hello everyone, I am redoing my #introduction post. Welcome to my lovely profile, if you follow me, that’s great. But if you’d like to lurk on my timeline, that’s fine too. I don’t really post much, just a few times here and there. I do my best to be kind to those around me. A few of my interests include.. #Gaming, #Technology, #Food and many more. Feel free to get to know me and reach out anytime. The only thing I ask is this, if you do follow me and you do not have a biography on your profile: I will not follow you. It’s not me trying to be rude, but I have no idea who you are. Take care everyone and stay safe!
Microsoft has added COPILOT AI to Excel — but give it a miss if you use the spreadsheet software for numerical calculations or in scenarios with legal regulatory and compliance implications because COPILOT "can give incorrect responses," the company warns. Here's more from @theverge.
Microsoft Excel is testing a new “COPILOT” function that lets you use AI to generate summaries, tables, tags, and more based on a group of cells you specify.
I live in America and am on Mint Mobile. I am totally blind and use an external keyboard. I own a Galaxy A15, and while it works well, it's simply too large and wide for my needs, especially when I need to hold it to use Seeing AI (for scanning printed materials). My specifications shouldn't be too difficult to find, and yet, they are.
Android 14 or 15. Technically, I can go as low as 12, but I would really rather not. Upgradable if possible. Comes with Talkback pre-installed (or able to have someone install it). I have also heard of MicroG, an alternative to Google services that allows such apps to be installed, so that could work as well. No larger than the iPhone SE 2022, unless by a tiny amount. Smaller is fine. Headphone jack.
I am considering the Jelly Max, the Fonepia Q10, and the Minimal Phone. Has anyone here tried any of these in the United States? I don't think the Max has a headphone jack, but as much as I want one, I would be willing to sacrifice it if necessary. I know almost nothing about the Q10. The Minimal contains a real qwerty keyboard, so I wouldn't need to carry one. I don't care what they do with the screen, since I can't see it.
Am I missing any other good phones? I would like to keep this undder $350 at the most, preferably under $300 (Minimal might cost more, but could be worth it).
***Attention! If you miss MSN/Windows Live Messenger, AIM, and/or ICQ, this is for you! If you use a screen reader and want a 100% accessible messenger client, this is also for you.* This works with Windows XPthrough 11, and I'm logged into it as I write! It's called Escargot, and it revives Windows Live/MSN Messenger. This is the original software, but it has been patched so that it connects to the escargot.chat server and not the Microsoft one. It is 100% free and accessible with NVDA and I'm sure JAWS as well. They also have projects for AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and ICQ, including for Android and IOS, and are working on a web client for MSN. (I don't know if AIM or ICQ are accessible with screen readers, as I have never tried them). Anyway, if you're over twenty-one (my personal request), have read my profile here, and wish to add me, I am dandylover1@escargot.chat. You can find everything here.
Note: If you already have Windows Live/MSN Messenger on your system, you will still need to download their version and create an account. Your Microsoft, MSN, or Hotmail one won't work for signing in. Also, remember to click on RUN_AFTER_INSTALL.exe, in order to patch the program to the Escargot server.
For anyone who uses Classic Outlook for emails with JAWS, there’s a bug introduced by recent updates. If you want to send a brand new email & use Control N to start the process, JAWS will announce that you are in the CC edit field. No matter how much you tab around, you will not find the To edit field. Apparently, focus is actually in the To field, but JAWS is misreading it and announcing CC instead of To. And when it says you are in the BCC field, you are actually in the CC field. I thought Iwas doing something wrong, but I called Microsoft Disability Help Desk and they confirmed this has already been reported. Hopefully a fix will come out soon. #Technology #Accessibility #Outlook #Microsoft
From the BrailleNote mailing list, about BrailleNote updates:
I'm not a HumanWare employee but was also there and can get this started and they can come in and verify.
They started with the first Braillenote Touch that had android. They went thru the entire Google certification process to allow it to have all the google services like google play store. This certification allowed them to update its Android OS to a certain point. To go any farther they had to have a device certified for the new version. They tried to certify the first braillenote touch for the new android OS but google will not allow recertification of a already certified device. This is where Braillenote touch plus comes to play. They created a new model and got it certified for the new version of android OS. Braillenote touch plus has now again gotten to the limit of its android OS updates. Human ware said the process of certifying a device of extensive and the cost was extremely high for the low number of devices they sell. They said there will be new devices to continue the segment with, but they can't talk about those right now. They said they're not just stopping the braillenote touch plus and that's it! They're working on finding a valid solution for the high cost of google certification for a new device. Rather that's Linux, windows, uncertified android, etc.
The Monarch has an uncredited android which is not a bad or wrong thing to do, this just means it doesn't have the google services like play store.
I hope this helps everyone understand where they are with this and that it's a google stupidity thing not a HumanWare thing.
Dear #Netflix: If I've already seen it and marked it w/ a thumbs up, or thumbs down... WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO RECOMMEND IT?!? #technology #BS #bebetter
Even when used as a monitor for your Mac, an LG or Samsung smart TV will periodically capture what's on screen and send it to company servers. Here's how to stop that terrible behavior. appleinsider.com/inside/mac/ti…
Even when used as a monitor for your Mac, an LG or Samsung smart TV will periodically capture what's on screen and send it to company servers. Here's how to stop that terrible behavior.
Hey folks. I've noticed #DeltaChat hasn't got a page in #Wikipedia. Do you know sources which would prove its notability so we could create a page for it?
Boosts appreciated. If you don't know sources, someone else might.
People continue to think about #AI in terms of #2010s computing, which is part of the reason everyone gets it wrong whether they're #antiAI or #tech bros.
Look, we had 8GB of #ram as the standard for a decade. The standard was set in 2014, and in 2015 #AlphaGo beat a human at #Go.
Why? Because, #hardware lags #software - in #economic terms: supply follows demand, but demand can not create its own supply.
It takes 3 years for a new chip to go through the #technological readiness levels and be released.
It takes 5 years for a new #chip architecture. E.g. the #Zen architecture was conceived in 2012, and released in 2017.
It takes 10 years for a new type of technology, like a #GPU.
Now, AlphaGo needed a lot of RAM, so how did it stagnate for a decade after doubling every two years before that?
In 2007 the #Iphone was released. #Computers were all becoming smaller, #energy #efficiency was becoming paramount, and everything was moving to the #cloud.
In 2017, most people used their computer for a few applications and a web browser. But also in 2017, companies were starting to build #technology for AI, as it was becoming increasingly important.
Five years after that, we're in the #pandemic lockdowns, and people are buying more powerful computers, we have #LLM, and companies are beginning to jack up the const of cloud services.
#Apple releases chips with large amounts of unified #memory, #ChatGPT starts to break the internet, and in 2025, GPU growth continues to outpace CPU growth, and in 2025 you have a competitor to Apple's unified memory.
The era of cloud computing and surfing the #web is dead.
The hype of multi-trillion parameter #LLMs making #AGI is a fantasy. There isn't enough power to do that, there aren't enough chips, it's already too expensive.
What _is_ coming is AI tech performing well and running locally without the cloud. AI Tech is _not_ just chatbots and #aiart. It's going to change what you can do with your #computer.
Eagle-eyed product developer @parkerortolani spotted something in Apple's WWDC 2025 presentation: Mastodon. During designer Billy Sorrentino's section on visual intelligence, there's a clear shot of @ivory. "It was clearly both a way to subtly show developers what they can do with their own apps, but also read as a sort of endorsement of Mastodon as a social platform," Ortolani writes on his blog. "Apple didn’t show Bluesky, Threads, or X. They chose to show a third-party Mastodon client."
Those having issues with the start menu not reading when searching for items please submit your comments here aka.ms/AAwefzf Thanks. #Technology #ScreenReaders #NVDA
Uncover the untold story of Apple VoiceOver! Join us as we reveal fascinating insights and genius ideas behind this groundbreaking technology. Despite valid criticisms, we acknowledge Apple's transformative impact on the industry. Discover the real story today! youtube.com/watch?v=5tLSycbey6…
What do the Clicks Keyboard, Ember Mug, Monarch braille display, and AirPods Pro 2 all have in common? They’re all in the inbox this week on Double Tap!Steve...
CONTROVERSIAL website 4Chan has gone down for thousands with users unable to access the message board. More than 1,000 users of the site have logged complaints on the Downdetector website, which me…
Released last Friday, a digital reconstruction of the Titanic chronicles a never-before-seen view of the wreck that is “accurate to the rivet,” a statement says.
Anyone who is blind, or who has worked with the blind, knows how expensive our technology can be. This couldn't be more true with relation to braille displays. Even the cheapest costs at least $799, and it's already behind the newest in that line, at $899. This is the Orbit Reader 20 and 20+. Now, a student in India wants to change that by creating a display that is truly affordable (under $50)! Please pass this on, so that we can give him greater recognition within the blind community. Even if it costs a bit more than he initially suspected it would, there is no excuse for the $2,000 to $5,000 average price of such technology when cheaper alternatives can be designed! He is determined to bring this to market, so let's help him do it and show our appreciation for his hard work on this life-changing project!
An Algorithm Deemed This Nearly Blind 70-Year-Old Prisoner a “Moderate Risk.” Now He’s No Longer Eligible for Parole. —
A Louisiana law cedes much of the power of the parole board to an algorithm that bars thousands of prisoners from a shot at early release. Civil rights attorneys say it could disproportionately harm Black people — and may even be unconstitutional. propublica.org/article/tiger-a…
South Africa gets online system for reporting data breaches
“South Africa’s Information Regulator has launched an online platform for public and private entities to report security compromises. It has instructed all organisations to report any compromises through the system. The system is accessible through ...continues
Highlights from the latest #nvidia keynote at GTC 2025. Topics include @NVIDIA's insane Blackwell GPUs, reveals of the Blackwell Ultra, Vera Rubin, Rubin Ult...
#Trump says that #Congress should repeal a #law that would supercharge #US manufacturing of semiconductor chips. The #CHIPS & #Science Act was signed into law by Pres #Biden & heralded as a #bipartisan victory ensuring the US would no longer rely on foreign countries to produce the chips needed in a majority of the #technology we use. Along w/ #Democrats, 24 House #Republicans voted to approve the bill. Many of them were targeted by #FarRight colleagues & #MAGA for backing a Democrat bill.
Oh wow. Skype is shutting down after 23 years, 14 years after Microsoft bought it.
"It’s not clear how many people are impacted. The most recent numbers that Microsoft had shared were in 2023, when it said it had more than 36 million users — a long way from Skype’s peak of 300 million users."
First, they shut down the Basic HTML site, forcing many of us to switch to clients such as Thunderbird. Now, they're using qr codes which are not only inaccessible to the blind but also to those who don't use smartphones! This is ridiculous! Yes, they do still have the option to click whether it's you trying to sign in or not (which still requires a smartphone and a carrier, which they claim to be concerned about), but how long before they remove that, too?
