The Blind Side

Jonathan Mosen begins by announcing the return of the accessible phones for the blind email group, where comparisons of phone types and operating systems are welcome. Subscribe to the Blind Phones list here.

In a call to action, Jonathan expands on his blog post, Cupertino, we have a design problem. If you’ve found since upgrading to iOS 11 that you’re deleting emails by accident, it’s not a bug, it’s a new idea from Apple. Jonathan describes why we should care, and encourages you to contact [email protected] with a respectful request that this change be reversed.

Before having computers to occupy ourselves with, many blind people were fascinated by the telephone, and the phone network. The process of delving into the secrets of the phone network was known as p [...]

For some people who’ve never been given travel instruction by a blind person, the idea seems proposterous and downright dangerous. How can a blind orientation and mobility specialist keep their students safe and monitor their technique? And yet, there are many capable, successful, and totally safe blind people teaching other blind people how to get around.

Deja Powell is a blind cane travel instructor based in Utah. She talks with Jonathan Mosen about her journey to acceptance of her blindness and provides detailed answers to Jonathan’s frank questions about how she does what she does.

Deja also discusses her PHD thesis, and last but by no means least, her love of fashion.

Jonathan concludes the podcast with a follow-up on our New Zealand general election series. The election took place on 23 September. What happened to the people he spoke with, and can we officially call The Blind Side Podcast a political jinx?

Thanks to the wonders of time zones, New Zealanders get new Apple tech before the rest of the world. Today, a new iPhone 8 Plus and Apple Watch Series 3 landed at Mosen Towers. Jonathan and Bonnie Mosen demonstrate setting up the iPhone 8 plus with the help of the new phone migration feature built into iOS 11. They take a listen to the improved speakers, describe the feel of the new phone, and look at how responsive it is thanks to the new A11 Bionic chip.

Jonathan then sets up his new Apple Watch series 3. It took more than one attempt to do so, and when it was over, he found the speed impressive, but the Siri support disappointing in the context of VoiceOver, the screen reader built into all Apple products for the blind.

Just ahead of the official release of iOS 11, the new software to power iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Jonathan Mosen was invited to deliver a Tek Talk presentation to Accessible World.

For many years, Tek Talk presentations have been held every Monday at 8 PM US Eastern time. Guest speakers have showcased a wide range of technology for the blind and visually impaired.

Jonathan speaks about iOS 11 in the context of VoiceOver, the screen reader built into iOS. He discusses Siri’s new voice and capabilities, new VoiceOver options giving greater control over verbosity, the accessibility to blind people of closed captions, how the new screen recording feature can help app developers fix accessibility issues with their apps, significantly revamped Braille support and more.

Jonathan’s book, “iOS 11 Without the Eye”, contains over [...]

At its first ever event at the Steve Jobs Theatre, Apple unveiled an Apple Watch with LTE connectivity, a 4K Apple TV, and three new iPhones. One of those iPhones is a radical departure in some key respects from anything we’ve seen before.

Jonathan and Heidi Mosen, David Woodbridge and Allison Hartley got together the moment the curtain came down in Cupertino to offer their instant reactions to the event, and provide analysis from a blindness perspective.

We can also report that “iOS 11 Without the Eye” will be released by Mosen Consulting this weekend, just ahead of iOS 11’s debut on 19 September.

We conclude our series on New Zealand’s general election by hearing from the current Minister for Disability Issues, National’s Nicky Wagner.

Minister Wagner discusses what she considers to be National’s most significant achievements for disabled people over the last nine years, and argues that re-electing National to lead the government will represent continued progress for disabled people.

We discuss education, employment, access to technology, whether there is a need for accessibility legislation and more.

We’re preparing to go into top gear on The Blind Side, with comprehensive coverage of Apple’s new hardware. Mosen Consulting is also ready to go with “iOS 11 Without the Eye”, our most comprehensive iOS book to date. Learn more in the podcast.

Blind people using telephone dictation voting can cast their ballot any time from now. Our comprehensive coverage on New Zealand’s disability issues continues ahead of the election. This time, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Marama Fox, co-leader of The maori Party. Marama talks about the affinity that exists between Maori and disabled people, as well as cultural issues affecting Maori with disabilities specifically.

On this, our 50th episode, we say thanks for your listenership. It’s been amazing.

Our podcasting course begins just days from now, and we’re excited by how many people have already joined our community of intrepid podcast explorers. There’s still room for you though. We tell you about a very special guest joining us for part of our first webinar.

Our series on the New Zealand general election continues. This week, we’re looking at how blind people in New Zealand vote. Jonathan Mosen explains New Zealand’s proportional electoral system which gives every New Zealander two votes.

Then, we look at the voting process for blind people specifically. New Zealand’s electoral Commission has made voting as simple as a couple of phone calls, and secrecy is built-into the system. We’re joined by the Electoral Commission’s Acting Manager Voting Services, Melissa Thorpe, to explain the phone-based system introduced three years a [...]

Responding to many requests, Mosen Consulting is offering a thorough podcasting course, comprising four webinars, a discussion forum, a resource guide and more. Jonathan discusses what the course covers, and how you can register. Note, since the course starts in September, registrations close soon.

We then give you an update on the latest in the popular “iOS Without the Eye” series. It’s our largest eBook yet. We explain how you can get it before iOS 11 comes to your iDevice.

And we continue our series on the New Zealand general election, as we speak with Ria Bond from New Zealand First about disability policy and related issues.

Our series on New Zealand’s general election continues.

Poto Williams is Labour’s spokesperson for Disability Issues. She joins Jonathan Mosen for a wide-ranging discussion on public policy from a disability perspective, including answering questions sent in by listeners.