Three Steps To A Smarter Phone

There are smart phones (with email, Internet capability), and there are phones that are not smart --- shall we call them dumb? It’s never too late to help your dumb phone get a little smarter.

You may be able to set these features in your phone, but I suggest opting for the easy method, go to the tech desk at your local Verizon Wireless store (or the carrier of your choice), or make an appointment with a “Device Specialist” at a Verizon location, and ask to activate the features (listed below) in your cell phone. It makes a huge difference to ease of use, especially when you cannot see what’s on the screen.

1. Caller ID and Menu Readout:
announces incoming calls, menu names

2. Voice Commands: ask phone to dial contact by name, get messages, get time/date

3. Largest Font, Highest Contrast & Brightness: make screen text readable

My experience has been at Verizon, but I know you can get the same "smarts" at AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile. Go ahead, ask.

A Field of Dreams

During my time as a Development Officer at the Lighthouse, I began to hear a phrase that goes like this, “Technology levels the playing field for people who are visually impaired.” It was a pretty good sound bite, impressive to those unknowing. Unfortunately, it simply was not true. The field was totally out of whack.

Eight years later, I can say that the field is getting a little more level every day and tomorrow when the US Congress votes on, and passes, The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 (a.k.a. HR 3101), I will feel the earth move.

It seems a bit dreamy, but here is what H.R. 3101 proposes to do:

1. Restore and expand requirements for video description of television programs, in addition to requiring cable companies to make their program guides and selection menus accessible to people with vision loss;

2. Mandate mobile phone companies to make web browsers, text messaging, and e-mail on smart phones fully accessible;

3. Require television distributors to ensure captioning of programs when also shown on the Internet;*Allow users of different forms of telecommunications relay services to connect with each other;

4. Require smart phones to be hearing aid compatible;

5. Ensure people with vision loss have access to emergency broadcast information;

6. Provide $10 million in funding each year for assistive technology for deaf-blind individuals;

7. Improve enforcement of disability accessibility communications complaints.

COAT (the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology), which Lighthouse International is a member, took the lead on this important legislative effort. I love a good coalition.

I am told, by a reliable source, that they have enough votes to pass this bill, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed anyway.

Just Genius

I must admit I have been spending quite a bit of time at the Genius Bar. It can be a happy hour, but no liquor is served. In fact, what I get at this bar is technical support with an Apple Genius. .

I don’t mess around, any more, when I can’t figure something out about my iPod, iPhone, iPad or iMac – I go straight to the Genius Bar and get the answer. Appointments are easy to schedule on line or in person and they’re even lined up to help you 24 hours a day at Apple Fifth Avenue. It’s an incredibly powerful (and priceless) perk that comes with the purchase of any Apple product.

My experience with the Geniuses has been very good. They are smart, and kind, and never judgmental. They are incredibly well trained and most of the time they are spot on with the answers. On the occasions they don’t know, they will consult with the literature and with their fellow Geniuses.

Although I generally chalk up my technology issues to my own, sometimes embarrassing ineptitude, I have come to realize the Geniuses are learning all the time too!

As good as they are there are some things about accessibility settings like Voice Over that they are learning right along with me. In fact, I’ve even had the chance to show a Genius a thing or two.

My nephew was showing a friend of his how the iPhone works with Voice Over. He returned the phone to me and asked how to turn back on the screen? I did not know you could turn it off. We shut down and rebooted, pressed all available buttons, the phone was fully operable, but no picture on the screen.

To the Genius Bar I went and they recommended restoring the settings. I agreed. The very next day I was talking with another iPhone user and he showed me the feature he loved most – the screen curtain. Three fingers tapped twice blacks out the screen in Voice Over; two more of the same taps bring it back. It was a lesson learned, just a day late.

During the first week of getting acquainted with my iPad (using Voice Over) I apparently performed a gesture on the iPad screen, unknowingly. As well versed as I am with the double tap and the split tap, suddenly my keyboard was responding to a single tap. It was strange and I did not understand how to type this way or how to get back to the double tap typing (now so comfortable).

Several Geniuses were consulted but we could not return my iPad two-tap typing. When all else failed they recommended “restore settings.” Not so fast, I decided to look further for the solution.

I sent an inquiry to someone who specializes in the development of these brilliant things and got back the answer. There is a new iPad accessibility option in Voice Over for touch typing. I accidentally turned this on with an inadvertent two fingered twist, which activates the ‘rotor,’ followed by a flick that switched mode to touch typing. In this mode you can touch type on the iPad keyboard (I admit I have yet to practice). You can also simply scroll the keyboard with one finger and lift it to type, when you hear the letter, number, or symbol you want. It takes some getting used to.

My most recent opportunity to give back came just a day ago. I have two iPod nanos that tragically lost their ability to speak the menus. Not sure how or why this happens and no one else I encountered seemed to know either. By now I do not take “restore” for an answer, so I reached out for a little insider information and I’m delighted to report my nanos are telling me everything I need to know, again.

I’m going to share this solution with the Genius Bar and with you too: Before you restore, try this: disable voice, sync, then re-enable voice and sync again. This should re-generate the spoken phrases for the contents of your nano. If that doesn't work, then you can certainly try restoring.

It worked!

There is a little genius in everyone – just dying to come out.

Street Smart...Or Not

Something is happening in the streets of New York lately and it's probably happening in your town too. Have you noticed people fixated on the electronic device in their hand -- not noticing you at all?

At first I felt surely it was because I did not see them coming upon me, but then I realized they did not see me either. It has caused me many times to LOL, actually happy to know it is not my lack of sharp eye sight causing this near-miss. I bet this is happening to everyone. I mean Oprah did not establish the "No Phone Zone" for nothing. "Crack Berry" is not just a cute play on words. We are way too enamored with our wireless devices.

It’s funny because I have a slight advantage here – I can usually see the person buried in their iPhone before they see me. It’s another kind of vision impairment. The good news is – it’s correctable!

Bing Go

I was a little devastated, in November, when I learned that my favorite free directory assistance, GOOG 411. was about to be discontinued. What? How could this be? I stuck with GOOG for almost two years and I'd grown to love it.

Turns out GOOG 411 had a hidden agenda. Google was using my 'Long Island accent' to develop other, more advanced, speech recognition programs like Voice Search, Voice Input, and Voice Actions for mobile phones. In order to build a robust speech model they needed to collect thousands of pronunciations, syllables, intonations, and inflections.

The discovery that I was a participant in Google's ambitious project to move voice activated computing to a new level turned my devastation into delight. Among other things, maybe this massive collection of utterances will minimize the number of times I hear-- "Sorry I didn't get that," because the program is not processing my manner of speaking.

Directory assistance is quickly becoming a thing of the past -- it's demise accelerated buy the ridiculous $2 charge per call. Our phones are smart and the options for free information are abundant. A simple Internet search will deliver the phone number or address you need in less time than it takes to ask.

Just as I was learning to live without GOOG one of my best informants hooked me up with Bing 411 (compliments of Microsoft). I immediately got into it. Bing 411 will search by city for business listings and can connect to other directories for weather, movies, sports, news, time, travel, driving directions and even cheap gas. I like it.

Try it, you might like it too...800-BING 411 (800-246-4411).

A Field of Dreams Moves Forward

With an impressive vote of 348 to 23 last Monday, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (H.R. 3101), authored by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).

This bill outlined in my post A Field of Dreams will potentially set the stage for universal access, and that means providing alternatives to visual access, namely audible access. So in this dream cable companies would make their program guides and selection menus accessible to people with impaired vision, and provide descriptive narration for programming. It would mandate mobile phone companies to make web browsers, text messaging, and e-mail on smart phones fully accessible, among other things.

Now it moves to the Senate, in a related bill, S.3304, the Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act, introduced by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) and reported out by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Yes, it is ambitious and these are just a few first steps. God only knows what the legislation will look like when all is said and done, or how long it will take. But, I am a believer that it will come out right because the fact is these changes make telecommunications better for everyone!