Summary Notes
GTT Edmonton Meeting May 8, 2017

The most recent meeting of the Get Together with Technology (GTT) Edmonton Chapter was held May 8 at 7pm at Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 83 Street in Edmonton.
16 people attended.

May Topic – iPhone demos and Training

UBER App
Russell demonstrated how to use the Uber app with VoiceOver on his iPhone. He first showed how to book a trip for pick up right away by tapping on the “Where To” button, and then choosing the pickup and destination addresses, and then tapping on the “Request UberX” button. He talked about how the app shows the ETA as well as the amount the trip will cost.
Russell then demonstrated how to schedule a trip for a later date by tapping on the “Schedule a ride” button, choosing the date and time from a “Picker” list, choosing the button to “set” the date and time, and then tapping a button to schedule the trip.

The Uber app allows you to contact the driver once the trip has been booked either by phone or text message. This is helpful to let the driver know that you are blind and will need assistance to the vehicle. There is a “Menu” button that gives options to change your profile information, change your payment method, and view past or upcoming trips. There is also a button on the main screen that gives access to more content and actions like sharing coupons with friends and ordering food through Uber Eats.

The app is accessible with VoiceOver.

For more information on Uber go to:
https://help.uber.com/h/5a9e5cd6-88f4-4597-b29a-4feb67d407c2

Yellow Cab App
Lorne demonstrated the Yellow Cab Edmonton (Y C Edmonton) app with VoiceOver on his iPhone.
From the main screen, you can start the booking process by tapping on Book a Taxi, or by tapping on one of your frequent addresses (they call them Favorites).
the next screen is where you enter all the details of your trip, such as the pickup address, destination address, type of taxi (regular sedan or van), scheduling the trip for now or some date in the future, as well as giving any info you want the driver to have, such as asking for a call upon arrival, etc.) When choosing your pickup address, you can do so either by using your phone’s GPS (which isn’t always exact), or by typing it in, or choosing one of your phone’s contacts.
All the buttons in this app are labelled with what they do, but some of them don’t say Button, so a VoiceOver user might not know to tap on them, such as when you’ve finished entering all the trip details and you’re ready to send it off. You must tap where it says Book, but it won’t say button.
If you enter a destination address(optional), it will give you an estimate of the cost, however this is just an estimate, and the final price may be more. This is one of the major differences between this app and the Uber one, Uber charges you as soon as the trip starts, based on the calculated distance. If your cab driver gets lost, etc., then your trip might be more expensive.
This app advertises the ability to set up a credit card and pay from within the app, however that feature either has since been removed, or perhaps must be set up through contacting the company.
This app shows a map on screen when the cab is on its way to you, however that part is not accessible with Voiceover, however it does tell you the 3-digit number of your cab, which might be useful if you ever get denied because of your Guide Dog, etc.
One of the biggest advantages of using an app instead of just calling their dispatch centre like in the past, is the app will send you notifications if your cab is late, and you can send and receive updates back and forth to the driver. no more wondering if your cab is still on the way, etc.
Here is more info about the app from the app store:
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/yellow-cab-edmonton/id717512908

Training
Gerry provided training on basic iPhone usage was presented to 2 people who are considering using and iPhone or iPad to help them with everyday tasks.

Next Meeting (Monday June 12at 7pm)
• As usual, we will provide one-on-one training especially iPhone and DAISY players. If you have other training requests email your interests to us so we can try to accommodate you.
• As always, for help with technology bring your devices and/or questions to the meeting.

Meeting Location and Logistics
• Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 – 83 Street NW, Edmonton.
• We meet in the basement hall. There is elevator access.
• Enter the church from the back door. There is parking at the back and drop off space for taxis, DATS.
• Meetings are every second Monday of the month at 7pm.
• If you have someone helping you your assistant is welcome to remain for the meeting.

GTT Edmonton Overview
• GTT Edmonton is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
• GTT Edmonton promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
• Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
• Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
• There are GTT groups in Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, Northern Ontario, Pembroke, Halifax, Sydney, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver, and more to come.
• There is also a national GTT monthly toll free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:
http://www.gttprogram.wordpress.com/
There is a form at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.
[End of Document]

Summary Notes
GTT Edmonton Meeting March 13, 2017

The most recent meeting of the Get Together with Technology (GTT) Edmonton Chapter was held March 13 at 7pm at Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 83 Street in Edmonton.
12 people attended.

March Topics – CSUN Report, Educational Materials, and Training
California State University at Northridge (CSUN) Conference Report
A new GTT member Stu Starkey returned from last week’s CSUN Assistive Technology conference in San Diego California and gave us a rundown on some of the hot products and new technologies he had a chance to see.
OrCam
OrCam Technologies presents the world’s most advanced wearable assistive technology device for people who are blind, visually impaired, or have a reading or other disabilities. OrCam MyEye instantly and discreetly communicates visual information by utilizing a small, intuitive smart camera mounted on the wearer’s eyeglass frame. The breakthrough artificial vision device reads any printed text – from any surface – recognizes faces and identifies products
and money notes. OrCam gives independence.
Website: http://www.orcam.comm

Aira – Visual Interpreter for the Blind
Aira offers an innovative, on-demand service designed to help blind and low-vision users gain mobility and independence via live streaming and wearable technologies. It provides personalized assistance from orientation and mobility experts who can be trained Aira Agents, family members, or friends. Our experts, backed by state-of-the art technology, serve as visual interpreters and navigators for our users, helping them accomplish a wide range of daily tasks and activities.
Website: https:// aira.io/

Second Sight Medical Products
Second Sight Medical Products is the developer and manufacturer of the Argus II® Retinal Prosthesis System – the first and only approved long-term therapy for people living with advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa in the U.S. Argus II is designed to restore some level of vision to people who are profoundly blind and provide them with increases in orientation and mobility skills and is intended to increase their independence and quality of life by restoring their
ability to see objects and motion.
website: http://www.secondsight.com
Video describing one person’s experience with the Argus II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYe6REdljw

Orion I
For those who are not suitable candidates for the Argus II, Second Sight has developed a new product called the Orion I. it is described as a wireless Visual Cortical Prosthesis. instead of implanting electrodes on the Retina, this bypasses the optic nerve and directly stimulates the brain’s visual cortex. Here is their press release from their recent successful proof of concept clinical trial:
http://investors.secondsight.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=995211

More About CSUN 2017
most of the above descriptions are taken from the CSUN website, you can find much more information about these, as well as all the products and sessions at their website:
https://www.csun.edu/cod/conference/2017/rebooking/index.php/public/exhibitors/index/page:3

Educational Materials for our Chapter
We thank the Edmonton Blind Curling Club who have generously provided us a grant for training purposes. We used some of the grant to purchase a total of 29 audio tutorials and e-textbooks. These materials have been distributed via download links. The 6 most popular choices were:
• 4 x Mystic Access audio tutorial for Google Suite of products
• 4 x NV Access Basic audio tutorial for NVDA
• 3 x Mystic Access audio tutorial for Victor Reader Stream
• 3 x Access Technology Institute Word 2016 with JAWS textbook
• 3 x Access Technology Institute Excel 2016 with JAWS textbook
• 3 x National Braille Press Getting Started with the iPhone and iOS 10 text book

One-On-One Training
• The donation from the Edmonton Blind Curling Club also allowed us to provide another training session at the Norquest computer lab on March 2. Two people had basic training on Zoomtext and 3 others on JAWS. We are delighted that the 3 JAWS trainees were junior high students!
• At the March 13 meeting, we also provided basic Victor Reader Stream training to two people.

Next Meeting (Monday April 10 at 7pm)
• As usual, we will provide one-on-one training especially iPhone and DAISY players. If you have other training requests email your interests to us so we can try to accommodate you.
• As always, for help with technology bring your devices and/or questions to the meeting.

Meeting Location and Logistics
• Ascension Lutheran Church 8405 – 83 Street NW, Edmonton.
• We meet in the basement hall. There is elevator access.
• Enter the church from the back door. There is parking at the back and drop off space for taxis, DATS.
• Meetings are every second Monday of the month at 7pm.
• If you have someone helping you your assistant is welcome to remain for the meeting.

GTT Edmonton Overview
• GTT Edmonton is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB).
• GTT Edmonton promotes a self-help learning experience by holding monthly meetings to assist participants with assistive technology.
• Each meeting consists of a feature technology topic, questions and answers about technology, and one-on-one training where possible.
• Participants are encouraged to come to each meeting even if they are not interested in the feature topic because questions on any technology are welcome. The more participants the better able we will be equipped with the talent and experience to help each other.
• There are GTT groups in Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, Northern Ontario, Pembroke, Halifax, Sydney, Regina, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver, and more to come.
• There is also a national GTT monthly toll free teleconference. You may subscribe to the National GTT blog to get email notices of teleconferences and notes from other GTT chapters. Visit:
http://www.gttprogram.wordpress.com/
There is a form at the bottom of that web page to enter your email.
[End of Document]