WEBVTT - Talking Tech 8th August 2023 0:00:08.238 --> 0:00:11.958 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:11.958 --> 0:00:16.098 August 8th, 2023. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have you 0:00:16.098 --> 0:00:19.158 with us wherever you're listening, perhaps through Virgin Australia radio 0:00:19.158 --> 0:00:23.958 associated Stations of Australia or maybe the Community Radio Network, 0:00:24.318 --> 0:00:26.628 there is also the podcast. If you haven't caught up 0:00:26.628 --> 0:00:28.818 with that yet, all you need to do is search 0:00:28.818 --> 0:00:31.788 for the two words talking tech and Diana can all 0:00:31.788 --> 0:00:35.328 come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced. 0:00:36.088 --> 0:00:38.968 Another option is to ask your Siri device or smart 0:00:38.968 --> 0:00:44.218 speaker to play Vision Australia Radio Talking Tech Podcast. Vision 0:00:44.218 --> 0:00:49.108 Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast with me someone who can 0:00:49.108 --> 0:00:53.128 explain all the tech stuff really well. Vision Australia's national 0:00:53.128 --> 0:00:57.418 adviser on Access Technology, David Woodbridge. And David, you've got 0:00:57.418 --> 0:01:00.568 a bit of technology to explain today because we thought 0:01:00.568 --> 0:01:03.658 it might be an idea to just talk about what 0:01:03.658 --> 0:01:08.608 technology would be useful for someone in various life situations, 0:01:08.608 --> 0:01:13.228 such as at home, as a student or in the workplace. 0:01:13.228 --> 0:01:17.158 And today we'll look at the situation of people who 0:01:17.158 --> 0:01:20.308 are blind and maybe low vision users. Next week. 0:01:20.548 --> 0:01:22.438 We certainly will. Yeah. So we'll do it both because 0:01:22.438 --> 0:01:23.998 it was going to be too complicated to try and 0:01:23.998 --> 0:01:26.788 fit both into one show. So hence while we're doing 0:01:26.788 --> 0:01:27.928 part one and part two. 0:01:28.318 --> 0:01:31.888 So let's start with the home technologist or the home 0:01:31.888 --> 0:01:34.468 user that needs to use technology. They mightn't love it 0:01:34.468 --> 0:01:35.608 as much as some of us do. 0:01:37.468 --> 0:01:39.628 True. So I'm just going to go through this fairly 0:01:39.628 --> 0:01:42.028 quickly because some of the stuff that will basically keep 0:01:42.028 --> 0:01:45.178 repeating some of it anyway. So my first recommendation is 0:01:45.178 --> 0:01:48.538 always to get a computer. Now most people get a 0:01:48.538 --> 0:01:51.568 Windows computer and these days it's Windows 11. I always 0:01:51.568 --> 0:01:55.108 say i7 processor and 16 gigs of memory because that's 0:01:55.108 --> 0:01:57.388 a good one to have. Nice and solid. But do 0:01:57.388 --> 0:02:01.138 you for a long, long time. And then for home users, 0:02:01.138 --> 0:02:03.808 you've got the choice of having the Free Australian screen 0:02:03.808 --> 0:02:06.988 Reader Nvda or the built in screen reader in the 0:02:06.988 --> 0:02:10.258 reader or Jaws for Windows. And then if you're a 0:02:10.258 --> 0:02:12.868 mac user, I tend to just these days go straight 0:02:12.868 --> 0:02:18.388 for the MacBook Pro 14 inch and of course you 0:02:18.388 --> 0:02:20.548 use that with voiceover. There's no other screen reader. So 0:02:20.548 --> 0:02:23.638 that's the basically the, the PC and the Mac stuff. 0:02:24.328 --> 0:02:26.188 And as far as the sort of the, the other 0:02:26.188 --> 0:02:31.228 stuff goes, that's more assistive tech and mainstream. Of course, 0:02:31.228 --> 0:02:34.048 we've got the Perkins Brailler. And yes, you can still 0:02:34.048 --> 0:02:35.758 get a Perkins Brailler because there's nothing like having a 0:02:35.758 --> 0:02:40.138 manual backup iPhone 14 Pro. And the reason why I 0:02:40.138 --> 0:02:42.888 recommending that one is because we've got all the LiDAR 0:02:42.898 --> 0:02:47.368 stuff to do with orientation mobility, Bluetooth keyboard, which is 0:02:47.368 --> 0:02:49.768 lovely because you can use that either with your laptop, 0:02:49.768 --> 0:02:54.628 your mac or as a keyboard for your iPhone, smartphone 0:02:54.628 --> 0:02:57.598 or tablet stand. Because remember, your iPhone can replace lots 0:02:57.598 --> 0:02:59.758 and lots of gadgets. So if you want to do 0:02:59.758 --> 0:03:03.898 optical character recognition, then you can use that. And the 0:03:03.898 --> 0:03:07.138 last three final ones is a mini guide that comes 0:03:07.138 --> 0:03:10.168 in handy for sonar detection. If you're kind of a 0:03:10.168 --> 0:03:14.908 guide dog user, let's not forget The Apprentice scanner because 0:03:14.908 --> 0:03:17.288 you want to be able to print stuff at home 0:03:17.288 --> 0:03:19.108 much as a shopping list or you want to be 0:03:19.108 --> 0:03:22.708 able to scan stuff in with a flatbed scanner. And 0:03:22.708 --> 0:03:25.828 then finally, one of my all favorite things is the 0:03:25.828 --> 0:03:30.628 Shox Bone conduction headphones. So that's my quick list for 0:03:30.628 --> 0:03:31.348 home users. 0:03:31.528 --> 0:03:34.918 Now, before we go to the next category, you talk 0:03:34.918 --> 0:03:40.918 about the iPhone 14 Pro. That's a good idea today. 0:03:41.278 --> 0:03:44.998 In two months time, there'll be another range of iPhones out. 0:03:44.998 --> 0:03:48.688 Should people be going for those? Or if you buy 0:03:48.688 --> 0:03:51.748 this one, the 14 at the moment, is that going 0:03:51.748 --> 0:03:54.058 to do you for enough years? ET cetera. 0:03:54.718 --> 0:03:56.788 Look, I think so. I mean, I just I've just 0:03:56.788 --> 0:04:00.238 got an iPhone 14 Pro this week and I've had 0:04:00.238 --> 0:04:03.208 my iPhone 12 Pro since it first came out. So 0:04:03.208 --> 0:04:05.758 I think most fans can last year for a good, 0:04:05.758 --> 0:04:08.728 you know, three, 4 or 5 years. So but you're right, 0:04:08.728 --> 0:04:10.588 we're getting that close to September. And if you have 0:04:10.618 --> 0:04:14.098 haven't upgraded, say, from 11 or below, then two more 0:04:14.098 --> 0:04:15.388 months is not going to be that big a deal. 0:04:15.388 --> 0:04:17.428 And so, yep, go and get an iPhone 15 pro. 0:04:17.878 --> 0:04:23.908 Yeah. If you haven't already got a model near that, correct? Yeah. Okay. 0:04:23.908 --> 0:04:27.148 So you talked about the home user there. What should 0:04:27.148 --> 0:04:28.458 the student think about? 0:04:28.888 --> 0:04:31.378 So we'll start off again repeating the same stuff. So 0:04:31.378 --> 0:04:34.588 of course we're talking about the same Windows stuff, except 0:04:34.588 --> 0:04:39.208 this time for school users. I would recommend Jaws first 0:04:39.298 --> 0:04:43.318 as your commercial screen where like Jaws is. If you 0:04:43.318 --> 0:04:46.288 can't get that, then Nvda And then if you can't 0:04:46.288 --> 0:04:50.368 that at the ultimate limit, then yes, get. Narrator The 0:04:50.368 --> 0:04:55.618 MacBook Pro again is certainly good for school. And of 0:04:55.618 --> 0:04:59.428 course that's the the voiceover one. As far as the 0:04:59.428 --> 0:05:01.708 other stuff goes, this is where it starts getting a 0:05:01.708 --> 0:05:03.898 little bit more expensive because you want to be as 0:05:03.898 --> 0:05:08.368 flexible and, you know, different backup mechanisms as possible. So 0:05:08.368 --> 0:05:10.588 I've still got the Perkins Brailler in there, but now 0:05:10.588 --> 0:05:14.248 I've got the Bryant by 40 X, and that's the 0:05:14.248 --> 0:05:20.098 refresher Braille display for your Mac windows or your iPhone 0:05:20.398 --> 0:05:23.608 that can also be used to edit as well. Then 0:05:23.608 --> 0:05:26.368 they've got a Braille embosser because sometimes I just like, 0:05:26.368 --> 0:05:29.458 you know, printing or embossing things out and Braille. Victor 0:05:29.458 --> 0:05:34.018 Registration for again, either recording notes or reading back documents 0:05:34.018 --> 0:05:36.528 whenever you want to. And of course. Him listening to 0:05:36.528 --> 0:05:40.518 Talking Tech podcast. iPhone 14 Pro again remember the fifteens 0:05:40.518 --> 0:05:43.188 coming out iPad? Now it's going to sound a bit weird, 0:05:43.188 --> 0:05:44.988 but the reason why I put that in there was 0:05:44.988 --> 0:05:47.988 because some apps will only run on an iPad, particularly 0:05:47.988 --> 0:05:51.858 if you're learning coding like Swift Playgrounds. Again, we've got 0:05:51.858 --> 0:05:58.758 the Bluetooth keyboard smartphone stand. Mini guide, printer scanner shocks 0:05:58.758 --> 0:06:03.558 and and that's it. So again, remember, these are just recommendations. 0:06:03.558 --> 0:06:06.528 They're not the be an end all of a list. 0:06:06.978 --> 0:06:08.418 What about in the workplace. 0:06:08.808 --> 0:06:11.688 So in the workplace the majority of like probably going 0:06:11.688 --> 0:06:15.978 to end up honestly using a Windows computer. And you know, 0:06:15.978 --> 0:06:18.888 for the workplace, I would effectively just go straight for jaws. 0:06:18.888 --> 0:06:22.548 You need the flexibility and the scripting ability to be 0:06:22.548 --> 0:06:25.698 able to customize the screen to fit your application of choice. 0:06:26.328 --> 0:06:30.798 Mac I'd still recommend basically what I've got in there already, 0:06:31.068 --> 0:06:32.748 keeping in mind that if you go for a job 0:06:32.748 --> 0:06:34.698 at a place that have got Macs, you're likely to 0:06:34.698 --> 0:06:37.068 be using their Macs anyway, so you may not need 0:06:37.068 --> 0:06:39.708 to buy one yourself or get the government to buy 0:06:39.708 --> 0:06:41.268 it for, but you're going on to in a minute. 0:06:41.718 --> 0:06:44.508 And then the other ones again, we've got Perkins Brailler, 0:06:44.508 --> 0:06:48.378 the brilliant. Now this time I've got the Orcam, which 0:06:48.378 --> 0:06:51.798 is the wearable device that you can just use for 0:06:51.798 --> 0:06:54.678 just quickly picking up a document and having it read. Quickly, 0:06:54.678 --> 0:06:57.048 back to you. And that's really good in the workplace 0:06:57.048 --> 0:07:00.198 because what you want to be is efficient and productive 0:07:00.198 --> 0:07:03.678 as possible. We still have the victory stream in there, 0:07:03.678 --> 0:07:08.628 the Braille embosser, the iPhone, the iPad only if you 0:07:08.628 --> 0:07:11.178 need it for some particular reason. So are still stuck 0:07:11.268 --> 0:07:17.118 in their Bluetooth keyboard smartphone tablet stand and another added 0:07:17.118 --> 0:07:20.148 on the stellar track for GPS. And the reason why 0:07:20.148 --> 0:07:21.678 I put that one in there is because you don't 0:07:21.678 --> 0:07:24.918 want to run or rely on your iPhone in this 0:07:24.918 --> 0:07:27.288 case to do your GPS. There's nothing worse than getting 0:07:27.288 --> 0:07:29.658 to work. Going to check your calendar for the day 0:07:29.658 --> 0:07:32.268 on your iPhone, and it's flat because you've been using 0:07:32.268 --> 0:07:36.308 your GPS to navigate to work. Mini guide, printer slash 0:07:36.318 --> 0:07:40.428 scanner and Shock's. So I hope that made sense to 0:07:40.428 --> 0:07:42.528 people that I've sort of been adding on a little 0:07:42.528 --> 0:07:45.978 bit more. From home school to employment. 0:07:46.428 --> 0:07:48.858 Some people may be able to get assistance with funding 0:07:48.858 --> 0:07:53.928 for their devices even at home if they're NDIS participants. 0:07:54.798 --> 0:07:57.558 What other ways can people get support? 0:07:57.858 --> 0:08:02.928 So for students, particularly going into later study like Certificate 0:08:02.928 --> 0:08:05.748 three and Above and University, remember we've got our Bursary 0:08:05.748 --> 0:08:08.778 Awards currently running at the moment that you can apply for, 0:08:08.778 --> 0:08:11.358 so you can get more information that from Virgin Australia. 0:08:11.358 --> 0:08:13.698 And remember, if you're going for a job, you can 0:08:13.698 --> 0:08:15.708 get an assessment like you can for any of this 0:08:15.708 --> 0:08:20.358 stuff for three job access, which is Commonwealth funding to 0:08:20.358 --> 0:08:24.468 pay for mainstream or assistive technology. If you're able to 0:08:24.468 --> 0:08:25.218 do your job. 0:08:25.878 --> 0:08:29.538 And what's the best way to get support with your technology? 0:08:29.538 --> 0:08:34.908 Firstly in selecting it and then ongoing support when things 0:08:34.908 --> 0:08:36.528 don't work the way you expect them to? 0:08:36.558 --> 0:08:40.398 Yeah, but particularly for this sort of stuff, particularly for, 0:08:40.398 --> 0:08:43.458 you know, education or employment, I would always have a 0:08:43.458 --> 0:08:45.348 bit of a chat with the At Help desk at 0:08:45.348 --> 0:08:49.098 Vision Australian that's adaptive technology or assistive technology Help Desk 0:08:49.098 --> 0:08:53.058 get an assessment done through an assistive technology consultant for 0:08:53.058 --> 0:08:56.838 our technology service and of course for both the bursaries 0:08:56.838 --> 0:09:01.398 and job access to even access that funding scheme, you 0:09:01.398 --> 0:09:04.848 will need to have a proper assessment done. So again, 0:09:04.848 --> 0:09:08.238 that's why I said that this is a recommendation generalist. 0:09:08.418 --> 0:09:11.958 This may not meet or some of your needs, so 0:09:11.958 --> 0:09:14.808 it's always important to get an assessment done properly. 0:09:15.378 --> 0:09:20.178 It is application for bursary time. Who does someone who's 0:09:20.178 --> 0:09:23.688 going to be studying next year talk to about getting 0:09:23.688 --> 0:09:25.908 involved in the Vision Australia bursary scheme? 0:09:26.118 --> 0:09:27.468 Yep. So literally the best way to do it is 0:09:27.468 --> 0:09:32.088 just bring the Vision Australia number one 308 4746 and 0:09:32.088 --> 0:09:33.678 asked to speak to the person in charge of the 0:09:33.678 --> 0:09:34.458 Bursary awards. 0:09:34.608 --> 0:09:43.278 One 308 4746 Vision Australia's main telephone number. I'd like 0:09:43.278 --> 0:09:45.798 to talk with you now about an app that we've 0:09:45.798 --> 0:09:47.988 both been playing with a little bit over the last 0:09:47.988 --> 0:09:50.598 week or so. It's called Weather oLogy. 0:09:51.228 --> 0:09:54.308 Yeah, look, this is actually really interesting. So what it is, 0:09:54.318 --> 0:09:56.928 it's a funny enough, it's a weather app, but what 0:09:56.928 --> 0:10:02.538 they've done, they've recorded weather people, real, real human being, 0:10:02.538 --> 0:10:08.028 weather broadcasters, and they've selected different phrases and words to 0:10:08.028 --> 0:10:12.258 build up this way of being able to give you 0:10:12.258 --> 0:10:15.918 the weather with these folks talking to you. And it's 0:10:15.918 --> 0:10:19.128 amazing to sit back and listen to these people, give 0:10:19.128 --> 0:10:23.508 you the weather quote in real time, even though what 0:10:23.508 --> 0:10:26.628 you're really listening to is different chopped up words and 0:10:26.628 --> 0:10:30.828 phrases that they've pre-recorded. But it really feels like and 0:10:30.828 --> 0:10:34.938 sounds like you're listening to that person live all the time. 0:10:35.448 --> 0:10:38.958 So they are American voices you're hearing. And it's strange 0:10:38.958 --> 0:10:42.648 hearing your local weather from these voices, but it's quite 0:10:42.648 --> 0:10:45.168 an amazing technology and worth just dabbling with so you 0:10:45.168 --> 0:10:46.158 can get the feel of it. 0:10:46.368 --> 0:10:48.198 Yeah, I just wish they could make it a bit 0:10:48.198 --> 0:10:49.908 more local and you could I don't know, you could 0:10:49.908 --> 0:10:52.818 listen to different ones from Australia because there was some 0:10:52.818 --> 0:10:54.828 weather people that I just love to listen to as well. 0:10:54.828 --> 0:10:57.048 And some of the old ones at the past, which 0:10:57.378 --> 0:11:00.768 now I think about it, we could probably use 11 0:11:00.768 --> 0:11:03.528 labs to get snippets of the past of their voices 0:11:03.528 --> 0:11:05.928 and make up arrangements, but who knows? Sky's the limit. 0:11:05.928 --> 0:11:07.158 Let's see what happens in the future. 0:11:07.548 --> 0:11:15.528 ChatGPT One of the applications of AI, it's come to Android. 0:11:16.458 --> 0:11:19.218 Indeed, this has been available in Android towards the end 0:11:19.218 --> 0:11:21.498 of July, and for some odd reason I completely forgot 0:11:21.498 --> 0:11:25.278 to mention it. But yes, so it's basically where you 0:11:25.278 --> 0:11:29.088 can ask questions of the AI and it comes back 0:11:29.088 --> 0:11:31.638 and gives you answers and you can ask it to 0:11:31.638 --> 0:11:35.958 rewrite emails, you can ask it fairly complicated questions. So 0:11:35.958 --> 0:11:39.918 it's far beyond what our traditional, you know, Siri, a 0:11:39.918 --> 0:11:43.668 lady and Google type stuff, does. Keep in mind, though, 0:11:43.668 --> 0:11:45.588 that I always say with this is that some of 0:11:45.588 --> 0:11:49.248 the information you get back, you always need to verify 0:11:49.248 --> 0:11:53.358 because it's not always correct. So yeah, so don't don't 0:11:53.358 --> 0:11:55.608 take it on face value. But yes, if you're an 0:11:55.608 --> 0:11:58.488 Android user, you can now use ChatGPT. 0:11:58.788 --> 0:12:02.058 And talking of AI, a little tip for those who 0:12:02.058 --> 0:12:04.218 haven't done it, you might be interested in playing with 0:12:04.218 --> 0:12:10.338 the Bing search app in iOS, the voice controller. That 0:12:10.338 --> 0:12:13.878 is really good and you can get some quite useful 0:12:13.878 --> 0:12:19.398 sorts of information just by asking these days. It's amazing. 0:12:19.398 --> 0:12:23.508 Yeah, it's pretty impressive. I'm looking for today and apparently 0:12:23.508 --> 0:12:26.358 Apple's has said so. So is Google. And so I 0:12:26.358 --> 0:12:31.848 was Amazon that all the standing personal assistants they'll actually 0:12:31.848 --> 0:12:36.558 morph into an AI large language model system as well. 0:12:36.558 --> 0:12:38.478 So that's what I'm sort of looking forward to in 0:12:38.478 --> 0:12:39.408 the next year or two. 0:12:39.708 --> 0:12:44.478 Hmm. Very interesting. Let's go back a bit now. The 0:12:44.478 --> 0:12:46.998 old IBM mainframe still around. 0:12:46.998 --> 0:12:50.628 I know. I saw this on on. Sorry. I was 0:12:50.628 --> 0:12:52.218 going to say Twitter. I saw it on the X 0:12:52.218 --> 0:12:56.388 the other day, which sounds bizarre. And major companies are 0:12:56.388 --> 0:13:00.828 still using IBM mainframes and they're basically the size of 0:13:00.828 --> 0:13:04.458 a couple of fridges with lots and lots of storage, 0:13:04.458 --> 0:13:06.798 lots of memory and lots of data processing. Because when 0:13:06.798 --> 0:13:10.818 you think about when you're going to do banking, financial transactions, 0:13:10.818 --> 0:13:15.558 all that sort of stuff, the system has to work on, 0:13:15.558 --> 0:13:19.278 you know, maybe 50 to 100 applications churning away all 0:13:19.278 --> 0:13:23.598 at the same time and have an instant response. So yes, 0:13:23.598 --> 0:13:25.788 IBM mainframes are still around. I'll put a link in 0:13:25.788 --> 0:13:29.178 the show notes. And it's really interesting to realize that 0:13:29.178 --> 0:13:32.028 mainframes have been around, you know, for in one way 0:13:32.028 --> 0:13:34.338 or another for a good 60 years. And it's like 0:13:34.338 --> 0:13:38.388 comparing an elephant to a PC mouse as such. 0:13:38.808 --> 0:13:42.858 Yeah, quite amazing. Just before we go, a reminder of 0:13:42.858 --> 0:13:45.018 where there are details of what you've been talking about 0:13:45.018 --> 0:13:47.568 in this and previous editions of the program. 0:13:47.778 --> 0:13:49.428 Indeed. So as always, you can check out our show 0:13:49.428 --> 0:13:52.128 notes on my website, which is David, would it be 0:13:52.128 --> 0:13:53.948 a dot podbean pad? 0:13:54.168 --> 0:13:59.778 And David would be dot podbean pod B n to 0:13:59.778 --> 0:14:00.618 write to the program. 0:14:00.768 --> 0:14:02.598 You can write to me at Vision Australia where I work, 0:14:02.598 --> 0:14:07.158 which is David Woodbridge, how it sounds at Vision Australia. Org. 0:14:07.338 --> 0:14:11.928 David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org This has been 0:14:11.928 --> 0:14:14.988 talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's National Advisor 0:14:14.988 --> 0:14:19.308 on access technology, David Woodbridge. I'm Stephen Jolley. Stay safe. 0:14:19.308 --> 0:14:20.868 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.