SHARON'S APPS FROM TECH TUESDAY OCTOBER 20TH

Below are apps discussed in the Tech Tuesday event on October 20th that Sharon wanted you to have for reference in the event you were interested in any of them.

Voice Over Training

VO Starter

VO Starter is the first VoiceOver training app for iOS that lets users try out VoiceOver gestures and controls without making changes to other iOS apps.

LookTel Voice Over  Tutorial

This app provides a basic introduction to VoiceOver and the gestures used throughout iOS. Persons new to VoiceOver and IOS are guided through the tutorial with a pleasant mix of facts and entertainment. Once the app is started with VoiceOver running, the text and elementary games provide a practice of the basic gestures used with VoiceOver and iOS. As each new gesture is introduced, it is accompanied by an interactive practice screen. The core basics are covered:

•tap, double-tap, and split-tap gestures

•flick right and flick left

•two-finger-double-tap

•the rotor gesture

•the up and down flick

A VoiceOver Basketball, and a VoiceOver Safe game provide opportunities to practice these core gestures. An explanation of the use each gesture has in iOS is provided, along with a summary of all the gestures introduced in this tutorial.

This app may be used independently by anyone new to VoiceOver and iOS, or within a class, seminar, or introductory instructional setting.

Mobile Banking

Keeping track of one's money used to be an arduous process. Some took a DIY approach by hiding gold coins under mattresses or burying dollar bills in back yards. Others avoided threats of roving pirates and shovel-happy neighbors by keeping their cash in banks. But this solution wasn't hassle-free. Hours were lost tracking pennies in handwritten registers, as well as commuting to banks to make deposits, transfers and withdrawals.

Enter the smartphone. Now we can manage our money by logging on to banking Web sites through mobile Internet connections or banking applications that link directly to financial accounts. We can even transfer funds via text message.

Mobile banking services like these aren't only for the tech-savvy; they've become a mainstream tool for the money-using masses. According to a report by Javelin Research, the number of people using mobile banking services increased from 19 percent to 30 percent in 2011. And, if gaps that threaten data security continue to be addressed, the percentage of those using mobile banking is expected to continue to increase.

Even with the potential risks, we're glad that "mobile banking" now refers to smartphones instead of carrying around the money jar.

Top five things to keep your information secure

#5 Get the Updates

When you download a banking application to your smartphone, don't be fooled into thinking it's one and done. You'll need to check for updates on a regular basis -- and then download those, too. If you aren't performing these updates, your banking information may become vulnerable to hackers who prey on software weaknesses [source: Schwartz]. Just make sure you're downloading your bank's official app by getting it straight from your bank's Web site instead of an app store. Check the Web address to make sure it's your bank's official site and not a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing site that could compromise your account numbers or passwords. It's also a good idea to steer clear of "everybank" apps that promise to connect you with multiple banks because there's no guarantee your data won't be stolen by the app's creators -- who aren't bound by the same federal data restrictions as financial institutions.

For added security, use your banking app to sign up for account alerts. Many banks and credit cards will send you a text or email when there's activity on your account. You'll know, almost immediately, if a fraudulent charge or withdrawal is made.

#4 Boost your password

The general security tips you follow online, like creating a strong password, should be followed when banking with your smartphone, too. The most infallible passwords should have eight or more characters, and include a combination of numbers, letters, punctuation marks and symbols that are located all over the keyboard [source: Microsoft]. If your smartphone has a prompt that offers to remember your password, refuse the convenience. It's better to manually enter the password each time than to risk storing it -- and offering one-click access to your financial accounts if your smartphone falls into the wrong hands.

You should password-protect your smartphone, too. Most smartphones, regardless of which operating system they use, have a screen lock option that prevents others from using your smartphone without your permission. Although screen lock setup varies, you can usually activate this security measure from your phone's settings menu and select your own PIN or code.

#3 Guard your connection

The general security tips you follow online, like creating a strong password, should be followed when banking with your smartphone, too. The most infallible passwords should have eight or more characters, and include a combination of numbers, letters, punctuation marks and symbols that are located all over the keyboard [source: Microsoft]. If your smartphone has a prompt that offers to remember your password, refuse the convenience. It's better to manually enter the password each time than to risk storing it -- and offering one-click access to your financial accounts if your smartphone falls into the wrong hands.

You should password-protect your smartphone, too. Most smartphones, regardless of which operating system they use, have a screen lock option that prevents others from using your smartphone without your permission. Although screen lock setup varies, you can usually activate this security measure from your phone's settings menu and select your own PIN or code.

#2 Keep Track of your device

Don't want sticky fingers to come between your smartphone and your bank account? Your first line of defense is treat your smartphone as you would a wallet. When you're in public, don't store your smartphone in the exterior pocket of a bag or purse where it can easily get snatched. Don't set it on a tabletop when you dine or plunk it down on the bar when you belly up. And, if you're walking down a busy sidewalk, don't hold it loosely in your hand where someone could just come up and grab it.

You can help ensure that a missing smartphone is an inconvenience instead of a crisis by making a preemptive move. If you have an iPhone, install the Find My iPhone app, which can locate lost or stolen devices via GPS and clean out your personal information -- learn more about that part of the equation on the next page. If you have an Android-based smartphone, apps like WaveSecure offer similar services.

#1 Be Prepared to clear your data

Although we haven't yet discovered an app that will cause a smartphone to self-destruct like a secret spy missive in a James Bond movie, we can share the next best thing: Data wipe apps that can be activated remotely.

A remote wipe app will reset your smartphone to its original factory settings, erasing your personal data -- like your contacts, emails or banking information. There are a variety of data wipe apps, including the Mobile Defense app for Android smartphones. The date wipe process is a little more complex for iPhone users; it requires a MobileMe account, a Find My iPhone app and the activation of push notifications.

The good news is that, even with its inherent security risks, banking by smartphone may actually make it easier to safeguard your financial information than managing your money on paper. Thieves are more likely to access your account data by snatching bank statements from your mailbox than by digitally eavesdropping on your smartphone or computer.

 

Mobile Banking apps makes it even easier to stay in control of your finances. Exclusively available to Internet Bank customers from your individual banks, you can register and log in to the Mobile Banking app using your existing Internet Bank details. If you have not asked the bank for internet access you will need to visit or call your local branch to inquire on how to access your account and get your log in and password, as well as, access established.

Some of the features available in mobile banking

• View balance and recent current account, savings, credit card and mortgage transactions & statements
• Send and receive money securely
• View your savings interest rates
• View your personal loan balance
• Manage your current account overdraft
• Transfer money between your accounts
• Make payments to existing payees, now or on a future date
• View and cancel Direct Debits and Regular Payments

Staying safe

If you are concerned about security of your information, allow me to speak about that for a moment, and give you some information to ask your bank about.  You need to find out of your bank uses the latest security technologies to ensure that your information is safe and secure when using the app. You can ask if you lose money as a result of fraud through our Mobile Banking service, if there are protections and if they will put the money back in your account. 

There are still a few things you can do to help protect yourself when using the app:
• Never share your log in details with anyone.
• When logging in, in a public place, be careful to keep your details out of sight.
• Create a password or PIN to access your device.

Important information

We won’t charge you for using this app but your mobile operator may charge you for some services such as data exchange, so please check with them.

MAPS APPS

Introduction

When the Global Positioning System (GPS) was made available for civil use in the mid-nineties, blind people immediately realised the great potential satellite-based navigation might have for them.

For someone who cannot read city maps, street signs and house numbers or visually scan shops in a pedestrian area, satellite-based navigation means inclusion and independence. It is now possible to explore a city, go on a business trip or even walk the beach without being dependent on sighted assistance.

To begin with however, there was a lack of accessible devices and software. The first solutions designed for blind people appeared on the market around the turn of the century. These portable devices were mostly cumbersome to operate and had to be carried by a shoulder strap or neck strap.

In 2004, Loadstone GPS, the first mobile phone based solution for blind users, was developed. In the following years, further solutions became available for use on Symbian and Windows Mobile, mobile operating systems which blind users could access using speech output software.

Now, in the era of the smartphone, users can choose from a wide range of navigation apps. But being spoilt for choice has its problems. Especially new smartphone users are often uncertain which app will suit them best.

Some apps have been developed explicitly for blind users, others for the general public. Some announce near by points of interest (POI), others monitor crossings and house numbers, still others can guide users along a route. Some apps offer a bit of everything – but how well do they work, and how accessible are they for blind people?

The selection of five apps tested here includes mainstream products as well as products designed for blind users. Together, they comprise all properties that are currently available in navigation apps. Further apps may differ in terms of their mode of operation but do not offer additional features

The apps tested

To kick off our navigation app testing activities, we have focused on iOS apps since this is the operating system currently most popular with blind users due to its good accessibility. These are the apps covered:

Ariadne-GPS

BlindSquare

Myway Classic

Apple maps

Google maps

Ariadne-GPS $4.99

Ariadne offers users a quick and simple way of entering their own points of interest (POI). Favorite places and waymarks can be saved and named at will. By selecting different information fields on screen, the distance to and direction of the nearest favorite, Direction of movement, speed, GPS accuracy, etc. can be monitored. On approaching a POI, the user is automatically informed of the remaining distance and direction when the alert distance set is reached.

Ariadne can also access Open Street Map data and continually announce street names and house numbers. However, this requires an internet connection. Setting and tracking personal favorites does not require internet access.

Users of Loadstone, a navigation app for Symbian phones, Can import their Loadstone POI into Ariadne via iTunes.

Ariadne is especially suited for outdoors navigation and determining the current position in a street. The app does not provide information on public POI and does not support turn-by-turn navigation.

BlindSquare $29.99

BlindSquare is a versatile navigation app that was designed by a blind developer. The app's own speech output informs users about near by intersections and POI. POI categories such as Food, Night Life, Outdoors and Recreation etc. can be activated or deactivated.

While walking, BlindSquare announces directions of and distances to POI within the set search radius, belonging to the activated categories. Users can also call up a list of all POI of a certain category. A double tap on a POI brings up the address and telephone number or in case of a restaurant, the menu if maintained. POI can also be "tracked", meaning that direction and distance are repeatedly announced. Adding a POI to one's favourites lets the user set an individual alert distance. Every time a favourite POI is approached BlindSquare will play a sound and announce distance and direction when the set alert distance is reached.

The app can also bring up a list of near by intersections or announce the current position, i.e., the current address or a close POI. The current position can be named and saved as a personal place, which may then also be tracked and added to favourites. Any POI can be simulated, allowing users to virtually explore the environment of a travel destination before hand and save certain POI as favourites.

On approaching Intersections BlindSquare announces the names of the intersecting streets. However, It does not say which street is which. The current position and thus the current street can be checked by shaking the device, but in tricky situations such as a square with several intersections, it would be preferable to be informed of an intersection's layout.

BlindSquare does not yet offer turn-by-turn navigation. However, the app can call up another navigation app such as Apple Maps or Google Maps in which a route from the current position to the selected POI will be calculated. BlindSquare can continue to run in the background to announce intersections, in case the navigation app used does not provide enough information. This can be very helpful, but may produce overlapping announcements, which can strongly impede articulation.

BlindSquare allows users to select their native language for the speech output. Travelers can use this option to have street and place names announced in the language of their travel destination. However, distances and directions will also be announced in that language.

Since BlindSquare obtaines POI data from the social network FourSquare, it works especially well in cities and areas with significant tourism. Many POI in rural areas and small towns are not yet included.

Myway Classic $14.99

Myway Classic was designed for blind users, primarily to enable the recording of routes. In recording mode, Myway Classic generates waypoints whenever the direction changes or the device is shaken. The generated route can be saved under any name and be used in both directions.

The App does not use an internet connection to access map data. When these routes are loaded, intersections or POI can be tracked like waypoints, so Myway Classic will repeatedly announce direction and distance. It has to be said that tracking POI this way is somewhat cumbersome and is much easier to do using BlindSquare. However, for users without an internet flatrate or wishing to avoid horrendous roaming charges abroad, Myway Classic is a low-cost alternative.

Myway Classic is primarily useful for recording routes, for example, when walking a new route with a sighted friend, or to record and re-trace one's own routes in unmapped terrain.

Maps

 

The Maps app which comes with iOS is largely accessible and offers turn-by-turn navigation for pedestrians. When calculating a new route, a drive route is selected by default, even if the preferred mode is set to "walk". The pedestrian route must be selected each time. Saved routes keep the selected mode. It is relatively easy to search for POI and addresses. Used routes are saved so they can be reactivated any time. Start and end location of saved routes cannot be swapped. Strangely, this option is only available in the search mask where the user can manually enter the start and end location. It is however possible to calculate a route from the current location to a previously visited location.

Turn-by-turn directions are given by the voice of the language selected for the iPhone, which blind users know as VoiceOver. Consequently the directions are not clearly distinct from other iPhone announcements.

The app first indicates in which cardinal direction and in which street to begin the route. It is advisable to check the current heading using the compass app that comes with iOS. If Compass is used while navigating on a route, the calculated route remains activated in Maps when the app is temporarily closed. The compass function integrated in Maps is unfortunately not available in navigation mode.

Maps announces changes of direction giving the distance to walk and the name of the street to turn into. Side streets are not announced. The distance information is welcome, but blind users will find the app wanting information on side streets and the layout of intersections.

When selecting the tracking mode with heading, VoiceOver announces street names and intersections while walking, but unfortunately this mode is not available during turn-by-turn navigation. For blind users, a combination of turn-by-turn and with heading would be desirable.

Another welcome feature is the off track warning. When leaving an active route, the app advises the user to turn around. A new route is calculated only if the warning is ignored. For an active route, a route description can be called up, which includes a list of streets and the corresponding distances. This allows a virtual exploration of the route before actually hitting the road.

Unfortunately the display can be rather confusing. In order to access information fields and buttons, the user must swipe through near by POI and streets which are continuously updated and displayed. Also, in the tested version the End button is not always accessible with VoiceOver. If this happens, the app must be closed in the app switcher to end navigation.

Apple maps is suitable to blind users for virtual exploration of routes and is helpful when navigating. However it is far from offering the detailed information and usability blind people require.

Google Maps

Google Maps is a largely accessible navigation app offering turn-by-turn navigation for pedestrians. It is easy to search for POI or addresses and set these as start or end locations of a route. Start and end can be swapped on demand. Unfortunately, the history of used routes is only saved if the user has signed into the app using a Google account. In that case, past routes can easily be called up. The route default screen shows public transport stops in the vicinity which can be selected as route destinations.

The App's own speech output informs users which cardinal direction to begin a route in. The current heading can be checked before hand but also during navigation, using the compass app built into iOS. The active route will remain activated in Google Maps if it is temporarily closed. The compass mode within Google. Maps is regretably without effect in navigation mode. The street in whhich to begin a route is not always announced. It was impossible to determine what causes the announcement to be made or not. There is no announcement of side street crossings and distances. For blind users, who cannot read street signs or visually scan their environment, the information is frequently insufficient. Streets and corresponding distances belonging to an active route can be inspected in a step-by-step list. This allows an exploration of routes prior to navigating on them.

Google Maps does not give a verbal off-track warning when a route is left. The app simply calculates a new route at some point. While the route is updated in the route overview on screen, there is no verbal indication that the original route has in fact been changed. This can make for lengthy walks if a route is begun in the wrong direction.

Puzzlingly, each announcement of a turn is followed by a short vibration which does not serve any apparent purpose. A vibration alert before an upcoming announcement would make more sense.

Google Maps can serve as a navigation aide but falls short of expectations of blind users who need more detailed information. The Turn-by-turn guide seems half-baked at this point. Google advise users that the guide is a beta version.

Blind Square $29.99

BlindSquare is the World’s Most Popular accessible GPS-app developed for the blind and visually impaired. It describes the environment, announces points of interest and street intersections as you travel. In conjunction with free, third-party navigation apps it is a powerful solution providing most of the information blind and visually impaired people need to travel independently. Your safety is our highest priority.   Cost is $29.99

BlindSquare is self-voicing, announcing points of interest, intersections and user-defined points through a dedicated speech synthesizer. The most important BlindSquare functions can be accessed through an audio menu via any headset or speaker that supports Apple’s music controller. This means you don’t need to touch the screen of your phone looking for tiny buttons when you travel with BlindSquare, because many functions can be activated using the physical buttons of your headset or bluetooth speaker. If you are blind or visually impaired, BlindSquare is your safe, reliable, and accessible GPS-solution. BlindSquare is available for iPhone and iPad in the App Store.

How does it work?

When BlindSquare has determined your location using your iOS-device’s GPS capabilities, it will look up information about your surroundings on FourSquare and  Open Street Map. Employing unique algorithms, it will then ascertain the information most useful to you and speak it in a clear synthetic voice.

You can use BlindSquare for example to find the most popular café within a 200 meter radius or to find the nearest post office or the library. Shake your device to hear your current address, as well as information about the location of the nearest street intersection and venues around you. Track your destination, so BlindSquare will periodically announce the distance and direction while you are traveling. If you use BlindSquare to mark your position, it can help you to find this spot again later. BlindSquare possesses filters you can set, so you only hear the information you currently need. Have BlindSquare announce streets and saved places only, so you do not get overwhelmed by more information than you need. If you mark your saved places and Foursquare venues as Favorites, BlindSquare will always notify you when you reach them. Since BlindSquare saves your favorites and your places to iCloud, they get synched between all of your iOS-devices, and you can use BlindSquare on all of them. Although you will need VoiceOver to operate the app, BlindSquare uses its own high quality  Acapela voices in many different languages to announce information about your environment. This means you will always hear all of the information you need, even when you can’t touch the screen of your device, you lock the screen, or you use another app while BlindSquare is running in the background. If you enjoy playing Foursquare, authorize BlindSquare to access your account, so you can check in at your favorite venues just by shaking your device. Set BlindSquare to share your check-ins on Facebook, Twitter, or to keep them private. BlindSquare is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Russian, Estonian, Polish, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, Japanese, Greek, Romanian, Croatian and Hungarian. For more information about BlindSquare, please read our frequently asked questions.

 

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Can add to the home screen for easy access!