Guest post by Blake Watson.

I've tried a lot of remote apps, but for me, HippoRemote gets the nod. Once you go through a surprisingly painless setup process, HippoRemote will connect to your computer and hand the reins over to you. Your iPhone is now a fully-featured multi-touch trackpad. Tap the keyboard button at the top of the screen and HippoRemote will provide you with a standard iPhone keyboard with some extra features attached. Explore further, and you will see that HippoRemote turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an advanced media browser that lets you interact with some of the coolest media programs on your Mac, including the built in stuff like iTunes and Front Row as well as third party apps like Boxee and Hulu Desktop. Let's walk through some of HippoRemote's features. HippoRemote comes in a few different flavors, so we'll be looking at HippoRemote Pro.

The Keyboard

The keyboard behavior of HippoRemote is arguably the best available on a remote app. Most standard iPhone keyboard behavior is present. For example, spacing after a period or a comma will change the keyboard from the punctuation layout back to the alphabet layout. Tapping the shift key once will keep it activated until you tap a letter, then it is deactivated. If you want CAPSLOCK then double tap the shift key to activate it, then tap it once when your done. These behaviors are the Apple standard, but many remote apps do not use them because of the way characters are sent to the computer. I find that these behaviors are important because they increase typing efficiency.

In addition to replicating iPhone's standard keyboard behaviors, HippoRemote takes advantage of iPhone's built-in ability to predict what you are writing. HippoRemote displays what you are typing in a text field on the phone at the same time that it is sending it to your computer. If you misspell a word, you can tap on it to see substitutes and HippoRemote will make the correction on your computer automatically. HippoRemote also displays a list of the last few strings you've typed. Touching one will re-type that string.

Besides standard keyboard layouts, HippoRemote provides arrow keys and modifier keys (command, option, etc.) as well as the full range of function keys.

HippoRemote adds one feature that I haven't seen in other remote apps: it has support for TextExpander Touch. TextExpander Touch allows you to create snippets of text that can be automatically triggered by specified shortcodes (eg, "fn" could expand to your full name). You don't need TextExpander on your Mac for these to work, as TextExpander Touch expands the snippets before they're sent to the computer.

The keyboard supports vertical and horizontal orientations. And in the Basic or Lite versions of HippoRemote, the keyboard and the trackpad can be displayed at the same time.

Multi-touch trackpad

The multi-touch trackpad features left and right mouse buttons as well as the ability to use tapping, two-finger scrolling and other gestures. If you are like me, and have trouble using more than one finger, you will appreciate HippoRemote's unique scroll button. By moving your finger from the bottom of the screen to the middle, you activate a scrolling knob that allows you to scroll by moving your finger in a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion. That means you can use one finger to scroll without the need to look down.

Like the keyboard, the trackpad supports vertical and horizontal orientations.

Profiles for Remote Control Panels

HippoRemote Pro can change its interface based on what application you are using. For example, I am currently in the Mac OS profile. At the bottom of the trackpad area, there are several buttons that allow me to do things like trigger Spotlight and Expose or run macros that control volume, press eject, open Dashboard and other functions. Switching to the iTunes profile provides a control panel for manipulating playback. Switching to the Pandora profile allows you to control the Pandora web app. There are dozens of profiles installed with HippoRemote and more can be added from inside the app itself. If you are technically inclined, there are instructions for making your very own profiles.

Extras

On top of all these great features, HippoRemote includes a native web browser and Twitter client. You can even open links from HippoRemote's Twitter client directly in your Mac's web browser.

Different Versions

HippoRemote comes in three flavors: HippoRemote Lite (free, ad-supported), HippoRemote Basic ($1.99USD), and HippoRemote Pro ($4.99USD). Unfortunately, it's a bit confusing as to what features are found in which versions. For the purpose of this review, I used the Pro version. If you are looking to replace a keyboard, I recommend getting the Pro version. At about five bucks, you'll be getting all of HippoRemote's features at a fairly inexpensive price compared to most assistive technology software. However, if having the trackpad and keyboard display simultaneously would be useful for you then you will want to grab the basic version.

If you need to know about a specific feature and you can't find it on the HippoRemote website, feel free to contact the developer. He actually has an interest in making HippoRemote even better for people with disabilities and will value any feedback you provide. That being said, you can always send me an email too.

Alternative Apps

Here are some other apps that are similar to HippoRemote. Depending on your needs, one of these might work better for you. I have these apps installed on my iPhone. Although I am not planning to review them at the time of this writing, you can email me if you have questions about them.

Rowmote Pro, $4.99USD, by Evan Schoenberg

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, can simulate the Apple Remote Control including support for dozens of applications.

TouchPad, $4.99USD, by Edovia, Inc.

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, great user interface, Windows compatible, media remote.

Touchpad Elite, $0.99USD, by iTeleport LLC

Good keyboard behavior, can type locally and then send a paragraph at once, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote.

Air Mouse Pro, $1.99USD, by R.P.A. Tech, INC

Optional accelerometer-based "air" mouse activated by physically moving the iPhone/etc in the air, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote, separate iPad compatible app.

Conclusion

If you can operate an iPhone or iPod Touch, you might find that typing with HippoRemote is faster and more efficient than typing with an onscreen keyboard. And as an added bonus, you get some powerful, easy-to-use controls for interacting with popular media applications. And if you happen to be a Windows user, you're in luck. HippoRemote is compatible with Windows and Linux as well as Mac OS X.

- Blake Watson

Nuance Communications today announced the release of Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.0, a paid and rebranded upgrade for MacSpeech Dictate.

This is a major upgrade, bringing Dictate much closer to the Windows based Dragon NaturallySpeaking product. Major features include:

• Uses the same speech recognition engine as the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11
• Mouse movement with voice commands using a 3 by 3 grid system is now built in.
• Mouse clicking with voice commands including clicks with modifiers, double clicking, etc., is now built in.
• Proofreading documents with the Mac's built in text-to-speech commands is now also included.
• More than one microphone can now be attached to a single profile.
• New editing commands have been added so they match the commands that will be familiar to Windows Naturally Speaking users.

This sounds like it could now function as a complete keyboard replacement for disabled Mac users, which is great news!

Unfortunately my computer is still off being fixed (the first fix only worked for a few days), so I haven't had the chance to try this new version. As soon as is humanly possible, I will be getting myself a copy and testing it out. Meanwhile, Dan Cohen at GearDiary has reviewed Dragon Dictate and declares it 'awesome' - not a bad start!

Dragon Dictate for Mac costs US$199 including a basic microphone. The upgrade costs US$49 for a downloadable version, more if you need the upgrade on CD or want to purchase a new microphone at the same time.

If you use this banner to purchase your upgrade online I will get a small portion of your upgrade price, which will help support me and ATMac:

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Have you upgraded yet? Are you planning to upgrade soon, or later, or not at all? And what new feature are you most excited about?

- Ricky Buchanan

Guest post by Nancy Miracle

Digit-Eyes is an application that runs on the iPhone and which uses inexpensive off-the-shelf address labels and a standard inkjet or laser printer to enable iPhone users to make labels that are read aloud by their phone. It can also be used to read manufacturer's UPC barcodes.

As the CTO for Digit-Eyes, I often get asked "so what is Digit-Eyes good for other than labelling food and files?"

There are many things that are labeled for sighted people and where having labels that can easily be found and read by those who are not sighted is useful.

Using the Digit-Eyes website, you can make two types of labels:

Audio labels

great when you are labelling an item where the description might change (for instance, making notes to yourself), where there is a lot of content (such as when the pharmacist tells you what a prescription is for and you want to record what she says) or where you want the content to be private. The latter is because the audio label content is recorded on your phone and only you can access it.

Text labels

handy when you are labelling something that won't change or where you want other people to be able to read the labels.

We've heard from quite a number of people who've used text labels to make appliances accessible. Good labelling of appliance controls adds a margin of safety and convenience to ordinary household tasks. Because the address labels used by Digit-Eyes are thin and flat (unlike conventional Braille labels), they can be used to over-label those increasingly-common flat switches that are easy to clean - but which are completely impossible to understand by touch. The photo below shows how:

First, the customer went to the Digit-Eyes website, selected the type of labels she had and typed descriptions of the buttons on her oven.

She got a PDF file of the codes, put a sheet of labels in her printer and printed the codes on the labels. She peeled the labels off and affixed them to the oven controls. The labels are above the buttons for the convenience of sighted members of the household, but they can actually put directly over most types of buttons with no ill-effects.

The job was completed by putting a layer of clear shelf paper over the labels to keep them clean.

Reading Oven Labels

When the customer wants to use her oven, she simply locates the label by touch, scans it with the Digit-Eyes app on her iPhone and listens to the description of the control.

In addition to adding a measure of kitchen safety, this little project is a great way to try out making and reading labels for the iPhone.

The full version of Digit-Eyes costs US$29.99 from the iTunes app store. Digit-Eyes Lite, a version that only reads text labels, is free.

Have you tried Digit-Eyes? Share your stories and tips in the comments.

- Nancy Miracle

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Speak It! is an application for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad which lets you enter text via the regular keyboard and then speak the words via the built-in speaker, or save them to an audio file to email to others.

For users who need text-to-speech capabilities for their device, but don't need or want any interface other than the keyboard, Speak It! can be a very inexpensive AAC tool.

Text can be paused and resumed while it is speaking, and the generated audio can be saved to a file and emailed to others. Pre-typed text can also be saved to a "saved phrases" board and quickly selected to be spoken - the iPhone/iPod Touch interface has the saved phrases board on a separate screen due to space limitations, but the iPad implementation shows saved phrases and saved audio files down the left of the screen in landscape mode.

Speak It! comes with four built-in voices: a male and female voice with American and British accents. Other high quality voices including French, German, Italian, and Spanish voices, can be purchased from within the application for just US$0.99 each.

The Speak It! app costs US$1.99 from the iTunes App Store. It is localised in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

- Ricky Buchanan

The TandemMaster Morse-2-USB interface is a fantastic device which converts morse code entered by two switches into keyboard presses and mouse movements. It gives the user complete control of a computer, as much as any regular keyboard/mouse user would have.

This video - featuring Tania Comb who created the TandemMaster - gives you a great idea of how the device can be used with any computer:

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwp-zXSH-k[/embed]

As you can see, Tania's not using any switch access software on the computer itself - just the Tandem Master.

Because what the computer "sees" connected to it isn't a pair of switches but just a standard keyboard and mouse, the TandemMaster is fully compatible with OS X as well as Windows and Linux computers. The advantage of using a device that uses no drivers or switch software is that you can use any standard computer - you could even go into an Internet cafe while on holidays, plug in the TandemMaster, and use their computers! On the other hand it means that the user misses out on the advantages of the more specific switch-user software like the switch controlled word prediction offered by SwitchXS paired with KeyStrokes. Like all setups, this will suit some people better than others.

The website for the TandemMaster has a lot of information, including technical information, about the use of the TandemMaster. You can also contact them for more information.

- Ricky Buchanan