If you are attending this year’s CSUN Conference on Disability in Sandiego, you should take the time to stop by one or more of these showcase suites.
Many major companies, such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have setup showcase suites to tell you more about their improvements in accessibility. They have presentations on a variety of topics and demonstrations of their products.
NEWS
IBM’s Accessibility Probe Helps Developers Insure That Their Apps are Accessible to Those Using Assistive Technology.
So, you have finally finished developing your dream application, and you are ready to release it out in the wild. But have you checked to see if it is accessible for people using assistive technology, like a screen reader? Do you even know what a screen reader is? Do you need to download a screen reader and check for accessibility, and would you even know how to?
Thanks to IBM’s Accessibility Probe, AccProbe for short, you don’t need to do anything but run the checker and make the suggested corrections before releasing your app to the public.
Transfer Money with Facebook Messenger.
TransferWise has created a bot for Facebook Messenger that allows you to transfer money by talking to a bot. The service is available for TransferWise customers, no charge to join, and it works in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and Europe. The bot will convert the exchange rate, and can even be setup to transfer the money when the exchange rate is most optimal. The fee for the transfer is 1%, which is much lower than many other services.
Amazon’s Alexa Voice Activated Assistant is now Available on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
A new app called, Reverb, brings Alexa to your Apple devices. The app is free to download, and it allows you to activate the Alexa voice assistant by clicking and holding on a blue ring that is on your desktop. The iOS app works in a similar manner. You will need to sign in with your Amazon account, but all the Alexa features are available except for music. You can even enable skills by voice, or enable them on your Alexa app.
This is a great way to enjoy Alexa without an Echo device, or even a new way to use Alexa when you are not near your Echo speaker.
X Marks the Spot with Google Maps
Ever wanted to plan a trip but didn’t know where to start? so many maps and GPS options to choose from. What if you’re reliant on public transit. How can you plan a trip that includes transit and schedules?
Sound Used to Assist Blind and Low Vision Navigate with HoloLens
According to the World Blind Union, there is over 285 million people around the world affected by blindness It is promising to think that we are at a stage in development where 4 out of 5 cases of blindness are preventable or curable, with the other fifth of those cases likely being curable in the near future.
Accessibility Makes Itself Known at this Year’s Game Developers Conference.
For far too long, the developers and manufacturers of games have assumed that people with disabilities can’t play games and therefore have no interest in video games. Well, I say to those developers, you know what happens when you assume?
But that is starting to change. At this year’s, Game Developers Conference, also called GDC 2017, held at the Moscone Conference Center in Sanfrancisco California from February 27 to March 3, there will be several presentations on accessibility and gaming. I will provide the list below.
How to Shop for Things Using Just Your Voice on Your Google Home.
Google has just enabled a new feature that allows you to enter your credit card and delivery address into your Google Assistant. This allows you to order items through Google Express on both your Google Home and Pixel phone.
For example; if you say, “ok Google,” “Shop for paper towels.” The Assistant will present you a list of choices. The choices include brand name, item description, provider, and price. You are asked if you want to buy an item after all the details are read to you. Saying yes will have the item purchased and sent to you. Saying no will have the Assistant move on to the next item. For some strange reason, quickly saying no twice places an item in your shopping cart.
To enable this new feature, follow these instructions.
eSight 3: A Day Will Come When All Legally Blind Individuals can Get eSight at no Cost
IBM Research Works with Partners to Develop Indoor/Outdoor Navigation System for the Blind.
IBM research is working with civil engineering and general contracting firm Shimizu Corporation and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan to conduct a voice navigation field experiment. The test is being conducted in COREDO Muromachi shopping park in Tokyo Japan.
The field test utilizes 224 beacons that have been strategically placed throughout the shopping park. It then uses the IBM-Carnegie Mellon University pilot smartphone app called NavCog, which was developed to help people with visual impairments, wheelchair use, and language barriers.
The user can then tell their smart phone where they want to go, and the app will begin to give the user voice directions to their location. It also keeps in mind what obstacles might be a problem NavCog, for the user, depending on the user’s disability.
