Welcome to Access on Main Street. We cover mainstream products that, by chance or design, make life easier for an elder or a person with a disability. We want to inform consumers, inspire designers, and wake up marketers to opportunities with these underserved customers. Please comment on our articles, and point us to your own mainstream nuggets.
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Cubic feet
Awhile back, we documented a tactile Rubik’s Cube. Now here’s one for people who can’t use their hands but can use their feet. If two people try to solve the Crazy Foot at the same time, would they become arch rivals?
Get fresh with us
Among the many things AoMS believes in is fresh produce, so we’re pleased to see the Fresh Code barcode system being proposed. As the fruit or veggie deteriorates, so does the code; if it’s past its edibility date, the barcode won’t work at checkout. Could be a great help to people who can’t thump a melon or effectively interpret the color of a banana, as well as those who don’t remember or never learned that some cauliflower is supposed to be purple.
Ubergizmo: Fresh Code ensures that you’ll get your veggies fresh
Production code, 2010 style
Here’s an interesting use for QR codes: Fandango, the movie ticket service, now has a mobile service that will send a code to your mobile phone. When you get to the theater, a scanner reads the code. No more paper to manipulate or remember, letting everyone get to the popcorn line that much faster. If the scanners are self-service, let’s hope some attention is given to accessibility in terms of height, providing guidance as to where to place the phone, etc. And if it’s a success, we’ll look forward to seeing similar implementations for other types of tickets.
E-reader accessibility fight re-Kindled
Here we go again. First the Kindle promised compatibility with speech output, then the Authors Guild objected. Looks like we might be heading into a similar fray with the iPad, which will have VoiceOver, Apple’s proprietary blindness-friendly screen reader, built in. Will it make a difference that VoiceOver, unlike Kindle’s speech technology, works with all apps instead of just e-books? Stay tuned.
Gizmodo: Apple’s iPad Will (Perhaps Controversially) Read E-Books Aloud
ETA: Things are looking up. The Authors Guild has just joined a coalition to “ensure that when the marketplace offers alternative formats to print books, such as audio and electronic books, print-disabled consumers can access the contents of these alternative formats to the same extent as all other consumers.”
Authors Guild: White House Applauds Joint Effort for Print Disabled
Primp up the volume!
No one buys a laptop or netbook for audio quality, but lots of people use their portable devices for audio-intensive apps like playing music, watching movies, and talking on VoIP. Now people with mild to moderate hearing loss can improve their audio with a USB device. The X-Tube DTS looks like an old electronic tube, and glows blue when operating. Beyond the classy optics are some impressive acoustics: simulated surround sound, better frequency response, and on-screen sliders for bass enhancement and “voice clarification”. As always, your mileage may vary, but the review at the link below is pretty positive, except for suggesting that you use better headphones than the bundled ones. Only $45 dollars once it arrives.
One ringy dingy
We understand the ringtones that soothe a savage breast, and the ones that let teenagers hear sounds that old men of 25 would miss. But the Japanese Ringing Tone Library has come up with a tone that is supposed to…clear your sinuses?! Reluctantly, we guess it might be useful for people who can’t blow their nose in traditional ways, but we’re also interested in what else is up the JRTL’s sleeves. “Ringtone makes your skin beautiful” is one announced project; we’re hoping for something like “ringtone stops your back from itching.”