Dear AccessWorld Readers,

Happy Holidays from all of us at AccessWorld. By the time you read this, the winter holidays will be right around the corner or already in process. With not one but two COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S., I sincerely hope that the hardships caused by the pandemic will begin to lessen in the near future.

I'd once again like to thank the AccessWorld authors for their hard work and dedication during this year. They have worked tirelessly to bring you useful and actionable information on technology and vision loss. We hope that you have found the content we have provided interesting and personally useful to you and we are always interested in hearing your comments, questions, and stories. Also, remember that you can always send us your thoughts on various topics not directly related to a given article. Multiple times in the past, a thoughtful letter from a reader on a topic has spurred the publication of an article in AccessWorld.

Also, remember that you can always revisit old issues of AccessWorld using the Back Issues link. Often, even old AccessWorld articles contain evergreen information. For example, many of the various shopping guides we have published in November or December are still relevant and useful today.

This month, Deborah kendrick brings us an interview with Pshon Barret for her Employment Matters column. Barret had a storied career as an assistant U.S. Attorney and she now is employed in private practice.

Janet Ingber brings us a detailed overview of the changes found in Apple's WatchOS 7, which contains several major updates, both in the realm of mainstream and access features. For each new feature, Janet explains how it can be used so you can get the most from these new updates.

Continuing our coverage of head-mounted wearables, Steve Kelley brings a review of the Patriot ViewPoint from Patriot Vision. Compared to the eSight device we reviewed previously, the ViewPoint is a device that uses existing virtual reality hardware instead of using custom equipment. Check out the article for information on this approach to the head-mounted wearable. Again, These devices are becoming more and more common and I am happy that we are able to review them for you in AccessWorld.

Continuing his Vintage Games series, Jamie Pauls reviews one of the first blockbuster audio games, Shades of Doom by GMA Games. Shades of Doom was one of the most complex and deep games of its time and it is still enjoyable today.

Next year will be a major milestone for AFB. In 2021, AFB will have been in existence for an entire century! We are overjoyed to reach this once in a lifetime milestone and have many virtual events planned for the following year. Stay tuned for further information on the celebrations we have planned.

From all of us at AccessWorld and AFB, we wish you a safe, enjoyable holiday season.

Sincerely,

Aaron Preece

AccessWorld Editor and Chief

American Foundation for the Blind

Deborah Kendrick

Initially, Pshon Barret contacted me to recommend that I write about a friend of hers. As it happened, that friend was already on my list of extraordinary people whose lives and careers would interest AccessWorld readers. But I knew a little something about Pshon Barrett, who happens to be rather extraordinary herself, so sidetracked her to tell me more about herself. I persuaded her to let me write about her before getting on to the recommendation prompting her to contact me in the first place.

(You’ll learn more about the friend she was promoting later; this one is Pshon’s story.)

Mississippi Lawyer

Pshon Barret retired in 2018  from her role as assistant United States Attorney, where she worked on all manner of cases for 30 years on behalf of the United States Attorney. She didn’t retire to stop working. She retired because she got a job offer – and the change was both challenging and rewarding. After traveling the state on behalf of the government for 30 years, she was hired in January 2018 as a senior associate in a private firm. Today, she works from home, putting her expertise in disability law to work for families and individuals who come to ADA Group LLC for help.

Throughout our conversation, Pshon repeatedly protested that her life was boring, her experience not particularly interesting. It is perhaps the very “normal” trajectory of her success when tracked from college to retirement and second career, that makes it so extraordinary. She didn’t suffer years of unemployment or thousands of resume rejections. Instead, she managed, by some mysterious blend of intellect, charm, and savvy to get the jobs she deserved in a timely manner.

In the beginning

Blind since birth due to retinopathy of prematurity, Pshon was the first in her family to attend college, and seems to have had an innate sense from an early age of how to get where she needed to go. Her first school, for kindergarten through grade 12, was the Mississippi State School for the Blind in Jackson, Miss. There, she learned to read and write braille, and other skills of blindness. When she graduated high school, she got a guide dog from Pilot Dogs in Columbus, OH. It turned out that would be her only experience with a guide dog, but she relishes the memory. Role models, she says, have always played a vital role in directing her, and her first rehabilitation counselor had a guide dog, which prompted her to follow suit.

In college at Mississippi State, she decided to pursue a law degree, and eventually attended law school at the University of Mississippi. It was in college that her passion for politics emerged and, somewhat indirectly, led to her professional success.

Her father, a hardware salesman, talked about a man who was running for governor. Pshon wanted to meet that man – and wound up working on his political campaign. He was seeking office as Mississippi governor, and Pshon was thrilled to make speeches and phone calls on his behalf. She fondly recalls taking his calls on the pay phone shared with several other girls in her college dormitory. Her candidate was elected. They remained friends, and later, when a vacancy occurred for legal counsel in the governor’s office, Pshon was offered her first real job.

While there, she applied for all kinds of jobs without real results. Then, she heard a presentation about the role of United States attorneys, and knew that was what she wanted to do. There are 94 U.S. attorney offices, located throughout the United States and its territories and Pshon began applying for any opening. She interviewed in Miami and Houston and elsewhere, but it was the job as assistant United States attorney in Jackson, MS that became her professional home for nearly 30 years.

She had interviewed in Memphis and while they weren’t able to offer her a job, the hiring individual in that office sent Pshon’s resume to Washington. Many government jobs were on hold at the time, and the woman who received that resume was impressed with Pshon; she reminded the attorney in the Mississippi office that his vacancy could be filled by bringing Pshon in under Schedule A. (Schedule A is the provision giving priority to applicants with minority status – such as color, gender, or disability.) The suggestion worked. Pshon was hired. Mississippi had their vacancy filled. The result was a victory from all perspectives!

Her office location as assistant U.S. attorney was Jackson, MS, but much of her time was spent traveling the state, getting facts and testimonies. Early in her work for the government, she was sent on a detail to Washington DC, where she was immersed in law connected with disability rights. When she returned to her job in Mississippi, she became a leader in ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) enforcement. Her cases ran the gamut from simple to complex, involving criminal law, financial complications, and clients making restitution in a variety of configurations. The U.S. Attorney’s office provided her with an assistant who drove her to meet with clients throughout the state, provide reading assistance, and offer support with other visually oriented tasks when required. She worked on all sorts of cases, but describes the role as primarily a “motion practice” involving a fairly small amount of time appearing in court.

Tools of the Trade

Although she is a proficient user of technology today, Pshon worked her way through college and law school with a Perkins brailler, a tape recorder, and human readers.

Only after she was employed in the Federal government did she begin her journey with technology. Because she worked for the Federal government, her employer furnished basic accommodations as required. In Pshon’s case, these accommodations over the years included computers, screen readers, braille displays, and braille embossers. When she was offered a job with the ADA LLC Group, a private law firm located in Montgomery, Alabama, she had to leave her access technology behind. Her new employer provided her was a computer with JAWS, a braille display, and a braille embosser. Now that she works from home, with travel no longer a vital component of the job, she needs an assistant only part-time, an accommodation her new employer also supports.

Full Life, Full Circle

While Pshon Barrett has enjoyed a full and successful career as first an attorney working for government and now as a senior associate in a private practice, her life has by no means been exclusively devoted to work. She continues to be passionately involved with politics and current events, is an avid baseball fan, and talented musician (playing piano and singing for her church and elsewhere.) “I did my job before we had technology and didn’t know that was a problem,” she muses, but had no hesitation leaping in to the wondrous pool of access technology once it was on the scene.

Several years ago, she designed and supervised the building of her own home in Jackson, a two-story home in a gated community, with two master suites. As an only child, she knew that someday her parents would come to live with and depend upon her. That day came seven years ago. Her father is gone now, and her mother, at 92, enjoys that second master suite. “She’s become the child I never had,” Pshon says, with a definite blend of amusement and love in her voice.

Above all, Pshon says that people and her relationships with them have been at the core of her multi-faceted success.

There have always been wonderful role models in her life, she says, from her parents to counselors and teachers, peers at school and other blind lawyers. When she was a third year law student, she and her mother flew to Miami to check out the American Blind Lawyers Association (a division of the American Council of the blind, today called AAVIA, the American Association of Visually Impaired Attorneys.) ”Here were all these lawyers who were blind,” she says. “They were mostly white males, but they didn’t care that I was female. They were all so good to me, such wonderful examples, and continue to be important in my life.”

She has been active in the American Council of the Blind for decades, serving on Constitution and Bylaws, Scholarship, the Audio Description committee and elsewhere.

In 2017, Pshon Barrett was recognized by the Mississippi Women Lawyers with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2020, she was selected as an ABLE Ambassador by the ABLE National Resource Center. (See an article on ABLE accounts in the December 2018 AccessWorld here)

She says she has always had a strong sense of determination and willingness to work hard. Time, she says, has taught her to be more confident and comfortable with her blindness, and recommends that attitude to others. She recommends knowing what you need and having confidence to ask for it.

Pshon Barret has a full like with a healthy balance of work and play. Relationships have been essential to her always, and many people have been generous. “I’d like to think,” she says, “that I am now giving some of that back.”

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

Comment on this article.

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• [Chase Crispin: Becoming Employed As a Blind Adult by Jamie Pauls

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Janet Ingber

In September of 2020, after much anticipation, Apple released watchOS 7, an update that contains new accessibility features as well as new mainstream capabilities. New features include Blood Oxygen, more workout categories, sleep tracking, and the ability to share watch faces. Not all Apple Watch models can use every new feature. VoiceOver also adds the VoiceOver Rotor, the ability to use a braille display, and the ability to have VoiceOver speak seconds when telling time. The new watchOS can be used with Apple Watch Series 3, 4, 5, 6, and SE.

Apple also unveiled its newest watches in September: Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE.

WatchOS 7 can run on Apple Watch Series 3 and above. Your iPhone must be 6S or later, running iOS 14 or above. Though Apple still sells the Series 3 Watch, it's not compatible with several new features, including the new Blood Oxygen app. Some apps, such as ECG (electrocardiogram) and Siri Raise to Speak, can be used by watches that are newer than the Series 3.

Any new Apple Watch needs to be paired with your iPhone before it can be used. All Apple Watches pair the same way. Turn on the watch by holding the side button (not the round button) in for a few seconds. You can then click the round button, called the digital crown, three times and VoiceOver will start speaking. If you want step-by-step pairing and set-up directions, Jonathan Mosen gives an excellent description of unboxing and setting up the Apple Watch Series 6.

Accessibility

Apple has made some accessibility improvements in this newest watchOS release.

VoiceOver Rotor

The VoiceOver Rotor is now available on the Apple Watch. The Rotor has the following options: characters, words, speaking rate, volume, headings, and actions.

Adding and Deleting Rotor Languages

To add a language to the Rotor, open the Watch app on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor Languages. Select the Add New Language button. A list of languages is then displayed on the next screen. Make your selection. If you want to add a language using your Apple Watch, open Settings and follow the same procedure.

To delete a language, follow the same procedure for adding a language until you get to the screen with the Add New Language button. Any languages on your rotor will be listed above the button. Choose a language and flick up to the Delete option. In the upper right corner is an Edit button. You can delete or re-arrange languages when this button is activated. On the Watch, go to the same screen. Double tap on the language you want to delete. Delete and Cancel buttons will then be on the screen.

Braille

In a major accessibility update, braille displays can now be connected via Bluetooth to the Apple Watch.

Speaking Seconds

You can now have your watch speak seconds when saying the time. On your Watch or iPhone go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Speak Seconds. There are three options: Always, Speak Seconds if Displayed, and Never.

Siri Now Available as VoiceOver Voice

You now have the option to use Siri’s voice for VoiceOver. On the iPhone or Watch, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver. Flick right to Siri Voice. Turn on this feature by double tapping on the toggle button.

Author’s note: My watch does not make the change to Siri’s voice. I checked the AppleVis website and I am not the only person having this issue. The very nice Apple Accessibility Advisor had me try several things with my watch but they didn’t help. He said he is filing a report for Apple and hopefully the issue will be resolved in the next update. When the Advisor checked, he found previous reports of the same issue.

Mainstream Features

The Apple Watch no longer uses the Force Touch gesture. This gesture was used for selecting Watch faces and other functions.

New Faces

There are new Watch faces and complications. New faces include GMT, Chronograph Pro, and an assortment of Stripes faces. Some faces are not available on all watch models.

There are two ways to choose a watch face. On the iPhone, open the Watch app and select the face Gallery. Explore the gallery by flicking right and left until you find a face you might want. Select it with a one-finger double tap. The next screen will have a description of the face. If complications can go on the face, you will hear the number. If the face already has complications installed, you can change them if you wish. Add the face by selecting the Add button on the description screen. The button is under the face’s name.

On the Watch, flick up with one finger until you hear “Customize watch face.” Select that option and flick right to Add New Face. The next screen will have the list of face categories. Selecting a category will bring up the list of its faces. Select the face you want to add.

Complications

It's now possible to have more than one complication from the same app on your watch face. For example, the Weather app has complication options including air quality and humidity. On the iPhone, open the Watch app and select the Watch face you want to edit. Flick right or set the rotor to Headings and go to Complications. If the Watch has pre-installed complications, double-tap on one and a list of available complications will be offered. Select the one you want.

On the Watch, flick up with one finger until you hear “Customize watch face.” Select that option. Once your Watch face is selected, flick up again with one finger until you hear “Edit.” Double-tap on the complication you want to edit. A list of available complications will be displayed. Select the one you want.

Sharing Faces

You can share your Watch face, including complications. This can be done on either the Watch or on your iPhone. On the iPhone, open the Watch app and select the face you want to share. A new screen will load. In my case, once I made the face selection, VoiceOver just said the color of my watch face. Next, flick left to the Share button. Activate the button and choose the share method and recipient. On the Apple Watch, do a one-finger flick up until you hear “customize watch face.” Select this option. On the next screen, repeat the gesture until VoiceOver says “share.” Select that option. Next, choose a recipient, create a message, and select Send.

Workout

Apple has added four new activities to their Workout app. They are Core Training, Dance, Functional Training, and Cool Down. Your exercise and stand goals can now be adjusted to meet your needs. On your Watch, open the Activity app. Flick right to Change Goals. The first option is to change your Move goal. Next is Exercise and then Stand.

Family Setup

The Family Setup feature lets a family member have their own Apple Watch, without requiring an iPhone. One person sets up this feature and adds family members. This only works with watches that have cellular capability. Apple Watch Series 4, 5, 6, and SE can use this feature if running watchOS or later. An iPhone 6S or later, running iOS 14 or later is required. Participants must have their own Apple ID.

Each family member has their own phone number. The Find My app can be used to locate people. Parental controls are also available. Configuring Family Setup is a multi-step process.

Blood Oxygen

The Series 6 Apple Watch contains a blood oxygen sensor, which measures the percent of oxygen in your blood. It is not meant to be a diagnostic tool and does not take the place of trained medical professionals.

On the Watch, go to the Blood Oxygen app. The first control is whether you want this app on all the time. If you choose this option, the app will take background readings that you can view in the iPhone Health app. There is also an option to have Theater Mode automatically activated when the Watch is taking a reading. This turns off the red light that is on during the reading.

You can take a blood oxygen reading anytime. Open the app. Make sure your watchband is snug on your wrist, but not uncomfortably so. When the Watch is taking a reading, you need to be still. Place your wrist on a flat surface such as a table and press the Start button. The watch will start beeping, indicating that the sensor is taking a reading. When it stops, flick right to the result.

Initially I could not get successful readings when I manually tried to use the Blood Oxygen app. The app did take background readings. I tried moving the watch further up my arm and that solved the problem.

Hand Washing

There is a new Hand Washing app. Once turned on, the watch’s microphone and motion sensors will detect the sound of running water and hand movement, and will start counting down for 20 seconds. If you stop before 20 seconds, the watch will encourage you to continue. When you have washed your hands for 20 seconds, the watch says, “Good job.” Make sure VoiceOver’s volume is loud enough to be heard over running water.

Sleep App

WatchOS 7 brings a new Sleep app to your Apple Watch. It lets you pick a sleep schedule and set bedtime routines. There are many options for bedtime, reminders, choosing alarms, and more.

Begin the process by opening the Sleep app. The first choice to make is how many hours you want to sleep. By default, 8 hours is selected. You will then choose which days you want the app to monitor your sleep. When that button is activated, the new screen will have two unlabeled buttons at the top. They just bring you back to the previous screen. Next are the Cancel and Done buttons. Below the buttons are days of the week. By default, all days are selected. Double tap on one to unselect it. Once days are set, choose a bedtime and then choose an alarm. The rest of the setup process is straightforward. If you would prefer to set up the Sleep app on your iPhone, go to the Health app on the phone. Select the browse tab at the bottom of the screen. Next, select Sleep. On the next screen, flick right until you hear VoiceOver say, “Set Up Sleep.” Double tap.

Siri

Siri can translate ten languages: Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese Japanese, French, Italian, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean.

Dictation is now done directly on the Watch. This should make the feature more responsive.

Siri Shortcuts can be run on the Watch. In addition, they can be added to your Watch face as a complication. Tell Siri which shortcut to run. Siri shortcuts will be listed in your available complications.

ECG

The ECG app lets the user take an electrocardiogram with their Watch. Once the app is activated, just put your finger on the digital crown and hold it there. If you have sound activated in the ECG app, you will hear the watch during the ECG. When the sound stops, flick right to hear your results. This app does not take the place of a medical ECG done and read by a doctor or other qualified health professional.

Fall Detection

Fall Detection is designed to get assistance if you have taken a fall. The Watch will first alert you that it has detected a fall. Next, it will do taps on your wrist and sound an alarm. Finally, if there is no response, it will call emergency services. By default, this feature is turned off. Turn it on by going to Settings > SOS.

Siri Raise to Speak

The Siri Raise to Speak feature is a great convenience. I found that bringing the watch close to my face and speaking towards the microphone gives the best results.

App Arrangement

The option to arrange your apps in Grid or List view is now in Settings on the watch. Go to Settings > App View and make your selection. If you put them in List view, they are arranged alphabetically.

Conclusion

WatchOS 7 has some useful new features. Although an Apple Watch is a significant purchase, there are many things you can do with it. My own experience has been very positive. If you haven’t upgraded to watchOS 7, the upgrade is stable and works well on supported watches.

If you need assistance with any Apple product, call 877-204-3930 to speak an Apple Advisor who is trained in accessibility.

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

Comment on this article.

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Steve Kelley

I confess: when it comes to wearable low vision glasses or goggles, I’ve been a bit of a hold-out. The goggles looked like they were heavy and uncomfortable, I’d heard some of them were pretty warm on your face when exercising, and some had additional cables coming off the goggles. It didn't sound particularly appealing and I wondered how could they be any better than a video magnifier or a smartphone with a couple low vision apps on it.

The Patriot ViewPoint wearable has me reconsidering all of this. At first glance, the ViewPoint seemed to confirm my concern about how comfortable wearing one of these devices might be. Afterall, the ViewPoint combines Samsung virtual reality goggles with a Samsung Galaxy S8 phone wrapped inside. An adjustable elastic headband holds it all in place over your eyes. They look like an over-sized pair of ski goggles. How can this be comfortable? Pulling the ViewPoint out of its hard shell carrying case, I was quite surprised by how light the goggles are at only 1.2 pounds. With the headband and center strap that runs from the back of the headband over the top of the head adjusted properly, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable and snug the ViewPoint is to wear. The carrying case also holds a manual, charging cable, and pair of earbuds. No remote and no extra cables to plug in or wear.

With the headset in place over your eyes, the ViewPoint becomes an immersive experience—there is a screen in front of each eye, and the goggles block out any light or peripheral vision. You certainly want to be sitting down or standing in one place when these are worn! The red power button is located on the front center of the headset, near the top edge. Within several seconds of turning on the headset, the boot-up screens appear and stop at a warning screen that reminds users, “The Patriot ViewPoint is not intended for driving or mobility.” Pressing any button from here switches the view into a live mode, which is like immersing yourself into a video magnifier: whatever you look at is displayed on the screens in front of your eyes.

With the ViewPoint in Live Mode, the image quality is quite good from the 12-megapixel camera. The autofocus is quick, and there is very little delay or drag as you look around from scene to scene. Increasing the brightness really brightened up some of the darker spots I looked at without introducing additional glare. Initially, I was pretty skeptical of the idea of wearing goggles without a peripheral view, but found that the headset blocked out some of the light that might cause glare on the screen and made everything viewed through the screen sharper and easier to see. As for mobility, when I was ready to move around, I just slid the headset up to my forehead or took it off until I needed another closer look at something.

ViewPoint Controls

The controls for the ViewPoint are located on the right side of the headset, with the exceptions of the power button, described earlier, and the volume up (+) and down (-) buttons, which are located on the bottom edge of the front of the goggles beneath the power button. The Control Pad is a smooth surface with a slight bump in the center of it to make it easy to locate. When in Live Mode, a swipe forward with a finger increases the magnification from 1X to 20X, while a backward swipe decreases the magnification. To manage the brightness, a swipe up on the Control Pad will increase it by 10 percent with each swipe, while a swipe down will decrease the brightness. With each swipe of the brightness control there was an audio confirmation of the percentage of brightness, however there was no audio conformation of the magnification settings.

The ViewPoint offers 13 different color modes, which are available in both Live Mode and the Reading Mode. Just above the Control Pad on the right side of the headset are two buttons, each with a distinctive feel. On the right, the Color Modes button has a small dot in the center. To change colors just press the button. As the color changes there is an audio prompt of the color selection. Selections include high contrast, gray scale, white on black, black on white, yellow on blue, blue on yellow, etc. One of the nice features here is that the number of colors can be reduced to four options by pressing and holding the color button for seven seconds on a favorite combination. This changes the options available on the Color Modes button to the original color, high contrast, the favorite selected, and the inverse of that favorite, which reduces the amount of time spent scrolling through options.

To the left of the Color Mode button is the Read Mode button. Of course, for some users, just adding a bit of magnification in the Live Mode with a bit more contrast from the Colors Mode, can make reading print easier. For the rest of us, the Read Mode provides a quick text-to-speech option, completely built into the system, so no Wi-Fi connection is required. After you press the Read Mode button, the screen displays “Processing” for several seconds, then the text is displayed on the screen and is read aloud through the Galaxy speaker.

In Read Mode, swiping forward or backward will increase or decrease the magnification, just as it does in the Live Mode. With each increase or decrease in size, the text is reformatted so it wraps within the borders of the screen. Double tap the center of the Control Pad to pause or resume the reading. Swiping up will read the previous sentence and swiping down reads the next sentence. The text is highlighted as it is read, and the Colors Mode button can be used to change the text and background colors. By default, the text reading rate was comfortable with a male (Tom) voice. The voice rate and gender can be changed by going into the Settings menu and then pressing and holding the Read Mode button for about 7 seconds.

Voice Commands

If you want to really simplify the controls, enable Voice Commands while you’re in the Settings menu. Once enabled, just say, “Patriot,” listen for the tone, and say the voice command you want. The ViewPoint responds to four commands: “make bigger,” make smaller,” change color,” and “take picture.” “Make bigger” and “make smaller” change the magnification accordingly. “Change color” switches from one color mode to the next, and “take picture” launches the Read Mode. Voice commands are really handy if you’re using your hands for a project or other task.

Reading Mode

Reading with the ViewPoint Read Mode gave me the pleasure of picking up a book or magazine and just reading it where I wanted— in a comfy chair, out on the porch—wherever. No need to sit in front of the video magnifier at a desk, or make sure what I wanted to read was first downloaded to a tablet or smartphone. Before pressing the Reading Mode button, adjust the magnification so the whole page you want to read is in view. Press the button and wait a few seconds for the print to start scrolling before your eyes. You can adjust the size of the text and it will be automatically rewrapped to the screen and read out loud. For privacy, just plug in a standard set of earbuds to listen. The OCR (optical character recognition) seemed pretty accurate and the processing quick. The ViewPoint didn’t offer a way to process multiple pages or to save the converted text to read later, so rereading something meant processing it again in Read Mode.

Overall Impression

Overall, the Patriot ViewPoint was easy and intuitive to use from the moment I picked it up. Even before powering it on it was easy to locate the controls because they’re individually outlined in bold white on a black background. The only thing difficult to locate was where to plug in the earbuds. The input is located on the Galaxy S8 tucked inside the headset. Fortunately, the directions are clear in the manual, and with a bit of reading I knew exactly where to find it.

One of the biggest drawbacks to the ViewPoint is a battery life of 1.5-2 hours of continuous use. Screen brightness is a significant factor in how long the headset can be used before recharging, and many users will have the brightness turned up to see more clearly. I also found the headset was unusable when charging, so users will need to plan their activities when using the ViewPoint to fit within this window of battery life.

One of the biggest advantages of a wearable like the ViewPoint is that your hands are free while using it. In addition to reading a book, the ViewPoint will be great for working on a craft project, watching a sporting event, doing projects around the house that require attention to detail, and really anything else that can be done without moving around while wearing the headset. Unless you’re using the ViewPoint like a monocular or binoculars, putting them on briefly to see a sign, look at a menu across the room, or spot a friend’s face from the distance, these will not be useful for mobility. It's hard to describe the difference the immersive quality of the view through the headset makes compared to other types of video magnification, like that from a desktop video magnifier, portable video magnifier, or smartphone. The Patriot ViewPoint isn’t going to be a solution for all low vision users, but many, like myself, may have a whole new appreciation for wearable magnification and OCR after trying out a product like the ViewPoint.

The Patriot ViewPoint is available from Magnifying America for $2,995. For more information or to find a retailer or get a demo near you call them at 800-364-1608.

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

Comment on this article.

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Jamie Pauls

I honestly can't recall when or how I became aware of the game Shades of Doom by GMA Games. It was probably on ACB Radio's Main Menu program because, in 2001, that was where all the cool breaking news about assistive technology came from. In fact, I had to consult AudioGames.net to even know what year the game was released. As fuzzy as my recollections are on how I first learned of the existence of Shades of Doom, I vividly recall being enthralled with the game as soon as I started playing it. The first word that comes to my mind when describing the game is "immersive," and Shades of Doom was the first game I recall giving me that feeling.

Though this is a vintage games series, Shades of Doom has been updated fairly recently. This means that it works well on today's modern computing systems. Even though the game has been updated, it has lost none of its original feel. In order for you to begin to understand the appeal of this game, let's begin with the story.

The Premise of Shades of Doom

You begin playing Shades of Doom by shuttling through the air toward a top-secret research base working on something very... well, secret! What, exactly, you aren't sure. Apparently something has gone wrong there, and your assignment is to clean up the mess. Are they working on genetic enhancements to humans? Completely new forms of life? As you enter the empty administrative area, you see that everyone has left in a hurry. You sit down at a computer console and begin reading a half-finished report. Apparently there was some disagreement among the researchers as to whether the experiment the base was working on should begin promptly at noon on the day the report was written, or should be held off a while. As usual, politics rules the day, and it is decided that the show must go on. Problem is, the report ends abruptly with a time stamp of 11:58 am and all indications from the nearby computer screens are that the experiment had begun. You keep reading and learn that a shut down device exists that will bring everything to a halt. The sequence involves inserting color-coded data wafers into the device in a set order. Various members of the team have data wafers, so no one person can shut the experiment down on their own. You need to find these data wafers, figure out the sequence, and shut down the experiment that appears to have gone drastically wrong. Thus the game begins.

Playing Shades of Doom

In order to complete game play for Shades of Doom, you must explore the halls and rooms found in the nine levels of the base. You can literally walk step-by-step through every area of the game by pressing your Up and Down Arrow keys. Up moves you forward, Down moves you backward. With each step, you hear the sound of your boots on the floor. From the sound of the emergency alert system you hear when you first begin playing the game proper to the echo of your boots bouncing off the walls near you, you know you are playing a well thought out game. Unique sounds let you know whether openings exist to your north, south, east, or west. Rooms sound different than corridors, and you can even tell when you are approaching passageways ahead. Sounds alert you to upcoming doors, and your EVA (envirometric vector analyzer) verbally alerts you to upcoming items such as doors, ammunition, and Did I mention monsters? O, yeah! That experiment apparently went really south.

Monsters aren't the only things the game has a lot of. There are, virtually speaking, miles and miles of corridors, rooms, and dead ends to explore. Fortunately, the game provides a number of ways for the explorer to keep track of their surroundings. Unique to this game is the ability to not only travel north, south, east, and west, but to move diagonally as well. You can turn slowly with a press of the Right and Left Arrow keys. Ad the Control key and you'll be snapped 90 degrees in any direction. Press the letter F to learn which direction you are currently facing. Interestingly, if you are facing slightly northeast, when you hear the word "north" spoken with a press of F, the sound will be slightly left of center in your headphones. If you happen to be facing slightly off from north, south, etc. just press the letter R to align yourself with the direction you are heading in. For example, if you walk through a door and need to fight monsters, pressing F will indicate that you are headed somewhat northeast. Pressing R will snap you north again.

You can walk forward step- by step with the Up Arrow. Adding the Shift key allows you to walk until you either hit a wall or press an Arrow key to stop your progress. A second press of Shift + Up Arrow allows you to run. Down Arrow moves you backward.

The game is self-voicing. I was able to keep NVDA running as I played the game, but JAWS tends to cause the keyboard to be less responsive than I would like at times. There is a menu where you can learn game sounds, and extensive help is available from within the game.

As with most all GMA games, there are five difficulty levels. They include the following, uniquely titled options:

• It's my turn daddy
• Don't hurt me
• Bring 'em on
• So you think you've had it bad so far?
• It's a good day to die

You can save the game in up to nine slots. It's a good idea to save frequently as you play, because this is one of those games where you can hit a dead end. If you run out of ammo on level two, you might not find enough to make it through all the levels. Like all good games, there is a boss level where you must defeat the meanest enemy of the entire story.

How does the game end? First, I wouldn't tell you if I knew because that would just be wrong, wouldn't it? Second, although I completed the game several years ago, I haven't managed it yet in my more recent attempts. I'll get there, but not before you read this article.

The Bottom Line

Any title you play from GMA Games has a lot of detail in every area including sounds, music, plot, and game play commands. Shades of Doom is no exception. It's possible to mark locations in the game, and pressing the letter V will tell you if you are in an area of the game that you have previously visited. This is quite handy in this particular game. It can be most aggravating to complete a level of the game only to discover that you are missing the security chip that allows you to unlock the door to the next level so you must make your way back through all the corridors and rooms to find it. Such moments can make the game a bit tedious at times. This is where saving a spot at your current end location can be helpful. You can explore the level and, if you get completely turned around, return to that location easily in order to start exploring again from a known spot. I have played text adventure games that allowed you to issue a command to walk back along a route to a previously marked location. I would like to be able to issue a command in Shades of Doom to walk back to marker 3 found on my current level, for example. If a monster was encountered, walking would stop until the monster was dealt with. The command to traverse back to the marked location could be issued again at that point.

I wish some of the rooms in the lab were given names and perhaps more characteristics. There is some of this in the game, but more would be nice. Finally, it might be nice to encounter characters in the game who could actually give clues as to what might be coming up later. All of this would probably require extensive updating of the game, and that might not be in the cards for Shades of Doom at this point.

You can play the first level of Shades of Doom for free. If you like it, purchase the game for $24.95, or upgrade from version 1 for $9.95. Prepare to spend many hours wandering the dark and forbidding halls of a sinister, to-secret research lab from which you may never escape.

On that note, sweet dreams, and happy gaming.

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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