WEBVTT - Talking Tech 13th February 2024 0:00:18.054 --> 0:00:21.924 Hello everyone! Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:21.924 --> 0:00:26.364 February the 13th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:26.364 --> 0:00:30.054 you with us listening maybe through Virgin Australia Radio, Associated 0:00:30.054 --> 0:00:34.794 Stations of Australia or perhaps the Community Radio Network. There 0:00:34.794 --> 0:00:37.584 is also the podcast. All you need to do is 0:00:37.584 --> 0:00:40.674 search for those two words talking tech and down can 0:00:40.674 --> 0:00:44.334 come the program usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after 0:00:44.334 --> 0:00:47.874 it's been produced. Another option is to ask your Siri 0:00:47.874 --> 0:00:52.494 device or smart speaker to play Virgin Australia Radio talking 0:00:52.524 --> 0:00:57.594 tech podcast, Virgin Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast with me, 0:00:57.594 --> 0:01:00.714 someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well. 0:01:00.954 --> 0:01:06.144 Vision Australia's national advisor on access technology, David Woodbridge David, 0:01:06.144 --> 0:01:11.004 we've been talking a lot about AI, artificial intelligence, augmented 0:01:11.004 --> 0:01:16.434 reality or virtual reality. Uh, perhaps it's time, as you suggest, 0:01:16.434 --> 0:01:20.724 to step back a bit and look at other developments 0:01:20.724 --> 0:01:24.504 that are going to be happening over the coming period 0:01:24.504 --> 0:01:27.324 of time, 6 to 12 months or so. And certainly 0:01:27.324 --> 0:01:30.084 they're all well on the way. But before that, even 0:01:30.084 --> 0:01:34.734 why don't we have another in that series of product minutes? 0:01:34.854 --> 0:01:37.164 We've got something else from the vision store to tell 0:01:37.164 --> 0:01:37.794 us about. 0:01:38.034 --> 0:01:41.904 Yes, indeed. So this one is called the All Terrain Cone. 0:01:41.904 --> 0:01:46.524 So as the name implies, it's a white cane for 0:01:46.524 --> 0:01:49.824 mobility and orientation. And in this case, the all terrain 0:01:49.824 --> 0:01:53.124 bit comes into the fact that you can go quite 0:01:53.124 --> 0:01:55.164 bush with it. So you can go and have a 0:01:55.164 --> 0:01:58.284 walk in a forest, a park, or anywhere else you 0:01:58.284 --> 0:02:02.244 might do, because it's actually designed to not only be 0:02:02.244 --> 0:02:06.594 a cane, uh, with a rollerball type tip. Uh, it's 0:02:06.594 --> 0:02:10.764 also designed to work as a walking stuff. And what 0:02:10.764 --> 0:02:13.194 that means is that if you're going down a very 0:02:13.194 --> 0:02:16.164 steep trail and you need to, you know, balance a 0:02:16.164 --> 0:02:18.984 bit more, you can actually extend the cane out at 0:02:18.984 --> 0:02:21.834 the top of it up to in all measurements, round 0:02:21.834 --> 0:02:25.524 about six feet. And it's got a proper grip so 0:02:25.524 --> 0:02:28.254 you can put your hand around the grip. So normally 0:02:28.254 --> 0:02:31.944 on a cane you've got like a golf club style handle. 0:02:31.944 --> 0:02:33.414 This one's also got a round part on it where 0:02:33.414 --> 0:02:36.534 you can grip it like a normal walking stick. Uh, 0:02:36.534 --> 0:02:39.084 so you can have it both for balance and stability. 0:02:39.174 --> 0:02:40.734 And then you can put it back into, if you like, 0:02:40.734 --> 0:02:44.214 your normal size length and use it as a white cane. 0:02:44.814 --> 0:02:47.934 It's really good when you're out and about because it's 0:02:47.934 --> 0:02:51.954 made of titanium and the ball is fairly heavy. I 0:02:51.954 --> 0:02:55.224 probably wouldn't suggest it for urban use. So every day 0:02:55.224 --> 0:02:57.534 traveling to and from work and school and so on. 0:02:57.534 --> 0:02:59.964 But that's a bit of a bush basher. It's great 0:02:59.964 --> 0:03:02.484 for getting around in those areas where you need a 0:03:02.484 --> 0:03:06.744 bit of extra strength on your cane for normal cane use, 0:03:06.744 --> 0:03:08.964 but like I also said, almost use it as a 0:03:08.964 --> 0:03:10.404 walking staff as well. 0:03:10.434 --> 0:03:13.314 More expensive than the standard canes it is. 0:03:13.314 --> 0:03:17.034 Yeah, I think remember it's round about $180 ish. But 0:03:17.034 --> 0:03:19.464 then again, some of the kinds that are coming at 0:03:19.464 --> 0:03:22.164 these days, um, like the no jab cane is also 0:03:22.164 --> 0:03:26.214 fairly pricey, but it's because it's built so sturdily, and 0:03:26.214 --> 0:03:29.154 the fact it's almost like a two canes in one, 0:03:29.154 --> 0:03:32.064 as in a walking staff in a in a white 0:03:32.064 --> 0:03:34.314 cane for mobility. I guess that's why it's a bit 0:03:34.314 --> 0:03:35.094 more pricey. 0:03:35.244 --> 0:03:36.264 Where are they made? 0:03:36.624 --> 0:03:40.524 They're actually made in the United States. Um, I think 0:03:40.764 --> 0:03:43.704 specifically it's from Utah, but I know it's definitely developed 0:03:43.704 --> 0:03:44.814 in the United States. 0:03:45.294 --> 0:03:48.324 Terrific. There you go. So that's the all terrain cane 0:03:48.324 --> 0:03:53.364 available from the vision store at Vision Australia. Shop Dot 0:03:53.364 --> 0:04:00.534 Vision Australia. Org shop dot Vision australia.org. Now let's get 0:04:00.534 --> 0:04:04.914 into some of these areas of computing. The 5G network 0:04:04.914 --> 0:04:09.174 has been out around Australia for quite some time, growing 0:04:09.174 --> 0:04:15.384 over recent years. You're anticipating a lot more expansion and adoption. 0:04:15.594 --> 0:04:19.074 Particularly when you come down to it's all about how 0:04:19.074 --> 0:04:23.454 all the internet stuff gets connected. So the first one 0:04:23.454 --> 0:04:25.674 I've got on my list is about 5G. And when 0:04:25.674 --> 0:04:30.324 you think about 5G is you want fast connectivity between 0:04:30.324 --> 0:04:34.944 a device and the rest of the internet or smart 0:04:34.944 --> 0:04:38.604 city infrastructure. And then guess where that comes up? Important 0:04:38.604 --> 0:04:40.764 is when you start talking about autonomous cars. And I 0:04:40.764 --> 0:04:44.424 don't mean fully self-driving ones, although that may be thinking 0:04:44.424 --> 0:04:49.014 maybe a decade, but even just general autonomous things like 0:04:49.014 --> 0:04:52.254 autonomous trains and all that sort of stuff, they need 0:04:52.254 --> 0:04:56.214 that type of connectivity to keep working correctly. So that's 0:04:56.214 --> 0:05:00.234 a development that needs to still keep happening and better connectivity. 0:05:00.234 --> 0:05:02.484 So you don't want black spots or anything else. 0:05:03.054 --> 0:05:05.904 What do you what would you really mean by smart cities. 0:05:05.904 --> 0:05:07.194 How do you describe that? 0:05:07.254 --> 0:05:10.464 Smart cities are things where things are all tied together. 0:05:10.464 --> 0:05:14.244 So you've got, um, so smart cities also contain, uh, 0:05:14.244 --> 0:05:22.154 self-driving cars. They also contain. Um, information kiosks. They public transport. Um, 0:05:22.424 --> 0:05:26.204 it's just a way of looking at the way that 0:05:26.204 --> 0:05:30.914 cities are developing and seeing how giving your own personal device, 0:05:30.914 --> 0:05:33.944 like your smart device, as in your phone or your watch, 0:05:33.944 --> 0:05:37.754 can interact with the the city type scape around you. 0:05:37.784 --> 0:05:40.424 Even things like indoor navigation, for example. 0:05:40.814 --> 0:05:43.754 Tell us about edge computing and how that could impact 0:05:43.754 --> 0:05:44.804 on our society. 0:05:45.224 --> 0:05:48.404 So edge computing is one of those things we talk 0:05:48.404 --> 0:05:50.504 with these days about most things being on the cloud, 0:05:50.504 --> 0:05:53.054 and it's easy to access and so on and so on. 0:05:53.444 --> 0:05:57.074 Edge computing is where you've got local type sensors. And 0:05:57.074 --> 0:05:58.784 what I mean by that is that this is the 0:05:58.784 --> 0:06:02.174 internet of things. So, uh, you might have sensors that 0:06:02.174 --> 0:06:07.424 are particularly monitoring things, um, in a business or at home. Um, 0:06:07.424 --> 0:06:11.564 and it needs to, you know, connect quite quickly because 0:06:11.564 --> 0:06:14.504 we always talk about latency, how long it takes for 0:06:14.504 --> 0:06:17.384 a device to sort of go and connect to something 0:06:17.384 --> 0:06:20.264 and then get an answer back and vice versa. So 0:06:20.264 --> 0:06:22.814 that's actually really important because if you got a sensor, 0:06:22.814 --> 0:06:25.964 for example, that's an alarm system. Um, maybe you don't 0:06:25.964 --> 0:06:29.384 want it to take 10s to alert people to an alarm. 0:06:29.414 --> 0:06:31.484 You want it to be very instant. So the other 0:06:31.484 --> 0:06:34.784 type of things that are constantly being worked on to 0:06:34.784 --> 0:06:38.444 make sure that when sensors get activated, um, that there's 0:06:38.444 --> 0:06:41.894 not a long delay in the response if required from, 0:06:41.894 --> 0:06:44.144 you know, emergency services and that sort of stuff. 0:06:44.174 --> 0:06:48.134 Cyber security has become very much front of mind over 0:06:48.134 --> 0:06:50.504 the last year or two, with a couple of really 0:06:50.504 --> 0:06:52.274 bad mishaps in Australia. 0:06:52.724 --> 0:06:54.614 That's right. And look, I'm not going to go in 0:06:54.674 --> 0:06:57.344 this too much because this is like I we've we've 0:06:57.344 --> 0:06:59.084 been this has been shoved down our throats for the 0:06:59.084 --> 0:07:02.504 last 6 to 12 months. But uh, for me personally, 0:07:02.504 --> 0:07:06.614 it's always a good idea to keep reminding yourself that 0:07:06.614 --> 0:07:09.704 as soon as you get on the internet superhighway, you're 0:07:09.704 --> 0:07:13.604 fair game for fairly nasty people. And it's always really 0:07:13.604 --> 0:07:17.624 important to, um, secure your own data and that of 0:07:17.624 --> 0:07:20.174 your families and so on. Uh, so it's just to 0:07:20.174 --> 0:07:23.504 be aware of all the hazards you can get involved in, uh, 0:07:23.504 --> 0:07:26.084 as soon as you, you know, swim in the, the 0:07:26.084 --> 0:07:27.434 deep internet somewhere. 0:07:27.794 --> 0:07:31.784 Planners and designers are being a bit smarter now, and, uh, 0:07:31.784 --> 0:07:36.614 very much in focus is sustainable technology solutions. 0:07:36.614 --> 0:07:39.404 And the reason why I bought this one up is because. 0:07:39.584 --> 0:07:41.894 And Apple goes on about this quite a lot, which 0:07:41.894 --> 0:07:44.984 is their environmental impact. They're trying to reduce it to 0:07:44.984 --> 0:07:48.254 what they call carbon zero. And the reason why I 0:07:48.254 --> 0:07:51.464 was thinking about this, because I didn't realize that data 0:07:51.464 --> 0:07:56.954 centers can go between 500,000, up to 1,000,000ft² of space. 0:07:56.954 --> 0:08:00.434 If you can imagine a ten storey building that's got 0:08:00.434 --> 0:08:05.954 100,000ft² per floor, or the other adage, which I know 0:08:05.984 --> 0:08:09.914 we don't like sometimes, David, is if you can imagine, uh, 0:08:09.914 --> 0:08:13.904 a 1 million square space data center which does exist, 0:08:13.904 --> 0:08:19.214 by the way, um, taking up 17 football fields, or 0:08:19.214 --> 0:08:22.964 for my way of thinking, my local shopping center is 0:08:22.964 --> 0:08:26.084 about the same size as a data center. Now, when 0:08:26.084 --> 0:08:29.954 you think about data centers, they've got servers and control systems, 0:08:29.954 --> 0:08:33.674 backup systems, air conditioning, water supply, all that sort of stuff. 0:08:34.394 --> 0:08:37.814 The better you can make that greener, the better off 0:08:37.814 --> 0:08:40.574 the whole planet is. So that's why I was thinking 0:08:40.574 --> 0:08:46.154 more about sustainability is because these things are really chewing up, um, 0:08:46.154 --> 0:08:48.854 and using power. And we have to have some way 0:08:48.854 --> 0:08:51.974 of offsetting all that stuff that's using, plus all the 0:08:51.974 --> 0:08:54.434 carbon stuff. It might be shifting into the atmosphere as well. 0:08:54.524 --> 0:08:57.404 Now, what about in the area of health care technology? 0:08:57.404 --> 0:09:00.644 There's massive changes going to happen there over the coming years, 0:09:00.644 --> 0:09:01.274 isn't there? 0:09:01.544 --> 0:09:04.994 That's right. We've already seen it now with, um, telehealth. 0:09:04.994 --> 0:09:08.834 You've mentioned that to me before we start the program. Um, scripts, 0:09:08.834 --> 0:09:12.404 I can get electronic scripts. And the other part, important 0:09:12.404 --> 0:09:16.604 part about health is all the research behind the scenes 0:09:16.724 --> 0:09:20.684 that goes into health. And I'm thinking in particular genetics, 0:09:20.984 --> 0:09:24.044 whether it's genetics to do with some sort of genetic 0:09:24.074 --> 0:09:27.554 type disease, if you want to put it that way, um, 0:09:27.554 --> 0:09:30.044 or you might have a disability that's got a particular 0:09:30.044 --> 0:09:33.194 gene that's caused it, and there's currently therapy research going 0:09:33.194 --> 0:09:37.844 on to reduce that genes impact and so on. Then 0:09:37.844 --> 0:09:40.964 that becomes extremely important. And for some people, you know, 0:09:40.964 --> 0:09:43.634 if I mentioned, well, if you had a choice between, 0:09:43.634 --> 0:09:48.614 you know, health slash genetics and let's say, uh, edge computing, 0:09:49.184 --> 0:09:51.344 I know which one some people would actually taken that 0:09:51.344 --> 0:09:52.574 would be healthy all the time. 0:09:52.994 --> 0:09:56.174 Hmm. Now, we touched on this one a little earlier 0:09:56.174 --> 0:09:58.874 when we were talking about cyber security. But the whole 0:09:58.874 --> 0:10:02.204 issue of data privacy is really important, isn't it? 0:10:02.324 --> 0:10:05.114 That's right. So I tend to sort of see cyber 0:10:05.114 --> 0:10:08.774 security as in, um, you know, the big picture. One, 0:10:08.774 --> 0:10:12.344 privacy to me is particularly on you, I guess, these 0:10:12.344 --> 0:10:16.004 days on your smartphone and your smart speakers. It's what information. 0:10:16.124 --> 0:10:21.224 Motion do you want developers and companies to have? Do 0:10:21.224 --> 0:10:24.104 they need all your information about your date of birth 0:10:24.104 --> 0:10:25.874 and who your parents were and where you lived, and 0:10:25.964 --> 0:10:28.004 all that sort of stuff? So I don't think we 0:10:28.004 --> 0:10:30.764 need to be more and more aware these days that 0:10:30.764 --> 0:10:35.504 sometimes people or companies don't need all the information. So again, 0:10:35.504 --> 0:10:37.724 it's a really good idea to sit back and have 0:10:37.724 --> 0:10:40.154 a bit of a think before you start giving out 0:10:40.154 --> 0:10:41.894 your your life story, if you like. 0:10:42.314 --> 0:10:46.574 Fittingly, you found an article is tech bad or am 0:10:46.574 --> 0:10:49.244 I getting into grumpy old man status? 0:10:49.364 --> 0:10:52.994 Yeah that's right. So this was down my alley. This 0:10:52.994 --> 0:10:57.434 journalist is apparently only 36 years old, and he was 0:10:57.434 --> 0:10:59.714 complaining about the fact that, you know, when he gets 0:10:59.714 --> 0:11:04.094 his Bluetooth headset out, it doesn't always connect when he 0:11:04.094 --> 0:11:07.394 goes to play a streaming service on his smart speaker, 0:11:07.394 --> 0:11:11.534 which sometimes doesn't connect properly. And then he said, what 0:11:11.534 --> 0:11:13.454 about the good old days where you could just grab 0:11:13.454 --> 0:11:16.724 an old record player out and, you know, put the 0:11:16.724 --> 0:11:19.634 needle on the record and have it played to you 0:11:19.634 --> 0:11:21.794 and that sort of stuff. And I thought, you know what? 0:11:21.794 --> 0:11:24.254 He's got a bit of a point, because I remember 0:11:24.254 --> 0:11:26.054 the old days that I used to put in this 0:11:26.054 --> 0:11:28.004 game way back. Now just put a tape in a 0:11:28.004 --> 0:11:30.914 tape recorder and play some music or a bit more 0:11:30.914 --> 0:11:33.104 further down the track, uh, you know, CD and a 0:11:33.104 --> 0:11:35.894 CD player and play some music, a whole album, rather 0:11:35.894 --> 0:11:39.734 than mucking about with playlists. Um, you know, the oven 0:11:39.734 --> 0:11:42.134 where you don't have to control it via your smart app, 0:11:42.134 --> 0:11:44.594 all that sort of stuff. And I really do think 0:11:44.594 --> 0:11:49.874 sometimes taking the smart home stuff or the internet of things, 0:11:49.874 --> 0:11:51.404 we can go a little bit too far, and I 0:11:51.404 --> 0:11:53.894 just sometimes think it's nice to have a good old 0:11:53.894 --> 0:11:56.504 manual backup, which I, I think on and off. We've 0:11:56.504 --> 0:11:57.764 talked for the years anyway. 0:11:58.034 --> 0:12:02.744 Tell us about blue Sky. Uh, maybe. Are we seeing 0:12:02.744 --> 0:12:05.174 the latter days of Twitter or X? 0:12:05.354 --> 0:12:08.324 No, I don't think so. So this is an alternative 0:12:08.324 --> 0:12:11.744 to the Twitter platform. And originally I think it was 0:12:11.744 --> 0:12:15.404 last year they had this by invitation only. Uh, there 0:12:15.404 --> 0:12:17.354 is an app for it. I'm pretty sure there must 0:12:17.354 --> 0:12:19.814 be one for Android. I checked it out on my iPhone. 0:12:19.964 --> 0:12:23.504 It looks very much like an app that's wrapped around 0:12:23.504 --> 0:12:27.464 a web interface, and it's very messy to go through 0:12:27.794 --> 0:12:31.754 because you've got like, like and reply and everything else. Um, 0:12:31.754 --> 0:12:38.714 per post in blue Sky, it's a bit messy to navigate, 0:12:38.714 --> 0:12:44.234 so unless I knew there was some specific media organizations 0:12:44.234 --> 0:12:48.134 or other people using it, um, I don't think I'm 0:12:48.134 --> 0:12:49.724 going to be too bothered with it because I tend 0:12:49.724 --> 0:12:52.724 to use minor and Twitter slash X all the time. 0:12:52.724 --> 0:12:57.314 So unless blue sky improves dramatically, not, you know, from 0:12:57.314 --> 0:13:00.194 both things to the content and how easy it is 0:13:00.194 --> 0:13:02.834 to navigate. I don't think I'll be interested, but I 0:13:02.834 --> 0:13:05.114 just thought at least I'll let people know that it's 0:13:05.114 --> 0:13:07.574 now available and you don't need to wait for an invite. 0:13:07.574 --> 0:13:10.034 You can go in there and and sign up and 0:13:10.034 --> 0:13:11.324 start using it if you wish. 0:13:11.414 --> 0:13:13.784 Tell us what bad is bad. 0:13:14.624 --> 0:13:17.564 So bad was the. If you like the the original 0:13:17.564 --> 0:13:23.324 I like ChatGPT except Bob was from Google where now 0:13:23.324 --> 0:13:30.374 Google has transformed Bard into Gemini, and apparently the way 0:13:30.374 --> 0:13:32.654 you get access to it, at least on iOS, uh, 0:13:32.654 --> 0:13:35.414 is that you run your Google app and then apparently 0:13:35.414 --> 0:13:37.754 right at the top of the app. And we don't 0:13:37.754 --> 0:13:40.154 have this in Australia because I just checked today, you'll 0:13:40.154 --> 0:13:43.724 have two tabs Search and Gemini. So search is your 0:13:43.724 --> 0:13:46.814 normal Google search Gemini. Whereas you know you can ask 0:13:46.814 --> 0:13:49.604 it questions and that sort of stuff like a ChatGPT 0:13:49.604 --> 0:13:53.084 or a copilot type session. So it's really offering you 0:13:53.084 --> 0:13:58.754 both Google search and the chat GPT functionality as well. 0:13:58.754 --> 0:14:01.064 So as soon as we get in Australia, I'll let 0:14:01.064 --> 0:14:02.654 people know. But just let you know that if you 0:14:02.684 --> 0:14:05.804 hear people talking about Gemini, it's the new, improved version 0:14:05.804 --> 0:14:07.454 of the original Google. 0:14:07.454 --> 0:14:09.524 But what platforms will that be on? 0:14:10.034 --> 0:14:11.054 It'll be on everything. 0:14:12.674 --> 0:14:15.224 Well, now, just before we go, a reminder of where 0:14:15.224 --> 0:14:17.744 people can find details of what we've been talking about 0:14:17.744 --> 0:14:20.084 in this and previous editions of the program. 0:14:20.144 --> 0:14:22.604 You can check out my blog site, which is David. 0:14:22.604 --> 0:14:26.864 Would it be dot podbean podbean.com David. 0:14:26.864 --> 0:14:32.444 Would be podbean podbean. Com to write to the program. 0:14:32.444 --> 0:14:34.514 You can write to me at Vision Australia where I work, 0:14:34.514 --> 0:14:38.954 which is David Woodbridge sounds at Vision Australia. 0:14:39.194 --> 0:14:44.384 Org David Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Dawg this has been 0:14:44.384 --> 0:14:47.774 talking Ted with me has been Vision Australia's national advisor 0:14:47.774 --> 0:14:52.154 on access technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolley. Take care. 0:14:52.154 --> 0:14:53.774 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.