After months of anticipation, Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 4, 2018, in San Jose, California. Prior to this date, many in the tech community, both blind and sighted, were making predictions and wish lists for features in new Apple operating systems. This year's WWDC was all about software.

The event began with a video about developers coming to WWDC. It was deliberately similar to a nature video, talking about developers "migrating" to the conference. Tim Cook announced that this year there were developers from 77 different countries, which is more than ever before. He added that there are more than 20 million developers around the world and that, too, is more than ever before. He said the App Store turns 10 in July, "In these 10 years, the App Store has fundamentally changed the way we all live. It's enabled countless new companies, created tens of millions of jobs, spawned entirely new industries, and it has forever changed our lives."

iOS

"Every year we deliver a major iOS update that brings awesome new features that will impact the world," Cook said. During the presentation, he introduced Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, to present the new features of iOS 12.

Federighi said customer satisfaction with iOS 11 is at 95%. "We're working, top to bottom, making improvements to make your device faster and more responsive." He said that iOS 12 will be available on any device that can use iOS 11. He then demonstrated improvements using an iPhone 6+ with iOS 12. With the new iOS, apps launch up to 40 percent faster, the onscreen keyboard comes on up to 50 percent faster, and a photo can be taken up to 60 percent faster. Federighi added, "Our deepest focus this year is optimizing the system when it's under load. That's where you need performance the most and where iOS 12 really shines." He explained, "When we detect that you need a burst of performance, like when you begin scrolling or launching an app, we ramp up processor performance instantly to its highest state delivering high performance, and then ramp it down just as fast to preserve battery life."

Augmented Reality

In conjunction with Pixar, Apple has developed a new file format called Universal Scene Description (USDZ.) It is a zero-compression, unencrypted zip archive. This new file format can be used in many places including Files, Messages, and Safari. He demonstrated some uses of USDZ including with a news article and looking at guitars on the Fender website.

A representative from Adobe announced that USDZ support would be available in Adobe's Creative Cloud.

Federighi then spoke about Apple's upcoming Measure app. It will take extremely accurate measurements, which are very important for augmented reality (AR). With the app, Federighi was easily able to measure the length of the sides of a suitcase as he pointed his phone along the suitcase edges.

A LEGO representative gave a demonstration of how Apple's AR kit would work with LEGO. The LEGO app used the iPhone's camera to scan an actual scene made of LEGO. The app then created a virtual scene around it. The user could interact with both the physical LEGO and the virtual LEGO.

Photos

The Photos app now automatically provides search suggestions. It will highlight such options as people who are important and key moments, and it can suggest specific categories. The actual search function is more powerful than that of previous versions. The Photos app will now index over 4 million events, such as concerts and sporting events, by time and place.

The Photos app will have a new tab called "For You." It will include memories, featured photos, and suggestions for applying effects to your photos. Sharing suggestions will appear in the For You tab. If you have taken photos at an event and shared them with someone else from the event, Photos will get their photos from the event and suggest sharing them.

Siri

Siri Shortcuts is a new feature in iOS 12. This feature can integrate with any app. You can create your own Siri shortcut, activated by any phrase you choose. Once the shortcut is set up, saying the designated phrase will cause Siri to perform the designated action.

The slide presented showed two tabs: Library and Gallery. The Gallery tab contains many pre-made shortcuts. The Library tab has shortcuts that you create.

Kim Beverett from the Siri team demonstrated a powerful shortcut. She said one phrase and Siri did several tasks including texting her roommate, saying Kim's estimated time of arrival at home, setting the thermostat, and playing her favorite news station.

Siri Shortcuts can be run from iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and HomePod.

iOS Apps

News

This app will have a new sidebar and it will look better on the iPad. A new Browse tab will also be added.

Stocks

The Stocks app has been redesigned. Apple News is now coming to Stocks with business articles. There will be a chart for each stock showing its performance through the day. After-hours pricing is also available. In iOS 12, the Stocks app will be on the iPad.

Voice Memos

Voice Memos will be available on the iPad in iOS 12, and iCloud support will be added, so memos can be accessed on other devices.

iBooks

With the launch of iOS 12, a new app called Apple Books will take the place of iBooks. One of the new features in iBooks is Reading Now, where you can quickly get to whatever you were reading last. The store will also be redesigned for better browsing.

CarPlay

This app will support third-party navigation apps with iOS 12.

Device Usage

Apple announced new iOS features for keeping track of how much time you spend on your device. Federighi explained, "Today we're announcing a comprehensive set of built-in features to help you limit distraction, focus, understand how you're spending your time, and balance the many things that are important to you."

Do Not Disturb

A new feature in Do Not Disturb is Do Not Disturb at Bedtime. Notifications will not be automatically visible when this feature is enabled. In the Control Center, Do Not Disturb can be set to end at a specific time, such as when you leave a specific location.

Notifications

Instant Tuning: When you receive a notification on the Lock screen, you can choose to have future notifications from the sender sent directly to the Notifications Center, bypassing the lock screen. There is also an option to turn notifications off. Siri will suggest turning off notifications for apps you are not using anymore.

Group Notifications: Notifications will be grouped by app, by topic, by thread providing an overview of your notifications. You will be able to review and triage groups.

Screen Time

Federighi said, "Screen Time empowers you with both insight and control over how you spend your time."

Reports: Every week you will receive a weekly summary of how you used your iPhone or iPad. The summary will tell you how much time you have spent in each app, how many times per hour you are picking up your phone, and which apps are sending the most notifications.

App Limits: You will be able to set your own limit for how much time you spend on a particular app each day. When in the app, you will receive a notification informing you when you are close to your allotted time. You can get an extension if you need it. Since the limit is across iPhone and iPad, the limitation is for total time, not each device.

If using Family Sharing with a child, your child will get a report and you will receive a copy of their report. You can set "down" time as well as limits for apps or categories of apps. Apps with no limits can be set. The child can have access to apps, websites, and movies that you approve.

Messages

New animojis in iOS 12 include Ghost, Tiger, and Koala. Apple is also introducing a way to create your own personal animoji with a new feature called Memoji. You can create a Memoji by selecting different features including skin color, hairstyle, and eye color. There are many, many features from which to choose. New camera effects with the camera will also be another option in messages.

FaceTime

In iOS 12, up to 32 people can participate in a FaceTime call. They can join or leave the call while it is in progress. When an individual is speaking, their face is displayed prominently, and effects can be added with the FaceTime camera. Group FaceTime will be available on iPhone, iPad, and the Mac. You can receive the audio on your Apple Watch.

WatchOS 5

Tim Cook stated that Apple Watch has been number one in customer satisfaction since it debuted in 2015, adding, "Apple Watch grew 60 percent last year."

Activity Competition

With watchOS 5, you can challenge any of your activity-sharing friends to a seven-day competition. During the week, each person receives 1 point for each completed percent of their rings. If you win, you receive an award on your watch.

New Workouts

Yoga and hiking are two new options in the Workout app. Kevin Lynch, Apple's VP of Technology, explained how the Apple Watch will get information about a yoga workout: "This works primarily from your heart rate. We calibrate this to your fitness level through the rest of the day."

Lynch explained for hiking, "This takes into account pace, heart rate, and elevation gain so you can more accurately get exercise credit when hiking on steep terrain."

Runners can now receive more information about their pace. You can now keep track of your "rolling mile" pace: how fast you ran the previous mile. You can set a pace alert and you can see your steps per minute.

Automatic Workout Detection

Lynch explained this new feature. He said, "Your Apple Watch will offer to begin starting a workout if it senses that you're beginning one. Even if you press Start after some time working out, you'll get retroactive credit for the workout that you did. Now when you reduce the intensity of your movement or your heart rate decreases, but you forget to end your workout, of course Watch will also detect that and suggest that you stop."

Third Party Audio

The Watch will be able to play third party background audio including audio books, playlists, and guided meditations.

Walkie Talkie

This new feature works over cellular or WiFi. The first time you want to use the Walkie Talkie app with someone, they will receive a request from you to enable the feature. If they accept, you will now be able to communicate via the Walkie Talkie app at any time. There will be a talk button on your screen. Before your friend hears your voice, they will get a haptic notification and hear a beep.

The Siri Watch Face

New content will be available for the Siri watch face including live sports scores, commute time and heart rate. Predicted shortcuts will appear on the Siri face. As Siri learns your routine, it will show relevant shortcuts. Third-party apps can now be used on this watch face.

Talking to Siri ;It is no longer necessary to say "Hey Siri." Lynch explained, "You just raise your wrist and talk to Siri."

Notifications

It will be possible to interact with many notifications without actually going into their apps.

Web Kit

If you receive an e-mail or message containing a link, you will be able to view it automatically, because Web Kit will be on watchOS 5. If the Reader is available, it will be engaged, and text will be formatted for the watch screen.

Podcasts

The Podcasts app will be available with watchOS 5. Subscribed podcasts will be synced to your watch. You can also just ask Siri to stream a podcast.

Some Additional New Features

• Ability to customize the buttons in Control Center.
• An air quality complication.
• New Pride watch band and Watch Face.
• Students at some colleges will be able to have their student IDs in Wallet on their watch and phone.

tvOS 12

Last September, Apple introduced Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV sales went up by 50 percent. 4K television has considerably improved visual resolution.

Dolby Atmos sound will be available for the Apple TV 4K.

Apple TV App

The Apple TV app will offer live options including sports and news.

Charter Spectrum

Charter Spectrum will be coming to Apple TV in late 2018.

Zero Sign-On

Zero Sign On is a new feature. If you are on your cable company's broadband internet connection, Apple will automatically unlock all of your supported apps. Charter Spectrum will be the first company to support this feature and additional companies will be added.

Remotes

The Apple TV remote will automatically be added to the Control Center. Apple is also working with other companies to enable their remotes to work through Apple if the customer uses home control systems.

MacOS Mojave

Later in the presentation, Craig Federighi came back to the stage to speak about the Mac and its new OS, Mojave.

Dark Mode

Dark Mode is different than Invert Colors. Invert Colors changes everything on the screen whereas Dark Mode makes only certain parts of the screen dark. For example, in Dark Mode, the window around an image is darkened to make the image stand out.

Dynamic Desktops

The view of the Desktop changes throughout the day.

Desktop Stacks

This feature helps keep your desktop organized. Similar items on the desktop are grouped together into Stacks. This feature can be enabled in the View menu in Finder. Files in stacks can be grouped by several categories including file type, date, and tag.

Gallery View

Finder has a new view called Gallery. In this view, there are thumbnails and previews on the screen.

Finder Sidebar

More features have been added to the Finder sidebar. Automated actions can be added. There is a Quick Actions section that is contextual.

Quick Look

Markup is now integrated with Quick Look.

Screen Shots

When a screen shot is taken, a thumbnail view is also displayed as well as the ability to use mark-up tools. The process for taking a screen shot has been streamlined, and video screen shots can also be taken.

Continuity Camera

Photos can be taken using the iPhone's camera and then transferred to the Mac. For example, a photo can be taken and then inserted into a Keynote presentation.

iOS Apps on Mac

Several Apple iOS apps will be available on the Mac. They are: News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos. Voice Memos will sync across all your devices with iCloud.

Security and Privacy

Federighi spoke about Apple's efforts to protect your information. If an app wants to use the microphone or camera, you will need to give permission.

In Safari, Apple will shut down social media buttons such as Like, Share, and Comment because these buttons can be used to track you. You will get a notification from a site if giving you the option to opt in. Websites will get a different configuration making it harder to "fingerprint" your computer and track you. These Safari features will be in Safari and iOS 12.

Mac App Store

The Mac App Store has been redesigned. The App Store will have Discover, Create, Work, Play, Categories, and Update tabs. The product page has also been redesigned to contain more information. Microsoft Office 365 will be available directly from the App Store later this year.

Conclusion

Although accessibility wasn't specifically mentioned during the WWDC keynote address, Apple did offer separate sessions on accessibility, including VoiceOver. You can download the WWDC app from the iOS App Store. It includes the keynote and developer sessions.

The new operating systems will be available in the fall. Apple should be commended for having iOS 12 available for the same devices as iOS11 and for speeding up many processes.

When to Update

It's very tempting to download and install new operating systems as soon as they become available. As you have read, there are so many new features to check out in iOS 12, and many will want to download the updates as soon as they become available.

In my experience, I've found it is worth waiting at least a few days or up to two weeks before updating. There are almost always some bugs in each new operating system. Even if the bugs are minor, in my opinion, it's worth waiting until they are resolved. You will have plenty of time to discover Apple's new operating systems for iOS, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Mac. While I do advise waiting a short while before downloading these new updates, don't wait too long. It is essential to stay as current as possible with your technologies. Don't make the mistake of getting too far behind with your operating system. Sure there is always a bit of a learning curve when new versions are released, but embrace that experience and view it as an opportunity to explore and gain new skills. It's always much more difficult when you wait too long and then are forced to make the jump over several versions. That learning curve is without a doubt much steeper.

Author's Note

After listening to the WWDC keynote address, I had the pleasure of participating in Jonathan Mosen's "The Blind Side" podcast. It featured Jonathan, his daughter Heidi, (who is sighted and provided extremely useful descriptions of the slides that were shown) and Debbie Armstrong. We discussed our opinions of what was presented in the keynote. You can listen to the podcast here.

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• Accessible Dictation with Open Source DictationBridge, by Bill Holton
• New Accessibility Support Options Courtesy of Google, Microsoft, and Be My Eyes, by Bill Holton

More articles by this author:

• Apple's 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference
• What's New in watchOS 4, macOS High Sierra, and tvOS 11

Dear AccessWorld readers,

I know the students out there may not be ready to hear these words, but it's time to think about the start of a new school year.

New classes, new instructors, class projects, presentations, tests, new people, and maybe even a new school or moving away to college bring about uncertainty and new challenges. Uncertainty is not necessarily a bad thing. This time of year can be exciting, too, especially if you prepare in advance.

Pursuing an education can be difficult under the best of circumstances, and doing so as a person with vision loss can increase the challenge.

For the students in our readership: you must take personal responsibility for your education, and you must be your own advocate. It is very important to prepare in advance, speak to instructors, and tell those you'll be working with exactly what types of accommodations will best meet your needs. Your education will have a tremendous impact on every aspect of the rest of your life, so it's crucial that you do everything you can to get the most out of your studies.

Good planning prevents poor performance! It's never too early to begin planning for the next school term, whether you're in elementary school or graduate school. Acquiring and learning to use the mainstream and access technology that best suits your situation, registering as early as possible for classes, obtaining reading lists, and searching out alternative formats should be done as soon as you can. Waiting until the last minute is a recipe for disaster.

It has become an AccessWorld tradition for the July issue to be our "Back to School" issue. So, this month the AccessWorld team once again focuses on providing valuable information and resources for students, parents, teachers, and professionals in the vision loss field to help make educational pursuits less stressful and more enjoyable. We are excited to bring you the information in this issue, and we sincerely hope you will find it useful.

Be sure to check out past "Back to School" issues from AccessWorld. The July issues of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 all contain information that can still be pertinent today. When reading these past "Back to School" issues, I encourage you to start with a 2010 article I co-authored, Educational Resources and Tips from AFB's Information and Referral Center.

An extremely relevant portion of that article with very usable information is excerpted below.

Question: What should I tell my instructors about my visual impairment?

Answer: It is important to speak with your instructors as soon as you know you are going to be in their class. Many students with vision loss fear speaking to their instructors, worrying he or she will not believe they can complete the course work due to ignorance about the capabilities of people with vision loss.

Try to schedule meetings with your instructors as soon as possible. It is best if you talk about your vision loss openly and honestly. Instructors may fear asking questions, not wanting to offend you. As a student, you should be proactive, explaining how you accomplish tasks. It may be beneficial to bring your assistive technology and adaptive products to this meeting, explaining how these devices will help you. For example, you could say something to the effect of, "This is my laptop with screen-magnification software, and this is an electronic magnifier. When I place the textbook under the camera, the material is enlarged. I have some usable vision, so I can read the textbook, complete written assignments, and view the syllabus using this equipment. Using my laptop's screen magnification software, I can write term papers and use the Internet to conduct research. I wanted to show you this equipment to assure you I can handle the material in this class and I am serious about doing well."

You could also direct your instructor to AFB's website and to other websites on vision loss if he or she would like further information. You should then ask for an overview of the class structure. Will he or she write on the board or use an overhead projector? Will he or she use PowerPoint slides or hand out a good deal of printed material? Will there be in-class assignments or pop quizzes? What is the structure of tests? Will there be off-campus field trips? Knowing answers to these types of questions will help you to better prepare for the class.

Question: What types of services does a Disabled Student Services (DSS) office offer?

Answer: Most colleges have a DSS office, which can vary from school to school in the scope of services offered. The DSS office may offer people to assist with taking notes in class, personal readers, proctors for tests, or someone to assist you in a science lab. However, personal assistants are sometimes in short supply or are not skilled in the material covered in your class. This is especially true for subjects such as music, science, math, and higher levels of every subject, where technical terms are commonplace.

The DSS office may also have some assistive technology for loan, such as braille notetakers or video magnifiers. The DSS office can also assist with legal matters, such as if a student is experiencing discrimination. They may also be able to transcribe textbooks into large print or braille, or make tactile diagrams.

In addition to the DSS office, many college departments have hired graduate or teaching assistants who offer student support as part of their job description. You may also want to check with your school's tutoring center. Many tutors are willing to serve as a reader rather than as an actual tutor.

You may choose to find someone on your own and pay for their services. Sometimes the vocational rehabilitation department in your state will give you a stipend for readers. You can advertise for help in the school newspaper, at the career services center, and on bulletin boards in dorms and other places on campus. You may also want to seek help from volunteer groups, such as local places of worship, the local Lion's Club, women's groups, and campus service fraternities.

Question: Where can I get textbooks in alternate formats?

Answer:American Printing House for the Blind offers the Louis Database, where you can search for agencies that carry your textbooks in alternate formats. Learning Ally (formerly Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic) offers textbooks from preschool to the doctoral level. You can get them on audio cassette or the Daisy format, which works with Daisy audio book players.

The Bookshare website offers textbooks for primary, secondary, undergraduate, and post-graduate study. Recently, Bookshare began offering students with documented legal blindness free access to its collection, waiving the usual $150 fee.

Project Gutenberg offers a smaller collection of books, mostly classics, which could come in handy for students taking a literature or classics class.

Many works of literature, especially classic short stories and poems, can be found using a search engine. While in college, I located online versions of pieces such as "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London.

The Library of Congress is another great place to search for novels and poetry for your English classes. You can find braille-ready electronic files and digital audio versions of the works you need.

You can also purchase the print copy of a textbook, and scan them yourself using optical character recognition software, such as Openbook or Kurzweil. Even if you cannot locate a textbook, check for earlier editions; usually the changes from edition to edition are minimal.

You can even order a completely different textbook on the same subject. I have done this for Physics classes as most general physics books cover the same topics. I could look up something such as "calculating velocity" and learn the same material as my classmates. I have even searched the Internet for topics covered in my textbooks, such as locating boiling and melting points for chemical compounds.

You could also contact the book's publisher and request an electronic version, which, by law, the publisher should send you. This process, however, can be time consuming as you sometimes must verify your disability. So, attempt to find the names of textbooks you will be using during the upcoming school tern as early as possible.

Question: How do I take notes in class?

Answer: Several methods may be employed. You may choose to use a personal notetaker employed by the DSS office or ask a classmate to take notes for you. You could also use a laptop or electronic notetaker. Students with low vision can use a portable video magnifier. You could use 20/20 pens, which create a bold line. You could also try using bold or raised-line paper. Another method is using an audio recorder, either a separate piece of hardware, or one that is built into your laptop or electronic notetaker.

Question: How do I complete in-class work, such as pop quizzes or worksheets?

Answer: You can handle in-class work in several ways. If the assignment or quiz is short, you can stay after class and have the instructor read it to you. The instructor may allow you to use an electronic version on your laptop or notetaker. Be sure to bring your portable video magnifier to class if you have enough usable vision to take assignments and quizzes in this manner. Some people with vision loss, even though they cannot read print, learn the print alphabet, allowing them to use raised-line paper for short assignments. I've done this for short multiple-choice quizzes.

Question: How do I handle taking tests?

Answer: You could contact the DSS office and use one of the office's personal readers. Some DSS offices will transcribe tests into braille, convert them to electronic format, or reproduce them in large print. Another option is using a video magnifier if you have enough usable vision. Many low-vision students have difficulty reading Scantron sheets, and choose to write directly on the test itself or on a separate sheet of paper. Some instructors will give a visually impaired student the test on a USB drive or via e-mail, allowing him or her to use a laptop or notetaker to answer the questions. This is especially handy for essay questions, which can be difficult to answer by dictating to a proctor or writing under a video magnifier.

Question: What about classes of a more visual nature, such as those in the fields of science, engineering, and math?

Answer: Several agencies have created adapted products for the science, technology, engineering, and math fields, including braille and large-print periodic tables of the elements; raised-line drawings of the human body systems; talking and large-font calculators; raised- and bold-line graphing paper; large-print and braille rulers, yardsticks, and tape measures; braille protractors, 3-D representations of shapes for geometry, and raised-line drawing kits.

The color video magnifier is great for viewing specimens, such as the veins on leaves, the wings of insects, and details on rocks and shells. You can label lab equipment, such as measurement marks on beakers and test tubes, with large-print or tactile labels, allowing you to perform lab experiments using this glassware independently. Some lab work may not have a logical way to be performed independently. For these circumstances, students who are visually impaired may choose to use a lab assistant. The instructor knows the student with vision loss is responsible for telling the assistant what to do, such as stating the amount and type of compound to pour into a beaker. The assistant may also describe color changes, temperature readings on the thermometer, and weights on the balance scale. The lab assistant does not write lab reports, take tests, or do any of the written work submitted for the course. This is the responsibility of the student.

Some adaptive lab equipment is also available, such as talking thermometers, voltmeters, micrometers, color identifiers, and balance scales. The Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind project is one source for such equipment. Some microscopes can connect to a monitor, displaying specimens under the microscope lens onto the monitor's screen. This allows for much larger magnification and eliminates the need for the student with low vision to focus the microscope lens by looking through the lens, which can be quite an eye strain.

Question: What if I do not have the funds to purchase assistive technology?

Answer: The vocational rehabilitation department in your state may purchase assistive technology, such as video magnifiers, electronic notetakers, or laptops. Your school or a local public library may have an assistive technology room for visually impaired students to use. Check with local agencies for the blind or teachers of the visually impaired to see if you can borrow equipment.

Community groups, such as the Lions Club, may offer grants. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has implemented a technology loan program with a low interest rate, and the Association of Blind Citizens (ABC) offers an assistive technology fund.

Question: Where should I look for scholarships?

Answer: There are a vast number of scholarships for college students, and some are geared specifically for persons with vision loss. Check with local and national agencies for the blind, such as the NFB and the American Council of the Blind chapters. Also, note that AFB offers scholarships to students pursuing higher education; visit our website to learn more.

We on the AccessWorld team wish you good luck and good planning as you head back to school!

Sincerely,
Lee Huffman
AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
American Foundation for the Blind

Dear AccessWorld Editor

This letter is in response to the April 2018 Editor's Page.

My hope is that AccessWorld stays focused on access. I would like to see expanded coverage of accessible mainstream devices and products beyond smartphones and assistive technology. More on appliances, DVD players, music systems, televisions, radios, and all the other things people use in their daily lives. I would like to see this in addition to the current coverage of access technology. I worry that expanding to other topics may limit the very useful coverage of devices we need to live life on a daily basis. Each month I wish the issue of AccessWorld had more reviews. Why not more articles on using smart home technology to make daily living easer?

Regards,

Greg Austin

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This letter is in response to Aaron Preece's article, ClickList by Kroger Expands Access to Online Grocery Shopping, from the May 2018 issue.

I am blind and have been using the Kroger, or in my case, the King Soopers app (they are run by Kroger). I have been using it for years. I do not use Quick List but use the Grocery List found under the More options tab on the bottom right or end of the Options list. With Quick List, you still must get someone to drive you there.

I usually start the process by accessing the weekly sale ad, and I add those items to my grocery list. If I am looking for an item, I go into More Options and access Grocery List, where I can do a search. When I am finished, I can choose options and e-mail the list to the person who will be driving me to the store. That e-mail also has items grouped according to store aisle number. It's a quick way to shop with my friend.

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I wanted to let you know how very much I enjoyed Deborah Kendrick's article on the Victor Reader Trek in the May issue of AccessWorld. She is the best when it comes to expressing information clearly and concisely. I always feel as if I'm ready to tackle the device myself after reading one of her product articles.

Best regards,

Alan Lemly

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I read, with great interest, Janet Ingber's review of Spectrum TV's accessibility solutions, published in the August 2017 issue of AccessWorld. I am a blind customer of Spectrum Cable TV and would like to obtain accessible cable TV services. Ms. Ingber's evaluation suggests that the accessibility solutions Spectrum has implemented are woefully inadequate. I wondered if there were any recent updates to her findings.

Thanks very much for any assistance you can offer.

Dawn M. Suvino

Response from Janet Ingber

Hello Dawn,

Thank you for reading AccessWorld and for sending your question regarding television programming access.

You may want to take a look at Spectrum's accessibility page. Although it sounds like it's easy to use Spectrum's accessibility features, not all features are available in all areas. For example, as you know from reading my August 2017 article, these simple accessibility features were not available in my area.

I gave up Spectrum and switched to Verizon FIOS a few months ago. Just before I switched, I checked with Spectrum, and nothing had changed.

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

This letter is in response to Janet Ingber's June 2018 article, Podcasts to Go: How to Play Podcasts on your iOS Device.

This is the most comprehensive yet concise article comparing podcast-related apps I have read. I have not experienced the IOS podcast apps. I use qcast on the computer. With this article as a guide, I can make an informed decision as to which apps are the easiest to operate for me.

Sincerely,

Julie Dawson

Sendero iOS GPS App Updates; An Announcement of Sendero Summer Conference Schedule

Recently, Sendero announced the release of version 3.4 of its iPhone GPS apps. The company stated that this release brings multiple bug fixes for the LookAround mode. Sendero also announced that recent price increases for Google maps and POIs caused the company to remove Google POIs from their apps as of this version. If you are currently using the app, it is necessary to update to the latest version to make sure the app continues to function properly.

Sendero also announced the upcoming summer conferences that it will be attending:

AER International conference in Reno, NV. Sendero will be presenting "Developing an AccessibleIndoor Navigation Application: Perceptions of 785 Legally Blind adults" on Saturday July 28 from 10?11 am in Naples 6.

Envision conference in Wichita, KS. Sendero will be presenting "The Future of Indoor Navigation for the Visually Impaired is Now!" Time and place to be determined, for updates, refer to Sendero's conference website.

Non-Profit Computers for the Blind (CFTB) Has Moved — Physically and on the Web

With the increased need and demand for affordable & accessible computers, Computers for the Blind (CFTB) has moved to make room for more volunteers to refurbish the computers. CFTB has moved from suite 204 to suite 206. Otherwise, the phone number and address remain the same.

Additionally, it has acquired the www.computersfortheblind.org and the www.computersfortheblind.com domains so it can be found easier on the web. Please note that although CFTB still owns www.computersfortheblind.net, those who have bookmarked it may receive a certificate error, and it will not redirect them to the new site. The solution is to click the "Proceed anyway (Not secure)" link. It will take them to the website, or visitors can just type in the new website address www.computersfortheblind.org. CFTB will continue to use .net for its e-mail addresses.

Lastly,CFTB and Freedom Scientific have announced that all new CFTB computers will ship with a copy of Fusion installed. The product is licensed for a year and customers can purchase updates through Freedom Scientific's Home Use program after the first year. For more details, see Bill Holton's article on this partnership in this (July 2018) issue of AccessWorld or see this blog post from Freedom Scientific.

The new address for Computers for the Blind is:

Computers for the Blind
1201 S. Sherman Street, Suite 206
Richardson, TX 75081
www.computersfortheblind.org
Phone: 214/340-6328

American Foundation for the Blind Launches the First Fully Accessible Digital Archive of the Helen Keller Collection

More than 160,000 artifacts can now be viewed in a groundbreaking, fully accessible online archive thanks to support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Express.

Recently, The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) announced the launch of the Helen Keller Archive, the world's first fully accessible digital archive collection, comprising more than 160,000 artifacts, dedicated to the fascinating life of Helen Keller.

The Helen Keller Archive is the largest repository of historical content about Helen Keller, whose iconic name is known in every corner of the globe for her groundbreaking work as an author, political activist, and humanitarian who played a critical role in changing public perceptions about people with disabilities.

The Archive was made possible thanks to Keller's close relationship with AFB, where she worked for 44 years. At the time of her death, she bequeathed all of her belongings, including gifts from around the world, to AFB to create the Archive. Due to their fragility, many of these items were unavailable to the public until now. This momentous online project, generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and American Express, is also the first of its kind to be fully accessible to blind, deaf, hard-of-hearing, low vision, and deafblind audiences.

The digitized Helen Keller Archive presents an opportunity to encounter this renowned historical figure in a new, dynamic, and exciting way. For example, despite her fame, relatively few people know that Helen Keller wrote 14 books as well as hundreds of essays and articles on a broad array of subjects ranging from animals and atomic energy to Mahatma Gandhi. The Archive's vast treasure trove of artifacts about Helen Keller includes personal letters, speeches, press clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, oversize materials, architectural drawings, and audio-visual materials.

"Keller was both a product of her environment and a driving force upon it, and few archival collections have the potential of providing historians with so rich a source of information on the history and direction of the United States, and indeed on attitudes to those with disabilities around the globe," said Helen Selsdon, AFB Archivist. "Knowing this, AFB recognized the importance of disseminating this amazing resource that was both underutilized and difficult to access. Digitization was the way to achieve this goal."

Kirk Adams, President and CEO of AFB, agrees. "Beyond the historical value of the collection to a broad audience ranging from scholars to school children, The Helen Keller Archive represents a powerful vehicle for continuing the work begun by Keller and AFB to build a more inclusive world," Adams said. "Harnessing the power of the collection, we can inspire educators, employers, and the public to see beyond a person's disabilities to a more equitable society. This digitization project also presented a fantastic opportunity to show the importance of making digital collections accessible to all users."

"Helen Keller is one of our nation's most inspiring figures," said NEH Senior Deputy Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. "The National Endowment for the Humanities is proud to support efforts to put this valuable archive online so that the records of the life, writing, and achievements of this iconic American are accessible to all."

"American Express has long believed that by preserving the lessons of the past, we can inspire a more promising future," said Timothy J. McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation. "By sharing Helen Keller's miraculous story in a modern and dynamic way, we hope to inspire a new generation to fight for a society where everyone's potential is realized and nurtured."

National Braille Press now offering Braille Me, Low-Cost, 20-Cell Braille Display from Innovision

The National Braille Press is now offering the Braille Me, A low-cost, 20-cell refreshable braille display produced by India based Innovision. The Braille Me has 20 6-dot braille cells and also includes cursor routing keys, page navigation keys, and a braille keyboard. The device can be connected to an iOS or Android phone or tablet through Bluetooth or can connect to a Windows computer using USB where it can be used with the NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) screen reader. The Braille Me includes a built in file editor where TXT, BRF, and BRL file formats can be viewed and edited from an SD card. The device has been designed so that magnets are used to refresh the braille cells allowing the device to be provided at a lower cost. The device retails for $515 from the National Braille Press, which includes the handling fee. To learn more about the Braille Me, visit the National Braille Press listing or the Innovision website.

The Paciello Group Announces Acquisition of Accessibility Consulting Firm Interactive Accessibility

It was recently announced that the Paciello Group (TPG) has acquired the company Interactive Accessibility (IA) a consulting firm with a focus on web accessibility. General Manager of the Paciello Group, Matt Ater, had this to say about the merger. "Interactive Accessibility expands the capabilities and expertise of TPG. With our combined strength our enterprise clients benefit from unsurpassed accessibility services and solutions. This is in perfect alignment with our strategy of providing superior accessibility consulting, technology solutions, and services." Kathleen Wahlbin, the founder and CEO of Interactive Accessibility had this to say. "This merger offers an exciting opportunity to strengthen and expand our service offerings for our clients and further advances our position as the leader in providing accessibility solutions. As organizations focus on integrating accessibility, we will be best positioned to support them on that journey. You can learn more about the Paciello Group here and you can learn about Interactive Accessibility here

From elementary school to post-doctorial, if your studies involve compiling, comparing, or manipulating numbers you will likely wind up using SAS, a computer platform that facilitates all manner of numerical analyses. Many SAS data sets are displayed using charts and graphs. Sometimes the presentations also include the original numbers in accessible text tables or spread sheets—but not always.

On those occasions when the raw data is available, students with visual impairments can scan the values cell by cell, attempting to "see the forest one tree at a time." Is the tallest tree in the forest twice or five times as tall as a tree of average height? Are there more trees at the south end of the forest or the north? Factors such as these can be gleaned at a glance by sighted students. For those with visual impairments, not so much.

Happily, several years ago, developers led by SAS Director of Accessibility Ed Summers began looking for ways to make charts and graphs more accessible to the vision-impaired—not just their own charts, but others' as well. They've made some recent enhancements. Let's begin with a look at their progress. Or should we say a listen to? Then we'll follow up with an overview of SAS accessibility in general.

SAS Graphics Accelerator

SAS Graphics Accelerator is a browser extension that enhances SAS graphs and charts with text descriptions, tabular data, low-vision support and interactive tonal feedback, known as sonification. Download and documentation links for the extension can be found at the SAS Graphics Accelerator customer product page. The extension is available for the Chrome browser on both Windows and Mac. Note: Other platforms may be supported in the future. The Chrome Web Store includes a "Getting Started" video.

Once installed and enabled, the extension adds a SAS Graphics Accelerator tab to the main Chrome menu bar. Now, whenever your browser encounters a SAS enabled chart or graph, a chime will sound, and an "Accelerate" button will be added to the bottom of any figures on that page.

The SAS support page offers several sample SAS Graphics Accelerator enabled chart types, including a sample pie chart, bar chart, histogram, box plot, heat map, series map, and bubble plot. You can also access these samples via the Laboratory in SAS Graphics Accelerator, a local repository for your personal data and charts accessed via the browser's extension menu bar.

Like all accessible charts and graphics created by SAS, each of these samples includes an "Accelerate" button at the bottom of the figure. Invoke this button and you are offered the following functionality.

Description

This option provides a text description, including graphic type, title, X- and Y-axes labels and information.

Visualization

Visualization allows users to render graphs using a visual theme that has been optimized for low vision users. The data that was used to create the graph can be saved in the user's laboratory account for later recall by opening the lab. The graph or chart can also be shared. The visualization option is ideal for sharing work with sighted classmates or instructors, or for instructors sharing charts with visually impaired students.

Sonification

Sonification allows the user to "play" the graphic, with rising tones for higher values and falling tones for lower values. The tones are played in stereo, with the left edge of the figure playing through the left speaker, then moving to the right within the sonified data set. The entire data set can be played using various speed options, or navigated incrementally using the arrow keys to hear the tones element by element, "sonifying," or voicing the numerical data or both. Several options, such as sonification speed and verbosity, can be set using the extension's Setting menu. Single-key shortcuts have also been included, conveniently located on the left side of the keyboard so the user can use the right hand to cursor and the left to change settings on the fly. Note: In order to use sonification you may need to turn off the virtual cursor in JAWS (Insert + Z) or Forms Mode in NVDA (Insert + Spacebar). Possible shortcuts vary with chart types, but the H "Help" shortcut will list all the available shortcuts. Needless to say, sonification is easiest to comprehend when there is only a single variable on the X-axis, but other, more complex chart types can also be explored using sonification. Heat maps, for example, are often color-coded and thus difficult to interpret using a screen reader. We won't go into details here, but see the end of this article for a step-by-step guide of sonification and the sample heat map showing MPG City by Weight chart as described by Ed Summers.

Data

The data option offers the user the chart or graph data in a tabular format. The data can be navigated using screen reader table commands, or saved to the laboratory, where the labels and data can be edited. The data can also be exported as a CSV Excel-compatible file.

Extracting Tables

Some websites offer a link to a table version of information they have presented in chart format. Other times you may encounter a site that has presented a table of information for which you'd like to receive low-vision support or sonification. This can be done via the "Extract tables from this page" option. This option extracts data tables from webpages and offers the opportunity to create a chart (bar chart, pie chart, scatter plot, etc.) enabled for SAS.

As an example, take this NASDAQ table that compiles the dividend history for WP Cary (WPC), a real-estate investment trust. With the page displayed in Chrome, invoke the Extract Table option from the SAS menu bar. You can now save the table to the Laboratory in SAS Graphics Accelerator or create a chart, which you can also save to the laboratory. Below is a low-vision enhanced version of this chart. If you have SAS Graphics Accelerator installed, you can activate this link to explore the chart, read a text description of the chart, or use sonification to explore the data. If you do not have the extension installed, use this link to play a recording of the sonification.

Caption: Time series plot showing dividend titled "Cash Amount by Ex/Eff Date."

You can also import CSV or Tab- or comma-delimited text files, any of which can be created using Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet software. You can update the data at any time and refresh the chart, then re-accelerate it.

SAS Studio

So far we've discussed how to navigate and create charts and graphs enabled for SAS. SAS is a powerful platform for data crunching, however, and if you are studying math, science, even geography, you may need to learn to use SAS to further your studies. Most of this work can be done in SAS Studio, a web-based interface used to analyze data. Primarily, you do this by writing programs in the SAS programming language and then running those programs. SAS Graphics Accelerator is integrated into SAS Studio. This means a visually impaired student or lifelong learner can compile or import a data set, create and run a SAS program, then access and explore the resulting charts and graphs interactively using the software's low-vision features and sonification.

SAS Studio offers an accessibility page where you will find a narrative tour of the SAS Studio workspace layout, recommended settings for optimum screen reader use, and a table list of keyboard shortcuts for the various commands and functions.

Learning SAS

SAS offers a series of free e-learning courses, including SAS Programming 1 and Statistics 1. The tutorials are delivered as videos, however there is a text transcript for each video that contains both the spoken content and the SAS code and results that are displayed during the video. These transcripts enable a visually impaired student to experience and complete the video courses using a screen reader, magnifier, or refreshable braille display.

Accessing SAS Studio

There are two ways students and lifelong learners can access SAS Studio, and both are free for individuals.

SAS OnDemand for Academics

SAS OnDemand for Academics gives access to SAS Studio over the web without installing any software to students, instructors, or independent learners. Simply log onto the SAS OnDemand for Academics customer page, select your learning path, and register. Once registered, you can access SAS Studio through the SAS control panel.

SAS University Edition

SAS University Edition allows you to access SAS Studio on your own PC or Mac without an internet connection, though you will need one to get started. SAS University Edition comes in the form of a pre-configured virtual machine that runs on your PC or Mac using Virtual Box for Windows, VMFusion for Mac, or VMware Workstation Player for either. The VM Workstation Player has been tested with accessibility, and is the option recommended for screen reader users by SAS documentation. Enable this virtual machine and SAS Studio runs a local web server, to which you can connect using the same computer's screen reader-enabled browser.

SAS University Edition VM can be tricky to install using a screen reader, but there is a SAS University Edition Quick Start Guide for Students With Visual Impairments that offers step-by-step instructions on installing and engaging the virtual machine using JAWS. This document does need to be updated, however. It refers to Windows 7, and JAWS 17, with no mention at all of NVDA.

SAS also offers accessibility support via email.

Sonification and Heat Maps

A simple line or bar chart is easy to access with sound using SAS. Other charts require more practice. Below, Ed Summers will take you through the process of accessing a heat map using SAS Graphics Accelerator. We saved this for the end of the article to give you a chance to locate and install the extension.

From SAS Director of Accessibility Ed Summers:

Heat maps are used for the same purpose as scatter plots: to understand the relationship between two continuous variables. The two variables are represented on the x- and y-axes. Typically, the independent variable is represented on the x-axis and the dependent variable is represented on the y-axis.

You would use a heat map rather than a scatter plot if your data set is large. For example, if your data set includes thousands of data points, the points may pile up on top of each other in certain areas of the plot, and you would not be able to distinguish between dense areas of the plot visually or tactilely on a tactile graphic. In other words, once an area reaches a certain level of density, it becomes impossible to perceive additional density.

The heat map solves this problem because it divides the Cartesian plane into a grid. The color of each cell is dictated by the number of data points in that cell. For example, a cell with zero data points may be light blue, a cell with the most data points may be dark blue, and the other cells are some shade of blue in between.

We refer to the number of data points in each cell as the z-axis value where the z-axis is a third dimension in addition to x- and y-. Think of the z-axis as the height of textures on a tactile graphic.

The audio representation of the z-axis value is a pssst or whoosh sound. I think it sounds like a puff of air escaping from an air hose. The pitch of the sound represents the number of data points in the corresponding cell in the heat map. A low pitch or air pressure is a small number of data points, and a high pitch or air pressure is many data points.

As always, the thump sound represents an empty cell. The piano sound represents the height of the data point on the y-axis. And the position of any sound between the left and right speakers represents the position of the cell on the x-axis.

Press the R key to toggle between the y- sound and the z- sound. You can listen to each of them independently or turn both of them on so they play simultaneously.

I typically explore heat maps using the following methods:

First, I play each column as a chord to get an overall sense of the relationship between the two variables. Follow these steps in sonification view:

1. Press C until you hear "off." This turns off speech so you can focus on the sonification sounds.
2. Press S until you hear "Row or column by chord."
3. Press R until you hear "y-axis." Now, you will only hear the piano sound for each cell that contains data. The pitch of the piano sound tells you the height of the cell on the y-axis, and the position between the left and right speakers tells you the position of the cell on the x-axis.
4. Press Control + Left Arrow to move to the column on the far left.
5. Press Shift + Right Arrow to play every column from left to right.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to hear it again or just press Shift + Left Arrow and then Shift + Right Arrow to scan back and forth from left to right.
7. Press D repeatedly until you hear "slow" or "slowest" to slow down the speed if you need to.
8. Now, press R until you hear "z-axis." That will play only the z sounds so you can get a feel for the density of each column.

Second, I now explore each row as a melody. That fills in some of the gaps regarding z values:

1. Press S until you hear "Row or column by melody."
2. Press R until you hear "z-axis."
3. Press Down Arrow to move down by row until you get to the bottom and then press Up Arrow to go back to the top.
4. Press D to adjust speed as needed.

Third, when I find a row that contains data that needs additional exploration, I explore by cell:

1. Press S until you hear "cell by cell."
2. Now, press any of the Arrow keys to move one cell in any direction.
3. Press C to toggle speech settings as needed.
4. Press R to toggle between y-axis and z-axis sounds as needed.

Using the methods above, you should be able to quickly determine that there is an inverse correlation between weight and miles per gallon in the heat map on the sample page. Also, you should be able to determine that the densest cell in the heat map is at 3,500 pounds and 20 miles per gallon.

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Related articles:

• Accessible Investing with the Robinhood App from Robinhood Markets, by Bill Holton
• SEE3D: Teenagers Expand the Visual World for People Who Are Blind, by Deborah Kendrick

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• Be My Eyes Now Available for Android
• Book Review: The New Edition of iOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, by Shelly Brisbin.

In the April 2018 issue of AccessWorld, I reviewed the new Focus 14 and 40 Fifth Generation braille displays from the VFO Group. In May 2018, the VFO Group released a firmware update that introduced the Scratchpad application. The Scratchpad allows you to take notes directly on the Focus and save them to an inserted Micro SD card. It is also possible to transfer notes from the Scratchpad to a connected device. With the Scratchpad feature, you can transfer BRF files onto the Micro SD card. Below is a brief overview of the Scratchpad's features, and how they have worked for me.

Updating the Focus 5^th Generation to the Latest Firmware

If your display was purchased before May 16, 2018, you will need to update it to the latest firmware version. If you are unsure if your Focus has the latest firmware, press the Menu button followed by the top of a Rocker bar to verify the version currently installed. If the number following the dash is 30 or above, your display supports the Scratchpad feature. If your version number is below 30, you will need to download and install the update using a Windows computer running either a licensed or demonstration copy of JAWS. It is not possible to upgrade the firmware using a Mac unless you have a Bootcamp partition or a virtual copy of Windows. The update process has several steps that are clearly outlined on the webpage linked above. If the directions are carefully followed, updating the firmware works well.

To use the Scratchpad feature, you will need to insert a 32-gigabyte or smaller Micro SD card into the display. Instructions on how to correctly insert the Micro SD card are also explained on the webpage linked above.

Once you've updated your firmware and inserted the Micro SD card, you may want to read the help file for the Scratchpad. Sadly, you must take more steps to load this help file onto the Focus. If you would rather complete these steps at a later time, or not at all, you can always read the help file online. If you choose to have the help file available on your unit's Micro SD card, you can read it by pressing Right Shift + H while in the Scratchpad application. Exit help by pressing Spacebar + Z.

Writing Using the Scratchpad

To open the Scratchpad application from anywhere, press Menu + N. If a previously used file remains open, you'll see its contents, otherwise, you'll be presented with a blank file. If you wish to create a new file while one is already open, press Right Shift + N. Before creating a new note, you'll be prompted to save your work on any open files. The Scratchpad application contains a menu with editing, navigation, and file management functions that is accessed by pressing the Menu button. It is similar to that found in a basic word processor. You are given Help, File, Edit, and Export options. Within File, you can reate a new file, open an existing file, save, save as, and exit. You can either press Enter to activate a desired option or use the available keyboard shortcut. Edit offers a user the ability to cut, paste, paste time, paste date, find, and find next. The help file can be accessed via the Help menu, and is the only option available. Export allows you to send the contents of a note to a connected device.

Keyboard shortcuts that correspond to each function listed above can be found within the help file. It would be useful to have the shortcuts highlighted within the menu to more easily memorize them, and not be forced to switch between the help file and an open note. There are commands for navigating around a file that follow the convention first established with the release of the Braille N Speak. I was able to type as fast as I liked in contracted braille without experiencing lag or mistakes. Editing what I had written was easy since the cursor and other commands functioned as expected.

Since notes taken with the Focus are in a proprietary format, it's not possible to read or transfer them directly to a connected device. If you wish to transfer a note from the Focus to a Windows computer or iOS device, you must use the Export option. Before exporting the note, be sure that only the receiving device is active, that the screen reader's braille tables match those of the Focus, and that a text field is ready for input on the receiving device. Transferring a phone number using Bluetooth took about five seconds while exporting a three-sentence document took about 15 seconds. Because of issues present when typing in contracted braille on both iOS and NVDA, a three-sentence note that I composed was consistently exported incorrectly. Not all of the characters in the file were sent to the connected device. JAWS, however, handled the transfer flawlessly. It may also be worth noting that one cannot edit BRF files. If you have BRF files such as notes taken on another device, you will not be able to continue using this document on the Focus. There aren't any options available for exporting the created content on the Focus to another file format other than the one listed above.

Reading with the Scratchpad

After downloading content from Bookshare, I went to add these files to my Micro SD card. After connecting the Focus and turning it on using the Power button along with the Left Panning button, the card showed as a removable drive. If you are using the Focus with your computer through USB to read screen reader output, you will not have braille support while in this mode. You can establish a Bluetooth connection to maintain braille support. BRF content must be placed within the Fsi\Focus5\Scratchpad\Books folder on the Micro SD card in order for it to show in the Focus' file browser. Once the transfer is complete, eject the drive from your computer. After power cycling the display, your books may be accessed through the Open option in the Scratchpad's File menu. A file can also be opened by pressing Left Shift + O while in the Scratchpad application.

A 1.2-megabyte BRF file loaded almost instantaneously. While you can read content by using the Panning buttons, you can also use the NAV rockers. To set them to Lines, Paragraphs, or Display Panning, press the Right or Left Mode button located above each NAV rocker. You can also set one bookmark for each file you have open by pressing Left Shift + M. Confirmation is not provided, but you can verify a bookmark by moving the cursor to another location, and then pressing Left Shift + G.

When reading a book with the Scratchpad, my position was retained even when exiting the application. If I worked with another file before returning to my book, the Scratchpad did not always accurately remember my position. In these instances, the bookmarking feature along with the Find and Find Next commands were very useful.

The Bottom Line

The Scratchpad feature on the Focus fifth generation is a welcome feature if you want to take basic notes and read digital braille files. It would be very helpful if it were possible to manipulate BRF files, especially since other devices a user may have had in the past cannot work with the proprietary format. It would also be helpful if the VFO Group included the keyboard shortcuts along with each menu item, as is often found on other devices. Transferring content would be easier for novice users if it were not necessary to navigate through several layers of folders on the Micro SD card to do so. Finally, receiving confirmation when performing certain actions, such as adding a bookmark, would be helpful. Though I would like to see these suggestions implemented, I find the update to be a welcome addition to this line of displays.

Comment on this article.

Related Articles:

• Focusing on Braille: a Review of the Focus 5th Generation Braille Displays From the VFO Group, by Scott Davert
• What's New in Braille and Beyond: A Report from the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, by J.J. Meddaugh

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• A Big Compromise in Price with a Small Compromise in Features: a Review of the Orbit Reader 20 from American Printing House for the Blind,
• Feel This: The Current State of Braille with the Windows Narrator Screen Reader

If you use video magnification devices regularly, it's likely you've had occasion to think about their portability. Video magnifier vendors have addressed the challenge of transporting the combo of a camera, screen, and reading surface in different ways. And there are usually tradeoffs for users who choose devices that can be moved from school to home to work without undue back strain or requiring a lot of setup time and desk space.

Among vendors who sell mid-sized magnifiers, a one-piece foldable design has gained popularity in the past few years. Just collapse the unit, put it into a backpack or shoulder bag, and off you go. But finding a device that is both easy to carry and set up, and that includes all the desired features, is challenging—especially if you're stuck on a feature or two that might only be available in a device that's otherwise not exactly right for you.

The displays and cameras at the heart of video magnifier offerings have gotten lighter and better in recent years, as vendors have gained access to more components, many of which are used for mainstream applications, too. You can choose among cameras and displays of various sizes and qualities. What differentiates one magnifier from another begins with the quality of the build and the set of software options and accessories provided. When it comes to the MagniLink Zip line of magnifiers from Swedish-based Low Vision International, there are things to like and other aspects that may give pause.

MagniLink Zip Hardware

The MagniLink Zip is a transportable video magnifier. You can choose from display sizes ranging from 13 to 17 inches. You can also choose from different HD cameras. We tested a 13-inch model. Like many devices in its class, the MagniLink Zip is a foldable unit, with the display and camera permanently mounted on a sturdy stand and a reading platform below. There's an LED light built into the arm of the device, and notches at the back of the platform where you can attach an optional x-y table. The unit operates on AC power or an optional integrated, rechargeable battery housed in the arm of the unit and rated for 5 hours of use.

The camera is securely mounted at the end of the main arm of the unit, and can be pivoted away from the display for distance viewing or toward you for mirror mode. The arm is jointed in front of the camera, with the display mounted a few inches in front. The joint allows the display to be raised, lowered and tilted. Because the camera is integral to the arm, raising or lowering the display also moves the camera. That means you can tilt the display for easier viewing, but raising or lowering it is only possible when you want to fold the unit.

All hardware controls are on the front of the display. There are buttons for Power, Zoom, Theme Selection, and Function. All are large, and contrast with the background color of the monitor bezel. When activated, a control's function is displayed onscreen.

Options

The MagniLink line of magnifiers can be configured in several ways, with several optional add-ons. You can order the device with an option for connecting the magnifier to a computer. This is done through a circuit board containing video ports that is soldered onto the back of the display. To access the ports, you'll need to remove a plastic cover and connect cables to one of the downward-facing ports. The detail that there is a cover that must be opened is unfortunately missing from the user guide, and even with sighted assistance, the knack of doing it wasn't immediately clear. If you order the computer connectivity option, you'll get HDMI and USB ports that allow you to connect the MagniLink to a computer running Windows, macOS, or a Chromebook.

As I'll discuss later in this review, there's also optional text-to-speech software and connectivity software you'll need for displaying the MagniLink Zip screen on a computer.

Portability

The MagniLink Zip arrives in a large shoulder bag. With the 13-inch display, the unit weighs 8.2 pounds. The monitor tucks under the camera, allowing the unit to lay somewhat flat for transporting in the bag. LVI offers a larger bag to accommodate the optional x-y table.

In practice, unfolding the unit is quick and easy. Just raise the arm and let the monitor and camera drop into position for use. Folding the device is a bit trickier: when you fold the unit down, you need to carefully tuck the camera, then push the monitor underneath. It takes a bit of practice to make this work, and it feels surprisingly awkward.

In Use

Getting started with the MagniLink Zip is as simple as turning it on. You can quickly zoom in or out and change from natural color to grayscale, or to one of several alternative color schemes. A Function button gives you access to more menu options, including Auto-Focus, Light Level, Reference Line, and Mirroring. You use Mirroring to send the MagniLink's camera image to a connected computer monitor. You'll find several other setting options that let you customize your screen view. You can also put the unit in basic mode, which hides some advanced features, for the simplest possible user experience.

The controls are easy to understand and use, and every action you take with one of the buttons is represented onscreen by large text, so you'll always be certain what feature you've chosen.

The LED light source is bright, but not overwhelming, and you can adjust the level of light and contrast. The MagniLink displays text and objects clearly, and there are enough customization options to accommodate many degrees of vision loss.

Our test unit did not include an x-y table. That's an optional purchase, but one you'll probably want if you intend to read books or scan significant amounts of text. The camera is positioned quite far forward in reading mode, meaning your reading material must also be positioned near the front of the unit. Without an x-y table to adjust the position of your document as you move down the page, you may find it difficult to achieve an effective reading position, especially if you sit close to the display to view it. The camera position is unfortunate, because it means that the area behind the camera becomes wasted space.

Connectivity

One of MagniLink's most useful features, especially in a school or work environment, is the ability to connect to a computer. You can display what the magnifier sees on your computer monitor, or split the screen to show both the computer's contents and the magnifier. Use the MagniLink Zip to enlarge a book you're using for research while you take notes in a word processing window on your computer—all on one screen. The MagniLink Zip supports connectivity not only with Windows PCs, but with macOS computers and Chromebooks.

Screen Sharing and Scanning

As mentioned earlier, you'll need the optional HDMI/USB port accessory, along with MagniLink software, which comes on a USB thumb drive, to take advantage of screen sharing and OCR features.

We used an iMac, running macOS 10.13.5 High Sierra, to test MagniLink connectivity and software. The software works on the Mac, but appears not to have been updated in several years. In fact, we received an error message indicating the application was not supported by the computer or operating system even though it worked after installation. The upside is that the software works with computers running quite old versions of the Mac operating system.

Once the software is installed and the magnifier is connected to a computer, the MagniLink software opens automatically. From there, you can control the magnifier with a variety of keyboard shortcuts. The MagniLink user guide offers help in configuring the shortcuts if the default ones conflict with any you're already using. Zoom in or out, change color schemes, add or remove a reference line, or perform any other function the MagniLink offers from your connected computer, and see the result on the computer's monitor.

The magnifier window can be set to display full-screen, or you can split the screen between the MagniLink view and other apps on your computer. This can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts. The MagniLink documentation says you can split the multiple views across multiple computer monitors, though we didn't test this option.

You can take a snapshot of what the MagniLink camera sees, or even record video with the MagniLink camera, controlling it from your computer. There are even keyboard shortcuts to help you locate snapshots and videos you've taken.

You can perform OCR on text under the MagniLink camera. When the scan is completed, the software will speak the text using one of the voices provided with MagniLink or a voice already installed on your computer. You cannot scan a full page of text, nor, as pointed out earlier, can you easily view a full page under the MagniLink camera if you don't have the optional x-y table. The OCR software is very fast, and will effortlessly scan multi-column text.

You can save the text you've scanned to your computer, but there's no effective batch mode for scanning multiple pages to a single file. Overall, MagniLink's OCR works well when you need to quickly get printed material onto your computer as text or speech, but it isn't a great choice for bulk OCR processing.

Conclusion

The MagniLink Zip offers all the features of other magnifiers in its size and price class, and a few unique ones. It's reasonably compact and easy to control. Its connectivity options will be especially appealing to users who need both magnification and continuous access to a computer. In fact, users who want to work with a Mac or a Chromebook might find the MagniLink Zip to be among their best options. The unit does, however, have the previously mentioned deficits that make it hard to recommend it without some reservations. The odd position of the camera, awkward folding method, and old, at least on the Mac, software, indicate the product could use some updating and tweaking.

Product Information

Product: MagniLink Zip Premium 13 HD
Price: Varies depending upon configuration. Evaluation unit, including HDMI/USB computer connectivity, optional battery, and OCR software: $4,025.00
Available from: LVI America, Inc., 888-781-7811, info@lviamerica.com

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If asked to make a list of important back-to-school issues, most people would probably include items such as making sure required textbooks were all accounted for, the student knew where his or her classrooms were located, and all supplies such as pens and notebooks had been purchased. Most people might not include having good social media tools on the list at all, but in today's world, social media can play a positive role in a student's education. Group chats can assist in coordinating study groups, and collaborative ideas can be shared instantly. Along with the ubiquitous Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are just a couple of the social media applications used by younger and older people alike. Very prominent on the list of popular social media sites is Pinterest—an application that allows users to search for anything from jewelry to famous quotes, and organize favored content for later viewing. Pinterest users create boards upon which they can "pin" items. My wife has pin boards for Missouri vacation spots, clothing, jewelry, and many other categories. Her pins number into the thousands at this point, and other Pinterest users are able to follow her based on the items she has pinned to her various boards. She is also able to follow others as well.

Much like Instagram, Pinterest tends to be quite visual in nature, with people adding photos of vintage cars, old guns, dolls—you name it. If one desires, it is possible to visit sites where many of the items found on Pinterest can be purchased. The content on Pinterest changes very frequently. My wife has described the site as being able to view a new magazine every hour.

If a person is totally blind, the very nature of Pinterest makes it difficult to use. Screens that refresh regularly can confuse screen readers. Images found on webpages can be hard to decipher, and the very fact that Pinterest is so chock full of information makes it more likely to be tedious to navigate using screen-reading technology.

Recently, Pinterest announced it was working to make its service useable to people who are blind or visually impaired. Pinterest teamed up with San Francisco's Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to learn about obstacles people with visual impairments ran into when using Pinterest. Pinterest has been updating its website and iOS app to meet accessibility standards, and it has developed best practices for its engineers, so moving forward, accessibility standards such as clearly labeled icons and color contrast sensitivity improvements will make the site easier to use for those who have low vision or no vision at all. While these changes are becoming increasingly evident on the Web and in iOS, Android users will need to wait for further updates before they see improvements on their side.

I decided to take Pinterest for a test drive using an iPhone 8 Plus, Windows 10 running JAWS 2018 and the latest version of Firefox, and the latest version of the Mac operating system with VoiceOver and Safari. My results were mixed, but I was encouraged by what I found. Below are my discoveries, along with some thoughts for improving Pinterest accessibility.

Using Pinterest with VoiceOver on the iPhone

Since I was a new user, after downloading and installing the free app, I decided to set up a new account using my iPhone. As with many applications these days, I could have set up this account using an email address and password, or an existing account from another service. In the case of Pinterest, I could have continued the setup process using Google or Facebook. I have existing accounts with both services, but I chose to use my Facebook credentials to get up and running with Pinterest. If you have never done this, it is a simple matter of logging into Facebook, and instructing Facebook to allow access to Pinterest. This process is made even simpler on the iPhone because it is possible to automatically open the Facebook app and continue setup with no fiddling at all.

It is worth mentioning that before you can log into Pinterest using your preferred method, you must agree to its terms of service. Did I read them all first? I'll let you decide. Next, I was given the option to tell Pinterest what gender I was. I could have skipped this step had I chosen to do so. Using VoiceOver, the options for "Male," "Female," and "Custom" all appeared to be selected. I had difficulty deselecting the options I didn't want, and selecting the one I did. I finally chose "Custom" and was given an edit box where I could have typed in my own label. For some reason, after I backed out of that option, I was able to choose "Male" and continue to the next step.

Next, I needed to choose my country of choice. There was no obvious label to indicate what type of control this was, but double-tapping brought me into the list. It was here where I encountered something you will find frequently using Pinterest in iOS. There were images VoiceOver didn't immediately read, but I was told there was "possible text" which was read properly. It took some swiping back and forth on the screen, but I was eventually able to locate the choice for United States. It's possible that this choice was already selected, and I simply wasn't aware of it.

On the next screen, I was given the option to choose five or more topics of interest. Each topic was identified as a button, and the selection status was properly reported. I chose technology, humor, life quotes, inspirational quotes, and then VoiceOver stopped reading on row 15 of 20. A three-finger swipe up was required to move to the next page of choices, and I made more selections. I again needed to swipe up to read more categories of possible interest, and there were times when, after a three-finger swipe up, I didn't land on the next category after the one I had just read. I had to flick left several times to get back to where I had left off. In all, I found seven pages of category choices. The "Next" button is located at the top of the screen, which took me out of the setup process.

I was able to flick through the screen and see various items such as scripture quotes followed by a long string of letters and numbers. I don't know if these were images, or if VoiceOver was reading some sort of reference information related to where the item was located on Pinterest's site. I double-tapped on a scripture verse to see what I could do with it. I saw comments on the scripture from other Pinterest users, as well as what boards they had added the scripture to. I had difficulty finding the button to save the verse to a board of my own, and I was disconcerted by the fact the content of the screen changed frequently. It was difficult for me to consistently return to the top of the screen and reorient myself to where I had been previously. I also saw content that looked like an advertisement that didn't appear to have any relation to what I was interested in. The only way I could back out of the screen I was in was to select the Home tab at the bottom of the screen. I didn't find an obvious "Back" button, and the typical two-finger scrub gesture found in many iOS apps didn't work.

Although I heard many "possible text" prompts letting me know I was passing over images containing text, I didn't hear any VoiceOver hints when I flicked to controls. I found no rotor actions allowing me to save items of interest, and the two-finger "Magic Tap" command, also familiar to iOS users, yielded no result.

At the bottom of the screen, I found four tabs including Home, Explore, Notifications, and Saved.

Next, I searched for "music therapy." I found a "Back" button, and an unlabeled button before the search results. I saw several items of interest, and located a "Save" button on one of them. I was able to create a "Music Therapy" board with some difficulty—another example of the "possible text" prompt on display, but when I looked at the one item I had saved, it wasn't the item I had intended to save. I made my way back to the original screen where I had searched for "music therapy," and repeated the process. I found another item of interest, but couldn't locate a "Save" button at all this time. A screen refresh took me to a place where I could purchase ID tags for a therapy dog if I so desired.

My experience with the Pinterest app on my iPhone left me pretty disillusioned, so I approached Pinterest on the Mac and PC with some trepidation.

Using Pinterest On the Web with a Screen Reader

My experience using Pinterest on the Web using my Mac and PC was much better than my experience on the iPhone. On my Mac, I was able to view items of interest and save them to a pin board. When saving an item to my "Music Therapy" board, I discovered that activating the "Save" button that is located immediately after the item didn't work, but activating the item's link and choosing "Save" there did in fact save that item to my board. I discovered that I have one follower on my "Music Therapy" board, someone I don't know. I didn't try to follow her back, nor did I attempt to follow anyone else. Trying to do a Pinterest search for my wife's name didn't yield the desired result, and she tells me, even as a sighted person, finding people you wish to follow can be difficult. On the Mac, VoiceOver's Item Chooser made it easy to search for a word or phrase I knew to be on a page without having to read through a bunch of links to find what I was looking for. I discovered plenty of readable text on the site, although there were some images that didn't have labels—something I suspect is simply the nature of this sort of image-driven social media site.

Using JAWS with Firefox, I searched for "assistive technology" and found subcategories such as "wheelchair" and "blind." When I tried to save an article and create a new board, I was taken to a list of running applications on my computer. I have no idea what JAWS and Firefox were doing there. Although I did not do the exact same search on the Mac, my overall experience was better on the Mac than it was in Windows. Also, I didn't play with other browser and screen reader combinations on Pinterest when in Windows.

The Bottom Line

I commend the Pinterest team for taking steps to add features to its service that will make it easier to use for blind and low-vision customers, although I cannot speak to how well the site works with low-vision solutions. Based on my experience, much work still needs to be done on the iPhone, including the addition of rotor actions and/or "Magic Tap" actions that will make tasks such as saving content to a board much easier. Also, more consistency when navigating screens is desirable.

I was pretty happy with using Pinterest on the Mac, but less so when working with the site in Windows. For anyone who wishes to dedicate themselves to learning to use Pinterest, such as the student who wants to learn facts about the Presidents, I think they will find the app to be worth the effort. The learning curve is steep, though, and I sincerely hope that Pinterest considers the actions it has taken thus far to be only a toe dipped into the waters of accessibility, rather than a deep dive.

I plan to keep working with the Pinterest website and app, and will keep AccessWorld readers aware of any future accessibility developments.

Product Information

Visit Pinterest on the Web, or download the free iPhone app and set up a free account today. At the time of this writing, Pinterest's Android app does not yet include accessibility features.

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Judy Dixon has a knack for zeroing in on a particular iOS topic, drilling down to find every detail to make it possible and interesting, and then delivering the results of her explorations to the rest of us in one concise and compelling package. Writing Your Way: Composing and Editing on an iPhone or iPad from National Braille Press is perhaps her most praiseworthy effort to date. It surprises: after all, how many of us have ever seriously considered writing or editing on an iPhone or iPad? It engages: once you get pulled into the notion of writing with your iDevice, you keep reading to learn more. And, it entertains: Dixon's clear, conversational style is less an academic tutorial than the tone of a friend sitting beside you to show you some cool tricks she has learned.

Indeed, Judy Dixon admits that she wasn't sure herself when she started digging into whether writing and editing on an iPhone or iPad was really feasible.

"When I embarked upon the process of writing this book," she writes, "I thought there might be a real likelihood that it would be very short. I feared that I might have to tell you, dear reader, that after extensive exploration on my part, I had concluded that it was true: writing on an iPhone or iPad was a difficult and painful experience that should be avoided at all costs."

Of course, she discovered otherwise: "After exhaustive exploration, I can assure you that there are numerous strategies and techniques that can make writing and even editing on an iPhone or iPad a breeze."

The Many Ways to Write on an iPhone or iPad

Particularly for those of us who are VoiceOver users, there are many ways to enter text on an iPhone or iPad. Maybe you only use dictation. Or maybe you make it a point to keep messages exceedingly brief, so you can slowly, painstakingly touch type them using the onscreen keyboard.

You can, of course, also enter text by associating a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard or one of many available braille displays with your iPhone or iPad. Did you know you could also write by hand on your iDevice? Or that you can place your fingers on the screen to type as you would on an old-fashioned Perkins braille writer? Would you like to add appropriate accent marks to your foreign phrases or liven up your messages with whimsical emojis? And what about that handwriting feature? Did you know there is an app to help you draw your letters so your iPhone will process them more accurately?

Writing Your Way provides detailed instructions for each of these methods. All instructions are designed with an audience of VoiceOver users in mind. Descriptions of screen layouts, location of onscreen buttons, and the VoiceOver gestures needed to perform a given task are easily integrated into every page of the book. There are exercises along the way to give you hands-on experience with the techniques being presented. (An ongoing theme to these exercises, by the way, will undoubtedly make you hungry!)

External Keyboards

When discussing external keyboards, the author is again generous with detail. She mentions a variety of Bluetooth keyboards, providing physical descriptions, locations of special keys, and information on the ease of use for each. Similarly, when discussing braille notetakers and braille displays, she includes information on pairing (connecting two devices via Bluetooth) your iDevice and braille display as well as some key commands and methods for performing certain tasks.

…About that Editing

After covering the many, varied, and unusual ways of inputting text, the book takes us into strategies for manipulating it. You can learn how to cut, copy, and paste text from one app to another, and how to share a document in progress with others.

The author has tested several apps designed for writing anything from simple notes and shopping lists to complex documents. She discusses several apps, such as Drafts, Voice Dream Writer, Pages, Microsoft Word, and others — and gives the reader enough information about each to guide individual choices. In each case, she provides the name of the app, the developer, the cost, and the amount of iDevice real estate it requires. Not only does she provide a general description of each app's strengths and weaknesses, but she goes well beyond that to provide a sort of introductory miniature tutorial on its use. You will find descriptions of each app's screen layout, the purposes of various buttons, and the VoiceOver gestures necessary to accomplish specific tasks.

Bonus Appendices

The eight appendices at the end of the book are a treasure trove of information. The appendices alone render this book a must-have for any technology bookshelf. Here you will find all of the various keyboard commands and gestures needed to use the writing and editing tools presented in the book. Onscreen braille gestures, VoiceOver gestures, Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard commands, braille display commands, and all of the key combinations needed to operate and navigate within the various writing and editing apps are included. While you might well read the book at least twice (once just to enjoy the ride and a second time to work through the explanations and exercises), you may well find yourself turning again and again to this book for its convenient appendices.

Once again, Judy Dixon and National Braille Press have produced a book that will appeal to the iPhone novice and power user alike. If your only goal is to become more comfortable composing and sending accurate text messages, this is a great source for learning. If you are a seasoned expert where messages and notes are concerned, Writing Your Way can guide you through the next level of composing and editing more complex documents. Every reader will find some new trick or tidbit in these pages and will find reading this book to be a pleasant journey.

Ordering Information

Writing Your Way: Composing and Editing on an iPhone or iPad is available in two hardcopy braille volumes as well as by electronic download in .brf, Microsoft Word, or DAISY formats. All versions are $20. To order, visit the National Braille Press website, call 800-548-7323, or send payment to National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115-4302.

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