Accessibility

Fred called in to say that there's a new wireless microphone for the hard of hearing, which can connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth and Quatro hearing aids so that those with trouble hearing can participate in group conversations. Leo says that's a great feature. Leo loves that the modern hearing aids can interact with your mobile phones in order to listen better.  Check them out here - https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/bluetooth-hearing-aids.

William is blind and uses a screen reader for his computing, He uses JAWS, but has also used NDVA. But he's having issues subscribing to TWIT's audio feed. Leo says that he'll have his web guy fix the header levels for subscribing.

Mark's mom has macular degeneration and can't read her email. What can she get to read her email for her? Leo says that Windows does have text to speech (TTS) built-in, so he can try that. Microsoft Outlook also has voice commands. Leo usually recommends contacting the local Foundation for the Blind. Maybe they can set her up with a JAWS screen reader. He could also try a web-based solution through an email provider. They may have accessibility features like using Google Text to Speech.

Howard's wife has severe neuropathy and needs a way to use her iPhone without touching the screen. Leo says that the iPhone has some of the best Accessibility features, so using SIRI and voice activation could be the best bet. But Bixby in the latest Android phones is better at voice control. Go into the iPhone's settings under Accessibility and see what's available. She can call Apple and see what they can do because they have great Accessibility support. In iOS12, there are also SIRI Shortcuts, which enables users to use verbal cues to run shortcuts. 

Julian is a blind accessibility teacher and he called in to say that Fred isn't really privy to just how powerful the accessibility features are and that he should just be patient to learn every feature.  You also have to retrain your brain to rely on other senses.  He just needs a little help.

Fred wants to know why Apple hates the blind. Leo says that Apple doesn't. In fact, they lead the accessibility field with their accessibility in mobile devices. But Fred says that for him, most of those features are worthless. But Leo says that he knows many blind people who love the features in the iPhone, even though touch screen functions are a challenge. Steve Wonder uses his mobile phone with a braille screenwriter by Human Wear. Leo says it's great technology.

Dustin's mom has limited vision and he got her a Motorola Moto G6 smartphone with apps that can help her read the screen. But she's having trouble answering the phone. Is there a solution that will allow her to simply touch to answer? Leo says that there's a setting in Samsung phones to select any key to answer the phone. There's even an auto-answer option, though Leo's not sure if Moto supports it. Jitterbug's Flip Phone is really easy to use.

John recently got a pair of Unitron hearing aids but he can't take phone calls with them. Leo says that's a limitation of the hearing aids, which may not be A2DP compatible. But the problem is his new Samsung Galaxy S10e mutes intermittently. Leo says to try un-pairing, and then re-pairing. Leo also says this has been a known issue with Samsung phones over time. There's a feature called "Easy Mute" that will need to be disabled, and It's in the settings.

Laura is vision impaired and uses Google's screen reader on her browser and a recent update to Chrome has broken it. But there doesn't seem to be a legacy version of Chrome. What can she do? Leo says that with the latest version of Chrome, she needs to install the ZoomText extension and install it. She can download it here.

Mike got an iPhone from his daughter and wants to know how to use it. Leo says that the first thing he needs to do is remove it from Find my iPhone (using her iCloud password), then wipe it. Once that's done, he can reset the iPhone and insert a new SIM. Here's how - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201252