The Blind Side

We begin with a reminder that ’tis the season for voting. Vote for your top 10 Christmas songs of all time in Mushroom FM’s holiday countdown. Click here to vote.

Jonathan and Bonnie Mosen speak with David Woodbridge from Australia. David is a tech enthusiast, instructor, and prolific podcaster. We take a fun walk down memory lane and discuss some early assistive technology many have never heard of.

We also look at the state of technology today. Known for his many podcasts on Apple products, David talks about why he’s finding it hard to support some of Apple’s recent decisions, and how there is other technology exciting him much more at the moment.

Jonathan Mosen catches up with Jesper Holten, a long-time user of technology who now works for the Danish Association of the Blind. We learn about some of the challenges blind people in Denmark face. Some will be very familiar, while others may be different from those experienced in other countries.

This week’s episode of The Blind Side Podcast begins with details of our Black Friday sale at the Mosen Consulting Store. When checking out, just enter the coupon code thankful to receive 25% off everything in your cart. The more you buy, the more you save.

Jonathan Mosen then concludes his series on the Samsung Galaxy S8. This week, we look at Google voice Dictation, Bluetooth keyboard commands, the mediocre Braille support, and discuss a range of apps and how they work in the S8.

In part 3 of his series on the Samsung Galaxy S8 as used by a blind person in conjunction with the Voice Assistant screen reader, Jonathan Mosen introduces you to Bixby.

Samsung’s so proud of Bixby, it has its own dedicated button on the side of the phone. Jonathan believes that the combination of ready access to Bixby and Google Assistant on the one device makes the Galaxy S8 the leader in smartphones with voice assistance. But Bixby is not without its problems, especially where the accessibility of the set-up process is concerned.

To discuss this podcast, subscribe to the BlindPhones discussion list. Send a blank email to:

[email protected]

A seemingly strict, and many would argue unreasonable interpretation of a new Apple policy means that we may have seen the end of the much-loved Blindfold Games, unless Apple changes its position.

Marty Schultz has been developing his iOS-based Blindfold Games for four years, and in that time, he’s published 80 titles. Even if you’re usually not much of a gamer, there’s likely something in the Blindfold Games catalogue that you’ll like. Board games, trivia games, action games, even horse racing and bowling, Marty’s done them all. And they’re designed for play specifically by blind users, taking advantage of accessibility technologies like direct touch.

Apple is trying to make sure that the App Store isn’t full of multiple apps by the same author that do the same thing. Most of us would applaud Apple for that. But somehow, the Blindfold Games have been caught up in the crossfire, with Apple already having refused to approve two [...]

Jonathan Mosen continues his comprehensive series on the Samsung Galaxy S8. This week, learn about the thankfully angle-free gesture set in Samsung’s screen reader, Voice Assistant. Jonathan discusses migrating your data from iPhone, giving voice commands to Google, setting up facial recognition, using the phone as a drive in Windows, purchasing apps and getting them refunded automatically, and much more.

As mentioned in the podcast, you can discuss this and other phone-related episodes by subscribing to The Blind Phones email list. Send a blank email to [email protected]

Apple’s iPhone X is the most radical re-design of iPhone since it introduced the product 10 years ago. With no home button, and touch ID having been replaced with face ID, just what is it like for a blind person to use iPhone X in conjunction with VoiceOver, the screen reader that makes iOS useable by a blind person? Jonathan and Heidi Mosen unbox a new iPhone X, set it up, and put it through its paces. They demonstrate setting up Face ID and using it in a variety of contexts. They look at the new gesture set and button assignments made necessary because of the absence of the home button. They look at the animoji feature to determine how useable it is with VoiceOver, test the speakers, and even make a recording. By the end of this podcast, you’ll have a thorough appreciation of just what it’s like for a blind person to operate iPhone X, and will be in a better position to determine whether it’s for you.

After some news about New Zealand’s new government and a difficult but important topic on Mushroom Fm’s talk show this week, Jonathan Mosen begins his demonstration of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

He begins by discussing his choice to go with Samsung specifically due to the multitouch gesture set offered by the Samsung screen reader called Voice Assistant.

Heidi and Richard Mosen join Jonathan as they unbox the phone, power it up for the first time, get it talking, work through the very friendly on-board screen reader tutorial, and set it up to work on Wi-Fi and with the appropriate accounts.

Fred Schroeder is a natural leader and superb orator. He has been First Vice President of the National Federation of the blind, Rehabilitation Services Administration Commissioner during the Clinton administration, a state agency director, a lecturer, O&M instructor, champion of Braille and much more. He currently serves as the President of the World Blind Union.

Jonathan Mosen sat down with Fred Schroeder when they both attended the national convention of Blind Citizens Australia. We learn about Fred’s early life, the influence the National Federation of the Blind has had on him, his work with WBU, the state of Braille, and much more.

Mushroom FM is one of those Internet radio phenomena you’ve almost certainly heard about. Perhaps you’ve been meaning to check it out and never have, or maybe you haven’t checked in for a while.

Staffed by a team of blind volunteers, and with a strong commitment to high-quality, personality-based Internet radio, Mushroom FM now plays music from the 1950s through to the 1980s, with a few specialty shows thrown in for good measure. With its classy JAM jingles and engaging people, it’s a great listen.

Jonathan Mosen founded Mushroom FM in 2010. With Mushroom FM launching a new schedule this week, he thought that now would be a perfect time to introduce you to the story of Mushroom FM, and the great people you can hear.

Find Mushroom FM on the web at MushroomFM.com. You can also find it in all the good radio apps on smartphones and computers, as well as on personal assis [...]