Walmart Now Selling M1 MacBook Air for $549

Joe Rossignol reported this week for MacRumors Walmart is selling the M1 MacBook Air, brand-new, for $549 as part of its Black Friday sales. The laptop was amongst the first Mac machines fitted with Apple’s homemade silicon, announced in November 2020.

Walmart’s M1 MacBook Air is the base configuration, featuring 8GB RAM and 256GB solid-state storage, in silver and space gray. Gold is sold out as of this writing.

“Apple discontinued the MacBook Air with the M1 chip last year, after it launched models with the M3 chip, and it has since updated the MacBook Air with the M4 chip,” Rossignol wrote on Tuesday. “Prior to being discontinued, the model with the M1 chip was being sold for a starting price of $999 brand new, but Amazon sometimes offered it on sale for $899 or less.”

As Rossignol rightly notes, the M1 Air is extraordinarily competent despite being 5 years old now. I covered a similar price drop of the computer back in August, and the points I made in that story are worth reiterating here. In terms of literal accessibility, buying power-wise, the $549 price tag on the M1 Air has a stratospherically high value proposition. For a disabled person who must pinch their pennies, the M1 Air may well be the best, least expensive option to upgrade their laptop. While it admittedly isn’t as svelte and “modern” as the redesign ushered in with the M2 generation—the version I have, by the way—the industrial design still smokes any PC laptop, and importantly retains its hallmark thinness and lightness. Moreover, from a software perspective, the M1 chip is performant and affords amenities like iPhone Mirroring in addition to the typical cavalcade of macOS accessibility features. And although Rossignol also rightly caveats next year’s macOS 27 release theoretically could drop support for the M1 chip, I’d say chances are pretty good it’ll stay supported for some time. This means a person buying this discounted M1 Air at Walmart right now could take comfort in the notion their (relatively) minimal investment won’t reach end-of-life for several years yet.

Waymo, Epilepsy Foundation Partner on Commemorating Epilepsy Awareness Month

Earlier this month, Waymo announced it was working with the Epilepsy Foundation in celebrating Epilepsy Awareness Month. The autonomous vehicle company notes 1 in 26 people cope with the neurological condition and its characteristic recurring seizures.

“Epilepsy Foundation and Waymo have teamed up this November to raise awareness during Epilepsy Awareness Month. The Epilepsy Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of those affected by epilepsy, including caregivers,” Waymo wrote in its announcement on November 1. “Throughout November, one in 26 Waymo vehicles in LA, Phoenix and San Francisco will feature an Epilepsy Foundation decal to recognize the one in 26 people who have been or will be diagnosed with epilepsy in their lifetimes.”

Waymo’s blog post features an interview with former NBA player Tristan Thompson, as well as Epilepsy Foundation CEO Bernice “Bee” Martin Lee, who knew of her diagnosis long before she went public with it. She noted Waymo’s mission aligns with the nonprofit’s, saying in part Waymo’s vehicles are “game-changers” for the disability community—especially epileptics who can’t drive. “That lack of access to transportation can feel so burdensome and can lead to that [social] isolation,” Lee said.

My adoration of Waymo is well-documented, but epilepsy is close to my heart as well. My mother, who died of cancer in 1998 when I was only 16, was an epileptic; I spent much of my formative years helping her manage her daily medications. In addition, my partner’s own mom, who died in 2019 after a fall, also had epilepsy. Likewise, I spent a lot of time over the past decade helping her manage her medication as well as escorting her to and fro her neurology appointments—albeit in pre-Waymo times.

The cynical (yet correct) take on posts like this is they’re thin foils for marketing and feel-good messaging—to which I say: Duh. Of course there’s something in these stories for Waymo in terms of self-interest. I’d contend, however, the more salient, more important point is how Waymo is literally driving accessibility forward. The company’s self-driving technology is, while admittedly nascent, already providing disabled people an avenue for accessible transit that they can control with the utmost agency and autonomy. Too many in the anti-robotaxi brigade undervalue these points in the name of safety and, in my view, a view askew of artificial intelligence. Their myopia in this regard precludes them from seeing the genuine good companies like Waymo are providing people for whom mobility is compromised in one way or another. Of course Waymo ought to be safe, but so too should their strengths be recognized accordingly.

how One disabled boy Inspired a Video Game Studio and altered attitudes

Take a look at the Stumble Guys website and the game, built by American development studio Scopely and playable on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, is described as “a massive multiplayer party knockout game with up to 32 players online [featuring] round after round of escalating chaos to stumble through different levels until one victor is crowned!” The title happens to be a favorite of a 9-year-old French boy named Fayçal, who’s disabled and relies on a wheelchair for everyday mobility.

The problem was, until recently, no one in Stumble Guys actually looked like Fayçal.

He complained about this lack of representation during a visit to Scopely’s offices in Barcelona, asking the team quite pointedly why none of the characters in his beloved Stumble Guys have a wheelchair. Faced with the challenge, the team got to work on making Fayçal’s dream a reality and bringing true disability inclusion to Stumble Guys.

“Meeting Fayçal was one of the most moving and meaningful moments of my time at Scopely,” Antonio Do Souto, the global creator program manager for Stumble Guys, said recently in a brief email interview with me. “I feel deeply honored and grateful to have been the one to welcome him to the office on behalf of the entire team.”

Do Souto explained Fayçal was in Spain on a medical trip and dreamt of seeing where the proverbial Stumble Guys sausage is made. When Fayçal arrived at Scopely’s offices, his enthusiasm was “contagious,” Do Souto said, and “you could see the spark in his eyes the moment he realized he was actually there.” Meeting Fayçal was a deeply emotional experience for Do Souto, as he said a big part of his duties involve “[bringing] people together” from all walks of life in an effort to create “a creative and inclusive space where players constantly inspire us with their stories, energy, and imagination.”

“Even though my work centers on creators, it naturally keeps me close to our players. I often get to see firsthand how deeply people connect with the game and with each other through it,” Do Souto said of his work at Scopely. “My role keeps me seated at the heart of that connection: I get to listen, learn, and help transform those real community stories into meaningful actions that reflect who our players are.”

Indeed, Do Souto affirmed Scopely’s users undoubtedly include people like Fayçal.

“That’s why stories like [his] resonates so deeply” he said. “They remind us behind every player is a person who finds meaning, fun, and belonging in what we create.”

Scopely has a short video on Fayçal’s story on its official YouTube channel.

Do Souto’s conversation with Fayçal was so resonant precisely because of his earnest question over why none of the Stumble Guys crew had heretofore looked like him. In that moment, Do Souto said the team was presented with a prime opportunity to “stop and reflect” on their design decisions. “It was such a simple, genuine question—yet it hit all of us deeply… that moment wasn’t just emotional. It was clarifying,” Do Souto said. “It showed us that representation isn’t abstract; it’s personal, it’s human, and it has the power to change how someone feels seen in the worlds we build.”

That meeting Fayçal was such a breakthrough for Scopely is because it crystallized the studio’s thinking on upping its representational game. Prior to that, Do Souto told me, the team “naturally thought about inclusion in a broad sense, through diversity in characters and play experiences,” but conceded disability inclusion was an area they “hadn’t truly examined” before Fayçal came along and pressed the issue with them.

In the end, the work paid off—for Scopely, sure, but mostly for Fayçal.

“It’s hard to describe that moment in words,” Do Souto said of the moment when Fayçal first discovered his sought-after avatar. “We worked quietly behind the scenes to create a special skin for him: a joyful superhero in a wheelchair named Axel. We coordinated with his mom to make it a surprise, ensuring that when he launched the game, Axel was already unlocked and equipped on his account.”

Do Souto continued: "When Fayçal opened Stumble Guys and saw the skin appear on his screen, he froze for a second, then smiled from ear to ear and shouted, ‘They made a skin of me?!’ His whole family gathered around, and there were tears everywhere.”

Do Souto went on in effusively recalling the poignant reveal for Fayçal and family.

“Seeing that pure joy, that disbelief turning into pride, reminded all of us that a small creative gesture can hold enormous emotional power. It wasn’t just a skin. It was a moment of belonging. It was a kid realizing that his world existed inside his favorite game too,” he said of Fayçal’s reaction. “To me personally, this moment reminded me once again why we go to work every morning. Yes, we all have our abstract tasks and metrics. For me, it’s things like how many creators are in the program this trimester, how many videos are out there, what the retention rate looks like, and so on. For others, it might be questions like ‘Is this mechanic balanced?’ or ‘Is there enough rebound in this collision?’ But in the end, what we’re all really aiming for is something simple and powerful: a smile on a kid who’s happy to be part of the Stumble Guys universe.”

Meeting Fayçal and making his digital likeness was transformational for Do Souto and Scopely. The experiences reminded everyone “games have the power to do more than entertain… they can connect, heal, and make people feel seen. Moreover, the chance to meet Fayçal galvanized the Scopely team like never before, according to Do Souto.

“Artists, producers, developers, and everyone in-between came together with open hearts to make one magical moment possible,” he said.

He added: “At Scopely, we have cultural tenets, which act as our code that guides decision-making and serves as our day-to-day compass. My favorite has always been ‘Care Deeply.’ This experience gave that phrase a whole new meaning. Representation isn’t about checking a box, it’s about making sure every player feels they belong. Fayçal reminded us of that truth with his courage, his smile, and his imagination.”

When asked about the future, Do Souto echoed Aisha Amin, the young filmmaker who recently vowed never again will she make another movie without Deaf people in prominence, by telling me Scopely’s time with Fayçal “changed how we think about inclusion in a very real way,” adding “it reminded us that accessibility and representation aren’t add-ons; they’re part of what makes a world feel welcoming and complete.” Since that day with Fayçal, the Stumble Guys team have engaged in growing, “broader” conversations around disability inclusion. The talks have crossed a rubicon of sorts, leading to a shift in mindset that prioritizing accessibility is not a mere technical endeavor; it’s cultural and recognizing the disability community as human.

“It’s about asking who else can we represent, and how can we make them feel celebrated, not just included,” Do Souto said.

Once more, with feeling, from Do Souto and connecting with Fayçal.

“Fayçal’s visit was a catalyst to push us to continue that spirit of representation a lasting part of how we build, test, and imagine every update moving forward… [his] story reaffirmed our commitment to keep learning, listening, and building worlds where everyone can see themselves, not just as players, but as heroes,” Do Souto said.

The video game industry is better off with concerted efforts like Scopely’s.

“Authentic representation and accessibility are what truly move our industry forward,” Do Souto said.

Hikawa Grip & Stand Sells Out, New colors coming

Tim Hardwick reports for MacRumors today the limited edition Hikawa Grip & Stand, which I reported on last Thursday, is now sold out on Apple’s online store in the United States. The good news, however, is there are new colors available for pre-order now.

“Hikawa is offering the MagSafe-compatible Grip and Stand in Cobalt and Blurple Swirl, following the rapid sellout of its Chartreuse and Crater colors,” Hardwick wrote on Monday. “The accessories cost £55 each (about $72 USD) and international shipping is available—but stock is extremely limited, so move quickly if you’re interested.”

The new colors will be released in “early December,” according to Hardwick.

As I wrote in my initial story last week, Apple sent me one of the Hikawa Grips (in Crater) and it arrived not too long after I clicked Publish on the piece in the Squarespace CMS.

Expect my (brief) review to show up on these pages sometime soon.

Relatedly, Jessica Roy at ELLE Decor did a story on the Hikawa Grip, which includes an interview with the designer Bailey Hikawa as well as Apple’s Sarah Herrlinger, who leads the company’s accessibility efforts. For her part, Herrlinger explained to Roy the Hikawa Grip is “one of many accessories that are out there that solves unique problems for some people,” adding Apple itself is “really excited to see different communities start to get access to this, how they are able to use it, and what works best for them.”

“It was a no-brainer to look at,” Herrlinger said of the Hikawa Grip.

Strava, GoFundMe Announce New ‘For a Cause’ Tag

Earlier this month, San Francisco-based Strava put out a press release wherein the company announced it was partnering with fundraising juggernaut GoFundMe on a new “For a Cause” feature. The newfound functionality is described as “[making] it easy for Strava users to raise awareness and funds for meaningful causes through activity.”

The massively popular Strava boasts 180 million users spanning over 185 countries.

According to Strava, the advent of the “For a Cause” activity tag enables users to “find inspiration from thousands of global causes and easily dedicate any workout of their choice to an individual fundraiser or a nonprofit listed on GoFundMe,” adding the tag “makes it easy for individuals to use their passion for movement to create real-world impact.” Notable nonprofit organizations available to support include the American Cancer Society, Achilles International, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

According to Strava, Strava users can go to GoFundMe and start a campaign, then connect their Strava account to it. From that point forward, whenever they log activity and share more about their cause(s), using the “Find a Cause” tag will go towards said beneficiary. Users are even able to ask followers to donate and spread the word as well.

“At GoFundMe, we’re focused on giving people easy and meaningful ways to support the people and causes they care about,” said Tim Cadogan, GoFundMe’s chief executive officer, said in a statement for Strava’s announcement. “Through our collaboration with Strava, we’re giving a global community of active people a simple way to help one another, raise awareness, and support causes that move them—while enabling more giving to nonprofits that are driving positive change in the world.”

Apple Quietly Unveils Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand

Apple on Thursday posted a surprise on its online store and it’s another limited edition thing. It’s the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand, a $70 MagSage-compatible grip for iPhone.

The “Hikawa” refers to the product’s designer, the Los-Angeles-based Bailey Hikawa. What’s unique about the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is it’s built with accessibility top of mind, with Apple saying on the product’s page the Grip was designed with “direct input from individuals with disabilities affecting muscle strength, dexterity, and hand control.” The stand portion supports both landscape and portrait orientations, and the object itself is touted by Apple as “inspired by modern sculpture” as well as “an art object unto itself.” The company also notes the new accessory coincides with the 40th anniversary of Apple’s building of assistive technologies for people with disabilities.

“The grip was designed through an extensive interview process to support varied ways of holding iPhone while reducing the effort needed to keep it steady,” Hikawa said.

Apple is sending me one of the Hikawa Grip, but as of this writing, it hasn’t reached my doorstep just yet. At a high level, however, the accessory strikes me as highly reminiscent, at least conceptually, of PopSockets. In fact, it was this time last year I published an interview with PopSockets chief executive Jaiyu Lin, wherein she spoke with me about the company’s popularity and, coincidentally, a collaboration with Apple. In my story, I editorialized some by talking about the accessibility benefits of using a PopSocket with one’s iPhone; namely, it can assist with having better tactility in terms of grip and standing for those who, very much like yours truly, have lower muscle tone in their hands and/or have fine-motor disabilities. (It’s also reason to prefer a case.)

The Hikawa promises identical benefits, if stylistically and ergonomically distinct.

The advent of the Hikawa Phone Grip comes after Apple announced iPhone Pocket earlier this month, a similarly limited edition iPhone accessory. The product is sold out.

new ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Series Has ASL Stream

HBO Max is soldiering on with augmenting much of its content with American Sign Language (ASL) by giving its latest series, IT: Welcome to Derry, the ASL treatment for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Notably, the show—a prequel exploring the origins to Stephen King’s frightful Pennywise the Clown character—is the first-ever HBO Max series to showcase not one but four ASL interpreters handling the translation duties.

IT: Welcome to Derry is HBO Max’s third-biggest premiere, with 5.7 million viewers.

“When it became clear that multiple Deaf talents were needed to represent the show’s diverse perspectives, HBO Max and Warner Bros. fully supported that vision,” Leila Hanaumi, the show’s sign language director, said in a statement provided to me. “The result is an ASL experience that raises the bar for storytelling and accessibility, which I’m so proud to be part of.”

Justin Jackerson, another interpreter, wrote in a post on Instagram ahead of the show’s premiere that he was “so proud” to be a Deaf artist who helped bring IT: Welcome to Derry to life so inclusively. “Who says horror doesn’t deserve access?” Jackerson said.

“It has been a wonderful experience bringing access to Welcome to Derry through my native language and acting,” Jackerson said in a statement sent to me. “Having a Deaf director at the helm was key to achieving an authentic ASL translation that reflects Deaf linguistic and cultural nuances, a result only possible with Deaf leadership.”

News of IT: Welcome to Derry in ASL comes after I reported in mid-September HBO Max was providing a dedicated ASL stream for this summer’s blockbuster in Superman.

‘FC26’ Amongst Game Awards Finalists for Innovation in Accessibility category

In other accessibility-and-awards news, the Game Awards have announced the nominees for this year’s “Innovation in Accessibility” category. As a diehard sports fan, the title that caught my attention was EA Sports’ FC26. The game is on virtually every possible platform—PlayStation, Xbox, Windows—and cloud-based like Amazon’s Luna.

Back in late July, I wrote about FC26 including several new accessibility features for players with disabilities. Perhaps most impressively is the game’s high-contrast mode, which the development team (EA Canada) touted as “one of the first-ever sports titles” to have such functionality. In addition, FC26 has a setup screen devoted to accessibility upon first boot, akin to the screens Apple shows users during the device setup process.

Besides FC26, the other titles up for Innovation in Accessibility are Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Rebellion’s Atomfall, id Software and Bethesda Softworks’ Doom: The Dark Ages, and Compulsion Games and Xbox Game Studios’ South of Midnight.

The 2025 Game Awards are scheduled for December 11 at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater.

Be My Eyes Amongst App Store Awards Finalists

In a post on its Newsroom site, Apple on Wednesday announced the 45 finalists for this year’s App Store Awards. The honorees span a slew of categories, as well as Apple’s panoply of platforms, and accessibility is recognized in the Cultural Impact section.

“Each year, the App Store Awards celebrate developers from around the world whose apps are improving people’s lives, and exemplify the very best in technical innovation, user experience, and design,” Apple said. “In the coming weeks, App Store Award winners will be announced, selected from this year’s distinguished group of finalists.”

Amongst the finalists in the aforementioned Cultural Impact category include accessible puzzle game Art of Fauna, Is This Seat Taken? for engendering empathy and inclusivity, and, most notably to me, Be My Eyes. I’ve covered Be My Eyes extensively over the last few years, writing stories on the company’s partnerships with the likes of Meta and Microsoft as well as interviews with Be My Eyes CEO Mike Buckley, who’s based here in San Francisco. The app connects Blind and low vision people to sighted volunteers, the latter of which assists users in identifying real world information such as expiration dates on food labels, printed instructions, signage, and much more. I last interviewed Buckley in August of last year following Be My Eyes’ acquisition of popular Apple community website AppleVis, telling me the two entities hold “shared values” and a shared mission, emphasizing the notion that there was “too much value and utility” of AppleVis to the Blind and low vision community to simply go away forever.

The App Store winners will be announced “in the coming weeks,” according to Apple.

Report: Zoox Opens Rides to Public in San francisco

Andrew J. Hawkins reports for The Verge on Tuesday Zoox, the Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company, is beginning to invite people on its public waitlist—those whom Zoox calls “Zoox Explorers”—to start hailing its robotaxis in select San Francisco neighborhoods. The announcement comes after the company last month began allowing select passengers to take rides in the vehicles. Rides will be free of charge.

Zoox, per a company spokesperson, currently has a fleet of approximately 50 vehicles operating in San Francisco and Las Vegas, according to Hawkins’ story.

“The experience sounds like it will be similar to Waymo: customers are able to hail a ride anywhere within Zoox’s service area, which includes most of the SoMa, Mission, and Design District neighborhoods,” Hawkins wrote of Zoox’s plans. “As a point-to-point service, riders can select their own destination, enter a street address, drop a pin, or select from a list of suggested points of interest. Walking directions to their final destination will be provided if needed.”

As Hawkins noted, Zoox vehicles are unique not only for their rectangular, toaster-like body, they, unlike Waymo, lack characteristics of human-driven vehicles like a steering wheel, sideview mirrors, or pedals. Hawkins described Zoox as “one of the few companies to offer rides in a fully driverless, purpose-built autonomous vehicle.”

Although I’m very much a driverless car truther due to my myriad positive experiences with Waymo, I’m keen on trying out Zoox someday hopefully soon. I’ve seen their vehicles a few times while out and about in the city, although the company’s service area—SoMa, the Mission—are areas completely across town from my haunts in the Inner Richmond. It would be quite the meta journey for me to take a Waymo to the South of Market area only to hail a Zoox over there. In any case, I think it’s good to see autonomous vehicles gain more of a foothold in San Francisco; using Waymo has been utterly life-changing in terms of accessibility as a Blind person who’s precluded from driving due to my low vision. From a journalistic standpoint, it’ll be fascinating to compare and contrast the experiences of Waymo and Zoox whenever I can try the latter.

News of Zoox’s gradual expansion of its service comes days after Waymo announced its cars are now able to traverse freeways here in the Bay Area, as well as in Los Angeles and Phoenix. I put my name on the “freeway waitlist” in the Waymo app, but have yet to have the functionality unlocked for me. I’m excited because, as one example, that Waymo does go on the freeway now means I could potentially travel more accessibly to media events in the South Bay at Apple Park in Cupertino and Google in Mountain View.

Alice Wong, Writer and disability activist, Dies

Chloe Veltman reported Saturday for NPR Alice Wong, 51, died of an infection at a San Francisco hospital. Her death was confirmed by friend and fellow activist, Sandy Ho.

Wong enjoyed a sizable online presence with a number of followers, as she was a co-founder of the #CripTheVote movement in 2016, which Veltman describes as “a nonpartisan online movement [that] facilitates discussions about disability issues between voters and politicians.” Moreover, Wong started the Disability Visibility Project and published her best-selling memoir, titled Year of the Tiger in September 2022.

“Alice Wong was a hysterical friend, writer, activist and disability justice luminary whose influence was outsized,” Veltman reported Ho said of Wong in her email message. “Her media empire, the Disability Visibility Project, left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of our country. The legacy of her work will carry on.”

I was saddened to hear the news Wong had died. As I said on X, we knew each other through social media—in fact, Wong told me a couple times in the past she “loved” my work—but, despite residing in the same city, never had the opportunity to meet in person and converse with more depth. I follow her on social media and found myself nodding my head in agreement with many of her opinions, particularly the plastic straw bans around the country. Advocating for disability justice—whether it be Wong’s work or my own brand of tech journalism—is a an oftentimes frustrating, lonesome, downright Sisyphean task—but Wong’s legacy reverberated for so many, and the rest of us in the disability community will surely miss her wise words. Wong’s last post on X was itself mournful, as she commented on last week’s news that Teen Vogue was shuttering its political coverage and, thusly, Wong’s popular Disability Visibility column.

Latest Mac Beta Adds New ‘Edge Light’ Feature

Apple this week released new 26.2 betas for its panoply of platforms, with Wednesday bringing word of a new feature addition to macOS Tahoe. The new function is called Edge Light; what it does is create a virtual light ring surrounding the border of your Mac’s display. The controls are accessible via the menubar, with the idea being Edge Light helps people better illuminate themselves during videoconferencing sessions.

John Voorhees has posted a good first look at Edge Light for MacStories.

News of Edge Light’s advent piqued my interest because my little corner of the dining room where my makeshift “office” is located doesn’t get the best lighting. My desk is nearest a window, and that helps—as does my desk lamp—but the ceiling light isn’t very bright—especially at nighttime. I don’t do a ton of calls with video enabled for these reasons, not to mention my general social anxiety, but nonetheless Edge Light remains a cool (and clever) piece of software. It’s one of those “only Apple can do it” features.

Broadly, learning of Edge Light also serves as a sobering reminder of what I’m missing out on with not using an Apple silicon Mac as my everyday machine. I’m continuing to ride it out with my 2019 Retina 4K iMac for as long as possible—and I’m lucky my workflows aren’t more computationally demanding—but alas, this Intel iMac is starting to show its age. While it remains performant at what I need it to do day-to-day, the processor is definitely pokey, the fans blast, and, more pointedly, I’m irked by the nagging feeling that the aforementioned macOS Tahoe doesn’t support my machine and I’m feeling “behind.” I’m missing out on good-for-accessibility Apple silicon niceties like iPhone Mirroring and more—including the forthcoming Edge Light. But, life has been somewhat of a bear this year due to life stuff that I’m still working through, so revamping my desk setup has necessarily—understandably so—fallen by the proverbial wayside. What I’m saying is, I’m trying to give myself grace for not being on top of my game as usual; I do have two Apple silicon laptops available to me—one is an M2 MacBook Air, the other an M2 Pro 14” MacBook Pro—to “plug and play”—but that would mean redoing my desk setup, and I still lack the required mental/emotional bandwidth to tackle it. Moreover, from an accessibility perspective, I’d much prefer to dock one of those MacBooks with an external display. After 6 years of using a (still perfectly lovely) high-resolution, 21.5” screen, it’d be an adjustment for my low vision to shrink to 13–14”.

Things will happen when they’re supposed to—Edge Light just gave me more FOMO.

Rumors suggest Apple’s 26.2 software updates will ship sometime next month.

Passports Make Apple Wallet even more Accessible

Following yesterday’s news of the iPhone Pocket, Apple on Wednesday announced United States passports can now be added to Apple Wallet as part of the app’s “Digital ID” feature, currently launching in beta. The announcement comes months after the company previously said would be coming “later this year” during WWDC back in June.

According to Apple, Digital ID is “a secure and private way for users to create an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport, and present their ID with iPhone or Apple Watch.” Apple has posted a video showing how to add IDs to Wallet.

“Apple today announced the launch of Digital ID, a new way for users to create an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport, and present it with the security and privacy of iPhone or Apple Watch,” the company wrote. “At launch, Digital ID acceptance will roll out first in beta at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports in the U.S. for in-person identity verification during domestic travel, with additional Digital ID acceptance use cases to come in the future. Digital ID gives more people a way to create and present an ID in Apple Wallet even if they do not have a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID. Digital ID is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used for international travel and border crossing in lieu of a U.S. passport.”

As Apple notes, a double-press of the Side Button on an iPhone (or Apple Watch) will give users access to Apple Wallet and their digitized IDs, which someone then can present to TSA at the security checkpoint. Personally, I got my first-ever passport a couple of years ago, and have used it once to visit Vancouver, BC in 2023. Apple’s Jennifer Bailey, who leads Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement for the press release the company has noticed how much customers “love having their ID right on their devices” for convenience and privacy, but as I’ve argued innumerable times over the years, digital IDs are a huge win for accessibility too. Although I do carry my physical wallet, including my passport, when I travel, that I now can add the latter to Apple Wallet on my phone means it’s more accessible once I get to security. Traversing airports as a disabled person isn’t fun most times, and while having TSA Pre-Check helps a ton, my already sky-high anxiety shoots into the stratosphere when I have to fly somewhere because of the rigamarole and relative inaccessibility of air travel. If I again travel internationally, I can take solace in the fact I needn’t have to worry about forgetting my tactile passport because I have a legally valid facsimile on my phone. What’s more, I needn’t have to dig through my bag and physical wallet to get to it—which is a bear in terms of vision and hand-eye coordination. I can use my iPhone or Apple Watch instead.

Apple, Issey Miyake Announce New ‘iPhone pocket’

In a surprise announcement, Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new iPhone accessory: the iPhone Pocket. The limited edition product is the result of a collaboration with Japanese design brand Issey Miyake. Apple says iPhone Pocket “features a singular 3D-knitted construction designed to fit any iPhone,” akin to Vision Pro’s Solo and Dual Knit Bands.

A “short strap” iPhone Pocket costs $150, while a “long strap” is $230. They’ll be available online and in select Apple Stores starting this Friday, according to Apple.

“iPhone Pocket features a ribbed open structure with the qualities of the original pleats by Issey Miyake,” Apple said of its newfound accessory for the iPhone. “Born from the idea of creating an additional pocket, its understated design fully encloses iPhone, expanding to fit more of a user’s everyday items. When stretched, the open textile subtly reveals its contents and allows users to peek at their iPhone display. iPhone Pocket can be worn in a variety of ways—handheld, tied onto bags, or worn directly on the body. Featuring a playful color palette, the short strap design is available in eight colors, and the long strap design in three colors.”

As John Voorhees rightly notes, the advent of iPhone Pocket immediately conjures memories of Apple’s iPod Socks with their similarities in both conceit and design. The same goes for the iPhone Crossbody Strap. In fact, the latter proved to be one of the most fascinating bits from September’s iPhone 17 event; I got to play with one in the hands-on area following the presentation, and it occurred to me the accessory might prove useful for accessibility for someone who, like me, oftentimes travels with my blind cane in tow. Apple included a Crossbody Strap (in black) in my iPhone 17 review kit.

At a high level, I’m curious about iPhone Pocket because of—what else?—accessibility, obviously. iPhone accessories—or Apple Watch bands or Vision Pro straps, for that matter—are prime examples of the notion that hardware accessibility matters just as much as software accessibility. To wit, having an Apple Watch does no good if a disabled person can’t reliably get it on (and off) their wrist. Likewise, what good is there in getting iPhone Pocket if one struggles to use it? I often say accessibility lies everywhere, and things like hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills are crucial considerations when someone contemplates accessories. Is iPhone Pocket accessible? It’s a valid question, something that also reminds why adaptive clothing exists. Snaps and/or Velcro can be more accessible fasteners to certain people than, say, traditional buttons or zippers. So it goes for iPhone accessories… as a disabled person, it’s only natural to question the utility of something like iPhone Pocket when something ostensibly simple and straightforward can be confounding and complex.

Getting Reacquainted with Apple watch Ultra

When Apple mailed me my proverbial goodie box of new iPhones for review back in September, the company included the also-new Apple Watch Series 11. As a Series 10 user, I initially was inclined not to open the Series 11 because I thought what I had was good enough. And it is, except I determined I really do like the new space gray finish on Series 11. In fact, I’ve been wearing it mainly for that reason over the last several weeks.

Last week, however, I was trying to clean the calamity known as my “office” in the dining room when I came across my original Apple Watch Ultra. It’d been a while since I last worn (and reviewed) it, and I was immediately struck by the bigness of its screen and by the niceness of its titanium build. The moment of admiration got me wondering if perhaps I should reconsider wearing the Ultra; after all, I figured, an Apple Watch’s screen is tiny relative to that of my iPhone Air, for instance, and it would be sensible to want the biggest version of the smallest display for accessibility’s sake. So, I charged the Ultra’s battery, repaired it with my phone—you can have multiple Apple Watches paired to your iPhone now—and upgraded its software to run the latest watchOS 26.

After all was said and done, I strapped the OG Ultra to my wrist for a few hours.

My initial impression was twofold: I was delighted by the aforementioned bigness of the Ultra’s screen while slightly aghast at the device’s heaviness on my wrist. As an Apple Watch’s screen is so small, it isn’t something I want to stare at for more than a minute or two; the Ultra’s 49mm case reminded me why I adored it—it is so easy to see the clock, complications, and notifications. By contrast, however, heavy is the wrist that wears Apple Watch Ultra. The Faustian bargain of using iPhone Plus/Pro Max models is just as apt here: you can have the big, beautiful screen, but you must incur the cost of using a relatively unwieldy object in return. Like I said about iPhone Air last month, what I found so endearing about Apple Watch Series 10 last year was its Goldilocks attributes; I can have a “good enough” screen size (46mm) in a form factor that’s considerably lighter—and less conspicuous—on my body. Put another way, it’s not that I can’t cope with the compromises of Apple Watch Ultra (or iPhone Pro Max) practically speaking. It’s more that Apple offers alternative models which helpfully give me the best of both worlds.

All that said, this brief dalliance with my old Ultra has me curious about the new one. I like the new Double Tap and wrist-flick gestures in watchOS, and the giant screen is undoubtedly alluring. What’s more, I am appreciative of the handsomeness of Apple Watch Ultra as a fashion piece—especially the black finish. I think it looks really nice.

We’ll see what the future holds, but as happy as I’ve been with my Series 10/11, I’m happy to have confronted my complacency and revisited the Ultra, even for just a little while.

Glassbox chief technology officer Yaron Gueta Talks digital Accessibility, Automation, more in interview

When I connected recently with Yaron Gueta, the co-founder and chief technology officer at Glassbox explained to me his company is devoted to “how we can make the life of our customers simpler” and we discussed how that ethos pertains to accessibility. On its website, Glassbox boasts its mantra is to “[reveal] the insights that empower organizations to deliver better digital customer experiences.” In terms of disability inclusion, the heart of the matter lies in Glassbox’s next sentence: “When we help our customers create better experiences for their customers, everyone wins.”

According to Gueta, serving the disability community vis-a-vis accessibility extends further than complying to Americans with Disabilities Act regulations or WCAG standards. Indeed, he pointedly mentioned the elderly population for whom, he said, consuming digital content can be hard due to elements like small font sizes. Aging, Gueta went on to tell me, isn’t often thought of as needing accommodation(s); but many people who are older have disabilities and, as such, could benefit from things like larger, more accessible text on the web. Gueta himself even acknowledged, as someone of a certain age, he has trouble at times reading smaller print on websites.

“While we [at Glassbox] were looking at the customer experience domain, we noticed that there are troubles that is actually from accessibility—but it’s not [exclusively] for people who are considered disabled,” Gueta said.

It was upon this realization that, Gueta said, the company began uttering a refrain popular amongst many accessibility-minded organizations: prioritizing accessibility isn’t merely the moral thing to do… prioritizing accessibility is savvy business practice too. Gueta noted that Glassbox began educating its customers on how, if they invested in good accessibility, “you are going to help between 25% to 30% of your audience.”

To illustrate his point, Gueta pointed to one of “a dozen examples” of struggle that makes up what he described as “rage click.” Rage click, he explained, occurs when a user repeatedly clicks a button, expecting it to do something, and it fails to do anything. The same goes for something he called “dead zoom,” whereby a user attempts to zoom in on a page to no avail. The website (or app) doesn’t support zooming APIs, he added.

In both cases, most people wave the proverbial white flag.

“They abandoned what they were trying to do,” Gueta said.

The reason Gueta can cite such detailed information is because Glassbox’s software works continuously in the background, churning away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This automation is more conducive to not only providing better accessibility for end users, but for quality assurance staffers as well. Rather than a human using what Gueta called “widgets” to manually check for accessibility every time, Glassbox makes those checks more accessible unto itself by using technology to handle the grunt work.

As a practical matter, Gueta said while major enterprises such as financial institutions and whatnot do employ teams dedicated to sniffing out accessibility, human curation goes only so far—which is precisely where Glassbox comes in to flex its muscle. Its software, he told me, is able to detect “dozens and dozens” of accessibility problems that, bless their hearts and hard work, a human team was bound to overlook. But with Glassbox’s technology in tow, Gueta said these companies’ teams have the ability to “have visibility” to unearth more issues and fix them accordingly. In other words, Gueta said Glassbox gives enterprises the chance to move their mindsets beyond sheer legal compliance into more moral, do-right-unto-others action. Glassbox provides a clearer pathway for such a shift. It’s about intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation.

When asked about the feedback Glassbox receives from its customers, Gueta said he believes the company is gaining “very good traction” with its product. Interest is high “across the board,” he added, and the overarching mission resonates deeply with all.

Looking towards the future, Gueta expressed enthusiasm for—what else?—artificial intelligence. He was effusive in his praise for generative AI’s capability to extend the work of companies like his. It will help make spotting problem even easier and more efficient, while giving teams the opportunity to address issues “on the fly,” he said. The use of artificial intelligence will also prove more budget-friendly to companies as well.

What’s next for Glassbox? “Autonomous fixes for accessibility issues,” Gueta said.

Revisiting My Relationship with Apple Vision Pro

Apple this week released its 26.1 updates to its panoply of platforms, including visionOS. Because life has been hectic over the last several months, my Vision Pro—the OG, M2-powered model—sat unused (and uncharged) for some time, its software frozen in amber at the ancient 2.0.1. Monday’s release of visionOS 26.1 was fortuitous, as it provided the proverbial kick in the ass I needed to not only charge Vision Pro, but also update its software. When all was said and done, it naturally was an opportunity for me to rekindle my relationship with the fledgling highfalutin headset. So, I put it on…

I don’t have much to report right now on 26.1 itself. The headlining features include things like widgets and the ability to scroll webpages just by looking at them. I’ve yet to try widgets, but can say the visual scrolling works as advertised—and is really cool. At a high level, it strikes me as a “low level” version of the Dwell functionality on macOS insofar as you focus your eyes up or down to move accordingly. The comparison is imperfect of course—Dwell is necessary for people who literally cannot control their computer(s) via the conventional input methods—but otherwise works because the mechanics are conceptually similar. If you, like me, sometimes feel cramps at doing the pinch-to-scroll gesture in visionOS due to low muscle tone, visionOS 26’s eye-scrolling feature can be helpful as a de-facto accessibility feature. In that sense, it’s much more than technically impressive; as ever, a mainstream feature can benefit accessibility too.

I wrote last month about Apple’s announcement of its new M5 chip, which the company is using to run the base model 14” MacBook Pro and, pertinently here, the Vision Pro. In my time so far this week playing around in Vision Pro, the M2 model runs 26.1 with aplomb and I can do everything I want just fine; I see no reason to upgrade. Likewise, alongside news of the M5 Vision Pro came word of a new accessory: the Dual Knit Band. The $99 headband, which coincidentally is compatible with my model, supposedly feels nicer to wear while using Vision Pro, partly because the band at the top helps redistribute much of the Vision Pro’s considerable weightiness. Personally, I’m not that interested in the Dual Knit Band—although I could make a cogent argument for trying one for journalism’s sake. Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is I like the default Solo Knit Band very much. It exudes niceness in terms of construction, and it feels comfortable to wear for the hour or so I use Vision Pro. I have a distinct memory of initially disliking the Solo Knit Band during my briefing with Apple way back when, but that was eons ago. After getting Vision Pro home for testing, I got the Solo Knit Band to fit how I wanted it—and have loved wearing it ever since. It really is a great piece of kit.

My time revisiting Vision Pro over the last few days has been instructive in that it has reaffirmed the best use cases for me. For one thing, the device plays well to my introverted, anxiety and depression-addled self because it’s decidedly a solitary device. I know you can FaceTime and Zoom in visionOS, but I feel “alone” once I put on Vision Pro. The Mindfulness app is great for when I need a little pick-me-up, and I remain steadfast in my conviction that Vision Pro is the best product for watching video I’ve ever used. I watched this week’s episode of The Morning Show in Vision Pro and it was spectacular in the TV app’s “Cinema” environment. The picture quality is astounding, while the immersive nature of the environment makes watching stuff more accessible. Experientially, it truly does feel like you’re sitting inside a brick-and-mortar movie theater. Alas, I wish visionOS was more rife with apps beyond Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Pluto TV. I wish Netflix and Prime Video had native Vision Pro apps. I wish Channels had an app too. The iPadOS apps are serviceable, but they aren’t like using an app specifically and intentionally built for the Vision platform. Vision Pro will likely never become my main entertainment vehicle—I have a 77” LG C3 OLED on the living room wall, glorious in its own right—but if I’m spending time home alone, all by myself, I’d love to immerse in more movies and television shows using the headset.

Beyond entertainment value, though? I’m not sold on Vision Pro as a productivity machine. Although I’m appreciative of the ability to resize windows to my heart’s content—browsing in Safari is especially good for visual accessibility—I’m not of the mind that I want to actually do work in visionOS. The reasons for this are many, but I think the biggest one is sensory. To wit, I don’t relish being “trapped” in a headset for an hour or two, writing a story or doing email, with a heavy computer strapped to my face.

Reservations aside, Vision Pro remains damn cool—and accessible at that.

Instacart Pledges support for SNAP Recipients

San Francisco-based Instacart on Friday announced what it describes as “a new grocery offer” to help SNAP recipients and food banks more accessibly obtain food. In addition, Instacart is spearheading a nationwide food drive to support local food banks.

While not explicit, the allusion is clear: the company is announcing this move as the November 1 deadline looms for federal monies that keep programs like SNAP running.

“Starting this week, we’re offering active SNAP customers 50% off their next grocery order—up to a $50 discount. This special offer is designed to immediately help families stretch their grocery dollars, allowing them to keep nutritious staples and daily essentials in their carts and on their tables,” Instacart said in its announcement. “All eligible customers who used EBT SNAP benefits to get groceries delivered via Instacart at any point in October will receive an individual discount code via email in the coming days. This offer can be redeemed nationwide from any one of the nearly 180 retail banners and 30,000 stores that offer SNAP payments via Instacart, up to 100,000 redemptions—representing a commitment of up to $5 million in direct relief for families on SNAP.”

As the company notes, it has accepted SNAP payments since 2020. Back in March, I reported on Instacart making the actual grocery shopping more accessible by way of new features such as Smart Shop powered by—what else?—artificial intelligence.

“We’re committed to ensuring every family in every community can put food on the table,” Dani Dudeck, Instacart’s chief corporate affairs officer, said in a statement. “As SNAP funding faces unprecedented disruption and food banks brace for longer lines, we’re focused on practical, immediate solutions: helping families who use SNAP stretch their grocery dollars and helping food banks stock up to support their communities.”

As I’ve written numerous times, tech-driven services like Instacart are far more impactful than mere conduits to convenience for many folks. Indeed, things like Instacart (and DoorDash and UberEats) have immense applicability to accessibility. Not only are they driven by what’s ostensibly every person’s primary computer in their smartphone, the truth of the matter is the on-demand, door-to-door nature means a disabled person who, for instance, cannot—or should not—leave their house for medical and/or logistical reasons still has access to groceries readily available. What’s more, those people who are on SNAP get a win-win: their food can be had in just a few taps and delivered to their doorstep all the while taking comfort in the fact their purchase was less expensive. In a nutshell, Instacart is a true lifesaver for a not-insignificant portion of the population—and that doesn’t take into account a historically-long government shutdown prompting action from Instacart and others.

Relatedly, Easterseals CEO Kendra Davenport said earlier this week the lapse in SNAP funding means the disability community will be amongst “the hardest hit,” rubbing salt in their proverbial wounds as people with disabilities “already face higher living costs and barriers to employment. Losing food support will only deepen hardship,” she said.

Davenport continued: “No political disagreement should stand in the way of feeding Americans. We urge Congress and the administration to find every way to keep programs like SNAP remain funded and protected, regardless of any government shutdown. This includes exploring the release of USDA contingency funding and passing the bipartisan efforts in both Houses of Congress to ensure benefits continue.”

Founded in 1919, Easterseals is America’s oldest disability rights organization.

Inside Fashion Institute of Technology’s ‘Adapt/Evolve’ Exhibition

The New York City-based Fashion Institute of Technology earlier this month ran an exhibit, called Adapt/Evolve, which the school describes as a “multidisciplinary exhibition that considers various approaches to designing for accessibility as well as adaptive design’s relationship to culture and society.” The projects on display, ranging from “stylish mobility aids” to other things which “prioritize both function and human dignity,” were meant to “bring to light a network of care, interdependence, and access to good design for all, paving the way to a built world that supports everyone,” per FIT.

Adapt/Evolve was announced in August and ran September 18 through October 26.

I recently sat down with Troy Richards and Fawz Kabra via videoconference to discuss Adapt/Evolve; Richards serves as FIT’s dean of the art and design school, whilst Kabra works as curator of the art and design gallery. At a high level, Kabra explained the overarching goal of the gallery was to “show what we are doing at FIT in terms of adaptive and inclusive design, and also see how it is also in conversation with people around us [in NYC].” Designing for disability, she added, has relevance to a vast cross-section of real-world products from children’s toys to furniture to jewelry to fashion and more. The intent with Adapt/Evolve was to showcase as much of possible “the array of imagination and creative solutions these artists and designers have come up with.”

“We’re so excited about this exhibition,” Richards said.

My conversation with Richards and Kabra rekindled my relationship with FIT. One of my bigger stories of 2024 was my interview with now-retired president, Dr. Joyce Brown.

Richards went on to tell me accessibility conceptually is “really important” to everyone at FIT, as the school strives to foster a diverse and inclusive learning environment. He noted that when leaders first bandied about ideas for what would eventually become Adapt/Evolve, something that proved especially exciting on campus was the work already being done through an inclusivity-tinted lens—to wit, Richards shared an anecdote about one such project being worked on for autism research in collaboration with a school for autistic children in New York City. A focal point, he added, is universal design, and the project involved toys that had what he called “universal appeal.”

“These are [product] designs that allow for greater accessibility for groups of people who have different disabilities,” Richards said. “But also they become just [examples of] good design, and we see that by thinking of these people with these with specific needs… we can actually make life better for everybody. It actually makes things easier for all of us, and makes a more comfortable and a better designed world.”

That Richards emphasized FIT’s commitment to diversity and inclusion vis-a-vis accessibility speaks to the school’s ethos on greater inclusion generally. FIT, part of New York State’s SUNY system, exists to “introduce students to the different careers available to them in art and design,” Richards told me, and its mission is to “encourage as many people from different backgrounds to think of the opportunities to consider these opportunities In art design because we value their voices [and] their vision.”

He continued: “It’s really those diverse visions that will help us solve some of the more challenging problems that we face in our world and in our country. We need as many people engaged in this creative work as possible. This is something that all of our faculty take very seriously that [attending FIT] is a transformational education.”

For her part, Kabra echoed Richards’ sentiments by sharing the story of one of the exhibition’s stars in Haley Schwartz, a FIT alum and who copes with chronic illness. Schwartz is behind adaptive apparel company Vetige Adaptive, with Kabra saying Schwartz is devoted to designing clothing which are “beautiful and stylish and fun and joyful, but also accessible” to people who, for instance, must deal with a colostomy bag or oxygen bag. Vertige’s designs have been thoughtfully created to accommodate such medical devices by way of pouches, enabling wearers to maintain their stylistic sensibilities (not to mention their dignity) while lugging around decidedly unstylish kit.

There are countless other examples of the concept, but Kabra’s larger point was simply that accessibility and design can, in fact, go hand-in-hand if they’re blended with intentionality. Former students such as Schwartz, Kabra added, have left FIT and gone onto their professional lives, thriving “working within the field of adaptive design.”

“I’m so happy we have these alums participating in the exhibition,” Richards said.

When asked how Adapt/Evolve journeyed from conception to fruition, Richards said the impetus is pretty personal on his end. His mother was diagnosed with ALS in 2017, around the time he assumed his perch at FIT, and passed away a year later after what he called an “aggressive” form of the disease. The heartbreaking part was not merely that Richards’ mom succumbed, but it was how she rapidly lost things like her mobility and overall independence. The job with FIT, Richards told me, was a prime opportunity to “encourage our departments to explore accessible [and] adaptive design so that people who who struggle with these types of conditions or have different disabilities.”

Thus, Adapt/Evolve was a literal manifestation of those ideals.

“[Creating the exhibition] was definitely an exciting process,” Kabra added.

“What we saw and wanted to bring to light is this network of care and kind of interdependence… people taking it upon themselves to do things for their community: for their friends, their neighbors,” she said of the raison d'être for FIT’s Adapt/Evolve exhibition. “[There’s] also a desire for art be to accessible and show good design for everybody so that we visualize like this ‘built world’ that is supportive of everybody. As we were putting together a checklist, we could see the artists and the designers are redefining accessible design… they’re creating these stylish garments, stylish mobility aids, and these community-focused solutions that prioritize both the function and the human, as well as human dignity. That [notion] really came to view for us.”

Both Richards and Kabra reiterated the belief that FIT and accessibility are inextricably tied. Richards said Adapt/Evolve is “a great start” to instilling the idea to students, as he noted many students graduate and go onto careers in fashion and/or design. More pointedly, he said the exhibition is a great forum from which to extol the virtues that accessibility is “vital” to design—in other words, accessibility isn’t something that can, or should, be an afterthought or bolted on at the end. The exhibition raises more awareness of that sentiment to students. "I keep thinking about how so many of the works demonstrate that accessible design is good design, and these are things that people will want in their own lives. “It makes [products] that much more inclusive… it makes the world that much easier for everyone to engage in,” Richards said.

Kabra concurred, telling me Adapt/Evolve is “definitely creating more visibility and shining a light on everyone has been very kind of important for this project.” She went on to say the exhibition is more or less a proof of concept of sorts, insofar as this year’s event gives her “bits” that she can “follow through other exhibitions” with accessibility top of mind from the outset. To prioritize accessibility is to prioritize empathy for all.

Feedback-wise, Richards said the reception to Adapt/Evolve has been “wonderful.” He shared an anecdote about an attendee who lives in Queens and doesn’t venture into Manhattan very often. The person, Richards said, made the sojourn to the exhibition primarily because most things of FIT’s kind don’t emphasize accessibility and inclusive design. The novelty of which “really excited him.” Moreover, Richards mentioned he’s heard similar effusive sentiments from both fellow faculty members and students alike.

“They find [the event] to be an important topic to be to be explored,” Richards said.

For her part, Kabra told me a group of alumni students built a fully accessible website for Adapt/Evolve and noted the site’s design “considers people with disability and and presents beautiful, contemporary and fresh work.” Overall, Kabra said there was “lots of excitement” over the event, and has proven itself “a pleasant surprise” for FIT staffers.

Looking towards the future, both Richards and Kabra reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the work in amplifying accessibility and, by extension, the disability community. Notably, Richards said FIT is in the process of developing a minor in Adaptive Design that’s interdisciplinary such that students get the chance to “get more focus” on the topic. Adapt/Evolve, he went on, isn’t a one-off token gesture; on the contrary, FIT assuredly will "address the sort of explore the topic again in future symposia.” At 30,000 feet, FIT wants to use these machinations to not only flex their institutional muscle, but to “change the fashion industry,” Richards said. Furthermore, he said he wants his students to learn to “design with empathy and forethought” as they work their way towards contributing towards the betterment of the wider world.

Kabra agreed yet again with her colleague.

“I hope to continue such exhibitions with important themes, but also for myself as an exhibition maker, to broaden the way I think about inclusivity personally,” she said. “[I want to] push myself to hopefully have more accessibility even within our shows.”

Accessibility at FIT, Kabra added, “should become second nature.”

Gallaudet University’s Tabitha Jacques Talks Recent Deaf Way Film Festival, More In interview

In my piece yesterday about last month’s Vimeo Staff Picks celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, I made quick mention of this year’s Deaf Way Film Festival. The event, held earlier this month on the campus of Gallaudet University, is a multi-day celebration of what’s described on the Film Festival’s website as “spotlighting the creativity, power, and stories of deaf filmmakers and professionals in the film industry.”

The Washington DC-based Gallaudet, founded amidst the backdrop of the Civil War, is literally the world’s preeminent institution of higher learning for the Deaf community.

“Join us for an unforgettable celebration of Deaf culture, storytelling, and community,” the school wrote about the Deaf Way Film Festival. “The Deaf Way Film Festival offers more than just films—it’s a vibrant celebration of Deaf culture and history woven throughout the Gallaudet University campus.”

I recently connected with Tabitha Jacques, Gallaudet’s director of arts, culture, and experience, via email for a brief interview in which she discussed the Deaf Way Film Festival and its poignancy to the Deaf community. At a high level, Jacques explained she feels “fortunate” to have the privilege of “[creating] experiences on campus related to deaf arts and culture,” adding her duties entail creating spaces in various locations on campus which “tell Gallaudet stories through art, artifacts, and didactic texts.”

It’s my understanding tickets for Deaf Way sold out quickly, with day passes the only ones available for interested parties. I sadly wasn’t able to attend, but it doesn’t take an astrophysicist to surmise a sell-out is a pretty good barometer of enthusiastic interest.

“I [was] so excited to bring back Deaf Way but in a new format where festivals are smaller and focus on a specific theme,” Jacques said of putting the film festival together this year. “This film festival will have films and panels, but also experiences that bring the community together such as participating in a community chalk mural and visiting art exhibitions on campus. I also look forward to creating a space for deaf people in the film industry to develop connections and to have the space to exchange ideas and to imagine a future where there are no barriers in the film industry.”

Jacques’ excitement was palpable because, as she explained, “deaf representation is getting better” along with the boilerplate caveat that “we still have such a long way to go!” Moreover, she noted she looks forward to the day when deaf representation is accretive; like Aisha Amin told me about her mindset after making Contours, which played at Deaf Way, and how she vows not to do another project without prominently including a Deaf character and ASL, Jacques looks forward to an environment wherein deaf representation merely constitutes “adding deaf people to the diverse cast of characters that make up our world” in addition to non-deaf people feeling increasingly “comfortable” with communicating with their Deaf and hard-of-hearing brethren.

“We are so lucky that we have such a wide range of technology to help us communicate and many ASL classes are being offered,” Jacques said. “We have made so much progress in the last 40 years and we still have so much more progress to work towards.”

She doubled down of her effusive praise for Deaf Way and what it represents writ large.

“It has been a wonderful experience to lead the festival. I have worked with so many wonderful people who are employees of the university and who are outside of the university,” Jacques said of her efforts to build Deaf Way. “Everyone has been incredibly supportive as they all want to see this festival be an amazing experience. I have also learned so much from everyone and from this process. I am grateful to be in this role.”

When asked about the reception to Deaf Way, Jacques told me feedback to it has been “very positive” according to Andrea Passafiume, Gallaudet’s film programmer, as well as the school’s screening committee. The group, Jacques said, was excited for the wider world’s opportunity to “see what films they have worked so hard to curate,” adding “people are excited about coming back to Gallaudet to see artistic creations that my office and the Deaf Way Film Festival team have worked so hard to produce.”

In the end, Gallaudet is the platform atop of which the Deaf Way Film Festival shines.

“Gallaudet University is an amazing place with so much to offer in terms of what the deaf community is able to create and produce,” Jacques said. “My hope is that the world will want to come and visit Gallaudet and experience what we have to offer and keep on coming back.”