Access on Main Street

Hooking up a usable world, one mainstream product at a time.

Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 4 March 2010

We get periodic calls about auto-turn off technologies that can help elders and others who forget that they’ve left an appliance running. Meet the Roly Poly Iron, which automatically tips itself into a vertical position as soon as it’s no longer being pressed down. The designer claims it’s easier on the hands, too. Another nifty concept (for now) from our buddies at Yanko Design.

Yanko Design: Never singe another garment

A wonderous bird is the Pelikon

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 2 March 2010

The Pelikon MorphPad can light up different sections of a mobile device’s keyboard based on the active function–just the numbers for telephony, just the control keys for a game. Should be useful for people with low vision, as well as providing cuing to people with cognitive disabilities. Take that, Optimus!

Ubergizmo: Pelikon MorphPad offers different input methods

Cool for school

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 22 February 2010

Some prestigious universities are starting to accept short videos as part of their admissions applications. This has great implications, particularly for kids with learning disabilities who may need non-written means to show their genuine worthiness.

New York Times: To Impress, Tufts Prospects Turn to YouTube

Dog bytes man

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 16 February 2010

As usual, the development dollars are going into assistive technology for the canids. Cf. Puppy Tweets, which translates doggie activities into one of 500 texts (e.g., “Guess what I’m licking right now.” Um…we’ll pass). With a little linguistic tinkering, we could see this turned into a useful way for people with various types of physical or cognitive disabilities to communicate, whether practical–a specific movement could send a message requesting help–or social.

Engadget: Puppy tweets will turn your pooper into a world-class Twitterer

Found objects

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 5 February 2010

We’ve commented before on a few hardware-based strategies for finding lost keys, remotes, etc. “Where Is My Phone,” however, is an iPhone app that lets you find your…iPhone. It responds to your whistle (so it’s hands-free) with either one of its preprogrammed noises or with your sound recording. Since it’s response is user-specific, we’re hoping you can substitute a different sound if you’re whistle-impaired. We also assume it’s TSR, unless you plan in advance to lose your phone. All this for a buck; not bad.

ShinyShiny: Whistle and your phone will respond: the Where is My Phone App

Universal touch

Posted by Jane Berliss-Vincent 2 February 2010

A company named Displax is developing a thin film that can be put on any piece of glass or wood as well as plastic to turn it into a touch screen. Not only does this hold promise for people whose dexterity or cognitive disabilities make touch screens preferable to the traditional keyboard and mouse interface, but it also means the possibility of making green/hypoallergenic devices more widespread.

Wired: Thin Film Turns Any Surface Into a Touchscreen

iPad gives users more than one finger

Posted by Jim Tobias 31 January 2010

As the hallucinatory haze of Apple’s latest product announcement dissipates, tech analysts have begun looking at what the iPad may offer in new features.  One clear category is the gesture interface, which is dramatically more powerful than on the iPhone.  You can use several fingers at once, including fingers from both hands in orchestrated ways to re-size, rotate, and otherwise control your applications, and the duration of some presses will alter what function you’re performing.  Assuming you have, and can use, all of that digital flesh.  Without carefully designed alternative input, a sophisticated gesture interface may pose a serious barrier to people who are missing fingers, have difficulty controlling them, or who have trouble understanding the gesture scheme.

The iPad’s Interface and Gestures: What’s Actually New Video - apple ipad - Gizmodo

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