Mosen At Large

Hi Mosen at largers, here's what's on this week's packed episode, but before I tell you that, a reminder that reviews and word of mouth really help small independent producers. If you like the podcast, please give it a five star review if your podcast service offers this, or just spread the word on social media, email lists and to friends. Thanks so much mate.

In this summary, you'll find the topic first, followed by the time it happens in the episode.

It's far too complicated to get a refund from Apple for an inaccessible app,1:28.660

Ridding myself of Google's invasive data collection,12:34.183

A listener has a dodgy Lyft experience and we talk about rating and ride sharing,14:09.165

A listener experiences odd unlocking issues with Touch ID,21:27.208

A listener responds to the question about leaving your wallet at home in the era of ApplePay and recommends wallet cases,23:12.500

Enabling Google Chrome extensions in Microsoft's awesome new Edge browser,25:23.695

Most accessible ways to access Reddit, all of them on iOS",26:43.949. Apps mentioned include Dystopia, which you must obtain from TestFlight,Apollo, and BaconReader.

A listener asks if there's any way to stop Windows from asking if she likes what she sees,29:27.929

Being in the heart of US primary country,30:34.674

Listener feedback on app refunds,32:39.743

Podcasts on Presidential politics past and present,36:39.642

Brexit and impeachment, an historic week,41:45.153

Listener app recommendation, RSSRadio",51:58.807

"Overcast has an update where Voice Boost has been rewritten, A big Castro update coming soon",56:29.320

Sonosequencer is heaven for any Sonos geek,57:38.794

The Bonnie Bulletin begins with Bonnie's impressions of the Castro Podcast app,1:01:04.372

"Listener inquiry, Getting Facebook to show content chronologically",1:03:28.658

Big changes may be in store for US guide dog handlers,1:06:12.653

"More feedback on going walletless in the iPhone era, and a hearing aid crisis",1:13:36.047

A listener asks for typing tutor recommendations,1:18:30.025

"Believe it or not, there's a browser extension called Detrumpify",1:19:59.704

"The decade's beginning, and case of Braille rear their heads again",1:20:34.801

"A listener inquiry on efficient ways to keep up with news, particularly technology news",1:22:00.621

"Are we close to the release of iPhone 9? Yes, you read that right.",1:27:15.155

Former New Zealand Prime Minister and WTO Director General Mike Moore has died,1:28:24.333

"Netflix recommendation, Miss Americana",1:29:43.797

Hi again Mosen at largers. I'm back after a summer break, having been geeking out with a lot of tech, just for the fun of it. Please note that in response to many requests, the podcast is now produced with chapter marks, making it easy for you to move between items in the podcast in any good podcast player. I'll also provide time stamps in the show notes.

01:21 Bonnie has a new laptop, I describe what we chose and why.

05:50 geeking out with Reaper, and podcast chapters.

06:17 an earthquake provides a rude awakening.

07:45 A listener reports that after a Windows update, she must log in twice

09:06 Reaper, chapter marks, and the remarkable auphonic service.

12:23, The facts are very clear. Why the new decade doesn't start until next year, and why it matters.

21:12, There's an impeachin' going on!

23:27 Memoirs by musicians.

A listener recommends a podcast called American Elections, wicked game.

27:56 In this high tech age, do you leave your wallet at home?

30:35 The new Microsoft Edge is released, and it's excellent. I've been using it with the alternative search engine DuckDuckGo, which promises not to track you.

35:26. Software to help with family organisation and security including Apple's Reminder's app. 1Password and AnyList.

42:23 A listener inquires about starting a podcast. We talk about Backpack Studio,Anchor,Libsyn,Pinecast and the Mosen Consulting Unleash your Inner Podcast series.

49:04 I bought a Zoom H6 portable digital recorder. I wish I hadn't taken so long to do it.

54:53 It's been the week from hell for Sonos and the drama will continue. But I still bought a new Sonos Port.

65:06 Gary O'Donoghue shares some useful Zoom H6 tips.

70:47 The Bonnie bulletin. Bonnie gets all controversial about Harry and Megan, we have an air fryer in our lives, and more of a moving story.

In this special edition of Mosen At Large, I want to introduce you to the new podcast app in my life.

For years, I've been a happy user of Overcast, but a podcast app for iOS named Castro Podcast Player kept being mentioned by people who consume a lot of podcasts. Some time ago, I checked it out and found significant accessibility issues for blind people like me who use the VoiceOver screen reader built into iOS. That's no longer the case, and it's by far the best iOS podcast app I've ever come across.

Key features include:

• Easily import your podcasts from many other third-party apps.
• By default, all your podcast episodes are placed in an email-like inbox, so it's easy to see what new content you have and get to the stuff you want to hear.
• Exclude certain podcasts from your Inbox while staying subscribed.
• Features Overcast listeners have come to love, like compressing pauses and improving speech quality.
• The best chapter support in any podcast app I've used, including the ability to deselect certain chapters to skip the parts of episodes that don't interest you.
• Copy any audio file into a special folder on your computer and it appears in Castro.
• Convert video to audio and play it from your podcast app.
• A raft of Siri shortcuts.
• Many more really slick features.

Castro is free but it's quite limited in the free state. To unlock its full potential, you'll need to make an in-app purchase but there is a free trial, so it costs you nothing to give it a try.

Visit Castro's website, and find Castro in the App Store.

Follow Castro Podcast Player on Twitter.

I hope the final year of the decade has begun well for you.

This special episode of the podcast is devoted to Backpack Studio, a recording app that with an in-app purchase will also let you create live Internet radio right from your iPhone or iPad.

Additionally, the app will create video files out of audio, which is a great feature for people who'd like to post audio content to social media services that require video.

The support for VoiceOver, Apple's built-in screen reader that makes iOS devices usable by blind people, is brilliant. It's not just that it complies with Apple's best practice guidelines for accessibility, there are features specifically to make the app rock from a blindness perspective.

Get Backpack Studio from the App Store.

Hi Mosen at largers. Hark! Hark closely! Verily I say unto you, it's Christmas, so lo, time is running out to vote in the Mushroom FM holiday countdown. It's so easy, and participating on the day is such a fun experience. Get your top 10 holiday songs into us today! Otherwise, a song you really like might be low. And lo, that would not be good. Then you might say, "oh, hark!"

You know, having a birthday on or close to Christmas day has the potential to be quite blah. We have a chat about this.

iOS 13.3 is out and while there might be a few accessibility improvements for some, the bugs persist with several listeners chiming in on this.

When you vote in the Mushroom FM holiday countdown, you get an invitation to our Christmas party where you have a chance to win virtual Christmas crackers for your table. Since Christmas crackers aren't very common in the US, I explain what they are.

A listener points out how to get some very useful visual assistance from Apple if you have two devices.

Aira has a shopping promotion on right now if you need some help with in-person or online shopping.

We have an extremely glowing listener review of Disney Plus, and another from a listener who won't be subscribing now their trial is up.

It just became much easier to play and sync podcasts between Spotify or Apple Music and Amazon Echo.

Boris Johnson is flying high after the British general election, but it's interesting to contemplate how different the outcome would have been under proportional representation.

The tension mounts at Mosen Towers as, finally, with the Apple Watch Cellular being supported by a New Zealand carrier, mine is about to arrive at Mosen Towers.

Bonnie is here with her bulletin as we look ahead to the big New Zealand close-down and provide an update on the great Mosen carrier migration. She also talks about how she's going with her new AirPods Pros.

I explain why as a blind person I find it handy to have a sound mixer on my desk in my office.

I've had a bad week with Uber who have refused to correct an error and flat out lied about a trip I took.

It's been a very tough week for us here in New Zealand following the eruption of White Island and the resulting loss of life.

Do you have any crazy Christmas musical or talking ornaments around the place? We have several, one of which scarily came back from the dead.

Could we be about to see the release of the iPhone 9?

This is the last Mosen At Large podcast of 2019. We'll see you back on 25 January 2020. You can tune into Mushroom FM throughout the holiday season for great programming, including our holiday countdown and my special shows for both Christmas day and new year's eve.

Hi Mosen at largers. 'Tis the season and all that. And it seems I'm not the only one who finds the line in the Christmas song Silent Night, "holy infant so tender and mild", quite bizarre. This week we look at other odd Christmas songs and lines, including the most bizarre one of all, Little Drummer Boy.

We discuss salutations at the beginning of emails. Do we need them, and what should we use?

We remember mainstream games, some of them quite old now, that have been accessible.

With the gift season upon us, a listener asks for advice on mechanical keyboards.

Have we become more disrespectful over time? Is it now OK that people don't seem to have a problem with kids calling adults by their first names?

Sometimes, doing something as simple as changing mobile phone providers is such a mission! I recount my adventures trying to do that this week.

I am looking forward with considerable anticipation to the UK election later in the week.

Bonnie is here with her bulletin.

Tile stickers have arrived in our house. I describe what they are and why you might use them.

There are rumours that Apple will introduce an iPhone with no ports at all. How do you feel about that?

A listener asks about ProTools accessibility with JAWS.

A listener asks about US TV streaming.

With the end of 2019 fast approaching, we have to put up with annoying people who can't count and think that the decade is about to end.

Twitter has had to abandon for now an initiative that would have freed up old usernames.

There's a warning about a new Samsung Galaxy update affecting dictation with Voice Assistant.

And in a shameless self-promotion, I play the Christmas song I recorded in the hope that when you vote in our holiday countdown, you might send it to number one!

Hi Mosen At largers. Wow, where did that time go? It was 20 years ago today that I pushed the button to launch ACB Radio and begin working with some great Internet radio pioneers. If you'd like to read an account of how ACB Radio got started and some memories of the building of the station in those early days, you can download my free ebook on The Mosen Consulting site.

People have been buying up tiles in black Friday sales, so we talk about the accessibility of the Tile app.

I hope you, your friends, your family and even your enemies will cast your vote for the top 10 holiday songs. You can vote here and I explain this cool tradition in the podcast. Voting gets you an exclusive invitation to our Christmas party.

Are you frustrated by focus issues after deleting mail in iOS 13? Well if it's any comfort, you're not alone.

A listener shares his experience of MFI cochlea implants in iOS 13, and asks how other blind cochlea implants are getting on in general.

What's the most memorable Christmas gift you've ever been given and why?

I tell you about a cool app I recently learned about called Music Harbour, and is nothing sacred? Pentatonix and the London Symphony Orchestra, by the miracle of digital technology, are working with Bing Crosby on one of the most iconic Christmas songs.

I bring you a review of Ulysses, a word processor app which in conjunction with all the new content creation features for VoiceOver in iOS 13 has radically changed the way I create content.

Bonnie is here with her bulletin.

A listener is looking for recommendations of exercise equipment with accessible iOS apps.

A listener reports on how well Microsoft Soundscape now works with Bose Frames.

All this and much more.

Hi Mosen at Largers. We've made the big time at last and are now on Spotify, so welcome if you're listening to us there. Speaking of which, Spotify has introduced a new daily playlist to help you discover new podcast content.

During the week, Bonnie and I were refused an Uber ride because of her Seeing Eye dog. I recount the experience and how Uber handled it, and seek your own experiences like this. Do you think it's better for blind people to disclose when they are travelling with a guide dog, or should we simply expect any driver to follow the law?

Aira has released an update taking advantage of dual and triple cameras in newer iPhones.

More listeners chime in on grammatical and linguistic pet peeves.

Apple is apparently rethinking the way it tests iOS builds for quality following multiple serious bugs with iOS 13. It's not before time, but will it really make any difference?

A listener asks for help selecting text with VoiceOver in iOS.

There's a bit of enthusiasm for a book I recommended on The Mosen Explosion last week, "Get Back, Imagine, Saving John Lennon" by Donovan Day.

Are you still watching See on Apple TV Plus. A listener suggests it's worth persevering with.

More thoughts on using an iPhone or iPad as your notetaker versus using a dedicated blindness-specific product.

Bonnie is here once again with her bulletin.

Do you ever say "please" to your virtual assistant, such as Siri of soup drinker? We have some interesting data on who does and does not.

If the big juicy batteries of the new iPhone aren't enough for you, Apple has released battery cases for its latest iPhone range with an interesting user interface enhancement.

Google has just announced a cool new parenting feature called My Storytime.

And there is every indication that those two new Abba songs we were promised last year could be about to turn into a full new Abba album! Dude!

Hi again Mosen At Largers. Today the listening audience bonds over linguistic and grammatical pet peeves. So, like, um, totally listen irregardless? You know?

We hear some more about MFI hearing aids and their co-existence with the latest version of iOS.

The Brave Browser, which touts super security and privacy, is officially released with version 1.0 now available, and it works again with NVDA.

A listener is getting some more helpful information about compatibility issues with Sendero GPS and iOS 13.

Disney+ is now out and had a bit of a rocky start. We hear a few thoughts on whether it's worthwhile.

Makers of Twitterrific, The Icon Factory, have released a new radio app called Triode. Does it add enough value beyond what Siri in iOS 13 can already offer?

Do live audio described performances adequately accommodate the hearing impaired? Bonnie and I discuss and a couple of listeners chime in, and we celebrate the arrival of our latest gadget, the light and fluffy omelette maker. Yum.

If you're in the UK and missing access to most BBC streams on TuneIn, you'll be pleased to know that the BBC Sounds app supports Siri Shortcuts.

Apple has unveiled a new MacBook Pro, with plenty of attention being paid to the input and output side of the audio. Is your mouth watering?

We solve the mystery raised last week of how to get out of the add task screen in the latest version of my task manager of choice, Todoist. And it's very simple. Bah!

Hi Mosen At Largers. We begin this episode with a fix for the issue where MFI hearing aid wearers have been hearing VoiceOver sounds played over their device's speaker rather than through the aids.

Twitterific has already come out with a bug fix for a VoiceOver problem that began over the last week, but maybe we should have just embraced the null?

We hear some listener advice on making a Reaper Bleeper and I'm inspired to delve into the archives for my favourite piece of audio production that I've done that uses bleeping.

I enjoy the quality of discourse on LinkedIn, but have been frustrated for a long time by how cumbersome it is to use on iOS, so I wrote an article detailing my concerns on LinkedIn, which has received a response from LinkedIn's head of accessibility. It sounds like good times are ahead, and I applaud Microsoft for their willingness to engage with our community.

A listener reports problems with the Sendero GPS app in iOS 13.2 and asks for others' recommendations on good GPS apps.

Has your Google Home been bricked by a recent software update that went badly wrong? A listener advises the best process for getting it sorted.

A listener talks about her excellent experience with a Hims QBrailleXL in conjunction with a Microsoft Surface pro.

New gadgets are arriving for listeners including Echo Buds, Echo Studio and of course AirPods Pro.

I give a quick demonstration of auto-speak on the Apple Watch, how it works and why it's useful.

In the US, there've been reactions ranging from amusement to perplexity to grief as hundreds of thousands of texts from Valentine's Day have just turned up.

What would you recommend for someone who wants a no frills, no touch screen computer that's reliable and good to type on?

I mention the new podcast from Workbridge here in New Zealand called Mahi, which talks about what the organisation is doing and issues around disability employment. Search for Mahi in all good podcast apps.

I share some ideas for items Apple might like to add for customisation by way of VoiceOver activities in iOS in future.

We here from a listener who is happy with my recommendation of Todoist as a brilliant task manager for iOS, apart from one bug.

Microsoft has had a big week with their Ignite conference making several exciting announcements.

Good news for those who use Google Assistant and Sirius XM in the US. They have now partnered.

Netflix wants to give you the chance to speed up playback, but some content creators says this violates their copyright. What on earth is up with that?

Brit Box is coming to the UK with a grand total of 0 audio described titles.