AppleVis Podcast

In this podcast, Khalfan gives us a quick look at the recently-released iOS game, Spoken Slots.   Spoken Slots is an audio slot machine game with no graphics. Four buttons (SCORE, BET, SPIN, and HELP) each covering one quarter of the screen control the game’s operation. A background casino sound along with audible game instructions, sounds, payoffs, regular spins, bonus spins, and the reel descriptions simulate an actual casino slot machine.   A physical tilt-to-spin gesture can be turned on and off in the game settings or by double tapping the screen with two fingers. This feature works by tilting your device from the vertical to the horizontal and back again.   Voice recognition can be turned on and off in the game settings or by triple tapping the screen with two fingers. This feature will recognizes the words BET, SCORE, BALANCE, SPIN and HELP.   Spoken Slots is a 99 cents download from the iTunes App Store.

In this podcast, AnonyMouse shows us how to enable and use a feature of iOS that enables you to access Siri without using the Home button. Instead, you simply raise your iPhone to your ear and speak after hearing the Siri tone. He then takes the opportunity to demonstrate a couple of things you can ask Siri which you may not be familiar with.

In this edition of the AppleVis Extra, AnonyMouse and Alex meet with Prabhdeep Gill, co-founder of Umano.   Umano’s vision is to make it easier to get news on the go. Many other news apps might argue that they strive to do the same, but what makes the Umano app different is that it’s content is narrated by real people. This curated content consists of daily headline news and thousands of articles from some of the world’s best publishers and bloggers.   Prabhdeep tells us a little about the history of Umano, how they select and deliver content, and the plans for its future. He also talks about how advocacy resulted in them learning about VoiceOver and led to them working to make the app fully accessible.   Umano: Listen to News Articles for Free is available for download from the iTunes App Store.

In this podcast, David Woodbridge demonstrates how the latest update to the Apple TV software has made it much easier to hide unwanted icons.

In this podcast, David Woodbridge briefly discusses the bug introduced in iOS 7.1 which causes problems for VoiceOver users when trying to use a Bluetooth keyboard. He then describes a temporary workaround which should improve things somewhat until Apple fixes the bug.   This post in the AppleVis forum provides more information on the bug and the workaround: Avoiding BT keyboard issues in iOS 7.1  

In this podcast, David Woodbridge gives us a quick look at some of what is new and changed for blind and low vision users in iOS 7.

In this podcast, Michael Hansen gives us a walk-through of FlightView Elite - Real-Time Flight Tracker for iOS.   FlightView allows you to track upcoming and in-air flights; receive status alerts via push notification; view Arrivals and Departures Boards for top airports; and check gate assignments, delays and cancellations.   FlightView Elite - Real-Time Flight Tracker is a $3.99 download from the iTunes App Store. An ad-supported version of this app is available as a free download.

In this podcast, Christopher follows-on from his previous podcast to take a look at some of the more advanced features of Apple’s iMovie app for iOS. This includes how to trim video clips and edit transitions. iMovie is a free download for anybody who has purchased a new iOS device since September of 2013. Otherwise, it will cost you $4.99.

In this podcast, Izzie G revisits the subject of a previous podcast to gives us an updated demonstration of ECHO - hear to play. In this simple iOS game you use your sense of hearing to detect objects and then tilt your device to navigate past them. The further you progress, the more things speed up and the number of objects increases. ECHO - hear to play is available for 99 cents from the iTunes App Store.

In this podcast, Christopher demonstrates how it is possible for VoiceOver users to edit movies on their iOS device using Apple’s iMovie app. These movies can then be viewed on the iOS device, transferred to a computer, or uploaded to video sharing services such as YouTube.   iMovie is a free download for anybody who has purchased a new iOS device since September of last year. Otherwise, it will cost you $4.99.

In this podcast, Jeffry Miller gives us a quick look at Disk Cleaner Pro, a Mac app that removes unnecessary files to free up hard drive space.   Disk Cleaner Pro can clear: Unused caches Unused logs Old email attachments Old downloaded files Unnecessary foreign languages The Trash Disk Cleaner Pro is a $1.99 download from the Mac App Store.

In this podcast, Chris Judd gives us a demonstration of the official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) iOS app. This app has recently been updated and now includes a new subscription streaming network that offers both a live channel with programming airing throughout the day, as well as on-demand content that users can access anytime they like. The subscription includes over 1,000 hours of on-demand content, including every Pay-Per-View ever aired by the WWE, as well as those held by defunct rival promotions World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. The app also offers news and information from World Wrestling Entertainment. As Chris demonstrates, the app isn't without its issues for VoiceOver users, but it is usable. The WWE app is a free download from the iTunes App Store. The WWE Network costs $9.99 per month and subscriptions are available in six-month blocks.

If you have both an Apple TV and a MacBook, it’s likely that you’ve found the Apple TV’s remote was automatically paired with your MacBook. This can have frustrating consequences if you are trying to use the Apple TV whilst your MacBook is nearby - for example, you might find your MacBook suddenly starts playing music from your iTunes library. Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way to prevent this from happening, and David Woodbridge shows us what this is in this podcast.

The iTunes App Store contains a dizzying number of apps which allow you to create or download ringtones for use on your iPhone. What’s not always clear is how you access and use these ringtones.   Fortunately, many of these apps use a similar method, which involves first using iTunes file sharing to copy the ringtone from the app to your computer and then synchronising the ringtone file back to your iPhone.   In this podcast, Cherokee Eagle walks us through this process.

In this podcast, David Woodbridge gives us a demonstration of how to access and use iTunes Radio on an Apple TV. iTunes Radio is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, or Apple TV. It provides access to more than 250 DJ-curated and genre-focused stations - including everything from Hard Rock to Doo Wop. Your stations evolve based on the music you play and download. So the more you use iTunes Radio and iTunes, the more iTunes Radio knows what you like to listen to. All your stations are stored in iCloud, so if you stop playing a station on one device, you can pick it up on another - no syncing required. And no matter what device you listen on, your stations become more personalized with every song you play. It’s also possible to create and customize stations based on whatever you want to hear. iTunes Radio can build stations around artists, songs, or genres you choose. Listening to a song you like from iTunes Radio or your music library? You can have a station built around it, too. iTunes Radio is currently only available in the US and Australia, but is expected to be available in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand soon.