The Canadian Council of the Blind Podcast

We all can use some help keeping track of the stuff of life. The Calendar and Reminders apps are Apple’s current answer to that problem. The Reminders app focuses on tasks and projects in our lives rather than appointments and events. You can set reminders to alert you based on due dates, make them triggered based on where you are, and keep track of which steps in bigger projects have been completed. We’ll examine the Reminders app in detail and go through all of the features it contains for reminding you of what needs doing in your life.

Voxmate is a new Android app with audio-first applications that can be operated with just four gestures. With Voxmate, you can read news, listen to audiobooks, play games, chat on the Audio Forum and more by simply swiping up, down, left, and right. The app was designed from the ground up to focus on a great audio experience rather than describing what’s on the screen, and that makes the whole experience uncluttered, intuitive, and worth your time. Katja, the co-founder of Voxmate, introduces us to the app and  talks about future iOS plans.

Using Seeing AI short text, product, and handwriting channels to identify products. Using Seeing AI short text and document channels, as well as Voice Dream Scanner to read documents.  Using Tap Tap See to identify colours. Using BeMyEyes and other visual assistance such as AIRA or Facetime video.

Sight Tech Global is the first global, virtual conference dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers on how rapid advances in AI and related technologies will fundamentally alter the landscape of assistive technology and accessibility.

The latest version of iOS has just been released. There are hundreds of changes. Michael Feir will explain some of his favourites so far. For people feeling that rotor frustration, relief is a two finger four-tap away. VoiceOver now has quick settings which make it easy to access a wide range of convenient settings without using the rotor. Notes has gotten a new organization method called tags which helps keep things straight without making lots of folders. The Weather app has gotten a complete makeover and packs more information. Michael will show you how a new VoiceOver feature called group navigation can turn the sprawl into a quick and tidy experience.

Join Stephanie Shingle with En-vision America and learn how you or a loved one can get talking prescription labels for Free from your pharmacy!

Learn what to expect in the upcoming federal election.  Discuss tips and tricks for voting successfully, what tools and assistance will be available, what technologies might assist you 

Wayne gives us a talk on QR codes, what they are and how we use them. He includes two ways to quickly scan a QR code. Many great questions follow including the possibilities of using QR codes for personal use.

Chris tells us all about the 2021 NFB Convention, July 6 – 10, anywhere and everywhere. This conference will be fully virtual.

Darren Burton, former Director of Technology for the American Foundation for the Blind and accessibility specialist at Yahoo, will tell some stories  about working with Silicon Valley and other tech companies. He will focus on some of the history around Apple’s development of VoiceOver for the iPhone, including his involvement with the giants that made that happen.