On April 3, 2010, Steve Jobs debuted the iPad. What for most individuals was principally a extra handy type issue was one thing much more consequential for non-speakers: a life-­altering revolution in entry to a transportable, highly effective communication system for just some hundred {dollars}.

However a chunk of {hardware}, nonetheless impressively designed and engineered, is barely as useful as what an individual can do with it. After the iPad’s launch, the flood of recent, easy-to-use augmentative and various communication apps that customers had been in determined want of by no means got here.

In the present day, there are solely round half a dozen apps, every retailing for $200 to $300, that ask customers to pick out from menus of crudely drawn icons to provide textual content and synthesized speech. It’s a depressingly gradual tempo of improvement for such an important human operate. Learn the complete story.

—Julie Kim

This story is from our forthcoming print problem, which is all about accessibility. For those who haven’t already, subscribe to be sure to don’t miss out on future tales—subscriptions begin from simply $80 a 12 months.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to seek out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.

1 OceanGate was conscious of security considerations over its submersible
He claimed the sub, which is at present lacking, had “seen flaws” and was not constructed for excessive depths. (New Republic $)
+ The corporate likened itself to the SpaceX of the ocean. (Motherboard)
+ There’ll all the time be individuals prepared to pay for excessive tourism ventures. (The Atlantic $)
+ Coastguards are scouring the ocean for any signal of the vessel. (Economist $)