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#technology #accessibility #iOS #Apple #Windows I've come to realize something about my attitude toward technology. Yes, I enjoy it, and am grateful for accessible tech every day. I enjoy learning new skills also. However, I've discovered this is within limited parameters. Now that I'm using my phone for all tech tasks, I'm finding I want simple, uncomplicated interaction. This is why I've become so frustrated with Windows. It seems to me that Microsoft, with every version of Windows, makes interaction, from the setup experience, to usage, to updates, less streamlined and more involved, even with Narrator. All these choices concerning privacy settings and reporting activity to Microsoft, it seems to me, are not configured, by default, to benefit the user. On the contrary, default settings, in general, are set to benefit Microsoft, and give Microsoft as much control as possible. So the user has to adjust these privacy and reporting options to benefit themselves, and to do this requires time and some level of skill, on the part of the user, that often goes far beyond the skills a beginning tech user may have. Most users, I think, believe these settings are optimally configured with the users best interests in mind, and in my experience, this is not at all the case.
Apple, in iOS, also utilizes this mindset, to a certain extent. But it is far easier to adjust these settings. Apple, even during the setup process, makes the user aware of them by asking the user to choose certain privacy and reporting options. This is why I do not recommend a service provider such as AT&T or Verizon or even the Apple store, setup someone's device for them.
I had AT&T configure my first iPhone, only to discover that location services and tracking were turned on. I only later discovered this because I have a propensity to go through menus in detail. Yes, for certain apps, location services has to be turned on in order for some apps to function properly, but, in general, it only has to be turned on for specific apps, such as weather and maps, if a user is going to utilize GPS. Also, the default is to use your actual location, not your general location, which I believe is more intrusive than necessary. The average user, especially one new to technology, likely has no idea of these settings. I know I didn't.
I'm finding my iPhone and iOS experience so freeing from a lot of this constant intrusiveness. This is why I say, in general, once an iOS device is configured, it just works.
Of course Apple is going to support RCS, they literally have to as it’s the replacement for SMS and afaik required for 5G certification. They dragged their feet to try and pretend they weren’t interested, and the people who suffered most were their own customers who got a crap experience.
This is how Apple weaponizes their own users.
But hey, I guess it is one less barrier for me ever considering using an iPhone? 🤷‍♂️ Now let’s do sideloading.
accessibility engineering and low end disruption - Taking Notes
apple doesn’t succeed at making their platforms accessible because they care more, they don’t succeed because they are somehow better at …takingnotes.co
Sigh, another glaring #macOS Sonoma 14.1 bug, this time affecting #Catalyst apps.
1. Click on a text field in a Catalyst app (The message composition field in the Messages app does nicely).
2. Reveal the Character Viewer using the Globe key, or by selecting Edit/Emoji & Symbols
3. Search for Emoji (e.g. type “money” in the search field)
4. Double-click the selected emoji
Note that *two* instances of the emoji is inserted. Now double click an emoji in Character Viewer again. Note that *one* instance is inserted, which is the correct behavior.
#apple
FB13378285
This …
Continue reading “When iPhone Parents Bully Android Parents…”
https://somegadgetguy.com/2023/03/14/when-iphone-parents-bully-android-parents/
When iPhone Parents Bully Android Parents…
This post was originally published in my Production Diary on Patreon.com/SomeGadgetGuy. Many thanks to the Patrons supporting production on this blog! It’s finally happened. My wife has been …SomeGadgetGuy
In light of Nothing's recent announcement (using Sunbird messanger to give Android phones Blue Bubbles in iMessage), let's revisit this editorial where my Wife was Green Bubble bullied by another Mom in our daughter's peer group...
https://somegadgetguy.com/2023/03/14/when-iphone-parents-bully-android-parents/
#tech #apple #bullying #technology #geek #imessage #iphone #android
[Work In Progress]: Vosh - a third-party screen-reader for the Macintosh | AppleVis
After getting fed up with the general neglect of MacOS accessibility from Apple, and having wanted to work on something meaningful for quite some time, I decided to attempt something that for some reason nobody seems to have tried to do before: write…www.applevis.com
Back tap uses the accelerometer to detect the taps. Which means back tap works anywhere on the back. And the way it works makes it so side and front taps don’t trigger it (accelerometer can detect direction of taps).
So yeah, apple logo isn’t a button, sensor, or anything. It’s just an apple logo.
iOS 17.2 hints at Apple moving towards letting users sideload apps
Link: https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/10/ios-17-2-sideload-apps/
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38224765
iOS 17.2 hints at sideloading apps from outside the App Store
Apple has been under pressure in the European Union as the Digital Markets Act antitrust legislation requires the company to...Filipe EspĂłsito (9to5Mac)
Is 8GB enough for basic Mac usage?
I would love to see a test configuration that proves 8GB is not enough. Some setup that brings a specific 8GB Mac to its knees (using built-in apps).
Like, open a browser, open 40 tabs, open 20 Pages documents, etc.
I hear a lot of complaining about an 8GB base config, but I am still unsure.
#Apple #Mac #MacBookAir #MacBookPro
Apple letos po letech tvrde blokady zavedl standardni system web notifikaci v PWA. Teoreticky.
Naimplementuju service-worker. API Push Notifickaci. Server. Vyzkousim to v Chromu (Safari neumoznuje localhost testy). Vsecko funguje. Zkousim to jeste lokalne ve standlone appce v Android emulatoru. Vsecko funguje.
Pushnu. A na iPhone nic. Hrabu se kodem. Zkousim to vicekrat. A nic.
Propojim iPhone s Macem. Otevru service-worker konzoli v Safari. A najednou to FUNGUJE! 🤬
Glad I don't have clients in today or I'd be losing business because of you. Livid does not even begin to cover how I feel today. Not a damn bit of it.
Apple developer boycott of Feedback Assistant
Link: https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2023/11/2.html
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38164735
I'm trying to help developer improving their app in iOS and I was wondering if anyone here would happen to know if there's any doc on how to make VO speak in real time what happens in an app? Currently when the state changes it stay silent, meaning you have to scroll about to see if anything has changed.
This app is an irc client, and it needs to read you incoming and outgoing messages as they come in, or as you send them.
#accessibility #apple #blind #ios
“Same Safari. Different device”. Ha!
So in iOS 17.1 and such, does anyone else find that Braille Screen Input is a ton better? I mean to be fair I'm on 17.2 beta, but even before that it has gotten a lot better even on this tiny SE 2020.
I'm usually against discussing rumors this far in advance. This is interesting though.
#Apple plans several new #health features for 2024's Apple Watch, like an elevated blood pressure sensor, and a paid health service, possibly using #AI
Apple Watch (AAPL) to Get Plans Hypertension, Sleep Apnea Detection
Apple Inc. is planning several new health-related features for next year’s Apple Watch and a paid health service, people familiar with their development said.Mark Gurman (Bloomberg)
Just FYI, a lot of #ActuallyBlind people don't like the TouchBar on MacBooks. I know a few people that do, but a lot of important VoiceOver commands use the function keys. So without them, we have to hold down the FN key and press the number for the function key. It's really awkward and really frustrating.
On the other hand, it's awkward to type Control + Option + F2 even on a MacBook *with* function keys on a MacBook keyboard. I honestly think that Apple needs to give us more options for these keyboards. Want a TouchBar? Fine. Want a full-sized keyboard on your 16-inch MacBook, with all modifiers on both sides of the keyboard? Great! Want a TouchBar *and* function keys? maybe a bit more expensive, but that's fine too. It doesn't *have* to be one or the other. The only reason it is is because of Apple. And before some reply guys come up here with pre-cum on their Apple boner, saying that that'd cost Apple way too much money to handle all those permutations, nah. they can handle it. If they can handle all their iPhones, they can handle this.
#accessibility #Apple #mac #TouchBar #blind
MacBook Air 15" and the new MacBook Pro 14" M3 overlap significantly. For US$100 more, MacBook Pro 14” M3 has:
đź’» better display, higher resolution
🔋 more battery life
đź’ľ HDMI and SDXC
🔊 slightly better speakers and mic (?)
MacBook Pro 14” M3 is thicker (15.5mm vs 11.5mm) and marginally heavier (1.55kg vs 1.51kg) but smaller in depth and width.
_Both_ are limited to a single external display. You need the Pro/Max MacBooks to support more external displays
Okay now these posts are starting to get really annoying.
Honestly, I'm so used to understanding tech things quickly. But moving my whole workflow over to the Mac is going to take a lot of work. Getting into the routine of either using Voice Dream Reader to read books, or Thorium I suppose, or maybe pulling out Emacs and such. The Books app is okay for a few pages of a book, but then it stops reading and I have to mess with it to get it to start reading through pages again. I'm still not sure if I even *want* to switch. I mean, this Windows laptop has 32-GB RAM, 512 GB NVME storage, a good AMD 550 CPU, I mean it's a good machine. But then I have an iPhone and having widgets from the iPhone on the Mac is kinda cool, and all the cool people use Macs... Meh, it's always a journey with me. And the MacBook is an Intel model, 8 GB RAM, all that. Like it feels a lot more like something to keep up with new MacOS/VoiceOver stuff more than a thing that can keep up with my work and speed. But who knows.
#mac #macOS #accessibility #blind #apple
So, Mac users. What apps for Mac keep you on Mac, or make you miss it when you're on other platforms? Can be accessibility-related or not. And they should work on Intel Macs too. I know, but I've seen like one or two that only work on M-series Macs.
#blind #accessibility #mac #macOS #Apple
So, I'm not even sure if this can be done on Android, but on iOS, when a notification pops up on the top of the screen, I can tap it and it reads it to me. That's simple, and I think Android does that too. I can swipe up and double tap to dismiss it. Yeah, simple. But something I'm just now starting to appreciate is quick actions, even when the notification pops up! I swipe down to "more", double tap, and there they are. I don't have to go to the notification center or anything.
Meanwhile on Android, I feel like I have to go to the notification shade for all that.
Ooo lookie, this got covered on OSNews!
We deserve better from Apple: why I can no longer recommend a Mac to fellow blind computer users
#Apple #iPhone PSA: Bug caused Apple Watch running watchOS 10.1 beta to drain iPhone battery https://9to5mac.com/2023/10/10/bug-watchos-10-1-beta-drain-iphone-battery/
watchOS 10.1 bug caused Apple Watch to drain iPhone battery
Apple recently released the iOS 17.0.3 update to address a bug causing iPhones, especially the iPhone 15 Pro, to overheat....Filipe EspĂłsito (9to5Mac)
You know, I've just about decided. My next phone will most likely be the iPhone 15. Not the Pixel 8. iOS is just so far ahead right now, to me (this is a factual oppinion), that I feel like the iPhone 15 will pay off just a tad bit more than waiting 7 years for Google to reach VoiceOver-level capabilities, if they can even focus for that long lol. Besides, maybe I can have the side button go to next track when pressed, and then go to previous track when double pressed, or pressed and held. That'd solve literally one of the best things about my Samsung right now. And honestly I could probably do that with VoiceOver by setting up a shortcut to just hit next track or something and binding that to a VO command. I should try that.
#apple #iOS #iPhone #accessibility #blind #google #pixel #android
There is a blog post on @AppleVis that highlights a long-standing bug that occurs in the interaction between Safari's WebKit engine, and VoiceOver, the screen reader on all Apple platforms. In this case, it is specific to MacOS. I have seen this bug on and off myself since 2007 in the OS X Leopard days. #Apple #Accessibility #VoiceOver #Safari #WebKit
We Deserve Better from Apple: Why I Can No Longer Recommend a Mac to Fellow Blind Computer Users | AppleVis
As many of you will know from personal experience, there is a longstanding issue with VoiceOver on Mac where Safari will frequently become unresponsive with VoiceOver repeatedly announcing the message “Safari not responding.applevis.com
Tried to get this post by AppleVis some traction on Hacker News, and I *am* impressed at the 49 upvotes or so, but damn some of the comments. You just *know* the fossbro has never, ever met a blind computer user before. Like haha if Linux was anywhere near as good as even a Mac accessibility-wise, most blind people would be happily, and I mean happily, using that instead of Windows.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37813895
#accessibility #blind #apple #mac #foss
- Xr design (33%, 1 vote)
- Current design (0%, 0 votes)
- 14/15 design (33%, 1 vote)
- Other (33%, 1 vote)
Vivaldi Takes a Bite Out of the Apple: Introducing Vivaldi on iOS
Link: https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-browser-launches-on-ios/
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37781125
Vivaldi Takes a Bite Out of the Apple: Introducing Vivaldi on iOS | Vivaldi Browser
Announcing the launch of Vivaldi on iOS – a new browsing experience available now on the App Store.Vivaldi Browser
please boost for reach! 🙏
I'm volunteering at my daughter's elementary school by teaching a "coding club" for 5th graders during their lunch and afternoon recess.
It mostly went great, except I left nearly in tears...
One of the kiddos that joined is blind, and I discovered that the coding programs for kids don't appear to be accessible *at all*.
First we tried Swift Playgrounds, but that didn't seem to work with VoiceOver. Then, he said that he's liked ScratchJr. in the past, and he got frustrated with that because he couldn't get his cat to move.
I'm kinda at a loss for how to help him. He left crying because he thinks that he can't get it, but I'm sure he can. Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks!!
Apple will no longer fix the $17,000 gold Apple Watch
Link: https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/2/23900158/apple-watch-edition-gold-2015-obsolete-unsupported-beyonce
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37745005
The $17,000 gold Apple Watch is now obsolete
The original Apple Watch models, including the $10,000-plus 18-karat gold Edition that Beyoncé wore, are now officially obsolete and won’t get parts, repair, or replacement services.Umar Shakir (The Verge)