Mystic Access Podcast

We begin this episode by sharing about our November free event, our last actual class of 2019. We hope you’ll join us to learn about how you can support small business owners, artists and artisans by learning about a few of our favorite things… in this case, a few of our favorite sites. If you miss the live class, which is always announced on our free events mailing list, it will be archived in a week or two on our free downloads page for your listening pleasure.

Keep listening to learn about our Black Friday discounts, and important info about shipping costs and the ability to purchase digital gifts for your loved ones. We also discuss a very special four-hour virtual open house that we’re holding on November 29, Black Friday. It’s free to attend, and we know a grand time will be had by participants. We’ll be playing games, giving out prizes, and sharing a lot of laughter and fun. This event will be very casual and informal, and will not be recorded.

Have you ever wished you could order Thanksgiving dinner online, either to cut down on your prep time, because there are only a couple of you, or due to the convenience factor? You may have several other reasons for wanting to do this, and this article shares multiple sites from which you can purchase the Thanksgiving meal.

Other fun elements of today’s episode include a great seasonal food app demo from Lisa, a serious moment of gratitude from Chris and Kim, and a very special guest who you won’t want to miss! Enjoy!

On November 5, 2019, Mystic Access appeared on Part 1 of Accessible Worlds Stocking Stuffers program to talk about great items from our catalog which we feel would make excellent holiday presents for those you love. This is our complete presentation. To learn more about Accessible World, click here.

In this episode Chris and Kim start out with two announcements.

The first is the topic and date of the November free class. This class will be on Thursday November 21, rather than the usual final Thursday of the month. The last Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. Listen for all the details of our exciting class topic. You can join us by subscribing to our events mailing list. Just fill out the form on our home page if you are not already subscribed. The Zoom information will be sent out the Monday before the class.

The next announcement discusses updated physical shipping rates from Mystic Access to select countries outside the US. The shipping announcement also includes important shipping info for our US customers.

If you’ve ever wanted a behind-the-scenes look at our shipping processes, you’ll enjoy this podcast. Chris demonstrates the method he uses to ship out a package, since we have had questions about how we do it with assistive technology.

Finally, we enter the Mystic Access Magic Castle and talk to Mary Jo Barry, the US Marketing Manager from Dolphin Computer Access. We talk about Dolphin products and focus on a new product from Dolphin called GuideConnect. GuideConnect is a talking digital assistant that can provide you with online entertainment, the ability to browse websites with ease, and which can bring you closer to family and friends with an easy to use interface.

Thanks so much for being a podcast listener.

This episode is not only informative, it’s spooky, too! Check out all the sounds Chris interspersed throughout for Halloween.

We begin by discussing Your Choice of Voice, our free event for October, 2019. If you want to learn about the various text to speech voices available for your favorite platform (PC, Mac or mobile, we’ll be sharing many of the available options (with demos, of course) where you can get them, and how you can configure them to sound just the way you want. We hope you’ll join us, either live at the event, or via the recording when we put it up on our Free Downloads page. Make sure you’re on our Events mailing list to get all the joining details.

Our recent event on using Microsoft Word efficiently has been DAISYed and is now available to everyone. You can download this 90-minute audio in DAISY and MP3 formats. Your purchase also includes an extensive written resources list to help increase your confidence with Word no matter your platform. We had a great response to this when it was a live event, and hope anyone frustrated with Word will check it out.

After a fun discussion of our favorite Halloween candy and a related story by Chris, we’re thinking that, like us, you may end up regretting some of your Halloween gluttony. Fortunately, we have two great exercise tools to help you burn off some of those candy calories. Chris discusses his [amazon text=under the desk eliptical&asin=B074F1S194], and Kim shares about her easily portable [amazon text=twist stepper.&asin=B009QXP5C0] Please note that these are Mystic Access Amazon affiliate links, so if you purchase from these links, we’ll receive a small commission and our gratitude. We only recommend items we’ve joyfully and successfully used ourselves, or which have been recommended to us by deeply trusted sources.

Kim wants to tempt you with a couple final Halloween treats, so if you’re into brownies in particular, she can highly recommend the delights found at Fat Witch Bakery. Try one of their cauldrons for a yummy sampler of their products. And here’s an article on a dozen delicious treats you can also buy online.

After a discussion of the Audible books we’re currently reading, we end by revisiting a segment Kim put in a podcast several years ago about a now old helpful electronic friend that’s still going strong today. Check out this amazing little [amazon text=Lasko space heater.&asin=7300019196] Please note that this is an Mystic Access Amazon affiliate link, so if you purchase from this link, we’ll receive a small commission and our gratitude. We only recommend items we’ve joyfully and successfully used ourselves, or which have been recommended to us by deeply trusted sources.

Thanks for listening, Happy Halloween, and stay safe and cozy!

Welcome to this episode of the podcast. We begin with a couple timely announcements. The first regards our event on becoming more efficient and confident using Microsoft Word. This event takes place on Thursday, October 10. Whether you primarily use word on your PC, mac, or a mobile device, we’re providing tips, strategies and a plethora of keystrokes to help you maximize your use of the program. Tired of feeling overwhelmed or totally lost when trying to format or edit that document? We’re here to help! The event will be recorded if you’re unable to attend live. Register at the link above, or give us a call during business hours at (716) 543-3323, and we’ll be happy to place your order via phone.

Next, we address a couple site related items that are important for you to understand. Listen carefully as we discuss Mystic Access website accounts, how they work and when you create an account. We also discuss reward points which you receive when you place orders with us and which can be redeemed to save you money. Our points software has changed, so now you receive more clarification on how many points you have, and how many points you can earn on each product you purchase.

You won’t need to redeem any reward points to attend our free October event, Your Choice of Voice, on Thursday, October 24. In this event, we’re going to have a lot of fun discussing and demonstrating various text to speech voices, companies which provide text to speech, platforms where you can use voices from various companies, and configuring voices to meet your specific requirements. If you enjoy learning about the various voices you can use to make your computer or mobile device your own, you’ll love this event! To receive the joining info, make sure you’re part of our Events mailing list, which you can sign up for on all pages of MysticAccess.com. We’d love to have you with us live!

Amazon recently had an event where several new Alexa-related devices were announced. We share our thoughts on the new devices, and reminisce on just how far the Echo has come since its initial release, as demonstrated by this podcast we did when it first came out.

October is here, there’s finally a chill in the air, the leaves are turning, and there’s a very important event at the end of this month — Halloween! while Chris and I are getting excited about all that, we decided to take a little stroll down memory lane to discuss some of our favorite Halloween costumes of yesteryear. We also share the very fun HalloweenRadio.net website, where you can listen to five different Halloween themed radio stations. Apps are also available for iOS and Android, and we take a tour of the iOS app and play you some spooky soundscapes and terrifying tunes.

Thanks as always for listening!

The post She is a Very Glamorous Witch first appeared on Mystic Access.

We begin this episode by discussing our just completed Android course which is now available for pre-order, and which will be released on October 1. We’re so happy with how this turned out and are really looking forward to sharing it with more of you.

On Thursday, October 10, we’ll be presenting an event about fast and efficient ways to use Microsoft Word, particularly the huge variety of key commands available. We’re trying out a new system for joining our events which we hope will make it more convenient for people and agencies to purchase multiple seats… this system calls them tickets. To learn more and reserve your ticket, please click here. You can also check out upcoming events from the Upcoming Events heading on the site homepage.

Speaking of events, our free event for September is coming up on the 26th, and will discuss some highlights and bugs introduced in the just-released iOS 13. We discuss our opinions on a few iOS changes, and we hope you can join us at our event to learn even more about this eagerly anticipated version of iOS. Join our Events mailing list to receive all joining info, and remember that the event will be recorded and available on our free downloads page if you can’t attend live, or would like to listen later.

You know how often when there’s an app or software update, those of us who use access technology groan and worry about what may happen in terms of accessibility? Well, sometimes, just the opposite occurs. We share a few apps in which VoiceOver accessibility has taken leaps forward in the last few months, and Kim gives a brief tour of the Haus of Gloi app, which was just recently released for Android and iOS. If you’re into clean beauty and amazing bath and body products, check out this great company.

Finally, Chris reminds you that his terrific Chromebook tutorial is available for purchase. He also shares an experience he had while in the midst of its creation, in which a friendly Aira agent saved him from a very sticky situation. Fortunately, while you may get a laugh out of it, you’ll see that it all works out in the end.

Thanks as always for listening!

The post I’d Like To Be Rescued first appeared on Mystic Access.