Blind Abilities Podcast

Serina, Raqi, Jeff and Angie gather around to talk tech and have a conversation about Blindness, Service flying service animals and giving Guide Dogs Angel wings. Yup, you heard it here first. From the latest gems from Apple to the Mantis from APH, the crew digs in about news, releases and experience not just tech experience, life experience as well. How do you use the word Blind? Do you use Person-First? The topic heats up and guard went down as the team brings it on with the use of the word Blind as the popular Twitch site changed Blind Play Through to First Play Through. Why? Hmm. Good or just the right thing to do, today. Comfort dogs get grounded and service dogs fly! $$$549$$$, no, that is not a mis-print, the New Air Pod Max Headphones are released and sold out till March! Headphones, $549? Yup, The Apple Air Pod Max are being purchase without any trial, try on, listen, just the Apple Brand and vote of confidence is selling the promise of a great listening experience. Now that’s marketing and consumer

Karthik Kannan returned to the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the Winter Sale on the Envision AI App available in the App Store and the Google Play Store. Now, with a new 14 day trial from Envision, anyone can give the Envision AI app a good go-around. Try out the Instant Text, Document and PDF reading features. Check out the color detection, translate and read from over 50 languages right on your smart phone. With the new features added this year, like column detection and the ability to save your OCR documents in the new Library folder, you can import and export the text with just a few taps. Envision AI has much more to offer and you can find out all about the Envision AI app on the Envision web site at LetsEnvision.com The new Envision Glasses are now available and you can order yours today on the web at www.LetsEnvision.com/glasses Everything you can do in the Envision AI app, you can do on the Envision Glasses and more.  Join Karthik Kannan along with Angie Fisher and Jeff Thompson in the Blind Ab

Full Transcript   Sarah Herrlinger joins Raqi Gomez and Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about accessibility and the major refresh of the Apple.com/accessibility web site. With the roll out of all the new Apple products, the Accessibility Team has been working hard to ensure that all the hardware is accessible and even enhancing the access along the way. Lidar, Light Detection and Ranging, is new to the iPhone 12 Pro line and People Detection is a good example of how moving through space with accessibility is more and more a reality. Magnifier now recognizes elements and objects in the view finder, so Voiceover users have to check out the magnifier app and take a look around. With all the new sizes of the iPhone 12 line-up including the iPhone SE, there are sizes and features for everyone. Sarah takes us through the development of People Detection, the enhancement of the Magnifier App an the importance of being able to individualize your accessibility features to your own needs. You will fi

Full Transcript Pardy Gill joins Simon Bonenfant in the Blind Abilities Studio to share with us Pardy’s journey from denying and not accepting his blindness until a few incidences made him quite aware that he needed to address his low vision and face the fact that he was going to have to change his perspective on being Blind. A lot of us who are losing vision over time try to hang on as long as we can and Pardy was no different. Until some near-death experiences, Pardy was content on living a life without addressing the growing loss of vision. With some training and meeting others with vision loss, Pardy became confident and his advocacy skills kicked in and is now a Trustee of the National Federation of the Blind United Kingdom. Pardy contracted COVID-19 and talks about his month-long hospitalization. How the staff, family and Pardy worked together to communicate and work through this challenging situation. Join Pardy and Simon in this inspiring journey and learn how peers and community allowed Pardy to real

Raqi, Angie and Jeff gather before the start of the Holiday Season to talk tech and Jeff gets schooled a bit on how to listen to women, or at least these 2 techies from out West. From the Find My demo, to Apple’s 15% break for the little developers, to 5G settings on the iPhone 12 series, we go, go, go in this Tech Abilities show. We wish all of you a safe Holiday Season and from all of us here at the Blind Abilities Studio, through these challenging times, to you, your families and friends, Stay Safe, Stay Informed and Stay Strong. Links from the show: Apple cuts commission rate to 15% for small developers. Apple promised that its new Fitness+ service would launch before the end of the year, and it appears that the feature will be added to iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2. Apple Fitness+: Everything You Need to Know About Apple's Upcoming Workout Service. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordina

Serina, Raqi, Angie and Jeff stay socially distanced and still sound great in the Blind Abilities Studio! Who invited Marlon again? Anyways, Serina and Raqi go at it in the Mac Fight of the season. Actually, they state their cases and Angie and Jeff keeps the show running with some tidbits and demos showing the People Detection feature on the iPhone 12 Pros series of iPhones. Big Sir has a new member in the Menu Extras Bar called, Control Center… Nice! We are all pert near dressed in Stitch Fix attire and maybe in an upcoming show, Angie will be sporting some Stich Fix merch herself! We got Mophie gadgets, case suggestions, some tips and tricks, warnings and what about them there new Macs? Hmm.  Join the Tech Abilities Team in this informative conversation and let us know what you like, what you would like to see more of. We want to hear from you. Give us a call at 612-367-6093. If you want, we can put your voice on the show, the listeners would like to hear from you as well. Thanks for listening and stay wel

Brittany Montgomery and Riley Robinson join Jeff in the Blind Abilities studio to share their mission to bring blind cricket to the U.S.  They describe the passion for this hugely popular sport that has energized people in other countries and believe that if they can generate an awareness and familiarity in the states, then that passion would grow here as well. Listen as they show their sheer enthusiasm, not only for the enjoyment that the sport would bring to blind athletes stateside, but for the broader international possibilities such an arrangement might offer in the future. For example, players may have opportunities to travel internationally to play teams from other countries, and even compete in international blind cricket events like the World Blind Cricket Cup, an event thus far dominated by countries such as Pakistan and India. listen as Riley and Britney describe how the game is played, how it might take root in the mid-western United States, and eventually grow into a national and even internation

Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but rarely have we heard specific reports about its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals.  In this 22nd episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Sammie Shipman in California, who fills in those details for us. Sammie Shipman is a college student living in the San Francisco bay area in northern California, in the US. Sammie shares her routine as a student living and active lifestyle that ranges from her daily 3-hour commute to school, to her walks around the local marina with her guide dog, fighting the smoke-filled air resulting from the wildfires which are very prevalent in the area.  She also enjoys her social outings with friends and going to church which recently reopened with all necessary pandemic precautions, masks, social distancing, etc.     Sammie was in the midst of her school semester when the Corona virus arrived, but finished her courses and enjoye

Raqi, Angie and Jeff are in the studio while Serina gets some well deserved time off. She  told me to write that, yes she did. Marlon pops in with a few One More Things and We are talking Apples, Plans, Accessible Rowing Machine, Audio USB Mixer, New Mic from Shure and notta thing about that election!  Remember, www.NVDACon.org is announcing the upcoming NVDA Convention Dec. 5 and 6. Here are some notes from the show: Apple One subscription. Family plan is nearly automatic. You can have others join the iCloud storage plan but you have to dig in a little bit. Apple One bundles up to six amazing Apple services  into one easy subscription. Get a plan that’s right for you — or for your whole family,. And all members have private access to each service, across all their devices. Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade iCloud Apple News+ Apple Fitness+ (Coming late 2020) One More Thing! November 10 10 AM Pacific Mac, Mac, Mac. Would you buy a Pentium Mac today? How much time until the Silicon Mac is fully integrated?

Kiran Kaja is the Accessibility Lead for Search, Assistant and News at Google. Kiran joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio for a conversation about Kiran’s journey from a bleak outlook for education to his jobs that led him around the world and to Google. It is not by chance that Kiran made it to where he is today, he followed his passion and is excited each day that he gets to make possibilities come true through the work he does at Google. Kiran started coding and pivoted from his college degree and sought out his passion for accessibility and working to make software and hardware be useful and accessible for people with disabilities. Kiran is Blind and understands access to technology is not just about us in the Blindness community, he strives to make accessibility benefit all people facing the challenges brought on by a disability. Kiran’s team works with teams across the board at Google to help make the Google experience the best it can be, building access into the products from the beginnin

Tech Abilities is back in the saddle or should I say Stagecoach? We got a full studio with Serina, Raqi, Jeff and guest, Angie Fisher. Yes, a full house and a full episode of Breaking News, Insights on the iPhone 12 Pro, HBO and Audio Description, Google Nest Speakers, Halos Tactile Icons, the MagSafe connection from Apple and just a delightful dish being served up in this episode of Tech Abilities. Marlon jumps in now and then with a twist, make that a Transylvania Twist for Halloween. Happy Halloween everybody and we hope you enjoy the tricks and treats. Be sure to check out Halos Tactile Icons at TangibleSurfaceResearch.com Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storea

Simon Bonenfant sat down with Laura Cornwell and Robert Hänggi  from the NVDACon Planning Committee to talk about the upcoming December 5 and 6 on-line NVDA Conference. They explained how you can contribute your ideas and suggestions up until the November 14 deadline. Laura and Robert fills us in on what to expect at this year’s NVDACon. Laura explains what the NVDA Screen Reader is and how you can get started using NVDA on your Windows computer. Robert goes into detail about the NVDA Conference history and what is in store for us on December 5 and 6 of 2020. This year the NVDACon theme is, “Bridging the Distance”. What is NVDACon? NVDACon (The Non-Visual Desktop Access Users and Developers Conference) is an annually held online conference of users, testers, developers, translators and other beneficiaries of the free, open source and community-driven NVDA screen reader. Inspired back in 2014 by community interest, NVDACon has been conducted regionally in Asia, Korea, Japan, the United States of America, etc.,

In this ongoing  series from Blind Abilities, we have heard from blind  citizens Around the world about how they have experienced and adapted to COVID-19. from Australia and Malaysia, to the united kingdom, and more. our guest on Episode 21 is Gerardo Corripio who comes to us from Mexico. Gerardo, Gera, immediately points out how important it is to first understand an overview of the political and geographic make up of his country. Mexico is comprised of 32 states, 10 of which are controlled by one of Mexico’s political parties, PAN which stands for Partido de  Acción Nacional, or the National Action party, and the others which are controlled by the Morena party, of which Mexico’s President Obrador is the party leader. Gera lives in the city of Tampico, located, in the state of Tamaulipas, which falls under the PAN party.  In general, the PAN takes a more serious approach to dealing with the Corona virus than the Morena party. As we will hear, this lack of a coordinated approach towards fighting the virus  ca

Lois Strachan is a multi-talented artist and has just published her new book, “A Different Way of Seeing (Second Edition): A Blind Woman’s Journey of Living an Ordinary Life in an Extraordinary Way.” Lois returns to the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about her decision to author a 2nd edition and what led her to take a 2nd look at “A Different Way of Seeing”. Cook Cover: Lois with her Guide Dog. Lois is an author, singer, speaker, podcaster and her new book gives a look at how she has overcome the challenges of losing her sight and offers answers to the curious who wonder how she gets about and doing what she does. This is a good book for family members and co-workers of someone who happens to be Blind, and people who are Blind or Visually Impaired who want to know more about how ordinary life can be for someone who is Blind. Lois lost her sight and joined a Rock band, finished college, went to work and sought out the life that she wanted. Her book, “A Different Way of Seeing – Second Edition” takes you th

The gang is all here and by gosh, where are the Action Figures? Serina, Raqi and Jeff give their thoughts about the Apple Event and that Amazon Prime thing that came and went. Although, Raqi scored another set of Air Pod Pros for her ever growing stable of Air pods. Serina ordered her Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro and is absolutely stumped on her next case since the Apple MagSafe cases are not on Amazon. $49 in the Apple Store! Hmm. Still deciding? So is Raqi and Jeff. Looks like November 3rd is when we will really know. Come on iPhone 12 Pro Max, eh? Or, is it the Mini?  Here is a little bit of the facts from Apple: Introducing iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro with 5G, MagSafe accessories, and HomePod mini. iPhone 12 Pro Starting at $999 iPhone 12 Pro Max Starting at $1099 5G speed. A14 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone. All-new design. Ceramic Shield. LiDAR Scanner for more realistic AR. A Pro camera system optimized for low light — and pushed even further on iPhone 12 Pro Max. Save the dates. iPhone 12 Pro

Ana Sikhashvili spent a year in Minnesota attending the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind (MSAB)through a student exchange program called, Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX). Ana is definitely a leader and her future is looking very bright as she is now attending University in the Republic of Georgia. Ana’s experiences in the United States and especially her experiences at MSA B and the programs she attended through State Services for the Blind (SSB) have made an impact on her in such a positive light that she intends to bring to light what she has gained to her native country of the Republic of Georgia. Ana talks about what life as a person with a disability  is like and how being someone who happens to be blind navigates University especially through these challenging times of the Pandemic. Ana is sharing her experiences with her community and intends to make a difference in her country through advocating and by reaching her goal in becoming a politician so her voice can carry the message for those not bein

In the 20th episode in our series, Around the World with Covid-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we welcome back Nick D’Ambrosio, from Montreal Canada, with a special  follow-up report. We first heard from Nick in Episode 5 in which he shared his perspective on life as an essential worker in his Drug Store in Montreal. Now Nick returns with a clean and fresh outlook on handling Corona, now, in October 2020.  Rather than describing the tasks of hand-sanitizing or the rigors of social distancing, Nick outlines the benefits of “living life” rather than merely sitting back and letting it handle you. He reports to us from Orford, Quebec, where he sits by a raging campfire in the deep woods with nature all around. Nick articulately spells out why we should step out of our passive lifestyles and find where our passion lies, whether an outdoor activity, or a hobby. Join Nick and catch his buzz for living life to the fullest!   Be sure to tune in to this and other informative episodes to hear how your BVI counterparts

In our first episode of the Organizations of the Blind and Visually Impaired series,  Harriet Go, President of the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, joins Simon Bonenfant in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the Keystone Chapter, the NFB Philosophy and share the news of an upcoming event for all to participate. The event is called, “Believe You Can” - A Virtual Talent Show on Zoom. You can purchase tickets for Believe You Can! Talent Show at https://believeyoucan.live/ October 17 at 7 PM EST. Contact information: Harriet Go President, Keystone Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania Email: goharriet00@hotmail.com Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an

GoodMaps CEO, Jose Gaztambide, and Chief  evangelist, Mike May, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the new app GoodMaps Explorer. An indoor and outdoor navigation application on iOS and soon to be on Android. With outdoor navigation being available through various GPS apps and Map apps, American Printing House for the Blind formed GoodMaps in an effort to take on the challenges of indoor navigation. With breakthrough technology, Jose and Mike are here to give us an overview of the technology and prospects of the GoodMaps Explorer app. The key to this advancement is GoodMaps’ revolutionary indoor positioning system, which combines Augmented Reality and sensors on a device with a new system developed by Fantasmo, a GoodMaps partner GoodMaps Explore is a mobile navigation app that gives a complete picture of your surrounding environment indoors and outdoors. Built from the ground up with visual impairment in mind, Explore is optimized for on-screen gestures with Apple’s VoiceOver. Ex

Rita Howells joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to tell us about her new Recumbent Exercise Bike, why a recumbent and how she gained access to the manual, the Electronic Screen and much more. Rita produces a column called, Rita’s iDevice Advice, and monitors a Tech Group e-mail list called, iDevices located through email at iDevices@Groups.io and you can keep up with her weekly releases as well as join in on the discussions, give advice and learn from the hundreds of participants. Rita worked 33 years in the Voc. Rehab services in Illinois and now has a great vehicle for her to share her knowledge and experience through her column, Rita’s iDevice Advice. Join Rita and Jeff for this conversation about accessibility and making stuff accessible. Here are some links from the show: Elite 3G RB Recumbent Exercise Bike The 3G Cardio Elite RB is the most comfortable recumbent bike you will ever use! A bold statement from the 3G web site.  The “iDevices” e-mail listserv – join and ask questions about i