The world has been expanding for media in today's society. As I have mentioned previously, audio games, are sound versions of computer games for the visually impaired. Now, you can play games on mobile devices such as the Iphone. Such games further take advantage of screen reading software, and more people are playing them today.
However, it has been brought to my attention that blind people have had extremely difficult times with the apps store, specificly that of Apple's apps store. Concerns have been raised that Blind and sighted inviduals have been prevented from uploading games due to lack of a graphics display. This has only hastened the need for better awareness of accessibility and special needs.
Many of Apple's products, such as the new tablet, have been marketed as visually appealing. I can understand how visual appearance is important for a first impression, but I fail to see how graphics and visuals represent an exaustive and complete list of people's needs in entertainment. Factors such as a good storyline and great music and sound can also make a great game. It is actually sad in a way to know that initial looks are still given greater importance to substance, and this is the result. We should all do more to encourage objective ways of thinking.
As I mentioned before, I believe that sighted people would happily enjoy the concept of audio games, just simply for something different. I also feel once again, that sighted people are open minded enough to consider other forms of gaming to be exciting. I am glad at least Apple seems to be changing their minds, and plans maybe in the works to change policy. I hope we can see an active gaming community that enjoys any form of games to enjoy and share with their family and friends. I am excited to see how mobile devices impact audio games in the future.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
Please Don't Stop the Music
Over 100 million users are online listening to Pandora at any one time, claims the site. Many people have enjoyed internet radio and noone that I have met has ever told me that they don't listen to music in some way. People listen to music for a variety of reasons, and they love music that they can relate to through similar artists. I have mentioned the technology behind Pandora, now Google wants to join the act with music pages on You Tube.
You Tube has always contained music videos posted by users of every known artist or song. Record companies had a field day at first, even trying to fight this noble effort with legal action. I say noble because listening to music videos online has always served the purpose of connecting people with new music. Often times, people who watch music videos on You Tube have ended up buying cds and digital copies of songs and albums. Some people do just listen or watch music videos, but most people have a genuine heart to support there favorite bands. Finally, it seems that record labels have backed off and now more music videos and videos containing music are now populating You Tube's pages. Now Google wants to join the ranks of Pandora by now allowing registered users to have music pages, where You Tube arranges music videos for users based on previous videos and artists that they have listened to.
Once you log in to You Tube, you can go to a music home page on You Tube, where you can type in an artist or song. You tube then displays videos based on your search like normal, but as you click on videos to listen to, You Tube will then recommend videos of artists that it believes you will like. You can even create "playlists" of videos, just like how radio stations have playlists of songs. I haven't seen anywhere where you can thumbs up or down music, but I appreciate Google's attempt at the concept. Of course since You Tube is owned by Google, you can be sure that there are already measures to allow mobile devices to take advantage of the new features. Make sure to keep up to date with the latest features, so you will know what changes Googles has made to the service.
With radio being redefined all the time, and music being accessed differently, it's excellent to observe the ways in which people are enjoying great bands everywhere. It's also vital to note that you might even find music that hasn't made its way to Pandora yet, and You Tube might just be a different way to stay informed. Listeners around the world eagerly await the next great trend in music. Once again, Recommended Music services are stating there claim to that title. Wherever you are tuning in, remember that music will grow, just like every other form of media.
You Tube has always contained music videos posted by users of every known artist or song. Record companies had a field day at first, even trying to fight this noble effort with legal action. I say noble because listening to music videos online has always served the purpose of connecting people with new music. Often times, people who watch music videos on You Tube have ended up buying cds and digital copies of songs and albums. Some people do just listen or watch music videos, but most people have a genuine heart to support there favorite bands. Finally, it seems that record labels have backed off and now more music videos and videos containing music are now populating You Tube's pages. Now Google wants to join the ranks of Pandora by now allowing registered users to have music pages, where You Tube arranges music videos for users based on previous videos and artists that they have listened to.
Once you log in to You Tube, you can go to a music home page on You Tube, where you can type in an artist or song. You tube then displays videos based on your search like normal, but as you click on videos to listen to, You Tube will then recommend videos of artists that it believes you will like. You can even create "playlists" of videos, just like how radio stations have playlists of songs. I haven't seen anywhere where you can thumbs up or down music, but I appreciate Google's attempt at the concept. Of course since You Tube is owned by Google, you can be sure that there are already measures to allow mobile devices to take advantage of the new features. Make sure to keep up to date with the latest features, so you will know what changes Googles has made to the service.
With radio being redefined all the time, and music being accessed differently, it's excellent to observe the ways in which people are enjoying great bands everywhere. It's also vital to note that you might even find music that hasn't made its way to Pandora yet, and You Tube might just be a different way to stay informed. Listeners around the world eagerly await the next great trend in music. Once again, Recommended Music services are stating there claim to that title. Wherever you are tuning in, remember that music will grow, just like every other form of media.
Darker Projects
Hollywood, a billion dollar or more industry that satisfies everyone's need for theatrical entertainment. Audio theater, as I have written about before, is a new form of theater based entirely of sound. The orriginal intention behind audio theater was to serve as a tribute to old time radio shows back in the 40's and 50's. I have been listening to audio theater on www.darkerprojects.com, where you can find a variety of sci-fi related offerings and some orriginal works. They also include recorded fan fiction on some of the most popular of series such as Star Treck and Doctor Who.
The orriginal idea for the web site took blind and visually impaired individuals in to consideration, and the site is fully accessible. However, the admin of the site has stated that they intend these productions to entertain everyone, even sighted people also. I listen to there productions online and you can also download them as well. I can surely tell you that I appreciate the time and effort that is placed in to these works, and I will continue to test out the various offerings for audio theater in other genres. With life essentially dictating that tv must contain repeats for most of the year in most cases, why not check out something different.
The minds that come up with audio theater like this should really be praised for what they have been accomplishing. Since even movies and regualar tv need good quality audio and music, I can imagine any number of production team members working on audio theater to be offered positions with major companies, if only mainstream media was aware of them. Thankfully Darker Projects is completely free, although donate options do exist if you wish to support the site. Most of the outlets for audio theater are actually run and maintained by people volunteering there time free of charge, and from the feedback I have come across through my inquirys, everyone agrees that these talented folks, especially the ones at Darker Projects, would be able to command a high salary somewhere should they wish. I am amazed at how technology is making media more accessible in every sence of the word, and I will continue to investigate greater forms of theater and audio.
The orriginal idea for the web site took blind and visually impaired individuals in to consideration, and the site is fully accessible. However, the admin of the site has stated that they intend these productions to entertain everyone, even sighted people also. I listen to there productions online and you can also download them as well. I can surely tell you that I appreciate the time and effort that is placed in to these works, and I will continue to test out the various offerings for audio theater in other genres. With life essentially dictating that tv must contain repeats for most of the year in most cases, why not check out something different.
The minds that come up with audio theater like this should really be praised for what they have been accomplishing. Since even movies and regualar tv need good quality audio and music, I can imagine any number of production team members working on audio theater to be offered positions with major companies, if only mainstream media was aware of them. Thankfully Darker Projects is completely free, although donate options do exist if you wish to support the site. Most of the outlets for audio theater are actually run and maintained by people volunteering there time free of charge, and from the feedback I have come across through my inquirys, everyone agrees that these talented folks, especially the ones at Darker Projects, would be able to command a high salary somewhere should they wish. I am amazed at how technology is making media more accessible in every sence of the word, and I will continue to investigate greater forms of theater and audio.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Radio Locator
How important is it to stay organized? Now you can go to www.radioloacator.com for a complete comprehensive directory of radio stations from around the world. I have reviewed the site, and many of its elements are accessible to screen readers. The web site is also simple and cleanly layed out, and is easy to look at on the eyes, from what I have read so far. You shouldn't have any problems connecting to the different stations.
As I have mentioned before, many if not all radio stations have links to listen live on the internet. Instead of having to find a station's web site and go to it directly for the link to listen, now you just go to www.radiolocator.com and you can connect directly.
When you go to the site, you first narrow down and search for a particular station or category of stations to listen to. Info on the different stations will come up, and you click the link which will take you directly to the stream. This site is a real time saver, and you can now access radio easier than ever. I still enjoy television and I know others do to, but it's nice to know that radio isn't entirely dead, and that people aren't always on the road somewhere when they tune in to great listening.
As I have mentioned before, many if not all radio stations have links to listen live on the internet. Instead of having to find a station's web site and go to it directly for the link to listen, now you just go to www.radiolocator.com and you can connect directly.
When you go to the site, you first narrow down and search for a particular station or category of stations to listen to. Info on the different stations will come up, and you click the link which will take you directly to the stream. This site is a real time saver, and you can now access radio easier than ever. I still enjoy television and I know others do to, but it's nice to know that radio isn't entirely dead, and that people aren't always on the road somewhere when they tune in to great listening.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Accessible Newspapers
Reading the newspaper has never been more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Through a service provided through the NFB, you now can call a phone number to log in to a service that will you to listen to recordings of articles from a variety of newspapers. These newspapers range from anywhere in the United States. You do have to register, and you must varify that you are visually impaired in order to use the service.
You can find more information at www.nfb.org/newsline, and this is just another form of media that you can enjoy if you are blind or visually impaired. If you are not visually impaired, you can still take advantage of the internet, if you don't want to have to read a physical newspaper. Every major publication has an online version of there newspaper, that can be accessed free of charge in most cases. You can also go to www.onlinenewspapers.com, for a listing of major publications by country and type of publication. I myself like reading the Denver post online sometimes, and the New York Times is also a reliable source for screen reader accessibility, for those visually impaired that still prefer the internet over telephone news sources.
An incredible discovery has brought news to people like never before through media. Now the visually impaired can take full advantage of this opportunity. I also hope I have helped connect sighted people with news outlets as well, so let me know what you think and comment below.
You can find more information at www.nfb.org/newsline, and this is just another form of media that you can enjoy if you are blind or visually impaired. If you are not visually impaired, you can still take advantage of the internet, if you don't want to have to read a physical newspaper. Every major publication has an online version of there newspaper, that can be accessed free of charge in most cases. You can also go to www.onlinenewspapers.com, for a listing of major publications by country and type of publication. I myself like reading the Denver post online sometimes, and the New York Times is also a reliable source for screen reader accessibility, for those visually impaired that still prefer the internet over telephone news sources.
An incredible discovery has brought news to people like never before through media. Now the visually impaired can take full advantage of this opportunity. I also hope I have helped connect sighted people with news outlets as well, so let me know what you think and comment below.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Classic Broadcasts
What would it be like to listen to old time news and sports broadcasts? I was on www.otr.net, and I came across a collection of old news reports and actual recordings of classic sporting events. The broadcasts on www.otr.net are in real format, which you can play by downloading the free real player at www.real.com.
I discovered that on the other sites I mentioned regarding old time radio, a collection of actual breaking news and other reports from world war 2. World war 2 was one of my favorite times in history to study, and it was a golden opportunity to hear Churchhill and FDR for myself. These other sites use mp3 formats just like the old time radio shows. I, like most of you, reading this am a sports fan, and I enjoyed the ability to hear the Yankees and the Tigers back in the 1940's. If you watch the news or listen to sports, you will like this collection of classic media.
I discovered that on the other sites I mentioned regarding old time radio, a collection of actual breaking news and other reports from world war 2. World war 2 was one of my favorite times in history to study, and it was a golden opportunity to hear Churchhill and FDR for myself. These other sites use mp3 formats just like the old time radio shows. I, like most of you, reading this am a sports fan, and I enjoyed the ability to hear the Yankees and the Tigers back in the 1940's. If you watch the news or listen to sports, you will like this collection of classic media.
Accessible mainstream video games
I have mentioned previously that video games are so popular, that even the visually impaired are aware of them. Blind people can also play computer games known as audio games, as I also mentioned in a previous post. However, there now appears to be actual mainstream video games that blind and visually impaired people can play.
A list of mainstream accessible video games has been created, and contains games from a variety of systems. Each of these games has been personally reviewed by the creater and maintainer of the list, and each game comes with a description of its accessibility. A lot of the games for the different systems are the same, but there is enough variety for a unique experience to be had on the different platforms. I will keep you posted as to updates to the list.
Copy the following in to your address bar:
http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?id=10067
I hope this will only work to bring blind and sighted gamers together. The increased accessibility of games for the visually impaired will only serve to spark creativity in computer games.
A list of mainstream accessible video games has been created, and contains games from a variety of systems. Each of these games has been personally reviewed by the creater and maintainer of the list, and each game comes with a description of its accessibility. A lot of the games for the different systems are the same, but there is enough variety for a unique experience to be had on the different platforms. I will keep you posted as to updates to the list.
Copy the following in to your address bar:
http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?id=10067
I hope this will only work to bring blind and sighted gamers together. The increased accessibility of games for the visually impaired will only serve to spark creativity in computer games.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Interactive Music Search Engine
I have talked a lot about music lately, and everyone seems to talk about music everywhere. Everyone knows of, or at least has heard of Pandora, a service that lets you create your own radio station surrounding a particular artist, and then the site recommends other artists that are similar in style and genre. You can favorite songs that you like, and ban artists and songs that you don't like. As you ad and favorite more content, Pandora begins to understand your music preferences based on given criteria. Other services offer similar content, but Pandora is the most popular out of all of them.
I myself like many other visually impaired people have found issues with Pandora because of its tendency to use flash a lot. Flash is a way to display content on a web page in a dynamic fashion. As a result, I myself, like other blind and visually impaired individuals, use Last FM, a competetor that offers to build personal radio stations like Pandora, along with the ability to search there music catalog by category, also known as searching by tag. I have received feedback that Pandora is accessible on mobile devices with the help of a screen reader, and both Pandora and Last FM are constantly adding new features. If you love Pandora, I would invite you to also check out Last Fm, where you can find links on artists' pages to music videos, concert information, and biographys to better get to know your favorite bands.
You can imagine these services as music search engines of course, more like recommendation engines that try to get to know you. Now you won't have to say "I wish they could understand my taste in music.", anymore ever again. If you know of any other streaming online radio services like Pandora, please let me know in the comments to share with others.
I myself like many other visually impaired people have found issues with Pandora because of its tendency to use flash a lot. Flash is a way to display content on a web page in a dynamic fashion. As a result, I myself, like other blind and visually impaired individuals, use Last FM, a competetor that offers to build personal radio stations like Pandora, along with the ability to search there music catalog by category, also known as searching by tag. I have received feedback that Pandora is accessible on mobile devices with the help of a screen reader, and both Pandora and Last FM are constantly adding new features. If you love Pandora, I would invite you to also check out Last Fm, where you can find links on artists' pages to music videos, concert information, and biographys to better get to know your favorite bands.
You can imagine these services as music search engines of course, more like recommendation engines that try to get to know you. Now you won't have to say "I wish they could understand my taste in music.", anymore ever again. If you know of any other streaming online radio services like Pandora, please let me know in the comments to share with others.
Video Game Music
Every one loves music! Now fans of video games and the music contained within video games now have a resource to listen to and download there favorite tracks. If you go to www.vgmusic.com, you can find a variety of midi tracks of music from several platforms of games. Other sites are available, but they range in accessibility for the visually impaired, as well as general functionality and use. I myself can't get over the amazing style of the classic Final Fantasy music, and I always find more tracks to go back to from other games.
This is an amazing opportunity for the visually impaired to interact with a new form of music to listen to, and it's a nice break from mainstream music. It is not a leap to assume that blind and visually impaired people know of video games, they all have family members, friends, and class mates that have or currently play video games. Since sighted people talk about them, tv and the internet advertise them, and there popularity is always growing, it would be excellent if more visually impaired people got involved in this increasingly expanding aspect of pop culture. As a blind person myself, I have always been attracted to various forms of sound, and every visually impaired person I know has great love to audio and what music has to offer to the ears. So it is reasonable that blind people, like sighted people, will appreciate a new genre of music to listen to.
Vgmusic, the largest provider of free video game music to listen to and download, has a fully accessible site, and different consoles of video games to choose from. A search feature also allows you to narrow down your search even more, although having large tables to scan through in order to find a particular track to listen to can be tedious at times. With that said, I still highly recommend it as a way to opening your mind to a different category of pleasing music. Please follow and comment to let me know how you feel about this form of entertainment.
This is an amazing opportunity for the visually impaired to interact with a new form of music to listen to, and it's a nice break from mainstream music. It is not a leap to assume that blind and visually impaired people know of video games, they all have family members, friends, and class mates that have or currently play video games. Since sighted people talk about them, tv and the internet advertise them, and there popularity is always growing, it would be excellent if more visually impaired people got involved in this increasingly expanding aspect of pop culture. As a blind person myself, I have always been attracted to various forms of sound, and every visually impaired person I know has great love to audio and what music has to offer to the ears. So it is reasonable that blind people, like sighted people, will appreciate a new genre of music to listen to.
Vgmusic, the largest provider of free video game music to listen to and download, has a fully accessible site, and different consoles of video games to choose from. A search feature also allows you to narrow down your search even more, although having large tables to scan through in order to find a particular track to listen to can be tedious at times. With that said, I still highly recommend it as a way to opening your mind to a different category of pleasing music. Please follow and comment to let me know how you feel about this form of entertainment.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Listen Live Radio over the phone
In the last post, I talked about ACB radio, a radio service from The American Council for the Blind, that provides streaming radio stations specificly catered to the blind and Visually impaired. I also mentioned that you could listen by calling a number on your phone. The service provides this using a product called Audio Now.
From what I have been able to gather, Audio Now is a concept in which live streams are provided that are connected somehow to a line that can be accessed over the phone. I can't seem to find a working web site, but I have found data that suggests that this concept has been applied to other radio streaming services. This technology isn't known widely so far, but hopefully that will change.
From what I have been able to gather, Audio Now is a concept in which live streams are provided that are connected somehow to a line that can be accessed over the phone. I can't seem to find a working web site, but I have found data that suggests that this concept has been applied to other radio streaming services. This technology isn't known widely so far, but hopefully that will change.
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