ISSUE10 magazine SPRING 2013 THIS EDITION: The Great Enabler? Eye-phone: How mobile apps changed my life Cutting edge: Specialist gadgets revolutionising disabled access Game on: Meet the geeks helping gamers play on PLUS: iOS vs Android accessibility shootout • 600,000 Australians fight for the right to watch TV p1_cover5.indd 17 31/07/13 1:37 PM ISSUE10 SPRING 2013 magazine ACCAN: our story ACCAN is the peak organisation representing all consumers on communications issues including telecommunications, broadband and emerging new services. Our mission is to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of communications services for all Australians. Contact us: Phone: 02 9288 4000 TTY: 02 9281 5322 Our CEO: Teresa Corbin Web: accan.org.au Twitter: @ACCAN_AU Email: [email protected] ike many consumers, I rely on fascinating personal insight into how my mobile gadgets in almost ACCAN’s Wayne Hawkins has dealt Magazine contributors every aspect of my life. It’s with technology since becoming easy to take for granted these blind seven years ago and some of Editor: Asher Moses L personal assistants in our pockets the apps that have changed his life Deputy Editor: Mark Callender that not so long ago were the stuff (page 8). Contributors: Wayne Hawkins, of science fiction. Unfortunately, And despite the fact that so Katerina Pavlidis these digital companions are not many apps and websites are still Design: Magnesium Media always accessible to those who could inaccessible, there are some fantastic www.magnesiummedia.com.au benefit from them the most, such technologies currently being Cover: © Shutterstock.com as people with disability and older developed for people with disability, consumers. Far from “The Great such as a new gadget by Orcam, Enabler”, for many this revolutionary which purports to give people who technology is the great isolator, as are blind the ability to see (pages too few apps and websites are made 4-5). There’s also an inspiring story accessible. People who are vision on Caleb Kraft, a tech “tinkerer” who impaired in particular often have to has taken it upon himself to make guess their way around sites and apps affordable, customised controllers for simply due to basic design oversights. gamers with disability (page 6). This inequity is why we are As always, if you have any partnering with Telstra to hold comments, suggestions or feedback, the M-Enabling Australasia 2013 please email [email protected] or call conference in August – we want me on 02 9288 4000. the event and this magazine to raise awareness so that people with Warm regards, disability are fully included in the Teresa Corbin digital revolution. CEO Our feature story will give you a ACCAN 2 www.accan.org.au p2-3_ceo_contents.indd 2 31/07/13 1:37 PM Contents N NEWS 4 New eyes for the blind and a GPS gadget to “watch” over grandma S SPOTLIGHT 6 Master of his Kraft Caleb Kraft is helping disabled gamers play on INTERVIEW 7 The irony of access Graeme Innes knows how to fix the accessibility problem T TIPS 11 Accessibility shootout: iOS vs Android f FEATURE Who will be the accessibility Wayne’s world: how winner? apps changed my life A personal insight into navigating the app universe P POLICY 12 after suddenly becoming Deaf community calling blind the shots Finally…new communications services for the Deaf G GRANTS 13 Death and the internet Will your family be able to access your digital assets after you die? M MEMBERS 14 It’s our ABC too Blind Citizen’s Australia take the fight to the ABC and federal government Spring 2013 3 p2-3_ceo_contents.indd 3 8 31/07/13 1:37 PM N NEWS Watching over grandma Two Sydney brothers have developed the SOS Mobile Watch designed specifically for elderly users. Equipped with a SIM card and GPS functionality, the watch features a big red button that can be Glasses provide new eyes to blind pushed by the wearer in the event Israeli startup Orcam is generating even announce the names of friends of an emergency. The watch dials global buzz over its technology to help and family in a room. The company said the numbers of various designated carers until someone answers. the visually impaired. The small gadget, it had pre-sold “several hundred units” Carers can then speak directly to containing a camera and earpiece, clips following their introduction on June 4 at the wearer and track them via GPS on to a pair of glasses and tells the a price of $US2,500 each, with the first on a map. The watch, designed to wearer what’s in front of them. It can 100 units shipping in September and the give more independence to seniors, read the text of a book or menu, identify remainder expected to be shipped by costs $399 outright or $39 a month. products on supermarket shelves and the end of 2013. GPS for blind golfers Apple ups ante on Blind golfers have accessibility traditionally had to See Apple’s smartphone “Tips” on rely heavily on their and tablet software caddy for essential already has p.11 information, but a extensive built-in new product called accessibility options GolfBuddy Voice+ (see “Tips” on page 11), but the is greatly increasing next version, iOS 7, due out in their independence. Spring, is expected to enhance With information about these further by allowing users to over 36,000 golf courses control their devices using head around the world, the device movements, ideal for quadriplegic automatically recognises where a golfer users. Specific movements can is playing, what hole they are on and be mapped to functions on the how far from the green they are from phone such as a left head roll to the golfers’ own angle of approach. activate a click or a right head The device, which can also give highly movement to activate Siri. accurate distance readings, sells in Australia for $220. Carpenter© Shawn 4 www.accan.org.au p4-5_news.indd 4 31/07/13 1:50 PM Life: a tactile comic for the blind During his interaction design studies, Philipp Meyer decided to take on a novel but powerful project – building a tactile comic book for people who are blind. The results, published on his website (hallo.pm/life), have been extremely well received and in May, Meyer began offering them for sale through his website as well as making versions for libraries and schools for the blind. He said he would never forget the day Braille proofreader Michael read the comic for the first time, experiencing a completely new medium. “On that day I realised that it is possible to tell a story – without ink, text or sound – that comes to life through imagination,” he said. Winners and losers in copyright battle Less than 1% of the world’s books been renewed”. Individual member are currently made accessible to the states must now ratify the treaty and blind community. Fortunately, this implement the provisions. meagre number looks set to change Conversely, rightsholders, who following the agreement of a new strongly resisted the WIPO treaty, global copyright treaty at the World have separately taken action against Intellectual Property Organisation Swedish subtitle translation site (WIPO) conference held in Undertexter. The service Braille smartphone June in Marrakech. The provided fan-made Indian designer Sumit Dagar has treaty makes it possible, translations of TV and developed a prototype of a Braille- for the first time, to make film dialogue that enabled smartphone that he says copyrighted material could be overlaid could be on the market by the end accessible to the blind as captions on the of this year. The touchscreen is able community without on-screen content. to elevate and depress content, having to ask permission Swedish police, who transforming the data into touchable of the copyright holder raided two properties patterns. This would allow a visually- and to share those works used by the service, said impaired person to conduct a video across borders. Currently, if it was a breach of copyright chat with someone and be able you live in the US and try to send law to make transcripts of the to track their facial expressions. an accessible audio book to Australia, works without the permission of the “Technology is giving everyone you would be in breach of copyright copyright holders. Critics of the move superpowers, but many blind people law. This treaty is seen as crucial for said the industry had failed to provide are not able to tap into these cool the millions in the developing world adequate subtitles. “These sites exist new features, and the technology is who have basically no access to these because they offer a service to the deaf making them even more disabled,” works. Musician Stevie Wonder, who and foreign language audience that’s said Dagar. “So I decided to do has been blind since just after birth and often lacking through legal channels,” something that could reach out to campaigned for the changes, said after Ernesto van der Sar, editor of the this population.” © Shawn Carpenter© Shawn the deal that “my faith in humanity has Torrentfreak news site, told the BBC. Spring 2013 5 p4-5_news.indd 5 31/07/13 1:43 PM S SPOTLIGHT Caleb Kraft services (http://benheck.com/for-sale) to customise Xbox controllers to suit Master of his Kraft people with disability. On June 20 Kraft launched The Controller Project aleb Kraft got angry, then he (www.thecontrollerproject.com), decided to do something about an online community to connect techie it. Earlier this year the 32-year- tinkerers with people with disability.