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In this 19th  episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, open up a conversation about Intrusive Thoughts. What one can do to help gain control of these thoughts, how to be in the "right now" space, and how recognizing the present moment can sometimes reduce one's anxiety.   Check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin by calling 612-367-6093 or by email. They are looking forward to hearing from you! Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired   

Bari Azman and Diane Ducharme return to the Blind Abilities Studio with braking news and updates to the BlindShell Classic 2 Accessible Cell Phone. With the new brand under the BlindShellUSA umbrella, the BlindShell Mobile is now open for everyone. This Affordable Connectivity Program is available and at www.BlindShellUSA.com/free you can find out if you qualify and begin tearing up those wireless bills today! Bari and Diane go over all the details and you can find out more about the blindShell Classic 2 accessible phone and the blindShell Affordable Connectivity program on the web at https://blindshellusa.com Thanks for listening!   Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired   

In this  episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, check up on their resolutions from the New Year and talk about where you can look for professional help and things to consider about choosing a therapist.   Check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin by calling 612-367-6093 or by email. They are looking forward to hearing from you!   Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired   

Jenna Reed returns to the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the ever expanding reach Envision America is making with the ScripTalk Talking Label program that allows you to access the entire information on a prescription bottle to ensure safety on what you may be taking. Join Jenna and Jeff in this brief overview and informational episode and download the free ScripTalk Mobile app to find the pharmacies in your location. You can receive the ScripTalk station for free just by requesting from your participating pharmacy. To find out more about Envision America and ScripTalk Talking Labels check out EnvisionAmerica.com and call the Customer Service phone number at 1-800-890-1180. Download the ScripTalk Mobile app from the App Store or on Google Play. Thanks for listening! Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired   

Willem Van de Mierop returns to the Blind Abilities Studio to announce the OKO App release in the United States. Available in the App Store, OKO - AI Co-Pilot for the Blind is a Traffic signal detecting application that instantaneously gives audio and haptic feedback so one can augment there traveling experience by gaining more information about a traffic signal situation. Willem talks about all the features and advantages that the OKO App offers Orientation and Mobility students and instructors to bring more confidence and awareness to the real time experience of a traffic signal situation. You can download the iOS app OKO on the App Store and find out more about the company Ayes on the web at Ayes.AI. Here is a link to a previous interview with the Ayes team. Thanks for listening. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired 

Menus4All Vice president of Marketing, Stephany Jones, returns to the blind Abilities studio to announce the launch of their new app, Menus4All. The largest and most accessible menu for the Blind and Visually Impaired. With over 750,000 unique menus from United States and Canada, this well organized and accessible app is the cat's meow. From the voiceover accessibility, headings, near me list population and ease of use, this is the best thing since slice bread. And yes, you can search for bread or any other menu item or zip code or many other options that will suit your needs. Co-hosting with  Jeff Thompson in the studio is Serena Olsen, aka @BlindBroad from the Facebook Live show, The Blind Grind. Stephany, Serena and Jeff share some experiences, laughs and a lot of information about the development, the usability and the multiple ways a user can buy, subscribe and utilize the Menus4All App.   Here are some links to help you find out more about Menus4All:   Get the Menus4All App on the App Store!   Menus4All.com   Contact information:   Stephanie Jones  She/her VP of Marketing Menus4ALL, Inc. Stephanie@menus4all.com   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Pre-ETS Program and Transition Services Coordinator Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us  or 651-358-5205. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired  

Jenine Stanley joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the upcoming changes happening to the retail and community plans at Aira. With the changing economy and needs of explorers, Aira has made adjustments to forge forward into the upcoming years to provide the great service that we all have become accustomed to and use when we need that instant access to information. You can find out more on the Aira web site  and dig into their Newsroom to keep up with all the upcoming news. Here is a blog post from Aira CEO Troy Otillio: Aira: Laying the Groundwork for a Strong 2023 Thanks for Listening! Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Pre-ETS Program and Transition Services Coordinator Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us  or 651-358-5205. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you! Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Creator of the ReVision Fitness App, Tyler Merren, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to celebrate the release of his multi-platform ReVision Fitness App. Available on the App Store, Google Play Store, and on the web at ReVisionFitness.com. Tyler talks about what inspired the app and how he went about configuring the complexities surrounding an audio based application to provide beginner, intermediate and advance exercise training for the Blind and Visually Impaired as well as the sighted. There's classrooms, fitness studios and Fitness plans for everybody, You can download the ReVision Fitness App and give the 2 week trial a good workout. Accessibility is top notch and you can send feedback directly to Tyler right from the app. The instruction level is 2nd to none. Tyler has been an elite athlete for years and is a 4 time Paralympian. His experience and passion is built into every section of the ReVision Fitness App. As Tyler says, Let's change the way we look at it! About the App: The ReVision Fitness App is an audio based fitness program universally designed to be accessible for both sighted and visually impaired, and encompasses all levels of fitness and goals from beginner to expert, from no equipment to a full training facility. Each exercise lesson in the classroom, workout in the fitness studio, and schedule in the fitness plans, is designed by blind personal trainer and 4 time Paralympic athlete Tyler Merren. Every classroom lesson is meticulously described using clockface directions, reference points, and step by step instructions to teach proper mechanics for any exercise. Each workout includes a beginner and advanced level and options for working out with music and without. The fitness plans include general guides and schedules for various fitness goals such as losing weight and toning up, and provides useful action steps to help you get fit. Not sure how to set proper goals? We walk you through the process. Unsure of how to position yourself for particular exercises? We've got you covered. Looking for a fitness program that is accessible? This is the one for you. As a recipient of the prestigious Holman Prize for blind ambition from the LightHouse of San Francisco, the ReVision Fitness App is a program that will continue to grow to include anything and everything fitness related. This app will be your one stop shop for accessible fitness. There are no hidden charges or in app purchases, a simple monthly subscription of $5.99, or an annual subscription of $59.99 will give you full and unlimited access to every drop of material that we have released and will release as the program grows. Download today and enjoy a free 14 day trial on us. We are so confident you will love the program that we give you 2 weeks free to check it out. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and here is your first step. Download today and let's change the way we look at it! Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

April 6 , 2022 is Assistive Technology Awareness Day, and on this day we have Arielle Silverman, Research Specialist from the American Foundation for the Blind, in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about AFB's Workplace Technology Survey that completed in January of 2022. You can find out more about AFB and the Workplace Technology Survey on the web at AFB.org and AFB.org/WTS Full Transcript (From AFB.org/WTS) The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in January 2022 announced the release of the Workplace Technology Study, a new report examining how technology in the workplace influences the experiences of workers who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. AFB Research staff have been engaged in focus groups, a survey, and interviews to gather data to identify the workplace technology barriers faced by blind and low vision individuals, the consequences of them, and solutions that will lead to positive employment outcomes. Using a multi-pronged research approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data, we will be able to support HR professionals, IT personnel, supervisors, and co-workers to better understand how people with vision loss can do their jobs when needed accommodations are in place throughout one's work experience. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Matthew Horspool from the Braillists Foundation joins Callie Gray and Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to share Callie's experience from the Beginners Course for Braille and Matthew gives us an overview about the opportunities available from the Braillists Foundation. From how Braille is taught, to the importance of learning Braille early on and how to get involved in the Braillists community. You can find out more about the Braillists Foundation on the web at Braillists.org and contact them through email at Help@Braillists.org.  And check out the BrailleCast podcast wherever you listen to podcast. And here is a great place to start if you are interested in starting Braille. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Richard Rueda, Digital Content Manager at the American Printing House for the Blind's (APH ConnectCenter), and LisaMaria Martinez, Assistant to CareerConnect, join Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the opportunities available at the APH ConnectCenter. From the vast resources to the Job Seekers Toolkit and the  Transition Hub, the CareerConnect experience has never been so ready for the future. And as students transition from high school to college and the workplace, the ConnectCenter has something for everyone. From students to families, to teachers and counselors, the APH CareerConnect is just a click, tap away on the web at APHCareerConnect.org. Find out how you can connect, learn, engage and grow.   FULL TRANSCRIPT   Helpful Links: ConnectCenter CareerConnect APH TransitionHub Connect Calendar American printing House for the Blind Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Lachi is opening the door of opportunities for everyone to see the works of people with disabilities just as other works of art are being viewed. Join Lachi and Elijah Osborne, 2 artists, along with host Simon Bonenfant, as they talk about the intersection of art and disabilities. You can find out more about the Foundation at www.Foundation.app and keep up to date with Real advocacy and Real Music on Lachi's web site LachiMusic.com. (From the www.Foundation.app web site( Foundation is a platform that aims to build a new creative economy—a world where creators can use the Ethereum blockchain to value their work in entirely new ways, and build stronger connections with their supporters. Foundation fosters a network of mutual support between creators and collectors. We're forging a community-driven path and sharing our tools with the rapidly evolving group of developers who are excited to define this future with us. We want anyone and everyone who cares about the future of digital expression to be a part of it. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

First of all, where is Serina? Hmm. Callie Gray and Jeff Thompson take over the Blind Abilities Studio to bring you another Tech Abilities show filled with news from around the World with that tech tidbit dose we all crave. Would you use a Memoji on Zoom? How's your feed on Instagram? You can change that now. Yup. You can check out the topics and links below, follow the timeline and use the Chapters feature if your podcast listening device provides the Chapter feature. Here are some of the topics listed in link form for your convenience: Netflix could soon make you pay up if you share your password with friends and family. 1:46 iCloud outages resolved after nearly every Apple service went down globally. 3:49 Apple launches the first driver's license and state ID in Wallet with Arizona. 6:04 Zoom takes on Apple's Memoji with new virtual avatar feature for video calls. 8:26 OtterBox launches first collection of AirTags cases with three rugged styles. 10:42 Excessive battery drain after iPhone update? Apple says it's normal. 16:51 Intervals Pro: Interval Timer High Intensity Interval Timer. 23:04 Instacart says it's adding a fuel surcharge to help drivers paying high gas prices. 27:05 Instagram for iOS now offers two chronological feed options, here's how they work. 29:43 More Memoji and Zoom Mustache. 36:09 Pop Culture mixed with Tidbits of Tech. 37:46  Humanware/APH/DOT Working on a Braille Speak, like a Braille Writer on steroids. 61:35 On our way out with Contact Information. 65:22 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Camp Abilities founder, Dr. Lauren Lieberman, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio where Dr. Lieberman tells us about the opportunities happening around the world at Camp Abilities.  Dr. Lauren Lieberman founded the Brockport, New York Camp Abilities in 1996 and conducted the last 2 years of Camp virtually during the Pandemic.  With Lauren's studies in Health and Physical Education Undergrad and Masters, she learned that she was good at teaching sports while working at the Perkins School for the Blind. She was awarded  a grant to begin a sports camp for the Blind and Camp Abilities was founded and has not skipped a beat. Models of the Brockport New York Camp Abilities have spread across the states and around the world. Students return year after year and you can listen to the passion and excitement on the videos available on the CampAbilities.org web site.  The Camp Abilities website has a wealth of resources for adaptive sports, and  instructional materials for teachers, parents, youth and links to register and learn about the Blind Soccer program. Be sure to share with friends and Physical Education teachers and help spread the awareness about the opportunities at Camp Abilities. And remember, the Camp Abilities Motto, “Believe You Can Achieve!” (From the CampAbilities.org web site) A week-long Educational Sports Camp Children with Visual Impairments  Summer 2022 Dates:June 26-July 2 We are planning for an in-person camp this coming summer! The Camp Abilities model has expanded to other locations including Long Island, NY, Alaska, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, Puerto Rico, Maryland, California, Texas, and Ireland.  Currently, there are 29 Camp Abilities across the United States and the World! Efforts are also under way to create new camps!! In the spirit of " Camp Abilities", the Camp Abilities facility operating at The College at Brockport is the only camp that is affiliated with The Research Foundation with State University of New York (RF) or the State University of New York (SUNY). All other camps listed herein have no affiliation or association with nor do they receive funding or sponsorship from Research Foundation or The College at Brockport, State University of New York. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Lighthouse Guild President and CEO, Dr. Calvin Roberts, and Chief Operating Officer, Paul Misiti, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to share the great news about the new Technology Center at Lighthouse Guild. With the launch just behind them, Dr. Roberts and Paul explain why the Technology Center is so important to not only students and clients, but to developers as well. The Technology Center is for everybody, to learn, to assess, to help fit the right assistive technology to a need and to better understand how an assistive technology works for and may not work for the needs of the Blind, Visually Impaired and DeafBlind community. From the latest assistive technology for education, the home and to the tools that enhance one's everyday life, Lighthouse Guild's Technology Center is built for the future and for everybody. You can learn more about Lighthouse Guild and the Technology Center on the web at www.LighthouseGuild.org.   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Olga Mahler joins Jeff Thompson from Warsaw, Poland where she and her husband are helping accommodate visually Blind and Visually Impaired refugees from Ukraine with shelter, assistance, a bed and working with a Swedish non-profit A Demand for Action.  Without knowing how she would be able to help, Olga and her family packed up some supplies and flew into Poland with determination and a will to help anyway she could. When A Demand for Action needed some translation, Olga stepped up and with her connections to the Blind Boarding school which she attended in Ukraine, everybody benefited. Olga's social networking and presence led many Blind and Visually Impaired to the border crossings, out of the shelters, out from the bombing and into waiting Accommodations for warmth, food and for some, a ticket to Sweden or other long term shelter. Join Olga and Jeff as she shares her experience helping the Blind and Visually Impaired find safety and friendships while fleeing their homes, families and homeland. As mentioned, Olga has set up a fundraiser at: Help Us Shelter Ukraine Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Our guest on Blind Abilities today is Javier Pita, CEO of NaviLens Corp. Today we bring Javier in to the Blind Abilities Studio to give us an update on the NaviLens App, available on iOS and Android. Join Jeff and Pete as they delve deeply into the latest updates of the NaviLens App with Javier, and chat about many of the other useful features of this remarkable App which could have a profound impact on how we navigate both outdoors and indoors as well. This episode is an update on recent changes to the NaviLens app. You can find out the details about the basic features of NaviLens by listening to our previous interview with Javier, published on March 12, 2021. What's New With NaviLens? NaviLens 360 Vision Technology. Indoor Way-finding Technology allows you to record personal routes in an unknown space and travel them again at any time using a special NaviLens Tag which you can download directly from the NaviLens web site. You can create as many new personal routes as you wish and use them as often as you like. NaviLens 360 Vision also acts like a “magnet” with your phone by locking in the specific location of a tag in relation to  you and your phone.. Once you scan it, it retains that location despite how much you turn or move in a different direction, thus allowing you to locate your desired destination or object even if you get off track. NaviLens can also distinguish among multiple tags and objects you may be looking for by using various different audible sound effects. For example, Javier demonstrates how to search for one specific flavor of Kellogg's Special K cereal on a supermarket shelf and thus eliminating the sounds, and products that he doesn't want. He can also see where the desired flavor is located with different pitches of the clicks and beeps used by the app to direct him higher or lower to pinpoint the location of the product. You can find out more about NaviLens and be able to download free NaviLens tags on their web site at NaviLens.com. Javier emphasizes how important it is to receive feedback from users and encourages listeners to write in with  suggestions or questions relating to the product. Send an email to Info@NaviLens.com. Feel free to share any questions or suggestions with Blind Abilities by writing to: Info@BlindAbilities.com, or by calling 612-367-6093. We would love to hear from you. Of course, Blind Abilities presents this podcast with high-quality audio production including excerpts of NaviLens promotional videos to enhance your entertainment and listening experience. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Karthik Kannan joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio in this informative episode about the Envision Glasses and the Envision AI App. Team Envision is proudly demonstrating the Envision Glasses at CSUN at booth 1011 and you can schedule an appointment and get your personal demonstration with hands-on with the Envision Glasses. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements that Team Envision are releasing at CSUN and throughout the Summer. It has been a long time coming since an in—person CSUN event and Envision will be there with 5 members of the Envision Team.  The Envision AI App , available for iOS and Android, has many improvements making the Envision AI app the Swiss Knife of Blindness apps. Be sure to download the app and give it the 14 day trial with no obligations and you can cancel at any time, Let Envision know about your experience and check out all the breaking news on the Envision web site at LetsEnvision.com. Here is the Envision Newsletter: In just two weeks, the Envision team will be presenting at the CSUN 2022 Assistive Technology Conference in Anaheim, California - will you be there too? If so let's meet! Meet us Book a demo here of our next-generation Envision Glasses and award-winning Envision App, at booth 1011 from March 15th - 18th.  Your chance to snap up your own pair of Envision Glasses for a CSUN 10% discount! Envision uses AI-powered software to extract different kinds of information from images that can then be spoken out via the Envision App or Envision Glasses products. Hear us Listen to Envision CTO and Co-Founder Karthik Kannan as he presents “Towards A Visual AI Assistant” Presentation Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022 Time: 8:30 - 9:30 am EST Location: Anaheim Marriott, Room: Elite 1-3 To know more: Click on this link to find more Information. Join the CSUN Envision Community Meetup Meet Envision at our CSUN 2022 Community Meet-Up. Connect with the community, ask us anything, try out the Envision Glasses and App and grab yourself some swag! Meet up Date: Thursday 17th March 2022 Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST Location: Anaheim Marriott, 700 West Convention Way, Anaheim, California 92802 Useful Links: Book Meetings Order Envision Glasses Request a Demo Meet you there! With best wishes, Team Envision   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Serina Gilbert, Callie Gray and Jeff Thompson meet up in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk Tech Tidbits and news from around the Blindness community and some Pop Culture that enhances the daily grind. Is Apple's Peek Performance just taking a peek at what performances are to come? Tricky little play on words there, Tim Cook.  Uber ratings that the drivers give you are now exposed. Check out the demo to see your ratings. Callie has a new iPad mini 6th Gen and has a use-case that works for her. Are you abusing your pinkie finger? How are you holding your smart phone? Is the CSUN in-person conference happening too soon? Amazon Prime is hiking up the annual rate, is it time to un-prime your Amazon? Accessible comic book app coming in June and lots more bits in this Peak Performance Tech Abilities episode. Be sure to check out the links and the chapter feature for your listening options. Jump from topic to topic or take in the entire show all at once, the choice is yours and the opportunity is now! Here are the links and the timeline for  a few of the topics covered: Introduction. 00:00 Let's get this show started! 00:41 Apple Event, Peak Performance March 8 at 10 AM Pacific. 02:20 Callie's new iPad Mini, Why and iPad mini and how was the set-up? 05:30 Siri Voice number 5 is in the latest iOS Beta. 10:08 Advancements Coming to AirTag and the Find My Network. 12:10 Smartphone Pinkie: Have You Been Holding Your Phone Wrong This Whole Time? 19:14 Clubhouse adds text-based chat rooms for the mic shy. 20:24 Amazon Price increase now $139 annually. 21:20 Uber now allowing us to check our ratings given by Uber drivers! 34:02 App developed by professor to help visually impaired read comics expected to launch in June. 44:55 Pop Culture: Abbott Elementary. 47:41 CSUN in person event. Too soon? 53:06 The 37th Annual CSUN AT Conference will take place March 14 – 18, 2022. Pop Culture round up, Potpourri of Tidbits,.. 59:39 Headed Out and Contact Information. 68:38 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Joining us on Blind Abilities is the owner of a voice that many of us will recognize from reading our favorite Talking Book selections from BARD or other NLS platforms: none other than Ray Foushee. Ray has been a Talking Book narrator at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), for almost forty years and has read more than 1000 titles in virtually every genre, ranging from True Crime and Mystery to Romance, Science Fiction thrillers  and even nonfiction.  Yes, that deep and gruff sounding voice has read romance novels! In fact, Ray shares his story of the steamy romantic fiction novel he was assigned many years ago, and we share a brief clip from his narration which reveals the character's voice he used to narrate the first-person perspective of the 16 year-old protagonist.  Ray delves deeply into his long history as a narrator with APH, beginning with how he got his start while working at a Louisville, KY TV station in the early 80's and his progression through that almost forty-year career, reading virtually every genre under the sun. He shares his likes and dislikes for particular titles, authors and genres, his techniques for how he creates his voices for each character in the book as well as other details regarding his studio and recording processes. Jeff and Pete pose such questions as: How did you get into audio book narration? What is your favorite genre and book? Do you pre-read the book before recording? How do you create your character voices? Is there a particular word or phrase that is hard to say while recording? Do you put yourself into a celebrity's mindset when arriving at a specific character's voice or inflection to use?  Of course there is much much more in this fascinating chat with one of the most popular and enduring Narrators of Talking Books who has carved his way into the fabric of so many of our lives.  You can find out more about APH and what they can do for you, on the web at https://www.aph.org. Full Transcript Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Blind Abilities presents Micheal Hudson, Director of the Museum for the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). The APH Museum, located in Louisville, Kentucky, comprises more than 3,000 Square feet of space and multiple exhibits which present the history of blindness, and the role that the APH played in that history. Jeff Thompson and Pete Lane sit down with Micheal Hudson, an articulate and well-versed expert in anything and everything related to the museum. He takes us on a journey through a variety of topics, such as the Helen Keller archives, recently acquired from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Micheal also describes many of the old  machines currently housed in the museum, which opened in 1994. These include braille embossers and braille writers, hard vinyl disc presses, magnifiers, refreshable braille displays, typewriters, an impressive slate collection, cassette players, live Talking Book recording studios, an entire section dedicated to the history of Talking Books, Stevie Wonder's piano acquired from the Michigan School for the Blind and much much more. Join Jeff and Pete with their fascinating guest, Micheal Hudson as they delve into dozens of the machines, displays and other items. Micheal has a myriad of stories and is not hesitant to share many of them with the Blind Abilities team, so pull up a chair and settle-in for this outstanding podcast!  APH employs more than 300 employees. Check out job vacancies through the Job Portal on their web site:  at:  www.APH.Org where you can also nominate a candidate for admission into the APH Hall of Fame, Legends and Leaders in the Field of Blindness.  Check out the museum web site at: www.APHMuseum.Org They are also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Brendan Lewis joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio and gives an overview of the RealSAM Pocket.  The RealSAM Pocket is the easy to use Mobile Phone, especially designed for people with Sight Loss. RealSAM Pocket is able to Make Calls, Read Messages, listen to Books or Newspapers and get Assistance just by Using your Voice. No need to learn a complicated touch screen or struggle with reading small buttons; just Press one button and talk. Pocket can also connect directly to other Bluetooth devices, including hearing aids. Join Brendan Lewis and Jeff Thompson to learn about the RealSAM Pocket and how you can be notified upon the release and stay up to date on all the RealSAM Pocket news! Follow RealSAM Pocket: •          On the web at www.RealSAM.US •          In the U.K at www.RealSAM.CO/UK •          On Facebook at RealSAMPocket •          On Twitter @RealSAM_UK Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101/QuickByte from Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson takes us through the Punctuation System Groups and Creating Custom Groups. You can determine if Voiceover reads aloud Some, none or All punctuation. Imagine your email reading back like this: Hi comma Everybody comma How are you all question mark I am fine period  This can be annoying unless you are proofreading a paper, legal document or maybe you like it that way? If you just want Some punctuation such as, an equal sign, the degree symbol from your weather report or the percentage sign when checking your battery, then the System Group - Some maybe best for you. None is the 3rd setting where no punctuation will be spoken basically. You can check out these system groups, All, Some and None by going to the Punctuation settings and choosing your preference. You can change a system group by creating your own system group based off of either the All, Some or None group. This will allow you a good starting point rather than starting from scratch. So if you like the Some settings and want to add or tweak a few punctuations, then start with the Some group. If you like the None punctuation setting and want to add a few punctuations, then start with the None group. And if you love All punctuations, but want to make a change to a specific punctuation or 2, then start with the All group. Here is how it's done. Go to the Settings icon on your device and single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down to Accessibility and single finger double tap. Swipe down to Verbosity and double tap. Double tap on Punctuation. Your current setting will be read aloud, such as, “Active Punctuation Group, Some”. To investigate the settings or to change, single finger double tap. The list of System Groups are listed and your current choice is announced by the word, “selected”.             You can double tap on any of the choices, investigate your changes by reading a document, checking your battery level, reading your weather app, etc. You can always come back and change this setting. Creating Your Own System Group Based Off the All, Some or None Groups In the Punctuation settings, swipe down to, “Add Punctuation Group” and double tap. From the pop up list choose which list you want to base your new list off, double tap on, “All”, “Some” or “None”. You can name your list and change the default replacements. I would suggest investigating your changes in a note or document where you can determine the changes.             If you want to delete a system group you created, swipe to the group and by single                    finger flicking up or down, you can double tap on delete. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Members of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) gathered in the Blind Abilities Studio to announce the 2nd Annual virtual Piano Bar Fundraising event. Happening on Wednesday, February 16 from 6 PM Eastern, 5 PM Central and 3 PM Pacific Time. This 3 hour virtual event will showcase college students playing piano and singing songs and engaging with the participants. President of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students, Simon Bonenfant, introduces the performers as they unveil‑ their songs of choice and the dedications and tributes that you will be able to hear by registering for the Piano Bar event at www.NFBP.org/Piano-Bar.  The cost is only $5 and the PABS members thank you for all your support. If you are interested in joining an Association of Blind Students, check out these links to the Student Associations at NFB or ACB and see how you can participate and learn, share and contribute to the body of like-minded students engaging in their educational journeys. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

The Tech Abilities crew gathered in the Blind Abilities Studio to cover news and tech tidbits from a Blindness perspective. Serina, Callie and Jeff are joined with Jesse and they cover a lot of topics from the new Gucci Bag for the Air Pod Max Headphones for only $980 Microsoft 11, Aira and the Puppy Bowl Webcast, getting a pet dog as a Blind person, Instagram and Accessibility and much more.  Marlon and Tre make a Toast Master thingy. Check out the links and timeline of topics below. Chapters Available You can listen using chapters if your player allows and jump to the topic of your choice. Links and Topics from the Episode Welcome. 00:00 Let's Get this Show Started. 00:41 Introducing the Team and Toast Master Skit. 01:29 9to5Mac, Deals: AirPods Max $100 off, 05:00 Don't like the AirPods Max Smart Case? Gucci has its own case for just $980.  Face ID with a Mask is way better than using your Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone 7:48 Connecticut man arrested after trying and failing to stalk someone with an AirTag. 09:07 February 13th - the Big Game and Puppy Bowl with Aira 10:53 Aira COVID Promotion revisited NFB Sponsors Initiative to Address Inaccessibility of Covid-19 At-home Testing Crafting an Accessible Instagram Feed. 15:06 Notifications Temporarily or Permanent. 18:58 Microsoft Windows 11 is downloaded and installed! 24:48 How accessible is your exercise equipment? 32:15 Peloton bike, Concept 2 Model 2 Rowing machine, Treadmill Blind Abilities Fantasy Football  winner Pete Lane. 34:10 Looking for more teams. Activision/Blizzard acquired by Microsoft, What does this mean for accessibility and usability? 34:10 Sony buys in as well! Callie Quest at Miami Lighthouse and Braille. 42:03 Can a Visually Impaired person get a pet dog? 45:28 Exercising differently. 53:27 Bye-Bye/Credits. 59:17 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Join Pete Lane for this short iPhone101 demonstration of this available and time-saving new feature in iOS. Be sure to check out the entire iPhone 101/QuickByte series on Blind Abilities. Apple  has made available a new feature in the Messages App which puts all links into a single, sequential list. So if you are looking for a photo, video, article, Tweet, song link ore pretty much any other link, you can engage this feature and quickly locate the item. Here are the steps on the iPhone: Open your iOS Messages app and perform a single-finger double-tap on the name of the person who shared it with you. Perform a 4-finger single-tap at the top of the screen and you will find the “Back” button. Flick once to the right with one finger and perform a single-finger double-tap on the name of the sender. You will land on a new screen which contains the list of all links you have traded with this person in chronological order, broken into categories, such as photos, links, Documents, etc.. Merely flick to the right several times with one finger until you reach the first Heading and begin your streamlined search for the link. When you locate your link, activate it by performing a single-finger double-tap,   By the way, the link Pete is looking for is a USB Wired headset made by Sennheiser. Here is that link: Sennheiser Consumer Audio Sennheiser PC 8 USB - Stereo USB Headset for PC and MAC with In-line Volume and Mute Control, Black. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Sree Roy is an Engineer by education, training and profession. Immigrating to the US in 1976 at the age of seven. Sree's vision loss began in his late 30's, well after he had completed college and entered into a high-tech career as an engineer specializing in call center support and technology.  In this intriguing interview, Sree discusses his journey through vision loss, how he learned from his brother's and sister's experiences a few years earlier, each of whom had very different approaches towards adapting to, and living with Retinitis Pigmentosa. Listen as Sree shares his feelings about losing his sight at the peak of his career and professional success and shares his deepest thoughts about transitioning into a new phase of his life where he would give back of his time and energy. Sree discusses the events leading to his finding the training and skills in iOS and how he connected with no less than five organizations where he now volunteers to provide instruction to blind students on the use of iDevices. Join Pete Lane and his guest, Sree Roy with this interesting and relevant discussion of how one blind person's journey through sight loss led to a fulfilling new life's avocation. Relevant web sites and links discussed in this interview:  The iBlind Users Group, who offer several online training and discussion sessions free of charge to anyone who wishes to attend: The Reston and Vienna VIP, whose space is made available by the Access Services Branch of the Fairfax County public library. They can be contacted for more information regarding the free Zoom training sessions conducted by Sree on various iOS topics at: Phone: 703-324-8380 Online:   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

The Tech Abilities crew slid into the Blind Abilities Studio to bring you another episode of news and happenings from of course, a Blindness perspective. Covid Test and N95 masks are available and so a set of MagSafe chargers from Mophie on the Apple Store. Did you know Siri can fast forward and bring up Audio Description on Apple TV? Yup, and by the way, Happy B-Day Serina! Orcam wins at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the Orcam Read. The Direct Typing feature for VO is now fixed with iOS 15.2 Beta 2. Aira has a Covid promotion you may want to use when you get your home test or go into the Doctor's office to be tested.  Jeff does a Legacy Contact demonstration and Marlon is called upon to get some Killer Bee Honey? Yes, Marlon is our man on the spot when he is not in the cafeteria. We hope you enjoy! You can listen as an entire podcast and you can use chapters to jump around and devour this episode slice by slice. Here is a summary and timeline of our Tech Abilities episode: Welcome. 00:00 Let's Get This Show Started. 00:41 Thunder Snow and Send in Marlon. 03:39 Free Covid Rapid Test Kits and N95 Masks. 05:35 Ordering is Accessible on iPhone, Mac and PC. Aira Covid promotion. 10:35 Use Aira while going to get tested, and doing the test yourself. www.Aira.io What information can Apple Legacy Contacts access? 15:06 Apple Digital Legacy: Everything you need to know! Legacy Contact Demo. 15:44 HOW TO SET UP A LEGACY CONTACT  (note you need to be running iOS 15.2 to access this feature) On an iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > Password & Security., Then Legacy Contact.  On a Mac, go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Password & Security and manage Legacy Contact. Under Legacy Contact, follow the instructions to add a Legacy Contact. If you use Family Sharing, you can choose a family member from the list; alternatively, add someone using their email or phone number. Notify your Legacy Contact and share an access key via Messages. If they accept, a copy of the access key is automatically stored in their Apple ID settings. If they decline, you will receive a notification. The access key is required to get into your account if you pass away. While you can add a Legacy Contact who isn't on iOS 15.2, they won't be able to store the access key in the settings on their device, so you should provide it to them in another way. Legacy Contact is part of the Digital Legacy program and is available now.  Amazon is opening a clothing store next to Nordstrom and JC Penney. 22:31 Stitch Fix. 28:32 the direct touch typing bug  is fixed in iOS15.2 Beta 2. 31:49 Callie is a Video recording artist! 35:16 OrCam Technologies Personal AI Solutions: CES 2022 Innovation Award and 2021 TIME Best Invention. 38:14 OrCam MyEye PRO, a 2022 CES Innovation Awards Honoree in both the Accessibility and Health & Wellness categories and a 2019 TIME Magazine Best Invention, is a wearable device specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision,  OrCam Read, recognized in November as a 2021 TIME Magazine Best Invention and a CES 2021 Best of Innovation, is the first of a new category of super-efficient, easy-to-use handheld digital readers that enables people with reading challenges and those with low-to-moderate vision loss to effortlessly read the texts they need, and to successfully complete assigned classroom reading and accomplish their daily tasks.  Top Golf Experience. 43:11 Mophi has 2 new MagSafe Charger Stations in the Apple Store. 46:00 mophie 3-in-1 travel charger, MagSafe compatible, $149.95, mophie 3-in-1 Stand for MagSafe Charger, $89.95, Happy Birthday Serina, and she is how old? 62:19 Audio Description News. 63:37 Using Siri on your Apple TV to fast forward, go back and to turn on Audio Description. 69:11 Bye bye and Contact Information. 72:35 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Zack Afridi joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about Vision Buddy, a revolutionary device to assist people with Low Vision.  Vision Buddy is the world's first ultra-simple TV watching system designed to assist the visually impaired in performing day to day tasks. By plugging the Vision Buddy Streamer to an existing cable box, streamer or any other provider, you will be able to see your favorite TV programs with enhanced image quality. Zoom in or out to enjoy a movie theater experience right in your living room! And, with a click of a button switch to magnification/camera mode and see the world around you. It's that simple! The upcoming version of Vision Buddy can link to your computer allowing you to have your screen right before your eyes and, an optional  portable camera for those day to day tasks you want to do anywhere.  Be sure to check out Vision Buddy on the web to see the latest news about the Vision Buddy offerings.  Subscribe to the Vision Buddy YouTube Channel and stay up to date about the latest news and offerings from the Vision Buddyteam. See what others are saying about Vision Buddy. You can call Direct at 833-787-2020. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In the Tech Abilities Studio Serina and Jeff are joined by Callie Gray straight out of Miami. The crew starts the year talking about eh latest gadgets and news released from the Holiday season and even have a few items they acquired. Tre jumps in and lets Jeff and Marlon have a little piece of his mind. From MagSafe Battery Pack to an affordable headset that sounds great to some new Aftershocks, the crew has some goodies to share. Audio Description gets a good share of chat and what is it about Theater popcorn? Really?  Is the Air Pod Pro 2  going to light up the lives of those seeking some LossLess sound and a case that makes noise? We will have to see. Do you use your Apple Air Tags in a creative way? And Find My is very helpful. Yes, it is. And, How about that Audio described Rose Bowl Parade? Delicious! So jump on in and join the crew in this New Year's first episode of Tech Abilities. You can listen using the chapter feature if your player has it, or just take it all in one big binge. Give us a call at 612-367-6093 and leave us some feedback, suggestions or just say, Hi! We would love to hear from you! Here are the links, notes and timeline for the episode: Introduction. 00:00 Let's get this show started. 00:          41 Tre gives Marlon and Jeff a piece of his mind. 1:30 Who is that Siri Voice #3? 2:56 MagSafe Battery Pack. 4:40 Jeff and Callie review the new MagSafe Battery Pack from Apple. Microsoft Surface Adaptive Kit makes Microsoft's laptops more accessible. 8:43 Comes with bump dots for keys, colored labels for ports and device openers. Apple AirTags used by criminals in high end car thefts. 14:00 According to a recent report the Apple AirTags are being used in more and more car thefts in Canada. The Find My app makes it easy to keep track of your Apple devices. Locate items you've attached AirTag to. And keep up with friends and family. It works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — even if your missing devices are offline. And your privacy is protected every step of the way. Rose Bowl Parade gets Wall to Wall Audio Description from Audio Eyes. 22:18 AirPods Pro 2 may come with lossless audio support and a charging case that makes sound. 25:25 Apples Autonomous car? 26:41 That First Uber Trip and Uber Pets? What? 33:49 Spectrum Access - don't forget it's available! 38:30 Where is Jeff? 45:26 Goodies from over the Holidays. 46:14 SignHouser Consumer and Aftershokz Aeroplex Headsets, Tender Organics. Callie's gone off script! 53:14 Theater Popcorn? Is it all that? 55:00 Garrets Popcorn 58:21 GoodBye and Contact Info. 59:55 Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Christine Malec and JJ Hunt from the Talk Description To Me Podcast, join Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk Blind Hockey. Coming off a week of Talking Hockey Christine and JJ are ready to hit the rink and talk Blind Hockey specifically. Jeff Thompson is a member of the Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey Team and has played alongside Team USA in various events. Explanation of the game, the passion for hockey and how no matter what people may think, once that puck is jingling and then dropped, it's Hockey! Players from the states have come together to play a game they love and at one point, never thought the game was going to be available or even an option to play.  Canada has been active in developing Blind Hockey since the early “70's while USA started as recently as 2018. Fighting through the Pandemic, the challenges have been great and numerous teams across the states have been holding events bringing awareness to the diversified sport of Blind Hockey. If you or anybody you know who may be interested in learning more about Blind Hockey and how they can get involved, check out the web site of the United States Blind Hockey Team or www.MNWildBlindHockey.com and find out about Blind Hockey in your area. Be sure to check out the Talk Description To Me podcast on the web and wherever you listen to podcast. On Twitter @TalkDescription and check out their 85th episode, “It's Hockey Night Tonight!”  Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Do you sometimes receive texts in your iOS Messages App where you are among one or more others in a group of recipients? Have you wondered how to create such a group to make it faster and easier to share messages with your friends and family? Pete will show you how to do just that. Open the Messages app. Flick to the right until you reach the compose button. Perform a single-finger double-tap. Type or dictate each of the names of group recipients in your text field, paying attention to iOS suggestions from your contacts list. When done filling in all the names in the group, flick to your right and type or dictate your first text message  on the “message, text field“ line. If this is a group that you expect to contact often, check out our Quick Byte episode on Pinning Recipients in the iOS Messages App. You can name the group with its own unique name. Pete chose to name this new group “Three Stooges”. Here is the process of naming a messages group: Single-finger double tap on the button that says: “change name of group”  Type in the new name in the text field provided. Follow the prompts and you're done.  You can also add a photo and/or an emoji to enhance the appearance of the new group as well. Just follow the step by step instructions and you're done. However, this is not necessary if you just want to name the group. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 Quickbyte, Pete Lane takes us through the Messages App and shows how to Pin a person or group to the top of the messages list. When using the iOS Messages App your list can become cluttered with individuals and groups which makes  it difficult to locate someone in your ever-growing list of recipients. A convenient way to prioritize this list is with the use of the “Pinning” feature which allows you to permanently place those people whom you contact frequently  at the top of your list, making them easier to find.     Let's walk through the steps to do this: Open Messages app, flick right with one finger until you arrive at the recipient whom you wish to Pin (the recipient can be an individual person or a group of recipients - check out the Quick Bytes episode on creating group recipients in the Messages App).  Flick up with one finger until you hear voiceover say, “Pin”. perform a Single-finger double-tap. Now the recipient has the “Pinned“  status, and you are ready to place him or her in a specific location among your other “Pinned “ recipients. Flick up with a single finger until you hear voice over say, “drag item“. Perform a single-finger double-tap. Flick left or right, up or down the list), of other pinned recipients until you hear the Voiceover cue for were .  you wish to place the newly pinned recipient - i.e. either before or after a particular recipient on the list. Perform a single-finger double-tap to drop them. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Joining Lisa Bryant and Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio is En-Vision America's Director of Marketing, Jenna Reed. En-Vision America has just celebrated their 25th anniversary and has not stopped one bit. Announcing a new partnership with the Hy-Vee chain and adding 25 languages to the line of ScriptAbility Solutions available at a growing number of pharmacies across the United States and Canada. Jenna gives a brief history of the beginnings of En-Vision America, the ID Mate and a clear focus on the direction En-Vision America is headed.  Join Jenna, Lisa and Jeff in this informational podcast and find out how En-Vision America can best work for you. You can download the ScripTalk app from the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Androiddevices. You can find out more about ScriptAbility Solutions on the web at www.EnvisionAmerica.com or call 1-800-890-1180 or email at CustomerService@EnvisionAmerica.com. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

From the Blind Abilities studio from the Tech Abilities Team, Marlon and Jeff bring you a little something of r you and well wishes to all. Happy Holidays and may you all have a safe and wonderful New Year! The Tech Abilities Team Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Blind Abilities presents another installment in its iPhone 101 series with this review of several popular video and audio streaming Apps, in which we explore  ways to set up methods to reduce the amount of your cellular data you use while streaming or downloading their products. We already know that it is more cost effective to stream audio and video services while connected to your Home WiFi network as it's cost is generally lower than that of your cellular data plan, but we may not be aware of howe to take advantage of the app settings that will actually use less data. Pete Lane takes a look at the iOS Netflix app, as well as Amazon Prime Video, the native Apple Music and TV apps, Amazon music, Audible and the BARD Mobile app, and walks us through the specific settings which can be adjusted to take advantage of high efficiency streaming, lower video quality for streaming and downloading, and to set those processes to be active only while on WiFi.   These settings are not secrets nor are they hidden, but some of us may not have the time or the inclination to explore them. Keep in mind that you will be sacrificing some video quality in order to save data, but for blind or visually impaired folks, this may not be a significant issue. For those listeners with some usable vision, you may notice the lower video quality when streaming over a cellular connection. To give you an example of the data savings, in low-data mode, Netflix will only use around 1 GB of data for an hour of streaming, which is a small amount when compared with the data consumed while streaming in the higher quality 4K format. Settings demonstrated Netflix First, be sure your Netflix app is updated since your device may be running an old version. `          Ask Siri to open Netflix, or perform a single-finger double-tap on the Netflix app icon. Then single-finger double-tap on your profile. Be sure the “Home” tab is selected among the five tabs at the bottom of the next screen. Then flick right from the top of the screen and single-finger double-tap on “settings. Perform a single-finger double-tap to select “"Mobile Data Usage” located under the Video Playback section. If this setting is set to "Automatic.” Use a single-finger double-tap to deactivate it, then flick to the right and perform a single-finger double-tap to activate “Save Data”. Go back to the top of the screen and single-finger double-tap on the back button. On the previous screen. Flick right until you get to downloads, and single finger double tap. Flick right and be sure the button labeled ““Wi-Fi only,“” is selected. Flick right again and be sure the “video quality“ selection is set to “standard”. Continue flicking to the right, and be sure your "Download Next Episode” is off. This decision may depend on how regularly you view each episode of a series. Likewise, flick right and be sure your “Downloads for You” setting  is in the off position. To exit these settings, perform a single-finger double-tap on the “Back Arrow Left” button until you are back on the main Netflix screen.  You're done. Your app settings will automatically be saved. Amazon Prime Open your Amazon prime video app. Among the five tabs at the bottom of your screen, single finger double tap on “my stuff“. Flick to the right and single finger double tap on “settings,“ then flick right and select “streaming and downloads“. Be sure “streaming on Wi-Fi only“ is in the on position. Likewise, set ‘download on Wi-Fi only” to the on position. for streaming and download quality, be sure your settings are set to “good“. Go to the top of the screen and single finger double tap on the “back“ button. Flick right and select “1“ under auto downloads. * The next several streaming settings will be performed in the native iOS settings app, rather than an individual app such as Netflix or Amazon prime.  iOS Music app: Open iOS settings, and flick right until you reach music. Perform a single finger double tap. under the heading “allow Music to access“, do not select cellular data. Flick to the right until you reach audio streaming quality, and select “high-efficiency“. go to the top of the screen and single finger double tap on the “back“ button. Flick to the right and turn “download using cellular data“ to the off position. Likewise, turn “automatic downloads“ off. Under “Animated  cover art“ select “on Wi-Fi only“. flick left to the top of the screen and single finger double tap on the “back“ button. * Flick right to the TV App* Note: this will be the player app for any video streaming service you connect to it, such as Apple TV plus, CBS, ABC, etc. The connections are made in the Settings section of the separate TV app. For streaming, Turn off “use cellular data. “For “video quality,” select “fast downloads, and for downloads, turn off cellular data”. Flick left and single-finger double-tap on the “back” button. * Flick right to the Podcast settings. Under “allow podcasts to access,” turn off “cellular data,” and turn on “block download over cellular data”. Under episode downloads, set to “ask if over 200 mb”, and for automatic downloads, set to “when following”. Flick left and single-finger double-tap on the “back” button. Note: perform the same adjustments to the same settings in the Amazon music, Audible and BARD Mobile settings. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Itto Outini's self-determination has carried her from halfway around the World to living her dream. From a journey less desired, her constant  zest for knowledge and learning proved to be the ticket out of her circumstances and onto her realizing her dream of working for the United Nations and becoming an activist for human rights and an advocate for accessibility. Itto Outini smiling with arms crossed. Most of us cannot imagine the abuse, abandonment and pain Itto endured along her way. Itto has a story and her experiences are what make her who she is today, a Fulbright Alumna, a United Nation intern, a master's degree and so much more as she helps others learn and change to help make a better world. Itto Outini joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio and they travel along her journey, her present day and her future goals.  You can keep up with Itto on her Itto Outini website where she posts articles and her writings. Check out the Fulbright Program Learn about the United Nations Development Program Visit the refugee Congress.   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

The Ayes team joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about Ayes, an Artificial intelligence company form to assist the blind and visually impaired in navigating intersections using traffic signal imagery and algorithmic computation and relaying the data to the user through audio and haptic feedback This team of 3 left their AI jobs and formed Ayes after learning from a Blind friend that intersections were a huge obstacle and keeping him from getting out and about as much as he would like. And five months ago, Ayes began working on algorithms and an app called, “OKO”. Through the camera's lens, the user can identify the traffic signal information available to sighted people and also will develop into a more robust app when object recognition and GPS navigation is incorporated into the OKO app. Available in Belgium and the Netherlands, the Ayes team is working with the CNIB in Canada and is setting their sights on the States. They have started the OKO campaign to get interested participants involved in the development and enhancement of their OKO App. To find out more about Ayes and OKO and to become a tester here are some helpful links: Link to become a tester: https://ayes.ai/get-oko Link to the Ayes web site: https://ayes.ai  Link to OKO campaign: https://apps.apple.com/be/app/oko-campaign/id1583843828  Link to OKO App (Benelux only): https://apps.apple.com/be/app/ayes-oko/id1583614988 From the Ayes.AI web site: We help blind and visually impaired people to navigate safely. OKO, our mobile application, is able to recognize the pedestrian traffic light by using the smartphone camera and our AI algorithm it is able to inform the user on the state of the pedestrian traffic light. We bring this information back to the user using audio and haptic feedback.  In the future OKO will become smarter and will be able to do much more, like detecting obstacles, incorporating GPS navigation such that blind and visually impaired people can explore new places safely. Check out the OKO campaign to see how you can help. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101/QuickByte demonstration from Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson will Add the Battery Widget to the Today View and then move the Battery widget to where he wants it located on the screen. With a few swipes and flicks, you can pick the widget, choose the size of the widget and move the widget to the location that suits your needs. Let's start on the home screen: Touch in the body of your home screen to get the focus on an app icon. Do a 3 finger swipe from left to right to open the Today View. Note: You can skip this step if you want the Widget on the page you are on. Once again, get the focus on an item on the screen and flick up to “edit mode”. Single finger double tap to begin the edit mode. In the upper left hand corner double tap on “Add Widget”. Swipe down to “Battery” or a widget of your choice. Double tap to select. If the widget has size options, flick up through the choices of pages, 1 of 3, 2 of 3, and so on.  You can explore by touch to listen to the widget information.  Double tap on “Add Widget” when you make your choice. You are still in “Edit Mode” and you can flick up to “Drag Batteries”. Single finger double tap. Explore the screen by moving your finger around or by single finger swiping right or left. When a location seems right, flick up to drop before or after said location. Single finger double tap. Flick up to “Stop editing apps”. Happy Holidays and may the Widgets be with You! LOL Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

The MagSafe Battery Pack will not overheat your iPhone and will reverse charge with the iPhone when charging. The MagSafe Battery Pack may not be that mega charger that makes a hero out of itself when you forget to charge your iPhone the night before, however, using the MagSafe Battery Pack will ensure you have juice for an extended period of time. It just works and it works smart. In this iPhone101/QuickByte demonstration from Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson gives us an overview of the Apple MagSafe Battery Pack. How the MagSafe integrates with the iOS and how the MagSafe Battery Pack may not be the biggest and juiciest, but this Battery Pack is the just works and works smart. Keep watching the sales as the $74.99 was a steal from Amazon during the Black Friday event and now it lists for $89.99 on Amazon's web site. Apple's price is Holding steady at around $99. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 QuickByte demonstration, Jeff Thompson shows us how to change how vvoiceover pronounces words that just don't sound right. You can also change the word completely, the choice is yours. Do you have an App or particular word or name that gets mis-pronounced by your VoiceOver voice? You can change that in just a few quick steps. Pronunciation Replacement Go to the Settings icon and single finger double tap or ask Siri, “Open Settings”. Single finger swipe to the right  down to, “Accessibility”. Single finger double tap. Swipe down to, “Spoken Content”. Swipe to the right down to, Pronunciations. You could do a four finger tap near the bottom of the screen and land on, “Pronunciations” as an alternative and faster method. If you have no previous entries, swipe to the right twice to “Add” and double tap. If you have previous entries, swipe once to the left to “Add” and double tap. Type in the phrase you wish to substitute. Swipe to the right and enter  , “substitute phrase.  Spell out how you want the phrase to be pronounced. Swipe to the left to “Play” (located in the upper right hand corner of the screen) and double tap to hear how the new phrase is pronounced. Re-try spelling if not satisfied. Apply to specific VoiceOver Voice or to All Swipe down to, “Voices” and choose the VoiceOver voice that will apply this substitute phrase. Apply to a specific App or apply to all Swipe down to, “Apply to all apps” and double tap to toggle on or off. If you turn “Apply to all apps” off, swipe to the right and proceed through the list of apps you want the replacement to take effect. Note: Changes take effect immediately.  Be sure to check out all the Blind Abilities iPhone101/QuickBytes and subscribe to the Blind Abilities podcastwherever you listen to podcasts. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 QuickByte Jeff Thompson will show you how one can set up a Sleep Focus to ensure a peaceful night sleep and only Allowed Notifications will come through. And, setting up weekday and Weekend settings for the times of your choosing. Basic Settings: Open “Settings” with Siri or a Single finger double tap on the Settings icon. Single finger swipe right down to “Focus” and Single finger double tap to open. Swipe to the right down to “Sleep” and Single finger double tap. Toggle on or off with a single finger double tap. Swipe right down through the  “Bedtime” and Wake Time settings and tap on “Edit”. Select your Bedtime and Wake time. Tap on “Done”. Note: You can ask Siri to turn on or off Sleep Focus at any time. Allowed Notifications Heading People None allowed., single finger double tap to add groups or individuals from your contact list. Apps none allowed., Single finger double tap to add from your app list. You can toggle back and forth from people or apps. Swipe to the right Remove all people/apps or add people from contacts or from your apps list. You can allow people from your favorites or time sensitive notifications immediately when sleep focus is turned on. Apple has really put a lot of options in the Focus settings and the Sleep Mode is just one example of the personalization that you can cu for your needs. This QuickByte shows but one way to set up the Sleep mode and I hope you have learned enough to explore all the settings and make Sleep Mode a tool that you can use. Siri Announcing Notifications Go to Settings Icon, single finger double tap. Swipe down to “Focus”, single finger double tap. Swipe down to Siri Heading and swipe one more time to, “Announce notifications, single finger double tap to toggle On or Off. Be sure to check out all the Blind Abilities iPhone101/QuickBytes and subscribe to the Blind Abilities podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Blind Abilities presents a new iPhone101 series entitled: "Managing Mail Messages and Accounts in iOS - Adding, Retrieving and  Deleting, Oh My!” This new series provides various in depth demonstrations aimed at giving you the tools to effectively manage your email in an organized and efficient manner. Pete Lane walks us through each step of these processes with snappy and thorough presentations.  Part 6 Adding a brand new Gmail account to the iPhone, going into the Google.com web site, choosing an email address, and adding it to the phone. Enjoy this peppy and informative presentation in which Blind Abilities offers another educational gem in its iPhone 101 library of demonstrations.   Step-by-Step Process: Note: This process is very similar to the process presented in our previous episode for adding an existing Gmail account, except that you must choose the new email address you wish to use. If you are creating a new Gmail account, we suggest that you choose several potential new email addresses in case your favorites are already taken and therefore rejected by Google. This scenario is covered below in step 5. Ask Siri to open the “Settings” app, or perform a single-finger double-tap on the App icon. Flick down to “Mail” and perform a single-finger double-tap, then flick down and single-finger double-tap to select “Accounts. Flick down and perform a single-finger double-tap on “Add Account”. Select the email account service you wish to add by performing a Single-finger double-tap on that item in the list: iCloud, Exchange, Google / Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com / Hotmail, or “Other”. If you choose to add a Gmail account, single-finger double-tap on Google. In this case iOS will immediately prompt you to go to Google.com to sign in and register the email account. Single-finger double-tap on “Continue” to proceed to the web site. Since you are creating a brand new Gmail account, swipe right, past the sign-in elements, skip the “next” button and single-finger double-tap on “create account button". Follow the prompts: type in your first and last name, birth date and gender, and then choose and type in the email address and login information requested. Since this is a new account, the address and password will be one you choose yourself, so think about this ahead of time. Also, you will be given a couple of email addresses to select if you so choose, but if you prefer using one of your own,  keep in mind that  many common addresses may no longer be available. Because someone else has already selected them.  In this case, Google will reject them so be ready to try another one. This may happen several times. You will now be prompted to provide your cellular phone number so Google can contact you when needed. Once you agree and type in your phone number, you will immediately be sent a six-digit security code via text message. Be ready for this as you are given a short, 30 second time frame to retrieve and enter it. Note: Dictation does not behave well in these text fields, so be prepared to type-in the information using your onscreen or bluetooth keyboard. After providing your phone number and entering the security code, you will be presented a “Save” button, single-finger double-tap. You will then move back to the previous screen showing your email accounts, including the newly added account. You can also return to your Mail App to verify that the new account is listed there as well. Congratulations, you have finished creating a new email address! Be sure to check out all the iPhone101/QuickByte demos on Blind Abilities. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Blind Abilities presents a new iPhone101 Series entitled: "Managing Mail Messages and Accounts in iOS - Adding, Retrieving and  Deleting, Oh My!”  This new series provides a series of in depth demonstrations aimed at giving you the tools to effectively manage your email in an organized and efficient manner. Pete Lane walks us through each step of these processes with snappy and thorough presentations.  Parts 4 and 5 introduction to the process of deleting an email account from an iOS device. Specifically, Part 4: Using his Gmail accounts as an example, going into the Settings App and deleting it. Part 5 Demonstrates how to add an existing email account to a device, using the previously deleted Gmail account as the example, adding it back to the iPhone and migrating over to the Google.com web site as is required when adding or creating a Gmail account.  Step by Step processes: Part 4 - Deleting an Email account from Your iDevice   . Open your Settings App with a single-finger double-tap, or ask Siri to "open Settings". Then flick right until you arrive at “Mail”, single-finger double-tap. Flick right until you arrive at Accounts, then flick right to the particular account you wish to delete from the list provided (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud…), single-finger double-tap to select. Flick right to “Delete Account”, single-finger double-tap. Note: iOS will alert you that deleting the account will also remove other items from your device, such as, mail, notes or Calendars. Single-finger double-tap to confirm. This completes the deletion of the account from your device. You can verify it by performing a single-finger double-tap on the “Back” button and flick through the remaining list of accounts shown on the previous screen. Note: you can also check by using your App Switcher to toggle over to your Mail app and scroll through the list of Mailboxes listed there. Activate your App Switcher by rotating two fingers, like twisting a bottle-cap, clockwise or counter-clockwise until you hear Voiceover say “Mail”, then perform a single-finger double-tap to open Mail”. Flick to the Mailboxes to verify if the account has been removed.  Part 5: Adding an existing Email Account onto your iDevice: Ask Siri to open the “Settings” app, or perform a single-finger double-tap on the App icon. Flick down to “Mail” and perform a single-finger double-tap, then select “Accounts at the top of the new screen. Flick right to “Add Account”, then perform a single-finger double-tap. Select the email account service you wish to add by performing a Single-finger double-tap on that item in the list: iCloud, Exchange, Google / Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com / Hotmail, or “Other”. Note: If you choose to add a Gmail account, you should select Google. In this case iOS will refer you to Google.com to sign in and register the email account. Be ready with your email address and password, your name and gender, as Google will require this information during the process. Type in the email address and login information requested. Note: Dictation does not behave well with these text fields so be prepared to use the onscreen or a blue tooth keyboard. You will now be prompted to provide your cellular phone number so Google can contact you when needed. Once you do so, you will be sent a six-digit security code via text message. Be ready for this as you are given a 30 second time frame to retrieve and enter it quickly in the space provided. After providing your phone number and entering the security code, you will be presented a “Save” button, single-finger double-tap to do so. You will then move back to the previous screen showing your email accounts, including the newly added account. You can also return to your Mail App to verify that the new account is listed there as well. You are done! Congratulations! Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Blind Abilities presents a new iPhone101 Series entitled: "Managing Mail Messages and Accounts in iOS - Adding, Retrieving and  Deleting, Oh My!”  This new series provides five individual demonstrations aimed at giving you the tools to effectively manage your email in an organized and efficient manner. Pete Lane walks us through each step of these processes in a snappy and thorough presentation.  Part 3: The Mail Preview feature in iOS. The Mail Preview allows us to preview - read - a portion of an email while it is unopened in your Inbox. The portion of the email that can be previewed can range from none and up to five lines and is set by you in your Settings App. This can save you time in processing your emails and make you more efficient in using your Mail App. In fact, you may even be able to scroll through the majority of your Inbox without even having to open a single email.  In this short, iPhone 101 demonstration Pete Lane shows us not only where the Mail Preview settings reside on your iDevice, but how to adjust those settings for your optimal benefit.  The Process: Ask Siri to open Settings or Single finger double tap on the Settings icon. Single finger swipe right down to Mail and Single finger double tap. Swipe right to “Preview”, Single finger double tap. Select the Preview selection you want to us.  Your Mail app will now reflect this preview in all messages in all accounts. Merely swipe to a message and Voiceover will automatically read the preview lines to you.  As an alternative to waiting for Voiceover to read the preview lines, you can also perform a 3-finger single-tap anywhere on your screen once focused on the message in the mailbox, and Voiceover will read the preview immediately. This can be an effective tool for controlling the process of managing your email quickly and efficiently. Stay tuned for Parts 4, 5 and 6 of our series, "Managing Mail Messages and Accounts in iOS - Adding, Retrieving and  Deleting, Oh My!” as we demonstrate how to delete an entire email account, add that account back on to your iDevice and finally, how to add a brand new email account to your device. You can find Parts 1 and 2 of this iPhone101 Series and many more iPhone101 and QuickBytes here. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

This new iPhone101 series provides five individual demonstrations aimed at giving you the tools to effectively manage your email in an organized and efficient manner. Pete Lane walks us through each step of these processes in a snappy and thorough presentation.  Parts 1 and 2  An Introduction to various ways to delete individual emails, one at a time or in bulk quantities and then the process of retrieving deleted emails.             Process 1 - How to delete individual emails from your Mail App: Method 1: Open the Mail app by single finger double tapping on the Mail icon or ask Siri to, “Open Mail”. Single finger swipe left to right down to the email you want to delete. Flick up or down to the action item, “Delete”. Single finger double tap. Method 2: If you are reading an email and want to delete it, flick up or down to, “Trash”. Single finger double tap. You will then be placed in the next email message, opened and ready to read. Note: When deleting from an opened email, the app will open the next email automatically. You may or not want desire this action of auto-opening. You can also go back and delete from the email list as in the previous method above. How to delete multiple emails quickly: Open your Mail App with a single-finger double-tap, then flick right and select the account where you wish to delete emails, i.e. Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, etc. - single-finger double-tap. Then flick to the right and perform a single-finger double-tap on the Edit button. This will activate  a Select button. Single-finger double-tap on “Select All”, and proceed to step 3 below. If you do not wish to delete all of your mail messages, flick right and select  each email you wish to delete with a single-finger double-tap. Voiceover will say “selected” for each item you select..  At the bottom of the screen, single-finger double-tap on “Trash” or “Archive” to delete the selected messages. Retrieving Deleted email messages: After opening your Mail app with a single-finger double-tap, flick right until you reach your “Trash folder. This is where your deleted messages have been placed.  Flick right into the list of messages and select those which you wish to retrieve by performing a single-finger double-tap. When all have been selected, perform a 4-finger single-tap towards the bottom of your screen. Flick left with one finger until you reach “Move”, then single-finger double-tap. You will then be placed on the “back” button at the top of your screen. Flick right until you reach “Inbox”. Single-finger double-tap and the messages you have selected will be moved there.  You can verify this by flicking right into your list of messages in the “Inbox” to find they are no longer there.  Stay tuned for more installments in this new iPhone101 series, “Managing email Messages and Accounts”, when we explore how to delete entire accounts from your device,  and add both existing and new email accounts to your iDevice. We hope this will give you a more efficient approach towards managing and working in your Mail app in the future. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 QuickByte, Jeff Thompson takes us through the native Weather App and demonstrates how to add locations such as cities or airports to the location list. How to arrange the locations in a preferred order and how to change from Fahrenheit to Celsius or Celsius to Fahrenheit. Join in and learn how to add family, friends and points of interests to your location list in the native Weather App. Adding and Arranging locations in the native Weather App Open the Weather App, Hey Siri,, “Open Weather App”. Or single finger double tap on the Weather icon. Note: By default the opening screen will be of the location that holds the top position on the Location List. And, if the Weather App remains in your App Switcher, you will return to the last screen you were previously on. This demo is conducted as if the Weather App was not in the App Switcher, thus, opening to the default landing screen. 4 finger tap to go to the very bottom to “Location List”, single finger double tap. To add a new city, single finger swipe left to right twice to, “Search for a city or airport” search field, single finger double tap. Enter your city or airport by typing or dictation. You can use the 2 finger double tap to activate dictation or use the “dictate” button in the bottom right hand side of the keyboard. A list will populate just below and with a couple single finger swipes left to right, single finger double tap on the location you want. A new screen opens with your choice and can be added to your saved list of locations by single finger double tapping on, “Add”, in the upper right hand of the screen. You can choose, “Cancel”, and return to the search list and continue searching. To remove a location from your list: Open the Weather App, Hey Siri,, “Open Weather App”. Or single finger double tap on the Weather icon. 4 finger tap to go to the very bottom to “Location List”, single finger double tap. Swipe down through your list and flick up to the delete choice  and single finger double tap. Note: ensure that your Rotor setting is set to, “Actions” for these choices to appear. Moving Locations in the list While on the Location List page, go to the location you want to move and flick up until you have the desired, Move Up or Move Down, single finger double tap. OR Drag and drop by going to the location you want to move and then single finger swipe left to right to, “Reorder Button, Draggable”. Do a single finger double tap and hold, then slide your finger up or down, listening and let go when the desired location is achieved. Changing from Fahrenheit to Celsius or Celsius to Fahrenheit. Open the Weather App, Hey Siri,, “Open Weather App”. Or single finger double tap on the Weather icon. 4 finger tap near the top of the screen  and single finger swipe left to right to the, “More”, button, single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down to Fahrenheit or Celsius and Choose by Single Finger Double Tapping on either one.   Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Welcome to another iPhone101 QuickByte from Blind Abilities. In this QuickByte, Jeff Thompson shows how to turn on Emergency Bypass for those specific  contacts for specific moments when you need that call or text. Occasionally you might like to put your phone on silent or put it in do not disturb mode for those times you may be at the theatre or cinema, or you could be in an important meeting. But at the same time there may be occasions you need to be on standby to receive an important call from a child, parent etc. Setting up Emergency  Bypass for a specific contact: Single finger double tap on the Phone icon On the bottom tab bar, single finger tap on Contacts. Select the contact you want to allow to bypass. Swipe to the left to “Edit”. Single finger double tap on edit. Single finger swipe left to right down to Ringtone. Single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down to Emergency Bypass. Toggle on or off by single finger double tapping. Tap on Done in the Upper right hand corner to save changes. Again, tap on Done in the Upper right hand corner to save changes. Emergency Bypass allows sounds and vibrations from this person even when the ring switch is set to silent, or when Do Not Disturb is on. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 Quickbyte, Jeff Thompson takes us through the Message Notification Repeat settings and Banners, Sounds, Badges and Announcements. The main serving in this QuickByte is the settings for repeat alerts. However, along the way, Jeff shows us what he has the settings set as and gives us a little insight on the reason behind his choices. Go to Settings on your home screen, single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down to Messages, single finger double tap. Single finger swipe down to Notifications, single finger double tap.. Swipe left to right down to customize Messages, single finger double tap. Choose between, “Repeat Alerts Never” or “”Repeat Alerts”. If Repeat Alerts is selected, Choose between Never, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 times to repeat. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

In this iPhone101 Quickbyte, Jeff Thompson dives into the App Store Refresh and then tours the App Store Settings. While Apple does not push the updates to the App Store as much as some of us would like, doing a refresh gesture can maximize the app updates that are available. Two Refresh Gesture Techniques First, get the screens attention by touching a random area on the screen or page you want to refresh, then use one of the following gestures: The single finger double tap and hold then slide down and let go. The 3 finger pull down. This is my fav. One area in particular that these gestures work nicely is in the App Store. Note: If you have App Updates set to automatic, this will not be necessary. To change or to set up auto app updating, see below. When checking for app updates, Single finger double tap on the App Store icon. On the Today screen, single finger swipe left to right one time to My Account. Note: if you do not land on the Today screen when opening the App Store, Single finger double tap on the Today tab in the tab bar at the bottom left corner  of the screen. Then single finger swipe left to right one time to My account. Single finger double tap on My Account Single finger Swipe left to right down to, “Available Updates” or “Updated Recently”. Refresh the screen by doing either the single finger double tap and hold then slide down and release, or, do the 3 finger swipe down from the top and release. Note: the number of available updates may appear or increase significantly if updates are available. You can use these gestures to refresh web sites in Safari or other apps. Whilst the Safari Address/Tab bar has now been adapted with a refresh button, giving us another method of conducting a refresh. To change your app update settings from or to Automatic do the following: Go to settings and single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down to App Store and single finger double tap. Single finger swipe left to right down past the Automatic Downloads heading. Single finger double tap on Apps to on or off. Single finger swipe left to right once  more down to App Updates. Single finger double tap to turn App Updates on or off. Single finger swipe left to right past Cellular Data heading. Single finger double tap on Automatic Downloads on or off. If choosing to turn on cellular Data for Automatic Downloads, single finger swipe left to right one more time down to “App Downloads, Ask if over 200 mb” and single finger double tap to turn on or off. Single finger swipe left to right down to, “Video Auto-Play”, single finger double tap to turn on or off. Single finger swipe down to, “In-App Ratings and Revues”. Single finger double tap to turn on or off. Swipe down to, “Off-load Unused Apps”, single finger double tap to turn on or off. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group