Microsoft released the Recall feature for users of Windows Insider builds. I gave the feature a try and made an audio recording with a roughly edited transcript. The short version of my experience is that I can get around Recall but am still trying to figure out how to read search results effectively with a screen reader, hence the title of No Big Finish. Since this blog post is about an AI feature, I’ll offer…
Leave a CommentCategory: Accessibility
Sometimes you make a handy discovery that makes you wonder why you did not know about it long before. I just had that happen with PowerToys Run, one of the toys included in the full suite of items in the electronic toybox known as Windows PowerToys. PowerToys are a set of utilities that allow you to customize different aspects of Windows and offer functionality that is not directly built in. You can learn more in…
Leave a CommentFlying home from a recent vacation, I had a first for myself. I independently used the in-flight entertainment system to track my flight, listen to music, and watch a movie with audio descriptions. I even played a bit of trivia for a bit. How fun! I’m not sure when United Airlines added accessibility to their in-flight technology, but it was available on the return flights of my trip. The system used TalkBack and a two-finger…
Leave a CommentTuning into a bit of the Olympics this morning, within two minutes the reality of accessibility in 2024 is on display. Audio description for a channel showing multiple sports is impressive but the schedule view of the Olympics iOS app not so much. The progress is appreciated here but the gaps are still far too many. NBC has taken a page from the NFL’s Red Zone and introduced a channel called Olympic Gold Zone. It…
Leave a CommentIf you use a screen reader, the concept of audio ducking is likely not new to you. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a concept where any audio outside of a screen reader’s speech is lowered automatically when a screen reader is communicating. Apple has made some changes in this area that for me have been quite positive. You can now adjust both when audio ducking is applied and have greater control…
Leave a CommentIn my experience, a fundamental disconnect exists between accessibility and the investing world when it comes to a statement that is blasted all over every investment web site when you are about to invest. You will read the statement that you should carefully read the prospectus before making any investment. Good luck with that as in my experience these documents are rarely, if ever, properly tagged for accessibility. As just one example, typically deep within…
Leave a CommentWhat often gets lost in all the talk of accessibility, conformance, WCAG standards and more is how challenging task completion can be for an end-to-end experience. I recently celebrated another birthday and have been doing part of my overall evaluation of financial tools and services I use as a part of my financial life. I did this back in 2017 when I moved back to Wisconsin and again in late 2022 when I changed jobs.…
Leave a CommentApple recently introduced Personal Voice to newer devices on various hardware in their lineup. I have had a little experience with the basic concept behind this sort of technology from my time at Microsoft where I dabbled with one of Microsoft’s Azure cognitive services to do something similar. The basic concept behind these experiences is that you record some set of known text and then software converts that into a synthetic version of your voice.…
One CommentOpinions may differ on this, but I am of the opinion that you should not add extra instructions on the names of column headers in tables on the web. If you are going to do so, ensure it is done in a fashion that allows a screen reader to avoid announcing those instructions if the user desires not to have them communicated. I recently encountered an experience with one of the financial services I use…
Leave a CommentAI offers many opportunities for information access among the other benefits. However, if the basics of web accessibility are not followed, the promise of that access will be difficult or more to some parts of the population. Both Bing and Bard, from Google and Microsoft respectively, currently need to improve at one of the most basic tests here in my trials. My instruction to both AI services: Show me a list of U.S. states in…
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