AppleVis Podcast

In this edition of the AppleVis Extra, Scott, Thomas and Michael are joined by Harri Pasanen, the developer of MBraille. MBraille is the latest addition to the growing number of iOS applications which enable the use of Braille directly on the screen of an iDevice. With the free version of this app, you can type, edit and send tweets using contracted or uncontracted English Braille. An in-app purchase adds a number of other features, including the ability to send text messages and email; post updates to Facebook; and search Google. In the Pro version, any text that you enter is automatically placed on the clipboard when you switch to another app, meaning that it can be pasted into other applications. In addition to MBraille, Harri has also developed an accessible game (Robo-E), an accessible timer (VOTimer) and an accessible calculator (VOCalc).

In this podcast, Zachary gives us a walk-through and demonstration of 2 iOS apps from Pzizz: Pzizz sleep claims that it will allow you to get to sleep quicker and sleep deeper. Pzizz energizer claims to boost energy and reduce stress by turning your iDevice into the ultimate power napping machine. This app is designed for short term relaxation i.e. a midday power nap. It has specific instructions designed to wake you up feeling rested and more energized. pzizz sleep is $5.99 pzizz energizer is $5.99 pzizz sleep lite is $1.99 pzizz energizer lite is $1.99

In this podcast, David Woodbridge gives us a walk-through and demonstration of MBraille, a Braille input application for iOS. With the free features you can type, edit and send tweets using contracted or uncontracted English Braille. With an in-app purchase costing $29.99 you can also use Braille to: send text messages send email send Facebook status updates add calendar entries make internet search engine queries the text typed is automatically put to clipboard when you switch apps.

In the seventh of his series of podcasts dedicated to this powerful and feature-packed audio production application, Chris Gilland takes the opportunity to respond to some of the feedback and questions that he has received. Topics covered include the concept of nudging, a demonstration of meters within Pro Tools and showing us how to read them as well as reset them when needed. He discusses why adding compression to a track before reading the meters is a very, very bad idea, and briefly discusses how to correctly go about setting input levels for a vocal track. Chris concludes this podcast with a little surprise for all listeners. Chris is keen to hear from anybody who has questions about what is covered in these podcasts, and asks that you email him if you need any further help or information. You can also telephone him via the number he gives near the end of this podcast. You can learn more about the professional services offered by Chris on the CLG Productions website.

In this podcast, Thomas and Michael are joined by Ilkka Pirttimaa, developer of the popular iOS app, BlindSquare. BlindSquare uses GPS and the compass to locate you and provide you with information about the surrounding environment. The app is aware of when you travel by car, bus or train and starts to report interesting places in front of you (for example, the next stops) and street crossings when you are passing them. By changing the radius, you can limit the area you are interested in. You can also search by search term or by category. You can select an interesting place from the search results and perform the following tasks: Get contact info (address, phone number) Open twitter feed or restaurant menu (if provided) Make a phone call Start tracking the place (BlindSquare will assist you by repeating the distance and the clock face direction) Start your favourite navigator for turn-by-turn instructions (TomTom, Navigon or Apple Maps) Thomas, Michael and Ilkka talk about the history and evolution of BlindSquare, and how it continually adds new features in response to user feedback. There is also some discussion of BS Event, the free Event Edition of BlindSquare. This app will only work at the time and location of different events of special interest to the blind community. However, if you select the demo mode, the app will simulate a location for you and behave as if you were there. This could be interesting for those not able to attend events but interested to get some idea of the venue. Of course, it also allows you to trial some of the BlindSquare features for free.

In the sixth of his series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools for the Mac, Chris Gilland takes us even deeper into this powerful and feature-packed audio production application. He shows us how to navigate around a recording, how to adjust your nudge value, and how to move by the nudge value. He also looks at markers: how to add them and how to edit them. Chris is keen to hear from anybody who has questions about what is covered in these podcasts, and asks that you email him if you need any further help or information. You can also telephone him via the number he gives near the end of this podcast. You can learn more about the professional services offered by Chris on the CLG Productions website.

In the fifth of his series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools for the Mac, Chris Gilland uses this powerful and feature-packed audio production application to add an electric guitar to the instrumental break via the use of XPand2, a plugin which comes with Pro Tools 9.0 and later. Note from Chris: I show you how to put XPand2 on an insert located within an instrument track. This recording also should give you a rude awakening to why you cannot expect a professional artist such as myself to just sit down in the studio and bang out a recording in under an hour. Although it didn't take a lot of effort, you will see that I mess up quite a number of times and had to redo the take again. I was contemplating editing those booboos out, but then I got to thinking it would probably be better actually to leave it, so that you could get a better feel for not only how Pro Tools works but also for how frustrating studio life can sometimes be. You can learn more about the professional services offered by Chris on the CLG Productions website.

In this podcast, Marco unboxes and demonstrates an AUVIO Expandable Bluetooth Speaker. This is a very compact speaker with a built-in rechargeable battery. It is available from Radio Shack for $40.

In this podcast, Zachary gives us a quick look at Infinite Relaxation, an iOS app that claims to reduce stress and increase energy during the day and give you a more restful and refreshing sleep at night. Infinite Relaxation generates a unique audio program for you every time you use the app. Generate a program to fit any timeframe. From a 5 minute stress break during the day to an hour long program last thing at night. Choose the background music that works best for you. Choose to focus on the vocals or the music or a combination of both. Generate a program that will wake you up relaxed and refreshed, or one that helps guide you to into a deep and restful sleep at night. Infinite Relaxation is available from the iTunes App Store for $4.99.

In the fourth of his series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools for the Mac, Chris Gilland uses this powerful and feature-packed audio production application to liven up the vocal track that was created in the previous podcast. Chris shows us how to use a couple of plugins to put on a few inserts - he adds some extremely basic EQ, a little reverb to the vocals to give it a nice kind of wet sound so that it's not so bland/dry, and then cleans up the vocals a bit with some very light to almost none, pitch correction with a 3rd party plugin that does not come preinstalled with Pro Tools. At the very end of this recording, Chris plays back the entire session with his microphone muted, so that you really can get a good feel for what we've done so far in this series. Depending upon the popularity of these podcasts, Chris anticipates covering some very advanced topics as the series progresses. He emphasises that he intends to take it very nice and slow, as there will be a lot to cover in this series.

In the third of what is anticipated to be a fairly lengthy series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools for the Mac, Chris Gilland takes a closer look at tracks in this powerful and feature-packed audio production application that enables you to record, compose, edit, and mix with great speed and ease. Chris shows us the track list and how to play and record tracks.After recording a new vocal track of his own, Chris shows us how to make a few minor tweaks to this. Depending upon the popularity of these podcasts, Chris anticipates covering some very advanced topics as the series progresses. He emphasises that he intends to take it very nice and slow, as there will be a lot to cover in this series.

In this podcast, David Woodbridge gives us a demonstration of Battery Monitor, a Mac application that provides access to just about everything that you could ever want to know about the battery in your MacBook Pro or Air.

In the second of what is anticipated to be a fairly lengthy series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools for the Mac, Chris Gilland takes a closer look at the interface of this powerful and feature-packed audio production application that enables you to record, compose, edit, and mix with great speed and ease. Chris shows us the main mix window, how to toggle between your mix window and your edit window, and gives us a general overview of the main mix interface using a session which was created in the first podcast in this series. Depending upon the popularity of these podcasts, Chris anticipates covering some very advanced topics as the series progresses. He emphasises that he intends to take it very nice and slow, as there will be a lot to cover in this series.

In this podcast, Chris Gilland introduces us to Pro Tools for the Mac, a powerful and feature-packed audio production application that enables you to record, compose, edit, and mix with great speed and ease. In the first of what is anticipated to be a fairly lengthy series of podcasts dedicated to Pro Tools, Chris gives some general background on the application's growth as far as accessibility is concerned from a Voiceover standpoint, and then concludes by showing us how to create an empty blank session. Depending upon the popularity of these podcasts, Chris anticipates covering some very advanced topics as the series progresses. He emphasises that he intends to take it very nice and slow, as there will be a lot to cover in this series.

In this podcast, Edgar gives us a demonstration of Auto-Tune Star, an iOS app that allows you to sing like a star … albeit a star who doesn't have a very good singing voice, so has to use Auto-Tuning to make it sound better! The app offers 2 modes - with the first you make your recording and then add the Auto-Tuning effects, in the second these are added in real-time as you sing. Auto-Tune Star is available for $1.99 from the iTunes App Store