Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

The Case of the Vanishing Podcasts

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP

When Apple released an app for managing podcasts a few months ago, I checked it out, found it lacking and forgot about it.  In the flurry of recent upgrades, I didn’t notice a new version of the podcasts had appeared.  This is a busy time of year for podcasting as it relates to the world of assistive technology.  They pour in as quickly as all of the new software and hardware of the Fall season.  That is, until my podcasts vanished.

They weren’t entirely gone.  They still downloaded perfectly nicely on my Mac.  And, once I thought to check, they even showed up in the Podcasts app.  Where they no longer appeared was in the Music app.  This also means they didn’t appear in my New Podcasts Smart Playlist, which lets me listen to the most recent episode of every podcast as it arrives.  To re-cap, podcast section of Music app–empty.  New Podcasts Playlist-empty.

So, I tried to make the switch to the Podcasts app, but I still find it lacking.  Things just don’t work for me.  After some research, I found out how to fix this problem.  Apparently, it’s not quite enough to just delete the Podcasts app and continue as usual.  I had to do the following:

1.  Sync my iPhone

2.  Turn off podcast syncing in iTunes

3. Sync my iPhone again

4. Delete the Podcasts app from my iPhone

5.  Turn on syncing of podcasts

6.  Finally, sync my iPhone once more.

Then all was back to  normal.

Now everything I wasn’t downloading over the past 10 days is back where it ought to be.

I thought it was just me.  At dinner yesterday, I discovered two of my friends were having similar problems.  If your podcasts are missing, or if you don’t care for Apple’s Podcasts app, follow these directions to get your podcasts back to where they belong–in the Music App.

Until Apple gets Podcasts working perfectly, you could try DownCast, which is quite a good Podcatcher.  And, it has the added benefit of not having to sync with a computer.  For now, I’ll stick with the old fashioned way.

AT in the news for the week of 10/1 – 10/5

Hearing through teeth with device for single-sided deaf people

Firm that makes equipment to help paralyzed people walk is opening Marlboro HQ

Using iPods to assist workers with autism

Amazon Quietly Begins The Long Road To Closed Captioning Its Streaming Video Library

Disabled US cops to patrol streets via remote controlled robot

New technologies lead families to seek genetic causes of hearing loss

AbleGamers Foundation to open first permanent ‘Accessibility Arcade’

Amputee soccer player becomes Internet hit

ROBOHELPER robots offer caregivers a helping hand

New font designed to help dyslexic people read

Fujitsu eye-tracking tech uses built-in motion sensor, infrared LED for hands-free computing (video)

NFB takes on e-Text pilots

D.C. may reserve 10% of meters for disabled

Deaf filmmaker truly hears music for the first time

What self-driving cars mean for people with disabilities  

How to Keep Computer Screens From Destroying Your Eyes

The Maryland Assistive Technology Network (MATN) is offering a FREE 3-part webinar series for educators on implementing an accessible curriculum. To learn more about these webinare or to join MATN, visit them online here.   

Making Curriculum Accessible: the Common Core State Standards, Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning

Dates:  Session 1:  October 11, 2012
               Session 2:  October 25, 2012
               Session 3:  November 15, 2012

Time: 3:00 – 4:00 PM EST

Presenter: Beth Poss, SLP Montgomery County Public Schools

FREE Webinar
This 3 part webinar series will focus on strategies for making curriculum accessible in light of the changes in K-12 education with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by Maryland and more than 45 other states.  Throughout the series we will investigate how the Common Core Standards target the needs of students, including those with disabilities and how assistive and instructional technology is incorporated into the CCSS, as well as tools and resources that will support access to curriculum aligned with the standards.  This will be an opportunity to increase your understanding of the how English/Language Arts and Mathematics instruction is changing and how students with disabilities and technology needs can be supported in achieving proficiency.  Session One of the series will introduce the standards and the language related to Special Education, Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning, as well as highlighting the language of the indicators that support the use of flexible resources and multiple modalities, including technology in instruction.  Session Two will focus on tools and resources to support implementation of the English/Language Arts Standards, including notetaking and research tools, as well as resources to support the emphasis on complex fiction and nonfiction texts.  Session Three will focus on strategies and tools to support implementation of the Mathematics standards, with an emphasis on the use of both hands on and digital manipulatives to increase access to mathematics instruction for students.

Empty Table Headers

When marking up data tables, avoid empty table headers <th> element. Empty headers can cause confusion for screen reader users because there is no information to be read for a data row or column, or they may cause the screen reader to associate a header to an incorrect column or row. Pay particular attention to the first cell, in the upper-left corner. While this cell is usually a column header <th scope=”col”>, it can also be a row header  <th scope=”row”> or left empty. If a header is empty, identify it as a table data cell <td></td> not a table header.

Have you tried out the JAWS 14 Beta?

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP

It’s definitely the time of year for new software and hardware releases.

Whether it’s back to school, gearing up for the holiday season or quarterly earning revenues, there’s probably something new and flashy to be bought, installed or otherwise upgraded on your computer or phone.

While you have to wait another month or so for Windows 8–the newest operating system from Microsoft, you may want to check out the public Beta of JAWS 14. Compatibility with the upcoming Windows 8 is the most important feature of JAWS 14, but there is plenty of other good stuff for Windows 7 users as well.  I’ve been using it for a week now, and while the initial startup was a little rocky, everything seems to be great.  Assistive technology vendors seem to have gotten out ahead of the curve with Windows 8.  I won’t fret about whether things will work when I finally upgrade my work PC.

The new and improved voices have never been my thing.  I like Eloquence.  It’s responsive and I can crank it up to quite high speeds without it becoming clipped or poppy.  The Realspeak voices sound nice at a normal speed, but just don’t respond as quickly.  I challenge anyone to actually prove they can understand them at very high rates. I wasn’t expecting better from the Vocalizer Direct voices, and I am glad to be proven wrong.

Those of you familiar with the myriad of voice options available in Mac OS will know how the Vocalizer voices sound.  After downloading and installing an HQ U.S. voice into JAWS, I was excited to have a new voice option.  I can only speak for the American English voices at this point, but they are highly responsive.  At this moment, I have the rate set to 77 percent, which would have turned the Realspeak voices into soggy garden mulch.  Voice selection is a highly personal thing, somewhere north of religion and just south of boxers or briefs.  I think everyone will be pleased with this choice though.  Good job Freedom!

Among the other changes are tweaks to Firefox and Internet Explorer which improve Web browsing, particularly on complex pages. Also, responsiveness seems to have improved, especially in Word and Outlook. I still believe JAWS for Windows is becoming a monolithic piece of software.  It could benefit from a strict diet, perhaps making many components optional in the future.

All said, I don’t mind parting with one of my SMA tokens to install JAWS 14 when it is finally released.  If you aren’t a current JAWS user, you can run the demo of JAWS 14 for 40 minutes before having to reboot your computer.  This will give you a chance to check out some of the new features.

Comcast is supplying $9.95 Internet and low-cost computers for families with a child in the national school lunch program. Visit them online or call 1-855-8-INTERNET (1-855-846-8376) to see if you qualify and request an application.