WEBVTT - Talking Tech 31st December 2024 0:00:08.059 --> 0:00:11.900 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition, available from 0:00:11.899 --> 0:00:17.060 the 31st of December 2024. Yes, we're there already. I'm 0:00:17.060 --> 0:00:19.640 Stephen Jolly. Great to have you with us listening maybe 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.660 through Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading 0:00:23.660 --> 0:00:28.640 Network or the Community Radio Network. There is also the podcast. 0:00:28.670 --> 0:00:30.650 To catch that, all you need to do is search 0:00:30.650 --> 0:00:33.589 for the two words talking tech and Dan. It can 0:00:33.589 --> 0:00:36.379 all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's 0:00:36.379 --> 0:00:40.099 been produced. Another option is to ask your Siri device 0:00:40.099 --> 0:00:44.870 or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast. 0:00:44.900 --> 0:00:49.850 Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast. With me. Vision Australia's 0:00:49.879 --> 0:00:55.850 national access technology manager. Damo McMorrow. Damo, how's your Christmas 0:00:55.850 --> 0:00:57.320 New Year period going? 0:00:57.350 --> 0:01:00.140 Fantastic. Nice and relaxing. It's a good time of year. 0:01:00.170 --> 0:01:02.420 Well about time. You did a bit of work. Now then. 0:01:02.420 --> 0:01:08.080 So let's reflect on the year in technology, particularly access 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:13.360 or assistive technology, and some very interesting developments in both 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:17.140 hardware and software. I want to ask you first about 0:01:17.140 --> 0:01:21.340 what's been a great breakthrough, the Ray-Ban meta smart glasses. 0:01:21.369 --> 0:01:24.760 These are definitely high on my list of, you know, 0:01:24.789 --> 0:01:29.650 cool things for 2024. These are, for all intents and purposes, 0:01:29.679 --> 0:01:33.639 a conventional looking set of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and they come 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.550 in a few different styles and shapes depending on the 0:01:36.550 --> 0:01:39.220 shape of your face and what have you. But they 0:01:39.220 --> 0:01:41.620 do have a I think it's a 12 or 13 0:01:41.619 --> 0:01:45.910 megapixel camera in the top of the left hand lens, 0:01:45.910 --> 0:01:48.910 and a small LED in the same spot on the 0:01:48.910 --> 0:01:52.240 right hand lens. The right arm of the glasses is 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:56.620 a touchpad, and you can, by using your voice, access 0:01:56.620 --> 0:01:59.200 a whole bunch of AI based features so you can 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:01.120 say things like, hey, meta, look and tell me what 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.330 you see. Hey meta, look and read me this text. 0:02:04.390 --> 0:02:07.900 You can use them for things like clothes matching. So 0:02:07.930 --> 0:02:11.230 hey meta, what color is this shirt? You can use 0:02:11.230 --> 0:02:13.570 it for all sorts of different things. Look and tell 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:16.390 me if there is any signage. And we've also now 0:02:16.390 --> 0:02:20.620 got access to both IRA and Be my Eyes through 0:02:20.620 --> 0:02:24.790 this device as well. So you can now use them 0:02:24.790 --> 0:02:27.370 as a hands free solution for those sort of visual 0:02:27.370 --> 0:02:28.870 interpreting services. 0:02:28.870 --> 0:02:32.380 You can even have a video call with a friend. 0:02:32.410 --> 0:02:35.470 Yeah, you can through messenger or WhatsApp. And you can 0:02:35.470 --> 0:02:39.160 also use them to record videos or take photos. So 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.800 you can do that either by voice, or you can 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.230 do it by pressing the little button on the top 0:02:44.230 --> 0:02:47.020 of the right hand arm. The nice thing is that 0:02:47.020 --> 0:02:50.860 it'll take the picture wherever you're looking. That is often 0:02:50.860 --> 0:02:54.250 easier than trying to position your iPhone camera. 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:57.820 A very simple application might be you're in the vicinity 0:02:57.820 --> 0:03:00.280 of a building. You could ring a friend or partner 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.990 and say, I think I'm at the building. Can you 0:03:02.990 --> 0:03:04.880 guide me into the reception desk? 0:03:04.910 --> 0:03:09.080 Yeah, absolutely. It works really well for that sort of situation. 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:13.190 This is probably the surprise of the year, I suspect, 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.620 because it sort of snuck up on us. It was 0:03:15.620 --> 0:03:19.730 a mainstream item which came out from meta. It was 0:03:19.730 --> 0:03:24.590 quickly realised that this had enormous application for the blind 0:03:24.590 --> 0:03:27.590 and low vision community around the world. And here we are. 0:03:27.620 --> 0:03:30.590 Absolutely. And because it's a mainstream item, it is at 0:03:30.590 --> 0:03:33.440 a sort of a consumer price point. You know, you're 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.950 looking at sort of $450 for this, what is really 0:03:36.950 --> 0:03:38.570 quite amazing technology. 0:03:38.750 --> 0:03:45.830 Mhm. There are comparable devices doing similar things like Ark's vision. 0:03:45.950 --> 0:03:50.690 Yes. So the Ark's vision was officially released last year 0:03:50.690 --> 0:03:54.650 in the UK, but it wasn't available until around about 0:03:54.650 --> 0:03:58.550 September this year here in Australia. And they've made some 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:03.670 significant improvements to the initial one that was released overseas. 0:04:03.700 --> 0:04:08.710 This is a essentially a bone conduction type headset where. 0:04:08.740 --> 0:04:11.320 So if you're familiar with the aftershocks type headphones, it's 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:13.600 similar to that. The headband goes around the back of 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:18.339 your head and the earpieces sit on your cheekbone. So 0:04:18.339 --> 0:04:20.229 just sort of forward of your ears. That way your 0:04:20.230 --> 0:04:23.680 ears are not covered and you can still judge your 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.320 surroundings and that kind of thing. And on the right 0:04:26.350 --> 0:04:29.830 hand end of the unit is a camera module, which 0:04:29.830 --> 0:04:32.560 is sort of a small rectangular box with some buttons. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.370 And at the moment the device is only Android. They 0:04:36.370 --> 0:04:39.430 still haven't released the iPhone adapter for it, although I'm 0:04:39.460 --> 0:04:43.420 told that that's coming sort of any day now. But, um, 0:04:43.420 --> 0:04:46.060 it does pair to your phone with a cable, and 0:04:46.060 --> 0:04:50.110 you then run the vision app, and you can then 0:04:50.110 --> 0:04:52.599 control it using the buttons on the camera module. So 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:56.860 it has a text recognition mode, a document mode, uh, 0:04:56.860 --> 0:05:00.830 it has a scene description mode. And it also has 0:05:00.860 --> 0:05:04.550 what they call ask, which is where you can scan 0:05:04.550 --> 0:05:08.240 a document and then ask questions about the document, like 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.580 what's the cheapest thing on the menu? How much do 0:05:10.580 --> 0:05:12.830 I have to pay for this bill? When's the bill due? 0:05:12.860 --> 0:05:16.370 That sort of thing. So it is sort of doing 0:05:16.370 --> 0:05:19.370 some similar functions, but it does them in a slightly 0:05:19.370 --> 0:05:22.880 different way. And like all of these things, there are 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:26.570 pros and cons. I think the document reading function in 0:05:26.570 --> 0:05:30.110 the R is definitely better, because the meta glass has 0:05:30.110 --> 0:05:32.330 always want to try and summarize things for you, rather 0:05:32.330 --> 0:05:34.460 than just reading the document, so that can be a 0:05:34.460 --> 0:05:39.710 little frustrating. But on the other hand, the meta glasses 0:05:39.710 --> 0:05:44.390 are lighter, smaller, and look like a conventional set of glasses. 0:05:44.390 --> 0:05:47.089 So if you're fashion conscious, you know that might be 0:05:47.090 --> 0:05:49.730 important to you. So it really depends on what you're 0:05:49.730 --> 0:05:52.880 trying to do as to which one of these wearables 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.290 might actually suit you. 0:05:54.470 --> 0:05:55.070 Um. 0:05:55.700 --> 0:05:59.779 Going back to mainstream devices, zoom. A great breakthrough in 0:05:59.780 --> 0:06:01.550 the recording field? 0:06:01.850 --> 0:06:07.460 Yes, absolutely. So zoom have now released four recorders. Field 0:06:07.460 --> 0:06:10.969 recorder type devices that have built in accessibility. And this 0:06:10.970 --> 0:06:14.930 is actually quite a significant milestone, simply because it's a 0:06:14.930 --> 0:06:18.650 mainstream device that is accessible out of the box, and 0:06:18.650 --> 0:06:23.029 also that you actually have to opt out of the accessibility. 0:06:23.030 --> 0:06:25.190 So in other words, when you turn the recorder on, 0:06:25.190 --> 0:06:28.010 it comes up talking and says, if you don't want 0:06:28.010 --> 0:06:30.950 the accessibility, if you don't want the speech, press this button. 0:06:30.950 --> 0:06:34.850 Otherwise the accessibility stays on. Whereas with a lot of devices, 0:06:34.850 --> 0:06:37.820 you've got to navigate through ten levels of menu just 0:06:37.820 --> 0:06:40.370 to turn the accessibility feature on in the first place. 0:06:40.370 --> 0:06:44.540 So there's the zoom. H1 essentials is the sort of 0:06:44.570 --> 0:06:50.360 the most basic of these recorders. It just has a stereo, um, 0:06:50.390 --> 0:06:53.420 sort of x y type microphone pickup. And it's a 0:06:53.420 --> 0:06:57.390 very small unit. Then we've got the H2 Two essentials, 0:06:57.390 --> 0:07:02.100 which has two different types of external mics with different 0:07:02.100 --> 0:07:08.070 pickup patterns. And then there's the H4 essentials, which has, uh, 0:07:08.070 --> 0:07:11.910 the ability to connect two external microphones as well as 0:07:11.910 --> 0:07:14.730 using the internal ones. And then you've got the sort 0:07:14.730 --> 0:07:18.090 of the Rolls-Royce version, which is the H6 essentials, which 0:07:18.090 --> 0:07:22.260 can take four external microphone inputs, or you can use 0:07:22.260 --> 0:07:24.960 the the internals. So if you're recording a lot of 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:28.110 interviews and, uh, you know, podcasts and those sorts of 0:07:28.110 --> 0:07:31.320 things where you want multiple microphones, then probably the H6 0:07:31.350 --> 0:07:34.080 essentials is the way to go. But just having these 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:36.960 things accessible out of the box, you know, for for 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.060 those of you that use a digital recorder, I mean, 0:07:39.090 --> 0:07:42.780 I use the H1 essentials a lot, I suppose a 0:07:42.810 --> 0:07:46.890 substitute for photographs. You know, I like to record soundscapes. 0:07:46.890 --> 0:07:49.590 I like to record, you know, Marion and I go 0:07:49.590 --> 0:07:52.050 somewhere on holiday, and there's a particular sound that I 0:07:52.050 --> 0:07:55.020 associate with that I like to record that and be 0:07:55.050 --> 0:07:58.270 able to review it as a, you know, as someone 0:07:58.270 --> 0:08:00.550 would photographs. But equally, if I go to a car 0:08:00.550 --> 0:08:03.400 show or an air show or something like that, you know, 0:08:03.430 --> 0:08:05.530 I can record the stuff that I'm hearing. 0:08:05.530 --> 0:08:08.590 And they double as an audio interface as well, separate 0:08:08.590 --> 0:08:09.700 from the recording function. 0:08:09.700 --> 0:08:11.890 Really great. Yeah, absolutely. So you can use them with 0:08:11.890 --> 0:08:14.290 your Mac or your PC or your iPhone or your 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:18.280 Android phone to record phone interviews and those kinds of things. 0:08:18.310 --> 0:08:23.050 Let's go to Braille now, Braille displays. And I think 0:08:23.050 --> 0:08:26.410 the one that really attracted a lot of attention, particularly 0:08:26.410 --> 0:08:31.330 of Braille devotees, is the BT speak from Blazie technologies. 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.870 Especially for those people who had a Braille and speak 0:08:34.870 --> 0:08:37.210 back in the 80s or 90s. So this is a 0:08:37.209 --> 0:08:41.410 little device that has a Perkins style Braille keyboard and 0:08:41.410 --> 0:08:47.709 speech out. It's about the same footprint as an iPhone 15, 0:08:47.709 --> 0:08:51.429 but it's probably as thick as two iPhones stacked on 0:08:51.429 --> 0:08:53.199 top of each other. So very small sort of thing 0:08:53.199 --> 0:08:55.079 you can carry in a jacket pocket or a man 0:08:55.109 --> 0:08:57.989 bag or a handbag and just quickly whip out and 0:08:57.990 --> 0:09:00.510 use as a note taker. But it's really come a 0:09:00.510 --> 0:09:03.359 long way this year. You know, from when it came 0:09:03.359 --> 0:09:06.689 out in sort of February, since then we've got things 0:09:06.689 --> 0:09:12.150 like a YouTube streaming application, a Google Drive integration. We've 0:09:12.150 --> 0:09:14.490 got a phone book that you can integrate with your 0:09:14.490 --> 0:09:18.510 Google Contacts. You've got the ability now to have the 0:09:18.540 --> 0:09:22.260 sort of vocalizer type voices, as opposed to just E-speak 0:09:22.260 --> 0:09:24.750 and Dectalk, which is what it came out with. So 0:09:24.750 --> 0:09:27.929 it's got a quite a rapid development cycle and is 0:09:27.959 --> 0:09:30.929 sort of coming ahead in in leaps and bounds. It's 0:09:30.959 --> 0:09:35.219 a really nice little device. But for those who remember 0:09:35.219 --> 0:09:37.949 the old Braylon speak, it's sort of a almost like 0:09:37.949 --> 0:09:40.170 a modern day Braylon speak, really. 0:09:40.170 --> 0:09:45.449 The long awaited orbit speak from orbit. Research is now 0:09:45.449 --> 0:09:46.679 out there in the field. 0:09:46.709 --> 0:09:49.349 Yes. Now, I have to admit that I haven't actually 0:09:49.349 --> 0:09:51.300 had my hands on one of these. It's sort of. 0:09:51.300 --> 0:09:55.349 I guess it's similar in concept. so Braille input speech output. 0:09:55.380 --> 0:09:58.260 It has a number of built in applications as well 0:09:58.260 --> 0:10:01.679 as I think being able to act as a terminal 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:05.309 or a keyboard for your, you know, your iPhone or 0:10:05.309 --> 0:10:08.999 other other smart type devices. This one took quite a 0:10:09.030 --> 0:10:10.949 long time. It was first announced about two and a 0:10:10.949 --> 0:10:13.889 half years ago, so it took a long time, unfortunately, 0:10:13.890 --> 0:10:16.650 to sort of reach the market. And I think that 0:10:16.650 --> 0:10:18.869 probably the BT speak got the jump on them a 0:10:18.870 --> 0:10:21.719 little bit. It is, it is uh, a bit cheaper 0:10:21.719 --> 0:10:22.979 than the BT speak. 0:10:23.010 --> 0:10:26.160 We've got to talk about the world of tactile braille displays, 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.099 and I think of the dot pad and the monarch. 0:10:29.130 --> 0:10:34.230 Those devices have really come well through their adolescence and 0:10:34.229 --> 0:10:36.750 early adulthood now aren't they? They're in the market. 0:10:36.780 --> 0:10:40.380 Oh yeah. Definitely. Definitely. We saw the launch of the 0:10:40.380 --> 0:10:43.949 monarch here in Australia a few months ago. And, you know, 0:10:43.979 --> 0:10:45.089 I think this is sort of going to be the 0:10:45.089 --> 0:10:48.569 next generation of Braille technology, really. You know, it will 0:10:48.569 --> 0:10:51.569 be possible with a multi-line display to read, books to 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.869 display graphics. You know, all of those sorts of things. Unfortunately, 0:10:55.870 --> 0:10:58.989 they're still quite large and quite heavy, but it's just 0:10:58.990 --> 0:11:03.400 brilliant to be able to have that multi-line functionality so 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.790 that you can look at tables and those sorts of things. 0:11:06.790 --> 0:11:09.910 And of course, being able to produce tactile graphics as 0:11:09.910 --> 0:11:12.699 well means that you could look at graphs, you could 0:11:12.729 --> 0:11:16.089 zoom into a picture, that kind of thing. So I 0:11:16.089 --> 0:11:21.520 think these things have got massive potential for the education market, 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:24.550 particularly in those sort of science, technology, engineering and maths 0:11:24.550 --> 0:11:27.969 type subjects. Um, but even just for someone who is 0:11:27.969 --> 0:11:32.439 an avid reader or who works with long and complex documents, um, 0:11:32.439 --> 0:11:36.609 that multiline functionality is is going to be a game changer. 0:11:36.609 --> 0:11:38.470 I think they are expensive. 0:11:38.500 --> 0:11:42.369 We certainly need those who fund education and support of 0:11:42.370 --> 0:11:45.220 employers to come to the party with those devices. 0:11:45.250 --> 0:11:50.020 And I think as the technology improves and develops further, 0:11:50.020 --> 0:11:52.550 hopefully we'll start to see the price drop. You know, 0:11:52.579 --> 0:11:55.429 as tends to happen with new tech. It's always expensive 0:11:55.429 --> 0:11:58.370 at the start. And then as they become a little 0:11:58.370 --> 0:12:00.829 more accepted and a little more mainstream, that hopefully the 0:12:00.829 --> 0:12:03.290 cost will come down and there'll be more within reach 0:12:03.319 --> 0:12:04.850 of anybody that needs them. 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.610 We have talked a lot during the year about the 0:12:07.609 --> 0:12:12.470 major software movement, shall we say, and that's AI, which 0:12:12.469 --> 0:12:15.439 has really developed from when we first heard about it 0:12:15.439 --> 0:12:18.890 about two years ago. The big thing has been, I think, 0:12:18.890 --> 0:12:20.389 the Apple intelligence. 0:12:20.420 --> 0:12:23.990 Yeah, that's definitely been a big one. And it's kind 0:12:23.990 --> 0:12:28.489 of a major refresh for Siri. So you can integrate 0:12:28.490 --> 0:12:30.920 it with ChatGPT, which is one of the other big 0:12:30.949 --> 0:12:36.920 sort of AI engines. You can use it to summarize emails, notifications, 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.829 all sorts of things really, but I think I generally, 0:12:39.859 --> 0:12:41.750 you know, I mean, we talked about the meta glasses 0:12:41.750 --> 0:12:44.899 and the AI that's built into that. Uh, on last 0:12:44.900 --> 0:12:47.900 week's show, we talked about the voice mode or conversation 0:12:47.900 --> 0:12:51.550 mode in ChatGPT and what you can do with that. 0:12:51.550 --> 0:12:55.150 And there's things like the the Google Notebook LM feature 0:12:55.150 --> 0:12:58.959 as well, where you can generate a summary that almost 0:12:58.959 --> 0:13:02.319 sounds like a podcast with two people discussing the content. 0:13:02.349 --> 0:13:07.390 You know, it's really been a massive, uh, thing, I 0:13:07.390 --> 0:13:11.109 think AI in the last 12 months. We've also seen though, 0:13:11.140 --> 0:13:14.530 the video description that we talked about a few weeks 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.290 ago on the show, through seeing AI and pixie Bot 0:13:17.290 --> 0:13:19.300 and being able to describe video content. 0:13:19.300 --> 0:13:22.809 And also with the accessibility of various software tools, we've 0:13:22.809 --> 0:13:28.599 got the Jaws companion, we've got Ask Miss Accessibility, Microsoft. 0:13:28.689 --> 0:13:30.640 They're making a difference, aren't they? 0:13:30.670 --> 0:13:34.000 Absolutely, yes. And there's, you know, Rim bot, which is 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:37.809 designed for sort of tech support. Uh, so those things 0:13:37.809 --> 0:13:40.059 have been a massive game changer. And just in terms 0:13:40.059 --> 0:13:42.400 of being able to just quickly get the information that 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:43.300 you need. 0:13:43.359 --> 0:13:46.749 A lot has happened in 2024, a lot to look 0:13:46.750 --> 0:13:50.559 forward to in 2 in 2025. Before we go, a 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.380 reminder that you can find details of what we've been 0:13:53.380 --> 0:13:56.559 talking about in this and previous editions of the program 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:01.000 by going to VA radio, dot org slash talking tech, 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:05.500 VA radio, dot org slash talking tech, and to write 0:14:05.500 --> 0:14:06.520 to the program. 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:13.209 You can email me Damo Damo dot McMorrow Mkmo r 0:14:13.209 --> 0:14:17.770 o w at Vision australia.org. And thank you everyone for 0:14:17.770 --> 0:14:19.600 your emails. And I just want to take the opportunity 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.900 to wish you a very happy and prosperous 2025. 0:14:22.900 --> 0:14:28.600 And the same to you. Damo Damo McMorrow at Vision australia.org. 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.450 This has been talking tech with me has been Vision 0:14:31.479 --> 0:14:36.430 Australia's national Access technology manager Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. 0:14:36.460 --> 0:14:40.480 Have a great 2025 everyone. We'll see you then. Take care. 0:14:40.479 --> 0:14:42.400 We'll talk more tech next week. Bye.