Don't miss a chance to choose from three issues!

Several weeks ago Tuesday Topics asked all of you to come up with subjects for us. However, we indicated that we would put together a series of topics in case our listeners did not come up with discussion issues. We did not have to use those ideas then so we will now offer three of them for this week's Tuesday Topics.

1. What piece of technology would you most like to see that doesn't currently exist? Others tell us by the technology they make available what we can have! I do not know of any company who has asked folks what they really want! Tuesday Topics is asking you!

2. What new application or device have you started using over the past year and how has that been for you? Have you found the device or app meets your needs?

3. ACB says it is interested in receiving feedback from its members! Here is your chance! What activity or approach or initiative that you think ACB is not doing much about would you like the organization to pursue. Think out of the box! What do people who are blind need? What does the rest of the world need to know about blind people that ACB can tell them? These are three questions that we will explore on Tuesday Topics on Tuesday Topics on April 4 at 7 PM on ACB Media One!

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Remember to join us when David Trott is our guest on Tuesday Topics!During that period, we will invite David Trott to share with us a notion of where ACB

is financially and in terms of membership. During the in-person segment of ACB'S recent meetings in Alexandria Virginia those present were invited to talk about membership and money. That element was moderated (David Trott. We will explore what came out of that meeting. We will look at where ACB is in terms of money and will explore the trends in membership. Have state affiliates grown since the start of the pandemic? What about special interest affiliates? Have members-at-large become more important. What might the future of membership be like? Where does the money come from that makes our organization run? Is there a change in where our funds come from? Do we have more money than we used to have? David is our current treasurer and can give us a sense of where we are and where we might want to go?

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Ever since he was a student at university, Eric Bridges has been active in ACB. For much of his career he has worked for ACB. For the last several years

Eric has been ACB'S Executive Director. Virtually all the members of ACB are almost certainly aware that Mr. Bridges has been chosen to become the Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind. His last day at ACB will be March 21, a Tuesday. I was in DC last week end and asked Eric whether he would consider coming on Tuesday Topics to reflect on his time with ACB. Perhaps it is too early to talk about his role at the American Foundation for the Blind but we will certainly see what he can tell us about his plans. Obviously, all of you will have the opportunity to ask questions of Eric and may want to say some farewells to him. We are truly excited to have Eric be our guest on Tuesday Topics as, essentially, his final act as Executive Director of ACB. We are very much looking forward to an opportunity to hear Eric's notions about where ACB is, and whatever else he is minded to share.

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Some of our Tuesday Topics people have been in Washington over the last week. There were programs that were on in DC last Tuesday so we decided to step

aside for one week. We are back and feel like there are a number of topics which may be a part of our Tuesday. We have had a request from ACB'S Employment Committee to invite them to report on some of their activities. We now know they will join us during our second hour to tell us what they are up to. During our first hour we would like to give our listeners an opportunity to choose what we discuss. So join us and talk to us about an issue you believe deserves our attention. We have some thoughts about appropriate things to talk about but we will only use them if you fail us, listeners. We hope you will not!

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As often seems to happen, our program last week intended to cover

two topics but only got to one. That left the accessibility of large appliances as essentially undiscussed. On the last day of February, then, that will be our topic. Where are we with this issue? Historically, how did we handle access. How has the "internet of things" changed our situation. Does having an appliance that connects with the lady a or Google home or siri assure accessibility? What steps can we take when buying new appliances to be certain we can use all or most of their features? Where does braille fit into this mosaic? Are there still overlays? Do we seem to be moving forward or backward in terms of access to the internet of things? What can we do to assure that we are heard? We need to hear your experiences with new appliances. Have you had to pay more to get what you need? Have you been able to get what you need? Join us as we explore how stoves and refrigerators and air conditioners and washers and dryers and furnaces and security systems all stack up in today's economy.

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Last week we discussed new devices that are expected this year and, after that, barely scratched the surface

with a discussion of phones. As a result, we will begin this edition with a discussion of the three main groups of phones used by people who are blind or have low vision. We will talk about the iPhone and will explore how it has morphed into so much more than just a device for making calls. We will look at Android phones and explore who uses them and, with your help, maybe come to understand why people like them. The third group of phones are beginning to have a renaissance of sorts. These are phones which are specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision. They are push button cell phones that have an overlay of features that are built on top of the operating system specifically aimed at people who are blind or have low vision. Whereas, in the past, many features that were available on iPhones and androids were not available on this group of phones, that has changed. Who likes these phones and why? What can these phones now do? Are there shortcomings that should be considered? We hope that people who have android phones as well as phones from the third group will call in and tell us about their experiences.

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Once more Tuesday Topics will depend on you for our success. We are once more going to try for a double feature. Those of you who have been a part of Tuesday

Topics for a while know that this means we are going to choose two topics which we will discuss. The idea is that we will find one that encourages folks to call in and participate. We are competing with Valentine's Day so we probably have no way of knowing whether folks will be billing and cooing rather than coming.

One of our two topics concerns technology for people who are blind. What trends can we identify? Are these "hybrid" devices becoming the norm? Is there a role for braille note takers an more? If so, what is that role? What has happened with low vision devices? What do we know about new devices that are likely to happen this year? What is missing? By that I mean, what do we know of that we can't easily do using current hardware and software? Our second topic is also technological but it focuses on one particular device, the cell phone. There are basically three main cell phone categories. First and probably the most popular is the iPhone. Second, of course, are android phones. Third and, oddly en, the most recent in a way is the blind shell phone. We thought it might be interesting to see what people are doing with their phones. Are we using them mostly as phones or do we do other things than call most of the time? Are there new apps we have found that we want to share? Why has the Blind Shell phone garnered such interest? There will perhaps be more issues we explore as we examine devices that are, potentially, much more than phones to see how you, our listeners, are using them!

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February is a month full of significant events. The Grammies will happen before our next Tuesday Topics. The Superbowl, number 57, is on February 12. Valentine's

Day is on February 14. Later in the month are the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln. We will look at all of these elements and other February phenomena. What do the two Presidents represent and what should we be celebrating with both? What kinds of memories do we have of valentines? Tell us about your experiences! Do you have predictions about the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles? Are there elements of February we have missed? There is Ground Hog Day! It will happen tomorrow so we will know how winter will fare by the time of our next appearance! Do you have thoughts about the efficacy of forecasting weather this way?

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Though it may seem a long time ago to some, we looked at a lot of the advantages of the newly emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capacity that we can

access today. We also looked ahead at developments that we believed were inevitable and, potentially, beneficial. We certainly talked about some of the pitfalls that the new technology might involve but, at the end of our first show, we decided it would be good to spend a whole show on the down side of the future both for our society as a whole and for people who are blind in particular. Will the new technology affect jobs? Will an absolutely smaller number of jobs be available? How will this affect income distribution? Will the underclass that many see as existing now continue to grow? Should we be worried about computers taking over the world? When all is said and done, how should we feel about the future?

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During our program of January 3, Brian talked about a new app he has been looking at that allows him to make some requests that go a good deal beyond just

asking for information. A little while ago my daughter indicated that her new electric car had asked her whether she wanted it to park itself. In considering how life is likely to change this year, Brian indicated that artificial intelligence would, in his opinion, revolutionize our lives very soon. He sees this as a very positive development. I am not so sure. I thought it might be fun to do a first show on this subject that would aim at setting out the parameters of the intersection of artificial intelligence and the lives of people who are blind. At the same time that we are talking about the emergence of a i, we can also explore augmented reality. The latest version of Apple head phones offer some elements that would not have been considered ordinary even a year ago. Virtual reality is already revolutionizing gaming and sound. I recently saw my first movie in 3d, the new avatar movie. Those with whom I saw it suggested that the effects were considerably more impressive than earlier 3d efforts. What are the advantages of the new artificial intelligence options? What do they suggest for the future? Are there concerns that we need to at least consider? What are the specific concerns of this new frontier for people who are blind or have low vision? Are we in danger of being left behind? Might we be in danger of being fooled by people who can use the voices of friends and carry on conversations with us? Can the new a i be a tool that can significantly expand our ability to get the information we really want tailored to us as people who are blind? There are a i programs that can emulate people who have died so that we can use conversation with them as a part of the grieving process? Is this a good thing? We need some of you who have played with this technology to be a part of this show. Join us and share your experiences! None of us are experts in this field but we thought it might be good for a group of ordinary blind people to explore the new frontier of artificial intelligence to see what it holds for folks who are blind. Should we as ACB be doing anything about this brave new world? Can our input guide those who are developing new applications so that they can optimize their usefulness to us as people who are blind?

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