AT Banter Podcast

Well it’s another week and most of us here on the planet are still in some level of stay at home or lock down. COVID-19 is all most people are still talking about and that includes many advocate and members of the Disability Community. Rick, Rob, and Steve discuss several of the latest news stories about how COVID-19 is impacting the community and postulate on what might happen once things return...

Rob, Steve, and Rick may be the last people on the planet that anyone should take advice on maintaining their sanity, but they come together remotely to do their best all the same. The virus has us all shut in and isolating, which can be even more of a challenge for people with disabilities. This week the boys step through some ideas of what to do in order to maintain a positive attitude and sanit...

We may be in the middle of a global pandemic, and Ryan is taking a hiatus, but the show must go on! Rob, Steve and Rick discuss the announcement of some new forthcoming braille devices from Orbit research before launching into an extended conversation about what is on everyone’s mind these days – the impact of the Covid-19 virus and some of the ways it is impacting communities. Show Notes Orbit Re...

This week we get a lesson about the USA’s disability legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act, from Jessica Sanders and Christine Sket from Braille Works. We discuss everything from the scope of the Act itself to the Domino’s Pizza court case that went before the Supreme Court last year, as well as what it means for Accessibility going forward.   Show Notes ADA Website https://www.ada.gov/...

We are back from a brief hiatus this week and once again gather in the Guitar Dungeon to talk with Jeff Godfrey from Y4U Technologies along with beta tester Brian Bibeault about their new Indoor Navigation app, Accessibuild.   Show Notes Accessibuild Website https://accessibuild.ca/ Accessibuild App for iOS https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/accessibuild/id1487709203 Shameless Plug – Canute 360 https:/...

It’s an exciting show this week as Rob and Ryan welcome Eric Damery, Vice President of Software Management at Vispero, makers of the ever popular JAWS Screen Reading Software.  We wax nostalgic about the computing landscape of the 90s and discuss what it was like developing a screen reader during that period and how it compares to the current development cycle before discussing what the future hol...

Ryan gets bit by the travel bug and we learn that Geography is not Rob’s best subject as we welcome Karthik Kannan from Envision back into the Guitar Dungeon to talk about their new forthcoming product, Envision Glasses.   Show Notes Envision Glasses https://www.letsenvision.com/glasses Envision App https://www.letsenvision.com/ AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providi...

It’s the first News show of the new year! Today Rob, Ryan and Steve rant about a few new stories that are near and dear to their hearts including taxi cabs, Web Accessibility, and the future of haptic devices.   Show Notes Vancouver taxi companies stop subsidizing drivers of accessible vehicles, cite ride-hailing competition https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-taxi-associatio...

Well, after 182 episodes, the unthinkable has finally happened: Rob has fallen ill enough to miss the show! Will our intrepid co-hosts, Ryan and Steve, be able to pick up the slack and stop giggling long enough to welcome clothing entrepreneurs Bradford and Bryan Manning to the show? Find out in this week’s exciting episode of AT Banter!   Show Notes Two Blind Brothers Website https://twoblindbrot...

This week we welcome back Quentin Christensen from NDVA into the Guitar Dungeon to talk about all the new features of the free screen reader and discuss the state of screen readers overall. Somewhere in there we also find the time to discuss a few new products from CES and obscure 80s movie references. Jam packed show! Show Notes Get NVDA https://www.nvaccess.org/ Relaxed Theatre Performances http...

It’s the first show of a new decade and we begin 2020 with perhaps the greatest show we’ve ever produced. Just kidding, we once again fly by the seat of our pants and welcome the father-daughter team of Rick and Nicole Chant from Chaos Technical Services into the Guitar Dungeon. We discuss the Holidays, New Year’s Resolutions, what we think the AT trends in the coming year might be, and a variety...

It's that time again! The stockings are all hung in the Guitar Dungeon, and the tequila is all poured with care! Rick from Chaos Technical Services joins us for our Annual Christmas episode where we reminisce about holiday shows past, talk some Christmas controversies, play some trivia, and exchange presents! Pour some eggnog and pull up a chair to the fire and join us for the last show of the yea...

It’s our last regular show of the year! This week we welcome Liam Smith from Bristol Braille, makers of the forthcoming Braille e-reader the Canute 360. We get the latest updates on the status of the first production run as well as finding out what the development process has been like and what makes this new Braille device special. Show Notes Bristol Braille http://www.bristolbraille.co.uk/ Pre-O...

It’s another guerilla podcast as Rob and Ryan deal with a last minute guest cancellation and discuss a few news stories instead. Then, to Ryan’s delight, Rob turns the mics on him for an in-depth personal interview about his Blindness and his path into the Assistive Technology industry. Show Notes Translink to Upgrade Transit System for the Visually Impaired https://globalnews.ca/news/6264724/tran...

Ever wonder why the person in the next cubicle over never shakes anybody’s hand? We may have the answer for you as we dive into the very important topic of invisible disabilities and talk with Jess Stainbrook, Executive Director at the Invisible Disabilities Association. Show Notes Invisible Disabilities Association https://invisibledisabilities.org/ AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assisti...

This week on a very special AT Banter, the boys hold their own version of Listener Appreciation Day and welcome long time listener Beth aka Snow Bunny into the Guitar Dungeon for a bit of a stream-of-consciousness discussion which covers everything from the future of Assistive Technology to Smart Devices and privacy and everything in between. Oh, and Ryan gets fired. Show Notes New Smart Cane Aims...

It’s a full house this week as Rick and Nicole Chant, the father/ daughter team at Chaos Technical Services, visits the Guitar Dungeon to help the boys discuss a few news stories from the past few weeks. They talk about the latest Canadian scandal before launching into discussing what Google is doing to expand the usability of their Home devices, more Accessibility lawsuits and a very worthwhile a...

The boys have recovered from the Halloween show and transubstantiated back into their normal selves just in time to welcome Javier Pita, CEO of NaviLens, into the Guitar Dungeon all the way from sunny Spain! We discuss this innovate new variation of QR codes and its many applications, including as a navigation system for the visually impaired. Show Notes NaviLens https://www.navilens.com/ NaviLens...

It’s Halloween once again in the Guitar Dungeon, and the boys have gathered along with special guest Rick Chant from Chaos Technical Services to have a frightfully live show where literally ANYTHING could happen …. Show Notes “Are Guide Dogs Unethical?” from Good Morning Britain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqht8JyI9Vg AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sale...

This week we’re excited to welcome Matthew Shifrin, creator of the website Lego for the Blind, into the Guitar Dungeon where he explains the origin of his step by step instructions for multiple LEGO sets as well as how it came out that LEGO followed suit and began to develop their own pilot project for Braille and audio instructions. Show Notes Microsoft AI for Accessibility https://news.microsoft...

This week we travel all the way to Hawaii (yeah, we wish) and talk to Dr. Brett Oppegaard about The UniD Project, whose mandate is to create more vivid and robust audio descriptions for the visually impaired. We discuss the project's origins, its mandates and its first phase which is providing audio description at National Parks. Show Notes Uber Introduces Pet Uber https://www.theverge.com/2019/10...

It’s a Dog Day Afternoon in the Guitar Dungeon as we break some big news concerning the Domino’s Pizza Accessibility lawsuit before welcoming in Tara Dougherty from the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society for a discussion about (almost) everyone’s favorite topic -- puppies! Show Notes Supreme Court Denies Domino’s https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/464897-disability-activists-notch-win-as-su...

World Cerebral Palsy is almost upon us on October 6, so we take some time this week to talk with Elizabeth Specht and Jeanne Morton from the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, who discuss the condition itself as well as the Association and the work it does for individuals all over the Province. Show Notes Domino’s Wants to Slice Away at ADA https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/supreme-court-dominos...

It’s a big show this week as Rob, Steve, and Ryan discuss a range of big topics, including climate change, ape uprisings and even find some time to manage to touch on the accessibility features of iOS 13 before welcoming on Jenine Stanley, Explorer Community Manager at Aira to discuss what’s new with the innovative service for people with Blindness or Low Vision. Show Notes Aira https://aira.io/ W...

The Dungeon is alive … with the sound of music! That’s right, this week we dive back into a Music Therapy discussion with yet another returning guest, Dr. Benjamin Schogler, from Skoog! We discuss how this innovative Music Therapy tool was developed as well its mainstream applications, what’s new with the next generation of Skoogs, and how it can be used in therapeutic settings. Show Notes Skoog W...