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Monday, May 28, 2012

How To Turn on Parental Controls on an iOS Device



The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch are great resources for many children and adults alike. If you want more control over what your child is doing while using their iOS device restrictions is the place to go. To enable restrictions go to settings then general and then restrictions. From there you will have to set a password so no one else can change the settings. You will want to make sure that you remember the password. Once you have typed in your password you can block access to different features such as the internet, downloading apps, deleting app, FaceTime, camera and more. These built in options are great for parents and educators who want more control over what children are doing on their iOS device.

To learn more and see step by step instructions watch the video above.  

Friday, May 18, 2012

Ginger Extension for Chrome Adds Contextual Spelling And Grammar Correction



Ginger, the contextual spelling and grammar correction software is now available as a free Chrome Extension. If you are not familiar with Ginger click here. The software can correct spelling and grammar for any written text in the Chrome web browser. Ginger is great for people that struggle with spelling or people who are learning English. To download Ginger for Chrome click here.



Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Flipboard Updated to Support VoiceOver



Today, Flipboard was updated to support iOS VoiceOver. The update finally allows people who are blind, visually impaired or have print disabilities to access Flipboard. For those who are unfamiliar Flipboard is a popular news and social app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Click here to download Flipboard for free.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

What Accessibility Features will iOS 6 Include?


Apple's WWDC developer conference is a month away. Last year at WWDC Apple announced iOS 5 and  if rumors are correct Apple is planing to announced iOS 6 in about a month. iOS is the software that runs the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. iOS 5 brought many accessibility improvements including, Speak Selection, AssistiveTouch, custom vibration and VoiceOver improvements. In the above I discuss accessibility features that I would like to see included in iOS 6. Hopefully iOS 6 continues the trend of accessibility improvements that benefit people with disabilities.
What accessibility features are you hoping to see in iOS 6? Let us know in the comments.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Text to 911 Will Benefit the Deaf


This weekend Verizon announced its plans to make a nationwide system allowing cell phone users to text message 911. The system will be in place as early as 2013. This service will be helpful for the deaf or hard of hearing who find voice calls difficult if not impossible. Verizon says the following about text to 911's benefit for the deaf or hard of hearing,
"While consumers should always first try to contact a 911 center by making a voice call, this enhanced SMS service, when deployed, will offer an alternative for customers on the Verizon Wireless network who are deaf or hard of hearing and cannot make voice calls or who could be placed in additional danger by speaking."
To be clear if you are able to make voice calls to 911 it remains the preferred method. Text to 911 service has not been deployed so texts to 911 will not be answered. Click read more below to read the Verizon's press release.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Apple to Introduce New Software with Accessibility Features Built-In

WWDC 2012 June 11-15 in San Francisco. It's the week we've all be waiting for.

Apple recently announced that they will hold their World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC). At the conference apple is expected to announce iOS 6 the operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Last year at WWDC Apple announced  iOS 5 which included features such as AssistiveTouch, reader, speak selection, custom vibrations, reminders, Siri and more. If Apple continues its habit of making its mobile devices accessible to a wide variety of users, iOS 6 should have a lot in store.

What accessibility features are you hoping for in iOS 6? Let us know in the comments.

WWDC 2012 Badge with iCal icon on the date Monday June 11th