Author: The Tech Doctor

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Robert pays tribute to Steve Jobs.

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In part two of
BrailleSense Plus
and
BrailleNote Apex
Lisa Salinger
and
Robert Carter
use a combination of informed discussion and live demonstration to get to the bottom of what it is like to work with these devices.

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In this episode,

Robert Carter

and

Lisa Salinger

examine the

BrailleNote Apex

and

BrailleSense Plus

They provide a detailed description of the hardware including the carrying cases for the units.

 

Stay tuned for part two of this series where Lisa and Robert will explore the software applications that run on the BrailleSense Plus and BrailleNote Apex.

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In this episode, the Tech Doctor interviews Cory Ballard of the All With My iPhone podcast.

 

Cory uses his iPhone and VoiceOver to take subscribers on fifteen to twenty minute tours of popular apps. The podcasts are clear, concise and informative. Cory’s enthusiasm is infectious.

 

The All With My iPhone website is easy to use. It contains all of the shows as well as subscription and contact information.

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Examining the Past Present and Future of Accessible Technology is a daunting task for a 50 minute podcast. The Tech Doctor, however, has searched the world over and found the man that can do the job.

 

Larry Skutchan began his career thirty years ago by writing accessible word processing and telecommunications software for the Apple II. He went on to write an incredibly popular screen reader for MS DOS called ASAP (Automatic Screen Access Program). ASAP monitored the screen for changes and automatically spoke the information that the blind user needed to hear.

 

Larry has continued to innovate in the development of accessible hardware and software by leading a group of 8 highly talented developers at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

A few years ago, Larry started his own podcast and began to encourage others to contribute podcasts of their own. Larry’s web site has become one of the best repositories of information about blindness and technology on the internet. The site is of course, Blind Cool Tech.

 

The Tech Doctor invites you to sit back and relax as you listen to this fascinating discussion. It is a guarantee that you will learn something.

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In a lively and informative discussion, Robert and three special guests explore some of the most important opportunities and challenges for women who work in technology.

 

Holly Anderson of The Screenless Switchers podcast, Ricky Enger from Serotek and the Tech Doctor’s own Jenny Axler conclude that women have a bright future in technology.

 

The three women agree that their blindness and not their gender have created the most challenges in the pursuit of a technology career. Attitudes and stereotypes are examined.

 

The conversation is energetic and insightful. The Tech Doctor is confident that you will learn something from listening to this podcast.

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In this episode of The Tech Doctor podcast, Robert visits with Anna Dresner.

 

Anna is the author of numerous books and publications. Many are technology related and are available through The National Braille Press.

 

Anna is currently employed as a technical support specialist for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

 

Robert and Anna discuss the new line of iPods from Apple. They discuss and demonstrate some of the highlights of iOS4.1 with an emphasis on the new accessibility features.

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In this Tech Doctor podcast, Robert Carter shares a presentation that he made to the Blind Information Technology Specialist (BITS) organization during the

American Council of the Blind’s

national convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Robert explores the accessibility of products made by Apple. He expresses appreciation to some of the pioneers who developed hardware and software to make the Apple II computer accessible in the 1980’s.

 

Robert then demonstrates and describes how Apple has made its current product line accessible to people who are visually impaired. He explores the accessibility of the Apple Macintosh,  the iPod, iPhone and the iPad.

 

The podcast includes a humorous song, some samples of speech synthesizers and a brief audio clip where Steve Jobs talks about Apple’s commitment to universal access.

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In this podcast, the Tech Doctors continue their Windows 7 and Mac OS X comparison series.

 

Jenny boots Windows 7 with no screen reader loaded and demonstrates what it is like to work with the built-in Microsoft screen reader called Narrator.

 

Robert powers up the Mac and explores getting started with VoiceOver.

 

Throughout the remainder of the podcast, Jenny uses a third party screen reader called JAWS. The Tech Doctors tradeoff exploring the desktops and file management options of the two operating systems.

 

Finally, Jenny and Robert discuss maintenance and backup. Robert talks about two pieces of third party software for the Mac called Cocktail and SuperDuper. Jenny mentions Microsoft Security Essentials which is free antivirus software for Windows 7.

 

Stay tuned for part three of this series when the Tech Doctors show what it is like to work with email, browse the web and use other popular applications in both operating systems.

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In this third episode, the Tech Doctors begin a series of podcasts where they will do a head to head comparison of Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

 

Robert begins by thanking folks who have emailed us. He discusses a few of the other podcasters who have been kind enough to mention us on their shows.

 

Check out Michael Lauf and Ricky Inger who do an excellent podcast for Serotek

 

Next Robert and Jenny thank Allison Sheridan of the most informative and entertaining NOSILLA Cast for her kindness and awesome support.

 

Robert thanks Erin and Rodney Edgar for mentioning us on their Tech Access Weekly podcast.

 

Finally, Robert expresses appreciation to Jamie Pauls, host of Main Menu, a weekly technology broadcast on ACB Radio for rebroadcasting the second Tech Doctor podcast.

 

We next explain what an operating system is and we explore the different flavors of Windows 7 and the one flavor of Mac OS X.

 

We then describe how Windows is copy protected and Mac OS X is not. We compare the cost of Windows computers and Apple computers. We talk about how sellers of Windows machines bring the cost down by installing trial software.

 

We then discuss the installation and setup of the two operating systems. While both include built-in screen readers, we look at the fact that VoiceOver on the  Mac can offer speech feedback during installation and the Windows Narrator screen reader cannot.

 

Next we discuss the additional cost of purchasing a Windows screen reader versus the no cost screen reader that is built-in on the Mac.

 

Finally, we talked about some advantages of running Windows. Software like the System Access Mobile Network and the Fire Fox browser are not accessible on the Mac.

 

Stay tuned for part two of the series where we will fire up our screen readers and dig in to the details of accessing both operating systems.

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