Uber has updated its senior accounts feature to let older riders manage their own accounts without needing a linked family member, an option that was previously required. The update also introduces a new settings page letting seniors customize arrival signals, enable a simplified interface, and flag mobility aids like canes or walkers to drivers. Separately, Uber is piloting an 'Easy Entry Vehicle' option in nine unnamed markets for riders who need cars without a high step to enter.
Developer FamBoy32-dev released LiveHaptics, a free app that routes a PC's system audio into the Steam Controller's rumble motors, letting hearing-impaired users feel movies, music and games as vibration patterns. The tool works on Windows and Linux, supports USB, Bluetooth and Valve's wireless receiver, and processes audio through a per-channel DSP chain before converting it into a haptic pulse stream.
A design educator who teaches a course on behavior change argues that every design decision—whether for a book cover, app, or ad—is ultimately an attempt to influence user actions, most often to boost sales or shareholder value. The essay contrasts public companies, B corps, and nonprofits, noting that even mission-driven organizations use design to drive fundraising or other outcomes, and that designers rarely know an employer's true motives until they're inside.
Google unveiled five new Android updates in a Tuesday blog post, including 'Motion Assist,' which displays a moving screen bubble to ease motion sickness in vehicles, and 'Guided Vision,' which uses the camera and Gemini AI to help blind and low-vision users read labels, menus, or identify objects. Additional updates let Gemini help users track misplaced items and add new personalization options to Google Messages.
Apple released a support page listing 50 ways users can adapt their devices as they age, organized into ten categories covering vision, hearing, mobility and cognition. The list draws mostly on existing accessibility settings, such as enlarging text, boosting contrast, and Sound Recognition, which can alert users to doorbells, alarms or appliance beeps. The release coincides with Apple's 50th anniversary and highlights features many customers may not know already exist.
Ambient Context is a macOS menu bar utility that periodically reads the text of your active window through the accessibility API and appends it to a local, per-day markdown file. It's designed so tools like Claude Code or other agents can read that folder later to answer questions about your work history or draft summaries such as standups.
Google is rolling out version 2.0.0.965719431 of its Magnifier accessibility app with a new icon featuring a blue-to-purple gradient magnifying glass on a filled background, replacing the older blue design. However, the update appears to have broken the app's themed icon feature, showing a blank colored circle instead of the monochrome logo that normally matches a phone's Material You color scheme.
Apple's iOS settings allow drivers to customize or silence Siri's behavior during CarPlay use, including disabling announced messages, skipping reply confirmations, and preventing Siri from stopping mid-sentence due to background noise. Options are found under Notifications, Accessibility, and Apple Intelligence & Siri menus in the iPhone's Settings app.
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