WEBVTT - Talking Tech, 15th August 2023 0:00:08.308 --> 0:00:12.058 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:12.058 --> 0:00:15.808 August the 15th, 2023. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:15.808 --> 0:00:18.808 you with us wherever you're listening, perhaps through Virgin Australia 0:00:18.808 --> 0:00:23.818 radio associated Stations of Australia or maybe the Community Radio network, 0:00:23.818 --> 0:00:27.088 there is also the podcast to catch that all you 0:00:27.088 --> 0:00:30.238 need to do is search for the two words talking tech, 0:00:30.238 --> 0:00:32.728 and then it can all come usually on a Tuesday 0:00:32.728 --> 0:00:36.568 afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is to 0:00:36.568 --> 0:00:40.498 ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play Vision 0:00:40.498 --> 0:00:46.048 Australia Radio Talking Tech Podcast. Vision Australia Radio Talking Tech 0:00:46.048 --> 0:00:49.648 podcast With me someone who can explain all this tech 0:00:49.648 --> 0:00:54.778 stuff really well. Vision Australia's National Advisor on Access Technology, 0:00:54.778 --> 0:01:00.448 David Woodbridge. David, last week we spoke about the technology 0:01:00.448 --> 0:01:04.468 that you'd be recommending. A person who was blind would 0:01:04.468 --> 0:01:09.118 think about when they'd be using screen readers and Braille, etcetera. 0:01:09.568 --> 0:01:13.048 We were going to talk today about the situation for 0:01:13.048 --> 0:01:14.608 people with low vision. 0:01:14.998 --> 0:01:17.038 Indeed. So what I thought I might do today, which 0:01:17.038 --> 0:01:20.158 is slightly different from last week, I talk about the 0:01:20.158 --> 0:01:26.548 base hardware for everybody, so home, school and employment, and 0:01:26.548 --> 0:01:29.338 then I'll add on the little bits that will increase 0:01:29.338 --> 0:01:32.908 your productivity in that sort of stuff. So let's just 0:01:32.908 --> 0:01:36.628 start with the base configuration stuff for. So again, it's 0:01:36.628 --> 0:01:39.508 basically the same hardware in a way as last week. 0:01:39.508 --> 0:01:44.878 So it's your Windows 11 laptop or desktop again with 0:01:44.878 --> 0:01:48.718 16GB of Ram and an i7 processor. So of course 0:01:48.718 --> 0:01:51.598 that's for Windows and a mac. I'm still going to 0:01:51.598 --> 0:01:57.028 stick to the M2, MacBook Pro and of course running 0:01:57.028 --> 0:02:01.138 on Windows, you'd be running either the Zoom, which is 0:02:01.138 --> 0:02:05.548 built into Windows itself if you can't afford anything else. 0:02:05.818 --> 0:02:08.878 And if you can, then I always recommend Zoom because 0:02:08.878 --> 0:02:11.338 it's been my favorite for a long, long, long, long time. 0:02:11.638 --> 0:02:13.318 And of course, on the Mac, you've only got a 0:02:13.318 --> 0:02:16.318 choice between one system like you do with speech, and 0:02:16.318 --> 0:02:20.428 that's called System Zoom. And then for the other things 0:02:20.428 --> 0:02:24.868 at home, you might want to consider. I always recommend 0:02:24.868 --> 0:02:28.438 a good size LCD monitor, and I say that because 0:02:28.438 --> 0:02:32.308 it's a crisper, clearer screen to look at and it 0:02:32.308 --> 0:02:35.938 doesn't suffer from glare as much as an LCD screen. 0:02:36.028 --> 0:02:38.488 And you can get effectively whatever size you like because 0:02:38.488 --> 0:02:40.558 it's going to plug into the Windows computer or the 0:02:40.558 --> 0:02:43.978 Mac the next thing. And again, this is probably only 0:02:43.978 --> 0:02:45.838 if you need it, is a monitor arm. So of 0:02:45.838 --> 0:02:48.238 course that's the pop the monitor on the external one 0:02:48.238 --> 0:02:49.768 or even your laptop for that matter, if you really 0:02:49.768 --> 0:02:51.748 want to use it that way and bring the screen 0:02:51.748 --> 0:02:55.008 closer to you so you're not hunching forward trying to 0:02:55.018 --> 0:02:57.838 peer at the screen all the time, large print keyboard 0:02:57.838 --> 0:03:00.808 or large print stickers. So again, you can buy a 0:03:00.808 --> 0:03:05.938 large print keyboard standard with black on white, white on 0:03:05.938 --> 0:03:08.788 black or yellow on black keys. And of course, the 0:03:08.788 --> 0:03:12.328 stick on labels just will go on any keyboard. And 0:03:12.328 --> 0:03:15.328 then the iPhone. Now for low vision people, I'm not 0:03:15.328 --> 0:03:20.698 too fast for accessibility between the iPhone and a Android phone. 0:03:20.698 --> 0:03:23.338 So if you if you love Android I still recommend 0:03:23.338 --> 0:03:25.918 a Samsung phone so you know go for it for 0:03:25.918 --> 0:03:27.478 Android if you want which. 0:03:27.478 --> 0:03:29.098 Model of iPhone for. 0:03:29.098 --> 0:03:31.858 A low vision person I'd say go for the bigger screen. 0:03:31.858 --> 0:03:37.528 Think about the iPhone 14 plus because the next version 0:03:37.528 --> 0:03:39.058 up in the bigger screen is going to be the 0:03:39.058 --> 0:03:43.318 iPhone pro max, which is going to send you back 0:03:43.318 --> 0:03:47.308 a lot, a lot more expense wise than the than 0:03:47.308 --> 0:03:50.848 the lower version. So if a bigger screen suits your vision, 0:03:50.848 --> 0:03:53.068 because remember, sometimes bigger is not better for people with 0:03:53.068 --> 0:03:57.838 particular vision conditions, then I'd go for the 14 plus. 0:03:57.838 --> 0:04:00.448 Or if you're not fussed about it, either the 14 0:04:00.448 --> 0:04:03.358 or the 14 pro, if you need the the extra 0:04:03.358 --> 0:04:06.328 pro stuff, which leads me onto my next thing is 0:04:06.328 --> 0:04:09.478 still get yourself a stand that you can put your 0:04:09.478 --> 0:04:11.578 phone on. It doesn't matter again, it doesn't matter what 0:04:11.578 --> 0:04:15.958 it is. And last of all, I always recommend if 0:04:15.958 --> 0:04:17.668 you want to get a Bluetooth headphones, go for the 0:04:17.678 --> 0:04:20.788 shocks and of course a printer slash scanner. 0:04:21.118 --> 0:04:24.058 So that's really for anybody with low vision. Tell us 0:04:24.058 --> 0:04:26.998 what you would recommend that students think about. 0:04:27.148 --> 0:04:29.968 For schools in particular? What I would tend to recommend, 0:04:29.968 --> 0:04:32.368 which is a little bit extra, is a Bluetooth keyboard. 0:04:32.368 --> 0:04:36.148 And yes, I'm saying a separate Bluetooth keyboard because sometimes 0:04:36.148 --> 0:04:39.148 I don't trust standard large print keyboards, let's just say that. 0:04:39.148 --> 0:04:41.518 So Bluetooth keyboard and then it will give you access 0:04:41.518 --> 0:04:44.128 to an iPhone a course as last time. I always 0:04:44.128 --> 0:04:47.438 recommend an iPad because again, some things won't work on 0:04:47.438 --> 0:04:50.368 an iPhone, plus an iPad's got a much bigger screen 0:04:51.118 --> 0:04:53.758 and then the next thing I recommend and I strongly 0:04:53.758 --> 0:04:56.218 recommend people get an assessments and I'll backtrack to home 0:04:56.218 --> 0:04:59.368 in a minute. But when you're looking at video magnifiers 0:04:59.368 --> 0:05:03.088 and I mean electronic video magnification, that increases the stuff 0:05:03.088 --> 0:05:06.688 that you're looking through pretty much for a video camera. 0:05:06.978 --> 0:05:09.858 That does all sorts of wonderful things for low vision people. 0:05:09.888 --> 0:05:13.488 Please get an assessment because these things can span from 0:05:13.878 --> 0:05:18.228 6 to $800 up to $8,000. I don't want to 0:05:18.228 --> 0:05:22.428 mislead anybody, but let's just say both employment and for school, 0:05:22.428 --> 0:05:26.358 you can get hand-held ones that are portable. You can 0:05:26.358 --> 0:05:28.728 get ones that just look at what the camera is 0:05:28.728 --> 0:05:31.608 looking at directly, or you can get distance viewing ones. 0:05:32.088 --> 0:05:35.358 You can get desktop ones that you put the piece 0:05:35.358 --> 0:05:38.568 of paper underneath and then it electronically focus what you're 0:05:38.568 --> 0:05:42.288 looking at. You can get wearable ones and you can 0:05:42.288 --> 0:05:46.758 also get ones that do not only video magnification but 0:05:46.758 --> 0:05:50.658 also do speech. So they'll do optical character recognition. So 0:05:50.658 --> 0:05:52.278 always say to people and this gets back to the 0:05:52.278 --> 0:05:54.288 home thing I was going to mention when you get 0:05:54.288 --> 0:05:57.348 past optical video magnifiers so your good old sort of 0:05:57.348 --> 0:06:00.378 your visual arts and your your torch ones that have 0:06:00.378 --> 0:06:03.108 got video implication and the light in them, they're fine. 0:06:03.108 --> 0:06:05.718 But once you get above these very expensive to these 0:06:05.718 --> 0:06:08.808 very expensive ones, you really, really do need to get 0:06:08.808 --> 0:06:10.698 assessed by a orthopedist. 0:06:10.968 --> 0:06:14.598 Anything extra for people to think about when they're working. 0:06:14.868 --> 0:06:16.608 This is going to sound a bit strange. Clearly, for employment, 0:06:16.608 --> 0:06:21.108 you need a lighting assessment. So above the video magnification 0:06:21.108 --> 0:06:24.348 and all the other hardware I've talked about, because lighting 0:06:24.348 --> 0:06:27.888 is so important for people with low vision, people that 0:06:27.888 --> 0:06:32.268 do these lighting assessments, look at things like what sort 0:06:32.268 --> 0:06:34.878 of lights are in the ceilings, what sort of lights 0:06:34.878 --> 0:06:38.958 coming through the window, blinds recommended, which way your desk 0:06:38.958 --> 0:06:42.528 is facing. Is there any other source that's splashing onto 0:06:42.528 --> 0:06:47.628 your screen that's giving you eyestrain and fatigue? So all 0:06:47.628 --> 0:06:49.488 sorts of things can be done with a lighting system, 0:06:49.488 --> 0:06:54.558 and particularly for job access, the assessor can write recommendations 0:06:54.558 --> 0:06:57.318 for changing the workplace if possible, such as putting a 0:06:57.318 --> 0:07:01.158 blind in changing the diffuser and the lights above your desk, 0:07:01.158 --> 0:07:03.498 maybe even taking out a light above your desk if 0:07:03.498 --> 0:07:07.308 it's too bright. And you know, for schools, they might 0:07:07.308 --> 0:07:10.968 suggest that, you know, David, who's low vision, might want 0:07:10.968 --> 0:07:13.638 to sit down the front of the class, for example, 0:07:13.638 --> 0:07:16.278 if the lighting's better or worse than the front class 0:07:16.278 --> 0:07:19.818 versus the back. So again, for low vision, you do 0:07:19.818 --> 0:07:22.278 need to get assess when you're looking at anything to 0:07:22.278 --> 0:07:25.488 do with your vision. Not so much the hardware, but 0:07:25.488 --> 0:07:29.118 to do with how your your seeing the screens that 0:07:29.118 --> 0:07:32.178 you're looking at or the hardcopy print that you're viewing 0:07:32.298 --> 0:07:35.748 through something like a video magnifying camera type system. 0:07:35.928 --> 0:07:39.468 So what are the pathways to getting good advice about 0:07:39.468 --> 0:07:40.578 the technology? 0:07:40.878 --> 0:07:42.828 So a good starting point is always to ring up 0:07:42.828 --> 0:07:45.918 the adaptive Technology helpdesk at Vision Australia, which is the 0:07:45.918 --> 0:07:49.758 one 308 4746. Number one. 0:07:49.758 --> 0:07:53.628 308 4746. 0:07:53.748 --> 0:07:56.628 And just gather as much information as you can. And 0:07:56.628 --> 0:08:01.128 then of course, assessment wise, then you would contact the 0:08:01.128 --> 0:08:05.958 Vision Australia Adaptive Technology Service to arrange an assessment. Now 0:08:05.958 --> 0:08:09.798 that assessment can be for home for school and for employment. 0:08:09.798 --> 0:08:12.708 So it's not just for school and employment, it's also 0:08:12.708 --> 0:08:15.948 for home, particularly for home. If you also want a 0:08:15.948 --> 0:08:18.348 video magnifier because you might want to read the newspapers 0:08:18.348 --> 0:08:22.098 on a Saturday morning and your your optical magnifier is 0:08:22.098 --> 0:08:24.528 not good enough. Or you might want a video magnifier. 0:08:24.528 --> 0:08:27.618 So again, you would talk to the people and come 0:08:27.618 --> 0:08:29.748 out and they would give me and show you a 0:08:29.748 --> 0:08:33.618 range of devices. Just keep in mind, just because you 0:08:33.618 --> 0:08:36.078 see one device doesn't mean that's the be an end 0:08:36.078 --> 0:08:38.928 or have a look at at least several and then 0:08:38.928 --> 0:08:40.038 make up your own mind. 0:08:40.308 --> 0:08:43.908 Speaking of Vision Australia, the digital Access team are again 0:08:43.908 --> 0:08:47.388 conducting an assistive technology survey. 0:08:47.508 --> 0:08:50.258 So this is for Australians, for anybody who was blind 0:08:50.268 --> 0:08:54.558 or low vision or carers of people that use assistive technology. 0:08:54.978 --> 0:08:59.328 So we're talking about Windows, Mac, iOS, Android. Funnily enough, 0:08:59.328 --> 0:09:01.248 Linux is not mentioned, which is a bit of a 0:09:01.248 --> 0:09:05.148 side side point. But look, it really only takes you 0:09:05.148 --> 0:09:08.388 around about 10 to 15 minutes. It's all sort of 0:09:08.388 --> 0:09:11.718 checkboxes and radio buttons. And I think it's the other 0:09:11.718 --> 0:09:13.518 thing if you if you choose other, you've got a 0:09:13.518 --> 0:09:16.188 little bit more. But besides that, it's very straightforward and 0:09:16.188 --> 0:09:19.218 it'll help Vision Australia look at what we have to 0:09:19.218 --> 0:09:23.088 put our research into for both web design and application 0:09:23.088 --> 0:09:26.058 design to be completed by September 1st. 0:09:26.358 --> 0:09:28.788 September 1st. And you've got a link to that in 0:09:28.788 --> 0:09:31.578 the show notes. I do Bindi Maps do some very 0:09:31.578 --> 0:09:35.328 interesting indoor stuff and they're conducting a survey at the moment. 0:09:35.658 --> 0:09:39.468 They have again, because they're doing some work on different 0:09:39.468 --> 0:09:44.088 types of usage for Bindi Maps moving forward. And what 0:09:44.088 --> 0:09:46.458 they want to find out is how people really do 0:09:46.458 --> 0:09:51.648 use their navigation, a hardware and software. So your smartphone 0:09:52.188 --> 0:09:54.468 plus all your other stuff like your mini guide and 0:09:54.468 --> 0:09:58.158 your guide dog and really get an idea of both 0:09:58.158 --> 0:10:02.958 how you travel independently using GPS and then how you 0:10:02.958 --> 0:10:07.188 indoor navigate using your different piece of technology. And again, 0:10:07.188 --> 0:10:10.158 that's to be hopefully completed by September 1st. When I 0:10:10.158 --> 0:10:12.858 did it, it probably took me less than ten minutes, 0:10:12.858 --> 0:10:18.408 but it's a very thorough survey of navigation. So fill 0:10:18.408 --> 0:10:21.588 that one in and look. Again, it just helps researchers 0:10:21.588 --> 0:10:23.568 and developers look at what they need to do. 0:10:23.778 --> 0:10:28.398 For those who use the sense player from Hims, which 0:10:28.398 --> 0:10:31.548 is the multimedia device that came out earlier this year. 0:10:31.548 --> 0:10:33.348 Exciting news last week. 0:10:33.918 --> 0:10:36.578 Extremely exciting. You I almost fell off my chair when 0:10:36.588 --> 0:10:40.968 I read it. It's a system 2.0 or sense player 0:10:40.968 --> 0:10:44.658 version 2.0. And the thing that got me very excited, Stephen, 0:10:44.658 --> 0:10:47.598 of course, was the fact that we can now access 0:10:47.598 --> 0:10:52.638 the default apps for Android that hims recommends. And then 0:10:52.638 --> 0:10:56.838 you can also put in your own apps from a 0:10:56.838 --> 0:11:01.428 particular service that they explain in the very well done 0:11:01.428 --> 0:11:06.408 to trial for the sense play version 2.0. But I'm assuming, Steve, 0:11:06.408 --> 0:11:08.538 you've played with some other bits and pieces in the 0:11:08.538 --> 0:11:11.448 sense player upgrade and did anything stand out for you 0:11:11.448 --> 0:11:12.018 in particular? 0:11:12.438 --> 0:11:15.108 Well, I must quickly say the Android apps one is 0:11:15.108 --> 0:11:19.158 very interesting. I can run BBC sounds and was able 0:11:19.158 --> 0:11:22.938 to go out as advised in the tutorial hunt for ABC. 0:11:22.938 --> 0:11:26.208 Listen and have got that on board now. In other 0:11:26.208 --> 0:11:29.418 areas there's done a lot of work with the media 0:11:29.418 --> 0:11:33.228 playlists and with the what you might describe as the 0:11:33.228 --> 0:11:36.978 book playlists. The place in the book is maintained more 0:11:36.978 --> 0:11:41.538 easily and some other very nice features. With the streaming 0:11:41.538 --> 0:11:46.398 of the web radio, one can organize the stations a 0:11:46.398 --> 0:11:48.858 lot better, grouped them the way you want to have 0:11:48.858 --> 0:11:50.718 them in the right sequence rather than just in the 0:11:50.718 --> 0:11:54.228 sequence that you've loaded them on board. So some very 0:11:54.228 --> 0:11:56.298 interesting tidy ups and I reckon there'll be more to 0:11:56.298 --> 0:11:57.408 come in the future too. 0:11:58.008 --> 0:12:01.728 Yeah, they didn't mention this a while ago, but I 0:12:01.728 --> 0:12:04.208 think I did ask Sam Taylor from Pacific Vision if 0:12:04.388 --> 0:12:06.498 if it did have a GPS chip and he didn't 0:12:06.498 --> 0:12:08.898 really answer me, so I thought, wouldn't that be cool? 0:12:08.898 --> 0:12:12.528 But as they pointed out in the tutorial, the sense 0:12:12.528 --> 0:12:16.218 player is not meant to be a smartphone. So, you know, 0:12:16.218 --> 0:12:18.048 whilst it's got a camera and it can do all 0:12:18.048 --> 0:12:20.178 sorts of wonderful things, I think they might have mentioned 0:12:20.178 --> 0:12:22.938 this about several times during the tutorial. It's not a 0:12:22.938 --> 0:12:24.408 replacement for your smartphone. 0:12:24.528 --> 0:12:27.978 Yeah, very good point. Be my. I started talking about 0:12:27.978 --> 0:12:31.008 a virtual AI assistant back in I think it was 0:12:31.008 --> 0:12:35.598 around March and they had a closed beta program that's 0:12:35.598 --> 0:12:39.168 become a lot more open from this week. So people 0:12:39.168 --> 0:12:42.528 have put their names on the list for that will 0:12:42.528 --> 0:12:46.788 be invited very soon hopefully to participate in that public 0:12:46.788 --> 0:12:48.828 beta program. Should be an interesting one. 0:12:49.398 --> 0:12:52.008 Look, I think so, because the demo that I saw 0:12:52.008 --> 0:12:55.608 several months ago was a lady looking at a magazine 0:12:55.608 --> 0:12:58.488 that had different fashion models in it, and she was 0:12:58.488 --> 0:13:01.758 able to ask a description of what each model was wearing. 0:13:01.758 --> 0:13:05.298 So what doesn't effective, you know, for people dressed up 0:13:05.298 --> 0:13:08.418 or for people wearing a dress? It was much more detailed. 0:13:08.418 --> 0:13:13.638 So I'm really looking forward to testing this myself. And 0:13:13.638 --> 0:13:16.578 as they said in the notes from Be My Eyes, 0:13:16.728 --> 0:13:18.978 you'll get an invite email to be part of the 0:13:18.978 --> 0:13:20.958 beta program. And for those who signed up a long, 0:13:20.958 --> 0:13:23.688 long time ago, you'll be first off the rank. And 0:13:23.688 --> 0:13:25.908 if you sign up now, then they'll get to you 0:13:25.908 --> 0:13:28.338 when they get you. But no, it's exciting times because 0:13:28.338 --> 0:13:31.578 I've been really, really, really wanting to try this feature 0:13:31.578 --> 0:13:33.978 out and this is really bringing, you know, things like 0:13:33.978 --> 0:13:38.898 ChatGPT and another models of artificial intelligence to help us 0:13:38.898 --> 0:13:40.878 blind and low vision folks quite dramatically. 0:13:41.268 --> 0:13:43.448 Before we go, a reminder of where can be found. 0:13:43.488 --> 0:13:45.738 Details of what we've been talking about in this and 0:13:45.738 --> 0:13:47.388 previous editions of the program. 0:13:47.838 --> 0:13:49.848 Indeed. So as always, you can check out my blog site, 0:13:49.848 --> 0:13:53.868 which is David would be a dot podbean pad and. 0:13:54.318 --> 0:14:00.258 David would be dot podbean podbean. Com. To write to 0:14:00.258 --> 0:14:00.948 the program. 0:14:01.308 --> 0:14:03.348 You can write to me at Virgin Australia where I work, 0:14:03.348 --> 0:14:07.068 which is David Dot Woodbridge. It sounds at Vision Australia. 0:14:07.338 --> 0:14:12.228 Org David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org This has 0:14:12.228 --> 0:14:15.078 been talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's national 0:14:15.078 --> 0:14:19.548 adviser on access technology, David Woodbridge. I'm Stephen Jolley. Take care. 0:14:19.548 --> 0:14:21.228 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.