• Listen or Pause – Blind Bargains Demo
• Download – Blind Bargains Demo

Follow Blind Bargains (@BlindBargains) and A T Guys (@atguys) on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news about the Blind Bargains website and the assistive technology sales company that operates the service.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – iOS 5.1 Software Update
• Download – iOS 5.1 Software Update

iOS 5.1 is a minor update containing a number of bug fixes and new features, including a fix for dropped audio on some outgoing calls, improved battery life, playback speed controls for podcasts and enhanced camera face detection. Read this article on the changelog and direct download links for more information.

Before updating iOS, it is strongly recommended that you thoroughly back up your iOS device in iCloud and iTunes. Follow these instructions to complete both backup tasks.

The gestures indicated in all instructions assume VoiceOver is enabled and are performed from a blind person’s perspective.

iCloud Backup

1. Flick to and double tap Settings.
2. Right flick to and double tap iCloud.
3. Right flick to and double tap Storage & Backup.
4. Right flick to and double tap Back Up Now to start the process.

iTunes for Windows Backup

If you are running iTunes with JAWS for Windows, the free Blind Tunes scripts enhance the experience significantly.

1. Connect your iOS device to your computer and open iTunes.
2. Press F6 until you reach the Sources list.
3. Press down arrow until you reach the name of your iOS device. If a dialogue box about your iTunes purchases opens, press enter on its OK button, then continue down the list until you reach your device.
4. Press Shift+F10 or the Application key to right click your iOS device.
5. Down arrow to Back Up and press enter. A quick series of tones will be heard from iTunes when the backup has completed.

iTunes for Mac Backup

1. Find and open iTunes. You may want to launch it by pressing Command+O instead of Control+Option+Space Bar so iTunes doesn’t “forget” the location of your media library if it has changed from the default.
2. Use the Control+Option+Left and Control+Option+Right Arrow keys to navigate to the Sources table.
3. Press Right Arrow+Down Arrow to interact with the Sources table.
4. Press down arrow until you reach the name of your iOS device. If a dialogue box opens asking you to log into Apple’s Ping social networking service, press escape to close it and resume moving down the list. If a dialogue box about your iTunes purchases opens, press enter on its OK button, then continue down the list until you reach your device.
5. Press Control+Option+Shift+M to open a context menu for your iOS device.
6. Down arrow to Back Up and press enter. A quick series of tones will be heard from iTunes when the backup has completed.

Update iOS

Once you have completed the iCloud and iTunes backups, you are ready to update iOS.

1. Flick to and double tap Settings.
2. Right flick to and double tap General.
3. Right flick to and double tap Software Update.
4. Right flick to and double tap Download and Install to start the update process. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the download to complete. Left flicking a few times will take you to a download progress indicator. Once the download has finished, you will hear a couple of messages about downloading and verifying the update. Your iOS device will reboot and complete the installation of the new software.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – LookTel Recognizer
• Download – LookTel Recognizer

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Nancy Miracle
• Download – Nancy Miracle

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – iHealth Scale and Blood Pressure Monitor
• Download – iHealth Scale and Blood Pressure Monitor

iHealth HS-309 Digital Scale

The scale’s maximum weight capacity is 330 pounds. Pricing is $69.95 directly from iHealth Labs. Check sources like Amazon for lower pricing. Review these specifications for more product information. Email support@iHealth99.com to ask about improved app accessibility and the ability to keep the scale paired with the iOS device when it is not in use.

iHealth iPhone, iPad BP3 Blood Pressure Monitor

The blood pressure monitor docks with the iOS device. Pricing is $99.95 directly from iHealth. Check Amazon and other sources for lower pricing. Review these specifications for more product information. Email support@iHealth99.com to ask about improved app accessibility.

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Kevin Chao
• Download – Kevin Chao

Check out these interesting resources Kevin mentions during our interview.

• VoiceOverOn Podcast
• iGrill app-enabled wireless Bluetooth® meat thermometer
• Tanita BC-590BT Bluetooth Radio Wireless Body Composition Scale
• Withings Wi-Fi Body Scale
• Withings Blood Pressure Monitor
• Nest Learning Thermostat
• BrailleTouch
• Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC)
• STEPP: The Student E-rent Pilot Project
• CourseSmart
• Bookshare – Accessible Books and Periodicals for Individuals with Print Disabilities
• Learning Ally – Accessible materials for individuals with visual and learning disabilities
• AccessText Network – Accessible Textbook Finder

Paul J. Adam (@pauljadam) joins us near the end of the show for a fascinating conversation about how the Android operating system works and compares with iOS.

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Milestone 312
• Download – Milestone 312

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – ScripTalk
• Download – ScripTalk

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Allison Sheridan
• Download – Allison Sheridan

Allison Sheridan (@podfeet) hosts a weekly show called the Nosillacast Podcast, “A technology geek podcast with an ever-so-slight Macintosh bias.”

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Perkins Products Mini Braille Display
• Download – Perkins Products Mini Braille Display

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

• Listen or Pause – Freedom Scientific Focus 14 Blue Braille Display
• Download – Freedom Scientific Focus 14 Blue Braille Display

We thank Jeff Bishop (@jeffbishop) for his tireless hours of dedicated work on the audio editing of our CSUN podcasts. These efforts made it possible for us to share our CSUN experience with all of you and expand our knowledge of the assistive technology field.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Have we taken radio for granted in our high-tech world? I think the answer is an emphatic “yes!” We may not realize this, but many of us are constantly on the air nowadays. It’s no longer just about the DJ on the broadcast radio airwaves, the ham radio operator keying Morse Code on a primitive transmitter or the pilot talking with her air traffic controllers to ensure a safe flight.

The world is now comprised of an uncountable number of tiny radios found in many electronic devices we have come to enjoy and use every day. We know, for instance, that an iPhone 4S contains at least six distinct radios: a radio capable of receiving and transmitting signals on the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, a radio that can talk to Bluetooth devices such as headsets and keyboards, two different radios for talking on the CDMA and GSM cellular frequencies, another radio to facilitate Internet access through the cellular data networks and, finally, a GPS receiver. When you use your iPhone, it is safe to say you are probably using at least two, if not more, different radios all at the same time!

How is it we have come to forget about radio and take it for granted in our highly-developed technological society? I think the answer is that radios are not as obvious as they were once upon a time. In the not-too-distant past, if you listened to the radio, you were looking at a separate box with buttons, dials and switches and a set of headphones or a pair of speakers. If you were a radio star, you held a microphone and faced a bewildering panel of carts and controls. If you talked on a two-way radio, you probably had a special license or it was part of your job and you either held a small walkie-talkie type box or you sat in front of a bunch of equipment with lots of buttons, dials, knobs, meters and switches. In any case, the radio part of the task you were performing was front and center. That’s not so now.

When do you think about radio today? Perhaps, most of us really give it serious thought when we’re riding in our cars or listening to our stereos at home. Otherwise, although the radios in our lives are present, they’re usually buried. When I was talking with a friend about the radios in the iPhone, she thought I was referring to all the radio apps out there for listening to broadcast stations streamed on the Internet. Despite the shrinking of radios into tiny chips on circuit boards hidden inside our favorite electronic devices, we’re using them more often today than we ever have at any time in the past. When we talk on a cordless or cell phone, we’re talking on a radio. When we use a laptop computer to go online from our favorite coffee shop, we’re on the air. Believe it or not, we are all radio stars!

What does all this mean for the world? I think we’re slowly forgetting about radio’s past and, in the process, we may be leaving many people in disadvantaged populations and developing nations behind. The advent of Internet streaming and satellite radio has been cited as justification for massive cutbacks in the availability of programming on the shortwave radio broadcast bands, despite the fact that these radios are the only way hundreds of millions of people may be able to gain timely access to entertainment and important information about their world.

The long-time switch from the inherently non-visual radio medium to television and, now, streaming video on the Internet has meant that it can be more challenging for blind people to enjoy many forms of entertainment that were once more accessible. This is probably a significant reason for the resurgence of old-time-radio listening in the blind community.

How about emergency communication? What happens when the cell towers are blown down in a hurricane? What would happen if a significant number of the satellites we rely on for communication and navigation suddenly became unavailable? What would the world’s survivors do in the event of a massive electromagnetic pulse or nuclear war? The uber-geeky amateur (ham) radio operators have the enthusiasm, innovative spirit, qualifications and access to older equipment it would take to communicate during an emergency and coordinate the reorganization of the world when our high-tech gadgets and infrastructure become useless.

Unfortunately, the world’s governments continue to deemphasize radio. Shortwave broadcasts to many parts of the world are cut every year. Fewer and fewer people are interested in ham radio and there’s no longer a Morse Code requirement for any class of amateur radio license in America and many other countries. Morse Code can cut through radio noise like no other mode of radio transmission, but who is going to know how to use it when it is needed most?

How can we continue to move forward into the bright future of a technology-driven world while ensuring our safety and promoting stability and security? I think one small thing we can do is to keep radio in our minds and think about it a little each day. When you’re checking your email, talking or tweeting on your iPhone, remember that you are using several tiny radios to make it all happen. When you’re listening to satellite radio or streaming your favorite station through ooTunes, think about all the people in the developing world who don’t have access to this content and remember that an older technology called shortwave radio can reach them if we ensure its continued existence. Finally, think about those of us who have passed numerous qualification exams and learned Morse Code to earn our ham radio licenses, which we may someday need to use as a means of providing life-saving communications services in the event of a disaster.

I’d love to hear from readers. What does radio mean to you? Please feel free to post your story in the comments or mention me, darrell on Twitter.

This show features a special surprise musical treat sung by Allison!

• Listen or Pause – DropVox Demonstration
• Download – DropVox Demonstration

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (AlliTalk) and Darrell.

• Listen or Pause – Downcast Demonstration
• Download – Downcast Demonstration

Downcast allows anyone with an iOS device to independently enjoy podcasts without having to connect to a computer and use iTunes to subscribe and synchronize the content.

All instructions assume VoiceOver is running on the iOS device.

Searching for Podcasts by Category

Follow these steps to browse and review podcasts by category. We use This Week in Tech as an example of a good technology show to consider adding.

1. Make sure the Downcast app is open.
2. Touch the bottom left corner of the screen to locate the Podcasts tab.
3. Right flick twice and double tap the Add Podcasts tab.
4. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
5. Right flick to and double tap the Technology category.
6. Right flick to and double tap This Week in Tech – MP3 Edition.
7. Right flick to and double tap View Podcast Feed. Note the Subscribe button and other information available as you right flick across this screen.
8. Right flick across the list of available podcast episodes and double tap one to start listening.
9. Double tap with two fingers to pause playback.

Search for Podcasts Using Keywords

Follow these steps to search for podcasts by keyword. We like books, so that’s our keyword search example.

1. If you were playing a podcast, double tap the Back button three times or use the two-finger right-to-left scrub gesture three times to return to the Add Podcasts screen.
2. Right flick to and double tap Search for Podcasts.
3. Type books into the search field.
4. Double tap the Search button in the lower right corner of the screen.
5. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
6. Right flick to and double tap the Books on the Nightstand podcast in the list of search results.
7. Right flick to and double tap the Subscribe button to add this podcast to your favorites.
8. Double tap the Back button twice or use the two-finger right-to-left scrub gesture twice to return to the Add Podcasts screen.

When the podcast you want is not in Downcast’s directory, there are three ways to bring it into the app. We did not cover these advanced topics on the audio portion of our show.

Adding Podcasts from a Link on a Website

If a website has a link to an RSS feed for a podcast, you can browse to it using Safari on your iOS device and easily add it to Downcast by following these instructions. The podcast page on the GW Micro website serves as our example.

1. Open Safari on your iOS device.
2. Visit http://gwmicro.com/podcast
3. Right flick to and double tap and hold on the link to the GW Micro – GW Insider Podcast Feed (XML).
4. Right flick to and double tap the Copy button. This makes the link available to other apps such as Downcast.
5. Open Downcast.
6. Touch the bottom left corner of the screen to locate the Podcasts tab.
7. Right flick twice and double tap the Add Podcasts tab.
8. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
9. Right flick to and double tap Add Podcast Manually.
10. Right flick to and double tap the text edit field after the Feed or OPML Address heading.
11. Select “Edit” using the rotor VoiceOver gesture.
12. Flick down and double tap Paste. The URL copied from Safari now appears in the text edit field.
13. If needed, enter the username and password under the Login Information, If Required heading. This will rarely be used. It is not needed for GW Micro podcasts.
14. Find and double tap the Done button in the lower right corner of the screen.
15. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
16. Right flick to and double tap the Subscribe button to add the podcast.
17. Double tap the Back button twice or use the two-finger right-to-left scrub gesture twice to return to the Add Podcasts screen.

Manually Adding Podcasts

Follow these steps when you know the URL of the RSS feed for the podcast you wish to add.

1. If a Back button can be found near the upper left corner of the screen, double tap it as many times as necessary or use the two-finger right-to-left scrub gesture as many times as necessary to return to the app’s main screen. This will typically be Podcasts, Playlists, Add Podcasts or Downloads.
2. Touch the bottom left corner of the screen to locate the Podcasts tab.
3. Right flick twice and double tap the Add Podcasts tab.
4. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
5. Right flick to and double tap Add Podcast Manually.
6. Right flick to and double tap the text edit field after the Feed or OPML Address heading.
7. Enter the URL of the RSS feed exactly as it was given to you. Leave off the “http://” at the beginning.
8. If needed, enter the username and password under the Login Information, If Required heading. This will rarely be used.
9. Find and double tap the Done button in the lower right corner of the screen.
10. Tap the top of the screen once with four fingers to move to the upper left corner.
11. Right flick to and double tap the Subscribe button to add the podcast.
12. Double tap the Back button twice or use the two-finger right-to-left scrub gesture twice to return to the Add Podcasts screen.

Adding Podcasts from an OPML File

Downcast can use OPML files to backup and restore the list of subscribed podcasts. This technique also allows users to bring in lists of podcasts from other apps and to share favorite podcasts.

Follow these steps to import a list of podcasts from an email.

1. Open the Mail app on your iOS device.
2. Open the email containing the OPML file attachment.
3. Right flick through the message until you reach the name of the file. This may be something like podcasts.opml.
4. Double tap the file’s name to open the attachment.
5. Right flick to and double tap the Action button.
6. Double tap Open in Downcast. The app will start dinging as it downloads the new podcasts.
7. Double tap the Podcasts tab in the lower left corner of the screen to see the revised list of subscribed podcasts including those just added from the OPML file. Beware: Downcast imports everything found in the file without checking for duplicate entries.

Playing Podcasts

Now that you have subscribed to several podcasts, you’re probably anxious to start listening to them. Follow these instructions to get started.

1. Double tap the Podcasts tab in the lower left corner of the screen.
2. Right flick across the list of subscribed podcasts until you reach the show you would like to hear.
3. Double tap the podcast to bring up the list of episodes.
4. Right flick to and double tap an episode to start playing the audio. Each episode has two entries in the list. The first allows you to download or stream the audio and the second provides details. Double tap download or stream links to play podcast episodes.
• The two-finger double tap gesture plays and pauses audio.
• The Play button is found in the middle of the bottom third of the screen. It changes to a Pause button while audio is playing.
• The Reverse button is located to the left of the Play button. Double tap it to move to the previous episode. Double tap and hold it to rewind in the currently playing episode.
• The Forward button is located to the right of the Play button. Double tap it to move to the next episode. Double tap and hold it to fast forward within the currently playing episode.

There are many more features available in the podcast playback screen. For instance, we demonstrated the ability to increase playback speed in the audio portion of our show. We urge you to listen to the entire demo, get the app for yourself, explore and start enjoying podcast listening on your iOS device.

Additional Resources

• TechAccess Daily Tip 239: DownCast
• Follow Downcast (downcastapp) on Twitter.
• Downcast Website

Please feel free to give us your feedback in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (AlliTalk) and Darrell.

We demonstrate reading with Read2Go’s built-in text-to-speech voices and VoiceOver while explaining the process in our typical step-by-step format.

Please feel free to give us your feedback in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

Listen or Pause – Read2Go Demonstration

Download – Read2Go Demonstration

Custom Labeling Step-By-Step

1. Locate the unlabeled button by dragging your finger or flicking to it on the screen.
2. Double tap with two fingers and hold them in place. This is also known as a two-finger double-tap-and-hold gesture. You will hear three tones followed by “Alert, label element, text field, is editing.”
3. Type a short label for the button.
4. Locate and double tap the Save button. It can be found above the keyboard on the left side of the screen.

In addition to making the controls in an app accessible, the custom-labeling feature can be used to describe pictures in other contexts, such as the photos in your iPhone’s camera roll.

Allison asked an excellent question: Are custom labels backed up to iCloud or iTunes? Please feel free to answer in the comments.

GetGlue Information

GetGlue is a Foursquare-like social network for entertainment. It is available on smartphones and the Web. You can check into your favorite books, movies, music, TV shows and much more and share information about all the fun you’re having with your friends. The primary GetGlue.com website works best with browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari on computers. The mobile m.getglue.com website is intended for use with smartphones. It may be a more accessible alternative to the primary site for some computer users.

Tip from Allison: I recommend signing up on the GetGlue website before logging in with the iOS app.

There are two ways to get started:

• Sign Up with Facebook
• Sign Up with your Email Address

We’d Love To Hear From You!

Do you like the show? What would you like us to cover next? Please give us your feedback in the comments.

Listen or Pause – Custom Labeling Demo

Download – Custom Labeling Demo

While the Blio app is VoiceOver accessible, I have reached the following observations, which are clearly demonstrated in the podcast:

• The app is sloppy and clearly not ready for primetime. I’m surprised Apple approved it in its current form.
• The Blio reading experience is unsatisfying.
• Blio for iOS lacks important navigation, such as lines, sentences and paragraphs, one might expect while reading books.
• Finally, the app lacks a help section or tutorial page.

Listen or Pause – Brief Blio Demo

Download – Brief Blio Demo

The update represents a significant move in the right direction. While all information is now available by flicking through the results window, its unstructured layout could cause confusion. It is not immediately apparent which field represents a song’s artist and its title. Labeling of fields and use of VoiceOver hints would significantly increase readability.

We thank SoundHound for its responsiveness and look forward to future accessibility enhancements.

Listen or Pause – SoundHound Accessibility Update

Download – SoundHound Accessibility Update

Pearson, one of the leading college textbook publishers, has set up a special session at the NFB national convention to get feedback from blind students regarding the accessibility of a new math workbook they are developing. They would like to get 15 students to meet with them during this session, and so far, only four have signed up. We would really like to support Pearson in their initiative to make online learning materials accessible. Please help us out by signing up for this session on Thursday, July 7, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. If you have any free time between 7 and 9 on Thursday, even if it’s not the whole two hours, please let me know-we may be able to work around your schedules so we can get as many student participants as possible.

If you would like to help with the testing, please email me as soon as possible at nabs (dot) president (at) gmail (dot) com so I can give your name to Clara at the national center. Thanks in advance for your help in improving accessibility for blind students.

Best,
Arielle Silverman, President
National Association of Blind Students

Listen or Pause – VizWiz

Download – VizWiz

No Eyes Needed: The History and Decline of Soundhound’s Accessibility

I was an early adopter of the iPhone within the blindness community. I vividly remember shouting “I can’t believe Apple just made the iPhone accessible!”, when I heard the announcements from the World Wide Developers Conference, or WWDC, in 2009. Though we had knowledge that all of Apple’s included applications would be accessible to Voiceover users, none of us really knew the state of accessibility with regards to third-party offerings. I was particularly excited about two applications – Tweetie, a super-fast, mega-trendy Twitter application, and Midomi, a music identification app.

What’s “Midomi”? When it originally hit the App Store, Soundhound went under the moniker “Midomi” under the direction of developer, Melodis. It was $4.99, which was a pretty hefty price tag compared to the collection of freebies and $.99 apps I had already acquired. I had word on good faith from several other “iPhoneres” that this app was worth it, so I decided to give it a shot.

The Midomi app was my first accessibility “brick wall”. Voiceover had absolutely no access to controls, buttons or text within the application. I was frustrated, to say the least, but for some reason, I decided to forego deleting the app. Maybe it was the five bucks I just wasted…

Much to my surprise, a few months later I was going through the list of updates I had available and I noticed a strange application name. It read “Soundhound from Soundhound Incorporated”. After some reading, I quickly realized Melodis was no longer working on the Midomi project and in its place was this new music identifier, Soundhound.

I was skeptical as to whether this offering would, indeed, be accessible, so I launched the app with great hesitation. Much to my surprise – I found an entirely accessible application! Buttons were labeled, text instructions were readable and I was able to immediately start identifying music playing around me.

I had given other “competitor” applications a try, such as Shazaam, which was only slightly more accessible than what was then, Midomi, and is now Soundhound. Soundhound has a much more extensive catalog of music to which it can identify, including classical music, which I know many folks were impressed to see. The other thing I really enjoy about Soundhound is its ability to identify a song by humming it. A great feature set, for sure.

But – something happened. Right around version 3.0, navigating around the application became a bit more “clunky” and information was not as easy to obtain. Voiceover users could, at one point, “flick” right and left to navigate through information from an identified song. As we ventured through the 3.x cycle, we’ve seen even poorer response within the application, to the point where some information isn’t accessible at all.

We define “accessibility”, at its core, as the ease of access to the pertinent and relevant information we need in order to maintain a quality of lifestyle equal to our peers. Information is at the forefront of our culture and it is our belief that the blindness community should not be shut out from accessing and utilizing the same information available to our sighted counterparts. I, along with many others, are paying customers of the Soundhound application and not only is the task of making this application accessible one of an ethical nature, it is something this development team should feel compelled to do in order to serve its customer base. At last glance, Soundhound is $6.99 in the App Store and I believe this price tag warrants some acknowledgement to our plight.

Blind Access Journal: Audio Demonstration of Soundhound’s Music Identification Application

I demonstrate how the primary function of SoundHound, identifying music, is not very accessible to those who rely on VoiceOver to access iOS apps.

Listen or Pause – SoundHound

Download – SoundHound

How Can I Help?

There are a few ways you can aid our efforts in seeing this application back to the highest level of accessibility. We’ve provided three contact points below, and we are asking readers to complete all three. We are excited about taking community action in raising our concerns to the media, design and development teams at Soundhound, and letting them know that accessibility for the blindness community is imperative and a valuable use of their time and resources.

• EMAIL: We believe this advocacy effort is made strong with community support. You can send an email to support@soundhound.com and request that SoundHound begin implementing Voiceover accessibility into its music identification app. If you click the above mentioned email link, a pre-generated advocacy letter will populate in your default email client and, upon choosing “Send”, will be delivered to the support team at Soundhound.
• CALL: We are also asking that readers place a call to Soundhound’s media relations team at 415.722.8583. Sue Ellen Schaming is the media relations contact with Soundhound and can forward our accessibility concerns to the appropriate individuals.
• TWEET: We would love for this advocacy effort to go viral. Take a moment to tweet a short request for accessibility improvements to the Soundhound team. You can follow @Soundhound on Twitter.

Have you used the Soundhound application on your iOS device? What has been your experience? Have you noticed the decline in accessibility through the release cycle over the past few months? Please take a moment to voice your concerns using the information provided in this post.

Open the Contacts App

If you have not customized your iDevice by moving your apps into folders, follow the steps below to locate and start the Contacts app. If you customized the Home screen, locate and start Contacts in the folder it has been assigned.

1. Press the Home button to make sure you are on the Home screen.
2. Flick to the right until you find “Page 1 of 2″ or a similar icon and double tap to move to the second page of apps.
3. Flick to the right until you find Contacts and double tap.

Locating and Testing the Table Index

1. Make sure you are in the list of contacts by flicking to the right a few times. If not, find and double tap the Back button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen just below the status bar.
2. Place a finger on the right edge of the screen about halfway down. VoiceOver should say “table index.”
3. Flick down a few times. If you hear the letters of the alphabet in ascending order, the table index is working correctly. If not, you will hear the words “table index” spelled as you flick down.

Using the Rotor Gesture

If the table index feature is not working, it is very likely the rotor gesture was accidentally used to change its behavior. Follow these steps to set the rotor to “adjust value,” which will fix the table index. Please note these steps are just one of several possible ways to learn and use the rotor gesture. Please email me if you continue experiencing difficulties performing this gesture correctly.

1. Place your middle and index fingers on the screen.
2. Move upward and to the right with your middle finger while your index finger moves down and to the left. This is known as a dial movement, which will adjust the rotor clockwise one position.
3. Repeat the rotor gesture as you move through “words”, “lines,” “language,” etc. Stop when you reach the “adjust value” setting.

Test the table index feature in several apps. You should find it allows you to move alphabetically through your list of contacts, artists and song titles in your music library and in a number of other situations where you have large lists.

As always, your feedback is appreciated so I may improve the content and quality of my work. Please contact me using the previously given email address.

Listen or Pause – Fix Broken Table Index

Download – Fix Broken Table Index

High school, college, and graduate students all find the collection to be an indispensible resource when it comes to finding the books they need for schoolwork and for pleasure reading.

Join the conversation with Allison Hilliker, Bookshare Collection Development Associate and Cherie Miller, Bookshare’s University Program Manager. We will be taking your questions live throughout the discussion. There is no need to pre-register for the event, just call in and join us.

• April 17, 2011, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PST
• Phone number to call: 866-210-1669.
• Pass code: 6567672

During this discussion you will learn:

• What Bookshare is and how you can become a member
• How Bookshare can make your school work and pleasure reading much easier
• About our new Read2Go app; an app specifically designed for Apple iOS that will allow for quick download and easy reading of Bookshare books on the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone
• How to use Bookshare most efficiently and effectively with your notetaker or digital book player.

We look forward to talking with you on April 17!

Listen or Pause – Braille 2000

Download – Braille 2000