HOWTO change the font size in safari on the iPad and iPhone

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017simon accessibility, Technology a11y, accessibility, apple, ios, ipad, iphone Comment

The ability to change font size can have an enormous impact on accessibility. Pinch and zoom is wonderful for this on iOS, but it introduces another problem. Zoom to much and you now have to scroll sideways as well as down to consume content.

There is however, a little workaround. You can increase and decrease the font size on a per site basis in Safari. This is done through a bookmark, adding two bookmarks one for increase and one for decrease. You can manually set the appropriate font size. Reloading the website will return the font to its original size.

To enable this feature follow the steps below:

In Safari create a new bookmark, this can be of any website as we will be editing it soon
Open bookmarks and tap edit and edit your new bookmark
Change the Title to either Increase Font or Decrease Font
Copy the Appropriate code from below into the link fiel
Click save and repeat so you have both increase and decrease font size bookmarksd

Increase Font size

javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds+=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D

Decrease font size

javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds-=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D

Now whenever you need to adjust the font size on a website, tapping the increase or decrease font size button will adjust the font on your current website. This is a simple way to increase the accessibility of any website in Safari on the iPad or iPhone.

Artificial Intelligence and accessibility

October 23, 2015simon Technology a11y, accessibility, AI, ally, artifical intelligence Comment

Over the past couple of weeks I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to some fantastic technology as well as ideas. Attending WiRED 2015 kickstarted my thought process on how artificial intelligence could be applied to accessible technology.

While attending the conference there were two ideas I wanted to pitch to people, emotion detection to facilitate social situations for the visually impaired and facial recognition. I felt both these technologies could improve an individuals ability to socialise greatly. After chatting to a few people and pitching my ideas on how these systems could work from a design, implementation and marketing front I managed to interest a few companies and institutions.

There is fantastic scope for these technologies and their assistive ability. I concentrated on the emotion detection system initially as I feel these could have the greatest and speediest impact. I have encapsulated the idea into a product for all, rather than a product specifically for the visual impaired, as I believe these to be key for mass market adoption which, in turn will reduce the price significantly and reduce that initial barrier on any accessible product, price.

I am yet to find a partner to work with for facial detection, but I recently read an article highlighting that IBM are working on this. It really does seem as time goes on that IBM and I could be a great match!

I did also have a grander idea on accessibility while at the conference and was delighted to see it referenced by yet again IBM – cognitive assistance. I have been batting around a few ideas on how accessibility could be personalised. After there are nuances in an individuals accessible needs so why not make the solutions as nuanced. This could definitely be achieved through a cognitive accessible assistant that has the capacity to learn.

An accessible system that is capable of learning could aid in such tasks as reading. It would be able to identify how an individual likes to read information and execute it in that fashion. A nice example would be skim reading, being able to learn how to read a specific document for certain contextual references would be fantastic. This would certainly of assisted me greatly while at university, losing the ability to skim read is absolutely a skill I miss.

I continue to be excited by what technology is enabling and how I can become part of the revolution of accessibility.

TICKR X & The 7 Minute Workout Accessibility

October 14, 2015October 14, 2015simon Fitness, Technology a11y, accessibility, fitness Comment

I am always looking for simple and effective ways to make workouts more accessible. It can often be difficult to monitor and track workouts so I was very excited when Wahoo sent along the TICKR X. The TICKR X is a very capable device that can track a whole multitude of stats, from HR, to body movement and more, but the data point I was most interested in was rep counting.

Utilising the TICKR X along with the Wahoo 7 minute workout app on my iPhone, all my reps could be automatically counted. No more writing it all down in an app afterwards, assuming I could remember how many reps I performed on each exercise.

What is the 7 minute workout

The 7 minute workout is a collection of 12 body weight exercises that you can complete anywhere with no equipment needed. It has been shown to give results comparable to longer running or weights sessions. It comprises of 12 work sets of 30 seconds each followed by a 10 second rest. It is a quick and highly effective HIIT workout.

The Device

The device itself is one of the rare devices a blind user can take out of the box and configure and use without sighted assistance. You click the device onto one side of the strap, wrap it around your chest and clip into the other side of the strap. Ensuring the TICKR X is positioned in the middle of your chest, do not worry if the device doesn’t touch your skin. Unlike other HR trackers the HR sensor are located in the strap, not the actual TICKR X device.

To turn the device on tap the TICKR X a couple of times and then you are ready to pair it with your phone. This is achieved inside the app.

The App

The 7 minute workout app is highly accessible, Wahoo have done a fantastic job of labelling all labels appropriately. It is simple to navigate the app and start an activity, as the reps are counted automatically that is all you ensentially have to do to use the app. Start a workout and read your results, no manual inputting its all taken care of.

The app also uses a lot of audio for feedback. For example, the different exercises and start and rest sections are read aloud. It makes for a nice accessible experience.

How Does it Perform

When I began my workout I was surprised it worked, it was a real wow moment as I heard the reps count up as I went about completing the workout. I was quickly put in my place on correct form as the TICKR X wouldn’t count reps with bad form. So no longer can I cheat and just do quick reps with poor form, I am now forced to go lower rep with correct form. While this affects my rep count it does mean I am actually performing the exercise correctly! This was evident in push up rotations, as the TICKR X wouldn’t count a rep if I didn’t perform the appropriate amount of rotation, which is coming when going for speed. This correction of form isn’t limited to simply not counting a rep, as when in plank position if you begin to wain the app notified you to watch form!

The other slightly confusing counting system is in exercises that have an up and down movement, for example, push ups, triceps dips etc. This is because the TICKR X counts the up and down as 2 reps, whereas typically I would count each up and down as one rep. In itself this isn’t actually an issue as it correctly counts the movements and you are able to compare your results and see improvement as the counting is consistent. If anything it just makes it look like you can do twice the number of push ups you used to be able to!

For me the real wow moment of the app was upon completing a full workout. When the workout is finished you are given a table with the rep results of each exercise along with the HR for each exercise. This granularity was a fantastic reporting decision. Typically average HR is used for workouts whereas Wahoo have chose to give you the HR breakdown of each exercise. This is important as you are quickly able to identify the exercises you should be pushing harder on. I was able to see that I was sandbagging it a little on what I consider to be the easier exercises, perhaps unconsciously I was using them as a little rest period.

Like the other sections of the app the reports are very accessible, Wahoo really have done a great job in regards to accessibility for the blind.

Any Bad Points?

Yes, the in app purchases. I was a little disappointed that with a premium priced piece of hardware like the TICKR X required multiple small in app purchases to get full app functionality. It must be noted that this is for the 7 minute workout challenge, there are other apps from Wahoo that work with the TICKR X, but I was focussed on utilising the TICKR X for rep counting.

Overall

The TICKR X is wonderfully accessible with the accompanying 7 minute workout challenge app. I would highly recommend it for a blind user. Its rep counting keeps you honest and the reports allow you to highlight where you should be pushing harder. It is a definite buy for any blind user looking for an accessible and quick cardio workout!

IBM Serendipity

October 11, 2015simon Life, Technology a11y, accessibility, evangelist, IBM Comment

Two years ago in the middle of my degree I went to meet with IBM HR. The idea was to have a chat to them about my vision of an inclusive and accessible world through technology..

IBM stand at a fantastic point within the technology sector where they have the ability to touch a huge amount of organizations in wildly different fields. It was this very point that made me think IBM and I could be a perfect match.

There is a need for all technology to be inclusively designed, to enable everyone to have universal access. From mobile devices, to the internet of things to access to transport. Indeed it was IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative that made me believe there was a way to make the world accessible through the advancement of new technologies.

I pitched to HR that I would be a wonderful fit for an accessibility evangelist, working with all manner of partners focussing on how technology could be made inclusive. From advising on human interface interactions that not only had visual elements but auditory and haptic, to communicating complex information in new and interesting ways. I continued by highlighting that the opportunity to interact with clients at the early stage would aid in a universal design approach amongst all technology.

Indeed it is this early stage approach why I have had great success with Kickstarter. I often find projects in the very early stages and communicate with the team on how minor adjustments could be made to improve accessibility. Be it the addition of audible tones or changing a UI to take into account a blind user. I have also had great success with FitBit and Drop scales. With both companies I advised on how to communicate information in different forms to increase accessibility. The added benefit of this change in communicating information was a greater understanding by all users not just those who cannot see.

I imagine a world where as the next 1 billion people and 10 billion devices come online there is no barrier for interaction, as these products and services have taken a universal approach from the beginning. It is also worth highlighting that this approach can create benefit for all users not just those who rely on accessibility. For example, a low vision user may be aided by contrasting or night mode colour themes, these exact features also assist any individual using the device at night. The route to a truly intuitive and simple design can also be achieved by taking the needs of a blind user. As if you can make a user interface or product that a blind user can utilise, it truly is simple and intuitive.

It was during this conversation I highlighted how important this approach is to all services and products. There should never be an assumption that a particular product or service will not be utilised by a particular demographic. To highlight this I mentioned how I had utilised RunKeeper to learn to run solo outdoors. It would have been easy for RunKeeper to assume a blind person would not use their app. After all what use would this be to a blind person. But thankfully they did and I was able to achieve what was once perceived impossible, to learn to run solo outdoors.

I continued by saying this is why I wanted to work with IBM, I wanted to make sure every service and every product across all sectors became accessible. Just imagine the impact this could achieve with the number of partners and clients IBM work with. With accessibility an assumed standard across the board just imagine the impossible things that could be achieved in the next few years.

During the rest of the conversation IBM HR mentioned they could imagine me starring in an IBM commercial, demonstrating what accessible technology can enable people to do. Well if we fast forward 2 years that opportunity arrived. IBM gave me a call and asked if I could like to be featured in a little video. I of course said yes and the result is the video below.

In those past 2 years I have continued to try and make the world a more accessible place, through advocating for universal design, working with many tech firms and countless public speaking appearances at large tech events. But I still feel I could do so much more, there is still a need for that evangelist role and I am still a great fit. There is a real need to ensure universal design across the board. When that goal is achieved countless people will be enabled to achieve the impossible.