Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News, and Reviews

Apple Music is coming to an Amazon Alexa device near you. Combining the two biggest names in the delivery of streaming music simply makes sense for both parties.Apple wins by retaining Apple Music customers who are not sold on the HomePod and enticing new subscribers who own Apple devices minus Alexa enabled smart speakers. For Amazon, this allows Echos to invade homes of Apple fanatics who are not sold on the over-priced HomePod. If you use Apple Music, here is how to add it to your list of Alexa’s music services:

* Open your Alexa app

* Navigate to Menu in the top left corner

* Navigate down to settings

* Navigate to Music

* Tap on the button Voice Over announces as, Link New Service Button

* Select Apple Music from the list

* Tap on the button Voice Over announces as, DETAIL_ENABLE_BUTTOn

* Navigate through the subsequent screens where you will log into your Apple account and link your Apple Music account with Amazon Alexa like other skills and services

Congratulations, you now have access to Apple Music’s catalogue of music, playlists, and radio stations on any Alexa enabled device. To force Alexa to query Apple Music, end a music request command with “on Apple Music.” I have found that Alexa cues up Apple Music for any songs or albums not provided with the free Amazon Prime service, making a nearly flawless music playback experience on my Echos, Sonos, and other devices.

Learn more about using Alexa services and devices through our other podcasts and blog entries.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes.

* Never miss an article or podcast episode through Apple News.

* Listen to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast on any Alexa enabled device, Victor Reader Stream, Hims, TuneIn Radio, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts by searching for Blind Vet Tech.

Send us an email if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast we set up iOS 12.1.1 new heart monitoring features and the Apple Watch’s Electrocardiogram (ECG.) The ECG is a unique feature of the Apple Watch Series 4 that detects potential signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). In order to set up your Apple Watch Series 4, you will need iOS 12.1.1 and WatchOS 5.1.2. Below are a couple of steps you will need to complete before taking your first ECG reading.

* iPHone

* Open the Health App and complete the “What’s New” screens

* Navigate to Health Data > Heart > ECG and input your date of birth and other information

* Apple Watch Series 4

* Open the ECG app from the list of apps

* If you need to change the wrist, navigate to Settings > General >Orientation and select the appropriate wrist

* With the ECG app, place your finger on the digital crown and remain still for 30 seconds

* Voice Over will announce your heart rate and results upon completed

* If your iPhone is nearby, it will vibrate with a notification indicating the results

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our complete review of the Apple Watch Series 4.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes.

* Never miss an article or podcast episode through Apple News.

* Listen to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast on any Alexa enabled device, Victor Reader Stream, Hims, TuneIn Radio, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts by searching for Blind Vet Tech.

Send us an email if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast we demonstrate how to preform some basic operations without the home button on an iPhone X. The Home Button acted as a security blanket for many blind and visually impaired individuals as its a semi-physical interface controlling so much. When the iPhone X surfaced, many felt betrayed by Apple as a the leader of universally designed devices. Rest assured Apple took our community to heart and developed extremely efficient solutions that will make you forget that a home button ever existed.

By listening to this episode you will learn how to do the following:

* Activate Siri by pressing the Sleep/Awake button

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast, Jesse from the Illegally Sighted Youtube channel joins us in a discussion about accessibility and universal design principals for blind computer users and video gamers. As mainstream companies integrate inclusive design strategies as a fundamental development principal, us blind consumers will actually have multiple choices to consider. One of the last bastions for overtly inaccessible items is the video game market.

The Illegally Sighted Youtube channel was created by Jesse in 2012 to educate blind gamers and developers about blind gaming. He demonstrates a variety of XBox, PC, and iOS games blind and low vision individuals may enjoy. Of special note, some of his latest uploads focuses on blind gaming with the Oculus Rift VR headset. Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode:

* Accessibility and Universal Design Principals in the computing and gaming worlds

* More mainstream companies, like Microsoft, Apple, and EA integrated accessibility into their core development principals

* EA Accessibility and Madden 18

* Skull Girls, gold standard of accessible mainstream games

* Blind gaming with AR, VR, and mixed reality

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides and Tutorials on iTunes

* Follow the Blind Vet Tech podcasts on your Victor Reader Stream, Hims Blaze, or podcasting app by searching for Blind Vet Tech in the podcast section

* Receive an email about any posts by subscribing to our blog

If you have any questions, comments, or requests, feel free to send us an email here. All of our podcasts and other information related to Veterans, blindness, acceptance of a disability, and other resources may be found at BlindNotAlone.com

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast, we demonstrate how to quickly check and correct misspelt words with the Voice Over Rotor. Voice Over’s Rotor allows one to edit apps on the Home Screen to selecting, copying, and pasting text with the edit option. The Voice Over Rotor’s Misspell Words feature makes it a snap to find and replace those pesky misspelt words. This option appears when Voice Over is on a text field, making it really useful for sending emails, posting on social media, or drafting documents.

Listen to this episode to learn how to use this really easy feature. It just requires you to do the following:

* Place Voice Over’s focus on a body of text with misspelt words

* Change Voice Over’s Rotor to Misspelled Words

* Swipe up or down to navigate to the previous and next misspelt word

* Swipe right or left to view the available options

* Double tap to replace the misspelt word with the selected word

If you enjoy the Blind Vet Tech Podcast series, we invite anyone interested in assistive technology for the blind to join us on our monthly tech teleconferences. Click here to see a list of our calls and how to connect via Zoom.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides and Tutorials on iTunes

* Follow the Blind Vet Tech podcasts on your Victor Reader Stream, Hims Blaze, or podcasting app by searching for Blind Vet Tech in the podcast section

* Receive an email about any posts by subscribing to our blog

If you have any questions, comments, or requests, feel free to send us an email here. All of our podcasts and other information related to Veterans, blindness, acceptance of a disability, and other resources may be found at BlindNotAlone.com

Don’t miss another Blind Vet Tech teleconference, click here to see a list of our teleconferences and others we support.

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News, and Reviews podcast learn about the different voting options available for us blind and visually impaired voters. We also demonstrate the Electoral Services and Software Express Vote. It is our hope that by knowing the available options and accommodations, more of our fellow blind and visually impaired voters will participate in elections.

Voting is the most basic fundamental right our Democratic Republic provides for all of us citizens. However, we still face various barriers to participate in this solum duty. Fortunately disabilities advocates won numerous battles ensuring legislation and statutes protect and encourage our participation. The Department of Justice summarizes these safeguards in this terrific report. Here are a few highlights:

* Americans with Disabilities Act,, through Title II, mandates voter registration, voting locations and machines, and options exist for all individuals regardless of disabilities may vote.

* Voting Rights Act of 1965 permits disabled individuals to select who might assist while voting, including site staff to family members.

* Voting Accessibility for the elderly and handicapped Act of 1984 requires accessible voting locations or alternative arrangements be made available, like curb side.

* National Voters Registration Act of 1993 requires public offices and state services serving largely individuals with disabilities a chance to register to vote.

* Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires every voting site possess at least one accessible voting system.

It is one thing to know the laws safeguarding and promoting our right to vote, it is another to know the different options available to us. Below is a list with explanations of the different options. While these are mandated, each state, county, and poling location may implement each item differently.

* Voter Registration

* States control deadlines for voter registration

* Must be accessible, regardless if its in person or online

* Available at state, city, and various public services offices

* Register or check your registration online at USA.gov or your state’s voter registration portal.

* Absentee and Mail Voting Options

* Must be requested for each election based on state and county requirements

* Permanent mail option exists for individuals with disabilities

* Mail and absentee ballots supersede in person ballot submissions for voters who use mail or absentee voting

* In Person Voting

* May be completed prior to the election at the voting commission’s office

* Curbside voting brings a poling station representative with a ballot to an individual with a disability’s car

* Voter may request assistance with voting from their own identified assistant, official voting commission’s rep, or from volunteers

* Electronic voting machines have large print, audio/screen reading output, and contrast accessibility settings

* IF you experience any voting machine issues, an official representative with voting machine technical experience from your county voting commission must be able to arrive at any poling station within a certain amount of time, so ask.

This is merely the tip of the iceberg related to voting. If you have any questions, contact your local county voting commission. They have the ability to register or check your registration information, explain available options to vote, inform you about poling locations, and much more.

If you enjoy the Blind Vet Tech Podcast series, we invite anyone interested in assistive technology fo...

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast, we review and demonstrate the Apple Watch Series 4 and WatchOS 5. The Apple Watch Series 4 is the first major update to the Watch product line. As an early adopter of the Generation 1/Series 0, I loved the universal design principals with Voice Over and Zoom, the robust fitness and health tracking tools, and seamless integration within Apple’s ecosystem.

At a passing glance, the Series 4 looks very similar to the prior versions. Few will immediately notice the difference between the previous 38mm and 42mm models and the new 40mm and 44mm sizes. Fortunately that is not the case on the wrist. The new Series 4 feels much lighter and you will notice the thinner cases. The increased sizes provides larger screens, surface areas to swipe and tap through menus, improve sound clarity and loudness, enhance the clarity of the microphone, and upgrade all of those internals to make everything from Voice Over to Siri snappier.

Series 4 and WatchOS 5 introduced and improved upon many of the features I love about the Apple Watch. Here is a short list of the changes that made me take the plunge, but you will have to listen to the episode to learn more and hear some demonstrations.

* Focus on Health with the new ECG sensors and app, high and low heart rate detection, and fall detection

* New watch faces

* Automatic workout detection

Welcome to September’s News update. Bill Boules of BlindRehab.Com and the producer of the Field of Vision podcast joined Tim in discussing the latest news from Apple’s announcements during the Apple Event, our expectations related to operating system updates, and our thoughts on the future for tech in our lives.

Blind Vet Tech Teleconferences

If you have any questions with life with a visual impairment or methods to address barriers associated with low vision and blindness, join us on one of our Blind Vet Tech Monthly Talks. Our Monthly Talks provide visually impaired individuals the chance to learn and share information about their favorite devices. Visit BlindNotAlone.com/Zoom to learn when our calls occur and how to connect.

September’s Apple Event

On September 12, Apple introduced the world to:

* iPhone X S 2 sizes

* iPhone X R

* Apple Watch Series 4

Overall Bill and I agree the new capabilities and features of the iPhone X S models are intriguing, you just need a really strong justification to take the plunge. The iPhone 10 R is different though, with its lower price point, larger screen, and basically maintaining the best parts of the iPhone X S without the other stuff a fantastic option.

The Apple Watch Series 4 was the best part of the announcement. The new features related to the ECG, improved sensors, fall detection. Automatic workout detection, improved speakers, and larger screen sizes makes this hard to pass by. I will go as far to say that we have reached a point where the Apple Watch is more than an entertaining fitness device, but something that squarely resides within the slate of prosthetic devices and equipment instrumental for us to track our health and fitness. I believe in this so much, below you will find a series of justifications and goals related to requesting the Apple Watch from a blind rehab training entity.

iOS, MacOS, Windows 10, and other OS Fall Updates

Microsoft and Apple have turned the fall into a time to schedule important OS updates. Overall, its important to update your OS whenever these major updates arise, as they provide stability and security updates necessary for the health and safety of your computers and mobile devices. Our belief is that none of the updates will pose any risks for your assistive technologies, so feel free to update when you have the chance.

Future of Tech for us with Visual Impairments

Tech plays an instrumental role in our lives. This is especially true for goals related to employment. Bill’s passionate discussion on this topic is very evident and I encourage everyone keep listening to the podcast to learn more about this and the role of AT trainers.

Apple Watch Series 4 Justification

The first goal is requesting a device that enables one to keep track of time through auditory and haptic methods. Talking watches might be able to announce the time, the ability to receive the time in a tactile method via haptic feedback enables time keep ing in situations whereby auditory announcements are not feasible.

The second goal is requesting a device capable of influencing fitness related goals. Its important to do more than count steps, but also track active calories, heart rates, and establish personal daily goals. Other devices, like the Fitbit can do this, but lack integrated accessibility options.

The third goal is requesting a device capable of measuring and detecting items related to health.

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast, we demonstrate how to use Aira’s Guest Access Program. Aira is a service that uses a combination of your smart phone, pair of smart glasses, or a computer to securely connect to a highly trained, professional agent to provide instant access to explore your visual world. Once connected, the agent can describe your surroundings, guide you through airports or convention centers, assist navigating inaccessible websites or PDF forms, sort the laundry or mail, read any documents, and so much more. Ensuring everyone maybe Abel to access the visual world, Aira established the Guest Access program.

Guest Access builds upon Aira’s initiative to make the world more accessible for all blind and visually impaired individuals. Through partnering entities and site access points, you can navigate a variety of airports, go shopping, have an agent describe the Boston Marathon route, troubleshoot an issue with VFO’s JAWS, or explore the Nugget Resort during the Blinded Veterans Association’s National Convention. A full list of available sites may be found within Aira’s iOS and Android apps.

Follow these 5 steps toBe Aira’s guest through Guest Access and redefine what it means to be independent:

* Download Aira for your iOS or Android device.

* Open the app and choose, Use Aira for free.

* Enter your email address and select “Sign up as a guest.”

* Visit one of the site access locations.

* Tap on the “Call Aira from phone” to connect with an agent.

If you enjoy using Aira, consider signing up for one of their subscription plans. For Veterans, you can receive Aira from the VA Blind Rehab Services. Contact Blind Not Alone or Timothy Hornik for more information.

If you enjoy the Blind Vet Tech Podcast series, we invite anyone interested in assistive technology for the blind to join us on our monthly tech teleconferences. Click here to see a list of our calls and how to connect via Zoom.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides and Tutorials on iTunes

* Follow the Blind Vet Tech podcasts on your Victor Reader Stream, Hims Blaze, or podcasting app by searching for Blind Vet Tech in the podcast section

* Receive an email about any posts by subscribing to our blog

If you have any questions, comments, or requests, feel free to send us an email here. All of our podcasts and other information related to Veterans, blindness, acceptance of a disability, and other resources may be found at BlindNotAlone.com

Don’t miss another Blind Vet Tech teleconference, click here to see a list of our teleconferences and others we support.

In this Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides, News and Reviews podcast, we review and describe the Sonos One smart speaker. The Sonos One combines the power of Alexa’s digital assistance with Airplay 2 integration for streaming audio from all Apple devices and sound quality rivaling the HomePod. Additionally one may pair Sonos speakers together for true stereo to immersive 3d surround sound. The only downfall is Amazon’s failure to extend features, like grouping speakers or calling/dropping in on friends. This combination makes the Sonos One perfect for small rooms to filling your whole house with stellar sound.

The Sonos One is a square shaped speaker with rounded edges standing about the same height as an Amazon Echo. The backside possesses a button you will push during setup or resetting to factory defaults, and an ethernet port to directly connect to home networks. The power cable fits smoothly on the bottom. The top side features a touch screen-styled face with four controls. To orientate the Sonos One, placed the side with the button and ethernet port facing away from you. When placed this way, the four buttons on top do the following:

* Mute/UnMute Botton is at the 12 o’clock position

* Play/pause is in the center of the top

* Volume Up is at the 3 o’clock position

* Volume down is at the 9 o’clock position

* Mute indicator is below the mute button

* Connection indicator is above the play/pause button

If you enjoy the Blind Vet Tech Podcast series, we invite anyone interested in assistive technology for the blind to join us on our monthly tech teleconferences. Click here to see a list of our calls and how to connect via Zoom.

Stay Informed

Stay up to date with the latest news and announcements from the Blind Vet Tech team, by doing one of the following:

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech News and Announcements podcast on iTunes

* Subscribe to the Blind Vet Tech Quick Guides and Tutorials on iTunes

* Follow the Blind Vet Tech podcasts on your Victor Reader Stream, Hims Blaze, or podcasting app by searching for Blind Vet Tech in the podcast section

* Receive an email about any posts by subscribing to our blog

If you have any questions, comments, or requests, feel free to send us an email here. All of our podcasts and other information related to Veterans, blindness, acceptance of a disability, and other resources may be found at BlindNotAlone.com

Don’t miss another Blind Vet Tech teleconference, click here to see a list of our teleconferences and others we support.