Appcessible.net » Talking apps podcast

WWDC 2014 was a ground-breaking week for iOS developers, as Apple unveiled “Extensibility”, over 4,000 new APIs that retain the security afforded by sandboxing, while allowing apps to talk more with other apps and the OS as a whole. Huge news for VoiceOver users was the announcement of third-party keyboard support for iOS 8. What does this mean for Fleksy, the company that invested a lot of time, money and pain in developing their own SDK for app developers to implement support for their keyboard? We speak with an upbeat Ioannis Verdelis, CEO of Fleksy, to review WWDC and talk about where to from here for Fleksy. http://www.appcessible.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/talking-apps-005-WWDC-2014.mp3

It’s a bold technological and social experiment. It’s called Be My Eyes, and it will establish a voice and video connection between blind people in need of a pair of functioning eyes, and sighted volunteers around the world. We learn about Be My Eyes, how the idea was born, where development is at right now, and how soon end users outside the test team will get their hands on the app. http://www.appcessible.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Talking-Apps-004-Be-My-Eyes.mp3

Dice World offers a series of dice games to play with someone in the same room or across the world. The accessibility features in the game, currently for iOS and soon to be released for Android, go well beyond simply speaking what’s on the screen. We speak with Nick Barbato, one of the creators of the game, about the origins of Dice World, where to from here, and how and why the game became so accessible. http://www.appcessible.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Talking-Apps-003-Dice-World.mp3

Amir Rajan is developer of “A Dark Room”, a role playing game for iOS. When a blind user of Apple’s VoiceOver screen reader for iOS contacted Amir to say his game wasn’t fully accessible, he made it his mission to learn what accessibility was all about. The result is an increase in revenue at least as good as the result of having multiple reviews in high profile gaming magazines. Amir’s story inspires developers to tap into this growing segment. http://www.appcessible.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Talking-Apps-002-Amir-Rejan.mp3

In our first episode of Talking Apps, we’re joined by the CEO of a company that develops an app widely used by VoiceOver users on iOS. Fleksy is a keyboard whose word prediction algorithm can speed up text input on iOS dramatically, for blind and sighted users alike. But recently, some decisions the company has taken have caused lively debate among its blind users. In this episode, Fleksy’s CEO, Ioannis Verdelis, talks candidly about the decisions the company has taken, the rationale behind them, and lessons learned for the future.   http://www.appcessible.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Talking-Apps-001-Fleksy2.mp3