iOS 15 has been out for a little while now, but I don’t have it on either of my devices. I almost never upgrade to the newest major releases right away. There are a couple of reasons for this. The main one is accessibility. There is inevitably something or other that is going to get …
Category Archives: gadgets
I Like You’re Idea, but I’m Monervous About Some Things
So apparently in addition to JAWS at McDonald’s kiosks, Moneris has built some interesting and pretty helpful stuff into their terminals. Cool…I think. I just have a couple of questions from a blind guy’s perspective. I’m sure the low vision stuff like inverting colours or brightening or adjusting the font is helpful out of the …
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Did Somebody Say McJAWS?
Restaurant installs technology for blind and vision impaired customers More kiosks that usefully speak are always welcome, but I do have to wonder what’s going to happen to things like this or the talking bank machines now that smartphone makers are doing their damnedest to kill off traditional wired headphones. I can’t speak for anyone …
Lou Ottens Twisted Up And Eaten At 94
Say what you want about cassettes. They’re easy to destroy. They don’t sound so hot once they start to wear. But for my money, there has never been a format that made audio more universally accessible. You could take your music anywhere, and you could capture anything you wanted quickly and with ease just by …
I Scream, You Scream, Let’s All Scream About This Unnecessary Ice Cream Machine
And now, some more innovation I can’t imagine anyone asked for. Meet the ColdSnap, a machine that will transform pods made of lord only knows what (they don’t even need to be refrigerated) into ice cream in a minute and a half. I have so many questions. Mainly, why? Why do I need or want …
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Can I Get Me A Beer?
99 Bottles Of Beer On The Touch Screen: The Spread Of Self-Serve Taps As a blind person, I really hate this idea and hope it doesn’t find its way to Canada assuming it hasn’t already. Touchscreens are pretty much the bane of my existence. The damn things keep popping up in more and more places …
I Know You’re A Phone, But…
Hi there, Apple. Me again. I know you haven’t fixed that speakerphone thing for me yet, but I’m going to lay another longstanding gripe on you if that’s alright. Can we please have a feature that makes the phone treat the phone part of itself as a background app instead of always taking focus from …
The Coat May Not Be Fleeced, But You Will Be
I realize I’ve asked this a thousand times, but why does everything need technology in it? Why, for instance, do jackets now require batteries to power their built-in heating systems? Isn’t the coat combined with your own body supposed to be the heating system? I just get so furious when I read things like this. …
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Don’t Forget The Dolly. I Want To Bring The Portable TV Along
For the low low price of $250 in 1959 money (around $2200 today) plus another $5.25 ($47 now) for the rechargeable battery, you too can own your very own battery powered television. Imagine being able to watch your favourite programs on a plane or train. It’s as handy as a camera. It only weighs 15 …
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Alexa, Send The Time Machine To 1988
Wow, 80s Alexa has come along way since the last time we checked in on her. This Amazon thing might make a few bucks one day. I feel like I’ve said this before with these videos, but that electronic voice is hideous. Yes, I’m aware that this is intentional. It just sticks out to me …
