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With the announcement of Apple’s brand new iPhone X the blind and vision impaired community has been buzzing about one of the biggest changes to the iPhone, the removal of the Home button and the addition of Face ID. We have grown very comfortable with our familiar Home button. After all, it’s been a very consistent part of our smart phone that we use probably dozens of times a day to perform a variety of tasks since the iPhone 3GS. Change is scary and sometimes, especially when it comes…

Intro

Apple held its annual fall media event today, announcing new iPhones, Apple Watches, and Apple TV. As usual, we’re here to recap what was shown off, so you know just how close to all your money Apple will be getting this year.

Before that, though, there’s some nostalgia to this event you may find interesting. This year mark’s the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, as well as the first year the company’s newly constructed campus, Apple Park, was ready to be used. It was…

Earlier this year, the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco (known as San Francisco Lighthouse to people who speak standard English) agreed that the support for the Macintosh Terminal app using VoiceOver was an inadequate solution for all but the most minimal of its possible use cases. To remedy this issue, they funded the development of a new little screen reader called tdsr.

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Personal note: When I first began to write this blog, I was in the middle of experiencing Hurricane Harvey firsthand. As I tend to approach any adversity with a light-hearted touch, my story below reflects that attitude about my own circumstances. Still, I am sadly aware of the toll on lives that Harvey caused in Texas and of the on-going impact from other storms now ripping across many islands and moving towards the mainland. My heart goes out to all those who have been affected.

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There is something about SIRI, I don't know what it is, but we seem to share a relationship now. Actually we share many relationships. SIRI even knows about all my other relationships. In fact, she helped me in their creation.

Me, right after startup: SIRI?

SIRI, a bit sluggish at first: Yes Nicholas?

Me: What time is it?

SIRI: It's 5:30 AM. You woke me up.

Me: Well get up, it's time to get busy.

SIRI: What?

Me: Open 'your' settings…

Welcome to the August 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 Deal Or Not (…

Apple has today sent out invitations to the press for an event to be held on 12 September at the Steve Jobs Theater on its new Apple Park Campus in Cupertino.

In addition to unveiling 3 new models of the iPhone, there are strong rumors that Apple will also be introducing the next generations of the Apple Watch and Apple TV.

If these rumors are correct, the main new feature for the Apple Watch will be …

Do you have a passion for Apple products and strong writing skills? If so, we may be able to offer you an exciting and rewarding volunteer opportunity to write original, high-quality content for AppleVis as a member of our small team of regular bloggers.

This is a wonderful opportunity to inform and engage with thousands of readers on the leading website for blind and low vision users of Apple products. Your articles will be read by other end users, app developers, accessibility…

I love customizing and tweaking my Mac operating System. From finding those little speed boosts to reducing keypresses for navigation, there is something exciting about finding settings that actually help and make things easier and more comfy. If it were a car it would be a low-rider and have pin-stripes. A stereo would be blasting Led Zeppelin or Santana with a thumpin' subwoofer in the trunk. Some fuzzy dice would be hanging from the mirror. Oops, showing my age again.

Since my Mac…

Welcome to the July 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 Pyramid Tiles (…

When I made it to the twelfth grade, I had already taken a couple different music classes (piano and choir), and was looking for something new to try my hand in. I ended up in a class that taught audio production and music technology. It was quite a small class, and there was only one other person in it besides myself. I’m sure you can tell where this is going… Me being the only totally blind student in the entire school, the teacher was thrilled I had decided to take the class, and…

The information hit me hard, almost not understandable. What did that service rep just say? No internet for almost two weeks? Really? I had her repeat the installation date again. Yup, no internet for two weeks. Wow.

We were moving into our new apartment in a couple of days, but, my face scrunched up trying to swallow the concept, no internet for two weeks. I even tried Googling "no internet," but only found people having trouble connecting to their internet service, which…

Today has seen another round of software releases from Apple, with updates arriving for all of its platforms.

At the time of posting, full release notes for today's updates are not yet available. However, we are currently unaware of any outward-facing changes of note; with Apple's focus for these releases seemingly being on making the typical mix of bug fixes, security patches, and under-the-hood performance improvements.

We have been able to carry out some extremely limited…

We are pleased to announce that Dave Nason and Tyler Stephen have joined the AppleVis Editorial Team.

Dave and Tyler are both long-term contributors to the AppleVis community, and they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.

Outside of work where he uses Windows, Dave uses all Apple products and has done so for many years—thanks to the built-in accessibility features. Tyler brings over 10 years of experience with macOS to the AppleVis Editorial Team, and he…

Welcome to the June 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

Actiview - Empowered…

My mother used to claim I would lose my head if it were not screwed on. How I have suffered with that ancient rebuke. Dear Mother, I do not lose things. I simply store them in mysterious places.

In May of 2015, my wife and I invited our 27-year-old son to join us on our first trip to Paris. This vacation was especially important to me. I used to be somewhat fluent in the language, having studied French throughout junior high, high school and college. To my great pleasure, after…

I love my Apple Watch. That’s been true ever since I got one in early April of 2016. I wore it every single day, with no exceptions at all, for over a year. I hadn’t worn a watch in years, but as soon as I got my Apple Watch, I didn’t go any longer without it than I needed to. I took it off at night to charge, then put it on first thing the next morning, taking it off again only to shower. I love my Apple Watch.

The day our story begins was just two days ago, on June 24 of…

Update: Applications are now closed.

Are you passionate about the use of Apple products by blind and low vision users? If so, AppleVis may have an exciting volunteer opportunity for you!

We are currently looking to recruit 1 or 2 people with great knowledge, experience and expertise to join our small Editorial Team—to help us take AppleVis to the next level.

This is a wonderful opportunity to inform and engage with thousands of people on the leading…

It is with regret that we must announce the departures of Jamie Pauls and Lisa Salinger from the AppleVis Editorial Team.

Since joining the Team, both Jamie and Lisa have seen changes to their personal circumstances which have resulted in them not being able to devote the time and energy to AppleVis that they had originally desired and anticipated; thus, Jamie and Lisa have decided independently that the time has come where they need to step aside from their voluntary and unpaid…

Every year at its Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC), Apple celebrates and acknowledges through its Apple Design Awards the mobile and desktop apps which raise the bar in design, technology and innovation.

Presented in a ceremony that traditionally follows the WWDC keynote presentation, it was tremendous to see Ryan McLeod - developer of the iOS app Blackbox - think outside the box - winning one of these prestigious awards this year. The award was cited by Apple as recognition…