This week on Mosen At Large, FlickType is gone and Apple is to blame

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Kia ora Mosen At Largers, from a very tightly locked down New Zealand. More on this in the podcast this week.

If you’re an iPhone user, chances are you’ve heard of FlickType. It’s an alternative keyboard for iOS, and it has become an essential productivity tool for some blind iPhone users because it speeds up their typing considerably. This week, Kosta Eleftheriou, who develops the app, announced that the accessible iOS keyboard part of it is being discontinued. I think it’s important that we understand why this has happened and that as a community we join together in support of the unfair treatment he has received. We should call out Apple for sloppy behaviour at best, vindictive, vengeful behaviour at worst. The story of Flicktype’s demise is a fascinating and deeply troubling one, and I will do my best to tell it to you in this episode.

Are you a FlickType user? Please get in touch and tell me how the app’s disappearance will affect you.

Not everyone who used FlickType knows Braille, but since this controversy blew up, I have received several inquiries about Braille Screen input. To help those who have never got on well with this great built-in iOS feature, I’ll play a demo of Braille Screen Input recorded for The Blind Side Podcast several years ago by Judy Dixon.

There are more comments on alternatives to Apple’s built-in iOS Calendar app, as well as on Apple’s recent child safety initiatives.

And guess what? On 21 August, it’s Bonnie’s birthday! I was struggling to think of a birthday present that would surprise her. You know, something that would do more than just tick the “I didn’t forget” box. And voila! Voila! That’s your actual French right there, by the way. I got her something amazing. I’m saving her present for when we record the Bonnie Bulletin, so I can record her reaction.

 

As usual, there’s a wide array of blindness and technology topics from listeners on which you may like to comment once you hear them.

 

If you want to raise something new, you’re very welcome. Please don’t be shy, I’d love to hear from you. What makes Mosen At Large special is the global community we’ve built and all the perspectives we share with each other.

 

To contribute, send an email with an audio attachment or just written down to Jonathan at MushroomFM.com, or call the listener line, +18646066736, that’s 1-864-60Mosen.

 

Catch Mosen At Large anywhere you get podcasts. Expect the next episode to drop on Sunday morning New Zealand time.

 

Thank you so much for listening and contributing to the show and see you soon for Mosen At Large.