Some enterprising lads have created a video showing them controlling the iPhone’s Siri assistant with their brains instead of voices. The video could be a hoax, but these guys seem awfully earnest. Assuming this demonstration is genuine, Apple would be wise to hire them now so they can get to work on incorporating this technology into the iPhone 9.
I’ve been tough on Apple and the lack of accessibility in iOS for people with motor impairments. But today I learned about AssistiveTouch from the Times‘ David Pogue. AssistiveTouch is an on-screen interface that emulates physical gestures on iOS devices. Based on Pogue’s description, it seems that AssistiveTouch can emulate almost any gesture and users can program their own gesture macros. Users must still be able to tap the screen with a finger or stylus, so it may not be the ideal solution for everyone. Still, this is certainly a step in the right direction and Apple deserves kudos for improving iOS accessibility. I now feel a little sheepish for not digging deeper into my phone’s accessibility options.
Of course, I’m now wondering if I can rig up a lightweight headpointer that would allow me to use an iPad.
Oregon is using iPads to help people with disabilities vote. It seems like a great idea. Ballots can be marked with a tap (or a puff) and the text can be enlarged or read aloud. iPads might be much more cost-effective than those clunky accessible voting machines that are collecting dust in precincts across the country. I’d still prefer true e-voting that allows voters to submit a secure ballot from any device and location, but that’s probably a pipe dream. But pilot projects like this might get us closer to that vision.
Another appellate court ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. And once again, a conservative judge wrote the majority opinion. Judge Laurence Silberman is decidedly conservative in his reasoning. He agrees that the ACA’s insurance mandate is a novel exercise of Congress’s Commerce Clause powers, but novelty doesn’t imply unconstitutionality. He defers to Congress in its choice of policy tools to address an issue of national concern.
These appellate rulings should give pause to anyone–myself included–attempting to make educated guesses about how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the law. Judicial thought may be influenced by political leanings, but those leanings aren’t determinative. The final ruling may not be the 5-4 affair many Court watchers expect.
Robots could potentially do plenty of jobs better than humans, but guide dogs can probably sleep soundly tonight knowing that their jobs are secure. Despite Japanese efforts to create a robotic guide dog (is there any function the Japanese won’t hand over to robots?), their creation is too pokey and awkward to be of practical use. And even if they perfect it enough to one day be a viable replacement for a dog, it probably won’t be inclined to snuggle with its master on the sofa.
Complete tangent: whenever guide dogs are mentioned, I can’t help but think of this brilliant Onion article.
I ordered a bunch of Blu-ray movies earlier tonight and decided to give Amazon’s Prime service a try. The video streaming included with Prime membership doesn’t interest me much, but I’m a bit intrigued by the ability to borrow Kindle books. I’m guessing that the Prime service will continue to grow as a platform for the Kindle Fire tablet. If Amazon adds music streaming and an expanded video library, Apple and Netflix could have some real competition. Even at twice the $79 membership fee, it could be an attractive deal for media junkies like me.
The politics of the Vikings stadium debate are a curious thing. Republicans in the Legislature refuse to pass any bill allowing a local sales tax increase to fund a stadium without a referendum. Any referendum would likely fail in either Hennepin or Ramsey counties, which leaves Governor Dayton in the awkward position of cautiously supporting a solution that includes gambling revenue. Despite all the political hemming and hawing, the Vikings will likely get their new stadium. No political officeholder wants to be blamed for letting the local team depart to Los Angeles in an election year. And while I don’t have strong feelings about the stadium’s location, Minneapolis would probably be the most sensible site. The transit infrastructure to support a stadium already exists here and the skyline provides a more interesting blimp-cam view than anything the suburbs can offer.
The Onion reminds us that U2’s Achtung Baby album is twenty years old now. A few thoughts:
As shiny and powerful as my computer is, the technology I use to control it is quite old and little decrepit. For example, one of my p-switches (which function as my left and right mouse buttons) began to fail yesterday. I found a spare unit at my office, so I wasn’t too concerned. But when I called the manufacturer to see if the malfunctioning switch could be fixed, they told me that they don’t do anything but the most basic repairs on these devices. I’m lucky to have a spare because a similar switch from another manufacturer would set me back over $300.
I understand that assistive technology makers operate on thin margins and can’t be expected to support their products indefinitely, but it’s frustrating to be so dependent on a device and not be able to obtain any support for that device. Perhaps I should recruit a couple like-minded engineers and start a little company that offers lifetime guarantees on assistive tech devices that don’t cost more than an iPhone.
Halloween is a pretty quiet affair at my building. Not many kids live here, which is probably for the best. Some of the grumpier residents may not respond kindly to the knocks of children seeking a sugar high. And unlike previous years, I have not run into any fishnet-garbed nurses on their way to a party. Perhaps I need to remedy that next year by throwing a Halloween party where everyone is required to come dressed as a fishnet-garbed nurse.