The reason for no recent posts
I have been unable to post any articles recently due to a hip injury I sustained at the beginning of May. Initially I believed I would recover in a couple of weeks but it was worse than first feared and it has been very uncomfortable to walk or sit for long periods so I have spent my time laying on the sofa listening to audiobooks and the radio. Yesterday I started to walk outside again with assistance but did not manage to go very far, but I can now sit down for long periods of time so I am going to recommence writing this drivel. So let’s have a brief look at what has happened recently.
Ticket Offices
The Government is trying to force through a bill that would mean there would be no ticket offices at rail stations and all tickets would have to be purchased online through an app on a smartphone or computer, or through a ticket machine at a station. Firstly, the web based ticket services would have to be completely compatible with screen readers, and currently they are not, or everybody would have to purchase a smart phone and know how to use it.
Having believed they had sorted the problems above out by saying there would be staff available to help people use the ticket machines I am curious to know how a blind person would find a member of staff or a ticket machine. I envisage a lot of people standing at the entrance to the station waving white canes in the air shouting for help. If you have not done so already I assume there are templates or some other guidance on either the RNIB website or the Guide Dogs website to help you give your opinion to the committee that seem to be attempting to stop disabled people travelling by train.
Synapptic 9.1
For anybody who uses this software on their smart phones and have not updated it recently, I believe this update was released on May 11 and a bug fix about a month later, I suggest you do it as soon as you can. This update has introduced two main features, that of being able to consult text messages, emails, and your address book whilst remaining on a call and the second is the introduction of being able to download and listen to Calibre audiobooks within the main application. There are also improvements to the way youTube videos are handled.
Sight village central
This exhibition has been and gone but a number of manufacturers and distributors of equipment and software for the blind and visually impaired is still available at discounted prices however I believe these reductions will be ending in mid to late August. Some of them are as high as 20% and if you are thinking of purchasing a pair of envisioned glasses a 20% discount is a very large saving.
