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Barton Ostby
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It's that time of year again, when the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference brings us the latest in technology access, both assistive and mainstream. We do not have an article on CSUN this year, but I would like to direct you to the Blind Bargains CSUN conference coverage podcasts sponsored by AccessWorld. Blind Bargains is operated by AccessWorld author J.J. Meddaugh and the conference coverage series brings you an in-depth look at the new developments from the CSUN exhibit hall each year. If you prefer to read instead of listen, each podcast also has a text transcript available.
We would normally also be bringing you details of AFB's annual Leadership Conference around this time, but with the pandemic and AFB reaching its 100th year of operation, we are bringing you a series of virtual events throughout the entire year. Each event is also recorded so you will be able to watch it at your leisure. The next event will be occurring on Thursday, April 22 at 2:00 Eastern and is titled The Inclusive Power of Music. This event features multi-instrumentalist Matthew Whitaker, who is the first person who is blind to be accepted to Juilliard's jazz studies program. Our May event will take place on May 27, 2:00 PM Eastern time. The title of this event is The Power of Gratitude and Joy: A Conversation with Rebecca Alexander. Alexander is a psychotherapist and extreme athlete who also has combined severe hearing and vision loss from Usher Syndrome type III. Remember that you can see the full schedule and watch previous events at the AFB 100 events website.
You may also notice that the AccessWorld homepage is different beginning with this issue. I have remodeled the page so that recent articles are in the first row, popular articles are in the second, and static items, like Back Issues, are in the third. The button to take you to the most recent issue is still present, just located before the rows of content.
As always, I am eager to hear from AccessWorld readers. If you have a thought on a published article, an article idea, want to give your take on an issue or bring our attention to a specific subject, or anything else related to technology or AccessWorld, I am happy to hear it. You can send an email directly to me at apr...@afb.org.
They released their first smartphone app, Supersense, for Android in February of 2019, and followed up with an iOS version in March of 2020. The apps are free, but the service uses a subscription model to unlock most of its features. Pricing details are provided at the end of this article, along with a special AccessWorld reader offer.
The team then turned the Object Explorer concept on its head. Instead of scanning into the void and waiting for the app to pinpoint the nearest chair, the user can decide to look for chairs, and have the app announce the presence of various seating options as you pan the phone.
Disney+ is a streaming service from The Walt Disney Company that allows you to access content on your iOS device or desktop computer. Many other devices are also supported. The service goes far beyond animated features to offer a wealth of movies and series with audio description for children and adults.
Disney+ does not have a way to sort by audio description. The American Council of the Blind has an excellent website for finding content with audio description. The Disney+ audio description page also contains links for audio-described titles from other streaming services. Other services include Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV+. The website also has information about audio description not related to streaming services.
The Offline Downloads section is where downloads are located. To Download content, find and select something you want. There will be three options below the title on the screen: Play, Add the current title to your Watchlist, and Download the current title to your offline Downloads.
Create a profile by selecting the Add Profile button. At the top of the new screen there are options to select an avatar or go back to the home screen. Next is an extensive list of avatars, grouped into headings including Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Kids. The name of each character within the headings is spoken by VoiceOver. For example, the first two options under the Disney heading were Mickey Mouse and Elsa. VoiceOver said their names.
Next are app settings. Here is where you choose whether to stream over Wi-Fi only or use cellular as well. The same options will be listed for Downloads. The next is Account. Here is where you can choose whether to pay monthly or annually. Toward the bottom of the screen is a Help option. This will bring you to the Disney+ help center. Toward the bottom of the screen are options to chat or call.
Once you have selected a show or movie to play, double tap on it. The next screen will present information about your selection and give you several playing options. At the top of the screen are buttons to play, add the item to your Watchlist, or download the title. Next is information about the show or movie.
Near the bottom of the screen are three tabs: Suggested, Extras, and Details. For series, there is an additional Episodes tab before the Suggested tab. You will need to flick up with three fingers in order to discover the content of each tab. At the very bottom of the screen are the usual Home, Search, Offline Downloads, and More tabs.
Disney+ has many described series and movies for people of all ages. Both the iOS and web versions work well, but they are not perfect. Some controls in the iOS version are not labeled. The Disney+ website takes some work to master, but it is useable. I personally prefer the iOS version.
The apps and Web interface have four main areas from which to get started: Home, Explore, Library, and Search. The first three appear as tabs at the bottom of the apps, and at the top on the Web. Search is on the top of the screen in both.
Search seems the quickest way into the app. Enter the name of a band or song and you'll get a list of results. A set of filters is available to refine the search, including: Songs, Videos, Playlists, Albums, and Artists. Each one of the filters returns a list of items: songs, videos, etc., with brief details, and a menu for that listing. Selecting the item opens the player and begins playing the selection with controls for playback. Selected songs are immediately put into a playlist, so on either side of the Play/Pause button an option to skip to the next song or go back to a previous song appears. Other menu items here included: Share, Download, Add to Playlist, and Radio. Premium subscribers can download music to play offline for up to 30 days. On the Android app, TalkBack identified all the objects on the music player by swiping through from top to bottom with the exception of the slider below the video player. Once in focus, an up or down swipe, or the volume buttons, will adjust the time forward or backward in the song on the slider.
Continuing down the Home screen, New Releases, provides suggestions for new songs and artists, again based on previous selections. During the review, this included a limited selection, and while the first couple recommendations seemed good matches, the last several were misses. Recommended Music Videos, appeared next, with 10 recommendations that were a much better match for preferences than the previous New Releases.
While there is plenty to explore from the Home screen, the Explore screen puts a slightly different spin on the selections, with less focus on user preferences and more on new music. Sections here included: New Releases, Charts, Moods and Genres, New Albums & Singles, and Top Songs. Digging into any one of these sections offered more about what was trending more generally, rather than the focused offerings in the Home screen.
Since its 1975 debut in Colorado, Ski for Light International has gathered its blind, sighted, and mobility impaired participants in a variety of venues across the country always holding a collective breath in anticipation of cooperative weather.
Snow, of course, has always been the defining condition, determining whether or not a few hundred people would spend a week reveling in the beauty of winter landscapes, perfecting or acquiring their ski skills.
Like so many other events around the world, Ski for Light 2021 was held virtually. On January 27-31, 2021, long-time participants and first-time attendees gathered the way so many groups have been gathering for the last year: from their computers, smartphones, tablets, and landlines. This year the question was: "Will the technology work?" Miraculously, for the most part, it did!
The program has been expanding and thriving since that time, typically hosting about 300 people, including skiers with visual and mobility impairments and sighted guide-instructors who teach and facilitate. The magic, however, is in an intangible quality that has been carried around the country from ski site to ski site, a magic that creates an atmosphere of inclusion and equality like no other, and that sends participants new and old home inhaling and believing the Ski for Light motto: If I can do this, I can do anything!
The aim of Ski for Light is to teach blind, visually impaired, and mobility impaired people to ski. It is proudly an all-volunteer organization, which means that everyone who participates in the events works together to plan, organize, fund-raise, and keep the momentum of Ski for Light International going.
The Ski for Light organizers did a remarkable job of replicating as many of these experiences in a virtual environment as possible. 438 individuals registered for the virtual 2021 Ski for Light International, with more than 100 of them being first time participants.
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