Thanks to Clytie for bringing to my attention a great article by Paul Biba on Teleread.com. Paul describes using the iPhone's AirPlay feature with an AppleTV hooked up to a 50 inch screen to display the iPhone screen in extreme magnification.

CCTV Magnification devices for low vision users typically cost a huge amount of money, so this combination could be a huge money saver for the visually impaired. Especially for those already owning an iPhone and/or AppleTV the additional cost could be minimal. I don't have a TV here so I can't try this out myself but I imagine this AirPlay monitoring could also be used with the camera applications to magnify physical objects. Can somebody report back about whether this works?

I also can't find any information about how the iPhone's three-finger-double-tap zooming works with AirPlay - will this zoom the image shown on the large TV? That'd be a huge additional help! [Edit: When I tested this using Reflection on my Mac it seemed to work which is very promising.]

To turn on AirPlay monitoring when you aren't in a video application simply double-click the home button on your iPhone, then swipe to the left twice. You should see the volume control and if AirPlay is connected there will also be a button there to turn the mirroring on.

- Ricky Buchanan

I got a reader question today from a hearing-impaired reader:

I have the iPhone 4S and would like to use the earphones with remote & mic but I wear in-the-ear hearing aids.

Does Apple have an alternate version for folks like me - that would go around the ear or a headset version?

Apple itself doesn't offer alternate versions, they only provide the white earbuds, but luckily plenty of other manufacturers have filled this important gap.

There are four types of solutions I can think of:

1. Buy an adapter which offers the inline controls and microphone and lets you plug in whatever headset you like.
2. Buy a pair of headphones or a headset which includes the inline remote in a single unit.
3. Use bluetooth headphones which have inbuilt controls.
4. Use a hearing-aid specific Bluetooth adapter, if your hearing aid supports this.

All these solutions have different plusses and minuses, unsurprisingly.

Buy an Inline Control Adapter

These are some examples of an adapter with the inline controls and microphone which plug into any regular pair of headphones:

• iLuv iEA15BLK Remote with 3rd-Party Headphone Adapter
• Belkin Headphone Adapter with Remote
• Griffin Technology Auxiliary Audio Cable with Inline Remote Control
• Scosche Control Adapter
• Headset Hands Free 3.5mm Adapter + Microphone
• Monster iSoniTalk Microphone Headphone Adapter - Microphone with Headphone Jack

In the past I have tried several of these type of "inline" adapters with my existing headphones, including the Belkin and Griffin remotes and several "no-name" brands. In general I found none of them lasted beyond about 6 months of daily use, which disappointed me. The amazon.com reviews seem to suggest that other customers have had a similar experience with the adapters not lasting a huge amount of time. On the other hand they are generally fairly cheap so buying a new one every six months or so isn't a huge hardship, it's just annoying.

The other issue I found is that different types add different amounts of length to your headphones - this can be annoying if your headphone cable is already longer than you want it to be, as long cords get tangled more easily.

If you are an iPhone user you will need to check that the device you purchase puts the microphone where you need. The Apple earbuds (and most others with inbuilt remotes) have the microphone section positioned so it will hang close to your mouth for easy and mostly-hands-free use - but if you purchase an inline remote you'll have to hold the microphone up near your mouth to use it.

Purchase Headphones With An Inbuilt Remote

These are some examples of around-the-ear headphones/headsets which have built in remote controls and microphones:

• iLuv iHP615 Mega Bass Pro Headphones with Remote
• NoiseHush NX26-11778 3.5mm Stereo Headphones with Neodymium Magnet Drivers Medium
• Sennheiser HD 218i Supra-Aural Headphones
• AirDrives INA099210 for iPhone (these have been recommended on the Inky Ed blog as their "Best Ever Headphones")
• Sennheiser PX 100-II i Light Weight Supra-Aural Headset

These headsets have built in controls for iPod and iPhone, which tends to leave the microphone in a more convenient place and saves you from over-long cords.

Since most iPod/iPhone users apparently prefer in-ear headsets, it can be annoyingly tricky to find these over-the-ear type by searching online. I found these by searching on amazon.com for variations on the phrase "wired stereo headphones" and then scrolling through many pages of results to find the ones that weren't in-ear types and did have remotes - a fairly slow process. Another method is to find a dedicated headphone site and search for headphones with apple controls.

Use Bluetooth Headphones

Bluetooth headphones are wireless headphones which are (generally) compatible with the iPhone and iPod's wireless controls. There are tons of them available, just a few include:

• Kinivo BTH220 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones
• ARCTIC Sound ORACO-ERM28-GBA01 Headphones P311
• Motorola Black MOTOROKR S305 Wireless Stereo Headphones
• GOgroove AirBand Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset with Microphone (I have no idea how well they work but these look really cool!)
• GOgroove SolaceAIR Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset w/ Microphone + Extended 15 hr Battery

Again, I have no specific experience with the headphones in this list - I found them by searching for "Bluetooth stereo headsets" on Amazon and slowly grovelling through the results to find ones that weren't in-ear models.

I've used over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones with my iPhone and I really adored them for listening to music! Not having to worry about a cord is very freeing, but these tend to position the microphone a fair way from your mouth so they're a lot less useful for making phone calls. I found that with the cheap "no name" bluetooth headphones I purchased that people had trouble hearing my voice because the microphone was on the edge of the headphone and consequently a long distance from my mouth. It's something worth checking out if you want to make phone calls with them. For listening to music though, this is definitely my top choice.

Hearing-aid Specific Bluetooth Adapter

While researching for this article I discovered that some hearing aids have specific adapters which make them bluetooth-compatible. This seems to mostly apply to more modern and "up-market" hearing aids, and each type is specific to the hearing-aid manufacturer.

The devices are generally small pendant-type things worn around the neck which connect wirelessly to your existing hearing aids and pipe the sound directly into the aids. For those with compatible hearing aids this is definitely the solution which will give you the clearest sound quality!

One device mentioned to me specifically by a happy user was the Phonak iCom, for those with Phonak hearing aids. Oticon offers the Oticon ConnectLine Mobile. There are even Bluetooth options for Cochlear Implant users. I'm sure that most other hearing aid manufacturers have their own bluetooth adapters too - check the website for your hearing aid manufacturer, and have a chat to your audiologist if you aren't sure.

Caveats 'n Other Things

Some of these remote controls offer one button control only, which lets you play/pause audio but doesn't let you change the volume, others have the full 3-button controls which lets you change the volume. Also, different controls will have buttons of different sizes and shapes and sensitivities, and placed in different places, so make sure the buttons are usable to you before you purchase them.

When you are buying anything, most importantly make sure to check that they are compatible with the device that you want to use them with - not all of the controls work with all Apple devices! The description for each item should clearly state which device they work with. I suggest also reading reviews for each device on Amazon.com or similar, as there is a lot of really useful user feedback there which can help you choose the best device for your needs.

My current earphones of choice are an in-ear model, the Etymotic Research MC3 noise-cancelling earbuds which have in-line iPhone controls and a microphone. The regular Apple earbuds don't fit in my tiny ears but these ones fit just right and I'm really happy with them.

Which headphones, earphones, or audio adapter do you use and does it meet your needs well? Leave a comment below!

- Ricky Buchanan

[disclaim]

Over at the Uncommon Sense blog, there's a great new review from Dana about one of the keyguards by LaseredPics. Their daughter Maya uses the app Speak For Yourself on an iPad with an iAdapter case, and this is the second LaseredPics keyguard she's tried.

Dana records this key guard really makes a huge positive difference to Maya's AAC use:

This keyguard was an instant game-changer. [...] With the keyguard in place, she has to reach for a word very deliberately. Accidental hits were all but instantly eliminated. As you can see in the video below, there was a bit of a learning curve as she figured out the hand-eye coordination needed to get her finger into the targeted hole, but it didn't take long at all (we've had the keyguard for 5 days now and are seeing very few misalignments).

The video's very clear and there are some great pictures of the keyguard. Dana also offers some hints and tips about what to ask for when you're ordering a key guard - #1 is make sure the "slide to open" area is open so you can turn the device on!

AppleVis is a website by and for blind and vision-impaired users of Apple devices, primarily iOS device users but including some resources for Mac OS X users. The focus is on VoiceOver users but there are some resources for other blind users who use zooming to access devices too.

A community-powered website for blind and vision-impaired users of Apple devices.

• Seek and share information on the accessibility of apps developed for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and the Mac.
• Read and share guides, tutorials and tips to help VoiceOver users get the most from their Apple devices.

AppleVis is a site which provides many resources, including:

• Directories of iOS and Mac applications with community-provided descriptions and thorough VoiceOver compatibility information for each program. Applications recommended as highly usable by blind users are also collected together in "Recommended App" lists.
• A forum for discussing issues related to accessibility for Apple users.
• AppleVis blog which highlights news of special interest and editor opinions.
• Podcasts with walk-through style tutorials and reviews.
• Guides section offers text tutorials
• Reviews of accessibilities

Lots of stuff! Most is fairly high quality too, the moderators must work overtime there. This site is highly recommended for those interested in resources for vision-impaired Apple users.

- Ricky Buchanan

Most "standard" computer games get harder because they get faster, relying on the player's reflexes and coordination keeping up. For example, in Tetris the blocks appear and drop faster and faster as your level increases:

Untimed games or time-independent games are those where you aren't penalised if you play a game very slowly, have bad reflexes, or don't posses the hand-eye coordination to time your movements accurately. Games like this are "turn-based" where any game actions only occur in response to the player's actions, and don't have any other timers or time-related limitations. One of my favourite time-independent games, Drop7, is another block-dropping game but each block only "falls" once you tell the game where to put it. Drop7 increases the difficulty by changing the mix of blocks which are dropped and by adding a layer of hidden (grey) blocks at the bottom of the screen after a number of moves:

Time independent games share all of these things:

• Game pieces aren't animated in a way that changes where you need to hit them, so taking extra time to initiate a move doesn't cause your target to shift.
• There is no timer limiting the amount of time you can take to play each move or the time taken for the overall game.
• Being fast or slow doesn't change the number of points awarded for each move or for an overall game.
• The app doesn't "reset", losing your position in the game, if the device is turned off.

If you aren't sure if a game fits all these requirements, a good way to check yourself is to open the game and choose exactly where you'll tap the screen to make a move ... then put the device down for 5 minutes before coming back and tapping the screen exactly where you had previously decided. If there's no disadvantage (or advantage) to your 5-minute pause that's time-independent. If you could do the same pausing routine at any point during the game then the whole game is time-independent.

Why would you want to know if a game is time-dependent or not? There are a large number of disabilities that affect timing, most of which come under these general categories:

• Conditions that affect perception (eg vision impairment, conditions affecting how the brain interprets perceptions, sensitivity to animated movement) which may slow down how fast you understand what the game's state is.
• Conditions that affect thinking or memory (eg brain injury, intellectual impairment, memory impairment) which may slow down your decision about which move to make.
• Conditions that affect movement or reactions in the limbs used to control the iPad (eg cerebral palsy, quadriplegia) which may slow down your ability to make the move you've decided to make.

An extra effect of time-independent games is that collaborative gameplay becomes possible. This could be a parent playing with a child, two friends playing together, a therapist playing with a client, or a partner-assisted play scenario where the player indicates their desires by their own methods and the partner physically touches the game devices for them.

A surprisingly small number of games actually fit the requirements for being fully time-independent, so for this list I'm broadening the definition a little. If the game does have some time-dependent elements but these can be adjusted by the player or aren't essential to regular play then I'll make a note of this in the list:

• A Monster Ate My Homework! (one of my favourites!)
• Aqueduct 101
• Arcs Free
• BeeCellsHD/BeeCells Lite (one of my favourites!)
• Blocks
• Boggle (has an overall timer but player can adjust from 1 to 10 minutes)
• Bookworm
• Brain Games 3 IN 1
• The "Choice Of" series of interactive fiction games
• Doodle Fit
• Drop7 (one of my favourites!)
• Geared HD
• PatternSrch
• Sliderz HD
• Solitaire and Spider Solitaire
• Squramble
• Stone Flood (one of my favourites!)
• TradeNations (this is a simulation game of the "Farmville" or "Sims" type)
• Trism (mostly untimed, it requires quick movement of iPad's angle for best multi-move cascades but you can play perfectly well without these)
• Word Abacus (one of my favourites!)
• Words With Friends (like online Scrabble)

These others are games that people have suggested may be time-independent, but which I haven't tested myself:

• Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials
• Samantha Swift And The Fountains of Fate
• Psychoban HD

What's your favourite time-independent game?

- Ricky Buchanan