Big Clock HD by TheCodingMonkeys

Big Clock

he Coding Monkeys’ Big Clock HD app is a must for visually impaired travelers. Just double tap to rotate iPad orientation to landscape view and set it atop a hotel room TV or table. You’ll be able to read it with a glance while lying in bed. The clock displays time and date in the region format and language the device is set to. The app prevents devices from auto-locking when displaying the time.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/big-clock-hd/id364394834?mt=8

Review: 9.7-inch $329 iPad (2018) – Should you buy it? By 9to5Mac

Hands-on with the 9.7-inch 2018 6th-generation iPad featuring Apple Pencil support. Review: https://wp.me/p1xtr9-2d7q Should you consider it? Pre-order at B&H + free shipping/no tax: https://goo.gl/H4zQuA

Apple Pencil: https://goo.gl/D8T1Uy

New iOS 11 Automatic Setup Process

iOS 11 brings new setup features which allow one to transfer WiFi and Apple ID settings from other devices running iOS 11. Watch this video to see how easy it is to set up a new iOS device.

About BlindSquare

BlindSquare is a solution that makes use of the latest features available in smartphones to aid the blind and visually impaired in their daily lives. It has been developed and tested in close cooperation with blind and visually impaired users. BlindSquare is available for iPhone and iPad in the App Store.Using your iOS-device’s GPS capabilities, BlindSquare determines your location and looks up information about your surrounding on Foursquare and Open Street Map. It then ascertains the information most useful to you and speaks it in a clear, synthetic voice. It can inform you about shops, restaurants, public buildings, and parks in your vicinity. It will also tell you when you approach a street intersection. You can use it to determine the address of your current location, find places of interest near you, get alerted when you reach places, and save your own places in BlindSquare. You can also use BlindSquare in conjunction with other navigation apps such as Navigon, TomTom, the free Google Maps, and the iOS maps app installed on each iOS-device. These third-party apps can provide spoken turn-by-turn directions, while BlindSquare can inform you about your surrounding and upcoming street intersections.

BlindSquare can go a long way towards helping you to travel more independently, but it will never substitute good orientation and traveling skills. GPS-readings can be unreliable depending on the quality of your GPS-reception. Be sure to use your best judgment when deciding if BlindSquare’s information is correct in a given situation.

BlindSquare is $39.99 in the App Store.  

http://www.blindsquare.com

Why it is important to protect your iPad from drops.

As we grow more reliant on our gadgets, we take them more places beyond the living-room couch: the gym, on vacation, or onto a gritty work site. Even in the friendliest environments—say, the hands of a child—sometimes you need more than a flimsy cover to protect your investment. And at $499 and up, the most popular tablet of all, Apple’s iPad Air, practically demands it.

A case is one of the first accessories you should bye

 A  good case will protect your investment  from drops and Falls..  You may say that you are super careful. Or you only keep it in one spot. 

But there may be that one time  you take it somewhere and it slips out of your hand. 

The last thing you want to see is a broken screen.  

Yes you can have your iPad repaired. But there is the cost of repair work also the time without your device. Specially if you’re using it for work. Investing in a case will save you money and time in the long run

There are many different kinds of cases out there. But if you’re looking for a recommendation I would recommend getting the BumpKase

 by NutKase.com  I have been using one for a while.

I have written to posts regarding this product ad  I will put the link below.

Here is my review of my new BumpKase by NutKase.com

How to change your Mac computer’s name

How to change the name of your Mac

Step 1: In the Menu bar, go to  > System Preferences…

Step 2: Click on Sharing.

Step 3: In the Computer Name box, type in the name you want to use for your computer.

Step 4: Close the window, and you’re done.

As always, feel free to ask if you have any question.

Assistive Technology Blog: Apple’s New Features For People With Disabilities

Assistive Technology Blog: Apple’s New Features For People With Disabilities: 

Just yesterday, Apple announced several new features that will bring in lots of additional functionality and convenience across all products in this coming fall. However, what are some of the features that can be used by people with disabilities?

It seems like a lot of new features will enable people who have visual impairment, impaired motor skills, muscular dystrophies/atrophy, and other similar disabilities to interact with the devices just with their voice and get desired results very quickly and efficiently. Using the new features with an additional eye tracking device for those who need it can definitely enhance their experience as well.

iOS

iOS for iPhone and iPad get the most features in the upcoming release. By just talking to Siri, a user would be order a ride, send money to someone, order food, and do similar activities.

Contextual prediction is being introduced which means that iOS will predict what a person is trying to type by making suggestions in various contexts. For example, if someone is typing “I am available today at”, the free time on their calendar will pop up as an option. Similarly, when typing “John’s phone number is”, John’s phone number will be pulled from the address book and displayed as an option.

Search has been enhanced to use  artificial intelligence. iOS can detect objects in photos, and a user can now search for just the photos that were taken at the beach, for example.

Apple Pay is coming to various shopping websites so no need to type in a credit card number and other information every time a user goes to a shopping website. Purchases can now be made with just a click of a button in a secure manner.

WatchOS

In the upcoming release, apps will load much faster. A user would also be able to add minutes to a parking meter, order their food, and make other similar purchases using Apple Pay on their watch. 

The fitness aspect of the watch has included a wider audience now – wheelchair users! Wheelchair users will be able to track their physical activity through various pushing techniques for various speeds and terrains. Wheelchair specific workouts have now been included, and notifications will be sent every hour for “time to roll” when a person has been sitting and not moving for a long time, to encourage them to be active.

Pressing the side button initiates a call with local emergency services anywhere in the world. It can also be used to send a quick text to a user’s emergency contacts.

Wearing an Apple Watch will also work as an authentication mechanism for a user’s Mac. When a user wearing an Apple Watch approaches their Mac, the Mac senses their presence and logs them in automatically. No need to type the password for  unlocking the computer.

The new “Home” app will also let users control connected (Internet of Things) devices around the house using their phone, tablet, watch or TV. Location based automation can also be set up using the Home app – if a user is approaching the house, turn on the lights, pull up the blinds, and set the thermostat to 68 degrees.

MacOS (formerly OS X)

Siri is now coming to Mac. Siri can locate files for a user (“Show the pdfs in my Downloads folder”, “Show my photos from yesterday”), add and modify events (“Add Laura to my 10 AM meeting”), search for images from the internet (“Show me images of Lake Tahoe”), play music, check weather, and do lots of other things.

These are some of the features that people with disabilities can use that will make things easier for them. We should hopefully see a full list of accessibility features from Apple in the near future.

Source: Apple

Image Sources: Appleacross all pro…

Here is my latest experience with my iPhone 6 and Apple..

 I woke up on  Thursday morning and noticed my iPhone 6’s battery wasn’t working right. 

So I grabbed a cable and a wallplug and started charging my phone.  I put the phone to charge at 8:00 AM this morning.  By noon, my phones battery only charged to 2%. 

I have tried five different cables, and six different wall plugs. I’m now on cable number five. 

I’ve tried charging it with the phone off and also tried charging it in airplane mode.  

But the battery stayed at 2%. 

So I decided to call Apple and see if there’s something they can do for me. 

The lady on the phone walked me through some diagnostic steps. 

But since the fact that my phone was now 1% charge, it would not do anything other then turn on. Occasionally, it will turn off and back on. 

So she tried to book me a appointment same-day to get my phone looked at.

 She looked if there was any openings in any of the stores near me. 

But apparently there were no openings until Sunday. 

But she said that my phone would probably not make it till then. 

So she called the Apple store that is closest to me and told them that I was blind and needed my phone. Since it was my lifeline and how I do day-to-day things. Somehow, she managed to get them to give me an appointment in one hour. Robert took me to the Apple Store in Townsquare, and I only had to wait one hour before someone was able to help me. 

We went through all the diagnostics. 

Which took 10 minutes. They said it looks like I need a new battery.

 They said come back in two hours and your phone should be ready. It will cost you $85.

 If the new battery does not solve the problem, they will give me a new phone for the same amount. 

So I left and went back two hours later. Apparently, the new battery did the trick. 

My phone is now running great. I am now at 100%. I’m extremely happy with the service I got from the Apple Store in Townsquare. 

I’ve heard a lot of people complaints about apples service. But are no complaints here for me.  

It cost me $85 to get a new battery installed in my phone that I probably had for a year and six months. But it is the cheapest fix and I don’t need to worry about loading all my stuff on a new phone. If I had to get a new phone, I probably would’ve paid a little extra and  got a iPhone 6+. 

I was extremely happy that my original phone is now running excellent. Thank you to the awesome people at the Apple Store in Town Square in Las Vegas.