All Cool Blind Tech Shows

This week Joel, Leo and special guest host from the AT Banter podcast Ryan Fleury get together to discuss the latest happenings in the world of accessible tech. Make sure to check out their site and download this week's VIP for all the fun CBT Banter. Articles This week Include the Following: Artificial Intelligence And Text Recognition Unite In Microsoft’s Latest IPhone App, For Free Everyone is talking about the new app from Microsoft called Seeing AI. Is it a revolutionary game changer for the blind or is it just a toy app? Find out what the guys have to say about the latest accessible app from Microsoft. Hands Free Typing: Dictate Speech Recognition For Microsoft Office Virtual assistants have come a long way in helping both the blind and sighted community with being able to do many tasks without the use of their hands. It seems that Microsoft may be starting a new trend on the PC with their latest Dictation add-on. Listen in to see if Leo, Ryan or Joel are going to start dictating all t

The Cool Blind Tech team has some great fun discussing their Cool Picks. Make sure to download this latest episode or press play to listen along! Cool Picks This Week Include: Alexa can notify you when your Amazon packages are out for delivery Leo is hoping to use his Amazon Echo to inform him of the purchases he plans to make. This new skill will make a sound notification and will respond when you ask "Alexa, what did I miss?" JBL Charge 3 Nelson tells us about the latest acquisition to his audio equipment collection. All three team members give it there seal of approval for sound and features. Windows 10 Creators Edition Joel tries out an old sound card on Windows 10 and is surprised to see that windows recognized it and set it up with no problems. The team encourages everyone to upgrade to the latest version of windows and provides some great reasons on why you should.

Join Jessica Rickards for an exciting Spotlight with Ronit Williams, Head of Global Sales and Marketing for Embro, makers of the Walk Pro, WalkX, and the Keller Sight. Ronit explains how this company is developing products for a variety of abilities, from vision impairment to hearing and speech disabilities. A more in-depth discussion is explored about the virtual cane technology that was developed in the Walk products and what sets it apart from other products currently available, and the features available in each product. The WalkX and Walk Pro are both available for Pre-Order. To contact Embro, or if you have questions about their products, you can contact them. To follow Embro for the latest updates and developments, you can connect with Embro on Twitter. If you enjoyed this spotlight interview, don't forget to leave us feedback. We always enjoy hearing from our fans.

In this interview, Rachel Feinberg speaks with Dave Wilkinson from HIMS about the brand-new BrailleSensePolaris. this product was just launched, and Dave takes us through some of the spectacular features this Braille and Android tablet has to offer. However, he throws in a bonus at the end and shows us some of his own hidden talents. So stick around for the entirety of this one! Grab the popcorn and you will enjoy! Guaranteed!

This week Joel is joined by Leo and Nelson to discuss the latest happenings in Accessible Tech. The Cool Blind Tech team has some great fun discussing the news and how to keep cool in this summer heat. Make sure to download this latest episode or press play to listen along! Support Actiview! Discussed in this week's show is a great app for iOS that has the potential to change how the blind enjoy the movie-going experience. You can find out more by reading this article or download the app to show your support. Topics This Week Include the Following: The Haptic Wave Is Helping Blind Audio Engineers ‘Feel’ Sound Waves Haptic feedback is all the rage right now in many fields. But, can it help the blind tackle a sound wave problem in the field of audio engineering? Listen in to see what the team thinks about this new prototype. Summer Academy Enhancing Independence For Blind And Low-Vision Students Summer may be a time for many to enjoy the beach, travel to new places or simply relax at the movies.

Not a month has gone by since We posted an article on Narrator including AI-driven image tags and Microsoft is back at it yet again, though with an older project which finally has made public fruition. Introduced at Build 2016, this project had a goal of bringing powerful image recognition technology which could be used to augment every day life, especially when combined with the power of the cloud. Today, The app is available in the iOS app store in the United States, Canada, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore, for free. In a post to the Microsoft Accessibility blog, Microsoft explains it in this fashion . The app uses artificial intelligence and the camera on your iPhone to perform a number of useful functions. Reading documents, including spoken hints to capture all corners of a document so that you capture the full page. It then recognizes the structure of the document, such as headings, paragraphs and lists, allowing you to rapidly skip through the document using voiceover. Identi

In this weeks Cool Picks, James, Jessica, and Nelson bring us some of the top technology from the AT world. Cool Picks Alexa Dungeon Adventure Skill Jessica goes old-school gaming with the latest tech. Listen as she demos a Dungeon and Dragons style game on an Amazon Echo device. MXL 770 Condenser Microphone As a veteran podcaster, Nelson has always sounded great on the air. Just ask him. He will tell you it is true. But even he can’t believe how good he sounds with this new microphone. Hulu It doesn’t have audio-description yet, but James just can’t stop binge watching all of the greatest shows on Hulu. How else will he be able to keep up with the Kardashians?

Join Jessica Rickards for an exclusive spotlight interview with Idan Meir, co-founder and CEO of Right-Hear, an Israel-based company focused on providing an auditory indoor navigation solution to the blind and visually impaired. Right-Hear is a free iOS app and is also available free on the Google Play Store. Users are able to obtain information about an area through Accessible Spots installed by the individual businesses. For a full demonstration of how the app works, please watch the Youtube video Connect with Right-Hear on Facebook Follow Right-Hear on Twitter

Rachel chats with Dan Gardner, CEO of ViewPlus Technologies. For the past 18 years ViewPlus have been giving people access to information through innovative products that change lives every day. Innovations such as color and black ink with Braille, talking tactile graphics, fully accessible math, powerful graphics editing and translation software have provided access to information for their customers.

Rachel talks with Cody Mitchell, from Irie-AT. Irie-AT could possibly be the Amazon for the blind and low-vision with a long list of products such as: Braille and Tactile Graphics Magnifiers and Readers Computer Access Daily Living Aids Video Magnifiers Index Braille embossers Braille Embossers Braille Notetakers SuperNova Magnifier and Screen Reader Tactile Graphics Document Conversion Optics Daily Living Aids and much more… For more information check out the Irie-AT website.

Rachel is live at ACB 17 interviewing Ruby Russell and Louie Scheel, co-founders of Distinctive Beddings. Listen in as they give us advice on what to do in the bed. Get intimate with Distinctive Beddings on FaceBook here.

In this informative VIP, James, Jessica, and Nelson bring us some of the top stories from the CBT website. They also give us their Cool Picks for the week, and answer some fan feedback. Top Stories Portable Speaker is the First Speaker That Turns Your iPhone Into a Conference System Rayz Rally is a pocket-sized speaker, together with the Rayz App it makes calling easier & clearer anytime, anywhere. The clarity of a conference system, in a palm sized portable speaker that’s powered by your iPhone or computer. Plug it in and it works. One smart button handles everything you need. It’s that simple. The only portable speaker on the market that offers conference call quality sound. New VR Headset to Help Visually Impaired See With a swipe of your finger this new technology, called Iris Vision, uses Samsung VR headset combined with software uploaded to a Samsung Galaxy phone. People with low vision are able to get up close and personal to the world around them. Users see a bubble appear that they can make bi

In this episode, James Oates takes us through an unboxing of the Aira glasses. He describes everything that come with the glasses. He also shows us how to set them up and make a call using the Aira app on an iPhone.

Join the CBT Team as they explore this week's latest Cool Picks. Cool Picks Actiview App Dolphin EasyReader for iOS Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Headphones

Join Jessica Rickards for an exclusive spotlight with David Jeppson, executive director of Computers for the blind, a Texas-based organization providing computers to blind and visually impaired individuals across the United States regardless of circumstance. computers for the blind accepts refurbished windows computers and is run by volunteers. This organization is open to volunteer opportunities across the country; from those who wish to give time in their local Texas refurbishment center, to tech support professionals who can provide remote assistance, to those who can contribute financially. If you are interested in learning more about this organization, feel free to contact them via telephone or email via their website. If you do a lot of online shopping, Computers for the Blind is also partnered with

Join Jessica, Tomi, and Rachel for another exciting VIP as they explore this week's latest in technology. This week, it's all about movies, and the devices you watch them on. Check out these exciting stories. Show highlights Amazon announces half-price Prime memberships for families in the U.S. Receiving assistance and announces the availability of Audio Description on several Amazon Video titles. New accessibility features found in iOS 11 which also include low vision enhancements like Smart Invert Actiview comes to an accessible theatre near you with the premier of Cars 3 Cool Picks Actiview App Dolphin EasyReader for iOS Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Headphones

Join CBT this week as they talk about their favourite Cool Picks. Cool Picks As Joel is the audio master on the CBT team, his pick of choice is the app he uses to do all his audio magic. Reaper Since Jessica is the traveling ninja, she wants to tell us all about this new transit app she makes extensive use of. CityMapper Transit App for iOS, web and Android While at the gym, Rachel really enjoys a great thriller to keep her energized throughout her workout. She has chosen Voicedream Reader You can read pretty much anything, with a variety of voices or fonts to help consume the content the way you want. Listen and enjoy!

In this podcast, James Oates takes a look at the new accessibility settings in iOS 11 Beta. Join us as he uncovers some exciting new features for VoiceOver and braille users.

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Stephen Ewell, the executive director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation. The CTA Foundation, a public, national foundation affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, was launched in 2012 with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives. The foundation strategically supports programs that affect these communities and facilitates dialog between industry, consumers, government, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders. Steve talks about the foundation’s role in featuring accessible products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the foundation’s role in producing the first fully accessible self-driving vehicle, and his trips to CSUN and South by Southwest. You can follow Stephen Ewell on Twitter here, and you can follow the CTA Foundation on Twitter here.

If there was a word which is to define the era that dominates this early 21st century, it no doubt would be the cloud. Everything has moved to incorporating some cloud-based feature or another. Whilst screen reading has done OCR and other image recognition prior, this too was relegated to locally performed magic, rather than anything that used the cloud to process data. The rise of huge AI clusters which now can process trillions of calculations a second has created a better opportunity for so much more to be off-loaded to these systems. For Microsoft, this is called Cognitive services and it is a platform any developer can leverage to create AI-generated content for an image. Once you combine this with a screen reader, things get very interesting. Such has happened in the latest Windows 10 insider build, 16226 Could a screen reader some day suggest labels for controls through an intelligent API which can interpret the icons? Could a computer describe a powerPoint presentation, typically full of rectan