Dear AccessWorld Readers,

Last month, I discussed the recent discontinuation of the Hearthstone Access mod. This month I'm happy to announce that community developers have taken up development of the mod and it is now available once again, with even more aspects of the game now being accessible. If you are interested in Hearthstone and would like to keep up with the latest updates, the best place to go is the Hearthstone Access Discord server; the link to join the server can be found on this page.

If you have not heard of Discord before, think of it like a combination of a social media platform and a chat app like MSN or AOL messenger from many years ago, or Facebook messenger/WhatsApp. Discord allows you to connect directly with friends one on one to chat or talk, as well as do the same with small groups of people. What makes Discord unique in comparison to most other chat apps is its use of servers.

Discord servers are central locations where you can connect with strangers over the Internet who have similar interests to you. Discord originally began as a space where gamers could congregate, but now there are servers for almost anything - books, movies, hobbies like hiking or knitting, politics, and anything that might come to mind.

Increasingly, Discord has become the premier location where you can find updates on projects by writers, artists, and hardware and software developers. Where before, someone might have a website where they would provide updates about their project, in many cases, those updates are being presented through Discord. In addition, the casual nature of Discord coupled with its immediacy, means that you will often have a chance to directly interact with a creator where you might not be able to otherwise.

I have been using Discord to keep in touch with friends, and make new ones, since the beginning of the pandemic and have been looking for the opportunity to review it for AccessWorld. As part of this issue, the last of 2022, I have included a review of the accessibility of the Discord desktop and mobile app.

In addition, Janet Ingber brings us a review of the latest Mac operating system update, while Steve Kelley discusses the AudiVision app on Android.

From all of us here at AccessWorld, Happy Holidays!

Aaron Preece

AccessWorld Editor in Chief

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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Steve Kelley

Can you imagine taking on the big players in the world of Artificial Intelligence apps, like Microsoft's Seeing AI or Google's Lookout for document reading or product identification chores? AudiVision is doing just that with their new app, currently available from the Google Play Store. Like Seeing AI and Lookout, it offers a free version. Unlike them, it is funded with banner ads which appear at the bottom of the app display. These are relatively easy to ignore and users can remove the ads by purchasing the app for an annual subscription of $10.

For now, AudiVision is only available for Android, and users will find it in the Google Play Store. According to the developers, though, an iOS version is on the way, and should be available in January of 2023. Like Google's Lookout app, AudiVision has several modes which use the Android phone or tablet's camera to read text and identify objects. There are some similarities, like Text and Document modes, and both use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify various objects in the environment. AudiVision has a number of unique features which make it stand out.

For example, one really convenient feature in AudiVision is the addition of speech commands to open the various modes, called Tabs. Neither Lookout or Seeing AI uses speech commands. Each mode provides a microphone icon in the lower right corner. Tap the microphone and speak the mode to be opened. Speech commands can also be used by touching anywhere on the screen for a second. When the screen vibrates, just say the command. The commands are listed in the Help mode and can be read even without TalkBack turned on. When the Help Tab is opened, the user is told to "single tap to read instructions." A single tap also pauses instructions. This is a nice touch for the low vision user who may not be using TalkBack all the time.

AudiVision has a total of 10 tabs which appear across the top of the screen. The first 7 of these tabs are various modes for recognizing text or objects in the environment.

AudiVision Modes or Tabs

Here's a breakdown of the 10 tabs and a brief description.

1. Smart Text- reads any text the camera encounters. This could be useful for reading mail, something on the computer screen, or scanning signs on a walk to see what's nearby.
2. Document- is better for reading a page in a magazine, book, or paper document. Hold the camera above the document and follow the prompts. A picture is automatically taken when it is completely in view, or the user may take a picture by touching the screen. AudiVision processes the image quickly and the text on the screen can be magnified as needed. Maximum magnification on the reviewer''s Galaxy phone was 3 character per line. Text can be played and paused using the controller at the top of the screen if TalkBack is not turned on.
3. Find- uses an edit field or speech to select a particular word to be found. With the text the user wants to find entered or spoken, moving the phone systematically around an area will conduct a search for that word. This might be useful to locate a nearby office, a product in the grocery store, a business on the street, or a nearby document on the desk. When the word is found the app vibrates and sounds an alarm.
4. Magnify- is like a handheld video magnifier. The magnifier tab is a feature not available in either Seeing AI or Lookout. This mode includes at least eight magnification levels, by pressing the plus (+) or minus (-) buttons. There is also a button to turn on the light, and a button to reverse the viewing mode to a light on dark negative mode which will provide more contrast for some users.
5. Expiry Date- to help locate and read out the expiration date on a food item. When this tab opens, users hear, "This is an experimental feature. Please reconfirm results with human agent." The results during the review were mixed. The expiration date on one item in the refrigerator was located and read quickly. If a positive identification is made, it is read aloud and shared to a blank page. The text can be copied or shared with another app. Several others were not found even though the camera appeared to be over the expiration date. It is worth noting for those using the app visually, without Talkback on, that the results seemed better when using Talkback. Talkback seemed to be reading the various attempts at reading the expiration dates. Even though these weren't always confirmed, or sent to a blank page, hearing the attempts sometimes provided enough information to get the date or a portion of it.
6. Light- another feature not found on either Lookout or Seeing AI. When this tab is selected a continuous pulsating sound plays and the pitch is higher as it approaches a light source, and deeper as it moves away to a darker area.
7. Mask Detector- lets a user know if people nearby are wearing protective masks. Like the Expiry Date tab above, better results were achieved when Talkback was on. People were identified in the camera view and the app reported whether or not they were wearing a mask. This information popped up on the screen and quickly went away so it seemed easier to listen for Talkback to read these results. For the review, one person modeled a mask and the app detected right away whether they had a mask on or not.
8. Settings- includes several toggles to mute or unmute voice feedback, turn auto flash off or on, and to turn on auto capture for the Documents tab.
9. Buy- this is where a user can purchase the app with an annual fee of $10 or a one-time fee of $100. The description on the Buy tab's page did not provide the purchase price and indicated that by pressing the Purchase button, the app could be purchased. No Purchase button was visible, however on the Galaxy phone used in the review, unless it was hidden beneath the banner ad at the bottom of the screen. The purchase information came from contacting the developer from their website.
10. Help- provides some basic instruction on using the voice commands and a brief introduction to the various tab functions.

How does it Compare?

Both the Smart Text tab and the Document tab seemed to perform as well as either Lookout or Seeing AI. Results were responsive and quite accurate for comparable targets, like addresses on mail and magazine articles. Expiry Date and Mask Detection are both innovative and useful features. Although experimental, the Expiry Date function seemed useful on several food items.

In addition to the Text and Document features on Lookout, comparable to Smart Text and Document on AudiVision, this reviewer finds the Food Label and Currency really handy. AudiVision, at the moment is not going to replace either Lookout or Seeing AI—it's going to be a great addition to either, at a very affordable price. For more information, check out the AudiVision website or take a look at the AudiVision (originally called Audible Vision) review on the Blind Life.

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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Aaron Preece

Discord, a mobile and desktop app that allows you to chat and call your friends as well as connect with others with similar interests, has become one of the most dominant communication platforms in the past few years. With its increasing focus on accessibility, this is true for both the mainstream as well as audiences with blindness or low vision.

Considering its prominence in popular culture as well as its increasing use by people with blindness or low vision, it seemed time to dedicate an article to Discord. As a complex web app and with its recent focus on increasing accessibility, Discord also serves as an excellent test environment for exploring what to do and not to do when making a desktop or mobile app accessible.

For this review, Discord was tested on Windows 10 using the NVDA screen reader. Specifically, the desktop app was tested as it is almost entirely identical to the web interface and is browser agnostic. The mobile app was tested on iOS using VoiceOver.

Positives

Discord, specifically the desktop app, is a model example of how to make a complex web app accessible to screen reader users. On both the desktop and mobile app, there are few to no unlabeled, or mislabeled, elements. This is true for common elements such as links and buttons, but also for more complex elements as well. As an example, tabs are labeled properly in both apps and correctly alert the user of which tab currently has focus. Likewise, sliders, such as those used for adjusting the volume of specific users in a call, are labeled correctly and provide needed feedback as the slider is adjusted. The only unlabeled element encountered during testing of the desktop app was an image on the log in screen, assumed to be the discord logo. Logos should be given a simple alt text label such as “Discord Logo” or similar.

Discord makes liberal use of CAPTCHAs to protect from bots and spam, employing the hCAPTCHA service. Historically, hCAPTCHA required blind and low vision users to install an "Accessibility Cookie" which in many cases required users to disable privacy settings, such as prevention of cross sight tracking, to work correctly. Fortunately, hCAPTCHA has implemented a text CAPTCHA option where a user need only answer a few yes and no questions to solve the CAPTCHA. This method is both easier for a blind or low vision user to use than traditional audio CAPTCHAs, while also allowing a blind or low vision user to keep their privacy protections in place.

On desktop in particular, the discord app presents a great deal of information on each page. To aid in navigation for users of screen readers, the app uses elements strategically so that a user can efficiently navigate. As one might expect, headings are used for important items such as main content; in addition, on desktop, in a channel or direct message conversation, headings are used to identify a user's messages. To elaborate, if I submit a message, the message will be proceeded by my user name as a heading. If I continue to submit messages quickly, they will appear below my original message but without the heading. If someone then submits their own message, their message will be proceeded by their name as a heading.

Even when headings are not being used on desktop to provide quick navigation, the use of different element types often serves the same purpose. In settings, each settings category appears as a button while individual settings categories appear as tabs. In servers, channels appear as links, in contrast to the buttons used for voice channels and other controls that are around them. If a screen reader user is comfortable switching between different element shortcuts, they can learn to navigate rapidly.

In contrast to a mobile app, where there is only one main navigation method when using a screen reader, desktop screen readers allow a user to navigate in what is commonly known as "Browse Mode", where the screen reader user can navigate the site with the arrow keys as well as use specific element shortcuts to jump to elements like headings and links. "Focus Mode" deactivates the enhanced keyboard navigation provided by Browse Mode and is generally used for text entry or interacting with certain complex controls. As Discord is a web app, it can be controlled both in Browse and Focus mode. A user is able to access all controls while in browse mode, and when switching to Focus mode, native keyboard support is available. For example, a user can navigate through messages with arrow keys as well as use the arrows to navigate through channels in a server. Discord also includes an extensive list of keyboard shortcuts

When using a screen reader, web sites and apps often take control of the screen reader's focus when needed, redirecting a user's focus to important content. Not redirecting focus or redirecting it incorrectly is a common problem. In the vast majority of cases, Discord does this correctly when using the desktop app. when a user opens a context menu, focus is automatically brought to it and when in a list of messages, if the user presses any letter on the keyboard, they will be brought directly to the message edit field.

Identified issues

Discord has implemented accessibility quite successfully, particularly in their desktop app, though access issues or oversights in usability are still present. Desktop app issues primarily are oversights in usability, while the majority of true access issues are found in the mobile app.

When you are using the Discord desktop app and are focused on a text channel or direct message, you will be alerted (presumably through ARIA) that users are typing but not when new messages are posted. This makes it difficult to keep up with conversations. A user either has to leave the discord window so that they will receive notifications, which are read by screen readers, or constantly check for new messages. Since users are alerted when others are typing, it seems that the capability to alert a user of activity directly is possible, and it would be extremely useful if users were read new messages as they arrived in a focused channel or direct/group message.

In addition, if you close the Discord app using the "Close" button at the top of the interface, you will still be able to interact with the window as if it were still present until manually moving out of the window. When the app is closed using this method, behavior should be the same as when the user closes the app using "ALT+F4".

The mobile app has several moderate access issues that make it more difficult to use than the desktop app. In many cases, particularly when scrolling through message history, focus will be moved far back in the message history, skipping what should have been next in the focus order. To replicate this, focus on the message field and begin swiping to previous items. The assumption would be that focus would be moved to the latest message in the history, but instead focus is placed on a message far back in message history. Screen reader focus changes should always be predictable to a user; in our example above, when typing focus is moved to the message field, it is a logical redirection of focus. If a mechanism is present to jump a user back to a specific point in message history, this should be identified to the user and be of the user’s choice.

Elements that are labeled in the desktop app are unlabeled in the mobile app in some cases. For example, if someone joins a server you are a part of and you have the option to react with a sticker, that option appears as an unlabeled button in the mobile app. The unlabeled item in the mobile app should have the same label as the desktop counterpart.

Some issues are unique to Discord itself. For instance, when entering a voice channel on mobile, the speaker defaults to the handset speaker, making it very difficult to hear your screen reader. Most apps allow this to be switched by covering and uncovering the proximity censor,(and Discord does allow this when in a direct call with another user) but when in a voice channel, you must navigate to the "Change Audio Output" button and select it, quite difficult when your screen reader is coming through a quiet speaker. Default behavior on iOS is for audio to come through the headset speaker but if the proximity sensor is covered and uncovered, the audio output is switched to the phone's main speakers.

Finally, in certain screens, such as the "Spectators" screen in a call in a voice channel, there is no button for returning to the previous screen. Fortunately, it is possible to use VoiceOver's "Scrub gesture" for activating a back function, but including an actual back or previous button would be useful. In many cases, the "Scrub gesture" is not supported so using this method for leaving a screen without a back button might not occur to a user.

Conclusion

Outside of general good accessibility practices; proper labeling and similar, Discord is particularly notable for properly using screen reader focus rerouting and making a web app possible to navigate both in browse mode and in focus mode using standard keyboard navigation, something rarely seen in desktop web apps. Key issues in the web/desktop app are specific to Discord and regard usability and not accessibility. Examples would include the lack of message readout while in a channel or conversation and the lack of focus redirect when closing the app using the in-app "Close" button.

The mobile app lags behind the web app in general accessibility with some minor labeling issues and some significant oversights or errors in screen reader navigation that can complicate usage for screen reader users. Outside of its general complex nature, Discord is perfectly usable by people with blindness and low vision. Mobile issues can be identified and worked around, and lack of some features in the desktop app that would make some tasks easier can be compensated for by using alternative methods.

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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Janet Ingber

Apple released its latest operating systems this fall, as is customary. This article covers their latest updates for the Mac and the Apple Watch. It is not possible to describe all of the many changes but I cover the most important ones. For this article, I used an M1 Mac and macOS Ventura 13.1. For the Apple Watch, I used a Series 6 watch and watchOS 9.2. 

Not all new features work on all supported devices. For example, Crash Detection is available only on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, Pro Max, Apple Watch SE second generation, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra.

macOS Ventura

Apple released its latest Mac operating system, macOS 13 Ventura, on October 24, 2022. This continues Apple’s custom of naming Mac operating systems for California landmarks. 

Compatibility

The following Macs can use macOS Ventura:

• MacBook models from 2017 or later
• MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
• MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
• Mac mini models from 2018 or later
• iMac models from 2017 or later
• iMac Pro (all models)
• Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
• Mac Studio (all models)  Some features require the M1 or M2 processor to use all features.

System Settings

System Preferences now is called System Settings. System Settings is set up as a table. On my Mac, when I open System Settings, I am not at the top of the table. Instead, I am on Appearance. The first table item is your name and Apple ID. First letter navigation does work in the table. Once an item is chosen, related information is to the right.

New Voices and Languages

Apple has added more VoiceOver voices including those from Eloquence. Many additional languages have been added including Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Status Menu Commands

Apple has added commands for three status menu items: time and date, battery level, and Wi-Fi status. Use VO-F7 or if your Mac has a touch bar, use VO-Globe-7 to hear the information. Press the key combination once to hear time and date. Press the combination twice to hear battery level and whether the Mac is charging or not charging. Press the combination three times to hear Wi-Fi status. VoiceOver will say the name of the selected network and signal strength. When accessing Wi-Fi information directly from the Status Menu, VoiceOver does not say the network’s name. You can hold down the VO keys and then press F7 the designated number of times for the information you want to hear.

Reducing CAPTCHAs

As in iOS 16, Ventura offers Private Access tokens to help eliminate or reduce the number of CAPTCHAs you encounter in Safari. If you already have two-factor identification enabled for your Apple ID, this feature is on by default. You can check your two-factor identification status by going to System Settings > [your name] > Password & Security. If two-factor identification is checked, then go to the Automatic Verification checkbox and make sure it is checked.

Braille

According to Apple, if you use a braille display with VoiceOver, in VoiceOver Utility you can now wrap the insertion point to a new braille line when you type past the end of your braille display, or have the insertion point stay at the end of the line so you can easily check what you just typed without needing to pan back.

Text Checker

This new feature can let you know if there are extra spaces, misplaced capital letters, or misspellings in your document. It works anywhere text can be entered. At this time, Text Checker is not perfect.  By default, text checker is activated by using the keyboard commander combination Right Option-D.

When text checker encounters extra spaces between two words, as it is reading the text it will say how many spaces are between the two words. Text checker will use the term “white space.” You will need to come out of text checker to make any changes. Then go back into text checker with Right Option-D.

If text checker finds a misspelled word, it will announce it. Type the Return key on the word. Bring up the context menu with Shift-VO-M and find the correct spelling. Another option to try is select the word with Shift-Option-Right Arrow or Left Arrow and then bring up the context menu. I found this worked better.

Try using the left and right arrows to switch between checking spaces and finding misspelled words. By default, text checker will search for spaces first and then check spelling.

Another option for checking for extra spaces and indented words is to go to VoiceOver Utility>Verbosity>Text. Then, choose how you want VoiceOver to respond. Be aware that VoiceOver will follow your settings in all applications. An easier way to do this is to create an activity where VoiceOver will only respond in certain applications. Go to >VoiceOver Utility>Activities. Select the Add Activity option. Then, name your activity, choose Verbosity from the list of categories and activate the Set Verbosity button. Select the Text tab. Make your selections about how VoiceOver will respond. Then, choose which apps will use your settings. I chose TextEdit and Mail.

Messages

The new Messages features found in iOS 16 are also available in Ventura for Mac.

If you accidentally delete a message, you can retrieve it. There is a 30 day limit for each message. Get to the recently deleted messages option by going to View>Recently Deleted or type Control-Command-5 The oldest message will be at the top of the list. It is not possible to recover only one message in a message thread. Recover the thread and then choose the message you want.

Recover a deleted message by selecting the conversation you want to recover. Bring up the context menu with Shift VO-Down Arrow or the action menu with use VO-Space bar. Select the Recover button. In either menu, there is also a Delete button. Activating it will delete the message thread from your Mac.

The Undo Send feature lets you retrieve a message that you did not mean to send. Both the sender and the recipient need to be using iOS 16 or macOS Ventura. You only have two minutes from the time you sent the message. While in the message, bring up the contextual menu with Shift-VO-M. Select Undo Send. You can also use the Actions Menu with VO-Command-Space Bar and then select Undo Send.  As with iOS 16, you have 15 minutes to edit a message after it has been sent. Bring up the contextual menu with VO-Shift-M and select edit. Then resend your message.

You can mark a message as unread either by using the Contextual Menu or the Actions Menu.

In Ventura, it is easier to send an audio message than in iOS 16. There is a Record Audio button below where you would enter text. Double tap to start recording and double tap the button to stop. VoiceOver will be heard on the beginning and end of the recording. I tried focusing on the button and then turning VoiceOver off, but it did not work.

Mail

As with iOS 16, Ventura has the new updates to Mail. If you send an email and then need to cancel it, type Command-Z. Unfortunately, you only have ten seconds to do this.

An email can be sent at a later time. After writing the email, Shift-Tab until you hear, “Schedule to send message.” If you hear, “Send Message,” VO-Right Arrow to the “Schedule to send message” button. Another way to get to “Schedule to Send Message” is to go to the top of the window with Command-VO-FN-Left Arrow. Then, VO-Right Arrow to the button. Once the button is selected, a new screen will load with time options.

Mail can remind you about an email. Either use the contextual menu or the Actions menu and select Remind Me. A new screen will load with options for when Mail should remind you. The two menus also have the option to mark an email as unread.

When you add an attachment to an email, VoiceOver says, “Object replacement character.” The attachment is added. Use the right or down arrow key to verify.

Apple Music

As usual, Apple Music is easier to use on an iOS device than on the Mac. For information on the updates to Apple Music in iOS 16, Here is the link to my AccessWorld review of the mainstream features in iOS 16. If you want to try Apple Music on the Mac, here is Apple’s link to Apple Music.

Find My

The Find My app now makes sounds to help you locate an AirTag, an AirPods Pro Second Generation case, and My network accessories. Select the item you want to find and activate the Play Sound button.

watchOS 9

This new watchOS was released on September 12, 2022. 

Compatibility 

The following Apple Watches are compatible with watchOS 9: Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch SE Second Generation, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra.

Voices

There are new voices for the watch. On your watch, go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver>Speech. This feature is not available through the iPhone.

Hand Gestures

Apple has added “hand gestures” for VoiceOver. This feature is available through the Watch App on your phone or in the settings menu on your Apple Watch. Go to Settings>Accessibility>VoiceOver. Hand Gestures information is the last item in the list. By default, this feature is not enabled.

There are four gestures assigned to four different commands. The gestures are: Pinch, Double Pinch, Clench, and Double Clench. There is a Learn More option near the top of the page. Selecting it brings up an instructions on how to perform each gesture. For example the Pinch gesture moves you to the next item. Selecting the button next to the gesture’s name, brings up other options to assign to the gesture.

Watch Faces

Some new watch faces have been added. They are in the Face Gallery in the Watch app on your iPhone. Author’s note: When I upgraded, my Activity complication changed on my watch face. The usual measurements for moving, exercising, and standing were still there but in addition, there were several quadrants describing my activity at different time intervals. I called Apple and was told my particular Modular watch face now had the extra information in the middle. I changed my watch face.

Medication

Your Apple Watch can remind you to take medication. To use this feature, go to the Health app on your iPhone and select the Browse tab. On the new screen, select Medication. The app will give directions for adding medications. Go here for more information about the process

Smart Home

The new home connectivity standard, Matter, now is supported on the Apple Watch. This will allow more connectivity between devices in different systems.

Music

Music can now download even when the Apple Watch is not on its charger. It will use Wi-Fi and Cellular. 

Conclusion

It is well worth upgrading to macOS Ventura and watchOS 9. My favorite improvements are that the Message app and Mail app have the new features of iOS 16. 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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