All Cool Blind Tech Shows

There are many twitter clients that are available for Windows, but very few are designed to work with screen readers. In this podcast, Leonid demonstrates the interface, as well as several useful features on TWBlue, a free, open source twitter client.

Let us know what you think in the comments!

This week, the team is quite active! Join Rachel, Jessica, and Joel, as they discuss topics from a 9-month National Fitness Challenge, to the Ecobee4 Thermostat, to the Amazon Echo stepping into the communication market.

A 9-Month Fitness Challenge?

Students from the Georgia Blind Sports Association along with the United Association of Blind Athletes and the Amerigroup are taking part in a 9-month fitness challenge.

Read about it here

there are always things to say when it comes to getting out there and being active! Listen as the team shares their thoughts on this challenge and the devices used to promote friendly competition.

"Introducing a new way to be together"

How to make calls from your Amazon Echo. In this section, Joel and Jessica demonstrate how the Amazon Echo and the Alexa app now have the ability to make calls and send messages to other Echo users who have enabled this service.

Get all the details here

Getting Smart with the Ecobee4 Thermostat

After all those workouts, being able to set that AC to a cool temperature would be fantastic. Is it doable with this unit?

Take a look here

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, Rachel demonstrates how to enable audio description for the movies and TV shows that have this feature in the Amazon Prime Video app. One must have an Amazon Prime membership which entitles a viewer to some free content. Other movies and TV shows that have audio description, can be purchased for a small fee. If you want to know which content has description:

Look no further!

Enjoy!

In this podcast, James Oates takes a look at the new customizable control center in iOS 11. He shows us how to add items to the control center, and tries out some of the more interesting additions that are now available.

This week Joel, Jessica and Darrell Hilliker share their opinions on this week's Cool Picks.

Cool Picks This Week Include the Following:

Aira Visual Interpreter for the Blind

Darrell shows us how he uses his Cool Pick for help with day-to-day tasks around the house.

Google Calendar

Find out how Jessica manages her insane schedule with her Cool Pick this week.

Microsoft OneNote

Joel shows us how he uses OneNote to quickly send thoughts and ideas across his devices.

Join Jessica for an exclusive interview with Alex Tavares, Harvard University graduate and developer of The Read Read, an innovative new Braille literacy device which allows students to independently engage in the process of learning Braille.

If you would like to see The Read Read become a reality in classrooms everywhere, please Donate to The Read Read Kickstarter Campaign. Currently, this campaign funds The Read Read for classrooms across the U.S. However, if their goal is met, it will be possible to expand The Read Read.

This week the Cool Blind Tech team along with a special guest host, discuss the latest happenings in the world of Accessible Technology. Join Joel, Jessica and Darrell Hilliker as they share their opinions on this week's news and bring to you some very Cool Picks. Make sure to press play or download this week's special show.

Topics This Week Include the Following:

Visually Impaired People Testing Driverless Pods

A new system for the blind to navigate one of the world's busiest airports is currently being tested. Check out what the team has to say and where they hope it will be used in the future.

Microsoft Hosts First Accessibility Summit For People With Disabilities

The inclusion of accessibility in all products or services requires that businesses look at accessibility from a different perspective. Listen to the team discuss how summits are now taking place to do just that.

Adobe Announces A Free Solution For Optical Character Recognition On Your Smart Phone

New and free alternatives for OCR continue to help the visually impaired. Does this mean the end of paid solutions that are specifically made for the blind? Find out what the team has to say on this topic and what they suggest for OCR.

Cool Picks This Week Include the Following:

Google Calendar

Find out how Jessica manages her insane schedule with her Cool Pick this week.

Aira Visual Interpreter for the Blind

Darrell shows us how he uses his Cool Pick for help with day-to-day tasks around the house.

Microsoft OneNote

Joel shows us how he uses OneNote to quickly send thoughts and ideas across his devices.

In this weeks Cool Picks, James Oates, Joel Ramos, Tamas Geczy, and Jessica Rickards get together to share their latest findings in the world of assistive tech.

Cool Picks

Duolingo

Jessica shows us how to learn another language while having fun.

Sleep Watch - Auto sleep monitor using your watch

Tomi is all about getting a good nights sleep with the help of the Apple Watch.

Home Pod

Joel just can't wait until December to get his hands on Apple's new voice activated home speaker.

Office 365

James talks about staying productive on all of your devices with Microsoft Office 365.

In this podcast, James Oates takes a listen to the new enhanced Siri voice on iOS 11. He also checks out Siri’s ability to translate phrases into other languages. He then tests out the new type to Siri feature, and talks about Siri suggestions.

There are only a few ways people can create Braille labels these days. One could use a $500-1000 Perkins Brailler and feed the tape into it, after which you cut it yourself per label. There are other handheld labeling devices sold which provide a stamping mechanism for labels; These take time and require rotating the disc after each strike. Not convenient.

Logan Tech's Label Maker solves this problem quite well by offering a solution even those with sight could integrate with. In this case, the device allows for a qwerty keyboard to be hooked up over micro-USB, providing labeling as well.

A note about the recording from after it was recorded. At one point, I pondered if the batteries in the unit can be recharged or are rechargeable. There is an FAQ page which explains that using batteries which recharge is not recommended. These may damage the unit as they cannot provide exact currents that it may require. In the few weeks of constant use the unit has received, I have not had to replace the batteries however, so expect quite some time out of them. For anyone looking to make labels for a family member, schools which wish to keep a unit on-hand to deliver crisp labels quickly to students will find their world opened by this option as well.

If you would like to know more about the products provided by LoganTech, check out their Youtube.

If you would like to know more about the 6Dot Braille Label Maker, you can follow 6Dot on Twitter, or connect with 6Dot on Facebook.