Podcast appearances and mentions of victor reader stream

Each episode on Unstoppable Mindset I ask all of you and my guests to feel free to introduce me to others who would be good guests on our podcast. Our guest this time, Erin Edgar, is a guest introduced to me by a past podcast guest, Rob Wentz. Rob told me that Erin is inspirational and would be interesting and that she would have a lot to offer you, our audience. Rob was right on all counts. Erin Edgar was born blind. Her parents adopted an attitude that would raise their daughter with a positive attitude about herself. She was encouraged and when barriers were put in her way as a youth, her parents helped her fight to be able to participate and thrive. For a time, she attended the Indiana School for the Blind. Her family moved to Georgia where Erin attended high school. After high school, Erin wanted to go to college where she felt there would be a supportive program that would welcome her on campus. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapple Hill. After graduating she decided to continue at UNC where she wanted to study law. The same program that gave her so much assistance during her undergraduate days was not able to provide the same services to Erin the graduate student. Even so, Erin had learned how to live, survive and obtain what she needed to go through the law program. After she received her law degree Erin began to do what she always wanted to do: She wanted to use the law to help people. So, she worked in programs such as Legal Aid in North Carolina and she also spent time as a mediator. She will describe all that for us. Like a number of people, when the pandemic began, she decided to pivot and start her own law firm. She focuses on estate planning. We have a good discussion about topics such as the differences between a will and a living trust. Erin offers many relevant and poignant thoughts and words of advice we all can find helpful. Erin is unstoppable by any standard as you will see. About the Guest: Erin Edgar, Esq., is a caring, heart-centered attorney, inspirational speaker and vocal artist. She loves helping clients: -- Plan for the future of their lives and businesses, ensuring that they have the support they need and helping them find ways to provide for their loved ones upon death. --Ensure that the leave a legacy of love and reflect client values -- Find creative ways that allow them to impact the world with a lasting legacy. She is passionate about connecting with clients on a heart level. She loves witnessing her clients as she guides them to transform their intentions for their loved ones into a lasting legacy through the estate planning process. Erin speaks about ways to meld proven legal tools, strategies, and customization with the creative process to design legal solutions that give people peace of mind, clarity, and the assurance that their loved ones will be taken care of, and the world will be left a better place Ways to connect with Erin: Facebook: https://facebook.com/erin-edgar-legal LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/erinedgar About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. We're glad that you're here with us, wherever you may be. Hope the day is going well, and we have Erin Edgar on our episode today. Edgar is a very interesting person in a lot of ways. She's a caring, heart centered attorney. She is also an inspirational speaker and a vocal artist. I'm not sure whether vocal artistry comes into play when she's in the courtroom, but we won't worry about that too much. I assume that you don't sing to your judges when you're trying to deal with something. But anyway, I'll let her answer that. I'm just trying to cause trouble, but Erin again. We're really glad you're with us. We really appreciate you being here, and I know you do a lot with estate planning and other kinds of things that'll be fun to talk about. So welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Erin Edgar ** 02:14 Thank you, Michael. It's great to be here, and I haven't sung in a courtroom or a courthouse yet, but I wouldn't rule it out.   Michael Hingson ** 02:23 I have someone who I know who also has a guide dog and his diet. His guide dog, it's been a while since I've seen him, but his guide dog tended to be very vocal, especially at unexpected times, and he said that occasionally happened in the courtroom, which really busted up the place. Oh, dear.   Erin Edgar ** 02:45 I imagine that would draw some smiles, hopefully, smiles.   Michael Hingson ** 02:48 Well, they were, yeah, do you, do you appear in court much?   Erin Edgar ** 02:53 Um, no, the type of law that I practice, I'm usually, I don't think I've ever appeared in court after I've written people's wills, but I have done previous things where I was in court mediating disputes, which is a kind of a separate thing that I used to do, so I've been in court just not recently. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 03:17 Well, that's understandable. Well, let's start a little bit with the early Erin and growing up and all that sort of stuff. Tell us about that? Sure.   Erin Edgar ** 03:26 So I was born in cold, gray Indiana, and, yeah, chilly in the wintertime, and I started out I was blind from birth, so my parents thought it would be a good idea to send me to the school for the blind for a while. And back when I was born, um, teen years ago, they did not mainstream visually impaired and disabled students in that state, so you went where you could, and I was at the blind school for until I reached third grade, and then we moved to Georgia, and I've been in the south ever since I live in North Carolina now, and I started going to public schools in fourth grade, and continued on that route all the way up through high school.   Michael Hingson ** 04:21 Oh, okay. And so then, what did you do?   Erin Edgar ** 04:29 So after, after that, I, you know, I was one of those high school students. I really wanted to get out of dodge and leave my high school behind. I went visiting a couple of colleges in Georgia, and I said to my parents, I said, I really don't like this. It's like going to high school again. Literally, I was meeting people I had been in high school with, and I decided, and was very grateful that my parents. Were able to rig it some way so that I could go to an out of state school. And I went to UNC Chapel Hill here in North Carolina, Tar Heels all the way. And I was there for undergrad. And then I got into law school there as well, which I was very excited about, because I didn't have to go anywhere, and graduated from law school again a while ago in the early 2000s   Michael Hingson ** 05:31 Okay, and so then you went straight into law from that.   Erin Edgar ** 05:37 I didn't I did some other things before I actually went into law itself. I worked with some local advocacy organizations, and I also mediated, as I said earlier, I did mediations with the county court, helping mediate criminal disputes. And we're talking about like things with you get in a dispute with your neighbor and you yell at each other, those kind of People's Court type things. They were fun and interesting. And then I did go into law. After that, I started working with Legal Aid of North Carolina, which is a an organization that helps people in poverty who cannot afford a lawyer to go and have have their options communicated to them and some help given to them regarding their public benefits or certain other, you know, public things that we could help with we weren't able to help with any personal injury, or, you know, any of the fun stuff you see on TV. So and then, when the pandemic hit, I started my own law practice and completely changed gears and went into writing estate plans and wills for a living.   Michael Hingson ** 07:07 Do you think that your time doing mediation work and so on taught you a lot about humanity and human nature and people?   Erin Edgar ** 07:16 It did. I bet it did. It was invaluable, actually, in that area taught me a lot about, I don't know necessarily, about human nature. However, it did teach me a lot about how to talk to people who were on different pages. You know, they had, perhaps, values and principles that weren't quite the same, where they had a different way of looking at the same exact situation, and how to bring those those people together and allow them to connect on a deeper level, rather than the argument we're able to get them to agree to kind of move forward from that, so nobody has to be found guilty, right? And you know a judge doesn't have and you don't have to drag a criminal conviction around with you. I think the most rewarding cases that I had, by far were the education cases. Because I don't know if anyone knows this, but in most states, in the United States, if you don't send your kids to school, you are guilty of a crime. It's called truancy, and you can be arrested. Well, the county that I live in was very forward thinking, and the school system and the court said, that's kind of dumb. We don't want to arrest parents if their kids aren't going to school, there's something behind it. You know, there the school is not providing what the child needs. The child's acting out for some reason, and we need to get to the bottom of it. So what they did was they set up a process whereby we come in as neutral observers. We did not work for the court. We were part of a separate organization, and have a school social worker there or counselor, and also have a parent there, and they could talk through the issues. And in a lot of cases, if the children were old enough, they were teenagers, they were there, and they could talk about it from their perspective. And truly amazing things came out of those situations. We could just we would discover that the children had a behavioral issue or even a disability that had not been recognized, and were able to come up with plans to address that with you know, or the school was with our help,   Michael Hingson ** 09:42 going back a little bit, how did your parents deal with the fact that you were blind? I gather it was a fairly positive experience   Erin Edgar ** 09:50 for me. It was positive. I was so fortunate, and I'm still so grateful to this day for having parents who you. I were very forward thinking, and advocated for me to have and do whatever, not whatever I wanted, because I was far from spoiled, but, you know, whatever, yeah, yeah, you know. But whatever, however I wanted to be successful, they advocated for me. And so my mother actually told me, you know, when I was born, they went through all the parent things like, oh, gosh, what did we do wrong? You know, why is God punishing us? You know, all that. And they, very early on, found support groups for, you know, parents with children with either blindness or disabilities of some sort, and that was a great source of help to them. And as I grew up, they made every effort to ensure that I had people who could teach me, if they couldn't, you know, how to interact with other children. I think, for a while when I was very little, and I actually kind of remember this, they hired an occupational therapist to come and teach me how to play with kids, because not only was I blind, but I was an only child, so I didn't have brothers and sisters to interact with, and that whole play thing was kind of a mystery to me, and I remember it sort of vaguely, but that's just A demonstration that they wanted me to have the best life possible and to be fully integrated into the sighted world as much as possible. So when I was at the blind school, and I was in this residential environment, and there was an added bonus that my parents didn't really weren't happy in their jobs either, and they weren't happy with the education I was getting, that they decided, well, we're just going to pick up and move and that was, quite frankly, as I look back on it now, a huge risk for them. And they did it, you know, 50% for me and 50% for them, maybe even 6040, but as I look back on it now, it's another demonstration of how supportive they were, and all the way through my school age years, were very active in ensuring that I had everything that I needed and that I had the support that I needed.   Michael Hingson ** 12:19 That's cool. How did it go when you went to college at UNC?   Erin Edgar ** 12:25 Yeah, that's an interesting question, a very good question.   Michael Hingson ** 12:29 You didn't play basketball, I assume? Oh no, I figured you had other things to do.   Erin Edgar ** 12:33 Yeah, I had other stuff to do. I sang in the choir and sang with the medieval chorus group, and, you know, all this other, like, musical geek, geeky stuff. But, or, and when we were looking for colleges and universities, one of the criteria was they had to have a solid kind of, like disability, slash visually impaired center, or, you know, support staff that would help in, you know, allow people with disabilities to go through the university. So at UNC Chapel Hill, the they had as part of their student affairs department Disability Services, and it just so happened that they were very aware of accommodations that blind people needed. I wasn't the first blind student to go through undergrad there. That's not law school, that's undergrad. And so you know, how much was it? Time and a half on on tests if I was doing them on the computer, double time if I was doing them in Braille. A lot of the tests were in Braille because they had the technology to do it. And also the gentleman who ran the Disability Services Department, I think, knew Braille, if I'm not mistaken, and could transcribe if necessary. But I was at the stage at that point where I was typing most of my exams anyway, and didn't need much that was in Braille, because I had books either electronically or they had a network of folks in the community that would volunteer to read if there was not, you know, available textbooks from RFD, and what is it, RFP and D? Now was at the time, yeah, now Learning Ally, there wasn't a Bookshare at that time, so we couldn't use Bookshare, but if there weren't textbooks available, they would have people in the community who would read them for them, and they would get paid a little bit. Now, when I went to law school, it was a totally different ball game, because I was the first law student who was blind, that UNC Chapel Hill had had, and it was a different school within the school, so that student affairs department was not part of law school anymore, and we had quite a time the first semester getting my book. Works in a format that I could read them in. They did eventually, kind of broker a deal, if you will, with the publishers who were either Thompson Reuters or Westlaw at the time to get electronic versions. They were floppy disks. This is how old I am. Floppy disks. They were in this weird format. I think it was word perfect or something. Usually it was, and they   Michael Hingson ** 15:27 didn't really have a lot of them new or no, they didn't know now, newer publishing system,   Erin Edgar ** 15:32 yeah, there wasn't PDF even, I don't think, at the time. And the agreement was I could get those, and I actually had to buy the print textbooks as well. So I have this whole bookcase of law books that are virgin, unopened, almost. And they are, you know, some of them almost 25 years old, never been opened and of no use to anyone. But I have them, and they look nice sitting down there in that bookshelf antiques books. They're antiques. So the first year was a little rough, because for a while I didn't have books, and we were able to make arrangements so that I could kind of make up some classes on a later year and switch things around a little bit. And it ended up all working out really well once we got started.   Michael Hingson ** 16:16 Yeah, I remember when I was going through getting my bachelor's and master's in physics, I needed the books in braille because, well, it's the only way to be able to really deal with the subject. You can't do it nearly as well from recordings, although now there's a little bit better capability through recording, because we have the DayZ format and so on. But still, it's not the same as reading it in Braille and for mathematics and physics and so on. I think that the only way to really do it is in Braille. And we had challenges because professors didn't want to decide what books to use until the last minute, because then, oh, a new book might be coming out and we want to get the latest book, and that didn't work for me, right? Because I had a network that I, in part, I developed with the Department of Rehabilitation out here, helped our office for disabled students didn't really have the resources to know it. They were very supportive. They just didn't really deal with it. But the bottom line is that we had to develop, I had to develop the network of transcribers, but they needed three to six months to do the books, at least three months and and sometimes I would get them one or two volumes at a time, and they barely kept ahead of the class. But, you know, it worked, but professors resisted it. And my the person who ran the Office for Students with Disabilities, said, Look, you have to work on these things, but if you're not getting cooperation from professors, and you come and tell me, and I will use the power of this office to get you what you need, there's another thing you might consider doing, she said. And I said, What's that? And Jan said, Go meet the chancellor. Make friends, yeah, friends in high places. And so I did. And Dan, oh, there you go. Became pretty good friends over the years, which was pretty cool,   Erin Edgar ** 18:15 you know, it was weird because we didn't, I didn't have that problem with the professors. They were, you know, I had a couple of old codgers, but they weren't really worried about the books. They were fine with me having the books, but it was the publishers. The publishers were irritated that that I needed them, and, you know, in an alternative format. And I didn't really, I was not. I was one of those people that if someone said they were going to do something for me, I kind of let people do it. And at the time, I was really not an advocate, advocator for myself, at that time, a very good self advocate. And so I kind of let the school interface with that. I think it would have been really interesting, if I look back on it, for me to have taken a hand in that. And I wonder what would have happened well, and at this point, you know, it's neither here nor there, but that's really fascinating. Making Friends with the chancellor, sometimes you have to do stuff like that   Michael Hingson ** 19:15 well. And the idea was really to get to know Him. And what there was, well, obviously other motivations, like, if we needed to go to a higher court to get help, we could go to the chancellor. I never had to do that, but, but the reason for meeting him and getting to know him was really just to do it and to have fun doing it. So we did,   Erin Edgar ** 19:36 yeah, and I kind of had a comparable experience. I met the Dean of the Law School for that very reason. And he said, you know, if you've got trouble, come to me, my parents got involved a little bit. And we all, you know, met together and maybe even separately at some points just to make sure that I had everything that I needed at various times. Mm. Yeah, and I made friends with the some of the assistant deans at the law school, in particular because of the situation, and one of whom was the Dean of the Law School Student Affairs, who was helping me to get what I needed. And for a while, when I was in law school and beyond. He was like, We lent books to each other. It was very funny. We found out we had the same reading tastes beyond law books. It wasn't, you know, legal at all, but we were like, trading books and things. So a lot of really good relationships came out of that.   Michael Hingson ** 20:37 And I think that's extremely important to to do. And I think that's one of the things that that offices for students with disabilities that tend to want to do everything for you. I think that's one of the things that it's a problem with those offices, because if you don't learn to do them, and if you don't learn to do them in college, how are you going to be able to be able to really act independently and as an advocate after college, so you have to learn that stuff   Erin Edgar ** 21:05 Absolutely. That's a very good point.   Michael Hingson ** 21:09 So I, I think it was extremely important to do it, and we did, and had a lot of fun doing it. So it was, was good. What are some of the biggest misconceptions you think that people had about you as a blind child growing up?   Erin Edgar ** 21:25 Oh yeah, that's a great question. I think that one of the biggest misconceptions that people had about me, especially when I was younger, is that I would know I would be sort of relegated to staying at home with parents all of my life, or being a stay at home parent and not able to be kind of professionally employed and earning, you know, earning a living wage. Now, I have my own business, and that's where most of my money goes at the same at this point. So, you know, earning a living wage might be up in the air at the moment. Ha, ha. But the the one thing I think that the biggest misconception that people had, and this is even like teachers at the blind school, it was very rare for blind children of my age to grow up and be, you know, professionals in, I don't want to say high places, but like people able to support themselves without a government benefit backing them up. And it was kind of always assumed that we would be in that category, that we would be less able than our sighted peers to do that. And so that was a huge misconception, even you know, in the school that I was attending. I think that was the, really the main one and one misconception that I had then and still have today, is that if I'm blind, I can't speak for myself. This still happens today. For instance, if I'm if I want, if I'm going somewhere and I just happen to be with someone sighted, they will talk whoever I'm, wherever I'm at, they will talk to the sighted person, right? They won't talk to you. They won't talk to me. And so, for instance, simple example, if I'm somewhere with my husband, and we happen to be walking together and we go somewhere that I need to go, they will talk to him because he's guiding me, and they won't talk. And he's like, don't talk to me. I have no idea, you know, talk to her, and part of that is I'm half a step behind him. People naturally gravitate to the people that are leading. However, I noticed, even when I was a young adult, and I would go, you know, to the doctor, and I would be with my my parents, like, maybe I'm visiting them, and I need to go to the doctor, they would talk to them and not me, yeah, which is kind of sad. And I think it happens a lot, a lot more than people realize.   Michael Hingson ** 24:10 Yeah, it does. And one of my favorite stories is, is this, I got married in 1982 and my wife has always been, or had always been. She passed away in 2022 but she was always in a wheelchair. And we went to a restaurant one Saturday for breakfast. We were standing at the counter waiting to be seated, and the hostess was behind the counter, and nothing was happening. And finally, Karen said to me, she doesn't know who to talk to, you know? Because Karen, of course, is, is in a wheelchair, so actually, she's clearly shorter than this, this person behind the counter, and then there's me and and, of course, I'm not making eye contact, and so Karen just said she doesn't know who to talk to. I said, you know? All she's gotta do is ask us where we would like to sit or if we'd like to have breakfast, and we can make it work. Well, she she got the message, and she did, and the rest of the the day went fine, but that was really kind of funny, that we had two of us, and she just didn't know how to deal with either of us, which was kind of cute. Mm, hmm. Well, you know, it brings up another question. You use the term earlier, visually impaired. There's been a lot of effort over the years. A lot of the professionals, if you will, created this whole terminology of visually impaired, and they say, well, you're blind or you're visually impaired. And visually impaired means you're not totally blind, but, but you're still visually impaired. And finally, blind people, I think, are starting to realize what people who are deaf learned a long time ago, and that is that if you take take a deaf person and you refer to them as hearing impaired, there's no telling what they might do to you, because they recognize that impaired is not true and they shouldn't be equated with people who have all of their hearing. So it's deaf or hard of hearing, which is a whole lot less of an antagonistic sort of concept than hearing impaired. We're starting to get blind people, and not everyone's there yet, and we're starting to get agencies, and not every agency is there yet, to recognize that it's blind or low vision, as opposed to blind or here or visually impaired, visually impaired. What do you think about that? How does and how does that contribute to the attitudes that people had toward you?   Erin Edgar ** 26:38 Yeah, so when I was growing up, I was handicapped, yeah, there was that too, yeah, yeah, that I was never fond of that, and my mother softened it for me, saying, well, we all have our handicaps or shortcomings, you know, and but it was really, what was meant was you had Something that really held you back. I actually, I say, this is so odd. I always, I usually say I'm totally blind. Because when I say blind, the immediate question people have is, how blind are you? Yeah, which gets back to stuff, yeah, yeah. If you're blind, my opinion, if you're blind, you're you're blind, and if you have low vision, you have partial sight. And visually impaired used to be the term, you know, when I was younger, that people use, and that's still a lot. It's still used a lot, and I will use it occasionally, generally. I think that partially sighted, I have partial vision is, is what I've heard people use. That's what, how my husband refers to himself. Low Vision is also, you know, all those terms are much less pejorative than actually being impaired,   Michael Hingson ** 27:56 right? That's kind of really the issue, yeah. My, my favorite example of all of this is a past president of the National Federation of the Blind, Ken Jernigan, you've heard of him, I assume, Oh, sure. He created a document once called a definition of blindness, and his definition, he goes through and discusses various conditions, and he asks people if, if you meet these conditions, are you blind or not? But then what he eventually does is he comes up with a definition, and his definition, which I really like, is you are blind if your eyesight has decreased to the point where you have to use alternatives to full eyesight in order to function, which takes into account totally blind and partially blind people. Because the reality is that most of those people who are low vision will probably, or they may probably, lose the rest of their eyesight. And the agencies have worked so hard to tell them, just use your eyesight as best you can. And you know you may need to use a cane, but use your eyesight as best you can, and if you go blind, then we're going to have to teach you all over again, rather than starting by saying blindness is really okay. And the reality is that if you learn the techniques now, then you can use the best of all worlds.   Erin Edgar ** 29:26 I would agree with that. I would also say you should, you know, people should use what they have. Yeah, using everything you have is okay. And I think there's a lot of a lot of good to be said for learning the alternatives while you're still able to rely on something else.   Michael Hingson ** 29:49 Point taken exactly you know, because   Erin Edgar ** 29:53 as you age, you get more and more in the habit of doing things one way, and it's. Very hard to break out of that. And if you haven't learned an alternative, there's nothing you feel like. There's nothing to fall back on, right? And it's even harder because now you're in the situation of urgency where you feel like you're missing something and you're having to learn something new, whereas if you already knew it and knew different ways to rely on things you would be just like picking a memory back up, rather than having to learn something new. Well, I've never been in that position, so I can't say, but in the abstract, I think that's a good definition.   Michael Hingson ** 30:34 Well, there are a lot of examples, like, take a person who has some eyesight, and they're not encouraged to use a cane. And I know someone who was in this situation. I think I've told the story on this podcast, but he lived in New Jersey and was travel. And traveled every day from New Jersey into Philadelphia to work, and he was on a reasonably cloudy day, was walking along. He had been given a cane by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind, but he they didn't really stress the value of using it. And so he was walking along the train to go in, and he came to the place where he could turn in and go into the car. And he did, and promptly fell between two cars because he wasn't at the right place. And then the train actually started to move, but they got it stopped, and so he was okay, but as as he tells the story, he certainly used his cane from then on. Because if he had been using the cane, even though he couldn't see it well because it was dark, or not dark, cloudy, he would have been able to see that he was not at the place where the car entrance was, but rather he was at the junction between two cars. And there's so many examples of that. There's so many reasons why it's important to learn the skills. Should a partially blind or a low vision person learn to read Braille? Well, depends on circumstances, of course, I think, to a degree, but the value of learning Braille is that you have an alternative to full print, especially if there's a likelihood that you're going to lose the rest of your eyesight. If you psychologically do it now, that's also going to psychologically help you prepare better for not having any eyesight later.   Erin Edgar ** 32:20 And of course, that leads to to blind children these days learn how to read, yeah, which is another issue.   Michael Hingson ** 32:28 Which is another issue because educators are not teaching Braille nearly as much as they should, and the literacy rate is so low. And the fact of the matter is even with George Kircher, who invented the whole DAISY format and and all the things that you can do with the published books and so on. The reality is there is still something to be said for learning braille. You don't have sighted children just watching television all the time, although sometimes my parents think they do, but, but the point is that they learn to read, and there's a value of really learning to read. I've been in an audience where a blind speaker was delivering a speech, and he didn't know or use Braille. He had a device that was, I think what he actually used was a, was, it was a Victor Reader Stream, which is   Erin Edgar ** 33:24 one of those, right?   Michael Hingson ** 33:25 I think it was that it may have been something else, but the bottom line is, he had his speech written out, and he would play it through earphones, and then he would verbalize his speech. Oh, no, that's just mess me up. Oh, it would. It was very disjointed and and I think that for me, personally, I read Braille pretty well, but I don't like to read speeches at all. I want to engage the audience, and so it's really important to truly speak with the audience and not read or do any of those other kinds of things.   Erin Edgar ** 33:57 I would agree. Now I do have a Braille display that I, I use, and, you know, I do use it for speeches. However, I don't put the whole speech on   Michael Hingson ** 34:10 there that I me too. I have one, and I use it for, I know, I have notes. Mm, hmm,   Erin Edgar ** 34:16 notes, yeah. And so I feel like Braille, especially for math. You know, when you said math and physics, like, Yeah, I can't imagine doing math without Braille. That just doesn't, you know, I can't imagine it, and especially in, you know, geometry and trigonometry with those diagrams. I don't know how you would do it without a Braille textbook, but yeah, there. There's certainly something to be said for for the the wonderful navigation abilities with, you know, e published audio DAISY books. However, it's not a substitute for knowing how to   Michael Hingson ** 34:55 read. Well, how are you going to learn to spell? How are you going to really learn sit? Structure, how are you going to learn any of those basic skills that sighted kids get if you don't use Braille? Absolutely, I think that that's one of the arenas where the educational system, to a large degree, does such a great disservice to blind kids because it won't teach them Braille.   Erin Edgar ** 35:16 Agreed, agreed. Well, thank you for this wonderful spin down Braille, Braille reading lane here. That was fun.   Michael Hingson ** 35:27 Well, so getting back to you a little bit, you must have thought or realized that probably when you went into law, you were going to face some challenges. But what was the defining moment that made you decide you're going to go into law, and what kind of challenges have you faced? If you face challenges, my making an assumption, but you know what?   Erin Edgar ** 35:45 Oh, sure. So the defining moment when I decided I wanted to go into law. It was a very interesting time for me. I was teenager. Don't know exactly how old I was, but I think I was in high school, and I had gone through a long period where I wanted to, like, be a music major and go into piano and voice and be a performer in those arenas, and get a, you know, high level degree whatnot. And then I began having this began becoming very interested in watching the Star Trek television series. Primarily I was out at the time the next generation, and I was always fascinated by the way that these people would find these civilizations on these planets, and they would be at odds in the beginning, and they would be at each other's throats, and then by the end of the day, they were all kind of   Michael Hingson ** 36:43 liking each other. And John Luke Picard didn't play a flute,   Erin Edgar ** 36:47 yes, and he also turned into a Borg, which was traumatic for me. I had to rate local summer to figure out what would happen. I was in I was in trauma. Anyway, my my father and I bonded over that show. It was, it was a wonderful sort of father daughter thing. We did it every weekend. And I was always fascinated by, like, the whole, the whole aspect of different ideologies coming together. And it always seemed to me that that's what human humanity should be about. As I, you know, got older, I thought, how could I be involved in helping people come together? Oh, let's go into law. Because, you know, our government's really good at that. That was the high school student in me. And I thought at the time, I wanted to go into the Foreign Service and work in the international field and help, you know, on a net, on a you know, foreign policy level. I quickly got into law school and realized two things simultaneously in my second year, international law was very boring, and there were plenty of problems in my local community that I could help solve, like, why work on the international stage when people in my local community are suffering in some degree with something and so I completely changed my focus to wanting to work in an area where I could bring people together and work for, you know, work on an individualized level. And as I went into the legal field, that was, it was part of the reason I went into the mediation, because that was one of the things that we did, was helping people come together. I realized, though, as I became a lawyer and actually started working in the field, most of the legal system is not based on that. It's based on who has the best argument. I wanted no part of that. Yeah, I want no part of that at all. I want to bring people together. Still, the Star Trek mentality is working here, and so when I when I started my own law firm, my immediate question to myself was, how can I now that I'm out doing my own thing, actually bring people together? And the answer that I got was help families come together, especially people thinking about their end of life decisions and gathering their support team around them. Who they want to help them? If they are ever in a situation where they become ill and they can't manage their affairs, or if you know upon their death, who do they want to help them and support them. And how can I use the law to allow that to happen? And so that's how I am working, to use the law for healing and bringing people together, rather than rather than winning an argument.   Michael Hingson ** 39:59 Yeah. Yeah, well, and I think there's a lot of merit to that. I I value the law a great deal, and I I am not an attorney or anything like that, but I have worked in the world of legislation, and I've worked in the world of dealing with helping to get legislation passed and and interacting with lawyers. And my wife and I worked with an attorney to set up our our trust, and then couple of years ago, I redid it after she passed away. And so I think that there was a lot of a lot of work that attorneys do that is extremely important. Yeah, there are, there are attorneys that were always dealing with the best arguments, and probably for me, the most vivid example of that, because it was so captivating when it happened, was the whole OJ trial back in the 1990s we were at a county fair, and we had left going home and turned on the radio, only To hear that the police were following OJ, and they finally arrested him. And then when the trial occurred, we while I was working at a company, and had a radio, and people would would come around, and we just had the radio on, and followed the whole trial. And it was interesting to see all the manipulation and all the movement, and you're right. It came down to who had the best argument, right or wrong?   Erin Edgar ** 41:25 The bloody glove. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. Yeah, yep, I remember that. I remember where I was when they arrested him, too. I was at my grandparents house, and we were watching it on TV. My grandfather was captivated by the whole thing. But yes, there's certainly, you know, some manipulation. There's also, there are also lawyers who do a lot of good and a lot of wonderful things. And in reality, you know, most cases don't go to trial. They're settled in some way. And so, you know, there isn't always, you know, who has the best argument. It's not always about that, right? And at the same time, that is, you know, what the system is based on, to some extent. And really, when our country was founded, our founding fathers were a bunch of, like, acted in a lot of ways, like a bunch of children. If you read books on, you know, the Constitution, it was, it was all about, you know, I want this in here, and I want that in here. And, you know, a lot of argument around that, which, of course, is to be expected. And many of them did not expect our country's government to last beyond their lifetimes. Uh, James Madison was the exception, but all the others were like, Ed's going to fail. And yet, I am very, very proud to be a lawyer in this country, because while it's not perfect, our founding documents actually have a lot of flexibility and how and can be interpreted to fit modern times, which is, I think the beauty of them and exactly what the Founders intended for.   Michael Hingson ** 43:15 Yeah, and I do think that some people are taking advantage of that and causing some challenges, but that's also part of our country and part of our government. I like something Jimmy Carter once said, which was, we must adjust to changing times while holding to unwavering principles. And I think absolutely that's the part that I think sometimes is occasionally being lost, that we forget those principles, or we want to manipulate the principles and make them something that they're not. But he was absolutely right. That is what we need to do, and we can adjust to changing times without sacrificing principles. Absolutely.   Erin Edgar ** 43:55 I firmly believe that, and I would like to kind of turn it back to what we were talking about before, because you actually asked me, What are some challenges that I have faced, and if it's okay with you, I would like to get back to that. Oh, sure. Okay. Well, so I have faced some challenges for you know, to a large extent, though I was very well accommodated. I mean, the one challenge with the books that was challenging when I took the bar exam, oh, horror of horrors. It was a multiple, multiple shot deal, but it finally got done. However, it was not, you know, my failing to pass the first time or times was not the fault of the actual board of law examiners. They were very accommodating. I had to advocate for myself a little bit, and I also had to jump through some hoops. For example, I had to bring my own person to bubble in my responses on the multiple choice part, it. And bring my own person in to kind of monitor me while I did the essay portion. But they allowed me to have a computer, they allowed me to have, you know, the screen reader. They allowed me to have time and a half to do the the exam. And so we're accommodating in that way. And so no real challenges there. You know, some hoops to jump through. But it got all worked out.   Michael Hingson ** 45:23 And even so, some of that came about because blind people actually had to go all the way to the Supreme Court. Yes, the bar to the Bar Association to recognize that those things needed to be that way,   Erin Edgar ** 45:37 absolutely. And so, you know, I was lucky to come into this at a time where that had already been kind of like pre done for me. I didn't have to deal with that as a challenge. And so the only other challenges I had, some of them, were mine, like, you know, who's going to want to hire this blind person? Had a little bit of, you know, kind of challenge there, with that mindset issue for a while there, and I did have some challenges when I was looking for employment after I'd worked for legal aid for a while, and I wanted to move on and do something else. And I knew I didn't want to work for a big, big firm, and I would, I was talking to some small law firms about hiring me, small to mid size firms. And I would get the question of, well, you're blind, so what kind of accommodations do you need? And we would talk about, you know, computer, special software to make a talk, you know, those kinds of things. And it always ended up that, you know, someone else was hired. And I can, you know, I don't have proof that the blindness and the hesitancy around hiring a disabled person or a blind person was in back of that decision. And at the same time, I had the sense that there was some hesitation there as well, so that, you know, was a bit of a challenge, and starting my own law firm was its own challenge, because I had to experiment with several different software systems to Find one that was accessible enough for me to use. And the system I'm thinking about in particular, I wouldn't use any other system, and yet, I'm using practically the most expensive estate planning drafting system out there, because it happens to be the most accessible. It's also the most expensive. Always that. There's always that. And what's it called? I'm curious. It's called wealth Council, okay, wealth. And then the word councils, Council, SEL, and it's wonderful. And the folks there are very responsive. If I say something's not accessible, I mean, they have fixed things for me in the past. Isn't that great? And complain, isn't that wonderful? It is wonderful. And that's, that's awesome. I had a CRM experience with a couple of different like legal CRM software. I used one for a while, and it was okay. But then, you know, everyone else said this other one was better and it was actually less accessible. So I went back to the previous one, you know. So I have to do a lot of my own testing, which is kind of a challenge in and of itself. I don't have people testing software for me. I have to experiment and test and in some cases, pay for something for a while before I realize it's not, you know, not worth it. But now I have those challenges pretty much ironed out. And I have a paralegal who helps me do some things that, like she proof reads my documents, for instance, because otherwise there may be formatting things that I'm not, that I miss. And so I have the ability to have cited assistance with things that I can't necessarily do myself, which is, you know, absolutely fine,   Michael Hingson ** 49:04 yeah. Now, do you use Lexus? Is it accessible?   Erin Edgar ** 49:08 I don't need Lexus, yeah, yeah. I mean, I have, I'm a member of the Bar Association, of my, my state bar association, which is not, not voluntary. It's mandatory. But I'm a member primarily because they have a search, a legal search engine that they work with that we get for free. I mean, with our members, there you go. So there you go. So I don't need Lexus or West Law or any of those other search engines for what I do. And if I was, like, really into litigation and going to court all time and really doing deep research, I would need that. But I don't. I can use the one that they have, that we can use so and it's, it's a entirely web based system. It's fairly accessible   Michael Hingson ** 49:58 well, and. That makes it easier to as long as you've got people's ears absolutely make it accessible, which makes a lot of sense.   Erin Edgar ** 50:08 Yeah, it certainly does well.   Michael Hingson ** 50:10 So do you regard yourself as a resilient person? Has blindness impacted that or helped make that kind of more the case for you? Do you think I do resilience is such an overused term, but it's fair. I know   Erin Edgar ** 50:24 I mean resilience is is to my mind, a resilient person is able to face uh, challenges with a relatively positive outlook in and view a challenge as something to be to be worked through rather than overcome, and so yes, I do believe that blindness, in and of itself, has allowed me to find ways to adapt to situations and pivot in cases where, you know, I need to find an alternative to using a mouse. For instance, how would I do that? And so in other areas of life, I am, you know, because I'm blind, I'm able to more easily pivot into finding alternative solutions. I do believe that that that it has made me more resilient.   Michael Hingson ** 51:25 Do you think that being blind has caused you, and this is an individual thing, because I think that there are those who don't. But do you think that it's caused you to learn to listen better?   Erin Edgar ** 51:39 That's a good question, because I actually, I have a lot of sighted friends, and one of the things that people just assume is that, wow, you must be a really good listener. Well, my husband would tell you that's not always the case. Yeah. My wife said the same thing, yeah. You know, like everyone else, sometimes I hear what I want to hear in a conversation and at the same time, one of the things that I do tell people is that, because I'm blind, I do rely on other senses more, primarily hearing, I would say, and that hearing provides a lot of cues for me about my environment, and I've learned to be more skillful at it. So I, I would say that, yes, I am a good listener in terms of my environment, very sensitive to that in in my environment, in terms of active listening to conversations and being able to listen to what's behind what people say, which is another aspect of listening. I think that that is a skill that I've developed over time with conscious effort. I don't think I'm any better of a quote, unquote listener than anybody else. If I hadn't developed that primarily in in my mediation, when I was doing that, that was a huge thing for us, was to be able to listen, not actually to what people were saying, but what was behind what people were saying, right? And so I really consciously developed that skill during those years and took it with me into my legal practice, which is why I am very, very why I very much stress that I'm not only an attorney, but I'm also a counselor at law. That doesn't mean I'm a therapist, but it does mean I listen to what people say so that and what's behind what people say, so that with the ear towards providing them the legal solution that meets their needs as they describe them in their words.   Michael Hingson ** 53:47 Well, I think for me, I learned to listen, but it but it is an exercise, and it is something that you need to practice, and maybe I learned to do it a little bit better, because I was blind. For example, I learned to ride a bike, and you have to learn to listen to what's going on around you so you don't crash into cars. Oh, but I'd fall on my face. You can do it. But what I what I really did was, when I was I was working at a company, and was told that the job was going to be phased out because I wasn't a revenue producer, and the company was an engineering startup and had to bring in more revenue producers. And I was given the choice of going away or going into sales, which I had never done. And as I love to tell people, I lowered my standards and went from science to sales. But the reality is that that I think I've always and I think we all always sell in one way or another, but I also knew what the unemployment rate among employable blind people was and is, yeah, and so I went into sales with with no qualms. But there I really learned to listen. And and it was really a matter of of learning to commit, not just listen, but really learning to communicate with the people you work with. And I think that that I won't say blindness made me better, but what it did for me was it made me use the technologies like the telephone, perhaps more than some other people. And I did learn to listen better because I worked at it, not because I was blind, although they're related   Erin Edgar ** 55:30 exactly. Yeah, and I would say, I would 100% agree I worked at it. I mean, even when I was a child, I worked at listening to to become better at, kind of like analyzing my environment based on sounds that were in it. Yeah, I wouldn't have known. I mean, it's not a natural gift, as some people assume, yeah, it's something you practice and you have to work at. You get to work at.   Michael Hingson ** 55:55 Well, as I point out, there are people like SEAL Team Six, the Navy Seals and the Army Rangers and so on, who also practice using all of their senses, and they learn, in general, to become better at listening and other and other kinds of skills, because they have to to survive, but, but that's what we all do, is if we do it, right, we're learning it. It's not something that's just naturally there, right? I agree, which I think is important. So you're working in a lot of estate planning and so on. And I mentioned earlier that we it was back in 1995 we originally got one, and then it's now been updated, but we have a trust. What's the difference between having, like a trust and a will?   Erin Edgar ** 56:40 Well, that's interesting that you should ask. So A will is the minimum that pretty much, I would say everyone needs, even though 67% of people don't have one in the US. And it is pretty much what everyone needs. And it basically says, you know, I'm a, I'm a person of sound mind, and I know who is important to me and what I have that's important to me. And I wanted to go to these people who are important to me, and by the way, I want this other person to manage things after my death. They're also important to me and a trust, basically, there are multiple different kinds of trusts, huge numbers of different kinds. And the trust that you probably are referring to takes the will to kind of another level and provides more direction about about how to handle property and how how it's to be dealt with, not only after death, but also during your lifetime. And trusts are relatively most of them, like I said, there are different kinds, but they can be relatively flexible, and you can give more direction about how to handle that property than you can in a will, like, for instance, if you made an estate plan and your kids were young, well, I don't want my children to have access to this property until they're responsible adults. So maybe saying, in a trust until they're age 25 you can do that, whereas in a will, you it's more difficult to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 58:18 And a will, as I understand it, is a lot more easily contested than than a trust.   Erin Edgar ** 58:24 You know, it does depend, but yes, it is easily contested. That's not to say that if you have a trust, you don't need a will, which is a misconception that some, yeah, we have a will in our trust, right? And so, you know, you need the will for the court. Not everyone needs a trust. I would also venture to say that if you don't have a will on your death, the law has ideas about how your property should be distributed. So if you don't have a will, you know your property is not automatically going to go to the government as unclaimed, but if you don't have powers of attorney for your health care and your finance to help you out while you're alive, you run the risk of the A judge appointing someone you would not want to make your health care and financial decisions. And so I'm going to go off on a tangent here. But I do feel very strongly about this, even blind people who and disabled people who are, what did you call it earlier, the the employable blind community, but maybe they're not employed. They don't have a lot of   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 unemployed, unemployed, the unemployable blind people, employable   Erin Edgar ** 59:38 blind people, yes, you know, maybe they're not employed, they're on a government benefit. They don't have a lot of assets. Maybe they don't necessarily need that will. They don't have to have it. And at the same time, if they don't have those, those documents that allow people to manage their affairs during their lifetime. Um, who's going to do it? Yeah, who's going to do that? Yeah, you're giving up control of your body, right, potentially, to someone you would not want, just because you're thinking to yourself, well, I don't need a will, and nothing's going to happen to me. You're giving control of your body, perhaps, to someone you don't want. You're not taking charge of your life and and you are allowing doctors and hospitals and banks to perpetuate the belief that you are not an independent person, right? I'm very passionate about it. Excuse me, I'll get off my soapbox now. That's okay. Those are and and to a large extent, those power of attorney forms are free. You can download them from your state's website. Um, they're minimalistic. They're definitely, I don't use them because I don't like them for my state. But you can get you can use them, and you can have someone help you fill them out. You could sign them, and then look, you've made a decision about who's going to help you when you're not able to help yourself,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:07 which is extremely important to do. And as I mentioned, we went all the way and have a trust, and we funded the trust, and everything is in the trust. But I think that is a better way to keep everything protected, and it does provide so much more direction for whoever becomes involved, when, when you decide to go elsewhere, then, as they put it, this mortal coil. Yes, I assume that the coil is mortal. I don't know.   Erin Edgar ** 1:01:37 Yeah, who knows? Um, and you know trusts are good for they're not just for the Uber wealthy, which is another misconception. Trust do some really good things. They keep your situation, they keep everything more or less private, like, you know, I said you need a will for the court. Well, the court has the will, and it most of the time. If you have a trust, it just says, I want it to go, I want my stuff to go into the Michael hingson Trust. I'm making that up, by the way, and I, you know, my trust just deals with the distribution, yeah, and so stuff doesn't get held up in court. The court doesn't have to know about all the assets that you own. It's not all public record. And that's a huge, you know, some people care. They don't want everyone to know their business. And when I tell people, you know, I can go on E courts today and pull up the estate of anyone that I want in North Carolina and find out what they owned if they didn't have a will, or if they just had a will. And people like, really, you can do that? Oh, absolutely, yeah. I don't need any fancy credentials. It's all a matter of public record. And if you have a trust that does not get put into the court record unless it's litigated, which you know, it does happen, but not often,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:56 but I but again, I think that, you know, yeah, and I'm not one of those Uber wealthy people. But I have a house. We we used to have a wheelchair accessible van for Karen. I still have a car so that when I need to be driven somewhere, rather than using somebody else's vehicle, we use this and those are probably the two biggest assets, although I have a bank account with with some in it, not a lot, not nearly as much as Jack Benny, anyway. But anyway, the bottom line is, yeah, but the bottom line is that I think that the trust keeps everything a lot cleaner. And it makes perfect sense. Yep, it does. And I didn't even have to go to my general law firm that I usually use. Do we cheat them? Good, and how so it worked out really well. Hey, I watched the Marx Brothers. What can I say?   Erin Edgar ** 1:03:45 You watch the Marx Brothers? Of course.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:49 Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and I'm glad that we did it and that we also got to talk about the whole issue of wills and trusts and so on, which is, I think, important. So any last things that you'd like to say to people, and also, do you work with clients across the country or just in North Carolina?   Erin Edgar ** 1:04:06 So I work with clients in North Carolina, I will say that. And one last thing that I would like to say to people is that it's really important to build your support team. Whether you're blind, you know, have another disability, you need people to help you out on a day to day basis, or you decide that you want people to help you out. If you're unable to manage your affairs at some point in your life, it's very important to build that support team around you, and there is nothing wrong. You can be self reliant and still have people on your team yes to to be there for you, and that is very important. And there's absolutely no shame, and you're not relinquishing your independence by doing that. That. So today, I encourage everyone to start thinking about who's on your team. Do you want them on your team? Do you want different people on your team? And create a support team? However that looks like, whatever that looks like for you, that has people on it that you know, love and trust,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:18 everybody should have a support team. I think there is no question, at least in my mind, about that. So good point. Well, if people want to maybe reach out to you, how do they do that?   Erin Edgar ** 1:05:29 Sure, so I am on the interwebs at Erin Edgar legal.com that's my website where you can learn more about my law firm and all the things that I do,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:42 and Erin is E r i n, just Yes, say that Edgar, and   Erin Edgar ** 1:05:45 Edgar is like Edgar. Allan Poe, hopefully less scary, and you can find the contact information for me on the website. By Facebook, you can find me on Facebook occasionally as Erin Baker, Edgar, three separate words, that is my personal profile, or you can and Michael will have in the show notes the company page for my welcome as   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:11 well. Yeah. Well, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening. This has been a fun episode. It's been great to have Erin on, love to hear your thoughts out there who have been listening to this today. Please let us know what you think. You're welcome to email me at Michael H i@accessibe.com M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, I wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We really appreciate getting good ratings from people and reading and getting to know what you think. If you know anyone who you think might be a good guest, you know some people you think ought to come on unstoppable mindset. Erin, of course, you as well. We would appreciate it if you'd give us an introduction, because we're always looking for more people to have come on and help us show everyone that we're all more unstoppable than we think we are, and that's really what it's all about, and what we want to do on the podcast. So hope that you'll all do that, and in the meanwhile, with all that, Erin, I want to thank you once more for being here and being with us today. This has been a lot of fun. Thank you so much,   Erin Edgar ** 1:07:27 Michael. I very much enjoyed it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:34 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite

Explore Chatterbox TTS voice cloning with Robin Christopherson, the latest updates to accessible devices like the Mantis Q40 and Victor Reader Stream, delays to Agiga's EchoVision smart glasses, Google's Gemini for Home, and community insights on Linux accessibility.Thanks to Turtleback Low Vision for sponsoring this episode of Double Tap. As a thank you to the Double Tap community, Turtleback is offering 12% off your entire order with promo code DT12. Visit https://www.turtlebacklv.com to shop the full lineup!In this episode, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into a packed inbox and welcome Robin Christopherson for a detailed demo of Chatterbox TTS, a voice cloning tool from Hugging Face that quickly generates natural-sounding speech. They also cover major assistive tech updates, including new audiobook support for the Mantis Q40 and Victor Reader Stream 3, plus APH's discount on Studio Recorder.The conversation shifts to breaking news: Agiga delays its EchoVision glasses due to hardware issues, Meta expands its Ray-Ban smart glasses lineup, and Google hints at new smart speakers alongside Gemini for Home. Listeners Ken and Scout weigh in on the accessibility of Linux distros like Accessible Coconut, while others share questions on keyboards and Mac VoiceOver shortcuts.With humor, honesty, and practical advice, this episode captures the evolving landscape of accessible tech and the community's role in shaping it.Chapters0:00 – Intro and Inbox banter6:45 – Google event critique and presentation style14:22 – Agiga EcoVision glasses delay22:30 – Meta Ray-Bans & transition lenses explained31:00 – Google Gemini for Home smart speaker rumors44:10 – Updates: Mantis Q40, Victor Reader Stream, Braille devices51:20 – APH Studio Recorder anniversary discount55:05 – Robin Christopherson demo: Chatterbox TTS voice cloning1:11:40 – Listener emails: Accessible Linux (Ken & Scout)1:23:15 – Keyboard accessibility questions1:32:00 – Mac VoiceOver shortcut issue1:38:15 – Wrap-up and sign-off Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Discover how a robot vacuum is redefining home cleaning—and why a new AI shopping tool could change how blind users browse and buy online.In this lively episode, Steven and Shaun marvel at Roborock's innovative vacuum cleaner that doesn't just clean—it picks up after itself using a robotic arm. Thanks to OmniDescriber, listeners get a narrated demo of the vacuum's sock-fetching abilities, sparking both amusement and serious conversation about the potential of robotic assistive tech in the home. Ashley Wu from RoboRock speaks to our Marc Aflalo about the company and its products.The show then turns to a deep dive into InnoSearch with CEO and co-founder Patrick Long, who introduces their latest AI-powered upgrade, CoBrowse AI. This new tool allows users to navigate the InnoSearch website using voice commands, making online shopping more accessible and intuitive for blind and low-vision users. Patrick also shares insights into broader applications for the technology, including voice-based navigation for seniors and people with mobility challenges.Listener emails explore creative approaches to reading quiz questions with VoiceOver, and actor Ryan Kelly from The Archers shares his script-reading workflow—offering real-world perspective on balancing Braille, screen readers, and accessibility devices like the Victor Reader Stream and SensePlayer.A heartfelt discussion about living with vision loss, guilt around not using Braille daily, and the importance of validating all lived experiences rounds out the show. Plus, the hosts revisit the value of multi-line Braille displays, like the Canute from Bristol Braille.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:07 - Steven plays with OmniDescriber01:32 - RoboRock is a smart robot vacuum with the ability to lift things out of its way02:31 - Audio described video explaning how RoboRock works in practice05:55 - Ashley Wu from RoboRock talks to Marc Aflalo about the company and its products13:30 - Listener Paul helps Shaun with Reaper and asks about the best way for a blind person to host a quiz night16:46 - Listener Ryan talks about how he reads his scripts for his role in The Archers25:16 - Listener Cyndra gets in touch for the very first time with lots of thoughts30:53 - Introudction31:14 - Patrick Long from Innosearch joins the guys to discuss a new way to browse the site52:41 - Listener Darran gets in touch to briefly give a mention to Bristol Braille Canute Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Get hands-on with the new Orbit Player in Liam Erven's unboxing, and hear how the Speakaboo app helps blind users locate everything—including dog poop! Plus, listener emails on diabetes tech and disability attitudes.Thanks to Turtleback Low Vision for sponsoring this episode of Double Tap. As a thank you to the Double Tap community, Turtleback is offering 12% off your entire order with promo code DT12. Visit https://www.turtlebacklv.com to shop the full lineup!Get hands-on with the new Orbit Player in Liam Erven's unboxing, and hear how the Speakaboo app helps blind users locate everything—including dog poop! Plus, listener emails on diabetes tech and disability attitudes.In this episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun dive into the accessibility tech that's both practical and unexpectedly funny. First, they share a listener-led unboxing of the Orbit Player by Liam Erven, revealing a compact and powerful device designed with blind users in mind. They discuss its menu responsiveness, audio quality, price point, and how it compares to other players like the Victor Reader Stream and SensePlayer.Then, Gregg Hayes returns with a unique and genuinely useful demo of the AI-powered Speakaboo app. He shows off its intuitive features—including prebuilt Siri Shortcuts—and demonstrates the app's standout tool: a “dog poop spotter” that uses the iPhone's camera to locate messes in your yard. Yes, it's a real thing, and it might just change your life if you're a blind dog owner.The conversation also tackles listener feedback on accessible diabetes tools, affordable glucose monitors, and the ongoing lack of accessible solutions in healthcare. Finally, Steven and Shaun address a listener email about the frustrating and dehumanizing experiences disabled people often face in public spaces—from being pushed in a wheelchair without consent to having their white canes grabbed.Chapters00:00 - Introduction02:55 - Skechers adds hidden AirTag pocket for children's shoes - good or bad idea?14:49 - Liam Erven's unboxing of the Orbit Player32:41 - Sponsor: TurtleBack33:19 - Get in touch with Double Tap33:43 - Listener Gregg Hayes reviews the Speakaboo app46:45 - Listener Jim on diabetes testing technology53:04 - Listener Ang on the attitudes of others towards disabled peopleRelevant Links Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

W tym odcinku TyfloPrzeglądu omawiamy aktualizację oprogramowania Victor Reader Stream 3 oraz premierę NVDA 2025.1. Wspominamy o nowościach w grach, planowanych zmianach w instalacji niestandardowych ROM-ów na urządzeniach Pixel oraz reklamach, które mają pojawić się w WhatsAppie. Wśród tematów od słuchaczy znalazły się m.in. beta wersje systemów Apple, RHVoice, szkolenia w województwie śląskim, ograniczenia AI i Google Notebook LM. Audycja dostępna jest również w wygenerowanej automatycznie wersji tekstowej

In this episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun dive into the latest tech updates and accessibility news, including a deep conversation with Matthew Horspool from the Tactile Reading and Graphics Conference in Amsterdam.Thanks to Turtleback Low Vision for sponsoring this episode of Double Tap. As a thank you to the Double Tap community, Turtleback is offering 12% off your entire order with promo code DT12. Visit https://www.turtlebacklv.com to shop the full lineup!Steven battles through a cold to bring you a packed show covering everything from accessible streaming frustrations to major updates in screen readers and hardware for blind users. The episode features a thoughtful listener question about choosing a braille note taker for work, with expert guidance from Matthew Horspool of the Braillists Foundation. Matthew also shares insights from the Tactile Reading and Graphics Conference, focusing on the future of tactile graphics, braille technology, and the balance between high-end devices like the Monarch and affordable tactile tools for home and education.You'll also hear reactions to the closure of the Speech Radio app, detailed reviews of Victor Reader Stream and NVDA updates, and an important discussion on how blind users can engage with tactile and visual learning in modern tech environments.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:59 - Steven has a cold!02:31 - Shaun's weekend!09:27 - CoPilot Vision availalbe now to US customers of Microsoft13:27 - Speech Radio app is being closed down14:45 - Statement from British Wireless for the Blind fund18:43 - Victor Reader Stream Gets 1.5 Software Update21:32 - NVDA gets big update with built in Remote Access feature25:20 - Sponsor: Turtleback26:11 - Matthew Horspool on the Tactile Reading and Graphics Conference26:50 - Listener question from Karen on buying a braille display Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Steven and Shaun kick off with a fun Friday vibe and plenty of listener emails to explore tech quirks, from weak Bluetooth signals to TikTok's accessibility challenges. Listeners share mixed experiences using TikTok with VoiceOver and ask whether blind creators truly manage without sighted assistance. Steven breaks down the pros and limitations of the latest StellarTrek update, including access to text-based newspapers and magazines— finally offering a satisfying reading experience for blind users.The hosts also reflect on recent power grid outages across Europe and discuss the risks of overreliance on renewable energy without adequate backup systems. Later, they respond to listener Charles's compelling question: “If you could have one blind-related support service on demand for life, what would it be?” The answers range from on-call O&M specialists to always-available drivers and Aira agents.Additional topics include over-the-counter hearing aids, USB-C powered electric shavers, tips for retraining Siri, and the broader implications of accessibility tech in a changing world.[Chapters]0:00 – Friday vibes and Bluetooth tech fails2:58 – Spain and Portugal power outages & renewables debate6:02 – StellarTrek reader update and new Victor Reader features13:42 – TikTok accessibility feedback from listeners20:59 – Blind content creation and sighted assistance30:39 – What accessibility service would you want for life?40:27 – Exploring with Aira and missing out on the world48:13 – Over-the-counter hearing aids & shaver recommendations52:48 – Retraining Siri for better voice recognition54:46 – Final thoughts and what's coming Monday

Episode Notes 0:00 Start 6:45 Introducing Rachel Ramos from HumanWare, her story and her current role 10:15 HumanWare product overview of devices old and new 17:00 Victor Reader Stream, book reader, podcasts, internet radio, news and magazines, all audio 18:30 New features of Victor, organize your Voice Notes into folders, 20:45 Guided demonstration of navigating and creating named folders, 23:15 Demo of recording a new Voice Note, 24:15 Files are numbered sequentially by default, after deleting a file you can Consolidate to renumber files. 29:00 Brailliant and other Braille products, read books, take notes and 32:00 What is new? Tools like WIkipedia, Wiktionary and WordSet 35:00 Example use case of searching an unfamiliar word, 38:00 HumanWare Podcast w/ Rachel and Peter "See Things Differently with HumanWare" 43:00 Navigating with Brailliant and selecting words to look up 47:00 HumanWare Odyssey featuring AI powered scanned document questions, 49:00 Wrap Up with Rachel Ramos from HumanWare, upcoming topics and events 51:15 Ending with Music Find out more at https://techconnectlive.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Join Mathieu Paquette and Peter Tucic from HumanWare to discuss all that is new with the Victor Reader Stream 1.4 update. This update introduced many enhancements including audio note categorization and improvements to Bluetooth connectivity. Mathieu and Peter will as always provide demonstrations and field questions, in addition to touching on key updates to other product lines where applicable. Presenter Contact Info Peter's Email: peter.tucic@humanware.com Mathieu's Email: mathieu.paquette@humanware.com

In this special episode of Double Tap, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece are joined by tech guru Michael Babcock to tackle listener questions. As always, the conversation is packed with tips, tricks, and a bit of chaos.  Steven kicks things off by talking about his switch from VMware Fusion to Parallels for running virtual machines on macOS. He shares how it's made his life easier, especially with keyboard shortcuts and overall functionality. Meanwhile, Michael offers his own insights into navigating macOS and Windows simultaneously without losing your mind.  One listener asks for advice on marking frozen foods in a chest freezer without braille. The team dives into solutions like tactile markers, elastic tags, and tech options such as PenFriend and NFC tags, with plenty of laughs along the way about the quirks of cooking when you can't see what's in the freezer.  Michael also takes on a great question about learning VoiceOver gestures on iPhone. If you've ever struggled with swipes, taps, or understanding the rotor, he's got you covered with recommendations like Apple's built-in VoiceOver tutorial and the VO Starter app.  Headphones are another hot topic. From bone conduction options like the Shokz OpenRun Pro to Apple's AirPods, the guys break down what works best for audiobooks, walking, and staying aware of your surroundings. They even touch on budget-friendly alternatives that won't break the bank.  Steven revisits his take on the Apple Watch after recently upgrading. Spoiler alert: He's found new love for its navigation features, health tracking, and Apple Pay convenience, though he admits it's still not perfect for everyone.  For listeners curious about video accessibility, Michael explains how to use the Seeing AI app to make sense of videos and suggests ways to convert formats if needed. They also troubleshoot transferring files between iPhones and the Victor Reader Stream, exploring options like USB-C adapters and SD card readers.  Mac vs. PC debates resurface as the team discusses whether switching to macOS is worth it. Michael shares his tips for tackling the learning curve, while Stephen reflects on how the Mac has become a powerful tool in his workflow.  The episode wraps up with advice on how to amplify specific voices in noisy environments. Whether it's using the iPhone's Live Listen feature with AirPods or investing in a personal listener device, there's plenty of practical info for making family gatherings (or avoiding them!) a little easier.  It's another jam-packed episode full of tech, accessibility tips, and laughs!Get in touch with Double Tap by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or by call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also now contact us via Whatsapp on 1-613-481-0144 or visit doubletaponair.com/whatsapp to connect. We are also across social media including X, Mastodon and Facebook. Double Tap is available daily on AMI-audio across Canada, on podcast worldwide and now on YouTube.Chapter Markers:00:00 Intro06:02 Virtual Machines and Software Choices11:58  Accessibility in the Kitchen18:08 Understanding VoiceOver Gestures and Controls24:46 Audio Devices: Recommendations and Comparisons31:55 The Apple Watch: A Personal Perspective30:16 Utilizing Seeing AI for Video Accessibility36:02 Transferring Files Between Devices40:30 Transitioning from Windows to Mac49:10 Enhancing Conversations with Technology56:20 Navigating Blindness: Resources and Communities01:02:40 Dog Ownership and Blindness: Practical Tips

Chris and Kim will present in the first half hour from 8 to 8:30pm Eastern and Denise will present in the second half hour from 8:30 to 9pm Eastern. Mystic Access It’s the holiday season again, and we here at Mystic Access are excited to catch you up on our most recent audio offerings. For those unfamiliar with Mystic Access, we’re Chris and Kin Nova, a totally blind husband and wife duo who provide extensive, affordable, professionally-produced audio documentation on both blindness-specific and mainstream products. Some of our offerings include audio on the Amazon Echo, the Mac computer, the Google Chromebook, the Victor Reader Stream 3 (audio available at no cost), and much more. Join us for a look into these offerings and others during our Stocking Stuffers appearance. And stay tuned for an exclusive shiny gift code for Tek Talk listeners. We can’t wait to celebrate the season with you. Speak To Me Catalog Ready for some Christmas shopping? Well, don't mis this opportunity to shop from the comfort of your own home and review some of the greatest talking items in the world!!! The Speak To Me Catalog is a family owned, home base mail order business that specializes in products that talk, sing, play music, or record your own special message.   You can find a   unique practical talking item or a fun and wacky gift idea that adds that personal touch. Choose from our varieties of   talking clocks, watches, key chains, teddy bears, greeting cards, calculators, stuffed animals, kitchen aids, novelties, bibles, radios, games, toys, talking thermometers, and digital recorders.  Speak To Me has something for everyone, even those who are hard to shop for! Presenter Contact Info Mystic Access Phone: 716-543-3323 Email: info@mysticaccess.com Website: https://www.mysticaccess.com Bi-Weekly Podcast: https://www.mysticaccesspodcast.com Free Audio Downloads: https://www.mysticaccessdownloads.com Speak To Me Catalog Website: www.speaktomecatalog.com/ Email: customer.service@speaktomecatalog.com Phone: 800-248-9965

This week we discuss: The BT Speak Braille input pocket computer from Blazie Technologies with more information at https://blazietech.com; The new Orcam Read Lite “point click and listen” reading device available from Quantum RLV via https://quantumrlv.com.au or Vision Australia via https://shop.visionaustralia.org; The Victor Reader Stream 3 from Humanware with firmware update containing further information at https://humanware.com; The release by Apple this week of software updates to many of its popular products; A look ahead to the release from Vispero later this week of is 2025 upgrades to Jaws, ZoomText and Fusion with more information and downloads from Https://freedomscientific.com.   For the podcast presented by Stephen Jolley and Damo McMorrow you can go to varadio.org/talkingtech To write to the show use damo.mcmorrow@visionaustralia.orgSupport this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the show Steven and Shaun discuss the latest news in accessible tech, including a new update for the Victor Reader Stream 3rd Generation, an updated Micro Speak is now available and long time listener and friend of the show Tim Dixon shares his top tips on recording video out and about.The Victor Reader Stream has had a few major updates, including a new Canadian voice in both Canadian English and French-Canadian, plus there's a new Notes Categories option, plus a number of fixes under the hood. Full details are here: https://support.humanware.com/en-usa/support/victor_reader_stream_3/victor_reader_stream_3_software/release_notesAlso the Micro Speak is now available, with an updated audio prompt system and better audio recording quality. Plus there's now a USB-C charging cable port for easier use. It's available in Canada from Special Needs Computing, and in the US from AT Guys, while in the UK you can purchase it from Talking Products and RNIB.Listener and long time friend of the show Tim Dixon is also back with us today to chat about his recent experience with his new iPhone 16 Pro as a video camera while at the recent Sight Village exhibition. He shares his top tips in successfully recording out and about.Get in touch with Double Tap by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or by call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also now contact us via Whatsapp on 1-613-481-0144 or visit doubletaponair.com/whatsapp to connect. We are also across social media including X, Mastodon and Facebook. Double Tap is available daily on AMI-audio across Canada, on podcast worldwide and now on YouTube.Chapter Markers:0:00 - Intro  4:32 - Shaun Says Sorry to RNIB (Sort of)  8:56 - Feedback - Pete on the RNIB Online Shop  13:31 - Feedback - Shafiq on Where To Get A Cane  15:45 - New Update for Victor Reader Stream 3  20:21 - The MicroSpeak Audio Recorder  26:14 - Contact Us  26:35 - Tim Gives Us Tips On Recording Content 

In this episode of Double Tap Steven Scott and Shaun Preece explore various topics based on feedback from listeners. They discuss the Oko app coming to Canada which offers accessible navigation features including a feature for safely crossing roads using pedestrian traffic lights. They also dive into the challenges faced by users of assistive technology, such as the Victor Reader Stream 3 requiring access to a computer for updates and the limitations faced in accessing certain technologies. The hosts also touched on the concept of disability pride, the practicality of using iPads for individuals, and the economic advantages of using iPhones as main computers. The episode featured listener feedback on topics ranging from self-driving cars to the importance of having the right accessories and apps for maximizing the use of technology. Keep in touch by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media.

Product Minute: Get up to 15% off selected assistive tech devices from the Vision Store. Sale ends June 30, or while stocks last. Come in to any Vision Store or shop online at   https://shop.visionaustralia.org/onsale   Blind Shell Classic 2 Ok for When Telstra Drops 3G network on August 31 2024   All is safe, your Blind Shell Classic 2 will continue to work.   Be-My-Eyes Now Available for Windows   This excellent app famous on the iPhone and Android phones, is now available on Windows.   What is in David's Computer Bag   Haven't done one of these for a while, so here is a look in to my computer bag.   Victor Reader Stream 3. Stella Trek. Brailliant BI40X. Bt Speak Pro.   Z Flip 3. iPhone 14 Pro. Logitech keyboard. RIVO keyboard. Belkin Mini Stage Tablet stand.   MacBook Pro M2. iPad Pro 10 inch M2. Surface Pro with Smart Keyboard.   JBL head set. JBL Extreme 3 portable speaker. Shokz bone conduction head phones. Zoom Essential H4. XLR microphone.   Versa Slate. Accessible 10000 and 20000 Power Bank. AirTag. Cables, audio adapters, SD cards, and USBC/USBA convertible sticks. Korean Telescopic cane.Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 283 0:00 Comments on recent episodes 4:36 New hearing aids purchased 9:28 for users of the Rode Smartlav interview kit needing USB C connectivity 15:47 Wanting a podcast app for my Chromebook 17:59 Blind yoga? 19:33 Broadcasting systems for visually impaired accessibility 21:46 Downloading from YoUTube 27:18 Microsoft Copilot 28:39 Tax and identity verification 30:40 Microsoft Office on my new laptop 33:02 The security of scanning mail with my phone 34:07 New undesirable requirements from Instacart 38:36 The best case for my Mantis 42:57 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses 47:51 Audible on the Victor Reader Stream 3 52:11 Home automation experiences 53:57 Blind audio describer Christine Malec discusses her craft, the Luminato Festival Toronto and more 1:07:06 Thoughts on Glide 1:54:36 Google Podcasts closing down 1:56:00 Closing and contact info 1:57:52

From HumanWare, we have Peter Tucic, director of strategic partnerships, and Mathieu Paquette, product manager, to discover one of their newest products, the Odyssey. This easy-to-use desktop reader allows you to read documents, converting text into speech. And also, they may have some information on the version 1.3 software update for the Victor Reader Stream 3! Presenter Contact Info Peter's Email: peter.tucic@humanware.com Mathieu's Email: mathieu.paquette@humanware.com

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 280 0:00 Zoom improves accessibility of their H Essential Series 3:02 It appears Sonos accessibility is about to experience a significant regression 6:00 Mathieu Paquette from HumanWare talks Audible support for the Victor Reader Stream 3 and more new features 23:01 A demonstration of Perplexity 1:01:48 An Apple album purchase I can no longer play 1:21:41 Thoughts on Glide 1:29:26 NFB's DeafBlind Division is looking for volunteer special service support providers 1:47:54 Hetlioz and melatonin 1:51:04 In search of a powerful, portable laptop 1:53:34 Problems with the YouTube app are typical 1:56:59 Closing and contact info 1:59:01

In this episode of Double Tap, hosts Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into two exciting tech developments that are making waves in the world of accessible technology. First up, they discuss the much-anticipated arrival of Audible support on the Victor Reader Stream 3, a feature that has been eagerly awaited by the blind and partially sighted community. This update not only brings Audible books to the device but also introduces several quality-of-life improvements, such as sorting books in alphabetical order on the bookshelf, faster SD card loading times, and a suspend mode to save battery life and speed up wake times. The update signifies a significant leap forward in making digital reading more accessible and enjoyable for users. The second big story is the launch of Meta AI in the UK, a development that has the hosts buzzing with excitement. Steven shares his firsthand experience with the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, demonstrating their ability to provide instant, accurate descriptions of his surroundings, from identifying a Rodecaster Pro audio mixer to recognizing a "phone banish box." The glasses not only offer a groundbreaking way for users to interact with their environment through AI but also introduce the possibility of video calls using the glasses' built-in camera. As they wrap up, the hosts touch on other tech updates, including new features for Zoom recorders that enhance accessibility for users who are blind or partially sighted, and the anticipation around the Kliks keyboard, a device that promises to bring back the tactile typing experience reminiscent of BlackBerry keyboards. Keep in touch by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us on social media.

In this episode of Double Tap, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into a significant update for Android users, specifically around Braille display compatibility. Matthew Horspool from the Braillists Foundation joins the conversation to break down the technicalities and implications of Android 15's beta release, which promises HID support for Braille displays. This development is poised to make a wide range of Braille devices more accessible to Android users, addressing long-standing compatibility issues and potentially transforming the experience for visually impaired Android enthusiasts. The episode also features a roundup of other tech news, presented by Grace Scoffield. Highlights include Waymap's impressive funding round to expand its navigation solutions, Roku's new certification requirements to boost accessibility, and speculation around Microsoft's ARM laptops potentially outperforming Apple's M3 MacBook Air. The segment wraps up with a nostalgic look back at the release of Windows 3.1, marking a significant milestone in computing history. Listeners contribute to the episode with thoughtful feedback on various topics, including the recent controversy surrounding Voice Dream Reader's subscription model changes and suggestions for micro Bluetooth devices to enhance the usability of devices like the Victor Reader Stream 2. Keep in touch by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us on social media.

In this episode of Double Tap, hosts Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into a lively discussion covering a range of topics, including the latest on the MacBook Airs, updates from HumanWare on the Victor Reader Stream 3 and Mantis Q40, and their personal experiences with technology. The guys are also joined by Mathieu Piquette and Andrew Flatres from HumanWare to discuss updates across their range of products. In particular, we focus on an upcoming update for the Victor Reader Stream 3 and we get the answer to the eternal question: when will Audible books be able to be added to the device? Keep in touch by emailing us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-03-4567 and leaving us a voicemail. You can also find us on social media.

Today on the show,  Steven Scott and Shaun Preece discuss the advancements in accessible technology, focusing on Seleste glasses. They engage in a lively conversation with Shubh Mittal from Seleste, discussing the AI integration in the glasses that enhances user experience through features like object and text recognition. There's also more feedback on the new Victor Reader Stream 3rd Gen with mixed reviews following user experiences.Keep the feedback coming - email us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us on social media and on YouTube.

Today's show is jam-packed with tech talk and a special focus on the Optima Braille laptop's delay. Steven discusses his experience with Groups.io, a platform where he found a community discussing the Victor Reader Stream. He shares the challenges of trying to get Audible support on the new Victor Reader Stream 3 and reminisces about the ease of transferring books on the older model. As always, the show features listener feedback, starting with Alan's curiosity about the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and the AI transcription feature. Frank shares his frustrations with Lady A's playback issues and the difficulty of setting email sounds on the iPhone 14. But the highlight of today's episode is a candid interview with Adi Kushner from Access Mind. Adi opens up about the real-world conflict in Israel that has caused delays in the Optima Braille laptop's production. Despite the challenges, Adi remains committed to the project and shares exciting news about upcoming software beta testing and collaborations with screen reader developers. Keep your feedback coming and share your thoughts with the guys by emailing feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-803-4567 and leaving us a voicemail.

On today's episode of Double Tap, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece discuss a range of topics, including the announcement of a new AI-powered version of Siri by Apple, the potential discontinuation of Fossil smartwatches, and Microsoft's new voice clarity feature for Windows. There's also much discussion about the pair's trip to see a gig at the weekend, with Steven returning home with a new hat he wasn't expecting. However, he is expecting another parcel in the post as he's just ordered a new Victor Reader Stream 3 ... but why? Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) X (formerly Twitter): @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed Mastodon: @DoubleTap

In our special episode, we're revisiting the tech highlights of 2023. The year began with Sony's PlayStation 5 controller launch and Microsoft's investment in OpenAI. Twitter made waves by banning third-party apps, sparking a discussion featured in a clip with Gedeon Maheux. February brought Google's AI plans with Bard and exciting tech news from Canada. HumanWare introduced the Victor Reader Stream 3rd gen. March featured Humanware's "Made for Surface" devices and the CSUN conference. April marked Amazon's support for cochlear implants and Seeing AI's indoor navigation feature. May was packed with innovations, including Braille Doodle and Final Cut's iPad debut, alongside an audio transcription demo using AIKO. Sadly, Microsoft bid farewell to Soundscape, but it returned via Open Scape beta, the Scottish Tech Army, and the NCBI. June showcased Apple's WWDC and Vision Pro, along with Reddit's significant API changes. July was Convention month, featuring Sight Village PamTrad, NFB Report by Damashe Thomas, and ACB-OKO. August turned the spotlight to smart glasses, including Seleste and Kapsys smartvision 3. In September, LEGO launched braille bricks for everyone, while WordPress Accessibility Day emphasized web inclusivity. October unveiled CES in Amsterdam, and November featured a talking air fryer, Be My Eyes at an Open AI event, JAWS news, and some Open AI chaos. Be My AI emerged as the first customer service AI. December concluded with Forza's success at the Game Awards, the Netflix drama "All The Light We Cannot See," and the Android debut of Seeing AI and Be My AI. Sight Tech Global was a must-attend event for tech enthusiasts. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) X (formerly Twitter): @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed Mastodon: @DoubleTap

Hey there! Welcome to Accessibility Minute, your weekly look at Assistive Technology, those clever tools and devices designed to help people who have difficulties with vision, mobility, hearing, or other special needs! Last week, we talked about the Victor Reader Stream 3 by Humanware which is a pocket-sized digital media audio player that allows users […] The post AM553 Brailliant BI 20X Braille Display first appeared on Assistive Technology at Easter Seals Crossroads.

Hey there! Welcome to Accessibility Minute, your weekly look at Assistive Technology, those clever tools and devices designed to help people who have difficulties with vision, mobility, hearing, or other special needs! In nearly 35 years, HumanWare has developed more than 50 “highly intuitive and intelligent” solutions that have changed the lives of people with […] The post AM552 Victor Reader Stream 3 first appeared on Assistive Technology at Easter Seals Crossroads.

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 258 0:00 A third-party screen reader for Mac may be on the way 3:23 Is blindness-aware AI customer service the future? Be My AI comes to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk 11:17 A funny thing happened to me on my way home 37:14 Can't hear VoiceOver on a call 42:56 Transitioning to Windows for music production 49:10 Is this an ableist job description for a disability role? 54:36 Keypad problem when updating iPhone 1:12:26 Comments on Selena Mills interview 1:13:55 Not happy with the Victor Reader Stream 3 1:17:22 Any tips for a new Mantis Q40 user? 1:29:38 Uber accessibility and self-identification 1:33:23 All the Light we Cannot See, and Apple accessibility bugs 1:42:22 My iPhone 15 is still the bane of my existence 1:48:13 Closing and contact info 1:58:54

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the big news from Be My Eyes that it has partnered with Microsoft to create the first AI virtual assistant for its Disability Answer Desk. Read more here: https://doubletaponair.com/be-my-eyes-ai-customer-support/ There's also news from HumanWare regarding their Victor Reader Stream 3: you can now access TuneIn via the accessible audio player. Read more here: https://doubletaponair.com/tunein-partners-with-humanware-to-enhance-audio-accessibility/ Plus listener Callum asks about the pitfalls of using a Braille display across two machines - one real and one virtual - if he chose to get a new Mac with silicon chips. And Steven has a question for you: what's your favourite and most usable navigation app? Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) X (formerly Twitter): @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed Mastodon: @DoubleTap

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 257 0:00 Comments about the Victor Reader Stream 3 1:50 A thorough description of the Beatles' Now and Then music video 6:03 Read the description here. New bug in the iOS weather app 7:56 Apple developer calls for boycott of Apple's Feedback Assistant 8:53 Inaccessible appliances 15:35 iOS Personal Voice 18:33 All the light we cannot see on Netflix 26:00 Voice feedback during Apple Watch workouts 29:00 A book recommendation and tactile graphics array 32:41 iOS View Finder not multilingual, and ZoomPodtrak P4 36:36 Determining the orientation of a printed page with iPhone 38:25 Sharesies accessibility issues 40:05 Bird buddy 42:26 Hand gestures on Apple Watch 47:40 Bose versus Sonos 48:26 Trouble reading Kindle books inBraille on my iPhone 51:59 More positive feedback on the HeardThat app 55:32 Introduction to the review of the Audient Evo 16 59:27 Evo 16 orientation 1:05:11 Smartgain is an accessible way to set your levels 1:08:34 Evo in the Windows System Tray 1:11:23 The Evo Mixer 1:16:01 System Panel 1:32:41 The accessible clipping indicator 1:37:34 Conclusion 1:38:29 Trouble using a wireless mic with my iPhone 1:39:28 Contacting the developer of Mona for Mastodon 1:42:32 The Bonnie Bulletin 1:44:21 Closing and contact info 1:55:01.504

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 256 0:00 Now and then is out, and there's more Beatles magic coming 1:17 ACB's National Office is now on Mastodon 7:42 Comments on the Userway interview 8:25 Enjoying my Mantis Q40 17:09 Responding to Ring video doorbell notifications efficiently 22:20 Enabling audio description on Samsung TVs 24:42 The Victor Reader Stream 27:35 Songs that make me feel weird 36:07 Seeking language learning apps 37:43 Comments on recent topics 38:57 Audio description resources 45:57 Finding Employment 47:40 Personal Voice, BrailleNote Touch and an Audacity question 50:21 Experiments with hearing technology 52:49 Author of "Life Unseen",Selena Mills 1:05:46 Closing and contact info 2:00:06

Lots of new and exciting things have happened at Mystic Access since we've last had the pleasure of appearing on Tek Talk. In this presentation, we'll catch you up a bit by discussing one of our most popular newer tutorials on the BlindShell Classic Ii, our bran new tutorial on the Victor Reader Stream 3 which is available to anyone absolutely free, and give you the dish about a few things that will be appearing in the near future. And, just for fun, we'll also demo a neat app, Call Annie, which features AI, and is free for download for iOS and Android. Presenter Contact Info Chris and Kim Nova Mystic Access Phone: 716 543-3323 Email: Info@mysticaccess.com Website: www.mysticaccess.com Free Bi-weekly podcast: www.mysticaccesspodcast.com Free Audio: www.mysticaccessdownloads.com

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the breaking news that HumanWare has announced it is working to bring a fix to the Audible issue on their new Victor Reader Stream 3rd Generation by the first quarter of 2024. Also, Andrea Voss from the CNIB joins the guys to chat about their ongoing partnership with LEGO and how you can get your hands on the new Braille Bricks from their CNIB SmartLife store. Link here: https://www.cnib.ca/en/news/lego-introduces-braille-bricks?re-gion=on And of course, there's more of your feedback, including suggestions for backpacks, and also a solution for those times you can't seem to download a file on Microsoft Edge without it being blocked! Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) X (formally Twitter): @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

 In this episode, I have an informative and entertaining discussion with Mathieu Paquette and Peter Tucic from Humanware. we talk about the latest version of the Victor Reader Stream 3 and how it's improved over the previous versions! To learn more, be sure to visit the website, www.humanware.com.

On today's show Steven & Shaun share some of the highlights from recent inter-views and listener app demos.We start off with Mike Buckley & Shaun discussing the latest developments in the upcoming Be My AI feature in the incredibly useful Be My Eyes app.It's then on to 2 fantastic app demos from our listeners. Wiki Trips gives you lots of de-tail about landmarks around you while Weatherology gives your local weather report a personality.It's then back to the interviews with Lucy Begley from Humanware talking to Steven all about the new Victor Reader Stream 3rd Generation.And finally, Jason Fayre from Toronto stops by to share an update on his experiences with the HIMS Senseplayer device. Is the new firmware giving him new reasons to be excited about the player? Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation:Email: feedback@doubletaponair.comCall: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK)Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAirMastodon: @DoubleTapYouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Michael Babcock takes the hosting chair today while Steven is away, and immediately jumps into tech with a discussion on how to make sure you are always in the frame when it comes to video conferencing on your computer. Shaun talks about his experience with the fantastic Windows app Can You See Me and Michael tells us of a similar app for the Mac called CenteredHead. After more talk on everything from Windows vs. Mac and browser problems, it's on to a listener lesson for Shaun regarding his trouble using a liquid level indicator. Just how do you make the perfect cup of tea or coffee, and will Shaun admit to being a secret finger dipper? Listener Ken also emails us about his recent purchase of the Leaden Wireless Bluetooth MP3 polarized sunglasses. With a price tag of only $15.99, just how do they compare to the far more expensive options out there in the audio sunglasses market? There's more listener feedback with a voicemail from Scout giving his opinion on the reasons why people want stand-alone devices such as the Victor Reader Stream 3 and the SensePlayer. But with the prices of these devices creeping close to the cost of smartphones are they pricing themselves out of the market? Finally, Wayne emails in to share his experiences with sonar mobility devices such as the UltraCane and Sunu Band. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAir Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss more of the topics you are raising from your emails and feedback. We hear comments about the All Terrain Cane and the UltraCane smart device as well as one listener's experience of using Door Detection on her iPhone.Plus, we learn all about the WikiTrip app from one of our listeners and Lucy Begley from HumanWare meets Steven in a library to tell him all about the new Victor Reader Stream 3rd Generation.Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation:Email: feedback@doubletaponair.comCall: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK)Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAirMastodon: @DoubleTapYouTube: DoubleTapOnAir 

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 245 0:29 Home appliances, the final frontier 1:34 Welcome to almost citizen Bonnie 17:03 YouTube video from LYFT driver coaches drivers on how to avoid transporting guide dog handlers 21:22 Here is a link to the YouTube video in question. You can flag this video, and you can also report this using YouTube's other legal complaint form for violating civil rights legislation in your country. iOS 17 is in quite good shape ahead of release 34:13 Be my AI not recognising faces 38:18 Audible and the Victor Reader Stream 40:57 More on accessible TVs 42:50 Comments on various recent topics 52:05 Searching for a bingo card 53:42 A work-around for inaccessible chapter buttons inApple Podcasts 55:05 Maryann Mendez talks NFB conventions and answers some Bookshare questions 1:01:37 Jack Mendez talks tech training and the future of accessibility 1:24:35 PC versus Mac 1:40:27 Searching for text on the BrailleSense 1:48:53 Closing and contact info 1:57:09

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun read through more of your comments, including a clarification from listener Nicole on the origin of the Mini Guide we recently featured, as well as her own challenges with the lanyard for her Hable One keyboard. Plus, there's more feedback following comments on the HIMS Senseplayer features and the issues getting Audible books onto the Victor Reader Stream 3rd Generation. Our feature interview is with Shubh Mittal from Seleste, a Canadian startup making waves with the launch of their smart glasses, which allow users to benefit from a camera, audio and microphone built into a regular pair of glasses that can be connected wirelessly to your iPhone or Android device. Will it live up to the hype? Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAir Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 241 0:30 iOS 17 beta 2:06 What old iOS apps do you remember with fondness? 5:50 A wonderful cane and a positive development 13:17 Adding descriptions to videos with Mona for mastodon 14:27 JAWS for Android 16:48 iBeacons are still a thing 21:16 Here's a link to the Kwenda app referenced in this section. Any accessible TV recommendations? 24:01 Accessibility issues with Fiverr 27:21 Comments on Apple Podcast Connectgate 30:23 Accessibility issues with Express VPN 35:30 Things aren't looking good for Audible support with the Victor Reader Stream 3 38:09 HumanWare and APH update us on the Monarch Braille device 47:05 Demo of the Weatherology app for iOS 1:19:33 Closing and contact info 1:58:09

Today on the show Steven and Shaun find out more about the upcoming Optima braille laptop device from one of the partners involved in its creation. Add Kushner from AccessMind joins the guys to talk about feedback they have been receiving that they intend to implement into the device and also what feedback they have been getting from competitors in the braille tech space. Also there's more feedback from you, in particular on the subjects of audio description, braille and literacy and also comments on the new Victor Reader Stream 3rd generation. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAir Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun are joined by Tim Dixon, who has been attending Sight Village in England this week. While Shaun and Steven argue over smart LED curtains, Tim talks to Ellis from VisionAid Technologies about a new range of products they are bringing out over the next few months, including a new CloverBook XL text reader, the Dot Pad and VoxiVision. You can read all about their new arrivals by visiting the website - https://www.visionaid.co.uk/new-arrivals Also, Tim finds out about the new Victor Reader Stream 3 from David at the HumanWare stand. It's the latest edition of the product from the Canadian company. Read more here - https://www.humanware.com/en-united_kingdom/home And there's more of your feedback too. Listener Ian chimes in with his views on smart kiosks powered by JAWS following our conversation with Vispero's Matt Ater. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email:feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAir Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. HiChad! 0:00 RIM for Mac is released 1:39 The Reddit blackout 4:34 Third-party apps do not have access to the Vision Pro camera 11:04 Read the Upload VR article referenced in the episode. Bookshare's place in a world of mainstream accessible options 19:22 Influential European organisation discourages the use of accessibility overlays 25:39 Effective ad blocking tools 34:40 Looking for cookbook recommendations 37:16 More on the Victor Reader Stream and SensePlayer 41:52 Here's the link to the Executive products case for the Stream 3, and here's the link for the Executive Products SensePlayer case. The lonely little Hotel Pennsylvania 55:12 More on the Focus Braille displays including comment from Vispero 56:45 The Oko app helps with inaccessible traffic lights 1:03:54 Coping with assistance we may not want 1:28:37 Update on Castro and a demo of how sluggish Overcast is 1:35:00 A New Beatles single?Wow! 1:41:38 Features lacking in digital assistants 1:54:00 Closing and contact info 1:59:20

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to episode 231 0:00 Special episode coming on the WWDC keynote 1:52 Technology's great when it works, but it doesn't always work 5:53 Listening and charging via USB 23:41 Following up on problems with the Victor Reader Stream second generation 25:23 Bookshare is increasing the price of its subscription 26:37 Comments on Google Music LM 34:30 Strategies for dealing with offers of help 38:03 The status of advocacy on quiet cars 46:02 Inadequate meet and assist service at airports 52:32 What is the Zoom M2 Mictrak? 1:00:35 Orientation 1:08:30 Initial setup 1:16:16 A comprehensive rundown of every menu option 1:19:42 Testing the microphone 1:30:47 First recording 1:33:50 Recording into Reaper with the M2 as a USB microphone 1:42:21 Recording in the field 1:46:56 Conclusion 1:51:50 Closing and contact info 1:53:01.947

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Introductory comments 0:00 Trying to sign up for mastodon 4:53 The Federation and Freedom on the fediverse - NFB and Freedom Scientific come to Mastodon 8:51 Voice Dream Reader and subscriptions 13:12 Old Main Menu episodes 23:56 Pennsylvania 65000 26:31 ChatGPT on iPhone 35:24 More quality control issues with the Focus 40 Blue 45:47 Disabling Braille on BrailleNote Touch Plus 49:16 Impressions from a new Victor Reader Stream 3 user 50:27 Installing Kurzweil 1000 on a new machine 52:19 I want Microsoft to offer Somali text-to-speech 53:40 Choose this link to sign the open letter in support of this initiative. Comments on the Adrian Spratt interview 56:56 Google IO recap 1:02:59 Depression in the blind community 1:26:09 There is a way to use Living Blindfully Plus onAlexa 1:31:15 Another example of poor airline service 1:32:36 Following Pneuma Solutions on Mastodon 1:40:24 Do you speed up your audio? 1:40:52 Can't disable effects on my Asus laptop 1:46:10 The dangers posed by electric cars 1:47:25 Having a major frustration with Audible 1:49:12 Trouble with iOS medicine reminders 1:54:58 Closing and contact info 2:01:20

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to the first Living Blindfully episode 0:00 Country and area codes for 223 and 224 0:56 Living Blindfully Plus on the Victor Reader Stream 3:23 Comments on the change to Living Blindfully 17:30 Comments on episode 220 21:18 Comments on the keto lifestyle 22:53 Earle Harrison from HIMS discusses SensePlayer and other HIMS products 34:26 Vaughn Bennison reviews and demonstrates SensePlayer from HIMS 1:14:37 If you'd like to learn more about SensePlayer, you can download the official SensePlayer audio tutorial from HIMS. The BlindShellClassic on AT&T 1:56:42 Closing and contact info 1:59:26

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. A reminder that this podcast is indexed by chapter. If you listen with a podcast client that offers chapter support, you can easily skip between segments. Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Can we claim this area code?,0:00 Join me for an announcement about this podcast's future, 1:00 Chat GPT turns its hand to punditry about the webinar's purpose,4:47 Hans Wiberg and Mike Buckley from Be My Eyes talk about the service in general and its new Virtual Volunteer in beta,7:51 I have the Sonos Era 300,37:27 Optima and Braille display thoughts,1:01:03 Apple issues and comments,1:20:17 Wanting to improve my English,1:34:08 Keeping TalkBack speech on my Android device,1:35:19 The Braille Doodle, a book on disability justice, and remembering Judith Heumann",1:36:13 Accessible wireless mesh recommendations,1:39:08 Sense Player and Victor Reader Stream,1:45:43 Vizling is an app that makes comics accessible to blind people,1:48:14 Reading poetry inBraille,1:49:25 Blindness and literature,1:55:43 Closing and contact info,1:59:29

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. A reminder that this podcast is indexed by chapter. If you listen with a podcast client that offers chapter support, you can easily skip between segments. Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to Ohio,0:00 Adi Kushnir and Venkatesh Chari discuss the Optima, a forthcoming device that will be a laptop with a Braille display",3:01 Blind people being denied alcohol,1:08:43 Using Biblos to Turn ebooks into audiobooks,1:11:12 Advocacy to Google on a Google Calendar issue,1:13:17 Feedback on a few tech topics from recent episodes,1:15:45 Comments on Bing and Eleven Labs,1:18:12 Comments on episode 218,1:21:55 TaskManagers,1:24:58 Diet and well-being,1:26:46 Sense Player and Victor Reader Stream feedback,1:33:09 Podcast apps,1:48:11 Census and mail security,1:55:16 Closing and contact info,2:00:22

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. A reminder that this podcast is indexed by chapter. If you listen with a podcast client that offers chapter support, you can easily skip between segments. Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome Indiana,0:00 Be my Eyes and Envision embrace Chat GPT,2:00 Optima is an exciting new product set for next year,13:04 TechRoundup,24:13 Windows podcast players and twitter,28:06 Scanner/Printer combo,34:26 The difficulty getting Braille manuals for Braille embossers,35:29 Questions about the new Bing,39:56 Notey,40:55 Eleven Labs,42:34 Ad blockers,50:41 Braille display recommendations,53:06 Survey on accessible poker,1:02:56. Complete the survey at https://bit.ly/blindpoker The Castro podcast app has become less accessible,1:04:44 Comments on Sense Player and similar devices,1:14:35 iOS 16 bugs,1:52:50 Closing and contact info,2:00:57

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. A reminder that this podcast is indexed by chapter. If you listen with a podcast client that offers chapter support, you can easily skip between segments. We also make transcripts available, thanks to sponsorship by Pneuma Solutions, a global leader in accessible cloud technologies. Visit them on the web at . You can find the transcripts on our website at Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome Illinois,0:00.000 Looking for a good ad-blocker for my iPhone,1:53.594 Looking for some advice on Microsoft Access,5:33.270 More discrimination stories,7:45.173 I want to permanently disable YouTube Shorts,12:04.729 Task management apps,13:57.731 Tech Roundup,19:41.834 Keeping your iPhone unlocked,25:34.998 A serious problem with Apple's subscriptions page,26:32.599 Looping audio on the iPhone,31:28.185 Blind subculture,33:23.477 Microsoft Remote Desktop for iOS,36:04.488 The Victor Reader Stream,37:35.992 We're eager to cover the Sense Player from hims on this podcast,40:14.971 Why I use a Victor Reader Stream,43:30.625 Comments on Eleven Labs and the future of audiobook narrators,47:47.193 The new Microsoft Bing powered by Chat GPT,1:01:11.353 Anyone got scanner printer combo recommendations?,1:30:39.720 Editing video in Windows,1:31:53.128 My thoughts on the Brainport,1:33:38.857 The Bonnie Bulletin talks Google Docs and learning new things,1:40:47.341 Bonnie and the gremlins,1:48:33.987 Bonnie and the engineers,1:52:53.788 Bonnie and the granddaughter,1:55:57.697 Closing announcement and contact info,2:00:09.199 Share your thoughts on these topics or any others. Drop me an email in writing or with an audio attachment, Jonathan at MushroomFm.com, or phone the listener line in the United States, +1864-60Mosen, that's +18646066736. Keep up with Mosen At Large between episodes. Follow Mosen at Large on Mastodon where you'll get audio extras, links to interesting news stories, sneak peeks about what's coming up and more. If you'd like to subscribe to our announcements only email list, please send email to And if you like the show, we'd love a positive review and for you to spread the word. Thank you.