WEBVTT - Talking Tech 11th July 2023 0:00:08.188 --> 0:00:12.058 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:12.058 --> 0:00:16.138 July the 11th, 2023. I'm Steven Jolly. Great to have 0:00:16.138 --> 0:00:18.598 you with us wherever you're listening perhaps through Virgin Australia 0:00:18.598 --> 0:00:23.878 radio associated Stations of Australia or maybe the Community Radio network, 0:00:23.998 --> 0:00:26.758 there is also the podcast. If you haven't caught up 0:00:26.758 --> 0:00:28.798 with the podcast yet, all you need to do is 0:00:28.798 --> 0:00:32.098 search for the two words. Talking tech and down at 0:00:32.098 --> 0:00:34.948 can all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after 0:00:34.948 --> 0:00:38.638 it's been produced. Another option is to ask your Siri 0:00:38.638 --> 0:00:43.108 device or smart speaker to play Virgin Australia Radio Talking 0:00:43.138 --> 0:00:48.508 Tech Podcast. Vision Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast with me 0:00:48.508 --> 0:00:51.688 someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well. 0:00:51.688 --> 0:00:57.478 Vision Australia's National Advisor on Access Technology, David Woodbridge. David, 0:00:57.478 --> 0:01:01.018 let's talk air fryers to start. We did touch on 0:01:01.018 --> 0:01:04.078 this last week and you've found out a lot more 0:01:04.078 --> 0:01:08.008 about accessibility and other things. We'll start with the Philips 0:01:08.098 --> 0:01:09.568 5000 Air Fryer. 0:01:09.838 --> 0:01:13.408 This particular air fryer, like most air fryers these days, 0:01:13.408 --> 0:01:15.568 has got a touch screen. And I got a bit 0:01:15.568 --> 0:01:19.168 excited about this one because it actually came with an 0:01:19.168 --> 0:01:22.108 app that you could use to control the air fryer 0:01:22.108 --> 0:01:25.348 from your smartphone. I thought, Oh, well, that gets away 0:01:25.348 --> 0:01:27.238 from using the touch screen as it does with my 0:01:27.238 --> 0:01:29.168 coffee machine. So I thought, I'll talk to 1 or 0:01:29.168 --> 0:01:31.828 2 people about it. And those people got quite excited 0:01:31.828 --> 0:01:36.358 until they actually got one of them. And it appears 0:01:36.358 --> 0:01:39.028 that the app, as with quite a lot of apps 0:01:39.028 --> 0:01:43.498 on the market, is not accessible because they use non-standard 0:01:43.498 --> 0:01:46.468 controls on the screen. So they use custom controls that 0:01:46.468 --> 0:01:49.408 people like us who are blind, that use voiceover then 0:01:49.408 --> 0:01:52.228 can't use those controls and hence can't use the app. 0:01:52.798 --> 0:01:55.588 I believe that was the case from what reports I 0:01:55.588 --> 0:02:00.298 heard from both Android and iOS iPhone. But apparently it 0:02:00.298 --> 0:02:04.738 does work if you link up the Amazon Alexa skill 0:02:04.738 --> 0:02:06.598 to the account that you've got two years for the 0:02:06.598 --> 0:02:12.118 Philips 5000 itself. And then you can say things like start, stop, 0:02:12.268 --> 0:02:16.438 all that sort of stuff. So I thought, well, if 0:02:16.438 --> 0:02:19.258 it doesn't really work in the Amazon, Echo is the 0:02:19.258 --> 0:02:22.528 only way you can use it, then that really is 0:02:22.528 --> 0:02:26.638 not accessible. So if you're talking about it last week, 0:02:27.628 --> 0:02:30.688 I would be very cautious indeed, particularly if you're a 0:02:30.688 --> 0:02:35.008 blind person requiring voiceover, perhaps not to use that particular 0:02:35.008 --> 0:02:36.748 air fryer or indeed, if you want to use it 0:02:36.748 --> 0:02:40.318 and give people feedback on the app that controls it, 0:02:40.318 --> 0:02:41.788 then certainly feel free to. 0:02:42.298 --> 0:02:45.178 But you can't give bad news without some good news 0:02:45.178 --> 0:02:47.398 and you've found one that is quite usable. 0:02:48.058 --> 0:02:51.418 I did. Now I'm going to pronounce this air fryer 0:02:51.598 --> 0:02:55.948 Tefal And then my wife says it's tefal so I 0:02:55.948 --> 0:02:57.718 won't get into the spelling of at the moment, but 0:02:57.718 --> 0:02:58.888 you'll see it in the show notes. I've got a 0:02:58.888 --> 0:03:02.218 link there to either JB Hi-Fi or the Good Guys. 0:03:02.608 --> 0:03:06.058 It's a good old fashioned manual air fryer. And what 0:03:06.058 --> 0:03:09.568 I mean by that is at the front of this one, 0:03:09.568 --> 0:03:15.478 you've got a round big knob that you turn to 0:03:15.478 --> 0:03:18.868 the right as in clockwise, to actually set the time 0:03:19.168 --> 0:03:22.738 and it makes it click, click, click noise as you're 0:03:23.008 --> 0:03:25.618 turning it around, it's got a pointer so you can 0:03:25.618 --> 0:03:27.688 tell we're about in the clock. Face It is. And 0:03:27.688 --> 0:03:30.748 I've just put a few markers on mine to remember what, 0:03:30.778 --> 0:03:34.108 you know, 15 minutes is and so on. And of 0:03:34.108 --> 0:03:36.628 course when you let it go, it has the old 0:03:36.628 --> 0:03:39.178 timer function which goes tick, tick, tick, tick. And it 0:03:39.178 --> 0:03:41.728 goes ding when it's finished and turns the air fryer 0:03:41.728 --> 0:03:44.308 off and at the top of the air fryer right 0:03:44.308 --> 0:03:47.788 on top, you've got a big round control with which 0:03:47.788 --> 0:03:51.718 where you turn it, you can adjust the temperature from 0:03:51.988 --> 0:03:56.908 zero degrees Celsius up to 200°C. And again, that's got 0:03:56.908 --> 0:03:59.848 a nice little pointer on that particular one. And the 0:03:59.848 --> 0:04:01.828 nice thing about it saving is when you turn it, 0:04:01.828 --> 0:04:05.698 it stops at 200. It doesn't keep rotating around. So 0:04:05.698 --> 0:04:08.878 it's got a beginning and an end point. But again, 0:04:08.908 --> 0:04:12.028 if you wanted to set it to 100 or 150, 0:04:12.028 --> 0:04:16.198 rather than know full blown 200°C, you can certainly put 0:04:16.198 --> 0:04:19.978 again markers on the surface of the air fryer itself. 0:04:20.428 --> 0:04:24.838 I've had mine since last Thursday. I've done recitals in it, 0:04:24.838 --> 0:04:32.668 I've done fish and chips, I've done prawns and all 0:04:32.668 --> 0:04:36.088 sorts of things. And my goodness, the difference between cooking 0:04:36.088 --> 0:04:38.848 on an air fryer and cooking stuff in the oven, 0:04:38.848 --> 0:04:42.838 not only is it nice and quick, but it's also 0:04:42.838 --> 0:04:45.568 makes absolutely beautiful chips. Yeah. 0:04:45.568 --> 0:04:47.218 All right, come on. We're getting hungry. 0:04:49.018 --> 0:04:51.298 So it really is lovely. And the nice thing I 0:04:51.298 --> 0:04:53.968 like about it is finally, when you take the basket out, 0:04:54.028 --> 0:04:58.258 you're not touching anything else that that's hot. So it's 0:04:58.258 --> 0:04:59.908 one of those things. Steve And I thought, what did 0:04:59.908 --> 0:05:02.458 I do before my smartphone? And now I'm doing what 0:05:02.458 --> 0:05:05.158 did I do before my air fryer So check it out. 0:05:05.158 --> 0:05:08.358 It's fully accessible, as in the buttons are completely. You 0:05:08.358 --> 0:05:10.818 can search for lots of different airfryer recipes on the 0:05:10.818 --> 0:05:13.638 internet and have fun. Everything. 0:05:13.848 --> 0:05:16.908 Good lesson there. We don't always need whiz bang technology. 0:05:17.028 --> 0:05:18.228 No, exactly. 0:05:18.588 --> 0:05:19.848 At the end of this month, we're going to have 0:05:19.848 --> 0:05:25.008 another of your exploring tech webinars from Vision Australia. These 0:05:25.008 --> 0:05:26.628 take place every couple of months now. 0:05:27.588 --> 0:05:30.708 So this one's on Reading Solutions. Now, what I mean 0:05:30.708 --> 0:05:34.218 by reading Solution, this is not reading books, this is 0:05:34.218 --> 0:05:37.228 reading things in your environment. So whether it's the mail 0:05:37.548 --> 0:05:42.018 post box, whether it's items or print on your jars 0:05:42.018 --> 0:05:47.058 and packaging in your pantry medicine labels to check your 0:05:47.058 --> 0:05:50.118 dosage for your medicine or, you know, when you're shopping 0:05:50.118 --> 0:05:52.098 around and and you want to read the price on 0:05:52.098 --> 0:05:54.318 things in the shop, then I'm going to go through 0:05:54.318 --> 0:05:57.078 all the different solutions that you can get your hands 0:05:57.078 --> 0:06:01.368 on to make this possible from absolutely free apps that 0:06:01.368 --> 0:06:06.498 you can use on your iPhone or Android phone right 0:06:06.498 --> 0:06:10.698 through to electronic video magnifiers, which are electronic devices. That 0:06:10.698 --> 0:06:14.658 magnifies the quote print in front of you and also 0:06:14.658 --> 0:06:19.308 gives you different contrast options, highlight options, magnification options, and 0:06:19.308 --> 0:06:23.358 so on. Optical character recognition or called OCR, which actually 0:06:23.358 --> 0:06:27.138 reads the print out in speech to you. If you 0:06:27.138 --> 0:06:30.648 don't have enough vision to quote, read the print. And 0:06:30.648 --> 0:06:33.378 also looking at wearable devices that I know there's a 0:06:33.378 --> 0:06:36.258 few on the market at the moment. So that's what 0:06:36.258 --> 0:06:38.568 we'll be covering. And I'm actually really looking forward to 0:06:38.568 --> 0:06:41.358 this one because one of the most frustrating things is 0:06:41.358 --> 0:06:44.298 just being able to read print on all sorts of 0:06:44.298 --> 0:06:47.028 different things, not to mention things like touch screens and 0:06:47.028 --> 0:06:49.218 those sort of things these days. So looking forward to 0:06:49.218 --> 0:06:51.858 that one. It's on the last Wednesday of July at 0:06:51.858 --> 0:06:54.978 7:30 p.m. and that's Sydney time. 0:06:55.458 --> 0:06:57.708 And people can get to hear that at other times 0:06:57.708 --> 0:06:59.148 after the event, can't they? 0:06:59.598 --> 0:07:01.938 They can. It'll be on the Vision Australia YouTube channel 0:07:01.938 --> 0:07:04.158 and also my ESI podcast. 0:07:04.398 --> 0:07:09.108 Talking of magnifying, there's an interesting app from Human Wear. 0:07:09.438 --> 0:07:13.968 Yeah, look, it's called The Human Way Explore Magnifier and 0:07:13.968 --> 0:07:17.508 it's a free as in free app that you can 0:07:17.508 --> 0:07:22.728 run on your iPhone or your Samsung Android phone and 0:07:22.728 --> 0:07:26.688 it does what it implies. It actually magnifies stuff that 0:07:26.688 --> 0:07:29.508 the camera is looking at. You can actually zoom in 0:07:29.508 --> 0:07:32.208 and have a close look at things. You can take 0:07:32.208 --> 0:07:35.118 a snapshot of a frozen photo of something. So if 0:07:35.118 --> 0:07:37.218 you want to investigate it more or read more about 0:07:37.218 --> 0:07:39.288 what's on the screen, you can do that as well. 0:07:39.558 --> 0:07:43.668 It's a very simple, straightforward app to use because quite 0:07:43.668 --> 0:07:45.288 a few times if you go and look, for example, 0:07:45.288 --> 0:07:49.068 in the magnifier app on your iPhone, which is built in, 0:07:49.248 --> 0:07:51.918 it's a little bit overwhelming because it's got all these 0:07:51.918 --> 0:07:55.098 different options, including stuff for blind people about door detection 0:07:55.098 --> 0:07:59.508 and so on. This is purely a one task function. 0:07:59.508 --> 0:08:03.468 The thing it does is magnification only. So I think 0:08:03.468 --> 0:08:06.798 from a here's a video magnifier type point of view, 0:08:06.798 --> 0:08:10.218 it's a really great, simple, intuitive app to use. So 0:08:10.458 --> 0:08:13.248 I must say it's really great that Human was put 0:08:13.248 --> 0:08:16.128 out this magnifier because I think really think people that 0:08:16.128 --> 0:08:18.618 are a bit scared of technology are going to find 0:08:18.618 --> 0:08:19.938 this really easy to use. 0:08:20.508 --> 0:08:24.198 For anybody undertaking study. One of the barriers may well 0:08:24.198 --> 0:08:28.998 be getting hold of the assistive technology that's needed. So 0:08:28.998 --> 0:08:34.038 Vision Australia has its bursary program and once again calling 0:08:34.038 --> 0:08:37.278 for expressions of interest for the 2024 people. 0:08:37.548 --> 0:08:40.728 Indeed. So it's up and running again. It's a certain 0:08:40.728 --> 0:08:43.128 amount of money that you can get, as you mentioned, Steve, 0:08:43.128 --> 0:08:46.638 to buy assistive technology. Now when we buy assistive technology, 0:08:46.638 --> 0:08:53.328 it's both mainstream and assistive technology hardware or software. So 0:08:53.328 --> 0:08:55.218 if you're thinking it's not going to cover a laptop, yes, 0:08:55.218 --> 0:08:58.218 it does cover a laptop. And you might be looking at, 0:08:58.218 --> 0:09:02.088 you know, scanners and screen reading software and screen magnification 0:09:02.088 --> 0:09:06.348 software and handheld video magnifiers and all that sort of stuff. 0:09:06.348 --> 0:09:09.708 And what normally happens is that you get a short 0:09:09.708 --> 0:09:14.208 assessment normally done by the adaptive technology helpdesk. They sort 0:09:14.208 --> 0:09:16.968 of try identify your your main needs for the course 0:09:16.968 --> 0:09:20.958 that you'll be undertaking. And then towards the end of 0:09:20.958 --> 0:09:25.998 the year, when the actual applicants that successful have been announced, 0:09:26.118 --> 0:09:29.958 then you'll get a proper assessment done by our assistive 0:09:29.958 --> 0:09:34.458 technology services team and they will put a report in 0:09:34.458 --> 0:09:37.308 and then you'll get your stuff funded and you can 0:09:37.308 --> 0:09:41.088 undertake your course for 2024. So it's a really exciting time. 0:09:41.088 --> 0:09:45.348 You need to get your applications in by the end 0:09:45.348 --> 0:09:48.588 of October, including that little assessment that you've got to 0:09:48.588 --> 0:09:52.308 get done by the ATI helpdesk. But all the information 0:09:52.308 --> 0:09:55.818 is on the website and it's a pretty easy website 0:09:55.818 --> 0:10:01.008 to remember. It's simply WW W Weisner Street. Org. So 0:10:01.008 --> 0:10:06.768 the main site forward slash bursary bursary light. 0:10:06.768 --> 0:10:11.508 Last year, Elon Musk took over Twitter and the chaos started. 0:10:12.498 --> 0:10:17.958 Alternatives have been springing up and now matter. Who are 0:10:17.958 --> 0:10:24.648 the ones responsible for Facebook and Instagram have come up 0:10:24.648 --> 0:10:26.358 with a solution for some people. 0:10:26.868 --> 0:10:31.788 And it's called threads like the name implies free ads. 0:10:32.298 --> 0:10:36.558 And it's basically a almost like a direct competitor to Twitter, 0:10:36.558 --> 0:10:39.768 if you like. And I'll say upfront that you do 0:10:39.768 --> 0:10:41.928 need an Instagram account to use it. So if you 0:10:41.928 --> 0:10:44.148 don't have that, then you might be able to use threads. 0:10:44.388 --> 0:10:48.258 I don't have an Instagram account. What's interesting, Stephen, though, 0:10:48.258 --> 0:10:52.728 is Mastodon, which is another social media network. Then last 0:10:52.728 --> 0:10:54.468 time I checked, I don't know if this is accurate, 0:10:54.468 --> 0:10:57.738 but there was something like 13 million people currently using 0:10:57.738 --> 0:11:02.058 Mastodon within four days. As we go to air this week, 0:11:02.058 --> 0:11:07.878 there's actually 100 million people. Yes, 100 million people using threads. 0:11:07.878 --> 0:11:11.438 And it really does offer similar things to what Twitter does. 0:11:11.448 --> 0:11:13.278 People that are sort of like, you know, well in 0:11:13.278 --> 0:11:17.478 the well known in the industry and news and Apple's 0:11:17.478 --> 0:11:19.728 on there and all different places are on there. So 0:11:19.728 --> 0:11:22.398 it's really really interesting and we'll see how it goes. 0:11:22.398 --> 0:11:25.368 But I believe, Stefan, you actually had a go at 0:11:25.368 --> 0:11:27.348 the app. Did you find it very accessible? 0:11:27.618 --> 0:11:31.098 Yes, I am not an Instagram person, but I did 0:11:31.098 --> 0:11:35.778 have to join Instagram for this. But Threads is text 0:11:35.778 --> 0:11:39.258 based and I haven't used it a lot yet, but 0:11:39.258 --> 0:11:44.178 I haven't found accessibility as a barrier. It seems to 0:11:44.178 --> 0:11:47.928 work pretty well, but we'll see how that sort of unfolds. 0:11:47.928 --> 0:11:51.468 So I'm not committing myself yet, but it does seem 0:11:51.468 --> 0:11:54.078 good and it's very interesting that there are so many 0:11:54.078 --> 0:11:57.108 users already. So it may be a real competition to 0:11:57.108 --> 0:12:00.618 Twitter and to others that have been springing up. 0:12:00.768 --> 0:12:04.038 It's interesting. Can I say that, you know, with Mastodon, Twitter, 0:12:04.428 --> 0:12:09.288 Facebook now Threads and so on, I very rarely now 0:12:09.288 --> 0:12:13.158 read any comment from any content from mainly Twitter and Mastodon. 0:12:13.158 --> 0:12:16.398 I post to those services, but I very rarely read 0:12:16.398 --> 0:12:18.588 them now. So all my stuff done, as I mentioned 0:12:18.588 --> 0:12:21.258 the other week is done by my RSS reader on 0:12:21.258 --> 0:12:25.158 my iPhone, on my Mac leery. But yeah, I hardly 0:12:25.158 --> 0:12:27.618 just read. There's just too much nonsense going on on 0:12:27.618 --> 0:12:30.198 particularly on Twitter at the moment. So I might race 0:12:30.198 --> 0:12:31.998 on up to Instagram and give it a go. So 0:12:31.998 --> 0:12:34.788 I'll report back my thoughts hopefully next week as well. 0:12:35.178 --> 0:12:39.588 I very rarely post and I'm very selective about who 0:12:39.588 --> 0:12:41.808 I follow. So we all do these things different. We 0:12:41.808 --> 0:12:45.228 don't do it. It's quite interesting. Now, just briefly, you've 0:12:45.228 --> 0:12:48.798 been investigating a number of products for some time. How's 0:12:48.798 --> 0:12:49.608 all that going? 0:12:49.848 --> 0:12:53.598 Very promisingly. I've been doing three main ones that I've 0:12:53.598 --> 0:12:57.858 currently been doing are there's a keyboard called the Smart 0:12:57.858 --> 0:13:02.208 IO one word. It's basically a very similar keyboard to 0:13:02.208 --> 0:13:05.508 the Revo three keyboard. So if you know about Revo, 0:13:05.508 --> 0:13:07.938 then you know what this smart IO keyboard looks like? 0:13:07.938 --> 0:13:11.658 It's basically a numeric keypad custom keyboard for iOS and 0:13:11.658 --> 0:13:17.238 Android at the moment. I'm currently investigating it, so I 0:13:17.238 --> 0:13:19.038 won't say one way other than what my opinion is 0:13:19.038 --> 0:13:20.748 because I haven't finished the evaluation. You know, I want 0:13:20.748 --> 0:13:23.688 to do a comparison to Revo number two is the 0:13:23.688 --> 0:13:27.408 Dot Inc. dot pad that I talked quite. I think 0:13:27.408 --> 0:13:29.988 it's about six months ago. That's going extremely well, particularly 0:13:29.988 --> 0:13:33.018 their software, the app that runs on the system. And 0:13:33.018 --> 0:13:37.248 number three is the any self-teaching Braille device. And at 0:13:37.248 --> 0:13:39.858 the moment the hardware is really nice. The software is 0:13:39.858 --> 0:13:41.508 a bit iffy. So I'm running on a bit of 0:13:41.508 --> 0:13:45.438 a comparison with the poly, which is the similar unit 0:13:45.438 --> 0:13:48.168 from the American Printing House for the Blind ABH. 0:13:48.378 --> 0:13:50.628 Just before we go, a reminder of where people can 0:13:50.628 --> 0:13:53.688 find details of what we've been covering in this and 0:13:53.688 --> 0:13:55.188 previous editions of the program. 0:13:55.188 --> 0:13:57.078 You can check out my blog site, which is David 0:13:57.078 --> 0:13:59.328 Would it be a dot podbean pad? 0:13:59.328 --> 0:14:06.138 Ben David would be dot Podbean Podbean to write to 0:14:06.138 --> 0:14:06.738 the program. 0:14:06.918 --> 0:14:08.748 You can write to me at Virgin Australia where I work, 0:14:08.748 --> 0:14:13.428 which is David Woodbridge, How it sounds at Vision Australia. Org. 0:14:13.578 --> 0:14:18.168 David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org This has been 0:14:18.168 --> 0:14:21.318 talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's National Advisor 0:14:21.318 --> 0:14:25.668 on Access Technology, David Woodbridge. I'm Stephen Jolley. Take care. 0:14:25.668 --> 0:14:27.288 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.