The Blind Side

As Jonathan prepares to take up his new role with Aira next week, this is the last episode of The Blind Side Podcast that will be produced on a weekly basis. As circumstances allow and subjects arise of interest, you will still see the occasional episode being produced. After listener comments, we conclude our smart home series with Jonathan describing some of the technology he and Bonnie are using. Thank you so much for listening to these regular episodes over the last two-and-a-bit years.

Jonathan Mosen talks about iOS 12 in this, a recording of his presentation to Tek Talk on Accessible World. The material is based on his book, "iOS 12 Without the Eye".

Jonathan Mosen begins the podcast by describing his new role at Aira. He talks about what he'll be doing, what it means for Mosen Consulting and this podcast, and why he was so excited about accepting the role. You can read Aira's announcement,view Jonathan's blog post, and read Freedom Scientific's take. Judy Dixon describes and demonstrates Braille Screen Input on the iPhone. It's a way to turn your iPhone into a virtual Braille keyboard, giving you rapid input anywhere you go, without needing to carry anything external. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

Jonathan Mosen and Heidi Taylor unbox a silver iPhone XS Max 512GB. Jonathan demonstrates the gestures for phones without a Home button in case you’re upgrading this year. He discusses backup strategies, demonstrates setting up Face ID and more.

David Woodbridge and Heidi Taylor join Jonathan Mosen to talk Apple Watch series 4, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.

On 12 September, Apple will be holding its "gather round" event in which it will be announcing new hardware. Jonathan Mosen talks about our coverage here on The Blind Side, and what he's hoping to see at the event. Subscribers to our Daily Fibre Premium podcast get exclusive access to a live stream of our post-Apple event. Subscribing gives you the latest technology news every week day for just $5 USD per month. Check out The Daily Fibre Premium podcast. A listener this week mentions our audio tutorial on the increasingly popular Zoom platform. Check out our Zoom tutorial here. We here plenty of listener input on the subject of the smart home, and Jonathan answers some questions on the subject.

The smart home offers the potential for greater independence and control of our home environment. But it’s a bit of a jungle out there, full of disparate systems and many choices. Then, of course, some solutions are more accessible with screen reading technology than others. We begin our series on the smart home from a blindness perspective with some of our listeners offering thoughts and demonstrations. Jonathan makes mention of Richard Mosen’s new podcast that is sure to be of interest to classic rock fans, called Cover Act. Look for Cover Act in any good podcast app. You can also follow @CoverAct on Twitter, or subscribe to Cover Act in Apple Podcasts. Mosen Consulting’s popular “iOS Without the Eye” series is read by thousands of blind people each year to get them up-to-speed with the latest version of iOS. “iOS 12 Without the Eye” will be ready for release just before iOS 12 itself is released. Read about “iOS 12 Without the Eye”.

Thanks for being with us on this wonderful journey to episode 100. After some reflections on 100 episodes of The Blind Side Podcast, we hear Jonathan Mosen's presentation to the All of Government Service Innovation Lab about blindness accessibility, in the aftermath of the New Zealand census debacle.

Some guide dog schools let you purchase your guide dog, making it clear that the dog belongs to you and you're completely responsible for it. it is yours to keep. Other guide dog schools retain ownership and can withdraw the dog at any time. Some guide dog schools claim to offer ownership, while still reserving the ability to withdraw the dog. It's a subject many people feel passionately about. This week, we hear some listener comments on guide dog ownership, and Jonathan Mosen speaks with Jenine Stanley and Bonnie Mosen, both experienced guide dog handlers with industry knowledge.

We begin with an explanation of Aira's Do More Foundation, and how it is currently raising funds to help more university students in the US become Aira explorers while they study. If you'd like to support Jonathan's goal of raising $1,000 for the Do More Foundation, and can spare even a little, here's the page where you can learn more and donate with any major credit card. Jonathan Mosen then speaks with Ged Maheux, co-founder of The Icon Factory, developers of the popular Twitterrific app for iOS and Mac. Next week, Twitter is scheduled to withdraw some functions third-party Twitter apps rely on. Ged tells us about the impact of these changes, and what the future might hold for Twitter clients not developed by Twitter itself. We also explore The Icon Factory's history, and their exemplary commitment to accessibility. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

Jonathan is seeking feedback on any experience listeners have had with home automation, in advance of a special episode on the topic. If you've dabbled in home automation, let us know what you have and how it's working for you. We'd love to make this an episode with a range of perspectives and solutions. We celebrate Aira going 24/7, and ask for your views on whether all guide dog schools should allow handlers to purchase their dogs. Our feature story is an interview with Darian Slayton Fleming, who is hoping to make a documentary about her late husband John, believed to be the first blind person to sky dive without a tandem partner. Find out more about the movie at its website, or visit its Facebook page. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

Listener comments this week feature blind driving experiences. Jonathan Mosen is then joined once again by Dan Frye. This week, Dan discusses new Aira initiatives and Aira's inclusion in the US vocational rehab system. Dan then reviews the 2018 national convention of the National Federation of the Blind.

This week, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dan Frye about his varied and interesting career, attitudes about blindness, and for the first time, Dan makes public comment about his departure from the role of Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Listener comments include feedback on the conventions, how accessible is the Cisco 8800 phone, we talk self-driving cars and invite you to submit your stories of when you, as a blind person, have driven a vehicle. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

This week, listener comments include the implications of Apple adding noise cancellation to AirPods, responses to the news story read last week about the blind person who had an altercation with a police officer, and more comment on mainstream and specialised book reading devices. In the first of two specials on the US consumer conventions, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Katie Frederick about the American Council of the Blind's 2018 convention. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

The Marrakesh Treaty has passed the United States Senate by unanimous consent, and now awaits legislation in the House. Jonathan talks about the beginnings of the Treaty, and the interesting story behind how the unanimous consent was obtained last week in the Senate. Aira has introduced a new Messages feature. Jonathan describes scenarios where it will be useful. He has also updated the Mosen Consulting blog post on Aira. Jonathan shares a news story about a blind man in Arizona who got into a fight with a police officer in a public toilet. Yeah, you can't make this stuff up! There's a range of listener comments covering topics including backing up your Windows settings, NLS/BARD, whether taxi drivers with allergies should be allowed to remain in the profession, and the use of sleep shades in rehab training. Interested in becoming an audio engineer? Want some truly intensive instruction on how to get a home studio up and running with various software options? Jonathan speaks with Byron Harden of I See Music. For some years, they've been offering extensive training in their studio, and they're now rolling out a range of online courses. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

There's been plenty of social media discussion and other feedback following comments in the podcast last week about audio in Windows 10. Jonathan Mosen has written down his thoughts, with additional work-arounds, in a blog post called Sounds Frustrating. The prolific Judy Dixon has a new book. This one's called "Writing Your Way: Composing and Editing on an iPhone and iPad". It's available here from National Braille Press. Jonathan speaks with Judy about what the book covers, and some of her favourite apps and methods for writing things in iOS. Jonathan then speaks with Nat Armeni from The Blind Perspective. This monthly publication, produced by blind volunteers, brings news and articles from a blindness perspective. Listener comments this week include the question of potentially conflicting accommodations, whether someone's religion should be allowed to override legally-enacted civil rights, and the continuing discussion of the pros and cons of specialist blindness player devices versus smartphones. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

It's a rather geeky Blind Side this week. Jonathan Mosen discusses his latest home improvement project, creating a smart home compatible with Apple's HomeKit and Amazon's Alexa. It turns out there are some challenges doing this in New Zealand. Jonathan explains what led him to give a Microsoft Surfacebook 2 a try, some things you might find helpful if you do the same, and why it got returned. If your screen reader seems to take a while to respond to a key press after you've left it alone for a while, you're not alone. A characteristic of some Realtek sound drivers impacting screen reader performance is present in the Surface line, as well as some Dell, HP, Lenovo and possibly other computers. Jonathan describes the symptoms and states why he believes it's so serious. Listener comments include discussion about whether it's right to blindfold partially sighted people during rehab, iOS and WWDC thoughts, and should special libraries for the blind have a long-term future? We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114.

There's a new audiobook from Mosen Consulting, "The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search" that will have you using Google Search like a boss. Jonathan Mosen describes the audiobook, how to get it, and why it might be the most essential book we've ever produced. Some years ago, Mushroom FM used to have a sister station, Mushroom Escape, playing old time drama and comedy. Now, Mushroom Escape is back. Visit Mushroom Escape on the web, or, since it's on TuneIn, look for it in all TuneIn apps and devices that support the TuneIn service. Our featured guest this week is Neal Ewers. Neal's golden voice is familiar to many podcast listeners. He's a talented audio engineer, sound expert, musician, technology advocate and much more. In this extended interview, Jonathan talks with Neal about his life and the evolution of technology. The discussion also covers the digital divide, literacy among blind people, and death and dying. Learn more about Neal's work by visiting Ravenswood Productions. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114. You can also join our online community to discuss the podcast with other listeners. Send a blank email to TheBlindSide+subscribe@groups.io

Tim Cook and his team have delivered the keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference for another year, and now it's time for some analysis. Jonathan Mosen is joined by Heidi Taylor, Janet Ingber and Debee Armstrong as we summarise some of the key takeaways and look at what it all means from a blindness perspective. We look at what's coming in iOS 12, watchOS 5, tvOS 12 and MacOS Mojave. If you have some views you'd like to share, be sure to let us have them in time for the next episode. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114. You can also join our online community to discuss the podcast with other listeners. Send a blank email to TheBlindSide+subscribe@groups.io

Apple's Worldwide Developers conference is next Monday. Jonathan Mosen introduces our expert panel who'll be part of The Blind Side Podcast 89 in which we'll provide post-WWDC analysis. And don't forget, if you're a Daily Fibre Premium subscriber, you can tune into a live stream of the recording of that episode. Become a Daily Fibre Premium subscriber today. Jonathan outlines his top 10 wish list for iOS 12. Read a text version of his thoughts here. We had a stunning number of responses to our question asking what you'd like to see in Apple's next operating system. We play a selection of 20 of the contributions we received. Thanks for all of them, it was amazing to get such an overwhelming response. We welcome your feedback. Send email to TheBlindSide at Mosen dot org or call the feedback line in the United States on (719) 270-5114. You can also join our online community to discuss the podcast with other listeners. Send a blank email to TheBlindSide+subscribe@groups.io