AT Banter Episode 62 – Kyle Bryant

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This week we’re joined by Kyle Bryant, host of the Two Disabled Dudes Podcast and founder of RideATAXIA. We discuss Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare neuro-muscular disorder, what it was like to be diagnosed with it at 17, and how a chance encounter with a recumbent trike altered the course of his life.

Show Notes
Jamie: Moving On From NV Access
Ryan and Rob briefly discuss the news that James Teh, one of the lead developers at NV Access, makers of the open source screen reader, NVDA, is leaving to work at Mozilla.
https://www.nvaccess.org/post/jamie-moving-on-from-nv-access/

rideATXAIA
http://www.rideataxia.org

Two Disabled Dudes Podcast
http://twodisableddudes.com

Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance
http://www.curefa.org

The Ataxian Trailer
https://vimeo.com/127990377

AT Banter Episode 61 – Full Nelson

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This week we slow things down and engage in a bit of free form with guest co-host Nelson Régo from the Cool Blind Tech Podcast. Among the topics are a new Assistive Device, the development of a musical instrument that you play with your mind, some of the societal implications of autonomous cars, and Apple’s new foray into the digital assistant arena, the HomePod.

Show Notes
GlassOuse Assistive Device
Despite not knowing what syllable to put the emphasis on, we talk about this new mousing alternative that allows users a headpointing option that doesn’t require a onscreen keyboard.

Newly-developed hands-free musical instrument now allows people to make music with their minds
We talk a bit about Thomas Deuel’s Encephalophone and ponder just how it works and the implications for alternate access and rehabilitation. Also, we marvel that it’s really neat.

What’s Taking So Long for Driverless Cars to Go Mainstream?
Next up we discuss Fortune’s article regarding the societal impact of autonomous vehicles and make some completely unwarranted predictions on their future.

Google Maps now lets users add wheelchair accessibility details for locations
We discuss briefly this new crowdsourcing effort by Google to make Google Maps an even better source of information regarding accessible locations.

Apple’s New HomePod
Lastly, we talk about Apple throwing its hat into the digital assistant ring and discuss the specs and how it might compete with Google Home and the Amazon Echo.

AT Banter Episode 60 – Aira

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This week we talk with Wesley Friesen and Micheal Hingson from Aira, the new revolutionary subscription service that caters to the Visually Impaired community.

Show Notes
Talking Laundry Module
Want to help your washer and dryer become more sentient? As we discussed, here’s the link to the GE First Build website store where you can order your very own Talking Laundry Module for your GE Washer/Dryer.
Aira Website
Interesting in subscribing to the service or learning more about it? Check out the company website and find out just what the service could do for you.
Aira Careers Page
For those who might be interested in learning more about becoming an Aira Agent.

AT Banter Episode 59 – Maria Johnson – Girl Gone Blind

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This week we had a great time bantering with Maria Johnson, aka Girl Gone Blind —  so much so that it turned out to be our longest episode to date! We talk with her about her eye condition, her experience with losing her sight, the importance of blogging and social media, technology, and how it helped with her transition and recovery.

Show Notes
Girl Gone Blind Blog
LHON Information

AT Banter Episode 58 – Steve Takes Over

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This week Steve impersonates Rob and steals the hosting duties as the three discuss some of the week’s most interesting Assistive Technology news from around the country. And some other stuff too.

Show Notes
Phillips Offers a Line of Accessible TV and Video Players
Voice Access
New Victor Reader Trek
The BrailleMe $300 Braille Display
Talking Laundry Module
Translink Testing RFID Technology For Skytrain Fare Gates
Disability Organization Denounces Alec Baldwin
Microsoft’s Seeing AI App

AT Banter Episode 57 – Google Home

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This week we banter with perhaps the most famous guest we’ve ever had on — none other than the Google Digital Assistant herself, the Google Home! We chat about the AT potential of this device, show what it can do in the home, and even dive into some of its more quirky features.

Show Notes
Google Home Website
Google Home Compatibility

AT Banter Episode 56 – Debra Ruh

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We’re honored to be chatting with Debra Ruh, founder and CEO of Ruh Global Communication, and talk with her about the worldwide state of accessibility and inclusion in today’s corporate community.

Show Notes
Ruh Global Communications
Human Potential at Work Podcast
AXSChat

AT Banter Episode 55 – Jessica Rickards and Cool Blind Tech

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Jessica Rickards, co-host and contributor at Cool Blind Tech, joins us for a bantering session to talk about the podcast, some of her favorite Assistive Technology, and even a little bit of politics.

Show Notes
Cool Blind Tech
Subscribe to Cool Blind Tech

AT Banter Episode 54 – Quentin Christensen and NVDA

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Quentin Christensen, Training Material Developer at NV-Access, joins us this week to talk about NVDA, the free open source Screen Reader as well as the state of screen readers in the marketplace today.

Show Notes
NV Access: The main home of NVDA
NVDA on GitHub
NVDA issues on GitHub: Bug reports, feature requests, etc.
NVDA development snapshots: Automatically generated builds of the project in its current state of development
NVDA add-ons: Get add-ons to enhance NVDA
Translating NVDA: Information about how to translate NVDA into another language
NVDA community wiki: Articles contributed by the community
NVDA Controller Client (2010-02-19): NVDA API for external applications to directly speak or braille messages, etc.
NVDA Developer Guide
Contributing to NVDA: Guidelines for contributing to the NVDA source code
NVDA development email list (archives): Discussion about NVDA development
NVDA commits email list: Notifications for all commits to the Git repository

 

AT Banter – The Anniversary Show

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It’s finally here .. the promised Anniversary Show! We mark our one year anniversary of the podcast by taking a break from our normal subject matter and breaking out the Tequila for a silly, stream-of-consciousness stroll through Memory Lane and any other topic that happens to come up. WARNING: Tequila was involved in the making of this podcast, so some salty language may be included.