The Google Assistant is Google’s new virtual assistant—as well as an improvement to Google Now. It can do most things you’d expect from a virtual assistant such as answering questions or performing a search. Just like with Alexa, there are even third-party skills being added to the Google Assistant—making it even smarter! It’s also one of many reasons Google hopes you will buy the Pixel phone. That’s right. Unfortunately, the Google Assistant is only officially available on the pixel and the pixel XL, as well as on the Google Home speaker.
How to Fix Issue with Audio-Description on Netflix After the Latest Update.
If you recently experienced an issue with Netflix not properly playing your favorite shows with audio-description, you are not alone. I will attempt to show you how to restore the preferred settings for those who wish to have audio-description run automatically when playing a Netflix show that has that feature available.
Taking a Look at the Features Available on the Google Home Voice Activated Speaker.
Google released the Google Home, which is a voice activated speaker that can control your smart home devices, play your music, answer your questions about almost anything, stream the news from sources you select, and so much more.
In this episode, James Oates tells us how to setup the Google Home, and walks us through the Google Home app on his Pixel phone. Here he shows us all the different configuration options available for the Google Home. The Google Assistant is built-in to the Google Home, and it is amazing how many things it can do.
The Orbit Interactive Tactile Graphics Display Will be at CSUN 2017.
One of the biggest problems for blind students is the ability the view and draw charts, graphs, maps, floor plans, geometric shapes, and functions.
The Orbit Graphiti, provided by the American Printing House for the Blind, is a tactile display, about the size of a laptop with a multilayered display of 40 by 60 pins of varying heights.
The device can be used to display images from a connected computer or from an SD card. The user can also draw their own images on the surface of the device. This image can either be displayed on a computer monitor for sighted people to see, or saved to the SD card as a visual image. The blind person will see their drawing as a tactile representation on the Graphiti, but sighted people will see it as a visual image.
If you wish to view the Orbit Graphiti in person, it will be on display at CSUN 2017 in Sandiego on Thursday March 2nd at 1:20PM PST in Balboa AB, on the 2nd floor of the Seaport Tower.
Cool Picks: February 24, 2017
Tune in to this jam packed show where James Oates with fellow hosts Joel Ramos and Nelson Régo let you in on their latest Cool Picks.
Samsung Shows off VR App that Helps the Blind See at Mobile World Congress 2017.
Samsung has a great Gear VR headset, and they are working on different applications to use with the hardware. One of those apps is called, Relumino, and it helps people who are legally blind see the world with more detail. It is downloaded on your phone, which is connected to the Gear VR headset. It translates the images that you view through your phones camera to a much sharper and detailed image on the VR headset. The app costs $99, and will be presented at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain.
The Dot Braille Smart Watch Arrives Next Month for Blind People.
One of the most anticipated cool devices for blind people will arrive next month for those who preordered. The Dot braille smart watch connects to your phone via Bluetooth. The device has four cells of refreshable braille, a crown for scrolling, and two more programmable buttons to carry out app specific functions.
Once your finger slides off the four cells of braille, the next four cells automatically refresh. In this way, you can have a continuous reading experience. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to use this device to read a book, but it is perfect for telling the time, reading, and responding to messages, and checking social media accounts. I’m sure that app developers will come up with even more clever ways to use this technology.
140,000 smart watches have already been preordered at the incredible price of $290. 100,000 will arrive this year, and the next 40,000 will arrive next year.
VIP: Money’s No Object!
Don’t worry about how much it costs! Just go out and buy it! Tune in to this jam packed VIP where James Oates steps out of his comfort zone to take on the job as host with fellow hosts Joel Ramos and Nelson Régo.
CSUN Conference on Disability 2017 Showcase Suites and Session Schedules.
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.
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.
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