S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: July the 16th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have
S1: you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia radio, associated
S1: stations of RPA Australia or perhaps the Community Radio Network.
S1: There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you
S1: need to do is search for the two words talking
S1: tech and Dan. It can all come usually on a
S1: Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is
S1: to ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play
S1: Vision Australia Radio talking tech podcast Vision Australia Radio talking
S1: tech podcast with me, someone who can explain all this
S1: tech stuff really well. Vision Australia's national advisor on access Technology,
S1: David Woodbridge, and later we're going to hear from a
S1: guest from Quantum Reading Learning vision, Peter Cracknell. But before that,
S1: let's have our usual Product Minute segment. David, you've got
S1: a phone which we've talked about a number of times
S1: in the past, but it's worth reminding everyone about it
S1: that can be obtained from the vision store of Vision Australia.
S2: And I should probably also say quantum as well. And
S2: the other reason why I'm mentioning it too, is because
S2: I've got a little surprise for people coming up in
S2: about 3 to 4 weeks time. So stand by for
S2: that one with the blonde Jill classic two. But anyway,
S2: getting back to the blind shot classic two. It's a
S2: nice standard phone. And when I say a standard phone,
S2: it's actually got real keys on it. So you've got
S2: your traditional numeric keypad 12345 good old function keys at
S2: the top which are tactile a camera, a flashlight, a
S2: voice input button, volume up, volume down, and so on.
S2: So for people that used to have the old Nokia phones,
S2: if you remember those with that type of keypad and
S2: the function button above it, then that's actually what the
S2: Blind Shaw Classic two is actually based upon. And the
S2: reason why it's called Blind Shell is because it's running
S2: a set of custom software applications. So things like mail,
S2: internet radio, um, podcasts, lookout, out, which is the Google
S2: Lookout app, envision I, which is the envision AI assistant,
S2: and so on. But what really stands out for me
S2: is a couple of functions. One is the flashlight, one
S2: that I've already mentioned. So if you want to look
S2: in the pantry and you can't see stuff, you can
S2: use the the flashlight. Number two, it's actually got a
S2: real FM radio chip inside it. So you can pick
S2: up terrestrial radio, which when you're in the back of what?
S2: When you don't have any cellular or Wi-Fi connection, you've
S2: still got an FM radio. It's also got an SOS function.
S2: So it's got this big button on the back that
S2: if you need to, um, have the phone contact your
S2: emergency contact and give your GPS location. It can do
S2: that as well. And you can also use it both
S2: as a low vision phone. So it's got high contrast
S2: larger font and the or a different, you know, black
S2: and white, white on black, yellow on blue and so
S2: on contrast settings. So you can have the speech turned
S2: off or you can have the speech on. And of
S2: course you can have both things happening. So it's both
S2: a low vision phone and a quote blindness type phone.
S2: It's a really functional fantastic phone.
S1: How much does it cost?
S2: It's $990. So for a good, you know, smart phone,
S2: it works really well. And of course, like I said
S2: at the beginning, it's both available from the Vision store
S2: and quantum technology as well.
S1: The Blind Shell Classic two. We turn to our guest now,
S1: Peter Cracknell, who is manager Blindness and Low Vision Technologies
S1: with Quantum Reading Learning Vision. Good to have you with
S1: us Peter.
S3: Oh thank you Stephen. Good morning.
S1: Over to you David.
S2: So before we talk about our main one, which is
S2: my one of my favorite bits of technology, which is
S2: the Mountbatten or in this case, the Mountbatten tutor. Do
S2: you just want to allay people's fears about the Blondshell
S2: classic two not being available to switch over to the
S2: 4G network? Because I believe with a setup it's all fixed.
S3: Thanks, David. Yes, so you may have seen some news
S3: about the 3G mobile network being shut down by Telstra. Um,
S3: and the impact that may have on phones that are
S3: not compatible with 4G and in particular the Vo LTE component. Now,
S3: what's going to happen is that phones that currently use
S3: 3G for emergency dialing, they won't be able to use
S3: 3G when the network shuts down. And only phones that
S3: are 4G VoLTE compatible will automatically switch to emergency dialing.
S3: Plus all the other 4G facilities. So the Blind Child
S3: Classic two is 4G compatible. It's very important, though, that
S3: people do perform a system update. Compatibility was ensured from
S3: February of this year. That's for all of the networks.
S3: That's for Vodafone, Telstra, Optus and so on. But you
S3: do need to make sure that you have updated your
S3: phone to the latest version. That's why I have put
S3: out some instructions about how to do that to our customers,
S3: but also through the various networks like the VIP list
S3: and so on. And our website has got step by
S3: step instructions. How how to do that.
S2: Yeah, I'll put that in the show notes as well.
S2: And it's you know, it sounds a bit scary, but
S2: it's it's very straightforward. And like Peter said, we've both
S2: got the instructions and there's a video on there as
S2: well if you do need sighted assistance set up. So, uh,
S2: moving on to our main topic, Peter, and I've loved
S2: the Mountbatten itself since 1991, which I think when it
S2: first came out. What's the main new whizzbang thing happening
S2: with the Mountbatten tutor now?
S3: Well, the Mountbatten tutor, which is manufactured by Harpo in Poland,
S3: we used to manufacture that in Rydalmere in in Sydney
S3: for many, many years after the LSE version, Harpo made
S3: The Whisperer, The Mountbatten Whisperer and now this new model,
S3: the Mountbatten Tutor.
S4: The essential purpose.
S3: Is much the same as it's always been, which is
S3: really focused around early braille learning, usually for children, but
S3: not always. And that purpose still remains. And in fact,
S3: all of the features and commands that people might have
S3: known previously for the other models also in the Mountbatten tutor.
S3: I guess one of the things that the new model
S3: does do is tries to put those sorts of commands
S3: and and settings into a menu system that's a bit
S3: more intuitive. You don't have to remember the commands. You
S3: can just go through a spoken menu system, which is
S3: just a conventional menu system to adjust margins and translation
S3: formats and so on. And that is also shown on
S3: a liquid crystal display actually on the body of the machine.
S3: So that's integrated into the Mountbatten Tudor. And that means
S3: that a teacher aide or a parent, they can actually
S3: navigate that. It also has spoken output of course, and
S3: to more intuitively make changes to settings to Braille, translation
S3: grade and that sort of thing. Whereas before they would
S3: have to remember a particular command which they would input
S3: through the keyboard. The keyboard has been modified, so on
S3: the older models they had various keys that perhaps are
S3: not so recognizable on a conventional keyboard, whereas with the
S3: Mountbatten Tudor keyboard it actually follows the pattern of a
S3: conventional keyboard with an escape key, a backspace key and
S3: enter key, a spacebar, and so on. Plus, of course,
S3: the traditional what we call the Perkins keys for typing Braille.
S3: And that keyboard is also detachable from the body of
S3: the Mountbatten Tudor, which gives just a lot more options
S3: for different configurations where perhaps, uh, a child couldn't actually
S3: line up as they straight on, they might want to
S3: have the keyboard at a slight angle, or perhaps it
S3: might be easier to operate if the child was in
S3: a wheelchair or something like that.
S2: So, Peter, I've got a few quick questions, I guess.
S2: Number one is, if you know how to use the
S2: earlier versions of the Mountbatten, which to me is a
S2: electronic brailler, which was actually very, very cool. I'm assuming
S2: if you know that, then you know how to basically
S2: use the new Mountbatten tutor.
S3: Yes, David, that's absolutely right. If you ever operated a
S3: previous model, there'll be absolutely no difficulty operating this one. Uh,
S3: it could be that you had remembered some of the
S3: commands like RFA command or something like that. And you
S3: can type that straight in and away you go. You
S3: can also plug in a regular keyboard as well. David.
S3: So just a regular Qwerty keyboard, USB, um, and operate
S3: it through the regular Qwerty keyboard.
S2: That was funny because that was going to be my
S2: second question. You beat me to it. So my third
S2: question then is, I remember in the old days we
S2: had the mimic, which was a little plug in, little
S2: LCD display. I'm assuming the LCD display in the Mountbatten tutor.
S2: Now that's also effectively your mimic, so you can see
S2: what's being brailled as well from a sighted person point
S2: of view.
S3: Absolutely. It has a mimic function. So a sighted person
S3: can actually review what's being typed in regular text. In
S3: addition to that, it also shows the menus in print
S3: so you can actually operate it with no knowledge of
S3: Braille through that LCD display. So yes, it's it is
S3: actually putting the mimic into the case. But in addition
S3: making it a display. Yeah, far more superior.
S2: Can you link it up to anything like a PC
S2: or an iPad and iPhone or an Android phone?
S3: Yes, in a couple of ways. You can look it
S3: up via USB to a laptop and run a program
S3: called MLB.com as we could on our previous models. That's
S3: for file transfer, and also to act as a basically
S3: an embosser from your computer. Um, but in addition to that,
S3: and I think perhaps in a more valuable way, you
S3: can connect an iPad or an Android device to the
S3: Mountbatten tutor just using a Bluetooth connection. And that will
S3: allow file transfer and embossing and that sort of stuff.
S3: But more importantly, it allows a non braille person to
S3: be able to type on the iPad, just tap on
S3: onto the iPad and have it immediately embossed in a
S3: proper grade your chosen grade on the Mountbatten tutor and
S3: vice versa. When the brailler is brailling, it will back
S3: translate into regular print on the iPad. And so you
S3: can have those back and forth conversations. You can study
S3: a particular article from on your iPad, and you can
S3: just paste it into the chat area and it will
S3: emboss on the on the Mountbatten tutor.
S2: Sounds fantastic. Um, now, if people are interested in finding
S2: out more about the Mountbatten or getting their hands on it,
S2: what's the best way to contact quantum?
S3: There's a couple of ways. Uh, ways. One would be
S3: to contact quantum and we can demonstrate we can also
S3: trial the unit. We have people who apply through it,
S3: through NDA, through NDIS. And they'll need to trial that
S3: of course to compare it to other options. And of
S3: course Virgin Australia through the Virgin Australia ATS teams and
S3: their occupational therapy teams. They can also demonstrate and assess
S3: people for the Melbourne tutor.
S2: Okay. And, uh, cost wise, how much is the cost out? Right?
S3: It's, uh, seven, 990. I should just say, David, that, um,
S3: we are due for a price increase across the board,
S3: so it may may go around about 8000. Yeah. Okay.
S2: Is there a landing page on the quantum website that
S2: people could type in a direct link to jump to
S2: information about Mountbatten, or is it just easier to search
S2: for Mountbatten on the quantum website?
S3: It's easier to search for Mountbatten on the quantum website. Yes,
S3: we do have it under the Our Blindness section, under
S3: Braille writers. Yes, we also sell the Tatra point as well,
S3: which is a mechanical Braille writer indeed.
S2: Yeah, love that little thing as well. All right, Steve,
S2: back to you.
S1: Thank you. David. David speaking there with Peter Cracknell from
S1: Quantum Reading learning Vision. David, just while we've got a
S1: few moments, the long awaited Apple Vision Pro has arrived
S1: in Australia.
S2: The Vision Pro was released last Friday as we go
S2: to air this week. It's basically a spatial computer, so
S2: it's very vision related, so if you're low vision, you're
S2: going to get some benefit out of it. If you're
S2: blind perhaps not. But let's just see what happens down
S2: the track. Um, if you want a demo and you
S2: want to look at all the accessibility functions in it,
S2: make an appointment at your local Apple, uh, reseller or
S2: Apple Store that sell the Vision Pro, and you can
S2: have a bit of a demo in a play.
S1: That's the Apple Vision Pro. And Samsung had an event
S1: last week.
S2: They did. So they had their unpacked event. We've now
S2: got the new Flip and Fold version six. Towards the
S2: end of July, we have a new Galaxy Watch Ultra,
S2: which looks very much like an Apple Watch. We have
S2: the new buds three version for the Galaxy Buds, which
S2: looks very much like an AirPod. The only thing that's
S2: different this time, which is coming out into this year
S2: or early next year in Australia, is the Galaxy Ring.
S2: So rather than having a Fitbit or an Apple Watch
S2: on your wrist, you wear this ring on your finger.
S1: Sounds fascinating. Before we go, a reminder of whether our
S1: details of what we've been talking about in this and
S1: previous editions of the program.
S2: You can check out my website, which is David Woodbury
S2: Podbean pod Cbn.com.
S1: David Woodbury Podbean pod b e a N.com to right
S1: 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 tech. Our guest has been Peter Cracknell from
S1: Quantum reading learning vision. Talking about the Mountbatten Tudor Braille device.
S1: With me has been Vision Australia's national advisor on access
S1: technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk
S1: more tech next week. See you.