David, I was feeling the same way about Hulu. I, too, feel that I am pretty
good with technology and enjoy it. At the same time, I was unable to use the
hulu app for a while. I could nagivate to the place where it would say, shows
you watch, but, I couldn't get the spisode to play. When I would double tap,
the home screen would appear again. The only way I could make a show play was
to have my sighted husband start it without voice over. I was so happy to see
the update this morning, and see how well it was working again. In fact, I
considered cancelling hulu, but, now, that won't happen. I, like you, am a
binge watcher, and never watch programs when they are on t v.
Candy
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 28, 2015, at 5:01 AM, David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I rarely feel anxious or stressed when it comes to technology. I'm not
bragging and perhaps I shouldn't admit such things as I know there are people
who feel stressed every time their computer boots up. Again, I'm not boasting
and I don't think I'm particularly brilliant. I just enjoy learning and using
technology and it rarely stresses me out. I'm always excited about the
prospect of learning a new app and even embracing a new operating system.
However, there are a few exceptions and one of them is when certain apps
update on my iPhone. Just when I feel that I've learned the commands and
gestures of a new app and the location of its various buttons and controls,
just when the app and I have begun to bond it updates and everything can
potentially change. The buttons could be moved, the prompts could be
different or accessibility could be totally broken.
Lately, I've become a bit of a TV junkie. I'm not what they call a linear
viewer, which is a person who watches a show when it actually airs. However,
I enjoy using apps to watch many programs on demand and Hulu is one of my
go-to apps. I admit that when I see a Hulu update my confidence level begins
to lessen and I have to fight a bout of what could be called app
accessibility anxiety, a phrase I borrowed and rebranded from one of my
Twitter contacts, whose handle I have sadly forgotten. Last night was one of
those times when I saw that an update from Hulu was available and I hoped
that the app would work after the update.
I took a breath, double-tapped the "update all" button to update my apps and,
later, opened Hulu.
I was, to say the least, surprised and delighted at what I discovered. The
app not only worked but accessibility was improved. Hulu now has three tabs
on the bottom of the screen, one for browsing shows, another for discovering
new shows and another for my watchlist. These items were all available with
the previous versions but getting to them, while it was certainly doable, was
a bit awkward, although I became used to the interface. Now, accessing these
items is much easier. The watchlist tab is particularly nice, with buttons
for my shows and separate buttons to play or resume the next episode for that
particular show.
Of course, there is always room for improvement. I'd like to see a separate
search tab, as getting to the search edit box on the top left of the screen
can be a bit tricky. Also, it would be nice to have the two-finger scrub
activate the back button.
These things aside, Hulu has done a lot to make the app more usable with
VoiceOver. I am just so pleased to see this change and I would like to
publicly thank them for their efforts.
--
Feel free to visit my Web site
http://www.davidgoldfield.info
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist
