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Happy (Belated) #GAAD to Everybody!
May. 21st, 2021 06:23 amHi everyone and happy Friday once again! I hope the week has treated you well. My week has been pretty good also. I'd like to focus this entry on something that took place just yesterday, so without delay here goes.
As a lot of you are hopefully aware by now, yesterday marked the 10th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day. I for one am of course aware of this, but was unable to tune into the American Council of the Blind event which I am linking to, because I was with my tutor and a neighbor for the afternoon. But I listened to the beginning of the event as I was copy/pasting the link for inclusion in this entry, and I will be sure to catch it in its entirety at a later time. But suffice it to say, I am one of many who has of course reaped the benefits of accessibility over the years and this will no doubt continue at least for the foreseeable future. I'm of course talking accessibility both online and on land. I am as a matter of fact, using one of the greatest accessibility solutions ever invented to write this entry. Of course everyone knows by now that I'm referring to none other than the screen reader. Specifically, Apple's on-board screen reader called VoiceOver. VoiceOver has been a very welcome addition to my toolbox throughout these years. I acquired my first Mac at the end of 2013 in the form of a MacBook Air. At first I was more than a bit confused by VoiceOver, since I had previously used Windows and DOS. I used the AppleIIE back in the day with Echo/Cricket, and that was very good for it's time but I don't believe the term "screen reader" was even conceptualized back then. Anyway, I was given a short demonstration of VoiceOver by some friendly and courteous Apple store employees and then my parents and I walked out of the store with the Mac that I was shown. Oops, I almost forgot the financial part of that, lol. Who knows what would've happened if we refused to pay. Ever since that Sunday I have been happily using this same Mac.
At the end of March of 2018 I acquired an iPhone Seven, which is my first accessible smartphone but hopefully not my last. My parents and I didn't even dream of me using one of these, both due to the touch screens and my manual dexterity. But thanks to my brother and a tech tutor at Second Sense here in Chicago, I am happily using my smartphone. It is absolutely true that now is a great time to have a visual impairment to one degree or another. I am most certainly happy about it. I've heard and read over the years tales of how the iPhone is amazing and how it has changed the lives of whomever comes into contact with it. I believe this to be true. I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of mine, and the entire experience has been very nice.
I will briefly discuss one other accessibility solution which I only acquired for Christmas in 2020. That is, an Aftershokz blue-tooth headset. I have used it a bit and really like it. It is currently begging to be taken off my person for charging, but I will do that later. For now though, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to all these companies--both mainstream and not--for seeing fit to include all people with disabilities in everyday life. And now, let's all go out and have some of that accessibility! Take care, be kind and be safe! Enjoy this bit of audio courtesy of the ACB!
https://youtu.be/EcUy3HT6bRY
As a lot of you are hopefully aware by now, yesterday marked the 10th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day. I for one am of course aware of this, but was unable to tune into the American Council of the Blind event which I am linking to, because I was with my tutor and a neighbor for the afternoon. But I listened to the beginning of the event as I was copy/pasting the link for inclusion in this entry, and I will be sure to catch it in its entirety at a later time. But suffice it to say, I am one of many who has of course reaped the benefits of accessibility over the years and this will no doubt continue at least for the foreseeable future. I'm of course talking accessibility both online and on land. I am as a matter of fact, using one of the greatest accessibility solutions ever invented to write this entry. Of course everyone knows by now that I'm referring to none other than the screen reader. Specifically, Apple's on-board screen reader called VoiceOver. VoiceOver has been a very welcome addition to my toolbox throughout these years. I acquired my first Mac at the end of 2013 in the form of a MacBook Air. At first I was more than a bit confused by VoiceOver, since I had previously used Windows and DOS. I used the AppleIIE back in the day with Echo/Cricket, and that was very good for it's time but I don't believe the term "screen reader" was even conceptualized back then. Anyway, I was given a short demonstration of VoiceOver by some friendly and courteous Apple store employees and then my parents and I walked out of the store with the Mac that I was shown. Oops, I almost forgot the financial part of that, lol. Who knows what would've happened if we refused to pay. Ever since that Sunday I have been happily using this same Mac.
At the end of March of 2018 I acquired an iPhone Seven, which is my first accessible smartphone but hopefully not my last. My parents and I didn't even dream of me using one of these, both due to the touch screens and my manual dexterity. But thanks to my brother and a tech tutor at Second Sense here in Chicago, I am happily using my smartphone. It is absolutely true that now is a great time to have a visual impairment to one degree or another. I am most certainly happy about it. I've heard and read over the years tales of how the iPhone is amazing and how it has changed the lives of whomever comes into contact with it. I believe this to be true. I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of mine, and the entire experience has been very nice.
I will briefly discuss one other accessibility solution which I only acquired for Christmas in 2020. That is, an Aftershokz blue-tooth headset. I have used it a bit and really like it. It is currently begging to be taken off my person for charging, but I will do that later. For now though, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to all these companies--both mainstream and not--for seeing fit to include all people with disabilities in everyday life. And now, let's all go out and have some of that accessibility! Take care, be kind and be safe! Enjoy this bit of audio courtesy of the ACB!
https://youtu.be/EcUy3HT6bRY
