S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: September the 12th, 2023. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have
S1: you with us wherever you're listening, perhaps through Vision Australia radio,
S1: associated Stations of Australia or maybe the Community Radio Network,
S1: there is also the podcast. If you haven't caught up
S1: with that yet, all you need to do is search
S1: for the two words. Talking tech and Downer can all
S1: come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced.
S1: Another option is to ask a Siri device or smart
S1: speaker to play Vision Australia Radio Talking Tech Podcast. Vision
S1: Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast. With me someone who can
S1: explain all this tech stuff really well. Vision Australia's National
S1: Advisor on Access Technology, David Woodbridge. David, we're really centering
S1: this presentation around September the 12th because it's really the
S1: day of the start of Christmas time at Apple.
S2: It is indeed. So for all you Apple geeks out
S2: there this week and next week is really going to
S2: be filled with lots and lots of Apple. Goodness, I
S2: promised that I would do other stuff after that. But yes,
S2: like you said, Stephen, this is the best time of
S2: the year for me as an Apple geeky person to
S2: really get stuck into looking at both what's current and
S2: what's happened with Apple over the years.
S1: So in short, there's a keynote address which takes place
S1: at around 3 a.m. Eastern Australian Time from Apple in California.
S1: That's on Wednesday morning the 13th that will talk about
S1: new Apple hardware. And it'll also make announcements about the
S1: release of new Apple software. So let's start by telling
S1: people how they can gain access to this either at
S1: 3 a.m. time or later on.
S2: The trick is, if you want to listen to this live,
S2: as in 3 a.m., then you can go to the
S2: apple.com dot org slash events page. And I said you
S2: because we're in Australia. If you're not, then just get
S2: rid of the dot bit so you can listen to
S2: it live mostly on safari. You can also cause listen
S2: to it on your Apple TV. But the easiest way
S2: to do it is wherever you are, run safari and
S2: hey presto on your iPhone, iPad, Mac and the Apple
S2: TV specifically because it's got they've actually got an Apple
S2: keynote channel.
S1: And you can find it on that Apple page later
S1: on in the week, can't you?
S2: Exactly. So what what they do with that page is
S2: that after the event they then leave it up there
S2: and then as new keynotes come on board if you like.
S2: So hopefully we're having one in October. Then it goes
S2: into the latest or recent keynote so you can go
S2: back and listen to them. In fact, you can go
S2: back quite a long time. So the events page will
S2: let you listen to the current one as of this
S2: week or listen to it a bit later and go
S2: back and listen to other keynotes going back in history,
S2: if you like.
S1: Tell us about the Twit TV live coverage.
S2: The Twit TV network, Leo Laporte and Co always do
S2: a really interesting broadcast. So what they do is that
S2: they have the the keynotes that are playing and then
S2: they make comments about the keynote. Now I'll just give
S2: you a warning now is that they do talk over
S2: the presentation. So if you really, really want to listen
S2: to the presentation, then don't do this one. If you're
S2: interested in tech journalists point of view of what's being
S2: spoken about, like maybe a new camera, new battery, new screen,
S2: all that sort of cool stuff, then the Twit network
S2: is absolutely fine. And of course this also comes out
S2: as a special on their Twit podcast network and you
S2: can find everything on their website at Twitch.tv. But again,
S2: like the Apple Link, I'll have this link in the
S2: show notes for you as well. So remember 3 a.m.,
S2: listen to the Apple keynote or you can listen to
S2: the Twit TV broadcast here.
S1: And in Australia. If you wake up at a civilised time,
S1: where can you get information about it?
S2: There's going to be lots and lots of stuff coming
S2: out from Apple as we all know. So I always
S2: like going to. My first point of call is always
S2: apple bits and of course that's the community related website
S2: for everything to do with Apple stuff for blind and
S2: low vision folks. And I'm sure Thomas Donovan will be
S2: releasing a whole raft of demos and I'm assuming they'll
S2: be doing a, a bit of a special podcast on
S2: all the hardware releases. And if they don't, they'll definitely
S2: be a blog article about them.
S1: Yeah, and he's demos will be of the new features
S1: in the software, particularly the iOS software won't it.
S2: Correct. Yeah, because it's going to take them a little
S2: time to write up a blog article about all the
S2: new hardware that gets announced this week. But I'm sure
S2: he's already got the all the other podcast on on
S2: iOS 17, etcetera. Let's not forget Jonathan Mazin in the
S2: Living Mindfully. Here we go. So I'm shaming him and
S2: his daughter while we're doing their tricks. On having her
S2: describe the keynote as it's being presented. So that sounds really,
S2: really interesting.
S1: So for Living Blind Philly Plus subscribers, you'll be able
S1: to get that within a few hours. Others will get
S1: it in about three days time around Saturday.
S2: That's right. And look, I've also been asked to do
S2: my normal tech doctor blog and podcast, so I'll be
S2: doing mine on Wednesday morning the 13th, which will be
S2: about three hours after the actual keynotes finished. So by
S2: the time you've had this, hopefully you've not listened to
S2: it live, then you'll be able to download the tech
S2: doctor blog and podcast and listen to Robert Ellison and
S2: me talk about the Apple keynote event as well.
S1: Robert Carter always does a good job leading those. I've
S1: got a suggestion too, for people if they'd like to
S1: catch up with the Apple News early Wednesday morning Australian time,
S1: like when you're up and about after the event. BBC
S1: News have an app and in the technology section of
S1: that app there's always a very good write up of
S1: the event and it's a good overview of the event.
S1: It doesn't just focus on accessibility, it doesn't just focus
S1: on anything. So it's a good one to to have
S1: a look at if you want to know what happened.
S1: Big picture stuff.
S2: That's correct. And the other sources I always go to
S2: as well for sort of mainstream news about all the
S2: stuff happening in the tech world, including the Apple stuff
S2: is imore. So remember I more.com is absolutely amazing. They'll
S2: also produce some podcasts as well, but they have really
S2: good breakdowns of the whole keynote happening. The Verge is
S2: another really, really, really good resource and I'll most likely
S2: be Xingu and Mastodon. A lot of information. What I
S2: try and not to do is X feed or Mastodon
S2: post every single thing that's happening. I try to sort
S2: of work out what the main items are and then
S2: just post them for both those social media platforms. But
S2: I'm more and The Verge really two great sources for
S2: keeping up to date as well.
S1: That's all happening Wednesday morning, Australian Eastern time 3 a.m.
S1: and then available after that. Yep. Let's take a little
S1: historical perspective now because some interesting things happen at these
S1: events over the years. Tell us about the Lightning connector.
S2: As we know or suspect. So if you listen to
S2: this after Wednesday, then you'll know that the lightning connector,
S2: which came in in 2012 with the iPhone five, which
S2: replaced the 30 pin connector, which came in 2003 with
S2: the first iPod, it's now being changed over to USB C,
S2: So when you think that one connected lasted from 2003
S2: to 2012, 30 PIN Connector. The Lightning Connector lasted from
S2: 2012 to 2023 and now I've got Usb-c. So for
S2: a range of different products over the years, that's not
S2: bad going until we realize the fact that this is
S2: only the third cable change, if you like, that we've
S2: ever had. But I've got this really interesting YouTube demo
S2: for changing from 30 PIN to Lightning by Phil Schiller
S2: back into the 2012 keynote. And it's always really funny
S2: how they go on and on about how fantastic this
S2: cable is. And I'm sure they'll be going on about
S2: how fantastic the USB C cable is, even though that
S2: Apple won't admit it, they really did get pushed in
S2: to do it via the European Union to make everything
S2: more consistent across all electronic devices.
S1: Three years later, from the 2012 announcement about the Lightning
S1: Cable 2015, The Apple Watch.
S2: That's right. And of course, the reason why we're mentioning
S2: both the the lightning cover Usbc and the Apple Watch
S2: is that the iPhone 15 will have Usb-c and the
S2: Apple Watch is going to have a new processor in it.
S2: So if you have an iPhone eight and a Apple
S2: Watch Ultra, which is I've got both of them, they've
S2: both got the same chip inside. So this will be
S2: really nice to see. And perhaps we have already that
S2: it's got a new chamber in it. So that's what
S2: I'm looking forward to. And by the way, I've still
S2: got my original iPhone in front in front of me,
S2: the three with a the 30 pin connector, the four
S2: S and the five with the lightning change. And I've
S2: also got my original Apple Watch version zero as it
S2: was first called.
S1: Of course you have then in 2016, AirPods seven years already.
S2: I know. It's been amazing isn't it? I just can't
S2: believe they've been around that long. And look, they really
S2: have changed. I mean know this article link in the
S2: notes says it changed the world. But as far as
S2: having a pair of AirPods that does both transparency mode
S2: and noise cancellation, it really was an amazing thing and
S2: I'm looking forward to. They were saying that next year,
S2: that case, the charging case will also change to Usb-c
S2: as well. But you know, as far as I'm concerned,
S2: nobody says you've got to update or throw out your
S2: your hardware if it's still working, as far as I'm concerned,
S2: keep using it.
S1: So the Apple event this week and in next week's program,
S1: we'll have a fully digested account of what's actually taken place.
S1: So look forward to bringing you that in a week's time. Now,
S1: Amazon is to discontinue its classic Kindle app and a
S1: bit of work going to go on behind the scenes.
S2: Yep. So this is for the Mac. It keeps getting
S2: a little little incremental updates, which is really not much
S2: to talk about. So what they're going to be doing
S2: supposedly over the next several weeks is writing up a
S2: new one using new code. And what I'm hoping is
S2: that they've put all this effort into the accessibility of
S2: the Kindle app for iOS and Android. I hope they
S2: do the same thing for the Mac because I have
S2: not been able to read at all a Kindle book
S2: using the Kindle app on my Mac ever since it
S2: first became available. So have a look in. I'd say
S2: about towards the end of October. Of course, if you
S2: follow me on social media, you know when it's been updated.
S1: Wordpad from Microsoft, it's going.
S2: I know. So over the next they didn't say when,
S2: but hopefully very soon the next update of Windows Will Yes,
S2: it'll be using Wordpad and Wordpad. Was that application that
S2: you used when you wanted to read files or word
S2: docs without having to run the hugely oversized and over
S2: featured word itself Microsoft Word. But notepad for reading dot
S2: txt files will still be around, so I'm a bit
S2: sad to see it go, but really nowadays it's even
S2: notepad for text files and if you want to read
S2: other document types, including RDF, then of course it's it's
S2: Microsoft Word itself, which will also read dot txt files
S2: by the way.
S1: So what was the reason for Wordpad all this time?
S2: I think it was a way of offering extra formatting
S2: options without having a full blown word processor. The problem
S2: with it though is it didn't have a spell checker
S2: and it didn't have many other features that a basic
S2: word processor has. So it was sort of a for me,
S2: it was sort of like an attempt for Microsoft back
S2: in the day, 30 years ago to have a sort
S2: of word processor application, but it never really made it.
S2: I don't even know when the last time I used,
S2: but yeah, it's finally going away and God rest his soul.
S2: In the application universe.
S1: Google turning 25 as it searches for an AI future.
S2: Google now celebrating its 25th birthday. And besides being a
S2: search engine when it first came in, they've done lots
S2: of projects and apparently on one of their pages they've
S2: listed 288 projects that went nowhere. They started them, they
S2: got really involved, and then they ended them with AI,
S2: because you would expect between Amazon, Microsoft and Google, we're
S2: talking about the three major players in artificial intelligence at
S2: the moment. I mean, we know they've got Apple behind
S2: the scenes, but according to this article, Microsoft is sort
S2: of in front, followed by Amazon, then followed by Google.
S2: But you would have thought out of all of those three,
S2: Google should have been on the top, then Amazon and
S2: then Microsoft. So it's going to be really interesting to
S2: see how this evolves. But and I really want Google
S2: to succeed because I can find a lot more stuff
S2: doing searches with or used to be able to find
S2: substring searches with Google than I could with Microsoft or Amazon.
S1: Yes. Well, we'll see how that goes. Just before we go,
S1: a reminder of where people can find details of what
S1: we've been talking about in this and previous editions of
S1: the program.
S2: Indeed. So, as always, you can check out our blog site,
S2: which is David would be our. I'd be a incom.
S1: David would be a pod bean pod bean to write
S1: to the program.
S2: You can write to me at Vision Israel, where I work,
S2: which is David Woodbridge How it sounds at Vision australia.org.
S1: David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org. This has been
S1: talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's National Advisor
S1: on Access Technology, David Woodbridge. I'm Stephen Jolley. Take care.
S1: We'll talk more tech next week. See you.