Internet and Web

Brian's email has been down for a week, and he's looking to make a change to Gmail. Leo says that's exactly what Brian should do. It's free, and you can set it up to go get your email from your other email server. Your local ISP email is almost always terrible, so go with Gmail.

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.

Sharon has a problem listening to streaming audio and video at home and suddenly, the stream stops for 30 seconds and then comes back on. What's going on? Leo says that's usually a buffering issue. If the internet connection drops out or isn't keeping up, then users get buffering. The internet wasn't really designed for heavy streaming and as such, buffering can occur when the stream needs to catch up. But it's gradually becoming a thing of the past. But another issue is that if she is signed up with DSL, she may be too far away from the central hub and that's causing the buffering.

Neal has a cheap Samsung laser printer that he used wirelessly connected to his ASUS router. But it would only work in the less secure WEP. He would disconnect it when he didn't use it. But now, he's picked up an Eero Mesh router and it doesn't support WEP. It's configurable through an internet interface, but how does he do that?  Leo says that to connect, just enter the IP address in the browser in the desktop. Even an iPad will be able to do it. Then he should be able to connect to it and enter the wifi access point, name, and password. It should then open up the printer interface.