Blind Bargains Qast 213: Since We've Been Gone

Blind Bargains Audio: Featuring the BB Qast, Technology news, Interviews, and more

It finally happened! Enough stuff has transpired for us to do a proper old school news filled episode. Or as we now call it during the After Times , a retro inspired BBQ show. Join J.J., Joe and Patrick as they learn how to do a thing again that they have spent 10 years already doing prior to the release of this particular audio program. Breaking news talk of Audio Description, a tip, a bunch of Sound Off and the return of the Last Word will give you that nostalgic feeling for sure!

In The News:

Breaking: AIRA Scales Back its Free Five Minute Call Offer
Breaking: With Nearly Seven Months Before the Event, #CSUNATC21 has Gone Virtual

Humanware news from the NFB Convention
There was a lot to parce from Humanware's Summer Convention announcements. Joe asked Andrew Flatres for a quick summary in July and here's what he sent along. Head on over to Humanware if you would like to know more.

"Briefly showcased some low vision products, including the Reveal 16/16i, Explore 5 and 8 and Prodigi connect.
New route preview mode for the Trek, that allows you to walk your router virtually.
Future "HERE" MAPS are coming.
BrailleNote Touch Plus recent update includes a new scientific calculator, allowing both UEB and Nemeth entry.
One-handed mode
Learning tables, assisting your braille learning between uncontracted and contracted.
PDF and OAuth is coming soon.
A NEW Brailliant BI-40 is coming to the market. Take the opportunity to get a free BI-14 now when ordering the BI-40.
HW buddy application - an application available on ios and playstore free of charge. The app allows you to stay updating with what is happening at HumanWare, and contains how to guides on HumanWare's products to make learning easy, simple and enjoyable."

JAWS/ZoomText/Fusion 2020 August Update Is Live
Hadley launches new look
WayAround update brings Multi-User Support in version 3.1 for iOS
EnVision America updates the I.D. Mate for background server changes
How to Use Google's Android Braille Keyboard for Typing
Making the most of your Zoom Audio: Presentation Recording now Posted
New Orbit Writer has been updated

Discussion Topic: Even More News

Yeah, we have not been blathering on about the news in a good long while. Yet there was not really anything going on to wrap a podcast segment around lately until all that stuff at the top of Show Notes arrived. Still, we have been reading and listening to what is out there in case something came along. Joe has compiled a few metric tons of info that occurred since late April and you can read his summations in the 4 articles below.

BBQ In Review: A pile of news to smooth things over until our next podcast
BBQ In Review: A pile of interviews to smooth things over until our next podcast
BBQ In Review: A pile of helpful tips to smooth things over until our next podcast
BBQ In Review: A pile of Last Word items to smooth things over until our next podcast

Joe and J.J. also discussed Audio Description, or the lack there of, in some prominent streaming launches that have come about since March of this year. HBOMax
and PeacockTV both sported difficult to navigate user interfaces and did not contain Audio Description at launch. Apple announced a new bundle of services that features Apple TV Plus, CBS All Access and Showtime. Showtime does not offer A.D. currently, however, Apple TV Plus and CBS All Access do have it for newer titles. Joe mentioned the quiet launch of Audio Described tracks on Microsoft Movies and TV Making our previous recommendation of using Movies Anywhere timely to get the most out of your movie purchases on various services. Lastly, not mentioned on the show but still noteworthy, Quibi also launched with no description tracks available.

The pair noted the controversies surrounding Twitter s mistakes with launching Audio Tweets and Facebook s Avatar features. Each launch had some silly access self-inflicted avoidable issues. And each Social Media Giant had to make some public apologies after the debut of the feature on each of their respective platforms.

Tip: Silence Notifications In Zoom

Chances are that you might have had to use the Zoom Conferencing software recently. Furthermore, you might have never wanted to use it again because of all the notifications it will kindly inform you of in a meeting with a lot of participants. If so, then you need to review the Screen Reader Alerts under the Accessibility Options area of Zoom as it has new features based on a bunch of feedback from users. J.J. walks us through the current slate of Windows Web browser options and highlights a few of them that help him keep his sanity during Zoom meetings.

Sound Off:

Angela writes in to tell us "Bose frames are not discontinued"

"Bose is augmented reality related projects have been discontinued, not the Bose frames themselves."

In June, when Angela sent along this email, Joe would have disagreed with her as the multiple versions of the Frames had been heavily discounted at Best Buy and other retailers. However, since that time, the Bose Frames have returned to their original price and the replacement lenses have been restocked. It appears like they may even get a second run now. Or a possible scaled down Frames option If this recent FCC filing harkens a restart for the Frames line. No matter what happens, Angela is right that the AR portion is discontinued with some apps dropping those features or off the App Store all together.

Roger has some questions aftr listening to BBQ 212

"Hi
Thank you for this podcast which was interesting, especially the stuff about Narrator.
I am a JAWS user with JAWS 2020 home edition.
A couple of questions that I can t get answers to:
How can I tell which version of windows I have. Can you talk me through the key strokes to find out this information.
When I use Narrator it talks far too much. When I am in Excel it gives the cell and row information before giving the content of the cell. How can I get it to read the information in the cell first and most of the time that s all, I don t need the cell and row details.
Your help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Roger"

J.J. notes that you can do a Windows Key and type in System Information to learn about your version of Windows. You can also perform a Windows Key plus the letter I to go to your Settings Panel, then Choose the System option and go to the About tab. Either will help you find out more about your computer and Windows version.

As for the Excel question, we do not know what version of Office is being referenced here. That is why we recommend using the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk As things get rather strange if you have a boxed copy of Office or if you are subscribed to Microsoft 365.

Jan Brown, long time listener, sent along a relateable email aptly titled "How I ate my way through house arrest"

"The day before the Governor issued the shelter in place order, I went for coffee with two friends. We hugged and then joked about it.
I believe this state of affairs has brought us closer in a good way. We have listened to Bard books together. We started with Stephen King's The Stand which we thought was particularly right for this situation.
We always try to have great home meals, particularly on Sunday nights. We try to have a great red wine from one of our wine clubs on Sunday evenings. We often have a good steak with various sides depending on whim and what we have purchased.
I go to Safe Way, our big food emporium on Thursdays. The wine guy there was able to locate both paper towels and toilet paper when we needed both the most. I go with a friend as I have for at least a decade. Yes, I certainly pay her. At the end of the shopping trip, we get coffee either from the in-store Starbucks or the Peet's down the way. One staff member from this particular Safe Way contracted Covid 19. No, of course they didn't tell us the identity of that person.
I tend to go out for an early morning latte to the coffee place a couple of blocks away. One of the baristas there gave us a couple of masks and when I tried to pay, was told it was her way of giving back.
A friend came to our county the other day and asked if she could bring in and out burger with fries and milk shakes to our house. How could we refuse?
She brought these lovelies over and then left.
The same day, an organization in our town which tries to serve senior types like us, I reckon, dropped off flowers at our house. They came from a group of folks who garden and have more flowers than they can use. I was really touched. We are not isolated any more than anybody else, but I was still touched and my husband was too.
I have been doing Zoom family meetings and church meetings and have found them a lot of fun. I do it on my i-Phone 11 and still have trouble pointing the camera correctly. I have also done a couple of gym trainings through zoom. My Guide Dog immitated me and went up and down and made the trainer laugh.
So, you see, This is not a bad thing for us.
I hope all is well with you. Thanks for the interesting podcast and enjoy life
Jan Brown"

Last Word

Just a quick note here, instead of the usual food oddities that occupy this space, please support your local restaurants. The native eateries provide uniqueness to your city, township, or community. Check out the local online editions of the newspaper or Business Journal for recommendations. Most of them have been highlighting the best places to find your favorite foods that are not served by a chain brand. And, if all else fails, open Google Maps and do a search to see what Local Guides in the area are saying. You can even check if the place you have in mind has a favored delivery option as they get more of the sale that way.

Windows 95 turns 25
A History of Windows 95 Development

We would sincerely like to thank everyone for reaching out to us on Social Media, email, and other methods to find out if all of us on the BBQ Crew are okay. It really does mean a lot to us. We touch on this at the end of the program. We really are not sure how the podcast flows in the future. Although it may feature more BBQ Bytes, Bites?, as the A.T. Industry at large begins to figure out how to offer things in this new disrupted economy. We know there will still be some hardware and software announcements on the horizon. So those of you out there who are a fan of our wrap up shows are covered. The rest of our typical programming will be an interesting and exciting challenge for us. And after 10 years of podcasting, in various forms and places, we are actually fine with having to reinvent our way to providing you the content you have become accustomed to from Blind Bargains.
Be safe, be well and wear your mask to help others if not yourself. Until next time thanks for listening!

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