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More computer repairs that shaped EUROBYTE - continued

Posted by Mario on 7 May 2013

I started EUROBYTE as an onsite computer repairs business. It was a one-man business that was operated from home. I was driving around Ryde area fixing PCs, buying software and hardware supplies, picking computers up for repair, bringing them home to my workshop, taking fixed computers back to clients… 'I Come 2 You' was my USP.

Now I have a computer shop and don't operate from home anymore. Work from home used to be a good thing at the early stage. It was a good business start-up strategy. It worked for me well as I was doing onsite work anyway. But over the years the business grew and with the growth I found myself being unable to go away with just occasional (Alisa's) help. I realised, if I wanted to stay in the game, I needed someone (read: Alisa :)) to commit on a full-time basis. I also realised I had to take the work away from home in order to not just appear more professional and work more efficiently but to keep our (family) sanity in check. I still do a lot of onsite computer repairs though and this is in fact still our main line of business. 'We come to you to repair your computer' is still our USP. But now-a-days it's not all we do.

So, it used to be computer repairs and upgrades. Then I started advising clients on computers, peripherals, and other computing equipment that would best suit their needs and budget. Wait a minute! "Can you supply us with a new computer?" Sure I can. I started selling computers and computing gear. But I wasn't just another computer shop who would send you home with your brand new computer. I would bring your PC to you and install everything for you and even transfer all your data (including files and emails) from your old computer to the new. To cut the story short, we now sell them, we install them, we upgrade them, and we fix them. We even fix Apple Macs (imagine that?) and toying quite a bit with iPads and iPhones. "Oh, you do everything!" someone said to me recently. Yes, we pretty much do. I suppose when you're a techie you can't really specialise in just one thing (we even do web design and development with shopping carts and all sorts of things, which is something Alisa does, but this is a whole different story and I might convince her to write about it one of these days). Or are we so versatile because we're a small business? The other day I read in a Martin Print blog post that a small business success requires a 'determined and motivated entrepreneur'. If surviving (and growing) over 10 years means a success then (I guess) I have succeeded not to drive this business into the ground. But am I an entrepreneur? I don't know. I like to think of myself as a tech buff who loves solving problems and helping clients when they have a computer problem (and a guy with a loving and supporting wife behind his back).

However, wanting to fix computers and having a 'know how' was (obviously) not enough. I always knew advertising would be very important for a small business. But, in the beginning, all I could afford was a three-line ad in the Ryde's TWT. Then over the years, as the business grew, I tried a few other things such as Pages in different colours like Yellow and Pink :), Google and Facebook advertising, stalls at community events, flyers, etc. Alisa was designing and managing our ads, so we weren't investing a fortune (and we couldn't), but when I think back I'm happy we couldn't invest more as it turns out good and honest work is the best advertising a small business can get. A big THANKS to all of you who have kept coming back and recommending us to friends and relatives.

This year is our 10th anniversary. So it's been 10 years since EUROBYTE's humble beginnings. There's been ups and downs (like with any small business) and lots of hard work, but I wouldn't trade my job for anything. Once upon a time, I was repairing computers for free… and was happy. Now, helping people with their computer problems is my job and earning money for doing something you love is very very rewarding.

Posted in:computer repairs   Comments

100+ VoiceOver-friendly apps

Posted by Alisa on 1 May 2013

I’m not an expert when it comes to iPad apps and I’m certainly not one when it comes to apps that are suitable for users with vision problems. As part of an iPad Info Class we were running at a local community centre, I needed to find info on this. I got in touch with Chiu Lau, a registered psychologist running a private psychology clinic, Possibilities Psychological Services in Ramsgate. She specialises in helping children with disabilities. She works with autistic children to be more precise, but I thought she might be able to provide some information or have access to people with information. And she indeed came up with a wonderful list of resources: 

  • First is a community-powered website AppleVis, which is a rich resource for low-vision and blind users of Apple devices.
  • Second is a list of over 100 apps that have been found to work well with VoiceOver.

Thank you Chiu!


The following list of over 100 iPhone/iPad applications are the ones that have been found to work well with VoiceOver.

There are similar applications listed, as there are particular features in certain applications that stand out.

Where the name of the application is a bit vague as to its function, there is a brief description (after all, you can click on the link to read more about any application listed). No free or paid applications are identified as the state of an application can change.

The categories into which the applications are sorted is how iTunes categorizes the applications.

Have fun.

You can also download 100+ VoiceOver-friendly apps in PDF format.

Disclaimer: Please note that only because an app is on the list doesn't mean Eurobyte is recommending it. If you're interested in an app from the list, please click on the corresponding link and read more about the app before you download and/or start using it.

 

  1. Books
  2. Business
  3. Games
  4. Education`
    • 900+ Sound Effects
    • Proloquo2Go - Fully featured Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) application. Please be aware of the price: $199.
    • Read2Go
    • Speaking Spelling Bee
    • ViA from the Braille Institute (helps you identify apps that are useful for adults and children who are blind or have low vision)
  5. Entertainment
  6. Food and Drink
  7. Health and fitness
  8. Lifestyle
  9. Medical
    • BlindSquare - GPS app specifically designed for people who are blind (integrates with 4Square and 3rd party products)
    • EyeSight - Use your iPad like a CCTV (video magnifier)
    • iHearClearly
    • VisionAssist - Use your iOS camera like a video (CCTV) magnifier
    • Vizwiz - Take a picture of something with your iOS device and have it crowd sourced (identified) through the internet
  10. Music
  11. Navigation
  12. News
  13. Photo and Video
    • Magnifyer (use your iPHone as a magnifier)
    • Productivity - Alarmed Timers, reminders and alarms
    • Dropbox
    • Droptext - A text editor for Dropbox
    • Dropvox - record notes to Dropbox
    • Fleksy (pattern recognition keyboard app - game changer for people who are blind and need to type on the on-screen keyboard)
    • List Recorder
    • MailShot (produce group emails)
    • Pages
    • Push 4.0 – Push a variety of notifications on your iOS devices including Facebook, Twitter, gmail, etc.
    • Remember The Milk (task reminder)
    • Single Text - Share quick notes between your iOS devices and the Mac (need to install Single TExt for the Mac: has info in apps store concerning website)
    • File App Pro
    • Voice Assistant+ - Alternative to Siri or dictation feature on the new iPad
    • VoiceBrief (listen to your Twitter, Facebook, feeds, Gmail etc. via audio)
  14. Reference
  15. Social networking
    • Boxcar (automatic notification from Facebook, Twitter etc.)
    • Facebook
    • Faceley HD - An alternative to the Facebook app which works fairly well with VoiceOver
    • FeeddLer Pro (RSS reader)
    • Find My Friends - Lets you find your friends via your iOS device upon request for permanent or temporary tracking based on your iCloud Apple ID
    • FourSquare (find out what people think of places and check in to places)
    • Heytell (2 way radio)
    • IM+ Pro (multiple chat client)
    • Skype
    • Twitter - The official app from Twitter
    • TweetList - A great Twitter client for Twitter lists
    • VoiceBook VO - Simple, and easy to use app for accessing Facebook newsfeed (particularly designed for use with VoiceOver)
    • Zello Walkie Talkie - Talk with friends or groups, public or private, and is very much like the old fashion CB radio although via the net
  16. Travel
    • TripView Sydney - Great app for checking bus, train and ferry times plus stops, timetabling, setting alarms etc.
  17. Utilities
  18. Weather
Posted in:iPad   Comments