KNFB Reader has been a household name in text recognition for quite some time now, at least within the community. The original dreams of the Kurzweil solutions was to make KNFB affordable, even though back then it was still exclusively on Nokia phones.
Is good private wireless audio truly here yet? The State of the Headphone
When the iPhone 7 was released, many lamented the headphone jack. Since my own shameless adoption of this new phone, I have and certainly feel obliged to share a different perspective on the matter, one which I have been dabbling in a little. Since many rumors are swirling about the galaxy s8 and whether it will include one, or if other phones are about to adopt the trend like Motorola certainly has, this is quite important to look at. Apple is clearly trying to position their AirPods as the premier experience, especially for seamless connectivity among an ecosystem of many Apple devices. However, just as Belkin and others are benefitting from the new market of adapters capable of charging and 3.5 audio output on iPhones, other markets also get a boost.
Roku adds a screen reader to its current products, surprising many
As of this ending year of 2016, we have seen multiple and rapid developments in the choices available to those who wish to cut the cord but are reliant on speech or low-vision tools. Before, the Apple TV was the only usable choice for a long time. Google had the Nexus Player, which in its way was one of the first companies aside from Apple to implement a standard screen reader.
Alexa is now helping Amazon capitalize on their retail experience, compete with Google Home
The competition among so called smart speakers is heating up. This is no doubt fueled by Google and other players looking into entering this game; The natural interaction it could provide would result in a huge technological shift across our societies again. Later, its maturity could even embrace a screen-driven design, where you can still use voice but read your feedback visually, for those who are hard of hearing or deaf. I would suspect that others with various disabilities impacting speech could still use a speech-to-text tool and communicate with such devices, though at that point the timeliness of return diminishes a little – couldn’t they just type these same responses directly to the AI?
Can you master all the manamon?
We’re always excited to see good quality audio games, particularly ones with high bars in sound and game play hit the market. One fault many games suffer from is replay-ability – can I still do cool post-game action and have things feel more random in the story after I’m done? Or have I just wasted $39 of my money for a week’s worth of distractions, anticipation, and nervous fits over not being able to complete my game?
Polishing Windows 10, Microsoft Solidifies Plans With Anniversary Update
Last year, I published an article detailing the ways in which Windows 10 has come to light and how it substantially changed the goals of Microsoft. Windows 10 was the seed which ushered in a new era, one where customer feedback is more listened to and there’s greater transparency between the teams behind Windows and the rest of the world.
iOS 10 and Watch OS 3 Preview: Version Is Just A Number, Features Are What Matter
There comes a time in the lifecycle of a product which I jokingly like to call the “floodgate”. It is when the pearly gates open, when the public can finally enter a new realm of unity with their parent company, and find new features galore. Oh, the dream of every and any testing enthusiast, provided they like Apple. Whether you’re a hard-core programmer, someone that likes risk and adventure and might tinker a bit on the hardware side, or just in general have above-average technical knowledge, these gates are yours to enter. If you are the type who enjoys stability, reliable functions, non-crashing apps, don’t you worry. Your time comes in September.
“Why Does It Matter To Me?” Google IO and the Technology Shift
Across the internet, many people and various tech sites were disappointed by the developer-focused conference Google holds every year, known as IO. Much of the major news out of IO was revealed on the first keynote two weeks ago, but we wanted the hubbub to die down first, so that our analysis and idea of what has changed is more clear. It’s easy to dismiss an event when we first hear or read about it. It is far more difficult, then, to still keep an objective viewpoint and understand what we’re shown. Nevertheless, our aim is to provide you this non-bias, no-nonsense perspective.
Linux On Windows Goes Beyond Developers, Reflects On The Future of Microsoft
The Microsoft Build Conference took place a few weeks ago, and as always, it gave us a good glimpse into how Microsoft is shaping up and the ways in which it can entice developers. Let’s face it: Windows 10, in its current state, features only 60-70% of apps people would want — and the problem is compounded further on the phone platform. For the past few years, the reality of so-called universal apps has materialized, though even that still only created minor ripples in the Windows App Store quality. We finally heard of projects which allow for developers to (relatively easily) port over apps they created for the iPhone to Windows last year, along with a similar bridge for Android. This Android bridge was codenamed Project Astoria, and unfortunately was killed off earlier this year (which is quite a shame, as Android apps are far greater, though one could debate the quality of those in either store depending on price or content).
Get Your Geek On With #CSUN16 Coverage In the VIP Room
After fighting it out on the #CSUN16 exhibition floor in the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, Joel returns to VIP to share with our listeners on the latest in assistive tech from sunny San Diego.
Don’t miss Tamas, Leo and Jessica with their analyses and of course we can’t forget our Cool Picks.
You must be logged in to post a comment.