My Whole Expanse I Cannot See…

I formulate infinity stored deep inside of me…

Nov 1

Yosemite/just talking

Category: Life,Opinions

So, I took some time off, but I’m going to get back into the swing…

I’m back in Mac OS X Yosemite, I have it running better than last time, at least. I had to go back, it’s the only way to push forward. I have to be in the OS, so that I can accurately report the issues to Apple and ControlBionics, the issues that need fixing. I don’t want NeuroSwitch users stuck using last year’s technology simply because they have no choice. If we want to upgrade to the latest OS on the latest Mac hardware on release day, that should be a right, not a privilege. If I have to be the one in the trenches, being fucked over by bugs so that other people with disabilities aren’t relegated to technology’s back of the bus… Sign me up, I’m down. The back of the bus is unacceptable, especially on the Mac, a platform defined by inclusion. Apple has always supported assistive technology (AT), more now than ever,  I don’t worry about their internal support of assistive technology. I worry that third-party AT developers might be getting complacent, could maybe do more to keep up with Apple. I don’t want to see developers playing it safe, pushing users to play it safe, to hold back on OS updates, choosing last year’s stability over the innovation of today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. That way of thinking is antiquated, developers should be pushing toward giving users the right to release day updates. Maybe half their other apps quit working, a risk EVERYONE willingly faces for the chance to stand on the bleeding edge of computing. However, no matter the update, one’s keyboard doesn’t break, one’s mouse doesn’t break. Assistive technology users should expect no less from our forms of the keyboard/mouse. AT developers need to push the envelope as hard as Apple does, choosing innovation and zealous testing that ensures stable access to the technology of right now, and next year, and forever on. I don’t feel that expecting my switch to work on Day One of a major OS release is too much to ask, especially considering that developers have access to testing the OS months in advance.

Admittedly, I had access, I could have tested. I got complacent. Still, at the end of the day, I’m the end-user, the last link in the testing chain. It shouldn’t be that since my life depends on the technology, and I have some developer access, I Goddamn well better test the shit out of my switch… and Kurt Cobain shouldn’t be dead… and Nirvana should have put out a fourth record that sounded like R.E.M. as if heard through the filter of one’s nightmares. However, none of that is reality. Kurt’s dead, that record never happened, and I don’t get to be complacent, because the situation doesn’t just affect me, it touches every other NeuroSwitch user, and I’m in a position to help. Thinking about it in those terms, I have to help, nothing else really matters.

Lesson learned

Wish me luck

Soothe the burn

Wake me up…

3 comments

3 Comments so far

  1. josh November 1st, 2014 11:07 pm

    Glad you’re back!! And it’s awesome that you’re charging into the testing!

  2. Georgette November 2nd, 2014 11:07 am

    Missed you! Glad to know that you have the back of so many who would be lost or left behind, if it were not for your willingness to take on this challenge….Good for you and glad you’re back!

  3. Josh  November 4th, 2014 2:27 am

    I could probably google this but… What is your current setup? Could you post a semi-detailed breakdown: switch, keyboard, mac etc.? You always seem to be way out in front with AT.

    I am curious if you are still using assistiveware – I was glad to see a keystrokes update for Yosemite. I have been afraid they were going to abandon that project for all the iOS stuff.

    Still holding off on the Yosemite upgrade.