Blind Bargains Audio: Featuring the BB Qast, Technology news, Interviews, and more

In July 2019, Joe caught up with Kimberly Cline at her LVI America debut In Las Vegas to talk about her excitement for future Video Magnifier products. And that enthusiasm is echoed by Charlie Collins, Director of Sales, when he speaks to Shelly about the new MacViewer device. The pair talk about the specs of the unit, discuss the new improved toolbar experience before noting that the Video Magnifier is also available for Chrome OS and Pcs as well. If you would like to know more about the products mentioned in this interview, visit the LVI America website

The team at AIRA started off 2020 with the recent news surrounding a change in ownership and the sunsetting of the Horizon product. J.J. caught up with Troy Otillio, CEO of AIRA, outside the Exhibit Hall floor to discuss several topics regarding the service. Listen in, or read the transcript below, as the pair talk about the future of AIRA and answer some of the questions sent into us by our Twitter followers. To stay up to date with the goings on at AIRA, or to sign up for the service, visit the company's website

Shelly found the Golden Chorale buffet booth of Video Magnifiers in the CSUN Exhibit Hall. And Jeff Gardner, CEO of Irie-AT, goes through the serving line with her pointing out all the good stuff from their new friends at Clover. There is a myriad of display sizes for that finicky reader in your life. But don't fill up on reading devices as the company has many more categories of Assistive Technology available on their website

There sure are a lot of ways you can read your DAISY formatted materials these days. However, for some, many common options may be too complicated to learn or use effectively. That's why the ability to use a Digital Assistant could aid many when it comes to reading books and newspapers. J.J. spoke with Daniel Ainasoja, Sales Manager for pratsam, about their new Smart Speaker Service being shown publicly for the first time at CSUN. The interview contains a demo using a Google Home, but the new service is also available on Android, iOS, Windows and the web. Ideally this technology is good for those schools and libraries that are looking to provide their content to others without having to develop their own distribution apps. Moreover, some private companies may find the delivery system a good fit for their content as well. To learn more about the Smart Speaker Service, visit the pratsam website

The Optelec Compact brand has come a long way from its flip out handle days of a decade ago or its original touch screen display option. Shelly got a chance to view the newest iteration and get a guided tour of the units features with vispero's Educational Specialist Michael Wood. The pair cover the differences between Easy and Advanced Modes, they discuss the Speech features as well as the OCR functionality of the new 10 inch display model. To learn more about this specific unit, and the two configurations offered, visit the Optelec Compact 10 HD website

J.J. becomes the Keymaster in this interview. Okay, "Ghostbusters" movie references aside, J.J. did find that some retro names in A.T. have been updated in some cool new ways. He spoke to Jarek Urbanski, CEO of Harpo, about the soon to be released Mountbatten Tutor and gets an overview of the device's menus and feature set. And if that wasn't old school enough, the duo discuss the return of the Jot a Dot. For those listening to the audio, and not reading the transcript below, J.J. did capture the sounds of both on the quieter than normal CSUN Exhibit Hall floor. To learn more about these products, including the BraillePen Slim, visit the Harpo website

We've interviewed makers of Smart Cane tech before on Blind Bargains, however, not many of those previous interviewees were featured in Time Magazine for tech innovation. That's why Shelly caught up with Kursat Ceylan, Cofounder of WeWalk, to discuss what sets this approach apart from others. Tune in, or read below, to find out more about the companion app and features for this mobility aid. Have you ever needed a light for night travel or a "find my cane" option? This just might be the ideal travel item for you. To learn more, or purchase the cane, visit the company's website

Visual Interpreter services are one way to gain access to meetings and notes. But the ability to work with a service that might better understand your specific field of study might just give you the edge over a broader all-purpose option. J.J. spoke with Daniel Goerz, CEO of Note Taking Express, about their notetaking platform and service in order to learn more about what sets this solution apart from others we ve covered on the BBQ podcast. Read below, or tune into the audio from the CSUN Exhibit Hall floor, for a description of the service and how it can take audio/video from recorded media into a service beyond basic transcription. If you would like to know more about the platform, visit the Note Taking Express website

Last month David Bradburn, President of Zoomax USA, shared at ATIA a sneak peek of a new product that would make its debut in Anaheim. Shelly caught up with David on the CSUN Exhibit Hall floor to learn more about the new member of the Acesight family and gets a tour of the controls, the specs and who might best find the VR approach most helpful for accomplishing common reading tasks. To learn more about the Acesight family of products, or to find your nearest Dealer, visit the Zoomax website

Last summer Lisa spoke to Venkatesh Chari, CEO and President of Orbit Research, during our ACB interview coverage. That interview noted some welcome changes that had come to the Orbit Reader 20 regarding upgrading the unit from the SD card slot. In November, Orbit Research released a chat app for the deaf-blind. And this month, as the doors opened to the CSUN Exhibit Hall floor, the company announced several new products and an update to the original Orbit Reader. J.J. snuck into that same Exhibit Hall before the crowds arrived in order to talk to Venkatesh about the new products, their pricing and more details about the status of the Graphiti display. To learn more about Orbit Research, or purchase any of the products mentioned in this interview, visit the company's website

We first teased our intent to take a look at the ColorStar during BBQ 188 during our summer convention wrap up show. now, a scant half a year later, the deep dive into the color identifier has arrive. Join Ricky Enger as she demonstrates the color, light and pattern detection modes of the device. Hear the speech of the unit in both the Universal and Artistic settings while Ricky tests them against an actual human's perception under various lighting conditions. And listen in as Ricky discovers what colors her holiday tree is... because that was the time in which this particular portion of the show was recorded. Visit the manual page for the ColorStar to learn more about the specs and more detailed aspects of operation. Or, journey over to the APH page for the ColorStar if you would like to purchase one yourself.

This is going to sound weird, but its our first news show of 2020. And wow do we have some news to talk about. So much news that we needed Scott Davert to sit in with us. He also hangs out with us while we go over the biggest stories that came from our ATIA 2020 coverage last month. Get ready for tech, talk and even a baseball story towards the end.

This week J.J. sits down to talk with the makers of "Blind Love", a new documentary about dating in the modern age. Tune in to hear about the genesis of the documentary, what it was like to catch it on camera and some key details about the film now that it is completed. Tune in to hear stories from the four prospective romancers, and the film's Director, about what it was like to navigate the dating scene.

We noted in our end of year wrap up show that Humanware's convention appearances were very popular with our listeners. Additionally, we noted in that same show, APH had an amazing 2019 with multiple stories working their way into our news lineups. One of those stories outlined that APH would be working on fostering future partnerships for growing their product lines on various platforms. In this interview Andrew Flatres, Braille Product Manager for Humanware, and newly minted APH member Greg Stilson, Director of Product Innovation, sit down with Joe to talk about two new Braille products and one new software announcement. Listen in, or read below, to learn more about the importance of the Educational market and how these new products can provide a solid steppingstone for those needing simple to use devices and software in the classroom environment. To learn more about the new products and partnerships at the American Printing House for the Blind, visit the APH website. And to learn more about the new software mentioned by Andrew, as well as other product news, visit the Humanware website

Orcam has been very busy since we spoke to them last year. The MyEye2 was featured in Time Magazine and the company won a CES 2020 INNOVATION AWARD last month. Joe caught up with Bryan Wolynski Optometrist and Consultant for Professional Relations at Orcam, to talk about all the recent accolades and portfolio expansions. The Orcam Hear listening aid will allow a user to center in on voices in a crowded room forming what Joe called a "Get Smart" "Cone of Silence" between the user and the speaker. The Orcam read is a device for reading disabilities and operates as a handheld pointing device for near distance tasks. Like the MyEye, the unit does not keep anything in memory and is well suited for a classroom setting. Also, a form of interactive reading and assisted guidance are possible new features that could be coming to the MyEye2 later this year. To learn more about any of the products mentioned, visit the Orcam website