Technology
Seeing EyePhone: Could Your Phone Be Your Service Animal?
Jun 10th, 2011
iPhone App developers, take note: for the first time in awhile, I’ve found a situation where I can’t say, “there’s an app for that!” and I need one.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you simply didn’t hear something, such as the kettle whistling? or the water running because the TV was too loud, or there were screaming kids? It happens to everyone, whether or not you’re deaf. These are situations that can have negative effects if unattended. In this post, I’m going to explore the possibility of our mobile devices being able to provide us with essential More >
How Twitter can be an #accessibility tool for #deaf / HoH.
Apr 27th, 2011
Last week, President Obama held a Facebook Town Hall event via live video-streaming to promote the StartUP America Partnership, which was followed by a panel discussion by start-up veterans. As an entrepreneur and a fan of this initiative, I “tuned in” to this live video stream to learn more about the program and learn from the panelists. Except…there was one road-block.
Road-Block: Lack of Captions at the Live EventThe live video feed wasn’t captioned. Now, I’m not here to whine or point fingers, but to tell you about an interesting accessibility “alternative” that I stumbled upon. This “solution” was instantly available, didn’t More >
Accessible Uses for New Technology: Telepresence
Feb 17th, 2011
Imagine that you’re homebound for medical reasons, or work from home, and you want to be able to communicate with your friends, families, and colleagues throughout the day. Not just for an hour here or there, but for a whole day. Connecting via “video chat” probably comes to mind, but what if these people are constantly on the move, from room to room, or even floor to floor, and you want to go with them?
Introducing Telepresence Robots
Meet the 4-foot tall steel and chrome robot, Vgo (pronounced vee-go) that has a high-definition video screen for a face and motorized wheels for More >
Verizon iPhone: Not as accessible as AT&T’s iPhone.
Jan 12th, 2011
On 1/11/11, Verizon announced the release of the iPhone on their network. This means some competition for AT&T, and you can check out Mashable’s iPhone Faceoff infographic to compare between the two iPhone 4′s. In summary, while the design and hardware are nearly identical, there is one (obvious) significant difference: the network technology. This is particularly important for one piece of accessibility, and with the help of accessibility expert Lisa Goldstein at Purple Communications, I’ll tell you why. First, some background:
UMTS (3GSM) vs. CDMA, in plain English: (nerd alert!)AT&T uses the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network on its carriers. UMTS supports the Global System for Mobile Communications (3GSM), which More >
Which tablet will make the right move?
Jan 7th, 2011
This weekend is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The buzz, not surprisingly, is about the tablets that will rival Apple’s iPad in 2011. There’s a lot of fanfare about including high-quality video in the tablets, with reports of cable companies like Comcast streaming live and on-demand media to such devices. In addition, there are a few bells and whistles that allow you to unleash your creativity and gaming personality. You can take pictures, edit them, and share them, as well as spend a few minutes (or hours?) playing Angry Birds.
Sounds exciting, but…Yes, the appeal of being able to engage More >
Citizen Engagement for Accessibility
Jan 4th, 2011
What do you do if there’s a fallen tree branch in the middle of the sidewalk? Most of you would probably walk around it. But if you’re a wheelchair user, you don’t necessarily have that option, as going into the street or over someone’s flower bed may be the only immediate alternatives. So you’d probably have to backtrack and cross the street where there’s a safe ramp.
Operator, may I speak to . . . ?Now who do you call / write / flag down to report this fallen tree branch & blockage? The Neighborhood Sidewalk Association? The Arbor Society? More >
Mobile Technology & Accessibility in Review.
Dec 30th, 2010
It’s the week before New Years and that means it’s time for “Year in Reviews.” The Wall Street Journal recently did one on Mobile Technology: The Rise of Apps, iPad, and Android. I couldn’t help but wonder about accessibility in the mobile space that we’d like to see in 2011, developing on the available advances in technology. First, I thought I’d summarize a few key statistics in this article that jumped out at me.
Numbers to Impress You:- 81 million: The sales of smartphones in 3rd quarter 2010. This is significant because it’s nearly double the sales in 2009.
- 3 in 4: The predicted number of More >
Accessible Technology included in Popular Science
Dec 16th, 2010
Still working on your Holiday gift list? Maybe reading FCC Deputy Director Pam Gregory’s blog post on broadband.gov about new, innovative accessible technologies will give you some ideas! There’s some cool stuff covered, like user-friendly crutches and prosthetic hands. Check it out!
AARP Interview: How a gadget suddenly made accessibility easier.
Nov 1st, 2010
The 140-character conversation:
The “tweet” below was the start to a conversation that I had with AARP regarding accessible technology. This Twitter question (or shall I say, twestion?) regarded technology that we love, and I couldn’t help but chime in with the response that “technology designed with accessibility in mind” is the best one out there. From there, Beth Carpenter at AARP wanted to find out more, and interviewed me for their blog in the “The ShAARP Session.”
The spark of an idea: the Video iPod
Beth asked me to discuss how technology changed accessibility, and some cool technologies that work for More >
Hearing Technology: The Cochlear Implant
Oct 22nd, 2010
A Technology Pioneer
I’ve been a gadget head since I was 3 years old. Literally. I got a cochlear implant, a small, complex electronic device that can provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or hard-of-hearing. This experience marked the beginning of my personal vision for universal design in accessibility through technology. I get a lot of questions about this experience and how it’s relevant to developing Keen Guides, a company committed to universal design and accessibility to engage with the arts and culture around us. If you’re interested, I’ve included insights on what it was More >