Tackling audio volume in iOS with one switch and the Tecla Shield

The Tecla Shield is without a doubt, amazing! It provides a way for disabled people to use iOS and Android devices without touching the screen.

This video is of Christopher Hills using his iPad with the Tecla Shield. This should better illustrate how it works.

The Tecla Shield has some flaws. One of them is that you cannot adjust the volume on iOS without having three switches attached to the Shield. Today, I found a way to control the volume with one switch. There's an app for that! It's called Volume Up. The name is a little misleading and because of this it's got horrible reviews. Anyway, it does the job.

eel!

I am just writing a quick post to tell you about my new web browser, eel. eel is a replacement for BrowseIt. Don't be fooled, eel is nothing like BrowseIt. It is based on WebKit. This means it's very fast and compatible with all the latest web technologies. eel is open source. My code is your code. It is written in Realbasic. It is compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux!

http://eelbrowser.codeplex.com/

OS X Lion thoughts

As you know, we heard the roar of Lion last week. I installed it within five hours of the release. The install process was pretty flawless on my MacBook Pro. Everything just happened.
I haven't had many compatibility issues with apps. Dropbox works.
I really like Mission Control. I didn't think I would use it as much as I do. I thought I would use Launchpad more. Don't get me wrong, Launchpad is great but Mission Control is really convenient.
All-in-all, a solid upgrade. I can't wait for the first update, so that some bugs get fixed.

Is Windows 8 going to disable disabled users?

As a disabled user of the Windows platform, I was quite worried when Microsoft showed off the next version of Windows. While I love the idea of the 'app tiles', this new feature will not be compatible with the current version of The Grid 2. The Grid 2 is the software that enables me to use the Windows platform.

The Windows platform is very important to me as a software developer and a geek. I am sure The Grid 2 developers are working on Windows 8 support. But this raises a question. Do companies who develop operating systems think about severely disabled users? I don't mean disabilities like blindness. I mean people who have very poor motor control. People who can't use the mouse or keyboard. I use a head switch to access the entire operating system. The answer to the question is no. Operating systems should have built-in software like The Grid 2.

Do you know about YouTube XL?

YouTube is great but the user interface is a little plain. I just found out about a hidden feature. There is a rather sexy-looking web application called YouTube XL. This is just another better-looking version of YouTube.

To check it out, just go to this URL: http://www.youtube.com/xl

What software do you have to install on a new Windows system?

When you buy a new laptop or install a new operating system, you haven't really got any software. This post will list the software you need to know about. These programs are all free.

• Google Chrome
• Dropbox
• TeamViewer
• TweetDeck
• Firefox
• Adobe AIR
• Avast! Antivirus

Should Facebook be redesigned?

It seems that many websites are opting for the iPad feel. For example, Twitter recently redesigned the website with an amazing user interface. But is this what Facebook needs to do?

Mark Zuckerberg designed and coded Facebook. Since launch, Facebook has been "redesigned" a few times. But these "redesigns" have been minor at best.

As a developer, I believe that Facebook should jump on the band-wagon and go all black with more HTML5 animations.