The AppleVis Community Names the Apps and Developer that were its Golden Apples of 2015

The following podcast was recorded for use by customers of Minnesota’s State Services for the Blind. You can get more information about State Services for the Blind and the services it offers by going to www (dot) mnssb (dot) org. I’m Stuart Holland.. (music) From: AppleVis – www.applevis.com/blog The AppleVis Community Names the Apps and Developer that were its Golden Apples of 2015 Submitted by AppleVis on 28 December, 2015 - 05:44 We are pleased to announce the results of the fourth annual AppleVis Golden Apple Awards. Since their launch in 2012, the AppleVis Golden Apple Awards have afforded blind and low vision users an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the hard work and dedication which developers have put into making great and accessible iOS and OS X applications during the given year. To be shortlisted for this year's Golden Apple Awards, apps must: • Be fully accessible to blind and low vision users. • Have been launched or significantly updated during 2015. • Be from a developer with a demonstrated and long-term commitment to full accessibility. • Demonstrate excellence in design, functionality and operation. Candidates for Developer of the Year must: • Have a long-standing, exemplary commitment to making their apps fully accessible to blind and low vision users. • Be receptive and responsive to the needs of blind and low vision users in a timely manner. • Have delivered significant new features or updates to their app(s) during 2015, particularly updates which directly benefit blind and low vision users. The 2015 AppleVis Golden Apples consist of awards in five categories: • Best iOS App • Best iOS Game • Best Assistive iOS App • Best Mac App • Developer of the Year For the Best iOS App of 2015, the AppleVis community chose Workflow: Powerful Automation Made Simple. Perhaps not surprising as Workflow has already won an Apple Design Award this year for it’s VoiceOver support and been rated an App Store Best of 2015. 1Password - Password Manager and Secure Wallet took second place, and Overcast: Podcast Player came third. In the closest ever vote in the history of these Awards, Dice World - Dice with Friends! took the Golden Apple for Best iOS Game of 2015. A Blind Legend followed as a very close second, and Blindfold Bowling was just a handful of votes further back in third place. In a landslide vote, the AppleVis community voted KNFBReader Best Assistive iOS App of 2015. BlindSquare took second place, and Be My Eyes - helping blind see placed third. Audio Hijack was voted as the best Mac app of 2015 by a wide margin. 1Password - Password Manager and Secure Wallet came in second, and LaunchBar placed third. Kid Friendly Software (Creator of the ‘Blindfold’ series of iOS audio games) was voted as the Developer of the Year, with MIPsoft (Creator of BlindSquare) and DeskConnect, Inc. (Creator of Workflow - Powerful Automation Made Simple) rounding out the top three. We would like to extend our congratulations to the winners of the 2015 AppleVis Golden Apple Awards and to wish everyone a happy and safe new year and a prosperous 2016. About the Apps and Developer Chosen as the 2015 AppleVis Golden Apples Workflow: Powerful Automation Made Simple Workflow won an Apple Design Award at this year’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC). These prestigious awards acknowledge the mobile and desktop apps which raise the bar in design, technology and innovation. In the case of Workflow, the award specifically recognized its accessibility with VoiceOver. According to Apple’s own report on the 2015 Design Awards: Workflow is a powerful automation tool, available exclusively for iPhone and Apple Watch, that connect apps and actions together to automate things you do every day. Selected as an Apple Design Award winner for its outstanding use of iOS accessibility features, Workflow delivers an excellent implementation for VoiceOver with clearly labeled items, thoughtful hints, and drag/drop announcements, all of which make the app usable and quickly accessible to those who are blind or low-vision. The creators of Workflow understand that true accessibility is not just a technical task, it also requires design and usability consideration. You can read Workflow's iOS App Directory entry for more information at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/productivity/workflow-powerful-automation-made-simple . Dice World - Dice with Friends! Dice World features a collection of popular and fun 2-player dice games - Yahtzee, Farkle, Pig, Threes, Balut and 24 - offering multiple game and player options and the ability to track your performance. You can read Dice World's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry for more information at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/games/dice-world-dice-friends KNFBReader KNFBReader converts printed text into high quality speech to provide accurate, fast, and efficient access to both single and multiple page documents with the tap of a button on the iPhone. Picture accuracy is facilitated by a Field of View Report, Automatic Page Detection, and Tilt Control. When used with a document stand, the app will automatically detect when you turn the page of a book in the stand or insert a different sheet. You can read KNFBReader's AppleVis iOS App Directory entry for more information at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/productivity/knfbreader . Audio Hijack Audio Hijack allows you to record any application's audio, from Internet streams to DVD audio and everywhere in between. If your Mac can play it, Audio Hijack can record it. And that's not all - Audio Hijack can also enhance any audio using industry-standard VST and AudioUnit audio effects. You can read Audio Hijack's AppleVis Mac App Directory entry for more information at http://www.applevis.com/apps/mac/utilities/audio-hijack Kid Friendly Software Creator of the 'Blindfold' series of accessible games, which includes Blindfold Air Hockey at http://www.applevis.com/app/ios/games/blindfold-air-hockey , Blindfold Bowling at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/games/blindfold-bowling , Blindfold Racer at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/games/blindfold-racer and Blindfold Spades at http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/games/blindfold-spades . Marty, the developer of these games, is a regular and active member of the AppleVis community. He quickly responds to questions about his games, actively seeks suggestions for future games and keeps the community updated with his plans for current and future titles. The complete list of all the apps and developers shortlisted for the 2015 AppleVis Golden Apple Awards is available at http://www.applevis.com/blog/advocacy-applevis-assistive-technology-ios-apps-mac-apps-news/closed-cast-your-votes-now.