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.
Friday, November 7, 2014
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.
Radio for the "Blind
It is striking to observe how much media exists for the blind and visually impaired to access, and I am excited to present an entire radio source created by and for the blind and visually impaired. The American Council for the blind, ACB,, has provided a free service consisting of online radio streams that contain programming specific to issues and information relating to the blind. The following is the mission statement taken directly from the ACB radio website at www.acbradio.org.
ACB Radio, a project of the American Council of the Blind, streams via the internet, up-to-date and relevant information worldwide for persons who are blind or who have low vision, provides programming produced by blind programmers, and a platform on which blind musicians and artists express their talents.
copyright American Council for the Blind, www.acb.org
You can even listen to the radio stations on your telephone! That's right, just call 1-231-460-1047, and choose one of the radio stations using your touch tone phone. Please note that long distance charges may apply, but this is an excellent service for the blind and visually impaired. I would encourage everyone to check out ACB radio and feel free to ask me any questions you have in the comments section.
The capability to listen to these radio stations over the phone is powered by Audio Now. Keep checking future posts for updates on how this technology works and how it might be applied to other streaming services.
ACB Radio, a project of the American Council of the Blind, streams via the internet, up-to-date and relevant information worldwide for persons who are blind or who have low vision, provides programming produced by blind programmers, and a platform on which blind musicians and artists express their talents.
copyright American Council for the Blind, www.acb.org
You can even listen to the radio stations on your telephone! That's right, just call 1-231-460-1047, and choose one of the radio stations using your touch tone phone. Please note that long distance charges may apply, but this is an excellent service for the blind and visually impaired. I would encourage everyone to check out ACB radio and feel free to ask me any questions you have in the comments section.
The capability to listen to these radio stations over the phone is powered by Audio Now. Keep checking future posts for updates on how this technology works and how it might be applied to other streaming services.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Games for the Blind
Many people these days play video games of some sort. Whether they play on a gaming console or a phone, millions of people around the world engage in playing video games every day. Not only do video games exist for sighted people, but also there are audio based games that are accessible to the blind and visually impaired.
These games use auditory backgrounds and sound effects to represent the environments, as well as text or audio descriptions of text with the game, that can be read by screen readers or heard through sappy speech. Menues are spoken and most of the time, arrow keys navigate these menues and the game will indicate when a highlighted option has been pressed. Sound effects also represent your character as well as other living beings. For example, different car engines might represent different racers in a racing game. You can find a variety of different audio games in different genres. The number of audio games is small in comparison to video games, but that number is growing every year.
The main hub for audio games that I have found is www.audiogames.net where you can find links to other audio game resources. The sight is fully accessible to screen reading software, and sighted people as well appreciate the web site's simple layout. I believe this is an incredible market for games, and I know sighted people would find this concept intriguing. I invite you to check out this future of gaming, and to appreciate the creativity that can be explored through a new form of entertainment. As always, let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback.
These games use auditory backgrounds and sound effects to represent the environments, as well as text or audio descriptions of text with the game, that can be read by screen readers or heard through sappy speech. Menues are spoken and most of the time, arrow keys navigate these menues and the game will indicate when a highlighted option has been pressed. Sound effects also represent your character as well as other living beings. For example, different car engines might represent different racers in a racing game. You can find a variety of different audio games in different genres. The number of audio games is small in comparison to video games, but that number is growing every year.
The main hub for audio games that I have found is www.audiogames.net where you can find links to other audio game resources. The sight is fully accessible to screen reading software, and sighted people as well appreciate the web site's simple layout. I believe this is an incredible market for games, and I know sighted people would find this concept intriguing. I invite you to check out this future of gaming, and to appreciate the creativity that can be explored through a new form of entertainment. As always, let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback.
Streaming Church Online
I am happy when new forms of media come online for people to take advantage of. Thanks to webcasts and there popularity, many churches around the world are using webcasts to film live services and messages, and post them up on there web site. Different churches have different formats for listening to there messages online, but most that I have sampled are accessible. I myself attend church, and really appreciate how easy it is to access services from our various locations. If you enjoy attending church, I highly recommend that you look in to what might be available from your church. I will be starting a poll soon, please look for that and cast your vote.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Listening to Sports Radio Online
About a year or so ago, I came across a way to search for places to listen to sports radio online for free. Go to google or your favorite search engine, and type in the following:
espn radio listen live
The vast majority of radio stations online have a "listen live" link, that you can use to listen to that station online in a separate window or media player. For some other sports radio links, type in the following in a search engine:
fox sports radio listen live
nbc sports radio listen live
cbs sports radio listen live
The different sports outlets have different formats that you can use to listen to there content online. Visually impaired users should be able to access these sites with an updated browser and any screen reader. I can not say how these sites work on mobile devices, but you should be able to find resources or guides on accessing streaming radio on phones or tablets.I hope this works out for you and enjoy!
espn radio listen live
The vast majority of radio stations online have a "listen live" link, that you can use to listen to that station online in a separate window or media player. For some other sports radio links, type in the following in a search engine:
fox sports radio listen live
nbc sports radio listen live
cbs sports radio listen live
The different sports outlets have different formats that you can use to listen to there content online. Visually impaired users should be able to access these sites with an updated browser and any screen reader. I can not say how these sites work on mobile devices, but you should be able to find resources or guides on accessing streaming radio on phones or tablets.I hope this works out for you and enjoy!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Online Tv Guide
Do you ever wonder what it's like not to be able to read your tv's information, that is displayed when you hit the information button on your remote? That might be something you would ask if you were visually impaired, or if you just weren't familiar with how to use the info feature on your remote control.
After several days of searching, I finally came across a site where you can scan through an online tv guide. The web site allows you to choose from different broadcast providers, and the web site automaticly adjusts show times to the zipcode in which you are viewing the page from. It is totally accessible, and I have even discovered channels that I didn't even know I had. Please enjoy and tell me what are your favorite tv shows.
go to:
www.locatetv.com
(e.g), for comcast go to:
http://www.locatetv.com/listings/comcast
After several days of searching, I finally came across a site where you can scan through an online tv guide. The web site allows you to choose from different broadcast providers, and the web site automaticly adjusts show times to the zipcode in which you are viewing the page from. It is totally accessible, and I have even discovered channels that I didn't even know I had. Please enjoy and tell me what are your favorite tv shows.
go to:
www.locatetv.com
(e.g), for comcast go to:
http://www.locatetv.com/listings/comcast
Saturday, November 1, 2014
TEACH Act promises Increased Accessibility for the Blind and Visually impaired
I am excited to report that blind people finally might be able to obtain accessible media and other forms of accessible educational materials in college. For some time now, blind and visually impaired people have struggled to obtain accessible textbooks and course materials in there college classes. But now, with the TEACH act, (Technology Education Accessibility in College and Higher Education), guidelines will finally exist to inform colleges and universities on how best to accomidate the blind community. To learn more about the new law, enter the following url in to your address bar. https://nfb.org/TEACH
Audio Theater
Old time radio, or radio drama, as it used to be called in the 1930's 1940's and 1950's, has taken on a new twist with audio theater. Audio theater is dramatic media made up entirely of sound, in the fashion of old time radio drama. Audio theater is simply productions or plays that contain only voice overs and sound effects. This is great for those who are visually impaired, and I am highly recommending this new art form to my friends and family. The great collection of audio theater resources can be found at www.audiotheater.com and is easy to navigate with graphical links. Some of the resources are fan based or free to listen to and download, others are professional comercial productions from recognized audio performers. I myself love the independent free offerings from Darker Projects, and I am currently looking in to trying others. If you have further questions, comment below and I will try to answer as best I can.
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