Good video Sam. By the way I went to buy one of those smart ovens for in one and they have been out of stock do you know any place else I could find one I went to Amazon
Something you might be able to answer been looking at upgrading my iPad and I am a low vision user. I really like the idea of the keyboard and mouse however just wondering if you have any idea if they allow for the pinched a zoom gesture
I’m not sure I fully understand your question. If you were using a keyboard and mouse, you can still use the onscreen controls. What I mean is, you would still be able to pinch and zoom on the screen even while connected to a keyboard and mouse.
@@theblindlife I guess what I was asking is if you were using the Apple keyboard and mouse or even possibly the new trackpad. Can you use the pinch zoom gesture on the mouse or touchpad to operate that function instead of having to actually touch the screen. Hopefully that makes a little more sense of what I’m trying to convey. Trying to decide whether to upgrade my laptop or just go fully into the tablet world for everything
Is there anyway to program my daughters phone with just 1 contact on home screen without going through the whole contact list? In case of an emergency I want her to quickly be able to call me. Now she has to tap the green icon with the phone picture and scroll through her contacts until she finds me. It takes a long time. I think there must be a easier way for someone with vision problems. Any ideas would be great and very helpful.
It’s in the Shortcuts app. You need to create a new shortcut and then it walks you through the steps on how to do it. I’ll try to make a video but it may be a while before I can.
They are apps that you would download from the App Store. I talk about it in the video and give you the names of the apps. I even listed the apps with links in the description of the video.
Hello I am legally blind and just so happen to stumble across your videos! I love them and it’s so great to get some helpful tips about technology from someone else who has low vision/vision impairment. I find myself in a dilemma trying to figure out if it would be best for me to get an Apple computer or MacBook since I have all the other Apple devices, or if I should get an HP and use windows like you do! Please give me your professional opinion on which you think would work best! I don’t want to make the wrong purchase.
Hey there, first of all, welcome to the channel, it’s great to have you join the community! Both PCs and Macs have great accessibility these days so I think you would do very well with either. So then it comes down to budget and what you’re familiar with. If you already have a lot of Apple products, you may be better off getting the Mac. As far as the desktop versus the laptop, if you can afford it, bigger is always better!
Sam, thanks for this fantastic channel. I only wish I had found it when you first started. My dad has Stargardt's. He was born in 1937 and doesn't use any technology to assist him except for texting, but even at. 83, I think it is not too late. If just for basic texting with large font, which phone do you think he should get?
Hi Diane, first of all, thank you so much for being a member! If your dad isn’t comfortable with smart phones, I would recommend checking out the blindshell phone. You can search on TH-cam and you’ll find my videos. If he does want a smart phone and is looking for large print texting, I’d recommend an android, and more specifically a Samsung. Samsung allows you to enlarge the text even bigger than some other android phones. Then, you can use a third-party texting app like YAATA to get the message text even bigger. That app will also read messages out loud if needed. Once again, I have a video on that as well.
Great content Sam as always. Thank you for the work you do. I personally have not been that impressed with the widgets, although I realize they are relatively new so perhaps I will need to give them more time. I am rather interested though in the ability to have a large print clock on the home screen though I don’t like the size that the widgets take up. Also Sam, I wanted to ask you a question about the one device that you reviewed. The or cam read device was of tremendous interest to me and I did call the company and they said that it is necessary to be able to see well enough because it uses a laser pointer to find whatever it is reading. I did not notice that you mentioned that on your video so I’m wondering if perhaps the device you review it was not actually the read. Can you comment on this and tell me how difficult you think it is to use if you have low vision.
Yes, I’m not impressed with the selection of digital clock widgets that we currently have. I hope more will be created in the future. I did a video on the or cam read and the or cam Pro. The read is handheld and the pro attaches to glasses. They are both correct and incorrect with what they said about the read. Yes it does have a laser pointer and there is the one mode where you point the pointer at a section of text and it reads that particular section. So if someone had profound vision loss, they would have a hard time with that particular mode. However, I didn’t have any problems with it because it’s a pretty bright laser so I was able to point it at the text section pretty well. The other mode, which takes a picture of everything and reads it, has a pretty dim laser box. I had much more difficulty seeing that. But the good thing is, you don’t need to see it, you just point the read at the page and snap the picture. So vision isn’t an issue with that. That’s the mode I ended up using the most. There’s a video on TH-cam of a guy name Jose from a Florida love vision center using the read and demonstrating it. Jose doesn’t have any vision at all and he was able to use it without any problems.
@@theblindlife Sam, that is an immensely helpful reply, thank you! I feel much better about possibly purchasing the device though it is expensive of course. There is a program here in Pennsylvania where I live called the Pennsylvania assistive technology foundation which gives low interest loans or zero interest loans depending upon the amount you’re borrowing for up to 36 months. They help people with any type of disability to purchase whatever can be useful to them with their disability. Everything from iPads and iPhones up to accessible vans if that’s what the person needs. They are beginning to learn money for these types of devices as well. Thank you again this has been helpful.
I Ben using the widgets and experimenting what works for me. I have MD in both eyes but probably not as bad as you. I also have ION in my left eye. I have been using the larger clock face That come with IOS and it works for me. A nice widget I downloaded is called Sticky Widgets. It puts a Postit on your hone page. It has three sizes and is free but you can upgrade, and miraculously not a subscription, for a $1.99. But upgrading is not necessary as the free version gives a yellow background and black letters making it very easy to read, especially the lather size. Thanks for your great videos. I have a channel
I believe what you’re referring to is what’s called the cursor. It’s always there to outline what you have selected and what Voice Over is currently reading, but you have the option to make it bolder by going to Accessibility > Voice Over and toggling Large Cursor to ON. I don’t know when exactly it became available but I’ve used it for a while so I know it’s not new to iOS 14
The example shown seem to be a step backwards and more inconvient tha existing methods, I could see how a larger easier to locate widget such as the battery or signal strength my be of some use. Not sure it is something to get overly excited about though. Keep up the great work as it was interesting to know of their existance even if I do not currently know of a suitable use for them.
Hi Sam thanks for the videos would love to see an update to this one to include the iOS 15 and the new widgets that are available there
Good video Sam. By the way I went to buy one of those smart ovens for in one and they have been out of stock do you know any place else I could find one I went to Amazon
You might find a used one on eBay. Other than that, Amazon seems like the only place to get it.
Something you might be able to answer been looking at upgrading my iPad and I am a low vision user. I really like the idea of the keyboard and mouse however just wondering if you have any idea if they allow for the pinched a zoom gesture
I’m not sure I fully understand your question. If you were using a keyboard and mouse, you can still use the onscreen controls. What I mean is, you would still be able to pinch and zoom on the screen even while connected to a keyboard and mouse.
@@theblindlife I guess what I was asking is if you were using the Apple keyboard and mouse or even possibly the new trackpad. Can you use the pinch zoom gesture on the mouse or touchpad to operate that function instead of having to actually touch the screen. Hopefully that makes a little more sense of what I’m trying to convey. Trying to decide whether to upgrade my laptop or just go fully into the tablet world for everything
Is there anyway to program my daughters phone with just 1 contact on home screen without going through the whole contact list? In case of an emergency I want her to quickly be able to call me. Now she has to tap the green icon with the phone picture and scroll through her contacts until she finds me. It takes a long time. I think there must be a easier way for someone with vision problems. Any ideas would be great and very helpful.
Thank you Sam, the widget smith app will let you do the large clock you can change the font, and background
Love your videos you inspire me a lot creating my own videos and talking about Accessibility to help visually impaired
Great video as always thanks for sharing!
How exactly does one create the voice over on/off widgets? My son just got a new iPad (I'm and android user) and we are trying to set it up for him.
It’s in the Shortcuts app. You need to create a new shortcut and then it walks you through the steps on how to do it. I’ll try to make a video but it may be a while before I can.
Where do we find the widget for the top clock?
They are apps that you would download from the App Store. I talk about it in the video and give you the names of the apps. I even listed the apps with links in the description of the video.
As soon as I can update my OS to 14, I’ll be back in business! Great video Sam! 👍🏼
Thanks for the info Sam!
Hello I am legally blind and just so happen to stumble across your videos! I love them and it’s so great to get some helpful tips about technology from someone else who has low vision/vision impairment. I find myself in a dilemma trying to figure out if it would be best for me to get an Apple computer or MacBook since I have all the other Apple devices, or if I should get an HP and use windows like you do! Please give me your professional opinion on which you think would work best! I don’t want to make the wrong purchase.
Hey there, first of all, welcome to the channel, it’s great to have you join the community! Both PCs and Macs have great accessibility these days so I think you would do very well with either. So then it comes down to budget and what you’re familiar with. If you already have a lot of Apple products, you may be better off getting the Mac. As far as the desktop versus the laptop, if you can afford it, bigger is always better!
Sam, thanks for this fantastic channel. I only wish I had found it when you first started. My dad has Stargardt's. He was born in 1937 and doesn't use any technology to assist him except for texting, but even at. 83, I think it is not too late. If just for basic texting with large font, which phone do you think he should get?
Hi Diane, first of all, thank you so much for being a member! If your dad isn’t comfortable with smart phones, I would recommend checking out the blindshell phone. You can search on TH-cam and you’ll find my videos. If he does want a smart phone and is looking for large print texting, I’d recommend an android, and more specifically a Samsung. Samsung allows you to enlarge the text even bigger than some other android phones. Then, you can use a third-party texting app like YAATA to get the message text even bigger. That app will also read messages out loud if needed. Once again, I have a video on that as well.
Do you have a video on getting started with widgets?
No I sure don’t, but there are tons of videos showing how to add a widget to your home screen. It’s a very easy process.
And yes, I do use widgets. My favorite is the weather widget. (I’m a secret meteorology nerd. 🤣)
Appreciated From Pakistan
Great content Sam as always. Thank you for the work you do. I personally have not been that impressed with the widgets, although I realize they are relatively new so perhaps I will need to give them more time. I am rather interested though in the ability to have a large print clock on the home screen though I don’t like the size that the widgets take up. Also Sam, I wanted to ask you a question about the one device that you reviewed. The or cam read device was of tremendous interest to me and I did call the company and they said that it is necessary to be able to see well enough because it uses a laser pointer to find whatever it is reading. I did not notice that you mentioned that on your video so I’m wondering if perhaps the device you review it was not actually the read. Can you comment on this and tell me how difficult you think it is to use if you have low vision.
Yes, I’m not impressed with the selection of digital clock widgets that we currently have. I hope more will be created in the future. I did a video on the or cam read and the or cam Pro. The read is handheld and the pro attaches to glasses. They are both correct and incorrect with what they said about the read. Yes it does have a laser pointer and there is the one mode where you point the pointer at a section of text and it reads that particular section. So if someone had profound vision loss, they would have a hard time with that particular mode. However, I didn’t have any problems with it because it’s a pretty bright laser so I was able to point it at the text section pretty well. The other mode, which takes a picture of everything and reads it, has a pretty dim laser box. I had much more difficulty seeing that. But the good thing is, you don’t need to see it, you just point the read at the page and snap the picture. So vision isn’t an issue with that. That’s the mode I ended up using the most. There’s a video on TH-cam of a guy name Jose from a Florida love vision center using the read and demonstrating it. Jose doesn’t have any vision at all and he was able to use it without any problems.
@@theblindlife Sam, that is an immensely helpful reply, thank you! I feel much better about possibly purchasing the device though it is expensive of course. There is a program here in Pennsylvania where I live called the Pennsylvania assistive technology foundation which gives low interest loans or zero interest loans depending upon the amount you’re borrowing for up to 36 months. They help people with any type of disability to purchase whatever can be useful to them with their disability. Everything from iPads and iPhones up to accessible vans if that’s what the person needs. They are beginning to learn money for these types of devices as well. Thank you again this has been helpful.
I Ben using the widgets and experimenting what works for me. I have MD in both eyes but probably not as bad as you. I also have ION in my left eye. I have been using the larger clock face That come with IOS and it works for me. A nice widget I downloaded is called Sticky Widgets. It puts a Postit on your hone page. It has three sizes and is free but you can upgrade, and miraculously not a subscription, for a $1.99. But upgrading is not necessary as the free version gives a yellow background and black letters making it very easy to read, especially the lather size. Thanks for your great videos. I have a channel
Thanks for the tip and the widget recommendation!
How did you get voiceover to put a box around the item that was active? Is that from iOS 14?
I believe what you’re referring to is what’s called the cursor. It’s always there to outline what you have selected and what Voice Over is currently reading, but you have the option to make it bolder by going to Accessibility > Voice Over and toggling Large Cursor to ON. I don’t know when exactly it became available but I’ve used it for a while so I know it’s not new to iOS 14
Thank you for the explanation. Yes, the cursor/indicator box has been there for several years now.
I do see the outline but it is not as thick as the outline on your phone. On mine it is just a really thin line. Maybe it’s thicker with iOS 14
The example shown seem to be a step backwards and more inconvient tha existing methods, I could see how a larger easier to locate widget such as the battery or signal strength my be of some use. Not sure it is something to get overly excited about though. Keep up the great work as it was interesting to know of their existance even if I do not currently know of a suitable use for them.