(lighthearted music)
- Hey everyone, James Rath here.
So this week I wanted to sit
down in front of the camera
and talk about a specific topic.
This video's in response to
a comment I got previously.
This is not gonna be scripted or anything,
so I'm just gonna kind of reply.
But I'm gonna Siri read this comment
and I'm gonna kind of
respond as we move along.
So this video's on the
topic of brand loyalty.
Specifically this
comment really accuses me
of not being open to other companies
or products and stuff other
than what I primarily show,
and I'm gonna address
all that in this video.
So let's just hop into the comment here.
Siri if you don't mind
reading that for me.
- [Siri] James, I've
watched many of your videos
and I know that you claim
to promote accessibility,
however it's clear that
you are an Apple fan
and seem to disregard all other
accessible options not Apple.
Perhaps you should set
aside your prejudices
and expand your knowledge,
then you will be in a better position
to give well rounded advice.
Even in this video you talk about using
a smartphone as a video camera,
which is an excellent idea,
however you continually
give the impression
that the iPhone is the only choice.
You never once mentioned an
Android phone as an option.
- We'll pause right there
and sort of respond to that.
Am I an Apple fan?
Yeah, I use their products a lot,
and I made a whole video
called how Apple saved my life
and the reasoning behind
that is at the time,
products that I own that
were accessible to me
and they allowed me to
do what I needed to do
were all Apple products.
Originally the video was gonna be
how technology saved my life but you know,
spun it because it was all
Apple products at the time.
Yeah, in the video I talked
about cameras that I use.
This channel is called James Rath.
It's not called blind community.
It's called James Rath because
it's about my experience.
It's about what I use, what I need
and how I personally tackle experiences.
And to do film making, I will use anything
from an iPhone all the way to
a Blackmagic Cinema camera.
Yes, there are other options there.
You can use any smartphone,
heck if you wanted to, record
a video on a flip camera.
so the reason why I talk about iPhone is
'cause that's what I've recorded on.
Do I own other products besides iPhone?
Well look what I got here.
This is my own personal
Samsung Galaxy S8+.
Here, my fingerprint.
Let's just see if it works.
There we go, now it worked.
I own an Android phone.
This is actually my first Android phone
since the first Galaxy
and I had an Android before I
had iPhone believe it or not.
The reason why I went to iPhone was
because I owned the Samsung
Fascinate on Verizon at the time
and this was the first generation Galaxy.
It left a very bad taste in
my mouth of what Android was,
lack of updates, it was
lack of accessibility,
had some hardware issues on mine,
had to replace it a couple times.
It was a beautiful designed phone,
especially at the time,
like we're talking 2011.
And the four inch Fascinate
display was great at that time.
Camera shot like 720p,
but it had a lot of software,
a lot of buggy issues,
and it came down to my experience.
I couldn't really see it too well.
There wasn't a whole lot
of accessibility available
on Android at the time, it was there,
there was some stuff there,
but a lot of these Android manufacturers
liked to put their own skins
and their own software.
At the time, a lot of that
just was not accessible.
I own an S8+ because I've
heard good things about it
and I wanted an Android phone
just to have as a secondary device.
I always carry two phones with me.
I carry an iPhone, sometimes
a secondary iPhone or my S8+
and that's because, you
know, for emergencies,
if I need a backup phone.
But I do have mt my Apple
Watch that's LTE now,
so that's kinda nice,
but I always have a backup device.
So in short, to sort of just
answer that one part of your comment,
yes, I own other devices.
I recommended iPhone at the time
because that's what I mainly
used, what I've shot on.
So let's continue your comment here.
- [Siri] Be told, Android has consistently
had a better selection
of cameras than iOS.
Not to mention the fact
that they offer a--
- That's arguable.
Go on.
- [Siri] Much wider range of hardware
and software features as well as pricing.
- So features, there are
so many different apps
I use FiLMiC Pro on iPhone.
It let's me have all these
manual camera options on the iPhone.
And yes, there's a lot of Android phones
that have cameras that have
unique features to them,
depending in the manufacturer.
Not to say that iPhone's
native camera app offers more,
but what I'm saying is, you
have options on both sides.
I'm comfortable using the camera app
and the FiLMiC Pro app on iPhone.
- [Siri] Something that should
be taken into consideration
when the visually impaired
community has consistently seen
a 75% unemployment rate.
Remember, not all of your
audience can live in California
and afford to buy thousands
of dollars worth of
camera equipment and Apple products.
- To respond to that,
I work for a lot of the stuff that I have.
It's a job, I mean, filmmaking
is a passion of mine,
so it's something I heavily
invest in over the years.
I mean, I bought the Blackmagic camera,
worked my ass off in high
school, having a part time job
and saving up for a grand
to buy a cinema camera.
Not saying you need to do that, you don't.
To say that Android has a lot more
flexibility when it comes to pricing, yes.
I mean, it's an open
source operating system.
It's open to any manufacturer
who wants to license it
and put it on their phone.
In fact, I think I've
seen like a $4 smartphone.
The fact that, yes, Android is
a little bit more accessible
when it comes to pricing, sure.
If you wanna get a new iPhone,
starts at like 350 for SE.
Still a fantastic phone, even in 2017.
So iPhones aren't exclusive to this.
Thousand dollar device
right here in my hand.
You don't need to get an iPhone 10
if you want to shoot with an iPhone.
I mean, I shot a lot of
videos from my iPhone 6S.
Yes, you're right when it comes to
there are more manufacturers for Android,
more different cameras to use.
And there's some really
good cameras out there.
Pixel 2, even the S8 that I use.
I've played with the camera on it,
it's a good camera.
I was sort of referring to
more successful cameras.
I really am still testing the S8
when it comes to how
accessible the camera is,
that's why I didn't
mention it in that video.
'Cause I have had more
experience with the iPhone.
You can use a smartphone
in general for filming.
70% of blind smartphone users
are statistically using an iOS device.
With or without a job,
iPhones still can be pretty affordable,
even at the SE price or
if you go refurbished.
I've bought refurbished
phones from Apple before,
never had a problem
Let's get back to your comment, though.
- [Siri] One think I
will agree with you on
is the fact that Windows Narrator is crap,
but luckily that's not--
- Never said Windows Narrator was crap.
Don't put words into my mouth here.
Look, I use a Mac.
Yes, I've used Mac since 2009.
And frankly, it's because it enables me
to do what I need to do.
I used to edit two inches from my face
on a Windows machine, on Sony Vegas.
And it was difficult.
I mean, I still loved what I
did, so I struggled through it.
Yes, magnifier is a thing,
and magnifier isn't bad,
but when it comes to Zoom on Mac
and Multi-Touch, you
can't compare the two.
Zoom is more integrated into the OS,
Magnifier is a separate application.
I used to use Zoom Text,
and I know you're about to mention
Zoom Text in your comment.
Zoom Text was great.
It was good, it was a great screen reader
and a magnifier on Windows.
Not saying there's no options
out there for Windows.
If you use Windows.
I had to use Windows for like a week
this past summer for a video project.
And it was a lot to adjust to,
'cause I was using Magnifier with it,
but it worked, it's fine.
I have Windows installed
on my MacBook Pro,
so don't say I don't use Windows.
I do.
Just not as my primary OS.
And the guys over at Microsoft,
they're doing incredible things
when it comes to accessibility.
In terms of offering employment,
to some of the new innovative software
that they're working on.
Like Seeing AI, which is one of
my favorite accessibility
apps of all time.
Ironically, it's on iPhone.
Microsoft is doing great things.
The Microsoft Accessibility
tool on Twitter,
they're always active and easy to reach.
I do appreciate what Microsoft is doing
and continue to follow their work.
- [Siri] Not the only option
if someone needs a full
fledged screen reader.
NVDA is a free and open source solution.
- Cool.
- [Siri] Or there's JAWS, or MAGic,
or Window Eyes, or Zoom Text.
- Like I said.
- [Siri] All of these work wonderfully.
I've tried working on a Mac
and got so frustrated
with the accessibility
that I wanted to throw it out the window.
The fact that I had to
have a sighted person
go into the settings to turn on
the accessibility for me was ridiculous.
- Obviously, you weren't prepared then.
Even I showed in my last video,
you can set up an iPhone 10
without ever needing a sighted
person to do it for you.
Being legally blind, I can set this up
right from the start with no assistance.
It's got a triple tap side button here.
- [Siri] Voiceover on.
- You just gotta know the key command
if you need to google it
or call Apple support.
So on Mac you just press Command+F5,
brings up the accessibility
options right there.
And it narrates it for you.
So it tells you, hey, press
this to turn on voiceover,
press this to enable Zoom.
I don't think you were set up
and you were prepared to
use a Mac at the time.
Believe me, the first time I used Mac
from being a Windows user my entire life,
I got very frustrated.
It was something new,
it was something unique,
something I wasn't adjusted to.
Again, my personal
experience, maybe not yours.
And if you don't wanna try it again, okay.
I'm always open to
using Android or Windows
and continuously try it, like
every year to see what's new
and if something's gonna
entice me to move over.
I mean, the thing is, I edit
on Final Cut, Apple software,
which they also make accessible
with voiceover and Zoom just fine.
So it's a little harder for me
to get out the Apple ecosystem
because of my profession and what I do.
Doesn't mean I'm not paying attention
to what others are doing,
it's just what I use
works really well for me.
Let's continue.
- [Siri] On my Windows
PC, I just tap the Start
and plus keys and the magnifier pops on.
- Cool.
- [Siri] Into end of an easy
I would put my very
accessible Windows 10 PC
with a 32 inch monitor up
against an iMac anytime.
- Got this bad boy back here,
but I'm not looking to battle,
I'm not looking to create a fanboy war,
that's not what this is about.
This is about use what works for you.
I'm not telling you you need
to go buy a 27 inch iMac
just to use a computer.
If you can work on a hundred
dollar Windows laptop, great.
If you can work on a 999 brand
new MacBook Air, awesome.
If you want to use an iPad
Pro as your computer, cool.
No one's telling you
how to use your device
or that one is better than the other.
- [Siri] What frustrates
me is your arrogance.
The fact that you think
mobile accessibility
can only be accomplished with
Apple products is infuriating.
- Not true.
You're just putting words
into my mouth again.
Because I primarily
showcase Apple products,
because again, that's what I use.
Again, this channel,
it's called James Rath,
it's not called the
entire blind community.
I don't speak for everyone else.
I speak for myself and my experience.
If people want to learn
something from that, great.
If they want to compare
that to what they're using,
and if it works better,
if works worse for them,
their situation, figure
that out, that's great.
Brand loyalty, it's more so
I'm invested in the Apple ecosystem,
so it's more powered to me
when I'm using Apple products,
like AirPods, the Apple Watch.
When you're heavily invested
in the Google ecosystem,
for example, more powered to
you, you got Google Photos,
unlimited photo storage on like
the Pixel 2, that's awesome.
I mean, I use Google, Gmail,
Drive, all that stuff.
I also use iCloud.
I use them for different things.
For me, iCloud Drive works
great when I'm trying to
share files with myself amongst
my devices that I work on,
locally and on my own account.
But when I'm using more
collaborative tools with others,
Google Drive works great.
So again, I'm sort of getting invested
for different things in
the Google ecosystem,
but I'm also, for personal
and professional reasons,
heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem.
So use what works for you.
If what I mentioned,
what I say works for me
doesn't work for you,
that's fine, find something
that does, you know.
I don't want you to be
limited by what I offer,
or what I'm suggesting,
or what I'm sharing my experiences of.
So lastly.
- [Siri] In my opinion,
you're a terrible role model
for the visually impaired community.
- Well personally, I don't see it.
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Thank you guys and I will
hear you next time, bye.
