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Summer 2025 Edition.
A service of the Technology User Group at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. Feel free to share this newsletter.
Apple recently announced its upcoming accessibility features for iOS 26, which will be released in the fall. iOS is the operating system for iDevices, such as iPhones and iPads. The following are some of the newly announced features.
Accessibility Nutrition Labels will provide more detailed information about accessibility for apps and games on the App Store. The labels will give users a new way to learn if an app will be accessible before they download it, making it easier for users to make informed decisions about their App Store purchases.
Braille Access is an all-new experience that can turn an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro into a full-featured braille note taker that’s deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem. With a built-in app launcher, users can easily open any app by typing with Braille Screen Input or a connected braille device. With Braille Access, users can quickly take notes in braille format and perform calculations using Nemeth Braille, a braille code often used in classrooms for math and science. Users can open Braille Ready Format (BRF) files directly from Braille Access, unlocking a wide range of books and files previously created on a braille note-taking device. In addition, an integrated form of Live Captions allows users to transcribe conversations in real time directly on braille displays.
Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision. Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, Accessibility Reader gives users new ways to customize text and focus on the content they want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content. Accessibility Reader can be launched from any app and is built into the Magnifier app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so users can interact with text in the real world, like in books or on dining menus.
Many individuals who are low vision or blind find audio described programming to be useful and informative. However, audio described content can be challenging to play. Let’s look at some popular streaming services and the techniques for getting audio description to work.
First, you must find out if audio description is even an option. The American Council of the Blind has a master list of all audio described movies either currently available in theaters or archived. You can find that list at
ADP Master List of Audio Described Videos (acb.org). The master list also includes TV shows.
The next thing you need to do is turn on the Audio Description accessibility tool on your iPhone. To turn on this tool, do the following:
- Open Settings with Siri.
- Swipe with one finger to the right until you find Accessibility, and double tap.
- Swipe to the right until you hear Audio Description, and make sure this option is in the “on” position. The Audio Description button toggles with a double tap.
Even though audio description is now turned on, it does not mean that every streaming service will recognize the utility. Apple content, though, should play as expected.
A number of content streamers allow users access to audio description by doing the following:
- Start a video.
- Double tap the video with one finger to bring up the Viewing and Listening menu.
- Put your phone in landscape mode.
- Swipe with one finger from left to right until you hear the Audio and Subtitles button.
- Double tap the Audio and Subtitles button with one finger.
- Swipe with one finger to go through the options.
- If audio description is offered, it will appear in the Audio and Subtitles menu as either “audio description English” or “US AD.”
- Double tap with one finger to select the audio description option your streaming site uses.
- You may have to then double tap on the Back Button or Close Button.
- You may also have to double tap on Play.
Each streaming site is a bit different. Certain streaming services, such as Prime Video and Netflix, will learn to turn on audio description because you have used it in the past.
YouTube TV has an interesting way to turn on audio described content. The steps are:
- Begin playing a video.
- Double tap on the More Options button, which will be near the extreme right. Your video quality, captions, and other menu items will appear. If there is a chance your content is described, you will hear Primary button. Double tapping the Primary button will bring up the Secondary button, which provides a variety of options. Double tap the Secondary button, and see what happens. You may have options for audio description, or you may have a foreign language. You might even have a tertiary option that you can test.
Hadley, an educational nonprofit for individuals who are blind or have low vision, now offers several podcasts via phone, including Hadley Presents and Insights & Sound Bites. To listen to these podcast episodes, featuring both experts and community members, call 847-558-1317. Braille for Everyday Use, a series of interactive workshops, is also available at 800-323-4238. For more information, visit www.hadleyhelps.org External or email info@hadleyhelps.org.
You have probably discovered that your Echo device plays many services and podcasts. One of these informational services is the news. Here is a list of some of the broadcasts you can listen to and the Alexa commands for how to access them.
ABC: Play ABC News update
Al Jazeera: Play Al Jazeera update
AP: Play AP News update
BBC: Play BBC News update
CBC: Enable CBC skill
CBS: Play 24-hour CBS News
CNN: Plays CNN News podcast
CNN International: Play CNN International News
(CNN International requires the TuneIn App. This news program will play from TuneIn if the app is on your phone.)
Fox: Play Fox News update
NBC: Enable NBC News skill
NPR: Play NPR News update
NY Times: Play The Daily podcast
Washington Post: Play the Washington Post podcast
Join the Technology User Group on July 12th as we explore other Alexa skills!
The book titles listed below are currently available or will soon be available in the NLS collection. If you are interested in receiving any of these selections, please contact the Reference Desk at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled at (410) 230-2443 or email reference.desk@maryland.gov.
A Windows Screen Reader Primer: All the Basics and More (Third Edition)
By David Kingsbury
DB121117
David Kingsbury is an Assistive Technology Instructor at the Carroll Center for the Blind. This book is meant to help beginning and intermediate JAWS, NVDA, and Windows Narrator users work more effectively with the most important PC applications – like Microsoft Office, email clients, and web browsers. These applications include the Windows operating system, the four primary Office Suite applications (Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint), and the three most commonly used web browsers (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox). Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive for Desktop, the three most popular cloud-based file-sharing programs, are also covered. So, too, is Adobe Acrobat Reader for accessing PDF files. Participating in, scheduling, and hosting Zoom meetings is also discussed. Appendices include a list of keystrokes, a glossary with over 100 definitions of computer-related terms, academic-style guide requirements for formatting Word documents, and a set of practice exercises. New topics since the second edition include a chapter on using the most popular Google Workspace applications, an introduction to artificial intelligence (AI), and audio and video editing.
Basic Training for NVDA
By NV Access
DB118858
BR025361
The Basic Training for NVDA eBook is the first module in the official set of training materials for learning to use the free NVDA screen reader. This eBook is suitable for the new and existing user wishing to improve proficiency. Topics covered include: getting started with NVDA and Windows, basic configuration, writing and editing text, document formatting, file management, multitasking, browsing the web, using the review cursor, and object navigation.
Windows 11 for Dummies
By Andy Rathbone
DB109227
Windows 11 promises to be the fastest, most secure, and most flexible version of the Microsoft operating system yet. With a promise like that, of course you want to start using it as quickly as possible! Windows 11 for Dummies gives you that speed, security, and flexibility by getting you up to date with the latest in Windows. Windows expert and bestselling author Andy Rathbone gives you a helping hand by showing you how to get around the newly updated Windows 11 interface, how to use the new Windows tools like Teams and widgets, and how to use Android apps. Your tour of Windows 11 starts with the Start menu and ends with how to troubleshoot when things go wrong. In between, you find out how to find files on your hard drive, connect with friends and colleagues on Microsoft Teams, transfer photos from your phone to your hard drive, and switch between your desktop and laptop. Additional topics include: navigating the Start menu, finding where your files are hiding, adding separate user accounts to keep your kids out of your business, connecting to a Wi-Fi network, customizing your widgets, and switching to a laptop or tablet. You know what you want to get done. Keep Windows 11 for Dummies by your desktop, laptop and tablet, and you can open it at any time to find out how to get your Windows computer to do what you need.
Windows 11 for Seniors for Dummies
By Curt Simmons
DB109228
What do you want to do with your Windows computer? Sign up for Facebook to keep up with your friends? Watch a video taken during the latest family trip? Find your latest email messages with a single click of the mouse? Look no further than Windows 11 for Seniors for Dummies to discover how to do these tasks and others that you use on a daily basis. With this guide to the popular operating system, you find the clear and easy instructions to checking tech tasks off your to-do list. This book focuses on giving you the steps you need – with plenty of helpful illustrations – to complete the essential tasks that you perform throughout your day, like connecting with friends on social media, customizing your Windows 11 desktop with personal photos, and emailing the family about weekend plans. You also find out how to navigate Windows 11 and enhance it with the apps and widgets that you regularly use. Other topics include: adding shortcuts to favorite apps, personalizing your desktop, creating your private Windows account, setting up the email app, having news delivered to your desktop, chasing down lost files, tweaking your digital photos, and setting your security and forgetting about it. Reach for Windows 11 for Seniors for Dummies whether you need a basic introduction to Windows, want a refresher on Windows 11, or have a question you want answered right away. You can then spend less time looking for help on how your computer works and more time enjoying the fun parts of life.
The rotor gesture for the iPhone is considered to be the hardest move to master. Place your thumb and forefinger in the center of the screen and turn to the left (counterclockwise). As you turn, you should hear items such as language, speaking rate, words, characters, etc. Of these, speaking rate is probably the most important to a new smart phone user. Once you hear the device say “Speaking Rate,” then you can either flick up with one finger to increase the speaking rate or flick down with one finger to decrease it. Once the speaking rate is set, you may want to do the rotor move again so that the focus in no longer on that option.
There is a second option if the rotor gesture should prove to be too difficult. Place your forefinger from one hand on the center of your phone. Now take the forefinger from your other hand and begin to make a semi-circle above the finger that is planted on the phone. You should hear the options mentioned above.
If you want to add or subtract the options mentioned in rotor, ask Siri to launch your VoiceOver settings and swipe to Rotor. Now you can select or deselect items by doing a one finger double tap on each item presented.
All Technology User Group (TUG) meetings can be joined via Zoom:
https://marylandlibraries.zoom.us/j/6562037293
Meeting ID: 656 203 7293
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One tap mobile +13017158592,,6562037293#
Upcoming TUG Topics:
July 12: New Skills for Smart Speakers
August 9: BARD 2.0 and the DA2
September 13: What To Expect with iOS 26
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