blind
Phones
Blind Photographer (!): IPhone 3GS Is A “Remarkable Gift”
12:00AM Dan Nosowitz | After professional photographer Alex Dejong lost his sight three years ago, he thought his days of taking and editing photos was over. But the iPhone 3GS’s VoiceOver feature, plus a few key apps, has given some of his abilities back. More »
Design
Braille E-Reader Concept Raises Dots with E-Ink
12:20AM John Mahoney | Braille books are mighty thick, so while I remain skeptical of standard e-book readers’ utility, a braille version would make it much easier for the blind to carry books with them. More »
Gadgets
Photos and Video From the National Federation of The Blind’s Kindle 2 Protest
6:39AM John Mahoney | The National Federation of the Blind’s Imbroglio with the Author’s Guild and their distaste for the Kindle 2’s text-to-speech function is heating up. Today they took it to the Guild’s own doorstep here in NYC.
Gadgets
National Federation of the Blind Protests Author’s Guild Over Kindle 2’s Text-to-Speech
5:27AM Jason Chen | We imagine the announcement of the text-to-speech feature on the Kindle 2 was amazing for the blind, which is why the fact that the Author’s Guild wants to shut it down pisses them off so.
Software
Google Makes It Easy for Blind to Dial on Touchscreens
12:04AM Mark Wilson | How could a blind person ever possibly dial on a touchscreen? Really, any ideas? Google engineers T.V. Raman and Charles Chen have developed a system that’s so simple it’s almost embarrassing. More »
Design
InVision Case Makes the iPhone Blind-Friendly, Defiantly Screenless
9:55PM John Herrman | The screen-based controls and rich visuals that make a device like the iPhone an attractive option for deaf users aren’t of much use to the visually impaired. By employing a combination of an embossed “Moon Type” alphabet casing, a custom home screen and a screenreading app, the InVision solution could (awkardly) provide most of the core functions of the iPhone, including almost bearable browsing, text input and music navigation, to the blind. More »
Gadgets
Moshi Alarm Clock Will Only Shut Off If You Ask It Nicely
7:23PM John Herrman | The Moshi IVR clock is one of those rare, heartwarming products that serves two marginalised demographics: the blind and the chronically rude. For blind folks the benefit is obvious, as all of the clock’s major functions are controlled with simple verbal commands. This includes alarm deactivation, but not necessarily how you’d expect. “Gggugugughghghhhhh” or “SHUT UP” won’t do the trick — you’ve got to greet Moshi to initiate voice commands, then politely ask it— uhh, her — to turn off the alarm. Sort of like if you’re talking to a human, if that human hovers by your bed and played a plastic recorder into your ear every morning at 7:30am. More »
Gadgets
Hands-Free GPS Device for the Blind Could Make You a Superhero
1:07PM Gizmodo US Edition | The Navigation aid for the Blind headset is a GPS device, which not only works through speech recognition, but also uses obstacle detection technology that alerts the blind of any sleeping bums or other obstructions he could trip over as he is being guided to his destination. More »
Software
Apple to Make iTunes 8 and iPod Completely Accessible to the Blind
11:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | Apple has committed to work with the state of Massachusetts to use its VoiceOver technology from Mac OS X to make its iTunes and iPod ecosystem fully usable for the blind. Before the agreement, Apple had already been making strides: VoiceOver and Braille support for OS X and closed captioning for iPod and Apple TV have already been implemented to a degree. But Apple’s taking it even further. More »
Gadgets
