The Tech Doctor Blog and Podcast

Robert begins this Tech Doctor episode with a new year’s resolution. Allison tells us all about how to play MP3 audio books with the latest Voice Dream Reader. Robert takes us through the process of choosing the iPad Air over the iPad Mini. Finally, the Tech Doctors discuss the Unified English Braille Code which will be officially adopted by the United States in 2016. Happy holidays to all o...

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert speak with Sue Martin. Sue has recently written and published her memoir. The book is entitled “Out of the Whirlpool: A Memoir of Remorse and Reconciliation.” Sue’s story is absolutely one of triumph and fulfillment. It begins, however, with Sue describing her serious struggle with depression and the suicide attempt which resulted i...

In this podcast, Allison and Robert discuss what we are likely to see from Apple regarding new iPads, MacBook Pros and the eminent release of Mavericks. They describe the importance of backing up ones system before updating the OS including some recommended backup software. Robert And Allison discuss their experiences with iOS 7. They are in agreement that it is a very solid first version of the O...

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert spend the first 45 minutes with Jonathan Mosen discussing his new book called “iOS 7 Without the Eye.” While not intended for the iOS beginner, this is an excellent resource for quickly and easily getting up to speed with what’s new and different in iOS 7. The book is available directly from Jonathan and comes in PDF, RTF and EPUB f...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Robert and Allison begin with a brief discussion of the Apple Event that is expected to occur on September 10th. This leads to a discussion of how much excitement a new iPhone generates and what this has come to represent. The remainder of the podcast is spent with Robert listing and describing the podcasts that he most often listens to. Below are two links for each po...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Allison and Robert talk with Deborah Kendrick about an extraordinary column that Deborah wrote for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper called Old-school Braille needs image update Deborah wrote the column after returning from the first ever Braille Summit where 100 braille experts gathered to discuss the future of braille. Deborah, Allison and Robert explain how important...

In this podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the frequently mentioned but rarely heard from man who ultimately won Allison’s heart. Jeremy Hartley shares his extensive background working in technology and music. Allison shares the story of out the couple met online. Both partners talk about how their relationship has evolved into the happy marriage that they now enjoy. Thanks Allison and J...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Robert and Allison talk with, Michael Manesh, the developer of Instabrowser . This iOS app very well may replace Safari as your favorite browser. Michael designed Instabrowser to load pages extremely fast and to render text in a clean and simple format. It works much like the read it later Instapaper app but operates on webpages in realtime. The table of contents butto...

In this podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the prolific podcaster, Blogger, software support specialist and overall Apple enthusiast Kelly Guimont. This time, however, Kelly is here to tell us about a fabulous project called “App Camp For Girls.” In this week long day camp, junior high school girls learn all about developing and marketing iOS apps. Their teachers are women who are...

Allison and Robert spend this podcast describing their experiences with the new iOS app from the Sendero Group called Seeing Eye GPS Robert and Allison discuss the user interface, provide detailed descriptions of their experiences both walking and driving with the app. They discuss onboard versus server based maps, the appropriateness of a subscription based model and describe the importance of ha...

In this Tech Doctor Podcast, Robert and Allison speak with the developer of a feature-rich highly responsive iOS app called “MBraille.” Harri Pasanen has 30 years of software development experience His knowledge and expertise has enabled him to develop a very sophisticated and powerful touch screen braille app in only six months. It is clear that Harri does his homework and he knows ho...

Robert and Allison begin this podcast by demonstrating how one can use the Mac running VoiceOver and Safari to play audio and video from a webpage. Websites that use an embedded HTML5 audio or video player are fully accessible with VoiceOver. We highlight some basic VoiceOver concepts and commands along the way. In addition, we show you how to download a currently playing podcast. Next–with...

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert share their excitement about all that was announced at the 2013 WWDC keynote event. Robert And Allison discuss some of the new features that will be available in OSX Mavericks when it is released this fall. They describe the new hardware that was announced. This includes a refresh of the MacBook Air laptops, new airport extreme and a totally redesign...

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Robert and Allison speak with Larry Lewis. We begin with Larry telling us about his background in access technology and how he has gotten to the point where he now owns a company called Flying Blind, LLC One important aspect of Larry’s business is helping teachers and parents work with their blind and low-vision children to make the best use of current technology...

In this Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert speak with access technology specialist Chris Grabowski. Chris has recently launched a new access technology training and consultation business called Mystic Access The first product from Mystic Access is a comprehensive Sense Navigation GPS tutorial. Sense Navigation is the GPS software that runs on the Hims Braille Sense family of products. Prior t...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Allison and Robert get to know Laura Legendary. Laura is a writer, public speaker, disability advocate and small business owner. Laura tells us the fascinating story of how the idea for her unique jewelry design, manufacturing and marketing business came to be. We explore the challenges and rewards of starting and running a business. Laura has conquered some of the acc...

Imagine a world where a totally blind person has access to over 1.8 million books and magazines. Imagining and hoping is exactly what Allison Hartley has done for the last several years. Until a few days before recording this podcast, much of the Amazon Kindle content was inaccessible. The limited content that was accessible was frustrating and to work with and marginally accessible at best. In th...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Allison and Robert speak with Steve Sawczyn a longtime user, consultant and teacher in the field of access technology. In recent years, Steve has made extensive use of both iOS and Android. In our roundtable discussion, we explore the idea that your personality type and work habits make a huge difference in whether you prefer Android or iOS. If you are a person who val...

Allison and Robert are in agreement that if the stand-alone Notetaker is going to survive, it will have to provide users with a way to access many of the most popular accessible smartphone apps. In version eight, Hims takes a giant step in this direction by giving Braille Sense users excellent access to Youtube, Dropbox, RSS Excel and more. Version Eight has two web browsers, the original one and...

In this podcast, Robert and Allison learn what life is like for an international iOS app developer who lives and works in India. Kunal Sood wanted an RSS reader that would allow him to read his RSS feeds even when he didn’t have a live internet connection. He designed the “Lire” RSS Reader to cache and store the entire text of articles on the iOS device. Like Instapaper, Lire str...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Robert and Allison speak with Sina Bahram. Sina is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University. As part of his work in computer science, he is working with Orbit Research and the American Printing House for the Blind who are partnering to make an off-the-shelf graphing calculator fully accessible to people who are blind. Although currently a prototype, this c...

In this podcast, Allison and Robert speak with Woody Anna Dresner. Anna graciously visits the Tech Doctor podcast when she publishes a new book. This time she tells us about “iPhone iOS 6 Updates.” Anna explains that this new book is intended to supplement last year’s “Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 5 for Blind Users.” We discuss the fact that while the book...

In this podcast, we talk with Shelly Brisbin, a freelance technology author and fellow podcaster. With a dozen books and hundreds of magazine articles to her credit, Shelly has published on topics such as how to use your mac, web publishing and wireless networking. On her podcasts, she does app reviews, explores new technology, let us get to know her husband, Frank, and teaches us how to make tast...

This time on the Tech Doctor podcast, Allison and Robert have the pleasure of talking with Seth McFarland, the developer of one of their favorite iOS apps. Downcast is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to either stream or download podcasts to an iOS device. In addition to talking about our favorite Downcast features, Seth tells us what it is like to be an Apple developer. We learn that App...

In this Tech Doctor episode, Robert and Allison talk with Darren Burton the Project Manager at the Technical Evaluation Services branch of The American Foundation for the Blind. Darren is heading up the development of a new iOS app called “AccessNote.” Darren explains the philosophy behind the creation of AccessNote and walks us through an excellent demonstration of this exciting app....