Top 10 Apps for the Blind

Thanks to the magic of touchscreen and Voice Over, iOS-powerd devices (iPhone & iPad) are fave goto-devices for the blind and the vision-impaired. Perhaps  a little more than most technologies available on the market today - at the given the price. Making another strong case for the visionary in the late Steve Jobs. 

However, if you’re scouring iTunes for the best app for the vision-challenged, you may be walking into a surprise as there are hundreds of them, if not thousands in store. To cut to the chase, here are 10 of the best.

For a better feel, we strongly recommend you have your i-tablet propped on a dependable iPad mini keyboard.

1. Sendero LookAround

This one helps you explore the world outside when you’re out and about. With Sendero, you get to choose from the “Lookaround” button, “Nearest Cross Street” button. Additionally, you can get the nearest 5 points of interest (ATM’s, restaurant or entertainment) and program the app to say the location detailing the street or shake the phone in a figure eight for a compass direction. 

2. Google Translate

Best for conversation to just about any citizen from all over the world. With its capacity to give translations to just about any language and voice over and speech to text program, you can be enjoying the fun part of a conversation without any language barriers. Google Translate have your back and the best part is it’s for free.

3. Papa Sangre

Who says you can’t have fun haven’t met Papa Sangre! Here’s an audio-only horror adventure that’s bound to give you the entertainment you need ushering in a new era of exciting audio games for the blind and the vision-impaired. 

4. Dragon Dictate

With a proprietary speech recognition software, Dragon Dictate is a treasure find helping you put your spoken words into writing. With this app, writing a book may not be that far off.

5. Audible.com

Being blind should not condemn you from a book-less life. Thanks to Audible you can play any Amazon-bought audiobooks or from iTunes Store. With stellar features (e.g.,voiceover, chapter selection, speed controls), you’ll easily fall in love with this app - in no time.

6. Learning Ally

Formerly Recording for the Blind and & Dyslexic is an app that is designed specifically for the sight-impaired with the aim of giving access to thousands of learning books - from kindergarten to post-graduate. And with more than 80,000 titles available, all that one needs is to present a certificate of disability and the treasure’s all yours for personal pleasure and perusal.

7. Digit Eyes Audio Labeler

Digit-eyes is a remarkable AT (assistive technology) app for the blind and the visually-impaired. Via a built-in camera, it identifies UPC and EAN codes found in most every product today. Searching its database, it reads the results to you. Of course, you would need internet to access database which could be expanded to include Google. The best function this app can give you, however, is creating text labels which can then be printed and stuck to your everyday things for easy sorting and ID.

8. BlindSquare

This is like having a walking companion with you though for starters this may cost you a burger or two. Using GPS and Wi-Fi this app locates you and with the help of FourSquare finds people or places of interest nearby. 

9. TapTapSee

Like a virtual third eye, this app allows sight-challenged people to see the world around. With a simple double-tap onscreen, a photo is taken then uploaded to its servers for subsequent processing. After a second or two, a voiceover assistant details things around (e.g., keyboard on white desk and glass mug). Smart!

10. iBlink Radio

This app’s tailored specifically for the needs and wants of the blind community and usher in the world of radio stations complete with reading services and podcasts as wide as any - technology, economics, travel, music and a lot more. 

How to Keep Your iOS and Android Data Synced

With all the bad blood going on between iOS loyalists and Android fanatics, it’s easy to think these two camps are out to start WW III. Practicality dictates otherwise, however. Especially when you’re in the office or out with a friend. The difference in phone/tablet architecture should not be a stumbling block in your office effectivity or to your dwindling social life, for that matter.

Apparently, one of the immediate grounds of concern is data sync ability. For instance, it would be a lot easier for you to finish on a word document coming from your iPad-wielding boss if you just can edit it on your Samsung Galaxy Note.

To note, syncing from one Cupertino-made device to the other, is not an issue with iCloud. Nor is it on the other side of the fence, from one Android gadget to the other. However, full integration between these two giant ecosystems still leaves a lot to be desired and may take years - if at all.

But this is not a hopeless case (though getting irritated may not be a surprise), here are some tricks and treats that should get you started in that direction. 

Basics: Email, Contacts, Calendar

In any business or friendship, contacts is most essential. There are various ways to keep your contacts together even on different devices.

One way is to utilize an account that is powered by Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. Outlook.com,used to be hotmail.com, is capable of replicating contact data and make them available across multiple devices. Not much of a problem for iOS, importing these data into the right designated area (e.g., calendar, contacts, stock mail).

What may be a little challenging is with Android. Although the Google world is supportive of ActiveSync. You may have to make do. Use the feature slim email app, for instance or maximize a 3rd-party alternative choice found in the Play Store - like Touchdown,     for instance.

When you talk about Android to iOS, the set-up’s slightly different. Android devices gets all integrated via a Google account as many users will know. So setting up your Google credentials in your devices via your Gmail account ensures data connectivity between these electronic gadgets, be it a tablet, a smartphone or something in between (phablet).

However, getting your Google account connected unto that fave iPad on its iPad mini keyboard case gets a little bumpy. CalDAV and cardDAV are your best bet to migrate contacts and calendars. For the more sophisticated Google accounts however, be it Business, Education or Government you will have to utilize Google Sync to facilitate the exchange.

More Productivity

For starters, use Google Drive for data-syncing. Though the iPad version is still not as robust as the original app in terms of sophistication and features, the gap is closing fast. With that said, it would be easy to work on cross-platform devices with this cloud-based app, Google Drive.

Another alternative is to use other popular cloud-based services (e.g. Dropbox, Box). Just save your Office or other word files in these internet-based services. With these, at least getting your documents read is not a problem whether you’re utilizing an iOS or an Android-based device.

And if you want to some editing which is most likely, installing Quickoffice and Documents to Go are great choices. These two apps will work in across both OS platforms, allowing you greater latitude in work.

Increasingly, there are more and more apps that can be utilized in both giant ecosystems, Android and iOS. It seems that this is becoming some sort of a trend. You may have to dig a little deeper to find these cross-platform tools but it’s a small price to pay.

How to Protect Your Online Privacy Using Chrome

Now, with all the hullabaloo about online espionage and unwarranted personal data breaches, you could be asking yourself: How do I keep my privacy online when I’m out enjoying the world wide web? Well, fortunately for Chrome fans, there’s a way.

To note, however,  your gadget is not the issue here. So it just doesn’t matter whether you’re tinkering on your dependable Android gadget or making headway via a Windows PC. Or as the case maybe, lost in another digital dimension in a classy i-tablet perched on its sleek iPad mini keyboard.

If you’re surfing the net (or doing whatever it is you want to do online), the following extensions will help protect your privacy - assuming you’re using Google Chrome, of course:

Disconnect
Disconnect is the good guy. It is like a tracking police that does away with third-party resources vent on tracking your browsing activities in various sites and web apps. With these trackers stopped, you get to enjoy faster browsing as your bandwidth is freed from trash.

Well, it may have been a cliche but “Information is power.” Not only that, data is money in the making - especially when it lets in on the buying habits or the market’s behavior.

Most - if not all - of the websites that you come visit and perhaps “get lost into” over the internet, tracks your browsing history, and various bits and pieces of data that become valuable market insights when taken together. As a result, these information play a large part as a vital building block in the advertising efforts of major enterprises. And they are willing to pay much to get it.

Do Not Track for Chrome (DNT)
Do-Not-Track also gets rid of these pesky tracking devices, acting like an opt-out mechanism in the process. Chrome may have built-in settings to toggle the Do-Not-Track HTTP header, but this seemingly puny extension is powerful enough to roll out the tracking without getting your hands dirty with the browser settings.

However, hold your horses. Before you jump for joy or cry out loud “Eureka”, be warned: Do-Not-Track may not be totally observed by some of the companies you encounter daily on the web. Among them, Google and Facebook.

Don’t Track Me Google
This one could be the answer you have been waiting for as you are on the lookout in your searches. When you utilize Google as you most often will, Google keeps tracks of the links that you have clicked upon, among other search statistics. With the Don’t Track Me Google extension, Google tracking is disabled so tracking cookies are not set  and targeted ads while you browse are also incapacitated.

In other words, this useful extension tells Google to stay away from tracking you as you try to find your way products and services you want.

Keep My Opt-Outs
To note, this handy mechanism come from the sweat and Google’s brow, so relax.

Keep My Opt-Outs is a handy extension that lets you as a user opt-out of behavioral data tracking and its twin sister, personalized advertising. With this, you’re off the grid. Companies who want to advertise and look into your search and browsing history are swept aside, their hands tied behind their back.

How to Watch Super Bowl Live on Any Device

Now that the Super Bowl XLVIII is but days away, the question is how do you get in on the action while it’s hot and live. Man, there is but a handful of sports events on American soil that draws over 100 million in TV viewing alone. Surely, you don’t want to be out of the discussion.
Eat your heart out, amigo. Here’s a definitive guide on how to get an eye-feast: super-charged Peyton Manning’s Broncos vs the defensive fortress of Russell Wilson’s Broncos, February 2 at MetLife Stadium. And yes, you don’t need a $500 ticket (the least-priced) or get the best seats with a whopping $10,000 pass. Just your fave device.

Here’s how to have Super Bowl XLVIII delivered right straight at you - live!

Traditional

First stop, let’s just stay with what many would still go to: cable TV.

Well, for cable that’s really a no-brainer. Chances are, Comcast and Time Warner have already set their services to it and many have it on schedule - for a fee, of course. Then, it’s just a matter of tuning in to your  local Fox station on the day itself and you’re good to go.

But if you’re already become a fan of cord-cutting technology, you may still access Fox over-the-air using your television antennas. Or get Aereo subscription service, instead.

Aereo could give you the shot you want – though CBS may not be too eager about it (i.e., CBS and Aereo are locked in a legal battle).

From Just About Anywhere

Thanks to the advance of technology you can view the big game from anywhere and through any device - a glorious iPad on its iPad mini keyboard or a South Korean tablet, sans the non wi-fi ready ones, of course.

Over internet. Well, Fox has been mighty generous these days we should be calling the broadcasting company Santa Fox. The good news is you can have live streaming for free. Yes that free all-caps, F-R-E-E. Regardless who provided you with internet service, enjoy the content at FoxSportsGo.com. Just make sure you log at exactly the right time: from February 2, 12 a.m. up to the next day, February 3 a.m ET.

On any device. Customers of Verizon may download the app of the moment: NFL Mobile app. This comes across all platforms (e.g., Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry). It’s free to get scores and highlights but comes in with a $5 subscription charge for full access to the Super Bowl. Well, that’s a far cry and many times over a $500 ticket.

You may also make use of the Fox Sports Go mobile app, and should be able to savor every twists and clashes of the game. However, this one’s only for iOS devices. Due to Verizon-NFL agreement, Fox won’t give the streaming live on all smartphones.

Well, another solution for you is through the Slingbox-way. The media device is designed to stream every little thing you have on your  home TV to just about any device - Android, iOS and the rest of the gang.

However, Slingbox may come in a little pricey (i.e.,starting at $180 plus $14.99 for the app). You may contemplate on getting the games right where it is, in New Jersey, if that’s your cup of tea. But then again, that is a decision you alone can make.

How to Best Increase Productivity

Increasing productivity is a tall order, no doubt. Especially if you’re just starting out, having less hands to share the burden can truly bite. Fortunately, whether you’re growing a business or wanting to achieve more in the workplace, there are effective ways and means to get the job done. Bringing you outstanding results, in the process.

However, it’s easy to lose your way in your search towards greater productivity. For instance, you may choose to get on the high road and contemplate on the best methods - like a Tibetan monk. But it may take you ages to arrive at practices that have already been in use for years. Same thing if you’re an internet-savvy professional - devouring information on a daily basis. Take a stand. It’s about time you separate the unpredictability of theory from things that actually work.

Below are timely productivity tips. Combine them with tried-and-tested tools provided and you have a potent potion that should pull your productivity a notch higher - way higher. Now, all you have to do is give them a shot to realize the wisdom behind.

1.    Maintain a place to take down notes.

Note-taking can easily be misconstrued as trivial. But it stands at the heart and soul of greater productivity. As
Albert Einstein famously quips, “I write so I free my mind.”
Don’t get caught up in the jungle of the details, write the essentials. Only then can you truly enable your mind to reach its best working potential: to come up with solutions.
In this regard, your smartphone - Android or what-not - or your i-tablet (complete with an iPad mini keyboard) could be your best ally. Put on Google Keep, Zoho Notebook or Evernote.

2. Shorten your To-Do list.

Five would be a good number on a daily basis; more than that and your to-do list would border into the insurmountable. When your energy is focused on too many things, you end up tired, unable to finish anything.

3. Learn to type faster.

Many a-budding entrepreneur have spent hours finding their way on a keyboard - wasting precious time in the process. Get over it.  Improve your typing skills. There are a lot of free typing software available (e.g., keybr.com). A few minutes each day is all you need and you’d be on your way in no time. Beep! Beep!

4. Maximize on the hi-tech.

Why spend so much time fiddling through numbers for instance when a free iPad app can do it in record time?
Don’t let the routine take your precious hours away - hours that you could spend on other more important matters like business development or sales for example. Instead, use apps like Shoebox to do your receipts.

5. For time-driven projects, employ a tickler file.

You can’t overemphasize a tickler file. It may not be super hi-tech but the organization by tasks is heaven-sent. And using them is a cinch, just make sure you put your projects under the right file.

6. Store inspiration well.

At times, articles may catch your interest but your hands are full. The solution is to store them for later. Making a habit of doing away with inspiration could be disastrous.  All enterprise - tech giants or start-ups - started as an idea in its infancy. So buckle up. Apps like Pocket or Instapaper for instant storage could be your best bet towards that million-dollar break.

7. Take time to evaluate your performance.

Stop. Take a bird’s eye view on the things that you do on a daily basis. Evaluate areas of strengths and weakness and come up with solutions to get things better. Do this once a week, and you’ll see the wonders of continuous improvement unfold before your very eyes.

How to Survive Airport Delays

Airport delays are like a Damocle’s sword; you got to hold it by the handle or either ways you get hurt. When you’re adrenaline’s all pumping for that dream vacation in Timbuktu or when you’re under the gun to meet a scheduled meet, everything comes crashing down as airport delays gets you glued - seemingly unable to do anything but wait.

However, before you boil over, remember that sticky situations like this just need a little imagination to pull you through. No need to blow your top actually, this is not a trip to prison where you’re set to stay for years. Rather, the time that accidentally landed on your lap could actually be just what you need. Here’s how:

1. Don’t let it catch you off-guard.

Right from the onset, have a plan B ready. Especially with severe icy weather gripping the mainland, there’s no telling how many hours delays could take. Buy that bestseller you’ve been wanting to read ahead of time. Or bring that i-tablet (along with its iPad mini keyboard case for added comfort) and evaluate thousands of apps (i.e., games, movies, e-books) at your disposal. That can sure eat your hours away. Just don’t forget those extra batteries for truly uninterrupted hours of fun and excitement.

2. Unwind.

Grab a good spot and relax. If you’re going to vent on that airport official or any attendant around, you are asking for trouble. Use the time instead to lower your stress hormones. Do yoga - you can do it while all-strapped up. Deep breathing can do wonders, that’s for sure. While you’re at it, you may want to locate a masseur to give you a soothing massage. Or get a foot spa. Ask around, wellness centers and spas could be just around the corner.A good example is Vancouver International Airport - complete with a health club and a spa to boot.

3. Grab food.

Food can be liberating. Plus it gets your stress hormones down. If you’re a little shy asking around, make use of your smartphone or tablet; GateGuru and other apps that locate coffee shops and fine restaurants can show you the way to satisfy your guttural instincts.

4. Socialize.

This is especially useful for sales and business people. Top honchos and entrepreneurs could be just around the corner. And like you, they’re just dying to get out of boredom. In which case, light conversations could be timely. Hit the bar and grab a drink. If you want, latte in a nearby coffee shop can do wonders. Who knows? In the process of expanding your network, you could bump into the love of your life.

5. Explore.

Look around. There are plenty of shops which could be worth a peek. If you’re more adventurous, getting out of the airport could be best. Hit a nearby gym or go visit a famous landmark. If you’re running out of places to conquer, put Google Maps and other well-intentioned apps to work. They’ll fill the void, no doubt.

When you get out of your comfort zone, you will realize that time flies like the wind. For instance, if you’re in the heart of London, you might want to try the tube a.k.a. underground train to get you to London’s famous downtown. Easily, you’ll have a field day with all the historic places waiting for you.

Word of warning: Just make sure you get needed updates so you don’t get left behind when it’s your time to go.

How to Best Use Google Maps

It’s easy to find your way with Google Maps around, no doubt. But with the New Year just around the corner, the experience need not be a drag. With a few tricks you can get to that high school reunion or for that matter to your way home even when you’re a little tipsy – without getting lost.

Here are 10 proven tweaks that could get you a much-more palatable Google Map experience. This is a service that would have otherwise been impossible had GPS not come into the limelight. Of course, your viewing experience will be a lot more fun on a tablet (e.g., an iPad on a sleek iPad mini keyboard case) but smartphones will not give you any disservice, delivering you those crispy Street Views when you need one.

 Most of the methods here are generic and will work fine on either an iOS device or an Android one. Except for the first one, which is (for now) applicable only to the Android system.

Have G.M. (Google Maps), will travel!

1.   Operate offline.

Sounds too good to be true? Yes, unbelievable as it seems, you can actually use your google maps even without Wi-Fi or cellular data. Though available only on Android (iOS-users click here), this useful feature will let you enjoy

2.   Rate those wonderful spots.

Here’s a way to cast a vote of confidence on that wonderful resto-bar you’ve spent your Friday night-out – and had a good time. It’s so much more useful, if you’re the yelping type. Just pull up the info sheet and navigate to “Rate and Review”.

In case you are loathing erasing a business enterprise out of the map, you can also do that. Get your negative reviews out via the same window.

 3.   Get timely suggestions how to spend your day.

Lazing up on a Sunday afternoon, not sure what to do. Well, let Google Map help you. Just tap on the search bar and hit explore. Voila! You’d be surprised how many more of those must-see places or eating places you’ve missed.

 4.   Save a place for use later.

As busy as we can get, this one is a time-saver. When you are looking at a particular place and you’re out of time and want to see it later, just pull up the info sheet of the place and tap save. To pull it out later, just go to the person icon (upper right hand) and pick the saved place you want to see.

5. Get needed specs on a business.

There are times you would want to get to know more a restaurant or a summer get-away before checking on the location personally. This one’s easy. Just tap on a specific business place, and then swipe that info sheet located at the bottom. Doing a swipe left or right also to get to know similar places located just nearby.

6. Get a list instead of a map.
 
Ok. We get you, you’re the specific type. If looking over a map dazes you and blocks your creative thinking or whatnot just lest G.Maps do a list instead. To do this, just tap that list view icon when you do a search.    

7. Find more ways to zoom.

True, you can still do the usual pinch to zoom. But why do only that when you also just double-tap a particular map, hold your finger down and scroll down thereafter? May feel a little outlandish at first but with practice it really is pretty smooth.

8. Enjoy GPS navigation in seconds.

Lost in a big city like New York? No worries. Let the advanced technology of Google Map guide you. Just select where you want to venture by holding your finger in that particular spot dropping a pin in the process. For a turn-by-turn GPS guided navigation, just do a simple tap then hold.

9. Drop a pin to Street View.

For clarity and detail, Street View amazed me. Now, you can also utilize this dazzling feature via your smartphone or tablet. To do this, just press and hold that particular area effectively dropping a pin. From there you get to usher in Street View or even share the location if you choose to.

10. Save addresses for speedy directions.

You could be creating unwanted delays. Save the routine. Get those usual places saved (e.g., home, work, restaurants) so you will not have to retype them over and over again. Just tap that person icon situated in the right hand corner near the Search bar. And if you need to, editing these addresses is but a matter of pulling the settings tab out (bottom left corner).