Podcast appearances and mentions of peter korn

2339 Accessibility of Amazon Products (Sep. 27, 2023) Show Notes Amazon is dedicated to making their devices and services not only user friendly but also accessible to everyone no matter what their individual challenges might be. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Peter Korn, director of accessibility for Amazon's devices and services business, about … Continue reading 2339 Accessibility of Amazon Products (Sep. 27, 2023) →

On this episode of Why Make? we resume our conversation with Melanie Falick an independent writer, editor, creative consultant and lifelong maker who lives in the Hudson Valley in New York. We continue talking about the creation of her book Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live and also find out more about work on her new book, tentatively titled The Maker's Way. Melanie enjoys learning by challenging herself with new things and shares with us the struggle she experienced taking a woodworking class with Peter Korn and allowing herself to be present in a clay workshop with Simon Leach. So join us as we dig into the idea of compassionate capitalism, the history of the DIY movement, making for self care and wellness and how making can bring about happiness. Please enjoy the second part of our enriching Why Make? conversation with Melanie Falick.

Recorded September 19, 2022. Dr. Esra Alhamal creates illuminated paintings and works out of England.  In this episode, she clears up the language surrounding biomorphic patterns and the western idea of Islamic Art. Instead, Esra promotes the Arabic word Nabati; meaning “from plant” to describe the organic curvy patterns she uses to create illuminated paintings. She guides us through regional differences in the stylized visual patterns and talks about her own process as she creates different pieces. She teaches illumination, has her own paint company, and publishes a podcast about art, but still finds time to relax with the repetition of her own practice. As she says, it's nice to have a goal but being true to your creative self leads to satisfaction.Clarification: Esra was referring to two different books. Richard Sennet's “The Craftsman” and Peter Korn's “Why we make things and why it matters”To find more of Esra's work visit her website: https://www.islamicillumination.com/, or bristleandbrush.co.uk, and listen to her Podcast: https://www.islamicillumination.com/podcastInstagram: @artilluminatedpodcast, and @islamicilluminationHelp keep the podcast alive! Visit our Patreon, pick up some Merch, or make a one time donation! Listeners make it all possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Support the show

Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility for Amazon's Devices organization, and Achin Bhowmik, Starkey's Chief Technology Officer and EVP of Engineering, talk to Dave about the rapid pace of innovation specifically designed to help people with hearing loss. This includes their collaboration on Amazon's Fire TV Cube, which enables it to stream exclusively to compatible Starkey hearing aids for private listening from favorite streaming services, apps, games, and even Alexa. Link to full transcript

Staff Favorite ThingsQuesa Birria Tacos from Y Tu Mama - https://ytumama.com/menu/Monster Rehab - https://www.monsterenergy.com/products/monster-rehabFiskars Norden N10 Chopping Axe - https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/products/axes-mauls-and-machetes/norden-n10-chopping-axe-17-in-382811-1001Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - https://fredrikbackmanbooks.com/books/fredrik-backman-anxious-people.htmlA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - https://fredrikbackmanbooks.com/books/fredrik-backman-a-man-called-ove.htmlHaus HappeningsEnd of Year Giving Campaign - https://www.bonhoefferhaus.com/endofyear2021Ethics Hybrid on May 20-21 - https://www.bonhoefferhaus.com/ethicshybridBonhoeffer Haus - https://www.bonhoefferhaus.com/Christian Craftsmen in MusicAndy Mineo - https://andymineo.com/Jon Foreman - https://jonforeman.com/King's Kaleidoscope - https://www.kingskaleidoscope.com/John Mark McMillan - https://www.johnmarkmcmillan.com/Josh Garrels - https://www.joshgarrels.com/Nobigdyl. - https://www.dyllie.com/Lecrae - https://lecrae.com/KB - https://whoiskb.com/Jon Keith - https://open.spotify.com/artist/0PUc1lwaZpPJaMr0v4GdvoDerek Minor - http://www.derekminor.com/Canon - http://www.getthecanon.com/Indie tribe - https://indietribe.us/116 - http://www.reachrecords.com/artists/116/Trip Lee - http://www.reachrecords.com/artists/trip-lee/Dylan's Musical InfluencesDonald Glover Kendrick Lamar - http://www.kendricklamar.com/J.Cole - http://www.dreamville.com/artist/cole/OutKast - https://outkast-shop.com/Radiohead - https://www.radiohead.com/Coldplay - https://www.coldplay.com/Dylan's Lightning RoundDune - https://www.dunemovie.com/Dissect Podcast - https://dissectpodcast.com/Farmburguesa - https://farmburguesa.com/RND Coffee - https://www.roanokecoffee.com/Dylan's website - https://www.dylansprism.com/Dylan's Linktree - https://linktr.ee/DylansPrismResources on CraftsmanshipShop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford - http://www.matthewbcrawford.com/new-page-1-1-2Why We Make Things and Why It Matters by Peter Korn - http://www.peterkorn.com/Good Clean Fun by Nick Offerman - https://nickofferman.co/books/good-clean-fun/Anything by Wendell Berry Wendell Berry “Horse Drawn tools and the doctrine of labor saving” Why Work by Dorothy Sayers - https://depree.org/portal-resource/why-work-dorothy-sayers/Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequiest - https://smile.amazon.com/Bread-Wine-Letter-Around-Recipes/dp/0310328179/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bread+and+wine&qid=1638808242&sr=8-1Supper of the Lamb by Robert Capone - https://smile.amazon.com/Supper-Lamb-Culinary-Reflection-Library/dp/0375760563/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1638808273&sr=8-1Turning of Days by Hannah Anderson - https://smile.amazon.com/Turning-Days-Lessons-Nature-Season/dp/0802418562/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=turning+of+days&qid=1638808318&sr=8-1Hammer & Quill CreditsIntro music - King Kong by L.A. SymphonyOutro music - Skip the Cliffs by Dylan DentAll transition music by Daniel Flynn

Peter Korn has written an excellent Philosophy-Autobiography. After all who doesn't like a book that tells a great woodworker's story and gives some deep insights into why this story matters!

Hey everyone, how are you doing and feeling? It's a lot, isn't it? This weekend is both Samhain and a blue moon in Taurus, so I wanted to send some love, some resources and some ideas your way. I am also sharing what rituals I'll do this weekend and I have an exciting announcement for low cost creativity sessions this winter.  Here are the podcasts I've mentioned: https://daphnecohn.com/podcasts/ https://forthewild.world/ Some books I am reading - Why we make things and why it matters by Peter Korn and If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie My book Rituals: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/book/ If you'd like to join the creativity sessions this winter you can become a Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/daydreamingwolves Wherever you are and whatever you do I hope you'll have some moments of rest and sweetness! Love, Yarrow

Mikah describes the installation of his smart thermostat (including the frustrations that abounded therein). Amazon's Alexa voice service included a bug that could cough up a user's voice history to hackers. Google rolls out its Bedtime Mode to all Android devices via the Google Clock app. ALEXAAn Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers | Ars Technica: https://bit.ly/3h1fzUtExclusive: Amazon Accessibility Boss Peter Korn Talks Text Banner's Fire TV Debut And Assistive Technologies At Amazon | Forbes: https://bit.ly/320lOSjWoman fools gift card scammer by pretending to be Alexa and a senior citizen ... at the same time | Newsweek: https://bit.ly/3ayMrBp GOOGLE5 Google Assistant features you should turn off today | CNET: https://cnet.co/2E1Fw8aSolve Complex Equations By Scanning Them With These Google Apps | Lifehacker: https://bit.ly/3iO9b3qGoogle to invest $450M in smart home security solutions provider ADT | TechCrunch: https://tcrn.ch/323zRq2Compact Google Assistant on Android sees wider beta rollout - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3kSADPp SLEEP TRACKINGAll Androids can now use Google Clock's Bedtime Mode - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3aAiXDpThe Sleep app for watchOS 7 is a superb way to get into a bedtime routine | iMore: https://bit.ly/2YrwsR9 WEARABLESGoogle's Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming | Gizmodo: https://bit.ly/3kRD9oZGoogle remembers Wear OS exists, announces update with handwashing timer | InputMag: https://bit.ly/3139rFKSamsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change | The Verge: https://bit.ly/2FzBVP6 ecobee Smart Thermostat | Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aApGgp PICKS OF THE WEEKMikah: Wayre Black High Tech Washable Mask | Wayre: https://bit.ly/2Q2VfpWMatthew: Planta | App Store: https://apple.co/3241Dmb Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Matthew Cassinelli Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today Show notes and links for this episode are available here: https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today/episodes/42 Sponsors: mintmobile.com/stt expressvpn.com/stt

Mikah describes the installation of his smart thermostat (including the frustrations that abounded therein). Amazon's Alexa voice service included a bug that could cough up a user's voice history to hackers. Google rolls out its Bedtime Mode to all Android devices via the Google Clock app. ALEXAAn Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers | Ars Technica: https://bit.ly/3h1fzUtExclusive: Amazon Accessibility Boss Peter Korn Talks Text Banner's Fire TV Debut And Assistive Technologies At Amazon | Forbes: https://bit.ly/320lOSjWoman fools gift card scammer by pretending to be Alexa and a senior citizen ... at the same time | Newsweek: https://bit.ly/3ayMrBp GOOGLE5 Google Assistant features you should turn off today | CNET: https://cnet.co/2E1Fw8aSolve Complex Equations By Scanning Them With These Google Apps | Lifehacker: https://bit.ly/3iO9b3qGoogle to invest $450M in smart home security solutions provider ADT | TechCrunch: https://tcrn.ch/323zRq2Compact Google Assistant on Android sees wider beta rollout - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3kSADPp SLEEP TRACKINGAll Androids can now use Google Clock's Bedtime Mode - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3aAiXDpThe Sleep app for watchOS 7 is a superb way to get into a bedtime routine | iMore: https://bit.ly/2YrwsR9 WEARABLESGoogle's Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming | Gizmodo: https://bit.ly/3kRD9oZGoogle remembers Wear OS exists, announces update with handwashing timer | InputMag: https://bit.ly/3139rFKSamsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change | The Verge: https://bit.ly/2FzBVP6 ecobee Smart Thermostat | Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aApGgp PICKS OF THE WEEKMikah: Wayre Black High Tech Washable Mask | Wayre: https://bit.ly/2Q2VfpWMatthew: Planta | App Store: https://apple.co/3241Dmb Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Matthew Cassinelli Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today Show notes and links for this episode are available here: https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today/episodes/42 Sponsors: mintmobile.com/stt expressvpn.com/stt

Mikah describes the installation of his smart thermostat (including the frustrations that abounded therein). Amazon's Alexa voice service included a bug that could cough up a user's voice history to hackers. Google rolls out its Bedtime Mode to all Android devices via the Google Clock app. ALEXAAn Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers | Ars Technica: https://bit.ly/3h1fzUtExclusive: Amazon Accessibility Boss Peter Korn Talks Text Banner's Fire TV Debut And Assistive Technologies At Amazon | Forbes: https://bit.ly/320lOSjWoman fools gift card scammer by pretending to be Alexa and a senior citizen ... at the same time | Newsweek: https://bit.ly/3ayMrBp GOOGLE5 Google Assistant features you should turn off today | CNET: https://cnet.co/2E1Fw8aSolve Complex Equations By Scanning Them With These Google Apps | Lifehacker: https://bit.ly/3iO9b3qGoogle to invest $450M in smart home security solutions provider ADT | TechCrunch: https://tcrn.ch/323zRq2Compact Google Assistant on Android sees wider beta rollout - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3kSADPp SLEEP TRACKINGAll Androids can now use Google Clock's Bedtime Mode - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3aAiXDpThe Sleep app for watchOS 7 is a superb way to get into a bedtime routine | iMore: https://bit.ly/2YrwsR9 WEARABLESGoogle's Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming | Gizmodo: https://bit.ly/3kRD9oZGoogle remembers Wear OS exists, announces update with handwashing timer | InputMag: https://bit.ly/3139rFKSamsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change | The Verge: https://bit.ly/2FzBVP6 ecobee Smart Thermostat | Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aApGgp PICKS OF THE WEEKMikah: Wayre Black High Tech Washable Mask | Wayre: https://bit.ly/2Q2VfpWMatthew: Planta | App Store: https://apple.co/3241Dmb Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Matthew Cassinelli Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today Show notes and links for this episode are available here: https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today/episodes/42 Sponsors: mintmobile.com/stt expressvpn.com/stt

Mikah describes the installation of his smart thermostat (including the frustrations that abounded therein). Amazon's Alexa voice service included a bug that could cough up a user's voice history to hackers. Google rolls out its Bedtime Mode to all Android devices via the Google Clock app. ALEXAAn Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers | Ars Technica: https://bit.ly/3h1fzUtExclusive: Amazon Accessibility Boss Peter Korn Talks Text Banner's Fire TV Debut And Assistive Technologies At Amazon | Forbes: https://bit.ly/320lOSjWoman fools gift card scammer by pretending to be Alexa and a senior citizen ... at the same time | Newsweek: https://bit.ly/3ayMrBp GOOGLE5 Google Assistant features you should turn off today | CNET: https://cnet.co/2E1Fw8aSolve Complex Equations By Scanning Them With These Google Apps | Lifehacker: https://bit.ly/3iO9b3qGoogle to invest $450M in smart home security solutions provider ADT | TechCrunch: https://tcrn.ch/323zRq2Compact Google Assistant on Android sees wider beta rollout - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3kSADPp SLEEP TRACKINGAll Androids can now use Google Clock's Bedtime Mode - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3aAiXDpThe Sleep app for watchOS 7 is a superb way to get into a bedtime routine | iMore: https://bit.ly/2YrwsR9 WEARABLESGoogle's Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming | Gizmodo: https://bit.ly/3kRD9oZGoogle remembers Wear OS exists, announces update with handwashing timer | InputMag: https://bit.ly/3139rFKSamsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change | The Verge: https://bit.ly/2FzBVP6 ecobee Smart Thermostat | Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aApGgp PICKS OF THE WEEKMikah: Wayre Black High Tech Washable Mask | Wayre: https://bit.ly/2Q2VfpWMatthew: Planta | App Store: https://apple.co/3241Dmb Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Matthew Cassinelli Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today Show notes and links for this episode are available here: https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today/episodes/42 Sponsors: mintmobile.com/stt expressvpn.com/stt

Mikah describes the installation of his smart thermostat (including the frustrations that abounded therein). Amazon's Alexa voice service included a bug that could cough up a user's voice history to hackers. Google rolls out its Bedtime Mode to all Android devices via the Google Clock app. ALEXAAn Alexa bug could have exposed your voice history to hackers | Ars Technica: https://bit.ly/3h1fzUtExclusive: Amazon Accessibility Boss Peter Korn Talks Text Banner's Fire TV Debut And Assistive Technologies At Amazon | Forbes: https://bit.ly/320lOSjWoman fools gift card scammer by pretending to be Alexa and a senior citizen ... at the same time | Newsweek: https://bit.ly/3ayMrBp GOOGLE5 Google Assistant features you should turn off today | CNET: https://cnet.co/2E1Fw8aSolve Complex Equations By Scanning Them With These Google Apps | Lifehacker: https://bit.ly/3iO9b3qGoogle to invest $450M in smart home security solutions provider ADT | TechCrunch: https://tcrn.ch/323zRq2Compact Google Assistant on Android sees wider beta rollout - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3kSADPp SLEEP TRACKINGAll Androids can now use Google Clock's Bedtime Mode - 9to5Google | 9to5Google: https://bit.ly/3aAiXDpThe Sleep app for watchOS 7 is a superb way to get into a bedtime routine | iMore: https://bit.ly/2YrwsR9 WEARABLESGoogle's Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming | Gizmodo: https://bit.ly/3kRD9oZGoogle remembers Wear OS exists, announces update with handwashing timer | InputMag: https://bit.ly/3139rFKSamsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change | The Verge: https://bit.ly/2FzBVP6 ecobee Smart Thermostat | Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aApGgp PICKS OF THE WEEKMikah: Wayre Black High Tech Washable Mask | Wayre: https://bit.ly/2Q2VfpWMatthew: Planta | App Store: https://apple.co/3241Dmb Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Matthew Cassinelli Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today Show notes and links for this episode are available here: https://twit.tv/shows/smart-tech-today/episodes/42 Sponsors: mintmobile.com/stt expressvpn.com/stt

2033 Amazon and Accessibility for All (Aug. 12, 2020) Show Notes Amazon makes a vast array of products from smart speakers to microwave ovens that incorporate universal design concepts that enable their devices to be useable by and accessible to everyone. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Peter Korn, director of accessibility at Amazon … Continue reading 2033 Amazon and Accessibility for All (Aug. 12, 2020) →

Please take note: There are a lot of references to the Amazon Echo devices on this episode. If you are listening with devices nearby, please consider covering their ears -- AKA mute their microphones. We bring to you part one from the Information Access Committee presentation at the ACB Conference and Convention. You will hear Brian Charlson tell you a little about what the IAC does and how they do it. Then, Peter Korn and Josh Miele from Amazon talk about the latest devices and improvements in accessibility. Don't miss it!

Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility at Amazon’s Lab 126, Gives Us a Demo on the Alexa equipped Microwave Oven. Peter also goes over the brand new Echo Show 5 which comes with a 5 inch diaganol screen and Voice View built screen reading capabilities as well as Alexa all in one. Full Transcript Below Peter gives us an overview of the Amazon Fire TV Addition Toshiba Smart TV’s now available in 20 different models starting at 24 inches with a HD Screen for $150 and up to a 55 inch, 4K Ultra HD Screen and Dolby for only $450. Yes, the Toshiba comes with Amazon Fire TV technology, Voice View and Magnification Built-In to the Amazon Fire TV Addition TV right out of the box. Peter also goes over the Fire Tablets and the Braille support features as well as the newest feature called Hands Free Alexa.  Join Peter Korn and Simon Bonenfant as they make some popcorn using Alexa commands and talk Amazon devices. You can find out more about all the Amazon devices on the web at www.Amazon.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. To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org and search the directory for your agency. Contact: Thank you for listening! 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. Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impairedand the Assistive Technology Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired.   Full Transcript   While Popping Popcorn with Alexa, Peter Korn and Simon Bonenfant Talk Echo Show 5, Amazon Fire TV Addition Toshiba TVs and the Affordable Fire Tablets with Braille Support. #NFB19   Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Blind Abilities. Here's our teen correspondent, Simon Bonenfant.   Simon Bonenfant: Hello, everyone on Blind Abilities. This is Simon Bonenfant reporting from Las Vegas, Nevada at the 2019 National Federation of the Blind National Convention. I'm in the Exhibit Hall today, and I'm at the Amazon area here. I got a chance to talk to Peter Korn. How's it going, Peter?   Peter Korn: It's going very well. It's wonderful to be here at the NFB Convention in Las Vegas.   Simon Bonenfant: That's great. Can you explain to the listeners your title and a little bit about what you do at Amazon?   Peter Korn: Sure. This is my sixth year with Amazon. I'm the director of accessibility for all of our devices, and this is my 28th year in the field of accessibility, having cut my teeth on the outSPOKEN screen reader for Macintosh and Windows back in the mid-nineties.   Simon Bonenfant: Wow. So you have a lot of good accessibility knowledge. That's great. But what kind of features does Amazon offer for accessibility?   Peter Korn: Well, every device that we make has a host of accessibility features built in. We're standing right now in front of a Toshiba television, but this isn't just any Toshiba television, this is the Amazon Fire TV addition television. So it's got all of our Fire TV technology built into it. That means it has the VoiceView screen reader built in. It has our Magnifier built in. It has Alexa built in.   Peter Korn: Being a streaming television, it also means that I can stream Prime Video, and we have nearly 600 Prime Video titles with audio description. That includes every Amazon original title that we make, plus many things from Warner Brothers and so on.   Peter Korn: You can also watch Netflix or Hulu or Showtime or HBO on this television. And it's a television, so you can plug in an antenna and you can get over the air broadcast TV. If you're in one of the 60 major metropolitan areas, you can even get one of the few hours of audio described broadcast TV and enjoy that with description on this television.   Peter Korn: This is the 50-inch model. We have 20 different models, starting at 24 inches and an HD screen for 150 bucks, all the way up to a 55 inch, 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision model for $450.   Simon Bonenfant: Very cool. You have some Alexa enabled devices as well?   Peter Korn: If we come around this way, the newest of our Echo devices, this is the new Echo Show 5. The Show 5 is one of our Echo devices with a screen. It's a five-inch diagonal screen. It's got Amazon Alexa in it. Everything you can do with any other Alexa device, you can do with this one. Plus, if you want... You're sighted. You like the idea of having a little clock by your nightstand. This is the perfect size to display a nice big clock.   Peter Korn: It has a screen, which means it has VoiceView and it has our Magnifier, because we don't make screens and expect that people can use them if they don't have a screen reader on them.   Peter Korn: So I accidentally unplugged it as I pulled it forward. It's plugged back in and it's finishing booting up. It finished booting up and that's the VoiceView turning on sound that we've just heard.   Simon Bonenfant: Very nice.   Peter Korn: It's still finishing its boot up here. Once it's finished booting up, I'm going to ask it to do some stuff.   Peter Korn: I also have right next to it-   Alexa: VoiceView ready. 2:08 PM.   Peter Korn: ... Yes, dear. I have the Amazon Basics Alexa enabled microwave.   Simon Bonenfant: Yeah, I saw that yesterday. That was pretty cool. Yeah, talk about a little about that for us.   Peter Korn: Yeah. So this is $59.99 microwave will pair with Alexa, and I can use my voice to cook. So I'm going to take this little bag of Skinny Girl popcorn, pop it into the microwave, and then say, "Alexa, microwave one ounce of popcorn,"   Alexa: Starting popcorn. One Minute, eight seconds.   Simon Bonenfant: Wow.   Peter Korn: And there she goes.   Simon Bonenfant: And I can-   Peter Korn: And in little under a minute, we're going to have some hot buttered popcorn.   Simon Bonenfant: ... I can kind of hear it and I can kind of smell it too. It's kind of cooking.   Peter Korn: It is.   Simon Bonenfant: Wow. That is really neat. Yeah.   Peter Korn: Some of the newer, well for many years now, microwaves have had the ability to do fairly complex things like defrost a pound and a half of chicken.   Peter Korn: I do this many minutes at this low power setting, and then bring up the power for a few more minutes, and bring up the power again for the last few minutes, right? That little programming there. But typing all of that in on the touch panel is really difficult, but you can just use your voice-   Simon Bonenfant: And Alexa figures out the settings and the modes it needs.   Peter Korn: ... Exactly. So you can reheat your dinner, you can pop popcorn, you can say, "This much ground beef to defrost."   Simon Bonenfant: And it does it. Wow.   Peter Korn: And it just does it. And-   Simon Bonenfant: Really cool.   Peter Korn: ... Well-   Simon Bonenfant: And there it is.   Peter Korn: ... There's my popcorn.   Simon Bonenfant: Look at that. Wow. That's really cool.   Peter Korn: Just open it up here. It's nice and smoking hot.   Simon Bonenfant: It is. Wow. I can feel that. I smell it too. Wow, that's cool.   Peter Korn: If you want some hot popcorn, reach on in.   Simon Bonenfant: I'll try a little bit. Wow.   Peter Korn: And there you go.   Simon Bonenfant: I also noticed yesterday, I was over here and you had some tablets. Talk about them a little bit.   Peter Korn: These are the Fire tablets. We've got the seven-inch model for $49.99. Has VoiceView, has our Magnifier, has large print. You can watch movies, you can read Kindle books, you can play audio books.   Peter Korn: New this year, we have what's called hands-free Alexa, where there's a special chip in this tablet that allows it to be mostly asleep, but just quietly listening with a little bit of power for the wake word. And when you say it, she then responds.   Simon Bonenfant: That's cool.   Peter Korn: And that's again $49. It also has very powerful Braille support-   Simon Bonenfant: Wow.   Peter Korn: ... built in. We've been doing a lot to make a very efficient Braille interface. These Braille displays are fairly expensive. And you pay maybe a few hundred, maybe $700 for a 20-cell display. But for the most part, they're into the thousands of dollars.   Simon Bonenfant: Yeah, that's true.   Peter Korn: So those cells are really precious. So you don't want to waste a ton of space saying, "Checkbox checked," and then the name of the checkbox. That's already off the end of your 20-   Simon Bonenfant: Right. Yeah, yeah.   Peter Korn: ... Right? So we use special non-character Braille glyphs to tell you that it's a checked checkbox. We have-   Simon Bonenfant: So it's not going to take up cells.   Peter Korn: ... It's going to take up three cells.   Simon Bonenfant: Okay.   Peter Korn: To say this-   Simon Bonenfant: So it's a lot less. Wow. Okay.   Peter Korn: ... Exactly.   Simon Bonenfant: That's great. So you're getting more Braille for your space. You're optimizing the space and the Braille.   Peter Korn: Now at the same time, you've probably seen a lot of these tablets. You have a row of icons right on the home screen. And you focus one icon at a time and you put one icon's worth of text on the Braille display.   Peter Korn: Well, if it's Kindle, that's six letters. You still have another 14 characters on that display that you're not using. So we will create a line of multiple things on the same row. Though the same idea, we use as many of those precious cells as we can to make a more efficient interface, where the bottom of the screen, you've got back, home, and app switcher. B-A-C-K, space, H-O-M-E, space, A-P-P, and then the rest of it is off the end.   Peter Korn: I've got touch cursors over each cell. So when I navigate down to back, home, app switcher, I can just touch the button over, back or home-   Simon Bonenfant: And it'll do it.   Peter Korn: ... and it'll do it. I don't have to navigate through all three. I'm more efficient. I'm more productive.   Simon Bonenfant: Yeah, that is. Wow.   Peter Korn: So that's some of the innovation that's in VoiceView Braille available on all three tablets starting at 49 bucks.   Simon Bonenfant: Wow. That's available right now.   Peter Korn: Available right now. You can go to the Amazon store in the sky from your browser or from your iPhone, from your whatever, and order it. Well, fantastic. Thank you so much for coming by. Is there anything else I can help you with?   Simon Bonenfant: No, that's all for me. That's all for you. We're good. So thank you, Peter, for talking with me today. Thank you for talking to the listeners of the Blind Abilities podcast.   Simon Bonenfant: I'm very grateful for the work that you're doing at Amazon. You're doing a lot of good work for the community, the blindness community. And a lot of good things are coming because of your vast knowledge of accessibility and your drive to make things work well. I appreciate the work you do.   Peter Korn: It's just an utter pleasure to be in this field and to be at a company like Amazon that can have such a huge impact on the lives of our customers with disabilities.   Jeff Thompson: Thank you, Peter Korn. And thank you, Simon Bonenfant. Be sure to check out all of our 2019 Convention coverage right here on Blind Abilities.   Jeff Thompson: Enable the Blind Abilities Skill on your Amazon device just by saying, "Enable Blind Abilities."   Jeff Thompson: You can download the Blind Abilities podcast on to your Victor Stream, on to any of your podcatcher of choice. Downcast, Overcast, the Apple Podcast app in your iDevice. TuneIn radio, IHeartRadio. If you've got Siri, you've got Google, you've got Amazon, then you've got Blind Abilities.   Jeff Thompson: Most importantly, I want to thank you, the listener. I want to thank you for listening. Hope you enjoyed, and until next time, bye-bye.   [Music]  [Transition noise]  -When we share -What we see -Through each other's eyes...   [Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]   ...We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.   Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts with the blindness perspective: Check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com On Twitter @BlindAbilities Download our app from the App store:  'Blind Abilities'; that's two words. Or send us an e-mail at: info@blindabilities.com Thanks for listening.

JobInsightsExtra: Employment Breakouts, Aira on Employment and Zoom Zooms Ahead and a Great Tool in the Indeed App Full Transcript Below: In this Job Insights Extra Serina Gilbert and Jeff Thompson talk about the Employment Breakout Sessions at conventions. How Airais focused on employment, education and Bringing more value to their services. Serina talks aboutIndeed, an app for smart phones and a web site that assists one during the job hunt and finding employment opportunities in the field you want. Zoom Cloud Meetingsis becoming the go-to tool for conferenceing and meetings because it just works and Zoom has a lot to offer. We include a small segment from our Blind Abilities podcast, “Aira Workshop on Employment, Education, and Aira as a Reasonable Accommodation,” with Michael Hingsonspeaking about Aira and how the Aira service can impact the job search, save time on the job and Aira as a Reasonable Accommodation. You can find the entire podcast on BlindAbilities.com We also bring you a conversation with Dacia Vanalstine, employment Specialist at State Services for the Blind. Dacia presented at the NFB Employment Committee workshops and Jeff sat down and asked her about the breakout sessions. We wanted to do this podcast to show how the conventions can be a resource for information, educational and a place that offers opportunities to meet and talk to professionals in the field.   Thanks for Listening! 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 Store. Get the Free blind Abilities App on the Google Play Store   Full Transcript:   JobInsightsExtra: Employment Breakouts, Aira on Employment and Zoom Zooms Ahead and a Great Tool in the Indeed App Serena Gilbert: Cue fancy music. Jeff Thompson: They had breakout groups that you could go into, one was on resume building, one was on disclosure, another was upward mobility, another was on job searching. Michael Hingson: Aira, by any definition of the Americans With Disabilities Act is a reasonable accommodation. Serena Gilbert: You already know I'm like Aira jealous. Jeff Thompson: Zoom works pretty good, you can record on it, you can do all sorts of stuff with it, it's just always blowing my mind a little bit. Serena Gilbert: You can also live stream to Facebook from Zoom and they'll show whatever you're showing on your Zoom screen in the Facebook Live. This podcast is not brought to you by Zoom. Jeff Thompson: Job Insights is a podcast that is helping you find careers and gainful employment through innovations and opportunities. You can find the Job Insights podcast on BlindAbilities.com, part of the Blind Abilities network. And as part of the Job Insights podcast, we will be bringing you the Job Insights extras, consisting of interviews, demonstrations, and news surrounding employment, careers, and jobs. With hosts Serena Gilbert, and myself, Jeff Thompson. And you can contact us by email at JobInsights@BlindAbilities.com. Leave us some feedback, or suggest some topics that we cover. On Twitter, @JobInsightsBIP. Serena Gilbert: I use the Indeed website all the time with my clients when we're looking at job openings. I like it because it filters all the scams, and weird Craigslist ads and things like that, and gets right to what you're really looking for. Jeff Thompson: In this Job Insights extra, we'll be talking about Aira, and how they are enhancing the opportunities in education and employment for students and job seekers alike. We tap into a little bit about Zoom. Is it replacing Skype? It seems to have all the features to do so. Give it a try, see what you think. We touch base on an app called Indeed, which is also a website, which will help you along your job seeking journey. And we expand upon how conventions can help you in the job market, employment, and as a student, and the upcoming CSUN Convention as well. Jeff Thompson: So now, please join Serena Gilbert and myself, Jeff Thompson in this Job Insights extra. We hope you enjoy. Jeff Thompson: Well how you doing Serena? Serena Gilbert: I am doing great, Jeff, how are you? Jeff Thompson: I'm doing good, just got back and I'm settling in back home here in Minnesota. Serena Gilbert: You survived. Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yep, a lot of employment stuff, and people showed up, and that's one thing about these conventions is not only do you get experience of traveling, different types of adventure through using mobility, getting to place to place, but you meet a lot of people, and you have a lot of opportunity to focus in on the agenda. And I focused in on the employment parts of it. Jeff Thompson: They had breakout groups that you could go into, one was on resume building, one was on disclosure, another was upward mobility, another was on job searching. There was lots of opportunities for people to get involved. And there was even one on meeting the voc rehab panel, there was a panel of voc rehab teachers and professionals in the field, DVIs, lots of good stuff. Serena Gilbert: I know that there was a lot of talk about how Aira fits into everything having to do with employment, from the job search even through to completing job tasks, is that right? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. I was in attendance at a breakout session Aira sponsored, and it was Aira and employment, and Michael Hingson was speaking, along with Patrick Lane. And they were talking about reasonable accommodations, how Aira fits that bill, the things you can do, it saves you time compared to how much it would cost for a reader for some applications, and how Aira has this program where if you are filling out a resume and getting help, and using Aira while you're researching a job, say you're going to an interview, and back again, all those minutes are covered by Aira. You don't have to pay for those minutes, so they're free. Serena Gilbert: That could be a nice way to help with ... I know sometimes there's applications that aren't the most accessible, and something weird kind of happens with it, and you kind of get stuck. So that'd be nice to be able to have the Aira agent help you figure that out, especially when it's a time sensitive employment application you're trying to get in. Jeff Thompson: Exactly, and usually you're doing that on the computer. Another thing with Aira is they have a partnership with VFO, Andrew Joyce and Jos. Serena Gilbert: So Jeff, I know there was an another one that I saw come through that they have just partnered with, do you remember who it was? Jeff Thompson: Oh yeah, more and more partnerships are being developed all the time and being announced. Just lately the 26 YMCAs in the Minneapolis area have come on board as a Aira access point, where you can use Aira services free. And some of the big news coming out is Andrew Cole from Microsoft, he's the senior data scientist that was responsible for developing seeing AI has now joined Aira as head of the artificial intelligence and research at IRA. That's great news, and Chloe is going to be worked on, and enhanced I'm sure. Yeah, where is this going to take us, we only know. But yeah, partnerships are being developed all the time, so stay tuned for more and more partnerships joining the Aira team and making Aira accessible and affordable to all. Jeff Thompson: Another area of growth is, I believe it's six days that their state agencies, vocational rehab, are now offering Aira as a service, and even colleges, their disabilities services office is now providing the service as well. Serena Gilbert: That's very nice to hear, I mean, I know it'll take a little while for the word to get out to the bureaucracy that it is. But I think it's great that that's something that people are considering to help with more accessibility for their clients. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Well, when you think about reasonable accommodation, what is it? Offering a free zone for your company, say you're a voc rehab, or a state agency for the blind and you have five or six people who could benefit from IRA, and if they do have it, why not allow those minutes to be free? I don't know, it's something interesting. I know San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is considering making their area a free zone as well. So like you said, it's catching on, I think it's becoming more of a household name in the blindness community. It used to be kind of a idea, or people didn't know it was really out there and working, but I believe they're growing. I would have to say they've got to be up to at least 2,000 some users now, especially now that they're worldwide. And even Minnesota. Serena Gilbert: That's a whole nother country there. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. But that puts it more on the clock. So you can turn around and actually have service around the clock. Serena Gilbert: And even before they went international I feel like they had pretty accessible hours, because I believe it was like 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Pacific time, or something like that, that's pretty good. Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). So now it's pretty much 24/7 and from what I reckoned, when we were ... reckoned, when did I ever use that word? Serena Gilbert: Yeah, who did you hang out with from the south there for a little while? Jeff Thompson: Yeah, there was people from all over the ... every walk of life is there. The blindness doesn't pull you all together, it's just normal people and we just have a common thing of visual challenges. Serena Gilbert: And that was in a free zone too, because I know they made Orlando and ... did they call it an Aira access point or something like that, where it was free for everyone? Jeff Thompson: Exactly. And we're the guest too because if you are down there with the iPhone, you could just download the app, sign up and you could get yourself an agent and use it just like you had it. Just like you were part of it, you were an explorer now, but you're a guest. I heard a lot of people really satisfied and excited about it. Serena Gilbert: I think that's really cool. I mean, you already know I'm like Aira jealous, and I'm just waiting for that price to come down a little bit for me- Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: Before I take that plunge. But I mean, it just sounds really cool. No surprise here, Jeff, so what I most want to do with is go shopping one day. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Well, to tell you the truth, I was in an Aira session, and Michael Hingson had a few words to say, so let's segue right into that right now. Michael Hingson: Aira, if you look at Aira in the general terms of what it is, Aira is an information source. Aira is a way that you can get any visual information that you otherwise would not have access to. When I talk to a lot of people about Aira, they think about the fact that oh, well, I really have good travel skills, so I don't need it. Or I've always got sighted people with me, so I don't have that problem. Let's deal with that in terms of a job. I'm on the job, I'm using JAWS, and suddenly the computer quits working. Now where do I go to get my sighted assistance? I'm in the office, I've got to go interrupt somebody else to get them to come and look at the screen, tell me what the error screen is, or of course the infamous blue screen of death. Michael Hingson: In any case, I have to go find someone. Why should I have to do that today? Because there is a way to do that on my own, namely using Aira. I can use Aira to contact an agent, the agent can look at the screen, see an error code, and if I can't easily move my cursor to where it needs to go, it's possible that I can even enter into a tandem or two way session using Team Voyeur or some other team technology with the agent. That might be a little harder with JAWS not talking, but for a lot of different things that I do where this is an inaccessible webpage, or something that isn't talking the way it should, I can interact with an agent and get their assistance, both in terms of actually having a session, a two way communication session, or at least getting information described. Michael Hingson: If I am an employee and I want to go to lunch, let's say I'm in sales and I want to take people somewhere for lunch for sales, I can more quickly use an Aira agent to research possible restaurants if I don't really know all the options, or when I get to the restaurant, or going to the restaurant using an agent's help to do all of that. Michael Hingson: Aira gives me the opportunity to get anything that I need that I don't otherwise have access to because it's visual. It is that simple, it is that general, and I urge people to look at Aira in that way. Don't limit yourself to looking at it as a travel device. Don't look at it as something that's going to diminish your skills, don't look at it as something that is anything other than what it is, an information source. And all of us, no matter how good our cane skills are, no matter how good our dog skills are, can benefit by having access to Aira, because Aira is the way that I can get more information to better tell my dog where I want to go, or interact with traveling with my cane. Michael Hingson: So you go off and you graduate, and then you go looking for a job. The first thing you should be aware of if you happen to be an Aira explorer is that we have an Aira access network for jobs, a job access network, whatever you want to call it, that will stick it in your memory. If you are doing anything relating to getting a job at all, whether it's writing a resume, writing a cover letter, making sure everything is formatted, getting dressed to go to a job interview, ladies putting on makeup, anything at all related to getting a job, that time is automatically free to you. So for any Aira explorer doing anything relating to getting a job is free. Michael Hingson: We are saying at Aira we want to take that unemployment from 70% unemployment rate among blind people down to 7%, which would be cool. And Aira is trying to help to make that happen by making it possible for you as an explorer to have access to the tools at no additional charge to get that job. Michael Hingson: What does it mean though as far as getting a job, and where does Aira fit into that? The way Aira fits in is really pretty simple. Aira, by any definition of the Americans With Disabilities Act is a reasonable accomodation. It is something that should be usable and used by you on the job. I can take almost any job that you can imagine and find a way Aira can help. Because again, remember what Aira is, an information source. It provides you with what information you need. Jeff Thompson: And this was just a snippet taken from the full podcast that we produced over on Blind Abilities. Be sure to check it out and see how Aira enhances the opportunities in employment, education, and as a student. There's a link in the shown notes, be sure to check it out. Jeff Thompson: So with Aira, it's getting more and more, like we said, a household name, more voc rehabs are aware of it, more counselors are aware of it, so who knows what it'll be tomorrow because they are ever changing. My wife Laurie just received the Horizon glasses, which puts the lens right in the center and gives you more of a fisheye look, so the agent can actually see more and do more. They have a Samsung device that is actually a phone, but it's locked for only Aira to use. So you turn that on and there's wire that goes up to the glasses, and now you don't have any connectivity between the Bluetooth for your phone to the wifi. You have three connections that all had to be in sync, and now it's just one wire, one phone, and I believe it's up to a seven and nine hour battery life. Serena Gilbert: Oh wow, that's pretty good. And I've heard they're pretty stylish now too. Because I guess the previous ones were like glasses with no lenses. Jeff Thompson: And some of these people are getting them with the tinted glass, so ... Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jeff Thompson: It seems all right. You know, it's Clark Kent-esque. Serena Gilbert: Oh. Jeff Thompson: Well face it, you do have a charge going to it, you do have batteries going to them, they do have a camera mounted in them, so you're not able to just have wire rims and aviator glasses so ... Laurie told me that they don't fall, they don't move once they're on, so they're real stable. That means a lot. When actually the agent wants you to look at something that you can just turn and you don't have to look like a bobble head in the back of a car. Jeff Thompson: They probably did a lot of research on this, Greg Stillson who was the product developer there, part of the team, did a great job on the Horizon. Good things on the horizon they say. Serena Gilbert: So did she get hers at the conference or did they mail them to her? Jeff Thompson: Before the convention happened they sent out notice that said if you were attending they would then bring the glasses there, and so when she was there she was on the list, and she received them. Serena Gilbert: Oh, that's awesome. Jeff Thompson: So she went up the room, put it on the charger, and later on tried them on and they seem to work really well for her, and she likes the idea that you don't have to use your phone to do it. It's kind of interesting because the wire plugs into the back end of the glasses, so the wire comes down your ... you know, it doesn't hang down your cheek, it goes- Serena Gilbert: So it's out of the way. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, it goes down behind your ear, and then down your shoulder. When she was using them I didn't even really recognize the ... well, my blindness helps there, I suppose. But yeah, people were excited about them. Jeff Thompson: You know Serena, we're talking about jobs and everything like that, one thing I noticed was kind of a common denominator, I would say three out of 10 people mentioned it while I was down there, the app and I believe there's a software product for computers, Indeed. Have you ever used that? Serena Gilbert: Yep, I use the Indeed website all the time with my clients when we're looking at job openings. Jeff Thompson: And you use that on the PC? Serena Gilbert: Correct. Jeff Thompson: How do you like it? Serena Gilbert: It used to be more accessible, it used to be when you typed in the job search and everything and you picked a job you wanted to look at, it would open up in a new window. And now it still opens, but it opens up at the bottom of the page. And unless you go adventure and look for it at the bottom of the page, you never would know. So it's still accessible, it's just different now. But I like it because it filters out all of the scams, and weird Craigslist ads and things like that, and gets right to what you're really looking for. You can also set up an alert where it'll send you every day jobs that matched what you're looking for, so you can be one of the first to see them and apply for them. Jeff Thompson: Well that's great because I got a new iPad and I noticed that there's a new upgrade to the Indeed app, so I'm going to try it out on the iPad, and I'm going to try it out on my iPhone because it updated there. Serena Gilbert: No, I do use it on my phone though, it is very accessible on the phone. But I wouldn't recommend applying for a job from your phone. Jeff Thompson: Or setting up a Zoom meeting. We use Zoom on here and it's a very good app, and while I was at the convention, and in the pool I ran into a gentleman, not physically, but we were chit chatting, he was part of a ... I believe it was South Carolina Voc Rehab for the Deaf/Blind, and they had switched to Zoom and he said that because I have the pro that I can actually switch my identification number, you know, when you set up a meeting it gives you an identification number, you can actually change that if you want. You could change it to, I don't know, Volkswagen, or Lovebug, or ... you could change it to Red Pony, anything you wanted to change it to, and that would be your meeting link. Serena Gilbert: I think it has to be a series of numbers still for the meeting ID, but you can customize it to be something that people would remember easier. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, so it's really interesting, a lot of people are using it, they have a business package that they have. And he says that if you had like 15, 20 people in a meeting, he said you can break out into four groups and five people go into each group, and then you can bring them all back again. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, you can do that, I believe it's in the webinar setting on it. That one's like $40.00 a month or something, to have the webinar piece. But you can also live stream to Facebook from Zoom if you have the webinar piece added on to the account. Jeff Thompson: Oh really? Serena Gilbert: And it'll show whatever you're showing on your Zoom screen in the Facebook Live. Jeff Thompson: It's just really impressive to me what Zoom is doing when you've had other companies sitting back on their laurels, let's take Skype for example, it was Skype for many, many years. That's all it was. That's all we used it for, and some others have come and gone, but Zoom seemed to come in all ready and prepared, because it just seems like it keeps growing. Or I keep on finding out more and more of what you can do with it. So people out there are looking for a conference type of, I don't know, walkie talkie communication here that we're using, Zoom works pretty good. You can record on it, you can do all sorts of stuff with it, it's just always blowing my mind a little bit. Serena Gilbert: This podcast is not brought to you by Zoom. Jeff Thompson: But you do like it, right? Serena Gilbert: Oh I love Zoom. I hate Skype, it's a pain to use. Zoom just works. That's really just ... it's kind of like Apple, it just works. Except it really does just work. Jeff Thompson: Really, really works. Except for when we did it today, when we were trying to connect up. I sent a request- Serena Gilbert: I am convinced you sent me a different link. Jeff Thompson: Well, I set it up on the phone and I sent it out, it says, "send request", and so I sent it out, and then I came into my computer, started it up, and I saw the meeting was there so I went into the room, and she went into a room, but we were in different rooms. And for some reason, my phone must be set up for ... what did you say, private room? Serena Gilbert: Yeah, well so when you have a Zoom account you get a personal meeting ID that is the exact same meeting ID every time you send someone that link. And that's the link that you sent me, was the personal meeting ID. I was like I feel special. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. So then I sent another link from my computer and then we got all connected up, so other than that ... Serena Gilbert: Jeff's still on conference time. Jeff Thompson: It is. If people ever get a chance to check out one of the conventions, next year it's in Las Vegas, the NFB, National Federation of the Blind Convention will be in Las Vegas, and I believe it runs from July 7th to July 12th, and ACB will be in Rochester, New York. I believe that will be before that, I don't think they're going to be running overlapping, I think they'll probably be going from ... my guess will be from the 1st to the 9th or something. I know ACB is a little bit longer, but they have a lot more fun activities, lots of walks, lots of, I don't know, boat rides and all sorts of stuff outside the area, a lot of busing around to do things, but they seem to make it a really social type of atmosphere at those. Jeff Thompson: And the NFB is I would say mostly locked into a lot of business and a lot of opportunities to get together with people. Serena Gilbert: And CSUN is in February. Jeff Thompson: End of February, that's right. And this time, it's moving to Anaheim, California. Serena Gilbert: And for those who don't know what CSUN is, it stands for California State University Northridge. From what my understanding is, is it's the biggest assistive technology conference for bling and low vision, at least in the North America, maybe even the world. And very large names come into that, that's where a lot of new technology is introduced and talked about that's related to blind and low vision. It's kind of like a person like my like biggest dream, because I'm just a tech nerd. I've been trying to go there for years, but it never works out. But I think it might work out this year, hint, hint. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, I'm really excited about it because I haven't ever gone to one of those, and you hear about it, and you hear a lot about the tech stuff, that's really what it is. But there's also a lot of breakout rooms, like Microsoft might have three different sessions that they're talking about, Google would be there with sessions that you can go into and they'll talk about their accessibility and the development that they're doing with the Chromebook and what is the ... don't they have Voice Box or something like that? Serena Gilbert: Chromebox. Jeff Thompson: Chromevox. Serena Gilbert: Chrome ... yeah, it's like their built in screen reader for their Chromebooks. Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). And I was talking to them and they wanted to give me a demonstration, but I had to move over to the Amazon because I got an interview with none other than Peter Korn. Amazon's Peter Korn. And there's one thing that I really want to make a point of at conventions, the things that are changing at conventions when you go into the exhibit halls, it used to be where's the JAWS? Where are they? Where's Hinter Joyce now it's VFO, where's Humanware, all these different places that we would flock to. Now you walk in, front and center you've got Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Aira, they've taken over the front of the convention hall. Kind of reminds me of Walmart coming into a small town, Walmart comes in and a lot of the small mom and pop shops disappear. Jeff Thompson: Well, it's not really happening like that to effect, but look how many timers are being sold by Maxi Aids when you can use your Amazon device, your Google device, your Siri, what time is it? Set timer. So a lot of the gidgets and gadgets have gone to the wayside, a lot of these devices, we're changing and it's starting to show in the convention. How many times has Microsoft ever showed up to an NFB convention? Two? Google, once? Now we Amazon, twice. Where's it going to be in five years? HIMS didn't even show up. Serena Gilbert: Oh wow. Jeff Thompson: So I think we're in for a change, more of the mainstream companies are starting to take over the products, making things accessible and that's what we want. So seeing these big companies come in and things might be more mainstream. They send in their people who are involved with the accessibility at the company, Peter Korn, he was an accessibility director, all the way back to Kindle his department went. So it was really neat to see them all there in full force, all about accessibility. Serena Gilbert: That's great. Sounds like you had fun. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Oh yeah. And I even went to convention. No, it was a lot of fun. Serena Gilbert: I even attended some breakout sessions. Jeff Thompson: It's really neat to meet people because that's what it is about networking, you know. You really get an opportunity to meet some interesting people with very like mindedness, people who have overcome the struggles and the challenges ahead of you with blindness as you go through your journey, so a lot of success stories there, and I captured a few of them that you'll be listening to, some job extras. Hey, if we were in the Tupperware, we'd be a Tupperware party, right? Serena Gilbert: Yes. Jeff Thompson: But it's always nice to get back home, you know, after you go to the convention, it's nice to get back home. You get too much of the different foods, different people, different stuff, and all the congestion, it's 2500 canes and dogs, elevators and all that. It's almost like you need more noise, heck, let's bring it to Vegas, that'll be a lot better. And then you have gambling machines going ding, ding, ding. To me it almost gets to a point of aggravation in Vegas. So I don't know, I imagine it'll be quite a trip. Serena Gilbert: Oh gosh, that could be stimulation overload, like, man ... Jeff Thompson: Oh yeah, when you're actually just trying to figure out where you're going and your cane- Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: Tapping, how you use all the sounds to identify things and all you need is two people to win the jackpot and you get lost, like it's crazy. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. And that casino ... well, none of the casinos are really very well lit. For low vision. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, it's really interesting to meet all sorts of different people. Well it's all over for this year, now we get to wait for the next one, and like you said, it's CSUN isn't it? CSUN 2019. Serena Gilbert: If I have my luck at a yes. Jeff Thompson: There you go. The thing about CSUN, I would in advance try and find a place there because the hotels are pretty expensive, and Anaheim I don't think is any cheaper. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jeff Thompson: Usually when I go to a convention, on January 1st is when I do the stuff for the summer ones, so when you're talking CSUN, when you find out exactly which hotel it is, I would start looking probably around Thanksgiving time, start looking for those hotel rooms, because they fill up fast and then they go to an overflow, and overflow is not as much fun. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, that's not where the party's at. Jeff Thompson: But yeah, CSUN, Anaheim, I think I'll be there. You? Serena Gilbert: I don't know Jeff, will I? Jeff Thompson: We'll have to see. Serena Gilbert: To be continued. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. So stay tuned folks for more podcasts from Job Insights, my name's Jeff Thompson and you can find me at KnownAsJeff on Twitter. Serena Gilbert: And I'm Serena Gilbert, you can find me at BlindyBlog, that's @ B-L-I-N-D-Y, B-L-O-G. Cue fancy music. Jeff Thompson: I'm going to leave that. Thank you for listening to this Job Insights extra. And be sure to check out all the Job Insights podcasts on BlindAbilities.com. Big thank you to Cheechau for your beautiful music. And that's Lcheechau on Twitter. Jeff Thompson: Once again, thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed. And until next time, bye bye.   [Music]  [Transition noise]  -   When we share, What we see, Through each other's eyes...   [Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]   ...We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.   Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts with the blindness perspective: Check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com On Twitter @BlindAbilities Download our app from the App store:  'Blind Abilities'; that's two words. Or send us an e-mail at: info@blindabilities.com Thanks for listening.      

Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility at Amazon’s Lab 126 Gives Us a Demo on the Toshiba with Amazon Fire TV Built-In and an Overview of the Amazon Fire Cube. On the floor of the exhibit hall at the 2018 NFB Convention we had to check out the Amazon booth. Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility Lab 126, gives us an overview of the Toshiba Smart TV’s now available from Best Buy due to a partnership with Amazon that puts the Fire TV functionality built into the Smart TV. Meaning that  Alexa, Voice View screen reader  and magnification are all built in to the 43 inch, 50 inch and 55 inch, with 4K Ultra HD capability. All 3 models differ only by size. Peter also gives us an overview of the Amazon Fire Cube. A device that will give you voice control of your entire entertainment center. Peter reminds us of Amazon’s Prime Day coming up on July 16 kicking off at noon and most of these items will be discounted along with thousands of other great deals. Check out more about Amazon’s great devices on Amazon.comand check out the Toshiba Fire TV’s at www.BestBuy.com   Be sure to check out our sponsor Aira on the web at www.Aira.ioand find out more about gaining instant access to information. Image of the Aira Logo[/caption] Your Life, Your Schedule, Right Now.   Using augmented reality, Aira connects people who are blind or low vision to a trained professional agent who is dedicated to further enhancing their everyday experience – completely hands-free assistance at the touch of a button.   Thank you for listening! 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 Store. Get the Free blind Abilities App on the Google Play Store      

1810 Accessible Products from Amazon (Mar. 7, 2018) Show Notes Amazon has been pursuing a long-range plan to incorporate improved accessibility into all of their products with features like VoiceView, Braille support, and speech recognition. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility at Amazon, about the accessibility of Amazon’s devices … Continue reading 1810 Accessible Products from Amazon (Mar. 7, 2018) →

In this week's show, we start out with Karen Keninger as she presented in July's ACB Convention General Session. She talks about exciting changes happening at NLS and the BARD Program. Next, Peter Korn joins the Information Access Committee presentation at convention to present and answer questions about Amazon's new Fire TV Edition Smart TV.

Det började med att han byggde miljöer till fiskar, ormar och ödlor i som mest 27 akvarier hemma i huset i Skåne. Och med en dahliasamling han fick av en tant. Men det var som sagt bara början, och idag har Peter Korn bland annat skapandet av en egen botanisk trädgård i vad som tidigare var tät granskog i bagaget. Hur det gick till när han för hand rensade den två hektar stora ytan i zon 4 på träd och formade om den till ett kuperat landskap, med flera olika klimatzoner och växter från hela världen, berättar han förstås när han medverkar här i Odlarna. Likaså varför han odlar alla sina nästan 12000 olika växtsorter i sand, och hur det är möjligt att de år efter år kan leva utan vare sig gödning eller vattning. Hör hur det går att odla betydligt mer än man tror – bara man är lyhörd för vad växterna vill istället för att följa mänskliga pekpinnar, hur lång tid det tar att med kroppskraft gräva fram en sju meter hög bergssluttning, och hur Peters bror påverkade trädgården när han under tio års tid cyklade kors och tvärs genom världsdelar. Hör också hur Peter märker av klimatförändringarna i sitt odlande, om plantskolan som är hans nya projekt och hem, och om tricket för att få en blå bergvallmo att trivas i trädgården. Dessutom går vi ut med en efterlysning som mycket väl kan förändra livet för dig som kan och vill ta dig an ett stort och hedersfullt uppdrag. Intervjun är inspelad den 15 juli, i Peters botaniska oas i skogen utanför Landvetter.

We are excited because on this show, we reveal another great choice in TV entertainment. We speak with guests Peter Korn, Accessibility Architect, and Mark Mulcahy, Developer on the VoiceView Team, at Amazon. We first hear a brief account of how the VoiceView screen reader came to be followed by what we felt was a pretty exciting announcement and demonstration VoiceView on the Amazon Fire TV. Next up, Jenine Stanley brings us a terrific demonstration of Capti Narrator for iOS in our series called App Olympics.

1622 Improved Accessibility of Amazon Products (May 25, 2016) Show Notes New features being introduced into Amazon’s Kindle readers and Fire tablets will now make these devices readily accessible to the visually impaired. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Peter Korn, accessibility architect at Amazon, about the work that went into developing an enhanced … Continue reading 1622 Improved Accessibility of Amazon Products →

1621 Evolution of Screen Readers (May 18, 2016) Show Notes This week, hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Peter Korn who traces the evolution of screen reader technology from the early text-based systems to today’s modern graphical interfaces. Korn, who has been a major contributor to the development of screen readers for many years, … Continue reading 1621 Evolution of Screen Readers →

Accessibility Architect at Amazon's Lab126   Interview starts at 9:45 and ends at 39:50   We continually evaluate ways we can make reading on the Kindle more enjoyable, more comfortable, more accessible. This led us to create the Bookerly font. This led us to include the open-source OpenDyslexic font. So we continue to evaluate and bring innovations to our customers.      News “Amazon borrows from YouTube script, opens marketplace to video creators” by Angel Gonzalez at The Seattle Times - May 10, 2016 “Google's Answer to Amazon's Echo is code-named ‘Chirp' and is landing soon” by Marg Bergen at The Verge - May 11, 2016 “Forget Amazon's Echo: Lexi lets you speak to Alexa through your phone” by MIX at TheNextWeb - May 6, 2016 “Move Over Lexi - Roger Puts Amazon Alexa in Your iPhone for Free” by Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader - May 12, 2016 Free Roger app for iOS “Goodreads launches free e-book giveaway promotions for $119 fee” by Chris Meadows at TeleRead - May 6, 2016   Tech Tip Audible's new Send This Book feature Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Audible) - email me at PodChronicles AT gmail DOT com if you'd like me to send you a free copy of this audiobook, using Audible's new Send This Book Book Feature   Interview with Peter Korn Amazon's guide to VoiceView Kindle Paperwhite blind and visually impaired readers bundle My Coverage of VoiceView at TeleRead and The Kindle Chronicles - May 10, 2016   Content Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide by Scott Dikkers   Next Week's Show Interviews and observations from Book Expo America in Chicago My BEA Liveblog posts on Goodreads author tips and Rethinking the Standard Author Contract   Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Persepctive" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.    Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

What is it about making things with our hands that provides so much satisfaction? Why are we so drawn to the archetype of the craftsman? In his insightful book, Why We Make Things and Why it Matters, furniture builder and woodworking instructor Peter Korn explores the philosophy of craftsmanship. In the podcast today I talk to Peter about the ethos of craftsmanship, what craft can teach us about living the good life, and why you should get out in the garage and try building something with your hands.

In the Netflix series House of Cards, Vice President Frank Underwood, a man dealing with and plotting the the fate of  of the world, takes time out to work with his hands and craft, lay out and paint Civil War figurines.   He says it's a form of relaxation.For many people, even those in high profile, high stress jobs, working with their hands, doing crafts and even cooking, fulfill a primal and important need.  In a world where nothing ever seems to conclude, when the days and responsibilities and the technology seems to be both endless and seamless, the art of craft has, for many a very special place and a powerful fulfillment.Peter Korn examines this in Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman.My conversation with Peter Korn: