Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, September 18, 2014 - Volume 475
The Week's News in Access Technology

A Flying Blind, LLC Publication
http://www.flying-blind.com/

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Greetings,

1) I'm writing this on the day of the release of iOS8, the new operating system for i-devices. There is a wealth of information about the many new features and the various bugs. Here is a long review unrelated to accessibility:
http://www.imore.com/ios-8-review

A good perusal of the AppleVis site will also reveal a wealth of material on the above topic. Here are a few items:

2A) A Frequently Answered Questions Document About Upgrading:
http://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-news/ios-8-frequently-asked-questions

2B) What's New in iOS 8 Accessibility for Blind, Low-Vision, and Deaf-Blind Users:
http://www.applevis.com/blog/advocacy-apple-assistive-technology-braille-ios-news/what%E2%80%99s-new-ios-8-accessibility-blind-low

2C) Braille Moves Forward in iOS 8:
https://nfb.org/blog/atblog/braille-moves-forward-ios-8

2D) Accessibility Bugs in iOS 8: From Serious To Minor:
http://www.applevis.com/blog/advocacy-apple-braille-ios-news/accessibility-bugs-ios-8-serious-minor

The AppleVis team members were involved in testing the new operating system, and prepared podcasts so that they would be ready to release when the OS was made public.

3A) Exploring Some Of The New Features In iOS 8:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/exploring-some-new-features-ios-8

3B) Exploring Some Of The New And Changed Accessibility Features In iOS 8:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/exploring-some-new-and-changed-accessibility-features-ios-8

3C) What's New And Changed In iOS 8 For Users Of Braille Displays:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/what%E2%80%99s-new-and-changed-ios-8-users-braille-displays

3D) New In iOS 8: Braille Screen Input:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/new-ios-8-braille-screen-input

3E) New In iOS 8: The Alex TTS Voice Now Available On Selected Devices:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/new-ios-8-alex-tts-voice-now-available-selected-devices

Finally, here are a couple reviews of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are gradually becoming available throughout much of the world.

4A) Using The iPhone 6 And 6 Plus On A Real Disneyland Trip:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/17/life-is-tough/

4B) Apple iPhone 6: The Review
http://mashable.com/2014/09/16/apple-iphone-6-review/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

5) Not surprisingly, you can learn all about iOS8 on Tek Talk on GMT Tuesday 22 September at 00:00:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2

6) Here is a fun post: How VoiceOver saved an iPhone:
http://markusboettner.net/2014/09/16/how-voiceover-saved-an-iphone/

7) The National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc., a division of the National Federation of the Blind, has release the NAGDU Guide & Service Dog Advocacy & Information app. This new iOS app provides comprehensive information about the rights and responsibilities of service animal users under state and federal law:
https://appsto.re/us/F8jO2.i

8A) Moving away from iOS, The HowToGeek explains "Why You Don't Need an Expensive Smartphone Anymore":
http://www.howtogeek.com/196500/why-you-dont-need-an-expensive-smartphone-anymore/

8B) They also tell us, "How to Find Free Wi-Fi Hotspots When Travelling":
http://www.howtogeek.com/196186/how-to-find-free-wi-fi-hotspots-when-travelling/

8C) And, "How to Share Files and Folders From Your Cloud Storage Folder":
http://www.howtogeek.com/196435/how-to-share-files-and-folders-from-your-cloud-storage-folder/

9) EASI offers a free webinar: PDF in the Classroom: The Future of Digital Textbooks, on Tuesday, 23 September at 18:00 GMT:
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm#september

10) The new Ken Burns PBS series, The Roosevelts, not only has Audio Description, but the described versions are on the web!
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365313251/

11) You are encouraged to take the "Microsoft Accessibility Feedback Survey":
https://survey2.securestudies.com/wix/p273342712.aspx

12) The 3MT Reader Android app is a simple, intuitive way for blind users to read epub and txt books:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.allinaccess.epubreader

Finishing up with the rest of the podcasts for the week:

13A) Eyes on Success #1438, "Developing DAISY Standards and Players":
http://www.eyesonsuccess.net

The rest of the non-iOS8-related AppleVis podcasts Are:

13B) Race Your Starship Through the Galaxy with AudioSpeed for iOS:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/race-your-starship-through-galaxy-audiospeed-ios

13C) Grail to the Thief: A New Interactive Audio Adventure for the Mac:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/grail-thief-new-interactive-audio-adventure-mac

13D) Fugoo & The UE Boom: 2 Top Choices for a sub-$200 Bluetooth Speaker:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/fugoo-ue-boom-2-top-choices-sub-200-bluetooth-speaker

13E) Easy File Sharing Between Your Mac and Jailbroken iOS Device Using Netatalk:
http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/easy-file-sharing-between-your-mac-and-jailbroken-ios-device-using-netatalk

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