DOUG BRIGHT’S ACCESSIBILITY APPS
UX in the Wild – Aug 27, 2012
My friend Doug Bright considers himself a musician, journalist and philosopher, but not high-tech. So I was surprised how many apps he is using or that are on his radar to help him get around, be productive and tune in.
But where does he find the time? When he’s not gigging as the violin (or should I say fiddle) player for the bluegrass band, The Howdy Boys, he’s putting out his monthly music magazine, Heritage Music Review, online and hard copy. This is a solo project he’s been doing since I met him in the late ‘80s as a volunteer for the blind. And did I mention, Doug is blind. The volunteer agency assigned me to work with him. Our claim to fame is appearing on KOMO TV in a show that featured 3 volunteers. KOMO angled the piece by juxtaposing music video footage of my goth-rock band with shots of Doug playing honkytonk on his piano.
The last time we spoke he was loving his new iPhone with Siri. Doug has an upbeat, enthusiastic personality that never seems to waver, even when he is frustrated. It was enthusiastic plus as he described how the iPhone changed his life. Siri helps him navigate streets by identifying where he is and guides him on to his destination. He also uses Sendero GPS that is detailed below.
Doug biggest motivation to get techy is to do his online research on the go. So what type of apps is the mover and shaker Doug Bright using? Here are a few.
Perfect OCR
This is a document scanner with high quality OCR. My guess is that Doug uses it to read the onslaught of press releases for his music magazine – something I used to help him h witas a volunteer. But now there’s an app for that. He explained, “I hold the iPhone next to any document, scan, and then I use VoiceOver to read it. He also uses the Kurzweil text reading software with a flatbed scanner — but it’s not cheap and not portable.
Jawbone JAMBOX
The JAMBOX is a wireless Bluetooth speaker that Doug uses on the road with his iPhone. User case: “While traveling to gigs, I listen to a radio station by streaming on my iPhone. Sometimes I want to share a song for the band to learn, so I amplify the song with the JAMBOX.
mophie juice pack boost® – iPod & iPhone
Doug is jazzed about his mophie juice pack boost external battery, “It fits in your pocket and charges quicker than AC.
Apple wireless keyboard
Doug told me how he answered an email on a wifi bus the other day. He first reads his email using ear buds and VoiceOver. To respond, he prefers his wireless keyboard because he knows the keyboard. And it’s portable.
VoiceOver touchscreen typing modes
If Doug doesn’t have the wireless keyboard handy, VoiceOver offers two ways of typing on a touch screen: typing mode or standard mode. Doug prefers typing mode because it enters the letter when you’ve pressed on it for a slight duration. He explained the letter is not entered until you’ve taken your finger off the screen. In standard mode, VO tells you what character you’re on, then double tap to enter. YourTechVision.com has a good demo of the two modes.
Sendero GPS
Doug describes Sendero GPS as not an ordinary GPS. “It tells you where you are, the street you’re on, the address you’re close to, and the neighboring points of interest.” He said it’s saved his neck on many occasion. As a passenger in a car, the Sendero helped him give directions to the driver.
One Bus Away
This is one of Doug’s favorite apps. I love it too. OneBusAway was started by students at the UW. It gives those using public transportation in the Puget Sound region an edge with realtime bus arrival times. http://www.onebusaway.org/
Yellow pages app
The original Yellow pages tag, “Let your fingers do the walking” still holds true in the app and touch screen world.
Mog.com
This is one on Doug’s list. Mog allows one to stream, share, and create playlists from a catalog of over 16 million songs. It sounds similar to Pandora. It’s not a surprise Doug was excited about this one, given his music enthusiast and pro status. There’s an add-free version for $5 month.
Recorder
A must have for journalists and sneaky writers capturing conversations. Recorder, when he gets it, will allow Doug to record his phone interviews on his phone. So, to be clearer than the descriptions and reviews, the phone records itself.
Doug had more apps but we got off on a conversation on the 2012 presidential candidates and apps went out the door. But he’s a good one to follow so more later.
RESOURCES:
TechVision, is a good source for accessibility app and software instructions. Their videos are on YouTube as well.
