New iPod Shuffle

[Paul Doyle]

Hi all,

Does this new chappy have an application for the visually impaired and those with poor literacy?

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

Cheers

Paul

[Adrian Higginbotham]

The shuffles have always been good for those with VI because of their inherent screenless usability. The biggest barrier is the Itunes software which is virtually the only way to manage content.  Itunes 8 is much more accessible out of the box than any previous version in term of it's ability to work with assistive technologies (screenreader et al) but it remains complex and challenging for all but confident users.  Personally I prefer the Zen Stone range, they are also screenless (providing you avoid the stone+ models) only a little bigger than the shuffles  (although quite a bit bigger than this new shuffle which has halved in size because the control has been moved to the headphone lead), and you can manage content through Windows Explorer, no additional software required, although the creative software which you can use to update firmware, check battery levels etc works well with screenreaders too.

With the controls on the headphone lead as with this new shuffle you lose the ability to swop out headphones either for a better set or when they get damaged by spending too long rolled up in a pocket.

The stones are cheaper too, under £20 for a 2gig version.

So, shuffles useful? Yes, but there are better alternatives if you can get over them not having the Ipod brand.

Adrian Higginbotham,
Manager, Leading edge research
Tel: Direct dial 024 7679 7333 - Becta switchboard 02476-416994
Email: Adrian.Higginbotham@...
Web: http://www.becta.org.uk/
BECTA, Millburn Hill Road, Science Park, Coventry, CV4 7JJ


-----Original Message-----
From: A discussion list for Assistive Technology professionals. [mailto:ASSISTECH@...] On Behalf Of Paul Doyle
Sent: 12 March 2009 11:00
To: ASSISTECH@...
Subject: New iPod Shuffle

Hi all,

Does this new chappy have an application for the visually impaired and those with poor literacy?

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

Cheers

Paul

--
View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/New-iPod-Shuffle-tp22473025p22473025.html
Sent from the Assistech mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

[Steve Lee-3]

2009/3/12 Adrian Higginbotham <adrian.higginbotham@...>
> The shuffles have always been good for those with VI because of their
> inherent screenless usability. The biggest barrier is the Itunes
> software which is virtually the only way to manage content.

I must admit I wonder how much value the speech will add? What is the
advantage of hearing the details of each track in sequence over just
previewing each track in many cases? For music it's a level of
abstraction I don't need though I admit both together might be useful.
For podcasts and other sources it is arguably more useful. Unless
Apple have added something clever than sequential access - all I can
think of is a nested menu system which has it's own operational
issues.

Also anything that doesn't need itunes is good for me, I much prefer
managing and copying files myself so had to uninstall iTunes (actually
largely because it kept trying to run whenever I plugged in my iPod
just to charge). Using the shuffle on Linux I can just treat it as a
simple folder of tunes or use RhythmBox to manage it while keeping a
simple file layout.

--
Steve Lee
Open Source Assistive Technology Software and Accessibility
fullmeasure.co.uk

[Adrian Higginbotham]

The voice tags first came in with the 4th generation of the nanos which have more complex menu structures and can hold much more content so on those the speech can be very helpful for example having the menus read outloud lets you switch between browsing by album, artist, genre etc, or lets you skip straight to a given track  or if you have it set to shuffle it might be nice to know what you are listening too. But yes generally it is the speech enabling of the interface that is more valuable than the voice labelling of content.


Adrian Higginbotham,
Manager, Leading edge research
Tel: Direct dial 024 7679 7333 - Becta switchboard 02476-416994
Email: Adrian.Higginbotham@...
Web: http://www.becta.org.uk/
BECTA, Millburn Hill Road, Science Park, Coventry, CV4 7JJ


-----Original Message-----
From: A discussion list for Assistive Technology professionals. [mailto:ASSISTECH@...] On Behalf Of Steve Lee
Sent: 12 March 2009 12:02
To: ASSISTECH@...
Subject: Re: New iPod Shuffle

2009/3/12 Adrian Higginbotham <adrian.higginbotham@...>
> The shuffles have always been good for those with VI because of their
> inherent screenless usability. The biggest barrier is the Itunes
> software which is virtually the only way to manage content.

I must admit I wonder how much value the speech will add? What is the advantage of hearing the details of each track in sequence over just previewing each track in many cases? For music it's a level of abstraction I don't need though I admit both together might be useful.
For podcasts and other sources it is arguably more useful. Unless Apple have added something clever than sequential access - all I can think of is a nested menu system which has it's own operational issues.

Also anything that doesn't need itunes is good for me, I much prefer managing and copying files myself so had to uninstall iTunes (actually largely because it kept trying to run whenever I plugged in my iPod just to charge). Using the shuffle on Linux I can just treat it as a simple folder of tunes or use RhythmBox to manage it while keeping a simple file layout.

--
Steve Lee
Open Source Assistive Technology Software and Accessibility fullmeasure.co.uk

[Seale J.K.]

Dear colleagues

I am writing to invite you to take part in the activities of the newly formed Digital Inclusion Forum set up by the Technology Enhanced Learning Programme, which is funded by the ESRC and EPSRC and directed by Richard Noss. See: http://www.tlrp.org/tel/digital_inclusion/

The purpose of the Digital Inclusion Forum is two fold:

*       To identify key inclusion-related questions and issues for research into digital inclusion issues in education
*       To discuss and evaluate the contribution that the TEL research programme can make to the digital inclusion research agenda.

There will be two main phases of activity:

*       The first phase (May-November 2009) will be the development of an online space for sharing digital inclusion related resources, discussing inclusion-related issues and scoping priorities for digital inclusion research. We hope the online space will be a platform for the collaborative writing of a web-based document that starts to draw together what the key issues are in relation to digital inclusion research
*       The second phase (December 2009-September 2010) will involve the setting up of a commentary group who, drawing on the web-based document will co-author a TEL branded publication which offers a commentary on digital inclusion research and highlights the contributions of the TEL projects to the field.

Your contribution to the Digital Inclusion Forum would be most welcome, and I would like to invite you to add to the content of the site by:

*       Adding to the Reference Library any digital inclusion references that you think are relevant and make a significant contribution to the field: http://www.tlrp.org/tel/tools/digital_inclusion_references.html

*       Adding a thread or post a response on the Discussion Forum: http://www.tlrp.org/tel/digital_inclusion/forum/digital-inclusion/

*       Tagging any digital inclusion related blogs that you write with the keyword "teldigitalinclusion" so that it can be picked up and referenced by the Forum website: http://www.tlrp.org/tel/digital_inclusion/community/

Kind regards

Jane Seale
Convenor of the TEL Digital Inclusion Forum