The iOS Device as Writing Tool and Student Companion:

Twenty-five years ago, I walked through the halls of my secondary school carrying a fifteen-pound Braille writer in one hand and wearing a bag weighing around forty pounds containing the Braille volumes that were fractions of the books I'd need for classes. Later on, I got a well-designed Australian computer called a Eureka A4 which, weighing four pounds, freed me of considerable weight. The battery wasn't reliable enough to get you through a whole school day. Also, Ebooks had yet to arrive on the scene so I still crushed people into walls carrying my forty-pound pack of fractions of books if they got too close behind me when I turned a corner. That experience stays with me. Whenever I receive new accessible technology, I'm always tempted to see how much it can do for students. How much might this or that new device be able to do? How much lighter might it make one's school bag? Might it also help in social ways giving opportunities for relationship and play with others? My equipment tended to baffle others who couldn't read or write Braille. They mostly had a hard time understanding the Australian voice of the Eureka A4 and it had no screen.

Contrast this with an iOS device. These are extremely portable and easily powerful enough for average day to day tasks. They're easily kept charged with a very small and affordable external battery. A battery no larger than a deck of cards can store 10000 MA of ready power. That's enough to easily recharge a modern day iPAD Pro. Smaller iOS devices like the iPHONE7 I write this on have internal batteries which hold around 1800 MA when fully charged. Accessories like Bluetooth keyboards, bone conduction Bluetooth headsets or Apple's AirPods make it possible to operate completely without wires other than those used to recharge what you're using. Nothing protrudes from your back. You don't even have to worry about wires getting snagged on things or pulled out of their ports. Pretty much every student on the planet has heard of your iPHONE, iPOD or iPAD. If he or she doesn't own one, a friend or family member will. You can use these devices to play some of the same games, read the same books, share favorite songs. You didn't have to pay any more to make this device accessible. You might well have gotten it at the same store as your classmate. Here's the stupendous part. Most of this equipment could be carried in a pocket. You'd have enough storage for thousands of accessible books, your favorite music, any apps you needed, and much more. Presuming it was an iPHONE, or you acquired a GPS receiver, this device would also help you navigate. It would serve as your handy communication device and credit card, identify objects and even read print pages for you. Provided you had Internet connectivity, you could dictate notes or obtain answers merely by asking.

The only part of this setup which wouldn't fit in a pocket would be the extremely light and thin Bluetooth keyboard and/or a portable refreshable Braille display should you wish to write something substantial or read without needing synthetic speech. This can be handy when in class situations or trying to read notes as you give a presentation. There are smaller keyboards which are said to collapse to pocket size. However, these smaller keyboards are cramped and lack rigidity so couldn't be used on one's lap.

All this is very compelling. However, students need to be able to write more than just notes effectively. They need to tackle assignments. That's why a Bluetooth keyboard small enough to be portable but spacious and rigid enough to be used comfortably and quickly anywhere comes in handy. Most Braille displays have their own relatively comfortable keyboards. Braille is useful but not necessary at all times. Ordinary Bluetooth keyboards are universally far less costly than even the most inexpensive Braille displays.

Writing presentable documents in iOS has been problematic for blind people. Back when I first got my iPHONE4, I never would have dreamed of creating anything important or lengthy on it. Using the on-screen keyboard was anything but fast and efficient. It just made sense that one's phone was simply not designed for authorship. A laptop served that role. Attempting anything longer than a brief email was just begging for a first class trip to insanity. The same holds true for attempting to keep up with a lesson taking notes at high speed.

The issues extended far beyond the small completely flat virtual keyboard. VoiceOver initially didn't have an easy method for selecting text to be moved or copied. The finger spreading and pinching technique left much to be desired. Also, it can be difficult to get a proper sense of how a document will look visually due to many things such as how lines rapped on such small screens and how documents were moved through. There was also the whole question of trying to avoid jumping accidentally to a different part of a document than you intended. Sighted people literally see their documents as if on a page or as close as the sise of their device permits. Blind people hear their documents in a more linear sequential fashion. While spellcheck was possible, it remains an annoying and finicky process. Autocorrect can prove more troublesome than helpful with its presumptions regarding what one meant to type being far from actual intention. Who hasn't heard jokes about people getting into trouble because they trusted autocorrect and didn't look before sending that fateful text message?

Over the years, things have slowly gotten better. As VoiceOver and iOS have improved, these problems have begun to be addressed. Selecting text is a crucial example of this. The process now relies on the rotor. Set it to text selection, flick up or down to choose the unit of measure, [character, word, line, page]. After that, flick right to move forward by the unit of measure or left to move backward. You can even do things like select a line of text, flick upward to change the unit of measure to words, flick left to remove the two or three words you don't want selected when you press the delete button, and then remove precisely what you regret having written. It's the sort of solution that you wonder why nobody thought of originally even while overcome with gratitude that someone finally has. The lack of an efficient easy way to select text was the largest impediment stopping me from adopting iOS for serious writing.

Bluetooth keyboard support has gotten much better than it used to be. Instances of dropped connection are quite rare. Also, the horrid lag which formerly made Bluetooth headsets useless for blind people needing snappy responses to their gestures from VoiceOver has been reduced to near non-existence. Pairing multiple devices is a lot more reliable and easier than it once was. Energy efficiency has also greatly improved.

These improvements make it easier to use various word processing apps on iOS such as Pages or Microsoft Word. Spellcheck in particular is still harder than it has to be. However, you can now at least get your words in the right order and type them easily. Also, the spellcheck functionality built into iOS will at least tell you when it thinks you spelled a word wrong as you read over it. Proofreading and formatting documents accurately remain troublesome issues when using the more popular word processors with VoiceOver. Most word processors operate on a principle called WYSIWYG or what you see is what you get. This is perfectly sensible for sighted people who can look at their documents seeing how they will appear when printed. This presents problems for blind users. Even when VoiceOver announces formatting or other visual information, it can be hard to grasp how the end result will look or where the influence of commands such as emphasis, line breaks, etc begins and ends. What is immediately obvious to the eye is not so for the ear or fingers if Braille is used. I needed to find a better solution before leaving my laptop behind and using my iPHONE to do serious writing.

A big part of the solution was suitable accessories. Over the years, I've found a good sturdy Bluetooth keyboard from Microsoft designed specifically for mobile devices. It's compact and rigid enough to be used on one's lap. Even better, a small lapdesk that was just large enough to fit the keyboard and my iPHONE next to each other. An Aftershokz Trekz Titanium bone conduction headset serves me well when I'm travelling outdoors and don't want to lose my AirPods from Apple. These Airpods are far more portable, longer lasting wireless earbuds which deliver far better sound. A pair of external batteries completes the basic load. One is a 3500-MA battery the size of a lipstick. It fits easily in a pocket. The other is a far larger 26800-MA battery which would easily keep all my gear powered for a week or more. All of this fits in a small shoulder-bag along with a Bluetooth speaker if I'm going somewhere I might want to share what I'm listening to. In total, it weighs well under ten pounds. Far less if I ditch the large battery and speaker as I would on most day trips.

The very last stumbling block was a good writing solution. I needed an app which would let me write easily and have full control over the formatting of what I produced. For me, the Ulysses app was a pricy but very compelling possibility. The big equalizer is the use of Markdown XL. This is a set of formatting and other commands you insert using standard punctuation symbols. These commands are easily read by Voiceover giving you full and accurate control of formatting. They are acted upon when you export your document into a chosen format. For instance, hash signs indicate headings so text following one or more hash signs within a paragraph will become a heading in a pdf or html document. There are simple commands for doing everything from underlining text to adding footnotes or links. With everything in text characters VoiceOver can detect, nothing gets misplaced or forgotten and proof-reading becomes possible. Spellcheck at least tells me if something is spelled wrong. I hope this situation improveds, but thanks to dictionary/thesaurus apps like Wordbook and Terminology, I can easily live with that slight compromise.

The Ulysses Writing App In Depth:

This app won an Apple award at last years WWDC, a conference for app developers. Shortly after this, the app was made accessible using VoiceOver. The app is designed to be a writing tool which scales from short documents through to novels. Simplicity and no clutter are key design principles. Writers can focus on actual writing. Using Markdown language to insert formatting instructions removes the need for toolbars and other things which clutter and distract writers using other word processors. Other features include the ability to set writing goals, keep your writing nicely organised, and much more. Everything you write is instantly backed up to iCloud so no need to worry about saving progress.

This app rewards mastery of the rotor as well as exploration of the screen. Accessibility is good in most areas but a work in progress for less critical things like goal setting. It's still possible but somewhat harder than they might be. To keep clutter to a minimum, options are nested within others. Exploration and experimentation pay off handsomely when learning to use this app to its full potential.

Basic Concepts:

A sheet is what this app calls a document. You don't need to give a sheet a title. A single sheet can contain as much text as you want it to. Therer are no imposed sise limits. Sheets can be put into groups which can be organised in many different ways. For instance, each major section of my guide to iOS is a sheet. I can duplicate, delete, export or change the order of these sheets easily at any time. I can cut, copy and paste text into sheets. Also, I can atach writing goals, notes, and keywords to sheets. Groups of related sheets can be exported as a single document. It is ideal for creating books. This is a very flexible powerful organizational system. Groups can have goals assigned to them. Groups can be sorted in the best way for their specific contents. My group of AMI Audio files is organised by date while the group of sheets comprising the guide I'm writing is organised manually.

Getting to Help:

There are instructions and help available in the app and on the developer's web site:

www.ulyssesapp.com

The instructions are in special groups of sheets found in the main library. You'll be going into the editor to read any sheets which interests you. The first group of instruction sheets is called "first steps" Double-tap on this to enter the group of sheets. Flick right until you pass the "first steps" heading and you'll be at the first sheet which is "quick overview". Doubletap on a sheet to open it. Flick right until you hear instructions being read. Once this happens, you can simply leave it to read the full sheet of information. No action is necessary. When finished, hit the "back" button at the topleft of the screen and proceed to find the next sheet or group you want to look at. The rotor is your friend. Set it to move by character, word, etc, and/or to select text for sharing or movement. Once a sheet is opened, you'll find a counter which may display total characters, words, sentences, etc. This is only visible when the keyboard is dismissed and not on the screen.

The Ulysses Editor:

The heart of Ulysses is the editor. Once you open a sheet, you're viewing it in the editor but not able to write or change the contents. From this external view, you can set goals, change editor settings, and export the sheet if you wish. Buttons to do all these things are found at the top of the screen to the right of the "back" button. Buttons are "editor settings", "export preview", "new sheet", and "attachments". Next comes the text field. To start writing, double-tap on the text field. Now, when you move onto the text field, it will say "is editing". This remains the case even if you move off the text field to use the on-screen keyboard. To leave this writing mode, double-tap the "dismiss keyboard" button which is one move to the right of the text field. Think of it like capping your pen. The app takes advantage of the autocorrect and spellcheck facilities built into iOS. These are useable but can be annoying. To minimize this, I have autocorrect turned off and simply use spellcheck. It will tell you if the word you move onto is spelled wrong. Navigate through the document using the rotor setting it to character, word or line as desired. Use the rotor to select, cut, copy and paste text.

Move past the edit field while you're still in editing mode and you'll find a "dismiss keyboard" button, a "search" button" and a sort of toolbar. This contains "undo/redo", paragraph tags", "inline tags" "special characters" and left/right buttons. The "tags" buttons give you access to the Markdown language commands you'll use while writing if you can't memorise them. You don't have to use this toolbar equivalent at all. I never do but it's there if needed. I recommend learning the Markdown XL commands and simply typing them in when required. Find them in the Markdown XL group of introduction files. This is immediately past the "first steps" group.

The Attachments Button:

While editing a sheet, you can push the "attachments" button one flick to the left of the text field. The "attachments" button lets you attach keywords, goals and notes to sheets. It is the most difficult area of the app to use with VoiceOver at this point but the developers are aware of the difficulties. You need to explore the screen with your finger and do some experimentation to figure this out. Feel for the buttons related to goal setting. The "at least" button can be double-tapped and will change to "at most". There are six sliders which are possible to increase or decrease. Each represents a digit which can be set from 0 to 9. You can use these to attach a goal to a group or sheet of a target number of words to achieve or not to exceed. Very useful for motivation or school assignments. It's just annoying to have to deal with sliders rather than an edit box letting you just type in a number.

Ulysses Completes The Student or Writer's Toolkit:

Things have at last reached a point where producing professional good-looking documents is possible on iOS for blind people willing to learn some extra commands. We can know precisely where formatting is applied and what will happen when documents are exported for distributing or printing. the use of a Markdown language plus VoiceOver improvements combine to make this a truly viable option. This is especially the case when you add a good Bluetooth keyboard into the equation. Ulysses has extensive support including many keyboard commands. Find these in the "details" group of introduction files. To round out your writing toolkit, other apps can address spellcheck challenges and research capabilities. I recommend the Wordbook app or the Terminology app. These are fully accessible apps which combine dictionary and thesaurus.

I don't use Ulysses for jotting down quick notes. It takes a little time to get in a sheet and double-tap on the edit field. Another app called Drafts happily solves that problem by dumping you instantly into an edit field whenever you open it. Much more convenient for quick notes. The calendar and calculator built into iOS plus the Timeglass, Google and Wikipedia apps available from the app store round out my primary writing tools. Most of these apps are free. Timeglass is an app which allows the creation of timers which can have multiple stages and alert you with sounds when each stage is reached. This can be very helpful regarding time management. Ulysses costs around $34 Canadian but is well worth the price for people who need the portability of an iOS device but want the full power of a serious author's workstation.

Enjoying Music on iOS Devices

Music on iOS Personal Blog Post

Your iOS device is a wonderful and accessible way to explore and enjoy music. I've been adding to my collection ever since I got my iPHONE4.Apple has its own proprietary music file format andyou can't just fill your device with MP3 files unless you get an app which can handle them. Again, it's a case of convenience versus cost. If you buy into Apple's ecosystem, I think you'll find that music is an area where Apple treats its customers handsomely.

There are two ways to get music from Apple for your iOS devices. It is delivered in a format especially designed to sound good on iOS devices. You can either buy music on iTUNES which is yours to keep, or subscribe to the Apple Music service. This gives you access to over 30 million songs, curated playlists, and many other benefits provided that you pay a monthly subscription. If you don't pay, you lose access to any music collected which you haven't bought from iTUNES. These options are not mutually exclusive. You can own iTUNES music and still subscribe to Apple Music without forfeiting anything. We'll look at the merits of each option.

The iTUNES Marketplace:

The iTUNES Store app gives you the ability to purchase music as well as movies and TV shows. You can also rent movies. Many now have audio description. Look right after the title and rating for images which are announced by Voiceover to make certain a movie or show has closed captionning and/or audio description. Have plenty of storage space. Movies are quite large. Songs and albums comprise only sound and take far less space. Records are kept of all purchases made so you can remove content from your device and re-download it as needed. Everything is tied to your Apple ID. Remember it and your password always.

Use the "music and "search" tabs found across the bottom of the iTUNES Store app to find and purchase desired albums or songs. In the "iTUNES and App store" settings found in the Settings app, you can customise whether you want to use cellular data when downloading new purchases. Also, you can choose which kinds of purchases to download automatically when you make them. Also, you'll see whether you've set touch ID to be able to authorise purchases or whether you must simply use your password all the time. It's a good idea to look through those settings as well as the Touch ID and Password settings and be familiar with your options. If you have concerns about others accessing your device, you may prefer Touch ID so that your fingerprint can authorise purchases and people won't see you enterring your password.

When you open the iTUNES Store app, you default to the "Music" tab. It's at the far bottom left of the screen. At the top of the "music" tab is an options area with Genre, "Featured", "Charts" and "Item list" buttons. The "Item list" is a wish list you can add to using the "share" button in an item's entry. For instance, "share" an album and choose the "add to item list" button from the menu that appears. The iTUNES store works just like the app store. Double-click on an item title to go to that item's entry. Use the "back" button at the top left to back up one level. Use the button with "get" or the purchase price of an item of interest to obtain that item. You will be prompted to authorise the purchase by password or Touch ID.

You can also find spoken word material which is treated the same as music on iTUNES. The CBC or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation puts up many of their audio drama productions and popular radio series as albums for sale on iTUNES. It really pays to search and explore. I've found some very good audio drama made available through iTUNES. If you have a computer, you can get iTUNES software and authorise it to download and play content. This makes it possible to more physically back up what you have purchased if you wish.

The music app will be what you use to play music or other audio content purchase from iTUNES Store. Don't worry about there being any sort of capacity limits outside of the storage space on your device. Provided you have a WIFI connection or are willing to use cellular data, you can always download anything you've purchased but deleted from your device to save space. These things don't count against your iCloud data. It's a separate thing. I have far more content than would ever fit on my iPHONE or in my personal iCloud space at once. Every now and then, I delete and download albums as desired.

Call me a digital dinosaur but I like to actually own a collection of music I enjoy. I therefore make occasional use of the iTUNES store slowly expanding my permanent collection. As more features have been added to Apple Music and more people in my social circle opt for these music services, I have decided to give this new flexible model of music collection a long-term try. There's something really compelling about being able to have access to so much music without spending a fortune. Below, we'll take a closer look at the Apple Music service.

Apple Music:

This subscription service lets you access any music in Apple's vast collection of over 30 million songs. They offer many ways to do this including creating radio stations based on music you like on the fly, curated playlists and recommendations tailored to you specifically, and much more. You can store favourite albums and songs on your device so you're not streaming them using up ddata when you hear them. You can use an optimise music option to remove songs not played often from your device. It still remains a part of your library. As long as you pay the roughly ten dollar per month charge, you have access to the music you want.

Taking this approach, you need not use the iTUNEs app at all. Everything is integrated into the "Music" app found on your device. The "For You", "Browse", "Radio" and "search" tabs let you take advantage of the many aspects of the Apple Music service. This brings the number of tabs across the bottom of the Music app to 5 with "Library" at the far left and "search" at the far right. The "Connect" tab disappears and is incorporated into the contents of the "For You" tab. You are buying access and guidance. There are also other perks such as special early releases, videos and interviews by artists. One of the largest perks is the yearly Apple Music Festival. This is a series of concerts put on by popular musicians during September which any subscriber to Apple Music can listen to free of charge. Events are streamed live and videos are made available soon after. Other special events like album releases and special shows happen from time to time.

When unsubscribed, the "Radio" tab gives access to Beats1, an internet radio station broadcasting 24-7 with people like Elton John and other famous musicians providing programs. This is internet radio with serious money put behind it. Subscribing to Apple music gives access to many more expertly run stations in that tab. Also, it is possible to create radio stations on the fly based on the song you're currently hearing. One of the options revealed by double-tapping the "more" button in the music player is "create station". Using this will instantly create a playlist featuring the artist you're hearing plus similar artists and songs. If you hear something which catches your interest, you can easily check out the artist and add songs or albums to your library. 

New subscribers get a three-month trial before they must start paying.

The Music App:

This app is how you play music purchased from Apple or available through Apple Music subscription. If you subscribe to Apple Music, this app will be all you need to enjoy, obtain and manage music on your device. If you don't intend on using Apple Music, you'll still use the Music app for enjoying what you purchase from the iTUNES store. Either way, you should go to the "Music" settings in the "Settings" app. There, you'll find a setting to show or hide Apple Music. Switching this to "off" will remove many elements only of value to Apple Music subscribers so they don't clutter your experience. Also, you'll find some nice goodies like an EQ setting, volume limiter and more. I like the Late Night and Lounge EQ settings while using my AirPods. However, other settings may be preferable when using AirPlay to play music on various Bluetooth speakers.

Tabs across the bottom are:

Library:

This is where music you have purchased or added to your collection resides. You can sort and manage it. There are buttons across the top. Edit, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, and "Downloaded Music". These let you focus on the part of the collection which interests you. Pressing "Downloaded Music" reduces what is shown to only that music you've chosen to store on your device. Use this button when you're offline or don't want to use cellular data streaming music. Otherwise, any music you want to hear is simply grabbed and streamed for you. Competing with other priorities, the music on my device is slowly whittled down to what I most treasure.

Connect:

This tab provides a way for artists and fans to connect. You can follow artists and receive their updates. Also, you can post your own comments on what artists post. You don't need to subscribe to Apple Music to take advantage of this. Note the "following button at the top left. The default behaviour is that any artist whose songs you add to your library are automatically followed. You can change this behaviour and/or search for specific artists to follow in the area opened up by the "following" button. This tab will not be present if you have the Apple Muic elements shown because its contents are placed in the "For You" tab.

Browse:

This tab appears to the right of the "For You" tab and left of "Radio". lets you explore the gigantic collection of videos, interviews, extras, albums and songs made available to Apple Music subscribers. It has all kinds of curated paths to help you get to the kind of music you want. Great for when you don't know specifically or can't remember artist or song names. This tab and the "For You" tab contain the expertise you invest in when subscribing to Apple Music. Knowing how to use the Voiceover rotor is useful since there are headings dividing what the "Browse" and "For You" tabs contain.

Radio:

This tab will always have BEats 1 radio station. This is Apple's flagship music station featuring famous personalities and DJs. It streams 24-7 and has a wide variety of shows. Subscribing to Apple Music will grant access to a great many more specialized stations whose music is curated by experts. Past shows are also made available here.

Search:

This tab gives you the ability to search for artists or songs both inside your library or in the larger Apple Music collection. Double-tap the edit field and type in what you want to look for. Note the buttons near the top which let you choose whether to look in your library or the entire Apple Music collection. Flick over the rsults and double-tap on any that interest you. If it's a song or album, you'll be focussed in on that content. Use the "back" button at the top left to get back to the broader search results.

The Now Playing Screen or Mini Player:

This element of the app is crutial to your full enjoyment. While albums or other contents are displayed, the mini player will be available right above the tabs at the bottom. It's easiest to touch the tabs and flick left essentially moving up onto it. There are pause and skip buttons plus the title of the track you're hearing. Flicking left gets you to a place where you double-tap to expand the player. This puts you in the "now playing" screen.

The "Now Playing" screen puts the focus on what you're listening to now. The tabs will be unavailable until you dismiss the "Now Playing" screen. The button to do this is always on the top left. Next, there are next, previous and pause buttons. You'll find a handy volume slider, shuffle and repeat buttons. "Playback destination" lets you switch to other connected speakers, headphones, etc. Great for quickly sharing music if you have a Bluetooth speaker paired and turned on. Any artwork associated with the album or song is displayed. The "More" button is important. It gives access to options to remove, download, or perform other actions like adding the song or album you're hearing directly to a playlist. I use the "more" button often when I want to remove tracks I don't currently want stored on my iPHONE when they come up. This way, they just disappear but are still in my library in the cloud should I ever want them again.

Final Thoughts:

For people on tight budgets wanting a fully accessible way to enjoy music, Apple now offers an extremely compelling option with the Apple Music service. This is even more the case if your iOS device doesn't have much storage space. To take full advantage, you need a good WIFI or cellular data plan. This is vital if you're going to stream your music or listen to the Internet radio stations. Provided you have that, you're good to go. Hard core fans will appreciate the many extras like connection with their favorite artists, curated playlists and collections, etc. You'll never run out of new things to listen to. New albums, playlists and more are added all the time. If you hear something cool while out and about, chances are you can add it to your personal library without paying anything beyond your subscription fee. Another nifty addition has to do with Siri. You can ask Siri to play the top songs of a time period, shuffle the album or playlist, add songs or albums to your library, skip songs, and much more. It's like having your own personal DJ. If you don't recognise a song, you can ask Siri what it is. You can tell Siri to rate songs from 1 to 5, and tell it what you do and don't like. This improves songs selected for you and influences the contents of the "For You" tab.

I've come somewhat late to this music party. There's a lot to explore. I've already grabbed a bunch of albums which have languished on my iTunes wish list awaiting funds. I need not wait anymore. I must confess to still beeling a bit uneasy about renting access to damned near everything rather than acquiring a smaller selection of what I like and outright owning it. Music on iOS Personal Blog Post

Your iOS device is a wonderful and accessible way to explore and enjoy music. I've been adding to my collection ever since I got my iPHONE4.Apple has its own proprietary music file format andyou can't just fill your device with MP3 files unless you get an app which can handle them. Again, it's a case of convenience versus cost. If you buy into Apple's ecosystem, I think you'll find that music is an area where Apple treats its customers handsomely.

There are two ways to get music from Apple for your iOS devices. It is delivered in a format especially designed to sound good on iOS devices. You can either buy music on iTUNES which is yours to keep, or subscribe to the Apple Music service. This gives you access to over 30 million songs, curated playlists, and many other benefits provided that you pay a monthly subscription. If you don't pay, you lose access to any music collected which you haven't bought from iTUNES. These options are not mutually exclusive. You can own iTUNES music and still subscribe to Apple Music without forfeiting anything. We'll look at the merits of each option.

The iTUNES Marketplace:

The iTUNES Store app gives you the ability to purchase music as well as movies and TV shows. You can also rent movies. Many now have audio description. Look right after the title and rating for images which are announced by Voiceover to make certain a movie or show has closed captionning and/or audio description. Have plenty of storage space. Movies are quite large. Songs and albums comprise only sound and take far less space. Records are kept of all purchases made so you can remove content from your device and re-download it as needed. Everything is tied to your Apple ID. Remember it and your password always.

Use the "music and "search" tabs found across the bottom of the iTUNES Store app to find and purchase desired albums or songs. In the "iTUNES and App store" settings found in the Settings app, you can customise whether you want to use cellular data when downloading new purchases. Also, you can choose which kinds of purchases to download automatically when you make them. Also, you'll see whether you've set touch ID to be able to authorise purchases or whether you must simply use your password all the time. It's a good idea to look through those settings as well as the Touch ID and Password settings and be familiar with your options. If you have concerns about others accessing your device, you may prefer Touch ID so that your fingerprint can authorise purchases and people won't see you enterring your password.

When you open the iTUNES Store app, you default to the "Music" tab. It's at the far bottom left of the screen. At the top of the "music" tab is an options area with Genre, "Featured", "Charts" and "Item list" buttons. The "Item list" is a wish list you can add to using the "share" button in an item's entry. For instance, "share" an album and choose the "add to item list" button from the menu that appears. The iTUNES store works just like the app store. Double-click on an item title to go to that item's entry. Use the "back" button at the top left to back up one level. Use the button with "get" or the purchase price of an item of interest to obtain that item. You will be prompted to authorise the purchase by password or Touch ID.

You can also find spoken word material which is treated the same as music on iTUNES. The CBC or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation puts up many of their audio drama productions and popular radio series as albums for sale on iTUNES. It really pays to search and explore. I've found some very good audio drama made available through iTUNES. If you have a computer, you can get iTUNES software and authorise it to download and play content. This makes it possible to more physically back up what you have purchased if you wish.

The music app will be what you use to play music or other audio content purchase from iTUNES Store. Don't worry about there being any sort of capacity limits outside of the storage space on your device. Provided you have a WIFI connection or are willing to use cellular data, you can always download anything you've purchased but deleted from your device to save space. These things don't count against your iCloud data. It's a separate thing. I have far more content than would ever fit on my iPHONE or in my personal iCloud space at once. Every now and then, I delete and download albums as desired.

Call me a digital dinosaur but I like to actually own a collection of music I enjoy. I therefore make occasional use of the iTUNES store slowly expanding my permanent collection. As more features have been added to Apple Music and more people in my social circle opt for these music services, I have decided to give this new flexible model of music collection a long-term try. There's something really compelling about being able to have access to so much music without spending a fortune. Below, we'll take a closer look at the Apple Music service.

Apple Music:

This subscription service lets you access any music in Apple's vast collection of over 30 million songs. They offer many ways to do this including creating radio stations based on music you like on the fly, curated playlists and recommendations tailored to you specifically, and much more. You can store favourite albums and songs on your device so you're not streaming them using up ddata when you hear them. You can use an optimise music option to remove songs not played often from your device. It still remains a part of your library. As long as you pay the roughly ten dollar per month charge, you have access to the music you want.

Taking this approach, you need not use the iTUNEs app at all. Everything is integrated into the "Music" app found on your device. The "For You", "Browse", "Radio" and "search" tabs let you take advantage of the many aspects of the Apple Music service. This brings the number of tabs across the bottom of the Music app to 5 with "Library" at the far left and "search" at the far right. The "Connect" tab disappears and is incorporated into the contents of the "For You" tab. You are buying access and guidance. There are also other perks such as special early releases, videos and interviews by artists. One of the largest perks is the yearly Apple Music Festival. This is a series of concerts put on by popular musicians during September which any subscriber to Apple Music can listen to free of charge. Events are streamed live and videos are made available soon after. Other special events like album releases and special shows happen from time to time.

When unsubscribed, the "Radio" tab gives access to Beats1, an internet radio station broadcasting 24-7 with people like Elton John and other famous musicians providing programs. This is internet radio with serious money put behind it. Subscribing to Apple music gives access to many more expertly run stations in that tab. Also, it is possible to create radio stations on the fly based on the song you're currently hearing. One of the options revealed by double-tapping the "more" button in the music player is "create station". Using this will instantly create a playlist featuring the artist you're hearing plus similar artists and songs. If you hear something which catches your interest, you can easily check out the artist and add songs or albums to your library. 

New subscribers get a three-month trial before they must start paying.

The Music App:

This app is how you play music purchased from Apple or available through Apple Music subscription. If you subscribe to Apple Music, this app will be all you need to enjoy, obtain and manage music on your device. If you don't intend on using Apple Music, you'll still use the Music app for enjoying what you purchase from the iTUNES store. Either way, you should go to the "Music" settings in the "Settings" app. There, you'll find a setting to show or hide Apple Music. Switching this to "off" will remove many elements only of value to Apple Music subscribers so they don't clutter your experience. Also, you'll find some nice goodies like an EQ setting, volume limiter and more. I like the Late Night and Lounge EQ settings while using my AirPods. However, other settings may be preferable when using AirPlay to play music on various Bluetooth speakers.

Tabs across the bottom are:

Library:

This is where music you have purchased or added to your collection resides. You can sort and manage it. There are buttons across the top. Edit, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, and "Downloaded Music". These let you focus on the part of the collection which interests you. Pressing "Downloaded Music" reduces what is shown to only that music you've chosen to store on your device. Use this button when you're offline or don't want to use cellular data streaming music. Otherwise, any music you want to hear is simply grabbed and streamed for you. Competing with other priorities, the music on my device is slowly whittled down to what I most treasure.

Connect:

This tab provides a way for artists and fans to connect. You can follow artists and receive their updates. Also, you can post your own comments on what artists post. You don't need to subscribe to Apple Music to take advantage of this. Note the "following button at the top left. The default behaviour is that any artist whose songs you add to your library are automatically followed. You can change this behaviour and/or search for specific artists to follow in the area opened up by the "following" button. This tab will not be present if you have the Apple Muic elements shown because its contents are placed in the "For You" tab.

Browse:

This tab appears to the right of the "For You" tab and left of "Radio". lets you explore the gigantic collection of videos, interviews, extras, albums and songs made available to Apple Music subscribers. It has all kinds of curated paths to help you get to the kind of music you want. Great for when you don't know specifically or can't remember artist or song names. This tab and the "For You" tab contain the expertise you invest in when subscribing to Apple Music. Knowing how to use the Voiceover rotor is useful since there are headings dividing what the "Browse" and "For You" tabs contain.

Radio:

This tab will always have BEats 1 radio station. This is Apple's flagship music station featuring famous personalities and DJs. It streams 24-7 and has a wide variety of shows. Subscribing to Apple Music will grant access to a great many more specialized stations whose music is curated by experts. Past shows are also made available here.

Search:

This tab gives you the ability to search for artists or songs both inside your library or in the larger Apple Music collection. Double-tap the edit field and type in what you want to look for. Note the buttons near the top which let you choose whether to look in your library or the entire Apple Music collection. Flick over the rsults and double-tap on any that interest you. If it's a song or album, you'll be focussed in on that content. Use the "back" button at the top left to get back to the broader search results.

The Now Playing Screen or Mini Player:

This element of the app is crutial to your full enjoyment. While albums or other contents are displayed, the mini player will be available right above the tabs at the bottom. It's easiest to touch the tabs and flick left essentially moving up onto it. There are pause and skip buttons plus the title of the track you're hearing. Flicking left gets you to a place where you double-tap to expand the player. This puts you in the "now playing" screen.

The "Now Playing" screen puts the focus on what you're listening to now. The tabs will be unavailable until you dismiss the "Now Playing" screen. The button to do this is always on the top left. Next, there are next, previous and pause buttons. You'll find a handy volume slider, shuffle and repeat buttons. "Playback destination" lets you switch to other connected speakers, headphones, etc. Great for quickly sharing music if you have a Bluetooth speaker paired and turned on. Any artwork associated with the album or song is displayed. The "More" button is important. It gives access to options to remove, download, or perform other actions like adding the song or album you're hearing directly to a playlist. I use the "more" button often when I want to remove tracks I don't currently want stored on my iPHONE when they come up. This way, they just disappear but are still in my library in the cloud should I ever want them again.

Final Thoughts:

For people on tight budgets wanting a fully accessible way to enjoy music, Apple now offers an extremely compelling option with the Apple Music service. This is even more the case if your iOS device doesn't have much storage space. To take full advantage, you need a good WIFI or cellular data plan. This is vital if you're going to stream your music or listen to the Internet radio stations. Provided you have that, you're good to go. Hard core fans will appreciate the many extras like connection with their favorite artists, curated playlists and collections, etc. You'll never run out of new things to listen to. New albums, playlists and more are added all the time. If you hear something cool while out and about, chances are you can add it to your personal library without paying anything beyond your subscription fee. Another nifty addition has to do with Siri. You can ask Siri to play the top songs of a time period, shuffle the album or playlist, add songs or albums to your library, skip songs, and much more. It's like having your own personal DJ. If you don't recognise a song, you can ask Siri what it is. You can tell Siri to rate songs from 1 to 5, and tell it what you do and don't like. This improves songs selected for you and influences the contents of the "For You" tab.

I've come somewhat late to this music party. There's a lot to explore. I've already grabbed a bunch of albums which have languished on my iTunes wish list awaiting funds. I need not wait anymore. I must confess to still beeling a bit uneasy about renting access to damned near everything rather than acquiring a smaller selection of what I like and outright owning it. However, it's still very early days. Perhaps, in a year's time, that disquiet will go away as I get used to this new paradigm.

However, it's still very early days. Perhaps, in a year's time, that disquiet will go away as I get used to this new paradigm.

 

Accessible Gaming on iOS

 I've always found that games are an excellent way to gain real comfort and competence with new technology. People who are hoping to vanquish their friend in a game or solve a murder mystery have a vested interest above and beyond mastering something which seems new, dificult, and disconnected from their everyday concerns. As a boy, I basically tought myself to type fast and accurately in order to find out what happened next in text adventure games playable on the Apple computer I had. Whenever I've gotten new and different accessible technology, one of the first things I do is look for opportunities for play. I might grudgingly spend an hour trying to figure out how to use the screen review capabilities of my screen reader. This sort of effort is necessary at times in order to grasp the basics. On the other hand, I'll cheerfully spend a whole weekend trying to win an adventure or master a game I can play with other people. Good games feel neither daunting nor dull. They pull you past their interface and mechanics right into their captivating headspace. While you're playing, figuring out how to operate your device or review the screen transform from dreaded chores into the means to an exciting and desirable greater end. I've always encouraged beginners to obtain and play games with their new technology. It helps get past feelings of intimidation and gives them a compelling reason to use their devices which they will enjoy. In far too many cases, people have a grudge against technology simply because they don't find ways to enjoy what they have. While technology is often portrayed as a means to fun for sighted people, it is largely touted as a means of accomplishing things independently for blind people. The sad disadvantage of this is a kind of grudge against the very things which can make meaningful change in our lives. We learn best when we're too busy having fun to realise we're learning at all.

I think that it's very important that we go into this area with realistic and reasonable expectations. Many games simply require sight to play. Any attempt to make them accessible would so fundamentally alter the game experience as to constitute a completely different game. Ian Hamilton is a strong advocate for accessible games based in Australia. He points out that all games involve some sort of challenges and that this essentially means that standards for accessibility must differ from other industries. Games often simply can't include everybody and remain true to themselves. For instance, some games can induce seisures in people who are epileptic. Others demand a level of visual perception. Games reliant on audio are splendid for blind people but exclude those who cannot hear or who have poor hearing.

Bearing this in mind, we're in a paradoxical position as blind consumers of iOS games. On one hand, we still face the classic situation where around 95% of games are inaccessible to completely blind players. It would be foolish to presume that a game picked at random from the app store was accessible. At least one blind person thought to try Super Mario Run from Nintendo when it was released in late 2016. Very quickly, an entry on Applevis chronicles the disappointment possible when expectations exceed the reality of where we stand. Thankfully, the game was free to try. It takes a special effort and careful well-considered use of sound to make arcade-style games accessible. There's a big difference between using sound as ear candy and a minor source of information and using sound as the only source of critical information. Don't expect even large companies like Nintendo to put in that level of extra effort. I believe it would be quite possible to make a similar audio arcade game fully accessible to blind people. However, it would take expertly considered audio design and extensive testing by blind gamers. It's more than simply adding sounds and spoken textual information. The small number of blind people who would be at all interested in a given specific title makes it hard to justify the costs involved. The odds are far better with smaller app developers especially if accessibility is brought to their attention early while they're working on their app. It is much easier and les costly to plan accessibility from day one than to add it in later. The same goes for instilling the kind of thinking that leads to a real desire to put in the effort to make games as inclusive as possible.

The iOS platform greatly lowers the resources and effort required to make many kinds of games accessible. At the same time, the economic environment set up by Apple is a favourable one for smaller developers or even single individuals skilled in programming. There has never been a situation where the economics and potential for being included in less complex time-sensitive games has been better. There are a great many accessible games for iOS devices. An exciting aspect of the iOS platform is that Apple's included accessibility tools make it easier for app developers to design mainstream apps and games in a more inclusive way. This lets blind people play some of the same games their sighted friends and family are enjoying. At times, you'll potentially find that a game you like is ranked highly in the top charts of the app store. That's a very new experience for blind gamers. It has simply never happened before on any computing platform. It usually took until after a game stopped being popular for people to figure out how to make it accessible. Different economics and fundraising tools like Kickstarter are presenting blind people who have iOS devices with new gaming opportunities and unique experiences. It is now possible for us to leverage our dollars to make developing accessible entertainment more attractive and/or possible. It is also more economical on iOS for people to use the accessibility features built into the iOS operating system to make apps accessible.

It's not all roses and light though. There are sadly many instances where games which could quite feasibly be made accessible simply aren't. This is due to a lack of awareness on the part of app developers as well as higher up the chain. Platforms like Unity which are used to develop apps don't always make it easy for developers to add accessibility using Apple's built-in tools like Voiceover. This isn't out of malice. Rather, it is due to a lack of awareness and lack of economic inscentive. Blind people make up a very small percent of users of iOS devices despite how widely they have been adopted by the blind community. This results in developers having to make choices favouring ease of construction over others which might allow for better accessibility but be more costly and difficult to work with. You therefore run into games which sound from their descriptions like they should be fully playable. They may be described as text-based games not even requiring typing and yet be utterly useless to blind people. Efforts are underway to change this sort of problem but change is slow in coming. Economics is a big part of that. We've seen some of the best audio games ever created disappear from the app store due to the inability to justify the cost of keeping them updated to work as the iOS operating system changes how it handles sound. These games were well-advertised, perhaps too low-priced, and had famous actors doing voice work. Despite all those advantages, they simply didn't sel enough. Keeping them working on successive versions of iOS would cost too much for too little return on investment. They have sadly disappeared from the app store.

Due to Apple's commitment to accessibility, we've never been in a better position. A lot of potential for different game experiences begs for exploration. Boardgames which provide audio and tactile feedback are possible. Audio experiences taking advantage of sensors built into iOS devices have been created already. Economics are such that independant game developers can create more inclusive games and experiement with new ideas. Awareness of what's happening and polite timely communication are the keys to greater inclusion. This is an area where being an active informed consumer can really pay off. If you hear about a game you're interested in, find out as much as you can about it. Have an idea how an inaccessible game might be made accessible when you approach its developer. They often don't know where to begin with accessibility. People are still discovering the possibilities of iOS and there's a willingness to experiment. It's important that we be aware of what we're asking for and that economics can be very tight for smaller developers. They may not have the money to spend on the time and effort needed to make games accessible.

I've long felt that organizations of and for blind people could be a lot more supportive in this space than they have been. Games are not just frivolous wastes of time and money. They're tools which can teach, unify and reach people far beyond the classroom. They're also the dominant art form pulling in more revinue than movies and music combined. Innovations like 3d touch combined with vibration and oral feedback could help make it possible to play board, card and strategy games. Back in the 1980's, a series of adventure gamebooks called Fighting Fantasy won awards for encouraging children to read. Teens who didn't like to read were drawn into the worlds of these books which were as much games as story. Blind people completely missed out on this and many other phenomena since it would have been very costly to transcribe these books into Braille. The books would have spanned multiple thick volumes even if they didn't include tactile pictures. Finding the correct next paragraph to read would have been somewhat more cumbersome than it was for sighted readers who had all of the text in a single paperback volume. Technology has now reached the point where much of the cost and bulk could be removed entirely. Text based games combined with iOS devices and affordable Braille displays like the Orbit Reader 20 could make a tremendous difference for Braille literacy particularly among blind youth. Paragraphs can be linked. Portability is no longer a factor when thousands of full-length books can be carried easily on even a cheep smartphone. For me, Braille was simply never exciting or fun. In hindsight, the advantages of learning and reading Braille seem obvious. However, unless the story was interesting to me, the motivation to practice just wasn't there. In Braille, I read what I was forced to. On the computer and through tapes and CDs in those days, I listened to what I actually wanted to in far more portable forms. Organisations like CNIB, RNIB, AFB and others could support game development economically. They could provide advertising space in their publications so blind people know what's out there. They could also put time and resources into making game developers aware of the potential blind audience and of the tools and techniques required to make games accessible when this is possible.

Before obtaining a game from the appstore, do a bit of research to avoid disappointment. Check on the Applevis site to make certain games which interest you are in fact accessible and suitable for your level of skill. Go to:

www.applevis.com

The app directories are full of descriptions and reviews of games which have turned out to be either inaccessible or accessible. The deck is stacked in favour of accessible games. People tend to want to share positive experiences leading others to them. However, there are thankfully some people brave enough to try apps and report back to the community when they face the disappointment of discovering that an app is inaccessible. Don't presume that just because a game has an entry on Applevis that it is accessible. Take the time to actually read the entry. Do the homework and you won't spend money on apps you can't use. To help get you started, here are some games which are fully accessible and safe to acquire:

Games from Kid Friendly Software:

Type Kid Friendly Software of even just the word Blindfold into the appstore search field and you'll come across Blindfold games. These games are programmed by Marty Schultz who took a keen interest in developing games for blind people using iOS. There are over 50 titles so far. The games all use similar gestures and feature spoken help and instructions. They are easy for beginners to pick up and start playing. Titles include Pinball, Wild Card, Breakout, Travel Cards, Racing and many more. Games tend to be simple overall and are either card/puzzle games, games relying on ball physics like Pool and Pinball, or other simple matching or word guessing games. The developer, Marty Schultz, is quite eager for any feedback or suggestions. His games are free to try but you can purchase upgrades for them including unlimited play if you find a game you espeically like or want to support future efforts.

Dice World: Developers have done a great deal to make their app accessible. They have reached out to the blind community and are eager for any suggestions and feedback. They are also committed to making certain that future games they create are accessible to blind people. It's a great one for beginners. The games are simple to play and not time sensitive. There is penty of hep and tutorials for beginners.

Interactive Fiction Games:

These are made by several developers and are based on stories where players must make choices effecting the outcome. Easy examples for beginners would be Timecrest, Delight Games, the Choice of and Lifeline series of games. The Lifeline series are all accessible with the exception of Whiteout. Don't get that one but all other Lifeline games are fully enjoyable with Voiceover support. In all these games, you can flick left or right to read text and choices double-tapping on the choice you want. There are also likely tabs across the bottom giving you access to different areas of the game like a screen with inventory or statistics on your progress. This easy-to-handle format has proved popular among sighted players wanting a change from the arcade or picture-heavy experience. The developers of Lifeline Games respond eagerly to suggestions and feedback and value their growing good reputation among blind players.

Audio games:

There are numerous audio arcade games. These include Ear Monsters, Audio Game Hub, A Blind Legend, and many more. You typically need to play these games with Earpods or some other headset on. This is because most of these games take advantage of sterio sound. For some audio games, however, hearing where a sound is coming from isn't really important. One noteable example is a puzzle game called Stemstumpers. In it, you try to help a vine grow across a garden avoiding obstacles and eating food. By moving your finger acrosss the screen, you can hear the various terrain and items. Double-tapping on a square causes your vine to grow towards it as far as possible. There are also a couple of audio games which are like audio dramas with choices. Code Name Cygnus is the best example of this. You play by literally talking to the game saying key words to indicate your choices. The developer, Earplay Inc. Has another app called Earplay which features demos of what they're working on next.

Invisible Puzzle: MIT wanted to study possibilities of audio interfaces and put out this collection of audio puzzles where you need to draw shapes on your device. An economical way to provide fun and help research audio interface possibilities which could potentially benefit anybody whose eyese need to be focussed elsewhere.

A Blind Legend: A game developer teamed up with Radio France to produce this fully accessible audio adventure game. It's still being updated and is free from the app store. You don't need to use Voiceover to play the game. It requires headphones or earbuds and uses stereo sound. You need to fight enemies, ride a horse and make your way through dangerous environments as a blind knight attempting to rescue his wife.

Some big names are experimenting with audio games using iOS and the results are usually accessible. Those lucky enough to have grabbed Papa Sangre II before it disappeared from the appstore are treeted to Sean Bean as the narrator of a unique horror game. Sadly, Something Else, developer of Papa Sangre II went out of business and all their unique audio experiences were removed from the appstore. They're releasing their audio engine so there's hope that others will put it to use in the future.

Audio Game Hub is another recent development worth checking out. You get 8 audio games in the app and they've just done a Kickstarter to fund games for PC Mac and iOS now being worked on. The first appearance after this Kickstarter was a game simulating Cricket as played by blind people called Blind Cricket.

Advanced Games:

For people wanting a stiffer gaming challenge including more of a need to use Voiceover's review capabilitys, typing or dictation practice, there's Frotz. This interpreter lets you download and play stories like the old Infocom adventure games such as Zork. There are hundreds of free games you can get from the interactive fiction database. Should you have copies of Infocom game files, you can actually transfer those to the Frotz app and play them. The app fully supports Voiceover which means you can play text games using a Braille display if you have one. Also, you can dictate your commands using the "dicatate" button fond near the space bar on the virtual keyboard. Double-tap on the "input command" found at the bottom of story text. The virtual keyboard should appear including the "dictate" button. Try typing "help" if you're stuck. After typing or dictating a command, find and use the "return" key. You may also use a Buetooth keyboard to type in commands that way.

King of Dragon Pass is a complex combination of choose your own adventure meets rpg and strategy simulation. The controls are quite simple. The game is fully accessible with Voiceover. Actually winning is very hard and starting again means a whole different set of circumstances and outcomes. You need to be competent with Voiceover to play this game at a reasonable pace but the game waits for your move and never rushes you. Great for taking out when briefly unoccupied and making a move or two.

A Dark Room: Elements of the experience are timed. It is a text game with statistics, resource management, a map, and other complexities but the author has made certain that it's all fully accessible through Voiceover. After being made aware of interest from blind players, he has become a strong advocate for making games accessible where it's possible to do so. He built an alternative ending section of his game so blind people could complete it.

Hanging with Friends: This game by Zinga is less popular than it used to be. It's a form of competitive Hang Invisible Puzzle: MIT wanted to study possibilities of audio interfaces and put out this collection of audio puzzles where you need to draw shapes on your device. An economical way to provide fun and help research audio interface possibilities.

man played with your friends or other gamers. The developers have made the app accessible to blind players. It's turn-based so there's no rush. Not all games by Zinga are accessible but they are at least aware of blind players and will accommodate where possible.

Theta Poker: This is a very popular single-player Poker game pitting you against artificial intelligence said to be the best available on iOS. Other players are simulated and you can play through a whole simulated career of a professional Poker player. The developers have gone to extensive lengths to make this game fully accessible through Voiceover.

Audio Game Hub: This team of a game developer and two universities have formed a group to produce high quality audio games and just completed a successful Kickstartercampaign to fund their next efforts. Their 8 initial audio games include a version of Tetris and are free from the app store. They're working on an audio action role-playing game called Whispering Tunnels.

Going to the App Store

ON this week's segment, I discussed the app store. This is an absolutely crutial area to be familiar with if you want to make optimum use of your iOS device. It is where you can find and obtain software that lets your iPHONE, iPAD or iPOD do an incredible array of things. There are a mind-boggling number of apps. Hundreds of thousands of them. Many of these are accessible to blind people since they support Voiceover. These include everything from ebook or print reading apps to cooking recipe apps to games to word processors to item identification and GPS apps. As an owner of one of these devices, you do yourself a criminal disservice if you fail to take advantage of the app store and limit yourself to the small collection of apps which come installed on your device. I cringe when I hear about people who are so afraid of shopping online that they fail to even create an Apple ID or get set up to make purchases. It would be like moving into a large house or apartment and then, for fear of being robbed, failing to furnish it living in just the bathroom. It's very much worth your while to explore the appstore and see if there's an app which will help you do something more easily or entertain you.

Be aware that not all apps are accessible. These devices are designed primarily for people who have sight. Hence their flat screens. The vast majority of games and other apps really require eye sight to use. However, when you're dealing with hundreds of thousands of apps, even having only ten percent of apps fully accessible still makes for something on the order of thirty thousand useable pieces of software. I'm a pretty heavy computer user but I don't believe I've ever heard of anybody owning anywhere near that many programs. I have around two to three hundred apps with around eighty of them being accessible games.

Due to the high likelyhood of finding an inaccessible app, I always recommend that blind users try to learn about it before purchasing it. Read reviews of the app as well as its description. If you come across a mention that an app supports Voiceover, it's at least going to be useable for you. Before spending money on an app, it's a good idea to see if there's and entry about it in the app directories at:

www.applevis.com

This web site has become the best place to go for guidance and information especially for blind people making use of Apple products. It's well worth checking out thoroughly. In particular, there are directories with descriptions and reviews of apps. You will also find podcasts which demonstrate apps in audio form so you can hear what it's like to use them. Do your homework and you'll avoid disappointment.

There are five main areas of the appstore each having a tab across the bottom of the app to help you get there quickly. From left to right, these areas are:

"Featured": This is where Apple directs your attention to apps, categories of apps or new arrivals in the appstore. Keep a lookout for the free app of the week. These are occasionally accessible to blind users. It's an interesting area to browse but you're relatively unlikely to discover apps which are accessible. You'll also find buttons to send and redeem gift cards. You can do both quite accessibly. This is very useful especially if you get iTUNES gift cards or want to give email gift cards to people. It is also quite possible to give specific apps as gifts.

"Categories": Double-tap on this tab to explore the available apps by categories. These can go many levels deep. To back out of an app description or level onto the prior one, use the "back" button found at the top left of the screen. That "back" button is ubiquitous throughout apps and areas of iOS. The array of categories makes it possible to poke around and see if there might be an app suitable to your needs. Within categories, there are subcategories. Also, you'll find recommendations of popular apps or editor's picks which may help steer you towards some of the better apps. Everyonce in a while, I'll look into various categories of interest to see if anything nifty has popped up.

"Top Charts": Here, you can find out what the most popular paid, free and top grocing apps are. Note the "category" button near the top left. It lets you find out what the most popular apps are within a given category. This area gives you an idea of what everyone uses their devices for these days. Increasingly, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that apps which are accessible to blind people actually end up on these top charts. Apps that are useful to me are some of the most popular for everyone. It makes me feel welcome in this new world. It's a very refreshing change of experience after decades of using specialised software nobody outside the blindness accessibility community has heard of. Apple has lowered the barriers to making apps which are accesible and more developers are taking notice.

"Search": This area lets you search for specific apps by the app's title, keywords or the name of the developer. Just type it in the search field found near the top left. Flick right through the results until you come to one that interests you and double-tap it to be taken to the app's entry. In my experience, this is the most frequent area I use to track down and purchase apps. Typically, I'll hear about an accessible app from a happy customer or read about it on Applevis. This happens more often as you become connected to a wider community of blind users. Word of accesible apps travels very fast once they're announced or discovered. Type the name of that nifty new app into the search field and double-tap on its title in the search results. You can then read about it in the app entry and decide whether to get it. If the app is free, there will be a "get" button. Otherwise the button will state the app's price.

"Updates": This important section lets you learn about and obtain any updates made to apps you have purchased. There is a handy "update all" button near the top left. Also, the "Purchased" button lets you look through any apps you have ever purchased even if they aren't on your device any longer. Some apps might eventually be made more accessible and this is how you easilly get them back onto your device. You never have to purchase anything more than once as long as you remember your apple ID and password. Those pieces of information are the keys to your kingdom and the ability to purchase new apps. Remember them always. It's better to have a password you will remember than one that nobosy including you has a hope of remembering or guessing.

To purchase an app, double-tap on its title to enter its space in the appstore. There, you'll find description, reviews, screenchots and perhaps a video demonstrating the app. There is also a "get" button if the app is free or else a button with the price of the app. Double-tap this to begin the purchase process. You'll then need to confirm your identity via Touch ID or via apple ID and password to complete the purchase. Even free apps must be authorised in similar fashion. The app will then download immediately and appear on your homescreen.

You will also want to go into the Settings app and into the "iTUNES and App stores" settings. There, you can make decisions on how you want to identify yourself and other choices related to the experience of shopping in Apple's ecosystem. For instance, you might decide to not require your password to be entered when acquiring fre apps. You can choose to enable Touch ID which means that you can use your fingerprint rather than entering your password in order to make purchases.

Your device can either be an occasionally used expensive paperweight or it can grow into the most handy and affordable piece of accessible technology you've ever owned. After five years of use, I've reached the point where I've found the best apps to do all manner of things. I don't even carry a laptop anymore when I travel. I simply take a small bag of accessories and my iPHONE. The heaviest thing in the bag is a battery which could recharge my gear many times over and keep me going for around a week if necessary. I have reached this point through learning about and acquiring apps. These are typically far cheeper than similar software on my Windows laptop. Combine that with stupendously useful stuff like KNFB Reader for reading print and BlindSquare for getting around, and you begin to see the possibilities for people on lower incomes. It simply doesn't get more portable, affordable and powerful.

Another thing which the appstore makes easier is contacting the developers of apps. As people gain confidence in using Voiceover, they may start experimenting with buying apps which sound like they should be accessible. This is how many happy discoveries of apps which are quite accidentally useable or nearly useable by blind people have been made. In many cases, developers simply need to be contacted and made aware of the need or desire for their app to be made accessible and they'll find a way to do it. King of Dragon Pass is a splendid example of how this can happen. Sadly, other lesss complex games which could have been accessible are not since their developers were unaware of the potential market of blind users. Be polite and make your case. You might just do a big favour for many hundreds of thousands of people.

Kelly and Company Segment 5: Podcasts

Feeling penny-pinched and short on audio entertainment? Ever wish you could have a constantly renewing fountain of interesting stuff to listen to on your iOS device? You absolutely can. The only things it may cost you are storage space on your device and the data used to download episodes. I've enjoyed podcasts for years and have made some fabulous discoveries. They're great for when you don't really want to dig into a book or can't afford to. I download a bunch before a trip so I have lots to listen to.

I've often been surprised at just how much excellent listening gets put out there and completely escapes public notice. One show which attempts to rectify this is Podcast Playlist. Each episode features a number of different podcasts connected by a common theme. The hosts of that show have introduced me to many new favorites. The show itself is also a podcast. Check out a few episodes and get a better idea of what's out there for your listening pleasure. It can be found on CBC Radio or online at:

www.cbc.ca/podcastplaylist

There's no regulation when it comes to podcasts. Anything goes. Ordinary people can just decide to record podcasts on their computer or smartphone and stick them out there through a podcast hosting company. Some popular podcasts are sponsored or produced by companies as advertising vehicles. It's a very diverse and wide world to explore. Gifted amateurs often attract audiences as large or larger than corporate produced efforts.

To listen to podcasts, you need a podcasts player. There are many good ones in the appstore. Three very popular ones are:

Podcasts: This app is made by Apple. It is available free from the appstore. There are no ads or in-app purchases. It's a very bare bones uncluttered experience. A very good choice for absolute beginners still struggling to get used to operating their iOS devices. There are tabs across the bottom. My Podcasts is on the far left and where you'll find any podcasts you've subscribed to. The "Featured", "Top Charts", and "Search" tabs make it easy to find podcasts you're interested in. There are settings for this app but you need to go into the iOS Settings area and find the Podcasts settings. If space is tight, you can tell the app not to automatically download new episodes so that they won't fill your device storage. Episodes can then be streamed over Wi-Fi or cellular data.

Overcast: This app is very popular and offers more advanced features including speed control and an option called voice boost which clarifies speech. It is free from the appstore but is ad supported. A premium subscription can be paid for which gives additional features and keeps the ads away. Even without paying for this, Overcast is an excellent podcast player. Just be familiar enough with navigating around using Voiceover so the ads don't trip you up. It's not rocket science and you get a far more flexible and powerful podcast player for your troubles.

Downcast: This is my favorite. It costs $3.99 in the appstore. You get everything for that low one-time fee. No ads to worry about. A very rich set of features including the ability to import podcast lists. Look in the "More" tab, you'll find settings, tools, all sorts of help, and other options. Go to the "add" tab to search for and add podcasts. For the most part, I find things are explained quite well in context. Learning what options are available is straight-forward.

All three of these apps are fully accessible to Voiceover users. There are more options out there in the appstore. A new one called Youcast is starting to make waves. Nothing says you can't have more than one podcast player. Just keep in mind that each of them might download any podcasts you subscribed to unless you change the settings for the app so that it doesn't download anything automatically. I use Downcast for my podcast listening needs but also preferred Overcastfor a while before they went heavier on the ads. Each podcast player will have its own approach to things like displaying new podcasts, managing downloads, etc. Find what works best for you.

All podcast player apps will have facilities for finding podcasts. In Downcast, go into the "add" tab. There, you'll find the ability to search for a podcast you might know the name of. You will also find directories of popular podcasts which you can browse and subscribe to any podcasts which interest you. Once you do that, you will be informed of any new episodes of that podcasts. They apps will typically default to the behaviour of downloading the new episodes automatically. If you subscribe to a lot of podcasts, this isn't such a good thing. I have Downcast set to mark all new episodes for streaming. I then simply browse through them and convert the one's I'm interested in to downloads. These are added to my download queue. I then have my settings such that I need to enable the download queue for the episodes tow download. That way, I don't need to have several gigabytes set aside for podcasts I don't end up listening to. Most podcast players have setting to automatically delete older episodes so your device doesn't get filled to the brim.

There's so much good audio made available in podcast form that it boggles the brain. I'll never run out of new ones to try. Much like beer in that regard. There are only so many hours to listen in a day though. I subscribe to around 100 podcasts and will comb through new episodes when I want something interesting to hear. Other people simply subscribe to a low enough number of podcasts that they can listen in order or make playlists to hear and keep up with them all. They're all free for the taking.

To help you get started, I've listed some podcasts below which I quite like. Just type the name of the podcast into the search field of your podcast app of choice and you should be able to subscribe and tune in. As new episodes get released, your podcast player can keep you informed. Take the time to learn options and settings the available in the app you've chosen. The time spent pays off as your lisetning priorities and circumstances change. Some great podcasts to start with are:

The Dinner Party Download: A fun informative podcast modeled on the structure of a dinner party. Jokes, etiquette tips, interesting guests, etc. They once had the actors who played Geordy from Star Trek TNG and Gandalf from the LOTR movies as guests. Awesome!!!

Spark: This CBC radio show, like many others, is also available in podcast form. Spark discusses technology and how it efects society. It has been on air for around a decade and has maintained a very high standard of quality. If you want to understand technology and how it might impact your life, tune into this one.

Snap Judgement: Glynn Washington and crew provide thematically linked interesting stories both real and fictional. They've kept the podcast going for around 7 years and there are hundreds of hours of well-produced and curated stories. They have some great special episodes including Spook specials around Halloween and other holiday specials. Shows have a theme which links the stories they contain.

The Applevis Podcast: This branch of the Applevis web site and community offers audio demonstrations and tutorials produced by community members for blind users of Apple products. Stay up to date with this podcasts and you'll be well informed about accessible apps and know how to get the most from your Apple gear. This can be very useful and motivating for beginners who may find navigating web sites and documents to be harder as they get used to Voiceover.

The Overnightscape: A favorite of mine, you just never know what Frank will get into. Frank Edward Nora records his thoughts on all sorts of pop culture and other aspects of life while travelling through New York or other places. Lots of things are described as he encounters them. He sometimes meets up with friends and family who join in the adventure. At the end of episodes is a section called The Other Side where you'll find independentmusic or publically available sounds from the present and past. A most interesting listening experience. Be aware that this podcast is relatively large and usually spans around two hours per episode.

Good Job Brain: A show for trivia buffs where a group of friends dig into all things fascinating. These friends get together each week for pub trivia and have kept the podcast going past 198 episodes.