This episode offers an upcoming class announcement, a castle interview, a fun demo, and more. Let’s dive in!

First, Chris provides an update on the pathfinder cane tip. He loves it, but there’s one important thing you must know before you buy. Listen to learn more.

Next, Kim demos the Merlin bird identification app. This free app is available for iOS and Android, and helps you identify birds from across the US and Canada. We love Merlin and hope you’ll enjoy this demo.

Next, we enter the castle for an interview with Emily Romero. Emily is a long-time Mac user. She explains why she prefers the Mac, some comparisons between Mac and Windows, the costs and benefits involved, and more. We’ll be holding a free event on the Mac on Tuesday, September 24. Emily will be co-hosting with us. If you’ve ever wondered about Mac accessibility, features, Windows comparisons, and more, we’d love for you to join us. To Register your seat, please visit this link. If you know others who may be interested, please feel free to share our interview with Emily and the link to register for the class. Weknow it’ll be both informative and fun.

Thanks, as always, for listening and spreading the word. We appreciate you.

This episode features are pre-sunrise porch ambiance as we share about a variety of topics. You’ll hear about everything from bees, to crows, to raindrops–and a lot of crickets. So, get ready for the sounds and subjects of this crazy conversation.

Chris begins by sharing about his unfortunate run-in with a tiny winged critter. Has anything like this happene to you?

We next discuss a very cool story about a recent Ambutech purchase. Not only can we highly recommend their customer support, but so far we really like the Pathfinder cane tip we purchased. Stay tuned for more thoughts as we use it more.

Speaking of mobility aids, they pop up regularly in this episode. Are you familiar with the Glide robot from Glidance? We share our initial thoughts and those of some friends and colleagues. We can’t wait to see this device inaction ourselves!

Back to canes… the WeWalk Smart Cane 2 is available for preorder. Chris owns the first version and has had mixed feelings during his time using it. We wonder how we’ll feel about the new version when it arrives?

One final cane story to share; this one will make you go yikes! Be prepared in case something like this happens to you.

those of you who are regulars know we watch a lot of scam baiting videos. One thing scammers regularly ask their potential victims to do is to let them remotely connect to the person’s computer. Don’t ever let someone you don’t know connect to your device. They’re usually out to steal your data and/or money. This leads us to a discussion of Remote Incident Manager, which Aira is now using as it’s remote connectivity tool. Chris took RIM for a test-drive and shares his experience.

One of Kim’s new favorite things is a ball chair with an included stabilizing ring. She explains the concept and why she loves it.

We next talk about our two new cases from Turtleback LV. In both cases (hahaha) our first impressions appear to be incorrect regarding these, and we’re happy about that. Listen for all the details.

Finally, if you need more office space, Chris highly recommends a printer stand! He discusses his setup here at the summer home and why he likes it so much.

We close by giving a hint about an upcoming podcast demo that you might want to sing about. Thanks so much for listening!

This episode is packed with demos we hope you’ll enjoy. Links included in this post are our affiliate links; if you make a purchase from them, we’ll receive a small commission. We never recommend items we don’t use and love ourselves.

If we sound a little different today, there’s a good reason. We bought some inexpensive but very nice-sounding microphones from LEVN to use as part of our podcasting toolkit. We discuss what we think makes them so neat. Here’s a link to check them out for yourself.

We next chat about the world of radio reading services. What makes them unique and how can you find those local to you? Listen to find out. And enjoy this list of services compiled by APH. Note that some links may be out of date as of the time of this writing.

If you’re traveling this summer, or just want some neat new gadgets to add to your life, you may enjoy some of our demos. We show you a small but mighty jewelry organizer that can double as storage for thumb drives and other small items, a bag for organizing your smaller tablets, cables, and electronics like Streams, soft and sturdy pouches for headphones, and our personal favorite, a foldable, fast, MagSafe charging station for iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods. If your Android phones supports wireless charging, this station should work for it, also. We absolutely love this handy device, and think you might, as well. Having taken one on a plane in carryon luggage, we can confidently say it’s awesome to travel with!

Thanks, as always, for listening. We appreciate you.

Chris and Kim discuss the situation of holiday shipping. They are pleased to announce the Windows 10 tutorial is currently available for purchase. Chris and Kim sahre what they got each other for Christmas.

Lisa joins us for the anual food edition podcast where she and Kim each share a recipe you may wish to try.

Lisa’s crab cakes:

1 pound crab meat 1 cup breadcrumbs, half for the mix, and half to coat 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1 egg 1 and 1 half tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 fourth teaspoon Phillips or other seafood seasoning. Shape into cakes, and coat with the remaining breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 for 6 minutes per side. If you do not want to use butter or oil, lightly spray the crab cakes with nonstick cooking spray

In this episode we start by thanking everyone that was able to join us last Friday for our virtual open house. A good time was had by all. Next we talk about three new products that are either available such as our Fire Tablet tutorial. We also announce our Windows 10 tutorial that is currently up for pre-order, to be released soon.

Next we take two trips into the Mystic Access Magic Castle. We talk with Brittany Stovall, she tells us all about the fun products that she offers. Next we talk to Kesel Wilson from the National Braille Press. She announces new books, including the book we wrote for NBP: Getting Started with Windows 10. There are other great products from NBP that Kesel shares with us. We exit the castle and are joined by Barry Scheur of GuideLights And Gadgets to announce our latest collaboration.

It’s almost time for Black Friday madness here in Mystic Access Land, and we’re excited to share about everything we’re doing to make your holidays a little brighter. Plus, there are two segments in the castle this time around, so stay tuned for all the fun!

We have multiple specials which will begin on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26, and end at 11:59 on Giving Tuesday (December 1). Purchase either of our phone sanitizers and get $5 off our reversible micro USB cables. Save ten percent off most hardware. Most audio documentation products are buy one, get one half off. The one you’ll get for half price will be the product of equal or lesser value. Buy a BlindShell phone, get a case for $20. Buy one each of our sets of high-quality cables (reversible micro, lightning, and USBC), get half off one set. This is nearly $10 off. $10 off Mifa bluetooth speakers.

We had some lonesome Echo Dots sitting around that we wanted to put back in inventory so they can find new homes for the holidays. Each Dot comes with our comprehensive Alexa tutorial, which includes eight hours of content. Purchase a second generation Dot with tutorial here, or third generation Dot with tutorial here. There are only a few in stock, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Don’t forget that we’re holding an open house on Friday, November 27 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM eastern time. This is a great opportunity to meet others in the community, let your hair down and share some conversation and virtual leftovers with us. Here’s all the info you’ll need to join us:

Topic: Holiday Open House Time: Nov 27, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/j/85168458184?pwd=cVhRSWd4dUpyTWVQNU91Z3g0eXZwUT09

Meeting ID: 851 6845 8184 Passcode: magicill One tap mobile +16465588656,,85168458184# US (New York) +13017158592,,85168458184# US (Washington D.C)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 851 6845 8184 Find your local number: https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/u/kesKcTsEqV

We announce three new products in today’s episode — well, one is our Windows 10 documentation, which we shared about earlier, but the pre-order for the Windows 10 documentation is now available. Listen to the episode to learn about the other two products. They’ll be available very soon, and Kim will put out a newsletter and a public news article letting you know when.

Before we reach Black Friday, we have our final free virtual event of 2020. For November, we’re discussing the pint-sized kitchen. If you need to conserve space in your cupboards or

In this episode Chris and Kim make some announcements. They talk about November’s free class andremind us about the virtual open house on November 27th. It will be a good time for all. For those that weren’t abale to take advantage of the ghost coupon in October, they managed to sneak in another coupon. Listen for details.

Next they discuss some of their favorite products they have received in the past. These items may be good ideas for gifts as most of them are under $100.

Chris really likes his new Keurig and talks about why he had to get a new one.

Thanks so much for being a podcast listener.

Today’s episode features a very interesting castle interview, but we begin with several important announcements.

Our October free event will deal with making sure those many and varied household tasks are accessible to you. There are tons of ways to conduct tasks, and many modifications or tricks one can use to make a task easier. If you’ve been curious about how to make that appliance easier to use, how to perform a task with less stress, or how to save time while doing housework, this class could be very interesting. And if you participate live, bring your own tips to share at the afterparty, if you wish. The event will be held on Thursday, October 29 at 8:30 PM ET. If you’re on our Events mailing list, information will be sent to you early in the week of the event.

Speaking of events, we clarify are policy about recording Q and A sessions for free versus paid events, and also share the important news that we’ll now be using passwords on all future events, in addition to the waiting room feature of Zoom. Please listen carefully for all the details.

We’re happy to announce that our event on the Orbit family of products was a great success. If you couldn’t attend the event, you can now purchase the audio in both DAISY and MP3 by visiting this page. A written transcript will be coming soon, and will be available to all those who have purchased the new product.

Chris may have bought yet another Alexa device on Prime Day. He compares the Echo Show 8 to his original Echo Show device, and shares some reasons you may wish to upgrade yours.

Finally, we enter the Mystic Access magic castle to speak with Jose Gaztambide, CEO, and Mike May, Chief Evangelist at Good Maps. Learn about the innovative work they’re doing, especially in regards to indoor navigation.

We start out this episode with some timely announcements.

First is a final reminder that our Orbit Reader live event starts on Thursday. We are taking registrations for the event until 5:00 PM ET on October 8, the day of the event.

Thanks to a listener, Chris gives a workaround for those that are downloading audio from our Free Downloads page using iOS devices.

Next we discuss how future free events will work moving forward and how we will be able to get the recordings out in a timely manor.

There is a surprise in this episode that could save you a little money on Mystic Access products, so definitely continue to listen.

Next, Chris demonstrates Linkstash, a powerful stand alone bookmark manager for Windows computers. You can use this manager with one browser or if you make use of multiple web browsers. You can learn more about Linkstash and download a 30 day trial by activating this link.

If you want to get a head start on your holiday shopping, or just want a super gift for yourself, we insert the audio sample of the latest and greatest Bluetooth speaker we’re now carrying. If you own our Sharkk that is sadly no more, this speaker sounds about three times better. It’s truly amazing. Listen to the sample, and check out all the specs / make your purchase here.

Finally, Chris takes us through Steve’s Talking Clock, a talking clock for Windows computers. It brings back memories with some of the add-on clocks Chris has installed. One of the clocks is the voice of Chris’s first talking watch.

Thanks so much for being a podcast listener.

This episode features two extensive demos, but first we share some important announcements.

Our two-week event on Orbit products remains open for registration. All pre-orders went through on September 15, but you still have time to join us and to tell others who may be interested. This event covers both the older and new Orbit braille displays as well as the Orbit Writer. The first part of the event is October 8 2020, and everything will be recorded in case you can’t attend live.

We apologize for not having the pre-orders available for Windows 10 or QBraille. Those will be put up ASAP. Kim wants to make sure she has a thorough syllabus in each of those product descriptions for your convenience. Kim will put a news article up when the pre-orders are available. Thanks a lot for your patience.

Finally, we announce our free September class, which will be held on September 24. This one’s all about iOS 14 and Watch OS 7 and their new features and bugs. We’d love to have you join us if interested. For more information, please make sure you’re subscribed to our Events mailing list, as we send the joining information there.

The majority of today’s episode focuses on two extensive demos. We discuss SAM Smart alert for mail, which, as the name suggests, is a mailbox alert system. We demo Sam’s sounds, discuss it’s many benefits, and share why it may be a good solution for you.

Next, Chris shares about his new Panasonic KX-TGD564M Link2Cell Bluetooth Cordless Phone with Voice Assist and Answering Machine. We discuss its many benefits in terms of accessibility, show its talking caller ID, and more. We also remind you that if you’re looking for a really affordable landline option, and already have good internet access, we offer audio tutorials on both ViaTalk and VOIPo. These are both VOIP companies that use your existing internet connection to deliver great quality phone calls.

Thanks, as always, for listening!

In this episode we announce that we will be moving forward with the Reading Easily and Affordably with Orbit Products class in October.

We remind listeners about the Fire TV and Fire Stick and Fire Tablet tutorials that are currently up for pre-order.

Next we announce two new tutorials that will be on pre-order soon. One is a tutorial on Windows 10 and the other is a tutorial on the QBraille XL braille display created by HIMS. Chris discusses how he usedAira to help him with a contractor. Chris then uses an Aira agent to assist in setting up the MySpool Mailbox Alert system with Text Message and Email Notifications.

Thank you once again for joining us for this episode.

Lots of timely news to share in today’s episode, including dates for the potential Orbit Reader two-session event. The first session will be October 8 and the second will fall on October 15. Both these are Thursday evenings at 8:30 PM Eastern Time. We haven’t yet gotten the requisite 50 registrants to hold the event, but are getting closer. If you know anyone who’s interested, please send them to the above page. The events will be recorded and available to all participants, so if you have a time conflict, no worries.

Sorry for the very short notice in announcing our August free event, but due to so much happening here in Mystic access Land we were late in deciding. Fortunately, a very timely topic is waiting in the wings. Do to Microsoft ending support for Internet Explorer on its own products, we feel it’s time to revisit a hugely important topic we discussed once before, but to also expand it to cover even more info. Why should you choose not to use Internet Explorer, what other browsers are out there, and how is each unique in terms of how it assists your productivity and security online? This event isn’t just for IE users, either. We’ll talk about benefits to many different browsers, and also squash that nagging fear that changing to a new browser will be super hard — it won’t, we promise! We’d love to have you join us. This is a public event, so please feel free to invite anyone whom you feel would be interested.

Title: Browsing Securely On Your Terms When: Thursday, August 27, 2020 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM Eastern Time Join Zoom Meeting https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/j/87048374251

Meeting ID: 870 4837 4251 One tap mobile +16465588656,,87048374251# US (New York) +13126266799,,87048374251# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 870 4837 4251 Find your local number: https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/u/kcTjFol7W

Speaking of cool browser features, Kim has one to share on the new Microsoft Edge, which she now has set as her default. It’s an awesome productivity hack, especially when reading lots of information.

We’ve enabled a neat new address feature on Mystic Access, and want to show you how it works. Want to auto-complete your billing or shipping address in very little time? We have you covered. This feature will primarily be of help to new customers, but we really want to make your visit to our site super convenient, so want you to know it’s available.

Want some additional entertainment while conducting everyday tasks with JaWS? Chris demos how to change sound schemes so that you can customize your user experience. If that sounds good to you, give it a try.

One of the perks of working at Mystic Access is that we sometimes get to buy really convenient and cool toys for ourselves. We’re now both excited to own the Powlaken 3 in 1 Qi-Certified Wireless Charging Station. We describe and demo this practical device and share our experiences using it. Click here to purchase your own wireless charging station.

Finally, Kim shares an interesting product that you may use for different reasons than might your sighted friends. check out this two-pack of phone or tablet pillows, available from QVC and learn why Kim recommends them.

Thanks, as always, for listening!

Thanks for joining us for this episode. We start by reminding listeners of our tentative Orbit class. It is currently on pre-order until September 15, 2020. Check out the above link for more details.

Next we announce the winners of the contest we had in the last episode. We show listeners the feature we were looking for and discuss why we thought it was a good idea. We also demonstrate the country and state fields in our checkout process.

Chris demonstrates AVG Secure VPN under android to show it’s accessibility. He also discusses but doesn’t demonstrate Avast secureLine VPN as well as purchase Ten device licenses of both [amazon text=Avast&asin=B07WMT9P3P] and [amazon text=AVG&asin=B07WFQSHC9] from Amazon.

Finally Kim demonstrates her new [amazon text=3 in 1 EverPlus bluetooth Sleep Headphones&asin=B088LR8C8P]. She enjoys the sound and the fact they are bluetooth. No wires! [reviewDisclaimer]

Here is a link to the podcast where Kim discusses her now discontinued Hibermate Sleep Headphones & Sleeping Mask. Thanks so much for listening we appreciate you.

We begin this episode with some accidental comedy. We mention a topic nobody wants to talk about at all… taxes. While we don’t discuss them in detail in this episode, you can learn more about accessible tax/financial software and apps in this podcast episode.

Did you get to enjoy the solar eclipse from your location? While there was a lot more cloud cover here than in many other places, we still had an awesome time. If you felt left out or just want to feel the excitement all over again, there are many archived resources for your enjoyment. Type “NASA solar eclipse coverage” into your favorite search engine to watch they’re wonderful event from April 8.

Many of you know that Chris and I love headphones. We discuss two pairs in this episode, one of which inspired the title. Both are by the brand SoundPEATS. Their Space over-ear headphones boast 120 hours (yes, you read that right) of battery, noise canceling and passthrough modes, and multiple EQ settings via the SoundPEATS app. They’re well-built and, at least currently, well-priced.

Chris also got the SoundPEATS Capsule3 Pro Earbuds which he’s really enjoying. While neither of these are Apple or Bose quality, they’re both really great options for their pricepoints. Please note that both the above links provide Mystic access with a small commission if you purchase through those links. We never recommend products or services we don’t use ourselves, and only recommend items we feel may benefit listeners.

Finally, we discuss various ways to find news accessibly. From TV and podcasts to RSS and voice assistants, there are so many ways to learn what’s going on in this great big world. We’ll discuss another great resource for accessing various content in our next episode–radio reading services.

Thanks, as always, for listening and spreading the word. We appreciate you!

We begin this episode with a reminder about our July free event, which will be held on Thursday, July 30. If you want to make sure you keep safe this summer while still having some fun during this difficult time, you may find this discussion useful. We’ll share a little about our experiences being out and about during Covid, some things to possibly expect, and a check list of items you may want to keep handy while you’re out. We’ll also be making product recommendations, and sharing a few ways to reduce your stress while staying home. Here’s all the info you’ll need to join us:

Topic: Accessible Safety While Having Fun In The Summer Of Covid-19 Time: Jul 30, 2020 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/j/85266711976

Meeting ID: 852 6671 1976 One tap mobile +16465588656,,85266711976# US (New York) +13017158592,,85266711976# US (Germantown)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 852 6671 1976 Find your local number: https://mysticaccess.zoom.us/u/kb70VaEPnU

Feel free to share this event with others whom you feel would be interested. Everyone is welcome.

We’re also interested in holding another event, this one on the various Readers from Orbit Research. If you have an Orbit already and are considering an upgrade, but want to know more, or if you never bought an Orbit but are curious whether you should get a new model, these situations will be addressed in this class. Learn about the Orbit and how it works, what the new models offer that the original Orbit does not, and much more. This event will run for two sessions of between 75-90 minutes each, and will be recorded for your reference.

Lisa Salinger will be the instructor, as she taught the original Orbit tutorial, which is now retired. If you’d like to learn more and pre-order this two-week event, please click here. You will not be charged until we get at least fifty registrants signed up. If this hasn’t happened by September 15, the event will be canceled and you will not be charged at all.

Next, Chris discusses the VPN he’s using on both his computers and phone. What’s a VPN and why might you want one? Listen to our discussion to find out. The one Chris uses is by AVG — yes, the same AVG that has been bringing us antivirus software for decades. Chris also demonstrates how accessible the antivirus protection is now from AVG. to learn more about the VPN and antivirus protection offered by AVG, you may visit the AVG site here.

Our phone sanitizers have been so wildly popular that we’re currently offering two. One sanitizes your phone in five minutes and offers aroma therapy, along with a larger compartment that will fit your Trek or Stream without a case. The other disinfects in fifteen minutes, has a slightly smaller compartment that won’t fit a Stream or Trek, and it also features wireless charging for supported phones. Note that the BlindShell Classic does not offer wireless charging capabilities. Chris provides a quick demo of the new fifteen minute model. You can learn about both sanitizers on this page. Just select the radio button for the sanitizer of interest and then read below for its full description.

We’re excited to be offering a fun little contest. We’ve enabled a fun new website feature, and the first three people who correctly identify this feature and email or call us with the answer will receiv

Happy July. Today’s episode is all about comfort, tranquility and having more balance in your life. To support you in that, we have a couple timely announcements. On Thursday, July 16, we’re holding an open house between 1-5 PM Eastern Time. This is a fun way to meet us in an informal setting, get your questions answered, chat with other Mystic Access community members, and have some laughs in a relaxed environment. Joining is free, and you’re welcome to come for just a few minutes or stay for the entire party. Please note that this will not be recorded. Please view this page for all the joining details. You’ll also find all of our crazy convention sales there, too, which last through the end of Saturday, July 18.

On Thursday, July 30, we’ll be holding our free monthly event. If you want to make sure you keep safe this summer while still having some fun during this difficult time, you may find this discussion useful. We’ll share a little about our experiences being out and about during Covid, some things to possibly expect, and a check list of items you may want to keep handy while you’re out. We’ll also be making product recommendations, and sharing a few ways to reduce your stress while staying home. Here’s all the info you’ll need to join us:

Feel free to share this event with others whom you feel would be interested. Everyone is welcome.

Chris is feeling particularly comfortable during this episode. [amazon text=He discusses and demos his fancy new AeroBed,&asin=b07smbk55x] which comes with a wealth of options and features. Chris demos some of the functions.

Now that you’re all cozy and tucked in bed, how about something to help you get a good night’s sleep? Kim demos the Slumber app for iOS. The above link is to the Slumber site where you also get on the waiting list for the Android version. She discusses what she loves about this app, demos a few audio tracks, and shares what she feels makes this sleep app special as compared to some others out there. Note that while you can upgrade to premium, there are tracks that can be enjoyed for free.

Finally, what if you want to monitor the quality and length of your sleep? Chris shows the NapBot app, available for iOS. There is a watch app available, and Chris demos the info found in both the watch and phone apps.

We hope you enjoyed this episode, and we’ll look forward to bringing you another one towards the end of July. Until then, happy convention-going, and sweet dreams afterwards.

Today’s episode invites you to get social with us, learn about some new products, and participate in our craziest convention season sales ever. We begin by sharing about our upcoming open house on Thursday, July 16 between 1-5 PM Eastern Time. If you haven’t attended one of these soirees with us before, they’re a great opportunity to chat with us informally, learn more about Mystic Access, meet a lot of very nice people, and have some fun. If you’re subscribed to either of our mailing lists, you’ll receive the joining info when it’s available closer to the 16th. We’ll also be posting an article on our News page with the info included. We’d love to have you drop in to the party.

Remember that we have two new products available for pre-order. One is our audio documentation on the Amazon Fire tablets. If you love ordering from amazon, read a lot of Kindle books, or use Alexa extensively, you may have reason to love owning a Fire tablet. Our other audio documentation up for pre-order is on the Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick. These provide the ability to stream your favorite TV shows or movies accessibly using your favorite services such as Prime, Netflix, Hulu, and so many others. They also include Alexa for even more fun. Neither of these products will be available until at least the end of August, but we’re allowing you to get your order in right now so that you can be the first to enjoy these upon release. You won’t be charged anything until the products are available.

After selling like hotcakes for the past couple weeks, our little phone sanitizer box appears to have been discontinued. Fortunately, though, we found a new phone sanitizer that has even more benefits. Of course, this one has voice prompts, too. We’ve updated the product audio documentation to reflect the new phone sanitizer. We hope you enjoy it.

The remainder of this episode is devoted to our many convention sales and specials. I’ll attempt to put a complete list here in the show notes within a day or two. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this episode, and thanks, as always, for listening!

We begin this episode by sharing a couple announcements. We’ll be on Tek Talk on Monday, June 22nd, at 8:00 PM ET to discuss the InsideOne Windows 10 braille computer. If you were unable to attend our previous event on the InsideOne, which was so popular that we held it twice, this gives you another chance to ask your questions live. We’d love to have you join us.

Also, while we haven’t announced it yet just due to how busy we’ve been, we will be having a free event in June. Pleased stay tuned to our Events mailing list for all info as soon as we announce it, or if you aren’t on it already, you may subscribe to either of our lists from any page of our site.

We’re happy to share that for those of you with BlindShell Classic phones who have been having no success getting your weather, it appears that problem has been resolved. Chris and Kim can both receive their weather again, both by entering the weather app via the menus, or by voice. If you haven’t heard of the BlindShell, you may learn all about it using the above link.

Did we mention that the UV phone sanitizer we now carry can also fit the BlindShell? It can, but it’s also so much more than a phone sanitizer. We created an eighteen minute demo on the above page where you can listen to it in action, and learn about all its many uses.

Next, Chris explains and demos the Gin Foxi iPhone battery case. This has 5000 mAh of power, and this particular model works with the iPhone 7, 8 and SE 2020 phones. We recommend purchasing it from our friend and colleague, Barry Scheur, from GuideLights and Gadgets, and we thank him for recommending it to us.

Summer is almost officially here, so you may want to be able to make ice cold drinks with ease. Chris demos his new Ninja Professional Plus blender and shares why he’s so happy with this purchase.

Finally, for those who have been repeatedly asking, we’ve heard you, and know that you’re impatiently waiting for a couple tutorials we’ve been promising for a while. We haven’t forgotten you, and have now put of pre-order links for audio documentation on the Amazon Fire TV / Stick, and for the Amazon Fire tablets. Please listen carefully to learn details about how this is going to work. You may pre-order the Fire TV / Stick tutorial here. You may pre-order the Fire tablet tutorial here. Neither tutorial will be released until at least the end of August, and if you pre-order, you won’t be charged for either tutorial until it is released. Thanks for your interest, and thanks for listening!

If you’re interested in cleaning your house, being good to the environment, sterilizing your phone, or learning about a super cool new braille tablet, there’s something in today’s episode for you.

We begin by sharing about the incredible new braille tablet we’re proud to distribute, the InsideOne. created by Insidevision, this is a Windows 10 tablet with both JAWS and NVDA preinstalled, an imbeded tactile braille keyboard, and a gorgeous 32-cell braille display on the front. We include a 10+ minute insert here to share more about it and demo a few features.

Our recent virtual event exploring the InsideOne was so popular that we’re holding it again on Thursday, June 4, at 8:30 PM eastern. Please listen for all the details you’ll need to join, or visit this link.

If you’re interested in getting all your essentials in one convenient place, and keeping your house, body and beauty routine clean while being conscious of the environment, you may enjoy Kim’s site tour of Grove.co. Discover how you can find products with ease, learn about their ingredients and usage instructions, and sign up for free shipping on all your favorites with the VIP program. Kim is excited to try this site herself, and was happy to share about it with all of you.

Finally, Chris demos our new talking ultraviolet phone sanitizer, now available for purchase. The voice prompts allow you to use this neat little device safely and easily. And it will sanitize so much more than your phone — keys, cash, credit cards, jewelry, and more can be cleaned in its compartment. we hope you enjoy the demo.

Thanks, as always, for listening!

This episode is packed with exciting announcements and demos. We begin by discussing a bit about our very exciting free virtual event for May. To learn more and get the joining info, please click here to read this news post. We’re thrilled to be sharing about an innovative product with you, and would love for you to join us live.

Chris has discovered a couple really cool utilities that he demonstrates for you. If you’re a JAWS user in particular, and use a lot of tabs, windows and / or files in your daily computing, you may really enjoying learning about these. Please click here to learn about JumpToWindow,and click here to learn about QuickJump.

Barry Scheur from GuideLights and Gadgets drops in to chat about the new products from Orbit Research, especially the Orbit Writer. His contact info is at the end of his discussion, and he is a distributor for Orbit products.

We conclude this episode by discussing two companies that may make you smile for different reasons. Kim gives a tour of Boxed.com, where you can buy lots of different food and household products in bulk for reasonable prices. There are apps, as well, but you may want to use the site itself, which Kim discusses as part of her demo.

If you have kids in your life, and / or are a kid at heart, you may enjoy Chris’s quick demo of HappyKids.tv, which works beautifully on the Fire TV / Stick products. It includes a ton of free kid-friendly content, thoughtfully categorized for easy browsing. Kim enjoyed stumbling across this site, and we hope you’ll find it a fun and free way to cut the cord.

Thanks, as always, for listening!

We have a jam-packed episode for you this time around. Chris begins by providing a tour of an incredibly useful Outlook extension called Bells and Whistles. If you’re an Outlook user, or have considered making the switch to Outlook, you’ll enjoy learning about this diverse tool. We especially recommend this one for busy professionals who send lots of group email.

Next, we talk about Chris’s new iPhone SE 2020. How does it differ from his old iPhone 8? What does he like best about it so far? If you’re considering a new phone, we hope our conversation about this one proves helpful.

In a recent podcast episode, we reviewed the Sirius XM app. If you just don’t like it for whatever reason, we received a recommendation for an alternative from a recent event participant. The app is called StarPlayrX, and costs $0.99 on iTunes. It provides a clean, intuitive interface for browsing stations and listening to streams. We show the layout and discuss a couple possible drawbacks.

Finally, Chris is excited to talk about and demo his new Amazon smart oven. He discusses his setup experience, air fries some steak fries, and we end with a few safety tips.

We hope you enjoy today’s episode. Thanks for listening!

Surprise, you get a bonus episode. We were recently delighted to spend a very entertaining hour with the guys from Accessibility Moving Forward. If you aren’t familiar with their informative and hilarious podcast, we highly recommend it for a very fun take on tech, and plenty of other goodies to fascinate listeners. We talked about a lot of technology-related topics, as well as sharing a bit of our behind the scenes creative process.

Our very big thanks to Randy and Bill for having us on the podcast! We had a blast!

We begin today’s episode by thanking a loyal listener for a tip on using the Monkey Taps apps, discussed in our last episode, more successfully via iOS. We highly recommend these wonderful apps to uplift your mood at anytime.

Speaking of thanking people, we’re also grateful to all of those who took advantage of our recent Birthday sale. If you missed out, don’t worry. Subscribe to our News list to be informed about upcoming sales, new products, and much more. This is a one-way mailing list, and we only send updates a couple times a month. You may subscribe from any page of the Mystic Access site.

We wanted to remind you of a cool app which allows you to read in multiple formats via your PC. Chris demos the QRead software, and shows how you can use it to import, search and browse Bookshare books. If you’re seeking a new way to read your favorite books easily, this could be it. QRead is paid software, but a free trial version is available.

Want a free way to watch hundreds of streaming channels and movies? Kim demos two free apps, Tubi and Pluto TV. Both options are highly accessible via Android and iOS, and each offers a wealth of programing for your watching pleasure. To learn more about accessible methods for watching your favorite TV shows and movies, check out our newly designed, 12-hour cord cutting course, available now. We’re so excited to share this content with you.

Thanks so much for listening!

First and foremost, we want to thank everyone on the front lines right now… you’re amazing.

This episode has a similar theme to our last one — staying connected, making sure we’re safe, supplied, and entertained during this difficult time. In that regard, we’ll be devoting our April free event to this very topic, as well. We’ll be sharing some practical tips and suggestions for reaching out during isolation, getting what you need, dealing with stress, staying relaxed, and much more. Some info will be material we’ve previously shared via the podcast, but some will be new. We’d love for you to come, and, of course, bring your questions. This is a public event, so feel free to invite your friends or colleagues. Here’s the info you’ll need to join us:

Topic: Practical Ways to Stay Connected During Corona Virus Time: Apr 16, 2020 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/587554623

Meeting ID: 587 554 623

One tap mobile +16465588656,,587554623# US (New York) +13126266799,,587554623# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US Meeting ID: 587 554 623 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aeuZq8kRZl

Please copy and paste the above links into your browser of choice to activate them.

In the course of this episode, we discuss a number of currently free and paid resources available to assist you, including JAWS for Windows, Dolphin Computer Access, Bookshare, CBS all Access, and others. Kim provides a demo of Sirius XM via the iOS app, which can be listened to for free through May 15. You’ll need to set up a free account via the above link, then listen using the iOS, Fire OS or Android apps. Hundreds of stations are available in a variety of genres. Kim highly recommends Stay At Home Radio for some uplifting, positive music to keep us all going.

We next visit a couple of the fabulous apps created by Monkey Taps for Android and iOS. We briefly demo the I Am app, which provides daily affirmations, and Laugh My App Off, which is definitely funny. We discussed their Motivation app in this episode. Check out the site above to see all their projects. We highly recommend the premium app upgrades.

Finally, we share our experience using Top Chef Meals, a meal delivery service located just outside New York City. We hope you enjoy our thoughts. Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the podcast. This episode contains two very different topics, and we hope one or both will be of interest to you.

First, though, we want to thank those who attended our free virtual event on getting comfortable with computers. We’re grateful for the questions you shared to help make our presentation more helpful for you, the listeners. If you weren’t able to attend live, no worries. You can download the audio of the event right here.

We next share the final chapter of our story about our Google doorbell. We had a very unfortunate experience as we tried to return it to Amazon, which was the impetus for our purchase of the Google camera for our front yard. Hope you gain insight from our sad, cautionary tale.

Finally, a much happier topic. The U.S. is about to experience a solar eclipse, and here in Western NY, we’re in totality! If none of that makes any sense to you, check out the resources below for lots of explanation. We tease a very cool app called Eclipse Soundscapes which is available for both iOS and Android. It includes both audio description and sounds to help you understand and experience eclipses. The app is free. Don’t hesitate to check out other eclipse-related apps as well. Some include videos and additional media for your enjoyment.

Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Everything You Need to Know, Space.com

Device Helps People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision Experience a Solar Eclipse, NPR.org

The LightSound Project, Harvard.edu

Sense the Solar Eclipse with NASA’s Eclipse Soundscapes Project, NASA

Note: this is not the same as the Eclipse Soundscapes app. The app is not part of this 2024 project, which will record sounds from nature to see how they change during the solar eclipse.

Thanks, as always, for listening and spreading the word about us. We appreciate you.

Hi, Everyone,

We’re living in surreal times, so while we always try to have some fun on the podcast, and today’s episode is no exception, we wanted to share some ideas for remaining calm and connected during this strange and frightening period. First, however, we remind you about our upcoming free event on the Leasey application. After further reflection post recording, we’ve decided to share the info publicly. This is a time where coming together is so important, and this is one way we can help to facilitate that. Here is the info to join us on Thursday, March 26:

Topic: Life with leasey Time: Mar 26, 2020 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/251393358

Meeting ID: 251 393 358

One tap mobile +13126266799,,251393358# US (Chicago) +16465588656,,251393358# US (New York)

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US +1 301 715 8592 US Meeting ID: 251 393 358 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adk26jcNg1

Just copy and paste any relevant links into your browser of choice. Brian pre-recorded an excellent presentation that we know you’ll enjoy, and we’ll also be providing demos and answering your questions. Join us, and invite your interested friends.

Another way we’re helping folks to stay connected is via our upcoming free open house on Friday, March 27 from 2-5 PM ET. It will provide us an opportunity to chat with one another informally and support each other. Let’s relax a bit and have a little fun in a friendly, open-hearted environment. Here’s the info to join us:

Topic: Staying connected Time: Mar 27, 2020 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/456946191

Meeting ID: 456 946 191

One tap mobile +16465588656,,456946191# US (New York) +13126266799,,456946191# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US Meeting ID: 456 946 191 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adk26jcNg1

Again, just copy and paste the link into your browser of choice at the time of the event.

Just a reminder — we use Zoom for all of our events. If you’re unfamiliar with this highly accessible and diverse platform, you can check out our comprehensive audio demo for Zoom participants. If you’re also interested in the hosting aspects of Zoom, this now free audio book by Jonathan Mosen may prove helpful.

And speaking of free books, our comprehensive book on delivery services, Dinner Delivered, is now free for download from National Braille Press through April 30. Two other fine books are also available to download for free until that date, so check out NBP’s full catalog for your reading / learning needs.

Other awesome resources discussed and demoed in today’s episode include the Rain Rain app, Insight Timer, Calm Radio, and several fabulous skills / apps for Alexa and Google Home. And speaking of Alexa and Google Home, here’s an event recording to help you recharge and relax with your voice assistants.

Be well, e

We begin this episode by sharing about our March 2020 free event. this time, we’ll be discussing and demonstrating the Leasey scripts available for JAWS. Brian Hartgen is kindly providing a recorded presentation to be shared in class, and we’ll also be demonstrating Leasey and answering questions. If you’re unfamiliar with Leasey, or would like to learn more about how it can bring more convenience, fun and ease to using your PC, we’d love for you to join us. All info will be shared on our Events mailing list, which you may subscribe to from any page of our site.

We’re also proud to announce that Mystic Access is now a distributor for the BlindShell Classic phone. If you’re looking for an intuitive cell phone with full speech, tactile buttons and a rich set of features, or would just like to make calls and send texts with greater ease, this phone could be for you. We not only distribute the BlindShell, but also created a free six-hour comprehensive audio tutorial to walk you through orientation, configuration and features. So essentially, you can try before you buy. If you appreciate the tutorial and it convinces you that the BlindShell would meet your needs, we’d be delighted to send one to you. We also provide a cool addon service that we describe in the podcast which you may find very helpful in getting started with your new phone.

Next, we venture into the magic castle for an inspiring interview with Elizabeth Lam. We don’t feature interviews about a person’s journey through sight loss as a rule, but Liz’s story and can-do attitude have truly inspired us, and we thought what she has to share may serve as a powerful and helpful message to many who have lost physical sight, or who struggle with blindness. We’re so proud that she’s our client, and are excited to introduce her to all of you. Liz shares about herself, her dramatic sight loss, the re-building of her life through support from the Society for the Blind, and advice to support others on similar journeys. She also shares about an upcoming PBS documentary in which she and her Society instructor, Randy Owen, are prominently featured, airing on April 15, 2020.

Another resource mentioned in this interview is the book Crashing Through, about the life and sight journey of Mike May. While the above is the BARD link, it’s also available through Bookshare.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with Liz, and, as always, thanks for listening!

We begin this episode by reminding you about our three-week cord cutting course which begins on the day this podcast is released, February 25. we’l be leaving registrations open until end of day on Friday, February 28, so if you wish to participate, and need to join us a little late, you may do so.

We also remind you of our free February virtual event on the BlindShell classic phone, coming up on February 27. This is a public event, and here’s all the info you’ll need to join us live:

Topic: Answering The call with Ease Using The Blind Shell Phone Time: February 27, 2020 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Click here to join the event.

Meeting ID: 810 087 269

One tap mobile +16465588656,,810087269# US (New York) +16699006833,,810087269# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 810 087 269 Find your local number.

If the above links don’t work for you, please copy and paste them into your browser of choice.

We use the Zoom conferencing platform for all of our virtual events. It allows you to join events via phone, iOS, Fire OS, Android, and the Zoom software for PC or Mac. Zoom is free, intuitive to use and beautifully accessible. Please click here to stream or download our comprehensive demo of Zoom.

This class will be recorded and available via our Free downloads page within a couple of weeks. You’ll find most of our previous monthly event recordings available there, too.

We look forward to having you in class!

We’ve been getting a lot of requests lately regarding tutorials you wish Mystic Access to create, and while we read and appreciate all of them, we want to remind you that for reasons explained in this episode, many of these are more suited to our personalized tutorial service. We’d love to create something perfect for you and your needs.

Chris demos an interesting little program called soundSwitch and describes ways it may be useful for you. check it out for free at the above link.

Chris was inspired to check out the Revive Superfoods smoothies. He shares his thoughts and gives a tour of the site. Note that in addition to smoothies, they also carry oat bowls and dishes they call “supermeals.”

Thanks so much for listening!

We begin this episode with several important Mystic Access site-related items, including info on captchas, a review of why we no longer allow Internet Explorer to access the site, and more. We know this stuff is boring, but encourage you to listen anyway, as we want you to understand why some site options are as they are.

If you’d like to save money every month, and who doesn’t, we have a possible opportunity to help you with that. Did you know there are tons of accessible alternatives to cable that will still allow you to watch your favorite channels, shows and movies? Check out our upcoming three-week virtual event on cutting the cord. If you can’t attend live, all sessions will be recorded for your enjoyment at any time.

February’s free virtual event will be all about the BlindShell phone. We’ll be discussing reasons you may want it, even if you consider yourself high-tech, demoing features and functions, and, of course, answering your questions. We’re sharing the invitation here, so be sure to invite anyone you think may be interested.

Topic: Answering The call with Ease Using The Blind Shell Phone Time: Feb 27, 2020 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 810 087 269

One tap mobile +16465588656,,810087269# US (New York) +16699006833,,810087269# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 810 087 269 Find your local number

Chris talks about his Air Innovations cool mist humidifier, discusses its ease of operation, and we share about the many benefits of using a humidifier in your home or work space.

Finally, Kim discusses her experiences using Daily Harvest, a food and smoothie delivery service. She tours the website and iOS app and shares reasons you may enjoy using this tasty service.

Thanks for joining us!

In this episode, we begin by telling you about our first free monthly event for 2020, which will be all about audio description services. Whether you’re new to audio description services and want to learn what it’s all about, are curious what new offerings are out there, or are overwhelmed and not sure where to start finding audio described content, this event is for you. Make sure you’re part of our Events mailing list to receive the joining info. You may subscribe from any page of the site.

We next pay a visit to the castle, but this time it’s a little different. Kim and Chris are the ones being interviewed! Lisa is here to ask us about our new book available from National Braille Press, Dinner Delivered. Learn about the grocery, restaurant and other food delivery services covered extensively in this book, listen as Chris defines the “sighted filter”, and learn about the unconventional process which made this project such a team effort for us. We’re so excited to have partnered with NBP for another book, and hope you enjoy reading and using it to bring greater freedom and convenience to your meals. You may purchase it in hard copy braille, BRF, DAISY text, or Word formats.

Want to learn more about the book and ask questions live? We’ll be appearing on Tek Talk on Monday, February 10 at 8:00 PM ET to discuss Dinner delivered. Join us live at that time by clicking on the above link from your PC, Mac or favorite mobile device.

Thanks for joining us for this episode!

We begin 2020 with some updates from our last couple podcast episodes. We start by discussing updates to the Disney+ apps, and Lisa and our impressions of the new features and layout.

Lisa next updates us on her Christmas mint-making activities, and reminds you that they can be made for all sorts of occasions, not just the end of year holidays. We then share details of Chris’s upcoming Birthday sale, so if you want to save some cash for Chris’s special day, be sure to listen for all the details of when it is and how much you’ll save.

We next update you on a fabulous new feature that recently came to the Blind Shell phone. We also share about the cool ways you can use many of the phone’s features with your voice.

Speaking of voices, if you’re interested in learning about the various places where you can get audio description for some of your favorite movies and TV shows, and how to enable audio description on your services of choice, our free monthly class for January will give you all the details. Join Chris, Kim and Lisa on Thursday, January 30, 2020, for a lively discussion, and, of course, bring your questions to class. To receive all the joining info, make sure you’re on our free Events mailing list, which you can subscribe to from any page of our website.

Finally, we discuss one of our favorite apps, available for both iOS and Android, which can provide you with plenty of motivation and inspiration for all those New Year’s goals. We highly recommend it both for its content and accessibility.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

we’ve reached the end of 2019, and are saying good-bye to the year by discussing two interesting devices. The first is the BlindShell candy bar-style cell phone. The phone includes intuitive button controls, voice prompts, and a simple-to-use interface. Chris takes us on a tour. We’re excited to be sharing this great little phone with you!

We also talk about the pros and cons of the Amazon Echo flex. If you want a tiny Echo to use, learn why the Flex may, or may not, be the right fit for you.

Thanks for being part of our 2019 — we appreciate you! Have a safe, happy and wonderful New Year!

We begin this episode with a little maintenance, in the form of some holiday shipping reminders. We also let you know when we close for business for the holidays, and remind you of some timely presents if you’re pressed for something to get a loved one.

Our main topic for today is a discussion of the new Disney+ service. Download the app for iOS and Android. What do we love, and what are we unhappy about? Find out in our candid conversation. Note that Disney+ requires a paid subscription.

Thanks as always for listening!

Welcome to our over-sized annual food edition, where first, Lisa has returned, and she and Kim endeavor to make you hungry with a couple of festive holiday treats.

Lisa’s Cream Cheese Mints

8 oz package cream cheese, full fat, softened (You want the block, not the whipped cream cheese in the tub) 1/4 cup (or 1 half stick) butter, softened 2 lbs powdered sugar 1 – 2 tsp mint extract gel food coloring (optional) Granulated sugar for rolling.

When I made these, I left the candies white and used green sugar.

Let butter and cream cheese get to room temperature. Mix these, along with the peppermint or whatever extract you would like to use, in a large bowl. Gradually add the powdered sugar. You may find you don’t use it all. I did, but then added an extra third package of cream cheese. This recipe is fairly foolproof, so relax. I’ve seen some that do not include the butter. Mix all ingredients except food coloring and granulated sugar until smooth and well-blended. If you’re going to make candies of different colors, divide it into separate containers before adding the coloring. If you like, you can then roll these in small balls, pressing down on them with the tines of a fork. If using silicone molds, roll each ball in sugar before pressing into the mold. Doing this will allow them to unmold easily. Let them dry for about half an hour on waxed paper before refrigerating. Lay them in single layers of waxed paper so they don’t stick together.

Kim’s Beer Bread

I chose to link to a website for this recipe, as, while it differs very slightly from mine (I always use butter), it gives a lot of cool alternatives and ways to dress this bread up. Any way you choose to eat it, it’s so tasty! Click here for the recipe.

We also discuss something shocking about Amazon prior to our recipes that you’ll find, well, interesting.

If that’s not enough, we’re then joined by Kesel Wilson, editor and programs manager with National Braille Press, to run down a plethora of new and upcoming releases from NBP. She shares so many terrific books that you’re sure to find something to gift to someone you love, including you! Click here to visit National Braille Press.

We hope you enjoy this jam-packed episode!

We begin this episode by sharing about our November free event, our last actual class of 2019. We hope you’ll join us to learn about how you can support small business owners, artists and artisans by learning about a few of our favorite things… in this case, a few of our favorite sites. If you miss the live class, which is always announced on our free events mailing list, it will be archived in a week or two on our free downloads page for your listening pleasure.

Keep listening to learn about our Black Friday discounts, and important info about shipping costs and the ability to purchase digital gifts for your loved ones. We also discuss a very special four-hour virtual open house that we’re holding on November 29, Black Friday. It’s free to attend, and we know a grand time will be had by participants. We’ll be playing games, giving out prizes, and sharing a lot of laughter and fun. This event will be very casual and informal, and will not be recorded.

Have you ever wished you could order Thanksgiving dinner online, either to cut down on your prep time, because there are only a couple of you, or due to the convenience factor? You may have several other reasons for wanting to do this, and this article shares multiple sites from which you can purchase the Thanksgiving meal.

Other fun elements of today’s episode include a great seasonal food app demo from Lisa, a serious moment of gratitude from Chris and Kim, and a very special guest who you won’t want to miss! Enjoy!

Today’s episode is packed with updates, a demo we hope you’ll enjoy, and the chance to *finally* hang out with us later this month.

Yes, at last, we’re having another free event! This time we’re discussing computers. whether you’re buying one, procrastinating about buying one, or just confused on terminology, we hope to make this a fun and informative event with lots of time to ask your questions. What’s the difference between RAM and storage? What are must-have components when shopping for a new computer? What version of Windows or Mac should you get? What should you know as a screen reader or magnification user? We’ll share vocabulary, our own experiences, and give you the tools to discover more for yourself. We hope you’ll join us on Thursday, March 28, at 8:00 PM eastern time. Register your free seat at this link. If you know you’ll be unable to attend live, please don’t register for the event so someone else can have that seat. The event will be recorded for your enjoyment later. If you know others who may be interested, please send them to this page to register, too.

In a previous podcast episode, Chris asked you to remember the number 22. We now explain that mystery by introducing you to an amazing surge protector from SuperDanny. We use ours in our entertainment center and absolutely love it. We explain its features, and, of course, talk about all the things you can plug in with this cool tool. Visit this page to learn more. Please note that this is our Amazon affiliate link. Any purchases made through this link provide us a small commission. We never recommend products we don’t use and love ourselves.

This episode also brings us to the end of our Ebay braille display story that we’ve been sharing. There’s a happy ending, but one twist before we get there. Hope you’ve found our experience educational on your own journey in purchasing assistive technology.

If you’ve been following our Google doorbell adventure, it’s time for an update on the decisions we’ve made. We tell you whether we kept our Google doorbell, things we love and don’t love, and more, including our thoughts on sound quality and other features.

Finally, we end the podcast with a cool demo. This is a Windows program called Weather Monitor. We don’t know about its availability for Mac. Learn about its intuitive interface, features, how to add cities, and how to configure the program. Note that this is still in public beta. Activate this link to download a .zip file containing the program. We hope you like it, too.

Thanks, as always, for listening and spreading the word. We appreciate you!

On November 5, 2019, Mystic Access appeared on Part 1 of Accessible Worlds Stocking Stuffers program to talk about great items from our catalog which we feel would make excellent holiday presents for those you love. This is our complete presentation. To learn more about Accessible World, click here.

In this episode Chris and Kim start out with two announcements.

The first is the topic and date of the November free class. This class will be on Thursday November 21, rather than the usual final Thursday of the month. The last Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. Listen for all the details of our exciting class topic. You can join us by subscribing to our events mailing list. Just fill out the form on our home page if you are not already subscribed. The Zoom information will be sent out the Monday before the class.

The next announcement discusses updated physical shipping rates from Mystic Access to select countries outside the US. The shipping announcement also includes important shipping info for our US customers.

If you’ve ever wanted a behind-the-scenes look at our shipping processes, you’ll enjoy this podcast. Chris demonstrates the method he uses to ship out a package, since we have had questions about how we do it with assistive technology.

Finally, we enter the Mystic Access Magic Castle and talk to Mary Jo Barry, the US Marketing Manager from Dolphin Computer Access. We talk about Dolphin products and focus on a new product from Dolphin called GuideConnect. GuideConnect is a talking digital assistant that can provide you with online entertainment, the ability to browse websites with ease, and which can bring you closer to family and friends with an easy to use interface.

Thanks so much for being a podcast listener.

This episode is not only informative, it’s spooky, too! Check out all the sounds Chris interspersed throughout for Halloween.

We begin by discussing Your Choice of Voice, our free event for October, 2019. If you want to learn about the various text to speech voices available for your favorite platform (PC, Mac or mobile, we’ll be sharing many of the available options (with demos, of course) where you can get them, and how you can configure them to sound just the way you want. We hope you’ll join us, either live at the event, or via the recording when we put it up on our Free Downloads page. Make sure you’re on our Events mailing list to get all the joining details.

Our recent event on using Microsoft Word efficiently has been DAISYed and is now available to everyone. You can download this 90-minute audio in DAISY and MP3 formats. Your purchase also includes an extensive written resources list to help increase your confidence with Word no matter your platform. We had a great response to this when it was a live event, and hope anyone frustrated with Word will check it out.

After a fun discussion of our favorite Halloween candy and a related story by Chris, we’re thinking that, like us, you may end up regretting some of your Halloween gluttony. Fortunately, we have two great exercise tools to help you burn off some of those candy calories. Chris discusses his [amazon text=under the desk eliptical&asin=B074F1S194], and Kim shares about her easily portable [amazon text=twist stepper.&asin=B009QXP5C0] Please note that these are Mystic Access Amazon affiliate links, so if you purchase from these links, we’ll receive a small commission and our gratitude. We only recommend items we’ve joyfully and successfully used ourselves, or which have been recommended to us by deeply trusted sources.

Kim wants to tempt you with a couple final Halloween treats, so if you’re into brownies in particular, she can highly recommend the delights found at Fat Witch Bakery. Try one of their cauldrons for a yummy sampler of their products. And here’s an article on a dozen delicious treats you can also buy online.

After a discussion of the Audible books we’re currently reading, we end by revisiting a segment Kim put in a podcast several years ago about a now old helpful electronic friend that’s still going strong today. Check out this amazing little [amazon text=Lasko space heater.&asin=7300019196] Please note that this is an Mystic Access Amazon affiliate link, so if you purchase from this link, we’ll receive a small commission and our gratitude. We only recommend items we’ve joyfully and successfully used ourselves, or which have been recommended to us by deeply trusted sources.

Thanks for listening, Happy Halloween, and stay safe and cozy!

Welcome to this episode of the podcast. We begin with a couple timely announcements. The first regards our event on becoming more efficient and confident using Microsoft Word. This event takes place on Thursday, October 10. Whether you primarily use word on your PC, mac, or a mobile device, we’re providing tips, strategies and a plethora of keystrokes to help you maximize your use of the program. Tired of feeling overwhelmed or totally lost when trying to format or edit that document? We’re here to help! The event will be recorded if you’re unable to attend live. Register at the link above, or give us a call during business hours at (716) 543-3323, and we’ll be happy to place your order via phone.

Next, we address a couple site related items that are important for you to understand. Listen carefully as we discuss Mystic Access website accounts, how they work and when you create an account. We also discuss reward points which you receive when you place orders with us and which can be redeemed to save you money. Our points software has changed, so now you receive more clarification on how many points you have, and how many points you can earn on each product you purchase.

You won’t need to redeem any reward points to attend our free October event, Your Choice of Voice, on Thursday, October 24. In this event, we’re going to have a lot of fun discussing and demonstrating various text to speech voices, companies which provide text to speech, platforms where you can use voices from various companies, and configuring voices to meet your specific requirements. If you enjoy learning about the various voices you can use to make your computer or mobile device your own, you’ll love this event! To receive the joining info, make sure you’re part of our Events mailing list, which you can sign up for on all pages of MysticAccess.com. We’d love to have you with us live!

Amazon recently had an event where several new Alexa-related devices were announced. We share our thoughts on the new devices, and reminisce on just how far the Echo has come since its initial release, as demonstrated by this podcast we did when it first came out.

October is here, there’s finally a chill in the air, the leaves are turning, and there’s a very important event at the end of this month — Halloween! while Chris and I are getting excited about all that, we decided to take a little stroll down memory lane to discuss some of our favorite Halloween costumes of yesteryear. We also share the very fun HalloweenRadio.net website, where you can listen to five different Halloween themed radio stations. Apps are also available for iOS and Android, and we take a tour of the iOS app and play you some spooky soundscapes and terrifying tunes.

Thanks as always for listening!

We begin this episode by discussing our just completed Android course which is now available for pre-order, and which will be released on October 1. We’re so happy with how this turned out and are really looking forward to sharing it with more of you.

On Thursday, October 10, we’ll be presenting an event about fast and efficient ways to use Microsoft Word, particularly the huge variety of key commands available. We’re trying out a new system for joining our events which we hope will make it more convenient for people and agencies to purchase multiple seats… this system calls them tickets. To learn more and reserve your ticket, please click here. You can also check out upcoming events from the Upcoming Events heading on the site homepage.

Speaking of events, our free event for September is coming up on the 26th, and will discuss some highlights and bugs introduced in the just-released iOS 13. We discuss our opinions on a few iOS changes, and we hope you can join us at our event to learn even more about this eagerly anticipated version of iOS. Join our Events mailing list to receive all joining info, and remember that the event will be recorded and available on our free downloads page if you can’t attend live, or would like to listen later.

You know how often when there’s an app or software update, those of us who use access technology groan and worry about what may happen in terms of accessibility? Well, sometimes, just the opposite occurs. We share a few apps in which VoiceOver accessibility has taken leaps forward in the last few months, and Kim gives a brief tour of the Haus of Gloi app, which was just recently released for Android and iOS. If you’re into clean beauty and amazing bath and body products, check out this great company.

Finally, Chris reminds you that his terrific Chromebook tutorial is available for purchase. He also shares an experience he had while in the midst of its creation, in which a friendly Aira agent saved him from a very sticky situation. Fortunately, while you may get a laugh out of it, you’ll see that it all works out in the end.

Thanks as always for listening!

We begin by sharing about our free September event which is coming up on September 26, 2019 — Lisa Salinger will be joining us to talk about the plethora of changes you’ll find in iOS 13. Don’t worry, you’ll like them! If you’re an iOS user, or would like to learn more about the power of iOS devices, we’d love to have you join us. To get all the joining information, please make sure you’re subscribed to our Events mailing list. You can subscribe from any page of our website.

Are you sad that you missed the live version of our acquainting Yourself with Android event? Don’t worry. It’s now available for pre-order from the link above. The DAISYed product will be released on October 1. We’re so excited to bring you this information as a fully navigable product.

Speaking of pre-orders, just a friendly reminder that our Chromebooks audio documentation is also available for pre-order now. Chris is hard at work getting this ready for you, and we know it’ll be crammed with excellent information. This will be released on Monday, September 16.

We next share a scary experience we had when I was remotely accessing Chris’s computer. Listen to hear about our frightening encounter, and learn what never to do during a remote access session.

Remember how we focused last time on the concept of “what’s old is new again?” Well, this time we’re sharing about how to access some beloved old media in a very comprehensive way. Enjoy learning about the fabulous OTR website rusc.com.

We end by sharing about another of our new Bluetooth speakers, which will be available for pre-order soon. I’ll put a link here in the show notes when it’s available for purchase. This speaker is water resistant, plays via Bluetooth, aux and micro SD card, and provides amazing sound for its size. You can also pair two together for exceptional stereo sound. We can’t wait to share it with you! OH, and speaking of sharing, this speaker charges via micro USB, as many of your items probably do. If you’ve ever been frustrated when trying to plug in those micro cables that only go in one way, these amazing micro USB cables will solve that issue for you. We’re selling them in packs of three, so you’ll find multiple lengths to meet all your charging needs. Activate the link above to learn all about them and to order yours.

Thanks as always for listening! We appreciate you!

This episode begins with our announcement of August’s free class, which demonstrated the power and productivity of Chromebooks. What’s a Chromebook and why might you want one? The event recording is now available, and you can download it here to learn more. We’ll soon have new audio documentation available about Chromebooks, demonstrating all that they can offer. It’s available for preorder now, and Chris is hard at work to bring you something fabulous. Learn more and preorder your Chromebook audio documentation here.

By the time you hear this episode, we’ll be about to teach our third week of the acquainting Yourself with Android class. Registration for new participants is closed, but if you missed the opportunity to join, don’t worry. This class will be turned into a DAISY and MP3 audio product when the class has completed, and you can learn more and put your name on the waitlist here.

We’d love to have your opinion on something we’re considering here at Mystic Access. Many people have expressed interest in having written transcriptions of our audio tutorials. Often, we do learn differently from written documentation, and for those who are deafblind, this would be a way to experience our products. Want to see an example? Our Brailliant BI 14 audio documentation is transcribed, and you can download that here. Do you feel that transcriptions would benefit you? We’d love to know! Please fill out our latest poll to provide your thoughts. Thanks so much for your help.

Next, Lisa makes a podcast appearance to tell us about a nifty goody she recently purchased called a climb cart. Learn about what it is and how she uses it in this demo. she ordered it via Shipt, and if you aren’t currently a Shipt member, you can use this link to sign up. This is Lisa’s personal referral link, and by signing up via the link, you save 50% off a yearly membership. Mystic Access doesn’t benefit if you sign up using this link.

We recently said good-bye to our Sharkk Aura headpones, which brought enjoyment to a lot of customers. We’re happy to report that we’re restocking our hardware department with several new speakers and headphones, however, in addition to other goodies. We share two of our new speakers today. The first is a speaker not much bigger than a quarter that produces amazing sound for its size. It’s available for preorder at this link.

The other new speaker we demo in this episode is very, well, retro. It features an FM radio with an analog tuner, the ability to play from SD cards and USB flash drives, and Bluetooth 4.1 technology. Kim showed it to her mom, who dreamily said it reminded her of something she had at 16–and if you want Kim living and breathing for the next podcast, don’t ask when that was. Anyway, you can learn more and preorder yours here.

We begin today’s episode with some important reminders. You still have time to register for live participation in our Acquainting Yourself with Android classes. whether you’re bran new to Android or want to use it more competently, this class is a great way to increase your knowledge. Listen to the episode for more details about the class.

Our free event for August will occur on Thursday, August 29, and will feature a discussion on Chromebooks. What is a Chromebook, you may ask? Why would you want or need one? Join us to find out all about them, and to see one in action. If you aren’t signed up for our Events mailing list, you’ll need to do so from any page of our website in order to receive the joining info for our free events.

We discuss and demo the Audible Clock skill for Alexa. If, like Kim, you’ve always wanted a Cuckoo clock, but haven’t gotten around to purchasing one, or if you deeply miss the sound of that beautiful Grandfather clock your aunt had, you’ll love this skill. Free and premium clocks are available. If you’d like an Alexa to use exclusively as your clock, we still have a few second generation Echo Dots available for purchase. Each will come with our eight and a half hour Echo tutorial. Act fast, though, because our stock is very limited, and once these Dots are gone, they’re gone.

Next, Chris takes us on a tour of his new [amazon text=Bissell Powerfresh Deluxe steam mop.&asin=B01G7CE334] Learn about its features and functions, how AIRA helped Chris to discover more about it, and listen to it steam Chris’s floor.

finally, we return to Alexa to take you on a fun trip with the Virtual Vacation skill. Learn about the available categories, variety of awesome vacation soundscapes, and why this is one of our new favorite skills for our cylinder friends.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

This week’s episode begins with an addendum to a topic covered in the last episode. Kim demonstrates the straight Talk apps available for iOS and Android. While she shows the iOS app as an example, you can download a very similar app for Android to use in conjunction with your Straight Talk plan. The apps allow you to change your plan, find out how many minutes / how much data you’ve used during a given period, and much more. Download the Straight app for Android or for iOS.

Speaking of Android, we had a nice turnout and some fabulous questions at our July free event, iOS and Android… Compared. Click here to learn more and to download the event recording. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’d like an Android device, if Android can do things iOS cannot, or how accessible Android is, you’ll find this event recording very helpful.

Want to learn more about Android? During the event recording, we were super excited to announce our new five-week event series, Acquainting Yourself with android. This event would be a spectacular introduction for anyone curious about how Android works, or for anyone who has questions about using a current Android device. As with all of our events, there will be tons of demonstration, stories and tips to help you on your Android journey. Registration is open now. All sessions will be recorded, so even if you can’t attend live, we encourage you to register, anyway, if you’re interested. We’d love to have you join us!

We stick with Android for this episode’s primary demo. Chris demonstrates Nearby Explorer Online for Android, and we discuss its features, advantages, and uses. This is a free app available for both Androidand iOS. Learn more about navigating with this awesome free resource, and expect some laughs along the way, too.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks for being a listener!.

If you’re ready to ditch your expensive cell service plan, or are researching cheaper alternatives, you may enjoy our first discussion in this episode. We talk about what to look for in a cell phone plan, including accessibility factors. we talk specifically about our experiences with Straight Talk Wireless, which Kim uses for her monthly cell service. IN addition to the affordability and reliability of the service, one of Kim’s favorite features is the huge number of text codes available for easily discovering and modifying your service features. To demonstrate this, Chris uses a text code to change his Straight Talk phone number.

If you like what you hear and want to make the switch to Straight Talk, get a Straight Talk sim card with the parent carrier which provides the best coverage in your area, sign up for the service, join the Rewards program, and enter the referral code: OJDQ-8339 within fourteen days of activation to receive points you may then redeem for a free month of service. Please note that this is Kim’s personal referral code, so she’ll get points she may redeem for a free month, too). Straight Talk requires no contracts, so you may cancel your service at any time.

We then turn to a discussion of one of Kim’s favorite new purchases, the [amazon text=Paww Silk headphones.&asin=B07GV8D7Y8] The ladies, in particular, may enjoy these, as they can serve as a headband in addition to providing excellent sound and useful speech prompts at a great price. Kim loves to work out in them, too, as they won’t easily move once they’re on your head. Plus, did Kim mention they’re cute? ?

Thanks for joining us for this episode. Don’t forget to tell your friends about us. We appreciate having you as a listener!

This episode begins with a discussion of online chats. Many of you may remember when chatting with customer service or technical support online was a daunting if not impossible experience. Fortunately, this is no longer the case, as chat software is so much more accessible than it was even a few years ago. We talk about a few recent experiences we’ve had working with online chat software and our level of satisfaction. We hope this helps you feel more comfortable trying out chatting with support or customer service reps online when needed.

Next, we discuss our purchase of a Google Nest doorbell and why we chose to do so. Note this is an Amazon affiliate link. if you purchase from this link we may receive a small commission. We currently use Ring for our security system but have always wanted to try Google’s doorbells. We show you our setup experience so you can get an idea of how it works. We used the Nest second generation battery doorbell. More on our thoughts in an upcoming episode.

Chris recently talked about his less than positive experience buying assistive technology on Ebay. We have an update on that story in today’s podcast.

Finally, if you’ve ever needed the password to a WiFi network to which you’ve connected in the past, Kim shows you how to find that info via an iPhone. The process is quite similar on Android, so this example should give you a good idea of how it works.

We hope you find this episode fun and useful. As always, thanks for listening and spreading the word. We appreciate having you as part of our community.

Chris and Kim begin this episode with announcements related to the rapidly approaching conventions. We’ll be posting our convention sales on the News page of the site right around the time this episode is released. We’ll also be sending them out to our News list subscribers, so check your inboxes. Our sales begin Thursday, July 4 and end Sunday, July 14 at end of day.

We’re holding a free open house call on Sunday, July 14, at 3:00 PM ET. Everyone is welcome to attend. We’ll be sharing the zoom call information in conjunction with our convention sales, so check back soon for that info, or check your inbox for the newsletter. This call will not be recorded. It’s guaranteed to be a very fun time had by all.

We provide you with a status update on the BrailleNote Touch Plus tutorial, and share a little more about what goes into the process of creating / updating such a beast, uh, audio product.

The summer months are really heating up now, and we’re discussing and demoing a couple accessible goodies that can help keep you cool, calm and happy during the super hot days ahead. Chris discusses his [amazon text=ecobee4 Smart Thermostat with Built-In Alexa, Room Sensor Included.&asin=B06W2LQY6L] Not only can it help to keep you cool in the summer, but for our friends down under, it can help you to stay cozy during those encroaching winter months. There is a later model of this product, [amazon text=which you can find here.&asin=B07NQT85FC]

Kim has clearly been hanging around with Chris too long, because she just bought yet another smart home device, this one for helping to cool down her house. It’s a GE window air conditioner that works with Alexa and Google Home devices. The model number is: AHC10LYQ1. we can’t find this particular model online, but Kim bought it at her local Lowes store. Visit this page to see all GE wifi connected air conditioners. Kim demonstrates its use with the GE Comfort app for iOS, and Alexa, and shares about an amazing surprise she received in the air conditioner’s box! The Comfort app is also available for Android. The skill she uses to make it work with her Alexa devices is called Geneva, and you can find and enable it here.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Thanks for being a listener!

Today’s episode is filled with timely announcements. We announce our free class for June, which is all about getting live assistance. Yes, we’ll be talking a bit about Aira, but also some types of live assistance that you may not immediately think of. Join our free Events mailing list of any page of the website for more info on joining the class.

In addition, we’ll be holding not one, but two free events in July. Listen for all the info about these events, and make sure you’re on our Events list to get all the joining details.

We remind listeners that you can still register for any of the iOS modules 19-24 through the last day of June. After that, they’ll be available as a DAISY book with all six modules included.

Finally, we end with some important news from Lisa that you won’t want to miss. Thanks so much for listening.

Today’s episode is devoted to a segment in the Mystic access magic castle. We were delighted to chat with Kesel Wilson, editor and programs manager with National Braille Press. Kesel shares about NBP’s founding, its mission and goals, and about the many departments that make the organization run smoothly, thereby providing us with so many braille books and other braille materials.

In addition to sharing about her own varied job responsibilities and the things she loves about her position, Kesel discusses some of the innovative programs available especially for blind children and their parents, including Read Books, the Children’s Braille Book Club, and Great Expectations. We also discuss two NBP magazines, and several books in some detail, including those which we at Mystic Access have had the pleasure of co-creating. To learn more about NBP, you may visit their website, or click here to go directly to their book store. we love this awesome organization, and think you’ll find a lot to love about it, too.