Tech Tips: The Podcast

For people living with vision impairment from a young age, the world of assistive technology and independent living aids is nothing new to them.  However, for anyone suffering an unexpected loss of vision as an adult, it doesn’t take much to suddenly feel overwhelmed with their changing environment.  Talking with someone who can help you navigate the world of vision loss is key to maintaining a level of independence as close to what you had before your vision loss as possible.  That brings me to this month’s guest.  Jerry Berrier is totally blind and an avid birder.  He also has experience working with people who are new to vision loss.

October is  Cyber Security Month and protecting your personal information both online and in public are what we will be talking about this month on Tech Tips: The Podcast. 

The video game “Pong” was release in 1972, and ever since then, they have played a huge role in pop culture.  These fantastic worlds wrapped in brightly painted plywood helped us escape our everyday lives to battle aliens and save princesses.  If you had a visual, hearing or motor disability, you were not playing these games or not playing at the same level as your friends without disabilities.  Video games are now played largely on game consoles, PC’s and mobile devices.  Many games are still inaccessible to people with disabilities.  This month, Gary Bartos and Matthew Shifrin are my guests, and we are going to be talking all about accessible gaming.  What is it?  How can games be made to be more accessible?  And a whole lot more.

Saying that we are taking technology “old school” this month would be a major understatement.  Developed in the early 1800’s, braille is now synonymous with the blind and visually impaired community.  Join me this month as we talk all things braille with Mary Webber of Mary’s Braille Transcribing Services. 

We see them everywhere and, in all shapes, and sizes.  I’m talking about QR codes.  Point your phone’s camera at a QR code, and that magical little symbol automatically directs you to whatever content the organization or company, behind the code, wants you to see.  QR codes are on TV, in brochures and in just about every public space you can think of.  While great at relaying information to the masses, QR codes can be a nightmare at times for someone who is blind or has low vision.  A new app called Navilens wants to make it easier for you to find these helpful little symbols.  Martin Garcia of Navilens is joining me this month to talk about this oh so helpful app and QR code system.

This month, I talk with Zach Afridi of Vision Buddy about this incredible "VR" style headset designed to help people with low vision better see the world around them.

Join me as I talk with Dave Epstein, a.k.a. Sedona Dave, about his extra tough cane made for people who love hiking in the great outdoors.  Dave also talks about the cane for us city dwellers called the Urban Xplorer.  In addition, Dave lets us in on his community outreach efforts including his podcast that takes a look at people who are not letting their visual impairment define them, or what they can do  called "Off the Beaten Path".  So grab your favorite cold beverage, and enjoy!

From keypads to menus to Do-It-Yourself kiosks, we've all encountered touchscreens, and what we've learned is that not all touchscreens are accessible to the blind and low vision community.  Echobatix is an app designed to make touchscreens more accessible for people who are blind, or have low vision.  This month, we are talking with Gary Bartos, CEO and the creator behind Echobatix

Shawn Keen with AI for the Blind is my guest this month.  We are going to be talking about artificial intelligence; what it is, and how it is benefiting the VI community.

Get ready to take some notes.  Accessible Pharmacy held it’s 3rd Annual Blind Health Expo in December.  The expo is a virtual conference designed to give people from around the globe the opportunity to talk directly with companies and organizations working within the V.I.  community to help us live more independent and productive lives.  This episode of Tech Tips:  The Podcast will include discussions about the All Terrain Cane, iBUG Today, the Blind Institute of Technology, Aira and many more.  Be sure to have something handy to take notes with.  You’re gonna need it.  Enjoy!