menu, which was reorganized and now contains the “Inbox” feature, which includes timely messages about boarding announcements, gate changes and other travel updates.
• Customers will notice a new color palette that’s consistent with the refreshed branding the airline debuted in 2019. United’s digital team also made subtle design adjustments to make things more consistent and easier to find, like always using a purple bar to highlight the main call-to-action on a page and ensuring alerts and flight status icons appear the same way in every page on the app.
• All of these changes are underpinned by a new back-end platform, which will ultimately make the app faster and more responsive.

The redesigned app is now available to download for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® devices (as an iPhone app) and for Android devices.

Second Access and Engagement Study open until November 30th

In the spring of 2020, AFB conducted an Access and Engagement survey to determine the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the education of students with vision loss. That study indicated significant accessibility issues and as a follow up, AFB is hosting another survey to gain greater knowledge of the issues facing students with vision loss. If you would like to take the survey, you can do so here. You can find a heartfelt description of the current survey and its importance on the AFB blog.