It’s Back to School time! And Back to Fall, Winter, etc…

When you try to find a weather app, there are hundreds of them. Dr. Z happens to be a weather fanatic and because he lives in a remote area in Vermont, knowing about the weather is an important part of your life when you live in a remote area.

Dr. Z has fallen in love with a weather app called “Weatherbug”. It has all the info you need to check on the weather, a narrative summary, a daily summary (with dew point) and a radar map of the weather in your area. The map is very accurate and it can tell you how soon and how long you will have a storm in your area. It is not limited to your area, you can add weather locations of where your friends or relative are, or also weather info of a place you plan to travel in the near future. And its FREE!

It will also decide how to dress your kids for school the next day, even if they plead to have shorts on a snowy day! And it will help you to pack for a trip!

The link to this app on the iTunes store is as follows: link.

By the way, if you need video communication (VP or VRS), why not try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

It’s Back to School time!

Oftentimes, after kids go to school, we worry if they got there ok by bus or walking–and after school, we often want to be sure they get home…

There’s an app to help you keep track. Of course, the child must have an iPhone, iPod or iPad to be able to work with this app and also have this app on their device.

This app is called “Find My Friends”. It has to be installed on your iPad, iPhone or iPod as well as your child’s. It is FREE!

You can use this to keep track of your other family members and friends (with their permission, smile)–they have to have the same app. It can also be useful to keep track of your elderly relatives.

The link to this app on the iTunes store is as follows: link.

By the way, if you need video communication (VP or VRS), why not try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Dr. Z has a car mount for his iPhone for GPS navigation purposes, NOT TEXTING!

There are so many different car mounts on the market. Which one should you choose?

Dr. Z uses one from “RAM”–you can find it on Amazon. It is a very sturdy mount and comes with a lifetime warranty. It has a strong suction (better than my Garmin) and I prefer using Waze or Google Maps for GPS than my Garmin. I do not yet recommend Apple’s Maps app as it gave me directions to an empty field instead of a store once. It will get better.

The RAM mount has a lifetime warranty. The other day one small part broke, and I filled out a form on their website and got a replacement part in a few days!

You can get an iPad mount and it costs more and using an iPad mount in a car is a bit too big for the driver to use GPS. I have not tried this yet. Again RAM makes great iPad mounts. They even have iPad mounts for your boat, airplane, what have you. You can attach it via suction or a clamp or even a special clamp for your car’s vent.

When using Google Maps or Waze, they have great search, just type the name of the store and the city, and you will get a listing and then tap that store and the map will come up! Waze uses Google search so itsa neat thing to have.

Happy and safe driving (NO TEXTING!!! Dr. Z cares.)

Try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

The iPad is becoming a very popular device for video communication.

Of course, we need to have a good stand for the iPad to do video. The Smart Cover can do the job–but its not flexible for video communication, it can be used in an emergency but not for daily video communication.

Dr. Z has a Mophie stand which is a great one, but there are many others on the market. Those stands should have the following features:

• it must be easy to move from one place to another (no wires needed except when charging)
• it must be able to rotate from portrait to landscape mode
• it must be able to move the camera up and down easy
• it must be easy to charge
• it must make it easy for you to to remove and put back the iPad on the stand

The most important feature is to be able to adjust the position of the camera.

Believe me, the iPad works better and easier than an old set-top box with a TV–the iPad with a stand needs less space on your desk! And when not charging, it doesn’t need a wire! It can be moved from one place to another easy!

Try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

When you use your iPad with a stand, its nice to have a screensaver. Dr. Z uses a rotating screensaver with his iPad and its BEAUTIFUL–the pictures keep rotating and when a call comes in, the notification box comes up and he hits “Launch” to answer the incoming call.

The app to download is Fotopedia Heritage (link). It is a free app!

To set up Notifications on your iPad for the Z5, here’s how to do it:

Settings –>Notifications–>Z5 Mobile –>Alerts (tap “Alerts” screen,not “None” or “Banners”)

Now, you can enjoy the beautiful pictures while waiting to make or receive a call. It also adds beauty and serenity to wherever you put your iPad in.

Try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Many of us have iPads with wifi only (no 3G or 4G) and you are in a place with no wifi…how can u get wifi?

There are 3 ways.

Get an Apple AirPort Express router or a good quality router. ($99) (link)

or

Get a mobile hotspot from ATT, Verizon or Sprint. (pricing varies, plus a monthly cost)

or

Use your smartphone as a hotspot. This feature is called tethering and the cost varies between ATT, Verizon and Sprint. Also not all smartphones have tethering and not all plans have tethering. The cost is usually a monthly cost with some data caps.

With an AirPort Express or a similar router, you can connect the router to a wired ethernet connector (blue wire) and then you can connect your iPad to that router. The configuration is not that easy, sometimes you need to get help, but it does work. The advantage is, the signal is usually very strong and very good for video. And there’s no monthly cost.

With a mobile hotspot, the cost varies from one provider to another and there’s a monthly cost as well. Also with the monthly cost, there are data caps, which can limit how much you can use the device for the month. Sometimes, depending on the strength of the connection, you can use video.

By the way, if you do video communication, try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

-No remote
-No wires
-Anywhere in the home
-Freedom

Come and try us at ZVRS!

Try Z5, you will like it! Click here to get it! (See if you qualify to get a FREE tablet with a stand!)

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Report on Dr. Z’s Wired Hunger Strike:

Dr. Z has made the LEAP!

He is giving up his wired devices…and in its place he will have 2 iPads for communication in his home. One iPad for work and the other iPad for family use.

The past few weeks have convinced him the iPad with a Mophie stand works as well as a VP and its a very simple and flexible device to use…no wires!

So, this is a new chapter in Dr. Z’s communication life…onward with freedom and simplicity!

Today you can see if you qualify for a FREE tablet with Z5 and a stand like in the picture, go to www.zvrs.com and find out!

-No remote
-No wires
-Anywhere in the home
-Freedom

Come and try us at ZVRS!

Try Z5, you will like it!

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Dr. Z has declared he’s going on strike from wires! He will for the next 30 days not make any video calls from a device using wires. That means he will be using an iPhone, iPod, iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab (7″) to make video calls. This is his declaration of independence from wires!

If hearing people make calls without wires, we deaf and hard of hearing people should do the same!

He will report on the results of his wired hunger strike in a few weeks.

Today you can get a tablet free with Z5 and a stand like in the picture, go to www.zvrs.com and find out!

-No remote
-No wires
-Anywhere in the home
-Freedom

Come and try us at ZVRS!

Try Z5, you will like it!

Dr. Z is proud to be part of the team that understands and listens to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development