@startrek2025 Here's the link to Vocal Writer Studio. And yes, Claude can only do non-copyright: https://github.com/masonasons/vocalwriter/releases/download/v1.1.0/VocalWriterStudio-win64.zip

son of a bitch implies daughter of a bastard

I am so fed up with Facebook inaccessibility. Every update seems to break something for VoiceOver on iOS. This time my feed fails to load properly about half the time, and each post takes many swipes to get through. If anyone knows of an accessible alternative Facebook client for iPhone, recommendations are very welcome. #Accessibility #VoiceOver #Blind #iOS

Split Braille with the Monarch: For some reason, I have been perplexed by Split Braille. I asked Chat GPT to create a summary for me on how to use it with the different options. If you'd like to take a look, here's the link to the guide I've put together with Chat GPT's help: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jc0nho4iufwepvaiwx0a0/Split-Braille-View-and-the-Monarch.docx?rlkey=1fbzf5d5oa8my8eho0q7vt0ic&dl=0

And now, I present to you, signal in the static.

Hi everyone.
I’ve been working on something over the past little while: a plugin for Jellyfin that streams the content from the AudioVault on demand.

Headline features include:
• Every AudioVault movie and show is searchable in Jellyfin, and integrates with Jellyfins metadata providers and other systems, even before getting downloaded.
• Press play and it downloads that title, so nothing is downloaded until someone wants it.
• Plays on any Jellyfin app, and stays cached.
• Each user uses their own AudioVault account, and the plugin keeps to AudioVault’s download limits.

It’s free and open source. You need Jellyfin 12.2 and an AudioVault account.

For installation instructions, and other docs, visit the repo https://github.com/JessicaTegner/jellyfin-plugin-audiovault

#Jellyfin #AudioDescription #Accessibility #Blind #SelfHosted #OpenSource #audiovault

I had a fess published a few years ago about how I couldn't connect with my lifelong pals cos all they wanted to do was booze and take coke. I told them how I felt, turned out they thought the same and now we climb Munro's on Sundays. Lads, talk to your pals.

TIL there was a vinyl record format that could play video: the Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance_Electronic_Disc
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1x2otnb/til_there_was_a_vinyl_record_format_that_could/

Tired of VoiceOver reading "box drawings light horizontal" over and over in Claude Code, Antigravity, Pi and other TUI apps?

I made vo-art-squash, a small open-source Mac command-line tool. It adds VoiceOver pronunciation entries that silence the 160 box-drawing and block characters (U+2500–259F) used for frames and borders, in all apps. Easy to undo,
and it backs up your prefs first.

https://github.com/vick08/vo_art_squash

#VoiceOver #Accessibility #Blind #macOS #A11y
Tested on Mac 26.x only.

This needs all the help with marketing it can get! Tag4Access, an accessibility initiative founded by 16-year-old Prisha Popli, is now available on the App Store and Google Play — a community-driven app she hopes will inspire Canadians to become accessibility advocates.
The app features an interactive map in which users can create tags and write about the accessibility barriers or features of a given area. These tags are then reviewed by volunteer accessibility leaders for verification, but also for identifying gaps to create community-led solutions with local accessibility groups.
A photo of Tag4Access interactive map (courtesy of Prisha Popli)
Popli said the app was born when her grandfather, who uses a walking stick and occasionally a wheelchair, was visiting Nova Scotia.
“When he was here in Nova Scotia visiting, we were trying to figure out whether certain places that we were taking him had certain accessibility features, like for example an accessible washroom,” she explained. “Even after checking Google and reviews, we still couldn’t get a clear answer.”
She said she noticed how hard it is to find accessible spaces around the city and took her idea to community members and advocate groups.
“I did reach out to local MLAs to ask them concerns that they’ve heard about accessibility and to pitch them the idea of Tag for Access to get their feedback,” Popli said. “Also a former member of the Nova Scotia Accessibility Advisory Board to see what she has to say about the idea and if there’s any potential improvement.”
She also launched a survey which received 1,200 responses from community members to see what types of accessibility barriers they have encountered. This community input proved the demand for a platform like Tag4Access.
Now that the app is up and running, Popli hopes more people will contribute tags so that there is an increase in accessibility information available around Canada. As she looks to the future, she sees Tag4Access changing the accessibility landscape for the better.
“In the long term, maybe a year from now, I want to make sure that everyday citizens are serving kind of as accessibility advocates to make sure that our cities are truly open for everyone,” she explained. “Maybe even having funding applications in progress with certain spaces in regards to accessibility improvements.”
Accessibility tags on the app (courtesy of Prisha Popli)
Anyone interested in volunteering with Tag4Access can reach out to tagforaccess@gmail.com. The app is available on Google Play and the App Store.
AppStore download:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tag4access-accessibility-map/id6775016946
Google Play Download:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tag4access.app

Lookie lookie! During the Artimus II lunar flyby two astronauts at a time were at the windows taking images and having conversations about what they were seeing. We didn’t hear those in the live coverage but all the astronauts described the conversations as incredibly fruitful, and the coverage made vague promises that maybe that audio would be available some day. Well that day arrived! This link is to the Artimus II audio page where you can download short and long versions of those recordings, plus lots of other stuff. Just downloaded it myself and can’t wait to listen! https://www.nasa.gov/artemisaudio/

TIL that Helen Keller had a love affair in her 30s and became secretly engaged to Peter Fagan, who was known as "the fingerspelling socialist."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller#Companions
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1x2etp3/til_that_helen_keller_had_a_love_affair_in_her/

I'm looking to gather some old-time radio. I'd love to have complete collections of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, The Shadow, X-1, Dimension X, and so on. Anyone have suggestions on the best way to gather such a collection?

Shiny new email address for my podcast, At Your Fingertips: I would love to have feedback from my podcast, At Your Fingertips: Braille then and Now. Sometimes, I feel like I'm speaking into a void where the only sound is the echo of my own passion for all things Braille. Maybe that's a little dramatic. But, what really makes things interesting and engaging is to have feedback. So, WeLoveBraille@gmail.com is the shiny new email for feedback about my podcast, suggestions for topics, etc. AtYourFingertips was already taken, and so was ILoveBraille, so I went with the aforementioned address. I will mention that it was annoying to have to scan a QR code just to create a dang email account. I don't regularly scan QR codes so that was a thing.

moths must have been bored out of their minds before we invented clothes and light bulbs

If you use either Clipman on Desktop or Sensor Readout, try updating, then pressing F1 on different controls, in the main window, in preferences, see if the help makes certain things easier to understand. That's my hope, anyway.

Alexa is a third-party app and is offered on an as-is basis. Technical support for third-party apps is not available from Orbit Research.

#Accessibility #AssistiveTechnology #BlindCommunity

Amazon Alexa comes to the Orbit Player! Ask questions and explore books, news, podcasts and music. With support from XRCVC. Available Monday, 12 October, through an over-the-air software update.

https://www.orbitresearch.com/support/orbit-player/

Read the full announcement: https://www.orbitresearch.com/amazon-alexa-comes-to-the-orbit-player/

#OrbitPlayer #AmazonAlexa

Now announcing my new app, FastRoute. This one is a long time in the making. The idea of FastRoute is that you have sessions, and within these sessions you have different blocks that you can add, in any order you want, to send audio anywhere you like and process it however you like. This app is for Windows users, and is designed to create a similar ish experience to something like Audio Hijack from the Mac. Input blocks include things like input devices, applications, system audio (with exclusions support), internet streams. Effects include a 4 band parametric EQ, a 10 band EQ, channel mixer, pitch shifter, normalizer, compressor, and more. Outputs include output device, recorder, etc. FastRoute can also send and receive audio across the network, using it's net send/net receive blocks. We have our own protocol, but also support VBAN (VB Audio Network) protocol as well! This barely scratches the surface of the power of FastRoute, so check it out! https://github.com/masonasons/FastRoute/releases/tag/latest

Blind and visually impaired people fear smart glasses backlash https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2qlz7ney2o