If you're interested in watching the video with James Rath talking with
Apple's Tim Cook, the URL is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXy8KcONTSs
appleinsider.com
Apple's Tim Cook talks tech with accessibility advocates for Global
Accessibility Awareness Day
By Mikey Campbell Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 07:59 pm PT (10:59 pm ET)
In recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple CEO Tim Cook
this week invited three accessibility advocates and bloggers to the
company's Cupertino, Calif., campus, for discussions on how Apple
technology impacts their daily lives.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (left) sits down with accessibility advocate Rikki
Poynter at Apple's Cupertino campus.
Cook shared coffee with legally blind filmmaker James Rath, deaf
awareness activist Rikki Poynter and actress Tatiana Lee, who as born
with Spina Bifida. Rath, Poynter and Lee all shared videos of their time
at Apple on their respective YouTube channels on Wednesday.
Rath, who regularly produces videos for his YouTube channel, spoke with
Cook about vision related accessibility options offered on platforms
like iOS and Mac. He also discussed Apple's general stance on accessibility.
"For us, we believe very deeply that accessibility is a human right,"
Cook said. "And we try very hard to make all of our products accessible
for everyone because of that. It's a basic value."
Apple does not think in terms of return on investment, but rather "just
and right," Cook said. The company's goal is to get its products into
the hands of anyone who wants to use them.
Rath uses a variety of iOS accessibility features throughout the day,
including zoom, voice over, speech selection and more. When asked about
features he uses, Cook said his iPhone is always set to trigger Night
Shift. Cook also relies on other accessibility menu functions to change
screen contrast as he has difficulty with certain colors.
Cook went on to describe HomeKit and what he calls the democratization
of the smart home. Prior to integration in iOS, automated home
accessories were strictly the domain of the wealthy. HomeKit brings that
capability to the masses.
Poynter, who started out as a beauty vlogger on YouTube, is now an
advocate for deaf accessibility and the need for closed captioning. In
her sit-down interview, seen above, it appears Poynter is using an iPad
to translate Cook's words into text in real time.
During the talk, Cook asked if Poynter uses Apple TV, which features a
number of accessibility functions including closed captioning and Siri
voice control. Poynter also noted that iTunes movies and TV shows
normally boast closed captioning and subtitles.
As for hardware, Poynter uses a MacBook to accomplish her daily duties
and just recently began wearing Apple Watch again after a hiatus.
Cook delved into Clips, Apple's first-party video tool for creating
social media content. The app boasts Siri dictation assets for
automatically inserting captions and other text as overlays on short
video clips.
Clips was also a topic of discussion in Cook's interview with Lee, who
runs AccessibleHollywood.com and was featured in an Apple commercial
promoting accessibility last year.
As a wheelchair user, Lee said she appreciates Apple's efforts to build
rolling activity tracking into watchOS, which allows her to monitor gym
workouts alongside day-to-day transportation. Reiterating information
presented at the release of watchOS 3, Cook said it took the Watch team
months to tweak wheelchair tracking algorithms to account for different
user strokes.
Cook's discussions underscore Apple's dedication to users who rely on
accessibility features not only to access products like iPhone, but use
technology to lead rich lives in a fast changing world. As usual, the
executive touted Apple's commitment to delivering the best possible
experience to all customers, a tenet he described as a core value
instilled by company cofounder Steve Jobs.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
Web site WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
services.
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