Android Launcher for totally blind senior - General Questions and Answers

Hello to everyone!
I think that would be a great idea to prepare my 86 years old grandmother's tablet in order to be able to be used for a totally blind person (bearing in mind that this person is a senior and doesn't have too much experience with this type of devices).
A little bit of history:
We bought a tablet for my grandmother before she went blind, she used to play games and when she started to lose her sight the only thing she could do was to play audiobooks until she went totally blind.
So, now I think is the moment to reintroduce the tablet in her actual lifestyle but I haven't found any Launcher or Audiobook player that could be easy to use for an blind person. For that reason, I'm making this post here.
Also, If someone knows for a "Talkback Guide For Dummies" it would be really helpful.
Thank You and sorry for my English. I'm Spanish and I'm making a big effort writting this here.

Related

Extreme Noobs Read Now - I Did It!!!

A BLOND FEMALE EXTREME NOOB DID IT!
My friends said I couldn’t do it. Mostly my male friends. All my girl friends supported me, but the general consensus was being female and being blond, I would have a hard time. LOL Well, I started by reading, reading, reading and READING on here for the past few weeks and finally got my ATT&T tilt a yesterday. I read and studied so much on this forum, I was practically bursting at the seams to put into practice what I had been studying night and day for the last 3 weeks or so. I also want to say THANKS THANKS THANKS to this forum and all who participate especially the moderators and senior members who read and wade with suspicious eyes (will this be a redundant post, they think), but who also assuage with empathetic concern for the worn out and battered, but otherwise persevered noob. I DID IT! I DID IT!
Like all mentors, they try to instill in all noobs like me a virtual sense of responsibility and accomplishment by not giving up information so readily and thus fostering a sense of, ‘pull yourself up by your own bootstraps’ kind of reasoning as they have been there and done that and you have not. Depending on your situation, this can be either good news or bad news. For those like me with a fundamental understanding and an ounce of technical aptitude, it is certainly good news. For others, it’s an emotional roller coaster ride and I feel sorry for all who go through such hell. KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES AND LIMITATIONS! If you buy a phone you have no business owning because you think it’s cool looking only to find out that it’s really meant for the corporate power user variety and those who possess a higher than normal level of gadgetry prowess, what do you expect? Add to that , if you’re not technically savvy enough to operate it and install everything, what would be the point because eventually you would realize all you really have is an expensive phone and how you keep wishing you could get it to look like the ATT&T tilts you see on you tube.
I THINK I AM THE MOST EXTREME NOOB OUT THERE AND I AM FEMALE AND BLOND….TWO STEREOTYPES IN ONE!!
BUT…I was able to do it all on my own (Kicked boyfriend to the curb several weeks prior so didn’t want to ask him) with the exception of one thing which I have been working on and will continue to work on until all options are exhausted. Then I will post. I am 98% done and I chose Dutty’s 6.1. I really like it. I got through the white screen, made it through the compatible radio thingy, changed my military clock to regular (I’ve seen many posts on this), I installed he keyboard fix, enabled touchflo (I love it!) and so much more. I have one more pretty important thing I need to do, but as I said, I will keep reading before I post on here. Probably something I did.
I wanted to post on here so badly yesterday while I was installing just like everyone else does, but unlike those who do post, I decided to just keep at it and kept on reading and learning. I am soooo glad I did because now the whole install means more to me. I mean, I appreciate it more, the process. If you're just given something, how can you really respect or appreciate the accomplishment or end result?
THE ANSWERS ARE OUT THERE. Yes. It does take some due diligence on your part, but damn, you are getting this invaluable information for FREE. Free I tell you. What more do you want? All that is required is your time and willingness to learn. Has the fabric of society weakened so much that it has generated a new breed of lazy? Seriously? Could it be as simple as stupid is stupid or how about even willing stupidity? You either have the mental capacity to process and implement the information or you do not. It’s that simple. Period. I try to know the technical ins and outs of Quantum Mechanics which is why you would never see me lecturing on the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics and their applied actions in the world of physics. I do know however, that riding a bike downhill will cause it to go faster and that each step I take forward puts me one step closer than the previous and pretty soon if I keep putting each foot in front of the other and walking, I’ll end up where I want to be. Having no or limited knowledge, I could end up in a rough area of town or because I have knowledge of the geographic area, it would likely be that shoe store who is having the amazing sale - Two different places and two different outcomes. One would lead to my own personal happiness (the shoe store sale) and the other to a potential statistic depending on the area of town you happen find yourself. You choose.
And to add a little further bit of my scintillating educational content to this subject, I’ll bring out the, "How to tell if something is complicated and over your head, even without understanding it, in case you can't be convinced by the fact that it actually IS complicated and over your head" kit. Opening the box, I take out two long, bare copper wires, and I put one in each of your hands. Onto my own hands I put thick rubber gloves. Now, I turn to you and demand, "Explain electricity", which is, you gotta admit, simple enough if you understand anything about electricity. But if you get it even partially wrong (with grammar and posture counting towards your total points!), I cruelly jam the other ends of those copper wires into the wall electrical outlet and let the local power company give you (zzzzt!) the lesson of your stupid life about how complicated things which are over your head and you know nothing about can be very frustrating and expensive for you! Not just with this phone, but in life. Remember that.
Finally, I want to say thank you again. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
I am a firm believer in determination. Sweat equity, pays dividends and the feeling of accomplishment waving over me at this moment dwarfs the learning curve and frustration involved with doing it on my own. It can be scary. Anything first new or foreign is scary to a person; A new job, a new relationship, etc. It is only once you become proficient that you wonder how you were ever afraid of falling off in the first place.
Just some good food for thought!
~GWEN
May I be the first to say Congrats. Read this n00bs. It can be done.
Will you marry me?
gwen, just to let you know
jarek is gay j/k - hes just a little cranky.
With an avatar like that, what else could he be hehehe JK.
Well done gwen. and welcone to the community
ciao
Joao.
P1Tater said:
gwen, just to let you know
jarek is gay j/k - hes just a little cranky.
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nm
gg
Welll....I am still having problems and I am not a noob....OR SO I THOUGHT.
I did a HARD-SPL successfully but I cannot load Dutty's ROM. Error [240] Update Utility is not correct.
I have looked everywhere and cannot find this....
Anyways....congrats and I am going back to looking!!
Gwen,
I LOVE YOU!!!
Fabulous first post, if you are ever in the Chicago Area (which means anywhere in the North Eastern quarter of Illinois) PM me and I'll by you a drink of whatever it is you fancy!
amazing...you didn't post a new thread on why your sound wasn't working when flashing new dutty rom. Good job and welcome.
Now lets see you cook your own rom.
nv00021 said:
Welll....I am still having problems and I am not a noob....OR SO I THOUGHT.
I did a HARD-SPL successfully but I cannot load Dutty's ROM. Error [240] Update Utility is not correct.
I have looked everywhere and cannot find this....
Anyways....congrats and I am going back to looking!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good post Gwen just what we all think when we see duplicate posts in the same topic asking the same things. We are all proud of you! Good luck.
**Try flashing the rom via microSD - copy RUU_signed to root of your microSD and rename "KAISIMG.nbh" Reboot, whilst pressing power and camera buttons to go into bootloader and it'll list what is contained in the KAISIMG.nbh (i.e. Radio, Splash, OS) Press "power" to start process. Once complete soft-reset (Do a hard-reset to clear any little niggles) Done. I found this out thanks to vip_snoopy. This way you iliminate the need to use the update utility. This is the only way I flash now (Splash screens, radios and imgs), You can store several roms all with the name (KAISIMG.nbh) on your storage card (in different folders/perhaps using descriptions) then use file manager to copy the one I want to root of microSD and then flash on the go!! **Best to make sure battery is over 50% though.**
Hope this helps in letting you flash Dutty's Rom, worked for me. Thanks and credit to vip_snoopy.
diigibio (Phil)
Cool and smart (can tell by the fact that you wanted to and did it by yourself and that you can write correct and complete sentences)? Gwen, you're going to be in trouble with all the hounds around here
Just watch out. It's an addiction. I went from where you are to being obsessed with cooking my own "perfect" ROM in just a couple of months.
Welcome and congrats.
Congrats... Anything is possible with a little peepee .......No, idiot, Patience & persistence!
You're an asset to the forum because you read, listened, & learned. According to some of the posts I see (& some of the bricks I help save) this concept i consider common sense, apparently is not so...
BTW, if someone like Hillary can run for Pres., I certainly see no issue with flashing. In fact one of the best s/w engineers (mostly reverse) I know is a woman.
OMG!
SkunkyGwen said:
A BLOND FEMALE EXTREME NOOB DID IT!
[lots of stuff deleted]
~GWEN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In recent months, I've wondered how many females frequent this forum. Mostly because there have been lots of assumptions in the text of the messages that have been assuming everyone here is male. Nothing bad, just a simple use of the word "he" when referring to someone when there is no indication of gender to ensure accuracy.
I thought about it a bit more a few times wondering how this type of phone would appeal to females. So, I wonder if this post is authentic? Doesn't really matter to me, but it may be a little embarrassing for the dudes who have used words like "love" and "marry" in thier responses.
I few things seem a bit off....
Lots of text off subject, perhaps to support the stereotype for the claim of being blonde.
Lots of text in general, perhaps to support the stereotype of being female.
Most strange is the use of the word "female", when in most cases the use of this word seems so clinical to woman or girls.
Oh, wait! the name "skunkygwen" is so, like - not nice, I don't get it.
Anyway, just still wondering...
Increasing my Endorphins
Awww. Thanks Guys. I feel really good. I feel like I know P1Tater and Jarek91 as well as a few others just by matter of happenstance. I love some of the posts and the creative ways this forum alerts those who post to read first before asking, For instance, Jarek’s “Hey Flame Bait, read this” or the link to the ninja accessories and throwing stars. It made my searches both comedic and tolerable and kept me going knowing I would run across similarly arranged responses from Senior Members to Noobs. Jarek’s form of sarcasm which resides in countless, countless threads was refreshing and kept me laughing. From other colorful responses from senior members like P1Tater to straight shooters like _Alex_ , they make these intense searches you have to do and all the information intake bearable and if you truly do your homework and I mean truly put in the time which is mandatory, any answer you haven’t found in these forums will be answered when you post it or at least a reference to it that you may have missed. It is only the posts which these moderators and senior members have seen time after time after time, that they do not respond and when they do respond, it is in an aggressive teaching kind of way. It’s so obvious. They’re not being rude. They look at these posts EVERYDAY! How many times would you need to read something knowing that it’s been asked and answered a thousand times before? More importantly, with your limited time schedule coupled with volunteering on these boards, how long would it take you to become callus to pretty much anyone who asked such questions without even doing the most basic research yourself. Please tell me these same people are not voters.
~GWEN
P.S. I happen to like Jarek’s avatar. I’ll have to get me one too.
HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP
I was going to wait to post this, but I have been looking for the fix to get videos to work on the internet. Now before you get all disappointed and think that I am not practicing what I preach, it should be noted that I have read every available post that I know of on this subject on this forum and still cannot get it to work. It did initially work with the flashed Dutty’s 6.1 ROM.
After initially flashing Dutty’s 6.1 (I did the hard reset and restored after the flash at the alignment screen), I installed the TCP and Flashvideo next, set up my other settings and everything worked fine. No problem. Youtube videos – yep. CNN videos – A-Okay ANY INTERNET VIDEO – Good to Go - Then I got all confident like and with the feeling of Girl Power coursing through my veins, I pushed ever more forward and started messing with other customizable settings and such. You know how it is, right? LOL At one point I had my voltage meter in the upper part of the screen, my processor speed, the tray launch, etc. LOL I went so far that the little ‘ActionScreen’ at the bottom left said something like windows/ht… and that was it. It still functioned properly, but I got to the point where I needed to do a hard reset which I did and then I installed everything again from that point (TCP, Video, keyboard fix, etc). Ever since I got confident and messed with settings, I now cannot get youtube video (I had it before). I cannot get any video on the internet for that matter whereas before I started messing around, I could. I cannot get it from CNN, CBS, Youtube, etc. I have read the posts BELIEVE ME I HAVE.
Do you think re-flashing Dutty’s 6.1 ROM from my computer would fix this error or should I go back to the OEM ATT first and then back to Dutty’s 6.1 again? Do you think it could be a simple setting in my connections? I checked them and they looked okay. I mean ,the video worked fine yesterday. I thought it was maybe due to the fact that I thought I had customized the phone to the point of hard resetting which I did. Maybe that has something to do with it?
I feel dirty for even posting this questions and am disappointed at myself if the solution lies within these forums and if it is a thread I have not seen yet because I have been looking!!!
Thanks,
~Gwen
Someone did something Not sure what they did but it was something like I said right? All the men on here are pervs 75% of the comments back to the OP had some mention of "stereotyping" knock it!
install Skunkworks Flash video bundle then TCMP player should be fine. Or just use coreplayer 1.2
tomsenna said:
I thought about it a bit more a few times wondering how this type of phone would appeal to females. So, I wonder if this post is authentic? Doesn't really matter to me, but it may be a little embarrassing for the dudes who have used words like "love" and "marry" in thier responses.
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Click to collapse
Hey, "What happens in the forum stays in the forum"...
Why be so uptight, I couldn't care less if Gwen is really Skunky or Skunky is really Gwen, bottom line is a Noobie accomplished something and we're happy.
Join the party or go home but don't piss in the punch bowl on your way out!
have u set your file associations in tcpmp?
SkunkyGwen said:
HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP
........
........
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Click to collapse
use the search you noob!!
j/k i dont even know wat problem are u having......that was way too long a description, i spaced out after the 1st paragraph......anyways i saw something about a reflashing to get something to work........you dont have to reflash, just do a hard reset. but before that, maybe just try reinstalling watever it was thats giving you problems
Gwen...You are my favourite nOOb
welcome to XDA
and you dont sound like a stereotype to me.
Im happy that you like it here, and im sure you will add a "touch of fun" with the kind of attitude you show.
great post, one of the best I have read in a long long time.
cheers
All F E M A L E
I wanted to take a moment to respond to Toms insinuation that I may be of the opposite gender. Not because I have to. I really don't care, but I’ll do it anyway just to establish the pecking order since this is my first real post, albeit a brief response. Point number one, why would I post on here NOW after the fact. I already have what I need. I got it myself -98% of it anyway. I never posted on here and the hard part is over for me. If I wanted to create a ruse, it would have been for the same reasons it's already been done on here...for the purposes of gaining technical support by taking advantage of the fact that most guys are horn dogs. And on this forum as well as evidenced by so, so many of these ‘gender bender’ types of posts. I chose to stay away from posting because I am an empowered woman and I do have pride and confidence in myself and my actions.
I am going to digress now. One thing you do not know about me (Why would you) is I can get kind of hot headed at times when someone makes a judgment based on a single observation. Apparently, you do not live your life as I do....probabilistically.
I still love you Toms –
~Gwen

[Q] I've never coded and I need some help

Hello,
Yesterday, I decided that I would learn to write for Android. There are a few games that I've always loved and want to be able to play on my phone. But alas, no one has made them for android. So, I would like to make them myself. I've already planned the design and layout and such. The only problem is that I've never written a single line of code other than a little BASIC as a kid, and those were just stupid little text-based programs to amuse my friends.
My question is, where do I start? I learn best by doing, so if there are some tutorials that are broken down--and I mean broken down--I think they'd be a great place to start. Everything I've read so far seems like a ball of confusion.
I've done a bit of web design for friends, but I've always just cheated and used Adobe Dreamweaver which writes the code for you. Are there any Dreamweaver type programs for Android?
I really would appreciate any help you guys can give me. I'm new to all of this and I'm a bit intimidated. But I know that this will be an awesome skill to learn, so I'm committed to it.

[APP][4.4+] Splitterz: First Project on Android

Hey, I am a german student, actually studying philosophy and sociology, but last year I started to look into development of mobile games. I am already working on this since last summer and now I am finally at a point, where I am willing to show it to other people and ask about opinions. This is the first time i coded something, but thanks to Unity and Visual Studio I achieved a pretty decent result I would say. For that purpose I learned a bit of C#(More than I would have thought of, to be honest ) Since probably everyone of you is more experienced on this topic than I am, I would be pleased if you could give me some feedback/ stuff I can improve or do better. One problem I dont really know how to tackle is the size of my Apk, i already compressed some of the images and got it down to 37 mb, but its still unproportionally big in my opinion, or is this normal? I will also upload a build for you without any advertisement
I would also appreciate advice on advertising, for when my game is polished enough for that.
Thanks alreaedy in advance for your feedback and fell free to ask any question
apk, without advertisement: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Dr9RcavfHHyzm5T8A0vDD9VPrNcDPOCc
Name: Splitterz
PlayStorelink: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.EnterRavement.Splitterz

i need a bit of help for visual impaired user

me mums been using a doro for years cause its old school simple. recently she want to change up and i got her a sony ericsson. she well pleased but she saying bigger keyboard buttons and make it a bit easier would help alot cause she strugging to press the right buttons on the keyboard now.
im trying to show her how much she can really do. so far ive taught her to check her bank, credit card. usually i would have to take her to the cash machine so she can do that. but i want to show her more. like ebay. if i could teach her that i know she would love it. amazon. shopping in general. meeting new people. etc. but the first and foremost she is frustrated with the amount of time typing and finding things
i know there are loads of these apps on playstore but because of the banking and shopping im worried about privacy. ive contacted a few forums to ask for advice but have yet to recieve any advice so i know this is were the experts hang and it would be great for ur advices and help us
large launcher looks good. would that be a bad choice or good. what are the recommendations of you guys here
i have searched a little bit the site but i cant find any answer to the question
cheers
i wrote that whole big question but what should i have asked i want to be able to check it for meself

New uses for an old device (Arnova 9 G2)

Hey guys! I've been having an issue and IDK how to fix it after searching for days, and asking at the Noobs thread. My GF tasked me with making her old Arnova 9 G2 (quite the big device) usable again which... doesn't really seem possible, seems it's rooted (IDK why, it seems her dad rooted it somehow) but since it works with android 2.X nothing works, Chrome doesn't work, Firefox doesn't work, play store doesn't work, etc. etc. Is there a way of making it usable?
The only use I've thought about so far is downloading her books or College videos there for her to study, but i'd like for her to be capable of at least search something in google or watch a movie there without having to download it.
Do you guys know of ways in which I can breathe new life into this device?
And if not, do you know of any uses I could give it? It's only redeeming feature is it's big screen, so I thought about downloading some videos (it doesn't seem to have a big hard drive either)
The best thing to do is to scrap it. You would be wasting a lot of time to make it usable, and further waste exponentially longer time living with a laggy device that is pretty much useless today.
You are better off buying a new device, even if it is a couple of years old model.
TheMystic said:
The best thing to do is to scrap it. You would be wasting a lot of time to make it usable, and further waste exponentially longer time living with a laggy device that is pretty much useless today.
You are better off buying a new device, even if it is a couple of years old model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! I think she'll get mad at me if I tell her that, but seems like the only solution so far. Such device doesn't even seem to have had anyone developing any kind of firmware for it.
PS: Sorry for my broken english, I speak spanish most of the time
As Zafiro said:
Thanks for the reply! I think she'll get mad at me if I tell her that, but seems like the only solution so far. Such device doesn't even seem to have had anyone developing any kind of firmware for it.
PS: Sorry for my broken english, I speak spanish most of the time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happy to help.
I have been through this at some time trying to put the 1st Generation iPad to some use (primarily media streaming). Most apps stopped working, so I tried bypassing this by jail-breaking it. It was of not much help either because the experience was just horrible. The hardware was just not cut for the demands of current generation apps. This is also due to planned obsolescence of the corporations.
At some point, we have to accept reality and move on. I'm sure your girlfriend would understand it.
Your English is very fine by the way. And language doesn't matter, communication does.
As Zafiro said:
Thanks for the reply! I think she'll get mad at me if I tell her that, but seems like the only solution so far. Such device doesn't even seem to have had anyone developing any kind of firmware for it.
PS: Sorry for my broken english, I speak spanish most of the time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can reuse it for something in spite of its limitations. A digital photo frame... cook, prayer, etc book. Gene Roddenberry would have killed for that limited (by today's standards) device.
I would keep it off the internet, no worries then.

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