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Welcome to the November 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Audio Moto…

My 86-year old dad has been living with me since August. At the breakfast table this morning, he politely requested that we set the thermostat a bit warmer at night. The cold season is upon us here in mid-northern latitudes, and his elderly body just can’t handle it. To be honest, his request was not all that polite. He’s a former truck driver, which influenced his choice of vocabulary. As a result, his exact request can’t be printed here.

While fiddling with the thermostat to…

Apple has today released iOS 11.1.1, which according to Apple's release notes via MacRumors fixes the following two bugs:

• Fixes an issue with keyboard auto-correct
• Fixes an issue where Hey Siri stops working

With this being a double-dot release, we do not anticipate that it will include any fixes to the…

Many years ago, my son's Boy Scout troop lost its collective mind. The boys decided it would be great fun to go rappelling. This involves stepping backwards off of a high cliff or tall building and then walking down the outside surface. Even though safety ropes are involved, I was concerned. Gravity is unrelenting.

Still, my son was really excited. I reluctantly tagged along with him to the base of the thirty-three-foot wooden tower. One of the other dads, trying to be thoughtful,…

A Message for the Blind

Are you sending a decent message to the blind community? Are you sending 'any' messages to the blind community? If you are a web or app developer, a blogger or a YouTuber, if you use Facebook or any messaging app or email, I am here to tell you that you 'are' sending a message with everything you create. The question one should ask is, "Am I sending an intentional message?" Those of us who use a screen reader or Braille display get the message literally loud…

This time last year, those potentially in the market for a new iPhone were probably caught up in the hand-wringing that followed Apple's decision to drop the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

12 months on, and most of us would probably look back and wonder what all of the fuss was about.

Of course, this should come as no surprise, as Apple has…

Welcome to the October 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Blindfold Millionaire (…

Along with the release of iOS 11.1, today has also seen the releases of macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, watchOS 4.1 and tvOS 11.1.

According to the macOS 10.13.1 release notes via 9to5mac, this update brings new emoji characters and the following changes:

• Fixes a bug…

Apple has today released iOS 11.1, which brings a number of fixes; enhancements; and changes for blind and low vision users.

Fixes

• The VoiceOver Rotor once again consistently defaults to the Actions Menu when on an element that has Actions available.
• You can once again use the Actions Menu to delete conversations from the Messages app.
• Navigating and reading of PDF files is much improved.
• Alternative characters on the onscreen keyboard can…

Every writer knows the feeling: you’ve just sat down at the keyboard, ready to write your next masterpiece. Suddenly, your mind goes blank. What seemed like the perfect idea late last night now seems impossible to put into words. Or perhaps you have no ideas at all and you wonder how you’ve ever managed to write anything. Unfortunately, your iOS device can’t write your articles, essays, stories or blog posts for you, but combined with a…

If you’re like me, there’s no way you can resist reading an article with a title like 5 TECH STANDARDS APPLE MURDERED AND 5 MORE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK.

I found the five murder victims quite noteworthy. Some seem obvious, like the demise of the floppy disk and CD-ROM. Back in the ‘90s, PC manufacturers were a lot like lemmings that would’ve followed each other over the floppy disk cliff were it not for Apple’s bold leadership…

As the power and versatility of iOS devices sinks in, many users invariably ask veteran iPhone and iPad enthusiasts about Bluetooth keyboards. As someone who's dabbled with Bluetooth keyboards since the addition of external keyboard support hit iOS, I've handled my fair share of these accessories in both my role as an assistive technology instructor and just a tech enthusiast on the internet. Just like with apps and web resources, it's almost impossible to work with or even hear about every…

Apple has today released iOS 11.0.3, which addresses problems with audio and haptic feedback on some devices and unresponsive displays in specific circumstances.

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, iOS 11.0.3 includes the following fixes:

• Fixes an issue where audio and haptic feedback would not work on some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices.
• …

Customizing the Mac for Halloween used to be a lot easier. One could install a system-wide 'Theme' that included desktop and icon graphics, a custom screen-saver and even sets of interface sounds. Having the Trash growl at you when emptied, animated ghastly faces for desktop icons, spooky creaks and moans emanating from one's computer were all a common thing around Halloween.

Since Apple gave us a sandbox to occupy while we play with our apps, these custom system-wide themes can no…

I was a late adopter of the iPhone technology. I thought I didn't need ANOTHER gadget to keep track of. It wasn't until I heard some friends discussing their iPhones that I realized that an iPhone could replace many of the gadgets I used. Not only did the iPhone cut down on the number of gadgets I needed to carry, but it saved me money too!

The Comparison

I was curious to see exactly how much money the iPhone could save me, so I went window shopping. I looked for…

Apple has today released iOS 11.0.2, which brings a handful of bug fixes; one of which addresses a bug that caused some iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus users to hear a crackling or static noise coming from the earpiece during phone calls and FaceTime calls. .

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, iOS 11…

My spouse uses Yahoo mail. (Shudder! I know.) Recently she complained that there’s no way to open an attachment when viewing her Yahoo mail in Google Chrome on her Windows 7 laptop. She’s right - Chrome forces you to download an attachment to a temporary location before you can open or print it.

I mention this because there are so many mail client options available to us, but few are satisfactory. I use the native iOS Mail app on my iPad and iPhone, the native OS X Mail app on my…

Welcome to the September 2017 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy on the AppleVis website. Below, you'll find a selection of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to the latest news and podcasts. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Academy of Disaster (…

Just a week after the launch of iOS 11, Apple has today released iOS 11.0.1.

Apple's release notes for iOS 11.0.1 simply state that the update “includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone or iPad.”

At the time of posting, it is unknown as to whether any of these fixes address…

Hello, High Sierra

Today, Apple released the macOS 10.13 “High Sierra” update. As usual, I won’t cover the mainstream features for the most part, concentrating instead on accessibility.

Please remember to check the section about bugs to see if it’s worth upgrading. There’s no harm in holding off a few weeks or months to let Apple address a problem you may find too disruptive to deal with. In particular, users of the “most” punctuation setting should know that this setting…