S1: Hello everyone! Welcome to Talking Tech, this edition available from
S1: November 7th, 2023. I'm Stephen Jolly, great to have you
S1: with us listening through maybe Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations
S1: of Australia or perhaps the Community Radio Network. There is
S1: also the podcast if you'd like to catch the podcast
S1: and haven't done so yet. All you need to do
S1: is search for the two words talking tech. And then
S1: it can come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after
S1: it's been produced. Another option is to ask a Siri
S1: device or smart speaker to play Vision Australia radio talking
S1: tech podcast Vision Australia Radio talking tech podcast with me,
S1: someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well.
S1: Vision Australia's national advisor on Access Technology, David Woodbridge and
S1: David for once at a civilised time in our part
S1: of the world. Last Tuesday morning at 11 a.m., we
S1: were able to tune in to the most recent Apple event.
S2: We were indeed, and this one was purely a pre-recorded event.
S2: So there wasn't anybody actually at Cupertino at all. And
S2: what they announced was three new MacBook pros and a
S2: new iMac. So you've really got the M3 standard MacBook Pro,
S2: then you've got the Pro version of it, and then
S2: you've got sort of the big version of it, which
S2: is the max version of it. And then they also
S2: announced that the fact that the 24 inch iMac is
S2: also getting the M3 chip.
S1: Just to remind everyone what the iMac is.
S2: The iMac is an all in one desktop computer. So
S2: if you think about a computer has got the normally
S2: on a windows computer, you've got the the system box
S2: separate to the monitor and normally a separate speakers or
S2: part of the monitor. A iMac is an all in
S2: one computer. So you've got the the computer itself, plus
S2: the monitors all in one thing. Or you really need
S2: to do is plug in your power, attach a keyboard
S2: and mouse or trackpad and off you go. So all
S2: this new stuff now runs on Apple Silicon, as with
S2: the M1 and M2. And really what they were saying
S2: quite deliberately in the presentation is that the standard M3
S2: is for your general student type person. So when you're doing,
S2: you know, essays or a bit of number crunching or
S2: composing some music, that sort of lower end stuff, the
S2: next one, the pro version of the MacBook Pro, if
S2: you like, is for people that are a little bit
S2: more number crunching, such as massive amounts of data getting
S2: more advanced into a bit of video editing and music
S2: composition and so on. They also mentioned things like working
S2: in neurology and processing that type of data and so on.
S2: Then the Max is really for your full blown videoing
S2: 4K type person where you will need the power of
S2: the processor. Where I came away from this event was
S2: thinking if you've already got an M1 and particularly in
S2: them to Mac, there was absolutely no need to update
S2: if you've got an internal Mac. So before the M1
S2: came out in 2020, you might want to start to
S2: consider updating because you will notice a bit of a
S2: speed difference. But for most of us that do emailing,
S2: word processing, web browsing, a bit of podcasting on that
S2: sort of stuff, if I was going to update, I'd
S2: probably just update to the straight M3, and that's more
S2: than adequate.
S1: What did you think of the broadcast time being in
S1: prime time evening time in the United States?
S2: Well, I loved it. And of course it had the
S2: scary fast Apple event because it was around Halloween. But
S2: I love the time because it meant I could I
S2: could think about doing other work around it, and I
S2: wasn't tired. I didn't have to get up at 3 a.m.
S2: or 10 a.m. that time and listen to the keynote.
S1: But what did you think about them experimenting for the
S1: American market with the evening prime time?
S2: I thought it was great because I think there was
S2: some sort of sports thing or some other thing on,
S2: and they apparently had a fantastic logging, because every time
S2: I think people know there's an Apple keynote event on,
S2: people have to listen to it. And because you can
S2: listen on your iPhone, your iPad or wherever else you like,
S2: it's very easy to just drop in and listen to it.
S1: Any other Apple news that day we should know about?
S2: Not so much that day, but we've also had the
S2: quarterly event from Apple to do if their quarterly earnings
S2: and as expected overall their ratings are down. However their
S2: services are up. So lots of things to do with
S2: iCloud and the App Store in the Apple TV. They
S2: were making lots and lots of money. But look, every
S2: time somebody says Apple's earnings are dropping, they're still earning
S2: megabucks of money. I'm looking forward to when they're going
S2: to push the Mac, hopefully more next year, because I
S2: think sometimes they spend a lot of time on the
S2: iPhone and the. I've had. And because I'm such a,
S2: you know, a fan of the Mac. Hopefully next year
S2: they'll start pushing the Mac a lot more.
S1: And the Touch Bar has gone.
S2: Yep. It's gone. Completely gone. It was a useless invention
S2: in the first place when they first announced it back
S2: in 2010, I think it was or sometime. And we've
S2: now got normal Apple keyboards with function keys. Hooray!
S1: You got your new all terrain cane about a week
S1: or so ago. How is it?
S2: Absolutely amazing. So I thought, you know, well, extending the
S2: hand or, you know, big deal between sort of the
S2: golf grip for normal kind use and the round grip
S2: beneath that to extend it out and almost use it
S2: like a walking stuff, if you like. So I went
S2: for this very rocky stepped walk down to a point
S2: here on the Central Coast, and what I found was
S2: before I took a step, I would use the normal
S2: kind to sort of explore what I was going to
S2: step onto, and then what I would do is I'd
S2: extend the handle to make it a full extension, and
S2: then explore a little bit more beyond that step to
S2: either side, and then find a really great place where
S2: I could actually put the ball of the cane down
S2: for stability and then step. So using it as a
S2: walking stuff. And then when I stepped down, I could
S2: then retract it back into a normal cane and do
S2: the exploration again. Now, I did have a side of
S2: person with me, because I didn't want to tumble down
S2: a steep set of stairs, but I managed to do
S2: that whole thing that I have not walked down for
S2: about 20 years by myself. So I was a little
S2: bit slow. But now that I know where I'm going,
S2: I'm going to be more confident. But just that extra
S2: extension to make sure that you're 100% safe stepping down
S2: the service that you're stepping down to, and what's on
S2: your left and right hand side as far as jobs
S2: are concerned, was absolutely amazing.
S1: Human wear delivered some updates to their Braille devices. The
S1: brilliant series, the B 20 x, the B 40 x,
S1: and then the mantis Q 40. That's the one with
S1: the coyote keyboard. So they've gone to version 2.1.0.
S2: Significant, yes, because we now have localized languages, which is
S2: basically regions that the the brilliant support. So here in
S2: Australia we can have two languages. And I think from
S2: memory it was Lisa for the female voice. And I
S2: think it was Tyler for the the male voice. But
S2: I think, Stephen, you said that you had some issues
S2: with adjusting the right for those Australian voices.
S1: Well, for any voice that wasn't the normal default voice,
S1: I was having difficulty changing the voice rate. So I
S1: think work not quite complete there. We might see an
S1: update at some stage in the future to get it right.
S1: The other interesting one, of course, is the access to
S1: the Daisy libraries, and the Vision Australia library content is
S1: now available, and that's quite an experience. Can I say, David,
S1: downloading a newspaper, having it in Braille and also being
S1: able to search for particular words through the whole document
S1: as you can with any Daisy document? Pretty good.
S2: Yeah. And I particularly like reading articles, particularly when they
S2: start using words that I haven't seen written down before.
S2: Because we're using Braille, you can double check the spelling
S2: and stuff, particularly when you've got an email, people some
S2: questions about things that you might not know how to
S2: spell because you're using speech all the time. That is
S2: a great benefit to me. Of course, with braille and literacy.
S1: Now, you discovered something interesting about price comparisons.
S2: Yes. Look, I was quite surprised by this. A quantum
S2: last week announced, or they were promoting the focus 14
S2: version five Bluetooth Braille display from Whisperer. So that's a
S2: 14 cell braille display with some very basic note taking functions.
S2: And I thought, oh, well, you know, it's $2,900. Let
S2: me go and check out what the brilliant from Human
S2: Wear 20 cell version is selling for. Plus all the
S2: applications that supports including Daisy that we've just talked about
S2: and no taking for that matter. And it turns out
S2: that the human wear product is $45 more expensive, 2945
S2: so what I've learnt from that is just don't assume
S2: that 14 cells or 20 cells or 40 cells, or
S2: roughly the same price from different manufacturers, it always is
S2: a good idea to shop around and see what bang
S2: for your buck you're getting. And depending on how many
S2: brow cells you've got in the display, plus all the
S2: applications that the actual brass display actually supports.
S1: Talking of displays, and we've been talking about the high
S1: end graphic displays in recent weeks, like the monarch and
S1: the dot pad, the Braille doodle that we should talk
S1: about that.
S2: Yeah. Look, it's getting closer and closer to being sold.
S2: And so what it is, if you can imagine an
S2: oversized Braille grid. So let's say, for example, it's 20
S2: cells wide by 20 cells deep. And you've got pins
S2: in it where when you draw this magnetic stylus across it,
S2: it pulls up the pins. So literally you can do
S2: shapes of triangles and. Circles. And of course you can
S2: draw houses and all that sort of cool stuff. So
S2: it's a very quick way of producing very quick diagram
S2: or a line picture of something for a child or
S2: an adult or whatever else. And of course, you could
S2: also practice your print letters if you wanted to. You
S2: can also do Braille on it if you really wanted to.
S2: And then of course, when you're finished, you just take
S2: your hand or your fingers across and just push down
S2: or scrub out all the pins that are sticking up
S2: and hi presto, you can start again, Australian dollar wise,
S2: by the time it hits the market here in Australia,
S2: we are looking at about $140. So it's nice to
S2: have something that's completely mechanical, doesn't involve any electronics at all,
S2: and very quickly gives you access to shapes and diagrams
S2: so people can very quickly show you what something may
S2: look like.
S1: The very popular smartphone with buttons, the Blind Shell Classic
S1: two an update.
S2: There is an update and look, it's mainly a bugfix update,
S2: but what was interesting to me was that it also
S2: has a new function where let's say you've got a
S2: favourite web page, like going to all the time. So
S2: for me it would be like Apple VS or Shoprite
S2: in Australia, org and so on. But you can add
S2: those pages to your favorites list in that side button
S2: that you press to bring up your favorites. And I
S2: think that's a really nice idea because it saves you
S2: having to go into applications, etcetera, etcetera, and get to
S2: the web browser tool. You can simply when you're on
S2: that page. Next, add it to your favorites and then
S2: you can access it via the side button. I think
S2: that's a really great feature.
S1: Victor read a trick from human where you've got some news.
S2: It's basically coming to the end of life for the
S2: product from human wear. So I guess as of 31st
S2: of December this year, it's being discontinued officially being produced. However,
S2: Human Wear will continue to support the product for another
S2: three years. So if you're looking at having a combined
S2: daisy vector stream with a GPS, the Victor Trek part
S2: of it, then jumping now while the going's good, otherwise
S2: you'll have to end up with two separate units the
S2: vector reader stream third generation itself, and of course the
S2: stellar tracks. They'll have to carry two units around rather
S2: than one. Keeping in mind that the stellar Trek now
S2: has a lot of cool, very good high end GPS
S2: stuff in it these days.
S1: You're very famous. Exploring tech webinars seem to have gone
S1: into hibernation.
S2: They have look, these have been running for, I want
S2: to say over sort of 3 or 4 years now,
S2: and it's gotten to the stage where we sort of
S2: need to re-evaluate how are we going to start delivering
S2: people interesting or new content. So we've decided to put
S2: on hold for the moment. And in the new year,
S2: probably around about February, most likely, we'll start looking at
S2: different ways of producing content. So it might be via
S2: a web page, it might be via a podcast feed
S2: or whatever else. We're just going to basically throw ideas
S2: against the wall, see what sticks, and then I'll let
S2: people know what I'm talking to, what form it might take.
S1: We'll deal with this in more detail in coming weeks,
S1: but people might like to go somewhere for Christmas. Ideas
S1: from the vision store of Vision Australia.
S2: Indeed. So keep in mind that the cut off for
S2: guaranteed delivery is basically December 4th, so it's not that
S2: far away. I've got a link in the show notes
S2: that takes you to initially 75 different gift ideas, but yes,
S2: we're starting to run at a time, which is why
S2: we're mentioning it now. So you can have a look
S2: at those ideas or any other ideas on the web
S2: page for doing searching, and you can start ordering now.
S1: Before we go, a reminder of where there are details
S1: of what we've been talking about in this and previous
S1: editions of the program.
S2: Indeed. So as you can check out my blog site,
S2: which is David would be a dot podbean pad and.
S1: David would be dot podbean podbean to write to the program.
S2: You can write to me at Vision Australia where I work,
S2: which is David Woodbridge, how it sounds at Vision Australia.
S1: Org David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org this has
S1: been talking Ted with me has been Vision Australia's national
S1: advisor on access technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolley. Take care.
S1: We'll talk more tech next week. See you.