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 screwed up for people who use Voiceover, and I can’t be having that. I don’t rely on my phone the way a lot of people rely on their phones, but it also doesn’t take much to irritate me or make me lose my everloving mind. So for the sake of my blood vessels and the safety of everyone around me, I try to wait until at least the first followup release before taking the plunge.
The other reason is that I’m one of those people who will often hang on to something until I’m forced to let go of it, so the timing of the big upgrades rarely coincides with me possessing the latest and greatest technology. Right now, for instance, I’m happily running on an iPhone 8 that I got more than three and a half years ago for everyday use and the iPhone 6S I’ve had since 2015 that can barely hold a charge anymore but is still perfectly good for streaming to our bluetooth speaker. So as you can imagine, that sort of setup doesn’t exactly make one eager to jump into a brand new operating system right away even if technically one can. Apple usually does a pretty fair job of determining what will work on an older model and what won’t, but they don’t always get it right for everyone. And when they get it wrong, it can be pretty bloody. In a matter of hours you can go from everything working just fine to how soon can I make a trip to the god damn store?
The problem with my way of doing things is that whenever Apple releases new features, they also include security patches at the same time. That’s great if you’re wanting to upgrade everything right now, but not so fun if you’re me. But according to this and to the gander I just took at my phone to verify it, that’s no longer the case, which is pretty sweet.
With iOS 15, though, Apple is finally untethering security updates from feature updates. That allows you to stay on your current version of iOS without sacrificing your iPhone’s security, a win-win for everybody (besides hackers, I guess).
When iOS 15 is available on your device, you can go to Settings > General > Software Update. If you’re running the latest version of iOS 14, you’ll see that version listed in the middle of the screen; if a new security update is available in the future, you’ll be able to install that without installing the latest version of iOS 15.
Of course, any time you want to jump onto the latest version of iOS, you can. That option, “Upgrade to iOS 15,” now appears at the bottom of this screen, under Also Available.
Terrible treatment
Sadly we have morphed into a form of caste system in this country. The privileged that are “vaxxed” and the rabble that are not. In all my years living in this nation, I have never witnessed such venom coming from members of the public, politicians, pundits and, of course, social media. These folks are banned from restaurants, bars, gyms and other venues, and next they will not be able to go to grocery stores and will be forced to shop at outdoor markets, possibly begging for food in the winter months. Look for them not to be able to have repair people visit their abodes because they did not get the miracle jab.
Sounds far-fetched? It is already happening and the way these folks are being treated is absolutely shameful.
Stephen Flanaghan,
Ottawa
I’m not sure where any of this is already happening, but I’ll humour you since you seem so upset and I just hate to see that. I won’t even do the thing where I remind you that if a repairman doesn’t want to come into your house it’s his personal choice, because now is simply not the time for that.
But I will reassure you, friend. You have no need to worry about how you’ll get groceries. That’s all taken care of. The hospital will feed you for free. They’ve done it for years. And just think. If you die, you won’t have to worry about shopping at all! Problem solved!
Good chat, little buddy. Sleep tight. Feel better. That’s right. Uncle Steve is always here to help.
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 box, and that’s awesome.
First, how the heck do you know if the terminal has accessibility features on it? I know, there’s an accessibility icon. But if I don’t see it, and my helpful sales clerk has no idea what that A with a circle means and more importantly, just wants to push me through the process of paying, and isn’t even listening to what I’m asking, then how will I know this thing has accessibility features?
I guess a more important question is what happens if I push 5 on a non-accessibility-enabled Monaeris terminal, or any terminal for that matter? After all, I have no idea who made this thing that goes “beebeebooboop ching” that has been placed in front of me. Will anything bad happen? Sometimes keys have different functions depending on what screen you’re on.
Finally, Miss helpful video person, why didn’t you complete a purchase with a pin? This thing had better not speak my pin aloud since it sounds like it’s broadcasting its voice to the world. For the most part, that’s fine, but…they just finished telling me I have privacy over my pin because I don’t have to give it to anyone. If this thing just blasts it to everyone, uh-oh.
On the good side, I do like generally how easy it is to activate the accessibility features once you know they’re there…assuming that keypad has tactile buttons. Please say it does. Pleasepleaseplease. Otherwise I might cry, because without tactile buttons, I have no idea how to find the 5 that I have to push to start the audio prompts…so…it would be rendered useless. But I’m sure they’ve thought about this. I just can’t be positive. Don’t tell me CNIB will guarantee that won’t happen. CNIB isn’t building this stuff, Moneris is. CNIB can tell them there has to be a keypad until they’re blue in the face…but then the software and hardware guys go off and build…and then we find out how many recommendations were taken to heart.
I have seen stuff like that go down. Just go to the Fairway Ion Station and try and use their supposed accessible machines. When I last saw them, they had Braille all over them, and an audio jack, but the audio jack did nothing and the operation of the device required use of a touchscreen. But they cry out from the rooftops that they built them accessibly. And they will stay this way until they all break down because it’s hard to replace equipment, you know.
But back to our buddies at Moneris. To increase discoverability of accessibility features, why not put a tactile symbol on the outside of the terminal beyond the screen that I can feel for? It could be a raised A with a Braille A beside it. It doesn’t have to be monolithic. Then put out videos telling me where I can locate this symbol. That way, I’m not touching the touchscreen and setting all sorts of unintended things off by accident by searching for the tactile marker. I’m also not relying on the clerk knowing what I’m asking about.
If you don’t believe me about people’s lack of knowledge about accessibility features, go into RBC, TD or BMO and ask a random teller if their ATM’s have accessibility features. Unless things have declined, they do. Or jump into a Waterloo Taxi or City Cab and ask the cabby if their terminal has accessibility features. At least some cabs have this. Then watch their eyes get big. People don’t know about the capabilities built into this technology, some of them do well to operate the technology in the conventional way. I saw one cabby descend into a trembling heap of terror because I asked to pay with debit. He even ran away when my errand ended quicker than expected and the person in the store tried to ask him if he could take me back home. He said “No!” and ran.
Unfortunately, all the awareness and training in the world isn’t going to kick in unless they have to do it every day. Give the users the power to find the information. That includes consumers who can’t see the A in the circle on the screen.
I also love the ability to receive my receipt electronically. Pretty cool. Sometimes I have to submit a receipt, and there’s nothing more tedious than trying to find the right squished up piece of paper.
I am pretty impressed that this is being built in. I hope it takes off. I just have a couple of questions, that’s all, and if the answers are less than awesome, I hope there’s time to improve. Sadly, the answers couldn’t be found in this article that’s thin on details from last year. What it is heavy on is barfworthy comments from John Rafferty.
Imagine having to choose to share your PIN with the cashier or with the stranger behind you in line for help, or walk away from buying your groceries,” says John M. Rafferty, President and CEO of CNIB.
I know there are touchscreen devices, but thankfully they’re not everywhere, and there are a few ways you can avoid giving out your pin.
if you’re ok with having a credit card, disable the pin so you can just insert it, hit ok and boop, transaction approved. It doesn’t solve the other issues, but I’m just dealing with the pin example.
If that’s not possible, and you don’t mind having tap, you can do that too up to a certain point.
I know that wouldn’t work if you were buying a TV or something, but the thing is it’s not happening all the time. I can’t think of a single time I’ve yelled my pin out to a cashier or the stranger nearby. But again, if this device announces your pin to the world, then you’ve just told everyone around you. Having not seen a proper demonstration video for these things, I have no idea how it works. But I’m not filled with hope and trust. All it would have taken is someone entering a pin and us hearing four clicks, or whatever privacy measure was put in place.
I did like hearing that Moneris isn’t charging the businesses for their upgrades, but so much was left unanswered by this press release and the video. Please, someone, help.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO—After violating the company’s terms of service with his factually inaccurate message, local man Mitch Pennington, who posted the words “We can all get through this together!” on Facebook, was reportedly kicked off the social media platform Thursday for spreading a Covid-19 hoax. “We have taken immediate action to suspend Mr. Pennington’s account after he knowingly and willfully disseminated misinformation that suggests Americans are capable of joining together to overcome this disease,” said Facebook spokesperson Jessica Brodich, explaining that while the idea of the country cooperating in the face of adversity might seem completely absurd on the surface, the post was apparently believable enough to have been shared widely and was ultimately read by millions.
Yes, I am being harsh. No, I do not care. I’m long past done listening to the personal choice crowd. They are dumb. I know this because not a one of them can explain how allowing a highly contagious yet increasingly preventable disease to mutate into something even worse, filling up hospitals with a group made up almost exclusively of themselves to the point that those needing emergency care, transplants or cancer treatment can’t get the help that they need is a decision that impacts only one person. Their attitude is maddening at the best of times, but it’s even worse when they work in a setting where people who can’t necessarily fend for themselves are depending on them for safety and care.
I have no time for this what am I gonna do next oh god it’s so unfair bellyaching. You made your personal choice, lady. You figure it out. Apparently there are worker shortages everywhere, at least if you listen to some of those whiny business types that nobody wants to be exploited by anymore. Use some of your free time to check into that. You’ll be fine, at least until the COVID fairy comes to visit.
“It’s a lot of pressure, right? Like, to make a personal health choice for yourself and to know that you’re going to be losing your job,” Parsons said.
She noted she’s not against the vaccine and believes it is a personal choice to get it. Despite the consequences, she’s not going to get the vaccine.
“I feel at this time, the vaccine is still at its early stages of research. We don’t know the long-term effects,” Parsons said.
“We, as Canadians, have the right to refuse being part of an experiment. In this particular case, no one would be held liable. So, if we had an adverse reaction, we’re on our own.”
What worries Parsons is how long she’ll be on leave. Unable to collect unemployment, she and her husband may eventually feel the financial strain. She said many other people across the province will be that position as well, including her co-workers.
“I am fearful it will cause distress, increased mental health and suicides rates,” she said.
“We’re more than just replaceable. We take pride in our job. We show up every day. We do what’s best for the residents and just to be kind of thrown out the door in a matter of a short period of time when you spend your whole life there, it’s heartbreaking.”
‘Vaxxed or not vaxxed you are all welcome’: Hundreds of Ontario businesses defy vaccine passport rules
I just about lost my fucking mind reading this. Can we please bugger off with this “education-first approach” shit? These assholes don’t need education. They know exactly what they’re doing. And at this point, who in the actual hell is left to educate? Unless you’ve just returned from Mars or recently awoke from a years long coma, you should know the deal by now. But since we insist on continuing on with this moron mollycoddling charade as if one day it’s just going to magically fucking work, let me take care of it right now.
Here is all you really need to know as a business owner. Not doing your part to work within the system that’s trying to get us through an extremely deadly pandemic without 100% tanking the entire economy isn’t you bravely taking a stand or making a statement about freedom and privacy, it’s you being a fucking dick and prolonging our collective misery. That misery includes yours, in case the words “our collective” don’t make that obvious enough. In fact, it especially includes yours. If we all get locked down again because some idiots don’t think the rules apply to them, I’ll be fine. You won’t. And I don’t want to hear a word out of any of you about it, because we all know who’s to blame.
I know they’ll never do it because it requires the sort of backbone that simply doesn’t exist in politics, but god do I ever wish that the relevant authorities would sit down and go through that BAD directory place by place and fine everybody so hard that we could balance the budget without cutting a single service.
Hundreds of businesses have united in opposition to Ontario’s new vaccine passport rules, openly refusing to check customers’ vaccine receipts despite the threat of penalties from public health officials.
Propelled by a mixture of vaccine skepticism, business decisions and fear of government overreach, these proprietors — ranging from burger joints in Toronto to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class in Thornhill — have formed an extensive and well-documented network of restaurants, gyms, cafes and more where clientele can enter regardless of jab status.
And while Ontario municipalities have already received hundreds of complaints regarding businesses’ enforcement of the new policy since it went into effect last Wednesday, the province says it’s taking an “education-first” approach that encourages businesses to change their policies before issuing fines.
In a Facebook group called “Ontario Businesses Against Health Pass,” which boasts more than 139,000 members, small business owners and entrepreneurs across the province have been promoting their products and decrying the Reopening Ontario Act.
“At King Jiu Jitsu, we do NOT discriminate,” wrote Gregg King, operator of a martial arts class in Thornhill, in the Facebook group. “Vaxxed or not vaxxed you are all welcome to train in a safe and friendly environment … No BS. No politics. No Drama!”
The posts receive scores of supportive messages from like-minded people. The businesses are added to an online directory, called Ontario BAD (Businesses Against Discrimination), where they can advertise their work and submit job postings to fill vacancies.
As of Tuesday, Ontario BAD listed 677 businesses across the province.
TSN has five channels. Sportsnet has six. I know that part of their purpose is the ability to shift programming to different time zones or broadcast things only to specific regions, but much of the time they aren’t doing that. In fact, there are plenty of days when all of them are featuring live events which obviously don’t care what time zone you’re in.
With all of those stations available to them, it should be easy to show a bunch of different things at once. There are times when that happens and as a guy who likes watching sports it’s great when it does, but so often the same game is on in three or four places at the same time. Why, when there are plenty of things going on, would you do that? Does anyone with decent cable not get all of the TSNs at this point? If they don’t, why not just put whatever you decide the most important thing is on the one that everybody gets and use the others as a way to not have to shove things like AEW Dynamite into the middle of the night or in the case of Rampage, not show it at all?
NO, this isn’t an irritated wrestling fan complaining simply because they bumped his damn wrestling. Or maybe it kind of is because I’m finally writing about it thanks to a fan in my family who doesn’t have the internet. But this has always bothered me. Rogers and Bell have a gazillion content deals. They can pick up hockey/baseball/basketball/football/soccer/whatever else games seemingly at will. Aside from being cheap asses of the highest order, why aren’t they doing it more? It’s such a waste.
We all know how I feel about the election we just had. TLDR: we didn’t want it and we didn’t need it. If you want to argue that point with me, don’t bother. Just look at this and see where $600 million or whatever it is that we ultimately spent on this thing got us.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals emerged from the election with a second minority government, having won 159 seats, a gain of two over their 2019 result.
However, the winner in one of them — Kevin Vuong in Toronto’s Spadina-Fort York — will sit as an independent after failing to disclose to the party a past sexual assault charge, which was later dropped.
Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives finished with 119 seats, down two from 2019. The Bloc Quebecois finished with 33 seats (up one), the NDP with 25 (up one), and the Greens with two (down one).
The Conservatives won slightly more of the popular vote — 33.7 per cent to the Liberals’ 32.6 per cent — as they did in 2019. But because their vote was heavily concentrated in Alberta and Saskatchewan, they won fewer seats.
The NDP’s share of the vote was up almost two points over 2019, to 17.8 per cent. The Bloc’s share was down slightly to 32.1 per cent in Quebec.
The Greens won just 2.3 per cent of the vote, less than half their share in 2019 and behind the extremist fringe People’s Party of Canada, which took five per cent of the vote although it won no seats.
The only real story to come out of this for me is the 5% of people who voted PPC. That’s way too high. I say that in all seriousness. Not everyone shares my values. That’s cool. But what’s not so cool is that the number of people willing to park their support with the racist anti-vaccers is steadily growing. Five percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you consider that their share of the vote in 2019 was 1.6% and they trounced the Green Party in only their second election, it’s something worth paying attention to. Will they ever be a serious threat? Who knows. But the mere fact that their message is gaining traction at a pace like this is concerning to me. Canada clearly isn’t a perfect country for all kinds of reasons, but I still want to believe it’s damn well better than this.
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 else, but it’s doubtful that I’m going to be carting around multiple sets of headphones just on the off chance that I might want a burger. But even if I did, the more everyday devices that come along without headphone jacks, the harder it’s going to be to find decent replacements for those old headsets as the technology falls further and further out of favour. Is this something that talking stuff manufacturers are already on top of? If it isn’t, it should be.
Vispero’s product, JAWS Kiosk will allow blind and low vision users the ability to interact with a self order kiosk by inserting headphones into the headphone jack, located on the navigation pad, which will then navigate the kiosk screen, reading the content as they move through the application.
McDonald’s is in the process of deploying this solution to corporate owned stores and select franchise locations across the US.
So I am a confused human. Somebody straighten me out. As of Wednesday, we have a Vaccine Passport system in Ontario. I was under the impression that for the first month, we only had to show our vaccine receipt that we got from the clinic and our health card. But there’s a chance that that’s not the case. I have heard rumblings that you have to go and download it from the provincial vaccine service, and that version has some kind of watermark that people are looking for. I’m not sure if your actual vaccine receipt from the clinic is also accepted, but since there are so many differing policies about what people will and won’t accept, I figured it was safest to get the one the news is linking to.
The process of downloading it was pretty simple, but I learned a couple of things that I thought might be helpful to know.
You have to know your health card number, version code, and a code on the back of the card. I didn’t even know about the code on the back, so it’s a good thing I had Aira to read it to me since I had everything else memorized, but not that.
Thankfully, the field where you write your date of birth is just a straight field, so it’s accessible.
This document does, in fact, look different than the one I had been emailed on the day of vaccination, so if anybody wanted to quibble about accepting a document, I imagine this one would win.
Also, while you view this document on the web, it’s perfectly readable, but I haven’t been able to read the one I downloaded. I don’t know if it’s because of the authenticity stuff they put on it, or what but I can’t read it. I could read the one they sent to me on the day of vaccination, even though Adobe whinged about it being untagged. But with this new one, I can’t even ask Windows to do OCR on it. So when you download it, label the file well.
Hopefully they don’t louse up the QR code stuff next month too badly. And hopefully this might save me and others some pain.