Six years ago, Mushroom FM was born. We unveiled an exciting fusion of Internet broadcasting and social media. We've been honoured to be a guest in so many homes and to accompany people all around the world as they journey with their mobile device. The station broadcast continuously until November 2013, took a break, and then relaunched even better than ever in August last year.
As you know if you've been following our blog and tuned into the station, We're celebrating our sixth birthday this weekend with a virtual train trip, involving some great radio and plenty of social media fun to accompany it. If you're not into social media, that's no problem, the radio on its own will still be entertaining.
We've organised a great team of sponsors to give plenty of prizes away across the weekend. With the event now very close, I'd like to provide further detail of exactly what you can win. Note that in every case, there are multiple chances to win these prizes. So your chances of walking away a winner at some point throughout the weekend are good, as long as you're tuned in and participating.
1. Deep Sleep and relaxation apps and MP3 downloads from Andrew Johnson. Andrew's vast selection of relaxation apps have helped many people change their lives in many ways. We have a very generous quantity of MP3 downloads and apps to give away that could make a big difference to you getting a good, refreshing rest.
Visit Andrew's website at http://www.withandrewjohnson.com/
2. Fitness workouts from Blind Alive. If you've ever been frustrated by those videos or apps that offer a good workout but don't describe what to do, you'll appreciate the amazing work of Blind Alive. Get in shape, feel better, and have confidence that you're getting good audio descriptions of what to do. Your body will love you for it.
Visit Blind Alive at http://www.blindalive.com/
3. Unlimited game play and full upgrades to the game of your choice with Blindfold Games. Does Marty at Blindfold Games ever sleep? He just keeps churning out these amazing, addictive games. Card games, racing games, action games, he's got it all covered with fully accessible games that are fun to play for blind and sighted people alike. We have a great many chances over the weekend for you to win unlimited game play and full upgrades to the Blindfold Game of your choice. We are the fun guys after all.
Visit Blindfold Games at https://blindfoldgames.org/
4. The Downcast podcast app for both iOS and Mac. You won't at all be feeling downcast about the great accessibility of this app. If you like a powerful podcast app that not only lets you play your favourite podcasts but will also let you load your favourite audiobooks and other audio files in it for great listening, you can't go past Downcast. It has a bunch of advanced features that make this the swiss army knife of podcast listening. And if you have both the iOS and mac versions, they sync beautifully thanks to iCloud support.
Find out more about Downcast at http://www.downcastapp.com/
5. The Fantastical calendar app for iPhone and iPad. It's called Fantastical for good reason. Type in, or dictate, your appointment in natural language, and Fantastical fills in all the appointment fields by itself. For example, typing in "Listen to the Mushroom FM birthday weekend at 3 PM on Saturday", and it's done. See your reminders all within the app too. It integrates with your iOS Calendar, so you can still check your appointments with Siri and the native Calendar app. Have an Apple Watch? It's there too.
Find out about Fantastical at http://flexibits.com/
6. KNFB Reader for either iOS or Android. KNFB Reader is a mobile app that reads print aloud. It’s easy to use. Take a photo and the app reads the text aloud in clear synthetic speech. And it’s fast – the print will be yours almost instantaneously.
Worried about getting the right photo? The app will help you. It has text detection so you know you have the printed side of the page. The app also helps you get the whole page photographed with tilt and viewfinder assist. Just a tap of the finger and the print is yours.
KNFB Reader can read receipts. You will know what has been put on your card at restaurants, stores, or in taxis.
KNFB reader can read package labels. Wonder what came in the mail? Need nutritional information from your breakfast cereal? KNFB Reader captures it all.
Is your screen reader not cooperating? KNFB Reader can capture print from your computer or tablet screen. Photograph the screen and know exactly what those error messages say.
That's just the start. There are so many ways this app can change your life, and it can be yours for free, if you're a part of Mushroom FM's sixth birthday celebrations.
Learn more a bout KNFB Reader. http://www.knfbreader.com
7. The Mystic Access Tutorial of your choice. Mystic Access produce quality audio tutorials that are intuitive, friendly, and fun, and the selection keeps on growing. Victor Reader Stream, Amazon Echo, Voice Dream Reader, and much more.
Mystic Access Tutorials are here: http://www.mysticaccess.com/
8. Talking LG Bluetooth Headsets from SpeedDots. Listen to music, podcasts, or make and receive phone calls with ease, comfort, and exceptional sound with this stereo Bluetooth headset.
9. Tempered glass tactile screen protectors from SpeedDots. Available for your iPhone 6/6s, or iPhone 6+/6s+, type with confidence and efficiency with a range of screen protector to suit your requirements.
Check out SpeedDots at http://www.SpeedDots.com
10. Tweetings Pro iOS Twitter client. Fully accessible and with the power of a desktop Twitter client on your iDevice, Tweetings is simple to use, yet gives you all the power you need to be a Twitter ninja. Handy actions implemented for VoiceOver makes it super easy to swipe to reply, retweet and more. And wow, you can even have it insert the Mushroom FM hashtag for you automatically.
Find out more about Tweetings Pro at http://www.tweetings.net/
11. The Grain Science synthesiser app for musicians. We love music at Mushroom FM, and we love the people who create it. So musicians, geek out with this one. Grain Science offers a versatile synthesis engine. You can create everything from crunchy basslines to spooky soundscapes. With granular synthesis, you can do magical things with sound. Tear it into pieces then put it back together to make something new. Each of the 16 voices has two grain units, which can be blended to create morphing, layered or complex modulated instruments. It's AudioBus aware, so you can connect it with other apps. And yes, it's fully accessible. Rock on.
Find out more about Grain Science at http://www.wooji-juice.com
12. Audio books and eBooks from Mosen Consulting. Mosen Consulting offers eBooks and audiobooks on a range of topics, including using iOS, Twitter, the Amadeus Pro audio app for Mac, recording quality technology demos and more.
Find out more at http://www.mosen.org
To register for a seat on Mushroom Fm's virtual train and enjoy a fun weekend, please visit The Mushroom FM Birthday Page at http://www.mushroomfm.com/birthday2016.
Thanks to all the sponsors, and the volunteers who broadcast for Mushroom FM. And if you've listened at any time over these last six amazing years, a special thanks to you. You've made it worthwhile.