Mosen Consulting news. Preparing for Apple’s big week and more

Here at Mosen Consulting, there’s been a lot going on. So we thought we’d better stop to draw breath and bring you up-to-date.

Before we do so, however, Bonnie and I would first like to send our best wishes to everyone affected by the severe weather events in the northern hemisphere. You’re in our thoughts.

From a technological point of view, it has been heartening to read that the Zello walkie-talkie app, which is accessible, has provided comfort and practical support as people stay in touch with one another. There are specific channels you can join for affected areas. It’s a good idea to have a powerful, capable extended battery for your cell phone charged up and ready to go, in case you lose power.

We love to think of ourselves as more independent and self-sufficient than blind people have ever been able to be before. But when mother nature has her way, we’re all interdependent and vulnerable. Do take care.

Apple’s big week

It’s almost here. There hasn’t been this much anticipation surrounding an Apple event for a long time. At 10 AM US Pacific time on Tuesday, Apple will hold its first event at the new Steve Jobs Theatre on its Apple Park campus. I’m reading that attendees will be on seats that cost Apple $1,000 a piece to install, that there are special retracting walls revealing demo rooms, and the elevators rotate. All pretty geeky and cool.

But we all hope that the coolness of the theatre will be nothing compared with the three new iPhones, new Apple TV and LTE Apple Watch we believe we will see. The premium new iPhone is rumoured to have no Home button, may replace touch ID with facial recognition, and deliver wireless charging.

You’ll be able to watch the event live on Apple’s website, or on Apple TV using the Apple Events app, which has just received an update today as I write this.

Event preview, and time to dream

What are you hoping to see? Is there something the tech pundits aren’t predicting that you’d like to see Apple deliver? Will you miss the Home button? Why not join in on a discussion with other Apple users or potential users ahead of the event?

Bonnie and I host a weekly call-in show on Mushroom FM called “A Cuppa at the Mosens”. It goes to air live on Thursday nights at 9 PM US Eastern time, and you can call in using the phone or Zoom cloud meetings. It’s all about Apple’s new offerings this week, and how you’re feeling about them.

You can find Mushroom FM online at MushroomFM.com, and it’s accessible via TuneIn and other radio apps. This means you can ask Alexa, Google etc to play Mushroom FM for you. For further info about how to call into the show, visit http://MushroomFm.com/cuppa

The Blind Side Podcast Apple event special

There’s nothing quite like watching the Apple stream live, but it’s a bit like watching a movie that isn’t audio described. There’s a lot communicated visually on-stage that blind people miss out on. Some features of the new hardware are described in great detail, but not all. There are often slides in the presentation, packed with useful information, that fly by on-screen and are not referred to. We’re here to help.

Right after the Apple event concludes on Tuesday, we’re recording a special edition of the Blind Side podcast. Podcasters and tech experts Allison Hartley and David Woodbridge will be joining me to provide analysis and instant reaction, and fellow Apple user Heidi Mosen, who gets high praise from listeners for her ability to describe stuff to blind people, will be there too. Heidi is very busy during these Apple keynotes. She’s constantly taking screen shots of all the slides, so she can sift through the raw data and bring you the facts we’d otherwise miss out on.

Subscribe to The Blind Side Podcast by searching for it in all good podcast apps.

If you don’t use a podcast app, you’ll be pleased to know that the podcast now has a vastly improved web-based experience, where you can listen through an accessible player, or download any episode as an MP3 file. Check all that out at http://TheBlindSidePodcast.podbean.com.

If you’re interested in the new Apple hardware, this is one podcast that will be essential listening.

“iOS 11 Without the Eye”

We anticipate that iOS 11, the new version of the software for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, will be released during the week of 18 September. Mosen Consulting will release the next book in our popular “iOS without the eye” series a little before iOS 11 is released. We’ll post here, and on Twitter, when it’s published. When available, you’ll be able to purchase it from http://mosen.org/iOS11. It will cost USD $19.95.

We will publish two editions of the book. The first will be released just before iOS 11 is released, and runs a little under 40,000 words. The second will be published when I have had the opportunity to review the features of the new iPhones. Since we’re expecting a radical departure from the way previous iPhones have worked, this second edition may contain a lot of new information.

If you purchase the book when the first edition is available, you will be entitled to download the second edition at no charge to you. To make life easier for you and for us, I’d like to explain how our e-commerce system always makes it easy for you to download at any time what you’ve purchased from us in the past.

When you buy a product from us, you can of course download it right away from the web page, no waiting for us to email you. We also email you a receipt which contains a link to download your purchase, just in case you closed your browser before grabbing your product. That receipt is precious, because it contains a unique transaction ID. As a general tip for doing any shopping online, I recommend that you create a folder in your email for receipts of things you purchase. You never know when you might need to contact a vendor again. Keeping your receipts in a folder allows you to prove to the vendor that you purchased from them, as well as precisely what you purchased.

Because we want to make gaining access to your content as efficient as possible, we’ve automated a lot of the benefits of keeping your proof of purchase. Any time you need to redownload something you bought from us, go to our Redownload centre, at http://Mosen.org/redownload. You will need to enter your first name, your last name, your email address, and that unique transaction ID we sent you in the email receipt. Hit the submit button, and we’ll email you links for all the purchases you’ve made from us using that email address.

So by keeping your receipt for “iOS 11 Without the Eye” first edition, you can upgrade to the second edition automatically when it’s out. Now that, is nifty!

Podcast course

I’ve been thrilled by how many people have taken our eight-hour podcast course, spread over four weeks. We’ve conducted the first webinar already, but you can still join, grab the recording of what you missed, and participate live in the remainder or grab the archives of those sessions too.

To learn more about this course, which covers everything from the technical to the logistics and presentation, head over to http://mosen.org/podcasting.

Thanks for your ongoing support, and let’s be in touch soon.